A Deal

As the auction soon came to an end, the announcer took a final moment to address the attendees.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for attending tonight. We hope to see you again at our next event."

The crowd began to disperse, murmuring with excitement about how the night went. Among them, Lady Lian and her bodyguards moved forward, retrieving a briefcase containing the precious vial of World Tree sap.

They headed toward the exit. As they stepped outside, the night air of Nocturnus blew past them, cool and crisp.

Lady Lian's silver wolf walked beside her, looking around as they slowly headed for their transport. Her bodyguards were vigilant as ever, always keeping a close watch on their surroundings, hands always close to their concealed weapons.

It wasn't long before one of the guards noticed something was off.

"Lady Lian," he said in a low voice, his eyes scanning the area, "someone's following us."