Master Of None

The high priest had been mostly silent through this entire event, he knew that the party had not hit it off well with Markus Raven and he personally had pulled a few strings to make sure that Markus would attend this VIP auction. The high priest put in a lot of work after he had been invited and wanted to make sure his adoptive daughter would have the chance to properly spend time with her friends. If it was up to him he would make sure the party did not leave the kingdom again so they would not face any dangers outside the walls, unfortunately he knew that that was impossible. He could only dote on his Alice so much as a father.

"I have never heard of dual elemental crystals, I wonder what they can do." Walker was more speaking out loud than starting a conversation.

"Well once the auction house sold a fair amount of dual elemental crystals from a volcanic area, earth and fire mana I believe. They sold for five thousand gold each, a very useful item for the fire and earth made team that was in attendance." The high priest held a smug look knowing that he rarely had the opportunity to show off knowledge like this. He may be years older than those who brought him to the auction this time but he could share his gained knowledge. 

"That sounds pretty cool, so if I went to a forest I may find an earth and water elemental crystal? It sounds like it can be a rare chance based on what natural mana exists there." Gil was excited to try and find some of his own. They would be a huge bounty for the party. 

"From what I know it is very possible, but they need to be lucky to absorb  a balanced amount of mana from both natural sources. That is what makes them rare. They are also harder to sue since they require a very specific system. The pair of mages that purchase the previous dual elemental crystals often fused spells with each other so they used the crystals to create a unique staff that they both could channel mana in to." The high priest held a finger to his chin, " They were known as the earth cracking duo before they retired." 

"Wait, you have met those two! My parents only told me stories about them, they were the first two to fuse earth and fire magic in the kingdom, that was years ago." Gil had been read many stories by his parents, these kind of tales were very popular with the children in the fields who would rarely go in to the city when they were younger.

"Years ago? I swear it is almost like yesterday. When I met the two they could barely use any spells, their fathers brought them to an auction and they begged for the crystals. Ah how fun that auction was, the two fathers didn't even realize they were bidding against each other until the end when their children ran to share the news of the crystals they had just won." The high priest laughed to himself, he could only reminisce on these auctions now that he was reminded of his younger years. "I was not even a high priest at the time, I was just learning to become an entry level priest. My mentor took me here to show my the way auctions worked, how fun it was." the high priest wandered off following an attendant carrying beverages. The two were left a little in awe, what stories could the high priest share with them if he sat down and just started to talk.

"One day we are going to get him to tell us all about the people he has met."

"Definitely." Gil  and Walker made their own deal, this would serve as a good way to get Gil to the cathedral to volunteer, not that he knew the high priest had stories about some of his favorite childhood stories, it would be much easier convincing him. The only other person that would need convincing was Remey but with a glance Walker knew it would be much easier.

Alice had been dragged to food with Remey but now that her and Remey were eating the smile on her face was very large. Remey was rambling on about something, Walker could only guess she had started to talk about the orphanage because she was showing more energy than usual. Walker had long noticed that she only showed a certain kind of smile and energy when talking about her own family. Midnight was also calmly sitting and enjoying the conversation, she seemed to like spending time in this setting where so  many people were giving her attention. She also seemed to like that Alice would often snag an extra appetizer to pass down to her. Alice had unwittingly earned Midnight's respect.

"Want to go see what Su is checking out? She seems to have found something cool." Gil pointed towards a set of armor that was outlined with a lot of different carvings. 

The two made their way across the room to see that she had been reading a piece of paper that described the crafting method and benefits of the armor. "What did you find Su?" Walker had become more interested the closer he got. The armor was a fairly basic design but had runes and other patterns carved on to it. From what he could see the metal also had a glow of natural elemental mana, it was absorbing them from the atmosphere around it. This may have been slight but it was a pretty impressive feat.

"This armor was forged by the dwarves then somehow managed to get carved and detailed by the elves. This is a very rare set of armor. It is only made of silver and Iron so it is not as strong. But since it was made by the dwarves they added some reinforcing techniques so I doubt it can't stand up to even the hardest hits." Su double checked the paper next to the armor. "Then these carvings allow it to absorb a small amount of mana from around it, this is really good to block any attacks from elemental magic. For any defender using body enhancing skills this can make them much tougher. I believe someone like the armies ice shield defender could make the best use of armor like this." 

"Ice shield defender? I have never heard of someone like that." Walker and Gil were equally lost. 

"I did some research on other defenders so I could make my shields better when I ask the blacksmith. There is a man that uses water magic and defensive armor to create ice shields and ice armor. He is considered one of the best young defenders in the entire army. A lot of people expect him to become a general one day." Su had been researching a lot when everyone was not paying attention. The fact that she was even looking in to the army for inspiration was impressive.

"So he would be able to use this armor to take in more of the water elemental mana he needed to create shields and armor." Walker came to his own conclusion, "This armor would give him a huge advantage, he could block attacks well above his own level. Maybe while we are in the deeper sun hollow forest we should look to learn more about runes from any elves we come in to contact with.' 

"I believe that to be a wise decision leader, but now I think we should go over and have a snack like them before we get to dinner. None of us ate lunch...I just realized we got too excited." Su was right and Walker and Gil suddenly came to the same realization feeling their empty stomachs crying out to them.

The three joined up with Remey who gave them the rundown on what they should and should not try. They all ended up with small plates of only the best appetizers suggested by Remey. Even Midnight was nodding her head in support of the suggestions, how had the three come to these consensuses they had no idea, but were they spot on.

Walker was about to ask Alice what she like the best out of the appetizers when he noticed her gaze was fixed on a small bracelet in the corner of the large room. "Want to go check that out? We can see what it has to offer." Walker looked towards the bracelet too, Alice shook her head. "Brother, Alice does not want to get something she doesn't need. She thinks the gold is better spent elsewhere." 

"Onyx, I'm an idiot! You can talk for Alice since she don't use mana to speak if you talk to her in her mind." Walker had not realized just how foolish he had been, he had the perfect little brother here to help him out to talk for Alice and the idea had completely gone over his head.

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