The Land: Catacombs (Chaos Seeds Book 4) (20 page)

“My father thought you might want this,” Abbas said with a faint smile.  “He acquired it specially for you.  It’s a mapping ring.  Not everyone in the Guild of Traveler’s has their own map.  To prove their loyalty, many will apprentice under a known Traveler.  They are given a ring like this.  It records whatever the apprentice sees and puts the information on the master map.  Some Traveler had the bright idea of wearing the rings even if you already had a Map.  Established guild members started to trade rings so that what one of them learned, the other could learn as well.  They started making rings with a better range than the apprentice rings, which only worked within one hundred miles of the Traveler’s Map.  This initiate ring will work up to two hundred miles away.”

Richter smiled.  An item like this could be invaluable.  Not only would it allow him to update his Map faster, but it would also let him find whoever had the ring on them.  If Terrod had been wearing this ring when Sonirae had kidnapped him, then Richter would have been able to hone right in on his location. 

While he was thinking about the possibilities of the ring, the strange scent reached his nose again.  He glanced over and saw that the last two items the brothers had laid on the table had gold lettering on their prompts.  Despite his fascination with the Mapping Ring, he gave the new objects his full attention.

You have found:
Blood of Aged Glass Dragon
.  Durability 6968/6973.  Item Class: Epic.  Quality: Exquisite.  Weight: 8.7 kg.  Traits: ???

You have found:
Soul Stone of Cloud Giant
.  Durability 45/46.  Item Class: Epic.  Stone Level: Resplendent.  Weight: 0.4 kg. 

The high-level soul stone was obviously useful, but the scent was somehow coming off of the “blood.”  Richter only thought of it as such because of the prompt provided.  The bottle that contained the liquid was about the size of his old one liter Nalgene.  The blood was completely clear and it was thick, moving like honey when he tilted the bottle.  Richter held it up to the sunlight and saw that the blood made a rainbow of vibrant color on the table they were sitting at, just like his old glass knife.  He brought it close to his face on the pretense that he was looking at it more closely, but in actuality he was breathing deeply of the wonderful scent that was somehow coming off of it.  He
wanted
this.

Richter didn’t want to overplay his hand though.  He put the bottle back down and looked at the soul stone closely.  He “oohed” and “aahed” and made sure that he held it longer than he had looked at the dragon blood.  For good measure, he looked over the box of arrowheads and the ring again.  He was actually just wasting time during his perusal since he desperately wanted both of the items.  He did see one interesting thing, though. 

The crafter of the sleep arrow had come up with a clever design.  The arrow was a broadhead that had a glass vial behind the initial metal point.  The tip of the vial was packed with tightly wadded cotton.  It was easy to see how, on impact, the force of the strike would both crush the vial and push the cotton into the mold.  The combined result would be to release the spores in a cloud.  Despite his minor fascination with the device, he kept up his perusal much longer than necessary.  He only stopped when he heard Abbas ask, “Have you seen anything that you like, my lord?”

“Perhaps,” he replied nonchalantly.  “I don’t suppose that these are gifts as well?”

“All things are gifts from the divine, my lord.” Abbas responded with all seriousness.  Then a twinkle rose in his eyes. “These
particular
divine gifts require monetary compensation, however.”  Richter smiled in return.  Then his smile faded as Abbas started outlining the exact prices. 

“The Book of Slow and Fireball sell for eight gold six silver two coppers and seventy-seven gold four coppers respectively.”

“SEVENTY-SEVEN gold?” Richter asked incredulously.  “Are you going to dip it in gold first?  Cuz if so, just keep that gold and charge me less!”

Abbas’s face now looked like he was wildly sympathetic.  “I understand, my Lord Richter.  You must understand what goes into making these spell books, however.  Only a magician who both knows the spells and has a high ability in either Enchanting or Scribing can make a spell book alone.  A mage working with a sufficiently skilled enchanter could also make a spell book, but the process takes substantially longer, and of course the price for two skilled individuals working for long periods of time increases the price as well.  Once a book is made there are other options to make more, but the amount of each book in circulation is understandably curtailed by various agencies.  The general rule of thumb is that from skill level one to ten, a spell costs one gold per level if you learn it from a Master.  Because of the specialized labor to make a spell book, and the cost of materials, the cost of a spell book will be a minimum of 1.5 times as much as learning the spell directly.  If you also factor in the difficulty of bringing such items to a distant locale such as this, I am sure you will agree that the price is reasonable.”

Richter didn’t like what he was hearing, but he understood Abbas’s reasoning.  Magic had the potential to make a physically weak person into a virtual powerhouse.  What the trader was asking was a large amount of money, but how much was it truly worth to be able to wield such a powerful spell for the rest of your life?  He had some questions first though.  The first of which was, “What materials go into making a spell book?” 

With his enchantment skill on the rise, he might be able to sell his own spells.  The scribes in the village could help with that.  Just like he wanted Krom and other noncombatants to go on hunts, if he were able to power level the scribes, then they could increase their Copy Talent to make more spell books.  Hello, new trade good!  It sounded like the various groups in Yves that made spell books were sitting on a shared monopoly.  It would be his absolute pleasure to break that monopoly.  The nobles or merchants might not like it, but as Sun Tzu said, “Fuck ’em!” 

“The materials are not rare,” Abbas answered, “but neither are they readily available to most people.  The main materials outside of knowing the spell are to have powdered crystals, quality ink, and a higher quality book.  More may be required, especially for higher level spells.  The quality of the materials also influences how likely it is for you to be able to learn the spell.  For lower level spells, if your affinity is good, the likelihood is usually 100% or close to it, independent of the quality level.  Believe me when I tell you, my lord, that you will want a higher quality spell book if you learn anything above Initiate level.  There is no point in spending hundreds of gold to buy a spell book only to have its low quality give you only a 50% chance of actually learning the spell.  The book turns to ash either way.”

“Well that’s a hell of a sales pitch,” Richter grumbled.  “How much are you selling the rest for?”

“First, let me say that I see the prices I have quoted have given you pause.  I would never want such a valued trading partner as yourself to feel unhappy with a transaction.  Your happiness is my primary concern.”

Richter just looked back at him and said, “Uh huh.”

“I am sure that it is in the best interest of all of us to have a profitable and long-term relationship.  Neither one of us are so shortsighted as to place momentary gains over our new friendship, I am sure you would agree, Abbas,” Basil said.

With a faint smile, Abbas continued, “As I was saying, I must humbly apologize for any misunderstanding.  Those prices would be for the average consumer, my lord, not for someone such as you.  You are now a Friend of our company and will receive a 10% discount.  I also respect your skill as a trader, as well as Basil’s, and so will take off another 16%.  With that factored in, the Book of Slow I would sell for six gold, five silver, and five coppers.  The Book of Fireball I could let go of for fifty-eight gold, five silver, and five coppers.  Will that be more acceptable?”

Richter nodded slowly.  He didn’t think that Hafiz’s sons would be giving up gold out of the kindness of their hearts.  His skill rank in Trading would get him a 6.5% price reduction.  The fact that he was being offered a 16% reduction probably meant that Basil’s Trade skill was level thirty-two.  Richter resolved to find out exactly what Basil’s skill level was later, but right now he was just thankful he had asked the man to stay.

The reduction in prices was just another way that the Universe bent events to fit the peculiar rules of The Land.  He wondered how Abbas’s own trading bonus factored in, but figured it must just be worked into an initial markup.  It irked him that he knew Abbas’s trade bonus must be at least 24.5% since the man was at least a journeyman in Trading. 

Despite the fact that he was sure he was getting a pretty raw deal, Richter also knew that his access to items like this was extremely limited, at least until his boat was completed.  He decided to just take the discount.  Besides, he still had a few tricks up his sleeve.  “That does sound better.  Why don’t you tell me about the other pieces?”

“Well I saw you examining the arrowheads, my lord.  They are all made of high steel, so the base damage of each shot will be increased by one.  The true value of course has more to do with their special abilities.  My father remembered the interest you paid to the arrowheads you bought in his shop, so made a special effort to procure these items.  In Yves, each arrowhead ranges in cost from one to three gold, but I could part with the entire box for thirty-two gold.”

Richter ground his teeth at the markup, but knew there was nothing for it so he simply asked, “So that would be twenty-four gold and three silvers with the discount, right?”

“And two coppers, my lord,” Abbas corrected smoothly.  “Of course, the other items are more valuable and so unfortunately, the price must reflect that.  I truly wish it wasn’t so.  Despite the cost, these items are definitely reserved for the more discerning of customers.  The Bottle of Royal Jelly is two hundred and eighty-two gold.  The banshee scream is worth ninety-five gold, eight silvers, and the Mapping Ring I could sell for another one hundred and thirty gold.”

Richter wasn’t sure about the price of the bottles, but he was a bit surprised at the cost of the ring.  “One hundred thirty, you say?”

Abbas mistook the nature of Richter’s question. “I assure you that is a good price, my lord.  The Traveler’s guild itself is the only group in the River Peninsula with the knowledge to make these.  I believe that you could find it very useful.”

Richter nodded, but then responded, “It is an item of very specialized use, isn’t it?  If it requires a Map to work, I imagine that there aren’t many who could benefit from such an object.  I wouldn’t mind helping you sell it for say, seventy gold.  Before my discount, of course.”

Abbas’s expression didn’t waver. “It is true that there are not many who are blessed to have such a Map, but as the Lady says, blessings should be shared.  Would you begrudge a poor trader who traveled so far to share the blessing of his ring?  Not when I could give it to you for a mere one hundred and five gold.”

“Of course not,” Richter said sympathetically.  “It must have been a heavy weight indeed to carry a ring so far.  We are always sympathetic.  That is why I would never dream of making you carry so much heavy
gold
.  I would worry for your back.  Seeing how strong your brothers are, though, I believe they could manage carrying thirty gold each.  Why don’t we agree on ninety gold and then I won’t have to worry over your health!”

Abbas’s lips twitched in a slight grin. “Your concern is touching, Lord Richter.  How could I say no to such a caring and generous host?  Ninety gold it is.”

Richter nodded with a smile and gestured to the last two items.  Abbas resumed his price recitation, “Know that these last two items are truly rare.  The blood of the crystal dragon and the resplendent soul stone are extremely difficult to come by, Lord Richter.  I could not give away the stone for less than six hundred and fifty gold, and the blood is eight hundred and twenty.”

Richter choked on the water he was drinking.  His throat burned as the liquid went down the wrong pipe.  “I’m sorry, I was just hallucinating.  I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot reduce my price on these items at all, I am afraid.  When an item is as difficult to procure as these, then the price of the item is equally difficult to endure.  It is a consequence as immutable as when something is dropped that it falls to the ground.”

“Gravity,” Richter said sourly.

“I do not know that phrase, Lord Richter.”

Richter opened his mouth to explain, but then said, “Forget about it.”  It really wasn’t the time to get into Newtonian physics.  Especially seeing as how Newton’s ideas fell short of explaining gravity on a stellar scale anyway… and also because seeing something like a crystal dragon would probably have made Newton poop his shorts.  What mattered, was that he knew he wasn’t going to leave this negotiation without the dragon blood, but there was no reason to let Abbas know that. 

“I get that this dragon blood is hard to acquire, but I’m not really interested in being a collector for collecting’s sake.  What does it do?”

“Well, the properties are unknown, sire.  At least to myself and my brothers.  There are stories of incredible potions and items that have been made from such blood, however.  If anyone were to discover its hidden potential, I am sure it would be you, my lord.  After all, you have already accomplished such wonders.”  Abbas looked over to the left, where the Forge of Heavens could be seen on a small nearby hill.