Leo entered the guildhall and quickly made his way up to the second level. Looking through the large shop, he saw displays of various items. From potions, to tool, to a few basic weapons and armor, he browsed looking for something to improve his chances of survival in the capitol.
Leo jumped half a foot in the air as, completely engrossed by the items, a clerk approached and asked him a question.
"Just browsing, or looking for something in particular?"
Blushing, Leo stammered for a moment. "I need supplies for a journey to Lizantia, and possibly some basic armor or a better weapon than this old stick," he replied after a deep breath, brandishing his simple wood staff.
The clerk, sensing his trepidation, smiled and began assisting him with his supplies purchase, quickly collecting various rations, a rope and tarp, a small bedroll and a replacement pack. Pulling his pouch out to pay, he pulled out a handful of gold along with the red mana stone. After handing over 14 coins in payment, the clerk stopped him for a moment.
"Were you planning on trading in the mana stone as well, or using it for enchanting?" the clerk asked politely.
Leo stared dumbly at the woman for a moment. "Enchantment?"
The clerk chuckled softly, amused by his ignorance. "You're obviously new here. Normal mana stones are a semi-transparent stone of various sizes and opaqueness, and generally white or gray in color. Solid-colored stones like yours have elemental properties to them, and the grade is determined by how transparent they are. The lowest grade stones, like yours, are solid, like a rock. The higher grades become more and more transparent, more like gems than stones," she explained calmly.
"You can turn in this magic stone to the guild and receive 200 gold, but most people save their elemental stones and arrange for a craftsman to use them to enhance their weapons or armor. If you're looking for new gear, I'd suggest trading the stone directly for an enchanted item from one of our suppliers, and paying the difference.
"That, or you could try to auction off your stone to the adventurers in the guild. If fire element isn't really your style, you might be able to turn a quick profit, or even receive a fair barter trade. There's even a function available in the boards downstairs." She leaned closer to whisper, "Don't tell anyone I said this, but with how rare enchantment materials are outside of a dungeon city, you'll probably fetch a better price than the guild."
Leo smiled at the woman's words.
-
Twenty minutes later, Leo had placed the details of the red mana stone into the crystal. His auction offer was open to any bid over 100 gold, with a specific mention he was a light armor using staff wielder, closing at sundown.
The system was designed to create a random delay in the posting of the offer, to prevent anyone from attempting to approach the sellers directly, either to make an offer or, in the more likely case, prevent a high ranking individual from simply stealing the items offered.
The instant it came online, Leo heard a loud buzz of excitement run through the guild main hall, even as he slowly made his way over to the seating area by reception.
"Opaque fire stone?" "Blacksmith's guild is going to swarm all over that." "Who would be dumb enough not to use that themselves?" "I'm definitely going to put a bid in."
-
Sundown was fast approaching, and the bids had begun to trickle from the original deluge when it first opened. Various groups had attempted a bidding war at first, raising the price well above the 200 gold offered by the guild.
Other people, uninterested in bidding, observed the frenzied action of the different guilds and groups attempting to purchase the item, while others watched the crowd, hoping to pinpoint the owner of the item and arrange for a more straightforward method of collection.
The store clerk who had assisted Leo, finally ending of her shift, casually walked down to the main floor and saw the current bid on the screen. Smiling to herself, she winked at Leo as she passed, enjoying having helped a novice from a poor background like her own.
Leo, noting the time, walked up to the store area, and presented his ID. The clerk brought him into the back hall, sending him up the back entrance into the exchange meeting room to review the top five bids, and choose which best suited his current situation.
Talking aloud to himself, Leo debated his choices.
"Let's see, Mercenaries, free escort for a week, 150 gold, leather armor set and basic weapons training... Blacksmith's guild, metal bo-staff, 190 gold, light helmet and pauldrons.... Merchants faction... Huh. This one is interesting.
"Custom fitted leather armor, reinforced ash long staff, and one weeks training with a D grade adventurer in the capital, available from the familia of the Goddess of Battle. Dunno why they wouldn't just use their family connections to get a stone themselves.
"I think we have a winner."