Chương 233: Arc 4 - Chapter 35

Jerry the fence was old, balding and had a brittle, biting smile. His grey eyes gleamed eagerly as they darted over the Treasures, golden chunks and materials arrayed upon his table. He ran bony, many-ringed fingers through what remained of his hair, then reached into his gilded coat of red velvet and produced three sets of singular lenses. They were banded in brass, silver and pearl, respectively. Fritz watched as the man clapped his hands and chuckled.

Apparently, what he and his crew had brought him was both interesting and beyond expectations. Holding back a sigh, Fritz scanned the neatly cluttered room. It was quite large and had many shelves and tables covered in goods. There were weapons, potions, herbs, ingots, armour, clothes and other things, both miscellany and mysterious.

He supposed that this was one of the more criminally prestigious spots in the districts, as this was a far cry from the beggarly fences he'd had to bargain with when he was still an urchin. Jerry set the pearled lens to his eye, but before he started appraising the items in front of him, he first stared at each of the crew, appraising them instead. Fritz kept his face blank, as did the rest of the crew to varying degrees of success.

"You there, young lady," Jerry said, pointing at Mel.

"You have a newly acquired Treasure, about the size of a broach or a ring. Bring it out, would you, surely you don't want to cheat the boss after they've been kind enough to let you Climb." Mel grimaced and glanced to the door behind. Nic stood there with a lopsided smile on his scarred face, blocking any flight. She muttered a curse and reached below her leathers. Eventually, she produced the ring, then slapped it against the table.

A mild look of disgust crossed Jerry's face, but he didn't spare her another glance.

"And you, there's something in your pack," he accused, looking at Fritz.

"There's plenty in my pack. All of it brought into the Spire, not out of it," he replied easily.

"I don't know what it has to do with your tax." Jerry sighed, then motioned to Nic, who upended Fritz's pack unceremoniously.

"That bag," the appraiser said, pointing at the Pouch of Many Stones.

"That's mine, I had it far before the Climb," Fritz declared. Jerry rolled his eyes.

"Bloody liar. There's always one of you idiots. You think this lens is for curing bad eyes, boy?" Fritz bristled internally, but kept his face stern.

"Perhaps. Since you clearly claim a falsehood." Jerry laughed drily, "Ha." Then that mirth fell away, replaced with a bored scowl.

"Nic, strike him." With a clang, Fritz was sent to the floor by a swift punch aimed at his back. He was surprised that his danger sense hadn't alerted him, though he suspected it was due to the lack of deadliness. It wouldn't warn him for minor scratches, cuts or impacts after all, only injuries that could be considered perilous, persistent or permanent. The punch would only leave a bruise; it wasn't anything to complain about. The dent in his armour, now digging into his spine, was another story.

He'd need to have George bend it back into place.

"Nic," Fritz said.

"Why'd you hit me? I thought we were friends."

"Friends remember birthdays," Nic replied, hoisting him back up.

"It's not your-""Stop pissing about," Nic cut him off.

"You're just wasting what's left of the night."

"Fine," Fritz said, scooping the bag and placing it on the table with the rest of the Treasures.

"There, that's everything we found in the Spire."

"I'll be the judge of that," Jerry said, now staring at Reed. His gaze shifted soon enough, turning to Trudge, who shuffled uncomfortably. He narrowed his eyes, but saw nothing on him either.

"So that lens can see newly made Treasures or something?" Fritz asked.

"You don't need to know how it works," the fence snipped.

"Perhaps not, though I implore you to humour me," Fritz said, adding a note of Dusksong.

"Humour you? What am I, a jester?" Jerry scoffed.

"And stop distracting me," he added, looking Clover up and down. Once he was done inspecting her, he scanned them all one last time, his eyes lingering on Fritz's chest for a moment. His brow creased, but then he moved on to the rest of the crew, then to the table and the assorted items upon it. His smile returned when his gaze alighted on the gold.

"Quite the haul," Jerry said.

"All the way to the top then?"

"All the way," Fritz agreed.

"And from this chest I can see this lucky lady achieved a Gold Climb," Jerry continued, nodding once at Clover.

"Congratulations, Miss." She hesitated, then answered, "Thank you."

"No Golden Climbs for decades, now there have been two in the span of a few months. The boss will be pleased indeed," he said as he absently sorted the Treasures, materials and magical objects.

"Mighty pleased," Nic agreed.

"The boss will want to see her right after this, so hurry it up, Jerry." The fence huffed out some displeasure, but didn't challenge the thug.

"Did you Note any of these?" he asked Fritz, motioning to the Treasures.

"We did," Fritz said.

"Well, tell me what you read," Jerry said.

"You can't tell what they do just from looking at them?" Mel asked.

"Don't have an Ability or somethin'?"

"Of course not," Jerry refuted.

"If I could do that, I wouldn't need the lenses, would I?"

"And you wouldn't be stuck down here in these tunnels," Fritz added.

"You would have your own store in the Upper Ring." Jerry grimaced. Apparently, that was a sore spot. Though this chamber was well-lit and comfortably furnished, that didn't make it desirable to work down here, even despite its secrecy and eerily serene silence. And having to dwell down here, like Fritz suspected the man did, would be worse than simply undesirable; it would be a torture.

"No chance of that," the appraiser grumbled mostly to himself as he rubbed at a spot on his shirt.

"But that's none of your business, what do these do?" He was met with an awkward silence.

"Well, that hammer-" Trudge began.

"Wait! Don't tell me right away," Jerry said.

"Let me inspect it first." He picked up the hammer and stared at it, turning it to look at each angle, then he switched out lenses one after the other, from pearl to brass to silver. They each must have shown some particular quality that was invisible to the naked eye, and Fritz wondered what the man could discover about the Treasure.

"Hmm. Arcane. Could do all kinds of things. But from the shape of the head and haft, and how dense the magic looks, I guess that it has something to do with weight. Maybe a Heavy Strike? Maybe a Momentum boon?" He looked expectantly up at Trudge, who stared back nervously.

"What was written on the Know-Note?" Jerry asked impatiently.

"Uhhh... it has two Abilities, one doubles its weight and the other halves it," he said.

"Oh. That's wonderful," Jerry said, grinning.

"I was almost right, but not quite." The man had a surprisingly bright smile, and it was clear that he enjoyed the process of appraisal for its own sake, not merely the gold the Treasures could be sold for. Though he wasn't a stranger to greed either, judging from the glint in his clear eyes.

"What's it worth?" Mel asked.

"It's in the rookie quality range. Though it's on the higher end of strength, and it's especially useful for training, so around five to seven hundred gold," Jerry claimed. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. The crew gawked, and the fence chuckled at the reaction. Fritz himself hadn't any idea what price it could fetch, but when told the amount, it didn't surprise him. Treasures were valuable.

"Of course, you can't hope to sell it for that much," Jerry said regretfully, dashing their hope and dreams.

"Why not?" Mel argued.

"You gonna cheat us?" The fence shook his head, unfazed by the accusation.

"No, it's just that they'll have to be sold outside of the city, or to the Jastili. Which limits how much you'll get for them."

"Why?" Reed asked.

"Cause the boss says so," Nic said.

"Indeed," Jerry agreed. It made sense to Fritz. The Nightshark didn't want a suspicious amount of Treasures appearing in Rain City, lest her secret Spire be suspected to exist or eventually uncovered.

"How much will we get for them then?" Mel asked, her face sour.

"Around half that," Jerry said. Mel let out a long sigh, and Fritz wanted to echo it. Still, he refrained from complaining; he wanted to get on the appraiser's good side, and whining would not help that endeavour. Bribery, on the other hand, might. He'd attempt it if he could find some time alone with the fence, without Nic breathing down his neck and watching him with those flinty eyes.

"Now let's move on," Jerry said, setting down the hammer and picking up the crystalline tiara.

"Pretty." He began his inspections again, and Fritz and his crew explained what they could. Though they were vague in their descriptions, the fence nodded along when what they told him coincided with his guesses. Lastly, the man came to Fritz's Pouch of Many Stones.

"This bag, some sort of spatial storage, limited to earth and metal-aligned items, correct?"

"Yes, opens a small portal," Fritz provided.

"And I suppose it already has some metals within?" Jerry asked knowingly.

"Yes," Fritz admitted. The fence Activated the Treasure and scooped out the gemstones and ore from the space beyond the portal.

"My, my," he nearly gloated.

"Look at all this. And you thought you were going to smuggle it all away for yourself?"

"Not just for myself. I did intend to share the spoils with my crew," Fritz stated with as much sincerity as he could muster. The fence didn't believe him, judging from the doubt hovering around him. However, his crew did trust his words, mostly. He could see a cloud of faith mingling with uncertainty, roiling above them. Fritz was warmed, though also shamed. He had lied. Now that the last of the Treasures had been assessed, Jerry moved onto the materials, herbs, potions, ores and gems.

This was a far more brief examination, and the man soon had an established estimate of what they had brought. His didn't spend more than a minute on each item, and some of the minor things eluded his appraisal. Jerry wasn't put out by that, merely mentioning that he'd have to do more research or employ more rigorous methods, both of which were too time consuming for the present. One by one, the objects were catalogued. Then came the bargaining.

They were to have two-thirds of the haul, as promised, but the splitting of said wealth and the arguing that ensued induced a headache indeed. During the negotiations, a surprise sprang up, a generous one.

"We can keep our seeds? Really?" Clover asked, as she dared to hope.

"Yes," Jerry said.

"The boss prefers you to keep them. Though on the condition you keep them secret and use them yourselves and absolutely do not sell them. Oh, and don't go flaunting any new Treasures, hide them for at least a month."

"That seems awfully trusting," Fritz observed, thinking that in her place he wouldn't do the same.

"It is, and it isn't. It's also a bit of superstition," Nic said.

"In some parts of Espa, it's thought to be very bad luck to separate a seed from its Climber. And the boss, well, they hold with that belief. They being worldly and all."

"There's also less resentment bred that way," Jerry added.

"If I had my Silver Seed stolen- I mean taxed, then I don't know if I could ever forgive her."

"Her?" Clover asked.

"The Nightshark's really a woman?" Jerry paled, and he shivered.

"Be careful, that loose tongue of yours will be the death of you," Nic spat.

"Yes, likely so," Jerry said weakly, rubbing at his chest, then something occurred to him.

"And you," Nic grumbled, turning to Clover.

"You have to go meet the boss."

"When? Now?"

"Now. They like to meet all Golden Climbers and see what they can do for them," Nic said.

"The rest of you lot can come too."

"I don't want to disturb her," Clover hedged.

"There will be no disturbing, they're aware of the golden flash," Nic said.

"It was reported right away, and they'll want to see you before the night is done." Clover's face fell, any hope she'd be able to escape the Nightshark's clutches drowned by the cold reality.

"None of that," Nic said.

"Depending on what you chose, you could be given a place by their side or a territory of your own." She nodded meekly.

"Alright then," he replied.

"Finish up here quickly. Don't want to keep them waitin'."

"Will my presence be required?" Fritz asked. Nic glanced at him, then shrugged.

"You can come if you want, but if you're lookin' for another reward, don't bet on it." Fritz nodded. He was about to bid the crew farewell there and then, right after claiming his share of the spoils, but then decided against it. They each watched his expression, and their eyes and lights had a pleading hue. He couldn't just leave them be. Not after all they'd endured together.

"I will join you then," Fritz said. Nic nodded.

"Hurry up." Fritz turned back to the table and began to pick out what he wanted to keep. Most obvious was the Ring of Inner Fire and the Cloak of Clouded Night. While he had to bicker and bargain with Mel and the fence, he was able to claim them as his own, though only after giving up a lot of his share of the gold.

The next most important Treasure to his mind was the Pouch of Many Stones, but the appraiser would not part with it, insisting that it was too valuable and would pay a large portion of the tax along with the sacks of gold if they were so intent on keeping goods rather than coin. Frustrated, Fritz let it go, though was determined to find a way to get it back.

After the Treasures had been split between the crew, the dagger to Toby, the hammer to Trudge, the crystal rod to Clover and the buckler to Reed, the gold was next on the agenda. Mel, being the only one not claiming one of the Treasures, received most of it. She was given six hundred gold triads after all was said and told. A pittance, Fritz judged, when compared to what the rest had taken for themselves. Mel wasn't displeased, though.

She valued the gold far more, chuckling to herself as she piled the triads into her pack. Perhaps she had the right of it. A Treasure, though powerful, was a drain on one's resources, while readily available coin was always useful. As long as one could protect it. Still, Fritz felt little envy; he himself was provided only sixty triads of the collected fortune. The gold, ores and gems they had brought were traded for triads, a simple exchange.

Surprisingly, they were reimbursed right away, and fairly, too, without bartering or bluster. The fence had no lack of triads, and the crew and Fritz were glad to accept them. The monster parts and magical materials, however, were judged to be of middling use and quality. The fence said that they would receive more when buyers were found. That was met with some grumbles, but accepted. Fritz did, however, beg a small sack of the numbing flowers they had harvested, returning a few triads.

He then negotiated for one of the potions, not the slick black one, which the appraiser suspected to be a potion of stone-skin, but one of the vials with the clear shimmering liquid within. Jerry had judged it to be a Glass-steel solution, which, as it's name suggested, when applied to glass would render it as tough as steel. Lastly, there was the Floor map. Fritz had to give up his gold for that, both what he had been given, and what was in his Climb chest.

Even that wasn't enough for such a precious object, but the crew came to his aid, each assisting with a portion of their own gold. Fritz was thankful for that, and he said so. They didn't seem to mind the generosity. And from the motes swirling around them, he gathered they were gladdened they could help him. Well, all save Mel, whose lights had a decidedly displeased gleam. Still, the threads between them dulled all the same and it appeared to Fritz that their burdens were eased.

He could see it in the straightening of backs and shoulders. Slight, but all too apparent to his keen eyes. In the end he was left with only nine gold triads. Fewer than he'd come in with. Though he couldn't complain too much, the Treasures alone were great boons and he knew the Floor Map would save him in some dire peril unforeseen. He could feel it. There was one other thing Fritz discovered during the appraisal, or rather two.

The large Technique tome hadn't been noticed as magical, nor had the fence seen through his Slim Pocket, within which dwelt a rainstone. It was likely that it had some property to hide the objects within it, and he wondered if he would have been able to secret away the deathly Seed he'd left behind. Though he was irritated by the thought, he also didn't regret his decision. Smuggling wasn't worth the risk until he knew more, but it was good to know that some minor things could be concealed.

Soon, their dealings with Jerry were done, and although Fritz wanted to linger and wheedle some secrets from the appraiser, he instead followed Nic and his crew as they made their way through the tunnels, heading for the Nightshark's harem and the throne room beyond. The sights of the harem were just as alluring as before, the air thick with sensual scents and clouded with thin smoke. Fritz paid the scant clothing and bared skin no mind. The others weren't so disciplined.

Mel licked her lips, Clover blushed, Reed glanced here and there, and Trudge sweated and gawked. Toby alone kept his eyes forward, unwavering, a feat even Fritz and Nic failed to emulate fully. Then they were through, stepping into the large domed room and leaving behind the cloying heat and vivid displays of decadence. The Nightshark bade them come close to her moat and throne, beckoning with one razor-nailed finger.

She was in a velvet dress the dark blue of a stormy ocean, it complimented her smooth black scales. Fritz approached, then bowed. The crew swiftly followed suit.

"My thanks for receiving us at so late an hour," he said.

"My, so polite," the Nightshark said.

"Have you done something wrong?"

"I'm simply paying you the respect you deserve," Fritz said, attempting not to choke on his own sycophancy. Her red lips twisted in a slight smile, and her scarlet eyes gleamed. Though he could tell that she knew his flattery for what it was, that didn't stop her from taking some pleasure in it. Again, there was a dissonance in his mind, that he was familiar with this woman's face and figure, yet couldn't place them properly. It was nauseating. He pushed those thoughts away, focusing on the now.

"I heard there was a golden flash," the Nightshark said. Fritz blinked, then nodded.

"Correct. One of our number wasn't previously part of your cause."

"Our cause," she warned sweetly.

"Our cause," Fritz repeated, cursing the slip. The Nightshark's presence, though always disconcerting, should have lessened in intensity from repeated exposure, but it had only reached new, unsettling heights since his trail. He wondered why that was, though was met with vertigo when he did.

"It will be you then," the Nightshark said, gazing at Clover.

"I don't think I've seen you before."

"That's right," she said, lowering her eyes.

"And what Path and Powers did you acquire?"

"Uhh, nothin' too special," Clover hedged.

"I'm a Pulveriser, mostly use Concussive Bolt. Have a few other Abilities." Whatever obfuscation the woman was attempting was short-lived at best, insultingly foolish at worst. Fritz wished he had warned her to be truthful about her healing. The Nightshark narrowed her eyes.

"Come here," she demanded, an orb of dark glass appearing in her hand. Clover gulped, then took some tentative steps forward before she reached the edge of the moat. A bridge of sleek, finned backs appeared, and she crossed it at the Nightshark's impatient urging. Soon, all her powers were laid bare by the Sanctum scrying Treasure. The Nightshark's burgeoning rage was swept away in a flood of delight as she read through Clover's Spire sheet.

"Wonderful, a healer, wonderful," she cooed.

"And one with the power to affect the spirit. My, you are a rarity among rarities. Sit here, next to me, girl. Let me have a good look at you." The Nightshark smiled wide, fangs bared beautifully, while she brushed Clover's hair from her face and ran a finger down her pockmarked cheek.

"You've lived hard, haven't you?" she asked, and not waiting for a response, she continued, "Well, no need to worry about that anymore. I'll take good care of you." Clover attempted a nervous smile, her eyes full of confusion and concern at the sudden doting. She glanced Fritz's way, and he smiled sternly and nodded once. She didn't relax, but she stopped hesitating and accepted the Nightshark's offer. Not that she had a choice. Fritz and the crew waited awkwardly while the two spoke in low voices.

Eventually, the Nightshark dismissed them with a wave of her hand, keeping Clover by her side. Though he wanted to leave, Fritz didn't immediately retreat as the others did. He cleared his throat. The Nightshark stared his way.

"Do you still have business with me?"

"I was led to believe that you reward those who do well in your employ," Fritz said, his voice steady.

"That is so," she admitted easily.

"And you think raising me a Healer qualifies you for a reward?"

"If it doesn't, then what possibly could?" Fritz asked.

"Quite," the Nightshark agreed.

"What do you want? Or who?" She raised a suggestive eyebrow.

"One of the Treasures I was taxed," Fritz said. She sighed.

"Which one?"

"A Pouch of Many Stones," Fritz said.

"Very well, I'll send word to return it to you," she stated.

"If that is all, then you may go."

"One last request," Fritz said.

"What?" the Nightshark asked, her irritation plain.

"Treat Clover well." She stilled, then nodded once.

"I will." With that, Fritz sent Clover one last look, one that apologised for his current powerlessness. She seemed to read his meaning and shook her head slightly. It was good that she didn't blame him, though he still felt responsible. He bowed to the Nightshark, then left. Fritz took the route that didn't lead through the harem, and soon he was striding down the stone tunnels below the city. Heading home. Back to his team, back to his family and back to Bert.

Now that the Climb was well and truly over, he wondered what he'd missed. Fritz hoped all was well.