The merchant's words immediately caught everyone's attention.
Kaelira looked toward him.
"An auction?"
The merchant nodded.
"Yeah."
"It's one of the bigger events held here."
Ryke glanced around the building.
"An auction for what?"
The merchant gave him a knowing smile.
"Pretty much anything."
He gestured toward the countless goods scattered throughout the building.
"We deal in all kinds of things here."
"Weapons."
"Magic items."
"Vehicles."
"Rare materials."
"Artifacts."
"And sometimes even things you wouldn't expect."
Kaelira's eyes lit up.
"That sounds interesting."
Pythia nodded.
"Very interesting indeed."
Aldric, however, remained unimpressed.
"So?"
He looked at the merchant.
"What's special about tomorrow's auction?"
The merchant's expression became slightly more serious.
"Tomorrow's auction is a bit different."
"There's word they're going to have some valuable merchandise."
He lowered his voice.
"Very valuable."
Draven's gaze sharpened.
"What kind?"
The merchant hesitated.
"I don't know everything that's going to be put up for auction."
"But I've heard a few things."
He glanced around before continuing.
"There's supposed to be a rare magical artifact."
"Some high-grade weapons."
"And a few other items that haven't been publicly announced yet."
Ryke raised an eyebrow.
"How valuable are we talking?"
The merchant smiled.
"Expensive enough that people from outside Soraeg will be coming just for it."
Ryke's expression changed.
"People from outside the city?"
"Yeah."
"Merchants."
"Collectors."
"Adventurers."
"Even nobles, from what I've heard."
Aldric scoffed.
"Nobles coming to a black market?"
The merchant shrugged.
"Money doesn't care where it's spent."
"And neither do some nobles."
Aldric remained silent.
Kaelira looked toward the merchant.
"When does it start?"
"Tomorrow at twelve."
Pythia smiled.
"And how do we get in?"
The merchant smiled.
"That's the interesting part."
He pointed toward the entrance.
"You can't just walk in."
"You'll need an invitation or an auction pass."
Ryke frowned.
"How do you get one?"
The merchant looked at him.
"You buy one."
"How much?"
"That depends."
He paused.
"The regular passes aren't too expensive."
"But the better seats..."
He gave a small laugh.
"Those cost considerably more."
Kaelira looked toward Draven.
"Master."
Draven glanced at her.
"Can we go?"
Aldric immediately looked at her.
"We're not here for an auction."
Kaelira pouted.
"But it sounds fun."
"We came here to sell the vehicles."
"We did."
"And we're leaving."
Kaelira looked toward the merchant again.
"But the auction is tomorrow."
Pythia smiled faintly.
"Technically, we don't have to leave before then."
Aldric glanced at her.
"We're leaving tomorrow."
Pythia nodded.
"Exactly."
Ryke looked between them.
"Wait."
"You mean we're actually considering staying for the auction?"
Aldric looked toward Draven.
Draven remained silent.
His gaze drifted toward the building.
Then—
toward the Night Market outside.
*An auction.*
He had originally planned to get the blood, sell the vehicles, and leave.
That was all.
There had been no reason to stay any longer than necessary.
But now—
something had caught his interest.
Draven looked back at the merchant.
"What kind of artifact?"
The merchant shook his head.
"Like I said, I don't know everything."
"But one of the things I heard about is an ancient artifact."
"Apparently, it's something that hasn't appeared on the market in years."
Draven's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What's it called?"
The merchant hesitated.
"I don't know."
He shook his head.
"Only that it's supposed to be extremely valuable."
Aldric noticed Draven's expression.
"You interested?"
Draven nodded slightly.
"Yeah."
"But there isn't too much to work with."
He glanced toward the merchant.
"Saying that it's valuable isn't really that convincing."
"If there was more information, it might've piqued my interest."
"But with only this, I can't justify making us waste time."
His gaze shifted toward the others.
"We're leaving as planned."
Aldric nodded.
"Good."
Kaelira's shoulders dropped slightly.
"Too bad."
She sighed.
"I was kinda looking forward to it."
Pythia nodded.
"So was I."
Aldric glanced between them.
"Yeah, well, you two can go ahead and stay."
"Who's stopping you?"
He shrugged.
"You're only dead weight anyway."
Kaelira immediately frowned.
"I'm not dead weight!"
"I can pull my own weight."
She pointed toward Ryke.
"Ryke should be the one considered dead weight."
Pythia nodded.
"I agree."
Ryke looked at her.
"Yeah, why not?"
Aldric stared at the three of them.
"The three of you are all the same in my book."
Pythia smiled faintly.
"If my lord isn't staying, then neither am I."
She looked toward Draven.
"I go wherever my lord goes."
Kaelira nodded.
"Same."
Draven said nothing.
The merchant watched the exchange silently before returning his attention to the two vehicles they had just sold.
The matter had been settled.
There was no reason for them to remain inside the building any longer.
The group then left the store and stepped back into the Night Market.
The moment they exited, the noise of the underground market surrounded them again.
Merchants shouted from their stalls.
People moved through the crowded streets.
Various races passed them from every direction, while strange goods continued to be displayed beneath the countless lights.
Aldric slipped his hands into his pockets.
"Now that I have some money..."
He smiled.
"I'm going to spend it well."
Kaelira immediately looked toward him.
"Don't forget that half of that seven hundred gold is mine."
She paused.
"That's three-fifty, right?"
Aldric looked at her.
"You're getting three hundred."
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
Kaelira's eyes widened.
"Huh?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Aldric glanced at her.
"Exactly what you heard."
Kaelira's expression immediately turned annoyed.
"You thief!"
"That's not fair!"
Aldric shrugged.
"And I'm supposed to care?"
Kaelira frowned.
"You can't just take fifty gold from my share!"
Aldric continued walking.
"I can."
Kaelira followed him.
"No, you can't!"
"Why not?"
"Because it's mine!"
"Not anymore."
"That's stealing!"
"Call it whatever you want."
Kaelira looked completely dissatisfied.
Ryke watched the exchange from behind them.
He could already tell the argument wasn't going anywhere.
He sighed.
"So, in that case..."
He lowered his head slightly.
"Eight thousand six hundred gold remains for me to pay."
Aldric glanced at him.
"Yeah. Better get paying quickly."
Ryke stared at him.
"Yeah, I know."
He rubbed his forehead.
*Of course.*
*I manage to sell two vehicles for seven hundred gold, and somehow I still end up thinking about the eight thousand six hundred I owe this bastard.*
He glanced at Aldric's back.
*My life really has taken a strange turn.*
Kaelira was still arguing with Aldric.
"But why three hundred?"
Aldric didn't even look back.
"Because I said so."
"That's not an answer!"
"It is to me."
Pythia quietly followed behind them, a faint smile on her face.
Draven walked at the front, listening to the conversation without saying anything.
The Night Market stretched endlessly around them.
Even after everything they had seen, there were still countless stalls they hadn't visited and countless strange objects they hadn't even begun to understand.
For now, however, they had accomplished what they came here to do.