The space already contained many people, most of them wearing masks or other disguises. There was an eclectic mix of races too – humans from many different countries, various demons, spirits, and others that could not easily be identified.

The mood was strange too, with some attendees clearly excited and eager for the auction, others looking wary, anxious, or even angry, as if they were not there of their own free will or desire.

Overall, though, everyone was watching everyone else. The necromancer elicited many curious looks, especially as she still wore her torn robes, her pale arms bare with the black tattoos stark against them, and her height raising her above many of those present.

The hall had tiered seats so that everyone present could have a good view of the stage where presumably the auction items would be displayed. The necromancer paused distractedly at the end of a row of seats.

Spideóg looked at her in confusion. "... Why've ye stopped?"

"... No reason." She stomped along and threw herself down on a chair, unwilling to admit that her now-developed habit of waiting for Sou Yuet to proceed her had kicked in.

Eventually, the hall filled and the half of the lanterns dotted amongst the audience were extinguished to bring even more focus to the stage.

A familiar man walked into view, followed by an unfamiliar woman.

The handsome wu lei dzing Lí stood on the stage, looking at ease. Behind him, the slim woman stared at the ground as if she were meditating, her golden eyes alarmingly blank. Like Lí, she had a kind of inhuman beauty, and the necromancer suspected that she was also some kind of supernatural creature with shapeshifting capabilities. The witch might have thought this beautiful, high-cheeked, tan-skinned woman was Lí's assistant, or lover, if she didn't have a silver collar around her neck, and chains that stretched from her neck to her hands and a silver leash that led to Lí's own fingers.

Actually, given the fox's personality, she could still be one of those things.

The necromancer's own fingers clenched. She somehow felt... adrift...without the little monk by her side.

Lí looked little worse for wear after his run-ins with the monk and the necromancer. His hair and clothing ensured that none of his injuries, if he had not yet recovered from them, were visible. His pale brown eye roamed the quietening crowd lazily, eliciting blushes and giggles from some of the watchers, hisses and growls from others. His lips twitched.

"Welcome, everyone." His smooth voice carried throughout the audience easily, apparently amplified or projected by some magical power. "It's good to see a full house, and eager faces."

His gaze fell upon a small group of people near the front, who bared their teeth like dogs and murmured anxiously amongst themselves. They looked malnourished and ill under their dark skin. His smile broadened.

"You all know who I am. I won't speak for too long. Today I have gathered together items from across the world for your consideration. From the farthest reaches of the Jade Road, products with great powers, and great beauty. There has not been an auction like this before. If all goes well, it will not be the last, either."

The crowd murmured, excited, curious, angry, scared.

"I hope you like what you see. I hope you are able to take something special with you today. Something you need, something you want, something you simply desire. There is something for everyone here. Please, enjoy your evening."

He lightly tugged at the chain attached to the slim woman, and she followed him from the stage, as some of the audience clapped and cheered, while others looked on silently. The necromancer wanted to turn to Sou Yuet and ask what the monk thought it all meant, but they were outside, patting the fur of the roly-poly si dzi puppy, and the only person beside her was that damned bhard. The necromancer seethed.

We'd better find the fucking answer to our investigations today.

Spideóg shuffled nervously without knowing why.

As the auctioneer now entered with a podium on wheels and began introducing the first item, a strange shiver overtook the necromancer, and she shook herself, irritated. Get it together.

"Everyone, our first item comes from the warm lands to the south-west, a place with no winter except for the highest mountains. This item has no special properties..." For some reason, the auctioneer smirked unpleasantly. She was somewhat attractive, but she had a hard face that detracted from her looks. "So, think of it, perhaps, as a curiosity piece."

A male assistant carried a small, ordinary box onto the stage and opened the lid. Inside were a jumbled assortment of teeth, not even properly displayed. The group of anxious people near the front of the hall rose immediately to their feet, yelping agitatedly. With a disdainful look, the auctioneer slammed a hand on the podium. "If you cannot be quiet, security will remove you."

The people fretfully sat again, huddling together to try and calm their anxiety. The auctioneer continued, "These are the teeth of a Santhal dog. They can shapeshift into humans if they touch water."

Sure enough, when the necromancer looked, he could see that the group of people near the front of the hall were occasionally wiping their faces with wet cloths. They snarled and whimpered as everyone's attention turned towards them, and looked longingly at the sad jumble of teeth in the box.

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The necromancer could feel the dark whisper of the tattoos on her skin, like the hiss of water boiling from a pot. She closed her eyes and thought of a fresh, herbal scent, wrapping softly around her.

"So, let's start the bidding. For this one... shall we start with... a single copper coin?" The auctioneer smiled mockingly. The Santhal dog-people rose up again, yelling together.

"Yes! Yes! We will pay a copper coin!"

"Please! Please! Please!"

"One coin!"

The auctioneer shook her head. "We have one coin from the front here. Dear me, that's not much, is it, especially given that these are the teeth of... well, who is this, exactly?" She addressed this last question to the Santhal dog-people.

"MOTHER! Mother! Mother!"

"Our mother!"

"Is this really the price for filial piety? A copper coin? Come on now, everyone, help them show proper filial piety to their poor mother. How dare they put her value at a single copper coin!"

"One string!" Someone shrieked from a higher row of seats. The collective heads of everyone swivelled to look in their direction. The necromancer could not see them from where she sat.

“How much is that?”

“About one thousand copper coins.”

“That much?”

“Copper coins aren't worth much beyond the copper they're made of.”

"That's a little more like it," the auctioneer announced approvingly. "One string is a much more suitable price. One string from the person with the lovely curved horns. They're even more filial than this pack of dogs down here. Well, what do you have to say?"

The dog-people whispered anxiously amongst themselves. At last, one piped up. "O-one string and... o-one copper coin."

Some of the members of the audience laughed. The necromancer could hear the shrill giggles of the person who had nominated the one string previously. She gripped her seat and stole a look at Spideóg, who glanced nervously back. "What?"

"How much money do ye have on ye?"

"Ye should forget it. They're determined not to let those poor dogs get their... paws on their mother's teeth."

"I know, but..."

But what? She closed her green eyes and met Sou Yuet's dark ones in her mind. What would ye do?

The teeth went to the other bidder, who had casually countered the dog-people's pitiful one string and one coin with two strings. The dog-people cried and cowered as laughter and back-slapping could be heard from the direction of the winning bidder. The teeth were carried away, the dog-people watching helplessly.

As the auction progressed, the items grew steadily in value. As Lí had said, they came from all over the world too. The necromancer started unpleasantly as the hair of a water-horse from her own country, an aughisky, was carried onto the stage, and auctioned for five strings. Spideóg shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. "This Lí person certainly is far-reaching."

"Ye going to tattle to Aiteann?"

"What are ye talking about?"

"Ye tell them what I have for breakfast every morning, ye might as well actually do some good in the world and tell them about this."

The bhard didn't respond, but his ruddy complexion crept to his ears.

A small batch of kei-leon antlers came up, eliciting cries of shock and excitement from the crowd. The necromancer craned forward. "They're from the ones that disappeared."

"How do ye know?"

"There's one there that has a notch in it... and that one there, with the lumps at the base..."

"- are fantastic for bone strengthening, muscle repair, and blood flow. In addition, consumption by a pregnant woman will ensure that their child will be a great sage in adulthood!"

"How do ye know that?" Spideóg frowned, watching the auctioneer extol the health benefits of powdered kei-leon horn.

"...I just do. So this is where they've ended up."

"Ye'll need evidence."

"Feck evidence. We'll find them. I'm sure they're not dead, that foxy gombeen is surely keeping them alive to farm their antlers."

The kei-leon antlers were purchased for one hundred strings, accompanied by a roar of excitement at this exorbitant spending. These were carried off stage, and almost immediately replaced by a large, cloth covered cage. Something barked and roared within. The Santhal dog-people watched, wide-eyed.

"Our second-to-last item!" the auctioneer announced. With the lanterns burning close by and so many people in the hall, she had slipped her robes down her shoulders a little and was fanning herself to cool down. "As you can hear, for the first time we have a live product. And not one, but two! Let me present -"

The sweating assistants who had pushed the cage removed the cloth.

"- a pair of shī zi!"

The si dzi were huge, and angry. They smashed their giant, clawed paws against the cage bars, roaring and barking, flashing huge teeth. One lolled out a large blue tongue, stressfully panting, the other tried to force its snub nose between the bars.

Spideóg side-eyed the necromancer. "That puppy from earlier..."

"Their kid, probably."

“Shī zi are the best of guardian animals. Do you have a location that needs the absolute highest of security? Your home? Your business? A storehouse? Look no further! Once you train them to submission, anyone would have a hard time getting past them!"

"SO HOW DID THEY GET CAPTURED?" someone yelled from the audience. Heads swivelled around again to try and see who it was.

"You'll just have to trust the process," the auctioneer dodged sweetly, fanning herself. "Now, shall we say an opening bid of... two hundred strings?"

"THREE HUNDRED!" someone shouted from the crowd.

"Three hundred to the person with the peacock mas-"

"FOUR HUNDRED!"

"Four hundred to-"

"SIX HUNDRED!"

The crowd was bursting with excitement. Eventually, the person wearing the peacock mask won the bid at eight hundred strings. Still, the audience buzz over this unfathomable amount of money was quickly lost under the anticipation for the final item of the auction. Lí himself walked onto the stage, his captive trailing behind him. He thanked the auctioneer and sent her away to rest.

His eye coolly swept the room and everyone fell silent, despite their nervous expectation. The necromancer opened and closed her hands a few times to try and relax them.

"Everyone, I hope that this auction has exceeded your expectations so far. How have you enjoyed yourselves?"

A roar rose from the crowd, as those who had been on the fence found themselves swayed by the mood. Some shouted with excitement, some with anger.

"You may be wondering what could possibly top two live shī zi. Well, what I am about to show you is my second most prized possession."

The necromancer thought that she saw him tug slightly on the chain that bound the woman beside him. The woman did not respond.

"This is the earliest item I ever obtained. I have held onto it for many, many years, and now, finally, I am ready to hand it over to its new owner."

At his words, an enormous cloth-covered mass was wheeled onto stage, eight assistants straining to push and pull it. A wondering murmur rose from those watching.

"What will you do with it? Will you leave it as I have, to be displayed as it is? Will you use it to fashion for yourself clothing or armour? You have many, many options with this last item. I present to you..."

With a huge tug, the eight assistants pulled away the cloth to reveal what was below.

There was silence.

There was noise.

"Are they insane?" the necromancer bellowed, her voice swallowed in the chaos.