A crash and a chorus of child-like cries disturbed the Petran peace one spring afternoon in 652, the crows taking wing from the fields before deeming it safe to return to hunting for worms once more. With a sigh, an old xoran in a battered flat cap oversaw the lifting of a crystal chandelier into his hand barrow. As the dust settled, he felt a little sorry for the three children it had crushed, but really, he had warned them and given them ropes and blankets to bring the heavy furnishing down safely. Ah well, at least the chandelier was still in one piece.

~ ~ ~

A young vagrant had approached Drucker the previous month, a man he had heard some of the others call the Superintendent. He wanted help making his dream for Petra a reality. The village had been empty for years, no one yet to stake a claim. The tall man had ideas, and the energy of youth shone in his gaze, promising he could see them through.

Later that day, with a grumble and a hefty pull, Tinker Drucker jounced his barrow through the doorway of Sangre Keep. Determined not to look at the dust-covered corpses stacked like cordwood within the old fortress, his old eyes studied the rooms for anything that might bring some coin.

The chandelier hanging overhead would glitter beautifully, the tinker thought, once the shrouds of greying cobwebs were removed, but he would need a team to bring it down. With a brush of a sleeve, the rounded curves of a forgotten vase showed smooth and black, silver striking through the stone. These would do nicely, he surmised. The larger furnishings required assistance to move, including a statue of some imperious woman. Gods, it wasn't just the stone that made her figure seem cold and hard. A few items, small as they were, fought his touch, an effort beyond physical strength required to lift them and nestle them within the blanketed barrow. More than once the old xoran had to step outside to find some fresh air, settle his roiling stomach, and deny the terrors that seemed to creep closer towards his turned back as he continued with his task.

Most didn't speak of the demise of the keep's last family, but everyone knew about it just the same. The past seemed to have stirred again, disturbed from its slumber in history, and people were seeing and feeling strange things. At least they had Janice, he thought, offering what little relief she could to the vagrants. A life spent walking the roads had taught her much about sickness... and succour.

"What a haul! You've done well, Drucker." The Superintendent looked pleased with the lots picked out from the remains of the Karrellan estate. "I'll organise a couple of rooms for you down at the Brass Lantern, and you can auction these off to fund the rebuild."

Relief rippled through the tinker. It was not an unhappy couple of months spent outside of Petra's boundaries, and soon the night of the auction loomed.

Later that month, a tired but smiling Drucker returned to Petra, where he was met at the door of the Horseshoe Inn by a shabby crowd of vagrants and harlots, all clamouring to know how the preceedings went. Pushing through the doors, he leaned behind the bar and claimed a dusty bottle. Three long swallows drained the ale quickly, and Drucker stepped back outside to nail a length of parchment to the door.

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The Karrellan Estate Auction

6th Chronos, 652 AF

Lot 1. An antique leonine candlestick.
Sold to Datrius Neige for 80,000 gp
Lot 2. An elegant statue.
Sold to Demiurge Sybilla for 410,000 gp
Lot 3. A child's music box.
Sold to Melodie Le'Murzen for 260,000 gp
Lot 4. A heavy Seleucarian sovereign ring.
Sold to Jarrod Lucoster for 425,000 gp
Lot 5. A decrepit choker of black lace.
Sold to Xae Cholla'Yi for 300,000 gp
Lot 6. A sleek vase of striated jet.
Sold to Jurixe S. Nithilar for 260,000 gp
Lot 7. A mounted elk head.
Sold to Jarrod Lucoster for 166,000 gp
Lot 8. A sumptuous chandelier.
Sold to Kayeil Inamora-Vorondil for 2,250,000 gp
Lot 9. A dusty painting.
Sold to Melodie Le'Murzen for 250,000 gp

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The Superintendent whistled as Drucker handed over the proceeds. "We'll all be using golden chamber pots!" he japed, safely putting away the nearly four and a half million gold raised. And with that, renovations to the old Horseshoe Inn began immediately.

Penned by My hand on the 1st of Aeguary, in the year 653 AF.