Asher had spent his entire life back on Earth growing up within the city. From taking the subway everywhere, to attending the occasional concert, he thought he had a pretty good idea of what a packed venue entailed.

  He was wrong.

  The Grand Auction was a massive portion of the city, spread out almost like a sprawling college campus. There were countless buildings to navigate through, each holding their own separate auctions, and often focusing on specific goods. There were ‘booklets’ released each morning of the items that would be put up for auction that day, though said booklets were larger than some entire novels Asher had read in his time. Thankfully, Incorporate and Comprehend allowed him to absorb and skim through the information quite easily, but he didn’t have the faintest idea how anyone else managed.

  Though seeing as there were entire groups of people with classes like scribe or scholar picking up the booklets before running off, he had a hunch that there was probably an entire industry of middle-men that were paid to alert others of specific things going up for auction each day.

  After informing them of the Wing element hitting the auction today, Donvath had thanked them for sharing the meal with him before taking his leave. Asher had asked if he wanted to join them, but Donvath said he had other things to take care of. It appeared he hadn’t been joking about being remarkably busy as the High Prince of the kingdom, because when they’d all left the dining room, there had been no less than four people standing outside, eagerly waiting to speak to him.

  “I still can’t believe you had the guts to actually ask him for shards,” Samantha muttered as they shoved their way through the crowd, struggling to actually reach their destination. The element hall was naturally located in the dead center of the entire Grand Auction grounds, and while they still had plenty of time, Asher was eager to see just what other kinds of elements would be going up for auction.

  “What? He’s the High Prince! I told you, he’s got to be loaded!”

  Right before they parted, Asher had in fact come straight out with it and asked Donvath if he’d be willing to toss a few shards their way, or even just flat out purchase them the Wing element. Asher didn’t quite know how things worked in the capital, but seeing as Donvath had gone through all the trouble to get them there in one piece, and was even planning to make him a national asset, he figured he was important enough for a handout or two. As though he’d been waiting for this, Donvath had merely rolled his eyes and informed him that they would ‘talk later.’

  “Let’s just hope we have enough shards to snatch up the Wing element on our own,” Asher said, quickly slipping between Brian and a larger man right before Brian could get knocked to the ground. The poor twelve-year-old wasn’t faring very well in the dense crowd, but he’d refused the offer of waiting within Asher’s Personal Rift until they got there.

  Apparently, something about his rift unnerved both Samantha and Brian on an almost subconscious level, and neither of them liked being in it for very long unless they absolutely had to.

  “Thanks, Asher,” Brian said, smiling at him and sticking close. The three of them finally managed to shove and squeeze their way over to the element hall, where Asher then picked up a small sign with a number on it and received a quick lecture on how the auction was actually run.

  He was a bit surprised to hear that it sounded as if the Grand Auction did things pretty much the same as how they were done back on Earth, but he supposed there really weren’t many better ways to coordinate selling single items to large crowds of bidders. He was surprised, however, when they entered the auction hall itself, a truly massive room with what had to be hundreds of filled seats descending down to a stage set deep within the ground, and an employee of the Grand Auction approached them.

  “Brian and party?” the employee asked, getting a surprised look from all three of them.

  “Uh… Yeah?” Brian said, nodding his confirmation.

  “Please, right this way,” the employee said, turning and leading them off to the side. The three of them looked at one another, but after a series of confused shrugs, they all followed the man.

  After leading them to what was effectively a small room with an opening that would allow them to gaze down at what was being offered, the employee informed them that the room’s enchantments would prevent anyone from overhearing their conversation, before taking his leave. Brian immediately laughed as he hopped onto one of the remarkably comfy seats, but Asher and Samantha simply stared at one another.

  “This isn’t some sort of royal booth, right?” she asked, looking nervous.

  “I don’t think so… I think it’s more like a high-roller room for the auction,” Asher said, seeing her confused look. “It’s a type of perk given to big spenders. I can see a whole ring of them surrounding the pit, so we’re not the only people in one. Donvath must have either set this up for us ahead of time, or simply let it slip that we were here to bid on the Wing element. Knowing how popular the element is and how much the price is going to shoot up, that alone probably qualifies us for the room.”

  “Sam, Asher, look at this!” Brian shouted, not taking his eyes off the stage. “They’re selling a Soup element! Soup! That’s so weird!”

  “What?” the two of them said together, rushing over to join Brian as they peered down toward the stage. Sure enough, the announcer, a beautiful woman in a flowing black dress with what looked like small marbles dotting the hemline, continued speaking, gesturing toward a pedestal beside her that contained an almost muddy-brown sphere the size of a golf ball.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “…rare element, perfect for any collector, aspiring chef, or those of you who hate getting out of bed in the cold mornings and having to worry about starting up a fire to warm your meal,” she said, beaming out at the crowd as she finished what sounded like a clearly scripted piece. “The bidding for the Soup element starts at one hundred thousand shards!”

  “A hundred thousand shards?!” Samantha gasped, looking at him in shock. “Who would pay that for-”

  “A hundred thousand!”

  “A hundred fifty thousand!”

  “Two hundred thousand!”

  Asher couldn’t help but laugh at Samantha’s dropped jaw as she stared down at the bustling crowd of bidders, the poor hunter utterly flummoxed. It seemed despite the fact that people were supposed to use their paddles and wait to be recognized by the auctioneer, most seemed excited enough to simply shout out their bids regardless of the rules. The bidding continued for another minute, finally puttering out at the grand cost of four hundred and sixty-seven thousand shards. It wasn’t until a smartly dressed gentleman came up from below stage and retrieved the element, bringing it to a secure location until the buyer could pick it up and pay for it, that Samantha shot him a worried look.

  “Asher, these people just paid almost half a million shards for a Soup element of all things! Do you think we actually have enough for the Wing element when it’s finally time for it?”

  “I wouldn’t worry too much just yet, I think that was more of a fluke than anything,” Asher admitted, his eyes still scanning throughout the crowd of bidders. “Those last two people who kept going back and forth and driving up the cost, one has the chef class, and the other one has three scribes sitting beside her, sifting through today’s auction booklet like they’re afraid it will disintegrate any moment. I think she’s a fancy collector or something, like the auctioneer said.”

  “I hope you’re right,” she muttered, turning her focus back to the stage.

  The next hour was spent simply enjoying each other’s company, pointing at the strange elements going up for auction and laughing as they tried to guess what some of the skills associated with them might be. Not all of the elements were quite as exotic or unusual as the Soup element, but there were still plenty to keep them entertained as they waited for the Wing element to hit the stage.

  “No way, how in the realms did the Grass element end up going for more than the Honey element?!” Samantha all but shouted, actually standing up and nearly knocking her seat back as she shook a fist at the smiling auctioneer down below. “Come on! It’s honey! Do these people have any idea how much that’s worth?!”

  “Seeing as the winners of each spent over three hundred thousand shards on them, I don’t think they’re exactly hurting for shards,” Asher said, chuckling as he turned toward Brian. “Alright, Honey element. Thoughts? I’m thinking Sticky Hands. Gives them the ability to climb walls.”

  “That’s silly!” Brian laughed, shaking his head. “What about Bee Buddy? Maybe they can make friends with bees and command them to attack!”

  “I don’t know, that sounds more appropriate for a Bee element if you ask me. Actually, I think there might be one of those going up for auction later…”

  “Next up is a surprise element we only just got word of yesterday, but one that still managed to drum up the usual stir whenever we’re lucky enough to have one grace our hall,” the auctioneer said, snapping the three of them out of their antics as they focused on the stage. “It’s always a big hit with the bidders in the crowd, and I know a number of you here today are here for this one element in particular, so I won’t keep you big spenders waiting!”

  As the woman gestured toward the pedestal, the well-dressed man who had been making trips back and forth across the stage all afternoon appeared once more, holding a sphere hidden away beneath a thin cloth. After placing them both on the pedestal and taking his leave, the woman grabbed the edge of the cloth, smiling out across the crowd.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… the Wing element!”

  There was a collective gasp of energy that swept through the large room as the cloth was pulled off, revealing a small sphere about the size of a fist. The sphere was pure white, filled with what looked like moving clouds made of feathers that drifted from one side to another, and even from all the way up in their private room, Asher couldn’t help but feel a sense of true freedom just looking at it.

  “As many of you know by now, the Wing element is a remarkably rare element, most frequently obtained by slayers off hunting harpy nests in distant regions of the kingdom,” the auctioneer said, her eyes happily sweeping the excited crowd. “Its passive effect will grant the user their very own set of wings, able to be manifested with but a thought. Like all elements, the potential skills it will end up granting are quite varied, but some of the more popular ones include the ability to fly through the skies faster than a pegasus, or to flit through the air with the grace and nimbleness of a fairy. For a treasure such as this, the bidding starts at… five hundred thousand shards!”

  Samantha made a choking sound at the starting bid, but Asher had already expected something like this. According to what he’d picked up from the murmuring of the crowd below, the Wing element was uncommon enough that one only graced the auction house about every few months. In fact, the timing of the element just so happening to hit the auction floor upon their arrival at the capital was remarkably suspicious. Enough so that he couldn’t help but wonder if Donvath had done something to ensure the two events would line up.

  I probably shouldn’t start thinking like that… If I go down that rabbit hole, I’ll start questioning everything that happens to me, no matter how small.

  By the time he shook himself out of his thoughts, the bidding had already reached the hefty sum of eight hundred thousand shards, and Samantha was literally on the edge of her seat. Shooting him a nervous look, she asked the same question she already had three times in the past hour.

  “How many shards do we have between us again?”

  “Two million,” he said, taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze as he finally joined the bidding, raising his paddle and increasing the price to eight hundred and fifty thousand shards. “And don’t you worry. We’re going home with that Wing element if it costs us every single shard we have to our names!”

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