Seeing that Haldryn's mind was made up, Elle finally stopped trying to dissuade him.
In the weeks that followed he divided his time between study, training, and waiting for Tjalfe's Greenchou deliveries.
He had expected scarcity, yet the rarity of the herb still gave him headaches. In a little over two months he had asked every herbalist shop in Asgard and added whatever Tjalfe brought from the Landveti Forest.
The total came to only five plants. One of those was ruined during preparation.
As a result he produced just twenty-four bottles of tonic. At two Rune coins each they sold without difficulty and brought him forty-eight Rune coins. Combined with earlier earnings he now held nearly seventy Rune coins—enough, he judged, to forge Verigan's Fist.
One morning at breakfast Aunt spoke up, unusual for her.
"Have you heard? Someone in Asgard is selling a hair-growth tonic for only two Rune coins a bottle. Several bald men have already been cured."
"Two Rune coins?" Elle looked surprised.
"Yes. Remarkably cheap. I wouldn't even have known if a man hadn't asked me yesterday to find out where it could be bought."
Haldryn kept his head down and focused on his food.
Peter grunted. "A tonic that works on the Aesir for two Rune coins? Whoever's selling it is a fool. If it were me I'd at least double the price."
Haldryn said nothing.
After a while Peter spoke again. "You're registering as a field medic in a few days?"
Relations between them had remained frozen since the last argument; they had barely exchanged words. Haldryn's answer was stiff. "Yes."
Peter was silent for a moment. "Then be a proper medic. You're not cut out to be a warrior. Understand?"
Haldryn did not reply.
After the meal he took his entire savings and set out for Ida Town, the densely populated plain at the heart of Asgard. Norvi's Magic, the largest magical-artifact shop in the realm, stood there.
As he drew closer the clothing of the passers-by grew noticeably finer. Even in Asgard, magic remained largely the domain of the wealthy. Strange sights multiplied as well.
Just before he reached the entrance a pure-white pegasus descended from the sky. Its vast wings stirred a sudden wind that drew startled cries from the street. Standing nearest, the slight Haldryn was nearly knocked off his feet.
A Valkyrie's mount?
He stared. In the films of his previous life the creatures had looked impressive but distant. Up close the reality was far more imposing. When the pegasus folded its wings and snorted, faint sparks rode the breath.
The heavy, almost metallic lines of muscle left no doubt: two kicks would be enough to kill him—assuming the first was not blocked by Divine Shield.
He watched a little longer, a quiet envy rising. One day, perhaps…
Inside the shop a pretty attendant smiled. "Good day. How may I help you?"
From the street the building had looked modest. Once through the door the interior opened into a vast, glittering hall. The vaulted ceiling was set with countless gems that glowed like distant stars, creating the illusion of standing in open cosmos.
Haldryn was still staring when the attendant repeated the question.
"I'd like to buy a magic gem."
Verigan's Fist required Jordan's Refined Ore—replaceable by Asgardian bronze—and Kor's Gem, for which he still had no substitute.
"The gems are this way." She led him to a display case filled with stones of every color, some faintly luminous.
"May I examine them?"
"Of course."
He opened the Tome to the Verigan's Fist plans. Before leaving home he had slipped a sheet of ordinary notes on gem classification between the pages so that anyone watching would assume he was simply consulting a reference while he appraised each stone in secret.
He placed the first gem on the plans.
[51% substitute for Kor's Gem]
[Another: cannot substitute]
[Another: 33% substitute for Kor's Gem]
[cannot substitute]
[62% substitute for Kor's Gem]
[250% substitute for Jordan's Refined Ore]
That last result made him jump.
A gem substituting for metal at 250%? Remarkable, but useless. A warhammer required dozens of pounds of metal; magic gems were not sold by the pound.
He continued.
[24% substitute for Kor's Gem]
[76% substitute for Kor's Gem]
Seventy-six percent.
He held the stone up. "How much is this one?"
The attendant smiled. "Excellent eye. That is Noti's Tear. Only seven thousand eight hundred eighty large gold coins."
Nearly eighty Rune coins.
Haldryn carefully returned it and picked up the earlier fifty-one-percent stone. "And this?"
"Nine hundred ninety large gold."
The price difference was startling until he thought it through. The Tome cared only about how well a gem could stand in for Kor's Gem; it ignored every other property that drove real-world value. High substitution did not always mean high price.
He looked at the attendant with mild apology. "I may need to examine quite a few."
"It is our pleasure."
He took her at her word and began testing stones in rapid succession.
"This one?"
"Four thousand five hundred fifty."
"This?"
"Seventeen thousand nine hundred eighty."
"And this?"
"Nine thousand nine hundred seventy-five."
The process lasted more than half an hour. The attendant's smile grew thinner and her tone steadily less friendly.
[74% substitute for Kor's Gem]
"This one?"
"What exactly are you looking for?" she finally snapped. "You've examined hundreds of gems with almost nothing in common. Are you simply trying to find the cheapest possible stone so you can say you went shopping?"
Haldryn felt a flicker of embarrassment. "…How much is this one?"
She exhaled, mastering her temper. "Alfheim sapphire. Two thousand nine hundred twenty large gold. If you ask about one more, I will have you removed."
He turned the softly glowing blue stone in his fingers, considered, and nodded.
"I'll take it."
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