Chapter 381

After detouring around the merfolk city under the ocean, they make straight for where their map says the closest port should be. Details about the continent are hard to come by, so Cain’s plan is to make landfall first and then find someone who can tell him what he needs to know. Failing that he plans to just wander around until he finds something fun to do.

It might sound silly, but it has worked quite often in the past to get him powerful advancements and new items.

According to the map, this city should be called Musashi, with a population made mostly of Elves and Youkai, though as a Port City, there are a wide variety of species represented.

That sounds hospitable enough to Cain, and it’s fairly well known as a welcoming trading port, so at the very least they likely won’t chase him away when he arrives. They can see it on the horizon now, spires of a developed city rising above a shallow beach. The weather in the area wasn’t included in the details that they have but if this is a warmer area it might make for a very good vacation spot.

As the Queen Rose nears the mouth of the channel that leads to the docks and the city itself, they are approached by a small sailing skiff with an emblem on it that Cain takes as the city logo.

“State your business here and intended duration of stay. Dock fee is 1 Gold coin daily, mooring in the port is one Gold a week.”

“We have precious ores to trade, but it is our first visit. Do your crafting material warehouses have barges or do they require dock usage?” Nila asks.

“The dock is best, they charge a fee if they have to come to you to get it. If you have higher level ores, the Blacksmith’s Guild near the docks will give you the best price, if they’re lower grade, the merchant’s Guild is your best bet.” The dockmaster explains.

“Then we will start with a day at the docks and a week in the moorings. If we need to stay longer I will pay up before our week is up.” Cain explains.

“Very well then, I will pull you in. Drop your sails and spells and throw over a mooring rope.” That seems a bit odd to Cain, but maybe the little skiff is used as a tugboat?

Looking at the dockmaster, his system doesn’t list him as awakened, but he has very effective water magic that is pulling them smoothly into the docks. The puppets throw lines to the workers waiting for them, and the dockmaster beckons over a member of the Blacksmith’s Guild.

“Wotcha need then?” The elf asks in a distinctly Dwarven accent, making Cain smile.

“We brought a load of higher level ores to sell. I am told you are the man to speak to about large volumes.” Nila informs him with a sly wink.

“Large volumes you say? Now, why don’t we go take us a quick look at your hold and see if we agree on what a large load is?”

The two disappear below decks for a few minutes and then the Elf returns above deck with a big smile. “Send over all the ore carts. Every single one of them. We hit the motherlode.”

The workers scatter to go grab what he wanted, and Nila rearranges the interior level of the ship to open up the floor so that the hold is accessible from above, using the blocks and lines of the rigging to pull bins of ore up onto the deck. The first bin is Frost Iron, which they have a huge excess of back in Skyview right now, and the dockmaster’s grin goes slack at the two-meter cube of ore.

“He wasn’t joking, that’s more Frost Iron than I’ve seen in an average year.” The man sighs, clearly planning to have something made, possibly a refrigerator.

This end of the continent at least is similar to Skyview in climate, temperate and not insanely hot like the Eastern Continent was. Cain can’t tell if they get all four seasons, but looking at the houses, they either get a cool wet season, or something resembling winter. At the very least, enough that the beach houses need walls and windows.

The carts they come back with are the size of shopping carts, and Cain bursts into laughter.

“How about I summon something big enough to bring the bins to you, so you can weigh and value them?”

The Elf with the dwarven accent nods rapidly and Cain summons a squad of Granite Golems to carry the bins. The Giants make the stone dock shake as they walk, but they can carry a full ore bin without issue, and only need a few trips each to move the entire cargo from the Queen Rose to the warehouse.

The spectacle has drawn hundreds of local residents to the scene, whispering and pointing as the giant Golems bring the ore to the buyers. None of it is particularly precious to the Guild, they only picked the things that they had so much of that it absolutely needed to go to make space for more. Frost Iron, Shadow Bronze, Agapite and a single bin full of assorted gems.

The gems aren’t the ones in the highest demand, but they are often used in smithy recipes, as they have elemental aspects to them, which Cain hopes will make them easy to sell for a good price. Dimnys and the others already made up a sheet of what everything would be worth in Skyview or the Eastern Continent, so Cain will know that he isn’t getting ripped off, but he doesn’t actually know how much they will pay for all of this, and what they will want to pay with.

Bars of Mythril and Platinum are obvious, but it could be gear, skill books and other unique items. The Guild is looking for all of the above and willing to take decent terms in order to obtain them.

“So, most of this is in the level 200 to 300 range, and epic quality with a few legendary Gems in the mix. Are you fixated on money, or would you like goods?” The Elf asks hopefully. 

They are the Blacksmith’s Guild after all, if they can trade in items that they themselves have made it is a huge bonus to them. Much like selling off part of the mountain of ores that the Guild has mined is a benefit to Cain, who isn’t trying to rebuild a legendary city of Gold in the middle of Skyview.