The Auction of Tallmire [1]

"We're going to be late," Caina complained, unable to stop as Liora travelled from stall to stall completely enthralled by the many things on display. Though she hadn't the buckles to afford much of it, Caina was swiftly learning that Liora was something of a stall hopper who just liked looking in place of actually buying.

"It'll be fine," Liora murmured as she got permission from a jewellery vendor to try out a little blu gemmed necklace with a silver chain. It was much more ornate than anything a small village like Alder would have, there only leather and twine string was used for most all jewellery with the odd gemstone or just an exceedingly polished and round stone for ornamentation.

"We left Noah alone and without food for hours now. We were supposed to be back two bells ago." Huffing Caina moved to Liora's side and scanned across the assortment of jewellery. Liora turned to her and presented the necklace, asking how it looked on her. "It's pretty," she said simply. "Fits your skin tone."

Pleased with her answer Liora faced the vendor and asked how much it was, when the answer of four hundred buckles came up her colour faded and she jerkily removed it. Setting it down as gently as a newborn.

"You know," she squeaked, "let's just, let's just head on back to Noah." Liora was already on her way, her movements slow and with a slight sway of shock. Caina rolled her eyes and fell back to the jewellery, there was a lot, from necklaces to circlets to even anklets and bracelets. Many of them were intricately woven leather dyed a few shades of dower browns and reds while others were metal and the usual gemstones and polished stones. They were pretty, but even she knew that four hundred was a bit much. She'd expect that much from gnome made jewellery. Things made with the ores harvested from gnome holes or from the body of the gnome itself.

Puffing out Caina pivoted and left the scowling merchant behind, quickly joining Liora by her side as they filtered through the crowds, Liora still popping by the stalls every now and then but growing increasingly pale every time a sum higher than fifty popped up. Something told Caina that she wasn't used to being so fearful of a few hundred buckles.

From the little bakery down the left side of the street, Caina knew they were close to their stall. When a little boy jumped and came crashing to the earth with a resounding thump her vision was drawn to him. That's when she noticed a neatly dressed boy just barely scratching his fifteenth carrying a grey vine basket woven almost as if it had grown on a tree. It was stuffed to the brim with large red orbs.

Caina paused her stride, one brow raising over the other watching as the boy faded down the street. Then another, then two more, then one more but his basket was half full. One of them was even a girl and all walked with seeming haste. With the last one, she'd taken her time and noticed the small cap the boy wore with the telltale emblem of the merchants guild. A carriage and a sack filled to the brim with buckles.

She didn't know what to think but as she heard Liora's exclamation she arched and looked to the stall just a bit further from herself. She stepped closer and as she slid around Liora she saw, him, a tall but portly boy with short cut brown hair. He too had a guild emblazoned cap on.

There wasn't much said between Liora and the boy bar the beginning confusion of Liora tossing out question over the panicked question when she didn't see Noah there. Then just as the boy said, "it's alright, miss Meira is with him right now at the guild house. She left me a note to guide you there so you two may join with her." She calmed and went silent.

***

Liora, for the lack of a better word, was completely and utterly befuddled. She'd been gone a while, she knew that, she even knew she was getting lost in her thoughts most of the time unwilling to return to Noah and do something embarrassing with her mind the way it was.

If she'd know this was going to happen, that Noah would be shipped off to the merchants guild she would have bolted back to him without a second breath. Compared to her own house—something she knew to be quite large compared to the more frequent single storied houses of the village—this grand and imposing guildhall dwarfed her everything.

She could tell her expression was dumb as she stood stock still staring straight up at the arches and the pristinely cut wood sidings. Everything was clean and tidy and in better shape than she'd seen a new shovel just thirty short minutes ago.

The boy guided them inside and Liora was once again thrown through a loop by the amount of noise and people bustling about. They were all merchants and their apprentices though some she was guessing in the moment were potential clients or people calling to sell something through one of their many merchants.

"If you'll wait here I will call for Miss Meira and she should be down to pick you up post haste." He clapped his hands together, eyes narrowing like a serpents as he slithered behind a counter and past a doorway never to be seen by the two again.

"What is this?" Liora questioned looking to Caina for reassurance.

"I have no idea." Was all Caina could say before no words left them again.

The two spun their heads around in search of Noah yet only found people they didn't know. Fat men, thin women, fat women thin men. Neatly dressed princesses poorly dressed paupers. There was so much variety that picking Noah out of this line up was a nigh impossibility but that didn't stop them from searching.

"Excuse me." A voice both womanly and assured rumbled them awake, startling Liora from its closeness but drawing Caina's head calmly around. "Would you happen to be the companions of sir Noah?"

The woman was a beauty, yet also a behemoth. She stood well above Liora's height and the size of her bosom and hips caused Liora to nibble her lips. Everything about her was young and pristine and made Liora question her body. 'Does Noah like dark skin?' she murmured silently stroking a hand over her hips.

Beneath the woman's translucent sash Liora couldn't help but frown at the pertness of her breasts. They didn't quite rival her own but they were more full compared to her aged bosom. "We are." Her voice shook nervously. "Who are you? Where's Noah?"

The woman smiled, her lips ruby and full sending a chill down Liora's spine. They were wet and shiny and even she could tell they were alluring. In that small moment an image rose in her head of Noah, no, an image from Noah's eyes of this woman between his legs, her lips latched around his shaft as she stared up at him with her little blue eyes. Just as quickly Liora flushed the idea away in tandem with a flushing of her cheeks.

"My name is Meira aet Stefan," the woman greeted, adding her position in this guild just after. "Noah is fine. I just wished to have a discussion with him in a more private location."

'So you could fuck him in peace.' An inner demon on Liora's shoulder hissed. She didn't know she had a demon like that.

"If you'll follow me I will bring you right to him. He is currently waiting inside one of the private chambers." The woman stepped to the side, the arm not covered by her translucent sash held out towards the staircase.

Liora and Caina shared concerned looks but nodded and stepped past the woman, Meira. She lingered just a bit longer, looking over the crowd with narrowing eyes at a coldly glaring man watching their every move.

At the top of the stairs, the girls paused and looked down each way before Meira pressed between them and lead them down one side and to a faintly shimmering doorway. Meira rose one hand, pressed it against a small silver dial on the topmost portion and the shimmer of light flickered away around the handle.

"Noah is right in here." She said and opened the door allowing the two to enter and see Noah seated on a chic sofa at the centre of the room.

"Noah!" Liora cried quickly tapping to his side. "I was so worried! You can't just leave like that! What if something happened to you!" she fell into an almost motherly session of beratement.

Noah inched back, a nervous twitch to his cheek that Liora was never going to let him turn into an actual answer.

"Now now," Though before she could do so just as well, Meira stepped around and quelled her. "I am the one to blame for this. If you two may seat yourselves, I shall get you both refreshments and properly explain what we have been discussing."

Liora hesitated, then glanced to Noah with a glare and nodded. "Noah." The boy shivered at her cold, authoritarian tone. "We'll properly talk about you wandering off later."

"Yes ma'am."

A small tremor of her heart welled her lips to lightly turn upwards. He could be cute some times. Especially when intimidated.

****

****

Okay, from now on I'll be tossing chapters into Grammerly before posting them. If there's any major issues like a mistaken name please tell me.