The servant led them to a room on the second floor and gestured for them to enter with a practiced bow. There were dozens of similar rooms on either side, most likely each meant for a group of distinguished guests.
"Your lounge, honored guests," the man said.
Aisha entered without a second thought, but Zeke paused. For a moment, he thought he heard something peculiar in the man's tone, but when he checked his expression, he found nothing amiss. The servant still had his head bowed and seemed like the very picture of professionalism. Zeke frowned but nonetheless led his three guards into the room.
He scanned their room. Though relatively small, spanning only a couple of steps, its full-height window at the front created an illusion of spaciousness. From there, guests seated below and the stage at the hall's front were clearly visible. A segmented red couch, wide enough for five people, stood at its center, offering comfortable seating.
Ash entered the room last, and as the servant closed the door behind them, the noisy corridor behind them was immediately silenced. Zeke also realized that he couldn't sense anything happening beyond the room's walls. Not even his spatial perception could penetrate the magical isolation surrounding the lounge. This feature was most likely meant to protect its inhabitants from prying eyes, but the limitation went both ways. Zeke would not be able to sense anything going on outside, either.
Aisha had already settled into the leftmost seat on the couch, gesturing for Zeke to join her, which he did after another quick scan of the room. Neither he nor Akasha found anything suspicious. However, this wasn't unexpected; the Treasure Pavilion had a reputation to uphold, and with their clientele, they wouldn't last long if they were caught spying on their guests.
He sat down next to Aisha and noticed that his guards positioned themselves behind the couch. He raised a questioning brow. "What are you doing?"
Vulcanos peeked at Aisha before belatedly answering the question. "We are doing our job, Master."
Zeke, noticing what was going on, rolled his eyes at them. "Stop this nonsense and sit down."
After exchanging a glance, the Chimeroi followed his instructions and sat on the remaining three spots.
Aisha looked curiously at him, an impish grin on her lips. "You are getting along well with your Slaves," she said.
Zeke waved her off. "I don't like that word very much."
"Oh, but is it not what they are?" she asked.
Even though she had clearly been teasing him, Zeke considered her question in earnest. Sure, he had bought them with gold, but he would like to think their bond had evolved after all they'd been through together. "I would rather you'd call them my followers," he said eventually.
Aisha seemed surprised by this answer. "Followers?" she asked. "What's the difference?"
This time, he had an answer ready. "It means that I'll treat them the same as anybody else working for me."
Aisha rolled her eyes. "Does that mean you pay them a salary?"
"I will eventually," Zeke said confidently.
"You will?" Vulcanos asked, baffled.
Zeke turned to look at him. "Why are you so surprised? Am I not paying the others as well?"
Vulcanos scrunched up his face, a clear sign that he was deep in thought. "Why not pay us now, then?"
Zeke smiled. "I first need to recoup the money I spent on you. Otherwise, I would make a massive loss. After that, you'll get a salary."
All three perked up. "How much did you pay for me?" Ash wanted to know. Zeke wasn't surprised that he didn't know. After all, it wouldn't usually have mattered.
"1900 gold," Zeke said. "I am paying you each ten gold per month, by the way."
Ash's face scrunched up. "Wouldn't it take me years before I receive a salary, then?"
Zeke nodded. "Over a decade, even. But you really can't complain. I am already paying you above the market rate. Besides… you were the cheapest of the three of you." He pointed at Vulcanos next. "I paid 2200 gold for you." Then, he pointed at Gravitas. "For you, I paid 4100 gold."
Gravitas's eyes widened at the realization that she had cost more than twice as much as Ash. That meant it would take more than twenty years to repay that debt. "I wish you hadn't even brought this up," she mumbled. "Am I even going to live that long?"
Aisha watched their back-and-forth, her eyes growing wide. Initially, she hadn't thought that Zeke was serious, but the natural way their group interacted convinced her otherwise. It was clear that this wasn't just a show they put on. If anything, their earlier servile behavior had been the act.
Their banter was only interrupted when an old man stepped on stage and cleared his throat. "Good evening," he said with a light bow. His voice was amplified and carried effortlessly. Even in their room, they heard him loud and clear.
"Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed lords and ladies, welcome to the 32nd Grand Auction of the Treasure Pavilion," the man continued. "Tonight, we'll present you with treasures of untold wealth, artifacts steeped in legend, and relics of ancient power. Tonight, we embark on a journey through time and space as we unveil the finest offerings from across the known world..."
While the man droned on, Aisha nudged Zeke's side. "That is Veer Varun, patriarch of the Varun family and arguably the richest man in the country."
Zeke took a second look at the old man. Veer had dark, wrinkly skin, and his hunched-back and slouched posture made him look like he already had one foot in the grave. Only his eyes remained sharp and alert, allowing a glimpse of the majesty this man must have commanded in his younger years.
Zeke wondered if the patriarch would serve as their host tonight, but the old man left the stage after his opening words and was replaced by a woman wearing a revealing dress. Zeke recognized her immediately as Priya Varun, the woman who had guided him during his last visit.
"Honored guests," she said with a beaming smile, "my name is Priya, and I will be your host tonight."
In their lounge, nothing but her voice could be heard, but from what he could see, many of the guests cheered and clapped, with some even going as far as standing up. It seemed Priya was fairly popular.
"Without further ado, let me present the first item of the day." As she spoke, another woman rolled in a trolley covered with white, silken cloth. Without hesitation, Priya grabbed the edge of the fabric and pulled it off with a flourish, revealing the first item. "A sand-pearl necklace!" she announced energetically.
Zeke scanned the item. It was a piece of jewelry made of four red pearls tied together by a golden string. It was clearly meant to be worn, but from this distance, he could not recognize anything special about it.
"As many of you undoubtedly know, the Varun family produces the sand-pearl necklaces. Currently, variants with one to three pearls are for sale at any of our branch stores. However, what I am presenting to you tonight is a new version."
Zeke rolled his eyes. It seemed the Varun family had used this opportunity to shamelessly promote their new product. "What are those necklaces for, anyway?" he asked Aisha, who appeared far more excited about the item than he was.
"Each of the pearls is made to navigate the desert," she explained, piquing Zeke's interest. "When infused with mana, each pearl will display an arrow. The first pearl will always point toward the north, the second will point toward the closest city, and the third will always point toward the capital."
Zeke frowned. "That's it?"
Aisha glanced at him. "All caravans and most travelers carry such a necklace. Without it, traversing the desert is akin to suicide."
Their talk was interrupted when Priya finally revealed what the last pearl could do. "…the fourth pearl will permit you to easily find the closest caravan stop, allowing for even safer travels through the desert. Now, the bidding begins at 100 gold, and every bid must be at least 50 gold more…"
Zeke ignored the bidding, choosing to contemplate the product instead. Was that really something special? Well, certainly not the first part. Making an enchantment that would always point north didn't sound that difficult. Wouldn't he just need to use a simple Metal Magic spell to magnetize the arrow and have it align itself with the magnetic north?
The pearl that always pointed toward the capital was easy as well. He would merely need to create a beacon, like the one he used for his Space Magic, and have the arrow point toward its location. The other two pearls were a bit trickier. For those, he would need to create a beacon in each oasis and rest stop and have the enchantment point toward the strongest signal.
Having studied similar enchantments for the Gondola's navigation apparatus, Zeke already knew most of the required Runes. In fact, he might even be able to create a similar product on the spot.
"Akasha?"
[Answer]
Calculating… 10%… 60%… 100%. Prototype complete.
After nothing more than a few moments, four enchantments appeared in his mind. Additionally, she even added a few more ideas on how to improve the product. The most promising was a pearl that used a Water Magic enchantment to find water sources and a Life Magic enchantment to detect living beings.
Zeke smiled. With this, he had a good idea for the first product that the Blackthorn Covenant could start producing. His smile grew wider when he noticed the bidding had reached 650 gold. Of course, the price wouldn't be this high under normal circumstances. Even so, the fact that people were prepared to spend so much on it was a good sign.
"…Sold for 650 gold to the occupants of lounge 15. Congratulation!" Priya announced to the mild applause of the crowd.
Zeke joined the applause, feeling exceptionally optimistic. Alongside his initial objective of acquiring Snow, he now had a new task in mind: evaluating all enchanted items. Any product that he might be able to replicate was likely to sell.
As for producing them… that was even less of a problem.
With thousands of Chimeroi in Undercity, why not utilize his two Archmages to teach some of them the art of enchanting? Hilda Silveraxe, being a dwarf and a skilled craftsman, undoubtedly possessed the necessary expertise for the job.
He hadn't considered it before, but some species of Chimeroi were likely far better suited to this line of work. With their innately better senses and superior physical abilities, the practice of carving Runes might come to them easily. Thinking back to the Elders of the North, the tribes of Elder Rabbit or Elder Snake might make exceptional craftsmen. Now, he only needed them to come around.
Zeke's musings were interrupted by the second item. To his disappointment, it was a piece of jewelry without a hint of Magic. The bracelet was called 'The Sanguine Rose' and, despite lacking any overt magical properties, it captivated the eyes with its elegant craftsmanship. Fashioned from lustrous rose gold, the delicate links of the bracelet formed a chain of intertwining vines, each meticulously detailed to resemble delicate rose blossoms in full bloom.
The item ultimately sold for 900 gold to an anonymous patron, a price ostensibly justified by the bracelet's rich history and historical value. However, Zeke felt like the buyer had vastly overpaid. In his opinion, delicate craftsmanship and semi-rare materials didn't justify spending the annual income of a small city.
The third item was a staff that allowed its wielder to cast the [Thunderbolt] spell. Zeke was excited at first but gave up on the item after seeing the demonstration. The efficiency of the Rune was simply that atrocious.
The fourth item was far more interesting. It was a set of Robes with an Enchantment woven into its design. The robes apparently contained an Earth Magic spell that could repel sand using the Mana a Mage passively released. They even claimed it would allow its wearer to stay sand-free in a storm. Zeke didn't quite believe those claims unless said Mage was an Archmage, but the item was interesting nonetheless. He had not even been aware that cloth could be enchanted.
"…The starting price for the Sandtrek Robes is 800 gold, and each bid has to be at least 100 gold higher. Do we have any takers?"
Zeke immediately pressed the button next to his seat, but he was hardly the only one interested. After a flurry of bids, the price had already more than doubled. Yet, Zeke had continued to outbid everyone so far.
"…1700 gold from lounge 31. Do I hear any more bids?"
After there were no further offers, Priya furrowed her brows, clearly not happy yet with the price. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a rare opportunity. Such products are not produced anymore today, and even the technique is lost. This might even be the last remaining sample." Her declaration was immediately met with another few bids.
"1800 gold from lounge 45—"
"1900 from—"
"2000 from number 6—"
Zeke waited for the price to settle before raising it once more.
"...And that is 2400 gold from lounge number 31. Anyone else?" However, this time, despite her continued attempts to coax higher bids, no one was willing to offer more. Eventually, she had to concede.
"3, 2, 1… and… Done! The Sandtrek Robes have been sold for 2400 gold. Congratulations!"
Zeke smiled, having won his first bid. He wasn't sure if he would be able to replicate the technique employed to create the robes, but he would certainly be able to learn a lot from it. Also, it was always a good idea to get his hands on such an interesting sample to supply Akasha with as much data as possible.
Minutes later, the robes were brought to his room, and Zeke paid the servant the promised price. He had wanted to study them right away, but something else drew his attention—the next auction item.
"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present the 9th item of the day, a very special treat. This ancient Dwarven tablet is rumored to contain knowledge of a lost civilization..."
The object in question was a perfectly square, dark slate of stone etched with blocky, runic letters. Though no larger than a sheet of parchment, the letters' minuscule size allowed for a vast amount of text. However, to protect their product, only the first two lines were revealed.
"…Even our best experts are unable to decipher this language completely, but we were able to make out some parts by referencing our sources. Those small discoveries were already enough to lead us to believe that..."
Zeke was no longer listening to her explanation. Instead, he unblinkingly stared at the characters etched into the stone tablet. He had seen those very same letters before. In fact, he had grown very familiar with them.
Those were the very same letters decorating one of the three holy relics of the Giger, including the mystery box. The same treasure that was collecting dust in his room in Tradespire. After years of stagnation, he had finally found the first clue to this riddle.