A blood-red sky burned overhead as the setting sun illuminated the blanket of clouds above Trosten.

  Wei stood, staring, ignoring the murmuration of blue-grey birds wheeling above. All he saw in his mind was the spray of arterial red - a mist of lifeblood as his friends had been cut down.

  Monsters.

  It wasn’t safe, once you got too far from civilisation. Creatures lurked in the woodlands and forests. The Vanguard of Valour might have gone back out into the wilderness, answering the call to adventure by accepting another quest from the guild, but he was never going back out there.

  The voice of Ertrun the [Wrecker] - a dwarf like Borgrim, though a touch shorter and a good few inches wider round the waist - called up from below and pulled him from his torpor.

  “Hey lad, find anything good today?”

  He looked down at the cracked but clearly magical glass he held in his hand.

  [One Man’s Waste]

  Crushed glass can be used in cleaning products. The magical nature of the glass makes it useful for cleaning magical products.

  The information came into his head, courtesy of the Skill, and he shoved it into his satchel with a satisfied smile as action banished the memories.

  “A few pieces, Sir.”

  Wei slid down the junk pile he was stood atop and caught himself before he hit the ground.

  “Hah! That’s what ye said the other day, and then ye hand over almost a gold for me cut! If ye keep this up, I’ll be a Sir for real.”

  Wei bent at the waist - a shallow bow.

  “It was an unusually profitable session, Mister Ertrun. This time I think it will be less, but with luck, you will be satisfied.” He patted the satchel at his waist, carrying far more than should have been possible given its size and weight.

  “I like ye lad. Honest and hard workin’. Just like a dwarf. Manners too.”

  “My grandfather used to say ‘One is never blamed for being too polite’.”

  “A wise man, yer grandda’. And decency should be repaid in kind. That’s why I’ve decided to give ye a day salvaging without fees for every seven ye work here.”

  Once again, Wei bowed, but before he could articulate his gratitude, the [Wrecker] looked at the sky.

  “Say, didn’t ye have something to go to this evenin’?”

  Eyes widening, Wei stammered out a rushed thanks and set off running.

  He raced out of the junkyard, past broken carts and old, cracked crystals, piles of piping and broken bottles, mounds of discarded farming equipment and crumbling statues. The pack of roaming scraphounds paid him no mind, having become used to his presence over the past week, but he had to duck under the trash-golem that lumbered across one of the intersections between the heaps of household detritus. Only when he approached the entrance did any semblance of order come to the rubbish tip; once you passed into the place and out of sight of the front gate, it was a labyrinth of litter.

  Outside, he sped up as he entered actual streets, mostly free from rubbish - and clear of people in this part of the city. Getting from the scrapyard to the Adventurer’s Guild took the best part of an hour at a jog, given the winding roads and crowds of people as you approached the centre of the town. Which was unfortunate, as he had little more than half an hour to make it.

  —

  Pain flared up as Wei banged his hip on a street vendor’s cart. The fire-breathing chicken-like bird perched on a rod over a pile of chestnuts squawked as its roasting efforts were interrupted, and the vendor himself let out a cry of annoyance, which turned to alarm as part of his beard caught alight.

  “Sorry!” Wei shouted as he flicked a silver coin in the man’s direction and kept going.

  He was late, but he was so close, and as he passed through a square milling with evening shoppers, he darted up to the central fountain and leapt between two dancing water jets as they shot between the carved mouths of mermaids and fish and a dozen different sea monsters.

  The vast entryway to the guild opened up ahead of him as another pair of townsfolk cursed his passage, and he ducked inside, chest heaving, blinking as the natural light was replaced by the illumination of magical flames that flickered around the walls without casting an uneven glow.

  He breathed a sigh of relief as he caught sight of Xian’toth. The irathian stood by a door to one of the many side-rooms on the ground floor. A burly goliath was next to him, checking a line of people as they went past.

  There were still half a dozen queuing up as he hurried over. Xian’toth gave one of his unintentionally-terrifying grins, eyestalks looking in every direction, and waved for Wei to come to the front.

  “Just in time. Not that we’d have started without you.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I’ll probably leave them to chat for another ten minutes to really get the excitement going.”

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  With a gentle shove, he guided a panting Wei through the door even as he turned his focus to the next in line.

  “[Read Intent]. Oh no buddy. This is for serious buyers only, no looky-loos. Tarunde, throw him out.”

  The man in question ran before the goliath [Warden] could make good on Xian’toth’s request, though the great grey-skinned giant-kin didn’t so much as twitch an ear.

  Inside, the room had been done up in fancy drapes, and tables of drinks and nibbles were laid out. Wei hadn’t even had to help - Xian’toth had done everything with Skills in a matter of minutes. Displayed around the sides, spaced every ten yards or so, were all manner of magical items. Most belonged to the itathian, but three were Wei’s.

  After some deliberation with the Vanguard before they’d gone on their latest mission, and with Xian’toth himself, Wei had decided to keep the enchanted waterskin. It wasn’t worth anywhere near as much as the rest of the gear, and it would be useful when he began working as a wagon driver. Even now it sat at his hip, a source of cool water in a small container that nevertheless lasted a few days. The axe too, had been promised to Borgrim, and with the price he’d agreed Wei was happy to honour the deal.

  Honestly, the Sentinel’s Cloak was only on display to showcase what would become available if it was mended, but the other two would hopefully be sold this night.

  A small crowd shifted in packs round the room. Perhaps thirty or forty people in all. When one group moved away from the necklace he’d put up for auction, he stepped in to check the card that was pinned beneath it.

  Pendant of Pure Breath

  Ranked: Mid-to-low Bronze

  Properties: Purifies the air in the immediate vicinity. Offers enhanced protection against airborne toxins and diseases, as well as smoke. Of limited use against dust or sand. Surprisingly effective ward against the body odours of unhygienic group members!

  Limitations: Whilst effective against many natural substances, the pendant offers less protection against magical airborne effects, particularly from Silver-ranked people, monsters or phenomenon.

  Magical Interference: Extremely Low

  It was the least valuable of the three items - at least, if the cloak was repaired it would be - but Xian’toth had still estimated that it could go for anywhere between thirty and a hundred gold. Hopefully enough to cover the living costs for him and his sister for a few months, or a few therapy sessions with Zephira, even after the guild took its cut. It wasn’t nearly as much as some of the irathian’s other items were going for though. He moved along to the next exhibit as a pair of adventurers moved off, one snorting in amusement.

  “Shield of… the myconid’s face more like.”

  “Shut up Benji. Just because you can’t afford it, don’t get us thrown out.”

  Wei glanced at the placard.

  Shield of Fungal Fortitude

  Ranked: High Silver to Low Gold defensive, Gold utility.

  Properties: Improved defensive qualities including absorbative effect on blocked attacks, particularly if bludgeoning or corrosive in nature. Shield itself has enhanced durability and regenerative ability. Fungal growths on the shield can be used as sustenance, which has a positive enhancement effect on the consumer’s toughness and healing prowess.

  Limitations: Weight approx. 40lbs. Excessive consumption of fungal growths can cause sickness commensurate with potion sickness. Effects of consuming growths are reduced in non-mammalian species. Effects on myconids untested.

  Magical Interference: Medium

  Now that would go for a couple of thousand gold or more, to the right buyer, according to Xian’toth. Most likely a lot more given the healing potential it had for those that didn’t want to keep buying potions.

  The only problem for the [Arcane Broker] was that he hadn’t found the adventurer with the necessary combination of Skills, levels, fighting style and deep pockets yet.

  Still, it gave Wei hope for his own gold-ranked item.

  He didn’t have to push through the crowd on the other side of the room where it was displayed, carefully protected along with the rest of the goods by the second security guard Xian’toth was employing through the guild and the irathian’s own potent Skills. He knew the item’s information off by heart now.

  Band of Rebounding Force

  Ranked: Gold

  Properties: Negates and stores a proportion of the energy from incoming attacks. Stored energy is unleashed when making an attack with the hand the ring is on. Energy automatically released when making an attack unless the wearer is fully attuned to its magic, whereupon mental control of the release is possible. Maximum capacity results in force equivalent to [Enhanced Strength] compared to normal strength.

  Limitations: Requires time and practice to assert control. Without [Lesser Toughness] or better, releasing of maximum energy can cause damage to the user. When at maximum capacity, the amount of energy absorbed from incoming attacks is significantly reduced until stored energy is released.

  Magical Interference: Low. Localised.

  The last of the interested parties entered the room, followed by Tarunde and Xian’toth, who closed the doors and sealed them behind him.

  Wei heard the irathian muttering before his many eyestalks swivelled round to take in the crowd and he cleared his throat.

  “[Eloquent Oration], [Stentorian Speech].”

  “Ladies, Gentlemen. Wait, who am I fooling: Adventurers. The evening’s proceedings are about to commence. If you would care to congregate around the dais at the front with your coin purses at the ready and your killer instincts turned to negotiating I would be much obliged.”

  As the assembled adventurers chuckled, he approached the podium at the far end of the room, catching Wei’s attention with one of his eyes and gesturing with the eyestalk to a chair at the side.

  “Excellent. Bartholomew, do we have the link to Halverwick’s guild ready?”

  An old [Mage] grunted and muttered a spell and a second later a large oval mirror on the wall flickered, and suddenly there were a handful of people looking through it out into the room.

  “Hello? Xi? Can you hear us?”

  “Loud and clear, Volinas. This is much better than the {Scrying} Crystal. Good purchase. We’re about to start. Don’t worry - I’ll keep a couple of eyes on your bidders!”

  All but a handful of the adventurers had gathered at the front of the room, and Xian’toth welcomed them with outstretched arms.

  “Welcome, everyone, to this latest - exclusive - auction. A few notices and ground rules before we begin. First off, all deals made are binding. There’s no going back if you win, so bid wisely and within your means. Second, a few of the items tonight are gold only. We’ll start with them so that all present will know how much they have to play with. As always, competition is welcome and friendly jests are all part of the fun, but if anyone crosses the line I will have you ejected and blacklisted with the guild. That means no threats, and no violence.” He glared at a woman with the figure of a professional bodybuilder and a size that suggested a goliath somewhere in her ancestry. “All sales are final, no refunds on cursed items - although we do our best to weed them out. Payment is due by midnight tomorrow, after which payouts will be made. Standard guild taxes apply for gold sales and my own rates apply otherwise. Finally, if there’s a fire, blame Sevryx.” The crowd laughed as a black-scaled drake scratched the back of his neck with a guilty claw and exhaled a small cloud of ash from his snout. “Is everybody clear on the rules - both here and for our friends in Halverwick?”

  At the chorus of ‘Yes!’, Xian’toth began.

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