Master Of None

"High priest, how fortunate we are to see you here. I am surprised that you have brought some young adventurers with you this time." Markus had assumed that these were guests of the high priest when they had all entered.

"Actually it is the opposite, today I am the guest. These young ones made an offer to bring me along and I just could not refuse. What can I say I am easily tempted." He laughed a bit showing his charisma.Â

Markus was caught with surprise; he had not ever expected them to have a ticket to this auction at such a young age, it was even rare for a nobles child to have one for themselves. "It has been a little while since we last saw each other, treasurer Raven. You are looking well, I hope that the wine you bought last time proved desirable. We had a little trouble getting it out of the ancient ruins."

"You found that!" Markus was caught with even more surprise, he hadn't heard that their party were the ones who had sold it. He was a little annoyed he had padded their pockets when he bought it but also thankful since when he gave it to the king he had received raving reviews.Â

"Well I suppose i need to thank you for that then, it did in fact serve me well. I used it as a gift for his majesty." Markus was having a bit of trouble admitting it since their first encounter was a bit rough around the edges. It was even tougher since he could see Midnight from across the room enjoying the appetizers with the other party members.Â

Gil took the chance to chime in with his own thoughts, "So you must be here to represent the castle today? It must be a lot of work for you." He wanted to build some relations with the castle so that things could be easier in the future, Walker agreed that it was necessary and did not push it away.

"Oh no tonight I am here myself with a few friends. We really enjoy the auctions because we have found some very interesting things. I personally love to find unique art. I have a collection of historical pieces from the founding of our kingdom. One day I hope to open my own museum after retiring from treasure." Markus had run off on his own tangent, none of them expected him to have such a strong cultural goal in his life. Their opinion improved greatly after hearing this.

"If we manage to come across anything in the future we will keep that in mind. We may one day go back to the ancient ruins and find some things that you find interesting as well." Walker put a bit more politeness in to this since he was finding that Markus may not be as bad as he expected. It was also very impressive how well he was doing in the presence of Onyx on his shoulders. He was fearful of snakes but it looked like he had been working on this fear since it had been exposed to the entire court. He was a very hard working noble.

"I actually have a set of historical items I have been collecting from the adventures that go to the ancient ruins. I have collected almost every single piece of the set but still lack one last piece." He seemed rather annoyed at this, making everyone curious.

"Well what piece is left? Is it a painting or some older books?" The high priest was also intrigued by this, he had known that Markus was an avid historical collector but hearing that he was even willing to ask the young adventurers he wanted to know more. The rumors of the first trip to the castle spread easily to the higher ranking individuals like the high priest so seeing Markus take this all in stride impressed him.Â

"Well I found a unique set of silverware, I know it sounds rather strange but it was crafted by a blacksmith who had amazing skills to keep them from deteriorating ever. The last piece if it shares the name of the rest would be; pristine butter knife." Walker and Gil were speechless, what were the odds. "It was crafted by one that lived in the ancient ruins and most likely passed down their knowledge somehow to other blacksmiths. Some who have studied forging theory found that a great many techniques are the base of our kingdom's crafting" Markus seemed so proud of this knowledge. The prior image of the man was being crushed in to dust in Walker and Gil's minds. The man may have caused them some trouble but it would look like that was not the whole of his character.Â

"If I were to tell you we knew where the last piece of the set was, what would you say?" Walker said these words slowly bracing himself for any possible repeat of their first meeting. However he prepared himself for nothing.Â

Markus's eyes bulged, " don't tell me you know where it is? Do you? If you do I will put all of our past aside and purchase it. Don't tell me it's up for auction tonight!" Gil and Walker wanted to laugh, they had assumed this noble would always be against them but now that they knew that they had more to them than what they had seen so far they were much less uncomfortable. "Well? Is it?"Â

Markus had become a bit too open and realized this pulling back. "I am sorry, we are a bit caught off guard. With our first meeting we thought you completely hated us, especially my little sister Midnight."

"Well I may only be the treasurer for the kingdom but I know that the castle does not even allow tamers to bring in their tamed beasts. At the time I was disheveled due to the blatant disregard for the rules, it was only later that I was told the details of why your err, sister was there." Markus looked apologetic but still did not apologize, he would never apologize for worrying about the safety of the kingdom. "I did react very strongly though, but seeing you coming to talk to me I can share my own thoughts properly. Thank you for your input the other day on the demon issue, we look forward to the unique solutions your party may present." Markus had shifted in to full noble mode, this was years of training using his eloquent words and solid poker face. "Well back to our prior discussion, the item we were speaking about, is it up for auction?"

Walker was trying to wrap his head around this progression, how had he been so wrong about this noble, yes he knew that there were some that really did not like their party but this apparently was not one at all. Feeling a bit embarrassed Walker took out the shiny pristine butter knife from his inventory. "This is the last piece you have been looking for right?"Â

Markus almost hit the floor, "Yes! Hahahah yes it is, finally the complete set. What can I give you for it?" This was such an unexpected turn of events, Walker had never thought he would sell this item and had kept it for the simple fact that having silverware was always a useful thing. He would have gone his whole life just eating with it none the wiser of its historical value.Â

"Well to be honest, if we keep it we would just use it for its intended purpose. So if you really want it you can have it, just help us out in the future sometime, we are still learning the ropes when it comes to how the castle works." Walker handed the pristine butter knife over to Markus who delicately cradled it in his hands.Â

He was looking at it like he had just been handed the most delicate piece in all the world. He pulled out a small leather case from a pocket in his coat and slipped the knife within. He made sure it was secure then placed it back within the folds of his jacket. "I will indeed remember this, I may have overreacted in the past but if you and your party are ever in need, I will have open ears." Markus stood a bit taller, he considered leaving the auction at that moment to go put the last piece with the others of the set but stopped himself. "I will be heading over that way to look at the art, but I do think you may find some value in a rumor I heard." Markus leaned in to the three a little closer, "There should be some high mana crystals up for auction tonight. They are rare but one in particular has a dual element, it should be very useful to someone who has the ability to use multiple elements." With that Markus walked off his two guests rejoining him.

"Well that was sure an interesting encounter, I think I misjudged him." Walker could only nod in agreement with Gil.

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