“Would you be able to convert that into something that’s a bit easier to transport?” Jonathan asked.

  The elf blinked, then nodded. “I can give you some tokens. Either worth the appraised value, or you can wait to receive one half of the auctioned price. What would you like?”

  “I’ll take the current value,” Jonathan replied. It was better to go with the safer option, especially with something that depended more on rarity than power. “Not sure how you divide up the tokens. Maybe nine worth ten million, and another ten worth a million each? Divide the last three hundred thousand however you like.”

  Jonathan watched as the attendant reached down beneath the table, and pulled out a small velvet bag. A faint internal light shone from it. Jonathan took it, and opened the drawstring. Twenty three coins rested within. There were ten diamond colored coins, ten gold ones and three silvers. Each was embossed with the image of a set of scales.

  He gave the elf a slight nod, and left the line, replete with cash. Eliza was still offloading the monster parts, so Jonathan made his way towards the natural treasure section on his own. Something that was on par with a Lesser God’s body parts wouldn’t be in any mundane auction sector.

  The booth was too full for Jonathan to sit, so he stood instead. The current item was beneath his notice, some minor Earth elemental gathering array, meant to help with the cultivation of that element. A few more passed by over the next few minutes. Then he realized that there was an auction schedule plastered at the back of the booth. His eyes flicked up and down rapidly. A frown grew on his face. There was no mention of Starfall Steel anywhere.

  “Shit...” he whispered. Was this going to be something beyond his abilities to find?”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “You good?” Eliza whispered as she sidled in beside him.

  “No. What I’m looking for isn’t on sale here.”

  Eliza tilted her head. “I heard someone talking about a secondary auction, being held for those with true wealth. Perhaps you could find that there? They said they had a large selection of rare metals and resources.”

  “Where is it?”

  Eliza pointed towards the back of the room. A set of double doors, the only doors in the entire complex, stood there. They were made out a greenish metal, and guarded by two golems. Every now and again, someone would head in, tossing a token to the golems.

  “Do you have anything you want to buy?” Jonathan asked Eliza. “I can give you some money if you didn’t make enough from those sales. Not sure if you want to come with me to the higher end auction.”

  “I’ll wait here. I need some natural treasures for my element. As for the money, I have a million or so Leviathan Marks. That should be enough for here.”

  “Alright. I’ll leave you to it.”

  Jonathan extricated himself from the crowd, and weaved his way through the booths towards the back of the room. The golems stood there, blocky constructs of stone with metallic accents. Each held a large halberd, but the ends were curiously blunted. Jonathan remembered that no violence was allowed in the Trading Hub. This seemed to be some sort of workaround, a way to prevent people from going where they shouldn’t without harming them.

  He paused before the golems, not sure what he was supposed to do. “Hello?” He said. “Can I enter?”

  One of the golems turned its head towards him with the noise of shifting rock. “Entrance fee is one million Leviathan Marks,” it ground out in a raspy voice.

  Jonathan reached down into the bag the auctioneer had given him, and withdrew one of the golden coins. He tossed it towards the nearest of the golems, who caught it with surprising agility.

  Both of the golems reached back and opened the doors. Within was a far more opulent auction house. Rows of plush seats faced a large platform at the front of the room, on which an excited half orc gesticulated wildly, screaming out the virtues of a flaming sword propped up against a block of stone.