System Change

While Derek was busy training in the golem dungeon, the whole upper echelon of the Cydarian Kingdom was in an uproar over the news of the level 250 dungeon with a time distortion. The same was true for Alanah and the rest of the Crown Restaurant.

Alanah leaned back in her chair and sighed. I came to Savannah early to meet Derek before the auction, yet he was already gone by the time I got here. I should have talked to him before I left the capital, but I wanted to surprise him… I wonder what kind of trouble he’s getting himself into right now…

Alanah sighed again. She had been doing a lot of that during the last day. She was just informed of the specific details of the time dungeon that was discovered months ago, and what she learned wasn’t good… especially if it turned out to be an elite dungeon.

Not only was the dungeon bad for the kingdom, but it was bad for her as well. With the Royal Family gathering raid participants, many people with a Crown membership would be raiding the dungeon by the time the second auction began.

This caused her to consider all of her other options, finally deciding to combine the two auctions and hosting it here in Savannah. The auction would be in three weeks, just before the high level raid party has to leave for the new dungeon.

She still needed to discuss it with Derek, but she wanted to open the auction up and allow each member to bring two Crown approved people each. It was unprecedented that someone without a membership would be able to attend the auction, but she would make sure to vet any and all guests that the current members bring. Plus, if one of her members brings someone despicable, like Gerald Torith… well, it’s easy enough to provoke a membership.

“Stella.” Alanah raised her voice and the door outside her office opened. Stella walked through. “Have you adjusted to my presence yet?” Alanah asked.

Stella nodded. “The tick is still there, but I can withstand it as long as you don’t put any will into your words. I’ve adapted enough to work.”

“That’s good.” Alanah smiled. “It seems you’ve gotten a little quicker while you’ve been gone. Avery’s going to have to watch out, or you may catch up to him soon.”

“I very much doubt that.” Stella scoffed. “Have you decided what to do yet?”

Alanah nodded. “Unfortunately… we’re going to have to call off the auction in the capital.”

“Call it off?”

“Yes, and no. Really, we’re going to hold a mega auction here in Savannah. I’ll head over and talk with Natalie about it later, but I’m sure she’ll welcome the extra business… you know how she is.” Alanah explained.

“So, what are we going to do, exactly?” Stella asked.

Alanah went on to explain everything to Stella. Stella would be the person in charge of everything in Savannah. Alanah couldn’t do much because of her… condition, so it would be up to her third in command. She would also have to talk to Avery and let him take care of everything in the capital.

The King was already planning on coming to Savannah for the first auction, so he would welcome being able to do it all at once. She only hoped that everyone would have enough time to prepare for the auction. She didn’t plan to let anything go if the price wasn’t right.

“You’re really going to allow members to bring in outsiders for the auction?” Stella asked.

Alanah nodded. “Yes. As long as they are approved by us. Which means you’re going to be extremely busy for the next few weeks. You need to have every member submit their guest list for approval within the next two weeks. Can you handle it?”

Stella sighed. “Do I have a choice?” she chuckled.

Alanah smiled. “You always have a choice. I’ll never make you do something you don’t want to do. Do you think I would have allowed you to leave me and got to that backwater village if I did?”

“Hey… me going to that ‘backwater village’ allowed me to meet and introduce you to Derek.” Stella said.

Alanah shrugged. “With his growing reputation, I would have met him sooner or later.”

“Yeah, but you have to agree that it was much better to meet him sooner rather than later.” Stella said.

“Maybe… hopefully. We’ll see.” Alanah replied. “Still, if you don’t want to handle it all, you can get some help. It’s about time you picked someone to be your Avery or Stella.”

“As if I could find anyone willing to do for me what Avery and myself are willing to do for you. It’s not like I’ve saved anyone from fates worse than death… I’ve been too busy running your business to make those kind of connections.” Stella smiled.

“And you’ve done a great job of it. Do you know how hard Avery’s been working since you took your vacation? I don’t think he’s slept in weeks.”

“That’s his own fault.” Stella chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of everything. If there’s something I have any trouble with, I’ll let you know.”

“Thank you.” Alanah nodded. “Are you sure you don’t know where Derek ventured off to earlier?”

Stella shook her head. “I have no idea. I’ve tried contacting him, but it won’t go through. I suspect he’s in a dungeon, or possibly…” Stella looked around and leaned forward. “he may be doing something with his… element.”

“Mhm.” Alanah agreed. Who knows what king of effect the void would have on communication crystals? Hopefully, he was just running some dungeons. There is no telling what kind of trouble he would get into messing around with that element. Though, it would be nice to have another Void Beast or two for the auction…

“I’ll go to his shop later and have a talk with his friends. Maybe they know something.” Stella said.

Alanah waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. He’ll be back whenever he gets back. He probably wouldn’t appreciate us putting his friends in a difficult position.”

Stella shrugged. “I still have to go to his place later to let them know about the auction details so they can inform Derek when he gets back. Plus, I think I should give Malorie some pointers.”

“The super crafter’s mother?” Alanah asked.

Stella nodded. “Yeah, it looks like she’s going to take care of all the business aspects of Derek’s businesses. I’m sure Derek will appreciate the help.”

“Do what you want. Just be careful.” Alanah said.

“Now, I have a surprise for you.” Stella pulled a vial containing a rainbow colored liquid out of her storage ring. “Derek came with another proposition for us before he left this morning. I knew you were coming, so I didn’t bother reporting it. It’s better to see for yourself.”

Alanah sat forward, staring at the odd potion in Stella’s hand. “What is it?”

“It’s called a Potion of Physical Permanence. It’s a potion created by Roman Pascal.” Stella said.

“The halfling Alchemist that doesn’t care about a Crown membership?” Alanah asked.

“The very same.” Stella answered. “Anyway, he and Derek came in earlier and gave me this. Asked if we would sell it at the auction. He said we could use it as a refreshment.” She rolled her eyes.

“So… a Potion of Physical Permanence… I take it the potion gives permanent stat boosts? What kind? How much?” Alanah’s heart was beating faster. Her Void Beast recipes were the only thing she knew of, other than a couple dungeon rewards, that could give permanent stat boosts upon consumption.

“According to Derek, the potion he took-“ Stella started, but was cut off.

“Derek drank one of them?” Alanah asked.

Stella nodded. “I don’t know the exact details, but he said it increased his Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Vitality by five points each.”

“Five points…” Alanah’s brain was racing. “And Vitality…”

“Yes.” Stella nodded. “Unfortunately, we don’t know the quality of the potions without testing. They are made from Void Beasts… I’m not sure which parts exactly, but the quality of the potion is most likely affected by the quality of the Void Beast materials.”

“I see.” Alanah said. “And you trust this Roman?”

Stella shrugged. “I don’t have a reason not to. Plus, Derek seems to trust him, and I trust Derek.”

Alanah held out her hand, and Stella gave her the potion. “What do we do with this?” She asked to nobody. “I want to save it for the auction, but in order to make the correct oaths, you need to consume it.” She held the potion back out to Stella.

Stella pushed it away. “I still have plenty of levels left for improvement. Five points won’t benefit me as much as you. You should take it.”

Alanah shook her head. “It’s for the auction. You know as well as I that I cannot be the host of the auction. It would never finish if that were the case. Also, as this will be the biggest auction we’ve ever had, I only trust you or Avery to be host, and since Avery is stuck in the capital, it’s up to you. Just take it. We have to know everything.”

Stella reluctantly took the potion back from Alanah, then uncorked the potion and poured it into her mouth.

She frowned. “Odd… it’s like… there’s no taste. It’s like liquid ai-“ her eyes shot open and she visibly shivered.

Alanah rushed to her feet. “Are you okay? Stella!”

Stella shook her head. “I’m fine. It was just a very uncomfortable sensation.”

Alanah let out a breath and sat back down.

“Well… Derek was right…” Stella said. “Whichever Void Beast was used to make this one must have been of higher quality than the potion he took.”

“Oh?”

Stella nodded. “Yeah. I just got seven stat points in Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Vitality.”

“Looks like you need to add drawing up another contract to your list of things to do.” Alanah said.

“That seems to be the case.”