"Five hundred!" someone called out, raising a handheld marker with a number on it.
"Five hundred and fifty!" another voice cried before the auctioneer could respond. It came from someone in the seated section, and their marker had a four-digit number despite there being only a couple hundred people in attendance so far.
At that moment, Oli realized something. On the back of his menu was his own marker. It only had a single digit, the number '9', but it also had a star.
"Five hundred and fifty going once!" shouted the auctioneer, scanning the crowd and riling up the bidders.
"Six hundred!" the first person called out again, not backing down.
Smiling, the auctioneer pointed at the bidder. "Six hundred gold! Going once…"
"Oliver, would you mind if I bid?" Fulkar asked.
Oli was caught off guard but didn't ask any questions. They were at an auction. Asking an ill-timed question would result in an immediate loss. So Oli nodded and passed Fulkar the marker without hesitation.
