With Joanna gone, I took a bit of time to cool off and get myself thinking straight again. Felt a bit of regret with how harshly I had brushed her off there. Yes, I did the right thing, it was for both of our protection, but I could probably have been a bit gentler about it.

I didn't like what her aura did to my mind. It made my thoughts ugly and coarse, and even when I was trying hard to resist its effects, it even made my resistance harsh and cruel. It was like it was more than just lust and physical desire; it somehow suppressed or stripped away all of the civilization in me and tried to turn me into some sort of creature of pure id.

Some sort of demon.

Was that what Joanna dealt with, every day of her life since puberty? That poor girl! I wanted to help her, but the more I thought about it the more I questioned if I was even capable of doing so. (Especially without being somehow broken myself!)

With half the day still ahead of me and nothing scheduled, I did a bit of research online, trying to find a reputable jeweler, and to calculate an estimate of the worth of those gemstones Gareth Meranas had dropped on me. Apparently it was really complicated to come up with any sort of reliable figure without a bunch of specialized knowledge in the field of jewelry, but at a first-guess estimate, it looked like each of them should probably be worth over 200,000 platinum crowns. When I told Meranas just off-the-cuff that this was worth a year's salary, it looks like I'd been off by at least a factor of seven!

A bit nervously, I got the sapphire and got in my car, leaving the ruby behind just out of caution, and drove almost an hour to a high-end jeweler's shop a few towns over. I'd never been to a jeweler's before, so my idea of what to expect was mostly those little cutout rooms full of glass display cases at malls. This, though... it was a whole building, not quite the size of a supermarket but bigger than a fancy restaurant. I walked in to some sort of lobby, with artwork decorating the walls. Some important-looking guy in a suit. A very happy-looking bride embracing her man in a pose that showed off her sparkling ring finger to good effect. A bunch of diagrams of stones and jewelry and explanations of how they crafted their pieces.

There was a receptionist there, a glamorous-looking elven woman in a long silk dress. "Welcome to House Kametan Jewelers, sir. Do you have an appointment?"

An appointment? "Do I need one?" I asked hesitantly.

"At times," she said, checking her rune tablet. "We might have some free time just now. Might I inquire as to what you're looking for?"

"An appraisal," I said. "I've come into possession of a few valuable-looking gemstones and I'd like to see what I could sell them for."

"I see," she said, smiling as she checked the schedule. "Hmm, if you can sit tight for ten minutes I think I could squeeze you in to see Mr. Gibson. You have the stones with you?"

"One of them."

"Very well. May I get your name, sir?"

"Brad Webb."

"Mr. Webb. Mr. Gibson will be free shortly."

True to her word, it was ten minutes later almost on the dot that she announced that Mr. Gibson could see me now. I headed back into a showroom that looked more like what I had been expecting, with glass display cases full of rings, necklaces, and other jewelry. There were a handful of people scattered about, speaking with employees. As I looked around the room, a dwarven man approached me.

"Mr. Webb?" I nodded. "Doubrakan Gibson. Please, step into my workshop?"

I walked with him into a back room, which had an office desk as well as a workbench with various tools scattered about. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Gibson. You're an appraiser?"

"Among other things. I'm told you have one stone on you, and more elsewhere?" I nodded, and he cocked his head to the side. "You look nervous. Your first time dealing with some measure of wealth?"

"Is it that obvious?"

He let out a quiet laugh. "Seen it a thousand times, lad. Don't worry, House Karmetan is well-known for our integrity and discretion. Let's have a look."

A bit hesitantly, I took the sapphire out of my pocket and held it up to him. His eyes widened at the sight. "Lad... do you know what you have there?"

"A big sapphire?" I asked hesitantly.

"If I'm right... may I see it?" He held out his hand, and I handed it to him. He took some sort of magnifying lens and began to examine it, turning it this way and that, then switched to some form of enchanted rod, speaking slowly in an awed tone. "I see big sparkly rocks all the time, fake garbage made of glass or cheap crystal to fool and cheat the gullible. A good few of them are bigger than that there, but by my honor this is genuine!"

"...yes?"

"Mr. Webb, have you ever heard of aspected gemstones?"

"I have. I'm an enchanter and we use them in our work."

"Not like this, you don't. The displays on rune tablets and FV sets, for example, generally contain a tiny illusion-aspected diamond chip at the core of their enchantments. But..." he held up a pair of tweezers with the prongs separated by less than a quarter-inch, "I'm sure you've seen them. They're about this big around and barely thicker than a sheet of construction paper."

"Are you telling me this sapphire is aspected?"

"It is! Water. Kith haven't been aspecting large stones in centuries, Mr. Webb. Honestly I'm not certain if the technique to do so is still known! If I might ask, where did you find this?"

"...would you believe an extraordinarily rare drop of dungeon loot?"

He gave me a knowing look. "I'd believe there's a dungeon involved somewhere along the way, but quite a bit more to it than that. If that's all you're comfortable saying, though... very well, dungeon loot. Of a cut and polished stone, prepared for pre-ætheric enchanting processes."

What kind of mess had Gareth gotten me into with this thing? "I assume this complicates the appraisal?"

"Like you wouldn't believe, lad. If this were just a big sapphire, I'd quote you 300,000 crowns for it. Try selling it at auction, you'd get maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less depending on the day, but in that neighborhood. But something like this? I'd not be surprised to hear a collector of antiquities was willing to buy it off you for three, five, maybe even twelve times that."

"What."

"The gods' own truth, Mr. Webb," he said, handing the stone back to me.

That got me thinking, and the thoughts were not good ones. "That's the sort of money that drags people into news stories," I said slowly.

"There are plenty of kith who would leap at such a chance to have wealth and be known for it. Isn't that the common phrase? Rich and famous?"

"Honestly I think I'd prefer 'rich and comfortably obscure.'"

He let out a deep, rumbling chuckle. "Plenty who'd enjoy that as well."

"Well, I definitely thank you for your integrity, Mr. Gibson. You could have offered to buy it off me for much less and I'd have happily accepted and been none the wiser. But now, knowing this... would it be possible to avail myself of the discretion you mentioned earlier?"

"You're looking for an agent?" he asked. "Someone to find a collector and sell this on your behalf, and keep your name out of things?"

"...exactly. How did you know?"

He smiled. "Forty million people in this kingdom, lad. Means one-in-a-million events happen dozens of times a day. Some fraction of those events make their way through our doors. The exact details of each situation are unique, but the broad picture is quite common."

"Then I suppose you have a standardized discretion-agent... err... services package available?"

"One might call it that. The short version is, House Kametan takes care of the details of brokering the trade. We take 25% as our cut. In return, we provide you with a buyer that you would not have had access to yourself, with anonymity, and with expert advice regarding disposal of the funds including tax liability, legal implications, investment and charitable-giving counseling, and so forth."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"Legal implications?"

"A mere formality in your case, but there are certain procedures that must always be observed to ensure that the merchandise does not turn out to be stolen property. For you... if a stone as unique as this had been stolen from some museum or private collector, anywhere in the world, I am confident I would have heard of it. And as always, there are fees associated with the verification process that we can handle on your behalf."

"That makes sense."

"One last thing. You did say there are more?"

"One more," I said. "A ruby of similar size, slightly larger than this. Couldn't tell you if it's aspected or not."

He closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head in disbelief. "You'll have to introduce me to your dungeon someday, lad," he said with a quiet laugh. He got a thin packet of paperwork out of his desk and handed it to me. "Here. Look this over, preferably with your attorney. Take a few days, maybe even ask another jeweler or three for their opinion. You have my word you'll find no better offer, especially should the ruby be as... noteworthy... as this sapphire."

"Reading between the lines here, the two gems would be more valuable together as a set than their combined values individually?"

"Quite possibly, yes," he said. "I would have to see the other to be certain, of course."

Holy crap. I had probably a few million platinum in treasure just sitting there in my apartment, kept safe only by the fact that nobody knew about it. That was kind of terrifying.

It was pretty clear that our time was up, so I thanked Mr. Gibson and saw myself out. How did my life get so complicated in the last few days?

* * *

Wednesday and Thursday things were getting back to normal at work. Everyone kept talking about the way the Choosing had degenerated into a battle and how many High Lords ended up dead or badly injured. Apparently, out of 141 original members, less than 110 remained alive and fit to serve. But as tragic as that all was, it was way across the Empire from us, and no one really thought it would have all that much effect on our lives, so we did our best to get back to normal. We had cars to build, afterall!

Thursday night, after giving it a lot of thought, I decided to go back to church. I wasn't really comfortable there, but with all the other stuff in my life making me uncomfortable, at least this one might (maybe!) give me some way to prepare for all the rest of it. Besides, it was where I could find my only friend in Sharliya outside of work. And as borderline-creepy as Felicity could be sometimes, I had a question that I thought she might be one of the best-qualified people to ask.

Speaking of creepy, the moment I walked in to the chapel, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. It drew my view, and I looked over to see Felicity, sitting in a pew with what I assumed was her family, turning to look directly at me right as I waked in. It sure didn't look like she had seen me enter, and there was enough background conversation that she wouldn't have heard me, (even if the floor hadn't been carpeted and my gait were somehow distinctive enough to tell me by or whatever,) but somehow she noticed the instant I walked in.

She gave me a bright smile and a little beckoning wave, so I slowly crossed to her, and she scooted down a bit to make room for me. "Brad! Good to see you here!" she somehow managed to say very enthusiastically while at the same time keeping her voice down to church-appropriate levels. It was a neat trick, I had to give her that.

The man on the other side of her, who looked like he might well stand 6'4" if he wasn't sitting down and with the arms and torso of some sort of smith or lumberjack, scowled over at me. "Brad, huh? What are your intentions with my daughter?" he inquired in a low rumble.

Felicity sighed and rolled her eyes. "Please don't embarrass me, Dad," she groaned. "This is Brad. Remember I told you about the dungeon?"

The man's whole expression suddenly changed. "Oh! This is that guy?" He reached one massive hand across his daughter. "Pleased to meet you, Charles Ellis."

I took his hand, wincing preemptively, sure his hand was about to crush mine, but somehow, to my surprise, it ended up being a pretty normal handshake. A guy that big, he had to have practiced not crushing people's hands. "Your daughter really helped my team out a lot, Mr. Ellis." Taking a bit of a leap, I added, "somebody did a fine job raising her."

He actually flushed slightly at that. "Reanna and I tried our best, but she's our only daughter and then three sons... somehow she turned out all boy."

"I'm sitting right here, Dad..."

I gave her a teasing little smile. "If he really meant that, he wouldn't be so worried about men's intentions towards you."

That got grins out of both of them. "You're a clever one. S'pose you work with your head, and not your hands?"

Felicity just groaned and started to stand up. "Would you like to sit someplace a little bit quieter, Brad?" she asked, looking at me but quite pointedly addressing her father.

"Sure." I got up and let her out, then followed her back towards the back of the room and sat beside her in an empty section.

"Sorry about that. He comes on a little strong sometimes."

"As long as he stays gentle about it, because wow that's not someone I'd want angry at me! You said your mission trip was his idea; he a paladin too?"

She nodded. "Back before he met Mom and settled down. Wants all four of us to follow in his footsteps."

Before I could reply, the Esott stood up to the podium and opened the meeting. No big announcements today, and he quickly got down to his sermon, this week drawing on the Book of The Trials and Prince Reginald's struggle to regain his crown from his usurper brother Thaddeus. Not as blatantly hero-baiting as the previous week's, but the message was still pretty clear that evil remains the scourge of our day just as in previous Ages and we needed to draw upon the examples of the ancients to effectively resist.

As the sermon was wrapping up, I asked Felicity under my breath, "can I talk with you about something, in private?"

She shrugged. "The church is full of people; it's not really made for privacy. But maybe we could go outside or something?"

"That works."

Once the prayer had been said and people started getting up to leave for Eventide School classes, I headed for the door, only to be brought up short by a ten-year-old boy. "Are you Lissy's boyfriend?" he asked, tugging at my sleeve.

I looked at Felicity over my shoulder, and she just scowled. "Mark! Please don't embarrass me!"

"Well Daddy says you're sweet on him," the boy proclaimed.

"Well Daddy made a mistake," Felicity said very patiently. "Brad's my companion. He's a wizard and we do adventures together. Dungeons and stuff."

Mark's eyes widened. "Oh! Wowww!" He grinned and ran off, no doubt to share this juicy bit of gossip with friends or brothers.

"Lissy?" I asked Felicity, an eyebrow raised.

"Not a word," she grumbled. But at least she kept walking with me. Once outside, she asked, "so what's this private matter, and why does it need my help?"

"Because you're the first person I could come up with on short notice who I don't think would be tempted to give me some badly self-serving advice."

"O...kay?"

"I told you I helped Gareth Meranas get fixed up with some basic supplies before he left?"

"Yeah."

"I... also gave him some money. In return he gave me some gemstones he said were a fair trade."

She groaned quietly. "He didn't!"

"You see where this is heading?"

"You did some research and... what're they actually worth?"

"Hard to say exactly. Anywhere from two to twelve million, depending. And I have no idea what to even do with money like that!"

"And you think the best advice would be from someone who's spent the last three years living off the generosity of others?"

"I trust you not to ask me for a cut, for starters."

"...wow. Uhhh, there's a lot of good you could do for a lot of people with money like that."

I sighed. "Donate it to charity? Maybe to the church? Sponsor some new paladins?" I tried not to sound too disappointed at the answer.

She shook her head. "That's always a possibility, sure, but I didn't mean there's a lot of good someone else could do with the money. I meant you."

"What would I personally do? Even if I became some sort of philanthropist, that usually involves giving money to charities and causes and stuff."

"Not sure. You spring this on me all at once like that, it's not something I've given much thought to. Let's see... OK, solid advice. Get out of debt. Student loans, car, anything like that, pay it off. Then get a house. Then look at the rest and see where the opportunities lie."

"A house? What's wrong with my apartment?"

"Other than the fact that you're paying money each month that you'll never see again?"

"Point."

She cocked her head to the side slightly, as if listening to something I couldn't hear. "I might have some other advice," she said.

I realized what was coming too late. "Wait, please don't..." but her eyes were already beginning to glow, her voice changing.

"Heed the words of my servant Felicity. Let House Webb stand as a bulwark against the darkness to come."

Wait, what? She said get a house, but the Guidance said to found a House? What does that even mean? It's not like you can just buy a patent of nobility or something!

"Please don't do that again," I said once she was back to normal. "It's really creepy!"

"Is it?" she asked in confusion. "Most people who get the opportunity are delighted to have personal, divine guidance in their lives."

"Meh. I really prefer to avoid the notice of beings who could strike me down on a whim."

"Like the being you work for?"

"He's a dragon. He wants to make money. That's a very scrutable motivation."

"I talked with him yesterday. He explained to me about... the you-know-whats."

"I do know."

"Made it pretty clear he cares about more than just cash."

I shook my head at her. "I'm not so sure. Seemed to me like his big motivation in all this is ensuring stability. Pull the stability and predictability out from under everyone, and it's a lot harder to run a profitable business. You know, like Thaxil's Tower?"

"That could be," she conceded. "It just feels like there's more to it."

"Well... thanks. You've given me a lot to think about." And so had the other voice, even if nothing it said made any sense.

She gave my shoulder a little squeeze. "Hey, I know it can be rough, trying to work out your path. Hold to your faith. It's like a muscle: it gets stronger the more you exercise it. The exercising can be uncomfortable at times, but the results are definitely worth it!"

"I'll keep that in mind," I said. I didn't particularly feel like sticking around for Eventide School, so I headed to my car, feeling like I was being pulled in so many directions all at once.