There was a pleasant fragrance that filled the air of the great hall, Jasmine he thought. A pianist was playing on a grand black piano in the corner of the room. Myrich hummed along with the tune, he had forgotten this Erwin Van Saar piece. Beautiful so it was. He shut his eyes and remembered hearing it when he was a boy. Music calmed him down immensely.
Everyone had taken their seats now around circular tables and the auction was about to commence. Bright lights from up above shone on a stage and Miss. Singrave walked up the steps to a thunderous round of applause. The pianist ceased playing at her behest. It would be Miss. Singrave who would act as the auctioneer for this evening, just like last time. She stood at the lectern ready to speak.
"Welcome-welcome, ladies and gentlemen to my twenty-third annual auction," she said in that reedy tone. "We have a great selection for you all tonight including one very, rare item. I implore you all to stay until the very end, there is a surprise not listed in the catalogue." Miss. Singrave raised a brow as did many of her esteemed guests. Myrich's curiosity peaked, he liked surprises, but he was here for one item and one item only. "And now my darlings, without further ado let us begin tonight's auction." She ceased talking for now, curse her grating voice.
Miss. Singrave appeared fine considering her big night had been delayed. For Myrich that meant getting into bed later, but the conversation he had with Sultan Ramzeez was worth it. He had recived more than he had hoped for. For now, Hans Myrich was going to keep his cards close to his chest.
Again Miss. Singrave received a warm round of applause. Myrich clapped as if he didn't care a slow sardonic clap. All the guests had their paddles near at hand ready to bid for the lots on offer. Myrich sat near the front along with Cain. He had a great view of what was on offer. Miss. Singrave gesticulated for the clapping to cease with a stylish wave of her flat hand up and down. Slowly everyone pipped down at her behest.
"The first lot darlings is a rare Soul Absorbing Sword," Miss. Singrave said. A helper, who was as bald as an egg and was hunched over with a noticeable hump on his back held out the sword for all to see. "Believed to belong to an Enlighted, when they once roamed Talamh. This sword is precious would you not agree? We start the bidding at ten thousand?" Miss. Singrave said. "Do I have ten thousand?" She looked around the hall, "Mr. Madou, opens the bidding, for ten thousand, I thank you, Mr. Madou." Miss. Singrave though annoying is rather good at this. "Do I have twenty thousand?" She asked looking around the great cavernous room. "Twenty thousand?" She said again.
Myrich had little use for a sword, his days of being at the front line of a war were all but over. He preferred to let others do the fighting for him, as he sat cosily in a war room with some young wench on his lap (or cock). And a cabinet full of booze, enough to see him through the war.
Swords, he remembered, when he asked Cain why he carried a sword instead of a gun. Cain replied, quite causally; "when a thousand bullets fail to kill one that is soulless, one with no remorse, only severing the head from the shoulders will put one of these vile foes down. That, Doctor, is why I carry a sword." It was a plausible excuse.
The bidding reached six figures and it was between Abbasi, Del the Governor, and Umarah Ishtar. Umarah stood to his feet, with a little struggle and a lot of help, why if he got any fatter, he would need a crane to get to his feet. Stupidly, young Umarah blurted out, "a quarter of a million," Del and Abbasi shrunk in their seats and wisely declined to up their bid.
"Sold," said Miss. Singrave, banging her gavel. "To the good Prince, Umarah Ishtar." Umarah celebrated by giving fist bumps to his entourage. Myrich never got that, it was a young person thing, a modern version of the respectable handshake. The young fat Prince was clearly happy he had outbid Abbasi and Del, but he paid over and above the asking price. Yes, Soul Absorbing Swords are very rare and highly sought after. Only one in a hundred thousand had one. Umarah's father, the good Sultan Ramzeez, had given his son a blank check book for his first auction. Myrich should have asked Ramzeez for a blank cheque during their closed-door conversation, but he already had more than what he wanted from the Sultan.
"If I knew the sword would sell for that much, I would have kept my own," Cain pointed out with a hint of regret. Cain tutted as he lowered his head. Cain had no need for money. Myrich looked after his good friend and whilst Cain was in N'Karath the Sultan spoiled Cain as if he were blood.
"Ja. . . you can you only imagine how much your new sword is worth," Myrich informed Cain.
"It's priceless," Cain retorted. "It's a one of a kind. Even if you offer me Talamh on a solid silver plate I'd still turn you away."
"Ja. . ." Myrich prolonged that word as he began to brood. Myrich would love Talamh on a silver plate or any plate for that matter, but sometimes you can't always get what you want. Sometimes you must fight to get what you want. Myrich never turned away from a scrap though he always made sure he would avail victorious.
The auction continued. Time waits for no man. That terminology was ever so evident tonight. After all, Miss. Singrave was behind schedule. Some guests were yawning, Myrich was no different. He too was tired.
"This next lot is a combined lot, my darlings" Miss. Singrave said as the curtains were raised, and the spotlights shone on three white men. These young men were the Jason brothers, a trio of famous musicians who had a huge teen fan base. The Jason brothers went missing two years ago, under mysterious circumstances, and here they were. They were all handsome men, with well-defined features. You'd be forgiven for thinking they were triplets cause they all looked alike. Abbasi had bid sixty thousand for them, twenty for each brother, they were probably his favourite band no doubt. No one else was prepared to bid higher than Abbasi and the Madman had won three handsome boys to add to his ever-growing stable of Caucasian slaves.
"How many white boys does he already have in his service?" Hans Myrich put the question to Cain who seemed disinterested.
"I saw four," Cain answered. "I know he has more."
"A lot more," Myrich pointed out.
There were more humans for sale the next four lots, in fact, all of them were Norms. Again, Umarah continued with his spending spree by splashing out ten thousand for a beautiful local wench who was his age, this was a serving girl who worked for Miss. Singrave. Past her sell by date Myrich assumed. He remembered seeing her the last time he was here. She was a quiet and quite a helpful little lady, but Myrich was outbid by Umarah. The Doctor and the Prince shared a stare and Myrich ended it by raising his glass of bubbly and paying the young Prince a smile, he only hoped it did not come across as creepy.
The next lot was bought by Del the governor. The Lloegran native and narcotic kingpin bided for a bride to be a very beautiful lady with long black curls, slick shoulders, and legs so long they had no end. Del, who was already veering on being dubbed a dwarf would look ridiculously small compared to the woman be bought. Some men who in all honesty should stick to imitation jewels always favour the real McCoy.
All the humans who were for sale looked dreadful as the spotlight was shone on them, they were handcuffed and had been held at gunpoint although you could not see the gunmen who were just out of sight. All the purloined humans had been crying, understandably so. Myrich had no use for slaves, for it was illegal in Breton. He had once suggested a form of slavery be made legal, in which slaves did have rights, but this idea never materialized. Not yet any who.
After all the humans had been sold, Miss Singrave moved onto the next lot, narcotics. Del the governor bought four kilos of pure uncut cocaine for just under a hundred thousand, a right bargain considering the street value was almost triple what he paid. A few kilos of Orange-Bud were also on offer and again the drug kingpin Del outbid everyone and still, he got a right bargain.
The next lot of the night was an iconic painting that had been stolen from the Rijksbourg of all places a month earlier. It was the Ana-Lys. The painting was most likely purloined by Miss. Singrave. The hostess had a thief's guild of trained thieves who stole lucrative items on her behalf, this was how she made ends-meat after she squandered her inheritance. "I can say this," Miss. Singrave said looking at the sheet in her hand, "There are already a number of bids, for the Ana-Lys." The bidding started very high, too high for Hans Myrich. "Five hundred thousand," Miss. Singrave called out. Myrich knew he could not bid even though he wanted to. Half his bank role came from taxpayer's money, funds that should have been invested in the Union, and not at a dubious auction. There was a bidding war for the painting as one might expect. Once the small fish had dropped out of the race to bid, only two men remained, Sultan Ramzeez and the founder of Grand Innovation, Bakura Bardugo.
Both these men were trillionaires, but they accumulated their wealth via differing methods. One of them, that would be Sultan Ramzeez, favoured the use of natural resources oil and gas. It was rumoured there was even a jewel mine in the heart of Sahi. Bakura Bardugo favoured technology, innovation, science. Some are not so fortunate to accumulate wealth.
Sultan Ramzeez stood up and announced, "five hundred million," Ramzeez raised his finger into the air, Myrich could tell Ramzeez wanted this iconic painting to add to his impressive collection of rarity's. Yes, that included paintings but there was so much more Sultan Ramzeez favoured and collected.
"Five. Hundred. Million," an almost speechless Miss. Singrave uttered, Bakura had admitted defeat. "Sold, to the good Sultan," Myrich looked at the founder of Grand Innovation and saw him shake his head, the technological tycoon had been beaten. Myrich knew what Bakura really sought though it was the same as him.
Money was like water for most of those in attendance. In other words, Kroaling was in abundance. Not for Myrich and now that his ace in the hole was bust, he would have to pay a premium for any item(s)on offer.
Not everything at this auction was stolen, human or narcotics, there were some very nice antiques, diamonds, jewels. Each item had been sold at a price exceeding more than what Hans Myrich was willing to pay. He was silently livid. He had been tapping his foot and tapping the table with his index finger. He was only here for one item and it had to have been one of the last lots of the night. So far well over a billion had been spent, a new record as Miss. Singrave declared, but as the auction was winding down only more money would be spent.
"And now we move onto our next lot my darlings. Arguably the rarest item of the night." Myrich leaned forward in his chair with anticipation he was not the only one. He licked his dry lips. This must be it. "A one of a kind compensating balance wheel, and yes darlings, this is part of the coveted Time Travelers Pocket Watch." She had a piece of paper in her hand and was looking at the figures keenly. "We already have several pre-submitted bids for this item, yes. Fifty thousand do I see seventy-five?"
Myrich held his paddle up, this was the item he wanted more than anything. He already held two parts of the coveted watch, he desired a third, but he knew Bakura Bardugo was rumoured to have over half the parts to the watch already. Myrich knew the Enlighted had them to begin with, but throughout history, these parts had changed hands many times over and only a handful of the Enlighted had these parts now, if any. Iruka had the lions share or so went the rumour. That Hans Myrich knew for sure.
"Ah, the good Doctor," Miss Singrave said. "Do I see a hundred?" She asked looking around the room. Bakura raised his paddle again number four. Myrich knew he would probably be outbid. Compared to Bakura one of Talamh's first trillionaires Myrich only had pennies less in fact. "Do I see one ten?" Miss. Singrave asked. Again, Myrich raised his paddle. "One twenty," Miss. Singrave said rather quickly, looking at Bakura immediately, the tycoon raised his paddle, yet again. There were other bidders too, but as the bidding escalated Myrich and Bakura were the only two left. Myrich wanted this item but so did Bakura. When the bidding reached a million Hans Myrich raised his paddle for the last time and knew he was defeated, Bakura raised his paddle and made it one point five million.
One point five million is extortionate. Myrich remained calm, but could not mask his clear look of disdain, he conceded defeat when he lowered his paddle and shook his head from side to side. He was going to get that part one way or the other and all the other parts too. For the rumour went he or she who controlled the watch-controlled time itself.
"Sold," Miss. Singrave called out. "To Mr. Bardugo."
Bakura stood to his feet and was accompanied by his entourage.
"Better luck next time," Bakura had the audacity to commiserate him in that arrogant tone of his. Hans Myrich despised being outbid, but he had a budget and he stuck to it. Bakura walked toward the exit with his entourage, his night was done.
The auction continued, with the last lot of the night, The surprise. This might perk me up.
"And the surprise is this. . ." Miss. Singrave said as she paused for dramatic effect and moved her hand to the curtain. Hans Myrich sat on the edge of his seat. The red satin curtain behind unfurled so everyone knew it was another human, but who? There standing looking very scared was a little girl with blonde curls and stunning sapphire coloured eyes, everyone had seen her on the news, it was little Ezra Kalentzi. "She is not just an ordinary little girl," Miss. Singrave pointed out, "she is a Seasonal to be."
Myrich smiled when he saw her. He had resigned himself to not coming away with anything tonight, but now he had the opportunity to bid for Ezra. He had Kroaling on the hip, after he had been outbid for the part of the watch, and everything else for that matter, so why not bid? Everyone had a good look at Ezra who was sobbing. Her pate was low, and a stream of slimy snot had come from her nostril. She was far too young for Hans Myrich to be attracted to, but he knew Ezra would eventually come of age. Fifteen, sixteen would be nice.
"Your niece," Myrich said to Cain. "If I'm not mistaken."
"Yeah," Cain mumbled. "Are you - "
"Ja," Myrich responded knowing full well what Cain was thinking.
"Win her," Cain mumbled as he scratched his temple.
Myrich looked at Cain and knew he had a soft spot for anyone with the Magia blood. She was just an innocent frightened child. "Ja," Myrich eventually drawled.
"Seeing as this is the last lot of the night and she will be a Seasonal when she comes of age. . . shall we start the bidding at oh shall we say - twenty-five thousand?" Miss Singrave said. Myrich was going to wait a while, let the fish outbid one another first and then come in big when all other bidders were out.
"Twenty-five thousand down the back with Mr. Madou. Have I thirty thousand?"
The bidding soon escalated surprise-surprise and soon the touted figure surpassed the sixty-thousand mark and when Miss. Singrave called out for one hundred thousand Hans Myrich held up his paddle. "One hundred thousand to the good Doctor," Miss. Singrave said with a smile. "Do I hear two hundred thousand," she called out, but no-one was prepared to bid any higher. "Sold to the good Doctor," Miss. Singrave said. Little Ezra was balling her eyes out as she was escorted off stage by a brute of a man real ugly, so he was. "That ends our auction for tonight my darlings I thank you so much for attending and I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here. Good night." Miss. Singrave went off the stage and the lights were turned on. The hostess was talking to some of the esteemed guests nearest the stairs when Hans Myrich and Cain stood up. The light was startling at first.
Everyone shuffled out of the great hall, some stayed to chat, but Myrich was tired and he just wanted to go to bed. "You're going to treat her, right?" Cain asked him in a serious tone.
"Cain, I am going to treat her like. . . a princess," Myrich assured him. I have my prize, Ezra Kalentzi is indeed a pleasant surprise.