After Soladin's reminder, Anser and the other two immediately realized the current situation and hurried off to purchase adventuring supplies.
Whether Soladin's shout had taken effect or Anser's Charisma was high enough, shops that had originally been out of stock still sold them some inventory at a small premium.
Waterproof backpacks, tents, blankets, waterproof clothing, lanterns, matches, medical kits, grappling hooks, emergency rations, seasonings, compasses… a whole assortment of items.
Anser bought three bottles of Common healing potions at the potion shop, spending 390 gold coins. Compared to the cheapest time, the price had nearly tripled—ridiculous, but unavoidable.
As for the Potion of Hill Giant Strength, it was unavailable—completely unavailable.
Most alchemists were Wizards. Without them, the markets for potions, scrolls, and magic items were on the verge of collapse.
Being able to buy anything at all was already fortunate; many adventurers were turned away outright.
In fact, going to the open-air trading market might have been cheaper, but the time cost was too high and it was easy to get scammed.
"Backpacks: 2 gold coins. Blankets: 6 silver coins. Lanterns: 8 silver coins. Medical kits: 5 gold coins…" Bratt checked the supplies against the list and found that the thirty to forty gold coins in the party fund were not enough.
"Everything's gone up. Food prices have multiplied several times over. Counting the potions, the party actually still owes you several hundred gold coins," he said with a helpless smile.
Anser patted him on the shoulder and joked, "Then work hard."
In his view, these were all essential supplies that would always be used once they set out. After preparation, they neatly filled three backpacks. All three were professionals, so the burden was not heavy.
There were still more than a thousand gold coins left in hand. Carrying the heavy coin purse, he felt it would be better to spend it to strengthen their combat power than to keep it.
"Come on, this way."
He went to the magical curios shop next to the potion shop. The store covered a large area and must have been quite prosperous in the past, but now it was somewhat deserted.
The shop owner was a female Wizard wearing a pointed witch's hat. Her face was full of wrinkles and looked somewhat unsettling, making Anser unconsciously think of the old witches from fairy tales.
He focused his mind on the old Wizard. The dice spun for a moment, but no information was detected.
Anser felt puzzled inside, but his expression remained calm and unchanged.
"Likeable little fellow, what would you like?" The old Wizard used her wand to nudge the brim of her hat, revealing a pair of obsidian-like eyes. Her voice was as gentle as a cat's, without the slightest hint of old age.
"Uh, I haven't decided yet. Is there anything I can use?" Anser was very frank. He only had a staff on him and lacked almost everything.
The old Wizard half leaned against the counter, one elbow propped up, the small wand spinning in her hand. Her posture was elegant, making one unconsciously overlook that face.
"The Weave has changed. Some magic items are losing their magical properties, especially those magic items that carry spell effects. You… understand this?"
"I understand." Anser lifted the staff in his hand slightly.
The old Wizard sized Anser up a few times from top to bottom. With a wave of her hand, several items appeared in succession on the counter: cloaks, shoes, rings, and amulets.
"These are a Cloak of Protection, a Cloak of the Manta Ray, Slippers of Spider Climbing, a Spell Storage Ring, and an Amulet of Health… You do not even have a proper robe. I suggest that staying alive should take priority."
She briefly introduced the abilities of these items, then sat back down and looked at Anser with evident interest.
"How much is the Spell Storage Ring?" Anser focused his gaze on the ring. It was the only Rare-quality magic item among them.
This ring could store multiple spells. The total combined spell levels that could be stored was five, which meant it could store five 1st-level spells, or a single 5th-level spell.
With the current instability of the Weave, the probability of failure when casting stored spells was even higher than that of normal spellcasting, but Anser used magic power to cast spells, so this problem did not exist for him.
For others, this ring had already depreciated greatly. This was probably also the reason the old Wizard had taken it out.
"Someone once offered eight thousand gold coins, and I did not sell it." The old Wizard pinched the ring with her withered fingers, her expression dim and distant. "Now… I will count it as two thousand for you."
Anser's expression stiffened. He still had around twelve hundred gold coins on hand—far from enough. He turned his head to look at Bratt and Finn, and the two of them silently shook their heads.
So it turned out everyone was broke. He felt helpless inside.
"Not enough money?" The old Wizard had already anticipated it. She had been observing him for quite some time. "Help me with one thing, and I'll give it to you for free."
Anser immediately shook his head. "I'm just a rookie professional. My abilities are limited, and I'm afraid I can't help you."
"Caution is an essential virtue for a spellcaster." The old Wizard nodded in approval, then pushed the Cloak of Protection and the Spell Storage Ring in front of him at the same time. "These, plus another one thousand gold coins. Help me bring someone out of the Seatower District."
"Me?!" Anser pointed at his own nose, his face full of shock.
"Yes." The old Wizard nodded quite naturally.
"Don't you know the city is full of underground creatures right now? Even the Upper City has fallen. If I go in, isn't that just sending myself to my death?" Anser widened his eyes, as if he had just heard a joke straight out of hell.
"Relax." The old Wizard gently shook her wand. "At present, Citadel Streets, Manorborn, Bloomridge, Seatower, and parts of the Temples District are still under the Watch's control. They will not fall in the short term."
"You can take a boat from Rivington and go over there. The level of danger isn't high."
"Uh, you've thought it through very thoroughly, but my abilities are limited. You should look for someone else." Anser refused decisively. He did not want to risk his life.
Taking a boat from Rivington and going downstream could indeed lead directly to the west side of Gray Harbor in the Seatower District. But what if the Duergar had deployed defenses along the sea route? What if he was surrounded the moment he landed in the Seatower District? What if the vessel lost control and rushed into a massive pit?
"It's fine." The old Wizard smiled faintly and did not press the matter. She raised her hand and placed a piece of parchment atop the cloak. "I'll still give you the items. They have no value in my hands."
"When you've saved up enough money or change your mind, come find me at any time."
Anser was stunned. He had not expected something like this.
He picked up the parchment on top and unfolded it. It was an unsigned magical contract, with the commission details written on it. In the client field was written the name Dorothea Tsaitkin, the handwriting elegant.
He hesitated for a moment, then transferred one hundred platinum coins into an empty coin pouch and placed it on the counter. "This is all I have for now. Thank you for your generosity and trust—I won't stand on ceremony."
"Good luck to you." The old Wizard lifted the white hair at her temple with her wand. Her eyes flickered, her gaze fixed on Anser's face, not sparing even a glance for the pouch of platinum coins.
Anser gathered the items into his arms. After giving a brief nod of acknowledgment, he turned and left.
Bratt quickly caught up to Anser and asked in a low voice, "There won't be any problems with the items, right?"
"Back to the inn." Anser did not have Identify, but he had a more precise method of appraisal.
The three of them returned to the room laden with bags and packages, piled everything onto the floor, and all gathered around Anser.
"These two magic items should be worth at least three thousand gold coins. She's not even afraid we'll run off. That's really strange." Bratt sounded somewhat uneasy.
"Mm." Finn voiced his agreement.
Anser half-closed his eyes and brought up his character sheet to examine the two magic items. There were no curses or magical marks—everything was normal.
"It probably isn't that complicated." He opened his eyes, picked up the parchment, and fell into thought. "Maybe she's just selling a favor."
"What good is that? We're leaving anyway." Bratt waved his hand dismissively, sat down on the floor, and began organizing the supplies and backpacks.
Seeing this, Finn stepped forward to help as well.
"True." Anser stopped dwelling on it and shifted his attention to the two magic items.
The Spell Storage Ring was a dark-gold band, nearly one centimeter wide, covered with concentric blue magical runes. One look was enough to tell it was extraordinary.
He put the ring on the index finger of his left hand. The size was slightly large, but it would not slip off.
The Cloak of Protection looked rather unremarkable from a distance. Only when he picked it up did he realize it was not pure black, but raven-black, with a purplish-blue metallic sheen under the light.
This cloak was a well-made magic item. After putting it on, Armor Class and saving throws increased by +1—that is, a modest boost to defensive and resistance capabilities, simple and practical.
This saving throw bonus in particular was effective against most attacks, and especially outstanding when resisting charm and psionic spells.
Anser put on the cloak and pulled up the hood. Outsiders could no longer clearly see his face, giving him an added air of mystery, and his heart settled a little as well.
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