He was in no hurry to sell his goods; instead, he planned to find a few bodyguards or sellswords first.
Luke strolled through the crowded Cobbler’s Square, intentionally slowing his pace.
Like a true nobleman or wealthy merchant interested in the life of the common folk, he observed his surroundings with keen interest.
Free from any language barrier, the noisy cries of street vendors, the haggling over prices, the crude boasts of mercenaries, and the shouted orders of caravan leaders to their hands all rang clearly in his ears, blending into a lively, gritty symphony of the Westeros underworld.
The environment was indeed wretched.
Mud and sewage fouled the ground, while the air hung heavy with a stench of leather, rotting fish, sweat, cheap spices, and uncollected garbage.
Flies buzzed everywhere.
But compared to Flea Bottom, there was at least a semblance of order here.
Most people had an honest trade, their faces reflecting the calculations of daily survival rather than utter numbness.
His gaze swept across the crowds looking for work.
Just as he had heard, it was a mixed bag.
There were down-on-their-luck knights clad in worn but well-maintained chainmail, longswords at their hips and sharp glints in their eyes, demanding at least a silver stag a day.
There were hulking, scarred sellswords with bulging muscles, carrying battleaxes or greatswords, asking for a gold coin a day.
And there were ragged peasants or bankrupt smallfolk holding nothing but wooden staffs, their eyes timid, begging for just a few coppers to feed themselves.
The services offered ranged from simple protection and muscle to running errands, hauling goods, gathering information, and even some shady, under-the-table business.
Even the payment methods were surprisingly flexible.
Luke observed carefully, making mental assessments.
What he needed right now were reliable eyes and ears, along with temporary muscle to ensure his safety while gathering information and providing deterrence during his initial transactions.
But he had zero faith in the honor of Westerosi mercenaries.
A high price didn’t guarantee loyalty, and a low price was simply an invitation to danger.
He preferred someone who seemed to have a shred of decency—not a pure cutthroat—and who would be interested in steady, long-term pay.
Just as the sheer variety was beginning to dizzy him, making a decision feel impossible, his attention was drawn to a rather quiet stall at the edge of the square.
It belonged to an Essosi merchant, his skin tanned deep brown, wrapped in a colorful but dusty turban and robes.
His stall was small, consisting of a faded blanket spread on the ground with a jumble of wares: several oddly shaped brass censers, several bone or wooden necklaces of indeterminate material, some rusty daggers and amulets, a few dull glass beads…
…and a pile of dreadfully cheap jewelry tossed haphazardly into a corner.
Most of the jewelry was crudely crafted, the metal tarnished and dull, and the embedded “stones” either cloudy or crookedly cut.
On a Blue Star street market, they would have been deemed worthless junk.
Yet, it was precisely this pile of absolute junk that sparked a sudden flash of inspiration in Luke’s mind!
“Industrial art!”
Of course!
Why hadn’t he thought of this sooner?
The mass-produced, beautifully designed, cheap jewelry, necklaces, and bracelets adorned with rhinestones or synthetic gems from Yiwu on Blue Star…
…would be hailed as masterpieces of peerless craftsmanship in this pre-industrial era!
He could easily package them as treasures from distant lands or lost civilizations, selling them to wealthy nobles who had more gold than sense and craved the unique!
A Swarovski-style necklace that cost dozens of yuan back home could easily fetch hundreds or thousands of gold dragons here, and nobles would probably fight over them!
Charging a hundred gold coins for a rainbow glass marble wouldn’t be unreasonable, would it?
This would be infinitely more profitable than selling sugar, salt, or perfume.
Plus, it was far more low-profile and less likely to disrupt the local market for basic commodities!
The thought set his heart racing, but he quickly forced himself to calm down.
Now was not the time to dwell on this.
His gaze was suddenly locked onto several small stones resting on a slightly cleaner patch of velvet in the center of the stall.
They were rough, unpolished gemstones of varying sizes and colors, or coarsely cut stones.
To the Essosi merchant, they were likely just pretty colored rocks used to spruce up his meager display.
But to Luke, who had crammed extensively on gemstone lore beforehand, those “little rocks” seemed to glow with a blinding light!
The two in the center were honey-yellow, and in the dim light, a thin, bright, and agile band of light seemed to shimmer across them…
Chrysoberyl cat’s-eye?!
And completely untreated, natural cat’s-eye at that!
Next to them was a dark red stone.
Though crudely cut with blurry facets, that deep, rich crimson…
was it a ruby?
And the deep blue one beside it—a sapphire?
There was also an emerald-green stone, not very large, but vibrantly colored…
an emerald or jadeite?
There were even one or two tiny, colorless, transparent crystals that sparkled with sharp fire…
rough diamonds?
Although everyone on Blue Star knew modern diamonds were a marketing scam, genuine natural diamonds in a pre-modern world were actually incredibly valuable…
Luke felt his breath hitch.
His blood rushed to his head in a sudden surge, only to run ice-cold the next instant.
He struggled to control his facial muscles, desperate not to show the slightest hint of excitement, but his slightly trembling fingers betrayed the raging storm within.
This world…
shouldn’t have any industrial counterfeiting technology.
If these stones had been dug out of a mine, they were almost certainly natural gemstones!
And judging by the merchant’s attitude and where he had placed them, he clearly didn’t realize their true worth.
Gemstones…
especially uncut natural ones…
were far more stable in value than gold on Blue Star, and infinitely easier to liquidate through certain channels!
Small in size yet immense in value, they were precisely the “hard currency” he needed most right now!
He took a deep breath, forcing his racing heart to steady, and put on a critical, slightly disdainful expression.
He sauntered over to the Essosi merchant’s stall, letting his gaze drift lazily across the junk jewelry before finally settling on the stones in the center.
“Merchant, these…
are from Essos?
They don’t look like much.”
He spoke in clear Common Tongue, gesturing to the pile of jewelry and the stones.
Seeing Luke stop, the Essosi merchant’s eyes lit up instantly, and he began his pitch without missing a beat:
“My noble lord, you jest!”
“Look at these exquisite pieces!
They come from Volantis, Pentos, and even distant Qarth!”
“Look at this golden armband inlaid with rubies and moonstones, symbolizing the harmony of fire and frost—only two hundred gold dragons!
And this silver necklace with a Myr lace pendant, perfect for enhancing a noble lady’s elegance—a mere hundred and fifty gold dragons!…”
The merchant was indeed a smooth talker, spinning tales of grandeur about jewelry that Luke found utterly hideous.
He paid special attention to a gold necklace in the center, which looked relatively the most “opulent” and was set with several dull, poorly cut “gems.”
“My lord, look at this one!
A true masterpiece!
Crafted by a master of Volantis!
Just look at the workmanship, the setting, and the luster of these stones!”
Carlos lifted the necklace with utmost care, spitting slightly in his excitement.
“To tell you the truth, they say our gracious Queen Cersei herself owns a similar piece!
Both from the same master!
Such a treasure can be yours for only…
five thousand gold dragons!
An absolute steal!”
Five thousand gold dragons?
Luke almost burst out laughing.
With this level of craftsmanship and gem quality, even a square-dancing grandma on Blue Star would reject it as too tacky.
But his face showed only a subtle, barely perceptible trace of amusement.
He didn’t take the bait, nor did he look at the “queen’s replica” necklace.
Instead, he slowly reached into his exquisite leather pouch, retrieved a small bamboo canister carved with the words “Velvet Snow” in elegant cursive, and placed it gently on the velvet cloth in front of Carlos.
“This necklace?
I’ll trade you this for it.”
Luke’s tone was flat, carrying a hint of condescending indifference.
Carlos froze, looking warily at the finely crafted bamboo canister with its beautiful script, and then up at Luke.
“My lord, this is…?”
“Open it and see,” Luke gestured.
Suspiciously, Carlos pulled out the cork, and an incredibly light, pure, sweet aroma wafted out.
Carefully, he scooped up a few snow-white, crystalline granules with his fingernail and popped them into his mouth.
The next moment, his eyes went wide!
An absolute, pure sweetness exploded on the tip of his tongue.
Free of any impurities, it melted instantly with a delicate smoothness, offering a heavenly sensation unlike anything he had ever tasted before!
As a merchant who traveled between wealthy Essos and Westeros, he had tasted honey, beet syrup, and even rare sweet spices from the Summer Isles, but never anything this pure, this premium!
He slammed the cork back in, clutching the bamboo canister in both hands as if afraid it might fly away.
The way he looked at Luke had completely changed, filled with shock, greed, and intense curiosity.
“This…
what is this?
Where did it come from?!”
Carlos’s voice cracked slightly.
Luke had his story ready and began spinning his yarn with a relaxed air:
“From east of the Narrow Sea, beyond the Sunset Sea, lies a lost island guarded by mists and elves.”
“There, artisans harvest the pollen of thousand-year snow lotuses, mix it with the first light of dawn and the blessing of honey sprites, and undergo ninety-nine secret processes to refine just a tiny amount of this…
Velvet Snow.”
“In King’s Landing, well-connected nobles are willing to pay dozens of gold dragons just for a tiny pinch of it to garnish their fine wines or pastries.”
The lies rolled effortlessly off his tongue, blending Eastern and Western fantasy tropes into an incredibly convincing tale.
The merchant was swept away by the tale, but his innate cunning quickly reeled back his initial shock.
He began to haggle.
“Though Velvet Snow is indeed rare, it is, after all, a consumable.
It cannot compare to the heirloom-like value of my gemstone necklace.”
…
After a few rounds, the merchant stood his ground, insisting that while a single canister of Velvet Snow was precious, it was worth far less than his necklace.
He demanded at least three canisters for a trade.
Luke pretended to hesitate before finally “reluctantly” agreeing, “painfully” retrieving two more canisters of Velvet Snow.
In truth, he was practically dancing with joy.
Three canisters of white sugar, costing less than ten yuan in total, in exchange for a gold necklace set with natural gemstones—this was an absolute heist!
Furthermore, his true target wasn’t even the necklace itself.
With the deal done, Carlos tucked the three canisters of sugar away as if they were his very lifeblood, his face splitting into a wide grin.
Luke casually tossed the “queen’s replica” necklace into his bag.
“And these…”
Luke pointed to the rough gemstones he had set his sights on, then produced another bamboo canister, this one carved with the words “Mithril Salt.”
“This, in exchange for your colored stones.”
Thoroughly intrigued by Luke’s bamboo canisters now, Carlos immediately popped open the salt jar to taste it.
Once again, the sheer shock of absolute, pristine quality struck him.
Salt was a necessity, and salt as pure and white as snow was something whose immense value would be even more universally recognized than sugar.
“My lord, you are far too generous!”
Carlos licked his lips, a sharp glint in his eyes.
“I traded for these pretty stones from a wandering Dornish gypsy near the marches.
They’re nice to look at, but they’re just ornaments.
This wondrous salt…
is absolutely worth it!”
Fearing that Luke might back out of the deal, he quickly wrapped the rough gemstones in a dirty rag and pushed them across the table.
Suppressing his excitement with all his might, Luke pocketed the little bundle.
He had done it!
Chrysoberyl cat’s-eye, ruby, sapphire, emerald, and rough diamonds…
secured!
Carlos rubbed his hands together, his smile sycophantic.
“My lord, look, I have plenty of other fine jewelry here…
If you could spare just one more canister of that Velvet Snow, I’ll let you choose any five pieces you like!
Any five!”
Luke chuckled inwardly.
This was exactly what he wanted.
He “hesitated” for a moment before “grudgingly” producing another canister of sugar.
This time, he didn’t even glance at the gold or silver pieces.
Instead, his gaze swept directly over the most inconspicuous pile of jewelry in the corner, which was set with various “stones.”
He swiftly selected five items: a silver ring set with a cloudy green stone; a leather cord necklace strung with several dull “chalcedony” or “agate” beads; a bronze bracelet set with what looked like moonstone; and two pendants, one with a dark red “garnet” and the other with a black gemstone.
The common thread among these pieces was that they were ugly and poorly crafted, but the “stones” set into them were large, varied, and highly likely to be natural minerals.
Carlos was a bit puzzled by Luke’s preference for this “junk,” but he was too thrilled to trade them for another canister of the miraculous Velvet Snow.
He eagerly sealed the deal.
Once the exchange was complete, Carlos grew even warmer.
Lowering his voice, he said, “My noble lord, my name is Carlos.
I travel constantly between Braavos and King’s Landing.”
“The Velvet Snow and Mithril Salt in your hands are nothing short of divine treasures!
If you have more stock, I am willing to buy them with gold coins, or…”
He glanced at the remaining, slightly better-quality gemstones on his stall.
“…trade them for these real, beautiful stones!
The price will surely please you!
I will take as much as you have!”
Luke understood immediately.
Carlos was a shrewd, ambitious merchant who saw the massive profit margins in sugar and salt and wanted to act as a middleman.
This suited his plans perfectly.
A stable “wholesaler” with established routes was much safer and more efficient than selling in dribs and drabs himself.
He nodded with an air of profound mystery.
“Carlos…
I shall remember the name.
I do have more stock.
But the manner and location of our transactions will require…
discretion.
I will return to find you in a few days.”
Leaving behind a meaningful look and a tantalizing hook, Luke lingered no longer.
Stowing away his newly acquired gemstones and jewelry, he turned and left Carlos’s stall, continuing his way through the noisy Cobbler’s Square.
Though he seemed to have traded “precious” sugar and salt for a pile of “junk,” Luke knew that the real treasures were already resting safely in his storage space.
The value of those rough gemstones and natural minerals back on Blue Star would far exceed the four canisters of sugar and one canister of salt he had parted with today.
More importantly, he had secured a potential, capable local “partner.”
A smooth start.
Now, it was time to get down to business—finding bodyguards.