Gora nodded, offering a sympathetic frown. “Pursuers are a unique threat around Haemir. A few of the parties operating out of New Kamenor occasionally encounter pursuers, but Haemir is the largest city close to their territory. You are in luck. I get similar requests quite frequently.” He set a pamphlet on the table in front of him and expertly flipped to a specific page. “Most do not know this, but pursuer beasts are extremely sensitive to this Brand.” He pushed the open book across to me and I clicked on the Brand to store it in my overlay for later. “Static Bolt,” Gora continued. “It will build up a charge of a type of energy known to scholars as electricity.”

“Yes. I’m very familiar with electricity,” I said.

“Then you will understand the value of this Brand. It works by building up a charge of electricity, which gets released to zap enemies that get too close. I am told it is extremely painful. Pursuer beasts hate it! They will usually flee as soon as the Brand is activated.

“Usually?” I asked. “When won’t they?”

“Well…” Gora threw up his hands. “Perhaps sometimes they are willing to endure the discomfort to get a meal. Like I said, they hate it. I am not claiming it is a perfect answer to pursuer beasts, but most of the adventurers I have sold it to report that it works as long as you do not linger in their territory overly. As protection against errant packs, it is nearly as effective as the transportation Brands that are normally recommended, but at a fraction of the cost.

“It has other uses, too. With a strong enough shock, smaller targets will become temporarily stunned. Bandits are one example. If you do not wish to fight, you might use Static Bolt to stun a vagabond long enough to run away.”

I opted not to comment on the way Gora just naturally assumed I’d choose to run when faced with danger. Maybe he was right. Certainly, it had been my primary means of dealing with threats since arriving in Earris. But stunning? That would be extremely useful. I could blast enemies with a Static Bolt, then run up and drain them before they recovered. It might even be more effective than killing.

“I’ll take it,” I said.

Gora nodded. “864 Crosses. I will add that to your total.” He laughed. “I daresay you’re almost ready to take on the world, my boy! I still think you are in dire need of a weapon. We have some serviceable spears that are easy to learn how to use, if that is your concern.”

I shook my head. “No. No weapons. I don’t want to haul around all that extra weight. It would just be more trouble than it’s worth.”

“If it’s weight that concerns you so, we offer a few Brands that could make hauling supplies on the road effortless.”

I perked up. “How so?”

“Condense Water will give you as much clean, drinkable water as you need and Conjure Potato is the most reliable food generation Brand on the market. You’d be surprised how many adventurers die each year due to starvation or dehydration. With those two Brands, you never have to worry about carrying heavy bags of food and water unless you want to.”

“That seems like a good idea,” I agreed. “Sure, why not? How much would it be for all of that so far?”

“11,064 Crosses,” Gora said without a moment’s hesitation. He smiled. The number was so close to the estimate I’d thrown out earlier that I knew it couldn’t possibly be a coincidence. It was fine, though. The money was only useful as a means of acquiring useful abilities. The only part I was a little unsure of was the spider silk armor. It was the most expensive single purchase. But then again… anything that could stop a dagger to my gut while I drained an enemy’s vitality was probably worth the investment. I was going to be employed hunting down monsters, after all.

“I should have enough to cover all that,” I said.

“Excellent!” Gora clapped his hands and the two hunters in the back corner of the room stepped forward. “Vexus, go see Vareen about getting an adventurer’s starter pack and a spider silk tunic. Boril, grab volumes seven and eighteen from my library and bring them back here.”

“Hmph,” one hunter grunted. I expected him to head for the door, but instead he walked past me, then phased right through the wall. The other hunter simply disappeared. Whether he teleported or just went invisible, I couldn’t say, but it happened as abruptly as when Brookie had disappeared on me. I suspected he might have used the same Skill.

“Neat trick,” I said, pointing back to the spot in the wall the hunter had disappeared through.

“We offer that Brand,” Gora said with a smile. “Maybe next time.”

“I thought those guys were your bodyguards, not your errand boys.”

Gora waved a hand. “My discretion,” he said. “I do not believe you will try to abduct me.” The door opened and the first of the hunters returned. I think it was interesting he didn’t use a special transport trick on his way back to the meeting room. He had two thick, leather-bound books tucked under one arm. He dropped them on the table with a grunt and went back to standing silently over Gora’s shoulder.

The books he delivered were massive enough to shake the table when they were dropped. Easily the largest I’d ever seen. Instead of paper, the pages of the books appeared to be thick flaps of leather. Gora opened the first book and started looking for a specific page. There were no words or labels in the book, only Brands that had been burned into the leather. Four on a page.

While Gora hunted for the first Brand, the second hunter returned to the meeting room with a sturdy backpack slung over one shoulder. It had a flap over the top that was tied down. The color was a rich brown, and it looked immaculate. The hunter dropped the pack by Gora’s feet and headed back to his spot.

“Here we are,” Gora said when he found the right page. “We can start with Manifest Inspiration. There is just the matter of payment before I can begin.”

“Right. This should cover it.” I pushed the pouch of glittering Marks across to him. “I’ve also got these if you need to make change.” I dug into my pockets and fished out the gold Crosses I’d collected both as change from my fees at the Adventurer’s Guild and what I’d lifted from the thieves.

“After your Adventurer’s Guild discount,” Gora said, “the total comes to 10,990 Crosses and 2 pennies.” He upended my pouch of Marks on the table, then waggled a hand over the scattered coins. They started sliding across the table on their own, arranging into neat stacks, separated by type. Once they were all organized, he said, “It looks like you brought enough to cover everything. Here is your change.” He waved his hand again and a small collection of coins separated themselves from the main stacks and slid over to my end of the table. From everything I’d handed over, I got four coins back: a single glittering Mark, one of those fat Triple Crosses, and two regular Crosses. I grabbed my empty money pouch and put the coins in it. As I returned it to my pocket, my overlay updated the new figures.

11,154 Crosses, 2 pennies >>> 167 Crosses

167 Crosses seemed too high for just one Mark. I was pretty sure the exchange rate was about eighty Crosses to a Mark. It seemed like the overlay was counting an extra—Right! I’d stashed a single Mark in my locker as a safety precaution. I quickly opened the setting gear and found an option to ask the coin icon to default to showing only the money I currently had on my person. Otherwise, I might end up in an embarrassing situation while shopping.

“Vareen also informed me you asked about selling some daggers you brought with you. We can offer you one Cross each for them. I can send Boril to fetch the paperwork if you want to get paid for those now, otherwise Vareen can help you on your way out.”

“Paperwork?” I repeated. Paperwork… tying me to a triple homicide? I should have just dropped the daggers in a dumpster. It would have been fine to sell them anonymously, but if there was going to be a paper trail, they’d just be a liability.