"What spells did he cast in battle?" asked the man lying on his side on a cushion calmly, with a metal ring on the wing of his nose and a cup of mare's milk in his right hand. The robes he wore were loose, just enough to cover his untoned figure. There was a slight melancholy between the man's eyebrows, and his facial features were so handsome.

"We observed two Isaac Missile Storms, a chain fireball spell, three poison spells, a spell sequence, a spell crack, a spell trap, and two Death Fingers. The kneeling man replied that he was one of the men who had ambushed Prince Corwin during the day. Luckily survived, he ran back to report to his master. "There are a few other spells, but I can't make out them. In addition, all the spells he cast, they were made with scrolls. ”

"Damn Corwin, he's always so cunning! A small coat of arms was pinned to his robe, which depicted an arrow striking the knee of one of his thighs.

"Quiet, Gerald. Princess Deirdley interjected, "You can never learn patience, that's your greatest weakness." ”

"Dear sister," the man known as Gerald shot back. "Is this my personal characteristic? Among the nine siblings, if there is no distinctiveness, it is easy to be ignored. ”

"Well, I didn't expect to be able to kill Corwin's dangerous man with a group of unruly adventurers. The first man to speak spoke again. "But Corwin's caution is far beyond our expectations, more than three hundred years. We keep creating conflicts that seem unrelated on the surface and force Corwin to do it. But he used all the scrolls, and almost never cast a spell himself. Until now, no one knew what the spells he prepared every day were. ”

Magic, although infinitely powerful, has a big drawback, that is, it must be prepared one day in advance and cast the next day. Depending on the strength of each mage, there is a limit to the number of spells that a mage can prepare at each level, so there must be trade-offs. For example, a mage may have eighteen eighteen-level eighteen-level spells, but he can only prepare a total of three eighth-level spells. At this time, it is up to him to make a choice, whether to memorize one of three of the eighteen spells, or only one, but remember three?

Take a low-level mage as an example, and suppose he can prepare three level 3 spells per day. He could choose to prepare three third-level fireball techniques, or three third-level lightning techniques. If he prepares three Fireballs, he will only be able to perform three Fireballs the next day, but not Lightning (although he can do lightning, he is not prepared). and vice versa. Of course, he can also take a compromise approach and prepare two fireball spells and one lightning spell, so that he can cast two fireballs and one lightning bolt on this day.

The knowledge of memory spells is very large, and what magic a mage prepares every day is his greatest secret, and even his closest relatives cannot be revealed. Otherwise, a mage who only prepared the fireball spell encountered the fire elemental, or a mage who did not prepare the True Sight encountered the invisible servant, and it was over. However, no matter how a person prepares and casts more spells, he will always be seen to have a habit of preparing spells. However, Prince Corwin is scheming and wealthy, and he has never used a scroll to cast spells, so that others can't see his hole cards at all.

"Let's not talk about this, are you all done?" asked the man lying on his side, changing the subject.

"Easy. "As you all know, the Ram Adventurers Guild I have established is well-informed, and has a large number of unknown and talented people. How difficult could it be to rob a few caravans? And there was no word at all, and no one could prove that I had instructed it. ”

"Good. The man lying on his side said with relief. "Thirty-two caravans were looted in one month, and Corwin had to pay a large sum of insurance and ransom. In this way, his financial resources at the auction are very limited, and we are a little more sure. ”

"Did you find anything interesting in Deirdley?" he added.

"The identity of the man who was beside him was found, his name was Muhadi, a Nibennai, a mage. Some time ago, he suddenly ran to Tyre and joined the Tyre Revolutionary Army as a psychic mancer, and also served as a high-ranking officer. "Now it seems that he may have been the one who threaded the needle and co-opted the Nebennai Witch King in collusion with the Council of Tyre." We can't underestimate him. ”

"If he really has something to do with the Nebenai Witch King. The man lying on his side frowned and made a decision. "Then we can't touch him for the time being, we can't take risks. But what is the reason why the people of Corwin and Tyre are so close?"

The spies said that Corwin privately declared that he admired the revolutionary spirit of Tyre and intended to liberate Attas. ”

There was a burst of laughter, and the man lying on his side, Prince Gerald, and the short man who had been silent all along, laughed. Gerald laughed and said, "That Corwin suddenly wants to liberate Athas, and is he still attracted to the revolution? Is this still my brother? Those who don't know think he's not the Fulani butcher!"

"It's ridiculous indeed," the man lying on his side nodded. "Of the nine kings of Ram, he is the one who kills the most people and is the most ferocious, and he has more slave lives on his hands than the eight of us combined. It's inconceivable that such a person would join the Tyre Revolution? If the people of Tyre mixed with him, they would be unlucky sooner or later. ”

"Let me warn you!" said Princess Deirdley, who did not seem to think it was funny. "Tyr's former Templar Tycien, Tessian, was the butcher who killed the most revolutionaries. But now he is the elected king of the revolutionary government, and he is leading an invasion of the territory that once belonged to the city of Yurik. If Tessian can, then why can't Corwin?"

"Tessian......" said the man lying on his side...... I've heard of him, a very ambitious man, fit to be a king. As for Corwin, don't you think he's really crazy at heart? In the case of Fulani, he obviously didn't have to do that, and it gave the impression that he was as obsessed with death and destruction itself. ”

"Perhaps this is what attracted him to the Revolution," said Princess Deardley, "who was fascinated by death, and the monster of the Revolution devoured the blood of countless people at every moment." ”

There was silence. Finally, the man lying on his side spoke up, "As long as we win that thing at the auction, that puppeteer's relic, it doesn't matter what Corwin does." So, we've got to get enough money."

"Why don't we go and grab ...... directly," Prince Gerald said.

"Presumptuous!" the man lying on his side was exasperated, "have you lost your mind? Or do you want to push Prince Eric to Corwin's side as well? ”

"Of course not, Benedict. Gerard stumbled, "Of course not." ”

At the same time, another place.

"The auction house said that the third lot was a 'fake'. In Prince Corwin's palace, the prince patiently briefed the Psychic Warlock on the auction lots. "But it's actually a real thing, so don't give up the chance. ”

The real thing is put up for auction as a fake, which is also a very common method at auctions on Earth, so Muhathir immediately understood.

On earth, it is difficult to distinguish the authenticity of ancient paintings, and even the most famous appraisers may make mistakes. For example, Mechelen, a famous Dutch pseudo-painter, copied a large number of famous Renaissance paintings throughout his life and sold them to the German Nazis. After World War II, Mechelen was prosecuted for "stealing and selling national treasures", and it was only then that he confessed that the famous paintings he sold were actually forgeries painted by himself.

In addition, the theft of art is also common on the planet, and the combination of these two factors makes the strange phenomenon of counterfeit auctions popular.

For example, in 1970 the Madonna and Child was stolen from the Art Museum in Parbi, Italy. According to Italian law, the prosecution period for stolen goods is 10 years, which means that by 1980, the robbers will be able to get their hands on the painting.

The problem is that while it is not illegal to sell the painting at this time, the person who buys the stolen goods will suffer a moral condemnation that the majority of buyers are unwilling to bear. Therefore, the original Madonna and Child was auctioned off as a fake. The buyer ostensibly just bought a fake, not a stolen one, and naturally was not condemned.

In Attas, the situation is similar for genuine fakes. Many of the auction items were excavated by adventurers from ancient ruins, and some were stolen by them from others. The origin of a small number of auction items is too hot, even if it is an auction house, they don't want to blatantly sell it, otherwise it will be bad if the owner comes to the door. And the auction disguised as a fake, there is no such problem.

Each of the lots in this auction is a priceless treasure. Mohamadi himself estimated that the total value of the 10 lots could be more than 500,000 gold coins, and it is not unusual to sell 800,000 gold coins if there is a bidding between the two sides.

"What do you think," Muhati asked Prince Corwin, "what lots would Benedict be interested in?"

"The third, the fifth, the seventh, and the last. They may try to compete for other lots, but what they think in their hearts is probably only you, a psychic mancer, can tell. Prince Corwin said.

Muhati looked at the last lot, "A crystal ball left behind by the Great Psychic Sorcerer puppeteer...... What's the use of this thing, how can this ball have the power to defeat the Witch King?"

"This kind of orb usually seals a part of the memories of the creator, maybe it is the puppeteer's psionic experience or something. "Whatever it is." Anyway, Benedict and the Templars are interested in it, so you have to take advantage of the opportunity to get that guy to do his best. ”

"You're not worried that there's really something remarkable in this relic," Muhati asked Prince Corwin. "Once Benedict gets him, can he easily defeat you?"

"There are risks in everything, and that's one of the risks I had to take. ”

The Psychic Warlock continued. "You also mentioned that the nobles, the Templars, and Benedict were all united. In this way, we are at a loss in terms of capital. ”

Corvin paused, "I naturally have other methods, I can't reveal them now, and you'll know when the time comes." Even if we are a little lacking in capital, we will not lose a lot to the other side. ”

"If you don't mind, I can give you an idea, too. Muhati told Sù Kowen.

"Oh, I'm listening. "The prince came interested.

"My buddy Muscle Daddy, the Moor, has a lot of money on his hands. ”

"I'm afraid that in an auction of this grade, your friend's little money is insignificant. Corwin shook his head.

"It's not just with his money. "Rather, he uses his money to create short-term panic." ”

Corwin raised an eyebrow, and his voice was a little higher. "How?"

"The large sum of money in the hands of the Muers was all amber gold, an alloy of gold and silver, and the acceptance of the market was much less than that of real gold coins. The Psychic continued. "But amber is very difficult for the average person to distinguish, especially when the silver content is relatively low, or when the silver is wrapped in the middle. Spells and psionic powers can be easily identified, but not many merchants have the ability to do so. ”

"So, we can finance his amber and mint it in the form of lam gold coins and secretly put it on the market. Then it was up to me to create panic among the civilians and convince them that a large number of gold rams of poor quality had appeared, and that they were much stricter than what was really going on. In this way, because they are afraid of the value of the currency, they will rush to sell the gold lam coins in their hands. Of course, my lord, you have already hoarded a lot of gold coins in cities such as Tyre and Ankara, and you can suck in a lot of these Ram gold coins. Of course, with the help of spells, you won't buy those bad colored ambers. ”

Corwin thought for a moment, "This is a good method, once you have these counterfeit Ram gold coins, ordinary merchants in the market may refuse to accept Ram gold coins, so as not to suffer losses, which will cause the depreciation of Ram gold coins." And I bought the dip and made a big profit. As for the auction houses, they have their own mages to determine the golden ratio, and the value of the currency does not fall in their place. But, Lord Muhadi, are you sure this will take effect soon? The auction is still two days away. ”

"Two days won't work. "But with my secret influence on the public, one day will be done." ”

"Okay, just do as you say. My steward, Shem, will discuss the steps with you. Corwin agreed.

Muhadi nodded. "Then wish a qiē shun lì. ”

"祝一qiē顺lì. ”

Later that day, rumors spread in several underground markets in the city of Laham.

"Have you heard?" said a sneaky man to his accomplices, who were in a dilapidated wooden hut where a few sheets of cloth were walls, and garbage and food were piled up everywhere. The sick man lay on the sand waiting to die, while others came and went around the dying person as if they didn't see the sick person.

"What?" the others were puzzled.

"It's said that some of the counterfeit gold coins have entered the market!" said the sneaky man, "and the news has spread in the market!"

"Are you sure?" the others looked incredulous, "Is that Black Ali the ghost again?"

"It's not Black Ali. The sneaky man lowered his voice. "This time, there are a lot of counterfeit gold coin shipments, and there must be a bigger force behind it!"

"Are you serious?" the others looked suspicious, some frowning, some tilting their heads. "Do you have any proof?"

"This is the proof. The sneaky man threw a gold ram coin on the ground.

"Well, there are signs of aging, but this gold coin is freshly minted, and I can tell it. Another man picked up the gold coin, looked at it closely, and said.

He bit down on the gold coin, "It's gold, yes." "The weight isn't too much of a problem." ”

"Cut through it, and you've got a problem. Said the sneaky man.

The other man pulled out his scimitar, cut the gold coin, and said with a sudden realization. "It's silver, and it's not pure!"

"You're here. Said the sneaky man. "Counterfeit gold coins like these are everywhere now! The guy who sells roasted lizards on the street has collected a lot of them, all of them are counterfeit coins. I got it from him. ”

"!" said the man. "No merchant has the skill to check the purity of gold coins one by one, and I am afraid that the merchants in the market will soon refuse to accept the gold coins. At the very least, the price of some Ram gold coins should be undercalculated to offset the risk. ”

"Exactly!" said the sneaky man. "We have to hurry up and swap the gold we have for the more reputable Tyr or Ankara coins. ”

The group muttered for a little more and then left.

Muhati observed this qiē from a dark spot, raised the corners of his mouth contemptuously in the shadows, and disappeared into the alley. He knew that such a situation was taking place in every shady corner of Ram City, in every sneaky black market. When he and Prince Corwin put the fake gold coins on the market in dozens of ways, the psychic warlock used the power of psionic hints to make ordinary people immediately appear in the middle of the coin, and made them even more panicked.

In fact, due to time constraints, Muhathir did not produce many fake gold coins. However, the masses of the people were already prone to falling into the widely spread lies, and the Psychic Warlock was well aware of this truth, and completed the layout before the nobles and Templars could reflect it.

The next day, Prince Corwin, who had come prepared, bought a large amount of gold lam coins with thirty percent less foreign currency than usual, and received tens of thousands of dollars. The nobles and the Templars, on the other hand, were unprepared and almost missed out on this round of trading.

As for Benedict, he even suffered some losses. Because some people were too afraid of the spread of counterfeit money, the value of the gold coins fell further, so they withdrew the deposited money from his vault. This made his already abundant cash reserves a little tighter.

------------------------------- in case someone doesn't understand or is more true, I'll explain. Mechelen is a man in history who was arrested for selling paintings to Goering. But the story of the Madonna and Child does not fully correspond to the facts, because in reality it is too complicated to explain the operation of the counterfeit trade. This episode of Ram has the influence of William Gibson's "The Collapse of Coromy", Philip's "Johnny's Memory", and Zlazeni's "Amber Nine". Some people want me to add a bit of Japanese comic style to the novels I write, and pure dnd is more difficult to bite. All I can say is that I hardly read Japanese anime and light novels, at least not in the last four or five years. I like DC comics more, and I believe that the heart has come out. I've read some Japanese science fiction and mystery novels. However, to show that I am a good person, I decided to borrow some episodes from Ghost in the Shell that I watched a few years ago. Those who have seen it should know by now that the smiling man is about to appear.

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