Despite the man’s words, they really didn’t have a choice but to follow him to this oasis place of his. Once again, portal magic was used to travel. Soral was beginning to wonder if Ruena had been lied to about it being forgotten magic. Banned, maybe. The people using it definitely weren’t on the side of the law. Not that Soral could confidently say he was either.
The Oasis, as one would expect, was in a desert. The hot and dry looking dunes of sand stretched as far as the eyes could see, broken by some sort of shimmering barrier surrounding buildings, greenery, and a lake full of the clearest water Soral had ever seen.
The buildings themselves were bland, made of the same color of stone as the sand surrounding them. Each one had a small flag hung by the door in some sort of color code, except for the largest of the buildings they stood in the front row. It was a single level building, like most everything else sprawled out along the lake, but the height was a couple of feet taller, and the stone a bit redder. It also had an aged feel some of the other buildings lacked.
The portal closed without the slightest sound behind them, leaving them trapped within the temperature controlled city of sorts. The man guided them inside the building and sat them down in a large room with many chairs. Rather than sitting down himself, he began to brief them on their future.
“I appreciate all of you following me here,” he said, as if they had any choice in the matter, “I am sure you are wondering what is to come and how you will earn your freedom. Since that is the most important part to all of you, I will explain that first.”
He had the tone and calmness of a man who had explained this same thing many times before. Soral disliked the implications of that, but was eager to see what sort of twisted plot this guy had in mind.
“But before that, I should introduce myself. I am Chief Oasis, the second apprentice of the Black Wolf, and owner of this haven.”
Wait, so his name was actually Oasis? Soral had been under the impression that it was the place, not the person, the nameplate had referred to. His obvious surprise was completely ignored as the man continued.
“There are two ways to earn your freedom. The first is to work. Use your talents to develop a trade, and the money you earn will be used to pay off your debt and buy your freedom. It will undoubtedly take a while, but it is the safer of the two options. The second is to help me with achieve my outstanding goal to win the war against Doctor Richardson Alcard. He is a dangerous man who has taken my homeland from me.”
A timid girl raised her hand. “If we cannot find a trade will we be forced to help with the other?” she asked.
“You will not,” Oasis assured, “but you will have to contribute to The Oasis in some manner as you stay here.”
She seemed very relieved, but Soral was not. The options were work for your freedom, work for the rest of your life, or risk your life for Chief Oasis’s personal war.
“But I doubt it will be a problem,” Oasis continued, “I guarantee each of you has an incredible talent that I will help unlock and use to its fullest.” His eyes landed for a moment on Soral, but he continued to address them all.
“What about the collars?” an older man asked, gesturing to his, “My talent can’t be used with this trash on my neck.”
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“Ah yes, those,” he said, seeming unconcerned. He produced several rings from his pocket that had an ominous feel to them. “These are the control rings to your respective collars. I will be giving these to you so you can freely control your own restrictions. I do not possess the ability to remove them, however if they should miraculously be removed or break, I can assure you they will not be replaced.”
All eyes turned to Soral. It wasn’t a secret what he had done after Gero’s announcement. So his job here was going to be collar removal. Was that why Chief Oasis had spent so much on him? No, collar removal couldn’t be worth that much. He must want something else.
“How will we know what our talents are?” Soral demanded, not hiding his hostility in the least.
Oasis smiled. “I have a special ability that allows me to see the talents and potentials of others,” he explained, “To help you adjust to your talents among peers of similar talents, I have arranged a color system. These bands are your identity here. Do not lose them.”
He pulled out a handful of woven bracelets so thick with enchantments even Soral could feel them. The colors matched the flags he had seen on the buildings outside along with a few more. Green, red, orange, teal, white, silver, and many others. There were even some that were mixed.
Oasis passed the bands out. The timid girl was given a white band, and the older man who had complained about collars was given red. Soral’s band was a braid of three colors. Orange, teal, and red.
“I will let you all settle in to your new homes,” he told them, “They should each be clearly marked and the heads of each building will help you. Those with red or mixed colors will follow me.”
Soral was most definitely part of that last group. Perfect. No chance to slip away with his control ring and ditch the bracelet. He begrudgingly followed Oasis as directed, along with the older man and one other. Soral was the only one with orange, but the third person had green and teal.
The green and teal person was the first to be dropped off at the green building. The head was a bit surprised, but those with mixed colored bands seemed to get special treatment. Soral and the other guy were both taken to a small hut marked with the red flag.
“Since the red band dictates that one of your talents is dangerous in nature, you will be living deep underground for the most part,” Oasis explained, then looked at Soral, “You will be given access to freely roam so long as you do not betray my generosity.”
“And why shouldn’t I just roam right out of here?” Soral challenged, “I have no interest in your problems.”
Oasis was calm despite Soral’s clear provocation. “Do you not know what it means to be the apprentice of the Black Wolf?” he asked, “Is he not your partner’s great benefactor?”
Soral froze with this new knowledge that his actions might affect Ruena. “Is that a threat?”
“It shouldn’t have to be, but I will do what I must,” Oasis replied, “Don’t worry. I will make sure she knows where you are.”
Again, not exactly comforting, but it changed the dynamics a lot. Soral decided to wait a little and see. “Fine,” he snapped, and turned to march into the red building. The head guided them both to their rooms as Oasis left.
==========
Upon returning to his own room, Oasis moved to fulfill his promise and to negotiate with his master. He took out a wolf charm, very similar to the one Ruena owned, and gently twisted its tooth.
“So it was you,” his master, the Black Wolf decided before he could even greet him, “That explains why Rolph was so reluctant to reveal the identity of the one who acquired the Wild One.”
“It was,” Oasis confirmed, “He is perfectly safe in The Oasis.”
“Perfectly safe in a city at war,” Densooth repeated with a hint of sarcasm, “I know what you are after, and he is not ready.”
“Then I can make him ready. Your way takes far too long and places him in far more danger. Don’t pretend otherwise,” Oasis argued, “My talent, and the reason I am your apprentice, is my ability to bring talents to their full potential. There is no better place for him to grow into his magic and his many other potential talents than my oasis.”
“I would agree, but I know you have no intention of just letting him acquire skills as he pleases. You intend to use him to put an end to your fight.”
Oasis could not deny it, but felt no need to do so in the first place. “He can do it, but I won’t force him,” he promised, “and I will make sure he is fully ready before any attempt is made.”
“He will be gone for quite some time in that case,” Densooth calculated, “Very well, but I need him to maintain his connection with Ruena. I will set things up on my end so be sure things are prepared on yours. If I must sacrifice our promise to rescue him, I will. Keep that in mind.”
“I know he is the one you have been waiting for,” Oasis assured, “And I have no intention of risking the sacrifice of an incredible talent like his. I’ve never seen such incredible potential before. I cannot wait to bring his talents to light.”
There was silence for a moment as both master and apprentice imagined Soral’s bright future. “Be sure to do as I asked as well,” Densooth prompted.
“I will, but I must ask, why do you wish for him to hate you?” Oasis questioned.
“It is what is required for his greater purpose.”