"Old Man…"
"My name is Tor'Elkast.
W-who is it? ..."
"Again, with this… Who do you think it is?"
"Stupid Brat now calling me in the middle of the night…
Where are you?!" asked angrily the old Sage.
Moans of pleasure, screams, knocking fists on the tables filled Jorael's room of noises, as it was late night and he could not sleep.
"Uh… I'm in a quiet inn in Rivella, I told you a few days ago I would give you a call…" replied the Traveler.
"You stupid Brat and your stupid call in the middle of the night… what is it now?" asked upset the old Elf.
"I arrived at the Human Empire. To enter I needed to pass the Wall, and it was more or less easy, I only corrupted the guards with some gold. Then, I traveled first to The Gift, the new city built thanks to the Wall's protection, and finally, I reached Rivella.
Up to now, almost everything seems nice. I also entered in the ranks of Titans Guild that gave me a pass, needed to cross the Wall…" said Jorael but suddenly got interrupted by his Teacher:
"I do not care about anything of this Brat! Why are you waking me up at this hour?!...
Are you afraid to sleep because of nightmares?!"
"ugh… Farewell Old Man…" responded the Traveler annoyed.
"My name is…" but the link between the two was cut off.
The only thing left to do for Jorael was waiting for the dawn to set a new day.
…
The following morning the Traveler got up early and went to the Inn's counter looking for breakfast. Most of the people occupying the place were gone home, but still, some drunkards were sleeping passed out on the floor.
"Candy boy, you're here so early in the morning!" yelled Daisy welcoming her guest for breakfast.
"Ugh… may I eat something?" asked a sleepy Jorael.
"You look so pale and tired… you didn't sleep well last night?!
You invited some girl to your room instead of me?!" asked the innkeeper jokingly.
"Ugh…" sighed Jorael while sitting on a stool to the counter.
"Here take it, candy boy! Daisy's special breakfast! It will charge you good!" exclaimed Daisy while passing his guest a bowl of unidentified food.
Jorael picked up a spoon and started mixing the brownish soup in the bowl, but the soup was hard to mix as it was too dense and the spoon would hardly leave the bowl because the soup was like glue.
"Ugh… thanks, I guess…" said Jorael resigning himself.
After eating and taking his time to fix himself from a sleepless night, the Traveler left the Mad Filly Inn. He had two goals for the day. Find Ercante the master Blacksmith to restore his Father's sword, and find Pancelot the cat for his first Guild Quest to raise his rank and get some money.
Illuminated by the red sun, the East District was even worse than what remembered Jorael. Mud and dirt were everywhere, and people were living in shacks. After passing the slum there was a little plaza, with a stage, and that morning the piazza was filled with a crowd.
Oddly enough the crowd was populated mostly by distinguished well-dressed looking people, opposed to what Jorael thought he would find in this quarter. The reason for this was soon for the Traveler to reveal itself.
"…and for the last element of this auction today dear Madams and Sirs I present to your very eyes a rarity!" was yelling the man on the stage as Jorael made his way through the crowd intrigued by the scene.
"…a Satyr!" yelled the man as a child was dragged brusquely on the stage from behind the scenes whilst the audience started clapping their hands and screaming excitedly.
The child on the stage had little dark horns on his brown-haired head, and his lower body was that of a goat. He was dressed in a worn-out sack. Jorael could not believe what he was assisting to, and looking at the crying eyes of the child, he reminisced his son Elijah.
"I… I want my mom… please…" was crying desperately the child.
"Shut up!
Uh-um. Now, Dear Madams and Sirs, the starting price for this little child of the Demon Clan of Satyr start from… 50 gold coins!!!" yelled the man on the stage as his audience cheered on the news.
"WHAT IS THIS!!!" screamed Jorael furiously, only to be heard by a nobleman near him in the crowd that replied:
"What are you yelling, commoner… this is the slave auction. Are you already drunken?!"
The Traveler watched speechless all of the scene unfolding in front of his eyes. The crowd was fighting over the best offer to win the slave.
"60! To the nice Madam over there!
65! To the dignified Sir over there!
70! ..." was continuously shouting at the greedy auctioneer while Jorael was lost in his bewilderment.
Suddenly, the crowd opened a path as a figure advanced from afar back. She seemed like a nun, blonde-haired with blue eyes and a light blue and white dress; people started greeting her and talking about her:
"Good morning estimated priestess Angela!"
"For her to come here… must be a vocation!"
She stopped in front of the stage and shouted:
"100 gold coins for this poor lost child. This is our Goddess Kalipso's will!"
"1-100!?!?!" yelled the greedy auctioneer with joy declaring the winner while the crowd fell in silence.
"This lost soul will find his new life at the High Temple!" shouted again the Priestess.
The public started clapping and whispering:
"That Demon is lucky to have to find Kalipso's mercy…"
"Priestess Angela Bertulli has a pure heart; she will take also Demons under her care…"
Jorael was finally relieved that a woman of faith took under her care the child, and he felt there was still hope for goodness in this world. "A change would still be possible…" was his thought.
The nun approached the stage to pay the auctioneer and to sign the magic slavery contract, as the Demon child now was of her property. Under the slavery contract, the little Satyr was forced to wear a metal collar on his neck, the mark of a slave. To free themselves slaves needed one of these two conditions: the master's decision to void the contract or the master's death.
As Priestess Angela was moving away with the child, people were cheering and saluting her. Jorael started thinking profoundly:
"For this damn slavery, I lost both my new parents…
My Father was brutally murdered whilst trying to protect me…
My Mother was violated and chose to explode herself to protect me…
I have to dismantle this system if my powers allow me.
Why cannot all races live together in peace?!..."
While Jorael was thinking, he was left alone in the dirty plaza, as the crowd already dissolved because the auction was long finished. He reprised walking still upset to the center of Rivella.
"For now, just focus on restoring this sword…" let his mouth talk to the Traveler as he arrived in front of the High Temple of Kalipso. He asked directions to the people in the piazza to learn that master blacksmith Ercante's workshop is situated in the South District, the merchant quarter.
"uh… second alley… there it is!" exclaimed Jorael after finding the blacksmith correctly to the directions received.
The Traveler entered the shop, to find a lot of good-looking weapons decorating the place. There was nobody at the counter's shop, so Jorael tried calling for help. From the back, someone responded to me to wait for a little.
"Oh, welcome young man, I'm Ercante, how can I assist you?" yelled the old man that after few minutes arrived at the counter. He was a muscled man in his fifties, with white scattered hair and a white thick beard.
"Good morning master blacksmith.
I heard that as you're the best, you may help me restoring this sword…" said Jorael unsheathing his Father's sword and putting it on the counter.
"Thank you, young man.
Uhm… It seems like this sword was left to decay in the woods for years…
This weapon needs some hefty restoring work.
I'll do the best I can, but it will cost you 25 gold coins.
Half payment in advance… you see young man, it's not that I don't trust you but sometimes people left me their weapons to never return…" explained honestly Ercante.
"Do not worry about that. Here take full payment in advance. How much time do you need?" asked the Traveler while giving money to the man.
"Young man, thank you again, you're so considerate!
I think it will take one week…" replied the blacksmith while taking the gold and the sword.
"Perfect, master blacksmith! I'll be on my way.
Take good care of my Father's sword. Farewell!" said Jorael saluting Ercante.
"Sure thing… may I know your name young man?" asked the blacksmith.
"Jorael."
"Come back in a week Jorael. Farewell!" yelled Ercante as the Traveler was leaving his workshop.
…
Thus, Jorael left the blacksmith's shop and pulled out of his pocket the Guild Quest contract to read it again:
"…villa number four, fourth street, West District.
Ugh… let's go search for this cat. The reward seems huge, and it will help me for sure."
On the march to the destination, after a while, he found the noblewoman's villa. It was a huge mansion luxuriously decorated. Jorael knocked on the enormous finely ornamented door.
The door opened and a soft timidly female voice could be heard asking: "G-good morning. W-who are you?"
The Traveler looked at the owner of the voice to find out it was a petite girl. A Demon slave to be precise. She seemed to be some kind of beast-related Demon Clan, as she had peach-colored cat ears and tail. She should have been around the age of Jorael.
"Good morning, I'm Jorael from Titan Guild. I assume you are not Madam Francine, as I see your slave's collar…" said disdained Jorael.
"H-her d-domestic…" replied the gloomy little girl.
"yeah… fancy word for slave. May I enter and talk to Madam Francine?" asked the adventurer.
"Y-yes, c-come in…" replied the slave a little frightened.
"Thank you, may I know your name?" asked Jorael while entering the villa.
The Demon girl's eyes lit up and asked:
"W-why do you want to know?...
Nobody cares about a slave's name….
It's Yolin… From Beastman Demon Clan…"
"It's a pleasure to meet you Yolin!" exclaimed the adventurer to cheer her up.
"…" a faint smile could be seen on the Demon girl's face as she led the way in the villa.
They entered a huge living room finely furnished with hand-made expensive carpets, sofas, and golden ornaments.
A fat middle-aged woman was sitting on the couch and as soon as Yolin entered the room she started yelling at her:
"Where were you gone, stupid servant?!...
You have a lot of work to do! All of the house chores!
You don't want to end like your stupid friend!"
"N-no, Madam! Here is an Adventurer from the Guild!" shouted Yolin presenting Jorael.
"Oh, you must be here for my dear Pancelot!" yelled the woman and continued shouting:
"Now go stupid girl to do your work. Leave us alone!"
"Y-yes, Madam!" said frightened the little girl leaving the room. As she was walking away Jorael noticed she was walking oddly, like she was in pain. Then, he approached the villa's owner.
"Nice to meet you madam Francine, I'm Jorael from Titan Guild, and I come here to complete your request." Said the adventurer showing the lady the Guild Quest contract.
"Hmpf… You're the third to come here in a week, and no results are given!
I miss my dear Pancelot more than anything!" shouted the woman with an ugly distorted face.
"I see Madam. Had ever the cat leave the house?" asked Jorael annoyed by the noblewoman.
"No! He never left the house! I told you, as I told your Guild comrades, it must be that stupid Demon girl work!
She must have left Pancelot to wander free in the district, or even worse!
She does not talk but she's hiding something! Oh, dear Kalipso, there are no more slaves than once!
I even used the old-fashioned way to make her talk but nothing!" yelled Francine with a horrid expression.
"The old-fashioned way?" asked Jorael.
"Nothing of your business, but slaves only understand violence…" whispered the fat woman.
"Fine. I'll search for Pancelot… Farewell." Said the adventurer unnerved as he was leaving the villa.
He left the mansion and after making sure nobody could see him, he cast Vanish on himself. Lastly, he whispered:
"Now… I wait."