The Auction: The Lot Catalogue
A Note From the Author: Below is the aforementioned Lot Catalogue for the "The Auction", the story based on the Call of Cthulhu adventure of the same name. It was decided that the lot items would be introduced at the auction itself, rather than in a separate RP, but this meant that a majority of the work put in to adapting the items more or less seamlessly into the Warcraft setting wouldn't be seen, or the very least wouldn't be as visible. So after hemming and hawing over it, I decided to make the Catalogue its own post, so that those RP-ing this tale with me can have appropriately informed in-character reactions, and those reading along can keep up. Who knows, maybe these items will come back in other tales. In any case, please stay safe out there and enjoy :)
The Babington House
Lot 1, Ankh, Tol'vir:
Description: Also known as the “The Blood Ankh”. Highlight, 23 cm; width 10 cm Across the arms. Composed of an alloy of copper and silver bearing untranslated hieratic markings across the front. Red metallic flakes “bleed” up from the bottom, thinning out as it reaches the arms. Minimum bid is 100 G.
Lot 2, Manuscript of Beth Eloim
Description: In Old Lordaeronian, it was written a number of years before the Fall, during the early reign of Terenas Menethil II. The pages are illuminated with gold leaf. 426 leather bound pages. Minimum bid 60 G.
History: “Rescued” from the Scarlet Monastery archives before they could be burned. Unremarkable in the grand scale of history, it is a relic from a simpler time in the history of the human kingdoms, before demons and undead and orcs. This book is a cabalistic treatise on the Light, the soul of man, demons (though in the more traditional, religious sense then the Burning Legion sense), how and why they exist, and what relationship they have with each other. If looked at more closely, an investigator can tell that the book actually used to be an old medical guide for medics in training, before someone ripped out the old pages and rebound the book for its original purpose.
Lot 3, Multiple Lot:
Description: Magus Ritual Objects - Magician’s robes, embroidered with various signs of ceremonial magic; marble wand, carved with astrological signs; dagger, iron inlaid with copper designs, 30cm long and double edged. Minimum bid 40 G.
History: The three items are scorched as if exposed to extreme heat. Each is basic to a novice spellcasters apprenticeship kit. The robe (while faded), wand and dagger are all beautifully made; the fabric is surprisingly intact, the wand’s crystal focus is not cracked, and the knife is still sharp. There is no chance that these are stage props.
All the items were used by someone enthusiastically caught up in the then recent introduction of magic to humans by the Quel'dorei elves of Silvermoon. The robe is tailored to fit a human adult male. The accoutrements themselves, having been long since out of use, no longer have any magical power to speak of. Useful for lore masters and scholars of the early history of Dalaran and magic amongst humans, but not really for anyone outside of their professions.
Lot 4, Hand of Glory:
History: The Hand of Glory has been a staple of black shadow magic for centuries, ever since the first humans learned of the whispers lurking in the shadows. A preserved human hand from a hanged individual (ideally a criminal) is surmounted on a wooden base, with five candles, one on each finger. Each candle is made from fat rendered from the body of a murderer.
Reputedly, when the proper spells are performed, the hand will twist, and the lit finger will point the way to the thing the caster most desires. The hand could also be used in summoning the dead. Finally, when taken into a household, the residents will magically fall asleep, and the hands wielder can rob the building.
It looks more fragile than it actually is.
Lot 5, Multiple Lot:
Description: Troll Fetish, of driftwood, bone and hair. About 18 cm tall, in the style of the Witherbark tribe of western Hinterlands; Tribal drum, driftwood and skin, irregularly shaped, 41 cm tall. Both bear the mark of the same artisan. Minimum bid 20 G.
History: Both of these items were brought back from the Hinterlands by Winston Gearjam, a well-known gnomish explorer who recently passed away. Both drum and fetish were made by a witch doctor of the Witherbark. Someone with a knowledge of animals and leatherworking taking a half-hearted glance at the items can tell that at the very least the materials come from an animal not known to them personally.
History: This book helped start the shift between the remaining Highborne and the Kaldorei, leading to the split and exile of the future Sin'dorei. Lanthol Evensorrow was considered a learned scholar by some and a fraud by others. His book has become one of the mainstays of modern Sin'dorei magical philosophy, and deals with alchemy, astrology, ceremonial druid/nature magic, and in later chapters, demonology. It talks a great deal about how to induce visions and enhance one's clairvoyant abilities, but if the pages inside actually held such secrets, they’ve been ripped out.
A first edition copy of this book would certainly be a collector's item.
Description: Kaldorei. First belonged to The alchemist and sorcerer Mylalleas Silversong. It is 108 cm long, with a dragon head hilt and a crystal pommel engraved with the word “AZOTH”. Minimum bid 250 G.
History: Mylalleas was a Highborn philosopher and alchemist renowned for his wide knowledge. Supposedly a member of the court of Queen Azshara, he summoned up a demon and had it imprisoned within the hilt of his sword to do his bidding. Modern students of alchemy believe that Azoth, the name engraved on the hilt, stands for the vital alchemical principle which makes life possible, not for the name of a demon, which demonologists believed if evoked in ceremony, will draw the demon to serve the bidding of the warlock.
Description: Used during black masses. The top of the skull has been removed and the interior inlaid with silver, to form a cup. The rim is surrounded by 13 rubies. Minimum bid 100 G.
History: Frequently, skulls of minor demons were used in black masses during the early years of Fel magic. This one is particularly ornate; perhaps it belonged to a nobleman, which would explain the ornate bejeweled interior. Or instead, the skull was constructed for a specific purpose, such as the consecration of a new warlock coven leader. Judging by the shape of the cranium, and missing any tell-tale horns, the skull must belong to a Terrorguard, Doomguard, or one of the other, larger demons within the armies of the now defeated Burning Legion.
Description: Unknown origin. Artist unknown. The brazen head is made of riveted brass shaped into the form of a human head, with hinged eyelids and jaws which appear immovable. Minimum bid 130 G.
History: This item is reported to have been created by a black magician of the Vrykul in imitation of the Titans own talking archives, and is said to have had the ability to answer questions dealing with cosmology and deep philosophy. A ceremony is said to evoke it, but what that ceremony was is currently unknown, likely forgotten by even the remaining Vrykul clansmen in Northerend. While it does not appear to be much to look at, the metal smells extraordinarily like burning blood.
People are said to get an eerie feeling when looking into its eyes, like the Brass Head is looking back at them.
History: Thermuk Stouthonor was born during the first days of the first Grand Alliance. A priest, occultist and a practitioner of his own particular (some might say peculiar) style of Light magic, he was one of the first dwarves to convert to the Light, and zealously spread it among his clansmen with mixed results. He gained the moniker "The Lawbringer" during this time. Later, he started a small group (border lining on a cult) of priests, that within some circles of the Church of Light were considered heretical. The Book of Law is his first effort to spread his ideas, laying down his principles for life, following the Light’s tenets, and his philosophy of how the Titans fit into it all. As the lot item is a first edition book, with the original notes attached, it is somewhat valuable even today.
History: An exceedingly rare pamphlet depicting the struggles of early Tidesages learning about the Tidemother and interpreting her whispers. Much in the vein of children's tales and drunken hysteria, but Brother Darius Stormsong’s (a long dead ancestor of the Stormsong family) tales have a ring of truth, and his occurrences as described give a more ominous meaning to the recent Fourth War events in Stormsong Valley. The mantras and meditations kept on this parchment could be extremely valuable to anyone trying to revive the Tidesages or corrupt them further into darkness that lies beneath the waves.
History: Many protective signs and charms were used during the early years of magical history, each designed to protect its wearer from the consequences of the arcane or to enhance certain abilities or powers. Through experimentation or study will reveal the following: One gold medallion is to release the wearer from bondage, the other is to cause ley-lines to become visible. The copper medallion is for use in love spells, and the tin medallion is meant to bring luck and power to the wearer.
History: This book attempts to list and describe the minor and major demons of the Burning Legion. It shows its age, however, as Jacque Collin was not a warlock, and did not live to see any actual demons - taking his information from the accounts of the few elves who survived the first invasion and were willing to talk about their experiences. The illustrations though, are disgustingly ornate and accurate, even if the knowledge about the demons themselves is not. An excellent addition for the collection of an appreciator of the demonic arts, or an annoying setback for the practitioner.
Autor's Note: (I imagine this lot as an incorrect/quack Warcraft version of Deckard Cain from the Diablo series.)
Description: Furbolg, leather, modern. Singed but not overly damaged. Minimum bid 5 G.
History: An Furbolg shaman gathers together certain items as directed by his spirit guide. The items together weigh only a few ounces. These items, when sealed into the bag by a special ceremony, become the heart of the shamans power. It is supposed to be death to open and look inside a Furbolg shaman’s medicine bag. This particular bag appears to be from the Blackwood Tribe in Darkshore, explaining the burned appearance it currently has. A collectors curio only, and a sad, terrible reminder of the loss of Teldrassil during the Fourth War. While the contents are always personal to the shaman, typical bags have included dirt from an ancestors grave, crumbled dried leaves, a nightsaber’s tooth, and a dried piece of animal fat, likely a deer.
History: Likely belonging to a priest of Hakkar the Soulflayer, it was a sign of status and power. Hakkar the Soulflayer, the Blood God, is a malevolent and destructive loa notably worshipped by the Gurubashi trolls, and known in the troll pantheon as the Loa of Blood. He at one point controlled the Gurubashi Empire's fallen capital of Zul'Gurub. Hakkar's blood is very potent. A small amount of his blood is said to permanently taint everything it touches, and Light forbid it actually getting into a living being's body. Even the great Green Dragons, with their ethereal bodies were no match for Hakkar’s influence.
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