48 Incompeten

Arriving at the auction, the same clerk from earlier was at the door with a smile on his face as though waiting for their arrival. "It's great to see you all again so soon!" He welcomed them before leading them further into the building without giving them the chance to refuse.

"If you'd like any other refreshments, be sure to let me know." Sat on a leather sofa, hot and cold drinks along with fruits and snacks were placed on the table before they once again moved back onto the topic of conversation.

"First and foremost, I don't know if intentional or not, but it's in my deepest regrets to inform you of your late timing for the auction which took place six days ago. However, registering for the next event is of no issue!" He dropped the bad news before picking them up with the good. "May I ask your names or affiliation? It would make transactions much smoother and more convenient."

Once again not receiving a reply from any of the four in front of him, he continued his monologue unperturbed. "Aha, of course, confidentiality is if most importance as well, excuse any intrusion."

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Politeness only goes so far before it becomes inconvenient. For the next few minutes, the clerk began to spout words of encouragement on becoming premium members of the auction, the prestige of the establishment and even his name and affiliation with the company. By seven minutes into the conversation, they had learned just as much about James's, the clerks, wife and children as they had about the auction house.

"When is the following auction?" Unable to hold back any more, veins were bulging underneath Chance's mask as he cut James off while he was in the middle of talking about the first auction that had ever taken place.

"Ah, I'm sorry I digress. The next auction is in just under three months, 84 days to be exact." Letting it sink in for a moment, he continued. "However, if you would like to have your lot sold ahead of time, the auction house would be glad to take if off your hands at 80% of their expected value."

"And the expected value?"

Well, market value for essence fruit would generally fetch in the region of 800 per fruit. With a deduction of twenty percent, you'll walk away with 61,440g for the 96 fruit at 640g each." Summarizing the calculations, James paused for a moment to let them think it over. "For the sake of your convenience, this can be rounded to 62,000g and paid for with gold notes." Seeing three of the four figures shake slightly, betraying their excitement, James smile before pulling out an envelope without waiting for their actual confirmation.

"We'll wait on the auction. Thanks for your time." Shocking everyone in the room, Rob directly stood up and left the room followed by the other three who reacted quickly enough to hide the majority of their surprise.

"Wait! All of the terms are still negotiable, can we sit down and speak about any concerns?" James asked while hurriedly catching up from behind.

"What time do we have to be here for the auction?"

With all his other words being ignored, he resigned himself to losing the opportunity to buy the goods outright. "The auction starts at ten in the evening. Will you be using our storage or returning with your lot?"

"What are the requirements of storage?"

"Ten gold per day."

"Deduct it from the profits made after the auction."

"I would strongly recommend you leave behind your contact details in the case of any unforeseen events."

"Don't worry, myself and our associates will trust in the reputation of the auction house."

At this point, James stopped following them with nothing but a simple send-off but they weren't even out of the door before they came across another issue. A group of ten shoddily dressed men were causing a scene right next to the entrance of the structure, leaving the group with no option but to walk around or go through.

Even with the majority of their faces covered, the impression Rykar's group got from their eyes and demeanor was that they were purely out for trouble.

While Rob and the twins began to adjust their path, Chance continued to walk forward, directly into the group that became startled at first before closing in on them, immediately diverting their attention away from the unlucky clerk.

"Can't you see we're busy having a conversation? Fuck out of here, or didn't your broken ass mask come with eye holes?"

"Who the hell is this clown?"

Jeers immediately followed as they encircled the group of four. Even with the twins lacking height, they didn't escape the glares and advances of the second group. Completely out of place when compared with the rest of the lobby, the rest of the customers and clerks simply watched on as the scene unfolded itself.

Even some of the other customers seemed more willing to attempt to prevent a clash between the groups than the clerks, however the clerks could be seen assuring them while trying to split their attention away. James watched on for a moment before seeing Loki look back at him, only then did he seem to come to himself and begin calling for security.

"Don't bother yourself." Chance muttered to himself before punching the groupie closest to him in the throat. Before giving the rest a chance to react, another was taken down with a punch to his solar plexus as everything began rushing into motion.

Caught up in the moment, everyone's focus was directed to Chance, giving Rob the perfect chance to rush through the opposite of the encirclement, surprising one of the shorter men as he drove his knee into his ribs.

Aside from the initial surprise, the rest of the men quickly enlarged the encirclement rather than tightening it. While this left the three members that were initially assaulted on the ground, it gave the rest of them much more space to breathe while stopping anyone from escaping or pressing the attack on nearby members.

Of course, the drawbacks of the move were just as obvious. In the centre of the new circle, two smaller figures with red and white masks stood tall, looking over the scene without so much as moving a finger while three of the assailants were disarmed simultaneously.

The black masked members were now on the defensive, daggers bared as they crouched over their fallen enemies like a dragon on its hoard. One had a knee planted on the chest of a man while planting one dagger on his throat and the other raised in preparation for any other advances. The other didn't even take such preventative measures.

The first man to fall was on the ground still struggling to breathe as the tallest black-masked figure planted his knee on his throat, stopping all movements with the unspoken threat of crushing his wind-pipe. The second assailant laying close by had also long forgotten his courage as the dagger pressed up against his throat firmly enough to slice slightly through the cotton mask in front of it.

"Is it worth it?" Calmly using his free hand to reach under his coat, Chance pulled out a small cotton pouch before dropping it between his legs in front of the crowd.

Seeing the money on the ground, the surrounding people's eyes all gathered on a particular person who didn't seem to stand out compared to any of the others. Even during the argument between the staff and other members, he had been observing from the side rather than taking part.

"Gold or silver?" a feminine voice asked from under the dirty grey face mask.

"You'll find out when you open it."

Struggling while barely being able to see into the eye holes of the man's mask, black cracks were the only thing she could tie to the bored sounding voice. Looking between the unknown bag, the three on the ground and the clerk that was still ambling around while looking for security, she finally nodded.

Unable to bear losing three from the get-go, on top of the two white and red masked figures watching on nonchalantly, she couldn't find a better way out from the situation that the one presented to them. Their eerie silence only unnerved her further while being unable to gauge their ability as combatants.

With her in the lead, a hole opened up in the direction of the entrance, leaving enough space for them all to walk out side by side.

"After you." Withdrawing from the building in stages, the twins left the encirclement with slow and deliberate steps as though baiting the group into attacking once again. Leaving the entrance, Rob got up from his assailant before following them out. Finally, releasing the two from the ground and dusting off his clothing, Chance followed the two out after calling out to James who was still watching on.

"Give my regards to your security. I pray everything goes smoothly the next time I see you. We won't make a habit of dealing with the incompetent."

With only the onlookers, the staff and the group of assailants left in the room, the group quickly pulled themselves together, helping up the three on the ground before making their way to the exit, only to stop as three of their members break from the group in the direction of James.

"What exactly is 'a small favour' and 'child's play'. I'll have your fucking balls before you set me up you bitch." The reserved attitude of the leading woman took a complete turn as she stormed towards James with baled fists.

"Don't forget who or where you are." Similar to her, James's meek and friendly attitude was completely replaced with disgust as he stared her down without fear. Before she even made it within ten steps of the man, doors opened towards the sides of the hall where armed guards showed themselves with their daring gazes.

"You and your group of trash just had to deal with four people. Four. Much less, all I asked for were their masks… Nearly three times their number and you DARE to still show your face? I was surprised at one woman but damn, your whole group must be full of women and children. See yourselves out."

Even the injured members were quaking with rage, much less the three in front of James, yet they all swallowed their pride before the onlooking guards and left with only Chance's pouch to show for it.