After a late lunch and decompressing from the morning events, I decided to go see Eldro. I needed a distraction, and his shop was just the place to go.

  I walked along the streets with a new appreciation of the life I lived here. My walk was very quiet as I made my way to Eldro’s shop. Very few people were out today. People had heard of the strength of the first wave and were apprehensive, so they stayed in their homes with family.

  When I hit the market street, it was a bit livelier. People had to buy food and other essentials, so the markets were open. Not as many shoppers as on a normal day but still seeing people go about their business brightened my day a bit.

  Eldro’s was open. I had no doubt it would be open, and I wasn’t disappointed. Eldro is the type that would be open his store if there was fighting in the streets. It wasn’t greed, though he did like gold. It was the buying and selling of unique items that got him out of bed in the morning, and he couldn’t do that if he were closed. Forest Glen was the perfect city for him. It was on the edge of the wilderness and had an Adventurer Guild that provided plenty of customers.

  I waved to him as I entered. For the first time, there was more than one other customer in today. They were adventurers from today’s battle. Either buying things they believed would keep them safe or selling loot from today’s battle. Either way, Eldro was in for a good day. He was currently showing off a set of earrings to an adventurer. I had seen the on an earlier visit. The earrings provided a slight resistance to both fire and water magics. Both had the same shape, a small pyramid with a round stone in the middle. The stones were different color though; one was blue the other red.

  Since I had to wait for Eldro to be free, I made my way through the stacks. Mostly window shopping but occasionally examining an item in detail. There was an actual monkey’s paw. It reminded me of the story from Earth, so I hurriedly moved past it. The next item that caught my eye was a small round fishbowl. Inside it was a tiny blue dolphin that swam around and around. Occasionally, the dolphin would stop and stare at me, but otherwise it didn’t do anything else. Nothing really caught my eye enough to investigate fully.

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  While I was browsing, Eldro waved me over. When I got there, he asked “Got anything interesting from today?” He also did appraisal, so I decided to get his opinion on my loot. I brought out the Staff of Withering and set it on the counter.

  “Hmm, very interesting. Want to sell?”

  “Just a value appraisal for now, please.”

  Eldro lifted the staff and examined it. He closed his eyes for a second, then said “Well made. Stable magic. I would estimate a value of 20 gold. One silver please.”

  I handed over the silver, then said, “I also have this item, I would like to discuss. It’s not for sale but I want you opinion on it. Please use your Identification and let me know what you think.” I brought out the Unexpected Benefit pill and showed it to him.

  Eldro did not reach out to take the pill. Rather he leaned over and viewed it. His Identification was much stronger than mine, so I let him have at it. He viewed it for a few seconds.

  “This pill will provide you with a random benefit. You have no control over what it will be. There is a long list of benefits that have occurred in the past. Anything from clearing up your acne to being made king and everything in between. The more powerful the person taking it, the more powerful the benefit, and the benefit is always personal. Many scholars believe that the benefit is an actual hidden desire of the person taking the pill. It has also been theorized that karma is the basis of the benefit or that the System selects the benefit depending on its own convoluted logic. Whatever the mechanism, it is always a positive benefit to the person. I would suggest not taking it until after the Wave, because it may take time to get comfortable with said benefit. That will be one silver please.”

  I handed over yet another silver. “Thank you. I will hold off until after the Wave. You said there was a list of benefits. Do you have a copy I can buy?”

  “I will write down the list and send it to Covern House tomorrow.”

  “Do you have anything I might be interested in buying? Something interesting or helpful? It doesn’t have to be related to the Wave.” I asked.

  “I might have something for the inquisitive mind.” He reached under the counter and brought out a 12” by 12” black box. “I don’t know what is inside. I have been unable to open it. It might a rare jewel, powerful magic item, or nothing. It’s an Arcane Puzzle Box. You have to solve the puzzle for it to open. Only 10 silvers.” I don’t think Eldro has anything that is under 10 silvers, so this is rock bottom pricing.

  I lifted the box. One side had strange markings, which my Linguistics Gift allowed me to read. ‘Thy innermost wish is granted’. Another side had a labyrinth type design on it. This must be the part that must be solved, I thought. Could be interesting at that. I handed over the silver and bought myself a toy.