"Three items tonight," John said, once the lanterns dimmed one final time. "All Quasi-God rank. I only accept Quasi-God crystals as payment. I'd suggest deciding quickly what you're willing to lose for them."
The first item rose from its box, a slender ring of woven starlight that pulsed in slow, deliberate rhythm.
"The Sovereign's Circuit," John said. "Worn, it lets the bearer command up to a hundred subordinates as a single coordinated will, no delay, no miscommunication, thoughts arriving as orders already understood."
The bidding tore through the table fast and vicious, Baldric and Voragul trading numbers that climbed past anything the first two auctions had produced, until Baldric finally claimed it for three thousand crystals.
The second item followed, a small vial of liquid dusk that never quite settled into stillness.
