“Kind of close to the other Faction’s buildings, isn’t it?”

“Oh yes! Undoubtedly, they have recently installed devices and spells to hear our conversation at this very moment. There might even be a scry set up to watch us!” He added excitedly.

Tilly shot a concerned look at the others, and Mochizuki rolled her eyes at his antics, “They might be able to hear us, but we are all but certain they can not see us. We do have some protections in place.”

Shuji nodded along indulgently, as he reached into his sleeve and produced the Librarian’s Codex he had received after they established the Sovereign Crystal. He began speaking as he opened the book to its middle, “Yes, well, be that as it may, I, for one, love operating as if they are listening to every word. They know we watch them, and we, of course, are being watched in turn. One must keep an eye on one's investments after all.”

He spoke in a manner slightly more distracted than normal, and Tilly looked down at the book in confusion, seeing a line of text appear simultaneously while he spoke. “They followed you home last night after the incident with the Keystone. Mochizuki handled them, but with so many new strangers walking our streets, we are elevating operational security significantly, especially around the Manor, the teleport square, and this area. They know you will attend the auction, but we wish to lay a few false trails for them. Follow our lead.”

Ichiro stepped in, “Thank you for accepting the responsibility of this assignment. I wish I could accompany you, but we all have many things to see to and very little time to do what we must.” he said. To his side, Mochizuki was removing her cloak to reveal a flowy full-body outfit that closely resembled the Auditor's from the Auction House.

As if to confirm his suspicions, she pulled a head covering cleverly attached to the collar of the outfit over her face, completing the ensemble. Tilly looked back and forth between the three, and tried not to stumble through whatever game they were playing… Ichiro at least, looked just as uncomfortable as Tilly felt.

“Yep, looks like I'll be going then, thanks for the send-off guys, I promise I will obtain everything we need,” Tilly said, failing completely to sound natural. Shuji nodded along enthusiastically, handing Mochizuki the Codex, which she tucked away in her voluminous robes.

“Friend Tillman, we have much to discuss when you return, do what you must, but make sure you come back to us,” Ichiro added.

“Yes, and remember, this is your first event. Remain as unseen as possible, head straight to the booths, and speak to no one.” Shuji added seriously, his tone now completely contrasting with the mischievous smile at home on his face.

At those words, Tilly began to understand. The Commerce Guild was not nearly as tight-lipped as the Auction House, and they wanted to create the impression that Tilly would be attending the event but would remain cloistered away from the powers, which honestly would have been the smartest choice anyway.

“Got it, Shuji. I understand the plan, no one will hear a peep out of old Jonathan Tillman the entire event.” At the word peep, Kindle emerged from her now snug pocket and eyed the small group in annoyance before cheeping up at Tilly hungrily.

Ichiro and Shuji shared a look and then turned back to Tilly, eyeing the phoenix… The ultra-rare, very distinctive bond that many people had seen him with.

“Oh… uh you better take this before I leave,” Tilly added with a twinge. He reached into the pocket, enflaming his hands instinctively as he picked up the chick. She twittered happily under the heat, and he sent her an image of a nest and hiding.

‘Hey girl, I need you to stay with Uncle Ichiro for a little while, ok? I’ll be back soon.’ he added to the images. She flapped her little wings nervously as Tilly’s flames winked out and he handed her over to the lapin, who took her gently.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

She sent back a flurry of images of different things on fire that basically amounted to, ‘But who will feed me?’

“Jonathan Tillman, while you are overseeing the sale of our current stock, I believe I will go to the smithy, and inspect their progress on new designs. Our crafters are becoming more and more proficient with the new forge.” Ichiro added, speaking down toward Kindle as much as he was addressing anyone else.

Tilly smiled at the idea and sent several images of furnaces to the phoenix. As soon as she received them, she cheeped in acquiescence and settled down reluctantly into Ichiro’s palm.

“Hopefully, our current stock sells well.” He added, keeping up the pretext.

Mochizuki nodded to the other two, signaling that it was time, and then stated aloud, “It seems like your escort has arrived, follow their lead and you should be fine.” She said, gesturing to herself with a wink.

Shuji waved at the guards, who came over and assembled around the pair in a formation. Tilly didn’t recognize any of them, not that he expected to, but they all wore serious expressions and none, not even the lapins smiled or even looked at him. It was all business today.

Along with their increasing professionalism, Tilly noted that the Watch’s uniform was getting more official by the day. Each of them wore heavy padded jackets and pants, carrying shortswords on one side of their belts and a mean-looking weighted club on the other.

“Good luck Jonathan Tillman!” Shuji shouted exuberantly as the guards finished forming up. The fact that Tilly was only five feet away did nothing to dampen his mood.

“Thanks,” Tilly replied drolly. Mochizuki nodded to the guards, and they all moved toward the door displaying an admirable amount of discipline as the first two broke off and moved through the door. They cleared the area immediately outside the building and then held open the door. The rest of them moved through and the guard formed back up seamlessly as the group moved across the square. The sight of Tilly walking with an armed escort and a member of the Auction House caused a stir, many of those passing through stopped to turn and stare as the formation passed by.

Tilly hated the showiness of this plan. He didn’t mind being watched, but to make decisions to intentionally gain attention rubbed him the wrong way. But thankfully, no one had put Tilly in charge of any kind of subterfuge. No, that responsibility seemed to fall on Shuji’s shoulders whenever the lapins were involved and the Librarian seemed especially fond of glaringly obvious distractions that always hid much more than they revealed.

Before he knew it Tilly was moving under the Auction House banner, the strange curves and lines that made up the supernatural structure coming into view as they rounded the gate. As soon as the formation passed through, the guards split and posted up at the entrance while Mochizuki continued to glide forward, having assumed an aloof formal posture for their march.

The small but open courtyard was empty, and thankfully, from within, Tilly could only see two or three of the arched openings leading off into the maze, which left him much less dizzy than his first look had.

“There are many theories as to how the Auction House does what it does. The one I find most compelling is that they do not erect new buildings for each chapter. Rather, they somehow link our space to an existing entrance of this complex. Where they found it, or if its body lies in the physical plane of Nephesh at all is anyone’s guess.” Mochizuki droned, still playing her part.

Tilly followed her lead through the first of three arched entrances, which led into a curving hallway that only twisted slightly as it opened into a private courtyard with a soft fountain bubbling and several strange trees, whose trunks curled in on themselves in corkscrew motions. Tilly turned and found that they had moved completely out of sight of the main entrance. He glanced up and found the sky completely changed, now colored a bruised purple and pink, reminding Tilly of an otherworldly sunset.

“Wonderfully executed if I do say so myself,” Talias' strangely familiar accent sounded from a cleverly hidden archway, pulling Tilly’s attention back to ground level, “You are surprisingly skilled at adopting our mannerisms.”

“Thank you! The outfit did the majority of the work, I assure you.” Mochizuki lowered her eyes in thanks before shedding the top layer of her disguise. She folded them neatly and moved forward to offer them to the Auditor.

“Of course, it is a small thing to offer, and we do so gladly,” The Auditor answered as she glided forward to take the outfit and tucked it away in one of her sleeves.

Tilly read this exchange as his cue for assuming his Emissary guise, and he mentally drew himself up before sighing dramatically “I have found prudence, while boring, to be a very effective tool for getting what I want.” He interjected in a cold voice, pulling the attention of both ladies to him, as he activated his armor’s transformation.

His patchwork leather and fur armor rippled from head to toe, leaving him clothed in his scaled leather suit with a red tie and white dress shirt… and the shoes! He had forgotten about the wingtip leather shoes. He tried not to gag as he shot a quick glance down at his transformation.

“Shall we?” He asked in an unaffected voice, stuffing his discomfort deep into his subconscious where it could whine in private while he did what he had to do.

“Just a moment master,” Mochizuki stated, pulling off her large cloak and revealing a leather and cloth outfit that seemed to be a strangely cohesive mix of handmaiden and assassin. The bodice was cut low, and her torso was crisscrossed with bandoliers of belts and knives. She pulled on what looked like white butler gloves and adjusted a pair of split skirts. The whole outfit seemed formal while not impeding her movement too much.

Once done, she sauntered over, effecting a far more predatory manner than he had yet seen from her, and nodded once to him, meeting his eyes intentionally for just a second, before taking position slightly behind him and to his right.

“Good, good! It is almost time for the event, and if you will forgive me some enthusiasm, we here at the Auction House are very excited about some of the new items to make the stage this year.” Talia crooned, before turning on her heels and heading back through the arched opening. Tilly and Mochizuki followed after entering the building proper.