"Attention, everyone!" One of the event staff said over the intercom system. "The auction will begin in ten minutes. Please make your way to the auditorium. For those of you who have rented a private booth, please head to the designated hallway in the east wing of the building."
"Finally!" Sebastian Conley groaned while taking a bite out of his third helping of shrimp carbonara. "I was wondering when they were going to get started."
"I don't see what you're getting so worked up for." Skylar Murphy replied while also scarfing down some of the food that they totally didn't steal from the kitchen. "We're still stuck down here for the rest of the night."
"True, but at least it's a change of pace. I was starting to get bored."
"Hey, look on the bright side." Ayako interjected. "At least we get to chill down here and stuff our faces while everyone else upstairs technically has to work."
"Good point."
The group then turned their attention to one of the large cages directly across from where they were sitting. One that contained one of the cryptids that was to be auctioned off tonight. It was in the middle of being placed on a rolling dolly by a few of the staff members in preparation to be carted onto the stage.
"So Conley, how many cryptids are your family selling off this year?"
"No clue." Sebastian shrugged at Skylar's question. "Usually, my grandfather just gives away whichever one he doesn't feel like dealing with anymore."
Ayako was next to add her two cents. "I've heard about your family's cryptid pit. Is it true that the place is the size of a football stadium?"
"Way bigger than that." Sebastian replied. "I've only been to it a handful of times. And even then, I never got to see the whole thing. Only the first two levels. Murphy could probably tell you more than I can; his family was the one that made it."
"Oh, yeah, that is true, isn't it?"
"Yeah..." Skylar nodded. "My grandfather and his brothers were the ones who made it back in the day. And the Conleys paid him a ton of money for it, too. Apparently, it took them an entire month to make it, and that's with 'earth magic'."
"That's crazy."
While the three agents were chatting amongst each other to pass the time, one of the members of the event staff took a moment to slip into a nearby storage room. The worker, a young man who looked to be barely older than twenty-five, quickly pulled out his phone and sent a text to a certain number.
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Hummingbird: The auction starts in fifteen minutes. Once I'm done queuing the merchandise next to the stage, I'll be able to leave and activate the gas. I already set up the device.
Glacier: Good.
Glacier: Make sure to wait for my order.
Hummingbird: Yes, ma'am.
-(o)-
"Man, we really do have a whole booth to ourselves." Freddy said right as the group entered their designated area.
"Told you so!" Evan replied with a slight grin. "No one's going to bother us up here."
"And we have a great view of the stage too." Elizabeth added while taking her seat next to Maria.
Even though the auction was about to begin in a few minutes, there were still plenty of people shuffling into the lower section of the auditorium. With the seats that they had, the group was able to get an unobstructed view of the entire room, along with everyone who was in it. Usually, seats like these were reserved for the big spenders who didn't want to mingle with the rest of the crowd while they were throwing their money around.
"So, all the money made from the auction goes directly to the budget for the sorcerer academies?" Cyrus then asked the group.
"For the scholarships, actually." Elizabeth clarified before her brother filled in the rest of the missing pieces.
"Most of the students who go to the academies are usually first-gen sorcerers who can't really afford to go to a fancy boarding school halfway across the country. Only kids from wealthy or big sorcerer families can pay the cost outright. The rest go through the scholarship program."
"Makes sense." Cyrus nodded in understanding. Of course, special schools specifically created to house and train young sorcerers wouldn't be cheap. Especially since all three of them were pretty isolated from any major urban areas.
"There is a catch, though." Valerie then added, earning the attention of the others. "All the kids who go in through the scholarship program have to join the DPA right after school."
"Really?"
"It's not all bad." Elizabeth said. "If you want to go to college after school, you automatically get assigned to the closest station next to whatever university you get into. You'll have to juggle being a full-time agent and student at the same time, but your tuition is paid for, so it's a fair trade-off."
"That's what Aunt Zoe planned to do before she got accepted into West Point." Valerie smiled.
"And how much does it cost to go to the academies?" Freddy then asked.
"Fifty thousand a year." Evan said in a way that made it sound like it was chump change.
"Jesus Christ...." Maria cringed ever so slightly. How people could just casually throw away an entire yearly salary just to send their kids to some fancy school out in the middle of nowhere was beyond her.
After a few more minutes of idle chatter, the auction was finally set to start. Once the organizers were ready to go, the overhead lights dimmed, and the auctioneer casually walked onto the stage before taking his place behind the podium.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming out tonight!" The man said with a cool but professional tone. "My name is Jacob Blackwell, and I will be your auctioneer for the night!"
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"A Blackwell?" Lucas Chandler questioned from the private booth that he and his group were sitting in. "Talk about a rare sight. You hardly ever see one of them outside of their family's region."
"No kidding." Peter Dunbar agreed.
Chief Zoe then added her two cents. "I don't even know who's in charge of their family these days. All I know is that one of them is a Chief Agent out in Chicago."
-(o)-
"Now then, we all know what we're really here for, so let's get this show on the road!"
The auctioneer then signaled to the other side of the stage. A few seconds later, a small crew of people wheeled out a large cage containing a cryptid roughly twice the size of a regular horse. One with shaggy brown fur, a massive horn protruding out of the top of its head, and bright yellow eyes. Despite its calm demeanor, the creature radiated an aura of strength.
"The first item up for auction will be this lovely specimen straight from the Conley family's private cryptid pit. This unicorn is only a year old and was birthed by the primary companion of one of the family's Chief Agents. It is fully domesticated and is able to use 'earth magic'."
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"So that's a unicorn, huh?" Cyrus wondered out loud as a few people in the crowd began to ooh and ahh at the beast. The creature certainly didn't fit the common description of what he was accustomed to when it came to this kind of mythological creature. If anything, it looked more like a cross between a goat and a rhinoceros than any kind of horse.
'I heard that cryptids like those only spawn in Scotland.' Maria thought to herself. 'It must've cost a fortune to get one of those. And they're just giving it away like this?'
-(o)-
Once everyone was able to get a good look at the creature, the auctioneer spoke up once again. "We will now start the bidding at five hundred thousand dollars. Any takers?"
"Six hundred thousand!"
"Six-fifty!"
"Seven-fifty!"
"Well...I see that we're starting off strong tonight!" The auctioneer then joked.
-(o)-
"Jesus Christ..." Valerie was taken aback by how quickly the price of the beast inflated.
"I know that unicorns are rare, but this is kind of crazy." Evan said with no small amount of shock on his face. "What the hell are those people thinking?"
"It's the fur." Maria then clarified, only a moment before the price once again jumped up to eight hundred thousand dollars.
The group gave the 'beast magic' user their attention. The woman briefly hesitated for a moment before expanding on her comment.
"Unicron fur is valuable, even to non-sorcerers."
"Maria's right." Elizabeth added. "When treated properly, its fur can be used to create clothing that's stronger than diamond and almost completely resistant to magic. All while losing none of the flexibility. I heard that a cloak made of the stuff once sold for half a million dollars."
"Well, I can see why everyone wants it so much." Cyrus looked back down at the audience. The young man couldn't help but be amazed at what he was seeing.
-(o)-
"And the Conleys just gave that thing away?!" Chief Chandler scoffed at how ridiculous that sounded coming out of her mouth.
Lucas gently grabbed his wife's shoulder. "I highly doubt this is the only one they have at their disposal. If anything, they probably have a few of them and just threw away the smallest one."
"I wonder what Superintendent Redwyne had to do to get their family to agree to donate that cryptid. The guy must be a wizard with negotiations."
-(o)-
"Two million going once, going twice? Sold, the handsome man in the back row!" The auctioneer shouted while pointing at the new recipient of the creature. "Senator Rudd, I'm sure that your daughter is going to be very happy with your purchase!"
The man simply nodded before pulling out his phone and opening one of the apps on his screen. Like every other non-sorcerer in attendance, the man was wearing a special type of goggles that allowed him see cryptids even though he couldn't use magic himself.
"Now, onto our next item." The auctioneer continued as a new item was brought out to the stage. This time, instead of a live cryptid, what came out was a small, blue, gold-encrusted case. The staff member then set the case down on a nearby table before opening it and pulling out a massive gemstone. One roughly the size of a football.
"What we have here is a red, two-thousand-carrot diamond, courtesy of the Murphy family. This beauty was created artificially through a proprietary process that the family of 'earth magic' users has recently perfected. It is the first of its kind."
"My goodness!" One of the ladies in the crowd said as she used a pair of opera binoculars to get a better look at the gemstone.
"Even if it is artificial, that thing must be worth millions!"
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"Do you know how they could've made something like that?" Evan asked his sister. He may not have been well-versed in the field of gemstones, but even he knew something like that diamond was worth a fortune.
The lone 'earth magic' user of the group rolled her eyes. "How would I know?"
"You lived with the Murphys for an entire summer. I doubt all you did was train your magic while you were with them."
"That was five years ago, genius. Besides, you heard the guy, they made it through some new process. Making gemstones from scratch is already hard enough, even for those of us with a lot of mana. If I tried to make something like that, I'd probably die from overexertion."
"First a unicorn, now a rare diamond the size of a football. Man...I bet the school director is jumping for joy right now."
"The director?" Freddy joked. "The auctioneer is probably the happiest person in this room. Don't they get paid a commission based on the sales they make?"
"Wait...what does commission mean again?" Valerie then asked. Cyrus gave the girl a confused look before Evan clarified the meaning of the word to her.
"They get paid a small percentage of the money that was used to make the purchase."
"Gotcha!"
-(o)-
With the auction now in full swing, things were quickly heating up among the buyers. As each new item was presented to the crowd, the amount of money being thrown around was enough to make any sensible person's head spin.
Among the coveted treasures were a few more rare cryptids, some high-priced jewels, roughly a dozen paintings, and even a one-of-a-kind jacket. All of which were donated to the auction house via various sources that were either genuinely interested in helping out the nation's sorcerer academies or just needed to get rid of some items as a tax write-off.
Before anyone realized it, two hours had passed before the final item was sold. Once the main event was officially over, everyone proceeded to make their way back to the ballroom for the banquet.
"Alright..." Elizabeth looked back at the agents. "We only have to stay for thirty minutes. After that, we're getting out of here as quickly as possible."
'Thank God!' Maria said to herself. 'We're almost done with this bullshit.'
"Music to my ears." Valerie slightly chuckled.
"Seriously." Cyrus echoed the sentiment. "This was fun and all, but I'm looking forward to having a day off tomorrow."
Evan couldn't help but laugh. "Just make sure you guys grab a to-go plate on the way out. If nothing else, these bougie parties always have a decent selection."
"You don't need to tell me twice!" Valerie playfully patted Evan on the shoulder while smiling at the 'wind magic' user.
-(o)-
"I'm ready, Boss."
"Are the items that we're after in the right spot?"
"Yes. I made sure of it. They're all there."
"Good. We'll begin in fifteen minutes."
"Understood."
After putting away her phone, Hannah looked at her two partners. The strawberry blonde let out a quick sigh before pulling the mask down over her face. "Alright, let's get this party started."
-(o)-
Info Card: Chandler Family
One of the Nine Families of American sorcerer society, renowned for their mastery and expertise of the 'light magic' attribute.
Their lineage can be traced back to the early days of the Plymouth Colony in what is now the New England region of the United States. In recent decades, the Chandler family has become a cornerstone of magical innovation, blending traditional sorcery with modern science and technology. Primarily based in the Northeastern U.S., they have earned a reputation for combining magical research with disciplines such as science, engineering, mathematics, and robotics.
Members of this family are widely recognized for their exceptional intellect and academic achievements. Many family members are respected scientists, engineers, and researchers, often holding advanced degrees and prestigious positions within academia. Additionally, the first organized magical research collective was both founded and led by members of the Chandler family.
Today, many Chandlers remain active in the Magical Research Association, a prestigious network of sorcerer scientists dedicated to uncovering the mysteries of mana, magic, and cryptids. Through their innovations and research, they have secured numerous patents, generating substantial annual income and cementing their influence in both magical and scientific communities worldwide.
Among their most impactful inventions are goggles that allow non-sorcerers to see cryptids, mana detection scanners used globally by all sorcerer agencies, and several advanced mana-suppressing drugs and technologies. They are also credited with the invention of the now-infamous G5 Gas and mana detection radar.
One of the most notable current figures in the family is Lucas Chandler, a research professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is leading a groundbreaking project to develop functional prosthetic limbs that can be used in place of organic ones. As of now, the project is experimenting with prosthetic limbs that can be powered by mana that can be used by sorcerers. Allegedly, this project was inspired by his wife's service as a U.S. Army officer. This initiative reflects the family's enduring commitment to using magic and science for both innovation and humanitarian impact.
Notable Members: Rudolph Chandler (Family Head), Alma Chandler, Lucas Chandler, Zoe Chandler (née McKenna), Douglas Chandler, Helen Chandler, Gideon Chandler-Pickford, Caroline Del Bello, Jasper Chandler, Caleb Chandler, Miles Chandler-McNair.