The Night Auction

[undergroundmods]

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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

PRE-AUCTION

[undergroundmods]

The auction house opens at 11.30pm. Use this thread for any pre-auction mingling!

[falsify]

Eames isn't foolish enough to show his face at this kind of thing; too many variables to consider. Especially with recent tensions. So that's why Alice is here. This kind of event is what she was made for, after all. Eames-- or Alice, rather, moves around with a casual grace that suggests she's used to, and very comfortable in this sort of event. In your average social situation she may be a little uncomfortable, but here she's almost downright excited.

(Eames gives these characters a lot of thought, you see.)

She'll be around, asking questions before the auction begins. "See anything you're interested in?" being the main one you'll get if the two of you don't happen to be well-acquainted. But she's always amenable to getting to know new people.

[kleptofaeniac]

Kenzi approaches Alice easily as her conversation partner drifts away, because by now she considers herself a friend of the girl. She looks as if she's decked herself out for this auction, and who could blame her? Everything was an excuse to dress up if you had the right attitude.

Kenzi knocks her shoulder against Alice's and smiles cordially down at her. Her heels made their usually average height a large difference.

"Hey, weird sister."

[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?"

[kleptofaeniac]

Huh. Kenzi thought Alice would be into Shakespeare. She seemed the type. Whatever, maybe she hadn't been allowed to read up on crap before she came here. Still, Kenzi's attempt to gently tell her the reference comes across as more 'duh, dummy' than anything.

She's trying?

"Macbeth? Three Witches? I thought it was appropriate."

To be fair those were three witches. Not four.

"Thought there's more than three of us so....nah. It still works."

Kenzi's crisis' of faith don't last long ever. As far as why she was here was concerned...

Auctions were like thief Christmas. Not only were there plenty of rich folks wearing their most expensive jewelry and not only were there plenty of wallets to pick and not only were there lots of old men to try and sidle up to.

There were also pretty things being sold. And Kenzi wanted some.

"Christmas shopping for me."

Kenzi is under the impression that only the wealthy - or clever - need apply here and she nudges Alice softly before smiling.

"You didn't tell me you were loaded."

Shockingly she doesn't sound as if she's going to rob her blind. Maybe she actually likes Alice?

[falsify]

She wrinkles her nose in a way that indicates some embarrassment at missing the reference, (hell, Eames was around to see that shit during its first run on stage,) but Kenzi seems in high spirits and moves on quickly enough. So Alice'll follow suit.

"I certainly am tonight." And every other night, but that's neither here nor there. She smiles over the rim of her wineglass, "I handle acquisitions for a... Wide variety of clients."

[kleptofaeniac]

"You got a job?"

Kenzi has yet to catch on to the fact that Alice is acting...weird. Kenzi's worn a number of faces in front of people who knew the real her - if Alice did the same, who was she to question it?

Still. She hadn't seen this side of the girl before. It was...interesting.

"Good for you!"

[falsify]

Well, she's in her element here. The weirdness could just as easily be a woman at ease with her situation. Either way, she smiles broadly at the congrats, "thank you!" There's a thread of excitement coiled behind the stern businesswoman exterior, "truth be told, it's been a while."

[kleptofaeniac]

"A while?"

Kenzi's brow twisted with the question. She hadn't thought the girl would have had a job before, much less a legitimate (ish) one. If Alice had lied about her age...

She didn't want to think she'd lied about being a sister too. Not now.

[thelittlemerman]

Finnick fits right in at this elegant affair. Dressed handsomely, he's downright jovial with the other guests, no matter what type of supernatural they seem to be. He's good at fitting in, and this is a great opportunity to meet and greet with others who take an interest in magical objects.

Armed with the result of a few wise investments, Finnick's looking to spend some money tonight if he can. If nothing else, it'll bolster the image he's trying to project - confident and somewhat lavish. It helps that a few of the pieces around here are to his taste.

He can be found carefully reading the descriptions for each item, his eyebrows drawn together in concentration.

[anniesgonemad]

"Finnick?" Carefully, given that Annie has her iron-and-silver bracelets on, she taps him on the shoulder. Annie also looks the part, her hair curled, in a turquoise dress that reaches the floor, but it's clear from the way her eyes shift back and fourth, how she seems to hover rather than stand, that she's out of place.

"Sorry, I thought I lost you." In the sense that somehow, in the crowd, they'd been separated. She'd kept calm, because he had to be in the room somewhere, and it wasn't too hard to find him. Still, it was enough to cause her concern. "See anything you like?"

[thelittlemerman]

Finnick turns and smiles when he hears her voice. He puts his hand on her lower back to help ground her - he knows she doesn't like these kinds of things and he didn't mean to get separated, but they're back together again.

"I was looking at some of the jewellery. I'm not sure any of it's to your taste," he says, regarding her fondly. "And most of it's magic, I'm afraid. Human spells. You can't really trust them."

[anniesgonemad]

"You don't need to get me anything," she tells him honestly, resting her head against his shoulder now that he's holding her. Just being near him is calming, and his hands on her keeps her here in the moment. She can't go away at an event like this, and she knows it. She can't humiliate herself further, and certainly can't do that to Finnick.

"Oh- well, it is the Night Auction. It's supposed to be magic." She wouldn't press. Anything that had to do with witches made her wary. "But I wouldn't want magic jewelry anyway. Not that you should get me any." Seriously, don't.

[thelittlemerman]

"I'll leave it for now," he tells her, still smiling gently. "If you ever want jewellery you tell me, and I'll buy you something made by regular humans. I can even put charms on it myself, so you know it's safe magic."

He starts to walk, bringing her with him as he looks around at all the objects. "Some of these things might look nice in my apartment, though - don't you think?" The apartment that he rarely sleeps in. He keeps it so he has a safe place to come in and out of the Other Realm, and so he can feign being human when it suits him. One needs a mailing address for many human things, it turns out.

[anniesgonemad]

"You know I won't tell you," she says honestly. She's not very good with getting gifts, or asking for things. She's always tried to be self-sufficient, and she already relies on Finnick for so much.

"I saw the harp. That'd be beautiful by the window." Annie was actually a harpist, of all the instruments to play, of course she took the one that absolutely dwarfed her tiny body. That, and piano. But music was calming and gave her something to focus on. Her need for perfection kept her learning, kept her practicing, until she could play pieces with her eyes closed and backwards.

She likes his apartment, anyway. It's nice to have another safe spot to go to, when she couldn't be in her flat.

"Do not buy me the harp."

[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.

[hurtfew]

Norrell is not normally one to attend these sort of things, but he had heard there would be a few books in this sale.

Where there are books, Gilbert Norrell will always show his face. He cannot allow anyone else to have them after all.

He keeps to himself, mostly, carefully perusing the things on sale and making a face every so often.

When it comes to the actual bidding, however, he will bid persistently and relentlessly -- even if it goes beyond the value of the book, he must have it.

[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.

[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."

[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.

[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.

[wolfmarked]

"From an outside perspective," Skip replies.

Her shoulders raise and fall in a shrug, and her expression remains carefully neutral. It isn't something she often announces, but she knows she can't act as if it is shameful. Because it isn't. Still, it's something to say with caution.

"I was raised among them."

[hurtfew]

Raised among werewolves! The surprise shows on his face at first, followed by a furrowing of his brows. Her wording is somewhat peculiar, and he tilts his head -- scholarly curiosity taking over rather then fear or mistrust. She is now a puzzle, after all, something he must understand.

"Am I to understand you are not one yourself? Forgive me, but it seems you would be in a position to know more than most if you lived among them. What is it you hope to learn from further study?"

[wolfmarked]

"I know about them from the inside," Skip answers, considering it, "but I'm curious about what people from the outside see."

It was like a painting. The artist who shaped it created the work and displayed it. But it never just meant that. Everyone who saw the work interpreted it differently. Whether they were artists themselves or not, everyone saw something a little different. Even in a basic still life.

To look at the species like that...

It might be interesting. Besides, she was never escaping the life. So she might as well find ways to bring new viewpoints into her world.

But he asked if she was a werewolf. That...

"My connection with the community is a little odd. How much do you know about their culture?"