Published at 16th of February 2024 2:22 pm

Chapter 66. Appraiser From The East

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Wilson bid Annabelle goodbye and parted ways not long after the vessel reached Woodson University. He accompanied them from the docks until the main street, which ran from the central building to the gate to the market ring. Then the Oakheart soldier hailed a carriage and disappeared.

“He’s off to report to Father.”

No one needed an explanation of Wilson’s intentions. Lord Oakheart was still in the city and probably demanded a debriefing as soon they returned. Nox could only hope the report wouldn’t be too scathing. Wilson knew something was off about the duo. However, it was unlikely he knew enough to implicate him or Lillin in Victor’s death. Wilson would have little to report besides their unusual combat prowess, apparent luck, and Nox’s concern for Annabelle.

Meanwhile, the oldest of Lord Oakheart’s children gave Nox the cold shoulder. She didn’t keep away from him but only gave short one-word responses whenever he attempted to initiate conversation. Her behavior came as no surprise. Nox hadn’t just fought the Rift Lord without her. Annabelle shared her discomfort and insecurities with him, but he ignored her in pursuing power even after the pair had a night of firsts.

Nox perhaps liked Annabelle more than any woman he had spent time with. In fact, she was his first romantic relationship. However, he didn’t doubt their relationship had an expiry date. Lord Oakheart loved his daughter, but the nobility always put their house before happiness. He expected the man to eventually strongarm Annabelle into a relationship that would help keep the family afloat or give her an ultimatum regarding her tryst with Nox. It was inevitable.

Even though Nox occasionally hated himself for how he did things, he refused to give up incredible opportunities for a relationship with no future. It was the risk of entangling with someone of her station.

The party made a beeline for the Department of Dungeon Studies' office. A diviner checked and clarified the rift was closed, and Michelle also showed off the limb taken from the Rift Lord. The office supervisor claimed it for inspection. The party lied to the office and declared they had all defeated the Rift Lord together. Since there were no casualties, the staff only asked for a description of the closed dimension, its inhabitants, and their magic. Recounts of the entire delve and final battle were deemed unnecessary.

The party received two-hundred gold as a reward for clearing the rift. Since Michelle and Ernest collectively only requested one share, the pair received fifty gold. Annabelle claimed another fifty, and Nox held on to the final hundred. Lillin had plenty of spending money and asked him for more whenever she ran out. The others didn't know about the arrangement, of course.

"I'm an impulse spender," she told the party. "If Nox doesn't hold on to the money, it'll all go to the boutiques, gambling dens, and taverns."

Since she regularly went out into the city with Pudge, they believed the story.

The Beaufort siblings gave Lillin all the chests for storage before returning to their laboratory. Ernest needed feeding and maintenance, and Michelle was excited to study the Rift Lord's head. She was more excited to study the brain than the eye.

"Controlling six arms simultaneously is no easy feat," Michelle said. "The Rift Lord's brain might help improve Ernest's coordination and let him safely control more monster parts."

"What about the eye?" Nox asked. "Can't you use it?"

"I can, but I doubt it'll do much besides replace the lizard eye. The crimson lightning beam sounds too mana hungry. I'd have to implant Ernest with artificial mana sources to make it usable, and that's not a priority cost right now."

"It's worth exploring, though," Ernest commented. "A ranged option or two would make me more versatile."

"I'll see what I can do," Michelle told her brother. The pair departed with the Rift Lord's head. They had collected the skulls from a couple of four-armed asuras, too.

"Should we have some dinner?" Lillin asked once there were just three of them. "Dinner time is almost passed, and I doubt there'll be anything good left, but we can't do much more tomorrow."

"I'd love a hot meal," Nox said. "We can't do much about the treasure tonight. The production department's appraisers won't open until the eleventh bell tomorrow."

"Lazy bastards," Lillin grumbled. "I got my eyes on the little white crown with onyx and sapphire."

"It's Seventhday. You can't expect all artisans to be like me, Lillin. They like to take some time odd."

"I think I'd like to eat alone tonight," Annabelle said. She fidgeted and looked everywhere but at Nox's eyes. "Let's meet for breakfast tomorrow. The usual. Alright? I'll have a carriage ready. House Oakheart has a preferred appraiser. He'll give us accurate information and better prices than the university. I'm told he knows a lot of collectors and delvers with deep pockets. Our profits will probably be better."

"Will he confiscate items he thinks are too dangerous?" Nox asked.

"No."

"Sounds good to me. We'll see you at a quarter to the eighth bell."

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Annabelle nodded before walking away. There was plenty of foot traffic, and the university had not long renewed its wards. She was in no danger alone.

"Lady Oakheart is displeased with you," Lillin said after they sat down with dinner. "You'll end up with more assassins on your tail if you don't play your cards right."

"More snacks for you then," Nox replied. He was too tired for jokes and hungrily dug into his lamb stew. The meat was gristle, and the vegetables had turned into mash, but Nox didn't care. He dipped fresh bread in the bowl and devoured it hungrily. "I still can't believe you never told me about the assassins."

"You didn't need to know. I always got a warning when someone was coming after you. Given my senses, they were unnecessary but—"

"Hold on a moment." The soggy bit of bread in his hand broke, and a chunk fell into the stew. "That means someone else on the Golden Isles knew about your identity and that the Gedges wanted me dead."

"Everybody knew the Gedges wanted you dead. That was no secret." Lillin loaded a ripped-open bread roll with meat, carrots, pickled cabbage, and half a roast potato before smashing them all together into a messy, dripping sandwich. "Someone hates them as much as us and wants to sabotage them. It's unlikely, but there's also a chance someone besides Mou and me were looking out for you."

"But who?" Nox asked, speaking more to himself than Lillin. She'd tell him if she knew. Pallav Ratra had friends dotted around the Golden Isles. The annual tournament's referee was one such person. However, the man had stayed silent for eighteen hours while Nox suffered torment and lived in social isolation. It meant there were individuals acting from the shadows. The person helping Nox didn't just know of the Gedge's intentions and plans but also Lillin's identity. "Why else would they warn you?"

Lillin shrugged. "I only got messages saying when to pay extra attention to your security. It was always woodland creatures that delivered them. I got a squirrel, a pigeon, a mouse, and once even a groundhog. That was odd but not the strangest thing."

"What's stranger than woodland creatures warning you about attempts on my life?"

"The assassins were almost amateurs. They were either ordinary people or novices. I can remember less than half a dozen apprentice practitioners. None of the killers were so strong that I couldn't take them down without causing chaos."

"That is extremely strange," Nox commented. He played with his food moving, smashing the uneven chunks of carrots and turnips in the bowl until they were mush. "It's almost as if someone was feeding you."

"I thought so, too," Lillin stated.

The following morning everyone but Annabelle attended the regular Seventhday breakfast. Her absence didn't go unnoticed. Everyone looked at Nox for an answer, but he didn't have one for them.

When everyone exited the paupers' cafeteria just after the ninth bell, an Oakheart carriage was waiting outside the building. Wilson stood outside it. When the man saw Nox, he opened the door for him. He and Lillin bid their friends goodbye and boarded the vehicle. Annabelle waited for them within.

"We missed you at breakfast," Lillin commented.

"I ended up sleeping in," Annabelle replied, sounding noncommittal.

The noblewoman once again avoided eye contact with Nox. Instead, she watched the streets as the carriage passed through Woodson University's campus and exited through its gates.

The Market Ring had its usual Seventhday crowds, slowing progress through the city. Familiar faces appeared in the masses. He saw the delvers that bought his Trap Foam during his second month on campus. He also sighted Diya haggling with a vegetable vendor while two young men carrying crates of fruit and meat waited behind her.

It took almost an hour to reach the nobles’ quarter. The cart picked up speed afterward, and they reached their destination in a matter of minutes. Wilson rode with the driver and opened the door for them. Annabelle disembarked first, and Nox followed. Much to his surprise, she smiled at him and looped her arm through his. Lillin followed, and they entered Appraising By Sang Lao Shi.

“Thank you for seeing us on your break day, Sang Lao Shi,” Annabelle said, bowing low. A young man had shown the trio inside, leading them to a room occupied by a lone short man with wispy grey facial hair. His eyebrows extended well past their home and hung well past his eyes. The facial features suggested Sang Lao Shi originated from the lands east of the Yellowrock Wastes and the vast deserts past the Imperium and Professor Lorenzo’s homeland. “I apologize for interrupting your time with your grandchildren.”

“Nonsense!” The man waved at them to sit. “Given everything House Oakheart has done for my kin, my services are always available to you. But first, would you like some tea? The Merchant Queen’s envoy personally retrieved a crate of leaves from my ancestral home.”

“My betrothed and I can’t say no to such a generous offer. Can we, Nox?”

“Of course not.” Nox mirrored Annabelle’s bow.

“I’ll refrain,” Lillin said. “Hope you don’t mind, Lao Shi. We not long had breakfast, and I rather enjoy the remaining taste of honey and cream on my tongue.”

“Not at all, young one. My granddaughter loves her sweets. I understand the sentiment. How about some honeyed moon cakes? They’re fresh and full of sweetened red beans.”

“That’s an offer I can’t refuse.” Lillin grinned.

The older man smiled. He told his young assistant to fetch treats and beverages before returning his attention to the trio. “So what is it you want me to appraise?”

“There’s quite a lot actually.”

Nox nodded at Lillin, and the mimic-woman retrieved their loot from a pocket dimension. The old man’s eyes widened as she laid three chests and everything from the throne room out on the floor. He rose swiftly and eagerly scanned everything for a minute.

“I’ll need to summon my assistants for this,” he replied. “It’ll take a few days to get accurate results. Did you want me to arrange their sale, too?”

“Yes,” Annabelle answered. “However, we’d like to know the full capabilities of all arcane artifacts first. There might be pieces that we want to keep.”

“Of course. Let me draw up a receipt and a contract. You’ll need to leave everything with me. If required, you can leave an Oakheart attendant to supervise. They’ll be fed and well taken care of—”

“That’s unnecessary, Lao Shi. House Oakheart has worked with you since before I was born, and we trust you. When can we expect to hear from you?”

“Thirday,” the older man answered, now more focused on the loot than the trio. He picked up the tiara Lillin wanted and held it up to the light. “There are a few things with curses that not even I can sell, and the city government will confiscate them for destruction or sealing, but the rest will fetch a hefty price. I predict a value of at least three-thousand gold coins.”

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