"That should be everything," Alf said as he dusted off his hands. It had taken them almost twenty minutes before they had managed to acquire some of the things from the list such as the orichulum and mithril ingots, block of wood from the enchanted tree, saps from both the heartwood tree and the reverent tree, and lastly the wyvern scales.
"You sure took your sweet time walking around in that peacock dainty pace of yours. Shouldn't time be a valuable currency to you merchants..," Leo muttered under his breath with clear impatience and dissatisfaction showing in his tone.
Those twenty minutes were the longest twenty minutes of his life. It was one thing if Alf didn't mention the two strange eggs that even his appraisers couldn't figure out but because he did, it had triggered all the consuming interest checkboxes in Leo.
Eggs check, weird eggs that no one knows what they are 100 times check. He was restless through the whole packing thinking of those eggs.
"You know you're not the only buyer I have for those eggs. I only mentioned it on account of..... Actually why I'm I selling it to you? Selling it to the adventure guild or some noble or mage out there will buy me more goodwill than selling it to you. All I get from you is your snide remarks, a moocher who just ate and drank all my breakfast and secretly curses me in his head," Alf calmly said as he continued walking with his back against Leo.
Leo stood rooted on the spot wondering if Alf was bluffing or not but when he heard Alf mention all these nobles and merchants and what he could get from them, He too couldn't help but question himself.
"Why is Alf selling it to me? Sure he would make a few gold coins above the market price but that was it. Alf isn't short of gold coins even though he always acts like it by not letting even a single copper off the bill. He would make more connections from dealing with the nobles despite some of them being too pompous and elitist."
It was from this healthy dose of self-awareness that Leo did what Leo knew best to protect his interests. Act shamelessly.
"Alf what are you saying? You know Mira once said you're the only merchant she will ever do business with. You know that's something coming from someone as choosey as her. I don't agree with her on a lot of things but on this, I do wholeheartedly.
Take a rest. You deserve a rest for all the work and excellent service you offer your customers even to the lowly ones like myself."
Leo thought that words just weren't enough so he decided to go all in as he hurriedly massaged Alf's shoulders with a humble servant expression much to the displeasure of Alf. He even threw in a few tier 1 rejuvenation spells for good measure.
Alf could only helplessly sigh at this as he hurried his steps. In his many interactions with different people and races all around the world, he has met very few people who could match Leo in his ability to thicken his face. At first, he thought Leo was an oddity but then he met his brother Arc who was equally thick-skinned and he couldn't help but wonder if it was a family thing.
The two brothers had no bottom line if it involved something they were greatly interested in. It made for great customers as he could fleece a little more from them but it also made them the weirdest customers he dealt with. He never was too sure what they'd pull. That was why he only conducted business with them behind closed doors away from an audience.
Alf and Leo walked with one repeatedly sighing at his misfortunes and the other putting a to-do list of learning more rejuvenation spells.
However, all this was pushed to the back burner when the two arrived at a desk on the right side of the warehouse. The table was almost four feet long and was filled with runes though from their grey luster they seemed to be inactive.
There were all sorts of equipment lying around such as forceps, crucibles, beakers filled with strange liquids, an inscription sky gold pen, open books filled with descriptions and images of different eggs, and a mountain of papers filled with writings that were all over the place.
Underneath an open book that was upside down lay a small chest. That chest seemed to be Alf's target as he went straight for it ignoring all the other things around it. The front of the chest was covered with a golden engraving of a flamingo with a gold rose in its mouth. The rose extended to the intricate locking system of the chest.
Once the chest came into full view, Leo couldn't help but click his tongue as he reassessed Alf's means. He was drawn not to the engravings but to the wood used to make the chest. It was wood from a vermilion tree. He recognized it from the fiery red color with occasional hints of gold and the natural gentle heat that was emanating from the wood.
The vermilion tree was a mystical rarity that one wouldn't easily come across though there have been rumors of the Prezit kingdom one of the oldest kingdoms in the world and the Darwood state home of the wood elves and dark elves had this tree in their possession. It is not known whether the rumors are true or if it was some ploy by some parties to draw hungry wolves into those two nations. The world was rife with subterfuge and false baits.
But what was undeniably true is how valuable the vermilion tree is. Judging from Alf's chest, Leo surmised it was made from a palm-sized block, a few bark scrapings mixed with another wood. Even that amount wasn't something someone could buy just because they had the gold coins for it. It could only be traded for by someone with numerous connections and treasures that are able to tempt the seller to part with it.
The tree had no offensive properties to speak of but what it lacks in that regard it more than makes up for in its ability to nurture. The tree also goes by a nickname, the all-species nesting tree.
Numerous species especially the oviparous ones require specific environmental conditions to help nurture their eggs so they can hatch. The more powerful the species the more special those requirements become. However, the vermilion tree can bypass those conditions and can nurture almost any species more so if it is a magical creature. It is said the most powerful of this tree can even nurture the mythical vermilion bird hence its name. Its grandeur and ability is only matched by the parasol tree.
'Wherever a parasol tree is a phoenix isn't far behind' is a common saying around the world. Whether there's truth to that statement, Leo didn't know as he had never seen one even in his village but..
Leo shook his head free of the distracting thoughts as Alf was just about to open the chest.
"What parasol tree? Could they lay eggs if not I have no interest.. WAIT a tree that lays eggs!! If a treant produced a fruit that became another treant is that fruit an egg, are there trees that lay eggs out there? The Trilunar is a big world after all. No, No, Leo focus.
A parasol tree is just wood nothing of importance, the world tree is just a fancy big tree that those spirit elves dance around and occasionally produces water as for the Vermilion tree I already have sawdust of the tree back at home. Remember why you are here. TWO STRANGE EGGS," Leo contemptuously thought before he rubbed his hands together like an excited little kid as drool slipped from his mouth and his gaze turned maddened red trying to peer through the vermilion chest.
Alf fished out a key that was in the shape of a trident with two of the ends having the shapes of arrowheads and the middle one was coiled.
Click
A small almost negligible white light flashed before the chest opened up. Leo cautiously approached almost as if afraid to wake the contents within the chest up. The chest had no ornaments within, it had five egg-shaped compartments with the two on the far left being the only ones occupied.
Finally the two eggs. Leo's eyes couldn't help but shine when he saw them. Never had two things seemed so unalike to each other.
The egg on the far left was dull grey and it wouldn't be difficult to mistake it for a rock. It was the size of two palms. The other egg next to it was smaller by a few inches but still just as large. However, it was pristine white coated with glittering light that swarm through the shell. The light occasionally flashed in rainbow color. A beautiful gem-like egg was the simplest way to describe it as for the other egg calling it an egg was pushing it.
"What fascinating things," Leo silently muttered as his eyes glittered like the smaller egg.
"Here," Alf said as he piled up some of the papers on the table and handed them to Leo who was busy wiping the drool on his face with his sleeves.
"In there are the notes on the geographical component of the locations we found the eggs and the hypothesis of the appraisers. It should save you some time," Alf offhandedly said as he slapped the papers on Leo's head to pull him out of his stupor.
"Mmmmh oh yes, yes," Leo said as he grabbed the papers and started skimming through some of the notes. His whole demeanor shifted. Before he was a frivolous bandit but now he was a refined professor with a noble heritage.
This was one of the rare moments Alf ever saw Leo be serious about something. He left Leo to himself who nodded to himself and shook his head a couple of times before he managed to tear himself away from the notes and carefully rolled the papers and put them in one of the chests used to store the goods he bought.
"Make sure to send me your findings report and your deductions along the way. I'll deduct 30% from the cost as usual..Ooh, and the vermilion chest stays with me. As an odd creature enthusiast you should have your own means to ensure the eggs' viability," Alf coolly said which was met with a non-committal nod from Leo whose attention was back to the two eggs.
"What surprises will you two bring," he whispered under his breath as he brought his arms forward to pick them up.
[sorry that the chapter is a day late, the Christmas festivities wiped me out before i even had a chance to upload the chapter. I hope you're having fantastic celebrations though.]
