The Ruby Magician

John shrugged off his backpack and set it on the ground by the desk. The items they brought for trade weren’t heavy, but he wanted to carefully place them out on the desk for the guild official to register them. Cedric stood by but only half watched, instead focusing on flipping through one of their large tomes of items for sale to see if anything stood out.

John gently placed a pair of black slippers, a set of metal bracers, a short sword, and a large, two handed axe. They were all simple and basic, showing their unidentified state. And they all gave off a blue aura showing their higher rarity.

The attendant, a woman with a large smile plastered on her face, folded her hands on the desk in front of the items. “What a great haul you have! Are you wanting to register them unidentified or identified?” She didn’t have to yell, thankfully, despite there being plenty of conversational noise behind them.

The group already agreed on their decision for the items. They had sold over a dozen items from last week for coins to help pay for Wyn’s debts and kept nearly all of the blue rarity items unidentified. The only one they identified was a broadsword that a particular merchant wanted identified first, but he paid nearly 700 gold for it alone. For these items to trade, they decided to keep them in their unidentified state as Marcy and Cedric said that it would be easier to find gamblers in the early season. Too much competition was out for items that would be especially helpful once the season started, like water elemental gear or poison resistant gear for the second floor.

“Unidentified, please,” John said. He slyly looked over and saw Cedric deep into a page about staves for Tasha. A casual stretch here and movement there while the woman wrote down their items let John take out the Rotting Bone Dagger and Helm of the Beetle without Cedric seeing. He appreciated the dagger’s help on the second floor, but wanted a good trade for it instead. Hopefully someone else would find it useful. “And please add these to the list. Both identified.” John slipped a folded piece of parchment that had both of the item’s descriptions on them.

The woman grabbed the paper. “Excellent choice! A total of six items. Would you like to be notified when a potential trader is interested?”

“Yes, please,” Cedric said.

“Fantastic!” The woman handed a small piece of parchment to Cedric. “Here is your receipt of ownership. If you happen to find someone willing to trade without our assistance please present that to an attendant and we’ll help facilitate the trade. If someone is interested in yours, the receipt will glow and pulse a few times to get your attention. Thank you, and I hope you find some nice new gear!”

Cedric looked over at John and just smiled at him. “I hope we do, too. And it would be nice for all six of our items to help us get that gear.”

John smiled sheepishly. “I guess I wasn’t all that sneaky, after all.”

“No, you were not. But that’s alright. It’s a good idea and we don’t need them.”

John relaxed and put his backpack back on his shoulders. “Have you found anything in the ledger?”

Cedric returned his attention to the book but shook his head. “Not exactly. Tasha’s requests were… what’s the word?”

“Ridiculous? Restrictive?”

“Specific. I can’t be upset at that.”

“No, but she’ll be upset when we can’t find her needle in a haystack. How are we supposed to find a staff that can increase her mana pool, reduce mana consumption, and casts a useful Diamond Mage spell? No one’s going to part with a staff like that. Not for cheap, anyway.”

“Probably so. But we could look for something that isn’t a staff.” Cedric flipped the pages past the staves into another weapon category. Then he carefully started perusing the trading options.

John looked over to see the item category Cedric was reviewing. “Wands? You think she’ll go for using one?”

“I think she’ll use whatever type of weapon gives her those abilities, as that’s what she really wants,” Cedric said. “Mages can use scepters, staves, and wands, and she only gave us a list of effects, not of the weapon type.”

John chuckled and patted Cedric on the back. “Cedric, you sly man, you. I love the way you think! That’s genius.”

Cedric’s finger stopped on an item line. “Here’s something. Wand of Protection. Has two spells it can cast and helps with mana efficiency. The owner is a Warrior and is looking for an axe.”

John snapped his fingers. “That might be our guy! Okay, I’ll get the attendant. How about you look for me a nice helm and some better armor?”

Cedric returned to the book and flipped over to the helm section. John could look for his own armor, and that was way too broad to look for someone else. But before he got too far into the helms the receipt pulsed with a magical glow.

“That was fast,” Cedric said. The attendant was still talking to John, and they both looked over at him. He just held up the receipt.

“You must have a desired item!” The woman said. She took out a notebook and turned to a single page without needing to find anything else. “A trader is interested in your unidentified items.”

“Which ones?” John asked.

The woman smiled her big smile again. “All of them.”

John and Cedric exchanged a surprised look.

“Please follow me to locate the interested party, and please bring your items!” The woman lifted a portion of the desk and quickly walked out of it.

After John gathered their items they followed the woman to the more private area of the trading district where Cara liked to stay. She wasn’t anywhere to be found, though.

“Let me take the lead,” Cedric whispered. “If it doesn’t work, you can take the lead on the next one.”

John nodded as they kept following the woman. Their walk barely took any time as the attendant seemed to have only one speed - fast - and brought them to a table with three people sitting down, two women and one man, all mature in their 30’s or 40’s. John didn’t know for sure, he wasn’t great with determining age. They weren’t wearing any armor or stored weapons, but instead wore fine clothes with either silver or gold trim. They looked more like nobles than Climbers, and both John and Cedric knew they very well could be exactly that.

“Here you go,” the guild attendant said. “If you need anything else please don’t hesitate to ask!” She then bowed to both parties and briskly walked back to her station.

The seated people all stood and bowed, and John and Cedric did the same before they all took seats at the large table. There was plenty of space for sitting and presenting items.

“Thank you for coming so quickly,” one of the women said. She had short auburn hair and a pleasant face void of any jewelry. “We are trying to gather as many items as possible, and it was nice to see such a variety from one owner.”

The man’s smile faltered for a moment before he recovered and leaned over to the woman and whispered in her ear. Her face changed from concern to an obviously practiced smile.

John tried to hold back a smirk. He knew that exchange. She just offered up a free piece of information with how forthcoming she was and was chastised for it. The trio were more focused on the amount of items rather than specific types. No wonder they agreed to a trade so quickly. That gave him and Cedric leverage. He just hoped Cedric also caught it.

“Well, it’s our pleasure to accommodate,” the Lightning Wizard said with a smile. “We’re at a bit of a disadvantage though as we don’t know what items you are willing to trade. We have a select few we’re looking for but would be open to alternatives as well.”

Both Climbers had discussed beforehand the possibility of not finding their items at the trade district and agreed on possibly settling for what Cedric called a value trade. A value trade was where they traded up for their items instead of for an item they wanted in order to make a future trade easier. Cedric said it was a somewhat common practice for Climbers who enjoyed trading and spent a lot of their time exchanging gear. John agreed on the understanding that he was at a disadvantage not knowing the recent trends of magical effects, though he had a better background of most for magic items.

“That’s acceptable,” the auburn haired woman said, this time with a more professional tone. She reached into a small pouch and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Her fingers moved to unfold it before she stopped. “We have… a variety of items we are willing to trade. What is it you’re looking for?”

Cedric pulled out his own folded paper and put it on the table before sliding it over to the woman in a huff. Whoever these people were, they weren’t normal traders. They felt more like visiting nobles or wealthy merchants that followed more serious lines of trade rather than the casual banter of tourists. “That’s a list of gear and effects we’re interested in. If something on there matches what you have, we’re interested. If not, no hard feelings.”

“That’s not exactly following the standard of trade,” the other woman said. Her tone was a bit condescending, and she raised her eyebrows for emphasis.

Cedric raised what was left of his left shoulder. “I don’t quite have the means to open that paper without embarrassing myself, nor do I have the patience to go back and forth in formal trade rules. We’re Climbers, not merchants. If you don’t like it there’s plenty of people in here who’d be more than willing to sit down instead.”

John wanted to curse at Cedric under his breath or shoot him a look of frustration but he restrained himself. That was far too bold of a comment. Did he not like them or something? Or was he just a tough trader?

The woman leaned forward and started to speak but the man cut her off with a simple raising of his hand. She closed her mouth and straightened, rebuked like a trained dog.

“This is our place, not yours,” John said. If Cedric wanted to play the role of shrewd businessman, then he’d join. “Climbers, I mean. Not merchants. Obviously.” He immediately regretted opening his mouth. This was not his preferred method of conversation.

Cedric stared intently at the man but inwardly wanted to slap the Squire. Hopefully they wouldn’t be too offended.

“You are correct,” the man said. His voice was deep and rich like a bard’s. “We do not mean to offend.” He gently took the paper and looked it over. It took nearly a minute. “We can provide you with five items to match this list in an even trade. Four for the unidentified items and one for the already identified poison dagger.”

John started to say something but Cedric beat him to it. “The dagger is a high quality blue rarity. Closer to purple than green. But you want an even exchange for it?”

“For an exact match of the items on this list, yes. The unidentified items are a risk, which makes them a gamble. But we can provide you with what you need, which is a sure bet.”

Cedric looked at John with a questioning look. The man was not just confident, but obviously wealthy, too. Especially if he knew he had a stash of items that fit their demands without checking a ledger. The deal seemed fair enough to Cedric, but they weren’t his items. Two of them were John’s which made his the final say for the deal.

John took a deep breath. “I found a potential buyer for the unidentified axe. They were offering a Wand of Protection that would fit one of our group members well. You’re saying you have something just as good?”

The man smiled. “I do. Is it for the member named Tasha?” The man tapped the paper with his finger.

John nodded. “She’s a Mage and can only use staves, wands, or scepters.”

“I see. Then I will sweeten the deal, as it were. I have a similar wand, a Unicorn Horn, that improves mana use and has an effect she may like. It can grant the user wings for a limited time and heal people, as well. I’ll add in a green rarity ring to help with more mana efficiency if you agree to trade the axe to me.”

Cedric’s eyes rose in surprise but was too slow this time as John spoke first. “That sounds great! Warrior who, am I right?”

The man laughed in a hearty, broken laugh. It sounded like it belonged to someone twice his size with a giant gut rather than his slender frame. “I appreciate that. And as for the other items, tell me if they would be sufficient.” He held his hand out as though he was waiting on a server when the curt woman placed a sheet of paper and quill in his hand. The quill glowed while he wrote without ink, and it seemed enchanted to not need it. When he finished he slid the piece of paper across the table.

John picked it up and held it so both he and Cedric could read it together.

Spell Helm - A knight helm made from a magical metal that absorbs and stores magic. This helmet is able to store a tier 1 spell that can be used by the wearer. Spells last one day before vanishing. It provides moderate resistance to magic, improves overall eyesight, and will magically conform to the wearer’s head. Blue rarity. Part of the Energy set.

Energy Splint Mail - A set of splint mail that is able to absorb and store energy in the form of both physical and magical damage while reducing their damage potential by a moderate amount. The metal strips will glow with a red aura when energy is stored and will reflect damage on attackers by using the stored energy in a non-elemental magical effect. Blue rarity. Part of the Energy set.

Tidal Spear - A spear formed from a magical piece of water-infused metal. Once a day the user may use the spell Tidal Wave, a strong area of effect water spell. The wearer also uses less mana for all abilities. Blue rarity.

Hat of the Magi - A wizard’s hat that improves mana recovery by a less moderate amount and magical power by a small amount. It also protects the wearer’s head from both physical and magical damage. Blue rarity.

John looked over at Cedric who didn’t show any kind of particular emotion. The Wizard simply looked back at the man and nodded. “We accept the deal.”

The man clapped his hands together and smiled broadly. “Excellent! We will have the items for you here within the hour.” He turned to look at the auburn haired woman who just smiled and left the table.

“Thank you so much,” John said. “We’ll be sure to come back.”

“Would you like a drink or something to eat while we wait?”

“Thank you, but we have some business with the guild attendant first,” Cedric said. He moved to get up and John joined him. “But thank you again for the trade.”

The man sighed but nodded in agreement. “If you ever need anything else please ask for Antonio. I’ll be sure to review any unidentified items you have.”

The two Climbers left with Cedric leading the way.

“What’s with the rush?” John asked. “That deal is almost too good to be true! We should at least celebrate!”

Cedric shook his head. “I have a bad feeling about him. The less we deal with him the better. If the items pan out, then great. But I say we move on and don’t look back.”

John looked back over his shoulder and saw the man and woman watching them as they left. He didn’t have the same feeling as Cedric before, but now that he thought about it something did feel off about them. He didn’t know what, but he didn’t want to find out, either. The best mysteries, to him, were inside Alistair. Those on the outside weren’t worth figuring out. If Cedric had a bad feeling, then he trusted him.

“Fair enough,” John said. “Let’s just get the items and get back. Hopefully Wyn and Tasha will like them. That helmet and armor piece looked incredible!”

“A little too good if you ask me,” Cedric said. “Especially for two pieces in a set. I’d rather not learn how he got them. And did you see how quickly he was able to find the exact items we’re looking for? He must have some serious backing or a ridiculous pile of gear from the tower.”

“Then why was he wanting more items?”

“He was wanting unidentified items. A big difference. Either a buyer wanted the gamble or something else. Like I said, I really don’t want to find out what.”

“So we just wait an hour then? Standing around awkwardly?”

Cedric stopped and shrugged, though the effect looked strange with only one arm. “Do you want to go and make small talk with the mysterious man? You might be, but I’m not here to make friends. As far as I’m concerned, we trade, we don’t ask questions, we move on. Sometimes it’s best to not know everything.”

John scoffed but relented. “Yea, alright. I trust you.” He looked around at the various groups of Climbers, all conversing with passion trying to find a deal. The intense atmosphere was growing by the minute. “Would you want to look through the ledger while we wait? We might find something good.”

Cedric tilted his head side to side. “You know, what else are we going to do? Sure. Maybe you can find a trade for your insect helm.”

“Surely someone out there would want it. It’s better than no magical helmet, after all! Right? Cedric?”

Cedric paused, a sly smile forming on his lips. “If you can trade that helm for a magic item that’s the least bit useful, something a common Climber wouldn’t turn away, then I’ll give you 100 crowns. You have one hour.”

John’s mouth widened in an equally sly smile before he sprinted to the counter and ripped open the massive item ledger. He was on a mission. One worth one magic item and 100 crowns.