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2024-10-29 19:42:56Alexei didn't want to be in the slave tent.
He hadn't really wanted to be in the slave tent before he had entered the slave tent, but now he was walking deeper into it that sense of not wanting to be there had drastically increased.
Some of that was due to the sounds of pain that had somehow been suppressed while he was in the entranceway of the tent.
Some of it was due to the horrific smells that were wafting into his nose.
A lot of it was due to the… creature… which had asked him to walk deeper into the tent that was now looming out of the gloom.
"My master will see you, yes, yes," The creature, a beastkin no doubt, said in its strange high-pitched voice.
Its arms were long and slender, stretching far below the creature's hips so that they were almost dragging across the ground. This was impressive considering its legs and torso were also slender and long, causing it to tower above Alexei's more average height.
Alexei wasn't sure what creature this poor soul had been merged with, but the resultant abomination would no doubt be able to catch him with ease thanks to those long limbs if he did anything wrong.
"Your master is the owner of this place?" Alexei asked, not moving.
"Yes, yes," The creature said, beckoning him forward with one of its distended arms, "You come, browse the wares, make choice."
The creature turned and began to walk, its long legs bending awkwardly to move him along in what was almost a parody of normal walking. It was like watching a circus clown, only tragic instead of funny since this was the beastkin's everyday existence and not some act for a crowd.
Alexei followed, making sure to keep at least a little bit of distance between himself and the creature. If it decided to turn on him he wanted at least a chance to get away. Maybe he'd be able to make the floor slippery and the creature would tumble head over foot.
They wound deeper into the tent, which somehow felt bigger on the inside than it seemed on the outside.
As they got further and further in the screams and the smells only got worse.
"Ah, good work Serpa," said a much more human-sounding voice as they rounded a final corner, "I see you have brought me a customer, an ex-initiate no less."
"Yes master," The creature, Serpa, hissed in return.
The master of Serpa was a short and plump man. It was very clear that he was well off by his considerable bulk, clearly running a slave-trading business was an easy way to make a lot of money.
"How do you and your… thing… know who I am?" Alexei asked from just outside the large room the creature's master was standing in.
"Now now, that's not very kind, Serpa is not a thing he is Serpa, show some respect," The master of the slave tent said with a toothy grin.
Alexei rolled his eyes but apologised nonetheless, "I'm sorry, Serpa, but my question stands. How do you know who I am?"
"I know many things," The man intoned gravely, "As a purveyor of slaves I am quite plugged into the goings-on of the world. Your situation is no different."
It wasn't an answer that made Alexei happy, but it was one that he understood. There was no doubt that this slave master would be incredibly well connected with the seedy underbelly of the city, and that those darker members of society would definitely know something about what had happened to him.
He didn't like being the talk of the town, not in the slightest, but as long as he managed to keep his head down then it wouldn't be an issue.
"Now, come in, please," The slave master continued, "My name is Mr Myx, and my wares are numerous. No matter for what purpose you wish to own a slave, I assure you, we will have something here for you."
Alexei may have rudely called Serpa a thing, but that didn't mean he was comfortable with the callous way Myx was talking about the lives he had stolen to sell on as slaves.
He cast his mind back to his goal, to purchase a slave not just so he had help but so that he could save them from a life like this. Locked up in stinking cages, living life only looking forward to a life under someone who would no doubt abuse them in some way or another.
"Need someone fit enough to help me on the road in the life of a travelling merchant, and human enough to pass without giving anyone pause," Alexei said, finally stepping into the room.
"I think I have what you're looking for," Mr Myx said, a sly grin spread across his features.
Before Alexei could say anything else, Myx had scuttled off down one of the hallways that jutted off from the room. He was gone for a few moments, and then returned with a chain in hand.
A sharp tug pulled the slave out of the darkness.
For the most part, the girl Mr Myx had retrieved from some cage in the darkness looked human enough.
She had dull red hair that looked almost bronze in the flickering light. Her eyes were a chocolatey brown. For the most part she looked entirely human, except for the slender fox-like tail that was sticking out of her gown and the twitching furry ears on the top of her head.
Alexei sighed.
"In what way is a girl like this meant to help me with my work as a merchant?" He asked, "She clearly isn't strong enough to lift heavy parcels, and those ears stick out on her head like a sore thumb."
Mr Myx cocked an eyebrow and suppressed a chuckle, it was clear to him that Alexei had never spent much time outside of his academy.
"Girls like this are very well sought after, if you know what I mean," He said with a wink, "She would be very useful in your work as a merchant, I can assure you of that."
Alexei felt a twist of revulsion coiling around in his stomach, the girl couldn't have been more than twelve years old. To be thinking about her like… that… was disgusting.
Nevertheless, despite how pitiful she seemed, there was something about her eyes that he just couldn't resist.
They were pleading with him, begging that she be taken along.
He couldn't refuse.
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Alexei worked his way through the woods until he was able to catch up with the soldiers of the Royal Defence Corps. These were all men and women who had gone through the training at the Academy and come out the other end, each of them with a Power Divine powerful enough for the previous Demon Lord to want to absorb it. Perfect for fighting against a Proto Lord who hadn’t fully come into the powers that Eldreth was offering them. At first, Alexei wasn’t sure who he should approach, but then he noticed someone who looked just a little bit familiar. Without any doubts, Alexei was sure the man he saw walking in the centre of the column was none other than his old friend from the Academy, Harold. “Harold!” He exclaimed, “Is that you?” The column of marching soldiers froze instantly, like a rabbit caught in the path of an oncoming dragonhorse, before turning on Alexei with their powers at the ready. It took only a moment for Harold to realise who had called out to him. “A… Alexei?!
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“So, let me get this straight,” Lyla said, “You’re going all the way to the front to maybe take on a massive Shade Army that you have no hope of actually fighting against just in case they’ve gone wild now that the Demon Lord is actually properly dead.” It was a pretty succinct way of explaining the situation, but Alexei was glad that Lyla had grasped the broad strokes of what was going on. “Yeah, pretty much,” Alexei shrugged, “Though I have a feeling that it’s not going to be nearly as bad as you’ve just made it sound. In fact, I think it’s going to be a wasted trip, but a necessary one just in case.” “A wasted trip?” Lyla asked. “Well, after first meeting the Demon Lord and being given a sliver of his powers I’ve always been able to sort of… you know, sense them,” Alexei said, “Just as a kind of dark fuzz off to the eastern border. Can’t feel that anymore.” “What, as in they’re just gone?” “That’s what it feels like, yeah,” Alexei said, “It feels like the Demon Lord had one l
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While Alexei had made it seem as if he were going to be running off to the front lines as fast as he could, there was one thing that he needed to take care of before he left Alandria again. He was sure that if he left the city without at least swinging by The Trout’s Gills at least once then Lyla would have probably ripped his head off with her inhuman beastkin strength. Once again Alexei was struck by a distinct sense of de ja vu. The day had receded into night, with the final glimmers of the twilight sun just about peaking over the very top of the mountain. It was dark, and the streets of Alandria had drawn to a near-empty silence. The only thing that guided his way was the lamplight from the many torches that hung off of the sides of various buildings. The water lapped at the underside of boats and barges alike, and he knew that somewhere deep down under the water there was the body of the very first assassin that he had dealt with, now likely stripped of flesh to the bone by
