“Are ya going to buy anything, or just drool all over my cards?” the Paj shopkeeper said. He glided out from behind the counter over to where Max stood. The green skinned Paj seemed to hover over the ground, his thousands of tail cilia let him move smoothly.
“I’m loving this card, but I’m hesitant to ask how much it costs,” Max said and pointed to a citadel card in the middle.
The city of Twelve Meditations was much larger than Wild Plums had been. That meant that the selection for cards was also much wider. Max was standing in front of a glass case devoted to citadel cards. There were five other similar cases for the other suits, as well as a display case devoted to cards of different suits that worked well together. It was a shopper’s paradise.
“That one is 700 eggs. The ones on this side of the case are more expensive, and the ones on the other side of the case are less expensive,” the Paj said, hinting that Max should move down.
Max considered the card again.
Exceptional
Phase Spear
Citadel
Transmutes matter within 16.2 feet into a phase spear designed by the cardholder.
Mana Cost: 36
Refresh: 0.3 Hours
Card Level: 12
“How much is that in monster cores?” Max said without looking up. This was an impressive card, even if he couldn’t afford it now, he might want to come back for it. Being able to create a spear on command would be fantastic. It was made of a magical sounding metal and he bet that the magic effect was epic.
“121 whites.”
Max’s eyebrows rose. “121? That’s insane. I bought two good cards in Wild Plums for less than 50 whites.” It had actually been 54 whites, but the point still stood.
The Paj knocked on the display case and said, “This is certainly better than any card you bought there, otherwise you wouldn’t be drooling over it. Besides, you have to expect higher prices for cards on the second layer. Monsters drop cards and shards more often on the third layer than here.”
“Damn.”
The Paj stroked his forearms and said, “Let me make a few guesses. I bet you are a sapling, you only got here a few days ago. You were lucky to survive this far, but you need to get to the first layer because of your mandatory quest. You are trying to buy something to help you survive the trip.”
“Was it that obvious?”
The Paj gestured to Max's body. “You are still wearing clothing from your homeworld. Let me offer some advice. The first layer is the source of most of the world’s dungeon artifacts. Spend a year clearing dungeons, that should net you four or five really good artifacts. That would be enough to buy this card.”
Max’s shoulders slumped. A year. It would take a year to save up enough to buy the one card in front of him.
Well, maybe not. He already had an artifact in his bag. That tube thing Chunus had given him, the Impeller. If dungeon loot was plentiful on the first level and cards scarce, it would be best to sell the Impeller now and buy cards instead.
Max reached into his belt pocket and grabbed a strap of his bag. As he tugged on the strap, the thought occurred to him that his belt of holding completely eliminated the weight of items inside. There had to be a way to take advantage of that. He would think about it later. For now, he rummaged around inside his pack for the Impeller.
“A storage device? And clearly one that holds much. Perhaps you have been much more blessed than I thought,” the Paj said.
Max found the Impeller and held it out. “Yeah, I’m pretty lucky to have the belt. Anyway, how much do you think this guy is worth? It creates a strong wind.”
The shopkeep undulated back a bit and pulled his hands back. “One moment please. I need to use my Insight before I touch any dungeon loot. Never can be too careful with curses.” The Paj leaned forward and stared at it for a bit. He chuckled as he read something only he could see. “It’s a Mark 11 Stark Impeller. These descriptions are always so whimsical. It’s not cursed, you may hand it over.”
Max did and said, “Do you mind if I ask what level your Inspect is at? I don’t get a whimsical description at my level.”
“As an employee of Victorious Secret, I can tell you that my Inspect is 18. Most people stop at 12, since that’s the minimum to see if an item has drawbacks, but I find that 18 is better because some drawbacks aren’t really curses.”
Max nodded. “I know what you mean. My belt has drawbacks but as you’ve seen, it’s still very convenient.”
The shopkeep flipped the impeller in the air and peered through the hole. “The mana conversion rate listed on the description is very good. This would be a fine addition to a flying machine. I would be willing to give you 54 whites. More in store credit.”
“I was thinking of getting some cards, even if I don’t use them myself. They’ll be worth more on the first layer, right?”
“Yes, if you survive the journey.”
Max ignored the pessimism and said, “What do you recommend I get? What would sell best on the first layer?”
The Paj undulated around him to the other end of the table. “There’s been a boom in dungeon artifacts coming from the first layer. I’ve heard the largest guilds are investing heavily in the business. Citadel weapon cards like the one you were looking at are getting more and more valuable.”
“That makes sense,” Max said and moved down the display case to join him.
“What most people are forgetting is infrastructure. Any card that helps with construction, food, or plumbing will soon be even more valuable. I recommend you get a few of those type of cards and sell them in a month or two when everyone recognizes their value.” The shopkeep opened the case and pulled out four cards. “If you trade me your impeller, you can afford any two of these cards.”
Common
Pipe
Citadel
Transmutes mana neutral matter within aura into a 7/8th inch diameter pipe of woven polymer. Mana cost increases with length.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Mana Cost: 12
Couplings: 2
Card Level: 1
Common
Rope
Citadel
Transmutes mana neutral matter within aura into a thick rope.
Mana Cost: 12
Refresh: .3 hours
Card Level: 1
Common
Rotary Cutter
Citadel
Transmutes mana neutral matter within aura into a rotary cutter able to cut through most materials.
Mana Cost: 28
Refresh: 7.1 hours
Card Level: 1
Common
Preservation Box
Citadel
Transmutes mana neutral matter within aura into a 15 inch cube that retards most biological processes. Particularly effective on the microscopic level.
Mana Cost: 42
Efficacy: 2x slowed
Card Level: 1
Max was struck again how lucky he was that he had started with a high level card and upgraded it to advanced. Most cards were clearly common. His advanced hammer card had an amazing attack and was flexible in design.
Back to the common cards. He immediately slid the Rotary Cutter card to the side. He knew from construction work how essential a good saw was. You could cobble together replacements for most tools, but not saws. Work always ground to a halt when you didn’t have the right one. Plus, this saw had a magical effect he couldn’t wait to see in action.
His second choice would be a little more difficult. The Preservation Box card sounded fantastic, but it would have to be leveled up a bit to get the mana cost down and the efficacy up. As it was, he couldn’t use it and he knew anyone that chose Quicken wouldn’t be able to use it either.
The rope sounded intriguing, the card indicated it had a spell. Maybe it was self tying rope, or even rope that could wrap up a monster. He decided against it though. Even with a magic power, it wouldn’t be much more useful than a mundane rope. Anyone could make one of those.
Pipe sounded great, vital when constructing any new building. Its usefulness dropped dramatically after that though. Pipes didn’t need as much maintenance as the rest of the building and weren’t often moved during renovations.
Max knocked his fingers on the case, imitating the Paj habit. “I’ll take the Rotary Cutter, but I’m not sure about the other three. Do you have anything else in my budget?”
“I could always pay you out 25 whites in change, or I could show you two more cards in your budget. They are a little more esoteric, but I have a feeling you might like them.”
Max motioned for the Paj to continue. He put the three unwanted cards away and ducked low to grab two more. He placed them on the glass and Max eagerly read through them.
Common
Glue Gun
Citadel
Produces adhesive that restructures atomic bonds between any two solid materials to join them together. Strength of bond is dependent on component parts.
Mana Cost: 30
Reservoir Refill: 8
Card Level: 1
Common
Adjust
Citadel
Rewrites the charged spellform on a citadel created object. Resulting spell form will be random and incompatibly will destroy the item.
Mana Cost: 28
Feasibility: 21%
Card Level: 1
The glue gun was tempting. He would have loved to have one at his old job site. But he wasn’t sure if anyone would buy it in this world. He had seen a Join card on the more expensive side that skipped adhesive and directly combined materials while strengthening them.
On the other hand, Adjust card was calling his name. He would love to be able to change the spell on his hammers. He could just imagine himself with a dozen hammers, each holding a different spell.
Max picked up the Adjust card and said, “This one seems very nice. What’s it doing down here with the cheap stuff?”
“You are right that it’s a fantastic card in the right situation,” the Paj said and knocked his green knuckles on the glass. “But it’s one of the few cards with a drawback. It destroys failures four out of five times. If you aren’t a Citadel Specialist, that would get expensive fast. If you are a Specialist, then you don’t want it in case it would spread that drawback to your merged card.”
“So you are saying this is actually a garbage card? Well that kinda sucks. What about the glue gun? Is it the main card used in construction?” Max asked, already knowing the answer.
“No, Join is the main card used in construction. The glue gun is similar, but uses a monster core to operate.”
“Alright. So the glue gun isn’t that great either.” Max said with a frown. Inwardly he was excited.
He remembered a project that really needed some glue. His broken crossbow. He wanted both of these cards but he still had to play it cool. “How about you give me both of these subpar cards, plus the Rotary Cutter, in exchange for the impeller? That way you get rid of inventory that no one else wants and get a very desirable dungeon artifact instead?”
“Your impeller is nice, but it isn’t three cards nice,” the Paj said and slid the glue gun back.
Max reached out and slid it back to his pile. “True. So give me one good card and two cards that no one else will buy.”
The Paj grimaced and knocked on the display case. “You make a good point. Deal.”
Max thanked him and happily tucked away the three new cards. He kept them in his pants pockets, not willing to risk them in his magic belt. He couldn’t wait to work with James to try out the Adjust card and swap magic spells on his hammers and drills. They would rarely succeed, but mana was endless as long as you were patient.
As Max walked out of Victorious Secret he was feeling much better than when he walked in. This morning he had been super frustrated with the loss of the Listen card. Now he had three Citadel cards, and he might actually put one of them in his deck. The day was looking up.
He looked around the neighborhood while he thought about how to spend the rest of his day. He was right on the edge of Paj and Lunuk. He had already discovered that he wasn’t welcome in the hills the Lunuk lived in. He had decided to explore the Paj shopping district when a different option presented itself.
Optional Quest
A phase whale has breached 8.2 miles spinward of Twelve Meditations. Work together with the city defenders to kill it before it has the chance to wreak havoc. Recompense based on contribution.
Do you accept?
Yes
No