I watched as a new guard rotated in. The auction house was, like everything else in the city, enormous. It had two sections, each two stories tall, that connected to the bulky square of a building center with a domed glass rooftop. A total of fifteen guards patrolled the perimeter in groups of three. The grounds around and leading up to the auction house were cleared of common people as goods and food were brought in.

Tonight, there was a gathering involving multiple nobles and merchants. Families from all over the empire were starting to trickle into the city, eager for the event despite the official opening being a week away.

I glanced at the man watching intently from less than five feet away. Henry oscillated the swing of his legs over the side of the building as he leaned back on his arms and stared with a determination that didn’t match his posture. The guy, nice as he was compared to Carlyle and Allan, wasn’t company I wanted to keep.

He sighed, “Another night of rubbing noses with those guys. Carlyle’s gonna get a complaint after all this is done, though I guess it’s partly my fault. Did you want anything from inside? A lot of it’s a bit much but the finger food’s ok. I could sneak out a few things for you.”

I shook my head. Whenever there was a lull, he always tried to start up a conversation.

Henry shrugged, “If you say so. Are you sure you don’t want to come inside with me? It’s not uncommon for nobles to have servants.”

I shot him a look.

“Or guards,” he added.

“That’s not the problem.”

“Is it the face?” he asked. “I don’t know what kind of organization you think we are. We aren’t going to assassinate you. As a Thirteenth, the Talons might want you investigated, but that’s only if they know about you. Carlyle and Allan are firm on being the only ones to communicate with them. Better that way too. The Talons creep me out. Anne’s on the same boat, and Han, well, Han is used to keeping things secret.”

“Not happening. You do your job and I’ll do mine.”

“Your job might be easier inside. He’s working for a noble in attendance or for the auction house, right? Here,” Henry deftly flicked an amber brooch my way. I caught the flashy ornament. “That’s the invitation. Join us if you change your mind. My bodyguard’s spot is open. I’ll be off. Anne and Han are waiting for me.”

I fingered the jewelry. Nack was nowhere to be seen. The report said he liked drinking, so while Henry and the others snuck their way into high society, I was bar hopping with no luck. There were a few I hadn’t checked on yet. They were close to the auction house and I planned on visiting a few of them during the party.

The brooch rolled across my fingers. Being bulkier, it wasn’t as easy to fiddle with as a knife was. Carriages came one after another, dropping off noblemen and women with the same brooch on their person. Everyone allowed entry had one. It was an excessive show of wealth, something not uncommon in the city.

Off a few blocks away, the lights of taverns shone, though they were nothing in comparison to the auction house. A drunken man stumbled through the streets, his night over before it even began. If I had to choose between that or the parade of rich folk gathering below, I’d have chosen the drunkards nine times out of ten. It just so happened that I’d been in their company a lot lately, more than ten times. I sighed and picked through my coin pouch.

----------------------------------------

I bought the bare minimum to look the part of a guard. Well, I could only afford the bare minimum. A few of my knives were dulling and one was chipped after the labyrinth. I spent a bit of money getting new rope and utility bombs too, though I didn’t have those on me. I needed to start budgeting until I found the time to take on some quests or odd jobs.

Blue Hair left for the labyrinth the other day, didn’t she?

Axel had told me about it. Feno went to the labyrinth with a few others and Axel tagged along for the walk. He couldn’t go because of an obligation to his sponsors, but he’d seen Blue Hair in one of the wagons leaving for it.

My shoddy outfit drew glances from those in attendance and cold glares from the staff. The dress code for guards was casual, a rich casual. I didn’t have that. I’d bought the nicest shirt and overcoat I could afford and strapped on what was basically a broken sword from the weaponsmith.

“Hold on there,” said a short guardsman in a northwestern accent, probably Calundi given how drawn out his words were. “This isn’t a place for just anyone. You need to have an invitation, tero.”

Definitely Calundi.

Two more guards joined the man. Though their sword arms rested at their side, they held the sheathe, ready to draw. I carefully reached for the brooch and showed the men. They stared at it with skeptical eyes.

“Well, looks good to me, tero. You go inside and have a nice one,” the Calundi man said, spinning on his heel.

One of the other guards, a man with a goatee, grabbed him, “Don’t leave. You think that’s a real invitation? Look at him. He’s wearing a mask. That’s suspicious enough on its own but you can find thugs who are dressed better. And his hair. It looks like it was cut with a knife.”

Rude. I thought as I pinched a few strands. I thought it looked ok.

Goatee shook his head. “I don’t know how you got a fake that good, but you aren’t welcome here. This is a private event. Leave or we’ll have to kick you out.”

“And how are we gonna do that?” asked the Calundi man, stroking his chin.

Goatee sighed.

“My noble… employer isn’t going to be happy if he learns I was turned away,” I said.

Goatee shook his head, “Right. Well, you can tell him after the party’s over.”

The other guard, a young man with unusually large hands, scratched his head. “I dunno about this. The brooch looks real. I mean, could someone make a fake this good in just a few days?”

“I agree with the boy, terono,” the Calundi man said. “I’ve known my share of thieves and craftsmen. A replica would take days to make. I’d be wary of future events, not this one. Besides, the lad looks like a capable fighter. Can’t see the muscles under all those clothes but I can see some tightness there and there. Bet his hands are calloused too, under those gloves.”

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“It’s here and there,” Hands corrected.

“What and where?”

“Nothing.”

Goatee looked about ready to strangle his fellow guardsmen.

What in the Veil is wrong with these guys?

I expected the auction house to be more professional. The three guards in front of me seemed more like a makeshift militia or village watch in the wake of a goblin raid, a bunch of people who’d never fought in their lives forced to play the part. If I wasn’t a guardsman, they probably were much of one either.

“Give me the brooch,” Goatee said as he extended his hand.

I held it out.

“Well?” he asked.

“Well, what? You can see it fine from here, can’t you?”

“I want to inspect it.”

“And I want to get in, but it doesn’t look like either of us are going to get what we want from each other. Don’t worry, I’m sure someone more reasonable will let me in.”

“I was going to,” he said behind gritted teeth. “You just ruined your damned chance. All because you couldn’t hand over your ‘invitation’.”

“Oh come on. Everyone here knows you were going to take it away from me,” I said.

The Calundi man nodded. Hands looked away from Goatee.

“Don’t agree with him, you dunce!”

“Oi! Don’t you call me a dunce. I’ll have you know I’m the smartest of four brothers and three sisters. Course, two of those are babes, and one of my brothers died in a fishing accident, but the statement stands.”

Goatee ignored him and lunged for the brooch. I easily sidestepped the man. He lunged again and this time I tripped him. He fell, spread-eagled on the ground. Hands stifled a laugh while the Calundi man hunched over, hands over his stomach.

“You really got him good there, tero!”

As if three auction house guards didn’t draw enough attention, the scene we made turned the heads of nearly everyone outside. A well-dressed man whispered to another pair of guards and they started to make their way over. Goatee, face red, quickly rose.

“You little fucker. I was going easy on you,” he said, pulling out his sword. His stunt of drawing his weapon drew a few gasps from onlookers. For a second, the guard thought better of it. Rather than attack, he pointed the tip at me. “Last chance.”

The other two guards arrived, cutting me off from behind. They didn’t grab me for whatever reason and I showed them the brooch as well. Goatee visibly shook as I ignored his commands again. Despite his threats, I didn’t see the intent behind his eyes. If he stabbed me, it would be either because of a mistake or blind fury.

“Hold on there, friends,” said a feminine voice. Hannah broke through the line of guards and playfully grabbed me by the arm. She wore a low-cut, black and gray dress, with her hair tied into a braided bun.

“H-How do you know him, Ma’am?” Goatee demanded.

“He’s my guard.”

“Oh, looks like he was telling the truth, terono.”

“Shut up,” Goatee said as he sheathed his sword. “Go in, then. I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

I clicked my tongue at the man. Hannah pulled me away from the guards and listening ears. We stopped a distance away from the entrance, still within sight of everyone and under the light of the auction house.

“Shouldn’t we go further?” I asked.

“That would look too suspicious.” She gave me a look over. “Like that mask you're wearing. If you want to move around unnoticed, take it off.”

I stopped her from reaching for it. “You’re not gonna get me that easily. Besides, I already don’t look like the average partygoer.”

“Hm, you’re right. If you’d told me you were coming earlier, I could’ve put you into some proper clothes.”

“You’re not getting my measurements.”

“Hah, you’re quick aren’t you?” She gave me a playful hit on the arm. “Henry and Anne are socializing, poorly, mind you. More Anne than Henry. That girl really isn't fit for infiltration. Anyway, you stick out too much. Don’t mingle more than you have to and see if you can disappear partway through to look around. I’ve been trying to get my target to show me the restricted areas. Fool is seven drinks deep and blubbering too much to not lose focus every other second.”

With Hannah to vouch for me, I finally made it into the party which was separated into two floors, one being in a banquet hall filled with food and drinks, and the other being a slightly smaller room with a fireplace. Some personal guards shadowed their employers while others gathered in groups at the corner of the room.

I watched as Hannah glided across the room, wrapping her arms around a man whose hair curled upward as it touched his shoulders. Though it looked like Hannah was clinging to the man, he visibly steadied when she grabbed onto him. The woman he was speaking to before Hannah came, sighed in relief. It took me a second to recognize her but it was Anne. Henry interacted with a group, wine in hand, just a few feet away. He’d been keeping an eye on her.

I did a quick sweep of the room but as expected, Kharss wasn’t there. Neither was Nack, though I wasn’t sure I’d recognize him at first glance.

I went over to the clump of bodyguards. They eyed me warily, keeping their distance. Fine by me. I didn’t want to interact with them. Being in the proximity of the party, let alone inside of it, drained me enough already, I didn’t need to get tired out by small talk.

A servant hesitantly offered me a drink. I took it, just so I wouldn’t have to stand there so awkwardly. What did people even do at parties anyway? Just talk? Fortunately, I wasn’t supposed to be enjoying myself. That seemed impossible.

“Who do you serve?” Asked a clean-shaven man in a tidy red and silver uniform. Unlike the others on this side of the room, he was a soldier, as indicated by the rank on his shoulder. I had no idea what it meant, but he was clearly someone important, or served someone important, as a number of the men fixed their posture and slowed their alcohol intake.

I glanced at Hannah and he followed my gaze.

“Ah, the Lady who caught Lord Brahnum’s interest,” he said, musingly. Before he could prod more, the host tapped on his glass.

As everyone turned to him, Hannah turned and gestured toward a door behind me. I waited a moment, as the man gave over-the-top praises and thanks to the people gathered, and pretended to grab some food as I slid over to the exit. It led to another room. From there, I slipped into the hall, dodging the servants and guards along the way.

I didn’t need to find where the secret auction would happen, that job was theirs, while mine was finding Nack. Still, I peeked into the rooms. It wouldn’t hurt to help, especially if I never found the man. In a city as large as this, even if we had an idea where he’d be, there were still hundreds of people to sort through and he could’ve changed his appearance during that time. Finding the place of the secret auction would put me on everyone’s good side. Carlyle might be in charge, but not even he could refuse if the others vouched for me.

If I found Kharss, I wouldn’t need to do any of this.

It wasn’t going to be that easy.

After peeking into the hundredth nondescript fancy room, I was about to call it quits for the night. Seeing all the wasted wealth made my whole soul shake so much that I was worried I might have accidentally passed through the other side of the Veil, and I wasn’t even religious. Part of that had to do with the unsettling nature of the place. We often camped out so there was always some kind of noise, whether that be from wind, birds, or bugs. In here though, the thick walls blocked nearly all sound.

That was why I stopped halfway through closing the door.

“Shhhh…”

My eyes darted around the room looking for the source. The crystals weren’t active and none of the candles were lit. I opened the door further, letting light pour in. There were two sudden intakes of breath. Under one of the tables holding up a vase, I caught the slightest glimpse of toes sticking out.

Two children in ragged clothes clutched each other, shaking as I threw up the table sheet. On their feet were shackles with the chain snapped.

"Hurry," came a voice from the hall. "Find them before anyone knows they escaped!"