Divine Beast Ascension

An old-looking man bowed in response, smiling. “Of course, I’m here. This is the room assigned to me, for both appraisals and exchanges. And it’s the number you’ve been allotted for your marker.”

“Oh, that would explain it,” chuckled Oli.

“Anyway, here are your items.” As the man waved his hand, the gauntlets and frosted mantle appeared on the table. “From your auctioned pieces, after removing the auction fees you’ve earned twenty thousand gold. And these two items you’ve purchased come out to thirty-one thousand five hundred gold, leaving you with a difference of eleven thousand five hundred gold. Now, you did make a two thousand five hundred gold deposit. Five hundred of that went toward your appraisal fee and six hundred and fifty went to your earlier purchase, letting the remaining one thousand three hundred and fifty gold go toward your debt. So, at the current moment, you owe Icicle Palace ten thousand one hundred and fifty gold. Would you like to pay that now or wait till after we sell your low-perennial battle art?”

Oli nodded. “Let’s do that. I’ll just accept what remains of my earnings when I come back for the new moon auction.”

“Very well. Then please hand me the auction certificates of the four sold items.” As Oli passed them over, the man slid the gauntlets and mantle closer to the masked youth. “Great. Now, these are all yours.”

Oli lifted the gauntlets first and tried them on. As he filled them with essence, they shrunk slightly to fit his human hands. He then retrieved his peak-elder mace and found it to fit comfortably in his grip while wearing the gauntlets.

.....

Fulkar finally understood why Oli had purchased them, as did the appraiser. They watched as Oli made a few practice swings in the air before storing the gauntlets and the mace. “They’re perfect! Now, for this... Do I need to do anything to activate it?”

The perennial appraiser shook his head with a soft smile. “No. All you have to do is wear it. There are various kinds of beast hides that can be used for a frosted mantle, but all of them are embued with the perennial core of that same beast. This allows the wearer to fully shield themselves from ninety percent of all blizzards throughout the region.”

“Only ninety percent?” asked Oli.

“The other ten percent are special cases of unpredictably bad storms. But even in such a rare storm, the frosted mantle can protect you from being in life-threatening danger,” explained the appraiser.

Feeling an inherent warmth while donning the fur-covered mantle, Oli stored it with a proud smile, not regretting his purchase whatsoever. “Great! Then I have no more questions.”

“Excuse me, sir,” the appraiser spoke up again, “are you going to want a private booth for the new moon auction?”

“Yes. After seeing today’s auction, I think that would be best. Had I known I would spend so much, I would’ve upgraded to private booths today.”

“In that case, I suggest you reserve a booth before you leave. Otherwise, they’ll fill up before you come back. At the new moon auction, both the lounge and private sections will go to war over the high-perennial and peak-perennial items, so our private booths always sell out a sun or two in advance,” stated the appraiser.

“Okay... Can I do that here with you?” The moment the man nodded, Oli dropped ten thousand gold on the table. “Very well. Is there anything else I should know?”

Shaking his head, the appraiser added, “No, that’s all. But feel free to come get an updated new moon catalog whenever you wish. Just ask the reception desk and show them this.”

A gold badge carrying Icicle Palace’s emblem was slid across the table. “That proves that you’ve reserved a private booth, granting you any catalog you wish and additional information on some of the items.”

Oli took the badge and bowed to the old-looking man. “Thank you. I look forward to the new moon auction, where I hope to fork over more money than I earn.”

“We of Icicle Palace wish the same thing,” laughed the man, returning the bow.

Oli and Fulkar were then escorted back to the huge entrance of Icicle Palace. Their server gave them one last bow and compliment before parting.

That time, Fulkar wasn’t surprised to see Oli fork over ten grand for the private booth. If Oli could offer a peak-perennial weapon, what was ten thousand gold in comparison?

The duo exited the auction house and made their way back to the west side of the city. They took their time while making sure no one was following them. That way they could find a quick place to change into their normal clothes and return to the inn without any hints of suspicion.

The second sun was setting by the time they got back to everyone else. But Oli didn’t answer any of their questions about the trip, only nodding and walking until he found Zelsh in the main lounge area. He whispered to Zelsh, getting him to throw up a silent formation before asking, “Can you take us to Forell City?”

“Forell City? But you’re supposed to stay and train...” Zelsh started to reply but noticed a particular look in Oli’s eye. “... Are you offering-”

“Yes. And Fulkar already agreed,” answered Oli. “I just need to speak with his father to settle things properly.”

“Oh... Nice!” Zelsh gave Oli a thumbs up, and one to Fulkar as well. “How’d it go looking for a sword?”

Smiling, Oli answered, “We went to Icicle Palace and I sold a bunch of stuff before buying some gauntlets and a frosted mantle. But we’ll figure out the sword another day.”

“A frosted mantle?! That’s perfect!” Zelsh boomed with laughter as he sat up from the sofa. Cheerfully slapping Oli’s back, Zelsh added, “Congrats on such a great find! Got anything else to say before we head out? I want to be back before morning.”