Once the complaints had vanished under the blanket of silence, Alfons struck a dramatic pose that would have looked ridiculous had the braziers surrounding him not erupted with fire.

Four molten pillars arced through the air, twisting together above Alfons and forming into the shape of a flaming dragon. The dragon reared back and let out a roar. A wall of wind buffeted Arek, forcing the orc to grab his hat before it blew off his head.

Ming was slower to the punch. Her pie hat was lifted off her head, but Belmont snatched it out of the air and plopped it back onto the mage’s head.

The dragon leapt through the air, darting over the crowd and leaving tiny glowing motes of orange light in its wake. It made a full circle before charging straight towards Alfons. The announcer made no move to block it. The fire slammed into him and an enormous explosion rocked the room.

The fire faded away, revealing Alfons. He’d been wreathed in flames, but his expression was anything but panicked. The auctioneer dropped into a low bow, tipping his burning hat as the pedestal beside him started to shine.

A flash filled the room for an instant, obscuring the stage. When Arek’s sight returned to him, a crystal ball in a beautiful metal basket rimmed with blue velvet had appeared upon the pedestal.

“I’d like to preface this with a warning. This crystal ball can be used by any mage, but they must be at least B ranked or stronger to avoid burning themselves to death. It draws too much energy for anyone else to handle. Now – look closely. This might be the rarest item many of you will ever see.”

Alfons gestured and the ball rose several feet into the air. The large projection mimicked its motion.

“This item is called a Grave Eye. It is a one-time use item. When a mage activates it, they will open a portal to any of the Higher or Lower Reaches. The caster can then focus on any willing soul residing within them and…” Alfons trailed off, turning as if to make eye contact with everyone in the audience. “Bring them back to life. A complete resurrection. No zombies or timers – it will be as if they never died. While age still applies, if you bring back anyone with enough magical power, it’s unlikely they’ll die of natural causes.”

The murmurs that rose up from the crowd were the loudest they’d ever been. Arek could practically feel the spell straining to keep everyone hidden. Alfons held a hand up and the chattering slowly quieted.

“This item will start bidding at nine hundred thousand gold. I’m sure this seems expensive to some of our esteemed purveyors on the first floor, but let me assure you. This price is incredibly low. Remind yourselves that this orb can bring the dead back to life.”

If anyone thought that the insanely high gold value would slow down the bids, they were sorely mistaken. There were no individual dings – it was more of a cacophony. Every single one of the upper floors erupted in noise.

Alfons stood there, listening to the orchestra with a slight smile. It died out over the next few seconds as everyone got their initial bid in.

“That portable house with a fully sized kitchen was only five hundred thousand gold,” Arek said. “I nearly could have gotten two of them for this price.”

“It brings someone back to life!” Malissa said. “That’s way more valuable than a house!”

“A house with a kitchen,” Arek stressed. “Big difference. Besides, it only brings back a willing soul. What if your friend doesn’t want to come back to the normal world? I probably wouldn’t. I’d imagine they’re enjoying heaven a lot more. Although, I suppose if I was in the Lower Reaches, I would be quite amicable to getting brought back.”

“Why would you be in the Lower Reaches?” Ming asked, laughing. “That’s for evil people. We’d be in the Higher Reaches. The bar isn’t exactly high, and most of the gods don’t even care as long as you’re half decent. But… I’m not sure the food up there is any good. Could I even eat if I’m a soul?”

Arek let out a noncommittal grunt. The robe of darkness enveloping all of them obscured his expression, but he turned back to the stage to hide his face anyways.

“The gods haven’t lived for millennia without developing a way to enjoy life,” Arek said. “I’m sure they’ve figured something out. Life without food would just be torture.”

“I could see the benefits of having such an item,” Belmont said, speaking up for the first time in a while. “I don’t fancy the idea of the Higher or Lower Reaches. We have no way of verifying anything about them.”

“Belmont, we literally saw a god visit the capitol when we were kids,” Malissa said. “You looked him in the eyes.”

“I recall,” Belmont said. “I also said they were shifty and beady, like a cat who is about to steal the food off my plate. I don’t trust anything I can’t see with my own eyes.”

“You’ll get a chance to see it eventually,” Malissa said with a laugh. “Just pray it’s later rather than sooner.”

“If it’s all the same, I’ll just try to get my hands on one of those Grave Eye things,” Belmont said.

“You can’t use it after you’re dead. Someone has to do it for you,” Ming said.

“I know. I’d just give it to one of you three,” Belmont said. They all stopped talking. Belmont blinked. “What?”

“It’s nothing,” Malissa said. Arek grunted in agreement. If they pointed out that Belmont actually trusted them, the man would probably booby trap his entire room for the next month.

Throughout their entire conversation, Alfons had been announcing the price of the Grave Eye. It had steadily risen to over a million gold, and it showed no signs of slowing down.

“One million and five hundred thousand!” Alfons called out.

Another ding echoed out before he’d even finished speaking. Alfons’s eyes bugged out as the man did his best imitation of a frog getting squished.

The ding hadn’t come from the top floors. It hadn’t even come from the second floor. It was from the same location as every other winning bid.

“Ah, I’m afraid we’re going to have to verify that you can afford this amount,” Alfons said. “My apologies, everyone. This will only take a few moments.”