Amber stared at the boy in front of her. He was clearly a new arrival, yet he seemed to fit in much better than some who had been there for a year. Judging by the base, either his talent or a treasure they had found was incredibly versatile.
Her heart leaned toward his talents, but creating so many earth puppets with such a concentration of energy in just a few days was an impressive feat. His control was also superb; each puppet gave the impression of a real living being, without the slightly jerky movements present when other puppeteers manipulated them.
But the real treasure, in her opinion, was the tree at the back of the base. It radiated an absurd amount of energy of incredible purity. If the boy had created it himself, then he was a veritable treasure factory.
Her merchant instincts told her that if she managed to forge an alliance with him, her wealth would grow like never before, and her influence in the guild would certainly increase, perhaps even increasing her chances of taking control of the guild.
Noticing the boy begin to fidget awkwardly in a somewhat cute way in response to the slightly too long silence she had allowed to settle, Amber smiled. "It would be our pleasure to buy and sell. That is the basis of all merchant guilds, and we would never refuse a potential customer."
The boy turned toward the pitiful hut at the back of the base. "Bob! Bab! It's safe outside, you can come out and retrieve the weapons and armor next to the pits and bring them to the entrance, please, guys!"
Two twin golems with the clichéd appearance of workers came out of the hut and headed for the back left corner of the base, out of Amber's view. "Strange, why is he giving them orders like they're real living beings? We're all a little crazy, but a puppeteer who treats his puppets like real living beings is a first."
Adam didn't want to let another silence settle while waiting for the golems to carry the weapons, but he didn't really know what to say. "Uh, by the way, I'm Adam, just Adam, no last name."
"Amber, Amber DiamondHearth, pleased to meet you, Adam." Amber laughed at Adam's stunned expression as the information she had just revealed shattered his brain.
"DiamondHearth, like the super family business that controls the global jewelry market?" Incredulous, he couldn't accept this information without confirmation.
"Exactly," she chuckled. "And yes, super rich on Earth, but now the DiamondHearth name isn't worth as much. Here, everyone starts from scratch, including me."
Adam was unable to form a single sound in response. "Holy shit! Adam, the penniless orphan hick, meets the super-rich super princess. That's way too big a jump up the social ladder."
Amber tried hard not to laugh at Adam's frozen body. "So what information do you want to buy?"
Seeing the way out of this awkward situation graciously offered by Amber, he immediately seized it. "Mainly important basic information, the beginner's pack if you have something like that."
"In that case, you need information about Phaos, the human city right next door. The guilds and currency are also essential, and then, depending on how much money you have left, the basics of talents and energy are a good thing. And since you seem to want to make your home here, knowing more about the region would be useful." After a slight pause, she added, "I'd like to buy some information from you too," looking at the golems and the tree in turn.
Adam thought carefully. "Hmmm, once the pile of equipment has been evaluated, you tell me how much it's worth, I'll tell you what I want, you give me the price, and then if there's anything missing, I'll give you the information you want to complete it. "
"Ha!" Amber laughed softly. "Okay, that's fine with me. Can we go in and see this pile of gear?
"Not all of you," Adam replied, still a little cautious. "You and one or two others at most. The rest of you stay outside. I don't think we need fifty people to evaluate the price of three battered swords."
"Three people is more than enough, don't worry." Amber dismounted from her horse. "Traal, Luna, come on. The rest of you enjoy the break because we still have quite a way to travel.
Traal and the young woman named Luna, dressed in a modern secretary's outfit with silver hair, followed Amber, while the rest of the caravan walked quietly towards the lake a few steps away to take a break by its shore.
"Titan, come on, let them in." Adam took a few steps back and stood next to the pile of equipment. "That's everything. I don't have anything else to sell here except some apples and wild berries."
Amber glanced over and gave a slight nod. "Luna, please."
"Yes, mistress," after a few seconds of silence during which Luna stared at the pile of equipment, she continued, "Nothing very interesting, mistress, just basic iron weapons without any special energy. Most of them are badly damaged or completely destroyed, especially the armor, which is worth almost nothing. Only by recovering the materials and reforging everything would it be possible to extract any value from them."
"Cheap undead, not even a single decent enchanted sword." Adam sighed disappointedly, even though he had suspected as much.
"I'll buy everything from you for four shards. Honestly, that's a really good price, because buying iron and leather from anyone else would be cheaper and of better quality for making equipment." Staring at Adam, she added, "Tell me what you want."
Scratching his neck, Adam hesitated. "Damn, it's really junk that's worth nothing. Four shards doesn't seem like much."
"I'd like the essential information about Phaos, the aliens that you think are important for me to know about, the currency, why shards, and examples of the value of items in shards, and if possible, a map of the region."
He wasn't very confident in his request, his voice lacking assurance. "I hope I'm not asking too much. Amber, please don't rip me off. Have mercy on a newbie."
Smiling at the sight of Adam, Amber scoffed lightly. "You must not be a very good liar or salesman, Adam. Your face gives away everything you're thinking. I advise you to practice your poker face. It could really help you later on. Wolves are rarely kind to lambs that are too tender."
"But don't worry, apart from the map, the rest is worth almost nothing. For one shard, anyone in town would be happy to tell you everything. It's practically public information. "Looking at Adam's face, which was changing from stress to joy, she added, "I'll give you the map of the region and the four neighboring regions for one shard, and the rest is free. You still have three shards left if you want."
"How much for the information on talents?" he asked after thinking about it.