Chapter 169: The Broker (Two) (1/2)

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 café. 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.”