Having thanked the man, Einen and Hadjar set off along the indicated route. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of people were scurrying around, going about their business. Merchants were shouting about their goods, the stores were overcrowded, and there were a lot of items that Hadjar had never seen before on their shelves. Carts, harnessed by a wide variety of animals, rushed along the avenue. The drivers sometimes yelled angrily at the gaping pedestrians, and they hurried to get out of the way. Apparently, even the simplest of carts wasn’t accessible to everyone in Underworld City.
The street was full of fountains that could’ve stirred up a storm of emotions in any desert dweller, but Hadjar and Einen passed by them without a second glance. They soon found the House of the Hundred Coins. At the entrance stood a servant/barker. The young boy was working off his term of service.
“The weekly auction is about to begin!” He shouted, looking each of the passers-by right in the eye. “If you’re looking for the juice of a millennial ginger, the Seven Stars herb, the bones of a horned python, or any other rare artifact, come on in! If you want to sell or get something appraised, please, come in! The weekly auction is about to begin...”
Hadjar and Einen climbed the stairs, and the boy interrupted his spiel for a moment.
“May the Evening Stars shine down upon you.”
The boy had started to bow, but then he saw the friends’ blue bracelets. His tone and mannerisms immediately changed.
“The entrance for non-citizens is on the other side of the building,” he said, or more accurately, spat out, and then immediately went back to what he’d been doing.
Hadjar and Einen exchanged meaningful glances. That certainly didn’t sound like ‘go wherever you wish’ and ‘we don’t practice slavery here’. They didn’t bother making a fuss — when in Rome, do as the Romans do — and they didn’t give a damn about how the Underworld City dwellers treated them. They were here temporarily and would devote that time to their cultivation, not making friends.
Skirting the building and turning into smelly, damp yards, they found an inconspicuous, rickety door. Going through it, they walked along a narrow corridor until they found themselves at the farthest end of a semioval hall.
A most diverse crowd of people had already gathered here, and all of them wore the amulets. Hadjar even saw a couple of the inhabitants of the ‘blue’ barracks, but they pretended not to notice him.
Downstairs, on the ground floor, was where the citizens had gathered. They differed greatly in social status and power. Among them, Hadjar even sensed the presence of several Heaven Soldiers. However, their auras were somewhat different from the norm. As if they were cultivators, but not the kind that Hadjar was used to. Damned true path of cultivation...
Soon, an auctioneer climbed up onto the stage. He was a pompous man in an embroidered gold and silver caftan. His brocade shoes shuffled slightly on the wooden boards of the pedestal.
“Let’s start our weekly auction. Today, we are going to present a few lots that will surely arouse your interest, and there will be a little surprise at the end.”
The crowd greeted his words with halfhearted applause.
“We’ll start with...” Several servants carried out a long halberd with a blade so wide that it looked more like an oar. “The Halberd of Merry Iron. An Earth level artifact. The opening bid is half an emerald imperial coin.”
The Halberd of Merry Iron... The artifactor that had forged this weapon didn’t have any imagination. The bargaining wasn’t very lively, and the artifact was soon sold for two coins. It was an average amount to the locals, but to the people of Lidus, it would’ve been a real fortune.
“Pill of the Blooming River.” Again, the servants carried the lot up to the stage. It was a ball the size of a nut, resting on a velvet pad. “This is a great ingredient for your cultivation. A person that takes this pill will feel like they’ve spent a hundred days in continuous meditation. The opening bid is ten coins!”
This time, the bargaining was very competitive, but only six people were involved. In the end, the alchemical pill was sold for eighteen coins. Eighteen! Hadjar was sure that even the Palace in the capital of Lidus cost, at most, three times that amount. So, it was worth three of those pills.
Then they brought out a scroll with some meditation Technique that allowed someone to reach the peak of the Spirit Knight level. The opening bid was twenty coins. It was bought immediately by one of the people who’d bid on the pill before.
With each new item, Hadjar understood that he still knew very little about the outside world. His journey through the desert had only moved the blinders before his eyes a bit, but hadn’t even come close to taking them off.
“A Petal of the Blue Cherry Tree. The tree is twenty thousand years old. It’s an ideal ingredient for use in alchemy. Opening bid is fifteen coins!”
Fifteen coins for one petal! In the end, somebody paid even more for it than for the pill — almost twenty-six coins.
“Now, may I have your attention, dear patrons! Our auction can boast quite a rare find! A tablet obtained in a remote oasis by the valiant hunters of the Research Chamber. It contains instructions on how to learn the ‘Three Sword Slashes of the Thunder God’ Technique. It’s ideal for those who have devoted themselves to the Spirits of the Sword or the Saber. The opening bid is four imperial coins.”
Hadjar almost growled in frustration.
“Take it,” Einen held out his three coins, “we got into this mess together, and we’ll get out of it together. To do so, we both need to become stronger. Don’t even think about refusing. I know you would’ve done the same if they’d had something useful for me.”
Hadjar nodded and was about to call out his bid when a familiar voice spoke up from below. “Seven coins!”
The red-haired witch turned her gaze upward, toward the area reserved for the non-citizens.
Chapter 345
“I don’t like the look of this,” Einen whispered, his eyes fixed on Tilis.
Hadjar smiled sadly. What would Serra have said if she saw her sister blaming one of her few friends for her death? Although... the red-haired girl wasn’t completely wrong when she accused him of having a part in it.
Damn it, he was letting stress get the better of him. The only man that could be blamed for Serra’s death was someone she’d already taken with her to the forefathers. And Hadjar hadn’t found those who were to blame for everything that had happened in Lidus yet.
“Let’s leave,” Hadjar answered loudly.
Giving the three coins back to the islander, he was the first to leave the overcrowded non-citizen area.
After walking along the cramped, dirty corridor, they went back out into the street. Einen started toward the avenue, but Hadjar circled the building and approached the servant again.
“...sell or get something appraised?” The servant was still shouting. Noticing Hadjar, he grimaced discontentedly. “What’s the matter? Don’t you have enough money? I don’t have time for you and-”
“I need to see an appraiser,” Hadjar interrupted him. He wasn’t hurt by the boy’s attitude toward him. He couldn’t pay attention to every stray dog that barked at him.
“I can appraise you myself.”