Lord Sevaril and Snowcloud descended the stairs, with Arran warily following a few paces behind them. Lord Sevaril's casual death threat had not come as a complete surprise to Arran — knowing Snowcloud's secrets obviously carried risks — but it had served as yet another reminder of his precarious situation.

The fact of the matter was that he had no powerful backers or allies. If any one of the powerful mages he encountered decided to kill him, there would be nobody to avenge his death. If he was to rely on anyone to protect him, it would have to be himself, and for that, he needed to become more powerful. But gaining power required time and resources, and right now, he was short on both.

A few floors below the chamber where they had first met Lord Sevaril, the man left the staircase and stepped into the hallway, coming to a stop before a heavy wooden door at its far end.

"This is the ingredient storage room," Lord Sevaril said to Snowcloud. "You'll find that I have made a fair effort to find all you need, and then some."

He opened the door without ceremony, then stepped inside, Snowcloud and Arran entering behind him.

When they entered the chamber, Arran was immediately astounded at what he saw. The chamber was vast and full of endless rows of shelves, each carrying a multitude of bottles, jars, flasks, and boxes. If each of these was filled with herbs and other ingredients, then the chamber held a fortune beyond compare.

Snowcloud's shock seemed even greater than Arran's. She stood wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the entrance of the chamber, looking around in silent astonishment.

"All but a few of the ingredients you need should be here," Lord Sevaril said. "But going through the entire collection will take you a few days."

His voice held a tone of barely concealed pride, and Arran couldn't blame him. Gathering such a massive collection of ingredients must have been a monumental task even if the ingredients were common ones, and Arran was certain that many of these would be anything but common — even if he knew little of herbalism, he could Sense the Natural Essence emanating from the shelves.

"I'll get started immediately," Snowcloud replied in a distracted voice.

Even as she spoke, she kept her eyes focused on the shelves in front of her. It was clear that she had all but forgotten about the world around her, and Arran suspected she did not intend to emerge from the chamber until she had inspected every last ingredient within.

"I'll have a room prepared for your companion," Lord Sevaril said, apparently having had the same thought as Arran.

Snowcloud did not respond, and quietly, Lord Sevaril motioned for Arran to follow him as he stepped out of the chamber. Captivated by the collection of herbs and ingredients, Snowcloud did not appear to notice their departure.

"Lord Sevaril," Arran said as they entered the hallway, "I'm a bit short on Essence Crystals. Could you perhaps tell me the best place in the city to buy some?"

Of course, Arran wasn't just looking for information. Although he did not dare ask directly, having caught a glimpse of Lord Sevaril's wealth, he secretly hoped that the man would decide to show him some generosity as well.

"The traders in the city offer good prices," Lord Sevaril answered flatly. "Better than you'll find in the Valleys."

Arran frowned slightly when he understood that he would have to buy the Essence Crystals himself. Even if he could not reasonably expect Lord Sevaril to simply hand him valuable treasures, he had hoped that the man's desire to help Snowcloud would extend to her companion.

Seeing his dejected look, Lord Sevaril sighed. "I suppose you were hoping for more?" He reached into his robe and produced a small golden badge, which he tossed to Arran. "I own a trading house in the city. It's called the Golden Hall. If you show this, you'll be able to buy Essence Crystals at cost price. That's less than half of what you'd pay in any of the Valleys."

Arran considered the offer, then asked, "Is there any limit to the number of Essence Crystals I can buy?"

"Trade as much as you like," Lord Sevaril answered with a shrug. "Now, I have other matters to attend. You should head down to the keep and tell one of my stewards to prepare a room for you."

Without waiting for a reply, Lord Sevaril turned around and left, taking the stairs back up to his chambers. It was clear that he had no desire to spend any more time on Arran.

Arran took a look at the badge, and saw that it held a carving shaped like a tower. He took some moments to consider Lord Sevaril's offer, and as he did, he realized that this might be even better than receiving a few free Essence Crystals.

Already pondering the opportunity, he headed back down to the keep. There were preparations to make.

It took him some time to find one of Lord Sevaril's stewards in the keep's long hallways, but when he did, the woman wasted no time in arranging a room for him in the guest quarters. Less than half an hour later, Arran was pleased to find that the room she had readied was both large and luxurious.

Once he was settled in, he spent several hours sorting his belongings, deciding what to trade and what to keep. This was no simple task, since he still owned numerous treasures from the Herald's stronghold and had picked up even more from the mages he defeated over the years.

A few items caught his interest now that he could examine them with his Sense, but the vast majority of his possessions, he decided to trade. They currently did little more than take up space in his void bags, and although he had no lack of space, he did have a severe lack of Essence Crystals.

Apart from the treasures, there were also the wine and food that Panurge had given him. The wine was potent enough that it should be reasonably valuable, and there were several thousands of bottles of it. The food, meanwhile, contained enough Natural Essence to be of at least some value, and he had more of it than he could eat even if he lived a thousand years.

By the time he finished going through his belongings, night had already fallen. With some regret, Arran decided to wait until the next morning before visiting the trading house. He could spend the night training his magic and studying the seal on his forbidden Realm.

When morning came, he would finally get all the Essence Crystals he needed — and then some.