The Night Auction

[undergroundmods]

"" (Watch on YouTube)

The auction house
At exactly half past eleven on Saturday night, the auction house in Knightsbridge opens to its supernatural customers. Inside the elegant surroundings are a wide range of antique, unusual and plain odd items.

As midnight approaches, the seats gradually fill up. The auctioneer, a spindly pale-faced man in a waistcoat, calls for attention. Bidding opens at midnight and ends when all items have been sold or the sun comes up, whichever comes sooner. Let the bidding commence.

On sale tonight
Enchanted Necklace
A necklace which is enchanted to become a map of the city in which the owner is standing.
Starting price: £12

Monkey's Paw
The preserved paw of a monkey, able to grant every individual who touches it three wishes. Caution is advised.
Starting price: £20
Will be sold to Faolan

Runic Coin
A heavy silver coin for use in spell work, carved with runic patterns.
Starting price: £25

Skeleton of a Lady
The bones of a woman called Eliza, preserved by magic.
Starting price: £30

Antique Pagan Jewellery
A set of brooches, pendants, rings, and earrings made in honour of the ancient gods. In various conditions depending on the piece itself.
Starting price: £40

Vanity Mirror
An enchanted mirror that speaks, forever complimenting the person who looks into it.
Starting price: £50

Mogwai
This adorable creature is an extremely rare and unusual pet. The mogwai is nocturnal and should be kept away from water and sunlight.
Starting price: £50

Vampire Compass
A compass that always, without fail, points to the nearest vampire.
Starting price: £60

Bestiary of English and Welsh Faeries
A 17th century two volume bestiary of the lesser inhabitants of the Other Realm, with detailed and sometimes gruesome illustrations.
Starting price: £200
Will be sold to Gilbert Norrell

Antique Harp
Beautiful Victorian Stumpff harp with carved figures, in need of restoration work. Under enchantment.
Starting price: £500

Gleipnir
According to legend, a section of the chain that once held Fenris.
Starting price: £2,000

Notes
Bidding opens at midnight GMT+1 and continues until 07:29 the next morning! Note that while anyone can bid on any item, the items that are listed as being sold to certain characters are reserved for them to win the bid. The last highest bid in the thread at the point when the auction has closed will win the item.

When characters bid on the item, all they know is the description given by the auctioneer, as above. However, some of these items have other properties – both good and bad – that will not be apparent until after purchase. You'll find out what these are after the auction has concluded.

For more information, please refer to this OOC post.

Comments

[thelittlemerman]

Finnick raises an eyebrow at her, then glances over at the part of the room where the harp was sitting. She must have seen him admiring it.

"Why not?" he asks. "I like it, and I have the money," he says, reminding her. "It would look nice by the window."

[anniesgonemad]

Fae. They were around so long they had nothing to do other than collect money. Not that Annie's family had nothing to their name. It was all hers, technically.

"As long as it isn't for me," she says patiently. "I'm not good at being spoiled." She didn't deserve it.

[thelittlemerman]

"Then it's for me," he says with a handsome grin. "I'll keep at my apartment, maybe I'll even learn to play it."

[undergroundmods]

Congrats on acquiring this lovely set of antique pagan jewellery! Included in this set is a silver ring made in the shape of a snake. There is a charm upon it where, when it is worn and stroked in a certain way, it uncurls and slithers its way around the finger wearing it before settling back in the original position.

[undergroundmods]

Congrats on acquiring this enchanted vanity mirror! Beware: The compliments of the mirror may or may not be true, and prolonged exposure to it will result in ever increasing vanity, often with a murderous result if left unchecked.

[anniesgonemad]

She gives him a wry sort of look.

"You'll ask me to teach you." And she would happily do so.

[undergroundmods]

Congrats on acquiring this enchanted necklace! The necklace once belonged to an outcast fae and contains fae magic. As well as being a map of the city, it will also show the location of its owner's current hideout.

[undergroundmods]

Congrats on acquiring a section of Gleipnir's chain! Whether or not the chain is actually Gleipnir is debatable, but it is at least impossible to break without magic. The metal contains silver, and as such is highly toxic to fae. It is especially good at shackling fae, as any fae bound by it will be unable to use any magic that might break the chain.

Even holding the case that contains it will make Eames feel somewhat ill. Touching it directly is not advised.

[undergroundmods]

Congrats on acquiring this vampire-pointing compass! It does exactly what it says and nothing more.

[thelittlemerman]

He laughs softly; she knows him too well. "Well, there's no better teacher," he says, just as he leans in for a kiss. It's a brief kiss, he's never too affectionate in public, but she makes him feel safe and happy, and he wants her to feel the same.

[undergroundmods]

Congrats on acquiring this silver runic coin! It can be used as payment when summoning a spirit into servitude. Unfortunately, spirits summoned this way tend to forget everything about themselves – which may be good or irritating.

[undergroundmods]

Congrats on acquiring this beautiful antique harp! Unfortunately the enchantment means playing it produces waves of guilt and depression. A great gift for an enemy, in that case, or something to turn a profit on if you can break the enchantment.

[anniesgonemad]

She kisses him back, and knows better than to extend it. She didn't want anything more in public, really, anyway. That's more attention than she can really handle at any given time.

"I'll be happy to teach you. You're good with your hands, I think you'll catch on quick." That could have been a come-on. It probably was.

[undergroundmods]

Congrats on acquiring the two-volume bestiary of English and Welsh faeries! The first volume covers the most common and minor fae e.g. sprites, brownies, red caps etc. The second volume covers rarer creatures such as dragons, but the book is under an enchantment which means it cannot be opened by anyone except for fae. If a fae opens it and anyone else attempts to turn the pages, it will snap shut rather aggressively.

Remaining items

[brightwitch]

As per the auction rules, Sylvia finds herself taking home Eliza's skeleton and the mogwai. Quite what she'll do with them is anyone's guess.

[wolfmarked]

Skip has taken the time to look pretty posh for this. After all, it's a large, public auction. Here, the artist has to make her appearance, rather than the normal girl. Her oldest brother keeps his ear to the ground for things like this and made sure she knew about it. There's not a lot she really wants, no, but it never hurts to look.

She can't help but notice an old, faded-looking book with writing on its spine she can't read. It's certainly interesting, at least, and she admires it for a good few moments.

[falsify]

"Weird sister?" Alice smiles up at Kenzi, eyebrow raised at the nickname, but she doesn't really mind it. She's too busy to make much of a fuss about it either way, mentally running through what's here and what might be useful later on. Money isn't an issue, but it might generate some undue attention if one went about buying everything that's up for sale.

Speaking of buying things, "so are you here to buy, or just enjoying the event?"

MONKEY'S PAW

[reticence]

£20

[ooc: my apologies for putting this up late :x i wasn't certain whether i needed to put up a bidding thread on it considering he would win it (and he couldn't go bidding very far above this if there were to be counter-bids either...)]

[hurtfew]

Someone is looking at his book.

Or well, the book that he has decided will become his. Norrell is torn between alarm that someone may attempt to buy it and curiosity over the person. Who else might show interest in such a book, after all? He will have to ask Childermass about her. Childermass always knows about these things.

He schools himself internally, approaches and regards the book idly himself.

"It is a good volume," he admits, "although not the best. It only deals with the lesser fae, not the high fae, although of course they are changeable and difficult to track. The illustrations are interesting if... more colourful than necessary. It's biggest failing is that it tends to...exonerate the fae in some ways, consider them other and curious rather than simply relaying fact. He is mystical."

[undergroundmods]

Congrats on acquiring this enchanted monkey's paw! As in the classic story, the monkey's paw tends to twist wishes. Ask for a specific amount of money? It will likely come as insurance money for an accident, death, or other such tragedy.

[wolfmarked]

"Fae aren't really my area of interest," Skip says with a shrug. It's worth looking at -- almost everything is here. But it isn't something she wants. Still, he seems to know a lot about this. So perhaps he can offer a little advice. "Do you know if there's anything here about werewolves?"

After all, she knows plenty of them. But she's never really studied anything as far as academia is considered. Not that she wants to devote a lot of attention to it now, but it might be worth reading a few things. Especially since she doesn't have to deal with her brothers and father here.

Besides, more ammo never hurts.

[thelittlemerman]

He laughs again, straightening up and looking around the room. He doesn't have unlimited money by any means, but he doesn't seem to mind spending it.

"See anything else that catches your eye?"

[hurtfew]

Not her area of interest? Well, that means his book is safe for now of course -- which pleases Norrell greatly. Yet her chosen area of interest is both curious and worrisome. Werewolves may not, in Norrell's opinion, be as bad as fae (few things are) but they are still trouble.

He presses his lips together and regards her with calm curiosity, as a teacher might a child who has asked an odd question.

"You wish to study werewolves?" he prompts, hoping for some manner of reasoning.

[anniesgonemad]

Annie glances around the room herself, following Finnick's eyes. She doesn't let go of him for even a second, however.

"That compass looks interesting," she points towards where a petite girl is bidding on it. "Points to the nearest vampire. But I'd rather something to keep them away." The hand that was pointing moved up to her neck, resting on the hideous scar that marred her, the physical proof that she was a survivor.

She thought it made her look ugly and nearly always wore her hair down to hide it.

[thelittlemerman]

Finnick's expression sours just a little at the mention of vampires. He'd have his own scars if he hadn't healed quickly and had a witch making sure he wasn't too marked up.

"Easier to kill them," he says bitterly.