Chapter 69: Auction I

Leo didn’t end up seeing the man again by the time the ball ended. He was both unnerved and also slightly relieved, though he would never admit the latter out loud.

By now, the masquerade had begun to die down. The hall slowly cleared as guests said their goodbyes and exited the building, leaving more of the floor exposed than had been all night. Leo hadn’t even noticed the swirling patterns in the marble tiles.

Servers began clearing away the tables and pushing aside chairs. The conductor had left earlier, and the remaining musicians were packing up their instruments.

Still, despite the masquerade presumably being over, a decent chunk of people stayed behind. They must also be here for the auction, Leo thought.

In the thinned crowd, it was easy to find Allan standing near the stage. Spade had disappeared, presumably off with the other guards to the auction room early.

Leo’s eyes darted around, but he still didn’t see the man from earlier anywhere. Maybe he’d left with the other half of the party guests and wasn’t attending the auction.

“Hear anything interesting?” Leo asked as he approached Allan. The [Healer] was nursing a cup of plain water (in his right hand, Leo noted with amusement). The man frowned.

“Apparently the nobles have a lot to say about the closed gates. Something about it being bad for trade,” he added with a faint snort. He shook his head. “What about you?”

“Nothing here either.” He’d had a much harder time getting anyone to talk to him at all, and a part of him couldn’t help but wonder if the guests could somehow smell his past on him.

Even when he had finally managed to enter a conversation, he’d mostly been ignored and talked over. To add insult to injury, the few bits and pieces he’d overheard had been about as useful as having five different kinds of spoons.

“There was this guy earlier, though,” Leo continued. “Something about him didn’t feel right.”

Allan straightened at that. “Did he do something?”

Leo shook his head. “Nah, he was just standing there. But he just felt…off, you know?”

The [Healer] nodded in understanding, which Leo appreciated. Both of them had learned to trust their instincts over the years, both their own and each other’s. It was a necessary survival mechanism in the slums. Sometimes something “feeling wrong” was the difference between surviving and dying in a ditch.

“Is he still around?” Allan’s dark eyes scanned the crowd warily as he spoke.

“No, I think he left with the first wave.” Leo glanced up at the stage, where the last musician was leaving with her violin case and music stand.

By now the number of party guests had dropped even further, and the ones remaining all lingered in the hall, making no move to leave. Without the music and chatter, the building suddenly felt terribly quiet.

“Should we go?” Allan whispered, watching the stage. The curtains hadn’t moved. Leo shook his head.

“Let’s wait a bit. Best get in around the middle.”

The [Healer] nodded in agreement, and the two stood patiently. A few minutes later, the woman in red Leo had seen earlier stepped up to the stage and disappeared behind the curtains. After her, an elderly couple followed, and that seemed to be the dam that finally broke the temporary stillness.

The remaining guests flocked towards the stage like moths drawn to a light. Leo and Allan quickly slipped into the unofficial line forming. The [Fragmentholder] fumbled for the invitation in his jacket as they ducked behind the curtains, which were a good deal heavier than they looked.

Behind the stage was a second narrow hallway. Candles lit the way, but the low ceiling gave it a claustrophobic atmosphere. Some of the noblewomens’ gowns didn’t even fully fit from wall to wall and had to be held close as the group made their way down.

At the end of the hall was a single door with two guards flanking it. Guests were stopped a few feet away by another guard while the current person was let through the door, probably to avoid someone overhearing the code word. Leo exhaled as he and Allan stepped up to the front of the line.

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“Invitation?” The guard’s voice was gruff, her face invisible behind her helmet. Leo held up the card, hesitating for a second. Was he just supposed to say the word? Were they going to ask for it?

In the end, he muttered “orchid” when the guard didn’t make a move. She nodded, to the [Fragmentholder]’s relief, and the second guard handed them a bidding card. #41.

With another wave, they were let through the doors into a dark auditorium. Rows of plush seats circled the brightly lit stage, where a wooden podium stood in the center. Leo could see more guards encircling the space like they had in the ballroom, and the guests who’d arrived first were already seated, scattered among the sea of chairs.

“There.” Allan tapped Leo’s arm and nodded to the left, where Spade could be seen leaning against the wall not too far from the door.

Leo nodded and the two made their way over, taking a seat beside the aisle so that they were right next to the [Executioner]. She didn’t give any indication of recognizing them, and they didn’t greet her either, instead focusing on the stage as more and more guests trickled in.

With the curtains currently drawn, Leo couldn’t see what items lay beyond. He frowned. What kind of object would the fragment be hidden in? And which guests knew about it? If he could figure that out, he could use their reactions to determine where the fragment was.

He glanced around, but before he could look more closely at the guests, a bright flash of movement caught his eye.

Just below the stage, a tall man with slicked back hair and a trimmed mustache was speaking to some of the nobles. His suit was a blindingly bright white that caught the light of the stage whenever he moved. He was obviously important; maybe he was the auctioneer.

Around them, more and more seats filled up, though everyone seemed to be following an unspoken agreement to maintain space between parties when possible. As a result, when the doors finally closed with an echoing slam, Leo and Allan were decently far from the next closest group.

Leo’s fingers tightened around the plain wooden bid card. In the darkness, it was difficult to make out faces, especially since no one had removed their masks. It was a good thing he had [Judgement] to identify people, he thought.

The faint chatter dimmed, and the man in the white suit straightened. He stepped onto the stage and behind the podium with a smile that was just a little too wide to look natural. Leo narrowed his eyes.

Name: Atticus Maigner

Age: 42

Level: 44

Class: [Senior Auctioneer, Tier 2]

Personal Skill: [Hush Lvl 5]

Tier 2, Leo noted—and he had a last name, which meant he was a noble.

His level wasn’t much of a surprise. Without the cost of crests impeding them, nobles were often higher level. In this case the man didn’t have a combat class, so Leo wasn’t too worried, even if still wary.

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!” Atticus’s voice boomed, easily filling up the space and bouncing off the walls. “Thank you for joining me on this fine evening! We wouldn’t be here today without your generous contributions.”

Leo snorted at that, and the man continued.

“Now, I’m sure most of you are old hats to this game, but I do spot some new faces this year! Along with some familiar ones, of course.” He shot a flirtatious wink down at the woman in red seated in the front row.

“I know you’re all excited to get this show rolling, so I’ll be quick! Just some basic rules, nothing complicated.”

He raised one finger. “Firstly, these wonderful items have been donated and acquired by our gracious sponsors. In the interest of privacy, these sponsors are to remain anonymous! Any questions about an object’s source or past owners are strictly forbidden.”

“Sounds illegal to me,” Leo muttered. Allan huffed out a laugh.

“With that out the way, the bidding process itself is quite simple! I give an opening bid, and you raise your card and shout out your offers! Biggest number wins 100% of the time. Don’t worry; I can assure you I’m very unbiased.”

That got a few laughs from the audience, but Leo remained unmoved.

“Once I hit the gavel, the bidding’s over! If you’re the lucky winner, just head on over to our lovely Lady Anne and she’ll handle the transaction,” the [Auctioneer] continued. He gestured to a woman standing by the side of the stage where there must be some sort of entrance leading backstage, based on the number of guards situated around the area.

“Now, for the sake of avoiding interruptions, once you’ve received your item please return to your seat until the end of the auction! No need to worry about theft, folks. The city guard are here to watch out for any…unsavory characters.”

Atticus nodded to the guards in question, who remained silent by the walls. Leo had assumed they were private guards, but it figured that the nobles involved would rope the city into this.

He tried not to react to the comment about thievery. They weren’t going after the fragment until after they exited the building, after all.

“Hear that? No leaving until the end of the auction! Once the last item’s been sold, you can exit through those doors and be on your way.”

“Now, I trust everyone has their bid card ready?”

A few guests nodded in agreement, some calling out verbally. Leo’s fingers tightened around the smooth wooden handle in anticipation.

Atticus smiled in that slightly unsettling way of his again. He spread his arms wide in a grand gesture.

“Well then, ladies and gentlemen, let’s bring out the first item!”