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0686 Negotiations
🕑 Added 2025-04-15 10:02:40 +0000 UTC"Since when did you start selling such worthless junk?"
In the underground world's infamous trading market, Golden Viper stood in front of a particularly notorious shop specializing in selling cursed items of questionable origin. His tone was filled with disdain as he mockingly observed the goods displayed in front of him.
The shop's owner, Verrence was momentarily stunned into silence by such sharp words. Then, quickly grasping the implied negotiation strategy in Golden Viper's words, his ugly face contorted into an expression of exaggerated grievance.
"These are all fine goods, Mr. Viper!" He protested in dramatic indignation, "The finest cursed items this side of Knockturn Alley, I assure you!"
He hurriedly put on a dragon-skin glove imbued with numerous protective spells. Only then did he seem to dare touch the potentially lethal items he was selling. Verrence picked up the vampire fang that Viper's concealed gaze had just swept over with such apparent disinterest. He held it out to Viper and peddled energetically,
"With your exceptionally keen eye and vast knowledge of the dark arts, you must have already recognized it for what it truly is,"
Verrence lowered his voice and spoke to Bryan in a mysterious tone, "This is no ordinary vampire fang, Mr. Viper. As someone of your... particular expertise... you know precisely how powerful these creatures are—"
"The extraordinary fang you see," He continued to whisper, "is said to have been extracted from a vampire of tremendous magical power who terrorized the Carpathian villages in the 15th century. Various Legend claim he..."
"The 15th century?" Viper interjected with a cold, sarcastic laugh. "More like 15 days ago, Verrence. Even a novice could see that the venom inside this vampire fang hasn't even properly dried up—"
"Yes, yes, I know it sounds utterly unbelievable, Mr. Viper," Verrence recovered quickly, his salesman's instincts kicking in as he seamlessly adjusted his narrative. "But that's precisely what makes it so extraordinary! That's exactly what the private collector who reluctantly sold it to me claimed. Can you imagine? A centuries-old fang, without particularly meticulous preservation spells or protective enchantments, yet the venom inside remains fresh and potent as the day it was extracted from the creature's mouth. How incredibly remarkable is that!"
Verrence carefully shook the fang between his fingers, and his face transformed into what he clearly believed was a bewitching smile.
"This fang carries an extraordinarily powerful curse, Mr. Viper," He continued with rising enthusiasm.
"Unlike those crudely manufactured 'crafts' peddled by less reputable vendors," he added with a dismissive wave toward neighboring stalls, "the curse within this artifact is entirely natural—organic magic in its purest form. If any person were to accidentally touch it with their bare skin—hiss—"
Verrence shuddered violently. "Your body's blood would be instantaneously drained. I would stake my reputation and dare bet my life with you, Mr. Viper, that even the renowned Bryan Watson and Albus Dumbledore couldn't possibly resist or counter the mighty curse this fang carries!"
"Is that so," Bryan mumbled vaguely in a low, croaky voice, neither fully agreeing with nor outright dismissing the elaborate story the desperate owner had racked his brain to create. The swirling magical vortex where his face should have been seemed to intensify slightly as he tilted his hooded head again to more closely examine the pale, slightly curved fang with the gold ring embedded at the wider root end.
A tense moment of silence passed between them, broken only by the distant sounds of haggling.
Then, without warning—whoosh!
While Verrence was still wholeheartedly performing the dramatic tale of the fang's deadly properties, he was caught completely off guard by the sudden movement, Viper's palm hand swept up with astonishing speed. Before the shopkeeper could react, Viper had snatched the supposedly lethal fang directly from the owner's hand.
This unexpected and seemingly reckless action made Verrence instinctively recoil in alarm. He even raised his walking stick which undoubtedly concealed a wand or other magical defense mechanism prepared to protect himself from what he momentarily believed might be an attack.
But seeing Viper calmly holding up the fang, and examining its quality and craftsmanship under the inverted green torchlight, Verrence sheepishly lowered his defensive posture and hurriedly hid the cane behind his waist again, hoping his momentary display of mistrust had gone unnoticed.
"Not bad—" After a while, Viper finally nodded slightly. Then, he tossed the supposedly priceless and deadly fang back onto the wooden display board as carelessly as if it were worthless garbage. His retracted hand moved toward his concealed face, appearing to wipe something from the bridge of his nose behind the swirling magical power that obscured his face from curious eyes.
"It made my nose bleed a little—" Viper casually said, showing the back of his hand with a few traces of blood to Verrence, that made the him give an awkward, uncertain laugh.
"This undoubtedly demonstrates what I already suspected—that you are much more magically resilient and significantly more powerful than Bryan Watson and Albus Dumbledore, Mr. Viper," Verrence exclaimed with excessive flattery, "many, many times more powerful indeed! So powerful that the curse merely caused a minor nosebleed rather than draining you completely!"
Realizing that if the conversation continued along this trajectory, the potential sale would likely fall through, Verrence quickly changed tactics.
He could discern, despite Viper's dismissive attitude, he had some interest in this particular vampire fang. With hope brightening his face, he carefully picked up the fang again and perked up.
"Given our previous mutually beneficial working relationship and my tremendous respect for your discerning eye, Mr. Viper, I can offer you an exceptional discount on this extraordinary artifact." He paused dramatically before naming his price. "For just... three hundred Galleons—a mere fraction of its true value—you can take this rare treasure from my humble shop today!"
Verrence's instincts had indeed been correct. Bryan was indeed a little interested in this particular vampire fang, If Bryan's suspicions weren't mistaken, this fang had been magically "processed" and making people's noses bleed was just a poor disguise.
"Forty Galleons—" He countered flatly in an utterly indifferent voice.
Verrence's face fell dramatically. He was already ready to act the exaggerated expression of outrage and disbelief he had prepared in advance for such lowball offers. But before he could fully launch into his well-rehearsed performance of indignation, Viper abruptly turned as if to leave and now Verrence was really anxious.
"Alright, alright!" he called out hastily, his voice cracking with desperation. "Forty Galleons it is! Doing business with you is always a financial catastrophe for me, Mr. Viper!"
Verrence, who had actually tearfully earned a clear profit of thirty Galleons on an item he had acquired for a mere ten, continued his performance of being "exasperated" by the unfair deal.
Meanwhile, his nimble fingers were already wrapping the fang in a piece of skin harvested from some unknown and likely illegal magical creature. He tied the package with an enchanted string then stuffed the carefully wrapped parcel into Viper's outstretched sleeve.
Finally closing what he assumed would be the first and last deal of this unexpected encounter, Verrence dramatically wiped nonexistent sweat from his forehead. His shrewd eyes were already scanning the crowd of dark-cloaked figures coming and going through the dimly lit marketplace, hunting for his next potential victim—er, customer.
However, much to his surprise, the "ingrate" who had just acquired the fang at such a "disastrous" price didn't immediately leave from his stall as expected.
After an uncomfortably long silence that made Verrence increasingly nervous— 'was Viper having second thoughts about the purchase?'
Viper spoke again, "Do you have any other... interesting little gadgets Verrence?"
Verrence raised his eyebrows and looked at Viper with slight surprise, wondering if this might be some sort of trap. Then, quickly recovering his composure and sensing a far more profitable opportunity than he had initially anticipated, his wrinkled face once again transformed, turning into a fawning smile.
"Of course, Mr. Viper!" Verrence replied then lowered his gaze, carefully scanning the various cursed items across his counter, for a moment about what to promote.
"Don't expect me to purchase this pile of obvious junk from you again, Verrence—" Viper interrupted the shopkeeper's ponderings, his tone carrying an unmistakable hint of growing impatience and dissatisfaction. "What I seek is a truly powerful curse, not these childish toys that couldn't even curse a half-blind goblin to death—"
'A truly powerful one?' Verrence's mind searched for the possibilities.
Hearing this unexpectedly direct request, not only did Verrence not show the timidity, but his smile actually grew even more intense,
"Oh, I do indeed possess some... shall we say, more taboo items," He said in a hushed voice, glancing sneakily around. "You know, of course, if they're excessively harmful or notoriously dark, even the eternally understaffed Department of Magical Law Enforcement won't completely ignore their existence. So naturally, these particular treasures aren't... convenient... to put on public display, but..."
Verrence rubbed his fingers together in the universal gesture for money, "You know the delicate situation, I'm sure. These extraordinary artifacts are all sourced directly from the hands of true masters of the dark arts, so naturally, their value is... equal with their power."
Click—
Viper's hand, partially concealed within his sleeve, suddenly snapped his fingers. Instantly, a shimmer of invisible magic rippled outside, creating a barrier that would isolate their conversation from the eavesdropping of overly curious folks in nearby stalls.
He leaned slightly and although his face remained completely obscured by the swirling magical vortex that served as his mask, the coldness emanating from his presence still made Verrence shudder.
"Money is not an issue for me, Verrence," Bryan said softly, "as long as what you bring out can genuinely pique my interest—"
With these words, Verrence became even more motivated. He turned and walked to a wooden crate behind his chair. After fiddling with the magical lock for a bit, the adjustable space inside the crate was fixed. Then he turned around and waved at Viper.
"As I previously mentioned, these particular items are not appropriate for public display, Mr. Viper," he explained with caution, "so if you would be so kind as to step inside—"
Once Viper entered the stall, the rolled-up black cloth that hung at the edge of awning above the booth suddenly unfurled of its own accord. It smoothly dropped down to form a completely enclosed space that would both effectively block the line of sight of any casual observers and provide some meaningful magical protection.
Inside this space, the large wooden crate was opened. Under Viper's gaze, Verrence carefully lifted out a small alley the size of a standard Muggle suitcase from the depths of the enchanted crate.
"You'll be absolutely amazed, Mr. Viper!" Verrence said excitedly.
But reality ultimately far exceeded Verrence's most optimistic expectations—though not in the direction he had hoped. Viper, who had been willing to casually spend forty Galleons to purchase what Verrence clearly knew was a cleverly disguised prank prop just moments ago, suddenly transformed into the most demanding and critical buyer Verrence had encountered in years of trading in dark artifacts.
No matter what supposedly precious and powerfully cursed item Verrence proudly took out from his hidden collection, Viper would observe it for a while before ruthlessly criticizing its craftsmanship, power, or authenticity.
"This laughable attempt at a Withering Curse wouldn't affect a flobberworm," Viper once commented dismissively about a particularly nasty-looking silver amulet.
"Did a first-year student craft this pathetic excuse for a Blood-Boiling Bracelet?" He questioned with devastating sarcasm when presented with a ruby-encrusted item that Verrence had previously sold to three separate dark wizards—all of whom had mysteriously disappeared shortly after making their purchase.
"I'm utterly disappointed, Verrence," Viper said after the twentieth rejected item was carefully returned to its box. "I'm utterly disappointed. This is your precious collection, your most prized possessions?"
Viper straightened up and said in a very impatient tone, "You're completely wasting my time with these trinkets! Perhaps I should seek out a more knowledgeable dealer..."
"What exactly do you want, Mr. Viper?" Verrence asked, equally disappointed and increasingly desperate. He had been mentally preparing to take all of Viper's commission pay from his most recent commissions during this unexpected opportunity. He never imagined things would deteriorate so dramatically.
"Verrence—" Viper fell silent for a moment then said slowly, "You're an expert on curses. Let me ask you something specific that may help focus our discussion... have you ever encountered a curse where the source of the magic; I mean the curse seed and the curse itself are completely separated from one another?"
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