Nightmare Realm Summoner

No more than a moment after Sofia finished speaking, there was a firm knock. Alex and the others turned just in time to see a line trace through the wall on the far side of the room, forming into the rectangular shape of a doorway. A handle materialized in the rock as the outline turned more concrete.

But the door made no signs of opening.

“The attendant?” Mite guessed.

“I think we have to let them in,” Claire said. “They won’t enter on their own. Presumably because of the auction’s rules on privacy. It might just be for show… but it’s a good gesture.”

“I got it,” Aaron said, rising to his feet and starting toward the door. Then he glanced back at them. “…I should let them in, right?”

Alex nodded. “Yeah. We’ve got to figure out the rules and put stuff up for sale. We’re not going to be able to do much without that.”

Aaron turned back to the door. He put his hand on the handle and gave it a slight pull. The door swung open instantly, fast enough that he had to take a step back to avoid smacking himself in the face.

Standing on the other side, in a dimly lit hall, was a middle aged butler with salt and pepper hair and a sharp jaw. A pair of spectacles rested on the bridge of his nose, pushed down just enough to seem vaguely disapproving, and he stood in the exact same position that Sofia had — his hands crossed behind his back.

The man gave them a sharp, perfectly practiced bow. Then he swept into the room. The door closed behind him without so much as a sound. Only then did his gaze raise to meet theirs.

“Welcome to Bleak Night,” he said. “I am Edward. I will be assisting you today. This is your first time joining us, is it not?”

Wow. They’re not even hiding the fact they know? I would have thought they’d just play things really generic and never confirm or deny if they recognize anybody.

“It is,” Alex said. There was no reason to lie.

“Would you be so kind as to clarify what the rules are so we can avoid making any social blunders?” Claire asked coolly.

“With pleasure,” Edward replied. “As Sofia said, please make yourselves comfortable. This room is perfectly safe. It is heavily defended with anti-scrying and other protective wards to ensure your privacy. The wards were done by a third party. Not even Bleak Night is able to see through them. Should they come under attack or observation from any source, a yellow light will fill the room. And, if something were powerful enough to break them, an alarm will sound off. This will summon Bleak Night’s defensive forces to eliminate the cause — no matter what the source.”

Equal parts a warning and information. Don’t screw with their wards. Got it.

“That makes sense,” Claire said. “And it’s comforting to know that you value safety so much. What else can we expect?”

“The auction is done in a roughly linear fashion. The items expected to be the least expensive will be sold first, and we will gradually work our way up to the highest cost ones,” Edward replied. “Of course, we cannot predict all prices perfectly. Fluctuation is common. There is a chance that some items will sell for considerably more or less than we expect.”

“And how do sales work?” Claire asked.

“Purchases are done through a bidding system. Whilst holding any of the paddles beside the window, you may speak your bid. The auctioneer and other participants will be able to hear you. Please exercise caution, as holding the paddle allows your voice to be heard by the entire arena. It is not limited to bids.”

“And what about items we offer up ourselves? What is the pay system?”

“We will take 10% of any profits for items sold,” Edward said. “That will include appraisal to ensure that the participants room are made aware of the full extent of any item you put up for sale. This will ensure anything we sell makes the most profit for you. Any items you wish to sell must be given up for appraisal before the auction sales begin. Should we believe something unfit for sale, we will return it to you in the same condition we received it.”

Claire nodded slowly. “I see. What else should we know?”

“Bids are done in credits save for special negotiations. However, we will provide you collateral should you find yourself at a lack of funds. The collateral will be the minimum expected Credit amount your items are worth after appraisal. You may spend these Credits as if they are your own.”

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“What if they end up selling for less?” Alex asked cautiously.

“Then we will eat the cost.” A confident smile passed over Edward’s features. “But we are Bleak Night. We do not make mistakes like that. Just be aware that your collateral cost will be lower than what is likely to be their real sales value. As items sell, we will make their profits available to you immediately.”

Basically, they’re doing everything they can to get us to spend all the money we get as quickly as possible. Smart. It makes it easy for us and helps them reap as many profits as possible while they’ve got people in the room.

“That’s good to know,” Claire said. “I’ve got one more question. You mentioned special negotiations. Could you expand on that?”

“Private contact between rooms is permitted,” Edward said. “You may reach out to any room you wish by informing me of your desire to communicate with them. All participants are capable of this. Should the room you wish to speak with be amiable to conversation, the initiator will send a representative to the other room. During this time, you may discuss whatever you wish including the sale of listed and unlisted items. Should you come to an agreement, you will pay Bleak Night 15% of any profits, not counting those made from deals or other favors. However, should the deal be done largely through barter, the pay to Bleak Night will be calculated on estimated value of the transaction.”

Alex blinked. That was interesting. They’d worked a way to officially circumvent the auction itself… though Bleak Night took an extra 5% for the effort. If there was an item someone couldn’t afford, or if they wanted to try and trade something that they didn’t want getting out into the auction, then they could just try to go right to the source. Bleak Night wasn’t letting anyone circumvent their fees by just swapping items, though. A trade like this could end up being a hell of a lot more expensive than just getting something normally, especially if no Credits were involved in the deal.

“When items are put up for auction, does Bleak Night identify who they came from?” Claire asked.

“Just the room,” Edward said. “Not your true identities.”

Everyone fell silent for a moments as they considered that. Being able to potentially deal directly with the other members of the auction expanded the possibilities a lot. Alex wasn’t sure if it was something that was to their advantage right now. It wasn’t like they knew who any of the people in the other rooms were… and they’d probably earn the most by getting their items in a bidding war rather than secretly trading them away.

Still, he could still think of several situations where being able to directly contact another room could be useful.

“Anything I’ve missed?” Claire asked.

“Yeah,” Wess said. “What are the rules of conduct?”

“You cannot attack anyone at any point,” Edward said. “Any usage of physical violence or magic to influence any outcome will result in your prompt removal from the auction. Any items you have put up for collateral will not be returned to you. Any existing history or debts between yourselves and any other participating party is to be settled outside the auction house. This is a neutral ground.”

“Threats?” Wess asked.

“We only prohibit actions. Anything done to cause direct damage to another participant in any way is banned. The final decision for what this constitutes lies within Bleak Night,” Edward said. “We are not obligated to explain or justify our decisions. All decisions are final.”

Harsh. But effective. Nobody is going to start shit if they could lose all their stuff because they ticked Bleak Night off. Pretty effective way to get a bunch of people who vaguely hate each other to play about as nice as you can ask them to.

“That’s it from me,” Wess said. He flopped back in his chair. “I’m satisfied. Anyone else?”

“Will materials and such be sold together with the other items?” Mite asked.

“Yes,” Edward said. “We do not separate weapons and armor from crafting materials. All sorting is exclusively based on estimated sale value.”

Mite nodded. “That’s it for me as well.”

“Nothing here,” Aaron said.

Claire glanced to Alex.

“Yeah. One last question,” Alex said. “If we give you items for appraisal, do we have to sell them? Or can we choose to hold them back from auction?”

“Anything we have appraised can not be removed from auction unless it is part of a special negotiation,” Edward said. “We do not appraise items for free.”

Damn. That means we can’t give them our bonus ring without committing to selling all of it. On the other hand, we could still use it in a private barter with a different room… so I think we’ll have to hold onto it. It’ll be more useful to have some backup supplies than to commit to selling everything.

“That’s it from me, then,” Alex said. “I think we’re good on questions for the time being. Thank you.”

“Of course. Are there any items that you would like to put up for auction?”

“Yeah,” Alex said. He pulled out the main ring, which had the best of their cores as well as Crimson’s dungeon key and the Corruption Core Class Shard. He handed it over to Edward. “Everything in this ring.”

Edward inclined his head. “Very well. I will bring this to appraisal and return once I have determined the minimum collateral value. Thank you for your patronage. If you require me before then, please knock on the wall. The auction sales will begin shortly. I wish you all the best of luck.”

“Thanks,” Aaron said. “You too.”

Everyone turned toward him.

He winced.

“Shit.”

The corner of Edward’s mouth twitched. Then he turned on his heel and strode out of the room. The door faded and vanished behind him, leaving the five of them alone in the room once more.

“Here we go,” Aaron said. “How much do you guys think they’ll value all our stuff at?”

“No idea,” Alex replied, excitement starting to bubble in his stomach as he looked out the window at the auctioneer below. “But I’m looking forward to finding out.”

Wess let out a chuckle and rubbed his hands together. “Me too. This is going to be good.”