Rune and I headed down to the slave market deeper into the city. Not every city or town had a slave market—Edgefield didn't—but it would appear that slaves were pretty big in this city. Likely a lot of the slaves were debtors that never paid off what they owed, or they were lower races like demi-humans or rare ones like dhampir. The market was thriving with stalls set up on both sides of the road. The smell was very apparent—it smelled like sweat and dirt. People were haggling prices, and slave traders were at the forefront boasting about their slaves. Rare breeds were the pride of a slave trader, or slaves that had a record like those of prisoners of war. In fact, slaves even had ranks given to them; slavery was a big deal in this world. The slave industry was almost more saturated than the adventurers guild. I had even heard rumors of some kind of slave trader union or group. All of it was disgusting.
Nobody should be treated like a mere object. I hated the idea of it. Slaves were given a rank from F to S. They were valued based on their race, appearance, health/status, rarity, and, if applicable, how well they could fight. In some cases, they might also see a bump in rank based on their status if they were nobility or legendary warriors. It was uncommon, but those in nobility sometimes ended up as slaves in foreign lands. Slaves held signs next to each stall they belonged to that listed their rank, race, and health-related information. I spotted a few demi-human slaves in torn clothing covered in bandages holding up signs. Some were C rank, but a lot of them were given D or F ranks.
The deeper you go, the better the rank of the slaves. Usually, the higher quality slave traders have their own permanent spots. I spotted a few orcs in the mix with their B rank signs, a few elves, humans, and even some tougher-looking demi-humans. In the furthest back were the really high-ranking slaves—they were A to S rank, and they cost sometimes hundreds of gold. Full vampires, arachnes of various sizes, dragonkin, and even some very rare cambions. I decided to seem like I was interested. I made my way to one of the S rank slave traders. I approached a woman with orange puffy hair, goggles, and overalls on. She looked a bit out of place with all the shady-looking people. She was a bit nerdy-looking and seemed to be studying her sales for the day. Her sign read, "Sandra's Beast Emporium."
I smiled. "Hello, I would like to inquire about a certain race I was hoping you might have in stock."
Sandra looked at me and Rune, her eyes scanning us over. Finally, she smiled. "You came to the right place. I can get any slave you might need. I pride myself on being able to collect the rarest and most diverse species of all the slave traders here. What can I do for you? Let me guess—you were interested in the cambion I got in the other day, right? I mean, how could you not be interested? She is a half-demon queen, after all!"
I nodded. "Right, very rare indeed, but I was hoping to find something in a less rare category. How many dhampirs are you working with right now?"
Sandra frowned when she heard my request. "Dhampir? Huh. Very rare request. We don't get a lot of folks looking for dhampir. They are useful and even rarer than a vampire, but the cons outweigh the pros for them. Most people have no use for half-breeds like them. I don't really buy dhampir too often. Are you sure you don't want one of our vampires instead? I mean, I got a beautiful one this week that might be to your liking."
I shook my head. "Well, you see, I require a dhampir because I work outside a lot. Vampires have to avoid the sun, but dhampir can work outside just fine."
Sandra nodded. "That makes sense, but why a dhampir? If you needed help with manual labor, an orc would do the trick just fine."
I kept my smile steady, masking my distaste for this whole vile industry. "An orc might be strong, but a dhampir has other qualities I'm interested in. Strength, agility, and, most importantly, their unique abilities. They're perfect for the kind of work I need done."
Sandra nodded. "I get it—you have very specific needs, and I did just boast that I have diverse species. Unfortunately, I just sold the only dhampir in my collection off to the slave trader association to be auctioned in a few days."
Calling it a collection was distasteful, but I feigned disappointment. "Oh, really? That's too bad. I was looking to pay a premium for a good dhampir. Can you give me some details on the auction?"
Sandra perked up a bit. "Yes, sir, it will be held in three days in the back of the market near the big cages. They are selling a lot of high-rarity slaves that day. You look like you're from out of town, but the auction is a monthly thing for the slave trader association."
I nodded. "How much will the initial price be, do you imagine? Also, if you don't mind, what is the slave's name?"
Sandra explained, "Usually around 60 gold starting value, I would imagine, but I sold it to the association for around 80 gold. I would expect the little dhampir would be worth around 100 gold once she is sold off. No more than 120 at most, I would imagine. Oh, also, her name is Jasmine, had to force her to tell me that. She was a feisty one, I will warn you—she tried to bite me a few times. I had to whip her more than a few times and gag her mouth."
I sensed Rune clench his fists beside me. I put my arm on his shoulder, trying to make sure he didn't do anything rash.
Sandra seemed to sense this. She looked at Rune curiously, but I quickly caught her attention. "Don't mind him. He just really wants to be a slave trader when he's older, right, Rune?"
Rune snapped to attention. "Right, um, I really respect the industry. I think it's amazing, the amount of slaves you have in your c-collection."
Sandra's eyes beamed. "Oh, I have a little slave trader in the making, do I? I will be watching out for you then. Can I ask both of your names?"
I chimed in, "I am Key Creed." Rune followed up awkwardly, "I am Rune Walker."
Sandra shook both of our hands openly. "I am Sandra White. Please tell me if you are interested in any of my slaves!"
A dark idea began to take shape in my head. A web of ideas molded into one, and I felt the scam take shape. I smiled. "Actually, maybe there is something you can do for us."
Sandra smiled back. "Oh, do you have another slave you might be looking for?"
I explained, "Actually, yes, for my friend here. You see, it's always been his dream to be a slave trader, but he's always been so shy. I think today is the day he gets started. Can he get his license to sell slaves with the association here? If so, I was thinking after that, it would be nice if he could buy his first slave from you. Someone with such a diverse range of slaves, I was hoping you could have a few perfect for my friend."
Sandra practically beamed at the comment. "Oh, I would love to help! I could even give him a few pointers on how to handle his first slave. You can actually purchase your license right here in the market. It's a fast process."
I nodded enthusiastically. "That's perfect. Rune and I will both get our licenses. It will be a great start for us."
Sandra's eyes widened in delight. "Wonderful! The more, the merrier. You can get your licenses over at that booth," she pointed towards a small stall with a bored-looking clerk. "It's a quick process, and I'll have some slaves ready for you to check out when you return."
Rune and I made our way to the licensing booth. The clerk barely looked up as we approached. "Two licenses, please," I said, sliding a small pouch of silver coins across the counter.
The clerk grunted, took the coins, and handed us two forms. "Fill these out. Sign at the bottom."
We quickly filled out the forms, providing the necessary details. After handing them back, the clerk stamped each form with a seal and handed us our licenses. "Congratulations. You're now officially slave traders."
That was it? Wasn't there some kind of vetting process? That seemed a bit too simple. Is that all they see a slave's life as? Hell, getting a pet takes more paperwork than this. I tried to hide my disdain as he handed us our licenses; it was just a simple small print with my name and title printed on it. I glanced down at the simple card in my hand, a mix of anger and disgust boiling beneath my calm exterior. Rune and I returned to Sandra, our new licenses in hand, and I was ready to start my plan. One that would make us both money and save some of the tormented slaves in this market.