"Do tell." Duketace nodded.
"Are you staying in an expensive hotel?" Yurtale asked.
"Yeah, in the Gatarakh Clan's hotel," Duketace said, watching Yurtale sigh in relief.
"If it's there, then there's no problem." Yurtale said, "You only need to invite the representatives of the various auction house to your hotel room and arrange a meeting there. None of the Auction houses are daring enough to stir up trouble on the Gatarakh Clan's property."
"How will I invite them, though? I know none." Duketace said.
"Leave that to me. I knew quite a few spies from various auction houses." Yurtale said, "As long as I inform them of a treasure, they'll head towards the hotel. By the way, what level of treasure do you think the item in your possession is?"
"I'm…not sure." Duketace shook his head, "It's just…terrifying. So, I've never bothered to look into it. My brother did that and died a mysterious death immediately. And he was just one of the dozens that died to this. All I know about it is just the name that my brother wrote on his death bed."
"The Forbidden Tale…" He muttered, watching Yurtale close his ears in reflex.
"Hey, don't go blurting out such stuff that might harm others. I'm not even an Invoker you know." Yurtale said in alarm, inspecting himself to see that he was fine, somewhat jittery after hearing about Duketace's experiences.
"A-Anyway, I'll also inform an appraiser to check the treasure in your hand. T-The lot of you can discuss the rest. As long as you don't leave the hotel before the treasure is sold, you'll be absolutely fine." Saying as such, Yurtale took his leave, "The spies are pretty quick. So, they'll be waiting for you at the hotel within an hour."
Upon seeing Yurtale leave, Duketace frowned for a moment, wondering if it was fine to invite them to their hotel. Truth be told, he was banking on protection from the Gatarakh Clan from the auction houses, the reason he booked a room there in the first place.
After all, the Gatarakh Clan cared about their face the most, ensuring nothing dissatisfying happened in their territory and the properties under them.
"Let's return to our room first." Saying so, he sighed a little before dragging an unwilling Kowla with him.
Returning to the room, he barely sat down when a knock resounded on the door. 'So fast?'
He was surprised when he opened the door, seeing a group of people standing there, all prim and proper, holding large stacks of paper in their hands.
Among them, there was a middle-aged woman at the front, staring at Duketace to introduce herself, "I'm a Grade 4 Appraiser. I'll appraise the value of your treasure before the rest can present you their terms and conditions."
"Thank you," Duketace said, leading the middle-aged woman into the room while only flashing a cordial smile at the rest, unwilling to invite them inside. Though, as if aware, the group of people calmly waited at the entrance.
"Is this the treasure?" The middle-aged woman raised an eyebrow, staring at the large block that was covered by a jet-black cloth. She removed it, observing four slabs, muttering as she touched it, "Hmm, they seem to have been created by a Human Invoker."
She observed the four, stating, "All four are the same…no, there are subtle differences."
As she continued to focus on them, starlight shone through her eyes as she gasped in shock, taking a step back in alarm, "W-What the heck is this?"
"It's called the Forbidden Tale." Duketace said, "But all I know is this, that's all. I know nothing else."
"Is something the issue, ma'am?" One of those at the entrance asked, worried about the middle-aged woman.
"Invite a Grade 5 Appraiser." The middle-aged woman closed the cover on the Forbidden Tales before taking her leave.
"Grade 5?" Everyone was shocked. Appraisers were graded based on the quality of items they inspected and graded. Grade 1 Appraisers usually looked at regular paintings, pottery, and other common auctionable items.
Grade 2 Appraisers looked at items meant for Inferior Invokers, Grade 3 Appraisers for Common Invokers, and Grade 4 Appraisers for Superior Invokers.
The middle-aged woman was a Superior Invoker who appraised items meant for Superior Invokers. She was in Grade 4. The fact that she asked for a Grade 5 meant that the treasure was on a level suitable for Ascenders.
After all, Grade 5 Appraisers were in truth Ascenders.
As the middle-aged woman took her leave, half the crowd sprang out of the hotel, directly informing their superiors regarding the same as another group arrived, significantly better dressed than before.
And at the lead was an old man wearing a cloak that covered him from head to toe. He didn't speak a word, approaching the treasure in question to observe it before nodding as he left. He didn't do anything beyond that as all the people stared at him nervously, sighing in relief once he left.
"What…just happened?" Duketace asked the crowd of people.
"Lord's actions meant that the treasure in your hands is worthy of Ascenders. He didn't look into the details beyond that as that's the headache of the auction house that purchases the right to auction your item." One of the men in the crowd said before pointing at a nearby room, "Shall we discuss the terms there?"
"Sure," Duketace nodded as he stared at Kowla, "You stay here."
Once they entered the nearby room, everyone pushed forth various beneficial terms, at the end of which Duketace selected the Starwing Auction House, for their terms were the best.
The representative of the Starwing Auction House shook hands with Duketace, "We'll post a couple of guards here for safety. One of our higher-ups will come here to collect the item. Great doing business with you."
He also said before leaving, "You'll be given a VIP seat to witness how your auction item fares. You'll be receiving seventy percent of the proceeds, after all."
Following that, both the satisfied parties parted as the representative headed to the Starwing Auction House, looking at the group of people before him to smile, "That went great."
"Of course." Whether it was the middle-aged woman or the Grade 5 Appraiser, not to mention the crowd of people, all were from the Starwing Auction House.
The representative then bowed towards the Grade 5 Appraiser, "I shall work on our inventory, boss."
"Sure," A familiar voice resounded as the Grade 5 Appraiser removed his hood. He was Yurtale, someone that hid the mark on his forehead. For, Ascenders were capable of that. He was the owner of the Starwing Auction House, grinning as he sighed, "The things one must do to be the leader of this business."
