The masked pair were of a strange sort. That was the first thing that Anya thought when she saw two strangers with cloaks, masks, and hoods entering the Connoisseur's discussion room. The Connoisseur’s other slave—she didn’t know his name, so she called him ‘stickley’ in her head—had let the strangers in and led them to where the Connoisseur sat patiently in a clean, lavishly decorated room.
The room only had a single desk-sized table, where the Connoisseur always greeted guests—expected or otherwise. Anya herself was sitting in the corner of the room, out of the way. She guessed that she was staring a little too much, because she momentarily locked eyes with the shorter guest through his mask. She immediately flinched and glanced down, once again cowering in the corner. She had very well learned what happened when she met a free man’s gaze. The type of people that the Connoisseur dealt with did not tolerate any form of resistance from slaves.
Surprisingly, the short guest—which Anya guessed was a dwarf, based solely on his stature—simply looked to his partner and whispered something in his ear, too quiet for Anya or the Connoisseur to hear. The tall guest whispered something back, then both sat in front of the Connoisseur.
“I hear you have some items you wish to sell to me. Well? Bring them out, I don’t have all day.” The Connoisseur’s voice was cold and standoffish, but his eyes told a different story. By all accounts, the Connoisseur was a brilliant man, with one fatal flaw. If he saw something that interested him, his greed didn’t allow him to let it slip from his grasp. In fact, this aspect of him was part of Anya’s current predicament.
“Yes, you are correct. We have brought some interesting goods to sell or trade, and a story that may very well peak your interest. First we will show the goods.” From a large, makeshift bag he had set on the ground, the tall guest brought out five well-crafted broadswords.
“Consider me underwhelmed. Why would you bring me five mass-produced blades?” The Connoisseur sneered, his eyes never leaving the swords.
“Oh, Connoisseur, my dear friend. I believe you have misunderstood me. Firstly, these are no mere swords, but Arcblades, crafted by Stoneweaver himself.” At those words, the Connoisseur’s eyes widened by just a hair. “Also, these are mere gifts to show my credibility, not the true prize. You see, I come bearing information to sell.”
Even Anya was somewhat enraptured with the performance the tall guest was putting on, but froze when she caught the short man gazing in her direction. The apparent dwarf had an expression of mild curiosity, as though looking at a particularly interesting painting. Anya shuddered, before averting her gaze once again. She continued listening, though.
“Our story is a woeful tale indeed, but I will spare you the many details. Suffice it to say that I know the location of a certain sword that is far, far more valuable than these little trinkets.”
“What is it?” The Connoisseur asked, more than a little greed showing on his snakelike face.
“It is known by many as the Cursed Blade of Nivalis. The prized blade of the Winter Kingdom. In fact, it is not too far from here. If you hurry, you can certainly reach its location before the Winter Kingdom can,” the tall stranger finished. The Connoisseur took a moment of deliberation, then gave his offer.
“For the Arcblades, I will give you five gold for each. For the information, I will give you two osmium.”
The tall stranger flashed a savage grin. “Do you really think these items are so cheap? I ask for five osmium per blade, and 20 osmium for the information.” The Connoisseur didn’t even flinch at these exorbitant numbers. He was quite used to bargaining, in his line of work.
“Ahh, now I believe we have gone too high. I will double my former offer, and give you one osmium per blade, and four osmium for the information. That is more than fair, right?” The Connoisseur said with a sly smile. Anya could tell that her master was completely confident that this negotiation would go in his favor.
“How about,” the short guest interjected, “I make a proposition?” If Anya had been sitting in a chair, she surely would have fallen off of it. The short guest wasn’t a dwarf at all—he was a child! His voice made him sound as though he was eight years old, but the way he spoke made him seem professional and, almost… domineering. He’s probably some human noble heir, then. Why would he be brought here, of all places? Anya thought.
The Connoisseur seemed no less shocked than Anya was. He blinked at the boy in confusion, before realizing that the tall guest was letting the kid speak. He instantly put his business face back on, a mischievous grin splitting his features.
“Oh? And what proposition would the young master like to make?” The Connoisseur practically leered, his grin widening even more as he spoke. Ever the con man, it was as if the Connoisseur was a shark smelling fresh blood. Anya could tell that he would exploit the young boy’s inexperience with everything he had.
“My offer,” the boy started, “is three osmium per sword. With the information, I will purchase that slave in the corner,” He stated lightheartedly.
Anya’s blood went cold. No no, no no no NO! She thought. It’s already bad enough being a slave to the Connoisseur, but that kid? He’s probably some kind of perverted noble, the way he’s been looking at me this whole time. Why did I ever leave home that day?
Fortunately, the Connoisseur seemed equally stricken. His grin had completely fallen off of his face, replaced by a look of bafflement. “Why would you want her? I barely purchased her for one osmium. With four, you could purchase four slaves that are actually useful. Some Beastkin, maybe a dwarf. She’s just some nameless slave.”
Anya would have done a facepalm if she wasn’t so terrified. In his surprised state, the Connoisseur had forgotten the main rule of bargaining—never give away your product’s true value. Since the kid knew that she was worth less than the information he was selling, he would likely ask for even more than he already had.
“Oh, perfect! In that case, I’ll take both her and three more osmium coins. With that, I believe our bargaining is concluded.” The boy now had a wolfish grin on his face, looking upon the Connoisseur as though he were mere prey.
The Connoisseur stood stock still for a moment, before bursting into rambunctious laughter. With tears streaming down his face, he said, “Damnation, kid. You really got me! Who even are you?” His grin was back on his face, but this time it was the more friendly one that Maya often saw. Not that he was ever really friendly to her. At least now, for better or for worse, she could safely assume that she would be leaving him for good.
With a smile still on his face, the boy simply said, “Young master works well enough for me.” Then he turned his head towards Anya once again.
***
As James concluded the negotiations with the Connoisseur, Tyler was cursing himself inwardly. Why in Lux’s name did I do that? The damned ‘save a pretty elf slave’ trope is so overused that it’s practically a cliche at this point. Well, she’s not an elf, really. Except if you ignore the wings, she really does look the part. He glanced over at the pixie slave again and she visibly flinched. Ahh, come on. Do I really look like I am going to bite? I’m a freaking child, for crying out loud. Or at least I sound like one. She probably thinks I’m some sort of perverted kid noble, doesn’t she?
Little did Tyler know, these were Anya’s exact thoughts.
“Now that the negotiations are finished, divulge the information. I need to get an extraction team ready right away.” The Connoisseur’s voice was filled with barely suppressed greed.
“I’d rather we receive our payment first. No offense, but I trust your greed more than I trust your honor,” James remarked with a smirk.
“Touché,” the Connoisseur replied with a smirk of his own. Without another word, he opened a hidden drawer in the table, and drew out eighteen shiny, blue-white coins of pure osmium. Each coin had the face of some long-dead king pressed into their surface, and on the flip side, the outline of a dragon’s figure. The Connoisseur picked up the stack of coins with one hand, then dropped them rapidly, like a skilled poker player shuffling his chips. Presumably, the Connoisseur was re-counting the coins. As comfortable as it might make Tyler to assume that he was making sure they were paid the correct amount, both Tyler and James knew that the Connoisseur was only careful so that he didn’t overpay them and lose money.
“There you are, eighteen osmium coins. As agreed. I’ll take the swords and the information, please,” the Connoisseur drawled. With an easy smile, James took the coins and pocketed them, before sliding all five Arcblades across the table.
“Before we divulge the information, it would be best to transfer the slave brand to us. No need to worry, we will tell you exactly where to find the Cursed Blade, after the slave is in our possession.” The smile never left James’s face, but his eyes behind his mask held a quiet threat. The Connoisseur’s eyes darkened a little at James’s mention of a slave brand, as though he was… possessive? Tyler couldn’t quite tell. However, that look quickly vanished, as though it wasn’t there to begin with. From the corner of his eye, Tyler could see the slave girl listening to every word of their conversation, alternating between watching the Connoisseur and Tyler.
“Of course! I would never dream of going back on our deal!” The Connoisseur responded cheerily. With a quick flourish of his wrists, a black star tattoo suddenly appeared on the back of his hand. He stepped towards James, who motioned instead to Tyler. The Connoisseur clasped Tyler’s hand to shake—a little harder than might be necessary, but Tyler was stronger than his frame made him appear—and a light burning sensation arose on the back of Tyler’s hand. The star tattoo began to dissolve from the Connoisseur’s, and reformed on Tyler’s instead. Instinctively, Tyler felt a strange link between himself and the slave girl appear in his mind.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“With that, my payment to you is finished. The information, if you please,” the Connoisseur voiced with a forced smile.
“Of course, my dear friend! I drew a map to the exact place that the Winter Blade is located. When you find the blade’s location, you will see it stuck into the ground, the end of the hilt reaching your mid-thigh,” James beamed, handing the Connoisseur a rolled piece of parchment. “Pleasure doing business with you again, Connoisseur.”
James turned sharply, not waiting for Tyler or the pixie girl to follow him. Tyler abruptly stood, motioned casually to the timid girl behind him, and followed. The tall, stickley slave that had welcomed and led them to the Connoisseur was waiting to escort them to the door. Without a second glance, James and Tyler turned and walked , the timid slave trailing behind them awkwardly.
When the group had reached a place where no passerbys could overhear them, James turned and firmly grabbed Tyler’s shoulder. At this point, Tyler could feel a definite difference in his body from before he passed out on the horse. It was almost as though every muscle and bone in his body had grown denser. If this was him before he consumed the king deer antlers, James’s strong grip would have hurt. It might have even injured him. Now, though, it only seemed mildly uncomfortable.
This again. It seems that James has intense mood swings, where one moment he’s completely happy, and the next he borders on the insane. I saw it in his eyes when he fought the humans from the winter kingdom.
“What is it?” Tyler asked.
“What the hell was that?” James responded, his voice almost calm compared to the fire burning in his pale green eyes. Both Tyler and James still wore their masquerade style masks, but Tyler could still see an intensity in James’s eyes that almost made him avert his gaze. He didn’t, though, and continued to stare blankly at James’s face.
“What the hell was what?” Tyler responded, the confusion evident in his voice.
“Why’d you buy the slave? I could have made so much money off of that guy!” James whined. Where before he was intimidating and ferocious, now he spoke almost like a little kid who had his candy taken away. Tyler sighed.
“I don’t know. I felt bad for the poor thing. Just look at her! She looks about a half meal away from being a skeleton. And slavery? You never told me about that,” Tyler explained.
“Why would I tell you about that? Slavery might be a little ugly, but it’s common enough. Hell, I should be more angry about it than you are, with all the beastkin slaves there are in the world.”
“Well, what’s done is done. What’s your name?” Tyler asked, turning around to the girl. She simply stared at her shoes, her wings drooping. After a few moments of silence, it was clear that the slave wasn’t going to speak. “Well, crap. I went through the cliché of buying a cute slave, and she doesn’t even talk,” Tyler muttered to James.
“Maybe the masks are scaring her?” James murmured in response. The girl could obviously hear their quiet conversation, but didn’t make any reactions. She just continued to stare downwards as Tyler and James lowered their hoods and removed their masks.
“See? We’re not so scary,” Tyler said with a sly grin.
“Um…” the girl started, “why did you purchase me from the Connoisseur?” Her voice was hoarse, as though she hadn’t spoken in a long time.
“Hmm, why do you think?” Tyler asked, his grin bordering on viscous, his long canines flashing. The girl flinched, and Tyler laughed. “I’m just messing with you. What’s your name?”
“My name is Anya,” she responded hesitantly. Tyler raised a single eyebrow.
“And your last name is…” Tyler urged blatantly.
“Fei.” Tyler could see James’s eyes widen indiscriminately at that, but he remained silent.
“Okay, and how old are you?” Tyler asked, his expression thoughtful.
“I’m fourteen.” Hmm, so she’s the same age as me? She looks younger, Tyler thought absently.
“Alright, Anya Fei. You have two choices. You can either be freed and go back wherever you came from, or you can accompany me on a… little trip. The decision is entirely yours, so take your pick.”
“Little trip?” James asked, almost accusatory as he turned to glare in Tyler’s direction.
“Sorry James, something’s come up. I need to go somewhere.” Tyler watched with a neutral expression as James’s facial expression shifted. There seemed to be conflicting emotions flickering across his face. Tyler could see distrust, sadness, a flash of anger, and finally a calm acceptance.
“Uhh, how will you free me? I am branded with a bondage weave. It can be disabled, but it can never fully be removed,” Anya interjected. How is she the same age as I was on Earth? She speaks like a child, Tyler thought in confusion. She was correct, though. Tyler could see an intricate black tattoo woven around her neck that almost resembled a choker necklace. As Tyler activated his dragon vision, his eyes glowed with a subtle purple light that could be seen glowing in the darkness of the alleyway where they stood. With them he was able to discern that the weave-like marking was bound with invisible threads to the star tattoo embedded in Tyler’s own hand. It didn’t stop there, though. It was like a chain that interweaved with Anya’s soul, and Tyler could tell that if it was forcibly removed, Anya would instantly die. With a small sigh, he extended his palm towards Anya’s throat. She flinched back, but Tyler stopped her with a glare. She closed her eyes and grit her teeth. She knew that even if she wanted to run away or stop Tyler from doing anything, the bondage weave would prevent her from taking any action.
The bondage weave was the thing that made slavery in this world so prevalent. It allowed a slave’s master to inflict pain upon the slave, or if the situation required, an instant, painful death. Tyler could see all of this when he looked closely at Anya’s bondage weave, and he even pushed some of his own mana through the weave to better understand its fundamentals. Then, he began to slowly unravel the complexly woven mana circuit. I can tell why dragons are said to be masters of magic. It feels almost instinctual, the way I’m doing this.
Slowly but surely, the magic binding was coming undone. Tyler wasn’t tearing or cutting the ‘strings’ of the circuit—no, it was much too precarious of a situation for that. If Tyler had cut or damaged the strings in any way, it was likely that it would directly affect Anya’s soul. And so, he unraveled it. Like a knit sweater with a loose string, the binding began to fall apart on its own. Once one of the threads was completely free, it would dissolve once again into pure mana and dissipate into the air. After what felt like an hour of concentration, but was really closer to a full minute, the rest of the binding collapsed and dissolved completely. Tyler watched as the destruction of the bondage weave caused the tattoo hidden in his hand to disappear as well.
With a huff, Tyler backed away from the newly freed Anya. “There you go. You’re free,” Tyler sighed and slumped to the ground. He didn’t use much mana to perform that trick, but it was more like his mind was exhausted. Freeing Anya from her bindings was almost like unraveling a giant puzzle.
“...How?” Anya whispered. “I know people who might be able to free a bound slave, but not perfectly. What you did, though? That’s unheard of.”
“Well, don’t think too much of it,” Tyler said, hopping to his feet. “I just have an eye for magic.” Tyler almost laughed at his own subtle joke, but kept his calm. “You decided yet? Go on your own or stick with me?” Tyler asked Anya while glancing at James in the corner of his eye. James’s face was stone cold, like a mask hiding his emotions. I’m sure that his boss, the ‘professor,’ wants him to stick with me. What for, though? Is it like what Luna warned me about? Or does he just want to be on friendly terms with a future adult dragon? Tyler mused. Whatever. Either way, I’m going to go on my own. I can’t have James following me to Luna. I’m not sure even Anya should come with me, but she’s less suspicious than James is.
“I think…” Anya started, “...I need to know where you’re going first. Why didn’t you tell your… partner?” Tyler noticed that Anya was growing less and less nervous, as though she was coming back to herself after so long as a slave. Technically Tyler didn’t know how much time she spent a slave, but he figured that any amount of time would cause a person to grow distant.
“That’s a secret. If you don’t come with me, people could get the information out of you. Just know that it will be somewhat dangerous, and most likely not in the direction of wherever you hail from,” Tyler stated. Also, there was no reason to give James an excuse to follow him somehow. Even if Tyler was the only one with the guidestone, he figured one couldn’t be too careful.
“In that case, I want to go home. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my family.” Anya was growing more confident, but Tyler could still feel a sort of fear tainting her voice. In addition, the way she said ‘family’ made it sound as though she had no care for them. Interesting. Well, I have no part in it now. She can do what she pleases.
“Perfect. James, could you please pull some strings with your boss to be sure she makes it home? You don’t need to go with her personally, but it would ease my mind nonetheless,” Tyler said in James’s direction. Tyler was currently straightening his cloak to make sure it covered both his horns and his wings, and sliding the osmium coins he had received into one of his new Battlesuit’s many pockets. As he did so, he wondered how the Battlesuit even worked. How did all this clothing, plus things hidden in pockets, transform into a thin chain necklace? Not only that, but James had said that the chain would meld into Tyler’s scales when he transforms, making it imperceptible. And, if the Battlesuit was so complicated that Tyler couldn’t see how it worked, how had this ‘Professor’ even made it?
Either way, that was a mystery for another time. For now, Tyler needed to safely get out of this city, reach the nearest Gehenna entrance, and follow the stone to where Luna rested. No small feat, considering James—and by extension, his suspicious Professor—was breathing down his neck. Tyler, Anya, and James walked down the Junction streets in a short line. Tyler in front, Anya in center, and James taking up the rear. Anya wore the same cloak that Tyler wore before acquiring the Battlesuit from James, in order to hide both her wings and threadbare slave clothing from prying eyes. Tyler and James were dressed similarly, though their cloaks were nicer. At first, Tyler would have thought that their group’s peculiar choices of clothing would be suspicious or stand out, but he was once again surprised by this other world. Though it wasn’t exactly common, Tyler saw a number of people wearing hooded cloaks or even masks. Apparently, hiding one’s identity is not an uncommon practice in Somnium. Good to know, Tyler thought.
Suddenly, Tyler felt a presence following them. Tyler’s life sense wasn’t always on, because that much information constantly flowing into his brain would probably give him a headache. Instead, it seemed to be run more by Tyler’s bare instincts. Like now, when he felt a hooded figure following them while unconsciously emitting a somewhat threatening aura, Tyler instantly could pinpoint his location. It must be someone sent by the Connoisseur. I figured he would try something, considering his attachment to Anya. He tried to hide it, but I could see it. He is a collector—a Connoisseur—after all. He won’t let his possessions go so easily. Under his hood, Tyler grinned. This is a perfect distraction. James will definitely be able to take our stalker in a fight, while I can more easily slip away while he’s distracted.
Since Tyler was leading the group, he gradually slowed down his pace while steering towards a small alley. James noticed, but he didn’t say anything. Tyler was almost sure that James was following Tyler because he wanted to keep an eye on him. After all, James had no reason to stay with Tyler if not for his Professor’s sake. Tyler suddenly pulled Anya into a fairly wide alley, with James following behind.
“What is it?” Anya hissed. She seemed to be quickly adapting to her new environment.
“We’re being followed,” Tyler and James responded simultaneously, both with an impeccable calm. Somehow, James had also noticed the person following them. Damn. I need to escape without a fight, because even with my new strength I don’t think I could get close to beating James. He’s much too skilled for me to take on.
“What? How do you know?” Anya whisper-shouted, a touch of fear laced in her words.
“We could sense him,” Tyler responded. “Don’t worry, even I could beat him. He’s just a human, after all. And if I couldn’t, James here definitely can. They were probably sent by the Connoisseur to kill us and collect you again. And we can’t let that happen now, can we?”