Chapter 100:

The spray of the sea blasted Anton’s face as he rested against the prow railing of The Snowberry. First rays of dawn pierced his eyes and drove back the darkness and light fog that covered the turbulent ocean. According to Wilford, they were making excellent time, far better than he originally thought, and Danafra would soon be in sight.

Kal wriggled in his arms. She had been having increasingly difficult days and nights as she worried about what was to come. Every night was another day closer to Danafra, her old home and the source of her nightly terrors. And also another day closer to the accumulation of one of her greatest wishes, rescuing her mother, Marion. Now that they were probably just a few hours away she was shaking and breathing almost uncontrollably. Nearly two decades of tension and desperate hope was bursting through her normally calm exterior.

Anton tightened his grip, forcing her arms tight against her body, and kissed her head. She calmed down a little.

“I’m just so nervous,” Kal said quietly. “Now that it’s happening, that it’s really happening, I can’t stop worrying. My hands and feet are shaking and I can barely sleep-”

Anton kissed her head again. “Take some deep breaths. We’ll find her and get her to Atros. And nothing’s going to stop us. If we have to I’ll break the city to find her.”

Kal nodded and held his hands tight. Verona sidled and rested next to Anton, resting her hands against the railing. She and Cetina had not done well with the ocean swells. Both had started vomiting furiously within the first hour of travel. Anton chanted a prayer to remove their sea-sickness, which cost more for Cetina but for Verona he had to remove her immunity to poison. When they reached dry land he would have to restore that, just in case. For both of them. Kal and he had no problem with the waves. Strangely.

“Wilford says we’ll be seeing it any moment.” Verona smiled and looked forward. “Even though it’s going to be terrible I am a little interested in seeing what it looks like.”

“Not from the inside,” Kal said quietly and retreated into Anton. “Not from there.”

Anton stroked her arms and kissed her head again.

Verona nodded. “True…But it won’t be long now.”

Cetina rested her mailed hand on the railing next to Verona. “If it’s anything like the other cities, most of the slaves will be kept in large pens inside fortified slave houses. A riot nearly twenty winters ago in Danafra did so much damage they completely restructured their holdings. Other cities adopted it so it couldn’t happen to them.”

“To think my escape made things so much more difficult.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Anton squeezed Kal again. “We’re going to find her no matter what.”

Again Kal nodded, this time with much more confidence.

Wilford gingerly approached from behind. “My lord, Danafra will soon be in sight. Once we pass the cliffs we’ll be able to see it.”

To their left large brown cliffs passed them by, the same cliffs they had watched for the past several hours. Sometimes it felt like they were going nowhere at all.

“Thank you.” Anton had stopped trying to stop Wilford calling him a lord. If he, and the crew, thought he was important they might keep their hands to themselves, which they had done during the trip so far.

Wilford nodded and left. Anton stood in silence as the cliffs began to shrink and reveal a very arid land. Compared to Graterious or Qaiviel it was very dry, the trees and shrubs were hardy and tough, unlike their lush and green counterparts. The grass was almost universally brown but the base had faint amounts of green. A few ibex-like creatures bounded along the cliff’s edge. Often Anton thought one would get too close and fall down but they didn’t. One quick look at the cliff’s base revealed this to not be the case all the time.

“How’s Luna?” Anton asked to break the silence.

“She’s doing good,” Verona replied. “Right now she’s sleeping. She’s drinking quite a bit of milk.”

Luna didn’t seem to worry about the swell of the ocean. Instead, she spent most of the time gently wandering around his room and nuzzling them for pats and food. When a large wave came she would stumble but immediately got back up, as if to prove that she was still okay. The crew hadn’t found out about her and part of him didn’t want to know if she was some valuable, sacred or reviled creature. Kal’s three hundred gold coin bounty floated up in his mind. If anyone, especially Wilford, found out about it…

“The doors locked too, and she’s tucked underneath the bed, so she’ll be fine. She goes straight to sleep once it’s dark.”

“I wonder what the others will think of her,” Anton said. “And I’m glad that everything’s going fine back home. Still no word from Belinda though.”

A cry from the crow’s nest signalled the end of any sort of frivolity. The cliffs ended and revealed the city beyond. Kal’s hands tightened again, this time to a near death grip.

The city emerged through the last wisps of morning fog, an even larger city than Rusaddir or Porswea. A thick dark brown stone wall surrounded the perimeter of the massive city and extended for nearly a hundred meters into the ocean. Inside of that lay a port with many ships, though none as large as theirs. If anything they looked like small boats, more suited to the shallows or even canals than the open sea. Wood and stone buildings filled the city’s interior in a near grid-like pattern, many streams of smoke rising from the tops of stone chimneys. Each building had wooden beams jutting out from the top in a grid pattern. Large pots, each with a lush and flowing green plant, hung from the ends. Anton saw some people on ladders watering the plants. Beast-kin slaves.

“The walls...” Kal murmured. “They weren’t that high.”

The walls were more than twenty meters tall. No one could survive that fall, let alone a child.

They passed several small ships as they approached the port, most nothing larger than fishing boats, and Anton began to fully appreciate what Kal had fled. Only Beast-kin operated the small fishing boats. He had not seen this type of Beast-kin before. If Anton had to guess they looked like shark-people. No hair, a thick rough grey blueish skin, a face tapered to a point and fins growing from their backs. However, the thick iron links squeezing tight on their necks, and the almost robotic way they moved, told him everything he needed to know about what sort of lives they led.

“They’re shark Beast-kin.” Kal whimpered and held his hands tight. “The masters send them out to do anything related to water. Fishing, clearing canals, harvesting seaweed or clams. Everything. They’re just…they’re just dolls to the masters. Just living dolls to use and thrown away.”

Anton sighed. There was not a lot they could do for them now. But one day they would.

The Snowberry avoided the small fishing boats and docked at the end of a long stone jetty. A sailor threw a rope to the jetty, a canine Beast-kin caught it and fastened it securely.

They really do use them for everything. I wonder how they’re going to fare when they’re all gone.

“Remember the plan.” Anton began. “I am a representative of a new rich plantation owner at the very south of Seocuria. And he needs a lot of slaves to work the plantation.”

“What are we growing?” Verona asked. “That’s something that we didn’t talk about.”

“Kal?”

“The south of Seocuria is a lot more humid than here. So…It’ll be large plants, like apples, oranges and peaches.”

“That’ll be enough.” Anton nodded. “I’ll try to remember that. I’ll need you three will need to help shore up anything that I forget or get wrong. We’ll be relying on you a lot Kal. I need you to be strong no matter what you see or hear.”

Kal nodded. “I understand. I’ll try to keep myself under control but I can’t promise you that. You don’t know what they do to us here.”

“Just stay between us and your mask on. Make whatever face you need to but don’t give yourself away.”

Kal nodded and scrunched her fists.

“Right, so Verona and Kal are assistants that are here to help select a good variety of Beast-kin, that’ll give you an opportunity to, hopefully, mingle with the other Beast-kin and try and find your mother. And you were held in the Blue House slave market, Block E?”

Kal nodded. “Yes. That’s where I lived. Blocks with higher letters had…Other purposes.”

“And I’m an expert on purchasing slaves you…no, your employer hired.” Cetina raised a brow. “Right?”

“Yep.”

Cetina chuckled. “Seems my only advantage is the colour of these clothes...”

“Do we have enough money?” Verona asked. “This isn’t going to be cheap.”

Anton nodded. “We do. You’ve still got yours and I’ve still got quite a few hidden pouches. And we’ve got a few green and red crystals, just in case.”

A large wooden plank landed on the ship. The sailors and the Beast-kin adjusted and fastened the plank securely.

“Everyone ready?” Anton asked.

The girls nodded. Anton looked to find Wilford near the wooden plank. “Wilford. How many Beast-kin can The Snowberry hold safely?”

“Um…About three hundred, possibly three hundred and fifty if we bunch them all up together. Maybe four hundred.” Wilford scratched his lightly stubbled chin. “I guessed that we would be getting Beast-kin slaves…But I’m not too keen on having them on this ship. They’re bad luck.”

If only you knew.

“Well, you are more than welcome to head back to Rusaddir. On your own. And pay the lords the remainder of what you owe them. Though you won’t have this ship to make up the difference.”

Wilford grumbled but held his ground.

“Don’t worry. You won’t be interacting with them any more than absolutely necessary. If everything goes well you’ll barely even know they’re here.”

Wilford slowly nodded. “Okay. Just some old stories about them and being on water. A few ships transporting them have supposedly sunk.”

I imagine they got loose and attacked the crew. The most simple answer is often correct.

“The fishermen don’t seem to have trouble. Nor do the bigger ships, and they have Beast-kin on board.”

“I suppose. But we need to resupply. And we’ll need a lot to feed all these Beast-kin.”

“Get as much as we need for a return trip to Rusaddir.” Anton passed over a gold coin.

Wilford nodded. “I’ll get a receipt of the food and water we buy. It won’t be anything that tastes great, but it’ll last a long time.”

“We don’t know how long we could be. Don’t let any of your crew get drunk and wander off. When we’re done we’ll be leaving straight after that.”

Wilford nodded and returned to his crew.

Anton held Kal’s hand, hidden slightly by her long coat, and squeezed tight. “Let’s do this.”

They walked down the plank and stepped on the first piece of solid ground in over a week. He felt a little wobbly, unused to how the ground didn’t try and rock and surge underneath his feet, but that soon passed. The girls followed close behind and they too seemed a little odd for a moment.

Anton looked to the Beast-kin waiting at the jetty. He looked just like the Beast-kin he had seen in Porswea but somehow even more sad and pathetic. Patches of his brown fur were missing and small sections of his skin were red and looked infected. The iron collar was tight on his skin and the protruding fur was dark and matted. The canine averted his eyes and looked only at the ground. Slowly he raised his eyes to meet Anton’s. Anton’s first thought was to show sympathy but had a part to play. He forced himself to show as little emotion as he could. The canine quickly averted his eyes and continued working. Anton glanced back to see Verona and Cetina looking at him with pity, and Kal mainly with anger through his hand.

“Where is the Harbour Master?”

Anton didn’t speak harshly but the canine whimpered slightly. “At the end of the jetty.” His voice was hoarse and slightly terrified. “The tallest building. My Lord.”

“Hmm.” Anton wanted to thank him but kept quiet.

He gently pulled on Kal’s hand, her feet were planted to the ground, and they moved along the jetty. Ships smaller than The Snowberry were transferring hundreds of crates and large barrels. Unlike at Rusaddir, there were no cranes or harnesses. Beast-kin were all the labour the Seocurian’s needed. There were canines and turtles like they had seen in Porswea, as well as Beast-kin that looked a bit like Kal. They had the same arms and limbs but fur covered all of their body. Their faces looked a little like at cats, except the irises were horizontal rather than vertical. All those he saw had brown or a dark orange fur, not a hint of green anywhere. A few very large Beast-kin, easily three meters and very well built, helped move the larger and heavier crates. These were more humanoid than the others, their faces were almost human but their legs were like a cows, an ungulate with large wide hooves to spread their weight. Above their ears their ragged hair buldged out oddly but he couldn’t see why.

“Minotaurs,” Kal said quietly. “They’re used for the heaviest jobs. And for ploughing fields.”

“But they’re so huge,” Anton replied. He looked at the male Minotaurs and their muscular form. They weren’t particularly hairy, even compared to a human male, but the lack of fur gave them all a light shade of sunburn. He wondered what a female would look like. “They could easily kill a person. Their arm is almost as wide as me.”

“Not when they hold your wife and children. And to what end? They can’t escape here…”

Anton glumly nodded and continued forward. The Beast-kin saw them approach and gave them a wide berth, some even downed their goods. A shout and a crack of a whip got them back to work. Kal jumped at the sound, Anton held her tight to keep her calm.

From behind one of the Minotaurs a man emerged carrying a whip. It was the first time he had seen a living Seocurian, and it answered a question about Kal’s heritage. The man’s skin was dark, so dark that it almost had a faint bluish hue under the right angle of the dawn’s light. His clothing was simple and rugged, a dark green shirt and dark blue pants, a long scimitar at his side.

His anger drenched face softened the moment he saw them, slowly turning into a cheeky smile. “Hello, travellers from the south.” He spoke with an odd accent, inflections on the vowels, but it was more coherent than some of the people in Graterious. “I haven’t seen someone from Graterious for some time. What brings you so far north? In such a large ship no less?”

A canine dropped a crate. It didn’t break but he looked at the Seocurian in absolute terror.

“Stupid mutt!”

He whipped the beast-kin over the head, again and again, tufts of fur ripped loose with every terrible strike. The other Beast-kin winced but did nothing as the canine was belted over the head. After eight strikes the Seocurian relented.

“Damn things need to be reminded not to mess up.” He smiled. Anton felt Kal’s desire to tear the man limb from limb. “But what brings you this far north?”

This might be a good test run.

“We’re here to buy slaves,” Anton said. The man threw him an odd look as the canine struggled to his feet, a faint trickle of blood trailing down his face. The others wanted to help but dared not move. “My employer has just bought a plantation near the border with Graterious and needs more slaves. Can’t run a plantation without workers.”

“Seems a long way to come to get slaves. There are …four or five slave houses between here and the border. Can’t be cheap to come up here.”

Ah. Didn’t think about that.

“My employer is relatively old-fashioned and told us to come here first. He pays extremely well and I follow his orders.”

“Fair enough.” The Seocurian hissed at the Beast-kin and they all returned to work. “Just make sure you pay your fees before you leave the dock. More than a few people have run afoul of the merchant council for not doing that.”

“We’ll do just that.”

The man nodded and returned to his brutal supervision of the Beast-kin. They were utterly terrified of him, despite their overwhelming numbers and strength. Just one of the Minotaurs could snap him in two. Anton moved along the stone jetty and the same pattern repeated itself. Anton held his face firm as he casually observed the dock. Kal was utterly furious, he could hear the grinding of her teeth, and Verona held the same face as Anton. Cetina looked like this was normal in Seocuria. Perhaps it was.

They reached the end of the jetty and reached the tallest building on the waterfront. It looked almost identical to Rusaddir, down to the thick Tabaco smoke filling the air. The workers had the same skin colour as the Seocurian on the jetty. These wore very fine clothes and worked furiously through the hazy smoke.

A middle-aged Seocurian woman noticed they stood at the door and approached. “Hello.” She began, she had the same odd accent but far more subdued and controlled. “It’s rare that we see people from the south here.”

She looked at Kal’s mask, frowned for an instant, and then looked at Cetina. “And from the west too.”

“It’s been a bit of a trip.” Anton smiled, which she returned. “We’ve just docked, The Snowberry, and we need to pay our docking fees.”

“Of course.”

Anton handed over the money. The woman moved to one of the busy tables and wrote something on a long piece of paper. She returned with the change.

“Your fees have been paid. You, and your ship may remain in Danafra for up to thirty days.”

“Thank you. Our employer needs slaves for a new plantation.” Anton began. “He spoke of something called the Blue House for buying slaves. Granted it was a long time ago when he was in Danafra…”

The woman smiled apologetically. “I’m afraid that your employer’s information is woefully out of date. After the slave rebellion twenty winters ago all slaves have been moved to the one slave house.”

“Does that make it easier to keep control?” Verona asked.

The woman looked at her hair. “Yes. High and strong walls with only one gate in or out. Even if they riot they’re stuck. Then they’ll just starve and surrender.”

“Efficient,” Anton said calmly. “Little resource investment and good control. So where is this new slave house? It seems our instructions aren’t going to get us much further.”

“I have a spare map of Danafra that I can sell to you if you wish?”

“Well take that please.”

With the map in his hands, they left the Harbour Master and stepped outside. The fresh air, devoid of smoke and with the refreshing smell of the sea, cleared his head a little.

“Why do they all inhale that smoke?” Verona asked. “It can’t be that good for you.”

“The Seocurian’s grow it.” Cetina began. “Tabaco they call it. A lot is grown on the border with Bebbezzar. The leaf is smoked and it gives a sense of pleasure and energy. Some people on the border go crazy for it.”

“Smoking…I bet they make quite a bit of money from it.” Anton said. “And that’s where those uprisings are meant to be happening.”

“All made off the backs of Beast-kin,” Kal said through gritted teeth. “Every moment in this place is making me angry beyond belief. I…Want to kill those people I saw on the jetty. What they did…”

She looked at a large group of Beast-kin hauling building material. She grumbled and shook her head. “Please Anton, please don’t make us stay here any longer than we need to.”

“Sorry Kal.” He unfurled the map and held it so everyone could see. “If we head up along this dock and then turn here we can make a straight line to the main slave house.”

According to the map, the slave house was the largest building in Danafra. It looked like a large keep nestled inside the city. Judging by the map’s scale it didn’t look big enough to hold every slave needed for a city this large, but he was thinking they were housed like normal people. If they were packed like sardines there would have been more than enough room. But the conditions they would live in…

“I agree with Kal,” Verona said. “I don’t like this place either. Let’s get this over with.”

---[]---

They followed the dock and the reality of Seocuria became more unavoidable. Beast-kin were used as nothing more than chattel, organic machines, by the Seocurians. Most Seocurian slave masters only had a whip and scimitar at their side and were often alone despite controlling sometimes up to twenty slaves. Any Beast-kin could easily overpower him, especially the large Minotaurs and other large Beast-kin. Yet they walked with complete and total immunity. The psychological hold the Seocurian’s had on them was utterly controlling and pervasive.

They turned away from the street along the dock and turned to a wide straight and street running through the heart of the city towards the main slave house. The streets were busy with activity despite the time of day. Market stalls and shops, far more ornate than those in Qaiviel and Graterious, were already open but the owners were not shouting for the business of passer-by’s. Instead, the owners had their Beast-kin slaves do it. The slaves, mainly canine and felines, shouted to the passing crowds. They directed their shouts to one group in particular. The Seocurian humans. The Beast-kin amongst the crowd were almost completely ignored. Most of the Seocurian’s that passed by had some sort of Beast-kin slave that followed closely behind, a few had thin chains from their collar to the hands of their masters. They physically looked a little better than those at the docks but utterly depressed and devoid of any semblance of hope.

The Seocurians with the slaves looked quite rich, wearing fine light coloured clothes and silver and gold, all designed to contrast with their dark skin. Even their black hair, braided or made up in odd but impressive styles, had jewels and precious metals strewn throughout.

“It’s all just to show off,” Anton said quietly. “Peacocking…”

Kal nodded. “Most of these are slave owners. They make so much money…” She gripped his hand tight to curb her anger and frustration.

They passed silently through the crowd. While they wanted to get through without drawing attention it was simply not possible. Anton, Cetina and especially Verona were almost deathly white compared to the Seocurian’s. Anton looked around and saw only a few with light skin and those were more like Cetina’s than his. Thankfully their interest was only fleeting at most and they went back to their activities. Even the Beast-kin didn’t pay them anything more than a second glance. Kal pulled her hood lower and pulled closer to Anton.

Anton glanced into the stores and market stalls. It all seemed to be a standard affair; good food, furniture, jewellery and even weapons and armour. The weapons and armour looked very ornate and needlessly expensive, but he spied some that could pass for real weapons. Some of the food stalls had some Beast-kin purchasing goods. Anton suspected they were slaves sent out by their masters, rather than being free.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The Slave House’s domed roof loomed in the distance over the inner wall. Small torches and fires dotted the rim of the dome, the orange light flickered on the dark stone. On the top of the wall Seocurian soldiers, wearing red and gold armour, patrolled with menacing bows and spears tipped with Bosciycium. A few hundred meters from the gate, where hundreds of Beast-kin slaves entered and exited under and dozens of heavily Seocurian soldiers stood either side, Anton felt himself stop.

The buildings ceased as they entered a long plaza with large wooden posts rammed into the ground every few meters forming two long lines. Beast-kin were crudely nailed to the posts, their hands held above them with a single nail driven through their palms, the same with their feet. The whole range, from freshly mounted to dead, were on proud display. Blue crows picked at the dead and those close to death. Most barely had the strength to shrug them away.

“Punishment,” Kal spoke through gritted teeth. “For any reason our masters deem fit. Breaking a plate to simply being too old.” She looked up at a dead female feline Beast-kin. “Or if they don’t like us. I should have been up there when I dropped some eggs. But…”

Kal shook her head. Anton squeezed her hand. He looked back to see Verona and Cetina looking on in disgust.

“I’ve never seen it like this,” Cetina spoke softly.

“Because this is the heart,” Kal replied. “Because stories need to be told of this place. So the slaves know there’s something worse waiting for them. So they’ll do whatever they need to, bow and grovel as low as possible, to avoid this place.”

“You can’t keep control of someone if they literally have nothing to lose.” Anton tugged on her hand. “Let’s go. We can’t do them any good.”

This little world of terror won’t last forever. Not if I have anything to say about it.

Seocurians and their slaves walked past the poles without saying a word. They walked slowly enough that their Beast-kin had to hear the whimpers and struggles of their dying fellows but could not simply run away from it. Anton spied a group of three Seocurian’s staring at a dead turtle Beast-kin. He had been dead for so long that parts of his body had fallen off, or eaten by the Blue Crows, but his shell remained propped up on the pole. An old man, his hear grey, skin wrinkled and back hunched, shook his head at the sight. He spoke something to the other two, who looked to be his children or possibly grandchildren, and they looked equally appalled. He turned away and began walking towards Anton and their eyes met. He realised that Anton had been watching him, his face drained of emotion. When Anton hesitated in taking another step he grabbed the children and took them across the plaza and into the alleyways beyond. He kept checking to see if Anton was following and scurried away even further when Anton kept looking.

I can’t imagine it’s a good way to keep your job, or your life, if you were openly critical of slavery here. Not in, as Kal says, the heart of it all.

They approached the large gate and two Seocurian guards moved from their position to intercept them. Kal tensed as they approached.

“Can we help you with something, Southerner?” Again he spoke with the odd inflection, as pronounced as the man at the docks.

“We were told this is the place to buy slaves,” Anton said as a matter-of-fact.

The two looked them over. “Strange that someone would come so far to buy slaves…”

“We know. But I have my instructions and I intend to follow them.”

The guards nodded. “Well, we haven’t seen you before and we just needed to be sure.” The guard wanted to say something more but held himself in check. “Head through the gate and the first building on the right. The one with the gold phoenix on the roof. They’ll take you from there.”

Anton nodded and they proceeded through the gate. When they were clear Verona came close and smiled.

“That’s another hurdle down.” Verona squeezed Kal’s free hand. “We can do this.”

Kal nodded but she wasn’t ready to speak yet, at least not without potentially making a  scene.

They entered the building the guard spoke of, guarded by another four heavily armed Seocurian’s, and Anton felt…strangely ill. He had just walked into a different world. It was clearly a reception room, a large desk sat in the middle, made from a very dark wood, expensive leather furniture sat in the corner and a faint trail of smoke rose from an incense candle. Everything was incredibly clean and beautifully maintained. Anton couldn’t spot a speck of dirt or dust, except the trail they were dragging in. A Beast-kin would probably be sent in soon to fix that.

The Seocurian woman at the desk smiled and rose up. Her bright orange dress hung tight on her body, revealing little in the way of curves but instead hinting at a very slim and trim body. She moved around the table, she wore soft orange shoes and looked between them.

“Hello. Welcome to the Danafra Slave House. My name is Adara. How can I help?”

Anton explained their story once again. Adara slowly nodded but was frowning lightly at the end.

“I’m sure that someone has told you that you’ve come a long way when there are other Slave Houses?”

Anton chuckled, followed by a sigh. “That we have. Just about every moment we’ve spent in your city so far. But we’re here. So I thought we’d continue regardless.”

Adara smiled, a business smile but it wasn’t entirely devoid of emotion. Perhaps something nearing pity and empathy.

“Though I must say I find your choice of companions a little odd.” She glanced over Verona and Kal before settling on Cetina. “Surely a Bebbezarian trader would have known this?”

Cetina stiffened a little before looking at Anton. Before he could speak she answered. “I was told to ensure they weren’t being ripped off. I wasn’t paid to question the orders from his employer.” Cetina shrugged. “They pay well.”

Adara’s face turned back into a smile. “I see…How many slaves are you looking to purchase?”

“About three hundred to start with.”

If we just order them like they’re from a shelf who knows what we’ll get. We need to have a good look around.

“But we would like to get a good look at them before we make any decisions.”

Adara nodded. “Of course. However, before taking you any further, I must ensure that you are able to pay for so many slaves.”

Anton retrieved three gold coins. Adara looked pleasantly surprised as she inspected them closely. She smiled as she handed them back.

“We just needed to be sure.”

“No time wasters. I can understand that.”

“What sort of price range are you looking at?”

That was one thing that Anton hadn’t thought of. The slaves would likely be tiered in price, and he had no idea where Kal’s mother, or any of her friends, would be priced. However, he couldn’t just ask Kal there and then.

“My employer made mention of some very out of date information, regarding where to purchase slaves. In his original instructions, he mentioned the Blue House, which we now know is no longer here-”

“Unfortunately it was destroyed in the riots twenty winters ago.” Adara sighed. “We lost considerable stock in the flames.”

“Yes…He made mention of Blocks in the Blue House, but he focused on E Block for some reason. Which I now realise doesn’t exist...”

“E Block…” Adara looked into the distance. “That was before my time but I’m sure that corresponds to the worker tiers. After the fires, they were all moved here but I believe that some of the old Blocks could still be together.”

“In that case, we would like to see those first.”

Adara smiled strangely. “Forgive me for asking, but why does it matter which old Block they come from? We can assure that all slaves that we sell are of good and able condition…some more interesting than others.”

Anton didn’t understand what she meant but continued on regardless. “My companion, our dear Bebbezzarian friend, has been paid to report exactly what and where we buy the slaves. No exceptions. And she’s told me that there’s no corner cutting on this trip.”

“Seems like your employer has a lot of money to spend…”

Anton nodded. “That he does. But I get paid regardless, so I might as well.”

Adara paused before nodding once. “Please wait here a moment. I just need to arrange an escort and then we can proceed.”

She turned and left through a door behind the desk, Anton caught a glimpse of a shapely behind. The pain that seared through his hand may or may not have been related to that. He squeezed Kal’s hand and she nodded.

“I’m okay…I’m okay. This is really starting to get to me but I’m holding in so far. But please don’t ask me to do much more than this. I’m not liking any part of this.”

“We’re almost there Kal. We just need to hold on a bit longer, though I think the worst part is about to come.”

Kal nodded and pulled her cloak tight around her body. Verona approached his other side and gave him a look, one that knew he had looked at Adara’s behind. He shrugged and Verona chuckled. Cetina remained where she stood with a hand resting on her sword.

Adara returned with four Seocurian guards in tow. Another woman, wearing the same tightly wrapped orange dress, emerged and took Adara’s place at the desk. Adara caught Anton’s odd look.

“It’s nice sometimes to get away from the desk.” She chuckled. “Although I would prefer to walk through the gardens rather than through the Slave House. Please, if you’ll follow me.”

A Seocurian guard tapped on her shoulder and pointed to Cetina’s sword. “I’m afraid that you have to surrender all weapons before going into the Slave House. One free blade could cause tremendous damage.”

“But they have teeth and claws?” Verona said. “Aren’t those just as dangerous?”

Adara smiled. “No.”

Verona shrugged and handed over her daggers, Cetina her sword and Kal handed over her captured knife but kept her two old rusted daggers hidden. As she gave up one blade they must have presumed that was all she had and didn’t pat her down. Perhaps they didn’t think a woman was much of a threat.

They were led back outside and towards the main entrance of the Slave House. More Seocurian guards stood outside and opened the door to let them in. Anton felt a wave of stench blast his senses. It wasn’t truly foul, but merely the result of thousands upon thousands of unwashed bodies packed together like sardines in a can. Crates and barrels of food were stacked either side of the door and were protected by thick iron bars. Beyond that, he saw the first cells. Hundreds of Beast-kin, many of varieties he had never seen before, were jammed into cells. Most were sitting down and the largest were almost touching each other.

“You caught us at a good time,” Adara said as she led them to a long flight of stairs. “Many of our slaves are about to go out to work.”

“But it’s already light.” Anton pointed out.

“Most of these work in the fields. Yesterday it rained incredibly heavily so it’s only just starting to dry out. There’s no point in having them get stuck in the muddy soil when working the fields. They’re lucky enough to have this reprieve. It’ll be their first late day this season, something new for them.”

Anton nodded but remained silent. The cells, bursting with Beast-kin, extended endlessly in all directions. Anton looked up to see the layers of cells continued upwards. Each cell was a small iron-barred box placed on top of one another with wood acting as a floor.

“Adara?”

Adara turned back and smiled sweetly. “Yes, Anton?” There was a playfulness in her voice.

“I know it’s not my place to question why this is arranged the way it is. But, is it a good idea to have so many slaves in one place? And wouldn’t they waste time travelling long distances to work?”

“Tell me, how many guards, apart from the four strapping men with us, do you see?”

Anton looked along and across the rows of cells. “None.”

“Exactly. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there are guards here, but far less than if there were a hundred little slave houses dotted around the city. As for wasting time…Well, they don’t ever walk to their destination.”

She smiled and led them up to the third story of cells. Kal was able to keep her calm, somehow, but Anton could feel it slowly starting to unravel. The sounds and smells were dragging up long forgotten memories, one she probably wished buried forever. Anton motioned with his eyes for Verona to take care of Kal. She linked arms with Kal and she calmed a little, even patting Verona’s hand. Upon reaching the third level they moved off the stairs and towards the endless cells. Anton tried to ignore the Beast-kin inside the cells but could not help but look. Mangy fur, rashes, sores and terrified eyes greeted him. As they moved past the Beast-kin shied away from the iron cells bars, pushing into each other so they wouldn’t be singled out at the front. A scream above shattered the pervasive moaning and whimpering of the slaves. Something heavy crashed into a story above them and then onto the next. The guards stopped and drew their scimitars. Adara looked at the wooden floor above them.

“Don’t worry. It’s probably just some foolish runt that talked back to a guard. They won’t have long before they’re always basking in the sun. Ha! What foolish little things. If only they knew where that came from.”

She laughed and waved them forward. Kal ground her teeth but kept calm. Adara led them past cell after cell before finally stopping in front of a very large cell, which looked to be three smaller cells put together.

“This is what’s left of Block E.” Adara began. “The Blue House wasn’t a particularly large slave house but I believe most are here if they haven’t died or been taken away. How many Beast-kin are inside?”

“Two thousand, three hundred. Roughly.” A guard replied.

Adara smiled. “I believe that this will suffice.”

“It will. My two companions,” He motioned to Verona and Kal. “Have a better understanding of the requirements of the work than I do. If it’s possible could they select individual slaves for purchase?”

Adara nodded. “Of course.”

A guard stepped forward, produced a large iron bar, and smashed it on the cell bars. The clanging echoed sharply through the air. The Beast-kin recoiled from the sound and tried to cover their ears. The guard struck, again and again, only stopping when the Beast-kin were close to tears.

“All of you scum are remain where you are. If any of you lot try anything you, and those around you, will be killed. Understood?”

The Beast-kin remained silent but they all nodded. The guard smiled at Anton, one he forced himself to return, and opened the cell.

“We’ll get the ones we want to stand up,” Verona said as she entered and gently pushed Kal inside.

Kal glanced back at Anton, gave her a nod, and entered the cell.

---[]---

Kal had never felt so strange. Anger, rage, fear and the desire to run and hide swirled around her head. Without Verona’s gentle pushing she probably would have remained standing completely still. All her effort was focused on not freaking out and making a scene.

Okay…They’ve got me this far. I need to do this. I need to be strong.

A young canine boy whimpered a few feet away. He had clearly been beaten badly and very recently, a few fingers were broken and mangled and some teeth were missing. The Seocurian guard’s probably weren’t the ones that had done this. Kal wanted to hug him, to tell him that everything would be alright, that he wouldn’t have to be afraid any longer, but she couldn’t. She took a deep breath and pointed at the young boy. His eyes were filled with terror, his mangy tail tucked between his legs, but something made him stand. Kal looked back and saw a Seocurian guard staring at the boy.

Focus Kal. Anton’s right. We can’t save them all. I need to find my mother, or at least someone I know. That’s why they risked so much to get me here. Tethra, I’ll need help to see this thing through.

Verona moved through the Beast-kin and knelt down in front of a feline. It wasn’t her mother, but Verona was doing more than Kal was. Kal scrunched her fists and continued looking through the pathetic looking Beast-kin around her. She couldn’t believe that she looked like and lived with them once.

Something caught her eye. A few feet to the side sat a female Cobra Beast-kin. She hadn’t explained to Anton what a Cobra Beast-kin actually looked like, other than showing the small remains in the cave. Small dark blue and purple scales covered her humanoid body, not a single hair on her body, and her eyes were slits like Kal’s but vertical rather than horizontal. She didn’t have ears, no Cobra’s had ears, but had small holes on the side of their head where sound entered. A hood, made from her own flesh and skin, grew out from the top of her skull, along her neck to her shoulders. Kal remembered that it changed based on her emotion, fully stretched out when they were scared or angry and wrapped close when they were sad or tired. She sat hunched over, her clawed scaled hands in her lap with a short and fat short tail coiled around her. A thin line of bright blue scales ran along the top of her tail intermittently spackled with red flecks that trailed up her back, along her head and stopped at her nose. There was only one Cobra Kal knew with that colouring.

Eider.

One of Kal’s few friends.

Beside her was another female Beast-kin, which looked similar to Eider. A Drakeling. She had scales on her body, black and almost as large as Anton’s thumbnail but not on her face or on her front. Instead, that was a mixture of scales and human skin, a skin that Kal knew to be extremely strong and resilient. Her face was almost identical to a human’s, or Eider’s, except her eyes were eyes were bright orange and her teeth were larger than normal. Her thin lips stuck out more as her teeth pushed against them. Unlike Eider she had hair on her head, short, black and very thick. Two horns rode along the top of her ears, kicked up at the end and ended in a blunt tip. Small spines ran along her back to her tail, three feet long ending with a large tuft of red hair. Her clawed hands, like Kal’s but with black scales instead of her fur, scratched at flaking white patches on her legs. Kal knew her as well.

Irso.

Kal didn’t know her that well, she had spoken with her a few times, but she didn’t hate Kal like so many of the other children did.

The third person was completely different to Eider and Irso. Her upper body was essentially a human’s, skin slightly darker than Kal’s, with dark brown hair and green eyes. Annoyingly she was very similar to Verona’s upper body, clear underneath her clothes, but that was where the similarities ended. Below her waist her body transformed into a giant spider. It was a large as Kal lying down, covered in a very short black fur and had three white stripes running along the abdomen. Her legs were tucked underneath her large body save for one. Kal saw the small claws at the tips of the legs that allowed an Arachnid to easily manipulate its thread. It took a moment for Kal to dredge up her name.

Ulyaa.

Kal was ecstatic to recognise someone she knew. She forced her happiness down and remained calm. There was a small space around the three. Drakeling’s didn’t like to be touched except by a very select few, mainly their parents or those they cared about immensely. That made them very dangerous but the Seocurian masters gave them leeway. If they were left alone they wouldn’t complain about their job. Any Seocurian or Beast-kin that tried something would soon find their throat ripped out.

Kal looked around but couldn’t see anyone else she recognised. She took a deep breath and slowly approached them. She looked outside the cage, the momentary sight of the iron bars made her heart grow cold and her feet stop, but when she saw Anton and Cetina talking with Adara she calmed. She wasn’t trapped inside the cell. She was a free woman. They were talking about something since Cetina was speaking she presumed it was about price, but that was not important right now.

She stopped when she was a foot away from Eider, Irso and Ulyaa. Irso glared at her, no one was stupid enough to tangle with a Drakeling, while Eider shied away. Ulyaa looked blankly at Kal then back to the floor, her legs tucked in tighter underneath her large body. Now that Kal was close enough she could see the white scars that trailed over Irso’s face, one running dangerously close to her eye. Both of Eider’s eyes looked a little wrong. They had lost their clarity and a thick fog had clouded them over. Kind of like Cetina’s eye but nowhere near as bad. Was she blind?

Fuck. What do I do now? I can’t just say who I am…Here’s where everything goes wrong.

Kal knelt down in front of Eider, Irso continued to glare at Kal’s mask. She took a deep breath and reached out for Eider’s face. Eider whimpered and tried to turn away but couldn’t leave, not with the Seocurian guards watching over them.

Here it goes.

“Can you be quiet?”

Eider, shaking with terror underneath Kal’s glove, nodded. Irso continued to glare but remained quiet. Ulyaa continued to look away and said nothing.

“Do you remember a Half-Breed Feline Beast-kin? Don’t say anything, just nod if you do.” Eider nodded and so too did Irso. Ulyaa frowned and looked between Eider and Irso, memories fluttering through her mind.

Kal looked at Verona and caught her eye. Verona winked, walked to the iron bars and began talking with the guards, waving to the far side of the cell. All the guards were distracted.

“Here goes,” Kal mumbled, to which Irso continued to frown. “Well, that’s me. I’m Kal. The one that escaped all those winters ago. Do you remember me?”

Eider’s eyes widened in shock but Kal moved to cover her mouth. Kal took her hand and used a claw to push hard on her hand. She felt the resistance and Eider’s eyes widened again. Eider looked at Irso and Ulyaa and nodded gently.

“But…why?” Irso asked in the faintest whisper. She remembered the slight crackling echo the Drakeling’s voice had. “How? What are you doing back here?”

“We’ve come to rescue you. As many as we can.”

“Thank Tethra,” Eider whispered through Kal’s glove. She slowly took it away and Eider relaxed a little. “But…How are you safe and in Seocuria?”

Eider emphasised her S’s. She didn’t look straight at Kal’s mask but she didn’t appear to be averting her gaze.

I’m so sorry Eider. If you get too bad at work they just kill you…That’s why you were so afraid and Irso tried to protect you.

Kal placed her hand on Eider’s face again and chanted a healing prayer in her mind, just like Anton did, to heal her eyes. The white faded away and they darted around in shock.

“What? How?”

“We’ll talk later.” Kal looked around. The other Beast-kin were trying to listen in. They needed to be brought along otherwise they might tell the Seocurian guards for favours. Then it would be almost impossible to get more slaves. “But…Where is Marion? Where is my mother?”

Tears welled in Eider’s eyes. “I’m sorry Kal. She was taken by the guards about five days ago.”

Kal’s heart raced but she forced herself to be calm.

“What happened?”

“Apparently she attacked a guard.” Eider shook her head. “Though we don’t believe it. Since she gave birth to you they thought that she might do it again. But she never did. Not since you. And…They tried.”

Kal felt the tears roll down her face as she imagined what her mother faced every day and night. Even while she frolicked with Anton and Verona.

“So where is she now?”

“I heard them saying something about the Pink Celestial.” Irso shook her head. “Even after putting us all in this place that…that thing still exists. I think she’s there.”

Kal barely heard Irso’s last words. Panic surged through her as the memories of that place came back. Kal had never seen it herself but she had heard stories of what happened in there, and what was left of those that came out. Lucia, a young canine girl, a few winters older than herself, went in as a happy and rebellious girl and came out a broken, drugged crazed whore slavering for sex and release. And she was barely old enough to be called a woman.

Eider poked Kal with her foot and brought her back to the present. “I’m sorry Kal. But there’s nothing we could have done.” A look of shame washed over her face. “Otherwise we would have been taken with her.”

Ulyaa winced. “Sorry, but we’re not brave enough to try and save her. Not that we could actually do anything if we did…”

“It’s…It’s okay. But it was only five days ago? That means there’s still time.”

“I know there’s a sale from the Pink Celestial today,” Irso whispered. “There’s a chance that she’ll be there, so they can make some quick money. Sell her cheap. There were some riots in the north and they’ve got a whole bunch of Beast-kin going through that place. Far too many. Maybe she’ll be sold with them, I don’t know.”

Kal grit her teeth. “Hold on. We’ll get you out of here, and anyone listening in.”

A few Beast-kin slaves shuffled nervously.

It’s not too late yet. Not yet, not after coming this far. Just hold on for a bit longer Marion.

---[]---

Anton looked over the Beast-kin slaves again. While he wanted to smile, as Kal appeared to have found someone she knew, he had to remain calm and somewhat disinterested in the state of the slaves. Now that he was staying in one place the pervasive smells of the Beast-kin slaves were starting to get to him. He wanted to do something more than just staring at the slaves but couldn’t risk blowing their cover. Not when they were so close.

Adara had just finished explaining the advantages of canine and feline Beast-kin for harvesting from fruit trees. Anton was barely interested in their justification for using Beast-kin as slaves. While he would have argued that was not going to help right now.

“Oh, it seems that your companions have made their decision,” Adara said.

“Not that many are standing up,” Cetina said worryingly to Anton.

Kal stopped Verona just as they exited the cell and spoke into her ear for a moment. Verona nodded and smiled as she approached, Kal looked a little shaky.

“Could you please give us a moment?” Verona asked. “We just need to quickly discuss something and then we’ll make the purchase.”

“Of course.” Adara stepped away alongside the Seocurian guards. They moved to the cell on the opposite side and looked at the Beast-kin there. Those slaves looked utterly terrified to be under their scrutiny.

“What have you found?” Anton whispered.

“I found three people that I know. The Cobra, the Drakeling and the Arachnid.” Anton glanced to where Kal had been kneeling for a minute. “We need to buy them and everyone nearby. They listened in and they’ll talk if we don’t get them out.”

“Right. And your mother?”

Kal whimpered. She took a deep breath and scrunched her fists. “She’s been taken to the Pink Celestial. It’s a place where Beast-kin go to be trained. To become…pets.”

“Oh…”

Not after all this, to have her mind broken…

“But there’s meant to be a sale today. And she might be there. If she’s not there we need to break in and get her out.”

“Hopefully we can get her out without going that far.” Anton looked at Adara. She was still overlooking the Beast-kin slaves. “Now, Verona, I need you to work with me on this next bit.”

“What am I doing?”

“You and I need to buy some sex slaves.”

Verona flushed lightly at his words, so too did Cetina. Anton smiled and waited a few seconds for their flush to fade before getting Adara’s attention.

“Those Beast-kin will be good for the first purchase,” Anton said. He pointed with his hand towards the Cobra and Drakeling Beast-kin. “Our ship is The Snowberry and is currently waiting in the Danafra docks. We have a captain who is expecting them.”

“Very well.” Adara frowned lightly. “I’m afraid that Drakeling’s are not known for their compliance if you get too close to them. It’s best not to interfere with their bodies.”

“That’s not a problem. I have no intention of touching one like that. But…There is something else.”

“Something else that we can help with? You’ve already spent a bit of money already.”

“When we arrived at the port we spoke to a few people who mentioned something a bit more fun about Beast-kin, beyond just slaves to work.”

“You mean Pleasure-Kin?”

Wow.

Anton knew Kal was furious at the phrase but he had to smile and nod.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed about it.” Adara moved forward and ran her hands up his shoulder. “I indulge in them from time to time. Some of them can be quite…interesting. Especially once you teach them how to pleasure you.”

“Well,” Anton scratched his head. “I didn’t know how to say it.”

“There is a sale today, at noon, if you are interested?”

“Yes,” Anton said. “All of us will be attending.”

Adara raised a brow as she looked between the girls. Anton chuckled. “It’s not just for me.”

Adara was taken aback for a moment before her smile returned. She nodded to the Seocurian guards. They smacked an iron stick on the iron bars and entered the cell, accosting the Beast-kin around the Cobra and Drakeling and got them to stand. The guards weren’t brave enough to touch the Drakeling and almost politely asked her to stand up, which she did without resistance.

“We will hold them in another area until they have been fully catalogued and paid for.”

“Won’t they be missed from work?” Verona asked.

“No.” Adara shook her head. “The others will compensate for their absence until replacements are found.”

Didn’t think of that…What a place this is. We can’t rescue you all yet. But we will free you from this hell. Even if it takes years. As many as we can.

“Right. We can pay right now.”

“It will take some time before they can be fully catalogued.” Adara began walking towards the stairs down. “And there is some time before the auction begins. Will you be returning to your ship?”

“Unless there is somewhere to wait before the auction,” Anton said.

Adara smiled. “This way please.”

---[]---

Anton sighed as he closed the door and made sure it was locked. He felt his hands shaking and beads of sweat trailed down his face when he realised that they were safe, for now at least.

Adara led them to a room within the Slave House reception building that served as some sort of plush waiting room. Now they had some privacy for the next few hours.

Anton sat on a soft leather couch. Verona flopped onto another couch while Cetina gently sat on a plush seat. Kal remained standing near the middle of the room.

“Kal.” She barely responded to his words. “Come here.”

Kal nodded and slowly sat next to Anton. She was shaking when Anton slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her head to rest on his chest, gently caressing her head.

“You did great.” He said into her ear. “I’m so proud of you.”

Kal nodded and exhaled loudly. “I never thought I’d find her. Or even get into the city. But she’s so close. I know she is. I can feel it. And I’m afraid I’ll just fall apart when I see her. If they’ve made-”

“We’ll get her out of here before they can do anything more to her,” Anton said sternly. “And we will get her and everyone else back home safely.”

“Yeah. We will. Thanks, Anton.” Kal pushed herself upright and rubbed her legs. “Thank you, all of you. I would never have made it this far without you.”

“We’re going to be with you every step of the way,” Verona said. “Don’t you ever forget that. By the way, Anton, were you serious-”

“No,” Anton replied flatly.

Verona raised her hands. “Okay. But you just said it so honestly that I actually thought…”

Anton sighed and Verona playfully stuck out her tongue.

Kal leant back into the couch. “After all this time I’m back here…”

“What do we do now?” Cetina asked. “I don’t think we can just leave. And I feel so vulnerable without my sword.”

“I’m sure you could just punch your way out.” Verona leant up and chuckled. “I’ve seen you fight and I know you’ve got a mean swing.”

Cetina smiled faintly. “I suppose. But, what do we do?”

Anton looked at the small bowl of fruit on the table and the water in glass containers. He checked the poison immunity prayer was still working and took a bite of the fruit. It was very good, but it was ruined slightly knowing that a slave had picked this. One of the slaves that lived in that horrible dome.

“We wait. Simple as that. There’s not much else we can do that’s not going to cause a scene. And we can’t afford to blow it now that we’re so close. Not now.”

The girls nodded and Kal curled herself back into Anton’s arm. He held her hand tight while they waited for the auction to start.