Chapter 39
To say that I was angry would have been an understatement. I was furious. I stood in my room, frozen momentarily, thinking about what to do next. Going to the auction was a sure way to invite trouble because there was no way it would end peacefully. I had no intention of letting the abduction of a skull get in the way of the serenity I had earned. However, I was also painfully aware of the consequences of not going.
I reluctantly decided to go for reasons other than the stolen skull. To be honest, I didn't really care about Vorrack. He was loud and annoying, and I had previously fought the urge to chuck him as far away from myself as possible. I had to go because it was dangerous to make the skull loose. Vorrak still knew ancient incantations and had a connection to the God of Spilled Drinks, so I couldn't afford to let him get into the wrong hands. Besides, I had a very particular dislike for people who stole my things.
After deciding what needed to be done, I grabbed my things and ran down to the innkeeper.
"The Siren's call!" I breathlessly said, "How do I get there?"
He looked at me suspiciously, as if I had asked something forbidden. A few moments later, he answered my question with another.
"Are you sure you want to go there?" he asked, "The Siren's Call isn't exactly the safest place in the city."
I knew his question came from a place of concern, but I needed to get to Vorrak before that stupid skull revealed the wrong information to the wrong person.
"Yeah, just tell me which way it is." I asserted.
"Okay, just go down to the eastern dock. But I warn you, the people who usually know where the Siren's Call is aren't always the friendliest." He said, still with concern evident on his face.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked again, perplexed.
"You'll see for yourself. Just go down to the Eastern dock, and ask anyone where the Siren's Call is. You'll find it eventually." He went back to arranging the things in front of him. I was confused but wasn't going to let an unclear answer deter me.
I practically ran in the direction of the eastern dock, which, for some inexplicable reason, was located on the southern side of the city. This city's geography made absolutely no sense. Once the dock was in sight, I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to a group of young men standing by a wall. That was my first mistake; they looked exactly like one would imagine delinquents to look.
"Hey, you! Which way is the Siren's Rest?" I yelled.
The man standing in the center of the group puffed up his chest like a bullfrog, ready for a fight. He smiled, and it was one of those smiles that said jackpot.
"Who's askin'g?" he said in what I could have sworn was a New York accent. That made absolutely no sense—New York didn't exist in this world… How could he…
I did not have time to spiral.
"I am! Just tell me!" I yelled again, this time with annoyance.
"Boys, let's teach our ill-mannered friend here some etiquette!" He called out to his platoon of mixed-race misfits.
I barely had time to think before they all came at me... I absentmindedly swiped my hand in the air with all the force I had in feeble retaliation.
Honestly, I had no idea what that would do, even after so long. My powers were still a mystery to me.
A very powerful gust of wind nearly blew them all into the sea. In fact, I believe at least two landed right in the water. The rest landed splat on their faces or bellies. This was one of the rare times when I actually felt amused by my abilities.
The leader of the group looked straight at me, terrified. I think I enjoyed putting the brat in his place.
"Run! He's a mage!" They all ran, but I still needed directions, so I yelled behind them to stop.
"IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GET BLOWN INTO THE SEA, STOP!"
I had no idea if I could pull that trick off again, but unexpectedly, the bluff worked, and one of them stopped.
"Please… please don't throw me in the water… I can't swim," he said as he turned to face me. As I looked at him, for a moment, I thought I was imagining what was standing in front of me.
He had blue skin, gills, and weird flippers on his neck. His hands, which he had raised up into the air, were webbed like a duck's feet.
"Wait…you're a mermaid," I said impulsively. I think I'd offended him because his face twisted into a very annoyed expression as he yelled,
"I'm a Merman!"
"Do I look like I care what's in your pants? You have gills. You can breathe underwater!" I lost my temper entirely out of confusion.
"And? Your point is?" He still looked offended.
"Oh, just tell me where the Siren's Call is!" I snapped, and it was more than enough to get him to crack.
"It's the fourth ship at the dock!" He yelled before he turned and ran away with the others.
It's a ship!
Once I was down by the ships, I found The Siren's Call, and to be honest, calling it a ship was an insult. It was bigger than a cruise liner. This was the place hosting the Dark Auction, and that meant Vorrack was here, too. From my hideout, I saw many fancily dressed people going aboard in masks.
I am not going to wear one of those ridiculous things.
I tried to just board the ship, hoping my luck would work out well, but as always, that was too much to ask for. I was stopped by a guard almost immediately.
"You can't go on the ship." He bellowed in a ridiculously deep voice.
"I have an invite," I said as I pulled out the card that had been left in Vorrak's place.
"You still can't go aboard. You aren't dressed right." The guard pointed to the other guests, and I realized I was definitely not dressed appropriately for a high-end underground auction.
I considered the easy option of knocking the guard into the sea, but there would've been others that I'd have to deal with.
I stood there, to a side, watching other people saunter in... Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a barrel moving. It stopped the moment I looked at it, but I knew my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. As I kept staring at it, a hand came out and beckoned me to come closer. I instantly knew who it was, so I went closer, only to find Laine sitting in there.
He was dressed in fancy attire, and on top of that, he was wearing a crow mask. He also held up a staff that he had stolen from the cultists back at the festival. Apparently, he hadn't sold it.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him.
"Me? I told you I was coming here! The real question is, what are you doing here?" he asked back. It was beyond annoying, but I tolerated it.
"They took Vorrak!" I explained. He smiled as I recounted the story.
"I found the place and dressed up. My plan was to just bluff my way in, but unfortunately, they didn't fall for it. I didn't have an invite… You, on the other hand, do!"
He gave me a set of fancy clothes and an owl mask to match the rest of the crowd, and we both headed in with my invite.
The auction was taking place in a decadent ballroom dripping with shady glamour and pompous rich people. The guests included cloaked nobles, foreign assassins, lords and ladies, and even a guy with a literal eye-patch monocle.
What on Earth is Mr. Monopoly doing here? I asked myself.
One fat man at the center of the commotion was surrounded by what seemed like an escort of private guards. Laine turned to me.
"You see that fat guy? He's masked, but I can still tell that's the Grand Factor, the current leader of Lis." he explained, and I listened.
We watched the auction unfold for a bit. There were all kinds of items, from magical artifacts to human and beast slaves, for sale. While it was all going on, I overheard the Grand Factor talking to an important-looking man. I heard them mention something about a "plan" and it "coming to fruition," but I couldn't make out all of it. The Grand Factor asked the other man,
"When will they arrive?"
"Soon, sir," the other man promised. It's all coming together. Just another week, and we will be done." His voice was sinister, and there was something deeper, older, and darker about it.
.
I'd been so busy eavesdropping that I didn't even notice when Laine disappeared. He had probably gone below deck to look for loot, which was stupid because a small army probably guarded whatever was down there. I followed Laine down to look for Vorrak and keep him from being sold. I also had to keep Laine alive because, at this rate, his kleptomania was bound to get him killed.
As I caught up to Laine, I saw that a guard twice his size was holding him up by the neck.
"Hey, big guy!" I yelled as I threw a knife at him. The hilt hit him in the head, and he fell backward, taking another guard out with him.
"Wow, the two-for-one special!" I said as I grabbed Laine and entered the vault.
We found many strange artifacts in the cargo hold vault that should have never seen the light of day. These artifacts were almost painful to look at. In the midst of all that, I found Vorrak locked in a magical glass case labeled "Sentient Artifact—Origins Unknown."
"Oh, thank the gods!" He said as he saw me.
Laine kept looking around for valuables, and he asked for my magic pouch to hide them in.
"You can have it, but I want a cut—fifty-fifty," I said, holding it out for him.
"WHAT? Since when do you care about money?" he winced, twitching at the thought of sharing his loot. He was right. I didn't care about the money. I just liked seeing him malfunction when I asked for money.
"Since right now. You want the bag or not?" I smiled, knowing I was getting under his skin.
"Will you two stop bickering and get me out of here? I'm in this mess because of you!" Vorrak complained, almost making me want to leave him there.
Unfortunately, I had a heart. Just as we were trying to figure out how to open Vorrak's case, the ship started to shake violently, and we heard a ruckus from above.
"They're on to us!" Laine yelled, panicking, but I slapped him back to his senses.
"Get your head straight! The ship is being attacked!"
We managed to get Vorrak out and made our way back up.
Once we got back on deck, we found out that Seafolk was raiding the ship. They were furious about a stolen treasure from their city being sold at the auction. It was chaos—explosions in every direction, with guards falling dead all around us.
I saw a merman holding a blue marble the same size as Vorrak's head. That had to be his people's stolen treasure.
"You Lisari grow greedier by the day! Your greed will kill you all!" He declared as he ran to the deck and jumped.
The treasure seemed like something I had seen before. It was very similar to what the merman from the caravan had given me, although this one was far larger, obviously, and thus would have been a lot more expensive.
What followed was insanity, as people and sea folk began fighting in what felt like almost a war. Each side yelling chants of glory to their people and nation. Spells started flying from both sides. Laine and I grabbed Vorrak and the loot, jumping into the dock to escape with some of the other attendees. For a moment, we thought of what to do. Just then, a spell flew over our heads, narrowly missing us. It made our decision-making much faster as the two of us jumped into a random cart's storage. It was a wide chest attached to the back of an opulent-looking cart. The lid shut behind us as we landed in a collection of sacks. I could tell the cart belonged to a noble. But when the cart started moving, and I heard a voice from inside the cart itself, my stomach dropped.