For most to secure the Seed of Sublimity, the backing of a large enough faction was needed to muster the wealth for the purchase. Those rank two people with power in their organizations began to talk in low voices, making plans on what they could sacrifice. The final price needed to both satisfy the auctioneer, and the person who acquired the material to sell. They requested favors and loans, all in a desperate attempt to secure the prize. As one began to place their bids, others followed in rapid succession, quickly raising the price to a full set of artifacts within seconds.

Two sets now. Caesar was lucky the rank three leaders had much less interest in the item, preferring to let their factions handle the conflict on their own. Otherwise, he’d never get a chance.

Alta whispered something to the Pax Society’s leader, who smiled and said something in jest – the whole table laughing along. They all seemed to get along well. He hoped no problems would appear and thus tensed a little once he saw the woman raise her own bid. Fortunately, her stake in the competition was much lower than the others and she began to withdraw once more exotic items appeared.

“Look at them go,” said Kalakas. “Even after all I’ve done, I’ve never seen such an item appear anywhere. Do they really think that’s enough?”

The auctioneer cleared his throat. “We’ve just received word from the seller than he wants more unique items. Things that nobody would want to trade – the items you’ve offered just now are only.”

Now, Alta saw the chance to make her move without enraging the Pax Society. Because they kept the Spear of Slaughter and the Siegebreaker Greatmaul with the Draugr King who remained in the Hidden Grotto, only the Axes of Massacre were suitable enough to enter the competition. Then, as the others ignored her, she offered the Bearer of Wisdom, pulling the head out from a bag on her side.

Noises of disgust rang out from the crowd, but when the auctioneer took a closer look and hummed, they quieted down. To them, what mattered was the competition and not trivial matters such as how an artifact looked. Their conversations started to become more tumultuous as the auctioneer returned from his talk with the seller and approved of the bid. Raucous voices protested but were yet again silenced when footsteps appeared from behind a door on the stage.

It opened to reveal a man dressed ostentatiously in bright golden armor and a crown dancing with flames, dazzling the crowd with the view. A few covered their eyes and looked away, but almost all remained silent in awe of the man’s stature.

“Prince of Wealth,” Kalakas whispered from the corner of his mouth. He kept his back straight and his eyes on the figure, who had taken the head from the auctioneer’s hands and went to sit down in front of everyone. “Be careful,” said the elf in a voice so low Caesar could barely hear.

“Let’s begin negotiations,” said the prince to the crowd. “We’ll start with this item here – a powerful force for any group of people. To match it, you’ll need something that raises Spirit.”

It seemed a key detail preventing most of these people from offering their items up for bidding was their unwillingness to reveal their secrets for little gain. With the prince managing the flow of information, many lost their qualms.

“Greetings, prince,” said a few members of the Order of the Tree. “We have here a few Rare potions. We hope you find these pleasing.”

“Not enough,” replied the man in gold. “Try something more permanent.”

The wealthiest-looking individual, a man clothed in bramble robes, hesitated a little before offering up three materials and a catalyst as well. The prince took a long look, hummed, and nodded. Unfortunate, Caesar thought.

Alta, ignoring the tiny shake of the Pax Society leader’s head, immediately raised her bid by bringing out the other head from her Bag of Holding. The Bearer of Strength: although Caesar wanted to keep it, she argued that it was much more valuable for somebody else. And here it proved immensely precious for a prince with the means to lead a force around to explore dangerous dungeons.

“Good item,” he exclaimed.

That drew a few more whispers before another faction’s elite – The Order of the Fox – stepped up to the prince, holding a spellbook in her hands. Others too, appeared with various new items Caesar had never seen before. But he noticed Obsandalur’s people act with more trepidation, not raising their bids by too much.

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“Do you have anything else to offer? I’m growing tired.”

Alta nodded. In an effort to maximize their chances at victory, she stated the location of where the Black Market Massacre’s items were buried. “Revealing this may put me in danger,” she said to try and appeal to the prince’s sympathy. “I offer this for your troubles.” She handed over the Raider’s Bag of Holding not under a Masquerade, which contained Conviction as well. A few members of the crowd raised questioning looks at her and grew suspicious. Some wanted to investigate, but the prince put a hand up.

“You’ve convinced me. Show the way, then.” An easy smile remained on his face, but his eyes told a different story. For a brief instant they had flickered to the bags on her body, but she ignored it.

The tense situation dissipated once Alta left the scene with the prince. Kalakas relaxed. Almost every faction’s elites began whispering among themselves, probably to their informants, and presumably sending them to trail after the two and relay crucial information back. Naturally, in an effort to placate the prince, they delayed a long while before moving, giving Caesar crucial time.

“Our next item was secured from an exploration into the Howling Desert. Duke Belios has seen fit to sell it to recoup his losses inside the dungeon.”

[Item]: Skull of the Grim Legion – Rank 2

[Rarity]: Epic

[Effects]: When shattered, summons a force of ninety rank one Grim Legionaries, nine rank two Grim Captains, and a rank two Grim Commander under the user’s control.

More cries came from the crowd, many awed at seeing another Epic item in the span of less than an hour. Although a consumable, it nonetheless made whoever owned it a force to be reckoned with. It drew interest from the rank three people at the front, who dissuaded the others from bidding as they made their own offers first.

“The Grim Legion was a force who prioritized melee combat and occasionally had cavalry. When Belios faced them on the field of battle, he dealt with nine different captains and a commander with supporting abilities. One can assume these summons will have the same specialties.”

“Some say the duke is impotent. I believe it true,” interjected Kalakas, but not too loudly. A few overheard him and frowned.

“What grudge have you against him?” Caesar asked.

“He hates necromancers, you see, but look at him still selling this item. Hypocrite.” It seemed Kalakas had a duke of Obsandalur as a major enemy of his. Caesar reconsider traveling with him but shrugged internally. Clearly, the elf had his own ways of dealing with Belios and could thus consistently enter the annual auction as a result.

“On the dungeon, will anybody else come with us?”

“Sure. Two others.”

So, either the dungeon’s too difficult or Belios will attack? Caesar nodded. He didn’t think the journey would be too difficult after he achieved success in the Hidden Grotto.

Eventually, after a series of bids, the artifact went to the Order of the Fox, who offered plenty of spellbooks – enough for a dozen people to learn Divination – along with many miscellaneous materials suited to outfit dozens more.

“And at last, we’ve reached the final item! I won’t say more; instead, have a demonstration.” The auctioneer gave the blade to one of his attendants, and the room trembled under a suppressive force. Except for the rank three leaders – they felt nothing.

[Item]: Slayer of Champions – Rank 2

[Rarity]: Epic

[Effects]: The sword is weightier, sharper, and more durable. When wielded, those with a higher level threshold and remaining within a close distance from the wielder will have their stats suppressed by 10% as long as they remain within range. For each entity affected as such, the wielder will receive two extra points in each stat, but those stats cannot exceed the entity with the highest correlated stat within distance. Twice a day, imbue the sword with supreme power, drastically increasing the might of the next strike.

Although not as versatile as the skull, the rank three leaders still decided to purchase it for its sheer power. While the stated effect would not work on most of the foes they fought, that twice per day effect was still very useful for crushing their opponent’s defenses. And an Epic item was much more effective at killing than some of their current artifacts, which were “only” rank two Rare artifacts.

The sound of a muted explosion suddenly disturbed the peace, and a few looked towards the source of the sound. But it was far outside, and most made an offhand remark before focusing on the bidding again. Caesar closed his eyes for three seconds.

The weapon went to the castellan of New Traxis, who offered five artifacts that seemed able to match what Caesar had. Trinkets like rings, amulets – things with powerful, yet easily applicable effects. He once again thanked them mentally for their benevolence and left happily with most of the crowd.

When he exited, Caesar began to move faster, leaving Kalakas behind.

“Remember the place I told you,” said the elf as he departed.

No Awakening Potions? thought Caesar as he walked towards the Hidden Grotto. He had looked for them and found nothing, believing that the famed auctions would hold the treasured catalysts instead. But Elamigrol seemed to be unique. With Awakening Potions, one could awaken much rarer and more specialized abilities instead of being locked into an elemental catalyst.

Before anyone came, he summoned the Earthlord Python and dug into the dungeon, vanishing inside as quickly as possible. The serpent clumsily covered the opening and disappeared moments after.