The first item was brought in a cloche and gently placed to the center of the stage. A wide empty space reserved only for auction. The woman who brought the cloche waited for the the instruction to open it.
As everyone was waiting in anticipation for the first item to be revealed, the man who presented the auction shook his head, signaling her to open the plate. The people in the bar called him komodore, he was widely known around the place for the valuable items he brought to the auction.
The woman quickly opened the cloche before she headed for the back of the bar to prepare the other items in the stock. The exposed item was an impaled imp head. While every single person had their eyes on the 'item', some sort of blue liquid, something similar to blood, was running down from the metal bar the head was impaled on. Komodore, however, carried on without paying any attention to it and opened the bid with 35 pounds. He was used to such scenes in the auction. One man after another woman shouted their price as it continued rising.
René could only watch the bidding as he had no use for what was auctioning, and even if he did, René had no way of purchasing the item… Is that the head of a monster? This is my first time seeing something like this out in the world. Compared to the ones in the social media this looks much more cursed and disgusting. And why are the prices ridiculous? I thought this was a pauper district, but it seems that the only poor one here is me… The imp's head was sold off for 90 pounds as the other item was brought.
I wonder why people are buying such an 'item'. Is it because an imp's head is something rare and they are a collector? I doubt so. It is very unlikely that this many people would offer such a ridiculous amount of money for something meaningless unless it has some other use that I am unaware of. We are not even in the main dish, yet the prices are this high, this really is ridiculous considering where this place is.
The second item was brought by the same woman on a plate and placed on the table, but the difference was that this time the product was not covered with anything as it was only a cube. However, by no means that it was a normal cube, as it had blood-crying eyes on each of its six faces. The bar oddly went silent as Komodore opened the bid with 5 pounds.
Only 5 pounds? Isn't that too cheap? And why did everyone go silent? Does nobody want to buy that weird cube?… René wanted to buy that cube, however, he had no knowledge about it. The cube's sinister looks lessened René's temptation to buy it, because it could kill him in his sleep or had any function that would bring harm to him. René also had no way of knowing how to use the cube even if he obtained it. He needed to evaluate his current situation before attempting to acquire an unknown item.
René thought of a phrase before taking an action: "curiosity kills the cat."
René slowly raised his hand, bidding 6 pounds, as nobody seemed to wanted to take it for themselves. Just then, a sweet old man with a clean, gray, long beard and mustache who had wrinkles all over his face, held René's arm. René was both surprised and scared seeing the old man hold his arm. And the old man whispered:
"I would be careful buying that thing, lad. Nothing good will come out of buying something that odd."
René was contemplating whether he should change seats at once or answer to the elder. Then he answered out of curiosity:
"What do you mean old man?"
The old man let René's arm go while chuckling.
"You have no idea why they are selling such a thing do you? Let me enlighten you. That thing you see is not something ignorant people like you should approach. That is considered a required 'relic' for certain rituals. But if you still want to buy it, suit yourself."
The old man giggled at René as he continued to watch the auction. He acted as if he never uttered a word or hadn't done anything. In that instance. René's desire to get the cube had only gone up as he thought inwardly:
I wouldn't be René if I was afraid of the unknown… Or at least he had wished to think so. René had already decided that he would act according to his 'René' persona, a brand new person.
Therefore, René raised his right hand in the air signaling that he was rising the opening bid, so he shouted:
"6 pounds"
Everyone in the bar turned their eyes on him all of a sudden while some of them whispering among themselves. This, in their eyes, was an unexpected instance because 'relics' would have no buyers or one in every few months, after all this bar was just an insignificant place established for the poor.
Komodore was surprised too, seeing someone that had courage to buy what is called a 'relic'. He continued the bid from 6 pounds until no one else raised the price. Komodore closed the sale as he put the cube in a box while wearing gloves, making René the current owner of the cube. After tightly shutting the package, Komodore continued the auction.
René was actually both excited and worried for what could come out of that cube but he put those thoughts to rest as he watched the auction continue.
…
The cube was smaller than it had seemed back in the bar, so René put it into his left pocket after inspecting its packaging for a little while out of suspicion, only to take it out when he got back home. He could sense something disturbing from the cube, but he ignored it for now as it had been packaged tightly after the item's authenticity was checked in front of his eyes again by the woman.
René was made to sign a contract that said "All damages, losses and inconveniences that the product may cause are under the responsibility of the customer. The Lizard's Fang will not claim any responsibility," which made René much more suspicious and wary of the cube.
It was nearly 1 p.m. when the auction ended. René was headed to a café after getting his package. He wanted to cool off his head after seeing so many weird items he had never laid his eyes upon before.
To think that a so-called tail of a naked pigeon fish would sell for 450 pounds. I wonder where these people get that much money from anyways. This cube also, I need to get it to a safety, but it is rather early to go back right now.
After checking how much money he was left with, René decided not to waste his money on another drink and called a horse cab while waiting on the side of the road. His aim was to directly go to where the biggest church in the Sol Victus city was to find Cardinal Beowulf.
I have nearly 4 pounds… I need someone to hire me for a job, but the problem is nobody knows me or the fact that I'm looking for a job commission! Well, I can ask around the church if I can't find anything as I'm already headed there.
René waited out in the cold on the sidewalk, waiting for a cab to pass. After some bone-freezing time, the horses-drawn cab slowly walked past as the cabinet stopped in front of René. The driver asked:
"Where to, Sir?"
René got on the carriage as he answered:
"take me to the biggest church in the city"
The driver commanded the horses as the carriage started to move.
"The Great Othrol Church, aye aye Sir."
René didn't give an answer as he had no idea where that was. He noticed a newspaper on the seat across. René took the newspaper and began reading it, looking for any sort of commission or job. Suddenly René's scarlet eyes burned brightly as they caught a submission from a third party. The job was to look for a lost child, a little boy under the age of ten.
This right here may be my first mission. The reward, 250 pounds, is good but nothing much, considering the other part's fees too, but that is if we help each other solve the case… René focused on reading the rest of the submission. "For inquiry, the address: West of Sol Victus city, Verwen street, house 17B, Mr. Melbour Andrew"… I wonder if the address is located far from where I'm going. I could pay a visit and take the commission before it is closed.
René kept reading the other news. There wasn't anything interesting other than a flock of mouse, apparently, killing a man in his 40's in his own house…
What? How is that even possible? There is something weird going on here. And considering the items I saw in the auction, it is quite possible that some kind of unnatural power is behind this case.
I hope it's something extraordinary or some kind of superpower. For times like this, I got to thank Solomon for giving me this body. I want to look into this case but my plate is already full, maybe I will find something more interesting in the future, then I will investigate that. What am I? A self-proclaimed detective?
René gave out a soft chuckle, and meanwhile he was focused on reading the newspaper, the carriage arrived and stopped in front of the church after some time.
"That will be 1 shilling and 6 pence, sir."
René took out the cash and gave carriage driver the fare. René was headed for the grand square that stood before him. The church did not only compose of a building and garden, it had a whole vicinity under its wings, consisting of large and unique gardens, tightly guarded different types of museums and galleries that were in possession of invaluable relics, ancient textbooks, and more; adjoining buildings, the streets around the church, every one of those belonged solely to the Grand Othrol Church. Its own piazza alone was enough to cover a large amount of space among those.
René continued to walk past the sophisticated adjoint buildings as he got closer to the church. There were more than one museums in the piazza, each one having distinctive display of items. The museum on his left was a historical collections museum. It was tall, gothic and a sophisticated building, René couldn't help but watch whilst he kept on walking, passing every beautiful building and museum. He was hardly controlling himself to not run inside one of them to inspect everything that was on display.
It was past 2 p.m. afternoon, thus the vicinity was very crowded. René fastened his pace as he slipped past through the people, arriving in front of the Grand Othrol Church. Its front view was breathtaking from up-close. Huge columns stood abreast, six steeples reached the sky on top of the church. Its color was silver gray which added more charm to the churches beauty and overwhelming presence.
René stood in front of the gigantic doors of the church. He took a deep breath before going in. To René's surprise, the grand doors gradually opened as if he was expected. René did not hesitate to take his first step inside, accepting the invitation. The hall was unusually empty, the tall columns and the empty seats stretched through the nave. Inside the walls along the hall stood the dark booths, each one sanctuary for whispers of confessions, secrets and sins. René only kept walking as his footsteps echoed in the huge hall. He was not here to pray, confess nor adorn the towering ceiling, the carvings or other fancy things the church had to offer.
Three figures stood at the end of the hall. One of them was the bishop, wearing a usual white, ankle-length robe bishops wear. Despite being in his 50's, he did not seem much old. His face was like an ordinary local Sol Victus man, but it had a warm attraction to it.
The woman on the left was a young and beautiful lady. She had dark, long hair; she was wearing an exaggerated round top hat with a red feather as a topping. She was also wearing a long black dress with a fitted bodice and a full skirt. The woman seemed confident and her attire was reflecting her fierce in the room.
The man on the right was rather handsome, though he looked like he hadn't slept in days. He wore a black robe covered with dark feathers. He had long, dark-brown, sleek hair, comparable to the woman on the left. He seemed to be in a haste.
René kept walking in silence until the man on the right disappeared into the shadows. All of a sudden, René was unable to move! No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even budge, frozen on the spot. Then suddenly, a door shutting noise came from behind. It was the man who had just disappeared in front of his eyes! René was left in disbelief as merely a few seconds had passed.
The woman slowly approached René. Her high heels were making a satisfying sound with every step she took while her cane resembled a part of her own body, suiting her attire just well. She got closer and closer until there was three feet long space remained between her and René.