The auctioneer is a tall woman with silver-streaked hair pulled back severely and a voice that carries to every corner of the floor without her appearing to raise it at all. She walks to the podium like someone who has done this several hundred times and intends to do it several hundred more.

  [Auctioneer] "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Crescent Moon's main event. Tonight's catalogue runs to nineteen lots across three tiers. We ask that all bidders identify themselves clearly and that disputes be settled before the next lot opens. Standard house terms apply."

  She smiles. It's the smile of someone who has seen several hundred disputes and resolved every one of them.

  [Auctioneer] "Let's begin."

  From the balcony the auction floor looks like a stage. The seats below are nearly full, the display cases along the walls casting a soft glow over the assembled bidders. Staff move between the rows. At the podium, the auctioneer draws a card.

  [Auctioneer] "Lot one. The Everlight Lantern."

  A staff member carries it to the display stand. It's a simple lantern at a glance, but there's a quality to the light coming off it that doesn't quite behave like flame.

  [Auctioneer] "Self-sustaining light enchantment, indefinite fuel source, ambient-responsive intensity. Minor casing wear. We open at eighty gold."

  Beside me, Vesper is leaning over toward Hauren with her catalogue balanced on one knee.

  [Vesper] "What's the kitchen situation? I'm asking about range, not just what's available."

  [Hauren] "We have a full kitchen on this floor, miss. Hot and cold options both."

  [Vesper] "Good. Start me with whatever the chef recommends and work outward from there."

  Hauren produces a small notepad. Vesper begins listing things. It goes on for longer than seems reasonable for someone who had dinner an hour ago.

  On the floor below, the Everlight Lantern has drawn immediate interest.

  [Ruddy-Faced Merchant] "Ninety!"

  [Auctioneer] "Ninety gold. Do I hear one hundred?"

  [Woman in Travel Cloak] "One hundred!"

  [Ruddy-Faced Merchant] "One twenty!"

  Sylphaeris appears at Vesper's elbow.

  [Sylphaeris] "What are you ordering?"

  [Vesper] "Everything that seemed interesting."

  [Sylphaeris] "Put me down for the same."

  [Woman in Travel Cloak] "One forty!"

  [Auctioneer] "One hundred and forty. Any advance on one forty? One forty going once... going twice... sold, one hundred and forty gold."

  The gavel comes down with a clean crack. The floor applauds lightly and the lantern disappears from the stand. The ruddy-faced merchant below crosses his arms and leans back. Better luck next time.

  At the other end of the balcony, Seraphina has received her first bottle and is holding the glass up to the light from below, watching the color.

  [Seraphina] "The clarity is exceptional. You can tell by the way it holds the light."

  Nobody has asked, but she says it with the satisfaction of someone sharing something worth knowing.

  [Auctioneer] "Lot two. The Cartographer's Compass."

  The compass goes up on the stand. Brass casing, slim, with something that looks like a lens over the face.

  [Auctioneer] "Records and transfers terrain to parchment on command. Five kilometer radius. No visible damage. Opening at one hundred and ten gold."

  Lucien and Eldrin have pulled the catalogue between them at the far end of the sofa.

  [Lucien] "The Plumefang's Bite is in the later lots. The daggers."

  [Eldrin] "I saw. The wind trajectory control is unusual. I haven't come across that property before."

  [Lucien] "The scaling with the wielder's power is what makes it worth the price. Most enchanted weapons have fixed output."

  [Eldrin] "Rhevan will appreciate that. And the Tempest Crown should suit Nym perfectly. The ability to influence weather at that distance makes it a formidable piece."

  [Lucien] "It'll go high. Final lot items at a main event don't sell cheap."

  On the floor, the compass draws two bidders who trade calmly until it settles at one hundred and ninety gold. The gavel comes down.

  Across the balcony, Aurelia and Liora are sitting with their heads close together, Liora's seed purchases spread between them on the cushion.

  [Liora] "The vendor said these do well in sandy soil with minimal water. I want to try them in the lower field first, see how they handle our conditions before committing the whole plot."

  [Aurelia] "We had a patch like that outside Aldencrest. Dry ground, southern exposure. Things either thrived or didn't survive a week."

  [Liora] "Exactly. Better to know early."

  [Aurelia] "What about the otherworld seeds? Separate plot?"

  [Liora] "A few meters from everything else. Vesper is going to help set up a monitoring artifact after we get back."

  [Aurelia] "Smart. We'll do that too."

  [Auctioneer] "Lot three. The Merchant's Scale."

  The scale comes up, two pans balanced perfectly still despite the staff member's movement.

  [Auctioneer] "Enchanted appraisal function. Market-rate accurate within five percent. Light use, mechanism intact. Opening at ninety gold."

  I sit up slightly. We're opening trade routes for the village. Knowing the fair market value of what we're selling and buying without having to guess sounds useful.

  [Wright] "Ninety."

  [Auctioneer] "Ninety from the balcony."

  A well-dressed man two rows from the front counters immediately, the type who wears his wealth visibly and comfortably.

  [Well-Dressed Trader] "One ten!"

  [Wright] "One twenty."

  [Well-Dressed Trader] "One thirty!"

  [Wright] "One fifty!"

  He glances up at the balcony. I don't move. He looks back at the scale, considers it for a moment, and settles back into his seat.

  [Auctioneer] "One hundred and fifty from the balcony. Any advance? Going once... going twice... sold."

  That was more thrilling than I expected. So this is what all those dramatic auction scenes were about.

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  Vesper's food has arrived. The spread across the low table beside the sofa is considerable.

  [Sylphaeris] "You actually ordered all of this."

  [Vesper] "I said I would."

  She picks up something skewered and tries it. Sylphaeris grabs a piece beside her, eyes widening slightly, a small noise of approval escaping before she's even finished the bite.

  [Vesper] "Better than I expected for an auction house."

  [Sylphaeris] "They cater to people with money. People with money expect good food."

  [Vesper] "Sound logic."

  Seraphina has drifted closer, wine glass in hand, eyeing the spread.

  [Seraphina] "Is that the cured selection?"

  [Vesper] "Help yourself."

  Seraphina takes a small piece and pairs it with a sip of wine, deliberate and unhurried.

  [Seraphina] "Yes. That works very well actually."

  [Auctioneer] "Lot four. The Phantom Step Boots."

  The boots go up on the stand. Dark leather, worn but well-kept.

  [Auctioneer] "Full sound suppression on the wearer's footsteps. Secondary fall impact reduction enchantment. Light use, soles intact. Opening at one hundred and thirty gold."

  The floor wakes up for this one. Several voices at once.

  [Hooded Figure Near the Wall] "One fifty!"

  [Auctioneer] "One fifty. Do I hear one seventy?"

  [Young Man in the Center] "One seventy!"

  [Hooded Figure Near the Wall] "One ninety!"

  [Young Man in the Center] "Two ten!"

  They trade quickly, voices tight, until the hooded figure makes one final call at two thirty and the young man goes quiet. The gavel falls.

  I lean back into the sofa. The early lots have a comfortable rhythm. Not too fast, not too slow. The auctioneer manages the pace well, giving each item room without letting momentum die. I glance at Aurelia. She has her catalogue open to the middle section.

  ---

  The middle lots arrive with a shift in the room's energy. Conversations below quiet a fraction. Postures adjust. The auctioneer draws a new card.

  [Auctioneer] "Lot five. The Mana Amplifier Orb."

  The orb catches the light on its stand. Hand-sized, crystalline, a faint internal glow pulsing slowly.

  [Auctioneer] "Moderate enhancement to offensive magic output when held during casting. Rest period required between sustained applications. Some cloudiness in the core. Opening at one hundred and fifty gold."

  Liora straightens slightly, watching the orb.

  [Liora] "One fifty."

  [Auctioneer] "One fifty from the balcony."

  [Robed Man with a Staff] "One seventy!"

  [Sharp-Eyed Woman in Silver] "One ninety!"

  [Liora] "Two ten."

  [Auctioneer] "Two ten from the balcony."

  [Robed Man with a Staff] "Two thirty!"

  [Sharp-Eyed Woman in Silver] "Two fifty!"

  Liora is about to bid again when Vesper interrupts.

  [Vesper] "The orb is secondhand and not worth that price. Cloudiness in the core means the previous owner pushed it hard. The output would be inconsistent."

  [Liora] "Oh."

  [Vesper] "Better to find a clean one. They come up regularly."

  She goes back to eating.

  On the auction floor, the orb climbs past three hundred before the gavel falls on the sharp-eyed woman, who hasn't looked up from the floor once.

  [Liora] "That went fast."

  [Aurelia] "Things that boost magic output always do. Everyone wants them."

  [Liora] "It would have been a good gift for Yuki."

  [Aurelia] "There'll be others."

  [Auctioneer] "Lot six. Foundation Stones, set of ten."

  The stones come up on the stand, arranged in a neat stack, pale grey with faint lines running through them that catch the light at certain angles.

  [Auctioneer] "Self-leveling, interlocking construction stones. Used for rapid load-bearing structures. All ten present, no cracks. Opening at two hundred gold."

  [Aurelia] "Two hundred."

  [Broad-Shouldered Builder] "Two twenty!"

  [Aurelia] "Two fifty."

  [Broad-Shouldered Builder] "Two eighty!"

  [Aurelia] "Three hundred."

  [Broad-Shouldered Builder] "Three twenty!"

  They trade steadily. The builder has the look of someone with a specific project in mind and a firm limit to match.

  [Aurelia] "Three eighty."

  [Auctioneer] "Three eighty from the balcony. Any advance?"

  The builder shifts in his seat.

  [Aurelia] "Four hundred."

  [Auctioneer] "Four hundred from the balcony. Four hundred going once... going twice..."

  The builder doesn't move.

  [Auctioneer] "Sold. Four hundred gold."

  Aurelia exhales slowly.

  [Lucien] "Well done."

  [Aurelia] "It's a good price. Those stones could put up three buildings."

  [Auctioneer] "Lot seven. The Golem Core, Civic Grade."

  Vesper puts down her fork.

  [Vesper] "Civic grade."

  She says it the way someone says something mildly disappointing but not surprising.

  [Eldrin] "Is that a problem?"

  [Vesper] "Civic grade cores are production line. Basic command vocabulary, standard energy conversion, nothing interesting. You could build one from scratch in a week if you had the materials."

  [Eldrin] "Most people don't."

  Vesper picks her fork back up.

  [Vesper] "Most people don't, which is why they sell. I'm just saying it's not interesting."

  A handful of bidders below trade without enthusiasm, settling at two hundred and sixty gold. The buyer pockets his catalogue and leans back with the expression of a man who got what he came for.

  [Auctioneer] "Lot eight. The Warden's Seal Kit."

  The boundary markers come up, a set of carved posts in a fitted case.

  [Auctioneer] "Projects a low-level barrier when placed in formation. Deters monsters. Thirty meter range per marker. Full set, no damage. Opening at one hundred and eighty gold."

  [Aurelia] "One eighty."

  [Nervous-Looking Merchant] "Two hundred!"

  [Aurelia] "Two twenty."

  [Nervous-Looking Merchant] "Two forty!"

  [Aurelia] "Two sixty."

  The nervous-looking merchant glances at his companion, gets a small shake of the head, and puts his hand down. A voice from somewhere near the middle of the room.

  [Broad-Hatted Man in the Middle] "Two eighty!"

  [Aurelia] "Three hundred."

  [Auctioneer] "Three hundred from the balcony."

  Silence from the floor.

  [Auctioneer] "Three hundred going once... going twice... sold."

  [Aurelia] "Good."

  She marks something in her catalogue. Two ticks now, neat and decisive.

  [Auctioneer] "Lot nine. The Wellspring Core."

  The artifact comes up last in the middle section. It's different from the others. There's a faint hum around it, something you feel more than hear, even from the balcony.

  [Auctioneer] "Purification artifact, well or water source installation. Filters contaminants, maintains pressure. Rated for a settlement of three hundred. Unused. Opening at three hundred gold."

  The floor responds immediately. Six voices at once.

  [Auctioneer] "Three fifty. Four hundred. Four fifty."

  [Aurelia] "Five hundred."

  [Auctioneer] "Five hundred from the balcony."

  [Pale Man Near the Front] "Five twenty!"

  [Aurelia] "Five forty."

  [Pale Man Near the Front] "Six hundred!"

  Aurelia goes quiet.

  The pale man near the front doesn't look at anyone. He just keeps bidding, steady and unhurried, until the gavel falls at eight hundred and forty. He makes a note in his ledger like it's a routine transaction.

  [Aurelia] "That's too much."

  [Liora] "Yeah."

  [Aurelia] "Selenith is providing water purification artifacts anyway. Supreme Mage Lysara mentioned it in the talks. I just wanted to see if I could get another one, but not at that price."

  She closes her catalogue without ceremony.

  [Aurelia] "It's fine. The two I have are the most important ones."

  [Liora] "The foundation stones alone will make a real difference."

  [Aurelia] "And the ward kit means people can sleep without worrying about what comes out of the treeline at night."

  She looks down at her two ticks. Doesn't say anything else.

  [Auctioneer] "That concludes our middle lots. We'll take a brief intermission before the premier lots begin."

  The floor fills with the sound of people standing, talking, moving. Hauren appears beside us almost immediately.

  [Hauren] "Can I bring anything during the break?"

  [Vesper] "What desserts do you have?"

  [Hauren] "I can have a selection sent up, if you'd prefer."

  [Vesper] "Please."

  [Aurelia] "Before you go."

  Hauren produces a small velvet-lined tray and sets it on the side table, clearly prepared for this very moment.

  [Aurelia] "The Foundation Stones and the Warden's Seal Kit."

  She opens her Storage and draws out the gold, setting it on the tray in two neat stacks.

  [Hauren] "I'll have both brought up before the later lots begin."

  I reach into my own Storage.

  [Wright] "The Merchant's Scale as well."

  I add my stack to the tray. Hauren gives a slight bow, lifts it carefully, and slips out through the side door. The man is very good at his job.

  Vesper is already watching the door he left through.

  [Vesper] "He remembered the desserts, right?"