Ash walked into the tavern Luna had told her about, eyes roving around the packed tables for somewhere a little less crowded than trying to slip in among six people. It was mid-morning, a little early for a drinking establishment to be so crowded but, of course, it wasn't filled with eager drinkers. She quickly identified a number of people sitting alone but, judging by what they wore, they'd been in Fantastoria for a while or had managed to take enough risks to make good money. They were the people that would take ownership of the last few rows of the auction and so it was useless for her to sit with them.
She was just about to give up and return another time when she found what she'd been looking for. There was only one person at the table, their posture indicating boredom as they waited for the auction to begin. A heavy hooded cloak with spells woven into it obscured their face from view. It was a warning of sorts, those that hid their faces were often quite dangerous or had secrets to hide like her own skill. Ash paid no mind to the clear message and made her way across the room, walking close to their back as she wove through the crowded room to settle on the round bench not quite across the table from the mysterious figure.
She felt quite a number of eyes on her for a moment as a murmur ran through the room, speculation on whether or not she knew who it was she was seating herself with. They were clearly considered dangerous and at least a few people knew whatever reputation was tied to them. The other person being discussed seemed not to be looking her direction, but she knew otherwise, feeling their gaze rather sharply. Unbothered, she pulled a book from her inventory and settled in to read, glancing over it at the items up for auction.
With her Unicorn Eyes skill active, she looked over the rows from left to right despite knowing the first few were basically off limits. They would start at the bottom of each row and make their way up, selling each tray one by one.
She passed the first portion of the auction reading, only bidding a few times when they started in on the second row. Most of the bids were halfhearted, she didn't want to win them in the slightest. Whether it was intentional or not, she was uncertain, but there were only a few in that row that glinted in blues and greens when she glanced at it to confirm whether or not she wanted to bid. The final one, though, had three gold items mixed in with normal ones in the batch.
She made certain not to bid as if she desperately wanted the item, appraisal skills were quite rare and it was clear by the trends in the room no one had access to them but her unless they were also smart enough to keep themselves well hidden.
She felt a presence move close to her left side where she wasn't paying as much attention since the auction was to her front-right and glanced that direction. The other occupant of the table rested interlocked hands on the heavy wood, a gesture to show they were unarmed even though combat was magically prohibited in cities without a contract through Virtus.
His voice was as smooth as silk, the kind of speaking voice that likely got him whatever he wanted out of quite a number of people, "With your bidding habits, one might think you know something the rest of us do not," he observed in a voice that wouldn't drift from their table to curious listeners.
"I know that they magically seal the entrance to newcomers after the auction begins," she observed softly, "And because of that, the bidding is the heaviest for the first two rows though one might get lucky from time to time."
As if to prove her point, she motioned to the slowly emptying room around them.
"Still," she felt his gaze intensely, "I feel it could be a good gamble to team up. Considering your clothes, you are unlikely to win an auction on your own. If you've a good eye for quality," something about the way he said it seemed knowing, "I feel we could both benefit greatly even if neither of us ends up with a full set."
Even one or two of the legendary quality items in the bundles of the third row would be enough to allow her to greatly boost her skills and splitting them wouldn't be too detrimental so long as they won at least two of the legendary quality ones.
"What are your terms?" She asked simply.
"You tell me what to bid on. I'll see if we can get lucky and win it. We split the items equally by rarity. If there are an uneven number of low rarity, common and uncommon, the extras will be mine. For higher quality, they go to the good-luck charm that picked them."
It was an amazing deal as it meant that if there were three legendaries in the bundle, she'd get two of them. She was confident in her ability to escape in case he was the type to attempt to murder her for them.
She nodded slightly, "I agree to your terms," he held out a hand for a handshake, a common means of agreeing to form a party, and she reached to accept. The moment his fingers brushed her hand a shock ran through her, quickly gone though it left her feeling ever so slightly unsettled.
His name showed as Bris on her friend list.
He leaned in enough that she could see past the enchantment that obscured his face, though she could only make out the curve of a smile on his lips, "A pleasure to meet you, Ash."
"Likewise, Bris," she responded before pulling her hand from his and glancing back towards the auction as she told him the first one to bid on and the funds she had available on her end.