The Eighth Warden Bk. 04 Ch. 07-08

"We were successful," Corec said. "We found Tir Yadar. We've learned a lot--I'm not even sure where to start--but we could use your advice on a few matters."

"Oh? Let's sit down." They found a few chairs scattered around the workshop. Corec moved them closer together while Hildra rang a bell and requested tea from the maid who answered the summons.

"Now," Hildra said, rejoining them and taking a seat, "what is it you wanted to talk about?"

Ellerie was supposed to handle this part of the conversation, but, like Corec, she wasn't sure where to start. "We found Tir Yadar, like he said," she began. "The city had been abandoned and mostly emptied, but we found some things that we need to have appraised. Weapons and armor, as well as some other enchanted items. We don't know what they all do. Corec thought you might be able to help with that, too."

Hildra sat back in her chair, looking thoughtful. "A lot of people have gone searching for Tir Yadar. Are you certain? It's not the only lost Tir."

"We're certain," Ellerie said. "We met..." She hesitated, biting her lip. Ariadne's existence seemed too outlandish to try to explain.

"We met one of the residents," Corec said, taking up the story. "A Chosar woman. I found her locked in some sort of magical sleep. She doesn't know what happened after she went to sleep, but she confirmed it was Tir Yadar."

"Sleeping for thousands of years?" Hildra's voice was skeptical. "Could she be lying?"

Corec shook his head. "No. I've talked to her enough to know she's telling the truth. That's something else we wanted to ask you about--do you know anything more about the Chosar that you could tell us? She's desperate to find out what happened to her people."

"I'm not sure," Hildra said. "I've seen a few books over the years, but it's not a topic I've studied. What's she like?"

"She reminds me of a tall seaborn, but she insists her people couldn't breathe underwater."

Hildra nodded. "I'll try to piece together what I can remember about the Chosar, but it's been a very long time, and I didn't know much about them to begin with. As for the rest..." She faced Ellerie. "Are you aware of my price?"

"Corec said you'll want to study the enchantments."

"Yes. I'm willing to appraise or investigate any enchanted items you discovered as long as you give me time to examine them for my own purposes. That doesn't mean I'll be successful in determining what they do, though."

"I understand." Ellerie had returned to studying the lore spell she'd purchased in Tyrsall. It was the most complicated spell she'd ever tried to learn, but she thought she was getting closer. If she could master it, she might be able to figure out anything Hildra couldn't. "There's one other thing. Have you heard of shaping magic?"

"I'm not familiar with the term," Hildra said.

"The Chosar had ways to shape stone and metal with magic, and they could create new metals that don't rust or corrode," Ellerie said. She nodded to Corec, who held out the chain mesh of the mail shirt he was wearing.

"Is that silversteel?" Hildra asked.

Ellerie exchanged glances with Corec. "You've heard of it?" she asked.

"You can find pieces here and there around Bancyra," Hildra said. "Especially in the stoneborn cities in the Skotinos Mountains. Are you saying your Chosar friend knows how to create silversteel?" There was a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Not her, but I found a spell book with instructions." Ellerie slipped a dagger out of her pocket and handed it to Hildra. It was slightly crooked and the blade wasn't sharp enough to be used as a weapon, but it was at least recognizable as silversteel. "I've figured out the spells, and one of the formulas, but I'm still learning how to do the shaping. Once I've set the form, there isn't a way to change it."

Hildra turned the dagger over in her hands. "You made this?"

"Yes, and there's another shaped metal that's better for weapons, plus details on how to shape stone. What I need to do now is figure out how much the information is worth, and how to go about selling it."

"I'd need to know what goes into the process, and how much effort it takes," Hildra said.

Ellerie had to decide how much to trust her. If she told Hildra everything, the stoneborn woman might be able to use the information herself. Perhaps she could share the formulas while still keeping the spells a secret.

"I can share some of the details with you."

#

Corec returned to Hildra's manor the next afternoon with Boktar and the enchanted items the group had found. Two of Hildra's servants helped them unload the packages from the carriage and carry them to her workshop, where they found her deep in discussion with Ellerie. The elven woman had gone early to speak to her about Tir Yadar and the shaping magic.

"You must be from Stone Home?" Hildra asked Boktar after Corec had introduced him. "Or Sanvar?"

"Stone Home originally, but I move around a lot."

She nodded. "My son visited Stone Home once. It's got quite the history. Your people left Cordaea over three thousand years ago."

Boktar cocked his head to the side. "I knew we came to Stone Home later, but I didn't realize we were from Cordaea."

"All stoneborn are. The earliest references to our people are all from the Skotinos Mountains. We spread out from there." Hildra turned her attention to the items Corec was laying out on the nearest table. "Now, what do we have here?" she asked.

"I thought we'd start with the weapons," he said.

Hildra's eyes went completely black as she cast her arcane sight spell. She examined the two staff-spears, the longsword, and the heavy mace, picking up each item and peering at it intently. Then she lifted one of the arrows out of the small case that held nine.

"This is unusual," she said. "Typically you would enchant the bow, not the arrows, but I suppose this might provide some extra power." She returned it to the case.

Ellerie said, "There were also two arming swords that glowed red when anyone held them. We already sent them back to Tyrsall, but we need to appraise those as well."

"And the staff-spears have different enchantments," Corec said.

"Yes," Hildra said. "One is meant to be used by an elder mage. I recognize the spell. What sort of appraisal are you looking for? Do you want to know the true value of each piece, or do you want to know what you could sell it for?"

Ellerie exchanged an uncertain glance with Boktar. "I'm not sure. What's the difference?"

"The true value is subjective, and will change depending on who you're speaking to. The market for selling enchanted items is small and exclusive. One buyer might understand the true value of a piece but not be interested in buying it, while another is willing to buy it now, but for less than what you think it's worth. Do you take the money? Or do you wait for years until you find another buyer who values it as much as you do?"

Ellerie pursed her lips. "I think our investors would be willing to take some time to find the right buyers, but not years. We do have leads for a few possible buyers in Aravor, but I think they're mostly collectors. Would a collector pay enough?"

Hildra curled her lip in distaste. "Collectors are an unfortunate necessity in this business. Rich men--they're almost always men--who'd rather look at a thing than use it. Half the time, the only reason they buy a piece is so that someone else can't. I try to make sure my own work doesn't end up in their hands, unless they commission something from me, but I do sell other pieces to them. They've got the money for it."

"What do you think we should do?"

"Don't try to evaluate the weapons in too much detail. You'll end up with prices you'll never be able to sell them for. I'll give you two hundred gold for each, right now, if you want. Maybe fifty for the case of arrows. In all honesty, at two hundred, I'll make a decent profit on each piece, but it'll take me time and effort to find the right buyers. That profit is my fee for doing the work."

"The staff-spears are already spoken for," Corec said.

"A shame--I have a bondmate who'd love to get his hands on the elder spear. So, just the mace and the sword then?"

"Two hundred seems low," Ellerie said. "What about two fifty?"

Hildra lips quirked up in a brief smile. "Two hundred is my standard rate. I don't go higher than that except for something truly exceptional, and unless Corec's putting his sword up for sale, none of these qualify."

Ellerie frowned, but nodded. "I'll need to check with Marco, our investors' factor. If he agrees to that price, I can let you know tomorrow."

"Very well. And what else do you have?"

"There's this," Boktar said, pulling the blanket off of the tower shield they'd found. "It's too damned heavy to carry around."

Hildra's eyes went black again as she examined the shield. "It blocks arcane spells," she said. "You don't want to keep it?"

Ellerie shot a questioning glance at Corec, but he just shrugged. There were limited ways to use a shield in battle if the shield was too heavy to move around easily. Being able to block magic didn't change that--he couldn't ask the enemy wizards to aim their spells at a specific spot.

"If Boktar doesn't want it, I say we sell it," he said.

"I don't," Boktar said.

Hildra hefted the shield, needing both hands to move it. "I see what you mean. You normally carry a shield?" she asked him.

"Yes."

She went to the far side of her workshop and lifted a heater shield off of the wall. The surface was made of a silvery-white metal. Returning with it, she said, "I'll trade you straight up for this. It melts any metal weapons that strike it. Not enchanted weapons, but others."

"Melts?"

Hildra grinned. "Do you want to try it? I've got an old sword around here somewhere." She slid open the rolling door that led out to her smithy, returning with a plain steel backword that had a chip near the end of the blade. "You'll have to hit it hard, like you're in a fight," she said, handing it to Boktar. "If you just tap it, it won't do anything."

Boktar braced the shield upright against a bench, then stepped back and slammed the blade against it. The result happened instantly as the blade broke in two at the point of impact. The bottom half, still connected to the hilt, ended in a jagged edge that glowed red as it cooled. The top half fell to the floor with a clang, melted steel splattering nearby. More molten metal ran down the face of the shield and dripped to the ground, leaving the surface clean and unmarked.

Boktar stared for a moment. "Do you really want to get rid of this?" he asked.

His voice was uncertain, and Corec couldn't blame him. The thought of that shield in battle would be terrifying if it was on the wrong side.

"I just bought it two weeks ago," Hildra said. "I could find a buyer easily, and I'll admit it's likely worth more than the one you're getting rid of, but I don't have a use for this one and I do have a use for that one."

"What sort of use?" Corec asked.

"I want to study it. I've seen this enchantment before but haven't managed to replicate it. I'd like to give it another try. When I'm finished, perhaps I'll find a buyer."

Boktar lifted the new shield and strapped it onto his left arm, testing its weight. "If you're offering, I'd be a fool to refuse. I'll take it."

"Wait," Ellerie said. "We still need to appraise the other one."

"Let's call it a hundred and fifty," Hildra said. "This one would go for more, but the other shield will be harder to sell, as heavy as it is."

They continued examining the items. Hildra didn't recognize the enchantments on the golden circlet, the spectacles, or the silver cuff bracelets, but she was already familiar with spellmail, and suggested setting the price at one hundred eighty gold.

"You should keep that," Boktar said to Ellerie.

"You know I don't like wearing armor," she told him.

"Because it interferes with your magic. But if this doesn't..."

"It's not just that. I need to be able to move, too."

"Spellmail is very flexible," Hildra put in. "You don't even notice it's there. I wear it myself when I think I'll need something more than my barrier shield spells."

Ellerie frowned down at it. "What about Katrin? She could use it."

"Katrin tries to stay out of the fighting," Corec pointed out. "You don't."

"I suppose I could try it and see."

Hildra said, "If you know someone else who could wear it, I can let you know if I ever run across another suit. It could take years, though--they're quite rare."

"I'd appreciate that," Corec said.

He showed Hildra the siege engine figurines next. During the trip to Aencyr, Ariadne had demonstrated how to activate them. They worked just as she'd said, turning into full-sized versions of themselves, completely functional.

The other warden smiled when she saw them. "I've made something like this myself. Not a bridge, though. That would have come in handy a few times."

"How much do you think they're worth?" Corec asked.

"That's tricky. Think about it--if you manage to use them at just the right moment, they're invaluable, but most of the time, they're not worth much more than regular equipment. And they're fragile."

"How so?" Ellerie asked.

"Take a look here," Hildra said, holding up one of the freight wagon figurines. "The wheels are wooden, with a metal rim. Just a normal wagon wheel, and it'll break just as easily as any other wheel. But you can't replace it because the new one wasn't part of the original enchantment. When you shrink the wagon, the new wheel will remain its natural size. You can't even replace a single nail. Once a piece breaks, the device is useless unless you can fix it with something that was part of the enchantment. I wouldn't pay more than eighty for the entire set."

"I'll take them for eighty if the others agree they're worth it," Corec said.

Ellerie furrowed her brow. "Really?"

"It'll give us a start on some defenses, and they're portable if we need to change locations."

"Defenses?" Hildra asked.

"It's something I didn't want to bother you with the last time I was here," Corec said. "Do you know anything about Seven?"

"Only that he's a man."

"We believe he's the heir to the throne of Larso, Prince Rusol. Larso is where I grew up. Rusol--or someone around him--keeps sending demon-controlled troops to attack me, but I don't know if it's because we're both wardens or because Larso follows the Church of Pallisur. The Knights of Pallisur kicked me out when they learned I was a mage, and word might have gotten back to the capital. I'm hoping it's all some big mistake, but the last time it happened, his men killed half of a village waiting for us to arrive. We want to make sure he doesn't do that again. I'm sending someone to Larso to watch him while the rest of us try to draw any more attacks away from other towns."

Hildra didn't show any surprise at the story, just tapping her lips thoughtfully. "He's bonded a demonborn, then?"

"Or a demon, if that's possible."

"Not that I know of, though I've never tried it. Warden fighting warden..." She sighed. "That concerns me. You have the right idea, I think, to draw him away from other people. I don't recall any of the wardens ever taking up arms against the others before, though Badru and Kono don't say much about the ones who died before I was chosen. You don't even know if this Rusol knows you're a warden?"

"No, though if he does, that makes more sense than any other explanation I can think of."

"Not a very good one, though. Has he attacked the other wardens?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I suppose I should keep a closer watch around here just in case. If I hear from Badru, I'll ask him about it, but he hasn't contacted me in a while."

"I should have told you before," Corec said. "I didn't think Rusol would know who you are, or have any way to get to you."

"He probably doesn't, but it can't hurt to be safe," Hildra replied. "This place is easier to defend than it might look, but the practice will be good. There hasn't been any excitement around here in a long while. Now, what else do you have to show me?"