Chapter 275: Who Gets Waved Past
Just Die banners hung over the recruitment boards, combat registration posts, and most of the reserved training areas. Their members traveled in organized parties, and attendants waved them past waiting outsiders before they even reached the front of a line. Smaller guilds still trained there, but Just Die’s mark appeared on the schedules and rankings that controlled their access.
Another Just Die party bypassed the line without slowing, and the waiting outsiders stepped aside. "They don’t need to own the combat grounds," Martin said. "Every clerk moves when they show up."
Rias added the registration post to her notes. "Cassandra can use evidence that Just Die members get priority. Calling that ownership without seeing a permit or contract would weaken everything else we report."
Martin and Rias continued upward without approaching the combat posts. Rias copied the visitor rules and fees while ore carts rattled toward the lifts and returning hunters delivered sealed carcasses to waiting merchants.
A smith patched armor beside a food stall, and nobody looked up when a monster carcass swung past overhead. The lower academy ran like a job site built around monster hunting. Finishing one expedition only put a hunter in line for the next.
Once they entered the eastern tunnel, the wind and forge smoke fell away. Copper pipes running along the ceiling warmed the passage, and the scrubbed stone floor revealed pale mineral veins beneath their boots.
Before the shops came into view, bitter herbs and hot metal filled the tunnel. The sharp smell of alcohol cut through both, followed by an unfamiliar sweetness Martin could not place. The mixture left a faint medicinal bitterness at the back of his tongue.
The passage opened into a long cavern lined with glass-fronted stores. Potions warmed behind cabinet glass or cooled on open racks while customers held colored vials beneath inspection lamps. Behind the counters, alchemists carried sealed cases in and out of rear workrooms. Crucible Concord’s crest hung above every storefront.
[Mountain Risen Alchemy Quarter]
[Administered by Crucible Concord]
Near the first public shop, workers guided squat, iron-banded barrels beneath a cooling rack. Black liquid shifted behind the inspection slit in each lid. The labels listed Endless Rain as the origin, and Martin recognized the contents before he finished reading: Sea Dragon blood.
Plume had told him Mountain Risen bought it by the barrel. Martin had watched Storm Guild members siphon the same blood into sealed containers at Endless Rain. Here, the barrels passed through Crucible Concord’s rear doors without ever reaching a display shelf.
Rias copied a shipment code from one label. "At least we know Crucible Concord buys from outside Mountain Risen," Martin said. "Just Die isn’t the only guild it has to deal with."
"Maybe," Rias said. "First we find out whether that supply matters enough to influence a deal or whether they can replace it tomorrow. Nobody sees the crystal until then."
No Just Die crest had made it past the tunnel. Martin looked back toward the entrance. "Crucible Concord wants visitors to see this quarter as theirs. That doesn’t mean Just Die stopped at the entrance."
Rias crossed to the nearest notice board and scanned the licensing rules. "Crucible Concord issues the permits, handles inspections, and puts its name on every store. That gives us another point of contact. Now we find out whether Crucible Concord can tell Just Die no."
If Crucible Concord could push back, Rias had another guild to bargain with. Until they knew, Martin had to assume anything he said about the crystals could reach Just Die.
Over the next half hour, they visited the public stores and compared the posted rules. Anyone could buy a finished potion. The moment an outsider wanted to test a formula or analyze an ingredient, the permits and fees began to multiply. Restricted consultations went through one central desk, and Mountain Risen added its own levy before Crucible Concord charged for the work.
By the time they reached that desk, Rias had copied every posted rate and marked three charges that appeared before an alchemist even touched the blue crystal. A woman in a clean gray apron greeted them from behind a curved stone counter. Her gloves were stained green and violet, and three tiny potion bottles hung from the cord around her neck.
"Welcome to Crucible Concord. Are you purchasing finished products, registering materials for analysis, or applying for supervised testing?"
Rias stopped at the counter. "We’re from Night Espresso. We’re comparing the products available to visitors and the terms for independent material testing. For now, we only need your fees, access requirements, and sample limits. We aren’t discussing supply."
Night Espresso earned Martin a second look from the clerk before she turned back to Rias. "Of course. Independent testing is available to all registered visitors." She opened a fee window and turned it toward them. "You would each require an outsider tasting license. Material handling, hazard coverage, and the academy levy are charged separately. If you later request a consultation, Crucible Concord will credit a portion of today’s registration toward that appointment."
The total made Martin check for a misplaced decimal. The tasting licenses alone cost far more than he had expected to spend on an exploratory visit, and material testing was separate. Even after paying both, they would not receive a restricted consultation. He almost asked what they could skip, but Rias was still studying the itemized list, so he kept quiet.
Rias ran one finger down the total. "Do you offer a combined rate for two visitors?"
The clerk brightened. "If you’re visiting together, yes. Our full tasting circuit costs much less than two individual licenses."
A new total appeared in the fee window. It dropped so sharply that Martin checked which service had been removed, but everything was still there. The full circuit simply had not appeared on any of the public price lists they had copied.
Rias read the smaller number a second time. "What qualifies two visitors for that rate?"
The clerk pointed to a cheerful notice mounted beside the desk. Two heart-shaped flasks leaned together beneath Crucible Concord’s crest, joined by a narrow glass bridge where their colored contents met. Martin read the glowing text.
[Best-value access: Two Hearts, One Flask — registered couples only.]