I had never been so happy to see what amounted to a motel. Exhaustion had seeped its way into my bones, not physical, but mental. There had been a growing amount of stress building up inside me ever since we first left the wildlands, and now it was starting to reach critical mass, poisoning my body. I needed to sleep, relax, have a moment to breathe and calm down despite my current situation.
My guide, ever impersonal as always, just dropped me off with a slight bow and left without another word. I still couldn’t figure out if the attitude was a personal beef with me or just with the situation in general. It didn’t really matter I suppose. Probably won’t be seeing him much after this.
I shuffled back to my room, giving a half-hearted greeting to the innkeeper as I walked by him. My room was plain, but the bed was the only important part of it really, and it more than made up for the shortcomings by itself at the moment. I threw the privacy bolt on the door before getting undressed and flopping face first onto the bed with a slight creak of the wood in protest to suddenly having my weight drop on it.
Practically melting into the fabric, I snuggled into the sheets and closed my eyes. I got the feeling I would be seeing some of the less than pleasant sides of this place tomorrow, so I needed my mental fortitude for that upcoming ordeal. Slowly I descended into the soothing embrace of sleep, or at least it should have been soothing.
Once darkness had consumed my mind the dreams began, or more accurately, the nightmares ran rampant. There was too much noise, nothing seemed to be focused or remain for more than a few moments. I could make out faces in the haze, some clearer than others, and eventually one managed to make their voice heard over the chaotic environment that surrounded us.
“Are you going to kill us too?”
A sensation like lead dropping into my stomach crystallized inside me. I couldn’t find any words; I doubted that I would have been able to talk even if I had. Another figure came forward, slightly different and lither than the previous one. “Are you going to kill us too?”
The same question, yet equally disturbing. Suddenly it seemed like all the distorted beings around me found their voice, and a dull murmuring from a myriad of phantoms filled my ears. They all just kept repeating that line over and over again. I couldn’t escape it. They were relentless and numerous as far as I could perceive.
My frustration built until at last it pushed its way to the surface. “Shut up! What you’re doing is wrong, someone has to stop you!” My subconscious was telling me exactly who these figures were supposed to represent even if I couldn’t make out any details of their faces. They ignored my words and kept saying, chanting really, that line.
“Are you going to kill us too?”
“Are you going to kill us too?”
“Are you going to kill us too?”
I tried plugging up my ears, but their chant defied my attempts to mute them and pierced directly into my mind. Something tugged at me, and I turned in its direction only to freeze. A smaller form, obviously that of a child, stood there, looking up at me. I knew what was coming, I could feel it, and I didn’t want to hear it, not from this one. Silently I pleaded for a reprieve, for silence, for these figures to be struck mute, but the damned thing would not listen.
“Are you going to kill me?”
“STOP!”
I jolted upright in a cold sweat. My heart was hammering as my mind was desperately trying to catch up with what was happening. There were no more figures surrounding me, I was alone in a small room in a bed. Then I realized I had woken up, the nightmare had ended, though not in a pleasant way.
My breath was ragged, and I had to consciously control it in an attempt to bring it back from a hyperventilating state. Once my breathing was under control again, I gathered myself and went to check the time. I looked out the window and saw the sky was still mostly dark, though a lighter tinge of blue was starting to spread across the eastern horizon, so it wasn’t far off from morning.
I sighed and sat down on my bed again before rubbing over my face and pinching the bridge of my nose. This is some bullshit. Of all the times to have a relapse. I guess it kind of made sense in a fucked-up way. Ever since that day on the road so long ago I had been actively avoiding doing anything like that again. But now I was bringing death to this place, getting involved in a war that really shouldn’t have been any of my business to begin with. It all just came to a head when I saw the families, the children, the people who wouldn’t be involved in the fighting yet standing directly in the middle of it. In all likelihood I would be forced to take up arms and fight, not only to protect myself, but the others as well.
The simple fact of the matter is that none of this was good for my mental wellbeing. The Thrainians were still in the wrong, and I obviously wanted the coalition to succeed, but that didn’t mean I had to be happy about the blood that would be spilled along the way. War wasn’t bloodless, I knew that, but I didn’t want unnecessary death if it could be avoided.
I had to make peace with this, but my current situation and location did not afford me much of an opportunity to do so. For now, I got dressed and prepared myself for the day ahead. There was a little waiting for the sun to come up fully before I went out in search of breakfast. I had a nice warm meal with the innkeeper who seemed to enjoy the company and conversation. Must be tough having to run a business that doesn’t really see much traffic. Even I could tell that he suffered from frequent, mind-numbing boredom on a regular basis.
With my meal finished I excused myself under the guise of discussing today’s work with my ‘slaves’. Every time I’ve had to use that word it has produced a visceral reaction in me, like something unpleasant and sour was introduced to my tongue. Grin and bear it, that was all I could do for now as I went out back to the little shack.
Opening the door allowed the light from outside into the drab and dark interior of the room, illuminating the four figures sitting around and eating some very depressing bowls of grain soup. My arrival got everyone’s attention and taking one last look around outside to make sure that there was no one around to listen in, I stepped inside to have a conversation with them.
“Well, I'd say last night was a success. I got some information about a potential weakness, and I will be on a tour of their slave pens later today, so we can know what’s going on there.”
“Good, the sooner we can tear this place to the ground the better.” Holdrem said with venom in his voice.
“Reign it in a bit. We’re still not in a position to be having that attitude, and this is just a potential path that may very well dead end.” He grunted but didn’t argue the point.
Otar spoke up next. “So, what’s the plan then?”
“Now, I'm going to investigate these magical wards that were mentioned to me. As for the slave pens, I was thinking something similar to when we first cased the bank.” I turned my attention to Kala who realized what I had meant.
I squatted down in front of her. “I don’t want to ask you this, and because of where we are going, I will let you have the deciding opinion. Would you play the role of examiner, one who knows the best... ‘qualities’ in a worker while still being my extra pair of eyes?”
Her brow furrowed ever so slightly, and I could tell she was trying to hide the disgust she had at the idea. “It makes me sick to even think about playing that role.” She said as her face scrunched up more and more by the second.
I huffed a little with an empathetic smile. “I can relate. Playing this part has led to nothing but the taste of bile in my mouth and a pit of acid in my guts. You can say no if you want, I can manage without you on this.”
She swallowed a bit, clearly mulling over the options before taking a deep breath. “I can’t very well let you do all the work, and if you can endure that for as long as you have, I can do the same for an hour or two. I’ll go with you.”
I smiled at her. “Thank you, Kala, I really appreciate it.” Standing back up I straightened out my clothing and adopted my air of superiority again. “We’ll be leaving around midday, be ready for that.” She nodded, and I left to kill a little time by taking a walk around again to see if there was anything I might have missed.
For the first few minutes of wandering around I saw nothing that I hadn’t the day before. Some different people were off their shifts today, and a few seemed to be higher on the food chain than others if their dress was anything to go by. It might be worth it to set up shop again and ask some more questions later today.
Just then a building caught my attention, not because of anything special on the outside, but because its doors were wide open. Curious, I started moving in its direction to get a better look at what was going on. Looking inside the doors I couldn’t see much, so I cautiously went further inside while hoping that I wasn’t trespassing.
There was another open door inside, and it seemed like this was all designed to direct people. Further down the rabbit hole I went, and soon after I figured out what this place was. The next room had rows of wooden benches set up leading to a slightly elevated step with a podium on it. Behind the podium there was what was obviously an altar. Two candelabras sat at either end, and between them were five stone statues, four slightly smaller ones in the front and a slightly larger one behind them.
This was a church, though it seemed to be a rather small one. I couldn’t recognize any of the figures in the front, but the one in the back I could infer who it was. The statue depicted a womanly figure draped in robes that hugged her body in a way that seemed like an artistic choice from whoever made it. The face was featureless, but behind the head was a circle, almost like a halo but not quite, which gave away the identity. It was a depiction of the almighty bitch herself.
My face contorted into a sneer as I realized I was in what amounted to enemy territory. I turned and bade a hasty retreat lest she see fit to strike me with another curse, but I ran face first into someone as I pivoted. Suddenly I found myself staring down a priest of some kind, the dull brown robes were a bit of a giveaway. The man's face showed signs of ageing, and his hair and beard had small strands of grey in them. He was remarkably quiet, being able to basically sneak up on me without my knowledge.
He gave me a friendly smile before launching into a conversation. “Hello son, did you come to pay your respects to the gods?”
“Oh, uhm, no, sorry, I'm new around here and was just curious about the open door.”
He nodded, never dropping his smile. “Perhaps your curiosity was simply the gods calling to you. Since you are already here, why not say a word or two in prayer.” He started trying to guide me towards the altar that held all the figures.
I tried to worm my way out of it the best I could. “Uhm, I've never really been the religious type.” That was putting it mildly. I’m fairly certain half the things I think about their pantheon would make me a heretic if there were any mind readers out there.
“The gods are always open to you when you need them. Give it a try, perhaps you might even find new purpose in your life.”
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For fucks sake, why did I have to run into the world's most persistent priest? He moved me before the altar with a gentle hand on my back guiding me the whole way. I didn’t really have the nerve to just push my way out of the ageing man's grip, especially since he wasn’t abrasive in any way. It seemed I was being roped along into humoring the clergyman until I could find a way out.
“Since you may not be familiar with them, allow me to introduce you to the divine depictions you see before you. On the left you have Alcrith, God of light. He is often called to for guidance through unsure times.”
Where the fuck were you when I was completely lost in this world?
“Next to him is his sister, Thiria Goddess of the night and beauty. She is popular amongst women, and it is said that if your child is born under the moon than you may ask her favor to bless your baby with beauty when they grow up.
Sounds vain.
“After her, we have Cathor, God of Justice. If ever there is a wrong done against you, you may seek his guidance to direct you towards enacting proper retribution. Legal proceedings all across the land hold him as patron to their work.
Yeah, he definitely doesn’t exist.
Beside him is Valial, God of war and conflict. He’s the one who gets the most attention from those who visit here, as many soldiers try to curry his favor so they may strike true in combat.”
He might be the only real one of the lot so far considering how much violence is ravaging this world.
“Finally, we have the Eternal Mother. She gave birth to all life upon this land and even the other gods. Her domain lies in death and the life that comes after. She is considered the greatest of the gods, for we are all subject to the cycle.”
Fuck you bitch.
“There are many stories about each of the gods that I could go into, but now that you have the introduction out of the way, perhaps you would care to pray to one of them?” The priest looked at me expectingly.
I put up my hands slightly in a warding manner, once again trying to avoid having to do that. “Oh, no, I'm quite well off right now. Asking for more wouldn’t be right.” Not to mention that I wouldn’t ask anything, I'm owed, and I charge interest.
“Humility is a respectable virtue. Very well, I shan't keep you any longer, but know that these doors will always be open should you ever require the guidance of the gods.”
“Thank you for the offer.” But I am never setting foot in this place again. I tried my best to not look like I was fleeing as I made my way back outside. Frankly that was all kind of a waste of time, but I was looking to kill some anyway. I had just thought it would be on something that was actually worthwhile.
Regardless, I went back to wandering around the town and taking in the sights. Nothing much that I hadn’t already seen before, and I still wasn’t allowed into other parts of the castle unattended. I decided to simply call it for now, I wasn’t really learning anything out here, and it wouldn’t be good to be late for my appointment if I lost track of time.
Midday was approaching faster than I would have thought possible, but things like this had a tendency to accelerate the passage of time. Maybe I was just getting desensitized to it at this point, but it had become more of an annoyance than anything else. Eventually, the time came where a small group of people showed up at the inn looking for me.
It was a small party of six and a small horse drawn cart. Four of them seemed to be your run of the mill soldier, another one was obviously of a higher rank but still a soldier, and the last was just a well-dressed man whom I could not identify. The higher rank soldier stepped forth to begin their business.
“Master Sothalis?” He asked plainly and received a nod from me in confirmation. He dipped his head in return before continuing. “We were sent by Lord Kirthwain regarding the business you discussed last night. Might we see the goods so we can confirm their integrity and close this deal?”
“Of course, right this way gentlemen.” I led them behind the building to where the cart was stored. Once I had pointed out where the crate with the crystals was, the four regular soldiers clambered up and removed the box from amongst the other goods. The lid was cracked open, and the ranking soldier examined the contents. He picked up a few and looked them over before nodding, apparently finding it agreeable.
“Everything seems to be in order here.” He took a small pouch out from his pocket and handed it over to me. “The agreed upon amount for the purchase, I'm confident that you will find everything there.” I did a quick check like a good businessman would before nodding and receiving one in turn. “Very good.” He held out a hand to me which I took and gave a quick shake. “Thank you for your contributions to the defense of Yol’vastume. Now, I'm told you have business with the slave keeper here, so my men will take the goods and get out of your way.” True to form, the four soldiers hefted the crate up and started transporting it towards their cart at the command of their superior officer, leaving me alone with the well-dressed man.
The man in question gave me a courteous smile and offered a handshake of his own which I was obliged to accept. “Greetings Master Sothalis, I am Vernak, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am told you wish to view our stock for a potential purchase?”
“That is correct. However, might I ask a moment of patience from you while I collect my own slave for this trip?”
He gave me a gesture of compliance. “By all means, I am in no rush.”
I made a quick trip over to where Kala and others were cooped up. Barely breaking stride, I opened the door and stood just inside the room while maintaining my guise. “Let’s go.” I said tersely to her. She took and breath to ready herself before she stood up. I could almost see the mental switch being flipped as her demeanor changed completely, taking on the passive slave act that she was all too familiar with.
Stepping back out to Vernak again, I gave a brief explanation that would be our story. “She is more familiar with the ins and outs of the other races health and wellbeing than I.”
He nodded to my explanation and observed Kala with a very clinical eye. “From what I can see you do keep your slaves in good health and well fed. Good proportions on her body, decent musculature, and bears herself well. She would be a high-quality sale if you were looking to part with her.”
My chest tightened up and I had to choke the rage down from his attempt to buy Kala from me. As calmly as I could manage, I declined his offer. “I’m afraid I have already spent much time training her for her job, so I will not be looking to sell.”
“Understandable.” He scoffed and chuckled a little while shaking his head. “What was I thinking, you’re here to buy, not sell. Let’s get moving before I waste anymore of your time.”
We finally started moving through the streets, seemingly heading in the direction of the walls on a different side of the castle than where I had entered from. While we walked Vernak decided he would have some more conversation with me despite my wishes for him to just remain silent. “I noticed you have your slaves in an older model of the collars. They are not as secure, and if you are in need of some new ones, I would be more than happy to sell them to you.”
Obviously I wouldn’t be doing that, but I needed to find a way to tell him that. What would a pretentious asshole say? “I simply find something more... poetic, about a lock. It is a physical manifestation of authority, control, and influence.” Ugh, did that actually just come out of my fucking mouth?
“We all have our eccentricities.” He commented plainly in response, which was a relief because I didn’t know if I could stomach having to say something else like that again. Luckily it seemed he wasn’t intent on having a conversation for the whole trip and I was able to enjoy some silence for the remainder of our travels.
We entered a new part of the castle that I had been barred from previously. The buildings here were more solidly built, consisting more of stone than of wood. Function over form was the way I would put it, either that or it was simply a safety measure for being so close to the walls. Most of the buildings here seemed to be made for storage. Large warehouses lined up next to one another and probably stuffed full of supplies or harvest goods.
As interesting as all that was, we were not heading that way. Instead, we were making our way towards a rather squat stone building. Vernak walked up to it and opened the door without hesitation, prompting me to follow close behind.
The room we entered was shockingly empty. There wasn’t so much as a potted plant in decoration. The only thing in the room was a desk that was placed right next to a door, at which sat a guard in full dress who was lazily leaning back in his chair right before we came in. He quickly got up though and started fumbling with some keys on his waist as Vernak was waiting impatiently in front of this other door. I took note of those keys and filed them away under important stuff to remember for later.
The guard finally got the right one and opened the door for us. Instead of another room, there was a stairwell descending into the earth, like a stairway to hell. We started to descend with the guard leading the way, and halfway down the stairs I was hit with a wave of stench so hard it nearly knocked me off my feet. It was a vicious scent somewhere between death and rot.
Vernak noticed my obvious discomfort with the smell. “I’m afraid you must bear with it, sir. Not much that can be done with the ventilation being so poor down here.”
We got to the bottom of the stairs, and the guard opened the door that was located there as well. The sight that met us was not unlike a prison block, in fact, it probably was one. Rows and rows of cells extended onwards throughout this subterranean holding facility. The low ceiling of this place made me feel claustrophobic, and the dim lighting from some oil lamps didn’t help that feeling at all.
“Here we are sir, these are the ones that are for sale. Feel free to start with any row you like. If you have any questions or see an interesting specimen do feel free to bring it to my attention.” Vernak essentially just turned me loose to browse. A sickening but accurate term to use given the situation.
With no real direction, I decided to just start at the far end and go from there. My initial impressions, this place was vile and sick. Every cell I walked by had at least ten emaciated figures in them, horrendously overcrowded for the size of each cubicle. It was obviously extremely unhygienic, and several of them appeared to be in various stages of sickness, for which they were most likely not being treated.
Those who did wear clothing were in filthy rags which probably haven’t been washed in months. Many cowered as we walked by, edging away from the bars of the cell as if we would attempt to attack them. The scars that many wore across their bodies spoke to the fact that they probably were beaten or whipped from time to time. What was more depressing, however, were the ones who seemingly knew what I was here for and looked at me with hope in their eyes that I would buy them and deliver them from this nightmare. It was obvious that they believed that anywhere was better than this.
There was no filter on the poor souls who found their way into this pit. Men, women, children, it seemed that none were exempt from servitude. It was all I could do to remain stoic in the face of all this. Vernak though, seeing as I had not made any sign of interest in purchasing any I had seen, decided that he would step up his salesmanship.
“If you don’t mind me suggesting sir, over here we have a few strong backs who could do some heavy lifting for you.” The cell in question had several Droln and Ulgor inside, their large bodies making the small cell appear to be even more cramped than the others. “Or, if you’re looking for more finesse, we have some others here who can fit that requirement.” He moved two cells down to point out the ones he mentioned.
A collection of Trelnval, Nactren, and Valus were within this one. Their heads were bowed, and their eyes flickered between us and the floor, nervousness plain to see in all of them. Or maybe not all of them. As I scanned through the faces my gaze alighted upon a green Trelnval who was staring at me wide eyed. It wasn’t fear upon their face, it was more like shock, which was strange for a reaction.
As my confusion started to grow while I puzzled out this strange Trelnval’s behavior, I came to a realization that clarified some things. They weren’t looking at me, they were looking just behind me. Not wanting to give away that something was odd, I barely turned my head and looked out the corner of my eye to find Kala standing right where they were looking, and to my further surprise, she had much the same look on her face as the one in the cell did.
What the hell is going on here? There was no way for me to divine what was happening between these two, but I knew I had to put a stop to the staring before Vernak noticed. I deliberately cleared my throat like I was preparing to speak. The noise managed to snap Kala out of it as she realized what she was doing and quickly returned to her assumed posture. Playing off the clearing of my throat, I spoke to Vernak.
“You have a very large selection indeed sir, and I've only seen a small portion of it. Allow me a moment to speak with my slave about what we have seen thus far.”
He flashed a professional smile at me. “Of course, and if you have any questions or requests, I would be open to hearing them.”
Turning and herding Kala down the row and around the corner, I was about to start questioning her when she suddenly cracked. She started hyperventilating while desperately trying to keep it quiet and just about failing. Frantically, I tried to calm her, speaking in a low but urgent voice.
“Kala, calm down, deep breaths, slowly.” Luckily, she wasn’t so far gone that she couldn’t listen, and she started deliberately taking slow breaths for a few seconds. When she had calmed down enough that she wasn’t in danger of passing out, but still visibly shaking, I decided to ask her what was going on. “What’s happening with you? It has something to do with that Trelnval in the cage, doesn’t it? Who is it?”
She closed her eyes for a moment, still trying to control herself enough to respond. When she opened them again, there was moisture starting to build like she was on the verge of crying. She opened her mouth to speak, her voice coming out shakily and wispy, barely even audible.
“It... It’s my mom.”
Now it was my turn to go wide eyed. I stared at the wall in the direction of the cell like I had x-ray vision. Suddenly I could see the resemblance, they did look awfully like one another. If it wasn’t for her being half starved, they would probably be the spitting image of each other. My brow dropped low on my face, and I closed my eyes as an exhausted whisper escaped me.
“Ahh fuck...”