The child was making his way over to the table when a ruckus started from outside.
'There are more than two people coming.'
'True, but I also hear the parents' voices, so did they bring a friend?'
'I doubt it, that whore brought her suitors a few times, and they got the shit beat out of them when he found out.'
'Are they arguing already? They're not even inside yet, do they have no public shame?'
'You're asking that about a prostitute and an alcoholic gambler.'
'...fair point.'
While Lucas was chatting away, the boy's parents entered and, as he had perceived, they weren't alone. A city guard was with them, and he didn't look all that pleased to be following them.
"What did I tell you about wasting our money on gambling!"
"Shut your trap! I SAW YOU WITH HIM AGAIN YESTERDAY, YOU BITCH!!!"
"LIKE YOU'RE NOT ENJOYING THE COMPANY OF THOSE HUNGRY BITCHES AT THE DEN!!"
SLAP
The woman got a hefty palm on her left cheek, making her fall to the ground.
"Sir, madam, please work out your troubles when I have left. You've brought me all the way over here, so you could show me your savings, so go ahead. Pay the city tax, or I will have to write out a notice that a few new slaves are ready to be incarcerated."
"No, no..no, we still have some things left that we can sell..uh, like this.", the man moved to the table to grab the bottle of alcohol the little boy had just gotten his hands on. Snatching it out of his hands, the boy was too weak to put up a fight and fell back down.
"Sir, we do not take payment in the form of goods."
"Then I can make some quick money during the night, come back tomorrow and I...I'll have it ready!"
"Madam, the payment has been pushed so many times that you've already crossed the maximum limit, it has to be today."
"IF ONLY YOU STOPPED DRINKING WITH THAT BOYTOY OF YOURS!"
"LIKE YOU HAVE ANY RIGHT TO SAY THAT!!!"
"Madam, sir, please...sigh, I take it you can't pay for it, so I'll lay down your options. You can try to find some kind of inheritance locked away in your home to use as payment, or one of you can make the noble sacrifice to go into slavery to save the other. Voluntary slaves are a lot more well received than forced ones."
"DIA! You're a genius!", the sudden compliment from the father made everyone confused.
"You've kept our little boy nicely fed and took care of him all this time because you knew we would have to give him away, right?!"
The awkward face Dia was showing proved the exact opposite, but even she wouldn't start arguing now that they've found a way out. "Ye-...Yes, of course, dear," she went closer to the father to put her hand on his shoulder. "We've been wanting to sell him for quite some time, but we never got the chance. Would you accept him as payment?"
The parents were presenting the boy as if he was a piece of furniture that would look good in any home. "Hmm, he looks weak.", that comment made the parents freak out for a moment, neither wanted to go into slavery but didn't have anything else to sell.
The father had put on his good smile to make everything seem normal and got on his knees in front of the boy. He gave him a warm and fatherly hug, but he was clearly angry. Words were starting to be whispered to the child, but in away that made the father force every word through his mouth.
"Listen boy, you're going to be strong now, look at the man and smile dammit!"
After which he slowly stood up again, turning to look at the guard again. "Look sir, I gave him my last farewell, he might look weak, but he actually has the talent to grow up into a very powerful soldier."
"Perhaps even a mage!", Dia chimed in, hoping to increase the boy's potential value.
The guard knew he wouldn't get anything better and didn't want to go through the trouble of letting one of the parents go into slavery since he knew it would take years before they were done fighting.
"Fine, I'll take the boy, let me get my papers.", he still needed to fill in the necessary information according to the rules set up by the city. Age, length, weight, muscle strength, speed, even writing and listening skills needed to be recorded.
"Alright, let's start with the basics, what's his name?"
To which Dia looked quizzically at the father and the father had the exact same face. They never really thought about it, hell, they weren't even sure it was one of theirs or if it was from one of the woman's suitors.
"Just leave it blank, what's in a name, right?"
"Urgh, fine, he'll get a slave number when he arrives there anyway."
It didn't take long before all the necessary information was gathered and documented. Now the guard could leave and find a place to drop the child off. He knew of a few places that were somewhat close-by. The guard grew up in this city and saw it grow into what it was now. Heirbanen connected all the important places, they were big as well, making it easy for carriages to travel on a somewhat even terrain.
He knew that the city was a checkpoint for the front lines that were located deeper into the horizon, but he was never going to see any kind of spectacular fights. As a normal man without magic, all he could do was reside and protect others without any power. Structure was the only thing the powerless had to offer.
Arriving at a slavery shop, he entered to look for the manager.
"Aah, you're back already? Didn't expect another delivery for another week or two.", the bald and hefty man was eager to look at his new merchandise. The sleazy smile drooped into one of disappointment the moment he saw what the guard brought in.
"I know he isn't worth much, but I know that the next attack force is passing by in a few days. Give him to them."
"Hmm, then I'll have to prepare a good assortment, can't piss off a mage now can we?"
The sad reality was that if any mage wanted to, they could demolish everything in the city and get away scot-free. So any kind of hostility against mages was banned and strongly unadvised.
The days went by and, as the guard had been correctly informed, the next attack force arrived. Mages of all kinds entered the city, all with a collective goal. To fight in this brutal war and emerge victorious. Most of the mages were here voluntarily, they knew what was going to happen and needed some time to relieve their stress. Brothels and gambling dens started to get the best days in the year. Mages with all kinds of resources and untapped wealth started to empty their pockets for entertainment.
The remaining mages that didn't seek relieve started to sharpen their claws and teeth for the upcoming battle. Smiths and Armories had the best clients imaginable. Even the slave trader started to do great business. The mages flooded the city and knew that they had the power to do practically everything they wanted to. Still, most followed the rules set up by the stronger mages. One of those mages entered the slave traders' tent to seek something. Many were looking for possible butlers or secretaries, perhaps even a nightly companion.
"Hey, didn't you get the memo? No harming innocent townsfolk."
"Oh please, this dude is just ripping me off, look at those prices!", the two low ranking mages looked at the prices again and did find them to be a lot higher than what they should've been. Even the man that wanted to follow the rules felt taken advantage off.
Suddenly the pressure increased dozens of times, they felt that death was just around the corner.
"If you can't afford it, then I suggest you leave."
A deep but strangely distant voice offered a piece of advice. The two mages immediately knew who was talking to them and rushed to the outside. When they got far away enough, they noticed they were out of breath and felt fatigued. They were both Rank 3, being tired from just running would be very difficult. Still, they couldn't help but chuckle, their mana reserves were drained, and their stamina was gone.
"Hahaha, we got off easy."
"You call that easy?"
"When you mess with a Rank 6, you don't expect to talk about it.", a huge grin was on the mage's face. He was in awe of the power, and the reason he wanted to follow the rules so strictly was because of his admiration to that beacon of pure might.
"Seoris Rigurus, the attack force leader, always follow his rules. It'll keep you alive."
The man nodded out of pure understanding, he went to a brothel afterward to blow off some steam.
In the slave traders' tent, every customer left the moment he came in. Most would describe him as a bipedal humanoid with a deer skull as a head, hosting antlers that stretched high into the sky. A tall mage would at most reach the bottom of his torso, a giant among humans to say the least. The skull was connected to a blackish mass through tendrils that looked like muscles, but no one was brave enough to ask. The bright red lights that filled the caverns with his skull made any onlooker think twice before interacting with him.
Due to his appearance and height, he always had to check whether he could even fit inside certain buildings. Luckily, the tent was spacious enough to house his antlers without it piercing it. There were many complaints about him destroying walls and ceilings by simply walking, but he never heard a thing, since nobody dared to even utter anything negative at him.
Besides a part of his black gooey neck, the rest was covered up by a robe of intrinsic designs. Rarely did Seoris show his real body, not even his arms or hands were seen often.
The slave trader started to sweat bullets, taking out a white cloth that quickly turned dark after wiping away most of the obvious sweat droplets. "I..I. hu..humbly welcome you si..sir in my small establishment."
Any other slave trader would call themselves almost nonexistent if he called his business small. He was the biggest slave trader in the city, his name was even known in cities that were located far away.
"I'm looking for some slaves, not quality, purely quantity."