She herself wasn't immune from such treatment, though she did her best to endure it. Her only consolation was that Cithis and Haln didn't seem to be forced to endure that treatment. Which Jenn didn't plan on complaining about.
If those two were left alone from that treatment, she would be happy with it. Even as she wondered if she'd be developing a bruise in a few choice locations she seemed to be getting poked in. Such as the stomach, her hips, and even a few places on her arms and legs.
She was at least grateful that they weren't poking her in her chest or between her legs. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to keep her ability to use magic a secret if anyone did that.
She couldn't say how long that treatment lasted, but that it seemed to go on and on with no end. She was starting to think she'd died and gone to hell sometime in the night. Though, if that was the case, she could think of several things that could be changed to make this worse than how it currently was.
Then suddenly it was over. As far as she could tell, they were evaluating her like she was a chunk of meat at the store. While she supposed it should make her feel degraded or something, it merely was an ordeal that she viewed as another step to finding a chance to escape. She couldn't say why, but she felt like she had just gotten closer to getting out of this situation.
Cithis and Haln were still upset about what had gone on, but Jenn merely hugged them while humming 'You Are My Sunshine' to them. While she wished she could risk singing to them, she knew not only would it cause problems for her captors to learn she could in fact speak, but then she'd also have to explain everything to Cithis and Haln, which would probably take quite a while.
Which was not something she looked forward to, even after they successfully escaped.
Jenn didn't know what was going to happen next, so once Cithis and Haln had relaxed, Jenn sat on the cold stone floor, mostly because she couldn't stand straight because of the chains, and sitting was the next most comfortable thing to do. Especially since she wasn't being poked by people trying to see if she was worth even considering.
Jenn didn't worry about those people. Even the worst wouldn't be able to hold them for long. Jenn was confident about that. Although, she did hope that there wouldn't be complications that would make things more of a headache than anything else.
_
Beth felt stressed. Not only did she oversleep, but then Ralph and Wes had already started with their performing by the time she'd even woken up.
She wasn't that upset about them taking the initiative to start. The problem lay with the fact that they hadn't even thought to wake her up. They told her when she confronted them about it that they did notice she hadn't woken up, but didn't think anything about it.
Hesha and Feon looked like they weren't fully awake, so Beth couldn't get upset with them. Though, Feon did at least seem more alert than Hesha did. Beth wasn't sure if there was a reason for that, but she didn't really have time to speculate much on that point. The auction was about to start, and Beth wasn't sure what the order of those they were auctioning off would be.
If it was just Charlie they were looking at trying to get, it wouldn't have been a big issue, due to those who fought in the arena the day before would be at the end of the auction, but Beth remembered about Hesha's brother. He certainly wouldn't be with those from the arena, so it was possible that he could be up and sold before they even made it to the auction house.
Naturally, Ralph and Wes hadn't been able to acquire anything significant at this point, but Beth still took what she could, just on the off chance that she might somehow be able to squeak by and actually succeed in winning the auction for the girl she was suspecting was in fact Charlie.
However, while she was on her way to the auction, it felt like something out there was trying to keep her from getting there. Whether it was fate or something else, Beth couldn't say. What she could say was that she and Hesha nearly got run over by a horse a moment before the poor beast collapsed in the middle of the road and nearly crushed its rider.
The rider ended up trapped under the weight of the horse, and Beth was pretty sure she heard something break when the horse fell. If nothing else she was confident the 'something' wasn't from the horse. Rather likely the rider.
Most people merely looked at the obstacle in the road, not showing any signs of being interested in helping clear the path. Beth groaned inwardly, knowing she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she left the scene like it was without even trying to help in some way.
Especially since no one was stepping forward on their own.
"What're you doing?" Hesha asked, looking rather shocked when Beth stepped towards the fallen horse and struggling rider.
"Helping," Beth answered simply. She couldn't say anything more, since she couldn't say what was needed yet. While she knew she heard something break, she couldn't be sure if that was just her imagination or if it was a bone or something else altogether.
Though, even if the sound was in Beth's imagination, she wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be the case as well. The scene didn't look good and Beth was pretty sure the horse had died, though she couldn't say what the cause was at the moment.
The horse, however had a thick lather around it's mouth and didn't show any signs of injury. The rider looked like she was struggling to free her leg from under the horse, and looked rather frantic, making Beth wonder if she was doing something that she felt was urgent. Something that she didn't have time to waste to accomplish.
Beth didn't want to create a scene with using her magic to help her lift the horse, so she looked around for something to use as a lever. As long as the rider could free herself, then that would be preferable. It would allow them to move on to the next step, which would be to make sure the rider wasn't inured from the fall.
Beth motioned Hesha over as she found a long pole leaning against a building nearby, tucked a little in an alley. Then under the watch of the crowd that was forming, and with the help of Hesha, she carefully slid the pole under the horse's body and lifted it up enough so the rider could wiggle out from under the horse. Though, when the rider tried to bend her leg, in order to stand up, she cried out in pain.
Beth let the pole drop where it was, not worried about putting it back, and pulled on her magic to check the rider. She suspected there was a broken bone, but was surprised to see three break along her leg. Beth took a moment to glance at the horse and couldn't help but wonder if there were rocks sticking up out of the ground or if some of this damage was inflicted from some of the horse's gear.
Regardless, she quickly sent her magic out to heal to breaks in the woman's leg in addition to some small bruises that were starting to form. She was confident that the rider would at least appreciate that much.
Beth wished she could take her time and talk Hesha through how she did it, so she could use this as a teaching moment for Hesha's magic lessons, but that would take too much time. She could always talk to Hesha about it later, but the primary points would have already passed and it wouldn't be as effective.
Still, Beth ignored the reproachful look Hesha was giving her, which she completely understood, given how late they were. Yet, even if it turned out that Beth wasted her time here, she was confident that it was worth having done that. Even if it ruined their chances of helping save Hesha's brother. Although, Beth was also confident that Hesha wouldn't be as open minded about that last point. Especially considering her emotional state over wanting to save her brother.
Which would only be a problem if it turned out that they weren't able to get there in time. However, as they turned to continue on towards the slave auction, the rider called out to them.
"Who are you?" she asked. "You help me and don't even ask for anything in return?"
Beth couldn't say she was surprised at this attitude. She didn't get the sense that there was much going on in the way of random acts of kindness or helping others simply because they needed help.
"My name is Beth, and this is Hesha," Beth introduced themselves. "We'd like to stay and talk, but we're running late, so if you'd let us go, we'll be on our way."
Beth didn't wait for the rider to respond, but turned to continue on towards the auction. She hoped they wouldn't be too late, but she really didn't know much about this kind of place, nor did she really know what to expect from it.
If anything, she suspected it might be more like the car auctions she remembered accompanying her mother to a few times. There, the cars would be lined up for a few different lines. Each line getting the cars auctioned at the same time, with different people conduction those auctions. If this was like that, she wasn't sure if they'd be able to find Hesha's brother, even if they didn't arrive late.
She hoped it wouldn't be so bad, but she had to face reality: Things didn't always work out the way you wanted them to. Especially when it was something important.
"Wait!" a voice called out from behind them before they had gone twenty feet, slowed down a little by the crowd that hadn't yet started to disperse.
Beth glanced behind her and saw the woman she'd just healed. She didn't look hostile, though she couldn't quite read her face. It was clear that she wanted something and Beth couldn't be sure if she shouldn't just leave and let the woman wonder who it was that had helped her.
However, she also had a feeling that if she didn't wait, she might regret it because of other factors she couldn't know about. Such as who the woman was in the first place.
Beth hadn't seen horses on this world up to this point, aside from the messenger that had been at Marquis Denshia, so they were either very rare or only few people had access to them. Regardless of which it was, that woman had to either be someone important herself or know someone important.
And it was never good to get on the bad side of someone important if you didn't have some sort of protection yourself. Such as from someone else who was important themselves. Which, naturally, Beth definitely didn't have. On this world or on Earth.
Whether that would change one day remained to be seen, but Beth was confident that this wasn't likely to be a day where that would happen. Unless, of course, that woman was someone important herself, but Beth didn't consider those odds to be very high. Not when she had been pushing her horse so hard that it died. Which told Beth just how important of a task she'd been given. Or at least how important she'd taken it to be.
Hesha looked at Beth incredulously when she stopped. Beth understood Hesha's feelings, but she felt like if she didn't wait, it might not matter if they saved Hesha's brother. They could be in danger of being made slaves themselves, simply because Beth didn't know enough about the culture of this world to understand what she should and shouldn't do. Especially when it came to those who were important here.
"It'll be alright," Beth assured the girl, even though she felt like they were wasting precious time doing this. Where she felt like she might not be able to hold it together if this took too long.
Then without waiting for Hesha to respond, Beth turned back around and looked at the woman. She didn't say anything, but waited patiently, suddenly wondering if there might be a reason why no one helped her out. That random acts of kindness on this world could be rude or something. At the very least.
"Who are you?" the woman asked, as she walked towards Beth, looking like she wasn't convinced she could do that.
"I believe I already told you our names," Beth said, not seeing the point in repeating them, but willing to if needed.
The woman shook her head, looking a little annoyed. "No, I mean, who are you? You healed me without asking for anything. Not only that, but you had to have used magic." She suddenly started chuckling, like she found the entire situation amusing. "Do you work for Duchess Versith or one of her allies?"
Beth shook her head. "Sorry, I don't know who that is. I just felt like helping," Beth replied, and felt an urge to leave it at that, but decided to add just a little more. "Where I come from, people do things called 'random acts of kindness.' Nothing major, just what they can do to help someone they don't even know out. Sometimes it goes unnoticed, but other times it can leave a big impact for some people."
The woman looked at Beth doubtfully. "No one does that," she stated flatly. "You're either lying to me or to yourself."
Beth shrugged. "I really couldn't care less what you believe, but think about this. If you didn't stop me, how would you know if you'd ever see me again?"
The woman didn't respond, looking like she didn't know how to respond to that, which Beth wasn't surprised about.
"So, if we never met again, how would I benefit from it?" Beth asked casually. "If, as you suggested, I was an ally of your duchess whatever, then wouldn't that be something between that ally and your duchess? I mean, if it ever got brought up, that is?"
The woman's mouth opened and closed, but she clearly wasn't able to say anything. Though, as the seconds ticked away, Beth was starting to feel the need to move again, but at the same time, she didn't want this woman to come after them because she had more she wanted to say or discuss or whatever.
"If you're not going to say anything, would it be alright if I just left?" she asked, hoping the answer would be 'yes.' "We're really running late in the first place."
The woman looked like she was about to say something more, but the sounds around them brought Beth back to the present. Where the crowd around them had already started to disperse, and soldiers were approaching from the distance.
Beth couldn't help but look at the dead horse in the road and acknowledge, if nothing else, they wouldn't be too happy to let the horse just sit there. Which the woman also seemed to recognize that fact.
Groaning, she pulled something that had been hanging at her waist and held it out to Beth. "If you would do one more… uh, 'random acts of kindness' or whatever, I'd appreciate if you would deliver this to the auction house. Specifically, Duchess Versith's steward in this city. She should be at the auction right now, getting ready to get the next shipment to send down to the duchess."
"Uh, you mean the slave auction?" Beth asked as she accepted what looked like a scroll case and a small wooden plate that was coated in some kind of resin or clear paint, not sure if there was another auction going on. She didn't even think to ask around. So, she couldn't say for sure if that was the case or not.
"Yes. What other auction would there be today?"
Beth felt like she might need to spend some time to learn more about the inner workings of these cities. This time had been about trying to collect information and money in haste, so she could try and effect a rescue of the girl who might be Charlie. Yet, she could see that they just hadn't started soon enough, even though they couldn't have started any sooner.
"Okay, so where would I find this steward?" Beth asked, feeling like this could potentially be what she needed. If nothing else, she might be able to entreat this steward for help in trying to save Charlie.
As Beth listened to the directions, she suddenly felt like the need for speed was going away. Not only was there a long line to enter the auction, they would now be able to bypass that line, simply by mentioning about delivering the scroll case to the Duchess Versith's steward. After which, they'd be able to stay in the auction and take care of their business. Though, Beth hoped that she might be able to get some help saving Charlie from the steward.
She didn't think that it was completely likely, but she didn't see the point in not asking. If nothing else, she thought that it was possible that the steward would give her some money to assist, as every coin helped.
"We'll get it to her, I promise," Beth assured the woman.
"Thank you," the woman said, looking like she was questioning if she was making the biggest mistake of her life in entrusting that to Beth.