Hesitantly, you agree to follow along. If this is going to happen, you want to sate your own curiosity about that helmet of his. Quietly you head over to the tents where the guys are snoring. You kind of doubt being stealthy or keeping a watch is really necessary, as Horton’s snores sound like they are from a creature 50 times his size. No animal in their right mind would approach your camp, concealment spell or not with that sound thundering through the dark.

Looking to Lyrrica and nodding, the two of you carefully pull the flaps of the tent apart and find that Mal prefers to get in feet first, sleeping with his head towards the open end. As Lyrrica holds in a groan of frustration that Mal is, in fact, sleeping with his helmet on, your curiosity at his orientation causes your brain to explode with queries. You have noticed other veterans sleeping this way as well, maybe it’s something they are trained to do? You frown in frustration as your quest for answers leads to even more questions. You listen and determine that Mal is sleeping lightly. This may be tougher than you initially thought. Lyrrica, done with her silent fit, seems undeterred. She sits in a thoughtful pose before pantomiming instructions to you. You fight the urge to sigh at your friends odd determination, but there’s no stopping this now. As Lyrrica gently lifts his head, you reach for the chinstrap to undo his cranial guard. The second your hand brushes the metal of the helmet, you can’t help but suck in a breath of surprise.

His helmet is emanating magic, and not a small amount either. While resonation with the nexus is certainly boosting the power, you can tell there is some seriously powerful magic imbued into the head covering. You become instantly worried that the helmet is somehow keeping him alive, or somehow cursed. Before you can make a decision, you get the impression that Mal is looking at you.

“Shouldn’t one of you two be on watch?” He says calmly. Lyrrica gives out a squeak of surprise and removes her hands as if his helmet was burning hot. Mal’s head thumps against the ground. “Ow.”

You attempt to apologise, but the warrior holds up a hand as he exits his tent.

“No, I understand. It would make me curious as well. Suffice to say, that while I am capable of doing so without harm, I am loathe to remove my helm. I should not be much use to you without the spells that allow me to keep this on my head all of the time. Those same spells are making it a bit difficult to sleep because of this place.” Mal explains calmly without any anger in his voice. You are listening intently, but Lyrrica is looking uncharacteristically bashful about being caught.

You ignore Lyrrica’s moral dilemma for a minute to ask Mal about the nature of his helmet. Is it cursed? What kind of enchantment was used? Does it use a Noven or Octrian runic scheme? Having thoroughly revealed your nerdy magic student side, you are disappointed when Mal holds up his hand again.

“You would have to ask those questions of the one who made the spell. I only know that the helmet keeps me functional, and have no desire to be without it. Maybe I’ll tell you more one day, but for now…” He jerks his head towards the woods. The sun is rising and light is beginning to filter through the trees. “We should be on about collecting our rewards.”

As Mal seems to be open to the idea of talking later, you relent. Even if you are a massive magic nerd you are, first and foremost, an adventurer. The siren call of loot is enough to put your curiosity on the back burner as Mal flicks the side of Horton’s tent, the drumlike sound ending the hideous cacophony of his snores. As you pack, Lyrrica suddenly turns her head as if noticing something. You follow her gaze and see a flash of gold tucked into the roots of the tree. Looking at the object, you can see that someone has left what looks like a golden gravy boat or something behind. Since you’re already grabbing loot today, wouldn’t a little bit of treasure add nicely to that? The golden tableware seems to have some runes etched into the sides. Maybe it has something to do with the nexus? You can investigate real quick, or head off to collect your reward.