Black Onyx - Forgotten Magic

Not far from the entrance to the capital Auralba...

"Gold, it's actually full of gold! I was just joking when I said that, but damn…" Gerald had a stupefied expression on his face.

Although he tried to keep his emotions in check, he couldn't help but let a bit of greed slip by.

Similarly, the rest of the gang was also surprised by the amount of gold mister Rulgo was transporting. They almost couldn't believe it was right under their nose the whole time.

Now it all made sense. People throwing their lives away for a chest full of gold was quite reasonable.

Bandits usually lived quite miserable lives, with all the killing, robbing, and running from the law, they didn't have many peaceful nights.

They were the scum of the society, but if they could get their hands on a mountain of gold, then they could possibly retire and live peacefully for the rest of their lives.

What was a bigger shock, however, was that according to what mister Rulgo said next, these were the taxes from Geldern. Although that was the case, he still took out a few gold coins and gave one to each of his escorts.

Gerald was somewhat surprised since in his mind he was stealing from the king, but he didn't voice any objections, he simply accepted the money and so did everyone else.

Soon, ten city guards came and escorted mister Rulgo, his wagon, and the chest into the city. Now they officially completed the mission.

"So? What should we do now?" Sera asked the group.

First to respond was Kara, stating "We are going to have some fun in the city. Wanna come with us? We can show you around. They have some amazing desserts here in Auralba."

"Ooh, I love sweets! Gerald, are you coming?" Sera enthusiastically jumped up and down.

However, Gerald firmly shook his head, "No, I have a few things to take care of first. Maybe I can join you guys later."

"That's a shame. Anyway, we will be at the Dancing Boar Inn if you need us," Derrick told him before they parted ways. Kera then proceeded to drag Sera off while waving back.

Gerald also waved until he couldn't see them anymore. He then went and asked around for directions and he quickly got the answer he was looking for.

A good ten minutes later he arrived in front of a massive stone building with brass door and windows, as well as a sign. The metal was polished to such an extent that it looked almost like gold. The sun was reflecting off of the clean surface so much that it was painful on the eyes.

The massive sign had two giant words written in pitch-black ink. It was an amazing contrast between light and dark and it was really attractive for the eyes.

On the sign, it was written 'Golden Puch' in bold strokes. Two sacks were hanging from the edges of the sign, and they also shined like gold.

The building was the biggest auction house in the capital and it had a great reputation for dealing with all sorts of expensive and weird items.

Now that Gerald found what he was looking for, he didn't go in immediately. Instead, he went away from the main road, into the side alleys, and put on a few extra pieces of clothing.

He changed his boots and gloves since the Silverback equipment could be quickly recognized and put on a more generic attire. He then draped the cloak over himself, hiding the top part of his face, and put a fake beard to cover the bottom part.

When he came back to the light, he looked like a generic old traveler, with a hunchback and wearing the most common clothes imaginable. Under his arm, he was carrying a wooden chest and with slow steps, he went towards the Golden Pouch.

As he stepped inside, he was immediately warmly welcomed by a person at the counter. "Hello! Welcome to the Golden Pouch Auction House! How may I help you?" The person speaking was a male, in his mid-twenties, warmly smiling at the disguised Gerald.

Although the person coming inside hid his face and wore clothes that made him look like a low-class citizen, the young man didn't change his tone. Everybody, no matter the social status, was treated equally. That was, of course, until it was determined what kind of business they had for the Auction House.

"Hm, I heard you deal in rare and special items. I might have something of interest…" Gerald answered with a deep and raspy voice.

"But of course, sir. Just show me what you brought and I'm sure we will be able to appraise it fairly!" The young man spoke with confidence. He dealt with these kinds of customers many times before. Although some customers brought some extremely valuable treasures, most of them only had worthless garbage.

Until he was sure what he was dealing with, he could only act nice.

Gerald looked at the young receptionist before him and commented, "No offense, but I don't think you are qualified to appraise my stuff. You should get someone with a higher authority to take a look at what I brought."

When the receptionist heard the bold words, his eye twitched a little and a dark expression flashed across his face for a second. Luckily for him, he quickly stabilized himself and a smile returned to his lips. "I'm sorry sir, but those are the rules. If you insist that I can't appraise your stuff, then I think we are done here."

Obviously, Gerald was not happy with the answer. He grumbled for a while but then still took out a vial of Swiftness Potion and placed it on the counter.

The young man on the other side quickly grabbed it with a victorious smile. But then he soon became confused and asked with uncertainty, "What kind of potion is this?"

'Hah! Acting all high and mighty serves you right!' Gerald thought and gave a wicked smile as he replied, "You tell me. I'm just a poor citizen who doesn't know what he's talking about." He spoke in a mocking voice and spoke about himself in a third person to rub it in even more.

He had to create a new persona for himself. A mysterious and arrogant alchemy master was quite fitting for the occasion.

The receptionist silently cursed in his heart and then proceeded to examine the potion. He looked at it from all sides, compared the color to the known potions, and even sniffed it to check. In the end, he hopelessly discovered that he had never before seen a potion like this.

Not daring to admit to his lack of knowledge, he arrogantly stated, "Hmph, isn't it just a simple herbal medicine? What is so special about it?"

'Herbal medicine? Herbal medicine?! Fool! If this wasn't the capital and the powerful Auction House on top, I would already beat you up for an insult like this!' Gerald roared in his heart. But he had to control himself somewhat. It was not the time to create a scene, at least not a big one.

"Hah, an ignorant person evaluating my godly potion as a simple herbal medicine! What a joke!" Gerald angrily laughed with his raspy voice.

He then proceeded to smash his fist on the counter and pointed a finger at the receptionist's nose, "Listen up, boy! Stop wasting my time and get someone with more brains to come and appraise my potion. You are lucky I don't take your ignorance seriously because you are still young, but this is the last straw!"

Now the receptionist started sweating. He was at a loss for what to do. On one hand, he was sure that the mysterious person before him was speaking nonsense, but if by some slim chance the latter was speaking the truth, he would be severely punished if he lost a good deal for the Auction House.

Ultimately he decided to get his superior and let them deal with it. At most he would get scolded for being naïve if it turned out to be a scam.

He soon returned back and slightly bowed before Gerald, stating, "This way please, sir. The director is expecting you." He then led him to the second floor of the Auction House to a private office. Two armed guards stood beside the door and guarded the room.

The receptionist lightly knocked on the door.

A "Come in," call came from inside.

The receptionist indicated Gerald to enter, and so he did.

The room was quite spacious and full of precious decorations. The walls had lifelike paintings and colorful carpets covered the floor. The furniture was made of black wood with golden borders. It all appeared to be extremely expensive.

At a desk in the middle sat a woman. She appeared to be extremely young, but also really mature. At least she was well developed in all important places.

She stood up and came closer to greet Gerald, "Welcome, my name is Emily Rosecloud, the director of Golden Pouch Auction House here in Auralba." She extended her hand and Gerald shook it, which was not what she expected.

She then invited him to sit at a table and ordered the maid to bring some tea. "How should I address you, sir?"

Gerald thought for a while and then simply said, "You can call me mister G."