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[Haspen]

Ethan rubbed his chin, and then went to look for Ashlynn and Lavinia at the market.

"Here you are... where's Ashlynn though? I asked you two to check stuff so Claude can make best deals later on."

"Don't tell me she went to a tavern to drink without us."

[Gaterhyme]

She had very little idea of what a good price was for staves. Lysander was off dealing with the orb. She supposed a vulnerary or two wouldn't hurt, given she'd quaffed one down the last battle. After staring at the prices for a while, she figured she'd memorized the five for Claude later.

Then Ethan came in.

"Hey, captain. Probably just wanted to hang onto the orb - as long as she doesn't end up like that mage, it's none of my business."

"Unless that was just an excuse to sneak off to the tavern... You done and heading there already?"

[Caellath]

Claude opened the door and led the trio into the scholar's place.

"You could have just given Lysander the orb, Ashlyn. You aren't becoming like that mage, are you?"

[I_Like_Pi]

Ashlyn huffed.

"Please. I'm just curious as to what it is if the both of you are clueless about it."

[Haspen]

"Nah, was just going to ask if you found anything good. On my part, all I found was one weaponsmith. Rather pricey, all things considered."

[Caellath]

In any case...

"Greetings, scholar. We have an unknown magical object for appraisal."

[Swordstar]

"Besides, having more people can't hurt, right? We can all go look at weapons after too. Seems like a not bad way to handle it, you know?"

[Gaterhyme]

"Just staves and vulneraries. If you found weapons, that covers all five of us. Are we looking for anything else?"

Perhaps she ought to have peeked in Claude's books. Though she'd have known it if they were running low on rations, at least.

[Solymr]

The supposed scholar went to greet the visitors. He was as ancient as the house, sporting a long white beard that he could strangle himself with twice if needed.

Welcome! Excuse me, I was having something to eat. I'm Aristablos the Second, what brings you to my abode today?

[I_Like_Pi]

Ashlyn pulled out the orb.

"We were hoping you could appraise this, or maybe tell us what it is."

[Solymr]

Aristablos took the orb from Ashlyn's hands carefully.

Of course, of course! After all, I'm a renowned identifier of magical objects. An orb such as this is a semiregular occurrence.

The elder scholar proceeded to place his hands all over it, observing carefully how it reacted to his magical pokes. He assumed a puzzled look, as he started reciting incantations that the orb apparently refused to listen. Aristablos stared at the orb for a few seconds before turning and getting a scroll of a shelf nearby. He placed the orb onto the scroll and invoked the magic, but alas, the orb remained unperturbed.

Aristablos stared at the orb for a few seconds again before speaking.

... Where did you obtain this most mysterious of orbs? Was it perchance at a forgotten dungeon?

[Swordstar]

_{"Told you it wasn't normal..."}

[I_Like_Pi]

"We got it off of a Domirian ship. Some old man was cradling the orb and slinging fire at us so we stopped that. And now we have the orb, gods know where he got it from."

[Solymr]

Hmm... So it's not *that* one then. Wait a minute please.

Aristablos disappeared behind a curtain and then reappeared carrying a book. He set said book next to the orb and started flicking the pages rapidly, his eyes switching constantly between the book and the orb. After a few minutes of searching, the book ran out of pages, and Aristablos looked defeated.

I can't find anything about it... I have been beaten by a mere orb! I cannot identify it for you. I apologize. Aristablos bowed but suddenly shot up. Actually, there is a place that you could go. The House of Scholars, where I learned and obtained all the knowledge I have, is a veritable well of knowledge. The people there will surely help you where I have failed. The old man turned to be depressed somewhere else, but first he shared a last bit of information. The House of Scholars is south-west from Di, in the middle of the mountains. You should try to find someone with links to it that can go with you, they're heavily secluded to avoid bandit attacks. Luckily for you I believe there is one such person in Di that could go with you. Not me, I'm too old and sad now to accompany you. Good luck on your quest!

And Aristablos disappeared again.

[Swordstar]

"He could have at least told us who to find..."