Free Trade City of Aquarius, Auction House
1st Year of God, New Sabbath, 2nd Week, 3rd Month of Abraham.
Specialist Sergeant Price and the rest of Team Epsilon, except for Mason and their leader Riley, enjoyed a leisurely day exploring the city of Aquarius as they went sightseeing, blending seamlessly with hundreds of traders and merchants by wearing in long hooded clocked garments that concealed their flight suits and weapons, as they moved through the busy streets with ease.
Accompanying them was Polites, whose Illusion magic deftly transformed their rounded human ears into the pointed ones typical of the locals. Price, taking no chances, wore an ushanka-like fur hat to further hide his ears, despite the illusion already cast by Polites.
Right now, their destination was the auction house, located in one of the wealthiest merchant districts of the city. They were there for some simple shopping, bolstered by the 5,000 Platinum Coins (equivalent to 50 million U.S. dollars) that their leader had secured, unsurprising for someone with a special college degree in economics and business back home.
Price paused before the brightly illuminated facade of the auction house, where the address from the invitation was written. The building itself resembled a grand estate, surrounded by a perimeter wall artfully disguised by lush greenery. Lavish carriages rolled in one after another through the wide wrought iron gates, where a team of well-dressed muscles guarding.
As Price and his men walked up to the gates, a self-important steward blocked their path.
"Business here?" he asked sternly.
"We have an invitation for tonight's auction," Price replied, unfazed by the steward's tone as he handed over the scroll.
The steward snatched the scroll and gave it a quick glance before frowning. "This is addressed to Lord Arther of the North Star Company. Which of you is... the Lord?"
"Lord Arther has graciously extended his invitation to us," Price explained. "We are here on his behalf-"
"Tch!" The steward made a clicking sound with his tongue as he cut off Price's sentence. "I've seen such tricks before. You must have stolen his invitation! Guards!"
"Hey! Wait a minute!" Tavish cursed as he stood forward with the rest as the guards came forward to chase them away. "We are not thieves!"
"Well…" The steward threw a sly glance to Price and rubbed his fingers together suggestively. "If you can prove you did not steal, then…"
"They are with me!" a silvery voice suddenly called out.
All eyes turned toward a large, glossy black carriage, drawn by four raptor-like dragons. The windows of the carriage were all covered up by lace curtains, revealing only the shadowy outline of the person within.
"Let them in."
"Ah! Lady Mona!" The steward's face paled as he quickly signaled the guards to make way for Price as he bowed and scraped before the carriage. "My… deepest apologies! This lowly one had no idea they were your guests!"
"Come on board," the light voice replied, and a footman from the carriage opened the door, lowered a folding step, and bowed, as he invited Price and his team to enter.
Price, feeling confused, gingerly boarded the carriage which was surprisingly spacious. The cushioned benches lined inside the carriage were more than enough to accommodate at least half dozen more people. His surprise deepened when he saw a beautiful looking middle-aged lady seated next to a grinning fat elf, who looked very familiar.
"You are...?"
"Arther!" Price's question was cut off as Polites stepped in and hugged the elf.
"Polites, my friend," the grinning fat elf in a stylish coat raised his glass in a salute to Price and the others. "The name's Arther."
"Arther?" Price frowned. "So you're the one who helped us reaching here?"
"Indeed I am," Arther winked and gestured to the woman beside him. "My companion for tonight, Lady Mona, whom you've met before... She's the landlord of the mansion where you and your crew are staying."
Price did a double take, recognizing the noblewoman as the landlord of their current residence.
"Why would a noble lady be running a company that rents out mansions and five-star inns by herself?"
"Oh, ever since my husband passed away in the battle against the Orcs," Lady Mona said as she poured drinks for Price and the others, "It keeps me busy."
"And rich," Arther added with a grin, clinking his glass against Lady Mona's who laughed back. "Lady Mona is… a good friend of mine."
"I see…" Price murmured, shaking his head inwardly. "So, what brings you here?"
Arther glanced out the carriage window as it slowly rolled towards the main auction house building. "Well, we're here on a date... You know, auctions can be so exciting!"
Lady Mona laughed at Arther's bold words and she berated him gently. "You are so bad. You are here for that human the rumors were hearing about!"
Price frowned at this, but before Arther could respond, the footman outside announced their arrival. Arther gave a slight shake of his head while keeping his smile as he hopped out of the carriage and offered his hand to Lady Mona.
Once they all exited the carriage, Price found himself standing before a large stone courtyard that had stone braziers at intervals lighting up the evening. A small army of servants was lined up at the entrance, greeting guests and ushering them into a building which looked Victorian in design, save for the spires and towers.
The servants bowed, accepted their invitation scrolls, and led them down a thickly carpeted hallway. Arther fell back to Price's group and warned in a low voice.
"Don't cause any trouble here, just enjoy yourselves."
Arther pointedly glanced at their concealed holsters before he gave another wink and quickened his pace to rejoin Lady Mona.
Price let out a small sigh and turned to his crew. "Well, you heard the man, just enjoy the evening and stay out of trouble."
His three teammates nodded in unison. Polites grinned and added, "You heard the boss, boys! Just enjoy the evening! Hehehe!"
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After parting ways with Arther and his companion, a servant led Price and his team to a small but comfortable balcony. The space was cozy, furnished with sofa-like chairs that allowed them to overlook the large stage below, which resembled some kind of opera theater. A few maids were on hand, serving refreshments and attending to their needs.
As time went by, more guests were seated until the whole auction house was gradually fully filled. The magical glow lamps dimmed, casting the room in a soft intimate light, and a lavishly dressed man came on the stage. He seemed to glow as he was illuminated by some sort of spell, making him extremely eye-catching in the dimmed lights, which instantly captured everyone's attention
But what intrigued Price and his crew was the man's eccentric appearance.
The man wore a black eye patch over one of his orange eyes, with long black hair flowing down his shoulders. A few strands of beard jutted from his chin, and he was dressed in a high-quality black cloak over a formal suit.
To top it off, he even wore a cowboy hat.
In all regards, he looked like a character straight out of an old Western movie, or an individual who could either be a top-tier shady dealer or someone enjoying an elaborate costume. His playful smile, however, suggested he was just having fun with his appearance.
"Welcome, Lords and Ladies!" the cowboy-like elf's voice magically boasted, reaching even the farthest corners of the hall that allowed everyone to hear him clearly no matter how far they were seated and causing all chattering from below instantly stopped. "Welcome to the Venna Auction Event!"
"I am Jason David Lance, or J.D. Lance for short, and I will be your guide for tonight's wondrous event!" The elf gave a dramatic bow, met with a round of applause. "Now, as I am sure, all of you are excited and impatient to see the marvelous items up for auction tonight! So without further ado, I declare the start of the auction!"
More applause followed his proclamation as he stepped to the side of the stage, and the glowing spell surrounding his body began to fade. The stage was suddenly illuminated and a couple of pretty looking servants pushed a covered cart onto the middle of the stage.
"And now, for the first item of the auction, I present this," The man named J.D. Lance announced, gesturing to the servants who removed the coverings and revealed something that took Price and his men by surprise.
"A painting?" Belinski muttered, squinting at the item through a magical viewing orb placed in front of their seats. The orb allowed them to see the stage clearly from afar.
At first glance, it seemed like just a regular painting, a badly painted one, at that.
"Some of you might be wondering, what is this? A painting? Why would just a regular item be presented in the auction as the first item? Well, rest assured, everyone, this is no ordinary painting."
Pausing, the auctioneer traced a finger along the painting's surface and channeled his mana. The painting began to glow, filling the hall with murmurs.
"Oh, so it's a magical glowing painting. Cool," Tavish remarked, still seemingly uninterested.
"That's right! This painting is, in fact, a Magic Artifact," the auctioneer declared with enthusiasm. "It was masterfully painted by the renowned Leonard Vaz from the Second Civilization Zone. Known for his extraordinary artistic sense, Leonard created this piece not just to be admired, but to serve a greater purpose. What makes this painting unique is that it contains some of Leonard's insights on Magic control, a fundamental aspect for anyone aspiring to reach the pinnacle of their craft. With the right understanding, one might even advance their Martial Mastery and grow stronger just by gazing upon it."
He paused, allowing the weight of his words of the information to sink in as he looked at the crowd.
"Enough said, the starting price for this rare artifact is 5 Platinum Coins. Let the bidding begin."
With a sharp slam of the hammer on the stand, the auction officially commenced.
Instantly, a wave of hands across the room shot up in the air.
"Number 60 bids 5.5 Platinum Coins, going once... Ah! Number 78 bids 7 Platinum Coins!"
"13 Platinum Coins!"
"Number 765 bids 13 Platinum Coins! Oh, and now number 05 raises the stakes, 15 Platinum Coins!"
Meanwhile, Price and the others could only watch boredly as it continued. There was no way a painting could help either of them against any enemies. Though somewhat useful, its benefits were limited to those skilled in Mana and it would sort of be a waste of money to them.
"Number 1289 bids 56 Platinum Coins! Any takers? Ah, it seems we have another distinguished guest who wants to take a piece of the cake, 80 Platinum Coins! Going once! Going twice! Going thrice! And... sold!"
In the end, the painting ended up selling for a staggering 80 Platinum Coins, with the winning bid placed by a young handsome elf seated in the VIP side of the viewing gallery. Lance slammed his hammer down happily as he announced the winner of the bid and gave a bow in the direction of the young lord.
"Oh my god…" Woods blinked his eyes wildly in disbelief as he saw the ending bid. "Over 80 Platinum Coins for a painting?"
He glanced down at his shoulder holster, where his compact sub-gun rested and swallowed his saliva nervously.
"Say... if I auctioned off my machine pistol, how much do you think I'd get?"
"Don't you even think of it!" Price warned sternly. "Or you might find the Imperial Secret Police paying you a visit!"
"Oh…" Woods felt a shiver run down his spine. "Yes... you're right…"
"Trading weapons to foreign nations is a serious offense," Price reminded them in a serious tone. "It's a capital offense, just like those traitorous oligarchy bastards we executed the other night."
"Well... I was just curious about the bid... Haha…" Woods offered an awkward laugh. "I'd never actually do it!"
"You better not!" Price shot him a hard look. "Don't forget, the government could be watching us without our knowing, and I don't want to be ordered to hunt you down."
Woods quickly nodded, and they turned their attention back to the auction, which continued with new items.
"What an exciting start to the evening! Now, onto the next item. Right before you is a…"
For the next half hour or so, different items were paraded across the stage, each drawing fervent bids from the eager crowd.
Although all of the items were somewhat interesting, none of them were something that they particularly needed for the humans so they weren't tempted to buy anything.
"Huaam, are there any items that are interesting?" Tavish muttered as a small yawn escaped from his mouth.
Other than those simple magic items that appeared, the auction soon featured an impressive variety of Magic Artifacts, Skills, Monster Parts, Special Ores, Monster Eggs, and more. Each item would have made most people drool with desire, and even the humans found some of them tempting.
One of the more remarkable items was a pair of metal gauntlets that boosted its wearer's strength, speed, Mana levels, and resilience by fivefold.
Another was a set of four potions, and according to Lance, they were the only ones in existence that could transform even a Manaless species like humans into Magic Users.
This piqued the humans' interest. The idea of one of them gaining the power to even stand a chance against the world's dangers without relying on firearms was tantalizing.
And perhaps, if they acquired a sample, they could replicate and mass-produce it.
But unfortunately, the potions were fiercely contested and quickly found a new owner, leaving the team disappointed.