Path of the Vampire forum

Smart or Casual

An auction? For people and their talents and skills? How very...interesting, Elizabeth thought to herself as she looked at the information of each candidate in Lancaster's Bunk Backpackers. She didn't think she ever attended an event like this, so what could it hurt? Other than her pocketbook potentially, but she was smart enough to know when to stop.

There were not a lot of candidates, but maybe that would change as the night progressed. Maybe people wanted to see how such an event played out; much like herself. Not many interested her, but there was one individual that she had ran into a couple times in the sewer. She didn't know him by name, but when she saw his picture, Elizabeth knew it was him. And he had been quite nice each time she shared a shield with him. So few had manners, or even the decency to speak with anyone these nights and so, this man would get her bid because five thousand dollars was chump change in the grand scheme of things among vampires that lived for an eternity. Five thousand dollars could be made in a week, with some change to spare.

"Seven thousand dollars for the young man." Elizabeth said as she raised her hand, eyes connecting with the male on stage. Did he even know who she was? Or, rather, did he remember their random run-ins in the sewers?

Finally the wait was over and the moment had arrived for Grant Stonehouse to take centre stage. An opportunity had arisen this evening that the financially motivated businessman simply couldn’t let slip away. He was going to parade himself like a prized stallion in the anticipation of a financial windfall heading his way. Having watched the earlier auctions with intense interest, witnessing large sums of money being bid on the “slaves”, Stonehouse was convinced that he could make some easy cash. Throughout the event, there had been an air of frustration lingering over Stonehouse’s head like a grey, gloomy rain cloud, as he had wanted to place bids on several of the offerings, but monetary restraints had limited his potential to win. He hoped that a change of financial fortune was right around the next corner.

In his previous life as a high-flying executive and party aficionado, Stonehouse was used to hogging the limelight, but it was the polar opposite in his new life in Harper Rock. The shadows were now his friend, not the stage, and moonlight had replaced the spotlight. In many ways, thrusting himself into the auction was like running headlong into the gladiatorial arena to face the lions, but Stonehouse was never one to shirk a challenge, especially one that would line his pockets with dollars.

The Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Pi, a familiar face to Stonehouse in a city of strangers. As she announced his name in her soothing French accent, Stonehouse rose gracefully from his chair and strode purposefully towards the stage, like a champion boxer entering the ring. He stood tall, preparing to face the crowd, waiting for the bell to ring and the fight to commence. All he needed now was some kind of pulsating entrance music to fire up the punters and rock them into a frenzied state, and the scenario would be complete. Stonehouse never lacked confidence in his own ability, and tonight he would strut his stuff, putting the likes of David Gandy and Tyson Beckford to shame. The stage was now a catwalk runway, and all eyes were firmly on Stonehouse. Focus, he continued to tell himself over and over again as his dark eyes scoured the audience through the shroud of lights.

A voice piped up from the back of the room offering five thousand dollars as an opening bid to get the ball rolling. Stonehouse didn’t recognize the man placing the bid, but had heard his voice bellowing out some pretty hefty bids earlier in the evening. Maybe Stonehouse was in luck and a high roller was in Lancaster’s tonight? Let him spend, thought Stonehouse as the thought of cash entered his head. Barely a moment had elapsed before a second bid was placed, this time from a woman slightly nearer the front of the gathered masses. As she raised her hand and offered seven thousand dollars for his services, Stonehouse looked into her eyes and instantly thought that the longhaired woman looked familiar. He’d definitely crossed paths with her in the sewers, but never hung around long enough to even ask her name. How rude of him, thought Stonehouse as his gaze returned to the rest of the crowd, looking for any movements that would indicate that the next bid was about to be placed.

Their eyes locked for a second and Elizabeth could almost 'see' his mind trying to place where the two had encountered the other. If he knew where they had met, that was fine and well. If not, that meant the young man had ventured out a lot and knew a lot of women. This made her lips twitch in amusement, before she was outbid by another woman she knew not or had never seen before.

Ten thousand. Elizabeth looked around the room and waited to see if anyone else was interested in the young man before her gaze returned to the male on stage. "Fifteen thousand dollars." She upped the bid just a little more, but not exceptionally so, just to see if the woman was well and truly interested in the male on stage. If so, Elizabeth might concede and allow the woman the win, so that another may meet the charming young man with such etiquette.

No sooner had the vaguely familiar woman from the sewers entered the fray and placed her opening bid, than a second female voice joined the party, offering ten thousand dollars. Although Stonehouse didn’t recognize her French accent, he instantly remembered her face. The woman, introduced by Pi as Abelle, had only been up on stage a few minutes earlier, occupying the exact same spot upon which Stonehouse now stood. Her scent still lingered under the glow of the spotlights, as she had barely had time to retake her seat in the crowd. The young woman had already banked a tidy sum of cash from her own sale, and it looked as though she was ready and willing to reinvest some of her earnings.

However, the latest entrant had a competition on her hands if she wanted to secure the services of the tall Englishman. The man at the back of the room, the one who had placed the initial bid, remained silent, but the mystery woman from the underground tunnels responded to the increased offer by showing continued interest in Stonehouse, and upped the ante by a further five thousand to fifteen thousand dollars. It would appear that Stonehouse, despite only a brief encounter or two, had left a lasting impression upon the longhaired lady.

Suddenly the game went up a gear, as a match of bidding tennis sprang into life. Abelle, the former participant, announced an additional five thousand dollars to the tally, pushing it up to twenty thousand as she trumped her opponent. Stonehouse smiled internally, while maintaining an ultra cool exterior. He was like a swan, graceful and elegant on the surface, while his mind flapped furiously like the swan’s webbed feet, trying to work out the motives of each of the contenders. Perhaps Stonehouse should have taken the time to speak to the woman in the sewer system, and paid some attention to Abelle’s auction card? On the other hand, maybe not, as Stonehouse seemed to be strangely enjoying the mystique of it all.