Chapter 160
The night was in full swing by the time the three had left and they walked along the sides of the roads when carts passed and strayed in to the roads when they did not. There were plenty of other people out and about as not everyone had the coin for a cart.
Norri had gotten quiet as they walked and just listened to Jay and M'redith talk. They had been discussing taxes back on Earth and M'redith was a bit confused.
“Wait. So you pay taxes on the money you earn, but then you're also taxed when you spend the money? And if you make money off the money you earn they tax that too?!” M'redith asked. She had grown a bit frustrated with the entire thing. “Earth sounds like a bunch of greedy thieves.”
Jay nodded, “Now you're getting it! Remind me to describe health insurance for profit sometime to you, you'd love that.”
Norri laughed and M'redith looked up and smiled. “Ok. Enough of that I suppose. Earth sounds like a nightmare, I think I'll stick to Eden.”
Jay nodded, “I feel the same way, if that helps you any.”
M'redith held Jay's hand in hers and grinned.
“Oh, we're here! This way,” M'redith said as she dropped Jay's hand and led her two friends through a tall set of double doors. There was no guard posted outside and the building didn't look like it was an expensive structure. A simple two story affair with what looked like another building connected to it set further back from the road. A sign hung off the building and out over the street. It read 'Auction House' and the letters were printed in an arc. Centered under the arc was a black rectangle outline, inside of which was written STRINGE in flowery cursive.
As the three walked in to the building Jay realized that it was larger than he had at first expected. Their way forward was blocked by a gate which was attended by a young man wearing a suit. Guards stood up against the walls to their left and right. As Jay watched the Guards were approached by a series of patrolling guards who relieved the stationary guards.
It seemed like the guards would patrol and then serve a time as a stationary guard until they were themselves relieved. They would then go back on patrol. It looked like a good system.
“Good evening and welcome to the Stringe Auction House. What may I help you with today?” the man in the suit asked.
Jay smiled, maybe this would be quick and easy. “I've an item I'd like to have auctioned off.”
“Copper, silver, or gold?” the man asked kindly.
Jay raised an eyebrow and M'redith hurriedly answered for him. “Gold.”
The man paused what he was doing and appeared more interested. “Very well. Here's your ticket,” he said as he handed Jay what looked like a raffle ticket with the number 12 on it. “Take this to desk 12. Give them your name.”
Jay nodded in thanks as the gate in front of them swung open. Jay realized as it did so that the other side was bustling with activity. People walked in and out of the room and passed Jay and his friends who had stopped after they had passed through the gate.
Someone cursed and told the three to keep moving.
“T'lly would kill us. Fatal funnel!” Norri joked as the three stepped to the side to get out of the way.
They looked around the room to orient themselves. They had just walked through a gate. On the far side of the room were a number of desks, each numbered. Hallways led off in to other rooms off of the main room. They searched for desk 12. It was pushed up against the wall along the left side of the room.
They wound their way through the crowd and stood in front of what looked like an old oak desk that was half covered in paperwork. The other half was left uncluttered and clean for some unknown reason.
“Ticket!” an old woman wearing rounded glasses demanded. As she yelled at Jay he forgot to tell her his name.
Jay hastily handed her the ticket. There was nowhere for them to sit and Jay felt awkward standing in front of the desk.
“What would you like to auction off today?” the old woman asked before coughing. “Sorry about that.”
Jay smiled, “No worries. Here, I'd like to sell this book.” he said and he tried to hand it to the woman.
She shied away as if it might burn her. “Not to me! Put it on the table!” she said a bit loudly.
Jay placed the book on top of the papers as he didn't want to mar the clean half of the desk.
“On the clear part of the desk! Is this your first time or something?” the woman scolded Jay hotly.
Jay snatched the book up and put it back on to the cleared portion of the desk.
The woman finally nodded as if things were the way they should be. She cast something on the book and it briefly glowed.
“What was that?” Jay asked.
The woman peered at Jay, “This really is your first time, isn't it?”
Jay nodded while M'redith and Norri stayed quiet. “It is. I'm still learning how this all works.”
The woman huffed and sighed. “Well, that, was me checking to make sure the book doesn't have any curses or illusions or anything like that. It's to make sure the book is what you say it is.”
Jay grinned but kept his wisecracks to himself. “Ok. What next?”
“Next your item will go in a queue, and when your item is called an appraiser will take a look at it.” the woman explained not so patiently.
“How long does that take?” Norri asked, her higher pitched voice breaking through the surrounding noise quite well.
The woman shrugged, “How should I know? Days? Your turn comes when it comes. We'll store the item until it's appraised then you can return to decide if you want to auction it or not.”
Jay shook his head, “That sounds like a lot of trouble. Isn't there a shortcut? Anything we can do to speed things up?”
The woman laughed, “Sure! If you know someone in the family or you're on the VIP list.” The woman said it in a way to insinuate that Jay most certainly did not and was not.
“Oh! Would Constance count? I know her!” Jay said enthusiastically. It was clear from his boyish tone that he was unaware of the power the name held.
The woman laughed, “Nice try. Everyone knows her name. The key is getting her to know your name.”
“Oh she does! Ask her!” Jay said with a smile.
The old woman peered at Jay and gave him a mean grin, “I'll just pop right on over to her manor and check in with her real quick like, how's that sound?”
Jay nodded, “Oh! Ok. Should we wait here?” It seemed that Jay had failed to detect the heavy sarcasm the woman's sentence had been laden with.
The woman peered at him, “What are you, daft? People like me don't go visiting people like Constance! Now quit stirring up trouble!” the woman called out a bit loudly.
A pair of guards had approached as her volume had increased, “What's the trouble?” the guard asked.
Not “Is there a problem?” The guards had already decided that there was a problem or they wouldn't have moved from their posts. The real question now was who was the problem.
“This lot says they know Constance, I'm just explaining why that is impossible.” the old woman said. As she spoke the words it suddenly occurred to her that it wasn't actually impossible that they knew Constance, just very, very, improbable. She shook it off – there was no way this lot of children knew the head of the Stringe family.
The guards weren't like the old lady. They didn't take liberties with their job. If someone claimed to know Constance then there were protocols in place to determine if that was true.
“His name?” the guard asked the old woman.
The old woman opened her mouth and then closed it before she opened it again and paused. “I don't believe he mentioned that.” she admitted sheepishly.
“You're supposed to ask,” the guard admonished her.
“Right. You lot, come with me. You,” the second guard said and pointed at the old woman, “close your desk and take custody of their item. Was it just the one then? Right. Take the item and come with us.”
The guards didn't give her a choice in the matter.
Norri looked nervous and worried over where this was all headed. M'redith looked serene however as if everything was going just as it should. Jay just looked confused. He did know Constance so what was the big deal?
They were escorted down one of the side halls and in to a finely appointed room. The walls were done in wallpaper, a series of birds and plants that repeated over and over across the room. The ceiling was a simple affair but with multiple magical light sources that lit the room brightly.
The far side of the room was dominated by a thick desk which was also half covered in papers while the other half had been left completely bare. A young man with close cropped hair and wearing a brown blazer sat behind the desk. Two gray couches had been placed facing each other in front of the desk.
The guards motioned to one of the couches and Jay, M'redith, and Norri took a seat. The other guard motioned the old woman to have a seat on the opposite facing couch. She fidgeted nervously and looked anxious.
The guards took up posts behind and to the side of the couches, out of sight of the people sitting on them but well within the eye line of the person behind the desk.
“Well, what have we here? Imelda, who are these people?” the man asked not entirely unkindly.
The woman struggled to come up with the right thing to say. She failed. “I don't know. I missed his name.”
The man behind the desk frowned. “Did you ask?”
The woman fidgeted for a moment and turned away before she answered, “No,” begrudgingly.
The man sighed. “Right.” He turned to face Jay and gave him his full attention. “I apologize for the confusion. My name is Penn. I am a senior associate and licensed appraiser. May I have your name?”
M'redith smiled as if they had just won but did not answer. After a moment she poked Jay in the ribs and hissed, “Give him your name!”
Jay smiled and looked a little embarrassed but finally spoke up. “Jay?” he half asked the man.
The man nodded and repeated the name, “Jay,” he said. “Of?”
Jay looked at M'redith and then at Norri who shrugged. “Trainee Jay of the Adventurer's Guild, founding member of the Glimmerhides.” he finally added in as professional a manner as he could muster.
The man nodded as if he hadn't heard of him. “Wonderful. And do you have any connections to the Stringe family?”
Jay smiled and nodded, “Sure. I know Constance. And yes, before you ask, she knows me.” Jay answered and glared at the old woman towards the end of his answer.
The man smiled and nodded as he waved his hands palms out towards Jay, “I believe you sir, I do. However I will need to take steps to verify your claim. Please, may I have a moment to do so? I can have refreshments brought here if you would like something to eat or drink?”
Jay smiled but waved that off, “Oh Goddess no, please. We just left Redgrass and we're stuffed. We can just wait for you to get back.”
The old woman scoffed quietly. Sure they ate at Redgrass. Look at them! They would be turned away at the door if they could even reach it! She was looking forward to the senior associate finding their ruse out and kicking them out of the auction house. Things would work out just fine she reassured herself.
“Excellent, thank you sir for your patience and understanding. In that case I'll return shortly. Please remain in the room until I return.” the man in the brown blazer asked politely but then nodded towards the guards who were also being quite polite. That politeness could change in an instant though. Jay decided that they would remain seated and in the room.
As the man left Jay sat quietly and enjoyed leaning up against M'redith who also looked quite relaxed as if everything was proceeding as it should. Norri looked like she was ready to break out of the room. She did not like being told to 'stay put.'
Intel Assessment #1748974 - CONFIDENTIAL
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
!FRIEND OF THE STRINGE FAMILY – Notify Constance of all interactions!
!Politically Sensitive Person!
!Hand off to senior associate immediately upon identification!
Name: Jay
Race: Traveler - Human
Class: Adventurer(6)
Affiliation: Adventurer's Guild
Status: Trainee
Registered Adventuring Group: Glimmerhides – Founding Member
Known Associates
Primaries: M'redith-!PSP!/Group Leader/GF, Aiden-Group member, Norri-Group Member
Secondaries: Glenda-Past Group Member, Carly-Past Group Member, Chenowith-Associate, Boland-Senior Financial Consultant/Fixer
Synopsis: While the subject is low level and still a trainee he also has strong connections to multiple agencies – i.e. A.G., Church of Gaia, Redguards and should be handled as a politically sensitive person. Subject is also of personal interest to the Stringe Family Head and extreme care should be used during all interactions.
Subject is known to have little to no combat Class Abilities. Rumored to have the ability to duplicate treasure items. Possess an aura like ability that can clean as well as dry the closest nearby person. Other abilities are unknown at this time.
Rumored connection to Kagan's Dome but uncertain of exact circumstances. Various separate reports of subject possessing multiple titles including what is believed to be a legendary title. Believed to be owner or even part owner of Redgrass. Registry of Deeds shows he is also part owner of a putt putt course currently under construction. Subject appears to have access to immense wealth and owns multiple business projects. No known family. No known enemies.
EOF
The man in the brown blazer sighed before he drew in a deep breath and sighed again. He wiped some sweat off of his forehead with the back of one hand.
Shit.
His shift had been going so well and was getting close to an end and now he was stuck with a mess. He had to handle a politically sensitive person and all of his interactions with them had to be reported to the family head. Not fun for him. Nothing like having your every word and action gone over with a fine toothed comb by your boss's boss's boss. Then he had to deal with Imelda who had mishandled the situation from the very beginning. Then that also had to be reported to the family head. Also no fun.
Not to mention he would have to handle whatever it was that politically sensitive person wanted. It was going to be a long night of typing up and sending out reports. And just to make things even more complicated it appeared that one of Jay's associates was also a politically sensitive person. Wonderful!
He returned Jay's file to its folder and returned it to its locked filing cabinet. He double checked to make sure the lock had engaged before he left the room.
His first stop was the communications room. He stopped in and said hello to the mage on duty and filled out three slips.
The first slip was to Constance. He explained the situation succinctly along with his intention to send a full follow up report that night. The second slip went to their intelligence department where he requested the full file for Jay's associate who was also a 'politically sensitive person.' He had a feeling that he would be seeing more of Jay and his friends and wanted to know as much about them as he could.
The last slip was a notification for the front desk attendants at all K'tharkle locations. They were warned of two known politically sensitive persons that may show up for services. They were to be immediately handed off to a senior associate in the future. He also reminded them that names should always be taken during all interactions.
Finally he signed the slips and gave them to the mage who assured him they would be sent within the next half hour. With a wave goodbye the senior associate returned to his office and the others who were waiting on him. He settled in to his chair at his desk before he spoke.
“Jay, M'redith, thank you for your patience. I truly apologize for Imelda's behavior and I can assure you that it will not happen again. I have already seen to it that the front desk is notified not just here but at our other locations in K'tharkle as well. On your visits in the future please give your name to the front desk and you will be immediately taken care of.” the man in the brown blazer said with a wide smile.
Norri wondered what she had done to be left out of the apologies but decided that now wasn't the time to ask. Jay, she could understand, but why had the senior associate also singled M'redith out? Norri set that aside for later.
Imelda had grown more and more anxious as he spoke. She was just beginning to realize that she might be in trouble.
Penn straightened his brown blazer and then sighed, “Come Imelda, let's see what they brought us,” he said as he pointed towards the clear half of his desk. Imelda grumpily got to her feet and walked over to his desk before she deposited the book on to its surface.
Penn cast an ability much like Imelda had earlier and the book briefly glowed. “Huh.” he said appreciatively as he proceeded to Inspect the book.
Little Book of Unique Professions – Very Rare
This book when read bestows upon the user their choice from a selection of advanced professions. The profession learned will be magical in nature and may come with additional abilities outside of what a normal profession would have. Although the listed profession titles are of common professions be assured that this book will only award advanced and magical versions of the listed mundane professions.
To use the book the owner must bind it first. It can be used by anyone after that so long as the bound owner agrees to allow it. To use the book a single gold piece is placed inside the front cover then held between both hands. After doing so the user will be given a choice from the following list: Cobbler, Fletcher, Manicurist, Bodger, Saddler, Couturier, Potter, Mason, Higgler, Farrier.
Once a profession is gained in this manner the book may not be used to gain a second profession. Any selection made is final. The bound owner of the book may use it or allow others to use it so long as it has an available charge. This item currently has at least one charge remaining. This item must be bound before use.
Penn whistled appreciatively, “Well now. This is quite the find. Where did you get this if you don't mind me asking?”
Jay smiled. This was more like it. This was how he had expected a trip to the auction house would go. “We got it in a dungeon. A library. Called Ashagi. Heard of it?”
Penn smiled and nodded, “Of course! I've never met anyone that has returned however. This is quite a find. Nothing useful for combat but you might be surprised to know that there are more people out there that don't know how to fight than people that do. Those that can't fight would find this very useful indeed.”
“So who do you think would be interested in this?” M'redith asked as she spoke up for the first time.
Penn smiled and nodded at her as if she had asked a good question, “This kind of item is rarely purchased by the end user. A governor or mayor or even king might purchase an item like this – if they could even find one.”
Norri's ears perked up. “That sounds expensive.”
Penn nodded, “It absolutely is. This is a one of a kind item and offers some professions that do not even have magical equivalents as far as I am aware.”
“What does that mean?” Norri asked M'redith but Penn managed to hear her and answered instead.
“It means that whoever buys this book has the ability to possibly be the only person in existence with whatever craft they choose. Not all of them are like that, but I can see a few. Additionally I can tell you that this item has not just one charge left, but at least two.” Penn continued as he turned the book over to inspect its back cover.
“You can tell that? I thought that charges were impossible to measure?” M'redith asked in a professional sounding tone.
Penn shook his head, “Mostly. A skilled appraiser can tell you with 100% certainty that an item has none, one, or at least two charges left. Past two however things get really confusing and it's a guessing game.”
Jay nodded as if he understood what was being discussed. It wasn't all that confusing, it was just new to him. “So what do you think this is worth?”
Penn made a noise in the back of his throat that was almost a growl, “I'm guessing you're not going to like the answer but bear with me. This item is worth whatever bidders can possibly pay.”
M'redith looked thrilled but Jay wasn't sure why. “Doesn't that hold true for all auction items?”
Penn shook his head, “Not like that. An item like this? A mayor would pay up to all the money he had available just to have a magical crafter based in his town. A king would pay even more, and the two of them in the same room would bid the price up to the maximum funds they had available. It's a good thing Jay. An item like this is a headliner – a draw for the rich and well off. A bidder would make an entire trip just to bid on that one item.”
Jay motioned towards Imelda who hadn't made a sound since she had realized how much trouble she was in. “Imelda seemed to think that it would take days to figure that out for most people.”
Penn shrugged, “You and yours are hardly most people.” he responded with a raised eyebrow.
“So what happens now?” Jay asked curiously after an awkward silence had passed.
“Now would be the time when I would give you an estimate based on past auctions. We've never sold a book quite like this nor have we heard of one being sold. I would like to give you a few options. Option one, we push the item out for our next gold auction.” Penn began to explain.
“Gold auction?” Jay interrupted him.
Penn looked at him before he nodded once, “Right. You are new to this I take it?”
Jay nodded and M'redith grinned. “It's my first,” he replied with a little bit of excitement.
“Wonderful! What a great item for your first auction! Gold is the top band of auctions. The lowest band is copper, then silver, then gold. They describe what the minimum bid increase is for each item during that auction. Your item would be in the gold band and each bid would need to be at least one gold. Do you understand?” Penn asked respectfully.
Jay nodded, “It seems simple enough.”
“Wonderful. So as I was saying your first option is to just be included in the next gold band auction. Your item would be an add-on to the already listed auction items. No one would be aware of the item until it would be announced during the auction.” Penn explained. He waited for Jay to nod before he continued.
“Second option, allow us to arrange an auction centered around your item. It would be discretely advertised to those that could potentially use it. It would be a gold band auction with a minimum required bidder purse of twenty gold.”
M'redith whistled next to him in surprise.
Jay blinked, “Great! What's that mean though?”
Penn grinned and M'redith chuckled next to him. Norri just kept quiet and took it all in. Imelda tried to be invisible on her couch – being forced to watch the appraisal just reinforced the fact that she had truly screwed up.
“It means that in order to get in the room to bid a bidder must show that they brought at least twenty gold with them for bids. It ensures that only the truly wealthy can attend. Auctions with a minimum required bid are extremely rare and are only offered when the main item is of exceptional value.” Penn explained excitedly.
It was obvious which option Penn was leaning towards.
“Your third option is to sell it to the auction house outright. We, as a rule, do not purchase auction items unless they are of exceptional value. I can pay you ten gold for the book, right now.” Penn explained and looked a little embarrassed.
“You don't seem to think that is a good idea.” Jay pointed out as he watched Penn's facial expressions.
Penn nodded, “It's not. It's less money than the item is worth but that is the price you pay to sell it instantly. How much less? No idea until we auction it off. If you sell it to us we will still auction it off but we will keep whatever coin it makes. This option is only for people who need money immediately. I don't feel as if that properly describes your situation.”
Jay shook his head and smiled. “No, I have time.”
“Last option. You take your toys and go home. We part ways and no items or money is exchanged. That will make you the least money however.” Penn pointed out with a smile.
Jay turned to M'redith and Norri. Norri shrugged, “Do we really need to sell it tonight? It has waited this long,” she said as she bit her top lip.
M'redith grinned, “Option two all the way. We have an item that is good enough to be the main attraction at not just a gold auction but an auction with a minimum required purse as well! This is the big haul dungeon runners dream of! I will strangle you if you take any option but option two!” M'redith hissed at Jay with a wide grin.
Jay smiled. It seemed that everyone agreed that option 2 was the best choice. He was willing to trade off time in exchange for a higher final bid. “We'll do option two. Arrange an auction for it. Do we need to be present?” Jay asked curiously.
“You don't have to be but as it is your item that allowed the auction to be held at all you will be given a VIP booth to observe the auction should you choose to.” Penn explained as he began to fill out some paperwork.
“Can we bid on items while we watch?” M'redith asked and Penn paused.
The three Glimmerhides did not look as if they had money. Their armor was well taken care of but they weren't showing off jewelry or expensive items. Their gear all looked utilitarian and as if it has seen actual use. He had a tough time picturing them having the twenty gold needed to qualify for bidding but wasn't about to make the same mistake that Imelda had made. Looks could be, and often were, deceiving.
The intelligence report on Jay had been very insistent. Jay had access to immense wealth and should be carefully handled.
“Of course! So long as you bring enough gold to qualify for the minimum required you can bid just as anyone else that attends. Alright, here, sign these at the bottom. The first allows us to hold the item in our vaults until the auction. The second form allows us to hold the auction itself.” Penn explained as he handed papers to Jay to sign.
“The third outlines the terms between us. The auction house will keep ten percent of the final bid as payment for our services. The fourth sheet of paper shows that I have answered all of your questions to your satisfaction as well as outlining your auction options. There! All done!” Penn smiled cheerfully and took the papers in a folder and stood up. “Be right back,” he said and left the room.
M'redith turned to Jay and smiled. “You're doing great!” she whispered.
Jay smiled back, he was just being himself. Easy.
Penn returned with two folders. One he set on his desk, the other he handed to Jay. “Here you are, your copies of the paperwork for your records.”
Jay was about to take them when he paused, “Would it be possible to have those forwarded to Boland at K'tharkle Bank?”
Penn blinked before he nodded twice, “Absolutely no problem Jay, I'll have someone take care of that right now.” Penn stood up and left again before he returned empty handed. “They'll run it over right away.”
“Thanks!” Jay said happily. That had been really easy.
“I've already set someone to work on the auction for your item, the calendar had a few nights this week free. I'll reach out and send you a runner to let you know when the date and time has been finalized, if that is alright with you?” Penn asked politely.
Jay was starting to find it strange to constantly be asked if everything was ok with him. He just wasn't used to it. M'redith seemed to find it appropriate however so Jay kept his feelings to himself.
“It sounds fine.” Jay answered.
“Wonderful! Then that is all I have for you unless you required anything else?” Penn asked, again, politely.
Jay shook his head. He was ready to get out of there. “We're good, thank you.”
Penn stood up and shook the hands of all three Glimmerhides. “Wonderful meeting you all, I look forward to seeing you again hopefully later this week.”
Jay and his friends left the room and the door closed behind them as they walked down the hallway, in to the main room, past the gate, and out in to K'tharkle City once again.
“As for you,” Penn said as he stared at Imelda, “I think you have a report to write to Constance, don't you? Don't leave anything out,” Penn said in a displeased tone.
Imelda nodded and practically ran out of the room to return to her desk. She now had the pleasure of typing up all of her mistakes so that the head of the Stringe family could read it. If she left anything out things would go even worse for her. Accuracy was important to Constance. As was attention to detail.
Penn sighed as he watched Imelda go. So much paperwork to do now. He sighed again and began to fill out a list of what had happened since Jay and his friends had walked in their doors.