[Makur] were boring beasts, and the only thing Kaden deeply enjoyed was that they let him work on [Beast Command] by trying to order several Makur at once. He wasn’t sure if they were simply weak-willed, or if they were unable to tell which he was speaking to, but Kaden stood in a field of ice-crystals surrounded by [Makur] obeying the commands he gave them without [Soul Binding].


    The orphan Makur had grown stronger, healthier, though it kept wandering over to him.


    Beside him, the [Ulf]’s emotions said it had actually been killed by the [Lurpion] and this was hell. It was surrounded by hamburgers with hooves and yet forbidden from eating beasts that were obviously meant to be eaten.


    Kaden left the [Makur] and headed back to the village, sending the [Falcrow] first to Sara, then Trella so they wouldn’t be surprised.


    Sara’s green messenger parrot returned almost immediately. “You’re welcome to take the FarPortal, we’ll be fine for a few days. Bring more flasks for Trella, plus anything you think would be trade-worthy.”


    “Bring me lamb skewers?” Trella asked.


    “Come on, big guy.” Kaden waited for the [Far Portal] to activate and stepped through, emerging in air so warm he was near sweating. Snow covered the city of Trunistan, home of the crafters, but it was wet snow, barely frozen, hardly worth noting.


    “Sir, can I help?” A guard asked, staring at the [Ulf].


    “Tell King Evander Kaden Birch found a treasure worth evaluating. I need to buy alchemy supplies.” He already knew where to go but letting the guard explain would give the man a reason to be out.


    The Alchemy House, as always, remained busy, filled with customers demanding the best from the hundreds of [Alchemists] who worked there. Kaden repeated his orders for three different attendants, each time explaining his lover was an Alchmist, and finally paid in gold.


    The [Ulf] panted and returned to lay in the snow outside until Kaden accepted his cargo—and added a second request. “Let’s say my lover was making [Fire Soul] potions. Is there any gear you’d use?”


    That started an argument that involved half the alchemists on duty—then those on their breaks—and only ended when the master of the house himself broke it up, ordering everyone to their stations. “Essence Inversion is trivial for Class Alchemists. For those cursed with only skill, it’s a painful process. We stock gear recovered from gnomes which will do almost any operation. But for the lady, I suggest something simpler.”


    [Alchemist’s Eye]


    This eyepiece will gauge three alchemical properties of your choosing. To monitor more properties simultaneously, buy better gear with the gold you rake in using this.


    It was a jewler’s eye-piece with a gnarled leather band, but the eye-piece itself had only minor scratchings on the brass housing.


    “Ten thousand gold,” the man commented drolly. “As though love could be measured in gold.”


    Love had been measured in burnt sausage and spoiled ham when he and Trella lived in the Saint’s Hall. [Negotiation] flagged the statement as a tactic for manipulation.


    A tactic that worked.


    “Do you have a lower quality version that maybe costs half that?” Kaden asked.


    The cloud of smug from the [Alchemist] was choking. “Every young [Alchemist] believes they can cheat on equipment. Every young one fails to understand it’s a life and a life-time you measure the value over. There are six grades higher but none lower. Save gold for a few decades and come back. Ten thousand gold will be nothing to you in time.”


    Gold wasn’t going to happen until Harrigan’s ship sold. Alchemists were notorious for not taking trades. But for every rule, there was a rule breaker, and Kaden had one thing any sane person hated and Alchemists prized. “Say I had some dragon shit. Ice dragon, from the Ice Domain. You might be tempted to say—”


    “Let us appraise.”


    Kaden handed over the inventory cube. Negotiation was already gearing up for Kaden. He waited as [Alchemists] gathered and spoke in hushed tones. Hushed to someone without [Echo Beetles]. Instead, he listened to them argue over how it would never, ever produce an attribute boost. And was six thousand gold too low?


    It was probably wrong to spy, but Kaden would say his apologies that night before bed. For now, he waited for the first offer—seven thousand gold.


    “Ten. Or an even trade for that eye piece.” Kaden saw it as an investment in Trella, and accepted the man’s handshake. “Thank you. I left my [Ulf] parked outside, I don’t want to leave him unattended too long. He might eat one of your horses.”


    On the way back to the FarPortal, Kaden summoned Trinity—who hated cold even more than Rocky. The TriTerror hissed and rattled and rumbled as she lowered her head to greet Kaden.


    “Sorry, girl. It’s bitterly cold where I’ve been. The cold would kill you before you could kill it.” Kaden put his arms around Trinity’s center neck.


    Then a low growl had him on the defense. “No. No. No. You’re not going to bite, you’re not going to spear, no one is going to kill anyone else.”


    With that he pulled the [Ulf] into his soul, depositing it in an endless snowstorm. “I expected better from you, Trinity.”


    Trinity’s barked response was *I expected you to stick with the dog you already have.*This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    “Beast Master!” A call came from down the street, and Kaden turned to see a man encased in bandages hobbling his way.


    The voice was familiar. Yituri, King Evandor’s cousin and confidant. Who had not been bandaged so. He walked with the aid of twin canes, heading straight for Kaden.


    “What happened to you?” Kaden asked.


    “I discovered an interaction with crafting skills that was completely unexpected. Mana-reinforced wounds take ages to heal but skin grows back and we know not to try warming taning vats with [Fire Crystals]. Logically it should work. Can you see the logic burned into my skin?” Yituri held out bandaged hands. “You have a treasure. What kind?”


    “The kind I can’t even [Identify]. Loot from a boss in a domain that hasn’t been run in ages.” Kaden wasn’t sure this was the right place to discuss. “I need somewhere more private, and I need a crafter I can trust. I don’t know that I even want to sell this. I do know that won’t happen until I know what it is and what it makes.”


    “That’s bad news for me. Worse news for Evan, but you’re definitely smarter than last time. Come, I’ll have the King’s personal advisor look at it. Vong recently categorized a literal dragon tongue for someone, I’d trust him with your life. More importantly, I’d trust him with my life.” Yituri quickly lead Kaden to the noble’s quarter, and a crafting bazaar that didn’t offer much crafting, as it was only for nobles. What it did offer was privacy and a heat-stone where Trinity began to char scorpion meat.


    Mana Screens activated, baring viewing. A few minutes later, a middle-aged Centurion Crafter deactivated a shield and stepped in. “Vong Hurd, [Master Crafter]. How may I serve the King?”


    Kaden produced the [Lurpion] tail-lure. “This boss lured in prey and then attacked it. I really like the armor options but this I couldn’t even read the crafting tree for.”


    “Neither can I.” Vong rushed to the table. “I’ve seen shapeshifting materials. Common rogue materials. This is different. A monster who shifted only a part of itself. I think it’s a weapon. Or armor. Or maybe a tool, it’s hard to say.”


    Yituri rubbed at his bandaged fingers. “Vong, if the King were here—”


    “I’d tell him the same thing. I can’t appraise it, I can’t make offers, I can’t recommend assignments because I have no idea what it’s supposed to be. And for my money, neither does the System.” Vong began to pace. “I’ve seen similar issues around Second Life idiots. Maybe this little boss of yours was once a companion, and so it became whatever its master desired.”


    Kaden produced the mouth spears and explained how it hunted, luring, ambushing, spearing and then killing.


    “Now these, I know what to do with. Spears!” Vong ignored them. “It is our right and our responsibility to find the best use for every material. And I can’t begin to do that yet. I’ll need time and assistance just to discover what it is.”


    “Trella said she thought it would be shape-shifting armor,” Kaden offered.


    “I’m sure she did her best.” Vong grew more nervous with every moment. “It could be a weapon. It could be armor. It might be a set of salad tongs, but if it is, it will make legendary salads.”


    “Eve would love that!” Kaden said. “What do I do? I could use legendary armor. I mean, salads aren’t bad but when a Ice Dragon is attempting to kill you, you don’t say ‘Give me thirty seconds, lettuce, cheese, and bacon bits.’”


    “I wish I could tell you. What I can be certain of is that the Crafting Games run every year. There are dozens of centurion crafters who come to test themselves. The value of their opinion equals the prestige we’d gain,” Vong said. “Are you comfortable leaving it for a few months?”


    That would depend on others. Kaden looked to Yituri. “I’ve been burned on crafting deals before. The Fire Domain items I understand. This is different.”


    “I swear before the System we will protect this treasure, appraise it during the games, and return it should you demand,” Yituri said. “On the Kingdom itself, I swear this.”


    Oath heard and acknowledge. The Treasure __ERROR__ will be returned to Kaden Birch upon demand, or the kingdom will be unmade.


    The system had simplified Yituri’s meaning. If it were stolen, it couldn’t be returned. Kaden nodded. “You have my permission. I want to know what it makes. Even if it’s salad tongs.”


    “That was just an example,” Vong said. “I have no idea. And I can’t tell you how exciting that is. The King will be so pleased!”


    Speaking of the King, Kaden was probably breaking a promise. “I said I wouldn’t be back for a few years.”


    “I saw nothing,” Yituri answered. “Oh, you know, your name actually did come up a week ago. Not your name, but a party member. Tell Evelyn Black the repairs to the home she bought were extensive, but her designs are impossible. She’ll need to advise the architects and designers herself.”


    Easy enough. Kaden whistled for Trinity. “I’ll be watching for your bird.”


    “Come see the games!” Yiturn said. “Every type of crafting you can imagine, the greatest of all will come to prove it—and prove it again. This year we have an open-air stone carving pit!”


    “Very tempting,” Kaden said. “I’ll talk it over with Trella. I’ve always got a Quest queue twenty deep.”


    “Let me tell you a truth I wish I knew earlier: If you don’t make time to watch leather cure, no one is going to do it for you,” Yituri said. “You have to make your own time. I’ll tell the King you stopped by, and more importantly, how eager you were to leave to keep your word. I do have a favor, not a transaction, just a request. If you see Jacqueline Scylla, I want to make it clear Trunistan is normally a safe place. I’d hate to see any Centurion write us off due to the unsanctioned actions of an Assassin. We have an Assassin’s Guild here. They, by agreement, never approve contracts. In return, we keep hay stacks all over the city and pretend like we don’t see them if one dives in.”


    Moments like this, Kaden really wished he prepared better lies. “I know Mistress Scylla very well. Her daughter is my party leader. One of the first things she said was ‘You can’t live your life in fear ofAssassins.’ But I know she avoided Brunof for thirty years after an attack. Or was it fifty? It sounded like forever.”


    “Spoken like a young man, and that’s good advice. Just mention it for me?”


    “It’d be a pleasure.” Kaden waited for them to drop the mana screens. “I hate to run, but the longer I stick around, the greater the chance something goes sideways.”


    Yituri laughed, but he escorted Kaden back to the Far Portal.


    Kaden activated it and stepped through, arriving at the Holding, where late winter was bitter. Trinity hated the cold, though this cold was simply uncomfortable, where that up north was deadly. She lumbered for the farmhouse and pushed open the door.


    Kaden followed only because he needed time to make arrangements. The [Falcrow] carried his message to the [Portal Mage]’s guild, where Kaden could carefully, clearly discuss what was and wasn’t allowed.


    Transporting cargo through FarPortal was generally a matter of common sense. Cargo FarPortals had teams of mages. Anything that fit in Inventory was acceptable, as well as what you could carry on your own.


    Kaden once looted a town via a FarPortal and nearly killed the Portal Mage without even knowing it. Now he made arrangements and sent payment ahead of time. “We’re not staying,” he called to Trinity. He dumped the ulf out, drew her into his soul, and set off for FangWood, where Remembrance let him fell a fifty foot tree, then drag it to the FarPortal.


    His mage was ready, the agreement set, and Kaden didn’t hesitate as he heaved the trunk onto his shoulders and threaded his way through the FarPortal—and out into wind so cold it punched him in the gut. Twenty steps later, the FarPortal collapsed, and Kaden set down his tree, leaning back on the trunk as Resyr rushed to marvel at it.


    “What is this?” Drokor asked, truly surprised.


    Kaden gestured to it. “I call it opportunity. Can you get me Sigrun? She and I were negotiating. I’d like to continue that negotiation.”