Sacrifice Mage

Of course, Linak hadn’t figured out the entire issue with Protostar already. He was still trying to come up with the right rune that could handle the mana load that my Compound Aspect demanded. That said, he was making incremental progress on refining his artifice’s details that were separate from my Compound Aspect.

And it was this refinement that had allowed him to create an artifice that was capable of holding and regulating other Aspects. This was a separate development from the Starlamps.

“Right, that’s what they bought,” Linak said. “A lamp with my Aspect of Fire in it. It does most of the basic modification functions I want perfectly. Which mostly boils down to modifying heat levels, but you know, I still think that’s worth something.”

It wasn’t quite the first sale I was envisioning, but Linak was right. This was proof we were making something that had value. Not everyone had access to Aspects, and even if they did, they might not have even basic Aspects like Fire. As such, Linak’s makeshift heater would be really useful.

“I’m surprised there aren’t mass-produced artifices that can do that already,” I said. “No offence, but it seems a little basic. We’re essentially just regulating heat.”

“They do already exist, yes. Usually, they’re more large-scale applications, however. Contraptions used to regulate heat for entire buildings and the like. My little… well, I won’t call it an invention, but it’s far more personalized and portable.”

“Right. It has its use-cases.”

“Exactly.”

Linak was rather ecstatic about it all, and he thanked me profusely for spurring him on to make progress on the Starlamps. The idea for something like it had already been percolating in the back of his mind. He had just needed a little impetus from someone like me to believe that it would indeed be useful and wanted by others.

I obviously replied that I hadn’t had much hand in the actual artificing, but Linak waved it off. Oh well. I wasn’t going to refuse free praise.

Linak also promised that the Enchanter who was working on the runes needed for Protostar to work with the artifice was making progress too. In fact, she was supposedly eager because she was pushing the limits of what runes could normally handle. I was, once again, an impetus for innovation.

I really didn’t want to think of it like venture capital. After all, I wasn’t just providing capital but was also contributing to a vital portion of the project. Still, it kind of felt like that.

Khagnio cleared his throat. “See what I mean, mageling.”

Linak looked between the Scalekin and me, a little nonplussed.

I performed quick introductions, then told Linak about Khagnio’s latest money-making ventures, which Linak surprisingly took a shine to.

“Oh yes!” he said. “I’ve been so busy just trying to prove to myself that this is something we can actually sell that I almost forgot about the best ways we can go about selling it. A spot at the auction would be amazing. Especially if we can get the runes that allow Protostar to work its magic.”

I was looking forward to that too. Though there was one small complication we’d need to be wary of. “We’ll need to talk with the Anymphea. We did promise them some Starlamps too.”

Khagnio and Linak then dove into a little discussion about what they were excited for at the auction. It was honestly kind of alarming how quickly they started to bond right in front of me. Even in his aggravating way, Khagnio could definitely be a rough-around-the-edges kind of charmer.

Some of the platforms started landing, depositing mostly exhilarated passengers. Mostly because there were at least a couple of people looking rather green in the face. Oops.

“That was amazing, Cultist!” the little girl I had sent up first said. She was hopping in place, throwing her hands in the air in excitement. “Again! Again!”

Her father cleared his throat. “Now, now, Aleece. There are more people waiting their turn. We can come back later.”

The girl harrumphed but didn’t argue the point once she saw there were indeed other people—especially other kids—waiting for their turn on the ride. With an appreciative wave, she, her father, and her siblings quickly left to enjoy the rest of the magic festival.

It was a little surprising how many people had come to my silly little flying ride. I was kept busy for a lot longer than I was expecting, so much so that Khagnio and Linak had left long ago.

A nice side-effect was that a lot of the people paying me and my booth a visit were from Ring Four. They knew me, and that attracted them towards my collection of floating, flying rocks. This meant that anyone else approaching would need to deal with being in the vicinity of Ring Four, which the snooty Ring Two nobles absolutely refused to do.

It went on long enough that I didn’t actually get to enjoy the rest of the festival as an attendee. Made sense since I wasn’t an attendee any longer. Still. I’d have liked to see some of the other booths, check out what people were doing elsewhere.

Nevertheless, I was satisfied with the efforts of the first day, and I was also glad there were no mishaps or troubles.

The next day, I headed out to the auction first.

Much like the mage festival, there was so much going on at the auction hall on Ring One that I was tempted to just stare and take it all in gradually. I tried not to get too distracted, even if the magical food looked far too enticing. My goal was clear—see where they were selling that specific Nether Vein treasure, if they were selling it today.

Although, it was less the food and magic and ostentatiousness that was distracting me, and more the people. They were all so rich and gaudy, which I had expected. It was just how new a lot of them were that caught me off-guard.

Several Rakshasa were unlike any I had seen in Zairgon. These were slimmer, possessing a lot more horns sprouting from all over their bodies instead of just the head. I was starting to see why demons were essentially a racial slur for them. I saw a lot more Theriocephs too. They were all dressed in robes not dissimilar to what Guildmaster Lancko had worn, though I was sure most of them were far from mages.

A lot of them looked at me pretty curiously. At least it was curiosity this time, rather than outright disdain that the Zairgon nobles reserved for me. The snooty lords I had met with Ascelkos, the Rakshasa one from Zairgon and the foreign Plumefolk, were both there too. Sneering just like last time as well.

I focused on my task. Right. Nether Vein treasure. That was what I had come here for.

One of the receptionists gave me a little map of wherever various themes of treasures were being offered up.

“What if I wanted to hold my own auction for things I’ve got?” I asked the receptionist.

Stolen story; please report.

He looked very sceptical that I could ever manage to sell something that others would actually sit at an auction for. “It’s pretty simple. You just need to be present with the item or items you want auctioned. Of course, the guild does a check beforehand to make sure everything is alright. But once you’re approved, you get a listing and then an official slot from the admin.”

I nodded in gratitude. Concise and helpful. I supposed I’d have to wait till Linak was fully ready with the Protostar-fuelled artifice.

“Anything in particular that caught your eye, Ross?” Ascelkos asked when I stumbled into him later on.

“Yes,” I said. “The Nether Vein treasure I told you about. Just need to find the room where they’re selling it.”

“Are you sure you can afford it, though?”

He was giving me a shrewd look. I sighed. It was a terrible state of affairs, but I was forced to admit that my funds were limited. If the auction went on for too long with rich people present, then I’d be screwed. I definitely didn’t have enough money to overcome the sheer buying power of certain Great Houses.

“Though,” Ascelkos said. “First, we should find out if the auction for it is today or not. Otherwise, all our effort would be for nothing.”

“It’s not,” I said. “I checked.”

“Oh, lucky you. But on the day they do, you must let me know, yes? I think I can come up with a way to acquire it without needing to spend a great deal.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, yeah? I’m not going to turn down help, so thanks in advance, Ascelkos.”

“Don’t mention it. I actually know some of the attending nobles. Believe me, I have no intention of letting a powerful relic fall into their hands. Not if I can help it.”

I laughed. “Well, count me in as a co-conspirator then, because I don’t want them getting the Nether Vein’s treasure either.”

At least, not the one I was seeking.

Since what I was looking for wasn’t on sale that day, I didn’t have much reason to stay at the auction hall. Neglecting my booth at the magic festival wasn’t going to go over well. I felt guilty at depriving so many people of the bit of entertainment that I could have provided.

Ascelkos still dragged me to an actual auction first, though. It would be good for experience, according to him.

It definitely was. We were on the periphery, just watching the scene unfold as people bet on a set of tableware from some ancient tomb in Sinthesar. It supposedly housed the magical property of extending one’s lifespan when used sparingly. Sparingly being the key word, because if used too much, it would cause the glutton to explode. Fun.

The more interesting bit was just how much money everyone attending the auction was willing to spend. Thousands, tens of thousands, to even hundreds of thousands of gold were offered up. The tableware set finally went for a mid-six-figures amount.

“You see,” Ascelkos said. “You won’t be able to compete against them. Not on this stage.”

I nodded grimly. “I don’t have anywhere near that kind of money.” Sure, I had acquired a decent amount of wealth, especially after the latest Nether Vein trip—I froze. “I don’t have that kind of money… yet.”

Ascelkos was surprised. “Oh, you think you can procure funds of that nature?”

I told him about the Nether Vein. If the treasures were being sold for anywhere near the same kind of money as I had just seen, then the guild would be forking over a tremendous amount of cash.

“Even if you can afford the money,” Ascelkos said. “Which I wasn’t sure you would—you’d still need to deal with the logistics of it. For instance, this treasure of yours might be the very first thing up for sale, and then you’d be screwed.”

I snorted at the phrasing. “True enough. But you’re acting like you’ve got it all figured out.”

“I believe I have…” Ascelkos tilted his head slightly with a smile to boot. “We’ll see what happens when the time comes.”

I just shook my head with a little grin. The realization that the auction itself might provide me with the funds I needed for the auction was raising my spirits a good deal. And then there was Ascelkos more or less promising to help. Why wouldn’t I feel pretty positive about it all?

I returned to the magic festival in short order. It was a little regrettable I wasn’t getting much training in, but I was providing some meaningful value to people who might not have otherwise received any, which felt at least as good.

“Ross!” Sreketh dashed up to me. “You’re late!”

She was dressed in her blue academy uniform. Apparently, the younger academy students were conducting a little field trip to enjoy the festival for themselves too. Sreketh went on to regale me with all the new and fun kinds of magic she had already seen at the Mage Guild grounds.

I thought I noted her staying on her own more often than with her friends at the academy. She did hang around with a few gangly kids, and I noted they all were avoiding the larger group of academy students going around the festival. I sighed. Clique politics.

There were others I recognized all around the festival. I saw Ugnash followed by a few other Rakshasa who looked a lot younger, and I had no idea what that was about. Santoire and Guille were in charge of leading all the Sun Cult followers on a guided trip through the Mage Guild grounds. A few other cults had joined them too. Even Gutran was there.

I recognized everybody at a distance since I had to attend my own booth. There wasn’t as much interest today as there had been yesterday, likely because I had been absent earlier, so some people assumed my booth was off for the day. I was back now, though.

“We should head over to the duels now,” said a short Scalekin woman to her partner. They had gone up on the simpler stone platform just to take to the air. “They say they might even bring in one of the foreign mages!”

Said partner, an Ogre, smiled wide. “Good idea. Let’s go.”

I was a tiny bit miffed I wasn’t the main attraction for them any longer, but that was to be expected. In fact, even I was a little intrigued by the duels. Was a mage from a different city actually taking part in them?

“Mage Moreland,” a familiar voice called out after a couple of hours. “I didn’t know you were setting up a booth at the festival.”

I turned with a smile to see Aninta coming over. She had a few children following behind her, as well as an elderly Rakshasa too. I remembered how she had talked a bit about her family.

“Oh hello,” I said. “Welcome, welcome. Here to take a little trip to the sky?”

The kids jumped and yelled in vociferous agreement, which made my smile grow wider. Every time I performed some of the flying, I always garnered extra attention.

“I’d be grateful if you could give them a ride,” Aninta said. “And perhaps the simpler one for my elderly father-in-law here.”

“I can stay with the kids!” the old man said.

“Certainly, father.”

I laughed softly. “Whatever you want. All of it’s safe, trust me. What about you, though, Mage Aninta? Which one would you prefer?”

She gave me a negative wave, a slow but somehow mischievous smile lighting up her face. “I’m not here for your strange rides, fun though they seem. Instead, I’m here to challenge you to a duel.”

“Excuse me?”

“Surely, you heard me correctly, Mage Moreland. A duel. You and me. I think it will clear up the last of the bad taste our… disagreement left.”

I blinked at her a few times. “That was months ago. Believe me, I’ve forgotten all about it. I don’t have a bad taste in my mouth about it.”

“Regardless, I would very much like one. It will put an end to our little dispute. I have a certain amount of honour to maintain, Mage Moreland. Won’t you consider it?”

I stared at her flatly. “I’m not sure your earlier actions warrant me wailing on you with everything I’ve got.”

“Mother!” One of her kids tugged on her dress. “We want to get on the rides! Please!”

“Patience, dear. You’ll have your fun.” She turned back to me. “I certainly shan’t force you into anything, Mage Moreland, but I’d suggest that you refrain from such arrogance.” Her eyes flashed. “Underestimating me might have severe consequences.”

“We’re not fighting.”

The elderly Rakshasa harrumphed in disappointment, muttering something about weakness. I glared at him.

“Duels!” someone else, someone even more familiar, shouted. “Duels!”

“No, Ascelkos,” I said, shifting my glare to him as he rushed over. “We are not—”

“Be not a cursed spoilsport, my friend. Not after you’ve done so much to make this whole festival so incredible.”

“I have—”

“Duels!”

I wanted to strangle him.

As Ascelkos and Aninta exchanged greetings and pleasantries, a mage with a little tablet seemed to materialize out of nowhere. He was one of the people I had seen loitering about nearby.

“I heard duels?” he prompted. “Could you please kindly state the names of the duellists?”

“I never agreed to anything!”

“He’ll say any old thing, will Ross Moreland.” Ascelkos gave me a fond look like I was more senile than Aninta’s father-in-law, but just as beloved. “Here, Mage Registrar, I’ll do the sign-ups.”

I finally sighed and tried to relax. Despite the wild turn of events, it wasn’t exactly a bad thing that I was getting roped into duels. They seemed to be a hotly anticipated component of the magic festival I hadn’t really been briefed about, and it wasn’t like fighting was something I shied away from.

Ascelkos thrust the tablet and the quill back at the registrar mage, who double-checked everything to make sure it was all good.

“Alright, Ross,” Ascelkos said with a smile that promised he hadn’t forgotten a single second of our very first friendly duel together, almost like he wanted payback. Which was funny because he hadn’t even lost. “Let’s head out once you’ve finished up here. Duels have their own spot on the grounds. You won’t believe how many people are waiting for you to show up.”

I stared at him. “What?”