CHAPTER 7: THE PRICE OF A MAN

Two weeks on the road passed before they arrived at Highrock Town. They walked through the gates and the people around looked at them distastefully.

“Mother, why do they look at us like that?” Kram asked. “Is it our clothes?”

Kram did notice that they had different clothes. He and the villagers wore simple tunics and some men even just wore pants, leaving themselves topless. While the people of Highrock wore more complex items of clothing that Kram was more used to than when he was reincarnated.

“No,” Oka said. “It is because we our skin is darker than theirs.”

“Why…” Kram said.

A man stood in their way. He had a potbelly stood in their way. His brown eyes shone with greed as he looked at Kram and the villagers.

“What are you people doing here?” The man said.

“Our village was attacked by demons and…” One of the men said.

“So you fools led a horde of demons here?” the man said.

“No one followed us here,” another said, losing patience with the man.

“How do you know? You’re not smart enough to make sure you are not followed!”

“We were not followed…” Oka began.

“I was not talking to you, wench!” the man said, creating a magical whip and making to strike Oka.

Kram grabbed onto the whip, stopping it from striking his mother while he glared at the man. He tried to pull back the whip but it Kram did not allow him, keeping his stare intense.

“L-Let go!” he said, trying to pull the whip again and failing.

“Please sir,” the Medicine Woman said.

The whip vanished in Kram’s hands.

“All we are looking for is shelter.” The Medicine Woman said.

“You want to stay here?” the man said. “You’ll have to earn your keep.”

Men surrounded the villagers, armed with weapons and chains.

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“By being slaves?” one of the men said.

The man shrugged and laughed. “It is the only way your people can earn their keep.”

“I refuse!” one of the villagers said, infusing the spear with his magic. The three men fought with all their heart.

Kriki came close to Kram in fear as their protectors were being taken down. “Kram, what do we do?”

Kram kept his glare at the laughing man as people around them fell. “For now, we do nothing.”

Later that day, they were all in chains. Kram made sure to stay close to his mother and Kriki made sure to stay close to him. It had not been a day and they were already being pushed onto the stage. There was a man in front with a bushy moustache that Kram noticed. He could sense the man was very powerful and it seemed the other people knew it as when he walked in, everyone parted to give him way.

Kram already recognized his uniform. He was a general of one of the human army factions he had crushed in his past life. The man who had put them in chains, Kram had found out his name was Rei Book, stood next to the man. Whispering things and pointing at the village men.

Kram’s mother came up, he tried to follow her but the auctioneer made him stand a little from her.

“Now ladies and gentlemen, here is another woman.” He said. “She still young, so she is strong enough to do house work and is a mother, so she will be able to take care of your kids while you do more important things with your life.

“I’ll give you 300 Shens, for her.” Woman said.

“I’ll give you 350 Shens!” a man said.

“400!”

“450!”

“600!” A man said.

Kram’s eyes focused on the man who had brought his mother. He engraved his face into his memory, making sure that he would at least be able to track him when he and his mother split. It was his turn to stand on the stage.

“Kram, I’m scared.” Kriki said, trying to hold onto him. He freed himself from her grasp and stepped on the platform.

He stood proud and glared at the gathered crowd, not hiding his disgust. Considering that he had seen these people bid on his mother like a piece of meat… like an imp and that he generally did not like humans from his time as a demon, his disgust was at the highest and they knew.

He saw Rei Book smirk and point at him while he whispered to the army general. Kram looked at them both challengingly. The general made his bid.

“200 Shems!” the general said.

There was silence and Kram was already plotting against the general.

“300!”

Kram’s eyes widened. He looked at the bidder and saw the man who had brought his mother bidding for him. The crowd looked at the man in shock.

“350!” the general said.

“500!” The man said.

The general looked annoyed and turned to leave the crowd. Kram walked to his new would-be-ower and his mother hugged him happily before looking at the men who had brought them.

“Thank you for getting my son, sir!” Oka said.

He smiled and nodded. “Let’s leave.”

“No,” Kram said, before turning to look at the stage. “I want to see this one and the Medicine Woman’s.”

She looked at Kriki, who was crying on stage. The bid began. Different people were bidding and at one point even the man who had brought him and his mother made a bid. The man sighed in relief when the bid was over.

“Now for the medicine woman.”

“She is not going to be sold.” The man said.

Kram looked at the man who had brought them. “Why?”

“She’s too old. No one will buy her.”

“Then what will happen to her?”

“She will be let go into the forest to fend for herself.” he said. “Your other friend has will be okay. I know the family that brought her. They are good people.”

Kram walked passed the man. “Do good people keep slaves?”