Haven Base - Black Company HQ (Mu-Arishi)

Maydra gives out a hardy laugh before saying, "certainly not! My sister and I answer to no one. We want it to give as a gift to give one of our cousins. Well, part of it really, enough to make a pendant out of it."

There was a small tap at the podium as a person that was obviously a Nenyken from the Underground stood before them all. The vicious looking beast looking quite... out of place and ridiculous in his tailored suit.

"If I may interest you all, I believe with the Lord Captain's Permission, we may begin," he/she/it said, its almost childlike voice spreading across the large room. With many of the "guests" making themselves look presentable as best as they could. The Lord Captain nodded, supressing a sigh. It annoyed the man to no end that he had to be here for the entire procedure.

"Alright then..." The Nenyken continued, its voice sly and mischievous. "I... am your gracious host Milartis Valarough. And tonight's proceedings shall go as followed... we will begin bidding on 14 stones with a diameter of 1cm and begin at that. Each stone will be auctioned off separately before we move onto the larger three 5cm stones, and then finally to our grand prize for the night... the single 15cm stone. So... do I have all your attentions yet?"

Lyssindra rejoins the group as Maydra says, "it was a pleasure talking to you. Perhaps more another time," and turns his attention to Milartis.

Mr. Shine nods as he looks towards the creature at the podium. He was never the biggest fan of watching the creature step up to the podium, but he understood that the Black Company and its fellows were comprised of many different species. He sighed, realizing that something like this was bound to be inevitable, before he opens up his briefcase and takes out a small book, glancing at it every so often as he watched this scene in front of him.

"Thank you, we'll begin the bidding at 200,000 Caldrian Marks for our first little stone," The Nenyken said as he picked up the first stone carefully in his oversized fingers. "Do I hear 225?"

A hand rose as a older woman shouted out.

"230!"

Maydra and Lyssindra patiently wait. Well, Maydra at least does, Lyssindra fidgets around and keeps randomly staring at people. They're waiting for the 5cm stones to go up.

The man continues to read through his book, occasionally circling words that he sees. He doesn't appear to be very interested in these stones either, waiting until at least the 5cm stones show up.

Luex had entered the building and had asked a guard to go tell the Lord captain that his friend Jan wished for a seat next to him to catch up on some business deals.

Lyssindra quietly splits from Maydra and wanders to a different part of the room.

Some interesting faces dot the room. Andrei, the third heir of the Amressi Shipping Lanes corporation, the largest cargo service on the planet; the shady fellow known as Jake, a representative of the trimutive leadership of the Silent Sect; Leuesso, one of the men of power in the Republic of Sand.

There are other people, but they are unmentionables compared to the few of unparalleled power in global affairs.

The bidding continued as they went about their business, the price of the first stone going higher and higher until settling at around 895,000 Marks, the Nenyken up on stage goading those who sought to bid on the lesser stones, getting more and more excited as it continued. Almost seeming to be disappointed once it ended before he presented the second 1cm stone. The message to The Lord Captain was relayed dutifully though the small earbud he had put on so that he could listen in on the reports, as well as send orders as needed. This was his show in the end... and it was going to run smoothly. With the first being a reply to Luex's message which was simple...

"Do you always have to pick the worst times for a face to face meeting?" the Soldier replied, a noticeable shakiness in his voice. As the fourth stone was sold for almost an even million marks.

The rest of the orders were simple... most of those in attendance would be watched over by their own detachment of guards. Though for the representative of The Silent Sect there were several teams of snipers trained on the man. More of a formality really, the Lord Captain doubted that The Silent Sect would wish to interrupt the auction. Lyssindra though... would be Goblin's responsibility, the old man watching the gal from his perch somewhere nearby, his presence briefly touching hers to politely let the woman know she was still being watched.

Lyssindra continues about as if nothing happened.

Luex replies with, "I only show up when the world needs saving anymore. Its a bad habit I've picked up and I formally apologize for it." The irony of the statement is, he wasn't wrong. He thinks to himself that things seem to be spiraling out control, ever so slowly.. Reports of killings, this demon, and what the corrupted emperor was up to in Imperial Airborne territory...
He knew the a war was coming.

The Lord Captain grumbled audible, though over the commotion as the last 1 cm stone was sold it was barely heard by even Milartis. A quick motion of the hand let Goblin know to cover for him, as an illusion of the man soon took his place. Which wasn't that hard in the end, the entire set up here was one giant farce, so one more was hardly something worth noticing. It was several minutes later when The Lord Captain arrived in front of Luex. The man befret of his suit and back within the comfort of his battle gear, and since he demanded that when he wore it he looked no different than the average trooper. It allowed them some privacy as he took the spot of the guard that had been talking to Leux.

"Alright... what is it... I haven't seen you in what... four years now? Must be something rather exiting you have planned for us if you're willing to come out of hiding just to contact me," The Lord Captain said, the man though annoyed gave the old warrior a short bow of respect. It wasn't often one of the great legends of old came to call upon favors made by old friends from ages ago.

"Yup, I got a mission for the Black Company. A spec Ops mission that'll have a payout as big as the most expensive source crystal you're auctioning off here today. Any questions so far?" Luex says.

The Lord Captain in hindsight would be quite grateful for the dark visor that covered his face, as his eyes widened and breath hitched just a tad.

"Yeah... several, but lets start with what you want us to do for hundreds of millions of marks?" he said after he regained his composer after a short moment.

----

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand looks like that's the last little stone we have folks..." Milartis said with a hint of sadness. "But let's not dwell on the past... let us look to the immediate future."

The Nenyken gave the crowd a toothy grin as he held up a larger 5cm stone.

"Since our last 1cm stone sold for a healthy 2.8 million marks, and I see a lot of pockets of deeper caliber. How does an even 3 million sound, three million anyone? More magic than in all of Mu-Arishi right here in this little stone for three million Caldirian marks."

Luex nonchalantly says, "In case I need help extracting a Phoenix. Nothing too big, but never hurts to be ready for hell."

Maydra looks pensive for a moment, before straightening. That seems to be a signal of some sort, as Lyssindra quickly returns to Maydra side, looking bored.

"It's interesting how much people value unspent magic," he idly comments, "what would one do with so much?"

"Well since you're no longer interested in buying one, we'll have to watch the others then instead of our dear cousin," Lyssindra huffs.

"He has more energy than he knows what to do with. If he decides to look that is."

"True."

"A Phoenix? You're serious right? No one in their right mind would try to capture a Phoniex, much less believe they could hold it for any length of time without being burned to ash..." The Lord Captain replied with a huff. "But then again... the world is slowly slipping into madness I'd say."

------

Milartius continued with the bidding as the first stone was sold for a healthy 20 million marks, the Nenyken skillfully bringing up the price higher and higher as he got more and more ecstatic as it rose. He knew how to work a crowd of rich nobodies rather well.

Mr. Shine towards his gaze towards the twins, quickly circling another word in what seems to be the fifth book that he's 'read' so far. He puts the book inside his briefcase, closing it as he says, "You can do a lot with 'unspent magic', Mr. Aiya. A lot of uses." After saying that, he turns his gaze towards the Nenyken, thinking for a second. The man seems interested in buying one of these larger stones, although given his gaze, they can tell that he's not very content with one of the 5cm stones. He's much more interested in the 15cm stone, and his expression does nothing to hide that fact. He says, without even looking in their direction, "I'm surprised that you're not as interested in these stones. I thought you came here with the intent to buy one, rather than," before he starts to turn his gaze towards them and continue, "watch the others."

When the Nenyken eventually brings up the second stone, he places his hand on his briefcase, ready to start the next bidding war with the others.

Luex says, "well until a day or two ago, I was the only Phoenix alive here on erutios if you remember. There will be further missions after this most likely as I doubt whoever this organization was had all their samples of ancient Phoenix DNA in one facility."

"First," Lyssindra says, "watching people is one of the things that all good travelers do. How else are we supposed to have stories to tell? And that it's people who buy powerful artifacts that tend to try and shape the world."

"Second," Maydra continues, "the person we were considering buying it for could easily come to use the item as a crutch, which wouldn't help him in the long term."

"Third, and the best part of it, is that neither Maydra nor I have a nano-drop of magic in us whatsoever. So the stone is utterly useless to us!" Lyssindra laughs.

"My point still stands... you yourself are no stranger to those who would try to use and abuse your own power, and our records make it quite clear that most who do tend to meet early graves," The Lord Captain replied with a tired sigh. "So what do you need eh? I suppose you think this other phoenix needs rescue of somekind?"

------

"Alright then... second stone now, how and since we're in such a dwindling supply already, do I hear 5 Million marks for the opening bid?" The Nenyken shouted out with a hint of amusement.

Luex says, "the first part has already been taken care of. I just need..insurance in case things go south. I don't know how crazy this organization is and if they're willing to make a public attack just to get this Phoenix back. And if a third party or government so happens to make a scene, i'm sure they will as well. I could handle them with roy and who we bring along, but that's about it. Anymore forces and we'll need backup"

"Backup as in someone else to take the fall or backup as in someone who can make enough noise to draw attention away from you?" The Lord Captain asked with a slight snort.