Touch of Fate

Chapter 169: The Broker (Two)

The librarian returned in short order with two tomes. The first was bound in bronze, and seemed to be written upon thin sheets of grayish metal. The shiny black writing had been done through some means that Mike had difficulty determining, but seemed to prevent fading. He briefly wondered if it had been made with magic. This was clearly a book meant to last for a long time.

Much as the Broker explained, this tome, simply entitled 'A Study in Light,' covered advanced and frankly impenetrable theory on the relationship between the opposed elements. The author seemed to think that they were merely two sides of the same coin, and with a sufficient understanding, could be used interchangeably.

The second was a collection of slightly burnt parchment that had a single band of leather running through one corner. Judging from the state of the pages, they had been torn from a book at some point in the past.

Perhaps seeing Mike's confused look, the Broker launched into an explanation. "We acquired this piece from a less than reputable source. He was disinclined to explain their precise origin, but hinted that the book these pages were torn from was too heavily protected. Procuring these alone had nearly cost him his life."

[Well that's not ominous.] Mike thought while looking through them.

They seemed to be part of some kind of encyclopedia of spells, as each page had a few chants followed by a brief description of how to pronounce them correctly. It contained 17 individual spells. The first twelve were dedicated to Earth Magic while the last five focused on Fire Magic. Judging from the complexity of the spells, they ranged from Tier 1 to Tier 3. If his guesses were right, the complete work would be of incalculable value to him.

"Is there any chance I could get in contact with the supplier? I would be very interested to learn where he acquired these." Mike asked, daring to hope.

"I'm afraid that particular supplier disappeared shortly after selling. According to eye witness accounts, he simply vanished in a puff of yellow smoke while in the midst of eating lunch at a caf. Quite peculiar, don't you think?" The Broker replied with the barest hint of humor entering his somber demeanor.

"Indeed." Mike commented while adding the pages to the rest of his stack. He thought better about inquiring further. "Alright, I would like to purchase these."

The Broker eyed the books he'd selected, seemingly doing some mental arithmetic. "An excellent choice. The total comes to 18,972 golden wrens, and 14 silver spears. Will you be paying in cash, bill of exchange, or trade?"

Gagging internally at the price, Mike took a moment to guess how much money he had available. Thanks to Wendel's stash, he was pretty sure he could afford the purchase, but it would exhaust most of his wealth. As much as he didn't particularly care about or need the money, the idea of spending it all at this juncture grated at him in a way that was hard to describe.

[Seriously. How do they get away with charging so much for books? This is practically robbery.] He thought to himself while pulling out his sack, fully intending to pay regardless. However, one of the Broker's words caught his attention.

"What sort of trade do you accept?"

"Our organization can accept virtually any item of value in lieu of payment in currency. However, their value here will depend greatly on their use to us. I can offer a complementary appraisal, should you have something you wish to offer as payment."

[Hm. How much should I reveal? I don't know enough about the commodity market to really guess what might be an issue. I'm getting really tired of always hiding what I can do....You know what? Screw it. I'm getting myself some books, and I'll deal with the consequences later. What's the point of developing all these abilities if I have to constantly hold myself back.]

Mike pulled out three vials of Low-Grade Panacea, which left him one in his inventory he was saving for an emergency. "How bout for these?"

The Broker eyed the vials, and took a moment to carefully investigate each. "A Low-Grade Panacea. Valuable, but not priceless. I value them at 1,500 golden wrens apiece, although I believe you may get more for them from specialized dealers."

Considering the ease with which he could make more, Mike wasn't too concerned about maximizing his profits, so he had no problem adding them to the exchange. The issue now was trying to figure out what else to sell. He figured that the Wyrm materials he'd picked up when he first found Audra's egg might be quite valuable, but he was hesitant to sell them. Some instinct told him that they'd be more useful as crafting ingredients.

With a sudden epiphany, Mike pulled out his Scroll of Lantern Light. "How much would you offer for a scroll of a unique spell?"

The Broker's eyebrow twitched, and he began looking over the proffered piece of paper. "This looks to have been done by a novice with no clue how to properly make a scroll. The materials are so cheap, it's a wonder anyone even bothered using them in an attempt to make a Tier 2 scroll. The spell itself seems useful, but is hardly revolutionary. Assuming your claims of originality are true, I would value it at 2,000 golden wrens with an exclusivity clause, or 50 without."

Mike frowned. That was a pretty steep difference, and he could guess as to the nature of the 'exclusivity clause,' but wondered how they would enforce such a thing. Finally, he had another idea. "Tell me, what kind of scroll would be intrinsically valuable to you?"

"Ones that contain potent spells, especially if they originate from the rarer magic skills." The Broker answered disinterestedly.

"And what sort of confidentiality can I expect as a client of yours?"

"One of the founding principles of our organization is that the client's information is to be held in the strictest confidence." The Broker spoke with confidence.

[I could really use some kind of lie detecting skill.]

"What about your supplier? The one that vanished in a puff of smoke, as you put it. You didn't have any compunction about sharing his details."

The stony faced man gave a slight grin. "There is quite a bit of difference between a client and a thief who was looking to sell his stolen goods."

"Alright, then please bear with me for a moment." Mike replied while breaking out his Scrivening tools, earning a cocked eyebrow from the old man.

Concentrating, he directed mana into his pen while willing his Communication Magic to serve as the bridge for what he was attempting. He recalled the words of the spell he'd used during the Tennundian Attack, and after a few moments of uncertainty, began translating them into runes.

They took on an unusual and complex appearance, swirling and weaving in intricate patterns that demanded the entirety of his attention. Blending three different varieties of Elemental Magic together was hard enough while casting, but this felt like he was trying to carve elaborate poetry into solid rock with a plastic spoon.

He could feel the spell struggling to take shape in the paper, but it was somehow limited by impurities in the ink. Fearing that he might fail should this continue, he concentrated his mana on the ink itself, exercising his will.

For a brief moment, he thought he could understand the structure of the fluid, and the way it was subtly altered by the Scrivening process, turning simple colored water into something that could serve as a conduit for magic itself. After a few moments, he thought he understood what he needed to do. Reaching out with his will, he adjusted the ink, somehow.

He felt an intense drain on his mana, as the ink slowly increasing in potency. It quickly became a battle of endurance as he tried to complete his work before his reserves were depleted.

After what seemed like hours, he finally finished, setting down the pen with shaking hands while appraising the results.

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{Scroll of Mists of Cleansing}

Magic Item (Tier 3, Rank 3)

A scroll of the Mists of Cleansing spell. It creates a healing mist which can cure living beings of illness and poison, while treating their injuries. Due to the inferiority of the materials used during the Scrivening process, the Rank has been reduced from 5 to reflect the loss of potency.

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[Not bad, but it could be better. I apparently need to find myself some better materials soon.]

The Broker was watching him with raised eyebrows in a manner than could be taken for surprise. At Mike's insistence, he looked over the newly crafted scroll. "The craftsmanship is still imperfect and the materials are still cheap, but steps have been taken to mitigate both issues. Knowledge of the spell itself would be priceless except that it would require a Tier 3 elemental mage with the right combination of skills to even make use of it. As such, a scroll of such a spell would command a hefty price from the right people. I value it at 11,000 golden wrens. Is this also a unique spell?"

Mike nodded, still feeling a little too wiped out to answer. Thankfully his regeneration was quickly replenishing his stamina and mana.

"I see. I cannot offer a value for exclusivity rights, due to the difficulty we would face in replicating this spell. However, I can say with some degree of confidence, that our organization would be willing to purchase any similar products when available."

"I'll keep that in mind. Do you trade in anything besides books?" Mike asked, wondering if this might be the solution to his shopping needs.

"Our organization deals in all things of value. However, this humble store focuses upon the most valuable commodity. Should you wish to employ our services in other areas, we can direct you to the appropriate places. You merely need to contact us, and we will provide a guide."

"And how do I do that?"

"Simply leave a note at the desk of the Adventurer's Guild addressed to the Merchant of Silver, and we will approach you. Now, regarding our current deal, I believe that we can offer a discount to celebrate our future business. We are willing to part with these," He gestured to the stack of books, "in exchange for this scroll. Is that agreeable?"

Mike nodded. He suspected that there might be more to this deal than meets the eye, but he couldn't help but feel that it was too good to pass up. Perhaps they really were attempting to establish good relations with him. Still, it would hurt to keep some of his cards close to the chest. He would avoid bringing anything too groundbreaking with him next time.

"That is fine with me."

"Very good. I look forward to doing business with you in the future Mr. Rasmussen." The Broker shook his hand, stood and left, taking the scroll with him.

He placed his purchases in the extradimensional sack, along with the items he'd ended up not needing to sell, and followed the muscular doorman out once more.

Standing in the trash strewn alley, Mike release a deep breath he didn't know he was holding. In retrospect this had been something of a gamble, regardless of what information Selene was able to dig up on them. Thankfully, they lived up to their reputation. He doubted that such an organization would be willing to make an enemy out of him, but decided to get his vampire familiar to keep an eye on them.

Just in case.

A sudden thought struck him. [Wait, did I ever tell them my name?]