9.9a

Francesco R. Nausseu, the Gold Prince, looked at the Tier One threatening him. His meticulous planning to arrive here was a work of art. First, he utilized the contract between Jeffery T. Wellington and himself to book passages on the airship. He knew traveling with the Dark Prince was safe because neither could harm the other directly or through controlled proxies. Second, he used his contacts in the drug markets to find that the newest fad, BH2, appeared on the market only recently. That meant the supplier was either testing the water or had accidentally created a new product.

The light elf used Merchant’s Eye again, staring at the resulting information in confusion.

Level: 45

Race: [Hidden]

Class: [Hidden]

Profession: [Hidden]

Health: 177/177

Mana: 177/177

Those numbers make no sense. Race, Class, and Profession all hidden? Yet she doesn’t appear influenced by Charm at all. Francesco thought as his mind worked frantically. Cold rationality took over as he embraced the light within. This is a trap. Ignore the Status. It’s forged. Jeffery cannot harm me nor his proxies, so she must be independent. Under the contract, which is why the Dark Prince isn’t worried much about the fallout. Still, she is interested because competition between merchants means better pricing. I know she wants Tier Four slaves, so the natural offer is simple…

“I can match or exceed the number of slaves the Dark Prince offers and raise them by one Tier,” Francesco said with a Charming Smile added for good effect. Only his exceptional bargaining Skills prevented shock from showing. It was the first time outside the Royalty of other races that his Charm Stat failed to produce any result. Glancing at her ensemble, his eyes narrowed. With the massive circular brimmed pointy and tasteful caster-type robes, she had to be a magic user. No physical combat class would be caught dead in garments that could decide life or death during a sudden ambush.

Of the casters, only a Witch makes sense. Francesco thought, noting the Hut behind the woman. I see no Book, Candle, or Knife. Her color isn’t part of the Colored Coven Alliance, a rogue? No, Jeffery wouldn’t bother to deal with a mere rogue. Logical chains of thought flashed fast as light through his mind, and his eyes gained a sparkle as he concluded.

A pure Prime. One untouched by other Bargains, Pacts, or Contracts.

It all fits with perfect clarity and resounding logic—a new Color who hadn’t yet joined the Alliance’s power games. Jeffery T. Wellington had brought him here to die because a Prime’s anger would be outside the bounds of their contract. At the same time, the Dark Prince had repaid the debt he owed in one fell swoop because access to a new Prime was a gold mine of titanic proportions.

The System would never penalize the Dark Prince if Francesco R. Nausseu died pursuing incalculable wealth. If he failed to reach terms with the Prime, well, that was merely his fault. The light elf loosened his body and flexed his fingers. Light Elves had been part of the Merchant Royalty since its inception. They were the charming masters brokering deals between Races, Religions, and Regions. As the Gold Prince, he had descended from an unbroken line reaching back to the Imprisonment. A mere drow seeking his death was nothing new. His mind focused as time slowed while he accessed the part of his heritage that allowed for enhanced thinking, reasoning, and interpretation. At the same time, his body gently emitted a calming aura of light.

Mind of Light slowed the world so he could catch every facial expression of the gorgeous Prime. Every motion was read, deciphered, and accounted for.

Body of Light granted him the unconscious grace and gentle glow that calmed the Souls and Minds of those he bargained with. Decisions would be made rationally, without the influence of fear, greed, or bias.

She is interested in higher Tier slaves. Francesco thought as he caught the slight widening of her eyes. Interested, but not enough. My offer merely means she can gouge the Dark Prince higher. She’s showing no effect from my Trait, which means her Color must be at least protected against Soul and Mind manipulation.

Protection against Soul or Mind manipulation would make his job harder, but not impossible. It simply raised the price of success, which was nothing the Golden Prince couldn’t pay. Francesco opened his mouth and slipped his next words in before she managed to speak, “I will, of course, discount everything you buy from me. There will be no taxes, shipping fees, or price gouging like other merchants might employ. Everything you buy from me will be at the cost price I acquired it.”

He kept a smirk off his face as the Dark Prince gave a sharp inhalation to the side. As expected, a mere drow couldn’t refuse the chance to make a quick chunk of gold. Francesco wasn’t so limited. Access to Prime and the incredible power of a brand new Color was worth taking immense losses upfront.

The fact that she hasn’t joined the Alliance means she either doesn’t know they exist, or they don’t know she does. Either option is valuable. Francesco thought. No, the Alliance would never leave a new Prime in the Wildlands. Jeffery sold her books. Best to assume she knows they exist. In that case…

Francesco shifted his clothing instantly to display his wealth more effectively. He tailored the outfit to demonstrate the sheer amount of Tier Six enchanted items he had. According to his most effective informants, it was more than double what the Dark Prince could have demonstrated on his best day. Mind of Light didn’t miss the flicker of interest that passed through the Witch’s eyes. Even more telling, it was interesting and not greedy.

“Have certain other merchants not mentioned the value of enchanted items? If you wish, I would be happy to provide a custom book detailing all available inventory.” Francesco said smoothly.

“Eve, call me Eve. All my good friends do. Your name would be…?” Eve said as her eyes moved about his outfit identifying each piece.

“Francesco R. Nausseu, my friends call me Frank,” Francesco replied as he pulled his lineage of merchants acquired over millennia from the ancient bag of tricks. His tone smoothed, his manners became obsequies, and his expression was respectful. There was more to selling than mere Charm Stat, and woe be the merchants that forgot it!

Eve’s demeanor calmed as her subconscious realized he presented himself as a subservient individual. Clearly, she was quite stressed working out here alone in the Wildlands. Jeffery T. Wellington wouldn’t have the mindset to attend to a stressed customer. The Golden Prince was nothing as crass as a mere drow merchant.

Francesco gestured, pulling an exquisite set pavilion with a full set of cooling enchantments, relaxation, and comfortable seating arrangements out of his spatial ring. He gestured to the available vintage refreshments and followed Eve as she sat across the intimately low wooden table. He ignored the peanut gallery comments from the left.

“Smooth moves, boss. How come you never bother with stuff like that?”

“Because I would rather not burn millions of gold looking good!”

“Indeed, the master would rather buy superior firepower or a flying brick!”

Eve glanced at the drow merchant’s crew before taking a sip of wine. Her eyes lit up in appreciation, quickly followed by a nibble on the chocolate scone available. Narrowing his eyes while she was distracted, Francesco immediately replaced every available pastry, cookie, scone, and wafer with chocolate variations. The chilling additional bottles of wine shifted to several variations of the one she enjoyed.

I have something Jeffery cannot even comprehend. Francesco said as his potential customer snacked without a word. My eye for detail is immaculate. Eve is powerful, but there isn’t a piece of civilization within ten thousand kilometers. I don’t need to sell the same books, ores, herbs, or treasures. No, I should simply sell what she lacks. Civilization!

Francesco glanced at Jeffery and flashed a smirk before bringing his attention back to the beautiful Witch. “Other merchants merely sell the basic books, ores, herbs, treasures, and so forth. I prefer to sell superior quality items, things that only a woman of discerning taste could understand, Mrs. Eve.” When her silver eyes focused on him like a tracking spell, he continued, “A woman of such discerning taste should have access to luxuries. She should be able to soak in a nice hot scented bath, drink fine wines, enjoy the taste of chocolate, and have the best clockwork masseuse on hand to relax. Other so-called merchants may not understand these things, as they are nothing more than black-hearted profiteers. Civilization is a privilege of the powerful, such as yourself, Mrs. Eve! It should be on hand and available to enjoy every minute!” The Golden Prince watched with satisfaction as his passionate words had the desired effect.

“How much would adding a slice of civilization to my swamp cost me?” Eve said, taking another sip of peach ambrosia wine. “I’m not exactly stacked for gold at the moment.”

Francesco smiled gently and said, “The wonderful new drug you have is extremely profitable. While my associate, Jeffery T. Wellington, is a good distribution channel locally, he doesn’t have the same reach as me.”

“I have an exclusive contract with him for drugs,” Eve said, her eyes irritated at the revelation of how valuable that product was.

“Which is perfectly acceptable. I would hope to acquire something in the same vein for anything you might produce for the enchanted item market,” Francesco said, smoothly turning the conversation towards another avenue of profit once he knew the drugs were locked out.

“You have a catalog, right? Hand it over. I want to check something.” Eve said as a paper plate filled itself from the arrayed gold-plated snack dishes.

Francesco handed a slim booklet to Eve. His eyes lit up as she summoned a large mystical Tome before feeding the catalog of his wares. The glazed look in her eyes confirmed there was at least a basic mental connection between the Witch and her Book. It was a thrilling sign to see his earlier conjuncture proven correct.

Thankfully I arrived personally without any of my normal entourage. Francesco thought as he sipped his wine. I can only imagine the mistakes that would have been made if any of my more fanatical supporters heard the way Eve threatened me. When he had decided to make a move, Profit Sense had shown a bizarre reaction at the time. Every attempt to bring people with him lowered the value to almost nothing. Now, however, everything was clear to the Golden Prince.

Eve glanced at him from her Tome and asked, “Is the section on sex toys accurate?”

Francesco easily covered his confusion before he nodded and said, “My catalog is updated daily from every major city. Is there anything you desire?”

“No, I was just saddened by the lack of variety,” Eve said. After taking another sip of wine Eve asked, “How does the average wealthy commoner, noblewoman, or high-class courtesan relieve themselves from urges?”

Francesco wracked his mind before responding, “The normal method is to use a slave trained for the purpose. The slave will be sterilized to ensure no issues of that sort.”

Eve’s eyes glowed silver as she said, “In percentage values, how much of the market do you think would be interested in a solution that didn’t use slaves? To me, it would be effortless to introduce a poison into a pleasure slave that resulted in death for a woman getting the relief that way. Even better, a Curse targeted at making the female recipient more pliable to suggestions.”

Francesco felt chills flow down his back as he realized how easy it would be to turn his harem into a weapon of traceless murder. He resolved to place countermeasures once he returned immediately. Taking a sip of wine to calm his nerves, he said, “I’m certain that with proper rumors, and a few deaths, it wouldn’t be hard to shift the market to non-slave options. However, as you can see, most available items are basic. There isn’t much effort put into developing new products. Would you perhaps have a recommendation?”

Eve flipped her Tome around to face him before the pages shifted to show a device similar to the common pleasure rods currently in use. Francesco’s eyes flickered in greed with each new page-turning.

Pleasure rods that vibrate? Curses that increase sensitivity? Multiple point stimulation? Rabbits? Plugs? Francesco’s Profit Sense was so loud he had to cut it off. My god, this woman’s mind is delightful!

With tools like these available, it would be child’s play for him to turn the market against all but the most elite-trained slaves. Such slaves would still have value, but rumors like Eve had mentioned could easily make the toys displayed in her Tome the superior option.

Francesco took a sip of his wine before handing the Tome back and said, “Would you perhaps be interested in a contract for such delightful ideas?”

The Silver Witch left her Tome floating above her right shoulder before she leaned in and said, “Let’s talk percentages, Goldie.”