"Don't rush—sit down and tell me slowly," Rus said as he settled into his seat.
"Yes, my lord," Old Gordon took a moment to compose himself, then spoke clearly and concisely. "I contacted Baron Roger through the Mercenaries' Guild. He replied that due to skyrocketing demand, the selection of magical equipment is limited—and prices have more than doubled!"
Rus turned calmly to Eric. "What about your side of things?"
"Pretty much the same," Eric replied, clearly ashamed. "Warhorses are now going for 15.3 gold each—over a 50% increase. Even pack horses are up to 2.4 gold!"
"As for divine potions—it's madness. A basic Tier-1 potion is now 367 gold, and the directed-awakening ones aren't even being sold."
"And the Iron Essence cores?" Rus pressed.
Eric froze for a second. "…Those too. Four of them now cost 1,176 gold."
"Hmm…" Rus rubbed his chin, expression calm and unshaken, as if he'd expected this.
