Victoria (Airota), Beatrice (Ecirtie), Foratuna (Anuta), and Victoria's new roommate Ianna made their way through Center Market Square, checking out the various goods being offered. The square was absolutely massive, stalls spreading out over a full square mile of open space, people from all over crowding around them as they examined the exotic goods. “Airota, look! They're selling animals from the Jishniti jungles!” Ianna squealed, pulling on Victoria's arm and pointing towards a stall filled with cages containing colorful birds, monkeys, snakes, lizards, and other jungle creatures.
Victoria smiled slightly at the young girl, who couldn't be older than twelve or so, as she let herself be dragged towards the pretty animals. After Victoria, Beatrice, and Foratuna had all successfully joined Wisdom's Curse, Victoria had been placed with Ianna and the girl had immediately latched onto her, treating her like some kind of older sister, and being so adorable about it that Victoria couldn't help but humor her. “You want to buy one?” Victoria offered. “Maybe you'll get lucky and it can become a Rune Beast.”
Ianna's eyes widened. “Do you really think so?!?”
Victoria shrugged, smirking slightly. “Anything is possible.” Particularly when you had a system. “I have a good eye for these kinds of things. Let me help you pick.” Victoria sent a few wisps of points into the animals, getting a vague idea of their temperament. “What do you think of this little one here?” Victoria pointed out a small monkey.
Ianna frowned at the monkey, which bared its teeth at her. “It doesn't look very friendly…”
Victoria smiled. “It's just a little scared. I'm sure once you get it calmed down, it'll be sweet as anything.” She waved down the stall owner. “Can I see this one?”
The stall owner frowned. “Are you sure? She's been nothing but trouble for me ever since I bought her.”
Victoria nodded. “I'm sure.”
The stall owner shrugged, putting on some heavy gloves and carefully grabbing the monkey out of the cage, handing her over to Victoria. “Careful. She scratches.”
Victoria smirked as she took the monkey, petting her slowly as used her points to calm her down. “I think I can handle it.” The monkey curled up in Victoria's arms as she scratched her behind her ears. “See? Isn't she cute?” Victoria asked, turning to Ianna. “You want to pet her?”
Ianna reached out tentatively, stroking the monkey's fur. “It's so soft!”
“Here, you can hold her.” Victoria handed the monkey over. Ianna carefully took the monkey, smiling happily as Victoria turned back to the surprised looking stall owner. “We'll take her. How much?”
The stall owner eyed her shrewdly. “Two gold.”
Foratuna snorted. “Ridiculous! You could buy a weak Rune Beast for that amount! Something like this is worth twenty silver at most.”
“These monkeys are from the deep jungles of Jishniti! It costs twenty gold just to set up an expedition!” The stall owner protested.
“And on that expedition, to gather at least a hundred of these creatures.” Foratuna rolled her eyes, gesturing to all the creatures. “Since I suppose you need to make a profit, I'll go up to thirty silver.”
The stall owner grimaced. “Fifty silver. That's the lowest I can go.”
“Forty.” Foratuna countered.
“Deal.” The stall owner nodded.
Victoria raised an eyebrow, glancing back at Foratuna as she counted out the silver and handed it over. “Thank you.”
Foratuna flushed slightly. “You're welcome.”
Beatrice glanced at Foratuna, narrowing her eyes slightly, before turning to Victoria. “Shall we get some lunch? I see some food stalls over there.”
Victoria nodded. “Let's.” The four of them made their way towards the food stalls while Ianna played with her new pet, the monkey climbing up on her shoulder and looking around curiously. Victoria glanced down at her. “Have you thought of a name for her?”
“I'm not sure…” Ianna frowned thoughtfully. “What about Inita?”
“If you like it, that's all that matters.” Victoria shrugged.
Ianna's expression twisted slightly. “I'll think about it more.”
They got some food, buying from several different stalls and sharing with each other so they could try all the different foods being offered, conspicuously ignoring Chris as he walked stall to stall buying one of everything, followed by a helpless looking Alaric who had no idea how he'd gotten roped into this. They then continued making their way through the square, occasionally buying a trinket or two, mostly for Ianna. Victoria's expression twisted slightly as they passed a section of stalls filled with people in cages. Slavery wasn't exactly common, but there were more than a few nations that condoned the practice, and few who actually outlawed it. Victoria froze as she saw a particularly young girl being inspected by a man with a look she did not like in his eye.
“How much for her.” Victoria heard herself say, not even sure when she'd arrived at the stall.
The stall owner glanced at her, frowning slightly. “I'm sorry ma'am, but this gentleman has already expressed an interest in this product. You may browse my other products, but I'm afraid I cannot sell this one to you until this gentleman has released his claim.”
The man grinned. “I think I will be taking her. Forty-two silver, was it?”
“I'll give you a gold for her.” Victoria growled, gritting her teeth.
The store owner grimaced. “Ma'am, the Central Market Square forbids the auctioning of items. Until this gentleman relinquishes his claim, I cannot sell this product to you.”
“Don't worry, I'll take good care of her.” The man chuckled.
Victoria turned to him, hesitating slightly as she noticed two Circulatory Realm guards behind him, as well as a few more female slaves that had obviously been purchased recently, though at least they were older. What surprised her was that the man himself wasn't a Cultivator, leaving her to wonder who exactly he was, before pushing it out of her head as she focused on the matter at hand. “I'll give you a gold to relinquish your claim on her.”
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The man shook his head. “I have enough money.”
“Two gold!” Victoria insisted.
The man smirked. “I'm afraid there's no amount of money you can offer that would convince me to relinquish my claim.”
“Then what do you want!” Victoria snarled.
The man licked his lips, looking her over. “I suppose I could be convinced to relinquish my claim if you'd agree to… accompany me for a night.”
Victoria grimaced, glaring hatefully at the man. “You're disgusting!”
“Unabashedly.” The man smiled widely. “So what will it be? Tolerate me for a night, or leave this girl in my hands for the rest of her life?”
“Airota, let's go.” Beatrice sighed, grabbing her shoulder. “There's nothing you can do here.” Victoria groaned in frustration, unable to even look at the girl as she turned and walked away, clenching her fists.
The man clicked his tongue in disappointment. “Ah well. I suppose I'll have to satisfy myself with you tonight.” He chuckled, turning to the girl, reaching out to stroke her cheek, causing her to flinch and whimper slightly. A glint flashed in Victoria's eye as they left. He could enjoy his victory for now, but they'd see who was laughing tonight. After all, it was never wise to piss off an Eternal.
*
Yoseph returned to his home with his purchases, humming in satisfaction. The sect entrance exams always brought the most interesting products to Callowa. He glanced back at the exotic women following behind him, his smile widening. Yes, interesting products indeed. His gaze fell on the girl, and his expression fell slightly. It was somewhat disappointing he hadn't managed to exchange her for a night with that woman. She wasn't quite up to his usual standard, but he supposed he'd make do. He paused, cocking his head slightly as his smile grew again. There was almost an exoticness in her substanderedness. Her imperfection standing out when placed in his immaculate collection. Yoseph quickened his pace, eager to get home and indulge himself in his latest acquisitions.
Yoseph soon arrived at a large mansion near the center of Callowa, where his servants greeted him. “Take these four to Helga for training and prepare the little one to accompany me in my chambers. Send… Monique to await me in the bathing chamber.” He ordered as he walked inside. His steward Vernon flicked his fingers, sending the surrounding servants scurrying to do Yoseph's bidding as he fell into step beside him. “Anything to report?” Yoseph asked.
“The Hidden Blades have yet again requested more alchemical supplies.” Vernon replied. “They seem insistent on purchasing our entire stock.”
Yoseph frowned. “Do we still have no idea why they're so desperate for alchemical supplies?”
“None.” Vernon shook his head. “They're purchasing everything indiscriminately. They obviously need massive amounts of resources for something, but they seem desperate to make sure no one knows what that something may be.”
Yoseph hummed slightly in annoyance. “Helga's girls haven't managed to pull anything out of them? Not even a hint?”
“Helga herself hasn't managed to get any information out of them.” Vernon sighed. “Whatever they're up to, no one is talking.”
“What could be so important?” Yoseph muttered. “Did they discover the Emperor's inheritance? Make contact with another region? They can't be planning on becoming an Empire, can they?”
“They would need more than a few resources to become an Empire.” Vernon frowned.
Yoseph sighed. “I hate dealing with the Hidden Blades. They're too good at what they do.” Even when it was blatantly obvious they were up to something, they did it in such a way that it was impossible to determine what exactly it was they were up to. It was positively infuriating! Yoseph shook his head. “Forget them for now. Are there any other matters I should be aware of?”
“The Champions of Battle are still searching for their lost princess, and they're requesting our assistance in finding her.” Vernon reported.
“Do we know where she is?” Yoseph asked.
“Not yet. I suspect she's laying low, waiting for an opportunity to approach one of the other sects, but we haven't been able to determine her hiding place yet.” Vernon replied.
Yoseph considered the issue for a moment. “Tell our people to drop the Hidden Blade matter for now and focus on the girl. Better to earn a favor from the Champions of Battle than to continue banging our heads against a wall with the Hidden Blades. Is there anything else?”
Vernon shook his head. “No, sir. Everything else is functioning as it should be.”
“Excellent.” Yoseph smiled, continuing into the dining hall where a fully naked woman was laid across the table with a freshly cooked meal arranged neatly along her body. Yoseph sat down and picked up the utensils, beginning to eat directly off the woman, taking sadistic pleasure in her winces and gasps as his fork and knife stabbed and cut her in the process of eating his meal. Once he finished his meal, he made his way to the bath where Monique was waiting for him. He slipped into the bath and relaxed as she caressed the sweat and grime of the day from his body, before stepping out and allowing her to dry him, dressing him in a loose robe. He then made his way to his chambers where the young girl awaited him, arms bound, gagged, collared, and leashed to the foot of his bed.
He turned to his guards as he grabbed the door. “No peeking tonight.” He winked at them, before closing the door and sealing it tight, so that no noise would escape. He turned to the girl, who shivered as his gaze landed on her, a few tears running down her cheek. Yoseph licked his lips in anticipation. “Now, where shall we begin?” He stepped toward the girl, only for his eyes to widen, letting out a yelp as he fell through a freshly opened portal, and into a star.
The girl's eyes widened in shock as she watched the portal close, not even noticing as smoke rose up around her, dissolving her bonds and turning into clothes. She only realized she was free when she jumped as Chris and Greg appeared next to her, one from nowhere and the other forming out of smoke. “Didn't Victoria want to deal with that guy?” Greg asked, raising an eyebrow at Chris.
“She can have him later. He needs to burn for a while.” Chris grunted as he opened another portal. “People who abuse the helpless disgust me.”
Victoria stalked out, Andrew following behind, looking around angrily. “Where is he?!?” She snarled.
“Burning on the surface of a star.” Chris replied, kneeling in front of the girl. “Would you like to come with us? I promise, no one will hurt you.” The girl hesitated for a moment, before giving him a jerky nod. Chris stood, taking her hand and leading her into his world, considering his options for a moment before taking her to Melissa. Another Chris appeared in the room as the portal closed. “Now, what are we going to do about the rest of the slaves?”
“We're going to rescue them!” Victoria snapped. “What else would we do?!?”
“Remember our principles.” Chris raised a finger. “No matter the situation, ultimately it's the individual's choice whether they remain in it or not. We provide options, we don't dictate.”
Victoria gritted her teeth. “Fine, then we will give them all the option to be free!”
“So we want to announce our existence to the world, or at least region, right now?” Chris asked, raising an eyebrow. “I'm not against, I'm just making sure we're all cognizant of what doing this entails.”
“Technically we already infiltrated the sects… there's no particular reason we shouldn't reveal ourselves.” Greg muttered. “Well, it might make people suspicious of me if they learn what we're capable of, because my progress is a bit ridiculous if you don't consider the system and whatnot… but we're kinda banking on them being suspicious of me in the first place, so that's not really an issue?”
Victoria frowned. “I- don't think it's the best idea to reveal ourselves right now, but… I can't just ignore these women!”
“I'm not sure I can either.” Andrew agreed with a sigh. “Fuck it, let's just do it. We always try to do the sneaky thing and inevitably we end up just going for it, so let's just go for it.”
Chris cocked his head. “It could help with recruitment. After all, there's thousands of people here looking to join a sect.”
They all shared a look, before nodding. “Fuck it.” Greg chuckled. “The Eternal Sect is coming to the sect entrance exams. Now let's go save some slaves.”