With the sun now nearing its daily zenith and consequently, Lysette’s strength nearing its nadir, she left the dining hall behind and made her way across campus and into Domark proper. Sadly, with Domark being almost upon Aimarion’s equator and it being nearly the autumnal equinox, there was precious little opportunity for shade from the pulsing rays that shone their oppressive gaze down upon the land. Sun wouldn’t harm her any more than any other human, though it was unpleasant, and Lysette saw no reason to deliberately make her travels any more unpleasant than necessary.

Thankfully, the floating city had no shortage of beautiful foliage, from large palms that lined the campus walkways to fruiting trees of various exotic plants that only seemed to grow in and around the capital; papaya, coconut, and banana among them. Some of them were even designated as belonging to the campus public, their fruits freely available for any to take, though, as greed so often dictated, most of them were taken, and long before they’d have an opportunity to fully ripen.

Why the capital was so much warmer than the surrounding lands was something Lysette did not know, but attributed to the accumulation of Essence that powered the city. Essence, Lysette learned in her studies, like light and heat, was also a form of energy, though one which permeated all things and filled them with its warming and comforting presence.

And from there, an ugly thought crept into her mind. Was the warmth and Essence gathered about the capital, like its wealth, so mercilessly taken— stolen, even— from the people and things throughout the rest of the land? And if so, did her being, her domain, oblige her to correct this iniquity? Lysette knew the answer, but knowing even better that she lacked the power to effect such change upon the world, she scuttled her thoughts on the matter to the recesses of her mind to ruminate deep within her subconscious. For now.

Lysette instead turned her attention to the walk through the capital, keeping her aurasight extended to its maximum range from the moment she stepped off the campus. The Chancellor, the law, or something else could protect her from the nobles she was quickly making enemies of while on campus— the Chancellor had said as much, and the lack of outside interference with her daily life since the incident back with House Dozel’s messengers seemed to provide evidence supporting the same. But, the same incident suggested that the protection didn’t extend, or at least wasn’t as strong, outside the campus grounds.

She made her way to the auction house at a measured yet deliberate pace, neither racing there nor taking time to sightsee, instead content to blend in with the crowd as much as was possible. She realized, as she made her way along the path leading to her destination, that her notoriety on campus hadn’t yet extended much beyond that point. No one asking her name, no one asking for her time or delivering scowls or waves or begging for autographs. She was invisible, just another person. Another person, not Zarielle’s Godslayer, not the Demigoddess of Reciprocity. Only in the moment did she realize just how much she missed that part of her old life.

The auction house was quiet, a far cry from the bustle she’d experienced the previous night. In contrast to her previous stay, however, the few people who were present were quite a bit better dressed than she, something that did give her pause. But she was welcomed in and greeted with professional courtesy, easing the worry she’d had by stepping inside.

“Good afternoon, ma’am,” a well-dressed older gentleman said. “What brings you to our fine establishment on this lovely day?”

“During one of my recent travels down to the surface, I found a strange item, one which I couldn’t identify. After doing some research, I believe it may be something of both rarity and value. I’ve come to have a formal appraisal done and, should the item be what I believe it to be, see if it has any value.”

“Ah, of course, young lady. What sort of an item is it?”

“A rare fungus. In my time as a herbalist, I have never seen one like this before.”

“Of course. If I might have your name, I will go ahead and summon one of our experts. If you would wait out here in the lobby for just a few minutes, I would be greatly appreciative.”

“Lyse Barret,” Lysette responded.

The man cocked his head for a fraction of a second, quickly enough that Lysette barely would have noticed if not for her aura detecting the slight movement. “Of course, Miss Barret.”

The man walked off with immaculate poise and grace, leaving Lysette to wander about the front of the institution for a few minutes. There were a few busts and other such displays that weren’t present during the auction the last time she was here, some detailing previous owners and others some of the more noteworthy artifacts and other such items that had been sold at the facility over the centuries.

Strangely, or maybe not strangely at all, nearly all of them were relics tied to some deity or demigod, rather than any mundane artwork, historical artifacts, sculptures, or the like. She did wonder to what extent the nobles chose to spend money on items merely for aesthetic value, beyond merely living in lavish and ornate houses dotted around the center of the city. Perhaps not as much as she’d originally thought, considering how much they seemed willing to spend on any item that might assist in their ascent for yet greater power.

A few minutes passed before the call of a middle-age woman with short, curly, bright orange hair called for Lysette.

“Miss Barret?” the woman said, approaching at a brisk yet deliberate pace.

“Yes, that’s me. Are you the expert that was mentioned earlier?”

“I am. Janice Castilla, resident herbalist and mycologist at the Farranah Auction House. Please, follow me.”

Lyse did as was told, and the two proceeded out of the lobby into a small hallway near the back corner before entering a small white room. Much like her room in the infirmary, this one too was painted in a bright off-white and reeked of being sanitized. Though at least there were a couple of cheap-looking paintings on the walls, as well as a large wooden desk and a few chairs. Janice walked around the large piece of furniture and sat down at her seat behind, and Lysette took one of the available chairs and sat at the near side. All the chairs were quite a bit nicer than the ones in the dining hall or most other places at the Academy, a fact Lysette attributed to the typical wealth of the clientele that likely frequented this place.

“So, Miss Barret, I’ve been informed that you’ve found a rare fungus you can’t identify but think it might be of some value. Would you care to show me?”

Lysette nodded, reaching into her bag and pulling out the truffle from before. “I’m fairly confident I know what this is after my own bout of research earlier today. If my suspicions are correct, this is known as Black Essence truffle. It fits the description I found well enough, and it definitely shows signs of being filled with Essence. The problem is that I can’t confirm if it is or not, and in either case, I am not sure what it’s worth.”

Janice picked it up and eyed it up and down for a while. “It certainly looks like it, but I won’t be able to tell until I examine it a bit more closely.”

She reached into one of her desk drawers and pulled out a small lens of some sort, one which on the surface looked little different from a magnifying lens, but one which nonetheless did both exude and manipulate Essence in a very subtle manner. Lysette watched carefully as Janice continued to examine the truffle under the magnifying glass.

“Some sort of device that allows you to see Essence?” Lysette asked.

“That’s right. Do you want to take a look?”

Lysette didn’t need to— her aurasight allowed her to see Essence just fine— but she was still curious as to the devices people used to examine Essence without the ability to directly see it. She turned her primary focus away from her aurasight, instead directing the information flow to a secondary consciousness as she focused her attention to her actual eyes. Gazing through the strange lens, Lysette saw the golden pellets dotted throughout the truffle, a visual representation of crystalized Essence not unlike how the fungus looked through her aurasight.

“So, is it Black Essence truffle?” Lysette asked, handing the device back.

“It is.” Janice sighed. “Unfortunately, it might not be worth as much as you might’ve hoped by your initial reaction. It is relatively rare and quite valuable when sold at auction. They pop up every couple of years, and sometimes, ones this size sell for as high as eight thousand gold.”

“But–” Lysette was waiting for the bad news.

“How long ago did you find this, Miss Barret?”

“About three days ago, I think.”

“That’s about what I figured. Black Essence truffle, like a lot of other plants used in medicine and Cultivation, rapidly loses potency upon being harvested. Generally with these sorts of very rare plants, we’d come out to the site, authenticate and appraise it, and then auction it to prospective buyers, and then facilitate the transaction between buyer and seller as part of the house’s usual fees.

“Unfortunately, that’s not an option here, and we won’t have another open auction for about three more weeks. With that said, they are rare and I do know that there is a market that would be willing to buy these on demand, but they won’t pay top dollar for them either. Considering what we’re likely to get and the time it’s going to take to find a buyer, I don’t think my bosses are going to get upset if I offered you two thousand gold right now. That, or you could try asking around yourself and see if you can find anyone.”

Lysette definitely did not want to do that— she already had more than enough enemies as it was. And while two thousand wasn’t a life-changing sum, it was still more than enough to get started on the next phases of her plans: Creating some magic items which suited her own fighting style, and pouring Essence back into her growing sect of followers.

“Would there be any Essence Crystals or similar that I could be paid with instead of in coin?”

“Legally, I have to pay you in currency, but you’re welcome to turn right around and buy Crystals once you get paid up.”

Lysette assented to the terms and, after a surprisingly cumbersome process involving signing a lot of documents, most in triplicate, Lysette was out of the hallways and back in the lobby, her bag now heavier by two Essence Crystals each slightly larger than her fist and a hundred gold coins left over. She headed toward the doorway, only to be greeted by just about the last person she wanted to see.

Just what are you here for, Kiarra?