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bouteillebleuNaNoWriMo 2004 has started.
I'm still doing my entry from 2003.
But I have finished chapter 11, which is now up on my NaNoWriMo site after a small mishap involving confusing two characters' names, and I'll have it up here as soon as I catch up with posting these chapters.
Without further ado, then, here's the Great Fair's centrepiece - the auction.
Chapter V - How to Leave Anford Without Your Wallet Empty
The sun hadn't yet risen when Daniel awoke the next morning, grumbling incoherently as he rolled over. he opened his eyes, and saw Livia's face peering at him from only about a foot away. Startled, he sat up suddenly, and Livia frowned as she straightened.
"Aren't you going to say 'good morning', then?" she asked, and Daniel breathed deeply a few times to calm himself before speaking.
"Livia, no morning is a good one." He glanced over at the tiny window that was set in one of the walls. "Especially when it's not even morning yet. What are you doing up so early?"
Livia grinned, and hopped off the edge of her bed, where she'd been standing to look at Daniel. "I'm just looking forward to today. I want to see what other things they're auctioning. There was a man in the registration queue before me who said he was selling a clockwork penguin, and he showed me how it worked."
"I'm getting dressed now," Daniel warned her, and Livia obediently turned to stare at the wall, asking, "How much money do we have, Daniel? So that we can bid in that auction."
"Almost none," replied Daniel. Livia sighed, and he added, "Well, you're the one who wanted to get your hand back. These merchants are hardly likely to give it back to you for free."
Livia turned around to glare at Daniel, who hurriedly fastened the last few buttons on his shirt.
"If you're not going to help me, why did you come along?" she demanded. Daniel shrugged.
"Because dad told me to, I suppose. He didn't think you'd be safe on your own."
"So if he hadn't told you to, you wouldn't have come along?" Livia asked, sounding a little irritated.
Daniel frowned. "I don't know. Coming to Anford means I've travelled further than anyone else in my family's ever been before, apart from my brother and maybe uncle Bill. It's quite an adventure, really. Though a bit of an expensive adventure." He grinned at Livia, and she found herself smiling in spite of her annoyance. "We'll try to get that hand of yours back," he continued. "I think we've got enough money to bid on it, though we might have to sleep on the road on our way to Thane, and back to Linton..." His voice tailed off as he looked at Livia. "What are you going to do after you get your hand back?"
"I'm coming with you to Thane, of course," Livia replied promptly.
"What about after that?"
Livia looked thoughtful. "That all depends on what I find out at the Library. If I find out who wrote these letters I have, and who made the sketches, I'm going to go look for them."
Daniel nodded. "That's a good plan." He glanced down at the watch on his wrist, and said, "We really should go now. You find us some seats, I'll get food and meet you there."
Picking up her bag, Livia stood and ducked to avoid hitting her head on the bed yet again. She glared at the bed above her, and Daniel grinned as the two of them headed out into the town.
"And our next lot is number three million, five hundred and twenty-three thousand, four hundred and one. A marvellous self-cleaning prosthetic beard. The bidding starts at three silver merems."
Livia waved frantically at Daniel as he made his way through the rows of seating around the West tower. Finally spotting her after several minutes, he grinned and made his way up to where she was sitting, sprawled across two seats and being glared at by the person sitting behind her.
As Daniel reached Livia, she grinned, and swung her legs off the second seat. "There you are," she said. "You missed the auction for the clockwork penguin, you know. They made a very good illusion with it, even had it moving."
"Ah, that's a pity..." replied Daniel, as he sat down next to Livia, and tucked the bag he was holding underneath his seat. "Did anything else interesting get sold?"
"Seventeen silver merems!" yelled someone near the front of the seating, evidently bidding on the beard, and Livia nodded.
"Someone had a big glass jar full of sparkles. They said it was some sort of magical residue, or something like that. It got sold off for a ridiculous price." She sighed. "It was very pretty, though. I wish they'd shown it for longer."
"Did I miss anything else?" Daniel asked. Livia smiled, and shook her head.
"Not really. Some musical instruments, strange coloured potions, and lots of ugly jewellery. Very sparkly, but still ugly. And loads of strange stuff, like the beard."
"The beard?" Daniel looked up as the auctioneer yelled, "Sold for thirty-seven merems to the man in the yellow dress! Please stay seated, an usher will be with you soon."
"Ah, I see," Daniel added with a smile. Livia nodded, and grinned as the successful bidder shouted, sounding offended, "I'm a woman!"
The auctioneer ignored her, and called out, "The next lot is number three million, five hundred and twenty-three thousand, four hundred and seventy-two. A collection of sparkling green opal jewellery. Bidding starts at two copper merems."
Livia made a dismissive noise, and leant back in her seat. "That's what we've got for another four hours. Lots and lots of sparkly rubbish." She glanced at Daniel, who was busy looking through his bag. "Don't they sell anything you're interested in? Like interesting things that aren't working right?"
Daniel shook his head. "Broken objects would never sell in Anford, so all you find is shiny, sparkly things." Livia grimaced. "Sorry about that, Livia."
"Would you like to buy a drink?" a voice asked Daniel from very close by, and he looked around to see a girl in an usher's outfit standing next to him, carrying a tray of glass bottles. The girl was rather short - her outfit didn't appear to be all that large, and yet it didn't quite fit her, with the sleeves of her shirt almost covering her hands. She also had a bright white band holding her hair back off her face, something that Daniel was sure he hadn't seen any other ushers wearing.
"Would you like to buy a drink?" the girl repeated cheerfully, and Daniel hastily fumbled in his pockets for money. Eventually, he found a handful of copper merems, and asked, "A bottle of chirin, please."
"Three copper merems," the girl replied, and once Daniel had counted the coins into her outstretched hand she deposited them in the tray with a clatter, and handed him a bottle with a smile. "Here you are."
Daniel scowled. "That's more than the last auction lot was worth," he said to the girl, and she grinned more widely.
"My sis says that more people'll buy drinks for lots of money than sparkly rubbish for less money."
"That's what I said," commented Livia, as she leant over to look at what the girl was selling. After peering curiously at the bottles for a little while, she looked up, and her eyes widened.
"Kimiko? Is that you?"
The girl nodded. "Was it the bandana that made you guess?" she asked, and Livia nodded slightly.
"That, and the fact that your uniform doesn't quite fit you. What are you doing in Anford? I thought you and your brother and sister had gone back to Thane."
Kimiko shook her head. "We came back here to buy some food, and then they said I could stay here for a while."
"On your own?" Daniel asked, a little surprised, and Livia gasped.
"You're all on your own?" she said. "Why did they leave you alone?"
"No, they didn't leave me on my own in Anford," Kimiko explained. "They just let me look around the town on my own. Big sis is nice and lets me explore places, but she wouldn't leave me in Anford. She'd be too worried."
"What about your brother?"
"Brother?" repeated Kimiko, looking blank. "Oh, you mean Junpei. He's not my brother, but he does like my sister a lot." She gave a naughty grin. "Sis likes him a lot, too. I think that's why she sometimes goes to his room at night and doesn't come back until morning."
Daniel, who had already started to drink from his bottle, spluttered in the middle of taking a gulp, and sprayed cold chirin over his knees. Livia, however, seemed unfazed, and smiled as she replied.
"Oh, I see. Are they coming to watch the auctions?" Livia asked.
"No, they're looking at the normal shops. Sis said she wanted to look at some clothes, and then she's going to find a weaponsmith with Junpei."
"So what are you doing in Anford?" Daniel asked her, having recovered from almost choking on his drink.
"Selling cold drinks, of course," Kimiko replied promptly. "Do you want another one? There's not much of your first one left."
Daniel hurriedly mopped at his rather damp trouser knees with his shirt sleeve, and then paid for another bottle of chirin. He held it out to Livia.
"Do you want some?" he asked. "It's very good."
"No, thank you," Livia replied politely, and he shrugged and offered the bottle to Kimiko.
"Would you like a drink?" he asked, and Kimiko nodded.
"Oh, yes please. I've been selling these for a while, but it's a bit rude to drink what I'm selling." She took the bottle and gulped about half of it almost immediately.
"Um, Kimiko?" Livia said. "If you work at the Library, why are you selling drinks here?"
Kimiko grinned, and winked at Livia. "That's a secret."
Livia blinked, then smiled a little. "Fair enough," she replied. "Could you give Daniel his drink back? I'm sure we'll get thirsty later on."
"Okay," Kimiko said, and passed the bottle to Daniel, who took it with one hand. His other was still busy mopping the spill on his knees, and after a few final half-hearted dabs he sighed.
"Thanks," he said, looking up to where Kimiko was - or rather, where she had been. He blinked a few times, then turned to Livia.
"How did she do that?"
"Daniel, she just walked away while you were trying to dry your trousers," Livia replied with a smile. "Nothing strange about it. She probably needed to go sell some more of the bottles."
"Mmm hmm," Daniel replied, and rubbed at his eyes with the hand that wasn't holding a bottle. "I probably should've got more sleep last night," he commented, and looked up at the auction tower, where the auctioneer had apparently moved on from the sparkly green opals and was now busy taking bids on a glass sphere full of irregular chunks of amber. Livia saw what he was looking at, and shrugged.
"Now all we've got to do is wait until my hand's up for sale," she commented. Daniel looked at his watch, and groaned.
"That's about four hours away," he accused, and Livia nodded.
"I know. What do you suggest we do while we wait?"
Daniel glanced at the auctioneer's tower, then at the bottle in his hand.
"I think I'll finish my drink. Then I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when your lot comes up, okay?"
"Um, okay," replied Livia as Daniel gulped down the rest of the contents of the bottle, and sighed with happiness. "It's nice to see that someone can make good cold chirin, even here in Anford." Livia shook her head and smiled as he carefully put the bottle under his seat, then lay back against his chair and closed his eyes.
Daniel was woken up rather abruptly a few hours later by the application of a rather sharp elbow to the ribs. He sat up and yawned, and was elbowed in the ribs again. Turning to glare at Livia, who was indeed the one whose elbow had been poking him, he realised that she was rather more agitated than before, almost bouncing on her seat in anticipation.
"The lot numbers are getting closer to it," she whispered to Daniel as she noticed him looking at her. "And it looks like it's almost the time the man at registration gave me." Daniel nodded, and sat up a little straighter as the auctioneer called rather sardonically, "Sold to the loud man in the front row who's frantically waving a bottle of strong drink around. Please wait for an usher, sir, and try not to vomit on too many customers."
There was a scattered laugh from members of the audience, and Livia grinned. "They really don't like the people who buy things here, do they?" she asked Daniel, and he smiled in reply and pointed at the tower again. "Better pay attention. He'll be announcing the next item soon."
The auctioneer coughed theatrically, and the illusion floating in the air beside him changed from a large ornately carved bowl to an upright hand, its palm cupped and its fingers splayed slightly, with a ring on the middle finger. There was some sort of design on the ring, but from such a great distance all Daniel could tell was that it was greenish-blue and carved in relief. Livia inhaled sharply as she saw the illusion change, and her left hand was clasped tightly in her lap as she listened to the auctioneer start his speech.
"Next is lot number three million, five hundred and twenty-five thousand, nine hundred and thirty-seven. A wonderfully detailed jewellery holder in the shape of a woman's hand, with a rare and valuable ring on the middle finger. This ring is one of the official rings of the Library at Thane, and acquiring it is an opportunity not to be missed. The bidding starts at twelve silver merems."
"Quick! How much do we have to bid with?" Livia hissed, and Daniel rummaged through his bag as someone near the front row yelled, "Thirteen silver merems!"
"I'm looking, I'm looking," he hissed back to her as he pulled out several things from his bag. "I worked out how much money we could spare and still make it to Thane and back to Linton, but I've lost the paper..."
"Fifteen silver merems!" called someone else, some distance to the right, and Livia whimpered.
"Do something, Daniel! Do you know roughly how much the total was?"
"Um, something like thirty silver, maybe thirty five... I'm not sure," Daniel replied, still searching frantically through his bag. "Give me a minute..."
By this time, the price had reached twenty-five silver merems, yelled by someone with a very deep voice in the front row, and Livia's eyes were looking a little wild.
"Daniel..." she said urgently, as a cry of "Twenty-seven silver merems!" came from somewhere behind them at the top of the seating. Daniel pulled a piece of paper from his bag, uncrumpled it, and sighed with relief.
"Here it is. Forty-two silver, twelve copper. That'll just about keep us safe on the roads."
Livia sagged back into her seat, and sighed as well. She waited until someone else had added a cry of "Thirty silver merems!" to the bidding, and then called out in a clear voice,
"Thirty-five silver merems!"
There was a pause for about half a minute, and Livia smiled widely. Then another voice called out, "Forty silver merems!" and Livia's smile turned into a scowl.
"I almost had it..." she muttered, and Daniel sighed. "Don't bid too high, Livia," he said. "Some people here want that hand almost as much as you do, and I'm sure others will just bid on it to spite the people who can't afford it."
A derisive snort from behind them made the pair turn, to see the rather plump woman in long robes who had been glaring at Livia earlier. She noticed them looking at her, and smiled archly.
"Oh, I do hope you're not insinuating anything about me, young man," she said softly to Daniel. "Because your young lady here does seem to be so keen on winning that prize, and it would be a pity if it were to become too expensive, wouldn't it?"
Livia's eyes narrowed, as she turned to yell, "Forty-two silver merems!" to the auctioneer. The woman looked rather amused, and smiled at Daniel again.
"This should be amusing." She coughed quietly, and then called, "Forty-five silver merems."
The woman's voice wasn't too loud, but Livia whirled around as soon as she heard it, and glared at the woman once more. This time, she didn't even bother turning around as she yelled, "Fifty silver merems!" loudly enough to make Daniel wince. The woman, however, didn't even blink, and instead shook her head rather sadly.
"You're not very good at this, are you, girl?" she asked, and looked Livia over. Her eyes lingered on Livia's hand, and the end of the other arm - Livia had taken her arms out of her pockets when she'd clenched her fist earlier - and she asked, "What is it about this lot that means you want it so much?"
"Why do you want it?" retorted Livia, and the woman shrugged. "It's an interesting item, and quite valuable as well. You have no idea how much one of those rings would be worth, do you?" Livia clenched her jaw stubbornly, and the woman's amused expression broke into a sardonic smile. "Of course, I would not possibly be bidding on this item in order to irritate you." She raised her voice and called, "Sixty silver merems."
"Seventy silver merems!" Livia yelled immediately, and Daniel grabbed her arm. "Livia, we can't spare that kind of money," he whispered urgently to her. "Any more than that, and we'll have to walk all the way to Thane and sleep on the side of the road."
"Well, I'm glad to see that one of you has sense, at least," the woman commented, and called out, "Two gold merems."
Silence fell over the audience, and for the first time in several minutes the auctioneer spoke.
"Are you sure of your bid, madam? You are aware that your bid is almost fifty times the opening bid, are you not?" he said, and the woman replied in a cold voice,
"I am well aware of my bid, sir. Two gold merems, no less."
The rest of the audience were still silent, apart from Livia, who was hissing words under her breath that Daniel was surprised she knew. Daniel, meanwhile, was gripping Livia's left arm tightly as she struggled to get free, and the woman behind them was smiling serenely. Another minute of almost total silence passed, and finally the auctioneer shrugged.
"Very well." He banged his gavel on the counter at the side of the tower. "Sold to the women in the scarlet robes near the top of the seating. Please wait for an usher to arrive and take you to collect your item."
There was a sudden babble of chatter as most of the audience members seemed to find their voices again. Livia also found her voice, spitting out several words that made Daniel blink, and the woman smile sadly.
"And you cannot even accept a loss gratefully. I pity you, girl."
"Some of us don't have more money than sense, old hag," Livia retorted, and the woman laughed.
"Girl, do you have no idea what that item was worth? Did you not even listen to the description?"
"It's a hand, with a ring from the Library," Livia said sullenly. "What else is there to know?"
"Those rings are hand-made at the Library, and are only ever awarded to those who work at or live in the Library," the woman explained with a sigh. "What is more, they are rumoured to be able to unlock the Library's secrets. Those who own them have died rather than let them fall into the hands of others. Many of them remember what happened the last time the Library was almost captured."
"The Library... was captured?" Livia repeated, still glaring at the woman but letting her curiosity overcome her anger for the moment. "When was this?"
"Before your time, young girl. But surely you've heard of it?" Livia shook her head, and the woman sighed. "What do they teach children these days?"
"Excuse me, madam..." Daniel said hesitantly, and the woman turned to stare at him. "I remember learning about it. My father told me about the time King Fortenbrass got annoyed with the Library for not paying enough taxes. He said that because it's got so many books, it should pay for all the space they take up, even if somehow the Library's much smaller than it ought to be." He looked at the woman nervously. "Did I get that right?"
The woman stared at him a little longer, then nodded slightly. "So far, you're not too badly wrong. Go on."
"Right." Daniel swallowed, and then continued. "The staff at the Library didn't like that, because they said it was hard enough to keep it in good repair with the high taxes they were already being charged. King Fortenbrass didn't like that, so he sent half of his army to besiege the Library. A lot of them were killed when the Library sent their executive curators out overnight, many more deserted, and then the king had to withdraw his forces to fight off an attack on our southern border."
"But that doesn't sound like the Library was in any danger at all," Livia interrupted. "The soldiers left without getting in, didn't they?"
"Some of them did get in," the woman replied. "Of course, this was once they'd fled from the army and taken holy orders in order to become scholars there. Even so, there are still rumours that one of the officers may have discovered the secret of the Library rings, and taken it to the king."
"Wasn't the king busy with fighting off another attack, though?" Livia asked, and the woman nodded.
"He certainly was. And his son after him was concerned with conquering the nation that had attacked then, and many other nations besides. King Fortenbrass the Second - Emperor Fortenbrass, of course - was far too busy to think of looking within his own borders. Our present king, though..." She looked thoughtful. "If he is sensible, he won't attack it. But I've heard too many rumour about Fortis and his... odd behaviour. He may very well be mad enough to try."
Livia looked a little surprised, and Daniel smiled rather worriedly. "Should you be talking about our king like that, ma'am?"
The woman laughed softly. "I make my living by selling things other people have made, young man. I'm not fond of taxes, and I feel that the Library has my sympathy in this matter." She shook her head a little, and looked up as a girl dressed in an usher's uniform approached them. "Besides, from what I heard, he is almost certainly mad. And unmarried past twenty-five as well, the fool."
The usher stopped a few seats away from Livia and Daniel, and bowed slightly to the woman behind them. "Please follow me to the collection area, madam," she said, and Livia blinked as she recognised the usher's voice once more. The woman rose rather slowly from her seat, and smiled at the two of them.
"I'm glad to have had a chance to talk to you two. Good luck, young man, and try to keep your girl under control in public. She does you no favours by acting so coarsely."
Livia stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at the woman as she left, and Daniel sighed. "No luck after all," he commented, and Livia appeared not to hear him as she muttered, "Coarse... I'll give her coarse." She turned to face Daniel, still glaring, and he looked rather nervous.
"Um, Livia, what are you planning?" he asked, and Livia scowled, then sighed and flopped forwards, her head resting on her knees. "It's not fair," she said, her voice muffled through the material of her skirt. "I could have got my hand back, and she took it just to annoy me. It's not fair."
Daniel glanced at her, then reached out and patted her on the back awkwardly with one hand. Livia was silent for a while, and then she slowly got up, smiling a little.
"Thanks, Daniel," she said, and leant down again to pick up her bag. "Well, we're done here for today. Do you want to stay around and watch rich people waste money like water, or shall we go and get some sleep?"
With a grin, Daniel replied, "Well, when you say it like that, the inn sounds like a good idea." He grabbed his bag, and pulled something out of it.
"Oh, I forgot I'd bought these. Do you want a sandwich, Livia?"
"No, I'm not hungry now," Livia replied as she stood up. "I'll eat later. Right now I really want to get back to our room and throw my pillow across the room several times. And then kick it."
"She wasn't that rude after the auction, at least," Daniel reminded her, and Livia nodded.
"At least she had some manners. Well, some of the time. 'Coarse', indeed." She muttered something under her breath, and Daniel suppressed a laugh.
"Livia, I'm shocked. I didn't even know you knew what that meant."
"If I see that woman again, you'll be hearing a lot more words like that," Livia retorted. "Come on, the sooner we get away from here the sooner I can forget what happened."
"Okay..." replied Daniel, shouldering his bag and following Livia off the raised seating. "You never know, we might see it again. Whoever's got a Library ring is going to be going to Thane at some point, after all."
Livia's only reply was a derisive laugh, and a sarcastic, "Of course we'll see it again, Daniel. Of course."
I'm still doing my entry from 2003.
But I have finished chapter 11, which is now up on my NaNoWriMo site after a small mishap involving confusing two characters' names, and I'll have it up here as soon as I catch up with posting these chapters.
Without further ado, then, here's the Great Fair's centrepiece - the auction.
Chapter V - How to Leave Anford Without Your Wallet Empty
The sun hadn't yet risen when Daniel awoke the next morning, grumbling incoherently as he rolled over. he opened his eyes, and saw Livia's face peering at him from only about a foot away. Startled, he sat up suddenly, and Livia frowned as she straightened.
"Aren't you going to say 'good morning', then?" she asked, and Daniel breathed deeply a few times to calm himself before speaking.
"Livia, no morning is a good one." He glanced over at the tiny window that was set in one of the walls. "Especially when it's not even morning yet. What are you doing up so early?"
Livia grinned, and hopped off the edge of her bed, where she'd been standing to look at Daniel. "I'm just looking forward to today. I want to see what other things they're auctioning. There was a man in the registration queue before me who said he was selling a clockwork penguin, and he showed me how it worked."
"I'm getting dressed now," Daniel warned her, and Livia obediently turned to stare at the wall, asking, "How much money do we have, Daniel? So that we can bid in that auction."
"Almost none," replied Daniel. Livia sighed, and he added, "Well, you're the one who wanted to get your hand back. These merchants are hardly likely to give it back to you for free."
Livia turned around to glare at Daniel, who hurriedly fastened the last few buttons on his shirt.
"If you're not going to help me, why did you come along?" she demanded. Daniel shrugged.
"Because dad told me to, I suppose. He didn't think you'd be safe on your own."
"So if he hadn't told you to, you wouldn't have come along?" Livia asked, sounding a little irritated.
Daniel frowned. "I don't know. Coming to Anford means I've travelled further than anyone else in my family's ever been before, apart from my brother and maybe uncle Bill. It's quite an adventure, really. Though a bit of an expensive adventure." He grinned at Livia, and she found herself smiling in spite of her annoyance. "We'll try to get that hand of yours back," he continued. "I think we've got enough money to bid on it, though we might have to sleep on the road on our way to Thane, and back to Linton..." His voice tailed off as he looked at Livia. "What are you going to do after you get your hand back?"
"I'm coming with you to Thane, of course," Livia replied promptly.
"What about after that?"
Livia looked thoughtful. "That all depends on what I find out at the Library. If I find out who wrote these letters I have, and who made the sketches, I'm going to go look for them."
Daniel nodded. "That's a good plan." He glanced down at the watch on his wrist, and said, "We really should go now. You find us some seats, I'll get food and meet you there."
Picking up her bag, Livia stood and ducked to avoid hitting her head on the bed yet again. She glared at the bed above her, and Daniel grinned as the two of them headed out into the town.
"And our next lot is number three million, five hundred and twenty-three thousand, four hundred and one. A marvellous self-cleaning prosthetic beard. The bidding starts at three silver merems."
Livia waved frantically at Daniel as he made his way through the rows of seating around the West tower. Finally spotting her after several minutes, he grinned and made his way up to where she was sitting, sprawled across two seats and being glared at by the person sitting behind her.
As Daniel reached Livia, she grinned, and swung her legs off the second seat. "There you are," she said. "You missed the auction for the clockwork penguin, you know. They made a very good illusion with it, even had it moving."
"Ah, that's a pity..." replied Daniel, as he sat down next to Livia, and tucked the bag he was holding underneath his seat. "Did anything else interesting get sold?"
"Seventeen silver merems!" yelled someone near the front of the seating, evidently bidding on the beard, and Livia nodded.
"Someone had a big glass jar full of sparkles. They said it was some sort of magical residue, or something like that. It got sold off for a ridiculous price." She sighed. "It was very pretty, though. I wish they'd shown it for longer."
"Did I miss anything else?" Daniel asked. Livia smiled, and shook her head.
"Not really. Some musical instruments, strange coloured potions, and lots of ugly jewellery. Very sparkly, but still ugly. And loads of strange stuff, like the beard."
"The beard?" Daniel looked up as the auctioneer yelled, "Sold for thirty-seven merems to the man in the yellow dress! Please stay seated, an usher will be with you soon."
"Ah, I see," Daniel added with a smile. Livia nodded, and grinned as the successful bidder shouted, sounding offended, "I'm a woman!"
The auctioneer ignored her, and called out, "The next lot is number three million, five hundred and twenty-three thousand, four hundred and seventy-two. A collection of sparkling green opal jewellery. Bidding starts at two copper merems."
Livia made a dismissive noise, and leant back in her seat. "That's what we've got for another four hours. Lots and lots of sparkly rubbish." She glanced at Daniel, who was busy looking through his bag. "Don't they sell anything you're interested in? Like interesting things that aren't working right?"
Daniel shook his head. "Broken objects would never sell in Anford, so all you find is shiny, sparkly things." Livia grimaced. "Sorry about that, Livia."
"Would you like to buy a drink?" a voice asked Daniel from very close by, and he looked around to see a girl in an usher's outfit standing next to him, carrying a tray of glass bottles. The girl was rather short - her outfit didn't appear to be all that large, and yet it didn't quite fit her, with the sleeves of her shirt almost covering her hands. She also had a bright white band holding her hair back off her face, something that Daniel was sure he hadn't seen any other ushers wearing.
"Would you like to buy a drink?" the girl repeated cheerfully, and Daniel hastily fumbled in his pockets for money. Eventually, he found a handful of copper merems, and asked, "A bottle of chirin, please."
"Three copper merems," the girl replied, and once Daniel had counted the coins into her outstretched hand she deposited them in the tray with a clatter, and handed him a bottle with a smile. "Here you are."
Daniel scowled. "That's more than the last auction lot was worth," he said to the girl, and she grinned more widely.
"My sis says that more people'll buy drinks for lots of money than sparkly rubbish for less money."
"That's what I said," commented Livia, as she leant over to look at what the girl was selling. After peering curiously at the bottles for a little while, she looked up, and her eyes widened.
"Kimiko? Is that you?"
The girl nodded. "Was it the bandana that made you guess?" she asked, and Livia nodded slightly.
"That, and the fact that your uniform doesn't quite fit you. What are you doing in Anford? I thought you and your brother and sister had gone back to Thane."
Kimiko shook her head. "We came back here to buy some food, and then they said I could stay here for a while."
"On your own?" Daniel asked, a little surprised, and Livia gasped.
"You're all on your own?" she said. "Why did they leave you alone?"
"No, they didn't leave me on my own in Anford," Kimiko explained. "They just let me look around the town on my own. Big sis is nice and lets me explore places, but she wouldn't leave me in Anford. She'd be too worried."
"What about your brother?"
"Brother?" repeated Kimiko, looking blank. "Oh, you mean Junpei. He's not my brother, but he does like my sister a lot." She gave a naughty grin. "Sis likes him a lot, too. I think that's why she sometimes goes to his room at night and doesn't come back until morning."
Daniel, who had already started to drink from his bottle, spluttered in the middle of taking a gulp, and sprayed cold chirin over his knees. Livia, however, seemed unfazed, and smiled as she replied.
"Oh, I see. Are they coming to watch the auctions?" Livia asked.
"No, they're looking at the normal shops. Sis said she wanted to look at some clothes, and then she's going to find a weaponsmith with Junpei."
"So what are you doing in Anford?" Daniel asked her, having recovered from almost choking on his drink.
"Selling cold drinks, of course," Kimiko replied promptly. "Do you want another one? There's not much of your first one left."
Daniel hurriedly mopped at his rather damp trouser knees with his shirt sleeve, and then paid for another bottle of chirin. He held it out to Livia.
"Do you want some?" he asked. "It's very good."
"No, thank you," Livia replied politely, and he shrugged and offered the bottle to Kimiko.
"Would you like a drink?" he asked, and Kimiko nodded.
"Oh, yes please. I've been selling these for a while, but it's a bit rude to drink what I'm selling." She took the bottle and gulped about half of it almost immediately.
"Um, Kimiko?" Livia said. "If you work at the Library, why are you selling drinks here?"
Kimiko grinned, and winked at Livia. "That's a secret."
Livia blinked, then smiled a little. "Fair enough," she replied. "Could you give Daniel his drink back? I'm sure we'll get thirsty later on."
"Okay," Kimiko said, and passed the bottle to Daniel, who took it with one hand. His other was still busy mopping the spill on his knees, and after a few final half-hearted dabs he sighed.
"Thanks," he said, looking up to where Kimiko was - or rather, where she had been. He blinked a few times, then turned to Livia.
"How did she do that?"
"Daniel, she just walked away while you were trying to dry your trousers," Livia replied with a smile. "Nothing strange about it. She probably needed to go sell some more of the bottles."
"Mmm hmm," Daniel replied, and rubbed at his eyes with the hand that wasn't holding a bottle. "I probably should've got more sleep last night," he commented, and looked up at the auction tower, where the auctioneer had apparently moved on from the sparkly green opals and was now busy taking bids on a glass sphere full of irregular chunks of amber. Livia saw what he was looking at, and shrugged.
"Now all we've got to do is wait until my hand's up for sale," she commented. Daniel looked at his watch, and groaned.
"That's about four hours away," he accused, and Livia nodded.
"I know. What do you suggest we do while we wait?"
Daniel glanced at the auctioneer's tower, then at the bottle in his hand.
"I think I'll finish my drink. Then I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when your lot comes up, okay?"
"Um, okay," replied Livia as Daniel gulped down the rest of the contents of the bottle, and sighed with happiness. "It's nice to see that someone can make good cold chirin, even here in Anford." Livia shook her head and smiled as he carefully put the bottle under his seat, then lay back against his chair and closed his eyes.
Daniel was woken up rather abruptly a few hours later by the application of a rather sharp elbow to the ribs. He sat up and yawned, and was elbowed in the ribs again. Turning to glare at Livia, who was indeed the one whose elbow had been poking him, he realised that she was rather more agitated than before, almost bouncing on her seat in anticipation.
"The lot numbers are getting closer to it," she whispered to Daniel as she noticed him looking at her. "And it looks like it's almost the time the man at registration gave me." Daniel nodded, and sat up a little straighter as the auctioneer called rather sardonically, "Sold to the loud man in the front row who's frantically waving a bottle of strong drink around. Please wait for an usher, sir, and try not to vomit on too many customers."
There was a scattered laugh from members of the audience, and Livia grinned. "They really don't like the people who buy things here, do they?" she asked Daniel, and he smiled in reply and pointed at the tower again. "Better pay attention. He'll be announcing the next item soon."
The auctioneer coughed theatrically, and the illusion floating in the air beside him changed from a large ornately carved bowl to an upright hand, its palm cupped and its fingers splayed slightly, with a ring on the middle finger. There was some sort of design on the ring, but from such a great distance all Daniel could tell was that it was greenish-blue and carved in relief. Livia inhaled sharply as she saw the illusion change, and her left hand was clasped tightly in her lap as she listened to the auctioneer start his speech.
"Next is lot number three million, five hundred and twenty-five thousand, nine hundred and thirty-seven. A wonderfully detailed jewellery holder in the shape of a woman's hand, with a rare and valuable ring on the middle finger. This ring is one of the official rings of the Library at Thane, and acquiring it is an opportunity not to be missed. The bidding starts at twelve silver merems."
"Quick! How much do we have to bid with?" Livia hissed, and Daniel rummaged through his bag as someone near the front row yelled, "Thirteen silver merems!"
"I'm looking, I'm looking," he hissed back to her as he pulled out several things from his bag. "I worked out how much money we could spare and still make it to Thane and back to Linton, but I've lost the paper..."
"Fifteen silver merems!" called someone else, some distance to the right, and Livia whimpered.
"Do something, Daniel! Do you know roughly how much the total was?"
"Um, something like thirty silver, maybe thirty five... I'm not sure," Daniel replied, still searching frantically through his bag. "Give me a minute..."
By this time, the price had reached twenty-five silver merems, yelled by someone with a very deep voice in the front row, and Livia's eyes were looking a little wild.
"Daniel..." she said urgently, as a cry of "Twenty-seven silver merems!" came from somewhere behind them at the top of the seating. Daniel pulled a piece of paper from his bag, uncrumpled it, and sighed with relief.
"Here it is. Forty-two silver, twelve copper. That'll just about keep us safe on the roads."
Livia sagged back into her seat, and sighed as well. She waited until someone else had added a cry of "Thirty silver merems!" to the bidding, and then called out in a clear voice,
"Thirty-five silver merems!"
There was a pause for about half a minute, and Livia smiled widely. Then another voice called out, "Forty silver merems!" and Livia's smile turned into a scowl.
"I almost had it..." she muttered, and Daniel sighed. "Don't bid too high, Livia," he said. "Some people here want that hand almost as much as you do, and I'm sure others will just bid on it to spite the people who can't afford it."
A derisive snort from behind them made the pair turn, to see the rather plump woman in long robes who had been glaring at Livia earlier. She noticed them looking at her, and smiled archly.
"Oh, I do hope you're not insinuating anything about me, young man," she said softly to Daniel. "Because your young lady here does seem to be so keen on winning that prize, and it would be a pity if it were to become too expensive, wouldn't it?"
Livia's eyes narrowed, as she turned to yell, "Forty-two silver merems!" to the auctioneer. The woman looked rather amused, and smiled at Daniel again.
"This should be amusing." She coughed quietly, and then called, "Forty-five silver merems."
The woman's voice wasn't too loud, but Livia whirled around as soon as she heard it, and glared at the woman once more. This time, she didn't even bother turning around as she yelled, "Fifty silver merems!" loudly enough to make Daniel wince. The woman, however, didn't even blink, and instead shook her head rather sadly.
"You're not very good at this, are you, girl?" she asked, and looked Livia over. Her eyes lingered on Livia's hand, and the end of the other arm - Livia had taken her arms out of her pockets when she'd clenched her fist earlier - and she asked, "What is it about this lot that means you want it so much?"
"Why do you want it?" retorted Livia, and the woman shrugged. "It's an interesting item, and quite valuable as well. You have no idea how much one of those rings would be worth, do you?" Livia clenched her jaw stubbornly, and the woman's amused expression broke into a sardonic smile. "Of course, I would not possibly be bidding on this item in order to irritate you." She raised her voice and called, "Sixty silver merems."
"Seventy silver merems!" Livia yelled immediately, and Daniel grabbed her arm. "Livia, we can't spare that kind of money," he whispered urgently to her. "Any more than that, and we'll have to walk all the way to Thane and sleep on the side of the road."
"Well, I'm glad to see that one of you has sense, at least," the woman commented, and called out, "Two gold merems."
Silence fell over the audience, and for the first time in several minutes the auctioneer spoke.
"Are you sure of your bid, madam? You are aware that your bid is almost fifty times the opening bid, are you not?" he said, and the woman replied in a cold voice,
"I am well aware of my bid, sir. Two gold merems, no less."
The rest of the audience were still silent, apart from Livia, who was hissing words under her breath that Daniel was surprised she knew. Daniel, meanwhile, was gripping Livia's left arm tightly as she struggled to get free, and the woman behind them was smiling serenely. Another minute of almost total silence passed, and finally the auctioneer shrugged.
"Very well." He banged his gavel on the counter at the side of the tower. "Sold to the women in the scarlet robes near the top of the seating. Please wait for an usher to arrive and take you to collect your item."
There was a sudden babble of chatter as most of the audience members seemed to find their voices again. Livia also found her voice, spitting out several words that made Daniel blink, and the woman smile sadly.
"And you cannot even accept a loss gratefully. I pity you, girl."
"Some of us don't have more money than sense, old hag," Livia retorted, and the woman laughed.
"Girl, do you have no idea what that item was worth? Did you not even listen to the description?"
"It's a hand, with a ring from the Library," Livia said sullenly. "What else is there to know?"
"Those rings are hand-made at the Library, and are only ever awarded to those who work at or live in the Library," the woman explained with a sigh. "What is more, they are rumoured to be able to unlock the Library's secrets. Those who own them have died rather than let them fall into the hands of others. Many of them remember what happened the last time the Library was almost captured."
"The Library... was captured?" Livia repeated, still glaring at the woman but letting her curiosity overcome her anger for the moment. "When was this?"
"Before your time, young girl. But surely you've heard of it?" Livia shook her head, and the woman sighed. "What do they teach children these days?"
"Excuse me, madam..." Daniel said hesitantly, and the woman turned to stare at him. "I remember learning about it. My father told me about the time King Fortenbrass got annoyed with the Library for not paying enough taxes. He said that because it's got so many books, it should pay for all the space they take up, even if somehow the Library's much smaller than it ought to be." He looked at the woman nervously. "Did I get that right?"
The woman stared at him a little longer, then nodded slightly. "So far, you're not too badly wrong. Go on."
"Right." Daniel swallowed, and then continued. "The staff at the Library didn't like that, because they said it was hard enough to keep it in good repair with the high taxes they were already being charged. King Fortenbrass didn't like that, so he sent half of his army to besiege the Library. A lot of them were killed when the Library sent their executive curators out overnight, many more deserted, and then the king had to withdraw his forces to fight off an attack on our southern border."
"But that doesn't sound like the Library was in any danger at all," Livia interrupted. "The soldiers left without getting in, didn't they?"
"Some of them did get in," the woman replied. "Of course, this was once they'd fled from the army and taken holy orders in order to become scholars there. Even so, there are still rumours that one of the officers may have discovered the secret of the Library rings, and taken it to the king."
"Wasn't the king busy with fighting off another attack, though?" Livia asked, and the woman nodded.
"He certainly was. And his son after him was concerned with conquering the nation that had attacked then, and many other nations besides. King Fortenbrass the Second - Emperor Fortenbrass, of course - was far too busy to think of looking within his own borders. Our present king, though..." She looked thoughtful. "If he is sensible, he won't attack it. But I've heard too many rumour about Fortis and his... odd behaviour. He may very well be mad enough to try."
Livia looked a little surprised, and Daniel smiled rather worriedly. "Should you be talking about our king like that, ma'am?"
The woman laughed softly. "I make my living by selling things other people have made, young man. I'm not fond of taxes, and I feel that the Library has my sympathy in this matter." She shook her head a little, and looked up as a girl dressed in an usher's uniform approached them. "Besides, from what I heard, he is almost certainly mad. And unmarried past twenty-five as well, the fool."
The usher stopped a few seats away from Livia and Daniel, and bowed slightly to the woman behind them. "Please follow me to the collection area, madam," she said, and Livia blinked as she recognised the usher's voice once more. The woman rose rather slowly from her seat, and smiled at the two of them.
"I'm glad to have had a chance to talk to you two. Good luck, young man, and try to keep your girl under control in public. She does you no favours by acting so coarsely."
Livia stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at the woman as she left, and Daniel sighed. "No luck after all," he commented, and Livia appeared not to hear him as she muttered, "Coarse... I'll give her coarse." She turned to face Daniel, still glaring, and he looked rather nervous.
"Um, Livia, what are you planning?" he asked, and Livia scowled, then sighed and flopped forwards, her head resting on her knees. "It's not fair," she said, her voice muffled through the material of her skirt. "I could have got my hand back, and she took it just to annoy me. It's not fair."
Daniel glanced at her, then reached out and patted her on the back awkwardly with one hand. Livia was silent for a while, and then she slowly got up, smiling a little.
"Thanks, Daniel," she said, and leant down again to pick up her bag. "Well, we're done here for today. Do you want to stay around and watch rich people waste money like water, or shall we go and get some sleep?"
With a grin, Daniel replied, "Well, when you say it like that, the inn sounds like a good idea." He grabbed his bag, and pulled something out of it.
"Oh, I forgot I'd bought these. Do you want a sandwich, Livia?"
"No, I'm not hungry now," Livia replied as she stood up. "I'll eat later. Right now I really want to get back to our room and throw my pillow across the room several times. And then kick it."
"She wasn't that rude after the auction, at least," Daniel reminded her, and Livia nodded.
"At least she had some manners. Well, some of the time. 'Coarse', indeed." She muttered something under her breath, and Daniel suppressed a laugh.
"Livia, I'm shocked. I didn't even know you knew what that meant."
"If I see that woman again, you'll be hearing a lot more words like that," Livia retorted. "Come on, the sooner we get away from here the sooner I can forget what happened."
"Okay..." replied Daniel, shouldering his bag and following Livia off the raised seating. "You never know, we might see it again. Whoever's got a Library ring is going to be going to Thane at some point, after all."
Livia's only reply was a derisive laugh, and a sarcastic, "Of course we'll see it again, Daniel. Of course."
