“You’re Evan?” One of the guards asked me.
“Yes sir. I’m here to pick up my items,” I told him.
“Tors, take these people to loading dock 44!” he shouted at another guard before saying, “Go ahead and follow that guy.”
I thanked the guard, and gestured for Mors and Aurea to follow me. The guard took us to a gate that had our carts and horses waiting for us. One of them had burlap sacks full of various items, while the other held a large cage with my 4 elven slaves held within. I noticed that the elves seemed more lively. The 2 larger ones, who I assumed to be parents of guardians of some sort, were protecting the smaller elves, using their bodies and arms as shields. They glared at me with undisguised hate and suspicion.
“You and Aurea take that cart,” I instructed Mors, pointing at the cart carrying the burlap sacks. He nodded, and climbed up onto the cart. He gripped the reins with an experienced air, leading me to believe that he had done this before. I climbed up onto the cart holding the slaves, and the guard yelled for someone to open the gate. As I was about to snap the reins and urge the horse forward, someone shouted, “HEY YOU, THE ONE WITH THE ELF SLAVES! STOP!”
I looked around for the source, with my eyes eventually landing on a heavily armored individual walking towards me. A small squadron of soldiers marched behind him, each wearing expensive looking armor.
“They don’t look like the city guard.”
“[It is possible that they are a local mercenary group.]”
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“Can I help you?” I asked cautiously. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Mors and Aurea were on guard, each having a hand on their weapons.
“I want to buy your slaves,” the armored individual said, his voice revealing he was a man.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. If you’d like, you can check the Cage ‘n’ Collar, that’s where I got these ones,” I responded.
“You haven’t heard my offer yet. My lord is willing to give you 10 gold coins for each of the adult elves, and 20 for each of the children.”
“Again, I’m sorry, but I simply can’t.”
“Would knowing my lord is the honorable son of Lord Marcus change your mind?” the man said with a smirk on his face.
“Nope,” I responded, snapping the reins, and spurred the horse forward. I saw the man just stood there in shock, as if he was unable to comprehend what had just happened. Mors and Aurea followed suit, and a few minutes after exiting the gate, both of them erupted into laughter simultaneously.
“Holy shit, did you see his fucking face?” Aurea chortled.
“I’m willing to bet that’s the first time that’s happened to him,” Mors said, chuckling.
The pair laughed for a bit longer before I asked who Lord Marcus was. According to Mors, Ocaephis was governed by the Satris family. Lord Marcus was the one originally in charge of the army that had recently marched through, as well as the one that I killed.
“Does Ocaephis not know that Lord Marcus is dead?” I asked curiously.
“I doubt it,” responded Mors,” Remember, the Governor and the higher-ups in the army are all a part of the rebellion. If Ocaephis knew their governor was dead, not only would their morale plummet, the enemy would know that they had lost a key member of their leadership, making them more vulnerable to attacks from the neighboring province.”
I nodded, “Makes sense. Well, let's get home quick, shall we?”