Into the Dragon's Den (Open)

[Deleted]

((Well, a night has passed and I forgot the girls name. Heh...~goes to look it up~))

When Haru said those things, Fero balked and took a step towards his sister, murmuring, "Riah..." then he stopped and looked uncertainly at his sister and then the new 'master' they were to obey. He gritted his teeth, audibly.

Riah trembled and shrank back a little from Haru, especially when he touched her cheek, but after the threat, she remained there for him.

The slaver, now free from needing to watch Fero and Riah, turned his attention to his two slightly used slaves and then the other man. "Where I got them? I am no slave catcher. Others capture them and then bring them here where I take them and sell them. If I had to take a guess...they were probably gotten near to Narurod despite the fact that they are both lighter skinned."

As Haru left with his new slave, he returned the 'sentiment', "Always a pleasure."

[raziel]

Watching the proceeding actions between ‘breaking in’ the siblings and the exchange between the two slavers, Galen made a mental note of where the location of where Haru was selling his ‘wares.’ If the slaver had no one person for which he was seeking or met his requirements, the possibly purchasing or even ‘stealing’ the two would be his next option

While he had no intention of getting on the wrong side of either slaver or incurring the wrath of what authorities New Morilanta had, his situation was becoming increasingly desperate and he would require two specific people to carry out his plan to deal with the raiders attacking his home.
And those who had incentive to fight and survive, possessed signs and additionally were still unbroken.

“Would you happen to have any others such as they within your stock?” he asked walking parallel to the slaver who had bought Riah and Fero with him as he began to head off.

[Deleted]

The Slaver looked at him oddly, forehead creasing once more, eying the other with mild interest. Never had he ever found someone who was so...persistent. Silently, he mulled over the questions, mind rifling through all those that he was currently 'stocking'.

"Maybe," he finally said. "Lets go by my 'warehouse' and see."

/exit.

((Raziel, going to move these two to another thread so Dara can have her thread back.))

[Darastrix]

All of Galen's attempted observation of Haru and his new acquisitions did him no good. Haru wasn't a slave trader and as such, had no stall or shop within the slave market. The three left the place entirely, heading elsewhere in the city.

---

Haru drove the young slaves to a rather large building far enough from the heart of the city to be considered out-of-the-way, but still near enough to it that he got a good flow of business.

"Inside," he barked as the door was opened by an older woman wearing a good deal of makeup. She eyed the two slaves appreciatively. "Are they broken?"

"Not just yet."

The woman smiled widely.

[Deleted]

Riah went quickly, keeping her head down and eyes staring resolutely at the floor. She didn't want to have any punishment from him, from anyone. 'Please,' she thought, wishing her brother could hear her. 'Please don't do anything bad...'

Fero, unfortunately, couldn't mind read and so didn't know anything of what his sister was thinking. He only knew that he didn't want either of them to go in there. His sharp eyes began looking for possible escapes as he stalled entering the building.

[Darastrix]

Hobbled and shackled as he was, even if there'd been an area just a few feet away for a slave to be freed instantly upon entering, Fero would never make it. It'd taken them a goodly amount of time just to reach the place because of the pace the slaves' restraints kept them to. As it was, the surrounding street was too busy for him to get far for long. Some folk had even paused in their walking and were openly leering at the new pair of slaves. Haru was right behind him with his crop and now the woman was before them, pulling his sister inside.

"Come, child. I need to see what I've got to work with under that dirt and rags."

"And remember what I told you, boy," Haru hissed into Fero's ear. "The more trouble you are, the worse it goes for her."

[Deleted]

Fero balked only a moment longer and then sighed with a grimace. He glanced at his sister and then hung his head. He could do nothing at the moment and that made him furious. For now, though, he would try to keep it underwraps. Maybe soon he'd be able to do something about it.

Riah, however, followed along quietly, casting shy, nervous glances here and there. She wrung her hands and licked her lips. "Wh-what you've got to wo-work with?" she asked, hesitantly.

[Darastrix]

The front room of the building was illuminated by candles and filled with the sweet smell of incense, the combination giving the room a strange, hazy sort of glow. Across from the group was a pair of doors, separated from them by a large wooden counter.

The woman pulled Riah toward the second of these doors, saying "Aye, to see how much work I'll have to put in to make you suitable for our clients. You're too young to have seen much use, but we'll see."

Haru began marching Fero to the other door. "Mind your step; there's stairs leading down. We wouldn't want you to break your neck, now would we?"

[Deleted]

Riah shivered when the woman touched her, but went through the door even so. She was a little confused about what she was saying, but, surely she didn't mean anything bad by it. Did she? "U-um...much use? Suitability?"

Fero growled under his breath and went in, slowly descending the stair. "You think I want to break my neck too?"

[Darastrix]

The woman waved one hand dismissively as she led Riah down a hallway toward the rear of the building. They walked past what seemed to be a sitting room of sorts and another room that smelled strongly of incense and herbs. Beyond those were what appeared to be small bedchambers.

"You seem like you'll be pretty enough once you're cleaned up," she told Riah, pushing her into a room at the very end of the hall, which was apparently a communal bathing room. A woman of around twenty was just being helped out of one of the wooden tubs by a younger girl. She glanced at Riah, mildly curious, but did not speak as the girl, a body servant, dried her off and began applying oil to her skin.

The first woman shut the door behind them and locked it. "For the next year," she said, taking a brush and beginning to pull it through Riah's hair. "You'll be a chambermaid or body servant like that one there. Unless, of course, one of the regulars here takes a liking to you. You look too young to have lain with a man before, and most men who go for your age don't expect much experience anyway, so that'll be fine," she said matter-of-factly. "In the meantime, between your usual duties, you'll be instructed on how to properly treat our customers, sometimes on one of male slaves if he has done particularly well."

---

Haru waited until they'd reached the basement floor before striking Fero sharply in the back of the head with his crop. "You will not speak unless given permission," he said coldly.

[Deleted]

Riah trembled a bit and looked around, carefully noting everything and everyone. She might not speak much, or without stuttering some, but she did have a mind for detail and a good memory. When the older woman started talking she listened very carefully and tried not to move as her hair was brushed.

When talk of having lain with a man and doing such things came up, her cheeks colored and she swallowed hard, fingers curling into fists. She didn't want to have to be used like that, but she had no choice.

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to relax. "I...I see..." she finally breathed out.

***

Fero growled and started to make a retort but stopped himself barely in time. He had to think of his sister. He wanted nothing bad...well...worse to happen to her because of him. He twitched a little and continued forward.