Might as Well

It took a few seconds – the area around Sam and his bemused date staying awkwardly silent – for the people to gather themselves and process the fact that somebody from the powerful Astran family was present. Especially as the date of some no-name bore…

“M-iss Astran, what an h-honor to have you present this evening!” came from one of the smarmy young men, who stepped forward with a slight bow of his head. “Would you care to be escorted by my humble person, instead of this…peasant?” he asked, sending a glare in Sam’s direction while maintaining eye contact with every inch of Lara’s bare skin.

Sam raised an eyebrow while Lara raised a dainty hand to cover her mouth as she tittered. “Ah, thank you for the offer, but I prefer my conversation partner entertaining and smarter than a rock.”

Her voice started light, airy, and slightly humorous, but it turned cold and deadly when the last word left her mouth. It caused the young man to swallow and take an involuntary step back while Lara stepped closer to Sam, wounding her arm through his elbow.

Before anyone could try again at whatever that was, Katie’s dad cleared his throat with his fist in front of his mouth, awkwardly looking around.

“Welcome, Miss Astran and Mister Lawrence, to our gala! I hope you enjoy yourself!” he said, then simply turned away then power walked toward the nearest door, followed by his hangers-on and some of the scions.

The rest remained, but purposefully didn’t look in their direction, except for the one guy who tried to be ‘suave’. He was glaring angrily at Sam, avoiding looking at the girls around Sam.

Katie just smiled and began to giggle behind her hands.

“That was so coool…” she whispered to Sam. “Haven’t seen father so taken back since I told him I got my first period!”

Isabella snorted, and Lara let out a small laugh.

“Can we do it again?” Katie asked, turning her puppy dog eyes to the maximum.

Sam just shook his head. “That didn’t work when you wanted to take mutant spider eggs from that fracture and hide them in the Steel Lion headquarters and it won't work now.”

“Rats!”

In the end, nobody tried again to talk to them, or at least talk to Lara. They simply stayed at a distance and stared at them while gossiping like old ladies around the well.

The group moved near one of the tables laden with cakes and cookies, all of them artistic masterpieces that vanished at light speed as soon as Katie reached for them. Sam simply selected a few choice ones and munched on them as the others conversed among themselves.

This ‘idyllic’ scene was broken by the gentle sound of a bell and a servant stepping forward while announcing that the auction was soon to be starting.

They were directed into a small auditorium where they were given one of the balconies. Probably, because Katie was with them.

The four of them got comfortable as the auditorium was filled up with guests sitting around small round tables and playing around with buttons on said tables, there to allow a relatively hassle-free way to bid on the items.

The lights dimmed and the auctioneer, a rather dour-looking man, stepped out from behind the curtains as several people brought out a podium and an antique-looking table.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the charity auction portion of the Stelborn Gala. All proceedings go to Saint Catherine’s Children’s Hospital,” he stated with a voice that Sam was sure would put most people to sleep. “The first part of the auction is going to include items donated by our generous guest, including the very first physical reward given out by the company, Future Unknown!”

The room was instantly filled with a low murmur as Sam felt countless eyes land on him.

“Maybe I should buy it…” Isabella smirked at Sam. “Could brag about having Sam in my bedroom!”

“You can’t!” Katie jumped in instantly waving her arms.

“Why not?” Isabella asked confusedly as Lara and Sam exchanged a glance.

“Uhm… I think Sam has some kind of plan for it?” Katie answered trying to look like she knew what she was talking about while seemingly also confused as to why she jumped in.

Isabella thought about it for a second then nodded. “Makes sense. He always has a plan.”

Katie let out a sigh and sat back in her chair while Sam tried not to chuckle.

As the first item, a painting that looked like every other classical painting to Sam was brought out by two people wearing soft white gloves, Lara spoke up.

“Do you want us to bid?”

Sam nodded. “Yes. Lara, you bid on every third item. Isabella always try to be the first bid and if you manage to be the first go a few times, then give up. Katie, just do whatever.”

All of them nodded, though only Lara seemed to know what Sam was doing.

“Are we even interested in any of the items?” Katie asked as she moved around her chair, somehow ending much closer to Isabella.

Sam just shrugged. “I want to know what that quest is, but otherwise most of the in-game stuff is not worth it. Though if you guys want any of it, feel free to get it.”

Isabella just shook her head. “Nah, I checked and most of my items are much better…” Katie nodded along with her.

“Shhh…” Lara whispered as complete darkness fell on the space, the only light remaining being directed at the man behind the podium and the painting. “It’s starting!”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce tonight’s first item, the painting from Gerard Francis Darragon, titled The Joy of the Sea. Bids start at…”

Sam watched as item after item was auctioned, his teammates doing their very best to cause chaos and confusion. There were several times when somebody thought they got into a bidding war with Isabella, only to be confused that after three bids Katie would take over and then give up after a few tries, leaving the person paying much more for the item than they intended.

Every time Lara bid on an item, silence fell in the auditorium as people tried to figure out if she really wanted it (why she wanted it) and if it was worth going against her. In the end, under the pressure of the auctioneer’s calls for bids, somebody would inevitably place a bid before the gavel could finally land.

He would place a bid a few times, just to keep up appearances. Once for an appointment with a very famous female-only tailor and once he spent a few times getting into a bidding war with some rich guy holding a poodle-like dog for a diamond-encrusted designer dog collar.

When the item he donated came up, the recreation of his in-game figure, it caused some stir. All three girls started bidding aggressively, ignoring his previous instructions. Buoyed by their enthusiasm, the rest of the auditorium joined, driving the price ever higher.

Somehow, the guy who tried his ‘excellent’ pickup line with Lara ended up with the statue, shooting a proud grin at everyone and a challenging one at Sam, who just tipped his imaginary hat, then turned back to his conversation with Lara.

According to Katie, the guy turned a very interesting shade of red.

Still, time passed, and they finally reached the second part of the auction.

“And now, dear guests, we reached the second part of our evening. The items you are going to be able to bid on will be from the recently popular virtual reality game, Magic Unbound,” the man announced with such a dry voice that Sam felt his glass of water evaporating as the auctioneer talked. “All items will be redeemable in-game and the winners will be given directions on how to do that upon placing a winning bid.” He took a breath and then continued. “Once again, the Stelborn Gala is not affiliated in any way with Future Unknown and the game Magic Unbound. Furthermore…”

As the man started explaining the legal realities of the auction, the antique table previously used to display the items for the auction was taken away and a digital display was brought in instead. It was large enough that everybody could see what was on it.

“Our first item is the coordinates of a fracture in the Scarlet Empire,” he announced as a high-definition picture of a fracture portal appeared on the screen with censored coordinates under it. “As a reminder, only real-world currency is accepted.”

“…and the next item is this vase. Based on the information gathered by the individual who donated it, the item starts a quest with worthy rewards.”

Sam instantly felt his teammates’s gaze on him as he scrutinized the pottery on the screen.

“Hmmm…”

“Is it worth it?”

“Nope…”

“Recognize it?” Isabella asked curiously.

“Read about it,” he said as he settled back into his chair. “It’s a phylactery for ancestral guardian spirits. Bring it back to the family and they will reward you.”

“That sounds easy and profitable…”

“Yeah, it would. But the guardian spirit in that thing knows you’re not part of the family so it thinks you’re actually stealing it.”

“So…”

Sam shrugged. “You either figure out how to seal it – which could damage the thing – or play the weirdest keep-away as you deliver it. Not worth the drama…”

Especially because you needed special holy sealing to suppress the guardian spirit. Using any kind of runic suppression would trigger the magical defenses of the item. Which in the worst case would self-destruct the vase.

It took a few minutes, but the vase was sold.

“Hah! I got it!” A young man, almost a boy, began to celebrate at one of the tables. “Suck it, Thomas!” he delightfully called out to a nearby young man who grimaced and made a rude gesture toward him, causing several older ladies to gasp in outrage.

Sam just sat back and smiled. He wished the guy all the luck in the world. The other Sam also got saddled with one of these, as it was considered a trash quest by everybody because usually there was a reason why the family lost that particular guardian spirit.

Mostly, the fact that the entire family was extinct and treasure hunters and grave robbers plundered their mausoleums. Or vindictive aunts were getting revenge on their sisters-in-law…

It was always different, but somehow always the same…

The auction ended with Sam and his beautiful accomplices making sure to drive the prices up and people to insanity with their odd and chaotic bidding pattern. As they exited the balcony where they spent the last few hours, Sam saw Katie’s father approaching them.

Naturally, everybody was watching them.

“Ah, Mister Lawrence!” he called out with a small smile on his face. “How did you enjoy your first experience with an auction? I saw that you haven’t managed to acquire any of the pieces. Maybe I could help you out and arrange a meeting with their new owners?” The question was asked in a helpful tone, but Sam could see that the man was making fun of him. Lara just stood there next to him with an empty smile.

“Mister Stelborn, what a generous offer! Alas, after careful consideration I decided to yield those items to my peers. After all, they seemed to have plenty of money to spend on it,” he told the man with his own polite smile on his face. “I’m just glad I could spend time with my friends!”

Katie and Isabella managed to maneuver themselves such as to be outside of Katie’s father’s scope of vision. They just stood there, watching and trying not to laugh.

The man wasn’t an idiot thus Sam had the pleasure of watching in real life as the metaphorical dime landed.

The polite smile turned into a forced grimace.

“I see. Then I shall not hinder you and your lovely date further. Please, do enjoy the food we have prepared and have a delightful time.” With that, he turned around and walked away, looking straight ahead.

“Thank you, sir. I appreciate it…” Sam answered watching the man leave.

Katie instantly rushed over and grabbed his hands. Isabella followed her sedately and Sam could see David, Katie’s brother, giving him a surreptitious thumbs up from where he was talking with other people.

“That was amazing! Can I adopt you? Family dinners would be so much more fun with you there!”

He was about to answer when somebody cleared their throat behind the group. Turning around, he saw a bespectacled young man, around his age, notably without any mooks, minions, groupies, or other leech-type humanoids around him.

“Mister Lawerence? Are you perhaps Solar, the owner of the AFK Company?” the young man asked. Sam nodded and he let out a relieved sigh. “My name is Darell Mathews and I represent the Glorious Artefacts crafting guild. Would you mind if we had a short conversation?”