"Many thanks for your family's kind offer, but my abilities are limited—I'm not fit to teach anyone," Anser said, refusing outright.
"Would you consider thinking it over again?" Sidney's smile stiffened; he clearly hadn't expected anyone to turn down an invitation from the Margaster family.
"The fleet will be departing in three days—if you want to buy later, you won't be able to," he racked his brain for reasons. "And if you join the Margaster family, you absolutely won't need to worry about security…"
"I'll take a look at some other items," Anser said, waving his hand as he walked straight off.
Sidney had no choice but to fall silent.
Anser made a circuit of the place. Most of the magical equipment on display was of Common or Fine quality. There were a few high-quality items as well, but not many were actually useful.
For example, there was a Rare polymorph wand. It had only a single Alter Self entry—no Attack Roll bonus and no Damage Roll bonus. The spell couldn't even be properly cast; it was worse than a fire poker.
Even so, it was still selling for a very high price.
"The Weave will recover sooner or later. The Goddess of Magic may just be a bit busy for the time being," Sidney explained from the side—though even he didn't believe that himself.
"Mm~" Anser merely smiled without replying.
He examined the items one by one. Several caught his interest, but with limited funds, he could only choose what he needed most right now.
'What are my current weaknesses? I'm afraid of spell control… afraid of assassination…'
He walked up to a cloak. It was as light as silk, covered in multicolored patterns, and its edges were wavy—like a gorgeous butterfly.
...
[Magic Item: Royal Butterfly Cloak]
Category: Wondrous Item
Rarity: Rare (requires Attunement)
Elegant Flutter: The cloak turns into fluttering butterfly wings. You gain the ability to fly; your base flying speed is the same as your running speed.
Gorgeous Entrance: When you are hit by a creature's attack, you expend 1 charge, take only half the damage, and teleport to an unoccupied space within up to 4.5 meters of you.
After teleporting, you make a gorgeous entrance accompanied by a swarm of butterflies. At that time, any attack rolls against you have disadvantage.
This cloak has 3 charges and automatically regains any expended charges each day.
...
"How much?" Anser asked, affecting an indifferent tone.
"Royal Butterfly Cloak—Rare quality. It can briefly fly for a few seconds… The price is three thousand nine hundred gold coins," Sidney replied.
"That's not expensive," Anser said, raising an eyebrow.
Any profession could use this cloak, but for non-spellcasters it could only provide brief flight for a few seconds to dozens of seconds, which wasn't very useful. Flying did not consume charges, and it also could not last.
Spellcasters could drive it with Magic Power—not only could they fly for a long time, they could also actively activate "Gorgeous Entrance," though generally they wouldn't need to; Misty Step was much farther than it.
The most valuable part of "Gorgeous Entrance" was that it triggered passively—a life-saving divine skill.
Anser thought for a moment, then pulled the holy grail of protection from his chest and set it on the table. "Help me take a look—how much is this worth?"
There are currently two charges inside the chalice. Yes—he had indirectly saved dozens of people, disrupted the slavers' plans, and only gained a pitiful two charges!
It wasn't compatible with Helm; keeping it really didn't mean much.
"A holy relic?" Sidney picked up the chalice, his expression surprised.
"Guardian Chalice—a Rare Wondrous Item. It comes with a Wakefulness Aura and Guardian Radiance. A few days ago, a single strike wiped out over a hundred undead…" Anser gave a detailed introduction to its properties, and exaggerated its combat record just a tiny bit.
Although the Guardian Chalice was only of Rare quality, it was, after all, a divine item. Guardian Radiance was an ultra–large-area offensive divine art. At a time when the Weave was in turmoil, its value was hard to estimate.
Many magic items were like this—their standing before and after a disaster could be worlds apart.
Sidney conferred with the appraiser for quite a while, his expression conflicted.
"The item really is excellent. At most, I can price it at… thirty-five thousand gold coins. Believe me, that's the highest premium," he said, widening his eyes to look more sincere.
"I don't think it's inferior to the Westwind Horseshoes. Rarity isn't the core factor in measuring an item's value," Anser said, and he genuinely meant it.
All magic items depended on suitability. Without a good mount, the Westwind Horseshoe was just gilding on a chamber pot—hardly meaningful.
The Guardian Chalice, on the other hand, could be used by anyone. Commission a follower of Helm to wear it for thirty days, then take it back, and it became an undead bane. That was probably how the Nashivaar Family did it.
"It really won't work…"
Anser fell silent for a moment, then poured out all the various gemstones from the Treasure Coin Pouch.
"These gemstones, plus today's goods, plus the Guardian Chalice—in exchange for your Westwind Horseshoes, the Iron Cavalry Saddle, and the Royal Butterfly Cloak!"
Sidney spread the gemstones out one by one. None of them were particularly valuable—at most, they were worth one or two thousand gold coins.
He fell silent for a moment, then felt that earning a little less in exchange for a favor wasn't a bad deal. "The Margaster family is willing to make a friend of you. If there's a chance, please be sure to visit Waterdeep as our guest."
Because of the turmoil in the Weave, there had indeed been some disagreements within the family regarding the training of its heirs. If they could invite him to Waterdeep, it would at least give the steward an answer.
"Thank you," Anser said, letting out a breath of relief.
Sidney was right. Many magic items of Rare quality and above were unique pieces. If he missed today, he might truly never see them again.
Anser pulled the Royal Butterfly Cloak over and draped it around himself, then casually picked up a crystal orb with a silver chain and hung it around his neck. "This Direction Orb counts as a freebie, then."
It was a Common magic item. Aside from serving as an arcane focus, it could only be used to determine direction and wasn't expensive.
He only had three Attunement slots. The Ring of Spell Storing, the Royal Butterfly Cloak, and the Cloak of Protection were indispensable in combat, so he could only give up the Goodberry staff and temporarily hand it over to Finn—at least that way there would still be berries to eat.
"No problem. Take another look—do you need anything else?" Sidney packed the horseshoe and the saddle into a leather case, holding it out to Anser with both hands.
"Come take a look," Anser said, beckoning to the two stunned men—Bratt and the other.
"Oh—right." Bratt snapped out of it as if waking from a dream. He had just personally witnessed a transaction involving tens of thousands of gold coins, and his head was still spinning.
Anser lifted the leather case, thoroughly satisfied.
Bratt and the other were selecting armor. It usually required trying it on and making on-the-spot adjustments according to body type, which was rather time-consuming.
He simply retreated to a corner, closed his eyes, and began meditating, aiming to complete Attunement with the Royal Butterfly Cloak as quickly as possible. In just one hour, he would be able to take to the skies.
...
Meanwhile, at Silver Scale Bay dock.
A medium-sized sailing ship slowly pulled alongside the pier. A group of adventurers jumped down from the ship, chatting and laughing along the way, though their eyes subtly scanned their surroundings with a hint of vigilance.
At a berth not far from them, a medium-sized sailing ship without a name was undergoing cleaning and repairs, the clanging sounds ringing out incessantly.
"That looks like the Conch?" one adventurer said doubtfully, his accent thick.
"Not 'looks like'—it is!"
"This… how brazen…"
"Stop looking." A thin young man raised an item in his hand that resembled a compass. The white needle trembled slightly, then steadily pointed to the right front. "There's a response."
"Where's that?"
"Silver Scale Cargo Yard."
"Huh? Not the Moonshadow Quelin?"
They exchanged glances, immediately sensing trouble.
Blending into the crowd, the group quickly arrived at the bustling cargo yard. Passing through the noisy open-air market, they soon spotted a tall, powerful black horse pacing around a wooden building in the distance.
Curious looks were occasionally cast its way, but no one dared approach.
"At least… at least that's something."
"At least what? Look at that banner—if the holy chalice really ends up in Waterdeep's hands, then…"
"A holy chalice—who would be willing to sell something like that?"
"Heh, that's other people. Do you think this one's the same?"
For the people of Amn, who lacked spellcasting ability, and for clergy who had lost their ability to cast spells, the value of the holy chalice was no longer what it once had been—it had increased severalfold. But for a certain genius Sorcerer, it seemed not to matter all that much.
"You go. Pretend to steal the horse and lure him out."
"Me?"
"Who else? Don't worry—we're not the main force. The real…"
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