Being led through the city, I kept my mouth shut and took in the view as Tabitha walked slowly and spoke freely about everything we passed. To be honest, I was lucky that she was the first street urchin to approach me. The girl was calm, willing to move at my pace, and quite knowledgeable about the various buildings and the people who either owned or worked in them.
The one thing I absolutely couldn't adjust to quickly was the people of this city. All of them were proud endorsers of the 'Barely There' fashion style, and many of the ones we saw were completely naked! Apparently, when the heat and humidity is out of this world, modesty goes out of this world with it. People were dressed more for the temperature than for fashion – at least, that was my initial thoughts on things.
Turns out, after I asked a few probing questions, that Tabitha helped me realize that I was wrong. The naked people with shackles were slaves and owned by other people or the city. At first, I didn't notice that much different about them, except for their absolute nudity, but as we walked around, I began to pick up on a few other differences.
Slaves were hairless from the neck down. A lack of pubic hair was an obvious sign that one was enslaved. Stiffened privates were another obvious sign. All the females had stiff and perked nipples, and all the males had a full erection.
And, I know, you nobodies reading this are going to say, "How the hell could you miss something like a naked dude walking down the street with an erection?!"
I didn't. I'm not blind, damn it. There just aren't a whole flipping lot of male slaves walking down the street. Female slaves appear to be a dime a dozen, but males just aren't around that much. When I asked Tabitha about the discrepancy, she told me, "Most males are sent to work in the fields, on the roads, or in the mines. If they're not purchased by the military that is," she corrected. "Females are usually the slaves sold for housework or for pleasure, so you see a lot more of them in the city. You'll see the majority of male slaves out in the country, if you ever travel there, Lord Tastysnacks."
So see! I'm not a blind idiot. There just aren't that many male slaves inside the city for me to notice to begin with!
As for the other people, apparently the main thing they try to cover is their nether regions like Tabitha, but it doesn't seem that big a deal even if they don't. As long as they have pubic hair, apparently that's considered acceptable as a form of covering for these people!
Maybe that's part of the reason why Vicky was declared to be a shinta, by the guards? Smooth body = unfree adult? I really don't know, and Tabitha doesn't seem to have the most knowledge about the shinta when I asked her about them.
"Aren't they basically like fallen priests?" Was the answer she gave me, in return to my questioning. Like how the hell am I supposed to know? What part of Vicky just screams FALLEN PRIEST, the moment a guard lays their eyes on her?
"They both work miracles," Tabitha finally offered, as I keep probing for a better answer. Apparently, as far as I can tell after asking countless questions, this world considers magic to be some sort of divine miracle. The priests pray and obtain magic from the gods, in return for following their laws and doctrines, while the shinta are those cursed by the taint and weave magic unfettered. Without the Gods limiting and guiding their actions, it's up to the people to keep them in control – thus all shinta are considered non-human beasts and enslaved.
Hell, these people don't even view a shinta as being *him* or *her*. They're simply an *it*. You don't clothe a dog, so you don't clothe a slave or a shinta – and a shinta even moreso than a slave! A slave, you might put a pretty ribbon on, like with a prized puppy, but not so with a shinta. They have to be carefully monitored so they don't end up with a swelled head and think they're equal to, or better than, normal humans!
It wasn't until we were heading out of the average section of town, and entering into the upper regions where the wealthy and nobles reside, where I first started to see women and men with slightly more clothes on. Apparently, my first impressions were wrong – clothing *is* a form of fashion, and it seems to serve as a strong distinction between social rankings of people.
Naked and hairless, with stiff nipples or an erection, equals slave.
Naked and with pubic hair equals the poorest of the poor. Those with so little, they can't even be bothered to invest in a simple g-string.
Something that barely covers the loins in the front is the sign of a very poor individual. A g-string, a loincloth with just the front to it, or something similar seems to indicate those who are on the verge of becoming completely destitute.
For most of the average people, they appear to wear something that covers both the front and back of their bottom fairly well. A miniskirt. A pair of thin shorts. A loincloth with both the front half and the back half to it. Anything that appears to cover both the front and back, seems to be acceptable as decent attire for the vast majority of p
As we moved on into the wealthier section of the city, people began to wear even more in the way of clothing. Shoes and sandals became rather common, as did thin little bikini tops on the women. Apparently, the common folks show their breasts shamelessly to the world, but the women of wealth are a little more selective about who gets to enjoy knowing the color of their nipples.
But, now that I've gave you nobodies out there a rundown on the general dress of the people in the city, let me tell out about the actual people themselves!
Elves. Dwarves. Beastmen and women alike! There was a huge variety of various races and body builds casually walking and moving about throughout the city. All look majorly human, but many have distinctly non-human trails like Tabitha's tail. I saw winged people, and people with various tails. Cat tails. Rat tails. Demon tails, and multiple tails. There were people with claws and fangs. People with fur, who just lazed around and looked as if they were one step away from dying, and people who appeared to have a lot of lizard in their blood. I guess snake-people or lizard-people probably enjoy this heat and humidity more than anyone else, since they're usually cold-blooded!
There are so many races, with such subtle varieties between them, that I'm not even going to try and describe them for you. If I did, this wouldn't be "Nobody's Tale" any more; I'd end up writing, "Nobody's Encyclopedia of Other Worldly Races". Trust me, when one *individual* stands out from one of the various races, like Tabitha, I'll try to describe them properly for you guys. Otherwise, just let your imagination go wild -- there's probably someone or something that I passed in this city that looks like what you're imagining!
One odd thing though – amongst all the various races and different peoples that we saw walking through the city, I never once saw anyone I'd call fat. The vast majority of people and creatures we passed were emaciated just as badly, or even worse, than Tabitha. A few looked like they were decently fed, like the three guards which I'd encountered in the travel zone, but those were the exception rather than the rule.
I can't help but think these people are borderline starving! I guess with the oppressive heat and cloying humidity, it's hard to work any fields or to hunt while the sun's blazing overhead. These people must suffer from a very limited diet – which explains Tabitha's extreme reaction to the food I gave her. She probably never has truly tasted anything like it before.
"Not used to all the flavors?" Tabitha asked me, as she noticed my reaction to all the various race types.
"Not at all," I admitted freely, seeing no reason to try and hide my natural naïveté with the subject.
"They're all here for the dungeon," Tabitha chuckled lightly. "It's all thanks to the dungeon, and the travel zone that was built here to accommodate it, that the city has grown and prospered as it has."
"Oh? Which dungeon?" I asked casually. Things were beginning to finally click together somewhat in my mind and starting to make sense. "It wouldn't happen to be about a day's walk towards the sunset, now would it?"
"It is," Tabitha assured me. "I see you already know of the Mystic Caverns."
"Oh, I do," I assured her, chuckling slightly. "I know them fairly well, in fact," I bragged shamelessly. I've also became rather close with the pool in them as well, I thought, but didn't say that part aloud.
At least now I know why this city is here in this world. Apparently the Mystic Caverns are a nexus point for magic in both worlds. On our side, magic is weak and one has to be directly exposed to the pool to be influenced by it. Here, however, magic is much denser and something that exists freely in this world. Here, the cavern is a full fledged dungeon, and the city grew up to help deal with its influence in the world!