The wagon tottered along the dirt road that soon turned to gravel, the gates now closed behind them. Beside the roads were slaves of all species, shapes, and sizes breaking rocks with picks. In front of the caravan and expanding to fill one’s view was a crater that spiraled down in an inverted cone shape with a flat bottom where miners pushed carts full of ore into other mine carts that carried it up the spiralling ledge they have dug out to be used as a staircase and ramp. The ledge has arced holes in the side where one could enter the mine at different entrances and exits. They seemed to be quite stable and confident in the strength of their hollowed tunnel structures, these metal elves. Surrounding the crater is a city divided into three quarters. The first quarter which expands from the left of one’s vision as they enter into the city is the royal district, full of decadent middle eastern like domes surrounded by painted tiles and gold pillars. This is where the palace and a majority of noble households lie (save for those who control agriculture outside of the city). The second district would be in the middle of one’s vision as they entered, the merchant district. This is where ore was sold and purchased. Since the third is the slave district, slum housing and also where a majority of the city guard were stationed save for the royal knights and their adjudicators, the slaves would be first brought to the merchant’s district in order to validate the authenticity of the merchandise. So, that is where the driver brought them.

First rolling through the slums and staring at their future despair with dejection, the slaves in the rolling cage could only silently weep, lest they be beaten for their impudence. The boy with the crystal blue eyes in the back, however, only kept staring with either vacancy or deep thought, looking for something between the bars.

Some of the slaves came out of their shacks and living quarters to watch the rolling procession of damned souls. Their rags stained, their faces dirty. The closer one got to the merchants district it seemed the shacks progressively became more sturdy and well built, more guards popping up and patrolling to keep an orderly transition from one section to the next. The rolling cage came to a squeaky stop in front of an iron gate, much less impressive than the one before but it still did its job.

“Slaves?” asked the metal elf who came out of the small boothe attached to the side of the gate after the guards hailed the wagon.

“Yeah. All miners ‘cept for one fighter.” the driver explained.

“Fighter?” the metal elf asked peering between his glasses and needle nose. His clothing was different than the ones before, a scarlet peacoat was wrapped around him and his face was pierced with some sort of green metal. He looked much more professional than the guards before. His face seemed a little gaunt in comparison to the other elves, but his long ears seemed to have piercings with more than just the green metal embedded into his complexion. The pride of the elf was clearly written on his face and etched in his attitude.

“Would it be that man there?” the elf disbelievingly asked as he pointed to an emaciated human male with no shirt. The driver responded with a light chuckle before answering.

“No, ‘s not. It’s the boy ‘n the back.”

The elf raised his eyebrows, but didn’t say anything. He strutted to the back of the wagon and stared at the boy. The boy looked up, his reverie disrupted, and made eye contact with the metal elf. The metal elf stared into the boy’s crystal blue eyes and the boy stared into his dark brown eyes just the same.

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“Hmm.” murmured the elf.

“Alright, let them through.”  He said as he gave the go ahead to the two guards in front of the wagon.

“Let ‘em through!” the guards parroted. The gates creaked open, allowing the wagon through, and a bustling bazaar was revealed. Although the sound of pick axes were still prevalent, the sounds of the bazaar overturned that ambience with the sounds of conversation and haggling. The smell was that of a farm and a fish market, waste thrown onto the streets. It seems only the royal district had plumbing, or an efficient waste disposal system. The streets were a mix of gravel and a few paved cobblestone areas as well.

As the cart rolled along the slaves gawked at all of the items up for display. The shop owners would sneer behind their tarps and open aired stalls at the slaves, but the slaves could not stop staring at the wondrous goods before them. The little boy in the back remained unmoved.

Soon, after passing into a large open city square paved with cobblestone, the wagon stopped in front of large stone building with big wooden doors that were open showing an expanding building where a line of slaves in chains were waiting in front of a high class looking metal elf with a pen and paper as he sat at a desk. This time the driver got off the wagon and approached the two guards to the sides of the doors after grabbing a slip of paper from the inside of his coat. Meanwhile, slaves shuffled one by one into the structure, being pushed into different halls and sections of the building. Seems the higher class elf isn’t the only register.

“I’ve got an express letter.” said the driver as he showed the guard the letter. The guard couldn’t read, but he recognized the seal. Nodding towards the driver, he walked over to the higher class elf down the hall and handed him the letter. After reading, he nodded and stood up, commanding the guards around him to shuffle the slaves to different parts of the building. After that he walked over to the driver, every step in confidence, and tapped the letter in his hand with satisfaction.

“So, the new fighter has arrived eh?” the higher class elf seemed quite pleased as his brutish features came to the sight of the elves. His left eye had what looked to be a purple iron sealing the eye socket, a scar ran from his upper lip to his chin, long white hair put into a ponytail and various piercings marked his ears and face. His white coat looked to be in the style of a military uniform with a black sash adorning his chest with chains sewed into it with silver thread to denote his job. It seems another sash was beneath it, but it was too hard to tell the symbol stitched into it. He wore white dress gloves and at his sheathed behind his back was a rod with what looked to be a metal tulip bulb on the other end. His shoes made a crisp sound as he walked, made of leather and workmanship.

“Yes, Minister Barov.” the driver spoke as he bowed his head.

“Good. Good. Where is the boy? I’ve heard quite a bit from his time in his purchasing camp…”

“Yes, Minister, it seems he killed three guards but then stopped. He jus’ sat down is what I heard. From then on he’s been like that.” the driver pointed to the boy with the vacant gaze and black eye.

“Ah, haha, seems they knew they couldn’t do anything to him so they just knocked him out and sent him here eh?” the Minister giggled.

“Grand! If he can kill those idiots in the south lands than he will surely be a great gift to the Lord. Wait, is his birthday confirmed?”

“Yes, sir. It’s coming up in three months to the day, but we can’t identify his heart type.”

“Oh. Well, that’s annoying, but the Khalif does love pleasant surprises! I am so excited!” The Minister seemed giddy, jumping up and down with a light bounce, contrary to his terrifying disposition.

“Yeah, then what ya want me to do with the rest of ‘em?”

“Oh, just let the guards take care of them. Put the boy in the pit, together with that one armed fellow. Should be a good fit. I’m excited for tomorrow...” The higher class elf spoke to both the driver and the guards around him. Everyone nodded, the driver unlocking the gate after pushing the little boy back through the bars. The slaves were all escorted to the slave district, save for the little boy. He was brought into the crater, into one of the tunnels on the bottom floor that led into a pit full of jail cells. There he was thrown into a cage with a man with one arm. Dim candlelight was the only illumination. The little boy stared at the man who returned his gaze. There were two beds made of straw. The boy went to the bed and lay down. Soon he was lost in sleep.