"I need a shadow-typed teleportation card. Rank doesn't matter," Irwin said.
Driseog nodded with a frown. "A hard one to get, so I understand why you would ask for help. Any other things to consider? Can it have any other types?"
Irwin thought for a bit, then shook his head. Greldo was going to turn it into a part of his heartcard, so it didn't really matter that much, and he was going to be the one to reforge it up.
"No, as long as it's a shadow-typed teleport, it should be fine."
"That will make it considerably easier, but I still can't guarantee anything," Driseog said. "The second card?"
"A Dryadic seedling card, but this one has some more requirements. It can't be higher than amethyst, and it needs to have one known path to gain the minion type."
As he spoke, he saw Driseog's eyes widen, and after a while, he made a sound of rustling leaves. Irwin had heard it before and knew it was the Viridian equivalent of whistling.
"Alright, this will be far more difficult and highly expensive," Driseog said. "Any Dryadic card is highly sought after by many Viridians, and a seedling card of that rank is rare. The minion type… I've seen them, but not many. Let us continue with your other requests first while I think about this. But I can tell you now that it will be very hard."
Irwin frowned. If this was going to be difficult, what about his own request? He didn't even know if that was even possible!
"I'm also looking for an energy-increasing card that works with fire or heat and has different abilities beyond just that effect," he said.
Driseog blinked.
"Or metal," Irwin quickly added, thinking about his other cards.
"Young Smith, it is your luck that you decided to ask this of me because I don't think you would have any chance to find this on your own, and the other mission centers might have laughed and sent you away. Each of these requests is harder than the one before it!"
Irwin sighed.
"Well, if you can't find the last card, my other request would be to set up a trade for a few of the cards I've created in exchange for known paths to reforge cards like that."
Driseog remained quiet for a while, then sighed.
"I see. And your final request?"
Irwin removed two massive stacks of cards from his pockets and put them on the table. He saw Driseog's eyes widen, and then the Viridian audibly swallowed.
"Could you appraise my cards and advise on which would do best in the main auction and which would do best in smaller settings like mission centers?"
"One moment," Driseog said, his voice sounding strangled as he rose and rushed to a shelf. He returned with a booksized crystal slab, which he put on the table before carefully, almost reverently taking the first of the stacks of cards.
He placed the first card on the crystal, read the tiny print that appeared on the slab, and blinked. Putting it to the side, he examined the next card, then the next. After ten cards, he had three stacks and turned to look at Irwin.
"Are all these reforged by you?" he asked.
"Yes," Irwin said.
Driseog took a deep breath, then continued to appraise the cards, his face going from surprise to incredulity to apprehension before sticking with disbelief.
Irwin quietly waited, taking the occasional drink while noticing that the stacks Driseog was making were not based on the rank but, if he remembered the cards well, more on the percentage quality and the types.
After a few minutes, he suddenly realized Greldo was still waiting.
"Driseog, my friend is still downstairs. Can he join us here?"
Driseog looked up, seeming confused for a moment. Then he blinked and gave him a tired smile. "Yes, could you bring him? I… I-"
"Sure, no problem," Irwin said. He took a look at the cards, then walked to the stairs and down. A few seconds later, he came back up with Greldo, and they sat down opposite Driseog.
"So?" Greldo whispered.
"I asked him for the cards, but it will be hard," Irwin whispered back. "Let's just see what the appraisal ends with."
Greldo nodded.
Over twenty minutes later, Driseog placed the final card on one of the stacks and leaned back.
"Give me a moment, please," he muttered, leaning back and closing his eyes. His hands glowed a dim green light, showing he was doing something.
Irwin looked at Greldo, who just shrugged and gave him a thumbs up.
They waited for another while until Driseog leaned forward and gazed at Irwin intently.
"Alright. Based on what you have here, my professional opinion would be to auction these cards on the first day, these on the second day, and so on," Driseog said as he pointed at a few of the smallest stacks.
"Beyond all being one hundred percent quality, they are also cards I know have paths that are very desirable and rare."
"Why not just do all of them on the first day?" Greldo asked.
Driseog looked at him before nodding. "You could do so, however, doing them a few per day will result in Smith Irwin's name becoming more widely known, and people will start waiting for his cards instead of using all their soulshards on others."
"They are that good?" Greldo asked, surprised.
Irwin just grinned while Driseog sighed.
"Yes," he merely said. "Now, these I would spread out over the following few weeks and pay to have them mentioned beforehand."
Irwin looked at Ambraz, nothing the same grin on the metallic surface.
"Great job," he whispered.
"Of course!" Ambraz whispered back.
Irwin grinned, then looked at the stacks and noticed a stack of perhaps six cards. None were a hundred percent, but they were all Emerald rank, the highest they could do right now. Still, not a single one was all that special from what he could tell.
Driseog didn't seem to notice his confusion and continued.
"All these others I would sell in mission centers, and… if I dare ask, I would be honored if you selected my Greenbark Mission Center for this," Driseog said as he looked at Irwin.
Irwin nodded slowly. He had hoped for an indication of how many soulshards these would bring, but he had yet to hear a price. He didn't think Driseog would con him, as Balarn seemed to trust him and knew him from previous times he had been here.
"So what are they going to bring?" Greldo asked.
"It is hard to say with these," Driseog said as he gestured at the stacks. "Anywhere between two hundred and fifty and five hundred thousand soul shards, maybe more if a big spender sees something they really like."
"What?" Irwin managed as he nearly choked on his water and began coughing. Beside him, Greldo began cursing.
"I am sorry if this isn't as much as you had imagined," Driseog said, seemingly mistaking their reaction for something else. "However, this is only a small world. If you went to the main branch worlds, you could get far more."
"No, no," Irwin said as he shook his head. "It's not that, it-"
"The kid never saw that many soulshards in his life," Ambraz said before laughing.
Driseog blinked, then raised an eyebrow as if questioning that.
Irwin grinned and nodded. "Pretty much."
"For a smith with such skill that surprises me," Driseog said. "However, it is good that you are satisfied with this. Does this mean you will offer this job to my Greenbark Mission Center?"
Irwin hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes. But I'd like you to keep in account that the cards I requested are more important to me. If someone has them and prefers trading…"
Driseog nodded, staring at the cards. Then he tapped the tablet, and there was a soft humm before a female voice came out.
"Master Driseog. What do you require?"
"Please set up a contract between me and Smith Irwin for the handling of the hundred and forty-nine cards currently on the table. My Greenbark Mission Center and I will do our utmost best to sell them at the highest price or trade them for the following three cards-" he quickly outlined the cards before taking a look at Irwin, who nodded.
"This will happen for a ten percent commission, but if cards are traded, the Greenbark Mission Center will waive this commission and accept the additional cost," Driseog finally ended.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Irwin's eyes widened at that, knowing it was something Driseog likely wouldn't have needed to do.
"Master Driseog of Greenbark Mission Center, your request for a contract has been heard, and a contract has been prepared. Smith Irwin, do you agree to the pre-mentioned agreements?"
"I do," Irwin said.
"Very well. The contract has been established and added to my registrar. If either party acts against the agreement, please contact me so I can meet out the appropriate punishment," the female stated emotionlessly.
"Punishment?" Irwin asked, startled.
"Don't worry. I have yet to see this ever being necessary. It happens every few years, usually with young merchants that think they can outsmart the system and find they can't," Driseog said. "Now, please remain here while I get the estimated ten percent earnings for you."
He rose and ran off while Irwin looked after him, wondering what that was about.
"So… mister rich and powerful," Greldo said. "Remember how you promised me to get a drink after? How about we go and add some food?"
Before he could answer, Driseog walked back inside, carrying a small crystal the size of half his palm. He carefully handed it to Irwin.
"This is a Portal Gallery Credit Crystal, which you can use to pay in most places. It saves you from having to carry all your soulshards with you. One of the services I provide is having clear Crystals created for large customers, and in this case, I think it is very suited."
Irwin accepted the crystal, which was two fingers thick and rounded on the edges. A few simple markings sat on it.
"Press it against this," Driseog said, raising the larger crystal tablet.
Irwin moved the crystal until it ticked against the larger one, and the female voice returned.
"Unbound Portal Gallery Credit Crystal detected. Smith Irwin, would you like to claim it as your own?"
Irwin hesitated for only a moment before nodding. "Yes," he added when he realized he wasn't sure the entity in the crystal could even detect that.
"Binding complete! If you lose the crystal, find a major hub crystal to require it to be disabled, and we will provide you a new one at the cost of ten thousand soulshards," the voice said.
"Ten… thousand?" Irwin whispered, swallowing as he quickly pocketed the crystal
"I've added twenty-five thousand soulshards to the card," Driseog said, causing Irwin to stare at him stupidly.
"I would have liked to give you ten percent of the highest estimate, but I'm afraid even I don't have that much liquidity readily available," Driseog said. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to do a double take on the cards and start finding the best avenues to promote them!"
Irwin nodded as he got up, stunned by what had happened. He pulled Greldo along, who was staring at the cards and then at him.
As they walked through the shop, they noticed there were still people walking around, even though the sun outside showed it was day by now.
"I guess they don't close during the auction period?" Irwin muttered as he stood in the square, feeling slightly weird.
"I guess," Greldo muttered.
"You two look like you got knocked into a wall," Ambraz snorted.
Irwin blinked, then began walking around, looking for a place to eat and drink, realizing he should have asked Driseog.
It didn't take long until they came across a large building with terraces that looked out at the beautiful lake. Unlike the mission center area, it was quiet here, though a few people moving around showed that it wasn't closed.
"Let's try here," Irwin said.
It didn't take long before they were sitting at a private table on the otherwise nearly empty terrace in a remote corner bordering a wall of green vegetation. A pretty Viridian girl took their orders before walking away.
"So…" Greldo asked, looking up. "What are you going to do now that you have so much money? You could just get a ton of people from our world to Fiverio?"
"Don't know yet," Irwin said with a shake of his head. "Why don't you tell me a bit about how you and Relinda got together?"
Greldo raised an eyebrow as he leaned back.
"Only if you tell me what's going on with you and Scintilla."
"Ugh! If you two are going to discuss that, at least tell me that you brought something for me to eat, too?" Ambraz snapped.
Irwin looked at the tiny Anvil, realizing it was right. With as many cards as he had, he could easily afford that. Besides, it was mostly due to Ambraz that he even had it in the first place. He removed a few cards from the top of the last stack he had in his pockets. They were all low-rank and useless, but he'd brought them to give to Moninque and Nimdal. Putting five cards on the table, Irwin grinned as Ambraz let out a joyful whoop and rushed down.
He and Greldo began chatting, only stopping when their massive stacks of food and drink arrived, then continuing. Although they started about things dealing with Relinda and Scintilla, they quickly got sidetracked by what had happened long ago, mostly when they were separated in the different portals.
Hours later, Irwin listened in wonder about the dozens of missions Greldo had done. He could barely believe it when Greldo told him that most missions didn't earn more than a few dozen to a hundred soulshards. The few missions that apparently gave cards gave no more than lousy Amethyst ones.
When they finally walked out of the restaurant, the sun was high in the sky, and it was even quieter than before.
"We should do this more often," Irwin said, stretching and yawning.
"Make sure to bring me when you do!" Ambraz shouted as he flitted around energetically. "I don't think I've had this many cards in a row, ever!'
--
Some days later, and half a day before the main auction was to start, Irwin was back in the Greenbark Mission Center. He had been quietly listening to Driseog, who explained the details of what he'd done for the different sets of cards and how they had performed. As interesting as it seemed to the man, Irwin's attention kept drifting off.
"So, that means the entire first set sold out rapidly, and I should warn you," Driseog said at some point, and Irwin blinked, quickly looking back up from staring at the water jar on the table.
"Now, you might get some parties approaching you and asking if you have more cards available. My advice to you would be to say you have none left and handed all the cards you reforged to me."
"That sounds fine," Irwin said with a quick nod.
"Now, I also have some news on the cards you requested me to locate. Three shadow teleport cards have been registered for the auction—one on the first day and the other two on the final day of the week. I do have to warn you that they will probably go for twenty to thirty thousand soulshards. My advice would be to go for the first card. Many people think that waiting for the final cards is the smartest because then those who want to bid big will have moved on the first. However, this isn't true. In most cases, the final card goes for the highest price."
Irwin nodded, hoping Driseog had more news.
"There is also a rumor that a merchant from one of the larger branches is coming here with Dryadic cards. Sadly, they are in the hidden bidding section, so we will have to wait each day to see which ones show up."
"Any idea how much they will cost?" Irwin asked.
"None, but don't expect anything under a hundred thousand soulshards," Driseog said.
Irwin swallowed, shaking his head. Crithann really could have handed me some soulshards for this, he thought.
"I don't have any news on the final card, but I did place a mission on the board for it. If one appears, we will know," Driseog said before leaning back. "So, how would you like to act tomorrow?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I can add the soulshards you made to your account, and you can buy what you need yourself, or you can come with me and let me take care of it."
Irwin hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I don't have any experience with this, but I do want to come and see what cards show up. Perhaps I'll see something interesting," he said. Then he turned to Ambraz and grinned. "Or perhaps you will?"
"Yeah, yeah! I'll keep an eye open," Ambraz said, causing Irwin to laugh.
"No problem. I will be there to handle your and other patrons' requests, and you're welcome to join me in my private booth," Driseog said.
Thinking about it for a while, Irwin agreed, and they agreed to meet at the shop very early the next evening, just before the first day's auction would start. Irwin then left and kept walking around the floors, too excited to know what to do with himself.
He barely slept, and when the agreed-upon time was there, he had been sitting near the Greenbark Mission Center for a few hours already. Driseog appeared a few minutes early but merely blinked when he spotted Irwin.
"Right. Let's head out," the calm Viridian said.
They walked through the city, taking a vine basket to go to the first floor. As they stepped out, Irwin was stunned by the milling mass of people. Not just that, but where he had gotten used to seeing only Viridians with some exceptions, the crowd was made up of over half of many different races.
"Follow me," Driseog said as he calmly walked past the crow to the side, heading towards the large building in the center of the floor. Irwin hadn't been to this specific place before, and when they reached the massive square before the Auction House, he was stunned. There had to be tens of thousands of people standing there while a few massive lines led through the main entrances.
"We probably should have come earlier," he said as he eyed the end of the nearest line.
Driseog didn't respond but calmly walked to a building adjacent to the main one. Three towering Viridians were guarding the door, but when he approached, they stepped aside.
"Master Driseog," they said, nodding politely at the older Viridian while ignoring Irwin.
The hallway behind it was quiet, with only a few Viridians moving about. A young girl ran towards them as they entered a large aula.
"Master Driseog, your booth is ready. Please follow me," she said, her gaze moving to Irwin for a moment before she bowed and led the way.
Do they do this for all the heads of Mission Centers, or is there something special about Driseog, Irwin wondered as he followed them.
Some hallways, a dozen stairs, and a long corridor later, they stood before a small mahogany door with the insignia of the Greenbark Mission Center on it. The Viridian girl unlocked it with a key, which she then handed to Driseog.
"I hope you have a pleasant day, Master Driseog," she said. "Food and drinks are ready inside, and if you require more, please don't hesitate to let us know."
"Thank you," Driseog said as he smiled at her before walking inside.
Irwin followed him, and he was surprised to see the room was larger than he had thought. With a wide balcony to one side, a desk in the middle with a chair, and a relaxing area to the side, it looked more like a luxurious living room. Food and drinks stood in a small pantry.
A vaguely familiar Viridian woman sat on one of the couches and quickly rose when they entered.
"Father! It's good to see you," she shouted, smiling as she ran to Driseog.
Irwin was surprised to see her hug the older man, who smiled and muttered something before stepping away.
"Smith Irwin, I'd like you to meet my youngest daughter, Yuulin. She has just returned from being off-world."
Irwin smiled and nodded at the young woman, wondering how old Driseog was if he had a daughter who looked as old as him.
"Nice to meet you," he said.
"Nice to... Oh! Is that an Anvil of the Gods?" Yuulin shouted as she stepped closer and leaned in to stare at Ambraz.
Irwin was surprised at her sudden proximity, while Ambraz just snorted.
"Definitely! You have a good eye," the Anvil said before flitting from Irwin's shoulder and landing on the desk.
"That's so amazing," Yuulin said as she stared at Irwin, a gleam in her pale green eyes. "Does that mean you are a Ruby rank smith, just like Master Gebladir?"
Irwin smiled and shook his head, pulling his braid over his shoulder to show the beautiful green Emerald rank plate. "Not yet, I'm afraid."
Yuulin's smile faded, and she sighed. "That's too bad."
"Yuulin, please be nice to my guest," Driseog said, sounding slightly annoyed. "And just so you know, Smith Irwin isn't even twenty years old yet!"
"What? That's not possible," she shouted before turning to Irwin and frowning. "Have you been lying-"
“Yuulin!” Driseog snapped.
Irwin blinked, surprised by the sudden anger in Driseog's voice.
"What have I told you about staying cordial and civil? Have you learned nothing at that expensive school?"
Yuulin took a step back, seemingly startled as much as Irwin, and then she snorted. Crossing her arms, Irwin suddenly realized she might not be as old as he had imagined. With her arms and the pouting face, she now looked young enough to be barely an adult. It was just her golden yellow-leafed hair that was putting him off. Usually, that meant the age of a Viridian, and yellow was middle-aged. He gazed at her hair, then at Driseog, who was frowning at his daughter.
The older Viridian seemed to catch Irwin's gaze and sighed.
"Yuul turned twenty standard years a few weeks ago," he said. "But we age slower than you. Technically, she is still a child, which she sadly proved again just now."
"It's not that bad," Irwin quickly said as he saw the girl's anger turn to worry.
"Thank you. However, I'm afraid I don't agree," Driseog said calmly. "Now, Yuul. Please head back home. We will discuss this when I return."
"What? But father, you said I could-"
"Staying here is a reward, and you have not earned it," Driseog said calmly. "If you are ever to take over one of the branches of my company, you will need to show more growth, young lady."
Yuulin seemed to want to argue, but when Driseog raised an eyebrow, she sniffed, giving Irwin an annoyed look before storming out of the room.
"My apologies, Smith Irwin," Driseog said after the door was slammed shut. "I had wanted to have her explain some things to you for both your benefit, but it seems she needs a proper talking-to tonight."
Irwin grimaced, then nodded.
"Don't worry. She is still young, so it is fine for her to make some mistakes," Driseog said, seemingly catching his worry. "However, her mother dotes on her too much, and if she is to become a proper adult, she will need to learn how to behave like one. Now, let's take our seats on the balcony and wait for Lord Urdwellan to signal the start of the auction."
"Alright," Irwin said, suddenly excited again.