62 Now You Do

The auction carried on without a pause. The auctioneers voice hadn't fluctuated in the slightest as he introduced the follow items. After the first, there were quite a few runic weapons which followed in succession.

A wide variety of items had been enchanted, all noticeable by the symbols which glinted on their surfaces. With their newfound wealth, Rykar was tempted multiple times to start throwing his money around but was quickly stopped by Loki. Recovering from his earlier daze, he quickly highlighted small issues with many of the items qualities and even their suitability towards his brother.

Oftentimes, the enhancements of the weapons would cause its qualities to lean it in one direction while neglecting another. The first sword which had belonged, now deceased, man's deceased father was probable the most well rounded weapon so far. Much to the intrigue of the other three in the room, Rykar and Loki's conversation had actually demonstrated an astounding capability to think outside the box, especially when compared to their ages.

"The next item is a short bow which has been augmented to fire silently. Even when used as a melee weapon, movement through wind will not cause it to emit any sound. The weapon is ideal for ambushes, along with it's sturdy body being able to support close combat to some extent."

As the auctioneer announced the next item, Loki and Rykar looked at each other before continuing their game.  "As the only genius in the room, obviously I know what's wrong with it. Do you want to go first or me?" Rykar said in a low voice. Despite being in the room with others listening, due to being carried away with the mini competition they had been playing, he all but forgot about their presences.

"I did the last one, go ahead." Loki didn't pay any attention to his cocky attitude.

"Mhm, if you don't know then just say. There's no shame in admitting your flaws." Rykar tried to get a rise out of Loki, as usual, but failed as his comment didn't even receive a response. "Bows come with arrows. Even if the bow doesn't make any noise, soon after the arrow is let loose, you'll know the direction its coming from. So if you miss the first shot, you'll still be caught."

After Rykar's proud reply, Loki nodded in approval before adding, "Yeah, that's one thing, what about the second?" He didn't even have to see Rykar's face to know that his brother was eyeing him suspiciously.

"What second point? Even if there is one, it's not the main one."

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"It's a pretty big one though. The bow was made to be ridged so that it can be used up close but that also means that it doesn't bend in a way that bows are usually meant to. So it's harder to use for most people, you would need to put in a lot more strength to use it properly." Loki said plainly.

"And what are you meant to be all of a sudden? A bow maker?"

"Nah, I just read better books than you do."

This statement only added onto Rykar's regret of not robbing the library blind before they had departed for the auction. He almost salivated at the thought of hoarding all the books within his fragment and reading them without his brother.

While off in his own world, they continued to watch the auction in silence. There weren't any other 'surprises' that ended as dramatically as with the sword, although there were many items which made them all want to bid now and then, they honestly felt reluctant to part with their fortune so soon after having gained it.

The crowds began to rise from their seats below, making their way out of the hall in an orderly fashion without any signs of commotion.

"Are we going to ascend tonight?" Still with his defenses down, Rykar asked the question excitedly.

"Leaving so soon? James interjected without waiting for the reply to the question. "The auction is very hospitable to its guests, there's no need to be in a rush to get back to whichever branch you're from."

"Branch?" Loki asked.

"Branch of Grace." James corrected, feeling that his words had been taken out of context and therefore were misunderstood.

After sitting for so long, the twins mind frames had softened considerably to when they had left the library. Without giving them a chance to reveal any more of the groups ignorance through their careless questions, Chance quickly stepped in.

"I'm afraid we were delayed in our initial travels. Truth be told, we are already three months later than intended. The first set was supposed to be sold at this auction, yet we only just managed to deal with this batch." He took up a staunch stance, not leaving any way for them to stay while making it sound as though further partnerships were already set in stone.

As such, James didn't continue to hassle them in the least, even suggesting that the trio take the personal gate, privately connecting the nobles to the mainland, rather than leaving for the public teleportation array.

The contract which Loki had established quickly made itself useful. In order to use the private array, people would still need to register with the party which was allowing them entry, in this case the auction house, in order to keep track of people and personnel where possible. However, there are always ways around things like this. This is also when the four became sure that James was anything but 'just another clerk'.

If his cocky revelation of his familial ties to Sir wasn't enough to go on, the ease at which he guaranteed their access to the teleportation array free of charge simply cemented this. It wasn't long before they were standing within a large hall along with around twenty other individuals. Occasionally, another one or two people would enter the hall before getting into small groups of those apparently acquainted with each other.

There were only two people within the hall that were actually standing on their own while seeming to have no intention of approaching anyone, yet this quickly changed when a third person seemed to materialize out of thin air, right in front of the group of five.

Without welcoming anyone else, the 'new' arrival smiled to Loki as though he had been reunited with a long lost friend before chuckling and offering his hand.

As though looking at an idiot, everyone stared at the figure in front of them while sizing him up. He wore a similar getup almost everyone else in the room; a black cloak outfitted with black garments. Nothing really stood out, as with everyone else, aside from the mask adorning his face.

The only reason they were able to tell that he had been smiling, was because he wasn't actually wearing a full face mask like everyone else. Only the top half of his face was covered by the porcelain white mask, completely exposing his chin and a mouth full of pearly white teeth.

His dark brown skin contrasted against his mask and teeth, causing the majority of attention to be drawn to them. Weirdly enough, it was incredibly difficult to actually focus on the young man. Without actively looking at him without diverting their attention, it was as though he disappeared from the spot, going unnoticed despite being just in front of them.

Originally against the idea, Loki decided to take the man's hand, shaking it firmly despite being of much smaller stature.

"You can call me Marcel! To be honest, I didn't expect to find another kindred spirit down here, aha" He laughed to himself once again. Without understanding what was going on or what was funny, the group could only look on awkwardly with their masks helping to hide the confusion on their faces.

"Do we know you?" Chance stepped in while they were still performing their drawn out handshake.

Despite his friendly attitude towards Loki, he didn't even offer a glance, much less an explanation to Chance.

"Do we know you?" Loki repeated, unsure of whether he would receive the same treatment from the odd character.

"Well I guess you don't, but were related through element right? That's close enough, there aren't many of us in the first place, much less down here. So what's your conversion?" After asking he quickly back tracked, apologizing for the abrupt question.

Loki didn't mind the question and neither did he understand it, so he simply didn't say anything, accepting the apology and putting it behind them until someone in the group could make sense of it.

"Why didn't you reply to him when he asked if we know you?" Loki asked straightforwardly.

"I didn't want to talk to him, so why would I reply?" Marcel asked quizzically.

"Why come over to speak to us if you don't want to talk to us?" We are a group, not one person.

"No, I came over to talk to you, not a group."

"Why would you do that? If you treat my brothers badly, why would I want to talk to you?"

Thinking over the question for a moment, Marcel's mouth opened slightly as though in sudden realization.

"You're right." He turned towards Chance. "Sorry about that, you guys don't know me. Well, you didn't, now you do."