He rubbed his forehead as Handers inched closer to the Crown.
"We're here for the weapons, not the Crown!"
After a moment, he turned away and fidgeted with his hand. His eyes darted back and forth, indecisively. He chewed on his hand. Finally, he turned back to Handers with a confident and immobile gaze fixed firmly on the back of Hander's head.
He lifted his massive stone like forearm high above his head and bought in down with a loud crack onto Handers' neck.
Handers dropped backwards, his arm swinging out of the basin. The Token dropped to the floor. Rinacht stepped over Handers and picked it up using the black velvet lying next to it.
Handers' head throbbed. He rolled over onto his back. Rinacht stood over him holding the Token. The realization sank in. Rinacht had just hit him. "What are you doing?" He demanded.
"I'm sorry. I can't. I can't let you take it!" Rinacht answered.
With that, Handers lunged full force at his house servant, knocking him off his feet. He grabbed violently for the Token, just managing to wrap his fingers around it. Rinacht rolled hard onto Handers arm trying to break his grip.
"The Crown is the way to Emret!" Handers yelled.
"No. You don't understand. It won't help you!" Rinacht argued.
Handers leveraged his weight and launched Rinacht into a nearby pillar.
The Token clattered to the floor between them. Handers looked down at his hand. He still held a piece of the Token. Rinacht sat up, still holding a piece as well. The Token had broken into three.
"What've you done!" Rinacht yelled. He stared at the broken piece of the Token in his hand.
Handers got up and darted towards the black pool. He pushed the Token fragment down into the basin. Liquid splashed up on the sides, as it was pushed away in the middle. He reached in for the crown with the other hand. Turbulent waves of liquid splashed up over the edge of the basin sending up plums of smoke as it burned the wood floor below. Handers leaned his upper body over the brim, pushing his entire arm past the shoulder into the basin.
With a jarring whip, Rinacht grabbed him from behind and wrenched him back with all of his strength. Handers twisted and slid to the side, tumbling to the floor.
Rinacht shoved his own arm into the basin, one hand holding his piece of the Token, the other reaching for the closest weapon to the surface.
More black liquid gushed out and splashed onto the wood, causing two of the floor boards to crack and split. The basin groaned as it shifted position from the weakening floor. Choking smoke filled the air.
Rinacht curled his fingers around a short sword. Immediately, with his touch, the piece of Token in his other hand turned black. The liquid it had been pushing away swept back in a crashing wave, submerging his hand and forearm in the black acid.
He jerked his hand out in surprise and dropped the sword which had turned black with the token. "Aaaah!" He cried out in pain and stumbled backward cradling his injured arm. He held up the blackened Token, still clutched in his good hand, trying to comprehend what had happened. He turned his gaze back to the basin full of irretrievable treasures.
"I'm sorry." He pleaded. "I never should've agreed to this." His face twitched with pain.
"Agreed to what?" Handers demanded in a low growl.
"You're not the only fool looking for this place. And you're not the only one of us with problems. You think I live in your country doing your cleaning because I choose too?" He backed towards the stairs. "I'm done trying to help. Good luck with the boy. Just remember, you were warned."
He turned and paddled up the stairs.
Handers watched with bitterness as his old friend left. Who did he sell him out to? He wondered. And why? He knew he wasn't happy where he was. But he had always tried to help him the best he could. It wasn't his fault Rinacht couldn't go back home. And how could he abandon Emret like that?
He turned back to the basin and leaned his body out again over the edge, dangling the Token over the liquid. As he lowered it, the black acid pushed away. He could see the Crown more and more clearly the deeper he pushed the Token. Finally, the top of the crown peaked into the open air. He reached in with his other hand then stopped, remembering what happened to Rinacht.
There