After taking the buggy out for a spin, the trio pulled back through the gates of Spargus to find Damas waiting for them. "I see the vehicle skills you spoke of were no empty boast," he proclaimed with a wide grin.
"Nothing we spoke of was empty boast," Jak stated quickly as he hopped out of the buggy.
"Including your control of the Dark Eco inside you," Damas chided. "Kleiver tells me you assaulted him completely unprovoked and stole a buggy."
"Now that's a down and dirty lie!" Daxter snapped. "Geez, it's like dealing with Krew all over again!"
"I know it's a lie," Damas interrupted. "I have trusted eyes everywhere. I reminded Kleiver that life gambling is outlawed in Spargus, and that as all three of you are under a bond of life-debt until you have proven yourselves full fledged citizens of Spargus, those rules apply to all three of you." Damas grinned widely. "I felt that also served as the reminder that there is nothing that happens in my city to which I am blind."
Shining chuckled as he imagined Kleiver's face when that happened. "Nice!"
"I do need him to keep the city running smoothly, however," Damas quickly interjected. "So don't go out of your way to pick fights with him."
"Will do," Jak agreed readily.
"To the matter at hand," Damas continued. "There are a number of artifacts to be found in the Wasteland, relics of a bygone age. Fresh storms churn the sands and reveal these relics. As a storm has just passed, I need you to head out into the desert and find as many artifacts as you can before the next storm arrives."
"Understood!" Shining confirmed as the trio leapt back into the vehicle and gunned the engine, preparing to shoot back out through the gate.
"One more thing!" Damas called, a hint of worry slipping into his voice. "If you are caught out in the storms, they will tear the flesh from your very bones."
"Oh, great," Daxter groaned. "Thanks for the pep talk."
"It's alright, Daxter," Jak replied easily. "We just won't get caught."
Damas couldn't help but chuckle as the trio shot out the gate. "...he's mine, alright," he murmured, his voice barely loud enough to reach his own ears, let alone anyone else's.
Jak threw caution to the winds as he drove as fast as the buggy could go, following his radar to collect the artifacts that showed up on his map, refusing to waste a moment. Several other buggies were out, more well armed and equipped than Jak's own, actively hunting him down...but despite their better equipment, Jak was a far better driver, able to almost literally drive circles around them. Between that, Shining's spot shields, and Daxter finding a way to brace himself so he could blast away with his Light Eco, the other drivers proved little to no challenge for the trio working together.
With their combined efforts, the trio were able to retrieve all 12 artifacts exposed and return to the city's gates in just under four minutes, just ahead of the storm.
Damas let out a quiet sigh of relief as the trio leapt out the front of their buggy as they parked. "Good work. That was...close."
"Put these to good use," Jak replied, handing over the artifacts they'd collected.
"I can put these two to use immediately," Damas mentioned, unlocking two of the artifact capsules. "This armor is very rare indeed," he indicated, holding up two wrist bracers. "According to Pecker's information, they're part of the very set Mar himself wore in his battles for this planet, long ago. I think it only appropriate you wear it now, Jak."
Nodding, Jak affixed the bracers to his arms. "They feel like they were made for me."
"Depending on which Mar Pecker's talking about, they might well have been," Shining teased.
"And I think these may well have been made for you, Shining Armor," Damas continued, pulling out four greave-like bracers. "Precursor alloy, reshaped by Dark Eco and cleansed in Red, Blue, and Yellow Eco...shaped to your limbs. No one else will be able to use them, so you'd best put them to good use."
Shining stared in awe as he affixed the interlocking brown plates of metal to his limbs, marveling as they bent with his movements, like a second skin. "...Gol and Maia?" Shining suggested, stunned. "And the other sages? Left behind for me?"
"Can't think of any other explanation," Daxter agreed. "Guess they wanted you to be well equipped when this time came up."
Shining smiled, wiping away a tear as he braced himself for whatever would come.
"By the way, Seem wants to talk to you," Damas explained.
"Who?" Jak asked, confused.
"The leader of the Secret Keepers," Damas continued. "Monks, dedicated to protecting the world from the more dangerous Precursor Relics, especially those crafted by Dark Eco."
"Oh, her!" Daxter proclaimed happily. "...or is it him? It's kind of hard to tell."
"Seem won't care what pronoun you use," Damas explained. "The leader of the Secret Keepers discards all personal identifiers when they achieve the rank. Age, gender, even name. 'Seem' is more a title. It's symbolic of the dedication to the world above the self." He shivered. "Gives me the willies, personally."
"You and me both," Daxter agreed.
"...huh," Shining replied. "That's...different."
"I won't hold it against them," Jak offered, shrugging his shoulders. "I can respect dedication."
"Them?" Damas asked, confused.
"If that much is discarded to become 'Seem', then Seem is supposed to represent every leader of the order, past and future," Jak pointed out. "At least, that's how I interpret it."
"Huh," Damas murmured as the trio made their way into the city to look for Seem. "...not a bad way to think about it."