Chapter Fourteen; All that Glitters isn't Gold II
They continued to walk through the market looking at the wares and talking between themselves. It was not long before Bannerman came and found them, he did not look any different, but he told them he had bought all the things he would need.
Together, the party continued, and they walked through the market stalls and into the stores and then onwards until they came to a much larger space where the stores were shopfronts.
And as if on cue, the system chimed.
SEEKER WIDE EVENT
…
SEEKER EVENT FOR THE FIRST TIME
…
WEDERMERE AUCTION WILL BE TAKING PLACE
AUCTION UPON THE SECOND FLOOR.
PLEASE ATTEND THE AUCTION
Archways of wind and Mana formed around the town and in small orderly frenzy, groups began to enter. Sadé led the way, Bannerman, and Jazmel followed her into the nearest archway to their party.
They walked through and entered a large auditorium, hanging curtains were placed all around and a suited attendant, a rabbit being with high grey ears and black eyes. Motioned for them to enter another archway covered by a veil. Sadé entered, her body rigid and alert. Jazmel was a little relaxed, but Bannerman bristled, his hair on edge.
They walked through the curtain and found themselves in a seated balcony area. A place overlooking other seats but hidden from those below. It had ten seats and Jazmel, and his party took the first three at the front.
Others entered after but nobody Jazmel had seen or knew before, and some had even taken it upon themselves to hide their features. Wrapping their faces in scarves and other disguise style things. Jazmel merely admired them and awaited the beginning of the auction.
Sadé was pensive and so was Bannerman. In truth Jazmel did not consider it a sad thing, the system would not put them all in this much danger especially when it had announced it as a Seeker event. This was something to pique interests and Jazmel’s were piqued.
“I wonder what will be auctioned today.” Jazmel said to himself and Sadé and Bannerman both shrugged.
The lower auditorium was still being filled but now Jazmel noticed that the balconies like his own were all filling up and somewhere cloaked and their faces covered while others had come in like Jazmel and his party. In another few moments, the auditorium was packed. A loud murmur was bouncing around as the people waited in anticipation. Wanting to know what was going to happen.
Then it went dark, the lights all dimmed simultaneously, while a lone one beamed onto the centre of the stage. A man stood alone on the stage; he wore a blazer with long tails hanging behind his legs. He wore grey felt trousers and shoes that had been shined to shine like gold. He leaned on a cane that was darkened wood and he wore fine white gloves. His face was kind, but his eyes were serious. He was clean shaven, and his hair had been oiled back away from his face.
“WELCOME ALL, I WELCOME YOU SEEKERS.” He greeted them all.
“I AM COUNT WEDERMERE. HEAD OF THE WEDERMERE AUCTION.” He introduced himself and too stunned to make a sound all the present Seekers said nothing.
“MANY OF YOU ALL WILL KNOW WHAT AN AUCTION IS AND OTHERS WHO HAVE ENTERED THE LABYRINTH FOR THE FIRST TIME WILL HAVE NO IDEA. I GREET YOU ONE AND ALL THE SAME.” He mused and Jazmel suddenly felt embarrassed, knowing which of these he was.”
“AN AUCTION IS SIMPLY A JOINT EFFORT; WE WILL SHOW AND SHARE OUR WARES AND YOU ALL WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUY THEM. WHOEVER PAYS THE MOST WILL GAIN THE ITEM TO DO WHATEVER THEY WISH WITH.” He explained.
“WE ONLY SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF TRADE AND COINS HERE; WE DO NOT SEEK VIOLENCE IN ANY CONFRONTATION BUT I ASSURE YOU. NONE WHO SEEK IT WITH US WILL WANT FOR WAR AGAIN!” He cautioned and even Jazmel felt the threat in those words.
Still the Seekers all remained silent.
“LET US BEGIN!” he conducted and with a wave the first attendant a young girl dressed like the attendant rabbit from earlier but this time she had fairy wings sprouted from her back. She fluttered onto the stage and held something in her hand covered by a felt shawl.
“Here we have the first item! It is an assorted amount of dragon scales!” he pulled the shawl away and scales the size of round shields appeared the cover was smaller than them but somehow, they were all there.
“15X dragon scales! Who will purchase them all or singular?” nobody motioned or said anything, so he nodded.
PING!
DRAGON SCALES, dragon scales can be used to create tier I and tier II items.
“Singular! One dragon scale for 30 gold coins?” he asked, and one hand rose.
Another rose.
“40.” He pointed.
“50.”
“60? 60. Will anyone raise it?
Nobody did and the first scale was sold for sixty gold coins.
“A ticket will appear in your storage space once the auction is done. Find an attendant and hand in your ticket, they will see to it that you gain your item safely.” He explained and Jazmel exhaled slightly comforted.
Other items came out and began to create a buzz of energy in the auditorium, the prices were not high, and Jazmel assumed it was because most people were Seekers who had only just passed the first floor. Nobody would have had lots of coins.
Three items were brought out and sold, each for less than a hundred coins each.
Bannerman was bored, he did not want for anything. He even dipped his head and went to sleep sat between both Jazmel and Sadé.
“This next item is a bit of a curious thing. Only someone who can use Mana and has a fire attribute may buy this I am afraid. The item just will not work for others.” The count explained.
A new attendant had come to the stage with each different item, and this was no different, except this time it was a human woman. Just a woman and she was young, maybe Jazmel and Sadé’s age. She was trembling but trying her best to not show it and Jazmel smiled to himself seeing her.
“The tail of a kitsune!” the count pulled the shawl away and, in a glass, case laid a tail. A silver fox tail with a red line around the end of it.
DING
KITSUNE TAIL!
…
KITSUNE, Monster of the night that leads its prey into its den with foxfire formed from its tail tip.
…
BEASTIARY ADDITION
The system fed the information into his brain, and he sat forward in his chair.
“20.” The count pointed.
“25, 30 ahh. We have 40 now.”
“45, 50, 55 and 60. We have a lot of Mana users in this round of Seekers it would seem.” He said.
“70.” Another hand went up and then to Jazmel’s surprise, Sadé raised her hand.
“80.” The count pointed; a hand rose again but Sadé raised her own again.
“100.” He said and smiling he motioned at Sadé who smiled back in turn.
“100. Sold to the young lady.” He said and just like that, Sadé had gained something and at an inflated cost too.
“I will explain later.” She whispered and Jazmel merely nodded, Bannerman still slept, and Jazmel waited for the next items.
After the kitsune tail, increasingly precious items started to appear. the song of a phoenix, a swirling flame inside of a corked potion bottle was sold off for three hundred gold coins, the highest of the show so far.
Mana peaches were offered and when Jazmel noticed the Mana purity of the item, he bought one for himself, that cost him 100 gold coins and though he winced, he knew this item would be good for him.
DING
TICKET ADDED TO STORAGE
As Count Wedermere had promised, once an item had been bought, a ticket would appear in the storage space of the system for the buyer.
DETECTING A GREAT MANA ITEM
The system hummed to life.
He noticed now that the count had not beckoned for another attendant to come right away, so he leaned a little forward to see what would be offered.
“The final item of the auction is one of extreme rarity. The hunters who brought it back were so beleaguered and exhausted we had to pay them for getting it to us in such short notice.” As he explained this to the auction filled with Seekers. He tapped his cane on the ground three times and a section of the floor opened and began to raise.
Atop a small dais was a crystal bigger than anything Jazmel had ever seen before. It was the size and width of his chest alone. It was blood red, or wine red. The colours were both intricate and flowing within the membrane of the crystal. The density of the Mana was so complex and profound that Jazmel’s head began to pound as he studied it.
MANA HEART DETECTED
DANGER TO SEEKER
LEVEL TOO LOW
DANGER!
The system rung in his already pounding head and he winced, squeezing his eyes shut. So, he was too weak to even read the item’s qualities. That sort of settled his heart a little, he now knew that even amongst Seekers, the gaps were large in strength and skills too.
“Here you will see the Mana heart of a High Wyrm.” The count offered and the shouts and gasps ran deep in the auditorium, he waited for it to die down, but it was a while before it did.
“What is a Mana heart?” Jazmel asked Sadé and she nodded understanding.
“A Mana heart is the maturity of a Mana circle, which forms after a Mana circuit reaches a certain level of maturity. A Mana heart is a conduit for any mage or magic user, greater in size and capacity for usage. A Mana heart could turn a mage into an arch mage or even an Elder. It takes almost a lifetime for a Seeker, but it can be acquired through rare items such as that. The Mana heart of a beast tells you the monster was high tiered and extremely powerful.” She explained and Jazmel nodded, he could tell the monster must have been powerful. The heart itself was powerful.
“She is right you know.” A voice called and looking over his shoulder an older man was looking at Jazmel.
“That Mana heart is so rare at this level, whoever buys it and manages to integrate it? If their body does not implode, they could probably jump all the way to Ranker.” The man told them. His face was hidden, but his voice was clearly masculine, and Jazmel could tell he was not lying.
“I waited to share this item because I did not think there would be anyone daring enough to consider it. But this Mana heart is a powerful item, it can be integrated, it can be crafted, and it can be used to create elixirs and potions of irrefutable high grade.” The Count of the auction fed the Seekers.
The murmurs rose and fell again but waited in anticipation for his next words.
“We will sell it for 1 platinum coin.” He said and everyone fell silent.
Not wanting to sound like he had no understanding of anything. He looked inward at his own coins and the system notification pinged.
350X GOLD COINS
0 WHITE GOLD COINS (1000 GOLD COINS)
0 PLATINUM COINS (1000 WHITE GOLD COINS)
Jazmel bit his lip to hide his exasperation. 1 platinum coin was worth 1’000’000 GOLD COINS. He was stunned, who could possibly have wealth like that?
“Will you accept an offer for assorted items too?” someone called from a balcony on the opposite wall to theirs.
“Within reason.” The count smiled.
“I will pay 5 WHITE GOLD COINS and with it I will give you the great staff of a hag and the heart of a black dragon.”
“Impossible items for a Seeker.” The man seated behind Jazmel and his party uttered in disbelief. In truth, Jazmel did not know what any of those items were. But they sounded expensive and that alone told him just listening was going over his head. But he kept his mouth shut and listened intently, for every moment within the labyrinth was a learning moment and though he had no high tier items to sell, he now knew that he could. That was enough for him to use for now.
The count seemed to consider this offer and his head cocked as if he was balancing the items in his mind. A smile never left his face, but you could see his eyes were serious.
“We have a deal.” He said finally and everyone grew silent.
“That leads us to the end of our auction ordeal. I thank you all for collaborating with us, for without the Seeker there are no ways we could function as we do. There has never been an auction on this level before. The labyrinth has never been so forthcoming at such an early stage. But I am glad to have seen the unfamiliar faces that will shake the foundations of the labyrinth we all call home.” This drew a small applause from the Seekers.
“Those with tickets, please await an attendant to get you and those who did not buy anything. Do not worry, on your exit there will be a quest board. We are always seeking new wares, take a quest. Collect the wares we are seeking and gain favour with us. A friend of the Wedermere’s can never want for nothing.” This drew a great hurrah and the Seekers who indeed had not bought anything. Rushed out in orderly fashion. Jazmel and his party stayed sitting and as the auditorium cleared out, Bannerman finally woke.
“Can we go now?” he yawned, showing his sharp teeth.
“We must collect our items but after that. We can leave.” Sadé told him and he nodded before getting up and stretching.
“I will wait outside for you all.” He nodded before rising and stepping outside, Jazmel could not help but smile. Bannerman was basically a wolf and what wolf would want to be kept inside anyway.
An attendant finally came for them, and this one was fully human this time.
“Tickets please.” He said and Jazmel and Sadé both handed him their tickets. He took them and literally in both hands, the items appeared. One white foxtail and a peach as big as the palm of his hand.
DING
…
MANA PEACH RECEIVED
…
MANA PEACH HAS BEEN RECOGNISED
CALCULATING
…
1X WUKONG PEACH, A peach from the gardens of Shangri-La, this peach has been converted to only affect Mana. It will triple the Mana of the consumer.
Triple the Mana?? Jazmel gasped, this was a big win for him, he was glad he had bought it. This small town on the second floor had given him two new swords and a Mana enhancer. This was great news. He tried not to show his delight but promised to share it with Sadé and Bannerman mentally.
Leaving their balcony and heading down the stairs Jazmel spotted the woman, to say he spotted her was the wrong word. It was more that he felt her, a woman in a large brimmed pointed hat was exiting too. She was by herself and carried nothing but a darkened cloak, she noticed him and looked away but then looked at him again and then Jazmel realised he could see the same Mana from the Mana heart on her. She studied him, a little curious but looked away and left. Jazmel nodded.
“She is dangerous.” He said and Sadé looked up wondering.
“I will tell you later.” He said and they both left, finding Bannerman outside waiting.