22 Iron Clad (1/2)

The thrill of discovery one experiences when they find something worthwhile from a market sale or thrift shop was upon me because I knew I'd found a genuine diamond in the rough.

”You want that?” Kallista asked, her brow creasing. ”But it is nothing. Junk we've forgotten to throw away.”

”Huh?” I glanced over to her with surprise in my eyes. Did she not know how amazing this find was? Or was she playing me to get more out of it? ”You realize this is pure iron, right?”

”I know that,” Kallista shrugged. ”However, no shadowblade core will work with an iron forged arcane focus...”

”That means it's worthless,” Luca agreed.

But I couldn't let it go. No one would make something like this if there wasn't a purpose for it. There must be some kind of trick to it, and I was determined to figure it out.

”Who made this?” I asked.

Kallista's smile returned after she noticed how important this seemed to me. She answered, ”That is information I can certainly provide you with... for a price.”

I scowled. ”Lady... you just said this thing was worthless.”

I hefted the iron ring for emphasis. The fairy dust continued to emulate it in a very lifelike manner.

”The item may be useless but as I see how much it interests you, then the name of its creator should certainly fetch a nice price, yes?” Kallista guessed.

”What was it you did for the Lover's Embrace again?” I asked. ”Because I'm thinking you like this job a little too much...”

”I am whatever my clan needs me to be,” she answered with a shrug which was an obvious attempt at looking sincere but it was hardly convincing coming from the salamander who had us followed by the city guards under her control. ”Now, I am offering you our support as I believe it will benefit the Lover's Embrace soon.”

”What does that mean?” It was Luca who asked this question.

”Who knows...” Kallista's eyes inspected him from top to bottom. This made Luca blush, causing the salamander to laugh before she turned her gaze back on me. ”Well, do you want the information or not?”

I really wanted to know who made this so that I could figure out how I could make use of this unique arcane focus. I had a thing for solving riddles.

We came to an agreement of fifty Leprechauns for the information and another twenty for the actual item. A whopping seventy Leprechauns—it was my definition of highway robbery. I paid it out of my own pocket instead of the unit's war chest as this was a personal side quest I took on myself. And when Kallista told me who had given her the iron ring I laughed. Somehow, I just knew fate was messing with me.

With our shopping concluded, a pixie attendant in a red dress arrived to give us the actual items we purchased. She passed a grey leather satchel to Aura that Kallista claimed held five cubic meters of space inside it despite the satchel's size.

I knew instantly what the bag in Aura's hands was after she'd opened it and pulled out Luca's new broadsword hilt from inside it despite the bag looking empty from the outside.

”That's a bag of holding!” I felt my mind get blown as I recalled my hours of tabletop gaming with Ty and Arah. ”You're giving us a bag of holding for free?!”

Kallista looked at me like a pauper she'd rather not associate with. ”It's only five cubic meters...” Then she looked at Aura who had put her mask and hood back on. ”This is still an expensive item but as we are happy to receive the patronage of the Trickster Pavilion, let's call it a complimentary gift.”

Aura thanked her one more time and they both smiled at each other like there was a secret only the two of them shared.

As Kallista led us out to the front door of the Auction House, she gave me one last piece of advice. ”I ordered your release because I knew it would lead to our benefit... it does not make us friends but it does not make us enemies either.”

”So, you rolled the dice... and now you have Aura's patronage,” I reasoned.

”I rolled rather high,” Kallista laughed. ”And I am certain your continued presence in the city may lead to resolving other issues...”

I raised an eyebrow at her. ”You think I'll just solve your problems for you, huh?”

She placed a hand on my shoulder. ”I think you're the type not to let a challenge pass you by when it arrives.”

Then she nodded behind me to the open doorway.

”Here's one right now,” Kallista said.

The individual I saw when I turned around was like meeting an acquaintance you tried avoiding for days only to have him bump into you at the mall as you were about to leave it.

”Look who it is... the hero of the hilltop,” said a familiar, derisive tone I hadn't thought I would hear again so soon.

The willowy figure of Rosalin Roselle stood before us with his back against the night sky and his long curly black hair flowing freely behind him. He cut an impressive figure with his fists resting on his hips in a very Superman-like fashion. Too bad it had no effect on us as we all knew how much of a sleazeball our former commander really was. In fact, the flowing peacock robe he wore with its myriad colors seemed to emphasis our perception of him—the pixie was a ridiculous blowhard.

Behind Roselle stood his three stooges, Ruben, Rachet, and Razzbo. Three of the most arrogant pixies I'd ever come across, and that's including Qwipps Daggerby.

Roselle's slanted eyes, one red and one grey, glared at me. ”You have a lot of nerve showing your face in front—”

I walked forward and caused Roselle to falter in his words. He stepped back as he was unsure of my intentions.

I got closer.

”What do you think you're—”

”Hey, Luca, hurry it up will you,” I said, ignoring the pixie and whatever ridiculous statement he wanted to say. ”Sun's going to come up before we finish everything we need to do.”

”You're the one holding us up, Dean,” Luca answered as he stepped in beside me.

We walked passed the flabbergasted pixie with his jaw-dropping. The others followed suit and ignored our former commander too.