Heavy shaking ensued as the carriage streaked through the lush forest of Diegard, Olivia and Paul were beaming with greed in their eyes as they happily discussed the price that they might acquire from selling off the mana beast they just captured.
This was mainly because Mana beasts with a human form often sold for ridiculously high prices, they were easier to tame and were useful for more..intimate duties. For this reason, Olivia and Paul weren't able to hold themselves back when they'd seen the mana beast transform in front of them. It was shameful but nothing below their bottom line, being shameful was something they'd long accepted as a part of their character and it would be a detriment to their life of thievery if they allowed something like a moral compass to fog their vision of cash.
"I can't believe we're actually doing this.."
Arthur mumbled while staring at the still unconscious body of the mana beast now lying in the middle of the carriage, he'd confirmed it to still be alive as it was clearly breathing but it was ragged and slow. He felt pity and for the first time, he disagreed with his parent's decision.
"Big brother, shouldn't we try healing it? She doesn't look too well"
Mathew commented while eyeing the little girl with worry, unlike Arthur he wasn't able to pry his gaze from her and was constantly glued to her figure. He hadn't seen a mana beast with a human form and his curiosity was on full throttle but also cause he found the little girl's appearance, cute.
When Arthur heard this question he hurriedly picked up his staff and pointed it at the little girl with embarrassment, he'd been so worried about its condition yet it hadn't even crossed his mind to use a simple healing spell on her. His healing spells were subpar since he didn't have an attunement to it and only possessed the rudimentary knowledge needed to perform simple healing spells even without an attunement, it was every magic users need to be able to perform even simple healing, and even though it didn't compare to those with an attunement it was still helpful nonetheless
Greenlight surrounded his wooden staff as he lightly chanted a few words that'd enhance the spell's ability.
"Goddess Yurma, please bestow upon me your humble follower the strength to aid this poor soul in front of me"
The green light shimmered before shooting towards the little girl and encasing her in a cocoon of green light that quickly shattered into a shower of small specks of green light that healed most of the little girl's minor wounds, cuts, scratches, etc. It also stopped a little of the bleeding from the more major wounds but that was about it.
"Will that help?"
Mathew looked at Arthur with a pleading gaze who nodded and smiled.
"It'll keep her alive at leas-"
Loud banging cut Arthur's sentence short as the little girl had finally regained consciousness after being slightly healed, she wriggled, kicked, thrashed, and even smashed the back of her head onto the carriage floor in the hopes of breaking a hole into it but none of the attempts worked and she soon looked around to assess her surrounds till her gaze fell upon Arthur who was still pointing the staff at her.
She glared with anger and hatred as her bright pink eyes stared straight into Arthur's who instead of being intimidated was mesmerized by the color and shape of her eyes, the bright pink was already surprising but what was even more perplexing was the shape of her pupils that were of a white cross.
A staring contest ensued for a few moments before the girl suddenly swung her body sideways and swept at Arthur's feet causing him to lose balance and fall face forward onto the floor with a loud thud, the girl then lifted her legs that were tied together with the intention of swinging down with all the strength she could muster but was stopped at the last second as the ropes tying her suddenly tightened and pulled her away from Arthur who was still recovering from his head smashing against the floor.
"Allowing yourself to get distracted like that can be fatal, I get that you're currently going through a very important stage in your life but don't let that cloud your vision"
Arthur's face flushed red before turning away in embarrassment causing a few laughs from Paul and Olivia, this lasted for a few seconds till Paul gave a serious gaze towards the girl firmly tied by the two enchanted ropes. He was only keeping the beast alive in order to score some cash and was being a little lenient with its acts of violence for that reason, however, he was fully ready to kill the beast right then and there if it became more of a problem and a danger to his family. He'd nearly lost Mathew due to such actions and he wasn't about to allow that to happen a second time.
The girl also glared back as she vividly remembered the man it fought just a few hours prior and decided to show just as much defiance as before.
"HALT!!"
A loud screeching shout caught Paul's attention as he pried his gaze from the girl and to the road in front of him, they were currently standing in front of a tunnel-like entrance made of overarching withered trees that gave the entrance an almost gloomy look due to how dark it was. If it wasn't for the bright long torches leading to the entrance then it really would've been a no-go area, standing on top of the entrance was a crow that had its gaze firmly placed on the carriage the family was riding in.
"State your name and business!!"
The crow screeched with a commanding tone laced in its voice, this was the gatekeeper Hegril, and his patience was no thinner than a strand of hair.
"It's us Hegril, can't you already tell?"
"I don't care if I know you, state your business and I shall grant you passage!!"
The crow screeched with a defiant tone, he wasn't one to put his connections with others over the duty he was bestowed with. In other words, he was a sucker for the rules.
"Jeez, we came here to sell a mana beast we just captured in Diegards forests"
The crow seemed to raise a brow and looked at Paul with confusion.
"A mana beast.., have the Heinsburoughs become so desperate that they captured a lowly beast for a few coins?"
"I'll have you know that's it's a rare one, you old crow"
"You're just as old as me and I'm not the one with a lowly beast in their carriage, that's such a poor catch"
"I'd like to see your face when I come out filled to the brim with gold coins that you could only imagine in your dreams"
"Sure~, please surprise this lowly crow"
The crow cackled teasingly before waving its wing, indicating that the family could pass through.
"Enjoy your stay and may you have a wonderful trading session"
Paul shook his head helplessly while Olivia lightly patted his back as they made their way into the tunnel, it was dark and mostly quiet at first with nothing but Dixie and Dox's hard stomps and the wheels of the carriage filling their ears but this quickly changed in a matter of minutes as the sound of loud shouts and jeers could be heard with every passing second as they got ever closer to the tunnel's exit.
Arthur gave Mathew a mischievous grin as he knew what resided on the other side which confused Mathew at first but when they finally reached the exit and entered the other side Mathew's eyes widened at the scenery that befell him, crowds upon crowds of people, fleeting conversations and colourful stands holding jewelry and items Mathew had never seen before, there were countless odd beasts that growled inside their cages and men that whipped them to submission, people with collars and chains locked to them as a crowd shouted prices in front of them, this was the bussing city of Bellhorn a place of underground trade and partnership. A black market if you will.
"Paul!! Paul!! What do you have for us today?!"
"A man of your caliber must've caught something valuable!!"
"Yes!! Yes!! Just know to sell it to me first before anyone else!!"
"Shut your mouth, I was here first!!"
"Who cares?!"
Olivia sighed while Paul paid no mind to the people constantly shouting for his attention and only had his eyes set on a single blue tent in the distance where his good friend Finral resided, he was a weird scholar who researched mana beasts like it was his fetish and knew almost any of them with a single glance. If there was anyone who knew the value of the mana beast he just captured it would definitely be him.