November 17th, 2021

The Arcwine Auction - An Evening with Dehla Moonsong

“Sunwhisper," Kalec said as he passed over a small envelope adorned with a light gold filigreed design on it to the guard who stood before him. He watched as the paper was opened up and the invitation within was checked, then read against a nearby leather bound ledger.

"Ahh yes, Mr. Sunwhisper. Welcome to the Gilded Parlor for tonight's event. Please enjoy yourself and our hospitality." The guard stepped to the side and gave a small gesture across his waistline towards the set of double doors behind him.

When he got the wave in, Kalec smoothed a hand down the side of his tailored black jacket and he walked through the double doors towards the sounds of conversation which came out from the hall ahead of him. Like a lot of people, he had taken up the sword and the backpack and went out into the world to embrace the adventurers lifestyle. He'd seen more of the world's strange and wonderful sights in a handful of years than he thought he would from those days that seemed so long ago as a humble priest back in Silvermoon. All of the places that he'd been and seen during his travels had tempered him in both body and mind as he had come to appreciate the chances to mingle among others who chose to do the same. This however, was a step beyond in that the social upper crust and the ridiculously wealthy tended to be a little more strange to spend time around in his personal opinion.

As he stepped into the large room he gave a slow look over the crowd gathered within and let out a slow breath. The mixture of races in the room were varied as often happened in the nightlife of Dalaran and the murmur of several different languages floated across the room in snippets of jokes, conversations and discussions about the event of the evening. There were artifacts on display, paintings, trinkets, jewelry and many other items all laid out for everyone to look over and contemplate how much they wanted to bid on them for. The thought crossed his mind that he never really liked auctions that much as putting a price on antiquities always made him feel strange. He understood though how they could be an important social event for those who were bored and had far too much money to know what to do with. It could at least lead to some interesting people watching and maybe a few future contacts for movement of his own recovered antiquities at the end of the day.

He took a seat and settled in to watch the crowd gather up and do the same, the auctioneer took his position at the podium set up near the front of the chairs and began to talk up the various items that were up for bids. The pace started slow and then began to work it's way up as the items grew to be more rare or limited in quantity, but none of them sparked an interest in him until a pair of crates of vintage arcwine confirmed to have been in the private cellar of Grand Magistrix Elisande came upon the block.

Though he had long since given up on finding a steady fix to quell the need for arcane power in himself some habits tended to die hard. The heady tingle that came from a good arcwine was in his opion at least one of the finer pleasures in life. Almost immediately he raised his hand with two fingers up to indicate he was interested in bidding and the auctioneer gave notice to this fact. It seemed however, that he had some competition, for no sooner than he had bid another one was acknowledged from a dapper looking Worgen in a black suit with a top hat, and then another from a young looking human woman with stark white hair and sharp green eyes.

All around the room the bids came in until his hand came up and he spoke, "Two-hundred thousand." There was silence for a few seconds and a smile started to cross his face.

"Three-hundred thousand, a fine price for such a vintage," spoke a sultry sounding voice from the back of the room.

When Kalec turned, he raised an eyebrow and saw a delicate looking hand raised and a radiant Night Elf woman who looked over at him with a sharp smile that showed her pronounced canine teeth. A soft blue glow rose from tattoo's on her neck and chest, as the low V-cut of her dress showed off a considerable amount of skin from her shoulders to her navel. He gave her a polite nod and returned the smile in kind before he turned back towards the auctioneer and raised his hand. "Three twenty five."

"Three fifty," came the response from behind him.

"Three seventy five," he said as he raised his hand again. His head tilted towards his shoulder in wait for the response that he knew was going to come. When it didn't, he turned and looked at the woman who just gave him a polite nod and then settled back into his seat. There was a moment of relief and then the realization of the sting the bids were going to take from his cash-flow, but that soon faded as the auction was brought to a close with the sound of a gavel and the light bit of applause from those in attendance.

"That...had better be a -really- good vintage..." he muttered under his breath.

***

After the auctions were held all of the onlookers and participants were bade to move to another room for complimentary drinks and small plates of delicacies from all over the world which lead more into the social-affair aspect of the evening. As he stepped closer to the bar, he leaned against it and spoke to the tender behind it as his eyes scanned over the liquors both familiar and exotic on display. He recognized a particular label on a bottle with a Pandarian glyph on it and requested a three finger pour. As the glass of the whiskey was passed over to him he felt the presence of someone else up beside him to his left and felt a familiar tingle cross over his senses. A palpable aura of arcane energy tingled over his skin and a light shiver went down his back, though he managed to keep his composure as it happened.

Kalec took a sip from his glass and turned to see who had stepped in so close, only to be met with a sharp looking smile and a bright blue set of eyes that glowed and looked him over. It was the Night Elf woman who had helped to run up the bids on the crates of arcwine and by the look on her face she seemed very amused still. She shifted her weight, her hips turned to one side as she placed weight on one foot and made a show of her thigh through the slit in her evening dress, while her fingers gave a little wave from around the stem of a glass of a liquid that sparkled with a deep golden hue.

"It's a rare thing to see a man who knows what he wants and sticks to it," her words came out and sounded almost like a purr while that smile stayed at the corners of her lips. "I had hoped to add those bottles to my cellars, but after seeing how badly you wanted them I thought it best to test your mettle."

He noted that the glow of her eyes and tattoo's were more pronounced now that he was closer to her. As his eyes moved over her that same tingle was there at the edges of his senses, as there was a raw arcane strength that seemed to fortify her. There were hallmarks of someone who more than dabbled in the powers of magic that he could feel and that distracted him for a moment. He saw her notice and then he had another sip of his drink to steady himself, "Consider it tested and rendered stout. I wasn't going to let something like that get away from my own collection, even to a beautiful opponent such as yourself."

She laughed, a sound that came out almost musical with a sultry quality that made others look over towards her as she did so, though if she seemed to care about that it didn't show. Instead she lifted her glass to her lips and had a sip before the smile returned, "My my...it's so very nice to meet someone who lives up to a reputation Mr. Sunwhisper."

"I'm sorry, but have we met before? I think I would remember someone so striking if you don't mind me saying that," a look of confusion crossed his face as he studied her features closer for a moment in thought.

"Not formally, no. Several of your recovered antiquities have shown up in the collections of others that I know. When I asked them who had taken such care with so many beautiful works, your name kept coming up," she gestured around them with her free hand and gave him a slight wink. "Word gets around you could say, and it's so very nice to see that you can afford such a luxury item for yourself like that wine from your work."

Kalec took a drink and nodded slowly, "We all get creative in the ways we find to support ourselves and get by in the world. Wouldn't you agree Miss...?"

"Oh. How very rude of me," that smile softened a bit and she lifted up and offered out her free hand lightly curled for him to take. "Moonsong, though you can call me Dehla, and it is indeed a pleasure to meet you."

"Well then, Dehla. It's nice to have made the acquaintance of someone willing to rampage bids against me for sport," Kalec took her offered hand and tilted his head just a bit as he did so in a show of polite greeting, but as he let her hand go he noticed a slight shift of her eyes when he did not seem to move in for the expected soft kiss to the back of her knuckles. Her smile returned to that sharp edge that she had worn before. The sound of the crowd around them in the room seemed to dim to his ears and his attention felt like it had to be held to her as if there was a compulsion to do so.

"Tell me," Dehla said with that same purred tone. "Have you already spoken with the staff about the transport of your hard won prize yet?"

Kalec felt his mind grow a little fuzzy for a moment as he blinked his eyes and drew in a steady breath. There was more than just the arcane intoxication from the woman before him and he steadied himself for a moment before he replied, "No need. They've already couriered it off to my place here in town. Why? Were you hoping to strike a deal up with me for them?"

Dehla looked at him for a moment and then shook her head slowly, "It's very rare that I meet a man who finds the strength to not fawn over me like a little puppy." She looked him over for a moment and then sat the glass she held onto the bar top. "Perhaps I would? What would it take for me to be able to have just one of those bottles for myself?"

Kalec laughed, "Only one bottle? For that I'd charge you no more than a quiet evening of conversation with me about the significance of those tattoo's over a chilled bottle from one of those crates and you can have a bottle for yourself after we’re done. Those marks look almost like glyphs and my knowledge of Kaldorei language forms are a tad weak. How does that sound to you?"

Dehla smiled at him and stepped in closer, "Arcwine and conversation? I think that's something I could handle parting with. As it happens, I have no pressing plans for the evening. How about we depart with one another and you give everyone a thrill as we walk the streets back to your place?"

Kalec nodded and gave a soft laugh as he decided it would probably be easier to not mention that his neighbors were probably very used to "thrills" so to speak by now.

***

Of course, once they made it back to his apartment and settled in for the evening, one bottle turned into a second and then a third. When the show and tell of all that soft skin and those arcane tattoo's finally came to happen a -very- good night for the both of them was to be had.

A gigantic, proper smutty image set featuring the alluring arcane mistress Dehla Moonsong! Was a blast to put this one together for them.

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