"Sold! To the gentleman form Yinta."
Lousy overpriced rubbish..."Here we have a lovely"
cheap "antique"
falling apart "cabinet, which was made by Drewitt and Sons"
who? "in late 1305."
So, how good condition can it be in? Ah, we don't tell them that, now, do we? "We'll start the bidding at" Luciphor had to manually stop his eyebrows from going up as he read the piece of paper, "1000 Imperial credits."
"1500 credits!" said a woman in the third row.
"1750!" A man in a tweed suit.
"2000!" A boy with a crossbow, who sounded like he was from Ugawasta.
"2100!" A man with an ear job.
"2500!" A woman with a fedora, probably from Distena.
"3000!" A man in a kilt. No doubt from Eraif.
"3000 credits? Going for 3000 Imperial credits? Anyone? Anyone?"
"3500 credits!" said that woman in the third row again.
"3500 credits! Anyone? Anyone?"
Nothing.
"Sold! To the lady in the third row."
Next up was a standing lamp. Then a buggie. Then several bits of clothing, some pieces of real estate, and---
oh, dear..."Here we have a---" Luciphor read the piece of paper again. He made that "what the..." face, and said again, "Here we have a dog sled team. Bred from dogs born way up in Wert, these nine dogs are each capable of pulling twenty times their body weight, for short periods of time. For longer journeys, ten times their body weight, with the entire team, should suffice. Huskies also make good companions, and are very loyal pets, so even if you do not need the sled team, you may still need the dogs. Each comes with his or her own pedigree, none are spayed or neutered. The dogs are sold as a team, but if they do not sell, they will be broken up. The bidding starts at 1750 Imperial credits," Luciphor finished, as the dogs were led out onto the stage. They looked like nice enough dogs.
"2000 credits!" said that man in the tweed.
Why are they buying a dog sled team? Nobody here needs a dog sled team!"2500 credits!" said kilt boy again.
"3000!"
"3500!"
"4000!"
Oy, vey, these are selling for more than the cabinet! More than that fool McMansion out in Jael! What idiots! But hey, idiots with money..."Bid lies at 4000 credits, from the lady from Harrisburg, 4000 credits. Anyone? Anyone? These dogs are an excellent investment. Just think how much the puppies could be worth."
"4500!"
Ah, the sweet smell of an all-day sucker."5000!"
"5000? Anyone? Anyone?"
Nothing.
"Sold! To the gentleman from Nantua. That's all we have for today, folks, good night!" The fat man from Nantua came up to claim his dogs. He had also bought several nice pieces of pawned, probably stolen, jewelry, and now this team of dogs.
I suppose, in Nantua, a team of sled dogs... No way! A team of sled dogs is only useful in Wert! Where there's no horses to pull you around..."Good evening, sir, just sign these ownership forms," Luciphor said to the man, as he handed over the cash. "Thank you, sir," Luciphor said, pocketing the money, "And if you would allow an inspector to see over your place of residence, to accord with the regulations when purchasing animals, we can be off. This is Dr. Lanning," Luciphor said, gesturing at a sprite next to him, "She will inspect the living conditions of the dogs."
The fat man muttered something, the first syllable of which was "bull," but allowed the sprite to follow him into his---dog sled? No, buggy. Just like everyone else. A nice horse and buggy. Luciphor led the dogs into the cart attached, and tied them down, hoping they didn't think to jump out, for them would get stuck hanging over the edge by their leash. But they'd probably be able to get down on the ground and keep up with the horse. Luciphor had never seen a working dog that couldn't outrun a horse.
Well, who cares? Your problem now, fat boy. It was getting dark, and Luciphor was getting hungry.