Limits

When I woke up the next day, I went straight to the Vatras Auction Hall. Shak was already waiting for me, in front of the Auction Hall. When he saw me, he asked "Ready for some action?". I smiled, and replied "Yea. I hope, I will be able to make a good profit on my medicine". He laughed a bit too, then we entered the Auction Hall.

One of the Voltar clerks came over to use, and said "We already placed your medicine on the auction. The auction will start very soon. Please follow me to your seats". We followed the Voltar, to the upper area of the Auction Hall, and entered one of the rooms. I could see the whole Auction area, from the room we were in. There were two seat provided, so I sat in one of them.

Shak sat in the other seat, and said "I wonder, what type of price it will reach. It's always exciting to see, others bid against the product. You can also bid, if you want to. If you see any item that you like, you can bid using this button". He then showed me a button, that could be used for bidding. I nodded my head, and replied "We will see. If I see something really interesting, I might bid on it". Shak just laughed a bit, and then stayed quiet.

We waited for a while, and the auction finally started. A Voltar dressed in an elegant robe, walked onto the central platform, and announced "Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to our Vatras Auction Hall. Today's auction, will consist of rare items only! The rules are the same. I will call out the starting price, and I will provide you with the minimum amount, that you have to bid. You can of course, increase the bids by higher amounts. I'll leave it to your liking".

When the announcer was done, two Voltar females walked in with an item. It was a sword. The announcer introduced the sword. "This sword is called Lone Reaper. It's made from a mix of Azurite, and Flexium Ingots. This reaper is extremely tough, sharp and flexible. The master blacksmith Tornad, was the one who created it. It has no Formations. The reaper was left blank on purpose, for the new owner to chose his, or her own Formations".

He let the crowd get accustomed with the sword, then continued "The starting price, is 100 Black Hals, all bids must increase the price, by at least 5 Black Hals". He didn't have to wait long, before one bid after the other increased the price. 'It seems, that this guy Tornad, is a well known blacksmith. I'm not really interested though' I thought. The final bid, that won the sword, equalled to 175 Black Hals. It probably was a good sword, but adding in the Formations, would cost the new owner too.

The two female Voltars, brought in another item. This time, it was a set of clothes. They displayed the whole set, while the announcer introduced "This is a set of battle clothes, called Lapris Set. It bears the name, of the well known Formation Master Lapris. The set of clothes may look basic, but don't be fooled! There are four Formations placed on the set. Each piece, has the remarkable Lapris Strength Formation. Not only does it increase the strength of the wearer, without any costs. The Formation allows the wearer, to use the Outburst technique, which doubles the wearer's strength for a short while".

He then continued "The set also contains the Lapris Endure Formation, Upgraded Agility Formation, and Upgraded Countering Formation. This set is a masterpiece, and a piece of art, from a Formation Master!". I could hear the crowd, was getting excited about that set. 'From what this guy said, it's actually quite good. Especially since, it comes from a Formation Master' I thought. The piece of clothing, was not my style really, and I knew that it wouldn't be cheap. I could buy something, but not that expensive.

Shak, who was sitting next to me, said "It looks good, but Lapris is not that good of a Formation Master. Her products are good, but they ask usually too much for them. She is quite lofty about her skills though. If I were you, I wouldn't waste money on it". I looked at him, and laughed a bit. I then said "I wasn't about to buy it. It looks good, but I also concluded, that it would probably cost me too much. Besides, it's not my style".

Shak laughed a bit, and said "It seems we though the same way". The crowd seemed ready, so the announcer provided them with a price. "The starting price for this set, is 350 Black Hals. Each bid, has to be at least 20 Black Hals higher!". The bidding war started. Wealthy individuals, increased the price left and right. Soon, the price reached 590 Black Hals, and no other person bid against that.

A few more items were auctioned, but none of them were of interest to me. Then, the seventh auction item, was my medicine. The announcer said "This here, is something we don't see often. A High Grade medicine, made by an anonymous Master. We tested it, and it's pure. Not only that, it's very strong as well. It could easily heal deep wounds, and minor wounds, would not even leave a scar! The most extraordinary though, is the purity of the medicine. Other Medicine Masters, should learn from this! Although this is not the strongest medicine, our Auction Hall has ever seen. It can be easily ranked in the top 10. The medicine, is going to be actioned as a set. Each set, consists of five bottles. We have three such sets, for today's auction. The biddings for each set, will be separate".

The crowd discussed about the medicine, while the announcer gave them some time. After a while, the announcer said "We are going to start, from the first set. The starting price, is 120 Black Hals. Each bid, has to be no less than 5 Black Hals higher!". This time, the bidding war really erupted. The price soon reach 200 Black Hals, and finally settled down on 230 Black Hals for the first set. This was a lot more, than I could sell it for myself. People would mostly pay 20, maybe 25 Black Hals per bottle. Here, the price almost reached 50 Black Hals per bottle.

The announcer, started the auction of the next set soon after. This time, the price reached even higher. Someone forked out 255 Black Hals to buy the set. When the announcer introduced the last set, he said "This is the final set we have. Who know, when we will gate a chance, to auction such good medicine again. Last chance ladies and gentleman. Make sure to grab it!".

The auction started, and the price quickly reached 230 Black Hals. But the crowd was still bidding. 240 Black Hals, 260 Black Hals, 285 Black Hals…. With the final bid, it was sold for 305 Black Hals. This amount to me, was extraordinary. 'They managed to get three times the amount, I would get from selling it. With this much money, I should be able to buy Crow's freedom' I thought.

Shak clapped his hands, and said "Great Auction! You made a huge profit my friend. The last price, surpassed even my expectations. I didn't think, it would reach 300 Black Hals. Well done". I smiled, and said "Yea, I'm amazed myself. This should be enough". I was too excited, to care about the rest of the auction. Besides, there were only a few items left, and they were quickly sold too.

When the auction finished, a Voltar come over to our room, and handed me the money. The Vatras Auction Hall, managed to sell my medicine for a whooping price of 790 Black Hals. Per our agreement, the Vatras Auction Hall, deduced their 10% provision, which was 79 Black Hals. I was still left with over 700 Black Hals, and adding in the money I already owned, I had over 1000 Black Hals in my pocket now.

Shak asked "So, what do you plan to do now? Celebrate? Buy something for yourself?". I shook my head, and said "Nah, I need to pay that back to someone. Anyway, You've been very helpful. Here take this". I took out two bottles of Arran Liquid, and passed them to him. Shak seemed surprised, and said "You don't have to, I didn't help you at all. You medicine is just that good". I replied "Just take it, it's a gesture of good will from me".

Shak smiled, and said "It seems, that people were really mistaken about you. I shall accept it then". What he said, just proved to me, that he knew who I was. He probably figured out, that I knew who he was as well. Making a friend, who was highly positioned in the Voltars' society, was not a bad idea. I bid farewell to Shak, and left Boltier. I still had to travel for a while, in order to reach the Crow's meeting place.