Time passed quickly as Pax and his crew got involved in the drama unfolding around them. Dahni let out an excited exclamation. Pax realized why, when he took a closer look at the current collection up for auction. It contained a bunch of familiar flame-based beast parts, one of theirs.
“Let’s start the bidding of this excellent collection of crafting and enchanting ingredients for the discerning customer at a very reasonable ten silver.”
Three paddles popped up instantly, making the auctioneer’s smile widen. His hand jabbed out energetically as numbers and bids flew from his mouth. The rapidly climbing number made Pax and his friend exchange excited glances. Dahni and Amil couldn’t sit still, jolting with excitement with each new bid.
“Sold! The collection goes to #203 for a final bid of one gold, eighty silver.”
“Wow,” Amil whispered. “We are going to be so rich.”
Tasar looked up from the careful notes he’d been taking and shook his head. “Rich is relative.”
Amil’s smile faded a touch, and he gave the warrior a conceding tip of his head.
“What this means is with the things we’re selling, we can probably buy anything we need during this part of the auction,” Rin said. “But we don’t have anything close to the amount needed for the artifact part, at least not to get enough items for all of us.”
The others looked thoughtful before nodding.
So, before the artifact part starts, we need to grab anything that fits our builds, keeping in mind we’ll have more coin at the end of this auction and after our Purge shares. Rin gave them an encouraging look as she switched to the Echoes. Watch for items to help with taming, our new assignment and for when we end up out in the Wilds again, got it?
Nods came all around. It wasn’t anything they hadn’t already discussed. They just had more funds than they’d realized now that they’d seen how much their items sold for.
A few minutes later, Tyrodon bid on and won a collection of air-based cores and parts. He’d been collecting some of the more powerful ones from their own beast loot to keep out of the auction. Pax smiled, excited to see what their crafter came up with and how it would help their crew.
When the raw material section of the evening was over, Pax snuck a peek at Tasar’s total and let out a pleased breath at the amazing number. They all exchanged congratulations as they headed out for another round of delicious treats and a quick trip to take their pets outside.
Then it was time for the crafted items to be auctioned. With the artifact section of the evening likely out of their price range, now was their chance to grab items that fit their needs and goals. A thrum of excitement rushed through Pax as he waited for the auction to start up again.
Still very happy with his Sylph armor set, club and shield, Pax watched as his friends ogled the pieces that came across the stage and took turns bidding.
“Yes!” Dahni said, when he came out ahead and won a set of sturdy leather greaves that had a bonus against piercing damage. “No more ankle biters getting to me again.”
Amil tried to win a hammer that was a bit over his skill level and sourced from flame-based monster parts. A trio of warriors had quickly outbid him to fight for it amongst themselves. Amil had nudged Tyrodon to pay attention, whispering a request to figure out how to build him one, or ask one of his crafter friends to help duplicate the piece.
Rin had her notebook out, scribbling down notes about items and prices. When he gave her an inquiring glance, she grinned and whispered, “Leveling my Evaluate.”
Bryn and Tasar just watched, noting the various weapons and armor that came through, but not bidding on anything. Like Pax, they seemed happy with their load out and kept watch for items that the entire crew might need. One of those was a potion collection, filled with multiple lower-leveled ones instead of only a few higher ones. It was perfect for their student crew, supplementing the small supply from their academy allotment.
Amil won a set of inventory boxes, including another powered cold one and a heated one.
He grinned and rubbed his hands when the gavel came down in his favor. “We’re going to be eating piping hot meals our next time out in the Wilds.”
“Sweet,” Dahni said, giving his shoulder a happy bump.
After a while, Pax decided they might not find anything for their more pressing goals. He wasn’t even sure what kind of item would help with their Taming and had been looking for a not-so-obvious item to aid their information gathering during their Vanguard assignment. He hoped he’d recognized them when he saw them.
It turned out Rin was the one to catch the first useful item. Pax’s attention had drifted when she nudged him and pushed her chin toward the stage, obviously doing her best not to appear too interested.
His attention immediately sharpened, and he caught the tail end of the auctioneer’s explanation. “—pulled from an abandoned mining operation, this fine set of vermin traps will be a valuable addition to any warehouse or food storage operation. We’ll start the bidding at five silver.”
The reaction was definitely lukewarm from the audience of people more focused on action than taking care of warehouses.
For Mistress Nymeli? Pax asked, before he suddenly made the connection to the real reason for Rin's interest. Oh. They can probably be adapted to trap baby beasts for our Taming operation.”
Exactly!
Only one older, portly gentleman who must have been assigned to the Purge camp instead of fighting bothered to bid against them. He quickly gave up when they didn’t hesitate to match his bids.
When they won, Pax and Rin sat back in satisfaction. He was glad to have at least something from the night that might boost their Taming enterprise.
Tyrodon gave them an excited nod. I should be able to adapt those pretty easily, especially if I use parts from our trap system to improve them. I’m thinking one of our teams out in the Wilds could move from one nest to another, placing traps in each one and then just circle back around at the end to retrieve their prizes. It would save having to chase down miles of tiny nest tunnels to dig out the babies.
Perfect! Pax sent, glad Tyrodon was already working on how to use the new acquisition.
A few items later, Amil tapped his leg to get his attention.
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“This is a fun novelty item for those with coin to spare.” The auctioneer held up a small glowing stone. “Crafted from the crystallized vocal cords of the elusive Ghostsong Howler, this unassuming stone emits a faint ethereal glow, but the fun is when you activate it with a bit of mana. See what the Ghostsong Crystal can do.” He motioned toward the side as the suspense built.
A smiling young boy hurried out and, to everyone’s surprise, sang a few lines of a well-known ballad right next to the glowing stone. When he stopped, the crowd hesitated, unsure if they should applaud or not.
The auctioneer stepped forward, holding the object high before he did something Pax couldn’t make out. The beautiful sounds of the boy’s voice suddenly emerged from the device in perfect mimicry to his previous singing.
That got immediate applause, making the auctioneer smile. “Now don’t worry, we have a set of five available. We will start the bidding at five silver and once done, the top five bidders will each win one.”
The amounts weren’t anything like those for the weapons or armor, but the top amount quickly rose high enough to make Pax wince. He quickly realized how valuable the item would be for information collection purposes. If they could tuck it away somewhere the glow didn’t show, they could catch pieces of valuable information spoken when they weren’t there. But Pax had enough questions that he wasn’t sure if it would work for their purposes.
Could they turn the glow off? How long could the device stay activated? How long could it record? Would Tyrodon be able to tweak it to do what they want? Still, if the price for the top five bids didn’t blow up too much, Pax would love to get his hands on one.
“Don’t worry,” Rin said, her paddle held in a white knuckled grip. “I’ve got this.”
The next few minutes went as fast as a battle, bids flying back and forth with paddles shooting up and down. Somehow, both the auctioneer and Rin kept up with it all.
“And sold to #422!” The gavel banged down with the clang that Pax still hadn’t gotten used to over the evening.
“Did you get one?” Pax’s head snapped around to Rin.
The smug grin on her face told him the answer even before the auctioneer read off the other four winners. Pax and the others all congratulated Rin, only quieting down as the auctioneer revealed the next item.
Pax was disappointed to see the crafting section of the auction was almost over as the rolling carts on the stage dwindled with no new replacements. He knew they’d found a couple of useful items, but he wanted something fun. He felt a bit guilty about the inclination, considering he’d unlocked four spells in his new elements. While they were all powerful and practical, there wasn’t anything flashy and fun in the mix.
Well, Ember was pretty fun, but Pax couldn’t bring out the little primordial golem around others. But if he bought something here at the auction, he could use it any time. His hand gripped his unused paddle as the next couple of items came and went, completely unsuited for him. Sure, the Soothing Pillow made from air beast feathers sounded wonderful to sleep on, but for almost a gold? No thanks.
Then the auctioneer held up a round mirror with a flourish. The frame was a simple tarnished metal, smooth with no embellishments. “For one of our last few items, we have this exquisite mana mirror. Now, our assessors decided its power and usefulness was just below artifact level, so someone here will be getting a steal. It is Identified as a Spectral Mana Mirror with the ability to absorb and store mana for the user to examine and manipulate. While it doesn’t seem to allow use of the mana for spells, our assessors did find hints of a locked ability they weren’t able to access. It was found on the inner wall of an abandoned shepherd’s stone hut, so we know it can’t be anything too powerful. But for the mystery lovers and scientists out there, this is perfect. We’ll start the bidding at fifty silver. Who would like to take this piece of history home for a bargain?”
Pax’s mouth went dry at the description, wondering if the mirror and its possible locked ability had anything to do with the light mage headquarters that had been nearby. Locals back then would likely have had access to much more advanced items than usual. And if it took light mana to work properly, it was no wonder the auction house’s assessors weren’t able to figure it out.
What were the chances? It could just be an interesting mirror. How much could he afford to spend on the chance? The bids had come quickly, but slowed down pretty fast. As Pax knew, the study of mana wasn’t as valued by empire citizens as it should be. He decided he wanted it. The possibilities were too unique to pass up.
Help me get this, he sent to Rin as he held his paddle up and met the auctioneer’s gaze.
“And that’s eighty-five silver to #266 in the center section. Do I hear ninety? Who’ll give me ninety, ninety, ninety? I need ninety now, fine folks. Take this beautiful mirror from the past for a steal—”
Pax felt his pulse quicken and had to force himself to loosen his fingers on his paddle as an older woman in the box seats up high on the left held up her paddle with a lazy slowness. He instinctively moved to lift his paddle to counter, but Rin touched his forearm, stopping him.
Give it a second to see who else is interested at this price.
Thanks.
Feeling much more confident with Rin’s help, Pax negotiated the next few seconds as the price quickly reached one gold. That amount made him gulp. Could he afford to spend so much on an unknown? On the other hand, with the war and their plans to join the rebels, the enormous tuition payment was no longer looming over their heads.
Maybe once everything settled back down. Hopefully, they’d be the victors and institute a much fairer way of funding academy education. When he rejoined the bidding, the woman high above them immediately outbid him. The other interested parties quit bidding, leaving just the two of them.
Pax lifted his paddle again as Rin gave him an encouraging nod. One gold twenty silvers. He ignored his inner frugality and kept a firm expression on his face that he hoped conveyed his commitment to winning the item.
His Charisma skill prompted him to turn and look up at the woman. He didn’t flinch when he found her looking at him. Instead, he gave her a respectful tip of his head. She hesitated, ignoring the auctioneer’s prattle encouraging her to make another bid.
A man beside her leaned in to whisper something that she didn’t react to. She paused for long enough that Pax hoped the auctioneer might just call it. But the man was experienced enough to realize it wasn’t over.
And then it was. Seeming to decide, the woman gave him the slightest return nod with an expression similar to his one of respect before she deliberately placed her paddle down in her lap.
“Sold! To the young mage #266. What a fine mystery you’ve acquired. I hope it brings you plenty of satisfaction during these troubled times.”
The auctioneer was already reaching for the next item as Pax sat back in his chair and let out a long breath. Around him, his friends congratulated him and clapped him on the back and shoulders.
“I can’t believe you want to stare at yourself so much that you’d blow so much coin,” Amil joked.
“Me either,” Pax said, wondering if he’d messed up.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get the name of the woman,” Rin said, jotting notes down. “If it doesn’t turn out well, we’ll see if she’s still interested and we can recoup some of the coin.”
Pax gave her a grateful smile.
It won’t be necessary, Tasar sent. It is a mana item, and Pax is the mana master.
Pax gave Tasar a startled look before smiling at the compliment. It was just what he needed to restore his confidence after spending so much of his nest egg. With the worry assuaged, his excitement returned. They’d won items to help with their work as well as a mystery one he couldn’t wait to probe with his mana skills.
By the time they got back from the break for the artifact section to start, Pax thought he was done being surprised. But watching the bids jump into the golds almost immediately made him glad they’d grabbed a few items earlier.
He was happy to see both of his allies, Mage Venris, the leader of Team Burning Claw, and Merchant Windhelm win bids on powerful artifacts. It was heartening to have a few actual friends in the crowd to exchange congratulatory looks with throughout the evening.
It was when he saw how much spell scrolls went for that he almost had a heart attack. He’d played with the idea of putting one of his Windscale Shroud scrolls up for auction. On one hand, it might help associate him with the air element. But their crew had never officially found a ruin, so the origin of the unique spell would draw too much unwanted attention.
When he saw a hotly contested spell go for over ten gold by itself, he decided he had to see if Incedis had a back way to get one of his scrolls into the coming public auction. He’d planned to save them for teammates or other rebels, but suddenly, selling just one for a huge chunk of coin to aid their future plans seemed very reasonable.
As the auction ended with more and more amazing items and bid amounts, Pax got a glimpse into society that felt similar to facing a beast several levels above him. It reminded him again that there was an entire host of people with so much money and power that he was like a level zero compared to them.
Still, the lowest level vermin, if ignored, could still cause problems for the mighty. Pax renewed his vow to be the street rat that helped bring the corruption down.