Splitting up once we were outside the castle grounds, Ghislaine and Sauros headed to the Merchant Guild to withdraw half of the Boreas Greyrat fortune. While they took care of the finances, the three of us returned to the mansion to prepare for departure. Moving all the luggage into my Storage, Hilda designated a few items that would need to be taken separately as they would want to sell them.
“Are you sure you want to sell them? Most of these items are of a higher quality than you would find at a normal blacksmith shop.”, I stated, admiring the swords and armor she wanted to sell, “Is there a particular reason you want to sell them?”
“I thought they were decorative pieces…no one has ever worn them to my knowledge.”, Hilda said, “They have been in the family for at least three generations, but they have never been used before. Are you sure they are still fit for combat use?”
Nodding my head with a smile, I told her that with minimal maintenance the pieces in question would be top-quality gear. Understanding that she had no way of knowing this, as she was not versed in combat, I decided to give her a crash course in identifying quality items. Since she was fully onboard with Eris and Rudeus becoming Adventurers, this was her only way of ensuring that they always came back home at the end of their adventuring.
“Alright, the first thing you want to look for is the blacksmith’s marker.”, I remarked, pointing to the tiny marker at the hilt, “If you do not see one, it means that the blacksmith was not confident enough in their work to put their name on it or the person who made it is a shady blacksmith using cheap materials. Since Eris will live and die by the blade, do not buy her a blade like that as it will most certainly be the end of her life.”
“I understand!”, Hilda acknowledged, making a mental note of this, “Once a mark is confirmed, how will know what is reputable and what is cheap?”
“Haha, that is a bit more difficult but not impossible to tell. So you will want to hold it closely and…”, I explained, using all the information I had inquired over my lifetime to educate her.
—Two Hours Later—
Once our discussion was over, the three of us sat outside and waited for Ghislaine and Sauros to return. Talking about our travel plans till the two of them walked through the front gate, we looked up at them and noticed they were carrying a substantially lower amount of coin than initially expected.
“You guys get everything sorted out at the Merchant’s Guild?”, I asked, getting up to mark the corners of the property with Magic Markers, “You took a lot longer than we expected.”
“Yes, I apologize for that. The Merchant Guild was less than thrilled to have me request half the money they were holding for our family.”, Sauros admitted, with a sigh of frustration, “The bloody Guildmaster did everything he could to keep as much of our money in their control as he could. After a lot of back and forth, we came to an arrangement where half would be set aside for the rebuilding of the Fittoa Region, a quarter would be handed over to me in coin, and the last quarter would be in the form of promissory note that can be redeemed at any Merchant Guild Branch.”
“Will they honor the note though if we redeem it in another country?”, Hilda asked, as Ghislaine handed the bags of coins to me for safekeeping, “I may not be as well versed in financial matters as you, but it sounds like they will just stiff us again in the future.”
“Not to worry Hilda, I got everything in writing from the Guildmaster himself.”, Sauros assured her, producing the sealed document from his pouch, “Now then, are we ready to go? I am excited to try the flying platform Ghislaine and you told me about!”
Telling him that I needed to stow the mansion away before leaving, he inquired if I had been serious when I said that yesterday. Stating that he thought I was joking when I said it, I assured him that I was very serious about it. Even though the Boreas Greyrat family could easily buy a new home wherever they settled, it was a waste to leave behind such a nice home. Telling me to go ahead and work my magic, he stood behind me eager to watch me do it with his own eyes. Snapping my fingers, as the prep work was already done, the home vanished right in front of his eyes leaving only a grassy plot of land in its place.
“My God!”, Saurous gasped, stepping forward to see if I had just made it invisible, “You did it!? How did you do that? Where did the bloody mansion go?!”
“The simple answer is, it went into a pocket dimension.”, I told him, deciding not to go into the finer details as he would not understand it since he was not a mage, “Once we secure you a plot of land, I will plop it down again in the same state I put it in.”
“Did you put the Royal Castle in this pocket dimension?”, Hilda inquired, with a smirk, “It would be humorous if you did. The King would have a fit if he knew you stole it from him.”
“No, I just destroyed it.”, I laughed, “That asshole had it coming, he can spend the next few years without a regal castle to live in.”
Everyone nodded with a smirk on their faces as they agreed with my statement. Suggesting that we get moving, as it was already 3 pm, I formed a larger light platform for us to use and told everyone to get on. Once everyone was situated, I got us airborne and headed toward our first waypoint.
—Several Days Later, East Port Market—
Touching down in the Market District of East Port, everyone was excited to be in a major city again. Having stopped in only small settlements since leaving the Asurian Capital, Hilda and Sauros were happy to sleep in comfy beds again. While they were thrilled to have comfy beds, Ghislaine was looking forward to securing ale as her stockpile had run dry after just one night.
“Cole, can you hand me a small pouch of fifty gold?”, Sauros requested, “I will secure us lodging and transport to West Port. While I am certain you could get us there faster, the scenic trip is well worth the minor delay we will have.”
“You okay with that?”, I asked Hilda, knowing she was worried about Eris and Rudeus’ safety.
“I am okay with it, as long as we keep tabs on the two of them. If they run into any trouble, we will disembark and head straight to them.”, Hilda compromised.
“Agreed, their safety is our top priority.”, Sauros accepted, as I handed him the back of the coins.
“Before we go, please hold on to this for me.”, Ghislaine stated, handing me the majority of the money she had on her person, “This is the only way I can think of to prevent me from spending all my money on accident. I only need enough to buy a few barrels of my favorite ale.”
‘You should just learn how to not be swindled out of your money.’, I thought, stowing her coin away and marking down the amount she gave me, “Since we do not know how long it will take you, how about we reconvene at the fountain over there in a few hours?”
Pointing to the large, ornate fountain in the middle of the market, Ghislaine and Sauros agreed to meet back here in a few hours. Disappearing into the massive crowd of people that filled the market, Ciri quickly broke off as well stating she needed to resupply her potion and tonic materials. Giving Hilda and I a smirk before she left, Ciri told us not to get too carried away on our own.
“I am sorry, she can be a bit much sometimes.”, I said, laughing off Ciri’s comment, “So what would you like to do? We can sample some of the local cuisine, do some shopping, or just walk around for a bit.”
“Since we have a moment, could we maybe locate some protective charms for Eris and Rudeus? I want to get them a protective charm that will shield them from danger in a pinch.”, Hilda insisted, grabbing my hand, “I am not versed in magical items so I will be relying on you for help again.”
“I would not have it any other way.”, I replied, playfully squeezing her hand, “The easiest and most effective way to proceed with your request is to buy a piece of jewelry for the two of them, and then let me enchant the items for you. I can imbue them with much more powerful buffs than any half-baked enchanter in this world.”
Agreeing to my suggestion, she decided to get Eris a bracelet and Rudeus a ring. Wandering around the marketplace looking for something that would suit their taste, a man and his daughter accidentally bumped into us. Believing that the man had groped her, I shot my hand out and seized the man by the forearm. Pulling the two of them out of the crowd, Hilda stopped me when she recognized the man.
Splitting up once we were outside the castle grounds, Ghislaine and Sauros headed to the Merchant Guild to withdraw half of the Boreas Greyrat fortune. While they took care of the finances, the three of us returned to the mansion to prepare for departure. Moving all the luggage into my Storage, Hilda designated a few items that would need to be taken separately as they would want to sell them.
“Are you sure you want to sell them? Most of these items are of a higher quality than you would find at a normal blacksmith shop.”, I stated, admiring the swords and armor she wanted to sell, “Is there a particular reason you want to sell them?”
“I thought they were decorative pieces…no one has ever worn them to my knowledge.”, Hilda said, “They have been in the family for at least three generations, but they have never been used before. Are you sure they are still fit for combat use?”
Nodding my head with a smile, I told her that with minimal maintenance the pieces in question would be top-quality gear. Understanding that she had no way of knowing this, as she was not versed in combat, I decided to give her a crash course in identifying quality items. Since she was fully onboard with Eris and Rudeus becoming Adventurers, this was her only way of ensuring that they always came back home at the end of their adventuring.
“Alright, the first thing you want to look for is the blacksmith’s marker.”, I remarked, pointing to the tiny marker at the hilt, “If you do not see one, it means that the blacksmith was not confident enough in their work to put their name on it or the person who made it is a shady blacksmith using cheap materials. Since Eris will live and die by the blade, do not buy her a blade like that as it will most certainly be the end of her life.”
“I understand!”, Hilda acknowledged, making a mental note of this, “Once a mark is confirmed, how will know what is reputable and what is cheap?”
“Haha, that is a bit more difficult but not impossible to tell. So you will want to hold it closely and…”, I explained, using all the information I had inquired over my lifetime to educate her.
—Two Hours Later—
Once our discussion was over, the three of us sat outside and waited for Ghislaine and Sauros to return. Talking about our travel plans till the two of them walked through the front gate, we looked up at them and noticed they were carrying a substantially lower amount of coin than initially expected.
“You guys get everything sorted out at the Merchant’s Guild?”, I asked, getting up to mark the corners of the property with Magic Markers, “You took a lot longer than we expected.”
“Yes, I apologize for that. The Merchant Guild was less than thrilled to have me request half the money they were holding for our family.”, Sauros admitted, with a sigh of frustration, “The bloody Guildmaster did everything he could to keep as much of our money in their control as he could. After a lot of back and forth, we came to an arrangement where half would be set aside for the rebuilding of the Fittoa Region, a quarter would be handed over to me in coin, and the last quarter would be in the form of promissory note that can be redeemed at any Merchant Guild Branch.”
“Will they honor the note though if we redeem it in another country?”, Hilda asked, as Ghislaine handed the bags of coins to me for safekeeping, “I may not be as well versed in financial matters as you, but it sounds like they will just stiff us again in the future.”
“Not to worry Hilda, I got everything in writing from the Guildmaster himself.”, Sauros assured her, producing the sealed document from his pouch, “Now then, are we ready to go? I am excited to try the flying platform Ghislaine and you told me about!”
Telling him that I needed to stow the mansion away before leaving, he inquired if I had been serious when I said that yesterday. Stating that he thought I was joking when I said it, I assured him that I was very serious about it. Even though the Boreas Greyrat family could easily buy a new home wherever they settled, it was a waste to leave behind such a nice home. Telling me to go ahead and work my magic, he stood behind me eager to watch me do it with his own eyes. Snapping my fingers, as the prep work was already done, the home vanished right in front of his eyes leaving only a grassy plot of land in its place.
“My God!”, Saurous gasped, stepping forward to see if I had just made it invisible, “You did it!? How did you do that? Where did the bloody mansion go?!”
“The simple answer is, it went into a pocket dimension.”, I told him, deciding not to go into the finer details as he would not understand it since he was not a mage, “Once we secure you a plot of land, I will plop it down again in the same state I put it in.”
“Did you put the Royal Castle in this pocket dimension?”, Hilda inquired, with a smirk, “It would be humorous if you did. The King would have a fit if he knew you stole it from him.”
“No, I just destroyed it.”, I laughed, “That asshole had it coming, he can spend the next few years without a regal castle to live in.”
Everyone nodded with a smirk on their faces as they agreed with my statement. Suggesting that we get moving, as it was already 3 pm, I formed a larger light platform for us to use and told everyone to get on. Once everyone was situated, I got us airborne and headed toward our first waypoint.
—Several Days Later, East Port Market—
Touching down in the Market District of East Port, everyone was excited to be in a major city again. Having stopped in only small settlements since leaving the Asurian Capital, Hilda and Sauros were happy to sleep in comfy beds again. While they were thrilled to have comfy beds, Ghislaine was looking forward to securing ale as her stockpile had run dry after just one night.
“Cole, can you hand me a small pouch of fifty gold?”, Sauros requested, “I will secure us lodging and transport to West Port. While I am certain you could get us there faster, the scenic trip is well worth the minor delay we will have.”
“You okay with that?”, I asked Hilda, knowing she was worried about Eris and Rudeus’ safety.
“I am okay with it, as long as we keep tabs on the two of them. If they run into any trouble, we will disembark and head straight to them.”, Hilda compromised.
“Agreed, their safety is our top priority.”, Sauros accepted, as I handed him the back of the coins.
“Before we go, please hold on to this for me.”, Ghislaine stated, handing me the majority of the money she had on her person, “This is the only way I can think of to prevent me from spending all my money on accident. I only need enough to buy a few barrels of my favorite ale.”
‘You should just learn how to not be swindled out of your money.’, I thought, stowing her coin away and marking down the amount she gave me, “Since we do not know how long it will take you, how about we reconvene at the fountain over there in a few hours?”
Pointing to the large, ornate fountain in the middle of the market, Ghislaine and Sauros agreed to meet back here in a few hours. Disappearing into the massive crowd of people that filled the market, Ciri quickly broke off as well stating she needed to resupply her potion and tonic materials. Giving Hilda and I a smirk before she left, Ciri told us not to get too carried away on our own.
“I am sorry, she can be a bit much sometimes.”, I said, laughing off Ciri’s comment, “So what would you like to do? We can sample some of the local cuisine, do some shopping, or just walk around for a bit.”
“Since we have a moment, could we maybe locate some protective charms for Eris and Rudeus? I want to get them a protective charm that will shield them from danger in a pinch.”, Hilda insisted, grabbing my hand, “I am not versed in magical items so I will be relying on you for help again.”
“I would not have it any other way.”, I replied, playfully squeezing her hand, “The easiest and most effective way to proceed with your request is to buy a piece of jewelry for the two of them, and then let me enchant the items for you. I can imbue them with much more powerful buffs than any half-baked enchanter in this world.”
Agreeing to my suggestion, she decided to get Eris a bracelet and Rudeus a ring. Wandering around the marketplace looking for something that would suit their taste, a man and his daughter accidentally bumped into us. Believing that the man had groped her, I shot my hand out and seized the man by the forearm. Pulling the two of them out of the crowd, Hilda stopped me when she recognized the man.
