'There's so many people. Is this what an auction looks like in such a place? Damn... but I wonder on how they are able to contain such a large amount of people in a respectful manner considering there's arbiters all around,' the thought came to Zay only as he realized how many people were releasing aura in the crowd, without a single care at all. He saw hues of gold, pink, dark red, orange, violet, forest green, silver, and that was just the start of the auras he saw within the crowd as they blended together from how close everyone was to each other.
His eyes glanced around and found an empty chair nearby. He sat down, waiting to see how whoever ran this place would contain so many arbiters without someone causing an incident.
After a few moments, the yellow lights dimmed as they changed to a lime-green color. A person wearing a dark blue suit and dark blue trousers, with a matching fedora, walked on stage, and everyone who had been talking began to quiet down.
"Can everyone hear me?" the man on stage asked, his voice echoing throughout the crowd. He realized they could and didn't wait for anyone to respond.
"Without any more waiting, as I believe everyone here is interested in certain... 'objects' we have for sale tonight. Remember, no fighting. If there are signs of even a slight chance of a fight breaking out, the auction will be cancelled immediately," the man said in a cold tone as his voice grew louder before he finished speaking.
The man on stage cleared his throat. "Ahem. Now that I have everyone's attention properly, let's begin with the first 'object' of tonight." He raised his hands and clapped once. Four people dressed in all white—the same uniform as the guards at each merchant stalls Zay saw earlier—appeared on stage, rolling in a table with wheels on the bottom. A piece of cloth covered something shaped like a square.
"Many of you may know this, or may not. I go by several names when at the market, but for tonight, call me Motive."
Motive moved his dark-blue gloved right hand to the cloth and slowly removed it. A small book appeared from underneath, crystallized inside glass.
"This, my friends, is called 'Sea Giant's Waking.' It is a witchcraft book that has been sought after for several years, and I just happened to get my hands on it. We'll be starting the bid of such an item at seventy-five gold."
One person instantly raised their hand into the air, signaling their bid of seventy-five.
Another raised their hand and spoke. "Eighty!"
An older gentleman sitting near Zay stood up and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him clearly. "Three hundred gold," he proclaimed, eyes locked on the glass-encased item with visible lust.
Zay swallowed hard after hearing that number. 'If that's how much a witchcraft's book goes for... how much would a person go for if someone is truly after them? Maybe... I should've risked it for more money than I came out with.'
Motive looked at the older gentleman before chuckling. He glanced around the rest of the auction house and saw no more hands being raised. After waiting a few seconds, he blinked slowly and extended his pointer finger toward the older gentleman. "First item has been sold for three hundred gold."
A moment of silence followed before Motive spoke again.
"All items and payment will be collected at the end of the auction. If, for whatever reason, you are not here by then, the item will be resold at the next auction instead, as always."
He snapped his fingers, and the four people in white uniforms rolled the item away behind curtains. They then brought in another item: five vials, each containing an ice-blue liquid.
"For the next item, my friends, we have 'Frosted Ghost Whale's Blood.' We'll start this bid at one hundred gold even."
Several people in the crowd released an audible gasp. Groups of people sitting next to each other looked at one another and whispered.
"Is that real?"
"There's no way... but it looks just like it."
"I know, but there's no way. I heard you can only get that by killing a Frosted Ghost Whale located in Sequence Nine."
'Frosted Ghost Whale's Blood... that is indeed a very rare item,' Zay thought to himself before looking up at the five vials sitting next to each other.
Someone instantly raised their hand, signaling their bid of one hundred gold. Motive looked around the crowd and said nothing, waiting to see if anyone else would speak up.
"One hundred gold, four silver," one person said, raising their hand into the air.
Several people began to speak up, increasing the value over several minutes. Motive released a sigh and clapped his hands, ending the bid as the time ran out.
"The current bid is four hundred gold, seventy silver, and eighteen bronze. Is there anyone else who would like to bid?" Motive asked. Everyone felt his eyes sweep over them before someone stood up in a long white dress. She had her face exposed, sharp cheekbones, long soft pink hair, and matching soft pink eyes. Her pupils had a small slit in the middle, resembling a dragon's eye.
"Two platinum from Jaskara," she said in a soft tone with a hint of disdain for the place she was in.
Motive looked up at her features and noticed two white ribbons tied in her hair over her shoulders. His eyes narrowed on her neck when he saw a jagged claw mark and his eyes widened before he quickly corrected himself. "Sold," was all he said before snapping his fingers, not allowing anyone else to bid even if they had more to offer.
She smiled before turning and walking away. As she left, four people dressed in all black stood up and followed behind her.
Zay looked at the woman as she walked away and noticed a mark on her neck, though he didn't get a good look at it. 'Platinum? There aren't many countries that even accept that as currency, considering how rare it is to find in this realm.'
Motive clapped his hands as another table was rolled out. On this table rested a ring. "This is the 'Ring of Consumption.' The bid will begin at five silver."
—
Hours passed. Bid after bid came in, item after item was sold to different people. Zay began to think this was just a waste of his time, but he still had the task, so he knew nothing had changed, at least, not yet, anyway.
Zay moved his gloved hand over his eyes and wiped them as he yawned, bored by how dull the auction had become. There hadn't been many items worth mentioning since the Frosted Ghost Whale's Blood, except for a Resonance Echo Scroll called Flight, which sold for only seventy silver, as it wasn't considered a particularly valuable Resonance Echo.
Motive stopped speaking as the four people in all-white uniforms walked behind the curtains. He snapped his fingers, and a cane was thrown toward him from behind the curtain. He caught it mid-throw and slammed it down onto the stage, creating a loud thud that echoed through the entire auction house. He blinked a few times slowly, his fingers stretching outward before curling around the diamond at the top of the cane.
"The 'items' part of the auction is now done," Motive said in a voice that boomed as the lights turned off, allowing only the orange moonlight to seep in.
He snapped his right thumb and middle finger. "Restriction Level Nine."
As he uttered those words, his body glowed with golden light as a dome erupted around the warehouse. Everyone inside felt their aura being sealed off by force.
"I do apologize for taking such... barbaric measures, but we're moving on to the selling of different species. Tonight we will begin with two dark elves that I was, by chance, able to get my hands on."
Motive slammed his cane against the stage as two cages were wheeled out, each containing a dark elf.
In the first cage crouched a male with short black hair and sharp brown eyes. His hands were clenched tightly, and he scanned the crowd with a gaze that flickered from face to face. His long ears twitched with every subtle noise that echoed through the auction house.
In the second cage sat a female, her long black hair cascading over her shoulders, silver eyes glowing faintly beneath the orange moonlight. The tips of her ears were flushed red, and her narrowed eyes swept coldly over the spectators. Without breaking her gaze, she raised her left hand and dug her fingers into her wrist, as if grounding herself.
Her captors had stripped her of all but a thin, white dress—too small to properly cover her. She crouched low, using her arms to shield herself, the fabric nearly translucent in the orange glow pouring in from the moonlight.
"They will be sold separately. I've also gone ahead and had collars made for both of them. The bidding will begin with the male—call him whatever you wish once he's yours. For now, I'll refer to him as 'A'. Bidding for A will start at two hundred silver."