Since Abner had not set up a Teleportation Altar at Mr. Gaston's house, he first teleported back to Fragrant Manor in Bayam, then used the Flying Cloak to follow the shipping route to Damir Port.
Between dodging storms, straying off course, and shaking off wild Beyonder creatures, Abner encountered so many unexpected delays that it was already Saturday afternoon when he reached Mr. Gaston's school.
Mr. Gaston still carried himself with his usual stiff, gentlemanly air, but Abner knew him too well to be fooled by appearances.
After all, how respectable could an Artisan who made Transformation Wands really be?
Abner took a sip of the Southville coffee Mr. Gaston had prepared and reined in his wandering thoughts. Wait. That includes me...
After a little small talk, he got straight to the point. "You sold my Transformation Wand?"
Mr. Gaston nodded. "I've agreed on a price with Litorio. Besides the secret intelligence about Vice Admiral Deep Sea, he'll pay another 5,000 Gold Pounds."
Litorio was the third mate of The Black Emperor and the owner of the Transformation Wand—Wind that Mr. Gaston had made. In his transformed state, he was known as the Wind Demoness and had a bounty of 11,000 pounds.
He had once stumbled upon a secret of Vice Admiral Deep Sea Howl Constantine's, ruined his plan, and escaped the Pirate Admiral's pursuit.
Abner had used Prophecy to determine that Vice Admiral Deep Sea's secret was likely connected to the Sea Monster with a Prophet characteristic. That was why he had asked Mr. Gaston to make a deal with Litorio.
"As agreed, we split any extra money twenty-eighty. You get twenty percent, I get eighty. Here's your 1,000 pounds." As Mr. Gaston spoke, he took out a bag of gold coins and a smaller bag of gemstones and