The final musician walked off the stage amidst thunderous applause. In the auction houses of the capital and other cities of the Kingdom, there would never be any performances before the actual auction. The city of Artists had made the arts such an intrinsic part of life, that its influence could be felt in everything that took place within the city. The performances were just another example of this. Everywhere else in the country, attendees would feel anxious and irritated at any delays in an auction, but in Bismark, not having any sort of artistic performance would be a black mark on the auction house itself.

“Remember to follow my lead and listen carefully when I give orders on how to act.” Orchid said as the auctioneer took his place on stage.

“Thank you for attending our auction of miscellaneous items today. It is with pleasure that our house extends its invitation to you so that you may bid on the wonderful items we have available today.” The distinguished looking old auctioneer proudly gestured and attendants walked on the stage carrying an item covered in a vibrant velvet cloth.

“First, we have a work by master sculptor Schaft. A beautiful sculpture of the Ice Falls in the Drachen range, this piece took almost four months for him to create and we are proud to be able to offer it.”

The sculpture appeared to be about the size of someone’s hand and rested on a soft red cushion with multiple lamps focused on it to give the most appealing look that they could achieve. Soft murmurs permeated the auction house and eager collectors leaned forwards in their seats to get a better look.

“The starting bid for this piece will be two orange crystals, increments to the bid must be a minimum of ten red crystals.”

The first bids came and the price of the sculpture shot up quickly.

“Hermann was telling me that the majority of the items on sale today will be paintings and sculptures, with a few miscellaneous items thrown in to spice up the auction.” Anna explained as the bidding continued below them. “The vine won’t be available for a while yet, I think.”

“That makes things easier. Here’s what we’ll do. In the next few items there must be a piece of art that either of you like, so laugh and say how impressive it appears. Not too loud, but it’s better if it’s overheard. Then, me and Leon will start a small fight for it.” Orchid’s eyes were shining as he explained his plan.

Leon cracked his knuckles when he heard the word fight and an almost sinister grin swept across his face.

“Not an actual fight Leon.” Orchid scowled. “A bidding war. Just add the minimum increment until I tell you to stop. I know you can’t act very well, but laugh a little when you bid.”

Ignoring the crestfallen Leon, Orchid turned his attention back to the auction. The sculpture had been sold for almost twice the original price to a satisfied looking noble Lady. A few more paintings were brought up for auction and sold in rapid succession.

“This particular ornament has been in our stores for several years and has been determined to come from the age of Gods.” The auctioneer gestured at the bracelet on display. “Its origin is unknown but the carvings of Istar are made from monster bones that are at least 6th grade. This is the ideal accessory for all the latest fashions and can be a wonderful gift for your significant other.”

“My! How exquisite.” Anna leaned over the railing as she called out in excitement. People looked up at their balcony to see a pretty girl in noble attire staring enviously at the bracelet on display.

Giving a sidelong glance at Rat, Anna cooed her appreciation of the piece.

“How true, Lady von Hohenzollern. I would like this bracelet very much.” Rat sounded uncomfortable with her role, but was diligent in her acting. Joining Anna at the railing she peered at the display, her eyes flashing. Orchid was sure that she was planning on how to steal the piece, despite her limited interest in jewelry.

The auctioneer cleared his throat loudly, and glared at them in admonishment for their interruption.

“This bracelet will start at four orange crystals, with a minimum bid increment of twenty red crystals.” He explained while casting sidelong glances at Anna and Rat who were chatting away about the bracelet as if there was no one else in their world. Anna more than the Rat, to the point that even Orchid was unsure if she really wanted the bracelet or not.

“Three Orange.” A tough looking woman called out from the hall.

“Three-Twenty.” Another voice said.

The price rapidly shot up to five Orange crystals and Orchid decided to make his move.

“Six Orange.” Orchid laughed as he bid. “If you like it so much dear then I’ll make sure you can have it.”

The entire auction house was silenced at the sudden jump in price. Orchid winked at Leon and made frantic gestures with his hands out of sight of the hall to get his attention.

“Six Orange, twenty red.” Leon shouted and then laughed woodenly. Orchid and his friends winced at the terrible acting and Anna leaned over to grab Leon's arm and whisper that he shouldn’t laugh.

“So, you want to gift Lady Anna that bracelet? I’m sorry Count Savoy, but my dear Lizbet wants this bracelet so I will have to compete with you. Six, fifty!”

“Six-seventy.”

“Seven”

“Seven-twenty.”

Orchid frantically cut Leon off from bidding as he called out his next bid. “Eight-fifty! I mean it Savoy! Don’t think you can take this from me.”

There were hisses of surprise from the audience. The bracelet wasn’t even worth five Orange crystals, but Orchid had raised the price so carelessly. The auctioneer banged his gavel and when no further bids came he declared.

“Sold, for Eight Orange and fifty red crystals to the gentleman in the Balcony.”

“Sorry Lady Anna, but please let Lizbet have this one.” He laughed loudly and elbowed Rat in the arm and gestured for her to make a happy comment.

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“Th- Thank you dear.” She stuttered, looking shy.

“That was good acting.” Orchid whispered before sitting down and listening to the murmurs from below.

“… foolish children…”

“… the duke’s child...”

“… waste of good money…”

“… show off… pretty girls…”

Excellent! This is going just like I had hoped for.

Leaning back in his seat so that he was out of sight from the hall, he smiled at his companions to show how pleased he was. The smug attitude rolled off him in waves and the attendant who walked in carrying the bracelet hesitated a little when she saw the strange atmosphere developing in the balcony. Nonetheless she quietly presented the bracelet to Orchid, who handed it to Rat with a few whispered comments that he felt were loving. The attendant gave them a queer glance before quietly leaving. The auction continued with several pieces which held no real interest for them.

“When is that whatever vine going to show up?” Orchid asked in boredom, finding little of worth at the auction. “Are you sure your information was right?”

“My contacts assured me that there is ample stock of the vine. The limit of three per day is simply to inflate the price I was told. However, they tend to be sold closer to the end.” Rat replied, her eyes tracking all the high value pieces that were exchanging hands below her.

“I’m hungry.” Leon whimpered from his seat, eyes watering as he begged Anna.

“Oh! How inconsiderate of me, my dear.” Anna simpered and called the attendant for some refreshments. “You must forgive me, Count Savoy. The wonderful sculptures just attract my attention so much.”

“Don’t overdo it Anna.” Orchid whispered. “You were supposed to have been dragged here.”

“You shouldn’t either!” She hissed back, deflated a little by his comment.

Leon looked at them, bewildered, until some sandwiches were brought in. Tucking into the food as if he hadn’t eaten in ages, he barely remembered enough of his manners to offer some to the rest of them.

“Now, we have an interesting item. It’s a cutting of Heart’s Blood Vine along with its roots and several small buds. The experts among you may be aware of its myriad uses and effects, so I will only tell you that this particular cutting is at least a hundred and fifty years old, having flowered twice a year since its maturity seventy years ago.” The auctioneer gently pulled off a cloth and revealed a glass case that held the vine. Twisting around a wrist thick piece of wood, even at his current distance, Orchid could make out the small red buds that seemed to pulse with an ethereal light.

“Now that, is certainly something worth having.” He breathed, riveted at the sight.

Anna’s gaze sharpened, her breath catching at the sight of the vine. She glanced at him, pleading for him to make his move.

“Not yet. Wait for the next one. We have to understand what people will pay for it.”

“Bidding starts at ten orange crystals with minimum increments of 40 red crystals.” The auctioneer called amidst the murmurs of the crowd.

“Ten, forty.” A woman called immediately.

“Eleven!” A young girls voice screamed.

The price shot up rapidly and Orchid frowned as he heard the bids.

“Why are only women bidding?” He murmured and his frown deepened when he saw Rat and Anna twitch at his words.

“What’s going on?” He asked.

“Why would there be any issue sir Kale?” Anna’s evasiveness made his senses tingle in suspicion.

“I can understand there only being women bidding if it’s something that only they can use, but even from here I can tell there’s strong medicinal properties in that plant. There’s no way the male herbalists and alchemists in the audience would be willing to let something that potent get away.” He explained as the bidding started to taper off.

“There are some issues with Heart’s Blood vine.” She explained reluctantly. “It can only be handled by women.”

“What happens if a man touches it?” Leon asked around a mouthful of sandwich.

“It wilts.” Rat was perfunctory as she saw the vine being sold for one yellow and twelve orange crystals.

“You want it as well!” Orchid exclaimed as their irregular actions started to make sense. “What is that vine good for?”

“That’s not important little Purple. Just keep your word and get us a vine.” Anna demanded as a new one was brought on stage.

“It’s not that easy now. This is why you should tell me these things earlier. My earlier plan can’t work now.” Growling in frustration he kept one eye on the auctioneer.

“What’s wrong with the plan? We can still be wasteful scions of the nobility.”

“No, that works for something that we can buy as gifts for each other or that’s not much in demand. Just look at these people. They were willing to spend more than an entire yellow crystal on it.”

“Then what do we do?” Rat asked nervously. “Take it by force?”

“Bad idea. I think it’s now a matter of just spending as much money as it takes. You want it that badly but now we don’t have a way to make people reduce their inclination to compete. The best we can do, is hope that your name carries weight Anna. We’ve seeded the audience with that so we have to believe that it will bear fruit.”

“So we just fight it out?” Anna scowled.

“No choice. Just be thankful that you have such a powerful background, and that we made some money recently.” He dismissed the issue with a wave and leaned back in disappointment. “Since my plan is now useless, I’ll just tell you when to bid.”

“Fine! Don’t know why we even brought you.” She grumbled under her breath.

“That’s what I want to know.” Orchid mimicked her tone.

“This vine is approximately 250 years old and flowers three times in the year. Starting bid is 15 orange crystals with minimum increments being 50 red crystals.” The auctioneer explained and immediately bids were called out, bringing the price up to 50 orange crystals in an flash.

“When the price reaches 60 crystals, double it.” Orchid said.

“Sixty.” A woman called.

“One yellow, twenty orange.” Anna proclaimed loudly, her hands tightly gripping the railing in front of her. A hush came over the crowd as the balcony was swept with suspicious gazes. The attendees were hesitating and no bids came out for a short while as the Auctioneer tried to encourage the item and glaring in their direction occasionally.

“One yellow twenty-one orange.” A young woman called out eventually, her reluctance clearly expressed. Anna cast a glance in his direction and he held up four fingers.

“One, twenty-five.” Anna bid, a thread of excitement creeping into her voice.

“One, twenty-six.” The woman bid in response and glared at Anna.

“One, thirty-one!.” Anna was almost hopping out from her seat, the excitement of bidding clearly having caught her.

The woman she was competing against kept increasing the bid by one orange crystal, only to have her increase by five in response. Orchid thought he could hear the unfortunate woman grinding her teeth.

“Sold, to her Ladyship in the balcony for one yellow and sixty seven orange crystals.” The auctioneer cheerfully banged his gavel and called for the next vine to be brought on stage.

Rat heaved a sigh of relief as Anna flopped into her seat. Fanning herself, Anna smiled, her eyes fixed on the vine she had just purchased. They only had to wait for a short while before the female attendant from earlier came to them with a card in her hand.

“This card registers the vine as your property, which you can pick up on your way out of the auction house.” She explained before bowing and retreating from the balcony.

“Let’s just get it and go.” Orchid’s surly attitude made Rat smirk in responed.

“What’s wrong dear?” She simpered. “Unhappy that your plan didn’t work?”

“We spent a lot more than we needed to if my plan had worked. Almost 50 orange crystals gone Rat.” He smiled in satisfaction as she paled at the thought of the loss of money. “Let’s just leave. There’s nothing more that we need here.”

“I agree with Orchid. Let’s go.” Anna said, already leaving the balcony eagerly. Leon scrambled to catch up with her, throwing a backward glance at them on his way.

“You people have to tell me what makes that plant so important to you.” He demanded as he followed. They refused to answer and he was reduced to muttering as Anna collected the vine on their way out.