“But I like watching you squirm,” Korima teased, but released Ruethwyn as Sella emerged from the crowd, shaking her head.
“How did you manage to avoid that knot of people midway, Korima? They were blocking almost every path, and you just passed them like they weren’t there!” Sella demanded, adjusting her dress as she scowled back at the crowd. “I think someone groped me while I was in there, too, but maybe not…”
“Practice. You learn to move quickly and take advantage of openings when a stage crew is working,” Korima replied succinctly as Ruethwyn straightened her dress. “And, um, sorry? I don’t know what to say about that.”
“Nothing to be done just now,” Sella said, sighing heavily. “Ah, there they are!”
“Okay, maybe it’s worse out today than I thought. A carriage might’ve been saner,” Tadrick said, looking rather harassed. Yalline was just behind him, and she didn’t look much better. “Going around the edges might have been faster, or at least less stressful.”
“You made it, didn’t you?” Korima retorted, tapping her foot impatiently. “Come on, I want to go inside. Maybe it’ll be quieter there.”
“Hold your horses, would you? Navaan should be right by the entrance, and he’ll help us out,” Tadrick said, taking a deep breath and nodding to the guards. Taking a step closer, he was about to say something, but almost in response, the door opened and Navaan stepped out, looking at Tadrick in annoyance.
“What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for nearly half an hour,” Navaan said. “I thought you said you’d be here by noon!”
“Sorry, but as you can see, the streets were rather crowded,” Sella spoke first, her voice surprisingly gentle. Ruethwyn saw Tadrick let out the breath he’d drawn, and Navaan seemed to relax somewhat.
“Well, I suppose so. It would’ve been nice to know you’d be late, though,” Navaan said, nodding to one of the guards. “They’re here to join me.”
“As you say, Master Daskar,” the woman in question said, stepping slightly to the side.
Ruethwyn and the others stepped past them, and Tadrick spoke up as they did so. “Sorry about the delay, really. We didn’t realize it’d be quite this bad getting here, or I’d have gotten a carriage.”
“Ah, well, that’s water under the bridge at this point. Come on, there’s some interesting stuff in here… and a lot of socializing going on, if that’s your thing,” Navaan said, and grinned as he added, “In fact, I think I saw Sir Whisperblade about, though I’m pretty sure he’s on-duty. No sign of Her Majesty, unfortunately.”
“I’m glad she’s not here, honestly. I think I might have to leave, otherwise,” Sella said, stepping through the doors, and Ruethwyn followed her… and promptly lost track of the conversation.
The interior of the building was largely white marble with gold paint trim, at least she hoped it was gold paint. There were murals on the walls of fantastic scenes from the history of Selwyn, along with fine tapestries. The ceiling of the round room was vaulted, and a glittering gold chandelier illuminated the room with shimmering light. Around the edges of the room were several adjacent chambers, each large enough to host a small store of their own, though at least one was filled with refreshments, and a quartet of musicians provided music from another.
Nobles and merchants were scattered through the room, and primarily congregated in three of the alcoves, where Ruethwyn could see magic radiating from enchanted items, and men and women in the flowing, exotic garb of Corval within. One of the rooms looked like it didn’t have quite as much of a crowd, the one with items that didn’t look enchanted at first glance, while the one with bottles of liquor and rare foods was almost as swarmed as the one with enchanted items.
“—do we go first, you think?” Korima finished, just as Ruethwyn managed to draw her attention away from the sight in front of her.
“What was that?” Ruethwyn asked and glanced away in embarrassment at Korima’s exasperated look, admitting. “Sorry, I got a little absorbed in looking around. I’ve never been in any place quite this nice.”
“You went into Threads for Thrones, so don’t give me that,” Korima retorted quickly.
“That wasn’t marble, gold, and all of this!” Ruethwyn tried to defend herself and swallowed hard as she moved to the side. “Besides, it was a bit of a shock this time. The outside didn’t look as impressive.”
“Whatever.” Korima sniffed. “What I said, is I was asking where you thought we should go first. There’s a lot of people in the back.”
“I’m planning to look over the consumables, myself,” Navaan volunteered. “Nothing else is really the sort of thing I want, at least of what they have left. Most of the magic items are either too expensive or not useful for me.”
“I wasn’t going to look at the items. As interesting as I’m sure they are, they’re going to be far out of my price range under the circumstances,” Ruethwyn said, shaking her head firmly. “I’m certain that after coming this far, most of the inexpensive items will have sold. I’m thinking to look at their materials, and maybe they’ll even have a few books that might be interesting.”
“Fair. Tad, Sella? What about you two?” Navaan asked curiously.
“I’m going with Rue,” Sella said promptly, looking around curiously. “It isn’t like the food is going to be appropriate for the trials, anyway.”
“Agreed. Buy a bottle of brandy for me, if one’s cheap enough?” Tadrick asked, smiling at Navaan. “I figure I might need something to help if things go badly.”
“Right. Have fun, then,” Navaan said, and wandered off at a brisk pace, only to be intercepted by a pair of elven women halfway to his destination.
“That’s unexpected…” Korima said, and at the comment Tadrick chuckled, prompting her to look at him curiously. “Did I say something funny?”
“Oh, that’s just Lady Evers and her daughter. She’s been chasing Navaan for a while, so I’m not surprised to see her after him,” Tadrick said, smiling as they headed for the room with the fabric and gemstones.
“The lady or her daughter?” Yalline asked, prompting a startled glance from Tadrick.
“What?” he asked, looking confused.
“I was wondering whether it was the lady or her daughter that’s chasing him,” Yalline explained, flushing slightly.
“Um, actually… that’s a good question. She is a widow…” Tadrick said slowly, looking over at his brother. “I thought it was her daughter, but… I don’t know. That’s a funny thing, isn’t it?”
“I’m quite certain it’s none of my business,” Ruethwyn replied firmly, refraining from looking at the three across the way. She didn’t want to get involved in gossip. Instead, her eyes brightened at the sight of one of the men inside the room they were heading for. “Ooh, this will be interesting.”
“Um, Rue? Is he wearing a bone mask?” Korima asked uncertainly.
The man in question was wearing flowing brown robes that included a hood masking his head. More interesting was the ivory mask he wore, complete with dark lenses over the eyes and narrow breathing holes across its surface. The mask looked like it was designed to fit closely, and Ruethwyn could see bands of ivory around his neck, while he wore matching, segmented gloves which looked like they covered all his arms.
“It should be, though I can’t be certain. The elves bordering Corval that live in the desert traditionally wear those type of masks,” Ruethwyn said, her fascination growing as she stepped into the room.
There was a human woman attending to a variety of jars that contained incense, powdered crystal, and other alchemical and magical reagents, Ruethwyn noticed, and her garb seemed to indicate she was from Corval, while a man was attending to the bolts of shimmering cloth. The masked elven man was standing with his arms folded, watching stoically from behind several stands holding metal. Small ingots of iron rested alongside crystalline purple nuggets of adamantine, while dozens of teardrop-shaped silver beads of mithral half-filled a large glass jar.
There were other metals in front of the man as well, including gold, silver, and copper, but one in particular caught Ruethwyn’s eye. A small chest was sitting directly in front of the man, its lock looking quite complicated. More interesting was how its front was transparent, and inside, resting on a red velvet cushion, was a bar of what looked like gold that radiated light from every surface.
“What is that?” Korima asked, her gaze fixed on the metal.
“I’m not sure,” Ruethwyn said, blinking and feeling like something was familiar about the metal. It took a few seconds, but she realized it had the same odd feel as magically infused cloth, though it was much more potent. Eventually, she looked at the man and asked, “May I ask what type of metal that is? I can tell that it’s infused with mana, but that’s all.”
“This is the very heart of the sun, mithral which has been smelted and refined inside the Sunforge,” the man replied, his voice almost seeming to have an echo to it. “It has been infused with the light of the sun for an entire year and is one of the most magically imbued materials on the face of the world itself. The magi of Corval have dubbed it sunsteel, though such is an inaccurate description.”
“Sunsteel? I don’t think I’ve heard of that before,” Ruethwyn said, turning her gaze back to the ingot. “Though it does feel quite powerful to me.”
The man didn’t bother responding, and Sella stared at it for a moment before asking. “Rue, what would you use something like that for? You’re the best person at artificing in the class, after all.”
“Only because I’ve had more practice,” Ruethwyn retorted, tearing her gaze away to smile at Sella. “I definitely wouldn’t use it in an item for light unless I was, oh… trying to illuminate the high temple of the Queen. It’d just be a waste, I imagine, even if it probably could last indefinitely. No, I’d probably use it for a wand to empower light-based spells or the like. I’m no warrior, but the other thought is to make a weapon with it. Sunlight in enchantments is the antithesis of most demons and undead, so it would be excellent in that regard.”
“Hmm, interesting,” Tadrick said, his eyes brightening as he looked at the metal. “There isn’t much there, though.”
“Much like adamantine, sunsteel is often used as an alloy, not for an entire item. It’s too valuable to be wasted in such a fashion,” the masked man said flatly.
“Are you interested in it, Rue?” Korima asked, tearing her gaze away from the metal and looking over everything else.
“Interested, yes. However, based on what I know of such things, the price of something like that will be far too high. Within the realm of what I could afford, maybe, but… it isn’t worth it for me,” Ruethwyn said, pulling her gaze from the chest reluctantly. “I’m not expecting to be going up against demons or undead any time soon. For that matter, we don’t have time for me to make use of any of the metals. I was hoping maybe they’d have a text or two on Corvallian magic, but I’m not seeing any.”
“Oh, I guess that’s true… about the demons or undead, I mean,” Korima said, pausing as she looked around. “You’re right about the books, though. I wonder why?”
“I have no idea,” Ruethwyn said, mentally sighing as she crossed the thing she’d hoped for most off her list. She’d been hoping to see more interesting things here, and while the sunsteel was fascinating, she just didn’t see how it would be useful to her.
“Um, sir? May I ask you something? It isn’t about your items,” Yalline spoke hesitantly, and the man turned his head toward her, pausing for a long moment before replying.
“You may,” he said, his voice still slightly distant.
“Thank you very much,” Yalline told him, seeming to grow a bit more confident as she asked, “Ruethwyn said that she read about elves from near Corval wearing garb like yours, but I was just curious as to why you wear something like that. It looks rather uncomfortable.”
The man chuckled, startling Ruethwyn after how distant he’d been so far. He sounded faintly amused as he spoke. “Near Corval? Perhaps in comparison to being near here, but you’re off by a few hundred miles. The Crystalsand Desert separates Corval from the Serpent Wastes of north-eastern Algaria, and it is from there, in the merchant city of Kimarra, that I hail. While the desert is no more than a hundred miles across, by necessity one must give it a wide berth, increasing the distance one must travel.”
“Oh, my apologies. I haven’t ever seen a map of that region and wasn’t certain precisely where you were from,” Yalline said quickly, giving a curtsey.
The man nodded, and for a moment, Ruethwyn thought he was going to stop speaking, but he spoke again after a moment. “As for my garb, it’s quite comfortable. Those from the wastes who can afford it prefer to wear ivory greaves and gauntlets that have been properly enchanted, and the mask is commonly a gift on reaching the age of majority. They are enchanted to keep out sand, and the ivory can be used to defend against most weapons when one has been trained correctly. The mask blocks the sun’s glare and shields the wearer from the worst effects of a sandstorm, though shelter is preferred. These are simply traditional for my culture, young lady.”
“Oh! Well, of course,” Yalline said, looking happier. “Thank you for the explanation.”
“You are welcome,” the man replied.
“Actually, I just have to ask… if the mask is to help with the glare and sand, why are you wearing it here?” Korima chimed in curiously. “It doesn’t seem like you’d need it.”
“Tradition. Only the nobility of our people go unmasked among strangers,” he explained shortly, though he seemed more relaxed than before. In fact… Ruethwyn’s mood grew poorer as she realized that much of his unfriendly demeanor had been focused on her. “One should only unmask themselves in front of those they trust or when necessary for meals.”
“Ah, okay! I’ve heard of some things like that before… not quite the same, but it’s interesting,” Korima said, nodding in satisfaction.
“I am curious, though… how much are you asking for the ingot of sunsteel?” Tadrick asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know that I could afford it, but having a weapon that’s particularly good against demons and undead seems like a good idea.”
“The sunsteel isn’t being sold directly, but rather individuals may place bids. Tomorrow evening we will inform the highest bidder and they can purchase the ingot,” the elven man explained. “You must put down ten percent of your total bid, though it will be refunded if you do not win. The minimum bid is five hundred crowns.”
“Gods! That’s… well, quite a bit more than I can afford for a single ingot.” Tadrick visibly blanched at the price, and Ruethwyn couldn’t blame him. She’d spent almost a fifth of that on fabric for dresses the previous fall, but for an ingot as small as the one of sunsteel, when it wasn’t even enchanted… well, it wasn’t going to happen.
“As you say,” the masked man agreed.
Ruethwyn took a last look over the materials, but she didn’t see anything she wanted immediately. Sella distracted her a moment later, though. “Hey, Rue? Which of these woods do you think would be best for a wand?”
“That depends on the type of wand you’re wanting,” Ruethwyn replied, but she walked over to examine the lengths of wood with her friend.
“Well…” Sella hesitated for a moment before beginning to explain. “I was thinking an ice spell. I’ve got a good lightning blast I’ve practiced with Barthel, so I was thinking something like ice after the incident with the fire demons would be nice.”
“In that case, you don’t need anything too hard. I think one of these would be best,” Ruethwyn said, her eye glancing over the options and pointing a few out. “Each have their advantages, and…”
She explained quickly, her disappointment slowly dissipating somewhat. No matter what a foreigner might think of Ruethwyn, at least she had friends who appreciated her.
The group ended up spending a surprising amount of time at the plaza, Ruethwyn found. To her chagrin, she learn
ed that a few books on Corval’s magic were in the room with the magic items, and she was able to purchase them for a relatively reasonable sum. They were penned in the language of the human nation, which Ruethwyn wasn’t too proficient in, but she imagined she’d learn in time.
None of the others got more than a few trinkets, as it quickly grew obvious that, despite the airship’s size, the people aboard it hadn’t brought many inexpensive items, and those they had brought weren’t terribly large. In the end, it’d amounted to a few pieces of jewelry for Korima, a couple of wand-wood branches for Sella, and an unusually shaped dagger for Tadrick.
After they left, Yalline had shown the way to a shop with a variety of basic supplies that no one else had known about. Since the prices were much more reasonable than Ruethwyn had been afraid of, she’d gone ahead and stocked up on what she was planning to take with her to the test, even as the others debated on what they wanted to take themselves.
In the end, the day turned out to be much longer than Ruethwyn had expected. The sun was close to the horizon when they got back to the academy with their bags and boxes of things, but on the whole, Ruethwyn was happy with the day.
Now she just had to make certain not to let Korima, Sella, and the others distract her too much as she tried to get ready for the trials. That might be more difficult than the tests themselves, in fact.
Chapter 13
Essryl deflected Anara’s practice dagger without batting an eyelash, forcing it to go wide as she darted forward and twisted the young woman’s arm behind her. Anara tried to twist with the dark elf to free her arm, but she just wasn’t flexible, fast, or strong enough to manage it. Even so, it was a good attempt.
“Damn.” Anara gasped as Essryl forced her almost to her knees. “I give up!”
“You’ve learned your limits well,” Essryl said in amusement, plucking the dagger from Anara’s hand and releasing the young woman, then stepped back. “By this point, you might be able to protect yourself from one of Captain Gardner’s recruits. The new ones, not the trained ones.”
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