The hunter with the daggers grunted. “Fine,” he said. “But you still can’t take ‘em inside. Tell the receptionist you have weapons you wanna sell. We’ll bring ‘em in to get appraised. Nobody touches a weapon what doesn’t work for the guild when they’re inside the building. ‘Sa rule.”

“Sure thing,” I said. “I’m still a little new around here.”

“Same thing if you wanna buy weapons,” the other hunter said. “You pay inside and we give ‘em to ‘ya when ‘ya leave.” That reminded me that the Broker’s Guild sold more than just Brands. If I wanted to become an adventurer, it might be a good idea to buy some basic supplies while I was here.

The two hunters let me pass. I walked through the doors and examined the display cases on my way to the reception desk. There were a lot of swords with gemstones embedded in the pommel. All of them were sized for a rissian and much too large for me to use. I read a few descriptions.

Scale Breaker—Buster Blade: +23,040 Cold’s Bane—Heat Blade: +10,368 Pursuit’s End—Shock Blade: +15,552

Seeing prices that high was a little disappointing, considering they were all out of reach of my current supplies. I noticed one of those suits of armor that Ferrith wore, which was made of overlapping deep blue scales. I checked the label.

Serpent Scale Armor: +6,048

It was almost affordable. Considering how cheap Ferrith was, that didn’t seem like a coincidence. I also didn’t think it was a coincidence that the same style of magic sword he preferred was the cheapest on offer. Next to the blue armor was one that looked like what those leaders of the Beast Breakers had been wearing. The scales sparkled like red gemstones, with a sharper, triangular shape compared to the smooth edges of the serpent’s scales. Considering how flashy it was, the high price wasn’t a shock, it was only a shock just how high it was.

Dragon Scale Armor: +248,832

My jaw dropped. Not only was the price ridiculous, but it was called dragon scale armor! That meant this world had dragons! It was hard to fathom why or how a simple suit of armor could cost what was likely the equivalent of over a million dollars on Earth, but maybe the fact that dragons were involved had something to do with it. No wonder the shop’s security was so tight.

“Can I help you with anything?” the receptionist at the desk called out to me. It was the same woman I’d met the last time I was here, though she didn’t let on that she recognized me. I couldn’t remember what name Gora had referred to her by. She wore a white dress, with her hair pulled up in a fancy bun with a gold hairpin holding it in place. Again, I was struck by her beauty, but opted to avoid commenting on it. There was no way she’d actually be interested in what looked to her like a short little child, and I figured with looks like hers, she probably got hit on all the time by male customers.

“Um, no, I mean yes,” I said. “I was just looking around. I wanted to buy some Brands and sell some daggers I brought in, but the guys at the front door took them.”

“I will see if Mr. Joy is available,” the woman said. “I can get the daggers appraised while you wait. Do you know the providence?”

“Providence?” I repeated dumbly.

“The maker, what sort of enchantments they have, where you got them?”

“Oh. Well, I found them on the street on the way over here.” That was technically true, even I’d only “found” them after the previous owners had been turned to dust. “I think they’re just regular daggers. I’m not expecting to get much for them.”

“I see,” the receptionist said. She tried to keep her face neutral, but I could tell she was disappointed by the way the corners of her mouth fell just slightly. “Providence is unimportant for mundane items. We will be happy to take them off your hands.” She gave me a smile, then tapped her ear with a finger. It had a big dangly earring in it, set with a red gemstone. “Oh, it looks like Gora is available. Can I tell him your name?”

“Vincent Koutz,” I said.

The woman nodded, then pointed down the hall to her left. “Meeting room two,” she said. “Go right ahead.” She smiled again.

I followed her directions and found my way to an empty room set with a padded chair, couch, and two tables—one of which was positioned between the chair and couch. I hadn’t heard signs in the hallway that Gora was in the middle of a meeting with another customer this early, but I supposed it was normal to make people wait to give the impression your time was more valuable than theirs. That was essentially what doctors did back home, as far as I understood it. I busied myself flipping through a pamphlet that listed the common Brands for sale. The first thing I thought of doing was to flip the pages rapidly and click each Brand so my overlay would record them to review later, like it had with the acid Brands the last time I’d been in. I made it about halfway through the booklet when the door flung open. Gora smiled when he saw me. He was wearing a deep blue suit this time, a folder tucked under one arm.

“Vince, my boy! How’s my favorite customer today? Fantastic to see you back so soon! Did you enjoy your trip to Oxenraith?” He came up and gave me a firm handshake, then leaned forward to give me a one-armed hug. It showed warmth without being too intimate. He was followed into the room by two of those silent hunters that worked as security. They posted up against the wall, not otherwise speaking or acknowledging my presence.

“Hi, Gora,” I said. “My trip was quick. I didn’t get a cure for my cancer, but I got these.” I pulled back the sleeve of my right arm and flexed one of my absolutely cut biceps for him. It felt like I could see the individual strands of muscle fibers under my skin.

Gora’s eyes widened appreciably. “How wonderful! I hope you eat lots of protein, or those muscles won’t last long. You know, we sell a Brand for that. Voracious Appetite. A passive that will leave you feeling hungry all the time. Only 864 Crosses!”

“Uh, thanks. I’ll consider it if I notice my weight dropping,” I said noncommittally.

“I heard from the Librarians about your request for Brands to treat your cancer,” Gora said. “I brought the report with me, but I haven’t had a chance to go over it.” He held up the folder he’d had tucked under his arm as he sat down in his padded chair. He started skimming the contents right away. While he did that, I walked over to the side table and grabbed the booklet I’d been reading before he came in.

“No chance they have a 'Cure Cancer' Brand, is there?” I asked. I gave a little chuckle to let him know I didn’t actually expect that to exist.

“Afraid not, my boy, but it looks like there are a few specialty Brands we can offer to help manage your symptoms.” He shook his head. “No, those won’t be useful, if you’ve already had the Pain Taker.” He jabbed a finger down at the page. “Ah. This one. Energy Surge. Gives you a temporary boost of stamina in exchange for MP.” He looked up. “The report says stamina will become a concern as your illness progresses. Does that sound right to you?”

It was one stat that had been lowered by my cancer debuff. “Yeah,” I confirmed. “My stamina is only likely to go down. I guess that would be useful.”

Gora nodded. “Not a popular Brand. I’ll order in a copy for you. We tried offering it a decade ago, but it didn’t sell well. Most customers found trading physical energy for mental energy a poor exchange. MP is in short supply. Far too valuable for most to waste on such a trivial benefit.”

I glanced at my MP bar.

MP: 639/100

“Right,” I said, “short supply…”