I glanced down at my very distinctive uniform, but decided not to make a big deal of it. “Yes,” I said simply.
“I suppose you’d be too busy, then. But if you happen to have the time, we’re starting just after six. And I could get you in without an entry fee.”
“Survival Match?” I asked.
“Ah, haven’t seen one yet? It’s a competition. Warriors in an arena lasting as long as possible against summoned monsters. The team that lasts through the most rounds of monsters wins the prize.”
“Is that... safe?” It didn’t sound like it.
He chuckled. “Of course! The Summoners can always force their monsters to stop attacking, and we always have Menders on the sidelines. I think you’d enjoy it — your mother was an expert in her day, you know.”
I... hadn’t known that. Honestly, I knew very little about Mother’s hobbies.
“...I’d be interested. Let me see if I can make the time. Where is it?”
He reached into a pouch, took out a piece of parchment and wrote me an address. “It’s at the Esslemont Arena, just a few miles from campus.”
I took the slip. “Thanks. I hope I can make it. If not, maybe we’ll see each other around again sometime.”
“I’d certainly hope so. Stay well, young Cadence.”
“Good luck tonight.” I flashed a polite smile.
He cracked his knuckles. “I won’t need it.”
Judging by that single attunement? He was probably right.
***
With that minor delay out of the way, I finally made my way into Court.
“Oi! Corin!” Lars grinned and waved at me as I entered.
I looked around, noting a few other customers already browsing. Unusual, given the early hour. “Morning, Lars. How’s business?”
“Can’t complain. That lad you nearly crashed into bought one of my favorites, so I’m in mourning. Fortunately, I have a new bed of silver to cry into.”
I laughed. “You have my condolences for your loss. What’d he buy?”
“Quick-keen. A dagger that can pass through armor like it ain’t there. Saved my life more than once, it did. Why, back in my third year as a climber—”
“How’s it know what qualifies as armor?” I interrupted.
He folded his arms. “Don’t ask me how it works, boy. You’re the one with the toy maker’s mark, not me.”
I made a rude two-fingered gesture and he gave a deep-belly laugh.
Lars leaned on a nearby countertop. “So, what’re you here for today? Going to try to cheat me out of my hard-earned loot, or maybe just my hard-earned money pile?”
“Well, if you’re offering to part with it—”
“Bah!” He slammed a fist on the counter, then winced and inspected the wood for cracks.
Typical.
“Just here for research, really. Although it might help bring you some business.” I stepped over to the closest table, pulling out a blank journal and a fountain pen. I’d bought them both recently out of necessity; the latter was an excellent tool for practicing runes, but much more expensive than traditional quill pens.
“Oh?” he asked skeptically. “And how’s that?”
I made a wide gesture across the store. “Everything here is too expensive for students. If I could sell you some cheap items—”
Lars shook his head. “Noble idea, lad, but I don’t sell cheap items for a reason. My customers know that anything they’re going to pick up here is going to help keep them alive in that tower.” He gestured toward the Serpent Spire’s location outside.
“Sure, but even a veteran climber could probably use a few more small trinkets, right?”
“Maybe, but I’m thinking no. When you wear items too close to each other, they tend to interfere with each other. You can only carry so many before they stop working. Or worse.”
I scratched my chin. I’d heard similar things before. “What if I could make something useful that you could still sell at a low price?”
“As a rule, I don’t sell anything below Carnelian-level. Much as I might like you Corin, you aren’t a Carnelian yet.”
“Fair, I’m not. But I can make a few Carnelian-level items.”
A “few” might have been exaggerating, but I’d made one. How hard could it be?
“Won’t give you a deal without seeing what you’re offering. But go ahead, do your research. Can’t hurt me to take a look.”
I grinned at that. “Thanks, Lars. You’ll be the first on my list when I get around to making this stuff.”
Professor Vellum had mentioned selling the items herself, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t sell some on my own.
I snickered to myself and got to work.
***
It turned out that magical items were reshing expensive.
I’d known this, of course, but I hadn’t really seen the scale or ubiquity of it until I left the court and hit the other three nearby shops I’d known about. Lars liked to brag about how good his deals were, but I never expected those boasts to be true. I liked Lars, but he was the kind of guy who turned chasing a mouse into a story of mythic proportions.
As it turned out, he was beating his competitors not only in variety, but also in prices. Even his stuff was nowhere near my price range, though.
On the low end? Two or three hundred sigils for a basic Carnelian Mage-class item with a single function.
Something Sunstone Mage level? Several thousand, and they were scarce.
Citrine Mage enchantments? Tens to hundreds of thousands, and I didn’t even find any on display. Not surprising, considering that was enough money to buy a house. A nice house.
Anything higher wasn’t even listed.
In fairness, there were some items that were considerably cheaper, but they were all of the limited-use variety, and I fully supported Vellum’s view that those were vastly inferior. I’d have considered buying one if it had a life-saving function, like a really powerful healing or teleportation item, but I never saw any of those for sale.
So, on the minus side, I wasn’t going to be buying any of these items outright any time soon.