*1 Week Later*

It was a pretty good day, all told. The long-awaited trading caravan had just arrived, and he and his friends were some of the first to start looking through their wares.

Kal was impressed with the selection this time. Well, that and the number of wagons, carts, and carriages that had arrived. There were at least five times more caravanners than the last time. He wondered if it had anything to do with the near catastrophic goblin attack. Had the Exterminator’s Guild used their contacts to get more merchants in on this run?

It really didn’t matter, though. What was, was. And with how much Kirkwall actually needed what was on display, he really didn’t care about the why and the how. He was just a bit annoyed with the prices displayed.

If the Exterminator’s Guild had pulled some strings, then that was all well and good. But that these “merchants” were charging more than last time, well… that kind of pissed him off.

“Are you seeing these prices?!” Jin asked, appalled at what he was pointing at.

“This is just ridiculous,” Carson added, pointing at a cast iron pan listed at two silver coins when it had been just one silver coin the last time.

“Aye lad, this is jus’ plain extortion,” Magmyr suddenly piped in from just behind the group, causing them all to jump and the merchant to frown as he stepped forward and picked up the pan in question, tapping it. “It’s not even good metal,” he said, shaking his head before half dropping it back where he’d gotten it.

Before the merchant could start complaining, Magmyr wandered off again, muttering to himself as he went.

Kal sighed, gathered up his buddies, and started browsing elsewhere as his friends changed the subject.

“You don’t suppose that human got a weird path, do you?” Carson asked, obviously referring to Joram.

“What? Like [Exhibitionist], or something?” Jin snorted out, suppressing his laughter. “Like, who shows up in town out of nowhere, buck naked like that?”

“I know that he’s a hero of Kirkwall and all, but still. Shouldn’t he have been arrested or something?” Carson asked, shaking his head as his ears drooped a bit.

“Both Asami Miki and Joram apologized for the incident,” Kal said, shaking his head. “He was practicing [Teleport] and had an accident.”

“In town square?” Jin asked blandly, though he had a slight grin on his face.

“They were trying to get lunch,” Kal said for what felt like the twentieth time as they arrived at a book seller.

“I, for one, won’t argue about the results,” Jin said, obviously remembering how Asami had also arrived sans-clothing.

“Rude,” a melodious voice said from behind them, chilling their blood.

They all turned to see Asami Miki standing there with Myra at her side, Joram standing behind them looking as stone-faced as usual. Asami Miki looked like she’d toast their tails, so they quickly apologized for their rudeness and made excuses to be anywhere else but there, and ran.

* * *

“It seems as though you were quite memorable,” Myra said, glaring at her and Joram.

Asami shrugged, not bothered by the comment. Accidents happened.

Joram, though, chose the better part of valour and kept his mouth shut. It was fun, though, to hear what he was thinking while his “friend” Avi roasted him from his side.

It had been very weird to see the “woman” the first time. She’d initially thought that Joram was being haunted by a vengeful spirit or something. But no, she was just… there. Ostensibly to help him, but from what she’d gathered since meeting him, she more thought it was to amuse herself. Why Joram put up with her sass was beyond her, though.

Myra seemed to give up, which surprised her. The ridiculously mule-headed young woman that she’d watched growing up was so different than the young woman who was now standing beside her. She supposed that when one first fell in love, it would certainly change a person.

“Can you believe these prices?” Myra asked, appalled at what she was seeing.

“I wouldn’t know,” Asami replied blandly as she casually inspected the wares.

“Nor would I,” Joram said, shrugging as he too started looking through what was on display.

“They’re at least twice as expensive as last time,” Myra grumbled, fixing the merchant with a glare.

Asami wondered if the fellow knew Myra from previous visits, for the man paled slightly under her fiery glare.

“It’s just the times, miss,” he hastened to say. “Shortages all around. Makes it hard to get enough stock,” he said unconvincingly, mostly due to his rather full display.

“Ten silver for each of these?” Joram asked, motioning to the rows of books on the display shelves to the merchant’s left.

“Indeed, good sir. The ones to my right are much rarer, so their prices vary individually,” he said, smiling for all he was worth at Joram, probably glad to have someone other than Myra to deal with.

“Mmnmmm,” Joram hummed, still looking as stoic as he usually did when out in public as he glanced through the stock in front of him.

Asami still thought that Joram was a bit weird. When at home, his expression softened enough that she could easily read his moods without having to rely on Spirit Communication. But while out and about he practically looked like a statue. Or a golem, as statues didn’t walk about. But still, it was abhorrently difficult to read the man without Spirit Communication while in Kirkwall.

Which led to the merchant, Sylus Arcents if she was reading him right, to begin fidgeting. Asami wanted to eat some “popcorn” as she watched Sylus Arcents slowly grow more and more uneasy as Joram stood there, imposing as all heck as he read through the titles of the books on display.

She also noticed that Myra was looking through things as well, still seemingly interested in finding a few books even though they were “too expensive”. But Asami could tell that she, too, was enjoying the spectacle.

By the time Joram stepped to the other side of Sylus to inspect the “rare” books, Sylus was visibly sweating. It was also quite funny to listen to Avi.

‘You know that merchant is about to have a meltdown, right?’ Avi asked, a grin spreading her lips wide on her face.

‘He’ll be fine,’ Joram replied, ignoring Sylus as he perused the books.

‘Are you sure you want to stick around if he managed to wet himself?’

‘[Cleanse] works wonders.’

Asami just about giggled, but managed to stifle her amusement in time. Not because she thought it would be rude. No. It was because it would have broken the mood, and thus prematurely ended the spectacle.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Oh? Sylus has [Identify], eh? Is that why he’s so nervous? Asami wondered as the sweat suddenly began pouring off Sylus as she noticed Joram’s head slightly turn towards Sylus for a moment. Interesting, she thought. People don’t normally notice when they’re being [Identify]’d. How did he notice…?

Then it came to her as Joram responded by using [Analyze] on Sylus, a Skill that she hadn’t heard of before and was shocked at what it told Joram.

Holy mother of Foxkin, she practically goggled at the ridiculous Skill. How in the Light did he get that?!

Almost stunned, Asami watched as Joram then began using the Skill on every book on display as his brow began to furrow slightly. Which, in turn, caused Sylus to look as though he would faint any second as fear began to practically flow off the man in waves.

Asami idly wondered if Joram had the [Intimidate] Skill. Given how many times she’d noticed people suddenly become overly cooperative with him after he frowned slightly, she was sure that he did. That wasn’t to say that everyone just rolled over for him, but it was a trend that she had definitely noticed.

Or… it could just be that everyone wanted to make sure that Kirkwall’s hero was happy. Shrug.

“Hmm. So, do the trade caravans normally camp out here?” Joram suddenly asked, turning to Myra.

“Mmm? Oh, not usually, no,” she said, looking up from the book she was inspecting. “But because the caravan is so large this time, the chief decided that it would be for the best to have them gather out here,” she finished, glancing around at the fair-like atmosphere of the campgrounds.

Joram nodded, though Asami knew that he hadn’t been all that curious. Asami grinned as she caught the next part of what Joram was thinking.

“Not very defensible out here, is it?” he asked casually as he looked around.

“No, not very much,” Asami said, bringing one hand up to her chin in as though thinking about it.

“It’d suck if another dungeon just popped up out of nowhere like that goblin one did a little while ago,” he said, going back to inspecting the books on display.

“Oh, ah, the one where Kirkwall was seriously damaged?” Sylus asked, still looking incredibly nervous.

“Yeah, that sucked,” Joram said, nodding. “It was a blessing that not more people died,” he said while looking sad.

“You did-,” Myra began, but Asami quickly covered her mouth while giving her a Look.

“I didn’t do enough,” Joram said, shaking his head again. “Hundreds of gobs and hobs…. Well, at least Kirkwall is more defensible now with the dry moat. It’ll be much harder for any monsters in the future to cause so many problems.”

“Do Dungeons appear with great frequency here?” Sylus asked as he too looked around as though he was fearful that a goblin would jump out at him at any time.

“I’ve only been her a couple of months…” Joram said, bringing up a hand to stroke his beard contemplatively. “But since then, two dungeons have shown up. One of which almost immediately went into Overflow,” he finished gravely.

Asami slowly drew Myra a bit off to the side, shushing the young woman as she did. Asami couldn’t- nay, wouldn’t!- let Myra ruin the show.

“Is the other dungeon well curated?” Sylus asked, looking even more worried than before, if that was possible.

“Mmm, I think so,” Joram said, almost making Asami laugh. “Anyways. I’m glad to see that you’ve got a few guards about. Just make sure they’re patrolling well,” he finished, then waved at Sylus. “Take care.”

“Wait!” Sylus exclaimed, looking quite pale. “Young master, were there any books that you might be interested in before you go?”

Asami was proud of the guy. It really took some good dedication to one’s profession to remember to work it while so stressed out.

“Ah, they’re a bit expensive, so I’ll have to think about it a bit more,” Joram said, shaking his head fractionally.

“W-well, do come again. I’d love to speak with such a refined young master once more,” Sylus said, practically glueing on a smile for them.

Joram nodded, then led them away as Myra pouted at not being able to get a new book.

“What was that all about?” Myra asked, still frowning at Joram’s back.

“Ah, well, just planting some seeds is all,” Joram said, chuckling a bit.

Asami’s tails swayed back and forth as she walked beside Joram, humming a bit to herself as she went. Myra soon took up her spot on Joram’s other side as they continued to peruse the various wares on display as the skulk followed them closely.

It wasn’t the usual display this time, though. No, instead of having one cart or wagon for each product, there were several of each to be seen.

“Yeah, I think that mother got Mr Lothera, the Exterminator’s Guild master, to put out a call for more supplies this time ‘round,” Myra explained when Joram expressed his surprise at how large the caravan was.

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing to have more products arrive,” Joram mused. “But with how they’re price gouging, I’m not sure they’ll get too much business.”

“You would think that, but I’m sure that they’ll still make a fair amount,” Myra said, sounding annoyed. “There’s just too much that we don’t produce here, so getting stuff from outside is very important.”

“Can’t Magmyr and the other smiths make most of the metalware?” Joram asked, looking a bit surprised.

“They can, but we have to rely on getting ore and metals shipped to us. Not only that, but luxury items like books, cloth, fabrics, incense, perfumes, paints and dyes, as well as glass, are all bought from these caravans,” Myra said, motioning to the various wagons as they passed them.

“And slaves,” Asami said lightly, knowing full-well what would happen when she did.

Joram’s normally stone-like face grew a bit dark at that, causing a peddler who was about to approach them to blanch slightly before veering off to another passerby.

“Do people really buy slaves here?” Joram asked as his expression returned to the standard stone-neutral everyone was used to seeing.

“There are some in Kirkwall,” Myra said, shrugging. “Mostly, people buy them just to get them away from potential…” Myra paused, looking at Joram to gauge how he’d take the next part, then went on. “To get them away from human… buyers,” she finished by mumbling the last part and turning her head away slightly so that she wouldn’t have to look Joram in the eye.

“Don’t worry,” Joram said, then patted Myra on the head, causing her tails to stiffen straight out. “I won’t take offense. Then, why don’t we head over to that area then?” he finished as he removed his hand from a red-faced Myra and started heading over to the other side of the campgrounds.

Asami was in heaven. She could feel just how tumultuous Myra’s emotions were. From feeling as though Joram was treating her lightly to how happy she was to have had his hand on her head all the way to confused beyond belief that Joram would suggest going to the slavers, it was all delicious!

That didn’t distract her from keeping an eye on the many people around them, though. It wasn’t just the merchants that had come. No, there were also many attendants there to cook, clean, and do the various chores that needed being done as such a large group of people travelled. There were also many guards and mercenaries as well.

Those last ones were what she was keeping an eye on. She’d needed to rescue more than one young fox from getting taken by an “enterprising” mercenary who thought that catching a multi-tailed fox and selling it would be a good idea. And with such a large skulk following them about, she was doubly sure to keep an eye on everyone.

As they approached the slave section, Asami noticed that it was by far the largest of the various sections of the campgrounds. It took up probably a third of the space the caravan had been allocated outside the walls. Which, really, made sense when you realized that people took up much more space than books, pans, or bolts of cloth.

Asami watched Joram through the corner of her eye as they entered the “gate” of the slave section. Really, it was just a roped-off area with an opening large enough for a few people to walk in side-by-side. The guards, though, weren’t what she’d call pleasant.

She could tell that they, too, were slaves. It wasn’t just the magical tattoo she could see on them, just what she felt through Spirit Communication. Sure, the tattoos were pretty obvious, ranging from locations like their face to arms to hands. But the way they felt was just… wrong.

So, she instructed Harumi to take the skulk away from there, preferably back to Kirkwall. She didn’t want to risk having an incident.

“Hello young master,” a well-dressed, though rather rotund, man greeted them near the first row of wagon-cages. “How may I be of assistance today?”

Joram blinked at the man, though his expression didn’t change.

“I need some good… house slaves,” Joram said, sounding stiff.

“Ah, don’t well all?” the man said with a smile that sent a shiver down Asami’s spine. “My name is Matun al'Maim, owner of Myriad Wonders. Come, follow me and I’ll show you to the various household slaves that we have,” he said, then waved for Joram to follow along.

Asami could tell that Joram wasn’t best pleased, but didn’t pay too much attention as she instead focussed on the various cages that they passed by.

As Myra had mentioned last week, she mostly saw various animal-kin in the cages, though she did see a fair number of humans as well. All male, though, which raised a few suspicions in her heart as they entered a ridiculously huge tent.

“As you can see, most of our most valuable products are in here, out of the sun,” Matun said with a broad smile, waving an arm to indicate the many, many women arrayed before them in a good ten cages. “I have anything from gardeners to cooks to maids to bed-warmers. Please ask if you have any questions,” Matun finished as he stepped to the side to make way for Joram.

For his part, Joram just nodded as he stepped forward, going to the first cage on the left. The cages were arrayed in a large square, leaving the centre of the tent open for people to look at the “wares” unhindered. That said, there was only one other person there browsing.

‘So, what’s your plan?’ Avi asked Joram as he regarded the girls and young women in the cage in front of him.

‘For one, there’s the solid plan of not murdering every slaver here,’ he said through their odd telepathic bond, though it was his Spirit that shared the words with her.

‘That’s a good start,’ Avi replied dryly as she, too, looked around.

Asami almost nodded at that, knowing just how strong the guards were. Myra, though, was looking very uncomfortable at what she was seeing. So, Asami took her by the arm and linked it with her own, causing the young woman to relax a bit.

“Don’t worry,” Asami whispered to Myra, causing her to give Asami an uncertain look.