“Auctions are a place for the wealthy and powerful to flaunt their lofty standing. Many wars have started over competitive bidding on rare and powerful items. Foolish players with more money than sense would find themselves hunted over their victories. Early on, the wiser players and guilds learned to only bid on what had they power to defend, not just what they had the money to afford.”

  From “Theft, Piracy and Looting, Capitalism at its Purest”

  Year 1, Month 1, Day 30, 11:00

  The bidding on the writs started slowly, the price increasing by only 400 gold coins in the first minute. The smaller bidders began to falter when the bidding rose above 2,000 gold coins. Bids kept trickling in, pushing the value of the auction ever higher. After five minutes, the auction broke the 4,000 gold coin mark.

  Torgon found himself grinning and he could see the same expressions on the faces of the others with him. “It’s rising higher than I expected,” he said.

  Hyperia shrugged her shoulders, indicating her lack of surprise. “We’re probably the only guild in the entire game that’s selling writs for coins instead of for real life money. The demand is obnoxiously high right now.”

  The price for the auction broke 5,000 gold coins and Torgon noticed an incoming message. He scanned it and opened the conversation.

  “Greetings! My name is Derek Dark and I’m a representative of the Manifest Destiny Guild. I would like to propose a deal with your guild.”

  “I’m listening,” Torgon responded.

  Derek’s message arrived, “We’re currently bidding on the writ auction that your guild has posted. We would like to sell you a collection of blueprints, recipes and gear directly to secure additional coins to use on said auction. Here’s a list, time is of the essence.”

  Torgon quickly read over the assortment of items, his eyebrows raising. “I can do 3,000 gold coins for this selection. It’s the best I can offer, and I know you’re in a rush.” The bidding on the writs had broken 6,000 coins and was slowing down, fewer people eager to raise the price.

  Derek sent back a single word, “Done!”

  The bidding spiked to 9,000 gold coins in a single large bid. Torgon and his friends held their breath as the auctioneer spoke from the stage, “9,000 gold coins. Any other offers?” Silence held and the amount displayed on the board behind the man incremented no further. “9,000 gold coins going once! 9,000 gold coins going twice! Lot #47, the selection of writs is sold for 9,000 coins!”

  Cheering erupted in their booth at the conclusion of the sale. Torgon watched as their available funds increased from 1,000 gold coins to 8,200 gold coins. “We’ve doubled our funds and acquired some intriguing blueprints.”

  “Yeah, what’s up with that?” Ovarrix asked.

  Torgon filled the group in on his conversation with the Manifest Destiny guild representative. “It’s a win win for us. We get the coins back minus the auction house cut and we have all the new blueprints to play with.”

  “So what did we get?” Dusty asked.

  Torgon rubbed his hands together and shared the information, “There are advanced, uncommon, exceptional and rare blueprints for gathering tools ranging from level 0 all the way to level 20. Armor and weapon blueprints are liberally sprinkled in as well. Not just swords and leather, but actual metal armor, spears, maces, and a variety of ranged weapons. They even slipped in a level 15 clay golem blueprint.”

  Hyperia’s eyes widened, “Look at these alchemy recipes. They sold us multiple sets of attribute enhancing potion recipes. The flavor variety on the basic potions is impressive too, although, I will admit that I’m not sold on the idea of a healing potion that tastes like brussels sprouts.”

  Ovarrix laughed, “Give those potions to the kids who are taking too many risks. Why sell all these recipes to us though? Do they not have a crafting department?”

  “They do, but,” Hyperia paused thinking.

  “But what?” Ovarrix asked.

  Hyperia continued, “Manifest Destiny is combat focused and cutting edge. They have crafters, but they’re discovering more blueprints than they need. These blueprints are more valuable to their guild if they sell them directly to crafting focused guilds like us rather than sitting around waiting for their own crafters to make use of them. Manifest Destiny likes to maintain good relations with smaller crafting guilds and purchases from them directly. This deal serves three purposes for them. It secured them the coins they needed to win the writs, it helped establish a connection with our guild for future writ purposes and it helps boost our crafting, so we have more products to sell to them in future deals. They aren’t hoarding items they don’t need. They’re an S-tier guild for a reason. They’ll make a nice profit off the writs, and everybody wins.”

  “Their goals are different than ours,” Torgon said. “We’re trying to build up everyone in the guild purely for the sake of our positioning in game. All the other major guilds are beholden to their corporate backers. They exist to make money. The sharks, whales and krakens of the gaming universe go to them for their supplies. The time dilation gives everything inside New Era of Man Online greater value. The writs will always be the most valuable item though, since they can give the wealthiest people in the world a longer life that they can mold and sculpt a space of their own outside the game to their own personal tastes. The direct control they can exert while extending their life by hundreds of subjective years will break open their bank vaults to the tune of unlimited funds. We are merely providing a resource that we don’t need to those that are desperate for it and we’re leveraging it to make our position in this brave new world stable and secure.”

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  The auction paused briefly while servers collected lunch orders from all those inside the booths and vendors moved along the rows inside the larger auditorium. Torgon groaned in delight at the taste of his hamburger. The beef and cheese were procured from magically enhanced cows, creating a flavor sensation that boosted his regeneration rates and sharpened his focus. A thick milkshake and warm potato wedges rounded out the culinary experience for him. It was possible that he enjoyed it a little too much, as his audible groan of pleasure brought the attention of his companions to him.

  The next round of auctions kicked off with dazzling matched armor sets. Five gleaming metal armor suits of rare quality were available in a single lot. The bidding was tepid, the suits were level 20, higher than anyone could use for quite some time. Torgon glanced at Hyperia and she nodded. They snagged the auction for just over 100 gold coins. The cost was still more than two gold per item, but he judged it to be worth it for the rapid boost the minute someone could wear it. The capital zone would be opening soon and rumor had it that player versus player combat tournaments would start then.

  Four hours passed and the guild only spent another 400 gold coins on goods. The main stage items were fiercely competitive, and they held back from dropping money that might be better spent elsewhere. The group spent the time people watching and snacking on the various treats provided. Finally, another auction that piqued their interest came onto the stage.

  The auctioneer gestured to a table holding several curious objects. “Our next lot is a collection of natural treasures acquired from across the world.” He held up a glass vial filled with an amber liquid. “This is the sap of an ancient treefolk elder. He allows it to be harvested once a decade. It possesses strong magical properties related to life and growth.” He lifted a chunk of obsidian next. “Here we have the cooled essence of a magma elemental. It radiates earth and fire magic.” He continued through a dozen more objects, each taken from a strongly magical creature.

  “Now, this auction has a bit of a catch to it. While these objects are exceedingly rare and have limitless potential, their uses are currently unknown to the seller. Perhaps the inquisitive minds of interdimensional travelers such as yourselves can discover their true worth! We will start the bidding at 100 gold coins.”

  Dusty tugged on Torgon’s sleeve, “Come on Torg, you know you want it. I bet that vial of sap will work on the faerie’s tree!”

  Torgon placed a bid of 100 gold coins, spurring a listless round of bidding that left Risk of Injury in possession of the treasures of dubious nature and value for the grand sum of 142 gold coins. He leaned over to Dusty and spoke, “You’ll be in charge of discovering what potential uses they have. No rush though, and I think you’re right about the sap. Even if there is nothing to find out at all it would be a great project to get the children digging into the lore and history of the world.”

  The crowd in the auction house grew restless watching lots sold for large sums of coins to guilds from all over the continent. Hyperia spoke, “I thought we would be trying to buy more auctions but too many of these are overpriced or only marginally useful to us. Should we start making plans for how to use our excess coins in the normal auction house?”

  Ovarrix laughed, “We’re still too far ahead of the crowd. It’s rare that anyone else discovers items that we need and they don’t plan on using.”

  Frare grumbled, “I sell items constantly. I’ve unlocked extra orders as have most of my crew. We keep a constant flow of buy orders for raw materials, blueprints and cores on the market. It’s just slow. Nobody outside our guild is leveling fast enough to help us out.”

  Torgon quieted them down as a new item appeared on the main stage. A single gauntlet of gleaming silvery metal sat on a raised platform. His eyes couldn’t follow the lines of the piece as they seemed to shift and alter under his gaze. It called to him. He didn’t know what it was yet, but he wanted it and wanted it badly enough to commit a serious chunk of gold coins.

  Hyperia noticed his intense stare and asked, “Are you okay Torg?”

  Torgon shook his head. “I’m not sure. I need to know exactly what that gauntlet is though. It’s affecting me.”

  They all focused their attention on the auctioneer as he lifted the gauntlet with his gloved hands and showed it to the room. “This piece is extremely rare and extremely valuable. It’s a growth item.” Stunned whispers broke out in the room and the auctioneer smiled and waited a few moments before continuing. “As many of you are no doubt aware, growth items scale with the wielder provided they are used frequently enough. They function by siphoning a portion of the experience you earn while you are using the item. This piece serves as a crafting tool. It will boost your chances of success and the quality of your workmanship with any type of crafting. It works for gathering as well.”

  “When you activate a growth item, it will only function for the bonded wielder. You may change the bond once a month, but the item will lose 90% of the experience it has siphoned. This gauntlet was created by the Archmage Duke Stanton Richards Villier. It was designed for dimensional travelers, and it comes with a quest to seek the duke out once the gauntlet reaches an appropriate level of experience. We will start the bidding at 1,000 gold coins and the minimum increase will be 10 gold coins.”

  “What the hell!” Dusty exclaimed. “There are no details at all. How would anyone know if it’s worth it?”

  Torgon looked at everyone slowly and deliberately, “I want to buy it. I can’t in good conscience spend that much coin on it though. It’s not even my coin, it’s the guild’s money. I feel like the system is telling me to bid on it.”

  Hyperia eyed Torgon skeptically. “I don’t think the system would hint that subtly. It would be direct and issue a quest. The maker could have created some sort of magical glamour that affects players?”

  “You have received a Quest! Rare Guild Quest: Follow the Leader. Requirements: Help your guild leader purchase a growth item at the Deep Harbor Auction. Rewards: Every guild member will receive 100 Free Experience and 10 Guild Contribution Points. The Guild will receive a free increase in tier for one level of the Crafting Hall and one level of the Specialist Crafting Hall.”

  Torgon cursed softly and placed a bid of 3,000 gold coins on the growth item. The price continued to rise and Torgon continued to bid. It soared past 4,000 gold coins, then 5,000 and kept rising straight through to 7,000 gold coins. Torgon put a bid down for 7,500 gold coins and messaged the guild. “Any donations to the guild treasury would be extremely helpful right now. We’re locked in a bidding war for the growth item.” Coins started to trickle and then pour in. Torgon kept increasing the bid, struggling to outlast his competitors.

  After several tense minutes, the auctioneer called out “Going once! Going twice! Sold for 10,470 gold coins!”

  “Congratulations! You have completed a quest! Rare Guild Quest: Follow the Leader. Every guild member is awarded 100 Free Experience and 10 Guild Contribution Points. The first floor of the crafting hall has been increased to Common tier. The first weapons room in the specialist crafting hall has been increased to Common tier.”

  Torgon sighed in relief and exhaustion. They won the gauntlet, but they burned through all the funds the guild currently possessed and even more besides. Now he only had to figure out exactly what it did.