Chapter 142
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"Who is that?" I wondered aloud as I stared at the female drow sitting beside my enemy.
She had short white hair that was shaved at the sides which complimented the chiseled jawline of a fierce, but beautiful face. Her skin was so dark it was almost blue, and her pale eyes hidden underneath white brows were silver in hue.
But what made this drow stand out more than all the other guests I'd seen tonight—even more than the Lord of Stars and his harem—was how she was dressed. Everyone else was decked in evening party outfits but this female had arrived for battle in a snug black vest that was layered with black scales on the chest and shoulders.
To me, at least, this was a clear statement. She wasn't here to party. She was here to go to war.
The drow turned her gaze on me—maybe because I'd been gawking at her for way more than I should have—and gave me a steely-eyed glare that nearly made me want to shrivel into myself like a turtle.
She nudged Ardeen Spellweaver with her elbow and he turned to look at me and Aura too.
I don't know how he knew it was us but I could see the light of recognition on his face. He knew it was me hiding behind the mask as sure as he knew who it was sitting beside me. Not Aurana, princess of the Trickster Pavilion, as not even our own Chancellor of the Moon knew her secret identity. But he did recognize the she-elf mage who'd helped me in the previous war.
Ardeen Spellweaver raised a hand in greeting, and for some unknown reason even to myself, I found myself greeting him back.
This act earned me a raised eyebrow from my companions.
"Kallista," I called. "You wouldn't happen to know who that is, would you?"
"Ah, that's General Morrigan of the Scarlet Moon," Kallista explained. "An up and comer among the Scarlet Moon's military who has earned herself the title of the Black Hand of the Patriarch."
I'd heard that name mentioned to me before in tones of equal parts awe and fear. The twins were especially worried about the title, and now I had a face to the name. There she was, the big bad general who'd interfered in Darah and Spellweaver's war.
There were more questions to ask but it was at this point that the lights dimmed and the curtains on the stage parted.
All our eyes turned to the stage, and to my great annoyance, the host who appeared before us was none other than Rosalind Roselle.
More proof for me that the Night of Samhain really was a night of misfortune. Here I was surrounded by enemies and I didn't even have my falchion with me because weapons weren't allowed.
"Greetings, honored guests, to this very special Samhain Auction brought to you by the faithful masters of the Under Ring," Rosalind said in a booming voice loud enough to reach even the farthest seats of the auditorium.
I'd always thought of him as a showboating clown so I guess it was appropriate that he was the host for this joke of an auction.
His attire fit his role too. I didn't think I'd ever seen such a colorful robe before, but Roselle was all about the peacock. Thus I dubbed him the clown in the gaudy rainbow robe. It was a joke I shared with Luca.
My brother laughed. It was a laughter that quickly died in his throat after Roselle officially opened the auction with a teaser for the main event.
"Once in every blue moon, a child of Earth shall awaken to magic's sweet tune… A child that was once as weak as a flower shall blossom into one who holds great power," he recited. "Beware vile fay who laugh in your tower, for here comes the one who exists to devour… One chosen by fate's red loom, who's coming may yet herald the hour of your doom."
I'd heard it only once before when Kallista had recited it to me on our way to the Wailing House, and I was surprised then that an actual honest-to-god prophecy had been made just for Ty. It really brought home the idea that he was a chosen one.
After Roselle's rendition of Ty's prophecy had satisfactorily wet the lips of all who heard it, the slave auction finally began and it was as abominable as advertised.
The first slave to be taken up on stage was a human girl no older than me. Blonde, blue-eyed, and very beautiful, she was naked and exposed for the audience to enjoy.
The bidding for this, "Exquisite human pleasure doll," as Roselle put it, began at one-hundred Leprechauns, the equivalent of four thousand US dollars.
That price immediately rose to double in mere seconds. Then tripled and quadrupled in the short amount of time it took for me to feel sick in the stomach.
Behind me, I could feel Luca vibrating with anger, and I was very glad for once that he didn't have his broadsword within arm's reach.
Aura, thank the heavens, seemed just as mortified as I felt. That might have been the only reason why I didn't lose my cool. At the very least, the one fairy that mattered wasn't a monster like the rest of them.
Well, that was a bit unfair as Kallista hadn't even shown a bit of interest in the girl too. So I guess that there were at least two good fairies in that auction.
The sale of the girl went as high as a thousand leprechauns, which from my recollection was all I had stored in my bank.
Her new owner was none other than the Lord of Stars who, in my humble opinion, had too many females around him already.
I felt bad for her. I really did, and I could even imagine Ashley or Arah in her shoes. But in their case, I would have given my leg and an arm to save them, just like I would for Ty.
At least it was a human who won her—a pervert, no doubt, but definitely better than the alternative. From what I understand about fairies and their habits in bed, there were a lot of fetishes, and not all of them were good for whoever ended up on the receiving end.
The auction continued, and just like the blonde girl, all of them were human, all of them were despicably showed off like prized breeds in a dog show, only without the treats.
There were so many of them being auctioned off, but a few would forever be etched into my mind. There were the twins, two boys much younger than Luca who'd been sold to a rather sadistic looking hobgoblin woman I would have nicknamed as the hag. She'd won them for twice the price of the blonde girl.
Lord Rah of the Sunspire Dominion bought himself four new slaves of varying ages, ethnicities and sexes. I wondered why he needed so many until Kallista told me that he was into orgies.
That really dampened Luca's spirits. Mine was a little less fragile, but my hands had balled themselves into fists.
Kairon had won four slaves himself. All of them athletic-looking humans who he no doubt planned to use as indentured soldiers similar to how Luca was.
Each sale Kairon won required me asking Shanks to hold Luca back whenever he moved in the direction of the balcony to our right.
After noticing that he'd spent nearly six thousand Leprechaun on his purchases, I had to ask Aura if the guy was spending the Trickster's money, but she responded with, "Kairon is one of the wealthiest fairies in the central region… all the Leprechauns he's spent tonight are nothing more than a glass of wine from an otherwise full barrel."
Weirdly enough, neither Ardeen nor his companion bid for any of the slaves. That meant they were only here for one thing, Ty.
Eventually, after more slaves were sold off to the shadiest fairies I'd ever seen in the Fayne, the big unveiling of the auction's main attraction had finally arrived, and Roselle certainly did his best to make things seem festive.
Ty was brought in amid a cascade of magical fireworks and beautiful half-naked fairy usherettes.
My friend was naked too except for the iron collar they'd wrapped around his neck. It had been attached to a chain that was carried by one of the showgirls.
My blood boiled, and it took all I had not to jump from my seat and rush down to the stage to wring Roselle's neck and save my friend.
It probably helped that both Aura and Kallista had hands-on pressing on my shoulders.
As part of the act, Roselle took out the whip hidden in the folds of his robes and used it to strike Ty on his arms and legs, all the while screaming at Ty to, "Show off your great power, chosen one! Show these fairies the might of the devourer! The magic of our doom!"
Ty screamed and screamed until he couldn't scream anymore. With a weeping face, Ty raised his hand forward and the whole room shook like the world was ending.
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"Who is that?" I wondered aloud as I stared at the female drow sitting beside my enemy.
She had short white hair that was shaved at the sides which complimented the chiseled jawline of a fierce, but beautiful face. Her skin was so dark it was almost blue, and her pale eyes hidden underneath white brows were silver in hue.
But what made this drow stand out more than all the other guests I'd seen tonight—even more than the Lord of Stars and his harem—was how she was dressed. Everyone else was decked in evening party outfits but this female had arrived for battle in a snug black vest that was layered with black scales on the chest and shoulders.
To me, at least, this was a clear statement. She wasn't here to party. She was here to go to war.
The drow turned her gaze on me—maybe because I'd been gawking at her for way more than I should have—and gave me a steely-eyed glare that nearly made me want to shrivel into myself like a turtle.
She nudged Ardeen Spellweaver with her elbow and he turned to look at me and Aura too.
I don't know how he knew it was us but I could see the light of recognition on his face. He knew it was me hiding behind the mask as sure as he knew who it was sitting beside me. Not Aurana, princess of the Trickster Pavilion, as not even our own Chancellor of the Moon knew her secret identity. But he did recognize the she-elf mage who'd helped me in the previous war.
Ardeen Spellweaver raised a hand in greeting, and for some unknown reason even to myself, I found myself greeting him back.
This act earned me a raised eyebrow from my companions.
"Kallista," I called. "You wouldn't happen to know who that is, would you?"
"Ah, that's General Morrigan of the Scarlet Moon," Kallista explained. "An up and comer among the Scarlet Moon's military who has earned herself the title of the Black Hand of the Patriarch."
I'd heard that name mentioned to me before in tones of equal parts awe and fear. The twins were especially worried about the title, and now I had a face to the name. There she was, the big bad general who'd interfered in Darah and Spellweaver's war.
There were more questions to ask but it was at this point that the lights dimmed and the curtains on the stage parted.
All our eyes turned to the stage, and to my great annoyance, the host who appeared before us was none other than Rosalind Roselle.
More proof for me that the Night of Samhain really was a night of misfortune. Here I was surrounded by enemies and I didn't even have my falchion with me because weapons weren't allowed.
"Greetings, honored guests, to this very special Samhain Auction brought to you by the faithful masters of the Under Ring," Rosalind said in a booming voice loud enough to reach even the farthest seats of the auditorium.
I'd always thought of him as a showboating clown so I guess it was appropriate that he was the host for this joke of an auction.
His attire fit his role too. I didn't think I'd ever seen such a colorful robe before, but Roselle was all about the peacock. Thus I dubbed him the clown in the gaudy rainbow robe. It was a joke I shared with Luca.
My brother laughed. It was a laughter that quickly died in his throat after Roselle officially opened the auction with a teaser for the main event.
"Once in every blue moon, a child of Earth shall awaken to magic's sweet tune… A child that was once as weak as a flower shall blossom into one who holds great power," he recited. "Beware vile fay who laugh in your tower, for here comes the one who exists to devour… One chosen by fate's red loom, who's coming may yet herald the hour of your doom."
I'd heard it only once before when Kallista had recited it to me on our way to the Wailing House, and I was surprised then that an actual honest-to-god prophecy had been made just for Ty. It really brought home the idea that he was a chosen one.
After Roselle's rendition of Ty's prophecy had satisfactorily wet the lips of all who heard it, the slave auction finally began and it was as abominable as advertised.
The first slave to be taken up on stage was a human girl no older than me. Blonde, blue-eyed, and very beautiful, she was naked and exposed for the audience to enjoy.
The bidding for this, "Exquisite human pleasure doll," as Roselle put it, began at one-hundred Leprechauns, the equivalent of four thousand US dollars.
That price immediately rose to double in mere seconds. Then tripled and quadrupled in the short amount of time it took for me to feel sick in the stomach.
Behind me, I could feel Luca vibrating with anger, and I was very glad for once that he didn't have his broadsword within arm's reach.
Aura, thank the heavens, seemed just as mortified as I felt. That might have been the only reason why I didn't lose my cool. At the very least, the one fairy that mattered wasn't a monster like the rest of them.
Well, that was a bit unfair as Kallista hadn't even shown a bit of interest in the girl too. So I guess that there were at least two good fairies in that auction.
The sale of the girl went as high as a thousand leprechauns, which from my recollection was all I had stored in my bank.
Her new owner was none other than the Lord of Stars who, in my humble opinion, had too many females around him already.
I felt bad for her. I really did, and I could even imagine Ashley or Arah in her shoes. But in their case, I would have given my leg and an arm to save them, just like I would for Ty.
At least it was a human who won her—a pervert, no doubt, but definitely better than the alternative. From what I understand about fairies and their habits in bed, there were a lot of fetishes, and not all of them were good for whoever ended up on the receiving end.
The auction continued, and just like the blonde girl, all of them were human, all of them were despicably showed off like prized breeds in a dog show, only without the treats.
There were so many of them being auctioned off, but a few would forever be etched into my mind. There were the twins, two boys much younger than Luca who'd been sold to a rather sadistic looking hobgoblin woman I would have nicknamed as the hag. She'd won them for twice the price of the blonde girl.
Lord Rah of the Sunspire Dominion bought himself four new slaves of varying ages, ethnicities and sexes. I wondered why he needed so many until Kallista told me that he was into orgies.
That really dampened Luca's spirits. Mine was a little less fragile, but my hands had balled themselves into fists.
Kairon had won four slaves himself. All of them athletic-looking humans who he no doubt planned to use as indentured soldiers similar to how Luca was.
Each sale Kairon won required me asking Shanks to hold Luca back whenever he moved in the direction of the balcony to our right.
After noticing that he'd spent nearly six thousand Leprechaun on his purchases, I had to ask Aura if the guy was spending the Trickster's money, but she responded with, "Kairon is one of the wealthiest fairies in the central region… all the Leprechauns he's spent tonight are nothing more than a glass of wine from an otherwise full barrel."
Weirdly enough, neither Ardeen nor his companion bid for any of the slaves. That meant they were only here for one thing, Ty.
Eventually, after more slaves were sold off to the shadiest fairies I'd ever seen in the Fayne, the big unveiling of the auction's main attraction had finally arrived, and Roselle certainly did his best to make things seem festive.
Ty was brought in amid a cascade of magical fireworks and beautiful half-naked fairy usherettes.
My friend was naked too except for the iron collar they'd wrapped around his neck. It had been attached to a chain that was carried by one of the showgirls.
My blood boiled, and it took all I had not to jump from my seat and rush down to the stage to wring Roselle's neck and save my friend.
It probably helped that both Aura and Kallista had hands-on pressing on my shoulders.
As part of the act, Roselle took out the whip hidden in the folds of his robes and used it to strike Ty on his arms and legs, all the while screaming at Ty to, "Show off your great power, chosen one! Show these fairies the might of the devourer! The magic of our doom!"
Ty screamed and screamed until he couldn't scream anymore. With a weeping face, Ty raised his hand forward and the whole room shook like the world was ending.
"Who is that?" I wondered aloud as I stared at the female drow sitting beside my enemy.She had short white hair that was shaved at the sides which complimented the chiseled jawline of a fierce, but beautiful face. Her skin was so dark it was almost blue, and her pale eyes hidden underneath white brows were silver in hue.But what made this drow stand out more than all the other guests I'd seen tonighteven more than the Lord of Stars and his haremwas how she was dressed. Everyone else was decked in evening party outfits but this female had arrived for battle in a snug black vest that was layered with black scales on the chest and shoulders.To me, at least, this was a clear statement. She wasn't here to party. She was here to go to war.The drow turned her gaze on memaybe because I'd been gawking at her for way more than I should haveand gave me a steely-eyed glare that nearly made me want to shrivel into myself like a turtle.She nudged Ardeen Spellweaver with her elbow and he turned to look at me and Aura too.I don't know how he knew it was us but I could see the light of recognition on his face. He knew it was me hiding behind the mask as sure as he knew who it was sitting beside me. Not Aurana, princess of the Trickster Pavilion, as not even our own Chancellor of the Moon knew her secret identity. But he did recognize the she-elf mage who'd helped me in the previous war.Ardeen Spellweaver raised a hand in greeting, and for some unknown reason even to myself, I found myself greeting him back.This act earned me a raised eyebrow from my companions."Kallista," I called. "You wouldn't happen to know who that is, would you?""Ah, that's General Morrigan of the Scarlet Moon," Kallista explained. "An up and comer among the Scarlet Moon's military who has earned herself the title of the Black Hand of the Patriarch."I'd heard that name mentioned to me before in tones of equal parts awe and fear. The twins were especially worried about the title, and now I had a face to the name. There she was, the big bad general who'd interfered in Darah and Spellweaver's war.There were more questions to ask but it was at this point that the lights dimmed and the curtains on the stage parted.All our eyes turned to the stage, and to my great annoyance, the host who appeared before us was none other than Rosalind Roselle.More proof for me that the Night of Samhain really was a night of misfortune. Here I was surrounded by enemies and I didn't even have my falchion with me because weapons weren't allowed."Greetings, honored guests, to this very special Samhain Auction brought to you by the faithful masters of the Under Ring," Rosalind said in a booming voice loud enough to reach even the farthest seats of the auditorium.I'd always thought of him as a showboating clown so I guess it was appropriate that he was the host for this joke of an auction.His attire fit his role too. I didn't think I'd ever seen such a colorful robe before, but Roselle was all about the peacock. Thus I dubbed him the clown in the gaudy rainbow robe. It was a joke I shared with Luca.My brother laughed. It was a laughter that quickly died in his throat after Roselle officially opened the auction with a teaser for the main event."Once in every blue moon, a child of Earth shall awaken to magic's sweet tune A child that was once as weak as a flower shall blossom into one who holds great power," he recited. "Beware vile fay who laugh in your tower, for here comes the one who exists to devour One chosen by fate's red loom, who's coming may yet herald the hour of your doom."I'd heard it only once before when Kallista had recited it to me on our way to the Wailing House, and I was surprised then that an actual honest-to-god prophecy had been made just for Ty. It really brought home the idea that he was a chosen one.After Roselle's rendition of Ty's prophecy had satisfactorily wet the lips of all who heard it, the slave auction finally began and it was as abominable as advertised.The first slave to be taken up on stage was a human girl no older than me. Blonde, blue-eyed, and very beautiful, she was naked and exposed for the audience to enjoy. The bidding for this, "Exquisite human pleasure doll," as Roselle put it, began at one-hundred Leprechauns, the equivalent of four thousand US dollars.That price immediately rose to double in mere seconds. Then tripled and quadrupled in the short amount of time it took for me to feel sick in the stomach.Behind me, I could feel Luca vibrating with anger, and I was very glad for once that he didn't have his broadsword within arm's reach.Aura, thank the heavens, seemed just as mortified as I felt. That might have been the only reason why I didn't lose my cool. At the very least, the one fairy that mattered wasn't a monster like the rest of them.Well, that was a bit unfair as Kallista hadn't even shown a bit of interest in the girl too. So I guess that there were at least two good fairies in that auction.The sale of the girl went as high as a thousand leprechauns, which from my recollection was all I had stored in my bank.Her new owner was none other than the Lord of Stars who, in my humble opinion, had too many females around him already.I felt bad for her. I really did, and I could even imagine Ashley or Arah in her shoes. But in their case, I would have given my leg and an arm to save them, just like I would for Ty.At least it was a human who won hera pervert, no doubt, but definitely better than the alternative. From what I understand about fairies and their habits in bed, there were a lot of fetishes, and not all of them were good for whoever ended up on the receiving end.The auction continued, and just like the blonde girl, all of them were human, all of them were despicably showed off like prized breeds in a dog show, only without the treats.There were so many of them being auctioned off, but a few would forever be etched into my mind. There were the twins, two boys much younger than Luca who'd been sold to a rather sadistic looking hobgoblin woman I would have nicknamed as the hag. She'd won them for twice the price of the blonde girl.Lord Rah of the Sunspire Dominion bought himself four new slaves of varying ages, ethnicities and sexes. I wondered why he needed so many until Kallista told me that he was into orgies.That really dampened Luca's spirits. Mine was a little less fragile, but my hands had balled themselves into fists.Kairon had won four slaves himself. All of them athletic-looking humans who he no doubt planned to use as indentured soldiers similar to how Luca was.Each sale Kairon won required me asking Shanks to hold Luca back whenever he moved in the direction of the balcony to our right.After noticing that he'd spent nearly six thousand Leprechaun on his purchases, I had to ask Aura if the guy was spending the Trickster's money, but she responded with, "Kairon is one of the wealthiest fairies in the central region all the Leprechauns he's spent tonight are nothing more than a glass of wine from an otherwise full barrel."Weirdly enough, neither Ardeen nor his companion bid for any of the slaves. That meant they were only here for one thing, Ty.Eventually, after more slaves were sold off to the shadiest fairies I'd ever seen in the Fayne, the big unveiling of the auction's main attraction had finally arrived, and Roselle certainly did his best to make things seem festive.Ty was brought in amid a cascade of magical fireworks and beautiful half-naked fairy usherettes.My friend was naked too except for the iron collar they'd wrapped around his neck. It had been attached to a chain that was carried by one of the showgirls.My blood boiled, and it took all I had not to jump from my seat and rush down to the stage to wring Roselle's neck and save my friend.It probably helped that both Aura and Kallista had hands-on pressing on my shoulders.As part of the act, Roselle took out the whip hidden in the folds of his robes and used it to strike Ty on his arms and legs, all the while screaming at Ty to, "Show off your great power, chosen one! Show these fairies the might of the devourer! The magic of our doom!"Ty screamed and screamed until he couldn't scream anymore. With a weeping face, Ty raised his hand forward and the whole room shook like the world was ending.
