Valkardian had ignored her for three days after her little stunt, choosing to stay out of sight while he planned whatever dastardly punishment awaited her. Shadow had not thought about that when she drew up her plan: that he would just as quickly figure it out and punish her for it. Then again it was not unusual for him to just ignore her presence either. Shadow had begun to worry a little after the second day that it had been a mistake but now that she was following him down a stairwell lit only by a magical orb he had conjured up she wondered if he had a torture rack waiting for her deep below.

All of this was dispelled when they leveled out into another hallway with ornate doors and murals and approached a pair of grandiose doors that stood out more than the ones above with its runic inscriptions and symbols that warned of a painful end to anyone who dared to try and enter without permission. Valkardian stopped in front of the doors and turned to face Shadow and watched her for a minute quietly with that blank gaze of his which made Shadows fears well back up.

"Do you know what this is Shadow?" He gestured at the doors behind him eyes narrowing.

"Torture room?" It was a fair guess after what she had done.

A smirk came to his face as he kept watching her. "No, this is the treasury. You will need some money where I am sending you. Your performance during the battle was exceptional and you even killed a chieftain which is no small feat considering your lack of experience. Also, after that little game of yours a few days ago..." His voice lowered as he stooped over her ever so slightly making Shadow feel very small as his gaze bore into her. "I decided that if you had the guts to try something like that you should be rewarded. It is very doubtful any living being above would have the audacity to think up let alone try what you did under the circumstances. Especially since the art of seduction is all but lost to those living above. Well done Shadow." Valkardian gave her a dangerous smile and Shadow understood it perfectly: dont do it again.

"Now then, I have one final lesson before you go off on your vacation... Tell me, what would you do if you had all the gold and jewels in the world?"

The question hit her like a freight train. Just how much was he planning on giving her? WHERE was she going?! How long? "I... Ummm... Probably buy a mansion, lots and lots of land, hire lots of servants, finest clothing, food... I dont really know." Her expression changed as she began to think about it more and more.

"Take your time, what would you DO, what would be the most important thing you would do?" Valkardian waited patiently as she kept thinking the question over. If there was one thing she knew was that he never asked a question just because, there was always an ulterior motive behind it. This was not a lesson at all but just one more test that could result in her being smitten where she stood having fallen out of his good graces.

Shadow took a deep breath and let it out slowly and looked up again "I would probably use it to do what is good for me and my family."

Watching her expression carefully he knew she was telling the truth. "Really? Hmm... A fair answer, you would not try and save the world? End poverty and famine? Perhaps more?"

"No, I have a feeling no amount of money would solve those problems."

He smiled a little at her "True, now tell me Shadow, how much is this worth?" Valkardian turned and used a key and a series of mumbled words she could not understand before pushing on the great double doors. They swung inward easily and magical lighting flared to life in the vast chamber beyond bringing a bright glare to her eyes as she stared slack jawed at the hoard before her.

Valkardian led her inside and simply gestured out at the immense wealth that lay before her. There was enough gold and gems in this room to make dragons burn up with envy and rage, enough gold and silver to make the nobles of Canterlot swoon over whoever held the smallest fraction of it. Shadow walked out into the chamber and made her way around the vast piles of gold, silver, gems and now that she looked closer: jewelry, furniture, chalices and countless priceless artifacts and artworks made of gold including a massive gold statue of a pony that bore a resemblance to Celestia.

Flying above the hoard she flew slowly to and fro looking down in wonder at the glittering masses below, Valkardian simply ignored her taking a seat on an opulent golden throne that had been set out on one side choosing to just stare with a bored expression as the piles. Shadow flew back to him landed a few feet away unable to take her eyes off the piles of glittering treasure.

"Do you have an answer? How much is all this worth?"

Shadow barely heard him ask the question but he patiently waited on her and finally she tore her eyes away from it and stared back at him. "You could buy Equestria with this. Anything. You could buy all the dragons of the world and still have enough to buy nations."

Valkardian stroked his beard a moment gazing at her thoughtfully "Really? It is worth that much?"

"Yes and more, like that statue back there..."

"Ah that, a statue of Celestia and Luna's mother though I have forgotten her name." A smile broke out on his face "Stolen by the dogs long, long ago. It's theft helped push Celestia over the edge in declaring war on them, how they managed to nip that statue I will never know but they did. Catch is I found it in their capital city before Celestia arrived and nipped it from the dogs first and now it is a part of my collection. I guess she assumed they melted it down or perhaps... Perhaps she knows that I have it and is unwilling to risk trying to get it back."

Standing he slowly made his way towards the closest pile and magically brought a large handful up and floated it to Shadow. "So this here would do what?"

Shadow accepted the massive handful of gold that spilled out over her cupped hands and clinked on the floor below. "enough to buy a small house I suppose..." She held them up and examined them, some were ancient Bits while others were from other nations long lost, one was a dog coin emblazoned with the likeliness of some canid king from long ago. Looking back up at him she continued "I would have to count their value out to know."

"Hm... They are worth a kingdoms ransom and hold immense value to you. Why?"

"Their gold, golds valuable..." She wore a quizzical look as she stared at him.

"Says who?" Valkardian went back to staring at the pile leaving her to think it over.

"Uhh... Everypony? It's why everyone works so hard to get as many of them as they can, to use for food, shelter..."

"You miss the point Shadow, what makes the gold valuable, not as a medium for trade but what makes it worth suffering, fighting and killing for?"

Shadow looked back at the gold in her hands suddenly realizing their weight, it was a fair question that she had no real answer to "Rarity?"

"Not at all, silver is also used and once copper and bronze. Canterlot is covered in gold and silver to the point Celestia should have her "royal guard" handing out gold bricks for free on street corners." He picked up a rather large coin form the pile and held it up for her to see.

"The answer Shadow is that none of this has value, it is quite worthless. Absolutely worthless in truth. It is a medium of trade at best and a mark of avarice otherwise. You know what this is worth?" Valkardian dropped the coin and stomped on it. "Nothing." He ground his boot against the coin. "It holds value because you GIVE it value, you believe it has value when it does not, it is just one more metal among many that has its uses now and then. All of this is not worth one damned thing" gesturing out at the massive room.

"What has value is what you KNOW. Knowledge is more powerful than gold and silver, with knowledge you can control others and bend them to your will. You can even use it to amass great wealth though greed will blind you in time as your desire to have more takes over. If you were to die right now you could not take one coin with you for it is useless and meaningless. What you can take is your knowledge, no one can take that away from you. What you have learned here will be with you forever while this... Metal... Is just a fleeting moment in time. You may be able to purchase comfort with it but you can never purchase happiness, only distractions."

Shadow dwelled on what he had just said and stared down at her hands again while he walked off deeper into the chamber. It was true, you can not take it with you when you die but heavens above that has never stopped anyone from trying. Knowledge is worth infinitely more than any amount of gold... Looking out into the room she wondered why he had such a hoard if he believed that. Following him quickly she caught up with him "If you believe it is so worthless why DO you have so much of it?"

He never stopped or changed stride as he continued on his way "To the victors goes the spoils. Long ago I was at war with others quite often and took to collecting things like artwork, gold, silver and so on. All I did was have it piled in here as a measure of my accomplishments, proof of how many I had defeated, once upon a time I did put value on such things but that quickly wore off as anyone with any amount of sense realizes that money has no value, life does. For me that meant knowledge, the knowledge to crush anyone who got in my way or take whatever I wanted to further my own ends."

*Sigh* Eventually I had enough to fill this room and began to only take choice pieces like that statue, artwork that held value in its beauty. One can potentially enrich their lives with such things but in the end only knowledge matters for beauty itself is fleeting. I suppose you could also say all that well and truly matters is ones SOUL and again no amount of gold will improve a soul, instead it acts like a rot driving others to insane ends to hoard and protect it. Look at the nobles in Canterlot or any of the so called "wealthy" above, I doubt they have changed in millennia, eager to please those who have money and devilish towards others if it means getting more of it."

Stopping and turning to Shadow he gave her a long tired look "And for those who do not have enough of it... Well you are to blame and must serve your betters because if you do not have enough wealth you are lesser for it and must be kept far away and out of sight less it "dirty" them in some way. You are measured as a success or failure not by mind and spirit... But by this... Garbage..." A boot kicked coins away sending them skittering. "Bah... I will have you read more books on the problems caused by greed some other time. For now its time to get you ready for your trip. Follow."

Shadow quietly followed him out of the room and back up the stairs where a line of servants were waiting with hands grasping bags and other things. She had a strong feeling he kept that hoard as a silent reminder of something, what she did not know. Walking down the line of servants she collected the bags and other items offered including a longword and dagger which took her rather by surprise. No armor though. Dawning her equipment quickly Valkardian just beckoned for her to follow and led her to the portal room and through it to a foreign cave.

"You will be put to sleep for a time, when you awaken you are free to do as you wish so long as you do not cause me problems now or in the future. The pouch on your side has sufficient funds to see you through your vacation, when your time is up I will recall you here along with everything you have on your person or in these two bags. A crystal is in one pouch that tells you how long you have left, be ready in advance to leave because I am not sending you back for anything. Your destination is a little village on the surface that is out of the way, consider it a reward for killing the chieftain. You have two weeks to yourself. You can request a faster recall by using the crystal in the box in your backpack marked with a star. Questions?"

She was going back to the surface? He really trusted her not to run away or did he have something planted on her? Object? Spell? "I could try and run off..."

"You could try but you know full well I will come and GET you if I have too, running to anyone and telling them will only make matters worse for yourself in the long run. You are still my prisoner Shadow. Besides I doubt you will run off to tell Celestia anyway."

So now she was just a prisoner not a slave... That was a marked improvement. He was also right about fleeing to Canterlot for protection, she wanted nothing to do with the rulers of Equestria let alone the city and its stuck up inhabitants. A faint fear climbed her back at what might happen not at Valkardians hands but Celestia's if she got her hands on her, who would be worse? The one below who could care less or the one above who is trying to keep the truth buried? Her eyes darted to Valkardian who had a small grin on his face, is was as if he knew what she just realized.

"I am ready, but what is the name of the place I am going?"

"A coastal village called Brightflower. Population 540. Enjoy your stay." His hands began moving and Shadow felt herself drift off into a deep slumber as servants caught her before she collapsed on the floor.

She was out cold and would stay that way for a couple of hours, long enough to deposit her and be off. Another spell morphed his form into that of a middle aged white unicorn stallion with a long gray mane. Lifting Shadow up magically he teleported a short distance to the outside world amongst some trees and began the trek into the village. She would never know just how close some of his portals were to the surface.

Light was coming through the window as her eyes slowly opened and oh how it burned. Shadow covered her eyes from the suns glare and sat up in bed grumbling. Her eyes had become accustomed to the eerie gloom of the caves and magical lighting over the past two years and now being suddenly bombarded by the bright rays made her eyes water and sting. Still, she had two weeks to enjoy herself before going back down which she had to admit was quite the surprise and she had to admit rather inconceivable that he would make such a gesture.

Sliding off the bed and drawing the shades Shadow began to look around the room. It was a very nice room with a large bed and her bags were neatly set off to one side along with her sword, dagger and money pouch. Her amulet was wrapped around the handle of the sword, she recalled Valkardian had removed it from her neck during the rush to get her ready to go... So it would anypony from putting her to sleep magically... Handy. Putting it back on she had to admit it made her feel a great deal safer not that the ponies of this village would be a threat or ponies in general.

Strapping on her sword and dagger Shadow spied a paper magically "stapled" to the door, it was hard to miss with its flaring red glow. He did not want her to miss this paper whatever it said. Pulling it down it reminded her of the details and that she had two weeks paid stay at the inn, room #12. Keys were on the nightstand... She folded it up and tucked it into her pocket and quickly headed walked into the hallway. It had been two years and there were things she wanted to do and see and she was not going to waste any time.

Hurrying she made it to a set of stairs at the end of the hall and down below into the inn itself where a single yellow mare worked the desk reading a paper. Approaching her the mare looked up and smiled "Morning! Anything I can help you with?" Shadow thought about it a moment "Breakfast?" The mare looked at her strangely for a moment before pointing to another door "Breakfast is being served right now, that door leads to the attached kitchen and dining room."

Shadow thanked her and walked through the doors into the mostly deserted room. Only three others were present and they did not even bother to look up from their eating. A short stallion spotted her from behind a counter and brightened up immediately "Breakfast? Drink? Both?" Taking a set away from the others and with her back to the wall she simply nodded at him as he brought a menu over. "Just call when your ready to order." He walked off and into the kitchen where a hushed conversation made its way to her ears.

Right now she could care less, flipping open the menu was a shock for her. A diet consisting of mushrooms and other cave things for two years made things like flowers, salads, fruit, oats and other breakfast items sound like a foreign luxury. Checking her pouch she found it was more than loaded with gold bits of all demoninations she would ever need. As to how Valkardian got his hands on these considering all he had below were more ANCIENT coins... Well she didnt want to know what bank or mint he had knocked off to furnish her with such a wealth of brand new bits. Maybe he just traded in something for them?

The menu was more important right now and picking out a few small items she called for the waiter. He poked his head out and looked at her oddly for a moment as she beckoned him over. What a grand breakfast this would be too as she read off what she wanted one item at a time while he just stared at her with the most peculiar look on his face. Indeed the cook and the other customers were also staring at her and the mare at the desk in the other room was even poking her head through the door to stare.

Eyes scanning the others Shadow finally turned back to the waiter. "Well?" He kept staring at her for a minute fidgeting before finally speaking "Uhh... Could you say that again?" He pointed to items on the menu and Shadow growled at him and began pointing out what she wanted and repeated herself again. The waiter quickly jotted it down and took off quickly while she began to stare at her onlookers again. "What?!" Her voice was sharp and clear causing the other patrons jump and look away and go back to eating quickly.

Looking at the mare peaking around the door at her Shadow just eyed her with a quiet glare until she entered the room and walked over. "Mind if I sit?" The mare was worried and Shadow just beckoned at her and watched as the yellow pony sat down across from her. "Uhm, I have to ask because the stallion who brought you in last night spoke clearly but do you... Speak Equus?"

Shadow sat upright and raised an eyebrow at this. Of course she did! She had been speaking perfectly clear this whole time! "Yes of course I do!" Nodding at the other mare who looked worriedly at her "Well you might want to speak it because we dont have a clue what your saying..."

This little proclamation struck her hard. Had that bastard put a spell on her? No... Wait... Realization hit when she remembered that part of her Krethe lessons was to quit speaking in Equus and replace every word including in her writing. She had completely forgotten that minor detail for a year and now it was biting her in the flank. Struggling to remember she quickly belted out the first things that came to mind "Ah, yes... Uhm, I forgot for a minute..."

The other mare just smiled at her "Thats alright, you must be from a long way off if Equus is not your native language... Where are you from?" This situation was getting more peculiar by the minute and Shadow began to realize that unless she did something fast it would only get worse. "I have been exploring for years now but I am from Equestria, just got used to not speaking it... Ever..."

"Well my name is Lilac, what brings you back? I bet you have stories to tell!"

Oh how true that was. Leaning back and eyeing the eagerly waiting mare she decided to err on the side of caution and just give snippets starting from when she left to finding the upper level caves without giving anything away. Breakfast arrived and turning the tables Shadow asked Lilac about how things in Equestria had changed while she had been gone for years and to not leave out details. She regretting it to a degree but it worked as Lilac drolled on and on about Changeling invasions, Crystal empire and the list wore on and on into mundane pointless details that would bore anypony to death but being a polite pony she listened and nodded along anyway.