Kaelith didn’t leave right away. After the handshake, he gestured toward a quieter adjoining lounge, a well-appointed place, with soft lighting and wine chilled in silver flutes. It was the kind of space ant to keep powerful clients comfortable and talking.
Riku took a seat, settling in without speaking. Sherry chose to remain standing, her arms crossed tightly while her eyes scanned the surroundings.
Kaelith cleared his throat. "I hope you understand we cannot proceed with the auction imdiately. Not with an item of this magnitude."
Riku raised an eyebrow. "Too dangerous to proceed without security?"
"Too valuable to rush," Kaelith replied, smoothing his sleeves. "The right patrons need ti to be invited. Ti to anticipate. We’ll need three days, minimum, to generate the appropriate interest."
Riku leaned back slightly, considering Kaelith’s words. "Alright. That sounds reasonable. However, I have one more thing."
He reached into his cloak and withdrew a pair of familiar scrolls, each carefully bound with old ribbon. Without a word, he laid them on the low table between them.
"I found these recently in a pawn shop not far from here," he said casually. "The owner’s grandfather claid he’d acquired them from this very auction house."
Kaelith leaned forward, curious. He reached out, then paused. "May I?"
"Please, go ahead," Riku said with a calm nod.
The Magister unrolled one scroll. A soft golden shimr rose from the parchnt, wrapping the air in a light, unfamiliar warmth. His brows furrowed imdiately.
"This... is light magic."
Riku nodded. "It is."
Kaelith looked up sharply. "That’s highly irregular. These enchantnt patterns—this script—none of it resembles the local spellcraft traditions. Certainly not in Dreadspire."
"I sensed sothing unusual about them," Riku said. "The enchantnts didn’t match anything I’ve seen in this region."
Kaelith narrowed his eyes. "Where did you find them?"
"A small place called The Bargain. The owner’s grandfather said he picked them up from this auction house."
Kaelith sat back slowly, his eyes narrowing as he processed the implication. His lips pressed into a thin line, and his fingers tensed slightly against the table.
"These were sold through The Gavel?"
"That’s what I’m hoping to confirm," Riku said. He folded his hands. "And if you can confirm it—if you can tell who consigned them, who handled the transaction, how they ended up sold instead of stored—"
He let the silence stretch, watching Kaelith closely to gauge the weight of the question sinking in.
Kaelith leaned in. "There may be records. Even if the scrolls were sold off years ago, our ledgers are extensive. So entries are nested in private logs, but with a bit of ti..."
He trailed off, and his expression shifted. The careful politeness returned, edging toward caution. He sat back in his chair, shoulders stiffening slightly.
"However," he said, "as with all transactions here, we are bound by long-standing discretion. Even if this scroll passed through our hands, I cannot officially confirm it. Our patrons rely on confidentiality. Acknowledging this would create... complications."
He glanced at the scroll again, then back at Riku. "To even investigate might be interpreted as a breach of that trust."
Riku didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, he tapped a knuckle slowly against the tabletop, giving Kaelith ti to feel the full weight of the mont.
"Then maybe," he said softly, "you need incentive."
Riku took a small pause and then continued.
"Because if you can find a na, any na tied to this consignnt..."
He tapped one finger on the scroll.
"Then I’d be willing to offer The Gavel exclusive rights to all future artifact sales. My work, directly to your floor. No competitors."
Kaelith’s posture shifted from polite diplomacy to sothing more calculating. He leaned back slightly, his fingers steepling in front of him as his gaze lingered on the scrolls with new focus. For a mont, he said nothing, caught in a subtle conflict between duty and ambition.
Riku watched him in silence, not pushing. The offer had been made. The weight of it sat clearly between them.
"Well?" Riku finally asked, his tone light, almost indifferent.
Kaelith exhaled, as if coming to a decision. "I’ll prioritize the search personally," he said. "I will go through the restricted ledgers myself. If these scrolls passed through our hands, I will find the record."
Riku stood and smoothed his sleeves. "Then we’re aligned. We’ll take our leave for now and return in three days."
Kaelith rose more slowly, the tension in his posture betraying the weight of the commitnt he had just made. He gave a respectful bow, eyes lingering on the scrolls.
"Understood, Sire. Thank you for placing your trust in us. I will see this matter through personally. You have my word."
———————-
Riku and Sherry left the private lounge and were escorted back through the quiet, opulent halls of The Shadowed Gavel. The guard accompanying them bowed and closed the gates, leaving the duo at the entrance again.
They walked in silence for a few monts.
"So," Sherry began, her voice low. "Do you actually trust him? That Magister Kaelith?"
Riku shrugged, his gaze fixed on the path ahead. "Trust is a strong word. Let’s just say I trust his ambition."
"He wants exclusive access to my... creations," Riku continued. "That’s a powerful motivator. Powerful enough to make him bend his house’s rules of discretion. He’ll search the records because it’s in his best interest to do so."
"But what if he’s lying?" Sherry pressed. "What if he just takes your sword, sells it, and tells us he found nothing?"
Riku smiled, a faint, dangerous glint in his eyes. "That’s also a possibility."
He paused at a street corner, looking back at the imposing black marble fortress.
"If he doesn’t have a na for us in three days," Riku said, his voice dropping slightly, "then I’ll just have to find the records myself."
Sherry raised an eyebrow. "And how do you plan on doing that? Kicking down the front door?"
"Sothing like that," Riku replied. "It’s amazing how helpful people beco when they think you’re one of them. A new attendant’s uniform, a stolen key... I’m sure I can find a way to browse their ’restricted ledgers’ on my own."
Sherry let out a short, sharp laugh. "You’re unbelievable."
"I’m practical," he corrected. "Now, let’s find an inn. We have three days to kill in this city."
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