[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/aUgvyiS.png?2[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/7lhjQiO.png?1[/img][/center]
[hr][color=gold]Location:[/color] Ersand'Enise Auction House
[hr][color=gold]Interactions:[/color] 
[hr]

After the Melon Derby had finished and a few words were given to Zarra about him causing such property damage, it was finally time for some celebrations for after. As Team Snaked and Afraid & Team Shortlisted were able to secure 4th place! Leaving Desmond in a very good mood as nothing much could have really gotten him down. The Team did well, they had secured a placing much higher than Desmond could have imagined, Desmond had some fun, and he thinks he's made a decent enough impression upon his shorter teammates. Some strange things happened, he thinks he may have been hit on by someone he didn't even see, however he wasn't too sure, it could have been someone who was mocking him, yet it did not matter. Desmond was in a good enough mood to go and buy himself a coffee, as he left to go to Zeno bucks.

That was a terrible idea, the moment Desmond made it there he saw that a crowd was forming around the owner of Zeno bucks, Zarina, and the spitting yasoi, Casii, as they were both brawling. As they threw punches, people roared and yelled in excitement as he saw Silas and Marceline seeming to set up a betting pool. Desmond made his way over as he saw the crowd getting too excited as it seemed people began to fall into the bets, as Desmond decided to help, [color=gold][i]'Why not? It's just a bit of help'[/i][/color]. The little bit of help had carried him into then needing to run away from the crowd as it roared in excitement, more and more so 'till the point where a full brawl occurred. One man bumped into another, one didn't take kindly and neither did their friends, as then fighting began to happen, as the man who was originally overseeing this entire fist fight, Zeno Sectoxomactex, had now searched out those who had possibly stolen or lost the money. Desmond was passed the hat they had used to collect the money as him and Silas split ways and used the many different people to break up who had what and if they ever had the money. As once Desmond had escaped, he had passed the hat off to a [b]r[/b]espectable [b]b[/b]oy to take care of. Desmond shook his head as he decided to maybe make himself sparse and even somewhere else, as he heard there was an auction going on, maybe if he decided to go and make some bids and even win something the heat would be lifted off of him as Marci and Silas take some heat before they go and take their cut from the 'bids'.

What was to be a fun time became something Desmond was afraid of getting into, especially so early on in his life here. Sure it started off fine, Desmond made some bets on some different things: 3 Prime mana shots Desmond will be splitting with Penny after some friendly banter, some somber banter as they talk of what could have been hassling because Zarina believes he owes her and Casii money, and then a friendly painting duel. Next came the Pyrite rock Desmond and Ingrid were very interested in as for her it was for mining, for Desmond it was to try and recreate Sirrahi technology. After which finally came something Desmond could not pass up, a Hydra Skull big enough for him to wear. Desmond had an idea for something so he wanted it, as he bided and got it for 6 magus, not a bad deal. Yet the final thing to come was something that had brought something trully troublesome to their door. An unassuming music box with strange characters carved on it. Some symbols resemble mighty dragons, others mountains, but nobody seems to be able to translate. Some say it predates the fall of the Avincian empire. It is currently broken and requires a brilliant mind to work on it. Extremely fine craftsmanship can be noticed when thoroughly inspected. At first Desmond wished to get it to work on it, it was for his own pride, yet it became more and more apparent that they were betting on something that was more than just a music box. As the bidding soared, it reached levels Desmond was left worried, he put in so much and others seemed to put more, Ingrid's and Desmond's funds were quite high, yet it seemed as if they betted against a whole bank. Desmond swallowed as a voice cut the bidding, "I believe, that we should perhaps make this a closed--door auction, as there appear to be only three parties still bidding". As soon began a fate-changing encounter.

[hider=Betting in a Viper Pit]
The Announcer brings the relevant parties to a secure chamber within the auction house. The magics here are abnormally powerful, even for the dreaded Holy See groups. There was likely an Arch or two ensuring the security of this event once they caught wind of it. "Please, sit, all of you. Clearly we will not be able to handle this through traditional bidding. As such, we will instead go about it differently: A single bid. Each party will propose a secret sum, and the highest will be winner of this auction."

Ingrid took a seat, She remained calm and strong but she was scared. If she could win this it would go a long way to raising her standing in her family. Ingrid started by accepting the terms of the new auction. [color=8882be]"Best of luck everyone."[/color] A gesture of civility.

Evander walks in to sit down. He claims his seat next to Ingrid and looks at her, [color=BC3823]"You will need it, I think you stirred up more trouble than you know."[/color] He leaned back in his seat. She may have been naïve to it. There were bigger agents at play than Evander, her, or the other lad, sitting at this table.

Sven gulped. "Thish ish politicsh." He shook his head. "Way above all of ush."

The three hooded figures moved as one. They seated themselves. "Who will guard the item?" asked one. "How do we know the other parties won't just steal it?" The third was silent.

Announcer spoke up, "The very same entities securing this building will ensure the transfer of the purchased item as well as its safe arrival to a designated spot of your choosing. That is standard procedure for all our ... High ticket transactions."

"I apologize if I seemed overbearing with my questioning," said one of the cloaked men, "and I think you for your answer. I do worry about accountability should the other actors at this table prove not to be... good faith ones. I would like to know who is in charge of security for this affair." 

The hooded figure who hovered close to Evander let out a snort. "They're clearly digging for information," he growled. "I wouldn't trust them."

The Announcer cleared his throat as he spoke, "it will be safe, I assure you, now let us begin the betting. As I said before: A single bid. Each party will propose a secret sum, and the highest will be winner of this auction"

As each of the parties agreed the game began.

Every party had access to a private chambers completely isolated from everything else. No amount of magics could be used to defy the security placed without raising at least one red flag. After minutes of deliberation, each representative came with a sealed envelope containing the agreed amount from each interest they represented.

"Thank you. I will now be revealing the sums proposed by each side."

The first was from the fastest group to conjure up an answer. The envelope was ripped and the paper inside pulled out to be unfolded.

"One Magus." the announcer squinted, "... The logical minimum was 10,000 Magis." well, not really, but they were all willing to pay that much so they assumed as much. He shook his head and continued.

"Now, for the Penderson party." the paper was taken out and ... "27,000 Magis."

And finally, "Lord Synesti's sum." he didn't waste any time, "24,000 Magis."

"The Lady Penderson's party has won the bid. Congratulations."

The hooded figures rose. The front two bowed. "We realized that we could not hope to match the finances of these two parties and we were correct," said one. "But knowledge can be power," said the other. "We wish the holders of this valuable item Vyshta's favour."

Desmond sighs as he leans back onto the wall, [color=gold]"Yeah, you have a good day yourself"[/color] as in that moment Desmond felt something wrong and everything kicked off.

"You will please hand me the box," said the third figure coolly, to Ingrid as her mind looses reason and she begins to stand up, holding the box.
"You will assist her," they said to Sven.
One of the other figures disappeared briefly before reappearing right next to Desmond.
The second one moved to cover the one giving the strange commands.

Desmond heard a COMMAND, and knew what he had to do. Ignoring the person who just appeared next to him, he needed to beat them to the punch, as Desmond goes and fills the caster of the COMMAND with chemicals to instantly knock them out. The figure collapses immediately under Desmond's chemical assault but, oddly, the spell isn't broken. In any case, Ingrid doesn't appear to be headed their way. 

At the same moment the Announcer glared at the hooded figure, "The representative is to decide where the item is to be delivered." he seemed immune to the effects, as if the magics surrounding the room were protecting him. The house's powerful magic doesn't immediately react to the strange influence, however the announcer does signal for physical security to step in, "Guards! Please separate these two." As he waves his hands to Ingrid and the person who was protecting the COMMAND issuer.

Aa the guards get their hands on Ingrid they began to try and pull her away yet she fought back as Desmond was pincered by both Sven and the mage who appeared next to him as a chemical spell causes Desmond to drop, losing control of his muscles temporarily. He struggles to rise.

ven seems confused, but recognizes that illusion magic is being used.
The three attackers, seeing that they're fighting a losing battle, call out to Evander and his hooded benefactor, who have been hanging back.
"For Revidia!" one calls. "For l'Anguira!" says another. "Help us!"

The announcer slams his hands onto his desk, "What is this outrage? Are you not ashamed of yourselves?! To defile the sanctity of these neutral grounds! The Arches will hear of this! That I promise."

"Spare us, Perrench vermin!" spits one. "We live and die for the republic!"

 Evander looked to his hooded benefactor, "Do we trust them, do we help?"

"Non è un serpente," the hooded man beside Evander calls out, apparently waiting for a response, brimming with energy. 

Desmond feels his muscles finally heed his command as he uses a kinetic boost to launch himself at the person who Ingrid was about to hand the box to and upper cut his jaw. Yet the moment he was about to connect the man dipped his head back and roared out "Be still!". As with the figure's command, ll enemies in the room, Almost all stood still, yet Desmond was still moving as he shifted and landed back to his feet ready to swing again as he realized order after order who he was fighting, he felt the tug but he kept fighting through it. They were using magic the same as that strange Priest in the melon Derby. [color=gold]"Speak of the Devil"[/color] as he hears another voice pierce through the doors that was once sealed, "Your use of magic reserved for the devout is an affront not only to the church but to the gods themselves," sneered Brother Wolf, "I command that you kneel, heretic!". As the man struggled against the COMMAND, it was no use, very few could withstand it as the only things to leave his mouth were "I.... will...nnnn...kneel," said the hooded figure, gritting his teeth as he was forced to the ground.

"You are all freed!" commanded the Dread Priest. He smirked Desmond's way. "Though, as expected, you already are." 
Desmond popped his neck as he stood up fully as he chuckled ready to continue the fight, [color=gold]"Seems so"[/color].

"You will speak," Brother Wolf commanded. "You will tell me who you are and who sent you."
"I will not!" spat the hooded figure.
Sister Lumen strode in behind Wolf.

She shot a pulse of brilliant light into the kneeling figure and he screamed in pain. "You will do as my brother says or you will be... incentivized more directly."

Brother Ash was next, tall and pale. "We apologize for our surprise entrance," he said to the auctioneer. "As this incident appears to involve command magic, it is a matter for the church, so we were called here in lieu of your usual security arrangements."

[color=gold]"Oh I thought y'all were already here. With that one giving out a command", Desmond says as he points to the one on the ground gnashing his teeth trying to speak as he continued, "But when the Chemist was unable to take me down in one shot I knew it wasn't you guys"[/color], Desmond said with a chuckle.

Brother Wolf smiled faintly, but his bearing was serious for this was a serious matter. "We serve no temporal lords, only those above," he responded simply. "The petty feuds of kings are below our higher calling," confirmed Sister Lumen.

Desmond raised his hands as he said, [color=gold]"Of course, of course"[/color]

The announcer flinched, "Any more and I would have called the Arch defending these walls." he calmed down and sat, "So long as the winnings are returned to the rightful winner of the auction, I will leave any further actions against these individuals in your hands." The tall pale figure spoke with a light bow, "Thank you for your understanding, brother," as he came up from his bow t look the Announcer in the eyes once more "I know this must be most irregular."

Ingrid was on the edge. She is paranoid, Something took over her body, she feels violated. She wants to kill whoever those people were. Brother Ash turned to Ingrid, sensing her teetering. "Are you well?" he inquired. "You you maintain your right senses?"

Ingrid looked at brother ash and backed away towards Sven, [color=8882be]"Not another step."[/color] Ingrid would rather not let anyone she didn't know near her. Desmond seeing the tensions build he steps in, [color=gold]"Hey hey hey, Ingrid, we're on the same side here. They're here for the guy who did that to you, okay?"[/color] Desmond steps in between them as he stays close to Ingrid trying to cool her off.

Brother Ash blocks Ingrid from trying to walk out of the room. "I suggest you carry the box," he says to Desmond. "You've a stronger constitution and your friend's wits are clearly not about her." 

Ingrid looked to Ash as she said, [color=8882be]"Try and take this box and I will melt you into a puddle"[/color]. Desmond looks back at what's happening and then back to Ingrid, [color=gold]"They're here to help us, not hurt us"[/color], as he heard Ash speak he turned and said, [color=gold]"She'll be fine"[/color] Desmond says as he looks to Ash and then Ingrid, [color=gold]"We'll be fine, right Ingrid?"[/color]

Brother Ash, tryin to cooperate by Desmond, decides not to take a risk with someone so volatile. He reaches out for Ingrid's forehead and hits her with a chemical spell. "Sleep, you stupid girl." 

Desmond watched what unfolded and sighed as he saw Ingrid drop from Ash's magic. [color=gold]"God damn it"[/color], Desmond shook his head and looked to Sven, [color=gold]"Come on, we need to take Ingrid home, we also need to get out of here before things get heated again"[/color] Desmond gestured for Sven to carry her as he said, [color=gold]"You better grab her, I'll carry the box"[/color]. As once they get themselves up, Demsond lead the way for them to go. As they were escorted out by the bodyguards and lead them all the way home where they put Ingrid into her bed.[/hider]

Later that day when Ingrid finally woke up, the group had been waiting for her to make sure she was okay, Desmond threw some quippy lines while they spoke trying to lighten the mood from what was a stressful situation. As once people were calm and ready, they talked about the box, as it was found it was a box able to pacify one of the biggest Dragons known to man, the Tyrannus Monsigneus. As that night an Order was formed, as it had multiple individuals as the core of the group: Sven, Ismette, Ingrid, Desmond, Benedetto, Woren, Dorisay, Ghaven, Talkhen, and Korin. These people all knew what this was, what they were doing, and knew the plan was simple: they needed to get 27,00 Magus to buy the box themselves so neither Revidia nor eskand can get it. Once they do that they will fix the box so they can use it. For fun. Demsond wasn't sure why he agreed with any of this in the first place, evne the bidding, yet he was here now, and feet weren't made facing backwards. So for Desmond, the only path was forward.