The Greatest Sinner

After about forty minutes, the carriage stopped. Evan and Marcel stepped outside and saw an ancient building - it was the Erden Family's auction house called - "The Stone Verity". The building was large and had an ancient aura about it. From the first glance, you could understand that it was not an ordinary house.

By the time Evan and Marcel arrived, a lot of people had already entered the auction house through the main entrance.

"Evan, let's go, it's less than twenty minutes before the auction starts, hurry up." Marcel said calmly and headed toward the "Stone Verity". Evan quickly followed him.

There was a man at the entrance, checking the invitations. People handed him letters with signatures and seals, and the man scrupulously checked them.

Marcel, however, was not going to wait for anyone. He simply walked forward and nobody stopped him. On the contrary, many people bowed slightly when they saw Marcel.

Evan was once again convinced of Marcel`s power. He was aware that everyone present was not ordinary people. Evan could see that a certain part of the people were magicians.

Of course, people were looking not only at the magnificent Marcel, but also at the unknown young man. After this auction, many rumors about Evan would circulate through Mossy Vulture, and he would become a real sensation in certain circles.

Everyone knew perfectly well that Marcel had a daughter and that he didn't let anyone near him. And suddenly, it was an unknown guy who appeared next to Marcel himself.

Like Marcel, Evan wasn't paying attention. He had come to the auction for certain things, not for the looks of the crowd.

Most people were headed forward down the corridor, ignoring the other aisles. Suddenly, Marcel turned left, where no one else was going but him.

After a few turns, they reached the downstairs where the guards were standing by.

They bowed low when they saw Marcel, and did not raise their heads until Marcel had gone far enough. Marcel and Evan reached another corridor, there were several doors on the right side.

Marcel went to the fourth of the five doors, looked at its number, and slowly opened it.

"Here is my place in this auction house, quite luxurious, isn't it?" Marcel said with a slight smile on his face as he took a seat on the velvet sofa.

The young man looked around and thought to himself, <It`s like a king's suite. Was it all built only for influential people can enjoy the wine and relax during the auction?>

Evan was surprised that the Erden family's auction house had such incredible facilities for some guests. What's more, besides Marcel, four other people had similar accommodations.

The most interesting part of the room was the huge panoramic window that overlooked the colossal size of the amphitheater. Evan's gaze was fixed on the wide, round stage on which the lots would be displayed.

In front of the stage were many chairs, the simplest seats. Evan didn't know it, but there were two more similar floors below their room with Marcel. The first floor had 25 rooms, they were much more modest than Marcel's one, but much better than a simple chair. On the second floor, there were 10 rooms where very wealthy visitors were accommodated. The higher the floor, the fewer seats there were and the more influential people were there.

"Mr. Marcel, who are the other two rooms on this floor for?" Asked Evan looking at the scene below.

He knew from Fien's words that there were two of the most influential forces in Mossy Vulture - the Erden Family and the Cross Family. Marcel was a unique person with no small amount of influence over the whole town, but those were only three forces, so who were the other two?

"I don't know myself; they're not assigned to anyone. Perhaps, there will be some visitor, a powerful magician or an influential politician."

< By the way, since this auction is hosted by the Erden Family, it's likely that Rosa will be here as well> Evan thought to himself.

Marcel walked closer to the window, sat down in the leather chair, and said:

"It's three minutes to go. Honestly, I don't know what lots we're going to see today. I went to this auction spontaneously. Normally, if I'm not sure what's going to be on display, I don`t come here. I think it's even good, tonight will be full of discoveries for me'.

"And as for me, this is the first time I'll ever be in an auction at all, pretty exciting." Said Evan and took a seat next to Marcel.

While they were talking, most people had already gathered and taken their seats. Almost the entire upper class of Mossy Vulture had gathered at the "Stone Verity" that evening. Everyone was curious about what the Erden Family had prepared this time.

Click.

Evan heard the doors on their floor opening. If he was not mistaken, four rooms out of five had been already occupied.

"It's starting." Marcel said quietly. At the same moment, everyone stared at the stage.

Whoosh.

The red screen covering most of the stage moved aside and everyone saw the auctioneer with the first item on the stand.

The auctioneer was dressed formally: a suit, a tall cylinder and a long cane in his right hand.

"I am pleased to welcome you all to this magical auction, where each of you may participate and purchase something of interest." The man took off his cylinder and bowed with his hands spread apart.

"And of course, this auction would not be possible without the efforts of the Erden Family." The auctioneer said loudly, pointing to the center room on the third floor.

Everyone immediately turned around and saw one of the most powerful men in all of Mossy Vulture, the head of the Erden Family - Koen van Erden!

Koen was sitting in a big chair wearing a long gray mantle. His hair was shoulder-length, the right side of his hair was black, while the left side was snow-white. His deep, amber eyes stared calmly at the scene. Under his left eye was a tattoo of a flowing tear. Even despite the gray mantle covering his body, you could see how graceful Koen's physique was. The most notable detail of his appearance was the horrible scar on his neck.

Beside Koen there was a short girl in a blue dress, with blond curly hair and eyes as blue as the ocean. As hard as it was to guess, it was Rosa van Erden, Koen's younger sister.

Despite the raucous reaction in the audience, Koen said nothing. He simply gave a slight nod to the auctioneer, signaling the start of the auction.