As the flames sparked by the magic spread outward, the entire house was soon engulfed in towering firelight.
Some nearby residents were roused by the blaze and hurriedly woke from their sleep, carrying buckets of water in an attempt to put it out.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
They could only do their best to dig firebreaks and prevent the flames from igniting the surrounding houses.
Watching the panicked crowd in the nearby street, Raymond, standing in the darkness, immediately asked without turning his head, "Have all the valuable goods and merchandise in the underground warehouse been moved out?"
"Please rest assured! Everything was moved out before the fire began spreading. Most of it consisted of valuable spices, silk, and sugar. Based on my estimate, it was worth approximately forty-eight to sixty thousand gold pieces. If transported to Amn or Baldur's Gate farther north, it could earn at least four times that amount in profit. In Waterdeep or Neverwinter even farther north, it might reach eight times that."
Bernard truly was a shrewd merchant. With only a couple of glances, he had already determined the value of the goods stored in Muke's warehouse.
More importantly, all these sought-after goods had been obtained for free. There was no need to spend money purchasing them, nor did he need to worry about large-scale purchases causing price fluctuations.
At the same time, seeing with his own eyes how Raymond had effortlessly eliminated a pirate hideout occupied by a large number of armed men greatly increased Bernard's confidence in reaching Athkatla safely.
"Very good! I'll leave these goods for you to handle." Raymond gave the merchant an approving look.
Little did anyone know that he was frantically complaining inwardly. That enormous pile of goods is only worth fifty or sixty thousand gold pieces?