Glade strode through the auction house’s entrance and stopped in his tracks, taking in the unexpected activity playing out before him. What was normally a quiet building with only a few people walking through the opulent hall and various offices was now a din of madness. Dozens of people dressed in white service uniforms were moving with purpose, either cleaning, setting out various decorations, or carrying boxes.
The towering form of Jirea spotted them almost immediately. The moment her gaze locked onto Glade, she broke out into a massive grin before striding through the crowd to sweep him up into a bear hug like he was a small child.
Several bruised ribs later, she let Glade go to do the same for Kedryn and Riya.
“I assume congratulations are in order then?” Riya laughed, hugging the monstrously strong woman back.
Jirea nodded emphatically, slamming her hand onto Glade’s shoulder in what he thought might be a show of gratitude. In that moment, he was sorely tempted to use his telepathy if it meant the body mage would beat on him less. The only thing that stopped him was that Helmund and his team already knew far too many of their secrets. He was loathe to give out even more.
“Any chance we could talk with Helmund?” Glade finally got out once he could breath past his pained ribs.
Jirea didn’t hesitate, leading them past several crews setting up glass covered display tables and through the massive double doors that led to the auction hall proper.
The hall was not what Glade was expecting. He had envisioned something like a theater from back home. Instead, he found himself staring at what looked like a miniaturized stadium that could seat a few hundred people comfortably with private suites at the highest levels. It was obvious the house was designed with functionality in mind, allowing people to look at the immaculate wooden platform from anywhere in the hall. A wide ramp led up from unseen depths onto the center of the platform where more people dressed in white carried a variety of items up and down the walkway.
Helmund was at the center of the hall, orchestrating the rush of people like a conductor in a moving symphony of chaos. He held a large ledger in his hands, constantly referencing it with the items his workers presented him for inspection.
“No, no, no, Tomas!” Helmund yelled, storming up to a large young man who was carrying a beautifully crafted longsword. “How many times do I have to tell you, the venue, and hence our sales strategy, has changed! All weapons that don’t have a fire or lightning enchantment are now to be part of the silent auctions out in the hall! Is that blade you’re carrying marked with any of those enchantments? No! For once, would you please read the bloody tag!?”
The boy slowly read the tag attached to the blade in a slow, ponderous voice. “It says it's called the Sword of Gusting Leaves.”
“For crying out loud,” Helmund snapped, snatching the weapon from the boy's hands. “See here? The light blue marker indicates its an air attuned weapon! Now, before you strain that brain of yours any further, go take this to Pelina and tell her to place it in the center display with the other air enchanted daggers and armor. After that, report to Hellina and the rest of the cleaning crew. Maybe she can do something with you.”
Tomas nodded before lumbering off.
“I swear, if his mother wasn’t the best chef in the city I wouldn’t have anything to do with him,” Helmund grumbled before calling out to another worker who was carrying far too many boxes.
“What’s going on?” Riya finally asked Jirea, who promptly pulled out her hand held slate.
* Auction moved up. City hunting monsters. -
“What kind of monsters?” Kedryn asked as he read the note over Glade’s shoulder.
“The Hall of Houses announced this morning that several abyssal monsters have been seen in the East,” Helmund snapped angrily, looking extremely agitated as he reviewed the open ledger he was carrying. “Any abyssal sighting is considered a city wide threat. Scouts have been deployed and the houses are marshaling their response teams. Naturally, they tried pressuring me to open my doors and sell off my entire stock at cost.”
He ended his statement with a scoff, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Is that what you’re preparing for then?” Riya asked, eyeing the myriad of workers rushing about the hall. “To sell your items at a discount?”
“Yes and no,” Helmund replied absently before grabbing Avery who was leading several others with crates toward the display tables. “Avery, make sure the skill books are placed in a prominent location this time. Word on the street is that houses’ Gerrand, Heron, and Yill are bringing on new recruits for the hunt. They’ll likely pay through the nose to get their hands on that many skill books at once.”
“Of course sir,” Avery said in his rich, cultured voice.
Turning back to Kedryn, Helmund explained further as he scribbled notes in the ledger.
“My license requires me to be flexible with my goods in times of emergency, but I get to determine the scope of that flexibility. It will take the houses two days to gather in and prepare their forces. I offered to move up the auction to tomorrow morning, hence why my hall looks like a war zone right now.”
“Won’t that cut into your profit margins?” Glade asked, genuinely curious.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Helmund replied darkly as he grabbed the next worker to walk by by the arm. “Desmond, please have lots 349 through 352 moved from the private showings hall and place them next to last in the queue for the main auction.” He then turned back to Glade. “While I will likely make gold hand over fist for items that can be used in dealing with abyssal monsters, I don’t have near enough of those on hand to compensate for the losses I’m going to have this quarter. I’ve been focused on versatile growth and support items these past few months, not specialized weapons.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Why not do another auction after the monsters are dealt with?” Riya asked.
“My license only permits me to hold an open auction once a quarter,” Helmund explained. “A clause that helps all the local businesses stay in business according to the hall of houses. I’ll set up a series of private showings from now until the next auction for anything that doesn’t sell, but that won’t even come close to what I could have gotten at the auction and the houses know it. Now, I’d love to spend more of my time complaining about how I’m going to be hemorrhaging gold, but I need to get back to brainstorming how I’m going to keep food on the table over the next three months.”
“We don’t want to take up much of your time,” Glade said quickly. “We came to follow up with you on the House Lensher proposal as well as discuss a more permanent partnership.”
“While I’d love to discuss this at length, I’ll have to ask you to wait…” Helmund was interrupted by Jirea, who was cracking her knuckles rather loudly while giving the half-elf a meaningful look.
“...Yes, Jirea darling?” Helmund asked, his voice coming out strained.
There was some quick writing on the slate.
* Our guests deserve your time. Now. -
Glade immediately felt the discomfort in the room ratchet up as everyone realized for the first time the true nature of Helmund and Jirea’s relationship. Judging by Riya’s wide eyed expression, she hadn’t known about it either.
Jirea's gaze continued to bore into the half-elf, giving him a look that brooked no room for argument.
“Fine! I’ll give them 15 minutes,” Helmund growled, throwing up his arms in frustration before storming off toward his office “Avery!” he called out. “You’re in charge until I get back!”
Somewhere out of sight, Avery called back an affirmative.
Before walking off, Glade couldn’t help but notice Jirea’s proud look of approval she shot Helmund’s way.
“I still don’t understand why this is such a big deal,” Riya said as they made their way to Helmund’s office. “I mean, how big of an impact is moving up the auction going to have? The fact that abyssal monsters have been seen should drive up demand, shouldn’t it?”
“For useful weapons and items, aye,” Bragden said. “I imagine the various houses will have strict instructions to only buy what be needed for the hunt. By doing so, it means they’re going to try and drive down the prices o’ the other goods. Not to mention that any outside buyers won’t be able to attend this quarter’s auction is another needless shaft in yer proverbial mine.”
“Then why not keep the items till the next auction?” Kedryn asked.
“I believe it's a matter of liquidity,” Glade said. “If I understand the business model correctly, Helmund likely ties up most of his funds in inventory, which he can only really sell at premium every quarter.”
“And this quarter’s profits are going to be much, much lower than projected, which weakens my purchasing power for future auctions,” Helmund grumbled loudly as he threw the door to his office open. “I’ll be lucky if it takes me a year to recover from this nightmare. Now, please make it quick. As you can see, I have very little time.”
Jirea closed the door and activated a privacy enchantment, afterwhich Glade asked his first question.
“Any word from house Lensher?” he asked.
“Yes, but it's not good news,” Helmund said, his demeanor changing from agitated to one of defeat after the doors were closed. “I apologize for my rude behavior out there, but I didn’t know who might be watching and reporting any friendly business dealings. I promised I would keep your secrets to the best of my abilities, and I am doing just that. Oh, and thank you, by the way, for getting Jirea ranked up to Master.”
“No need for apologies. I know what it's like being in crisis management mode,” Glade waved away the response. “What news do you have?”
“I approached the House Patriarch directly with this request, seeing as I want as few people as possible to be aware that someone with your ability is within the city’s limits. Needless to say, he was very surprised at your generous offer, but ultimately declined. For him, your friends represent a chance to build his house’s martial reputation, something that his house has been lacking in comparison to House Fellu.”
“Figures it wouldn’t be that easy,” Glade sighed. “No other counter offers?”
“Well, yes. But I told him you would disagree with the proposal. He offered two of the eight spots to enter the labyrinth in exchange for sending eight of his people to an adjudicator trial. I figured it was prudent not to let the patriarch know the reason why you are interested in those particular slaves. If he knew they were friends of yours he would exploit you for everything you have and then some.”
“What?” Kedryn stammered. “That offer makes no sense! The naming ability alone is worth a trip to the labyrinth.”
“In some cases yes, in others no,” Helmund explained with another sigh before pouring himself a drink. “Being sent to trial by someone who knows the name of an adjudicator is rare and can help break through skill rank limitations. The advantage is that this method doesn’t have restrictions. Anyone, regardless of race or brands can benefit. So long as someone with the ability sends you to trial, you will go.
“Labyrinths on the other hand, restrict those without the proper brand to the outer limits of the adjudicator’s respective domain. They can rank up their skills, but that's the most they can do if they don’t have the right brand.”
“What happens if you have the right brand?” Kedryn asked, leaning ever so slightly forward, his fascination on the subject clear.
“From every report I’ve read, each Adjudicator has a different purpose for their labyrinths. If you have the right brand you gain access to all the trials and instruction the Adjudicator desires to provide. Some will test you while others will simply reward you for whatever you’ve already accomplished. I’ve read accounts that range from people radically increasing their skills to having their bloody race changed. It all depends on which Adjudicator you are facing and their interest in you. The only constant is that whatever happens within a labyrinth is considered the will of the Adjudicator.”
“I must be missing something here,” Kedryn said with a shake of his head. “What is the purpose of labyrinths? I thought they were mazes with monsters and treasure and stuff.”
“Yer thinking o’ dungeons, lad,” Bragden said. “Labyrinths ain’t a maze. They be paths o’ personal growth and enlightenment, designed by the Adjudicators to test the metal of our values.”
“You know, that makes a lot of sense,” Glade said. “Labyrinths where we come from were misconstrued as mazes all the time. Historically, they were twisting paths that were used as a ceremonial journey of self…”
Glade trailed off as Kedryn gave him an odd look.
“What?” he asked defensively. “I studied ancient religions and their practices as part of my major. I’d say look it up, but well, it's kind of hard to do that now.”
Before Kedryn or the others could comment, Glade turned back to Helmund who was giving both him and the Corporal some odd looks.
“Can you confirm if the entire group will be going through the labyrinth all at once?”
“Yes,” Helmund said, giving Glade a speculative look. “What are you thinking?”
“Weighing probabilities and risks in trying to solve our problem,” Glade replied. “You said that whatever happens inside a labyrinth is widely accepted as the will of the Adjudicator, right?”
“Yes…” Helmund said, narrowing his eyes.
“How would House Lensher react if the slave collars just happened to fall off our friends while inside?”