The streets of Viaggia were crowded, so it took some time for Pos to arrive at the venue. Fortunately, the dwarf had expected this and set off from the inn early. Still, it was a close call as he arrived just before the auction was to start.

“Finally! He’s here. You’re late! Again!”

Pos could not help but chuckled when he saw that the party were waiting for him at the entrance of the newly built auction building. Like most [Berserker], Nog was a dramatic dwarf, so it did not surprised Pos that she was the one complaining. He was surprised however by her appearance. The female dwarf was still wearing her normal armour and weapons, but they had a shine to them that was not there during the dungeon delve. Her beard also seemed to be newly oiled.

In fact, all the party members looked to be at their best. Considering he didn’t even polish his boots, Pos felt severely under-dressed.

“No, I am on time. It’s just that all of you are early! What? Can’t wait to see how much gold we’ll all be getting?”

A few laughs and smiles greeted Pos’ comeback. Everyone was in a good mood, and deservedly so. This was the day they got rich.

“Come on, let’s get inside. I got us a good place, and I rather not risk some idiots ignoring the reserved seating.”

At Jes Doublestone’s words, the party walked towards the entrance of the auction building where Pos saw a sign informing everyone that the entrance fee was five silvers per person. However, as they had an item up for auction, the party was allowed free entry. The party quickly handed over identification from the Adventurer Guild to the guards who waved them inside.

Once he was inside the stone building, Pos saw that the auction hall was designed like a theatre. There were two floors, and a stage made of solid wood was located at one end of the ground floor. The stage had wide maroon curtains on both sides and rows of seats were arrayed in front of the stage. Jes guided the party to the seats allotted to them. Once they were seated, Pos looked around and guessed there were enough seats for about two hundred guests. Considering the seating arrangement, Pos could tell that the floor would be crowded. He then glanced up at the second floor.

The second floor had a handful of balconies overlooking the stage and the people sitting on first floor. The balconies were slightly covered by light curtains and were obviously reserved for the richer guests. Pos thought it was unfortunate that the party could not afford such spots. He would like to know how it felt sitting in one of those.

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“Any of you bidding?” Everyone looked at Vorma, who looked back at everyone in surprise. “What? This is the first auction for the items recovered from the dungeon, don’t tell me none of you are interested?”

“We're not here to bid. We are here as guests of the Adventurer Guild, to observe the auction of the item we recovered.” Umdar reminded the [Sorceress].

“No rule says we can’t.” Vorma replied, a teasing smile on her face.

“True, but there’s no need to risk the wrath of the Adventurer Guild.”

“What if something I really want comes up?”

“It’s your funeral.”

The byplay of words between Umdar and Vorma had Pos rolling his eyes and he was not the only one. The [Knight] and [Sorceress] both felt a need to needle each other, and rest of the party were spilt on whether it was hatred or pure love.

Luckily, Pos did not have to listen to their banter much longer as the lights in the auction hall started to dim but for the few located right above the stage. Pos looked above the stage and saw that several runes had been craved in the stones of the building. Pos had missed them coming in but now saw that the runes were creating the lights, mostly likely for the species who could not see in the dark. The auction was about to start.

A human female wearing flowing white robes stepped onto the stage. The entire auction house was quiet as the human turned and looked at the crowd in front of her with a soothing smile. Pos immediately had a positive impression of her and knew that a Skill was at work.

[Calm Yourself], [No Anger At Me], [Rage Has No Place Here].

Several Skills came to mind, and Pos wondered which was the one the woman was using. Most of these skills were granted to people with classes like [Kings], [Generals], and [Tacticians], and Pos doubt anyone with those classes would be hosting an auction. As the woman continued to speak, Pos mentally went through the other skills he knew. [Monks] and [Priests] also had some skills like [Bend Like The Reed], [Peace Upon You] and [Flow Like Water], but the woman did not look like a monk or a priestess.

Pos wondered what Class the woman had.

“Welcome everyone to the first ever auction for items recovered from the Tomb of Ten Thousand Techniques. I am Aria Caliva, your host for today,” she said with a clear gentle voice that somehow managed to be clearly heard at the other end of the building.

“As everyone knows, dungeons are wonderous creatures. They are dangerous, but they are also a source of great wealth and knowledge. Unusual ingredient can grow in a dungeon, extinct animals can find a home in them, we could find enchanted weapons and armor, and even long-lost books.

As many of you knows, a new dungeon had been found near Viaggia. It is called the Tomb of Ten Techniques. Brave adventurers had risked their lives to enter its depths. Some had met their deaths in its depths, but others had returned with great, strange treasures. Today, we are offering some of them for auction.”

The woman paused and smiled. Pos could feel his anticipation rising. He was almost certain the woman was using another skill, but he didn’t care. Pos just wanted to see the items on offer. He wanted the auction to start!

“Let us begin.”