Chapter 105: Small Trade Fair
Sein ended up staying at the baron’s mansion in Berthold City for three days.
The baron’s overwhelming enthusiasm left Sein with little room for refusal.
On that evening itself, the corpulent man, decked out with gold and precious stones, personally came over to the inn where Sein stayed with his entourage.
With unwavering insistence, he invited Sein to attend a dinner banquet at his mansion.
Baron Berthold was about three times the size of Kent, the vice captain of his guards.
While the baron himself was an ordinary man, the vice captain of his guards was an intermediate squire.
The vice captain was not the strongest man in Berthold City. According to the baron, the strongest was the captain of his guards, Williams. However, half a month earlier, Williams had led a cavalry team to eliminate bandits outside the city.
Williams, a senior squire, was the mightiest man in Berthold City.
In cities with a population of around a hundred thousand, such as Berthold City in Gloomhaven, a senior squire was considered the most powerful in combat.
Baron Berthold’s warm personality, physical size and appearance reminded Sein of his friend, Bousse.
After freeloading at the city lord’s mansion for three consecutive days, Sein reciprocated by presenting the city lord a nutritional potion.
“You’re saying that one can survive on such a small vial of potion for two or three days without food?” The baron looked at the potion in his hand in astonishment.
Sein nodded and said, “Yes... Three days under normal circumstances. Considering your physical size and appetite, a day shouldn’t be a problem.”
Sein’s explanation deepened the disbelief on the baron’s face.
Despite his noble status, the baron had limited knowledge of magic.
Likewise, his understanding of battle qi was also restricted by his physical size and preferences. His inheritance of the large city was solely because he was the only son of the former city lord.
Even Frank, the gray-robed old intermediate initiate, was astounded by the potion Sein had pulled out of his pocket.
“Lord Sein, could it be that you are an apothecary?” Frank curiously asked.
This was the first time he had addressed Sein as “lord” respectfully, despite being more senior in terms of age.
Sein shook his head and replied, “I’m not an apothecary. This is just a simple potion I learned from a senior in my faction and later improved with the assistance of a friend who is an apothecary in training.”
Sein’s words revealed considerable information, sparking further curiosity from Frank about Sein’s origins.
The small trade fair outside of Berthold City did indeed take place early, as Frank had mentioned.
Baron Berthold even sent a group of over twenty people to escort Sein and others in carriages.
The location of this small trade fair between the magic initiates was in a small town on the border between Berthold City and two neighboring cities.
The trade fair was held outside of the city because the cities in the central region of the Gloomhaven had not always maintained friendly relations.
In fact, wars and skirmishes occasionally erupted between them.
The tension between the cities did not affect the relationships between the magic initiates much, but still, it was wise to steer clear of potential conflicts.
A mist enveloped the entire area, casting a gray hue over the town.
Upon reaching the small town early in the morning, the sparse population was immediately apparent.
The trade fair took place in a relatively spacious open square.
There were not many initiates around either. Sein was able to quickly count that only seven people were present, including Frank and himself.
This suggested that there were either few magic initiates around Berthold City, or Frank had intentionally excluded the weaker initiates from the invitation.
Most participants in this small trade fair were mostly intermediate initiates, save for one wearing a gray hood. He emitted the aura of a senior initiate, just like Sein.
“Night Raven and Suma won’t be joining, and Yule will be late. Shall we proceed first?” the senior initiate suggested.
While addressing the other initiates, Sein noticed that most of the man’s attention was directed at him.
It was quite common for magic initiates to use pseudonyms. “Night Raven” was an obvious example.
Sein had no intention of revealing his real name either. He was wearing the Pale Mask[1] even though it was no longer functional.
Despite concealing his face, Sein was certain that the gray-robed old man, Frank, had likely divulged his background to the others.
Nevertheless, Sein remained unperturbed. The senior initiate with the gray hood did not seem to be a great fighter and Sein felt minimal threat from him.
As for the other intermediate initiates present... Sein had deliberately suppressed his aura as a senior initiate. Otherwise, he would feel like a lion infiltrating a rabbit’s cage.
Surviving in the underground world had presented harsher challenges than on the surface.
The auras of these intermediate and senior initiates paled in comparison to Sein, despite their experience in battles and dealing with magic beasts.
Even without Seven’s assistance, Sein believed that he could defeat all these inexperienced initiates before him with the help of his Acid Wand and other magic items.
A female intermediate initiate chimed in, “Hehe, let’s begin then. I haven’t seen a new face in years. Are you new around here, mister?”
This female initiate wore a mask like Sein, but hers covered only the upper half of her face, revealing a set of bright red lips for all to see.
Despite being about twenty years older than Sein, she flirtatiously addressed him as “mister”, showing a certain level of respect for his strength as a senior initiate and mysterious origins.
The suggestion from the female intermediate initiate garnered nods from those around.
Frank, who was beside Sein, also agreed and urged, “Let’s begin right away. It’s up to Yule’s luck whether he can make it here in time or not.”
Prior to the event, Frank had briefed Sein on the process and specifics of the small trade fair.
There were no notable mage councils and full-fledged mages in the vicinity of Berthold City. At least, none that Frank was aware of.
Scarce resources and limited access to knowledge prompted magic initiates in the area to regularly organize trade fairs.
Bartering was the primary mode of exchange, with transactions involving gold coins being relatively uncommon.
The use of energy crystals or magic cores for trade had not been prevalent for years.
Most initiates, if in possession of such valuable items, preferred to keep them for personal use rather than using them as currency.
As a newcomer, Sein acknowledged Frank’s guidance with a nod and refrained from commenting.
In any case, he had no immediate plans for buying or selling. Instead, he chose to observe what others had to offer.
The first item offered by an intermediate initiate immediately caught Sein’s interest.
It was an unfamiliar red vermilion fruit, presumably a basic magic ingredient.
The ecological environment and resources on the surface world differed significantly from the Underworld.
Sein realized that he had much to study and learn to enrich his knowledge.
1. Morsidor had previously only repaired the geo elemental shield ring and some other advanced magic items for Sein, but not this Pale Mask, which was only a basic magic item.?