The Great Exchange Hall on the High Wharf smelled of cigar leaf, fine wool, hot coffee, and the sharp, nervous excitement of high capital at a royal bankruptcy auction.
On the raised auctioneer’s rostrum stood Chief Guard Malcol Corvin. He held a polished ebony gavel in his right hand. Below him, at the registry counter, sat Hester Quill and apprentice Olla, their quill pens poised over the official forced payout dockets.
Spread across the tables were the stone-built deeds, survey plans, and title parchments of Director Tovin Crane’s three private luxury estates, seized twenty-four hours earlier under the High judge’s sequestration decree.
Tomas Reed and Nessa Vale stood at the outer edge of the rostrum, watching the assembly of wealthy merchants, foreign shippers, and banking factors who packed the auction floor.
“Lot Number One!” Corvin’s voice bellowed across the hall, striking the block with his gavel. “The High Oaks Manor Estate! Sixty acres of prime upland orchard, stone manor house of twenty-four rooms, private trout stream, and seasoned timber reserve! Bidding starts at three thousand silver crowns!”
The bidding was swift and fierce. High merchants from the Capital trade ring competed against shipping factors from the Western Marches. In eight minutes, the price climbed past four thousand, then five thousand crowns.
