The Foolhardies 143 Bidding War

"Holy shit," I whispered.

And I believe that sentiment was shared by the entire audience. Ty had just whipped out a big one and everyone was staring.

"Spirits," Aura breathed beside me.

Even Kallista's eyes were glittering, and not in an 'I'm impressed' kind of way. No, what I saw reflected in her eyes was more akin to worry or fear.

"Who or what is that?" Luca asked, pointing a finger at the black thing floating just a few inches in front of Ty.

"That's no ordinary elemental spirit," Shanks whistled.

"It's not," Aura answered in a voice that was almost a whisper.

"It's a dark elemental," Kallista added. "Something far stronger than anything I'd ever seen before."

"You guys don't understand… you don't see it," Aura's voice was changing into one of alarm.

And as I heard the murmurings around us, I deduced that she wasn't the only one beginning to panic.

"Aura, what's wrong?" I asked in concern.

"Ty," Aura said. "He summoned him of all spirits…"

"Who did he summon?" I asked.

Aura's eyes were bright with fear, and I could feel that fear seep into me from the bracelet she'd given me.

"Aura," I whispered her name. "Who is it?"

"Ty has summoned the Lord of Darkness," Aura's voice was now so low we could barely hear her. "He's called on Samhain himself…"

Now, I often left the weird magic stuff to Aura's management as I barely had a thorough understanding of it on account of not actually being able to use magic myself. But this time, I worried that my partner had somehow gotten her wires crossed. And I said as much to her.

"Didn't you  say Samhain was a fairy king?" I asked confused. "Are you telling me Ty can summon the dead?"

Aura shook her head. "There are two tales. One where Samhain is a fairy king and the other… the other speaks of him as the literal elemental representation of darkness…"

I turned my gaze over to the stage.

Ty was alone on that stage as the fear emanating out of the creature floating above him had driven away all the showgirls as well as the showboating host who'd forced him to conjure up the spirit in the first place.

It wasn't like Aura's efreet which was already frightening to look at in itself. This dark spirit Ty had summoned, well, it was far more terrible.

It had the form of an emaciated dark elf male with hair that reached down past its toes. The face was unrecognizable except for the eyes which were a bright violet. Spreading out of its back were three pairs of large appendages that wriggled about like octopus limbs.

But the worse thing about this thing floating in the air wasn't what it looked like but what was flowing out of it, a pitch-black aura that was making the hairs on the back of my neck and arms stand on end. It was obviously radiating fear in waves that not a single one of the audience could shake off.

"There was an old story of the lost monarch summoning the Lord of Darkness one Samhain night so that they could discuss matters of the Fayne," Kallista shared. "I'd thought that was just another legend surrounding our fabled sovereign but it seems there was some truth to it."

A third figure appeared on stage. It was the dwarf, Carta. Draped over his shoulders was a sword three times his size. It was made of stone and was intricately carved in fairy runes.

"Is that?" Aura looked on.

"Yes, it must be Claiomh Solais, the sword of light which conquers darkness, the weapon of the lost monarch," Kallista explained. "So, the Under Ring had it all along."

"It would explain why Samhain's power has no effect on him," Aura agreed.

Although the legendary sword wasn't actually related to Ty's situation, the fact that it had been revealed to still exist on the same night as Ty's unveiling hammered home just how much of a big deal my friend was to fairies.

I suddenly realized that even if we managed to rescue him, Ty's life would never be the same. Even if he came home, he would never get to be just Ty ever again.

That realization sent a biting pain to my chest, and I wondered just what I was going to tell Arah if Ty couldn't come home as Luca couldn't.

Carta, unencumbered by the fear radiating out of Samhain probably thanks to the stone sword he carried, strolled over to where Ty sat shaking in the middle of the stage. He picked up Ty's chain and pulled at it. Then he whispered arcane words that caused the chain and collar around Ty's neck to glow bright gold similar to the golden light of the magical chains that bound Luca.

Ty screamed, and then he passed out. And with its summoner unconscious, the creature floating above Ty glared once at Carta before vanished back into whatever void it had come from.

Immediately afterward, the heavy and dark atmosphere permeating the auditorium dissipated and we could all breathe a sigh of relief.

Quick to capitalize on Ty's showing, Roselle jumped back on stage and yelled, "Summoning the Lord of Darkness on the only night he can be summoned. Such power… bidding starts at ten thousand Leprechauns!"

There was an audible murmur of discontent from the crowd. Ten thousand Leprechauns was certainly no joke. In Mudgardian currency, that was roughly four hundred thousand US dollars, which made Ty about equal in worth to a high-end Lamborghini.

A hand was raised in the air. It belonged to General Morrigan of the Scarlet Moon. It was the very first time she bid for something in the entire auction.

"Ten thousand for the Scarlet Moon," Roselle called excitedly. "Will anyone raise the price?"

"Fifteen thousand!" offered the attendant standing behind Lord Rah.

"Twenty thousand!" yelled one of the companions of the Lord of Stars.

"Twenty-five thousand!" Kallista counter-offered.

Finally, our side had joined the bidding and the battle had well and truly begun.

"Are gift cards really expensive enough to balance twenty-five thousand Leprechauns?" Luca asked.

"Off-hand, I'd say they'd cost five thousand Leps, easy," Shanks revealed, his brow furrowing as he thought about it. "Price would increase exponentially depending on the gift though, and a sense-gift like your brother's, if it really was linked to the legendary Sense Knights… I'd say Kallista could make way more than twenty-five thousand Leprechauns at an auction just for one of those."

I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing. Was that really the value of Fool's Insight? And here I was just thinking it was just natural to have alongside me, like a third eye. Sure, I'd heard both Orryn and Auranos tell me my gift was special a number of times, but to rival Ty's power to summon a dark lord, that was a bit mind-boggling.

Suddenly, I imagined making a bunch of gift cards and selling them wholesale to vastly increase the Foolhardies coffers, but then I remembered that my gift hadn't returned since I gave it away last night, and I was worried that there could be lasting effects to such a transaction. I wasn't even sure Fool's Insight would come back to me despite reassurances from Aura that my figurative blindness was only temporary.

Thinking about just how long temporary would last made my head woozy enough that I didn't quite notice the bidding had reached the upper fifties until Kallista yelled, "Fifty-five thousand!"

There was an audible, "O~~ooh," from the audience who at this point were basically onlookers in the battle between the five high-rollers.

"Fifty-five thousand Leprechauns to the vivacious Madam Kallista of the Broken Sellsword's Canyon Alliance!" Roselle screamed in the air. "Going once, going—"

"—Seventy thousand Leprechauns!" Chancellor Kairon interrupted in  a smug voice.

My ears were just about ready to pop. Seventy thousand Leprechauns, the slimy turd had that much money?

I could literally feel the frustration roll off Aura.

"Imagine what that kind of wealth could do if it was used to support the growth of our clan rather than serve the needs of one selfish fairy," she said.

My response to her was interrupted by Lord Rah's yell of, "Eighty thousand Leprechauns!"

"Ninety thousand Leprechauns!" Kallista countered.

"One hundred thousand!" the Lord of Stars shouted to the stage.

It was the first time I'd heard his gruff voice out loud, but those familiar with him looked up at his balcony with unease. Here was a man who was a literal incarnation of this generation's Sense Knights. He was so strong that he, a human, ruled over what was once one of the most powerful fairy clans.

"One hundred and fifty thousand!" Ardeen Spellweaver countered for his team, escalating the price of Ty to astronomic proportions.

From the obvious hesitation to offer a counter, even the other big bidders seemed to think that the last bid was a truly outrageous number.

"Kallista," I pleaded. "I'll make it up to you, whatever price I have to pay later, I promise…"

Kallista glanced back at me, and seeing the determination in my face, she sighed. "Very well… but we will have to renegotiate our agreement later."

I nodded, knowing that I was effectively selling my soul to save my friend. I just trusted that Kallista would prove me wrong after all and that there were really fairies besides my crew that weren't evil.

However, before Kallista could make another bid, someone unexpected beat her to it.

"Two hundred thousand Leprechauns!" called an individual sitting toward the very back of the regular seats in the stalls area.

Silence from everyone present. Not just because the bid was so high it was bordering insanity, but because the individual who made the bid was a human, perhaps the only other human besides me, Luca, and the Lord of Stars in the entire auditorium.

Chapter end