We had presumed that the Book of Old Names and the Annunomicon were identical in appearance, being that they were the same object from different servers. To that end, I had the Annunomicon in my inventory and had been prepared to make the switch. All that was moot if there was no book.

Lawlimi messaged me. (Come back up. I think I’ve got a lead on Sharkey’s son.)

The hardest part about escaping the cellar was getting the door open. I had to climb the jamb and hold myself against it while I used half my arms to twist the handle and pull. I fell on the first attempt. After clearing that hurdle, crawling out of the hallway without being seen was a relaxing exercise of my talents.

Lawlimi picked me up behind the statues and we reconnected with Dokutsu and Shippo.

“I was wondering why Silva was spending so much time with the fedora guys,” Lawlimi said. “I’ve been asking around, and I think Sharkey’s son is a member of the clan.”

Having an NPC join a player clan was not unusual. Clans often sought out influential in-game characters to recruit for the benefit of the group, or they were brought in as companions. Sharkey’s son would have knowledge and access to the criminal underground in Aejis, and he would have been flattered by an invitation if it was given seriously.

(Do we have a name?)

“Yeah, Wyrmtongue.”

In the end he wasn’t hard to find. He was a Naga Therian, though thin blooded, with light scaling, slitted eyes, and a forked tongue. Like other members of his clan, he wore a soft felt hat with a crease and a business suit. When Lawlimi approached, Wyrmtongue eyed him with disdain, but he nodded for the other clan members to give them space.

“I work with your father,” Lawlimi said.

“Real close, yeah? So close you had to walk around his party asking my name.”

Lawlimi looked blank. “You’re right, I didn’t know who you were. But I have done quests for your father,” he said, then added more quietly, “both of them.”

Wyrmtongue was unfazed. “Yeah? So what? Sharkey does business with people all over. It’s nothing to me. What do you want?”

“I want to make a deal. I need the book you stole.”

“Acquired. The word is acquired. Jeesh. Where do they find these guys? Hey, you think you’re the only mook waltzing in here wants a piece? Wait for the auction like everybody else.”

“What if I said I knew how you could sell it twice?”

“Pardon me?”

“I have another copy of the book, brought from another ark. I’ll buy yours, and throw in mine to sell in the auction.”

“Hey. Hey. Hey.” Wyrmtongue started walking away. “Not here. Step into my office.” He glanced back. “Leave the menagerie.”

I slid under Lawlimi’s cloak while Shippo and Dokutsu sulked and stayed behind. Wyrmtongue took us to a bathroom.

“Your office?” Lawlimi said.

“Hardly anybody uses these.” Wyrmtongue adjusted the brim of his fedora in a silver-lined mirror. “So show me the goods.”

Lawlimi reached under his cloak and I produced the Annunomicon from my inventory. With its gold leaf and green dragon skin binding, it was unmistakable.

“That’s not it,” Wyrmtongue said. “You messing with me?”

“No. This is the Annunomicon.”

“Whatever, it ain’t my book. No way we can make a deal.” He started to walk out of the bathroom.

“Wait,” Lawlimi said. “Who else was trying to buy it from you?”

“Some brawny dame.” He was gone.

(That adequately describes Silva.)

“Yeah,” Lawlimi said. “At least we know he didn’t sell it to her either.”

The time for the auction was approaching, and a majority of the guests were gathered together in a single large room with a second-story mezzanine and a broad stage. Silva, easy to pick out in her crimson armor, was among those watching from the second story, while we were on the ground floor. Haggitha still hadn’t returned. In fact, she had quit the party.

(Is she alright?)

“Yeah,” Lawlimi said. “I think she needs to work some stuff out.”

(Such as?)

“Meaning of life stuff, maybe.”

(Ah.)

The last performer bowed himself off the platform, and Sharkey arrived with a train of servants and baggage to begin the main event. He waved his hand, and a translucent little dog flowed out of the Wan Ring to prance around his feet, barking joyously.

“Is that what it does?” Lawlimi asked.

(I believe it is a cursed item.)

“Friends, Valanthians, countrymen, lend me your ears.” Sharkey, Lord Kurunere, spread his arms for quiet, though his ghostly canine continued to yap. “Tonight we have a grand evening planned for you. I hope the entertainment and refreshments have been to your liking, but if they were not, well, I know that isn’t why you are here. For long months have I labored to bring about this one evening, to gather all the best of everything, the special objects of interest that simply cannot be obtained by any means.” He smiled broadly. “I have obtained them for you.

“Without further ado, let us begin tonight’s bidding with a treasure of particular interest, the tooth of Trogdor the Conflagrator.”

There was some polite applause. Trogdor was a famous dragon. Said to be unkillable, he had been chased out of Hidaria by the combined might of the Tower of Wizardry during the Draconic Purge many lifetimes ago. He occasionally reappeared as a major territorial quest, threatening an entire region, and requiring entire clans to be driven off again.

His tooth was an ideal component for a weaponsmith. The bones of ancient dragons were orichalcum, the densest, most valuable metal in Mythopoeia. Technically, Viridium and Atreanum were both rarer, but the demand for those materials was not as high because they had narrower utility, mostly of interest to mages. Everyone knew the value of an unsunderable weapon, or armor that would not be pierced by any blade, or deformed by the blow of a hammer. The fang was about the size of a human forearm, so by weight alone it was worth vast sums, but the fact that it had come from Trogdor would affect whatever properties the final item possessed, making it priceless.

The bidding began, and quickly escalated beyond the reach of our resources, even with the bag of jewels Haggitha had taken from Elezzar89. The next item was equally extravagant, and I scanned the crowd, looking for the wealthiest participants, wondering who PamyuPamyu’s employers might be. As she hadn’t reconnected with us, she was surely toiling in the bowels of their law firm even now.

Several important clans were represented here, though not the most important, like the Shwiftees or the Mormons. Only the seedier organizations were taking part. There was the Fedo-ration, the most prominent by number, then a few Hentai Clan members, though not the dwarves or Elezzar89. Anonymous was another clan with a dress code; they all wore Halloween masks or bags over their heads. I didn’t expect PamyuPamyu’s superiors to be among their ranks. There were a few individual bidders, like Silva, now joined by Damwise on the mezzanine. The one who caught my eye was a man dressed in a sumptuous kimono, flanked by two samurai and a bevy of NPC companions: servants, soldiers, and concubines.

I mentioned all this to Lawlimi.

“Yeah,” he said, “looks like we’ve got our law-daddy.”

The man’s name was Shogun1231, and he hadn’t bid on the initial items. If he was here to win the key to all of Mystic Seasons, he wouldn’t be motivated to compete for anything less. The next prize was an ocarina that allowed for some measure of time manipulation, but I was no longer focusing on the stage. Wyrmtongue had tapped Sharkey, and after some whispered conversation, they both stepped out of the event.

(Should we follow them?)

“I want to be here in case the book comes up,” Lawlimi said, “but yeah, are you comfortable following?”

The auction room seemed even larger from my perspective on the floor, and I was at pains to dodge shuffling feet as I made my way across. Using my Concealment skill, I drew remarkably little notice from the crowd, who were primarily engaged with the action on stage, the calling of bids, and winners and losers being made. I was mildly miffed that Lawlimi had not agreed to take me himself. If the book did come up, he couldn’t outbid the competition, so all he would accomplish was witnessing it being won by someone else. He was surely distracted by the Haggitha situation, which I still didn’t understand. Perhaps it was a genitalia issue. I was given to understand that they could be problematic.

Sharkey and Wyrmtongue had gone up a staircase, a prospect that did not induce paroxysms of joy. I was only halfway up when Sharkey, Wyrmtongue, and Haggitha came back down, all three of them ignoring or not seeing me. I sent Haggitha a query, but there was no response. That left me the job of a sloping descent, which was thankfully a much simpler operation than ascent had been. When I reached the edge of the showroom, steeling myself to sojourn through the great forest of feet, Sharkey had begun another announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m aware that many of you here tonight are here for one reason, because you have heard rumors of a certain book. A book that was hidden for countless years, and only recently rediscovered in the archives of the First Temple of the Lord before being acquired by a private dealer. What you have heard is true, that book is indeed with us tonight. It contains the very secrets of divinity, the key to the usurpation of the mantles of the gods, if you are strong enough to wield it.” His ghostly dog stopped yapping at his heels, as if it knew this was the dramatic pause we had all been waiting for. “For the safety of all those present, I do not produce it openly here, but let the bidding begin at one hundred thousand lions. The item is, of course, the Book of Old Names.”

The auctioneer broke into his usual patter, and there was an immediate flood of interested buyers. As the cost rose, the less serious contenders dropped out. Two hundred thousand. Three hundred thousand. Suddenly, there were only three bidders in competition: Shogun1231, Silva, and Haggitha.

(What is happening?)

Lawlimi was as bewildered as I was. “She’s not responding to me,” he said, absently rubbing at his wrist where it met his augmentation.

Four hundred thousand.

Five hundred thousand.

Shogun1231 was growing agitated. As the bidding came around again, he had to confer with his samurai, who both nodded soberly.

“Enough of this!” He fluttered the long sleeves of his kimono. “I bid one million lions!”

There was a pause during which Sharkey’s grin nearly split his face in half, then he mastered himself, adopting the mien of a man who had just been told an intriguing fact that did not pertain to him.

“Going once,” the auctioneer said. “Going twice...”

“Two million,” Silva said, and the room was a graveyard.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Shogun1231 said. “Who is this bitch?” There was a brief conference, but the samurai shook their heads firmly.

“Going once... going twice…”

“Three million.” Haggitha stood at the edge of the crowd, using her knife as an auction paddle.

(What is happening?)

Lawlimi only shook his head, brow furrowed with worry.

Silva looked annoyed. This had become a duel where she wasn’t allowed to use her axe.

“I don’t care what you say.” Shogun1231 was arguing with his backers again. “I’m all in.” He raised a gilded fan. “Final bid, five million lions.”

Sharkey could not have been happier, and he was just about to declare a winner when Haggitha cut in.

“Ten.”

Silva laughed so harshly it was almost a bark. When the auctioneer looked at her, she drew her hand across her own throat in a clear signal of finality.

“Sold! To Lady Scarface!”

Haggitha didn’t love that. In fact, she did not look happy at all, but she went back out of the room, and Lawlimi followed with me on his shoulder. The Fedo-ration were furiously tipping their hats at everyone and extending their hands to be shaken. It was like pushing through a thorn bush.

Haggitha rejoined our party.

She messaged. (We’re meeting them upstairs.)

The auction was still going on below, but interest was waning now that the headliner had come and gone. We returned to the master study with its three blazing fireplaces and huge bay windows. Sharkey and Wyrmtongue met us with grins and laughter.

“When we made our deal, good lady, even I did not expect such a show to ensue. For a moment, it seemed that their resources were without limit.”

“No,” Haggitha said, “just mine.” She crossed her arms over her chest, separated by a table from the dubious lord and his ophidian son. Wyrmtongue summoned the book from his inventory.

It didn’t look anything like ours, being smaller and bound in black leather, but its aura was palpable.

>>

The Book of Old Names

Celestial Utility

Availability: None

Condition: Perfect

This book contains the essence of the words that helped to bind the world out of its primordial chaos. Its uses are unlimited, but among them the most desired is the potential to become a god.

>>

“That sounds pretty unbalanced,” Lawlimi said, even as he messaged me.

(Give back the Annunomicon. I want to use it as a decoy when we go out.)

Haggitha produced a small, empty purse, which Sharkey accepted with greedy hands. I had seen her use it before, but only for a few handfuls of coin at a time.

>>

Death’s Coin Purse

Celestial Utility

Availability: Unique

Condition: Good

The Ferryman charges 1,000 Gold Lions to cross the rainbow bridge back into the world of the living, but he doesn’t keep the money. This purse grants access to the Vaults of the Dead, the vast reserves of gold that belong to the Unnamed God himself.

>>

“Bring me bags,” he told his son. “So many bags.”

Lawlimi held the Annunomicon under his arm, and Haggitha placed the Book of Old Names in her inventory while Wyrmtongue fetched containers. When he flung open the door to the hall, however, there were figures waiting there already.

(We need to go,) Haggitha messaged. (The purse doesn’t work on this server. It’s just a Bag of Holding now.)

Shogun1231, his samurai, and their hangers-on all crowded the door. “We demand to speak to Lord Kurunere,” he said, then looked past the naga to see us gathered around the table. Dokutsu and Shippo had been playing with the fire again, but they both looked up, sensing the tension in the air.

“I’m afraid it can’t wait.” Shogun1231 pulled a revolver, an advanced artificer weapon, and fired three times from point-blank range. Artificer bullets were often more than mere slugs of metal, and these were no exception. They penetrated Wyrmtongue’s chest and stomach before exploding inside of him. The two samurai were through the door before the body hit the floor.

“No!” Sharkey screamed, raising his arms to begin an incantation. Dokutsu had already materialized her power sword and was swinging for the samurai, but they weren’t afraid of her.

>>

Chadchaddington — Human (Nihonjin)

Celestial Level 2

East — Water — Orange

BolognaKenshin — Human (Nihonjin)

Celestial Level 3

East — Crystal — Green

>>

They both carried Cerulium katanas, the sharpest weapons in existence. Dokutsu, who didn’t wear armor of any kind, would be cut into chunks. She surged mana into her power sword, a formidable weapon that might have been able to brute force its way past one of them, but not both.

Lawlimi began charging the X-Cannon, and Haggitha was ready with Karcharoth, but they were out of their league. They would be hard-pressed to challenge the servants and soldiers that were piling in behind Shogun1231.

“Where are all YOUR guys?” Lawlimi shouted at Sharkey, but the guildmaster was completely absorbed in his magical workings. The answer was immediately evident in any case. Whistles were blowing, and there was shouting from the rooms below. Beneath the windows, figures in gold capes were streaming across the estate lawn. Captain Fara had chosen this moment to send her assault.

A shape swung down from the roof outside, smashing shoulder first through the window and rolling back up to her feet. Silva shrugged off the glass shards sticking to her armor and in her hair, then pulled her axe.

“Am I late?”

She wasn’t. In that moment the wall with the fireplaces exploded, and a red hulk with a gruesome scar across his chest came striding through the demolition shouting, “OH YEAH!”

>>

JammyJams — Goliath (Corrupted)

Celestial Level 4

Zenith — Flesh — Red

>>