From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 505 The Witchcraft General Store

“Having confidence is certainly a good thing, Roland,” Gale, who was also standing at the counter, said. “However, I must remind you that sometimes being too sharp isn’t always a good thing, and you must protect your creativity. Although this hasn’t happened to me, it certainly exists among academic mages. There are rumors that Lorokan is a scoundrel… I don’t mean to slander him, but you should at least find out where the rumors came from; it will help you better understand your mentor.”

“Protect…creativity?” Roland looked somewhat confused, but he quickly fixed his gaze on Gale with a wary look. “You mean Master Lorokan would…no, that’s absolutely impossible!”

“Perhaps,” Gale nodded in agreement. “But mages must maintain a wary skepticism towards everything, otherwise magic cannot progress, right?”

Seeing Roland nod hesitantly, Gale didn't press the matter further and asked, "Ivy came with me to find the magic book. Where is your bookseller?"

“She’s in the back.” Roland pointed behind him, where a female human mage stood among a pile of bookshelves, wearing exaggerated eyeshadow and lip gloss.

As the trio approached, the bookseller, Thorna, said in a very low voice, "This is the Magic Library. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Why did you..." Gail's question was interrupted by the bookseller's raised finger before she could finish.

“Shh—these books are sensitive; they prefer a quiet environment,” Torna whispered anxiously.

"What? Books? They like quiet like Minsk too?" Minsk, who was always like a loudspeaker, exclaimed in surprise, which to most people was no different from shouting.

The counter in front of Tolna immediately trembled, and a large amount of magical energy was released in all directions, which was about to cause a chain reaction.

"Snapped!"

A crisp finger snap sounded.

The out-of-control magic was calmed down like a puppy that had been given a bone, and even a few enthusiastic magic books circled around Ivy, eager to be turned by his fingers.

"By Azus!" Even in shock, the bookseller Tolna maintained a barely audible voice, "What kind of magic is this? How did you do that?"

“I’ve always been good at this,” Ivy said casually. “At the magic academy I attended, the headmaster set up an area in the library that refused to accept mediocre visitors, and all the magic books in there were pretty much the same type.”

“A monster book that will chase you and bite your butt; an invisible book that will automatically become invisible and will never reveal new knowledge until you break the invisibility spell; a dark magic book that starts howling as soon as you open it, causing your heart to stop; a blood magic book that oozes so much blood that it can flood the entire library.” Ivy shrugged. “Exploding is just the most mediocre kind. You should prepare separate spaces for them, otherwise they will all explode sooner or later.”

“I never imagined Baldur’s Gate would welcome another archmage…” The bookseller Thorna’s eyes widened. “Are you here to visit Master Lorokan? He’s in the Ramakis Tower in the Upper City. Although there’s a portal that leads directly there, visitors must first figure out what the Nightsong is. Or could I help deliver a message? It’s been a long time since an archmage from out of town has visited Master Lorokan; he’ll be delighted to see you!”

“Thank you for your kindness, friend.” Ivy returned the magic book that he had read with Scholar’s ​​Touch. “My friend and I are looking for some rarer, treasured knowledge. Would you like to introduce it to us?”

“I knew I’d met someone who knew their stuff today!” Torna seemed delighted, finally able to show off the collection of the witchcraft general store. “Our library does indeed have a collection of books that other shops can’t display.”

"Don't tell anyone else this. Master Lorokan wasn't even willing to keep them in his tower. Clearly, the knowledge in the books is more powerful than the staff."

"Unwilling to keep the book in his own tower?" Gale repeated. "I thought every mage trusted his own mage tower."

“Of course, it’s because the vault of the Wizarding General Store is more powerful!” Thorna said proudly, spreading her arms wide. “Ever since Master Ramages used the treasures he brought back from the deep sea to build the Mage Tower a century ago, the vault of the Wizarding General Store has been reinforced time and time again. Even though Master Lorokan has been in charge of the tower for several years, he still believes that his abilities are not as good as Master Ramages’s.”

“That sounds reasonable. The success of the sailor mage Ramages has always been a mystery,” Gale chimed in. “Tell us about your books!”

"For the safety of those secret texts and our customers, they're all locked underground. There's an eternal dimensional anchor there, personally set up by Master Ramages, which can prevent any form of teleportation! So it's absolutely safe!" Tolna was less introducing the vault and more showing off. "There are four of the best books in the vault!"

"The Codex of Sakyat is said to be strongly related to the Necromancer's Tome of Sel, but everyone knows that book is in the possession of the High Lich Sazarstan. Moreover, unlocking the Codex of Sakyat requires a considerable price," Tolna said mysteriously. "No one knows exactly what the price is; I've only heard about it myself. But everyone knows that knowledge itself has power. Even just reading certain spells is enough to harm a person's soul."

Gale couldn't help but glance at Ivy, because he knew very well that the secret book belonging to the great lich Sazarstani was in the latter's hands, and had been read from beginning to end.

Gale had no doubt that Ivy would be interested in a magic book closely related to necromancy, not to mention that it could also be linked to the "Necromantic Codex of Sel".

However, Netheril magic was the more pressing problem troubling them. But before Gale could even ask, Tolna began explaining the other books.

"The 'Encyclopedia of the Joyful Court,' written by a highly talented halfling, is said to reveal the secrets of the Fairy Pantheon. Yes, just like you think, an author who has wandered the Fairy Wilderness and even made connections with the members of the Joyful Court!" Thorna's eyes lit up. "It's a pity I'm not qualified to read it. In fact, none of the staff who serve Master Lorokan have read it, but he at least gave us a general description of the knowledge within, which I think is certainly harmless."

“A book about outer planes? That’s certainly fascinating, and I’m curious too, but it’s not the one we’re looking for.” Gale nodded, then began to hint at documents related to Netheril, “Are there any related to crowns, extremely valuable crowns, like…”

“The Red Knight's Strategic Manual!” Thorna swung her arm forcefully. “I bet you’ve heard of her, haven’t you? A devout strategist who ascended to the Pantheon as a chosen one of the God of War, Tempest, becoming the universally known Lady of Strategy, Crimson General, and Master of the Pawn Chess.” “The Strategic Manual is a compilation she personally designed, preserved in the material plane specifically for the benefit of us mortals—it’s extremely rare! Perhaps it contains the secrets to commanding large armies in battle!”

“The mystery of a god?” Gale took a breath and whispered to Ivy, “But I guess it doesn’t go into detail about the real secrets of godhood.”

“Alright, I’ll be blunt. What we need is a book about Netheril, preferably one that’s connected to Karthus himself.” Gale decided to stop hinting and state his needs clearly.

“I’m starting to suspect you’ve sneaked into our vault!” Tolna teased. “I believe there’s a book that will satisfy your needs: The Almanac of Karthus: The Foolish Netheril.”

"It is said to have been written by Karthus himself, the Netheril arcanist who attempted to replace the goddess of magic, failed, and was thus exiled."

“Great magical knowledge, but few can withstand it.” Tolna gestured. “Impossible.”

“Exiled?” Gale frowned slightly. “I thought it had turned into a stone… Never mind, can I take a look at it, or buy it?”

"Buy them? They're all not for sale." Torna looked at him with a hopeless expression. "Our vault is very secure. No one can harm them, and they won't cause any harm either."

Ivy gently patted Gale on the shoulder, indicating that the conversation should be left to the person with the highest charisma: "Your job is to share knowledge, not lock it away. I've proven my abilities, haven't I? To avoid any questions, let me introduce myself. I'm an archmage from another plane, Ivy Doom. I'm currently a professor at the Striaven Higher School of Magic, in the Striaven library—the Mogden Pavilion—which houses the most mysterious spellbooks from various material planes. Faerûn is still a relatively new plane for us; perhaps we can exchange knowledge..."

“To be honest, I’m a mage in charge of admissions in Faerûn. If the magical knowledge here is profound enough, perhaps I can persuade the deans to give me some places to recommend for further studies.” Ivy’s expression was both self-assured and sincere, and couldn’t be more convincing. “I can see that you are a very interested learner in magic. Haven’t you ever thought about taking your magic further? Serving Master Lorokan is certainly a good job, but if you can get a full scholarship from Strijn, you can explore the largest library in the multiverse, discuss the mysteries of magic with young talents from all timelines, and spark creative ideas that belong to the youth.”

Ivy opened his palm, and five different magical powers converged, merged, and then separated in his palm, eventually forming a beautiful Star of Strelhaven.

Tolna was undoubtedly tempted. Her breathing quickened as she stared dreamily at the magical symbol in Ivy's palm: "I...I can't...that's Master Lorokan's collection, not mine..."

“Of course, this is a very big deal, and it can’t be done without the presence of the Archmage of Ramakis Tower.” Ivy flicked her fingers, causing the Star of Strelheim in her palm to dissipate in a more dreamlike way. “However, it is necessary for us to verify the authenticity of those books. The specific transaction can be put off until later, and will be completed by me, representing Strelheim, and Master Lorokan.”

"...and the exchange student program, I'll never forget that." Ivy smiled gently again.

"If anyone can offer a small favor in this great magical deal, it's you, Tolna," Ivy said solemnly. "Let us grasp the value of those tomes and gain some advantage in our negotiations with Master Lorokan. A small favor in exchange for a more relaxed learning environment..."

Ivy stopped talking and waited for Torna to convince herself in her mind.

The sound of the young mage swallowing was clearly audible. She finally made up her mind: "Come with me, Master Doom... The portal to the cellar is in my office. Master Lorokan has been obsessed with finding the lost artifact, the Song of the Night, but too many opportunists trying to make a quick buck have been bothering him. So he hasn't set foot in the sorcery general store in a long time, leaving only a mirror image of himself."

“However, he recently sent an apprentice to work here.” Torna stepped out from behind the bookshelf and called to Roland, “Watch the counter for me, apprentice! I need to take these two distinguished guests upstairs for a detailed discussion!”

“Okay! You can call me Roland next time, dear.” Roland waved in response.

“Master Lorokan has very high standards for his apprentices, and not many people can persevere.” Tolna shrugged. “We even made a bet on how long Roland could last. I bet five gold coins on a month.”

“But… there are three of us…” Gale turned around and looked at Minsk, who was watching the gray dwarf mage warily on the other side of the hall.

“It’s extremely impolite to have bodyguards in the vault, Gale.” Ivy gave Gale a polite smile and winked at him.

"Oh, sorry." Gale understood immediately. "Let's go then."

Tolna's office is located on the second-floor platform. In addition to the living armored guards, there are four portals of different colors in the second-floor corridor, and the mage phantom of Lorokan stands in the middle of the stairs.

Ivy immediately recognized it as nothing more than a low-level illusion created with magical artifacts. It wasn't even as interactive as Gale's post-mortem insurance; it could only mechanically repeat some pre-recorded sounds.

Using a key to open the iron gate, Torna led the two into an office filled with various scrolls and books, and then pulled out a book from a corner of the bookshelf.

In an instant, a gray-white portal appeared in the room.

“Please come in, Master Doom and his friends,” Tolna said, extending her hand in invitation.

(End of this chapter)