[center]
[h3]The "Auction house"[/h3]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/6W7bqko.png[/img]
[h2][color=FD0000]The Koopa Troop[/color][/h2]
[b][color=FD0000]wordcount:[/color][/b] 4447 (+6)
[b][color=FD0000]Bowser: Level 12 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=FD0000]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (201/120)
[b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 12 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color]///////////////////////////////// (91/120) 59
[b][color=DeepSkyBlue]Kamek: Level 12 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DeepSkyBlue]/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color]/////////////////////////////// (74/120) 42
[b][color=Aqua]Rika: Level 7 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=Aqua]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (87/70) 
[b][color=FD0000]Location:[/color][/b] The Under - Home of Tears
[img]https://i.imgur.com/kxxtOHI.png[/img]
Level 10 Sectonia (holding 4 level up) - (67/100)
[hider=warp locations]
[s]
Central hub: Smash City Alcamoth
Accessible locations:
Peach’s castle
Limsa Lominscuttle Town
Lumbridge
Twilight Town
Kosm’s Beach
[/s]
[/hider]
[/center]

Sectonia, seeing Rubick’s staff, nodded at his explanation of what it was, the grand magus having accompanied them to the cafe. [color=92278f]””Ah, I see. It seems that staff is indeed powerful. but...[/color] Sectonia then took a second look at it, and found that its magic wouldn’t work for her, kamek, or anyone else. [color=92278f]”It seems this powerful magic is yours and yours alone. I suppose its because you made it yourself? Well, next time we run into a strong foe, lets see what this staff can do shall we?”[/color] Sectonia concluded.

With all the treats where eaten, and planning all sorted, Bowser and Kamek stood up from the table, stretched a bit, and then announced that they were going to go offload all of P’s stuff somehow. 

[color=FD0000]”Don’t really know where though”[/color] Bowser admitted, prompting Kamek to ask [color=DeepSkyBlue]”I don’t suppose any of you have had a chance to do any shopping or selling yet, that might lead you to holding the knowledge we seek?”[/color] before he directed his be-spectacled gaze at queen Sectonia and saying [color=DeepSkyBlue]”I think you mentioned having some ideas?”[/color]

[color=92278f]”When I was touring the town earlier, I saw a few places where we could deal with this stuff. Perhaps the local auction house or the pawn shop? Although I doubt the pawn shop will have all that much money. The rest… perhaps the guard captain would know what to do with it?”[/color] Sectonia said. 

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Seeing if there is an auction house does sound wise, we can likely work out what is and is not worth selling there as well, which would be a plus”[/color] Kamek replied, and then, after getting a nod from the king, they set about trying to find one of those.

Their hunt, which involved asking a bunch of strangers till they found someone who knew what they were looking for, lead them to the Collection once more, and specifically to a tall [url=https://i.imgur.com/XYiDkzo.png]spiky building[/url]. The outside  did not look much like an auction house, and the addition of a few [url=https://i.imgur.com/i3vyLi7.png]burly orcs[/url] and [url=https://i.imgur.com/TM9InQ1.png]goblins[/url] crackling with barely controlled power seemingly hanging around standing guard did not really change that appearance either.

However once they entered inside, they were presented with a staff made up of a few more smartly dressed  [url=https://i.imgur.com/Z0JouEx.png]goblins,[/url] who took one look at the pile of miniaturized treasures the queen’s ants where hauling in and collectively agreed to boot this up the ladder. 

As a result the group where presented with a very suit wearing [url=https://i.imgur.com/TTGSQjU.png]orc[/url] who introduced himself with “Auctioneer Chugrall, at your service” and a short bow before asking “To what do we owe you the pleasure? If you are looking to buy, you can see the list of items that are due to go up for auction on the left there”

He indicated to one side where a glass case contained a few items such as vials of [url=https://i.imgur.com/qyQvauC.png]canned knowledge[/url] capable of downloading recorded information straight into a person’s brain (the filled exorbitant expensive (and also oddly, did not say which knowledge they contained), the empty less so), a deluxe camping set, with a bunch of bedrolls, firestarting materials, cookware, et cetera. Essential for long-term expeditions underground, as well as a number of aesthetically pleasing but otherwise useless items. A small crowd of well to do monsters who were pursuing these options, though with each passing moment more would turn their gaze away from that and towards the strangers in town’s mighty haul.

Chugrall, naturally, also had his eyes all over the miniaturized bounty as he continued his explanation of the “and if you are looking to sell, I and the rest of the staff will gladly aid you in the process of appraisal, paperwork and so on and so forth needed to go through with that” he gestured back at the counter to the right where the goblins were watching with interest.

“If I might drop the professionalism for a moment, I do hope you are here to sell. Never have I seen such an interesting collection. All of it ever so small and yet clearly, there is much of value to be seen within” he admitted his own interest

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”I am afraid I will have to disappoint you somewhat in that, Auctioneer Chugrall, as these items are simply shrunk down so that they may be transported more easily”[/color] Kamek explained, before demonstrating this upon a portrait of a wizard hat wearing skeleton titled [url=https://i.imgur.com/KjyJrsw.png]Rare Enchantment[/url], resizing it to its meter tall size. It was an act that caused the monocle the ork had put on in preparation to examine the objects to pop right back off 

“My word” he said, rather amazed, before clearing his throat and reclaiming some of his professional demeanor as he asked “Well then, ah, will you be putting some of this … vast collection up for auction?” glancing between them before settling on looking at the crown wearing Sectonia, the orc now guessing that said piece of regalia was not just for show.

[color=92278f]”Some items, yes. Some, no. Although from your expression, I assume you know which ones we are interested in selling.”[/color] Sectonia said, giving a not too subtle hint that the high value stuff they had, mostly the art pieces and the like, were on the table to be auctioned off. The lower value items however, such as the toys and such, which the auction house was probably not that interested in anyway, were not. [color=92278f]”I expect it will be a good showing. Worth plenty of profit for the lot of us.”[/color] 

Sectonia’s plan was to sell off the expensive items; items that nobles could afford without much issue and were probably their item, while giving those who weren't as well off their items back for free for their loyalty. Most nobles were far, far too aloof to notice what they were buying in her experience. Those that weren’t, often were more frugal. Meanwhile those that aren’t as well off were often far more attached to their possessions and would be far more likely to notice, and appreciate, having their possessions back and with that, loyalty. 

“That will make things simpler for everyone I’m sure” Chugrall nodded in agreement, likely having come to the same assessment that, now that the novelty of smallness was off the table, certain items had gone up in value, and others far far down.

“We will be more than happy to assist you in identifying what meets the standards of our auction house, though do not worry, you seem to have plenty of items that fit the bill” he glanced back and gave some of the other employees a quick nod, prompting them to guide Kamek and the Queen’s minions to a side of the desk where they began the process of examining the unshrunk items. 

“While they are working away, ma’am, let me explain how our establishment works, as I take it you are new to its usage? I am quite certain I would be aware if someone as yourself were a frequent visitor, which is something I certainly hope you will become” Chugrall said, as he guided them over to the counter next to the ones used for appraisal. 

“Now then, here at this establishment, we do not trade in mere gold, Geo or souls, but purest palladium coins, minted by this very organization. It is a currency denoting status, prestige, and class, and the only way to acquire the finest treasures in the city” the orc explained grandiosity, as he showed them a set coins emblazoned with the letters D,I and V whose intricate design simply oozed either sophistication or pointless extravagance, depending on your perspective.

“We do, of course, facilitate exchange lesser currencies for palladium, but the best way to acquire them, as you have premonitionantly realized, is to put items up for auction” he told them, in a rather blatant attempt at flattery, before he tried to slip in the terms and conditions hot on the heels of the buttering up

“Now naturally, we do charge for the use of our knowledge, talent, and facilities, but that will be a trifling amount to that which you are sure to earn from the sale of your collection” he unrolled a rather lengthy bit of parchment and added nonchalantly that “terms and conditions do apply, but if you would simply sign here, here, and here” he indicated to a few lines with a quill tipped with red ink before offering the writing implement to her “and we can have your items on sale at our next event”

Sectonia wasn’t surprised this place was a bit… shady with its business practices. Such was the way of those who would take money from nobles; it was best to squeeze them for every bit of gold you could muster, she supposed. Still, she made sure to read the contract to see what she was signing onto, as it wouldn’t do to have her sign away on something she wasn’t sure of. Still, contracts were quite dull, and it wasn’t really her area of expertise, so it did take her some time. 

What concerned her was this whole ‘extra currency’ thing, from what she could tell, it was just something that would let them skim even more from her potential sales, And as she read this… contract…well, considering this place was run by consul P, she wasn’t surprised it fostered such things. Things like “We have exclusive rights…” and varios nickel and dime schemes… at least it seemed to only be about the stuff set on auction, instead of anything worse. It seemed like they might not make that much profit at the end of the day, but perhaps they could find a decent item here, perhaps? With the contract read and signed, it was off to trying to sell the larger items.

“Thank you Ma’am” Chugrall said with a nod as he took the contract.

Bowser had tried to read it with her, but had given up about two lines in and was instead found over with the various items along with Kamek and the goblin staff, who were looking it all over.

“Now then, lets see how we are doing with the appraisals shall we” the orc said as he stepped over to join his colleagues, the implicit question getting quite the interesting answer of “We’re having an easy time boss, half this stuff’s been on sale here before looks like” coming from a goblin sat next to a pile of documents which, if glanced at, did indeed record various sales of items that had then, presumably, been stolen by P.

His name certainly wasn’t on any of the lists of buyers, that was for sure, neither were those of his now equally dead minions. 

“we know there’ll be demand for a bunch of this too as a result, but we might need to put the starting bit down a little bit seeing as its repeats?” the goblin suggested, while Chugrall thought about for a moment and then corrected him by amending “No, set it higher, at least for the ones we know are going to be popular given their last showing”

“Ahhh, smart. Guess that’s why the Auctionmaster made you the boss, boss” the goblin replied, either genuinely impressed or skilled enough at being a suck up to make it sound so. It certainly got a nod of approval from the orc before he addressed the queen again, asking “If I may be so bold as to enquire, where did you acquire this remarkable collection?”

Sectonia had prepared herself for this question, considering if it got out that Consul P had been defeated before she could instate a new regent lord, chaos would descend on the city and they couldn't have that. [color=92278f]”Ah yes. We found many of these items down in the garbage dump underneath one of the giant towers of the city. Whoever had them before probably threw them out in boredom.”[/color] Sectonia said, playing on what she knew of interacting with Consul P. The guy was quite the simpleton at the end of the day after all. She then glanced at Kamek giving him a subtle idea of ‘back up this story’ from her glance.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Well, ‘garbage dump’ gives a more filthy description of where we located them than what it actually was, I assure you they were and are in pristine condition, but yes, it seems their former owner no longer had any use for these items”[/color] Kamek agreed, catching on just fine, before adding that it was [color=DeepSkyBlue]”a shame really, but fortunately we where, hmmm, tipped off and were able to recover these objects, and with your help I am sure we can get them into more worthy hands, yes?”[/color] 

“I see” Chugrall replied, his tone giving away that he had mentally downgraded his perception of their pedigree a fair amount as a result of learning about this dumpster diving. He seemed to be going along with it, however, until a fearful look flashed across his face as he fully understood the implications. It was swiftly smoothed away and replaced with professionalism, but he did then lean in to clandestinely ask “are you quite sure there will be no … consequences for this? I simply cannot help facilitate you if a certain … individual would take offense to the sale of these items”


[color=92278f]”Not at all.”[/color] Sectonia and kamek said in near unison, although with very different inflections. 

[color=92278f]”He did toss them out, so how would he recognize them?”[/color] Sectonia said.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”I’m sure he’ll never think about them again”[/color] Kamek agreed

[color=FD0000]”Well, yeah, course he won’t because he’s-”[/color] Bowser began to say, not getting what they were doing at all with their lies and half truths about the nature of how they had claimed the treasure horde. 

[color=92278f]”Very flighty. You know how unpredictable he is.”[/color] Sectonia said, cutting off Bowser before he let slip with his big mouth the truth of what happened with consul P.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Indeed, and the less that is said about him the better”[/color] Kamek agreed, speaking rather blatantly to Bowser while saying this. He still looked confused, but managed to take the hint at least.

Chugrall was, understandably, just a touch suspicious of this, but as he glanced between the growing pile of treasures and the trio representing the trouble said treasures might bring, he seemed to come to a decision “We will need to ensure that the auction is, hmm, discrete, to ensure that everything goes smoothly, and there will be a token fee for that, but otherwise I believe we can indeed go ahead with the sales” 

Greed, it seemed, had won out. Now only time would tell how well it went.

Time told rather soon, in fact, as once they were coming to an end of sorting the items into piles of auction and not, a familiar looking blue robed and wizard hatted skeleton came through the door of the auction house, followed by a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/monster_train/images/7/74/Nameless_Siren.png]siren[/url] of the mermaid guard. The aquatic officer moved by swimming along in a magical current floating around her, and had a massive sword sheathed at  her side, though she seemed not at all prepared to draw it, and instead was doing her best to not look annoyed.

The skeleton glanced around, got a nod from one of the other proprietors of the house who had, along with a fair few others been keeping an eye on proceedings, and then stormed towards the trio while crying out “That’s them officer! Those are the curs who have my painting!” 

“So you have been saying” the nameless officer who would much rather be dealing with one of the two low level invasions of the city replied, before adding that “you’ve yet to say how you know this”

“Isn’t obvious! The painting is of me!” the sorcerer known as Tim declared as he stopped right beside the portrait of, well, himself, that was currently sitting among their treasures and gestured to it with both hands.

Hearing the commotion and seeing the presence of one of the town guard alongside an irate proprietor, one of the goblins rushed to go grab the orc who would be processing all of these current actions. As Tim the sorcerer was trying and failing to get the attention of the town guard to get ‘his’ painting back from the auction, the Orc stepped up. “Ahem, what seems to be the problem here?” 
“That picture is mine! It's a picture of me!” Tim said before the officer could even begin to muster a response, clearly showing she didn’t want to be here. Knowing where some of these items came from, it wasn’t impossible for this to be true, but he wasn’t going to let this get in the way of profits. 

“Now now, a picture of you doesn’t make it yours good sir. It could be yours if you win the auction however. A giant picture of yourself drawn by a local artisan would be quite the prize.” the orc said, speaking as if this wasn’t the first time something like this happened. 

“Oh no no, don’t you dare try and sell me back what was stolen from me” the skeleton replied “I don’t know how these nobodies got it out of the hands of that brat, but I want it back. It is my property. Mine. I could find you the artist if you insist, but you” he pointed at the siren officer “should have a police report that I submitted when it was taken”

“Yeah, no we throw those out” she told the seething skeleton, clarifying that “Anything the little guy does is de facto legal after all, what with him being an absolutist dictator and everything. Technically I should be reporting that this was stolen from him, probably”

There was a moment of silence as everyone held their breath, before she realized they were terrified that she might actually mean that.

“Not that I’m going to. Obviously. None of you are gonna say that I looked the other way, and I’m not gonna say anything about this. Deal?” she offered; a deal that was quickly taken by all. Nobody was on P’s side, and no one wanted to draw his ire either.

That moment of unity quickly passed however, as Tim cycled them all the way back around to “but it is my painting still, and however these miscreants got their hands on it, the right thing to do would be to return the people's property to them!” an insistence that was clearly self motivated, but it still did have some support, before he went on “besides, I won’t be paying whatever price you set out of spite, and who else is going to want a painting of me anyway, hmmm?”

Seeing an opportunity, Sectonia took note of the situation. [color=92278f]”Ahem, well… Currency and payment come in all shapes and forms. We did find this portrait of yourself, if you are not interested in paying in money, what else could you offer us? Seeing as you seem to have some form of clout, being able to get in here and all, what else could you offer us?”[/color] Sectonia said. The orc began to protest, but Sectonia silenced him with a finger, giving him a ‘some things can be worth more than gold.’ look, seeing what opportunity this could give her and the rest of the group. 

The skeleton looked about to launch into another triad on spite, so Kamek helpful offered an addendum along the same theme of [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Think of it as a finders fee”[/color]

Tim ground his teeth, and then decided “Hmmmf, well, I suppose” before removing his Wizard hat and saying “Seeing as you are a monster of magic, here” before putting it atop Kamek’s robed head.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Now wait a mom - oh. Hmmm. I do believe this is enhancing my magic somehow”[/color]

“5% flat, and 10% increased hit thanks to it making a set with your robes” he explained, before saying “now can I have my painting, thank you? I need to go home and enchant a new hat. My head feels cold already”

Looking at the hat to make sure it was of quality, Sectonia shrugged. [color=92278f]”Toss in the ability to use your enchanting services for a good price and I suppose that will do.”[/color] Sectonia said, noting that with her token smelter, she could turn these hats into slight buffs for everyone who used magic. [color=92278f]”I know a few people who would be interested in such services.”[/color] Sectonia said, implying that Tim could possibly even make a slight profit from this deal. 

“They’re meant to be for personal use but … maybe” Tim tacitly replied, before picking out and offering them a business card for his services, which seemed to be related more to blasting things with magic than merchandising, but it would do for her purposes.

“Well, now that that is sorted” Chugrall replied, reproachfully as one of the items he had been looking forwards to profiting from was handed away, right before someone else spoke up along the very same lines with “I do say, excuse me, I believe that I won that very vase at this very auction house, surly you have the paperwork?”

Seeing how they were going to handle this, Kamek moved to try and broker a mutually beneficial deal, when a strong hand rested on his shoulder

“I should note that your assistant signed a contract, and I can hardly have you simply give everything away after we looked it over now can I? Lest you end up in the house’s debt as a result” the orc told him sternly, as some of the armed help tightened their grip on their weapons incase this got ugly one way or the other “So I suggest you make sure you have something to sell after all this charity”

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Ah, well now, there is no need for that sort of language, I’m sure we have, ah, something”[/color]

[color=FD0000]”Yeah. We have this hat Rika got from her own efforts, no one is gonna come claim that”[/color] Bowser informed them helpful, as he pulled out the solid gold and shining with glossy wealth [url=https://imgur.com/6vQtIsb]Sparkle Time Cheese Hat[/url] the ship girl had gotten from crushing the spirit of a humble cheese slime.

The orc took one monocle popping look at the object, and the issue was settled.

Sectonia also gave the orc a bit of consoling advice. [color=92278f]”And if we make more deals like with Tim there, you’ll have access to normally unavailable services. Services that could net you some interesting profits later down the road.”[/color] But she did concede that situations such as what happened with Tim were rare. 

There did end up being a few however, as word got around both of the source of the items, and of the deal they had made to return them. A few genuine requests with evidence of ownership where made, mixed in with attempts at scamming resulted, but a lot of the time it was hard to genuinely prove that an item belonged to a specific person (the loss of the reports which could have proved this got the siren a fair amount of grief that she patently refused to take), as most were not so blatant as to be portraits of their owner.

There was plenty of time for this, because as it turned out, simply showing up with a bunch of stuff did not prompt an auction, and instead they had to wait for the evening to roll around. Much to her annoyance, Sectonia had to wait. Bower got bored after an hour in and, based on a suggestion of his advisor, the King left with pockets stuffed with miniaturized toys and with said advisor in tow, leaving the queen to deal with the rest of the affair.

On the plus side, this also meant she had complete control over what they could use the earnings they acquired from the auction to bid on other items in that very same auction, with their goods not being the only ones on offer after all. Although as time went on and the auctions started, Bowser having left out of boredom, Sectonia would find her items weren’t on auction at this time.

There were only 3 items up for sale at this time that Sectonia had even any interest in. CAnned knowledge, an item that granted dubious knowledge and could be used to share knowledge between people, although it was for a price that Sectonia thought wasn’t all that useful of an item. Sure it would make explaining the whole spirit thing easier, but that didn’t take much time at all anyway. 

The second item however she found interesting, a camping set that would make dealing with the wilderness much better. She wasn’t about to go slumming it in uncharted wilderness, and considering this world was vast, she figured at some point they’d have to camp out. It was easy to use and above all was magical. Or as the auctioneer said. “And this is the Deluxe Camping Set. Comfortable bedrolls, Interdiction Torches to help keep away critters, a sophisticated tinderbox, cooking equipment like a spit and a crock pot, a water filter, and even a couple tents. Essential for long-term expeditions most anywhere, especially underground.” What got Sectonia interested is that due to its magical nature, it could size itself to whoever needed to use it. 

The third item was a [url=https://bindingofisaacrebirth.fandom.com/wiki/Plum_Flute]flute[/url] that, when played, summoned some cute red blobby bug that seemed to just do its own thing before leaving. Considering the low asking price, Sectonia wasn’t too impressed with what was essentially a ‘pet’ summoning flute. At least not now.
And with that the auctions were concluded. Thinking she would get a bit of a buffer from her auction sales to offset the cost of this item, Sectonia bid and bought the camping set, costing her 1000 geo. Well, it would’ve been 1000 geo, but as she would find later on when the auction house came to claim its prize from her, it ended up costing her 1150 geo due to the ‘exchange rate’ of the auction house funny bucks. She was NOT happy about this when the auction was over, as she and the koopas assumed that their items would soften the blow of buying things here at the auction, not that they’d pull THIS. She made a note to burn this place to the ground if the returns from the items they listed were pitiable…

Still, with this aggravating ordeal done, Sectonia moved to meet with the rest of the groups to figure out where to go next.