01/18/2024
The Wild Bunch arrived at the Basement, an underground auction event where the wealthy denizens of Topside bid on items that are too taboo for even the pirates of the city
Nickelgin became enamored with a woman named Equaline, who claimed she made a deal with Tambor, the God of Music, and used powers of persuasion to enslave an entire city after being shunned by a lover, for which she was thrown in Hemlock Bastille but recently escaped during a battle at the prison.
Nickelgin realized he'd gotten in over his head but Equaline was already obsessed with him, so he had no way out
The group met a halfling by the name of Alexander who claimed he was attending to ensure the animals of the forest were not being mistreated in this auction, and the group helped him not get thrown out by bringing them into their party.
A number of items were auctioned including a Cookie person from Nectarous Woods, brought in by the group's old friend Sabatini, who was in attendance; the soul of a dragon, the eye of one of the Children, the giant sea monsters of the Arrowhead Isles, and the bottled voice of a famous opera singer, which Equaline stole through her godlike powers and drank with Nickelgin, giving them both gorgeous singing voices.
Tricks and Nickelgin bought a device that would teleport them into the heart of a place called Frusning, though neither of them knew where that was.
The item was to be delivered to Nicklegin's estate, of which he had none, and a sum of 200 gold would be collected after the auction
The final item for sale was a beast taken from Ephemeraldion, one of the last known mutations made by Caster using the ooze of Juiblex
As the creature was brought out, it broke loose, killing its captors and attacking the Wild Bunch as all the patron of the auction escaped.