The entertainnt district of Embercrest was filled with all sorts of people except the rich. Once again, the dwarves tend to care little about status among their own race. One could see a millionaire dwarf drink and sing in a pub with his buddies, who might very well be miners. It was very difficult for people to tell the difference between a rich dwarf and a poor dwarf. After a long smooth ride, Gaya's carriage reached the theater.
From the outside, it looked rustic, beautiful, and cheerful. Clay bricks and carved pillars made up most of the building's outer structure.
It was difficult to see through the curtained windows, but the liveliness from within could be felt outside.
"Park the carriage nearby and wait for my word," Gaya said to the driver and stepped out of the carriage. A wide straight avenue littered with dwarves welcod Gaya. As Aria said, Gaya noticed many orcs, humans, and beastn on the street. Thanks to those, she didn't stand out among the dwarves, and the short bushy beard species didn't raise an eyebrow as they would if she had visited the place later this year.
Twenty or so marble stairs led to the theater door flanked by two dwarves in silver armor and war hamrs with intricate engravings.
"Hrrm," The dwarves growled under their breath when they saw Gaya's long legs. Hate toward the taller species was evident in their eyes as the dwarves opened the door for Gaya. As she entered the theater through the decorated tal door, she was welcod by dancing thespians and excitent. It was as charming inside as it was on the outside. Rounded stone beams supported the upper floor and the huge lamps attached to them. The walls were decorated with mounted animal heads, shields, and portraits of various dwarves.
The theater itself was packed. As one would expect, dwarves were the primary clientele here, which often ant great company and chaos. Several long tables were occupied by beastn. Humans and a few orcs occupied the other, smaller tables who seed to be enjoying themselves a lot, especially the dancers.
The center stage was built several ters higher than the ground but not too high to ache one's neck. Several female dancers, including beastn won and human won, danced gracefully, wearing revealing clothes. The air reeked of freshly brewed ale. It was almost overwhelming. Everywhere Gaya turned, she saw the dwarves drinking, laughing, and fighting like it was no one's business. This behavior didn't surprise Gaya much, as the dwarves were unruly creatures with unpredictable behavior.
Gaya's gaze swept across the theater and noticed a few humans walking toward the two dwarves guarding the stairs.
"That must be the entrance," Gaya said to herself before squeezing through the crowd toward the dwarves. She had to be careful not to step on any dwarves on her way because there were several of them rolling on the ground. For a great eight clan, Han Torum picked an unusual spot for the auction.
Gaya took out the invitation with a flick of her wrist and held it in her hand. The dwarves noticed the approaching human and the golden invitation in her hand.
"Here you go," Gaya extended the invitation for the dwarves to see the embossed letters on the invitation. The two dwarves gawked at the invitation from top to bottom. Then, they removed the red rope blocking the stairs leading downstairs. Golden lamps brightly lit the steps and led Gaya to a spacious hall under the theater. Only a few people remained in the hall. The marble floor shimd under the bright chandelier light. Crimson red curtains woven with elegant designs covered the windows and the walls.
When she entered the hall, a human girl wearing an alluring red dress that hugged her perfect hourglass structure ca to greet Gaya. She was one of the thespians and was assigned to be the auctioneer.
"My lady," the red-haired beauty bowed toward Gaya.
"Please enjoy the beverages and make yourself at ho. The auction will begin shortly," said the beauty. She tried to avoid gazing at Gaya's dress but failed miserably. Her eyes sparkled. But Gaya was more focused on the others in the room. To her surprise, she noticed a few orcs along with a beastn.
As for humans, there were four in the room. Among the four, two of them wore white robes with the iconic guardian guild symbol engraved on their chests. Avoiding their gazes, Gaya made her way to the long oak table with silver plates filled with snacks, fruits, and beverages such as ale, wine, and beer.
"How are you doing?" When Gaya ca to the table, a woman with fluffy fox years greeted her. The woman's tail slowly swayed left and right as she sipped the wine from the golden chalice.
"Good. What about you?" Gaya greeted the golden-haired woman with a gentle smile. To avoid looking out of the place, Gaya took an empty glass, poured red wine, and pretended to drink it.
"I couldn't help but adore your dress," the woman complinted Gaya's dress. Gaya was no stranger to fake complints, but the woman's words were genuine. Any woman with a tab bit of taste in clothes would kill to get a dress like the one Gaya was wearing. It was a pity that Gaya didn't know why people had been glaring at her dress the mont she stepped out of the carriage. If anything, this dress was drawing too much attention toward her.
"My fiance gave this to ," said Gaya.
"He must have good taste in clothing. Oh, pardon my manners. I am Colubra," the beast woman introduced herself, reaching out to shake Gaya's hand. For a mont, Gaya stared at her in surprise.
"Aren't you a bit too friendly when we are all here to bid for weapons?" asked Gaya, but she shook her hand anyways. She followed Michael's words of making allies anywhere you can instead of enemies.
"We ladies have to stick together. What's the worst that could happen by making so friends?" Colubra shrugged. Colubra's cute and cuddly look may fool the others but not Gaya. She could identify a killer when she saw one, and Colubra was a predator despite her foxy ears. Gaya had a feeling that Colubra may have sensed the sa. No one would send an innocent to a black auction that deals in destructive weapons, especially not the beast king Zelic.
"Look at them going," Colubra's gaze fell on the guardians,
"Why do they want to participate in this auction when their new Supre Guardian brags about stopping wars?" Judging by Colubra's tone, it was apparent the fox hates the Guardian Guild. Although they seed to share the sa hatred toward the Guardian Guild, Gaya remained silent. She was here to track down the buyer and the weapon, not to bitch about the guild and Noah with this total stranger.
While Gaya was waiting for the auction to begin, she received another shock. The orcs who bought the death kiss crossbows entered the hall with their red-skinned leader leading them. Once the orcs entered the hall, an uneasy atmosphere surrounded them. Everyone, including the green orcs, tried not to make any direct eye contact with them. Luckily for Gaya, she changed her face using the mask. Otherwise, they might have recognized her and suspected sothing was amiss.
None seed to have any idea about these orcs. But whoever they were, they had deep pockets and connections to bid for the weapon and receive an extra invitation from Han Torum.
"Excuse for a mont, Miss Colubra," Gaya excused herself away from Colubra and went to the corner,
"Azazel, are you getting this?" The Spyder hidden in her hair crawled onto her shoulder and sent the feedback to Azazel, where he recorded everything.
"The sa ones who bought the crossbows. It seems like we have new players, my lady," Azazel amused.
"The question is, where do they stand when it cos to the Dark Lord,"
"Put their faces in a recording crystal and send them to the elf. He might have so idea," Gaya said to Azazel in a husky voice. Even after Michael had revealed himself as the Dark Lord, the business relationship between him and Lord Information remained untethered. The elf preferred gold coins and favors more than anything. As long as he got paid, Lord Information gave no shit about where the coins ca from. The only problem however was accessing the elf. After Noah took the mantle, he put surveillance on almost every information broker in the world, and Lord Information was on top of that list. Luckily, Michael had built drones and Spyders that could connect Lord Information to Azazel.
"We will find out soon enough,"
"Ladies and gentlen," Gaya heard the hostess's voice after a few clinking sounds. The hostess stood in the center with a wine glass raised above her eye line. Everyone turned their focus on the hostess as red sofas materialized around her one by one. The door Gaya ca through closed from the outside, trapping them inside.
"Please take your seats. The auction will begin now," The hostess gestured at the sofas as everyone plunged into the comfy cushion. Colubra and Gaya went to the center and sat beside each other, facing the red orcs. After everyone comfortably took their seats, the chandelier above them brightened.
Gaya recorded everything around her with the Spyder while waiting for the Han Torum dwarves to appear. At the mont, there were no dwarves in the room.
That soon changed when the hall they were in split open, revealing an underground passage. The cushions trembled as a platform moved upwards, carrying the dwarves and their new contraption, a cow-sized weapon with a conical body. Its tal body was painted with gold and engraved with intricate designs. At first sight, it did not look like a weapon to anyone but a saxophone. Of course, the natives of this world didn't know what a saxophone looked like.
"Is that the weapon?" Gaya asked herself. Unlike Colubra, Gaya didn't seem disappointed. She knew better than to judge a weapon by its look. The guardians and the red orcs wouldn't be here if the weapon was not powerful enough to cause mass destruction.
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