The auction went on for around half an hour before the bids began to slow down. Most of the nobles had stopped bidding around halfway through, and now that the auction was nearing its end only two nobles continued their bidding, Pavel and the male noble who'd placed the first bid.

The older noble seemed to be toying with Pavel a bit, because every time he increased the bid his smile grew as he watched Pavel’s frown deepen.

“Three rares, one of which will be from my houses personal supply of cards,” Pavel said resolutely.

The other noble seemed to finally have finished toying with Pavel, as he grinned at the absurd price and the annoyed kid he’d been in a bidding war against.

“Alright, that looks like that concludes the auction,” Daniel said from his place atop one of the tables.

“I haven’t gotten the chance to say it yet, but I wanted to apologize for how I acted prior to and during this auction. I was under the effects of a mind altering card up until the very second the bids started to come in, and I wasn’t quite myself. I’ll still hold myself to what I promised before the auction, with the caveat that Pavel and his family treat me fairly as a requirement for me to continue my employment under them. That concludes my auction, once again I apologize and wish everyone a lovely rest of your day.”

With that Daniel jumped off the table and approached Pavel.

“You’re an expensive one,” Pavel grunted. “You wouldn’t have cost half as much if you didn’t somehow swindle that legendary out from Anton. I still don’t know how you managed that. That man treasured that card for more than just its value.”

“What do you mean by that?” Daniel asked.

“Not important,” Pavel shrugged. “What is important is that you stop showing everyone your cards and stop mentioning that you're a traveler. Some nobles know what a traveler is, but not all of them. Keep it that way.”

Daniel nodded, “Reasonable enough, but you do know we’re still in a massive crowd of noble’s right now, right?” Daniel said, gesturing all around them.

Pavel waved dismissively, “They can’t hear us. We can talk freely.”

“One of your cards?” Daniel asked.

“Unlike you I don’t answer questions like that,” Pavel snorted. “Now let’s get you back to my family's estate so we can get this contract sorted, but before that you should take a look at your cards if you haven't already. I don’t know the exact details of whatever card was messing with your head, but I’d bet good money that you’ll find an addendum somewhere in there that lets it screw with you.”

With a little concern Daniel pulled up the description for Flicker Between Worlds and Foundation of One.

Flicker Between Worlds

legendary

Timer: 5,256,000 Minutes Remaining

Upon the timer reaching zero the wielder of this card will flicker between one of two distinct worlds. Upon which point, the timer will reset and begin to count down once more.

The wielder of this card can choose to remain between worlds for a limited amount of time.

(The timer will not be reduced while between worlds.)

Addendum 1: The wielder of this card may bring other creatures with them between worlds.

Addendum 2: The wielder of this card does not need to accompany a creature sent between worlds.

Foundation of One

Rare

Physique

Timer: 2:12

The wielder of this card can increase the effectiveness of a single trait pertaining to their body by a significant amount.

This chosen trait may be swapped with another trait of the wielder's choice once every thirty minutes.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Addendum 1: The chosen trait will be further refined to better fit the needs and desire of the user.

“What the hell?” Daniel said almost in a whisper. He’d heard that cards could unlock new aspects, and that travelers found these aspects easier than most, but he hadn’t been expecting this many so soon. Flicker Between World’s addendums made sense, he’d experienced them firsthand, well he’d experienced Foundation of One’s addendum as well, but it just seemed so vague in comparison. But more than anything it seemed to be the reason he’d spent the better part of the day acting like a lunatic.

“That look right there, you just realized exactly what happened to you didn’t you?” Pavel asked, interested.

Daniel shrugged in response, “Kind of. I don’t exactly know what exactly it changed within me, but I’m pretty sure I know why it did it.”

“As far as I can tell it made you very confident, overwhelmingly so,” Pavel said. “I can tell you that much without even needing to read your card.”

“How does me being confident protect me from an angry goddess?” Daniel asked skeptically.

Pavel shrugged, “Souls aren’t an exact science, but a god’s direct anger is enough to shatter most of them. The only people who can withstand their direct attention either have a card protecting their minds, souls or are some of the most insufferably self-confident people you’ll ever meet. Your card seemed to decide a mix of the two was necessary.”

“Being a traveler really is a double edged sword, huh,” Daniel commented.

“You’re not wrong,” Pavel answered with a nod. “Your status as a traveler probably saved your life, but at the same time we all saw Douglass almost take your head off. That wasn’t by random chance. That’s a traveler’s power at work.”

“How do you know so much about this? You’re like what, twelve, fourteen?” Daniel asked.

Pavel scoffed, “Like I already said, I don’t run around spouting off what my cards can and can’t do. It’s also rude to ask.”

“Sorry then,” Daniel said.

Pavel sighed, “Don’t be. You clearly have no idea what's okay to say or do in this city. We’ll obviously need to fix that, but it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“I’d appreciate it,” Daniel said, glancing at the gathered nobles. Most seemed indifferent towards him, but several were looking at him with distaste in their eyes.

“Douglass is going to try to kill me, isn’t he?” Daniel asked.

Pavel paused for a moment, as if in thought.

“It’s not unlikely, but he’ll try to keep it on the downlow if he does try something. He’d be the prime suspect and Anton doesn’t smile upon murder inside his walls. He’d need to flee into the wilderness immediately after killing you, and then try to find another settlement. Those grow sparser every year, so it wouldn’t be a safe plan without an idea of where another one was.”

“Any idea on how long I have before he tries something?” Daniel asked.

“How should I know?” Pavel asked exasperatedly. “All I can say is that he’d have to be insane to attack you within my presence, or even on my property for that matter.”

Daniel sighed, “Well that’s a relief. Now, about that contract.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan to send you outside the wall. You’re more a mixture between a political power play and a helping hand in case the walls come crashing down.”

“Is that something that’s likely to happen?” Daniel asked tensely.

At that, Pavel actually laughed, “Look Daniel, you only took a few steps outside the walls and it already had you running back. You’ve only seen a glimpse of the monsters running around out there. My own father was killed because he looked into the eyes of a Truegla, a common monster further to the north. They have the ability to violently thrust the soul out of anything that makes eye contact with them so that they can enthrall the empty body. This particular Truegla had a card that compelled creatures to look at it. A common card. By the time it was killed it’d amassed an army of hundreds of beasts that it’d marched towards this city. Anton killed it in the end, but not before more than a few of the monsters made their way inside these walls.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Daniel said after a moment.

Pavel waved dismissively, “Don’t be, I’m over it. My point is that the wall is mostly for show. The real reason there’s not a constant stream of monsters breaking into the city is because Anton throws an inordinate amount of bodies at the problem. They keep the area around the city mostly clear.”

“Then isn’t the blood moon a really big problem?” Daniel asked.

Pavel shrugged, “Yes and no. A lot of powerful monsters are raised from the dead, but they’re mostly interested in fighting each other. They do wonder over and attack the walls, but for the most part they’ll be doing battle with one another.”

“Interesting,” Daniel said. “Now about those cards you owe me.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Pavel said annoyedly. “Most will have to come from within the card vault. They keep most of the good ones stored away for the nobility or people who’ve accrued enough reputation, so there should be some new ones for you to take a look at.”

Daniel nodded, “And what about the card I get to pick from your vaults? Is it supposed to be of higher quality?”

At that Pavel sent a condescending glare towards Daniel, “Of course they’re better. You don’t trade away the truly good cards if you can help it. A noble’s card vault should be leagues better than the one Anton runs for his faction. His has too many people pecking away at it, most cards of substance will have long since been taken.”

“That’s not to say that there’s no value in Anton’s public vault,” Pavel quickly added. “Just that its value lies more in the synergies one can find for their existing cards, and not so much the power of the cards themselves.”

Suddenly a voice cut in, interrupting the conversation, “Daniel, we need to talk."

A casual glance revealed it to be Gabriel, the leader of the adventurer group that had abandoned him outside the walls. A subtle cracking noise filled Daniel’s ears, and all the noise around him took on a less muted tone as Pavel pushed past Daniel and began to walk towards the front desk.

“He can hear you now, Daniel. Finish your talk quickly. I have a quick chore to take care of and then we’ll head back to my mansion.”