The pedestal rose and fell through the remaining lots.
Lots thirteen through seventeen passed in a steady rhythm, and Tenebria's group did not move for any of them. A reinforced spirit cradle. A set of dimensional charts mapping safe lanes toward the Axis Realm. A refinement furnace that drew Erix's eye for exactly one second before he let it go. A pair of comprehension stones tuned to Action type Concepts. A vial of phoenix marrow that the Eternal Pyre matriarch finally spent a player on and won, her first and only entry of the night.
[Tenebria: Hold. Hold. Hold. The Anchors are next.]
The hall had grown quiet in a different way now. The early greed had burned off. What remained were the houses who had played patient, the ones still clutching full hands of players. Korivax. Solmark, with three. Sable Vault, with four. Veranthar, who had spent one and lost it to Rin in the dark. And Tenebria, with three.
Velmoth let the silence stretch before he spoke.
