Chapter 1100: Trade
A large part of Leon felt like preening as his eyes fell upon the large ingots of orange-gold Aurichalcum before him. Each ingot glittered in the light of his villa’s main hall, while to his magic senses, the metal sang with power.
Aurichalcum was the finest enchanting material in the universe, perfectly compatible with any kind of magic inscribed upon it, and easily able to handle the magical load from combining elements in complex enchantments. Some specific materials were better for certain elements, but Aurichalcum outshone them all in sheer versatility.
Leon had been making do without Aurichalcum thus far, but when word was sent from Shatufan that the city’s elites were interested in trade, he had a suspicion that that time was coming to an end. The first trade mission sent from the city to the Artor Valley only cemented that thought, as they brought several chests full of Aurichalcum with them, which Leon was now inspecting.
Or perhaps ‘admiring’, as he didn’t have enough experience with the material to know if what he was looking at was worth all that much—as with just about everything, there was a gradient when it came to Aurichalcum and its quality. He doubted that what Shatufan had brought was the best stuff around, but it was the only stuff around, and beggars couldn’t be choosers.
Leon wasn’t alone in his inspections, thankfully, for he’d dragged Nestor, Mari, several Ravens, and other members of the other Tribes who knew anything at all about metallurgy, enchanting, or material science, and tasked them with more in-depth examinations.
He’d also informed Icarius about this deal, and he’d sent Penelope back to the Artor Valley with all haste. Penelope was not a specialist when it came to fancy metal, but she was certainly well-versed in assessing the value of goods—and if she had trouble, Leon had also brought Emilie to court, as the former Chief of Acquisitions for Heaven’s Eye could only help in this matter.
Mari was practically buzzing with excitement, though Leon didn’t consider that to be all that different from her usual attitude. Nestor was far more subdued, though as with Mari, that didn’t tell Leon all that much. The rest of his examiners were quiet, keeping themselves calm and composed, and not giving the visitors from Shatufan any sign of how they felt about the offered goods.
As before, Manuchehr led this expedition, though he had a rather different demeanor when he arrived than he had the first time. Now, he was acting much more as Leon thought he should’ve as a seventh-tier mage, being more deferential and less arrogant. Though, he couldn’t help but hold some respect for him for having a sense of dignity about his station, if not for his strength. He saw a bit of himself in Manuchehr’s behavior, for better and for worse. Still, to show some respect and hospitality, Leon had tables and chairs brought out for Manuchehr and the rest of his entourage.
Alongside their Presiding Magus were half a dozen other mages, though none stronger than Manuchehr. Merchants, they’d been introduced as, and though they hadn’t yet named their price, Leon knew what they wanted. After he’d received the news of Shatufan’s interest in trade, he’d immediately had several giants whip up a new batch of specially prepared sand, and then used Iron Pride to make hundreds of pounds of storm crystal. He’d then had the crystals cut and polished, which did nothing to increase their functionality, but would hopefully make for a good impression.