Crystallis Verdantglass's Arc

Chapter 16 of 18

Crystallis climbed back into the hall and checked the time. The buyers were due in twenty minutes. He walked to the entrance and looked down the corridor toward the competition grounds. Voices echoed from that direction—crowds gathering for the day's events. The market hall sat quiet behind him. Footsteps approached from the corridor. A group of well-dressed buyers appeared at the entrance, just as the woman from Thornwick had promised. Crystallis stepped forward to greet them, but movement from the far end of the hall stopped him. The administrator stood near the second-row stalls, tapping a carved wooden staff against the floor. The marsh bird head at its top caught the light as he gestured toward a rival vendor's display. "You'll find better terms over here," the administrator said to the buyers, his voice carrying across the empty space. "This section has proper oversight." Crystallis crossed the hall in ten strides. He positioned himself between the administrator and the buyers, meeting their eyes directly. "The woman who brought you knows where the enchanted glass is," he said, pointing toward the first-row stalls where the two druids waited. "Those are the artisans you came to see." The buyers hesitated, glancing between Crystallis and the administrator. The administrator opened his mouth to object, but Crystallis kept talking. "If you want treated panes or standard glasswork, there are suppliers at the competition grounds. If you want druid-crafted enchantments that won't break under hammer strikes, you'll find them at those stalls." Three of the buyers moved toward the first row without waiting for the administrator's response. The others followed. The administrator lowered his staff and stepped back, his expression unreadable. Crystallis stayed where he was until every buyer had passed, then turned toward the stalls where the druids were already pulling out their best pieces.