[Wizard Jail] (mini-battle)

Nyctitus crawled along the prison passageway to the auction block, sulking. His plans to kill the other contestants in the chaos of the Butterflies' trap had failed, he'd been taken by the Angels, sexily poked with a trident, rescued by a different Angel, and was now being sent on some unfathomable godly errand. It was not an ideal situation, and he was uncomfortably aware of that fact.

The sounds of the auction warming up reached him from the cavernous hall where it was held, the booming of the Angels' voices reverberating through the prison's stone. A crowd was forming several hallways back, but no one actually seemed to be entering- the bulkiest members of Vanth's gang were guarding the entrance, keeping the other inmates out. Curiously, there didn't seem to be anyone in attendance from either Blang or Butterfly; those who were gathered were unaffiliated.

Nyctitus growled and drew back into an empty cell, casting an invisibility spell over himself. Shortly the Vanth guards found themselves being jostled by something large, slimy, and apparently not actually there. Most of them immediately decided they weren't being paid enough to deal with whatever the hell it was and went back to pushing away the would-be auctiongoers, ignoring the unplaceable smell of seawater.

The kraken slunk to the back of the hall, trying to keep the sounds of his tentacles on the stone to a minimum. The usual array of assorted Angels were guarding the stage in a dizzying range of forms. One of their number, he was simultaneously relieved and nervous to see, was another of Snarl's, all vibrating colors and mismatched limbs. Its gaze fell on him as he entered, and the kraken paused in hesitation. The only other occupants were Vanth members- including Vanth himself, Nyctitus was surprised to see. The unicorn stood surrounded by his bodyguards, his leonine tail swishing elegantly.

"Our first of the evening," called out the auctioneer, a swan-like Angel with three halos and a flute-like voice. Lesser Angels unveiled a table laden with arcane objects behind it. "A gem from the lower planes, imbued with-"

"One hundred," Vanth said, bored.

The Angel paused, clearly not used to being interrupted, and certainly not by such an absurdly low bid. It craned its head, trying to get a closer look at the unicorn. After a long moment it agreed, "One hundred. Do I hear one fifty?"

The room was silent. Vanth tossed his head smugly, his silky mane glittering in the light. Nyctitus was about to reveal himself and bid (one hundred measly gold? For a gem the size of a melon?) when the chaos Angel slowly, almost imperceptibly, shook its incomprehensible panoply of heads. Do not interfere.

The kraken watched helplessly as the auctioneer tried unsuccessfully to drum up more bids, but everyone in attendance was under Vanth's control. A minor Angel delivered the unicorn's prize with a flourish: the gem was sky blue and too big to hold with one hand, but it seemed otherwise unremarkable. As soon as it touched the palm of one of Vanth's underlings, however, Nyctitus felt a wave of antimagic spiral out from it that stripped away his invisibility like a flimsy disguise, leaving the thirty-foot-tall kraken painfully obvious in the middle of the hall.

Vanth turned to look at him, his liquid eyes glittering.
_
1. Vanth has maneuvered himself to be the only gang leader in attendance, and bought an antimagic gem.
2. Snarl has some intention for Nyctitus in this plan. But what??
3. Something has caused both Blang and Butterfly agents to be absent from this auction.