Kinky Appraisal

Waiting for the results was torture, everyone had something they wished to say but the tabulations and considerations for their approval didn't take very long. Returning to the room, they started at the Elf.

He stood and clasped hands toward the administers. They remained silent and handed him a small scroll. Unfurling it, his face grimaced. "LEVEL 1! You have to be kidding me, I'm a goddamned ELF!"

"If you don't like the results, you should have tried harder." The administers didn't show pity or favoritism, they even considered failing the Elf but from the seven of the overseers, it was outvoted. "You should go before you burn bridges you wish to cross later." The Elven man stepped toward the door, disappointed in his skill level rating.

Condensation covered the table near the frost mages seat, her dress and mannerism showed her to be an extreme cold magic user, maybe even an Ice mage. Appraisals were good money, when traveling it certainly paid the bills. Her low cut dress showed a little cleavage but her test scores were so good she didn't even need to flirt. She received a level 3 rating, smiled and left.

Errit stood up and waited for his turn. There were some lingering looks from the administers, they all approached and hovered around Errit's table. The instructor came up and started to talk, he seemed dramatic and it drove Errit's anxiety.

"Your findings, we had to look at them closer. You show some interesting concepts. Keep up the good work." A hand pressed against Errit's chest. It was a woman's hand, one of the administers. When she pulled away, a token and badge started to fall from his chest. Errit caught them.

'What do you mean?' he wanted to ask, but when he looked at the token, he shut his mouth and left. 'Level 4,' For a system that didn't go past 10, getting a level 4 on his first testing was a leap of all leaps into the appraisal business. Errit looked at the requirements to graduate to the next appraisal level. There were charts hanging from the wall in the lobby as he left.

'L1-L2, 50 Writs and retest; L2-L3, 200 Writs, Retest; L3-L4, 500 Writs; L4-L5, 1000 Writs; L5-L6, 5000 writs, L6-L7 10000 writs, L7-L8 50000 Writs, re-evaluation. L8-L9 100000 Writs, Acceptance of Master Title; L10+ Grand Master, 250,000 Writs Ea. Level.' A chill came over his back.

'This is too much,' Errit cringed, his hand cramped and he was only thinking. There were no rewards presented on the charts, no real driving force except notoriety and the ability to charge more for his services existed for higher levels. The process of appraisal would happen with, or without Writs. Writs were just a way to assure care for the items, and secure a pedigree. Some of the items that surfaced early in the creation of the Kingdom turned out to be completely different than those that were advertised and it was generally accepted as the norm after the incidents involved a number of deaths.

Errit strode out of the building, pinned the badge to his chest and put the token away. The Elf stood by the corner, pissed. Wailing about his shitty score, he forced the people around him to turn a deaf ear and walk away. Errit did the same.

Down the block, a building near the square had a space for rent. Errit paid with a few herbs that grew in the alleyway while he walked. It was turning out to be a good evening for him. Opening the door, he started dusting off a rug that was sitting inside when he saw the debris flying off it and their auras. He stopped quickly and stored the rug away before anyone saw, went back inside and locked the door, shut the curtains, and started walking to the back room.

'I can't believe what I just saw.' Errit pulled the rug back out. Shaking it, a myriad of dusts began falling on the floor. Specs, tiny specs. They were crystals, but they were a color he couldn't identify, it shifted in the light, translucent. When the rug stopped spitting dust from its surface, Errit swept everything into a piece of paper and folded it. He was saving it for later. The Aura that came off the dust was ethereal like it belonged to an ancient cosmic object.

"What's with this rug though?" Errit flipped the rug over, there were designs all over its bottom. The patterns looked like a talisman woven into the fabric underlay. 'Seems like its drawing things in..' Setting the rug down, he sat on it. 'Nothing particularly interesting.. hmm.' He fed some of his energy into the rug. It activated. Particles of energy started to converge toward it, lingering, ready to absorb. 'Oh... its like this?' He stood up, stored it away and went back to straightening up the shop.

There was a lot of work to be done, he planned to write writs and keep some samples of the herbs out for display. His business tactics would work well, the area around his shop was busy with foot traffic, most of the City's population would come by. 150000 people was not a small few, and as a port city it was always exchanging its visitors.

Cleaning the rooms took a little longer than Errit had wanted, instead of just sucking everything into the ring and then sorting it, he took the time to clean delicately. It was lucky that he did. When cleaning off one of the panels on the wall, a passage opened. It was hidden halfway up the stairwell and required shifting the panel a few times before opening. Behind it was a set of stairs that led to the basement. Inside the basement, a set of books sat on a shelf next to an urn of ashes. Presumably a funeral urn, Errit left it alone and browsed the books.

'My Life in the Thrill Kill Cult, a True Story on Shiyan' It was handwritten, they all were. He kept reading the titles as they sat on the shelf.

'Razorbacks of the Irestson Continent'

'Medicine Man Secrets, Myths and Legends'

'Seed'

'Ferris Saves the World' Errit laughed at the last title. Although there were only five books, he didn't care. Even one was precious. Cabinets lined the basement, inside were old M.R.E's and hand written notes in boxes. Tons of notes on material data, a periodic table of elements that had layers. In the stack were 16 layers to it, general concepts on each elemental force and its affect on the existing materials that they kept finding, in addition to the materials that came from earth. It was extensive and formidable in the weight it would have carried in the world.

Errit was glad he had locked the door. 'Paranoia is only foolish if you're wrong.' The passageway didn't look like it had been entered in more than 30 years, the Dust was a clear sign of its untouched nature and it existed for a reason. There were more objects in the drawers, plenty of small things like knives and forks. Remnants of Earth that seemed mostly unneeded on Shiyan. A Hair Dryer hung on the wall in a small case. There was a plaque on the wall next to it, it was an award for best stylist in Santiago. He saw the picture, wiped it free of dust, gave his thanks and hurried his cleaning.

The building would be his home for a time, he never lived in filth, ever.

There was a large piece of board outside his shop, it was blank now, weathered down to a dull plank. Errit carved the name for the store into its face. 'Kinky Appraisal.'

[Kink, the Story of Errit - IS PUBLISHED ON WEBNOVEL.COM (SINCE MAY 2021). IF YOU'RE READING THIS ELSEWHERE, IT IS NOT AN AUTHORIZED OR EVEN A COMPLETE VERSION. PLEASE REPORT IT AND VISIT THE NOVEL'S OFFICIAL PAGE - https://www.webnovel.com/book/19822575806497305

AUTHOR - OOMTOWN