The moment the red cloth was pulled away, every pair of eyes in the audience lit up with raw hunger, like starving men who had just caught the scent of a feast laid out before them.
Three small carts sat on the stage, each bearing a sizable piece of raw gemstone ore, the kind of uncut material that made fortunes and broke them in equal measure.
"Every year at The Serenity Gemstone Festival, the main event is, of course, the stones themselves." Maximilian strode toward the carts with his microphone, gesturing at each one in turn. "This year's organizers have hand-selected three premium pieces of raw gemstone ore for your consideration. The first is a completely unexposed geode. The second is a partially exposed geode. And the third is an entirely exposed slab. What follows will be the fin
