Noble Arcana

When selling weapons one should always keep the last one for himself.

- A dwarven proverb

Solomon walked through the open ballroom with his eyes and ears open, not participating, just absorbing everything around him. He counted thirty-four members, fairly evenly mixed between all of the suits. The Major Arcana were not there, likely there wasn’t much they thought they could gain from their lessers. Everyone wore masks and fine clothing, but the type of clothing varied. Some of it was out of date, some was military rather than aristocratic, and many people wore it in ways that were slightly off, as if they were unsure of how they were really meant to look. Many of them also walked with a hunched posture, or seemed to be forcing themselves to look directly at one another’s eyes. With these details Solomon was able to quickly discern the backgrounds of many of them.

As a young man who had been required to attend balls, parties, and high level meetings of the nobility he’d been trained to know who people were by how they held themselves. That wasn’t to say many of the members couldn’t be purposefully putting on an act, but even that possibility would tell him something.

“I am seeking the formula for a love potion, or a spell that can provide the same effect. I would prefer to discuss the price directly with anyone who has it to offer,” said Four of Pentacles, her voice projecting easily over the group.

After only a few moments she was approached by Seven of Wands who broke off from the rest of the crowd to have a quick discussion in one of the rooms along the far wall.

The entire process reminded him of the open markets in Brevantiss, except one could purchase a method to bind one’s will. He considered what he would ask for if he had the chance. A spell to slay or banish a forest spirit? A method of bending a man’s will or placing a suggestion within his heart? A method to hide the fact that he was a mage from others? He wasn’t certain he even needed that, as he didn’t know that others could see mana the way he could. He found himself vaguely interested in the Homunculus book that had been mentioned earlier. He didn’t have an idea of what a homunculus actually was though.

There was the main problem he had. He likely knew less than every individual there. Any question he asked would place a target on his back. There was also the chance that anything he requested he’d be able to find within the Repository. The risk involved and the size of the Repository though made him hesitant to be too reliant on it. He’d certainly study what he could find within it when he could, but there was no way he could completely rely on it to find what he needed.

He listened to a few more transactions and then he decided to seek one of the higher ranking Pentacles. It didn’t take long for him to find the Knight of Pentacles. Unlike those wearing masks, she was wearing a helmet with a single pentacle on the faceplate. She was leaning against a pillar, looking up at the mural of the Major Arcana. She wore an older style of military garb with a yellow longcoat from a nation he couldn’t discern.

Her helmet turned to regard him as he approached.

“Ace,” she said in a husky voice.

“Knight,” he responded.

“Welcome to the Arcana.”

“Thank you.”

“Questions?”

“Several.”

“One silver, of any nation, per answer. World act as witness.”

Solomon raised an eyebrow behind his mask. “Deal”

He felt a slight shift of mana as if it was blowing in a breeze in their direction.

“Is there an anonymous method of exchange?”

“Yes, there is a room there,” she pointed. “Inside you’ll find a ledger with requests. If you can fulfill then simply fill in your current title next to it. However, only minor Arcana at the level of Page or above can enter their own requests within it.”

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Solomon nodded. He’d wondered what some of the benefits of being at the higher ranks were. It seems he’d gotten two answers from one question.

He nodded to Knight and turned to walk toward the room with the ledger.

“Be wary about accepting certain requests. Many are not as simple as they seem.”

He turned and nodded to her. “Thank you.” He walked the rest of the way across the ballroom and to the ledger room. He saw one person enter, then he entered behind them, but found himself alone in a room with a small raised table, a pen and a book of green leather. He peeled it open and began to read through it.

Seeking: Historical texts related to the Necromancer Rebellion written during the event

Offering: A necromancy spell or ritual of equivalent value

Seeking: The Blood of an Orcish Chieftain, less than three days old

Offering: A monocle that allows one to see mana

Seeking: An arcane weapon that can be easily concealed

Offering: Gold with a value dependant on the weapon

Offering: A Spell for Perfect Recall

Seeking: Fifty Pieces of Gold

Offering: A ritual for the summoning of a helpful entity

Seeking: A willing subject to test the ritual

Seeking: The death of a man in Etling

Offering: A grimoire detailing basic fleshaping

Solomon continued reading through the list. Even just what he saw listed answered a number of questions he had. If someone was offering a monocle that could allow one to see mana then his ability to see mana was relatively unique to him. The existence of such an item meant there might be others though, so he’d need to find additional methods of concealment.

The variety of the requests was interesting as well. People were looking for everything from assistance, to assassinations, to gold, or simply documents. He went back through, ignoring all of the requests that involved paying the respondent gold, he wasn’t lacking in that department. He then signed Ace of Pentacles next to the sale of a spell for perfect recall. His trips to the Repository would certainly benefit from that. He also made a mental note to look out for the historical texts requested at the top request. Not only for the chance at a necromancy spell, but also because if someone else was seeking it within this circle then that meant there was knowledge that might be valuable within it. He was curious about the request for an assasination so close to him, but he certainly wouldn’t be agreeing to murder a stranger with no details provided.

Once he was done going through the list he exited the room back into the ballroom. He heard a chime and felt the mana that made up his form shiver at the sound. He looked questioningly at the Knight of Pentacles nearby.

“There’s a quarter hour left of the meeting,” she offered.

Solomon nodded and returned to the large gathering within the middle of the ballroom. At this point the transactions seemed to have all been completed and people had divided themselves into groups to discuss things more generally. Even though Judgement had told him that the Suits were more informal he couldn’t help, but notice that the wands were mostly standing with the wands, the cups with the cups, and so on. He weaved his way around until he found the Four of Wands. He was standing on the fringes of the other wands conversation with a glum expression beneath his mask.

“Do you still have the grimoire you were trying to sell?” asked Solomon.

Four of Wands looked at him suspiciously. “Yes.”

“Would you consider gold as payment?”

The man frowned thoughtfully, looking at Solomon.

“Fifty gold.”

Solomon smiled. “Ten.”

“Ten!?”

“For a grimoire you’ve already poured over that has no spells within it, only theory? I think it’s fair.” Solomon in fact had no idea if it was fair or not. He also had no idea what the value of a dragonscale, a pound of crushed sapphire, or an invisibility spell were, but he’d been given the impression that Four of Wands was asking for far more that the grimoire was worth.

The glum look reappeared on the man’s face, along with a mild wince.

“Deal.”

Solomon smiled. “World act as a witness.”

He felt a bit of the mana shift in their direction as he held out his hand. Four of Wands shook it.

After that Solomon walked to one of the pillars to lean against it as the Knight of Pentacles had been. He hadn’t noticed the Page or King of Pentacles, perhaps they only attended infrequently. He got a few nods of acknowledgement from the other pentacles though, and he occasionally felt the eyes of the other suits sizing him up. After just a few minutes the scene began to blur and fade and then he found himself back in his own body, standing in front of the Hermit statue and holding his walking stick. All of the aches and pains returned to him and he felt the pain where his stitches were with terrible clarity. He noticed that like the previous meeting with the Arcana the mana that had made up his body was completely gone.

He released the walking stick and walked to his desk writing a quick list of what he needed to have ready as payment. He wasn’t certain of how The World worked, but he wanted to have things ready for it. Once that was done he made his way to his bed and collapsed. He’d had a busy and exhausting several days and things showed no signs of stopping.