Henrik strode onto the stage, his merchant's smile bright enough to compete with the enchanted lamps.
"Distinguished guests." he began, his voice carrying across the transformed cavern "Welcome to the Ivory Sanctuary Auction. Tonight, we present artifacts of extraordinary rarity, pieces of history that have been hidden from the world for centuries..."
Verum stopped listening.
He'd heard a thousand opening speeches from a thousand different merchants. They all said the same thing in different words:
The first items went quickly. Minor pieces, meant to warm up the crowd and establish bidding patterns. A ceremonial dagger went for three hundred Kuna. A harp that could play itself went for eight hundred Kuna.
An hour passed. Then another. The artifacts grew progressively more valuable, the bidding more competitive.
Verum threw in bids here and there, winning a few minor items, losing others. He could always find some use for artifacts, and there were rarely events where he could acquire them so easily. Money wasn't exactly something he was constrained by after all.
But more importantly, if he only bid on the Resonance Coil and someone noticed it was the only item he wanted, well, then it would become significantly harder to acquire. The price would skyrocket. Competitors would emerge out of spite or curiosity.
"Our next item." Henrik announced as the pedestal got rolled in.
'Finally.' Verum set down his wine glass and leaned forward slightly.
"Is a fascinating piece from the Pre-Collapse Era. While its exact purpose remains a mystery, the craftsmanship is undeniable."
The Resonance Coil gleamed under the lights.
"This Ornamental Astrolabe." Henrik continued, his showman's energy never flagging despite two hours of continuous presentation. "is believed to be a navigation device of some kind, though scholars disagree on its exact function."
"We'll begin the bidding at eight hundred gold marks."
A merchant raised his paddle. "Eight hundred."
A noble countered. "Nine hundred."
Back and forth. The price climbed steadily: one thousand, eleven hundred, twelve hundred.
Verum let it reach fourteen hundred before raising his own paddle with casual ease.
"Two thousand marks."
The room went quiet. Heads turned toward Box Eleven.
The previous bidder, a merchant lord who'd been quite aggressive, hesitated, then raised his paddle. "Twenty-one hundred."
Verum didn't even pause. "Three thousand."
Another silence. The merchant lord deflated visibly. No one else moved.
Henrik scanned the room. "Three thousand marks, going once... going twice..."
His gavel came down with a sharp crack.
"Sold! To the gentleman in Box Eleven for three thousand gold marks."
A smattering of polite applause. The attendants moved to secure the Coil and prepare the next item.
Verum settled back in his seat, allowing himself a small smile beneath his mask.
'Perfect.'
The auction would continue for another hour at least. He'd wait, collect his winnings at the end like any other buyer, and walk out with the Resonance Coil under his arm. Simple. Clean.
Then Henrik's voice cut through his planning.
"And now, honored guests, we come to the highlight of our evening."
Verum's attention snapped back to the stage, something in Henrik's tone triggering alarm bells.
Henrik's smile had widened, pure showman now, building to his grand finale. "For the first time in recorded history, we will be opening the inner vault . The deepest chamber, which has remained sealed since the Pre-Collapse Era."
The words hung in the air.
'What?'
Verum had to have misheard.
"Our scholars have worked tirelessly to breach the final seals." Henrik continued, his voice ramping with every beat. "Tonight, you will witness the unveiling of artifacts that have not seen daylight in over a thousand years. Everyone here will bear witness to the inner vault of the Nature's Architect!"
He had not misheard.
This was bad.
Very, very bad.
Verum cursed internally.
He had known that the auction would eventually become a disaster. Henrik didn't know who he was selling his inventory to, hadn't properly vetted his buyers, hadn't taken even basic precautions. Verum had accepted that chaos was inevitable.
But this?
This was exponentially worse.
Though the title "Nature's Architect" sounded fluffy and harmless, like someone who planted gardens and carved decorative rocks, there was still a reason that even Verum, with all his abilities and centuries of experience, had entrusted the man with safekeeping his most valuable possessions.
It was because the Architect had been an absolute demon at keeping himself and what he valued safe.
Sure, the outer vault had eventually succumbed to time and geological violence. That was acceptable. Expected, even. The outer chambers were meant to be discoverable eventually, filled with teaching tools and failed experiments that could be safely examined.
But the inner vault?
The inner vault was something else entirely.
Verum had tried breaching it exactly once, decades ago, when he'd needed something urgently and couldn't afford to wait for permission. He'd spent three weeks analyzing the security systems, mapping the wards, and identifying potential weaknesses.
He'd found none.
The Architect had designed that thing to be impregnable. Literally.
And now here was Henrik, a merchant, and a failed one at that, before this discovery, trying to breach one of the most secure locations in the known world.
'Man.' Verum took a long drink of wine. 'Getting the Resonance Coil out of here is going to be a pain now.'
On stage, the crimson curtains drew back with dramatic flair.
Behind them, the massive bronze doors of the inner vault stood embedded in the cavern wall like a wound in reality itself. Ancient stone, covered in inscriptions that even from this distance made Verum's skin prickle with recognition.
Master Craftsman Lin stepped onto the stage, his jaw set tight though his hands trembled at his sides.
Verum poured himself one last glass of wine as he watched.
Lin approached the lock and quickly began to work. His fingers, steady now that they had a purpose, traced the mechanism. A low hum answered. The first rune sparked to life, a soft, amber glow.
The crowd leaned in as one. The only sound was the faint whisper of Lin's breath and the slow, building thrum of power.
More runes ignited. The light swelled, bleeding from amber to a molten gold. It pulsed in rhythm with the blood pounding in every temple. Lin's brow furrowed; the sequence felt wrong. The glow was too strong, rising too fast.
Brighter.
Too bright.
Lin stepped back, suddenly uncertain. "Master Vorst, I think-"
For a single, frozen moment, the entire cavern was bathed in light so bright it seared the eyes. Ancient symbols blazed across the stone in patterns that predated modern language, predated modern civilization.
And then everything went to hell.