章節 43: Bidding War
Suze and Veronica headed out again. They got on a previously ordered private carriage and went to the mansion where the gathering will be held.
While the carriage was rolling on the near empty street, Veronica noticed that Suze brought a material box with her.
"Are you going to sell something?" She asked curiously. Suze turned towards her, then looked down at the box in her hand.
"Oh, yeah I forgot to tell you. This item has been sitting in our safe for a few years, and since nobody wants to buy it, I decided to put it up for auction."
"What does it do?" Asked Veronica with her interest piqued. She only just recently began to come in contact with such items, so she was excited to learn more about their capabilities. Slowly Suze opened the box and took out a small carving knife.
"Its name is Bone Carver. Just as its name suggests it can be used to carve your bones. If you give it blood, runes will appear on the handle and when you carve them into your bones with the blade, it can give you powers. The downside is that it can also corrupt you with ease."
Gently Veronica reached out and lifted the small knife. It didn't look special in any way. A plain handle made from some kind of reddish wood, the blade was small, barely four centimeters and made from regular steel.
'How can a tiny instrument like this give any kind of power. Also who would be dumb enough to carve their own bones! Wouldn't that hurt like hell?!'
Just the thought sent shivers down her spine. It seemed like an insanity to her, but Veronica knew how power hungry people could get. It all came down to risk and reward.
Slowly she placed the knife back into the box, then looked out the window and watched the buildings pass them by.
They didn't speak much throughout the ride. Both of them were preoccupied with their own thoughts. Veronica was mostly excited since there was a high chance of finding at least one of the main ingredients to her dancer ritual.
After about half an hour the two of them finally arrived and with their masks on they got off the carriage. They parked a street away this time too, so it took another few minutes to reach the mansion's main entrance.
The same tall man stood in front of the doorway. He took the card from Suze again, then let both of them inside.
It didn't take long to find the same room and enter. Immediately Suze excused herself, since she needed to register the Bone Carver. Veronica on the other hand was in the process of reading through the auction items.
'Hmm... Soulless Hound Claw for 150, no... Mutant Hermit Soul for 225, no... Starry Night for 275, no... Agonizing Light for 175... huh, they brought down its price. Wonder if it will make any difference...'
As her eyes moved down the list, she slowly turned more and more depressed. The list of items and ingredients soon ended. Only the last one remained which read...
'Roaming Pointer Fin for 115... Wait! That's one of them... Thank god, I can at least get the first one!... If others don't inflate the price too much of course... Damn, I haven't even thought of that... What if some rich idiot wants it for themselves...'
In her mind she began praying to whatever deity was willing to listen. She was so close to acquiring it, but still so far.
While she was in the process of over worrying, Suze came back and looked through the list as well. She made a small nod to herself about the fin, but said nothing to Veronica. If people knew they wanted it, the bidding would increase by a large margin.
Soon the tall man came inside and asked everyone to take a seat. He told the exact same rules to everyone again, then the auction began.
To Veronica's utter dismay the items were sold in the order the list went. Which meant that the Roaming Pointer Fin was going to be literally the last item. Her heart was racing as more and more items were sold or got ignored.
Her hand was nearly trembling when the announcer finally spoke the blessed words.
"Ladies and Gentlemen this will be the last item of this auction. A main ingredient named Roaming Pointer Fin. The starting price will be 115 gelt!"
Immediately Suze's hand rose into the air placing her bid. Sadly it seemed other people wanted Veronica's main ingredient. A few seats away a man's hand rose as well, then another person's.
The price was kept going up. 125 gelt... 130... 140... 150...
At some point only Suze and the annoyed looking gentleman bade for the main ingredient.
160... 165... 170...
The man's hand was shaking from anger, then when the price was about to reach the two hundred mark, he stopped.
"190 gelt once... twice... The Roaming Pointer Fin is sold to the lady in the dark blue dress! With this last item today's auction has came to an end. Please everyone stay seated and we will call you to take your items when you leave!"
Veronica couldn't believe it. Her heart was still pounding in her chest from all the excitement, but slowly the reality has sat in. She turned her head towards Suze, who looked calm, like she didn't just spend 190 gelt on Veronica's behalf.
It felt wrong, like being in debt to someone you consider family. They probably won't ask for it back, but it still feels awful.
She spent the next thirty minutes contemplating this, it made passing time easier. Soon the tall man came back and motioned for Veronica and Suze to follow him. Most of the people had already left, including that angry looking man who lost against Suze.
They went out to the corridor and walked for a minute, then entered another room. It was small and empty of anything except for a small table in the middle. On the table was a material box, which held her main ingredient.
"Ladies, the item is inside the box, you can check it for yourself. When you made sure the item is to your satisfaction, I will take the 190 gelt." The man's voice sounded emotionless, like some sort of robot. To Veronica's surprise Suze didn't even check the inside of the box and just placed it within her bag.
"For payment just take it away from the item I just sold. You still owe me 63 gelt though." Replied Suze with a similar empty voice. The tall man nodded and walked out.
After about five minutes he came back with a small briefcase. Suze also opted to not looking inside of it.
Without saying another word both of them walked out of the room, then left the building. When they were a bit farther away Veronica finally had to ask.
"Why didn't you check what's inside the box and briefcase? What if they gave you the wrong item, or the wrong amount of money?" Suze stared at her with a bit of confusion, or at least that's what Veronica judged it to be since both of them still had their masks on.
"That would give the wrong idea to them. They would think I don't trust them."
Veronica stared at Suze with pure bewilderment. "And do you really trust them so much?"
*Laughter* "Hell no! But they give better prices when I sell items. Also they do take their jobs very seriously..."
Suddenly Suze stopped and stayed silent for a few seconds. Her eyes seemed to jump between the shadows, then without saying anything else she began walking again... Although a bit more briskly.
Veronica kept up with her and asked, "What was that about?"
She didn't answer for a few seconds, just kept moving faster.
"We are being followed." She said in a whisper. Veronica's heart skipped a beat and a shiver went down her spine. Her head was about to turn and look around, when Suze snapped at her.
"Don't act out of the ordinary! We are just two ladies on a nightly walk in masks... If you began looking around a bit too obviously the person who is following us will probably attack... I don't want to get attacked, so just be ready to run!"
Her whole body was trembling at this point from the adrenaline. Her eyes kept looking around trying to find the possible stalker.
The carriage was close by at this point, but their chance of making it wasn't hundred percent. They both walked faster and faster, then eventually their walk turned into a clear run.
Behind them Veronica heard loud footsteps approaching fast, but the carriage was already a few meters from them. Quickly they moved inside and the carriage began rolling before the footsteps came too close.
Whoever the person was they never saw him, but it gave Veronica one of the most frightening experiences of her life yet!
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