The deposit is also called "life money" among the adventurers and mercenaries in Faerûn.
Usually, for a commission or task, you can basically judge how high the potential risk is simply by looking at the amount of deposit paid by the employer.
Because generally speaking, in order to prevent the hired person from running away with money, the deposit is often only enough to replenish some weapons and armor, purchase a small amount of magic potions and tools, as well as food, drink, accommodation, supplies, etc. along the way.
Only after completing the task can you get real rewards.
But there are some exceptions, that is, the employer knows that the task he entrusts is very dangerous and needs to pay a high price to attract truly capable people.
Therefore, a deposit of a dozen or even dozens of gold coins means that you don't need to worry too much about your life. At most, you can just be careful when encountering a battle.
But if the amount of the deposit reaches hundreds of gold coins, it most likely means that there is some conspiracy hidden behind it. It may be related to thieves guilds, gangs, and powerful families in certain places. If you are not careful, you will be in trouble.
Due to the mutual oppression of several forces, no bones were left.
As for the huge sum of money like giving five thousand gold coins in one breath, it will only appear when the enemy is a lich or a dragon.
In fact, when Dumbledore and Grindelwald killed an adult green dragon not long ago, the client only gave a deposit of three thousand gold coins.
So when the five thousand gold coin purse was thrown on the bar, the entire tavern instantly became quiet.
Some people were staring at the heavy leather bag that exuded golden light with greedy, hot, and longing eyes, and some people were constantly looking between Kedelin and the two old men, trying to confirm the identities of both parties.
After all, anyone who can put down a deposit of five thousand gold coins in one breath is definitely not an ordinary person, and the same is true for those he values.
In particular, Grindelwald's extremely proud and arrogant temperament from head to toe, as well as his unruly eyes, are exactly the same as the stereotypes of powerful mages in other professions.
Sudden!
Someone near the entrance of the tavern shouted: "Oh my God! I recognize these two people! They are the dragon slayers who just killed the green dragon Evankabos in the Yulin Town of the Moon Sea not long ago!
"
"What? Dragon slayers! No wonder someone is willing to pay a deposit of five thousand gold coins to hire them."
"By the gods! If someone gives me five thousand gold coins, I will immediately take the money and run far away without saying a word, and find a small and inaccessible village to settle down and spend the rest of my life comfortably."
"Hahahaha! Me too. This money is enough to buy a piece of land and marry a beautiful and capable village woman."
"Look at how promising you guys are. I'm a dragon slayer. I've already made a lot of money just by raiding the green dragon's lair. How could you do such a shameful thing for just five thousand gold coins?"
"That's right. Didn't you hear that man call them the Archmage from Ascaltra? That is the capital of the West Coast Empire, the real city of magic and the capital of gold coins. I heard that even the civilians living there receive money every month.
You can earn a dozen or more gold coins. People may take risks not just for money."
"You are right. I have been to Ascatra, and the wealth there is unbelievable. But the civilians in the city are not ordinary people, or it is impossible for ordinary people to endure such terrible fierce competition."
"Completely agree. Only smart people or even geniuses have a chance to survive in the capital of the West Coast Empire. Otherwise, they will be crushed by the high cost of living in a short time. It is said that the current permanent population can perform the zero-ring trick.
The proportion has reached an astonishing 34%, and on average there is one spellcaster for every three people."
"You...are you bragging or joking? More than one-third of the population of two to three million can cast spells? This is too exaggerated!"
"No, it's not an exaggeration, it's a fact. If you don't believe it, just go and see it for yourself and you will know. Anyway, Mis Drannor has opened a direct airship, and it doesn't cost much to buy a ticket."
"If it is really the kind of great mage who owns a mage tower, his wealth usually starts with millions of gold coins."
"Damn! These mages are so rich!"
…
While all kinds of guests in the tavern were discussing this, Dumbledore reached into his leather pocket and took out a gold coin with the profile of Watkin, the goddess of wealth, on it, and calmly tried: "You represent
Who? Lady Silinxi from the Kingdom of Cormanthor? Or Evermeet Island, the Harper Alliance or some other force?"
"Sorry, I can't tell you much about this.
You must know that with the defeat of the City of Shadows and the Aino Oak Desert suddenly being replaced by dense jungles and grasslands overnight, the situation around the Moon Sea has become extremely tense.
Coupled with the sudden rise of the orc tribe in the Rongma Grassland, there might be a fight at some point.
In addition, the Zhentarim's ubiquitous spies are also a huge threat.
Maybe there are one or two guests in this tavern right now."
When it was time to speak, Kedelin looked around with very subtle movements, as if looking for potential spies.
But his gesture did not make the cunning and well-informed Dumbledore relax his vigilance.
Because of his long-term adventure in Faerûn, he has seen all kinds of conspiracies and tricks, including the Immortal Jump.
Sometimes some powerful creatures that are too idle, such as dragons, vampire lords, lichs, etc., will even hire adventurers and mercenaries to kill them.
Then play with each other through mazes, traps and monsters, and enjoy the feeling of manipulating other people's destiny.
Therefore, in Dumbledore's eyes, employers with unknown origins are sometimes more dangerous than enemies.
Out of caution, he subconsciously exchanged a look with the old friend next to him.
Immediately afterwards, Grindelwald took over the conversation and responded directly: "No problem, we have accepted this commission. But how should I contact you after it is completed?"
"Don't worry, I will take the initiative to contact you. One final reminder, you'd better be careful. Because this group of orcs is very different from their traditional counterparts who only know how to burn, kill and loot. Especially their chief Thrall."
As the last word blurted out, Codling stood up and walked out of the tavern without even looking at the large bag of gold coins placed on the bar.
Even other guests who saw this scene were shocked by the attitude of treating money as garbage.
After all, that was not fifty gold coins, let alone five hundred gold coins, but a full five thousand gold coins.
For many relatively poor nobles, it is not known whether the net profit of their territories in a year can reach this figure.
But now, someone actually throws it to others casually like five copper coins.
"Hmph! There must be something wrong with this guy."
Grindelwald grabbed a handful of golden coins, weighed them, and then put them back.
“Isn’t this the adventure we’ve been waiting for?
You know, I have never been to the Far North.
I just took this opportunity to go to the Rongma Grassland and headed north, through the Galena Mountains and into Vasa, to appreciate the most spectacular glacier in the world.
After that, you can continue to go all the way east to experience Ser, ruled by red-robed wizards, and the birthplace of another magical civilization, the Imasca Empire."
When saying these words, Dumbledore's tone was full of excitement and expectation.
You must know that for those who are older and have more experience, the most terrifying thing is not the continuous aging of the body, but that they are too familiar with everything around them, and they no longer have the curiosity and freshness they had when they were young.
Explore desire.
Gradually, they will begin to lose interest in the entire world, and even live numbly every day without a strong desire to survive.
To a certain extent, the former Dumbledore was such a person.
But now, he just wants to travel through this world that is full of unknowns for him, to appreciate the scenery and customs along the way, to dig out the relics of lost ancient civilizations, and to learn a completely different system of magical theoretical knowledge and interesting facts.
Spells.
"In that case, let us enjoy this journey."
Grindelwald saw through the thoughts in his old friend's mind at a glance, stood up directly and dragged the drunk Vanswijk to the guest room on the second floor.
Dumbledore used very covert movements to take out a magic map and tried to track Codling's location.
But unfortunately, the other party obviously blessed himself with a spell that blocked the detection of prophecy magic, so no useful information was found.
In fact, during the conversation just now, he had been using some small means to detect the other party's memory and thoughts, but the results were intercepted without exception.
I don’t know if he is wearing a corresponding magic item, or if he has resistance in this area or has magic constant.
But even so, this kind of temptation also illustrates a problem from the side, that is, Kedelin is consciously taking precautions.
This is obviously not what a "normal" employer would do.
Either he is deliberately hiding something and doesn't want outsiders to know, or the commission itself is a trap.
But the more dangerous it was, the more exciting and interesting Dumbledore found it, without any intention of backing down.
On the other side, far away in a tree house in the north of the city of Myth Drannor, which had just regained some vitality, Kedelin was kneeling on one knee and reported to a man whose whole body was hidden in the darkness: "I have followed your instructions.
We requested to hire the three-person team. However, they were very cautious and it may be difficult for them to act as planned."
"It doesn't matter.
As long as they are willing to accept the commission, my plan will be more than half successful.
As for the rest, just improvise.
To be continued...