The blazing sun pounded down on the crowded slave markets bringing a scorching summer heat wave. Sweat dripped on the slaves' forehead, their features marked with terror and misery. The stink of human waste and filthy corpses permeated the air, leaving a strong odour.
Among the tumult, one person stood out. It was General Arthur, an imposing figure with a long, bushy golden beard. Mounted on his gorgeous stallion, he studied the throng with his sharp black eyes. His presence drew respect and adoration from those who saw and recognised him despite his thin disguise.
His pretentious son, Richard, rode behind him, but he lacked his father's raw appeal. Richard, dressed in beautiful silks and ornamented with jewellery, looked down on the poor slaves with contempt. He crinkled his nose at the foul stink that filled the air, evidently appalled by the sight of folks he considered beneath him.
"Father," Richard replied, his voice dripping with hate, "I do not see why we have to tolerate this waste." Surely there are more suitable places for a man of your rank."
Arthur sighed. "This is not filth, Richard. These are people. People who have been torn from their homes and families. We have to treat them with compassion."
Richard scoffed. "Compassion? For these savages? They are nothing more than property, Father. To be bought and sold like animals."
Arthur's face darkened. "Do not speak of them so carelessly, Richard They are humans, just like you and me.
Richard rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, father."
The clamour of the market faded as Arthur and Richard descended into the slave dungeons. The air became thick and stuffy, and the odour of human waste and rot was nearly terrible. The dungeon's walls were chilly and wet, with the only light coming from a few thin openings far above. They headed into a furnished office where they met the head of this establishment. Arthur frowned as he noticed how fat the man was, but he didn't come your to cause trouble. Most of the slaves were from the other nation and as a general in that very war, he couldn't judge them.
The man's chubby face smiled as he saw Arthur, already anticipating his arrival. He forced himself to stand up but his massive belly made it troublesome so he immediately sat back down.
"General Arthur, I'm glad you were able to make it", he said and then forced himself once more to stand and greet the General, this man was a key figure in this kingdom so he needed to get on his good side.
With an outstretched hand he shook the general. Arthur, already growing impatient began "Lead us to the special ones, I can't stay here for long".
"As you wish sir", the fat trader didn't ponder on this and gestured for two of his guards to escort him. Not for protection of himself from the general but from the fear of touching the slaves. "I'll lead the way, let's go"
Slaves were tied up in rows, their bodies haggard and malnourished. Their eyes were filled with a combination of terror, sorrow, and resignation. Some of them were sobbing, while others just looked into space, their minds numbed by sadness.
"Do you feed them well?", Arthur asked absentmindedly. Richard scoffed at his question and the fat trader frowned before answering.
"General, I believe you're well aware that most of them here are enemies of our kingdom, some of them even have death sentences on them from other government officials". Arthur kept quiet, he couldn't refute the man, he had fought his share on the battlefield and had killed so many with his very hands.
Arthur's heart ached for these unfortunate souls though. He had witnessed the atrocities of war personally, and he was aware that these folks had endured unspeakable torture. He was determined to discover someone who could be saved and allowed a better life.
The flickering flames on the wet stone walls created strange shadows, making it difficult to tell one prisoner from another. Amidst the darkness and despair, Arthur's piercing gaze fell upon a figure who stood out even in this grim environment.
The woman was of medium height, her figure lean and gorgeously attractive. Her smooth face was partially obscured by shadows, but her vermillion eyes were bright and intelligent. There was a seductive, untamed quality about her that fascinated Arthur.
The fat trader watched him silently and noticed the general observing one of his priced slaves. Arthur turned to the trader with a smile. "Tell me about this one."
The trader hesitated. "I'd advise against choosing this one, your grace. She's cursed and is extremely dangerous."
Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Cursed? How so?"
Richard's hungry gaze lingered on the bound girl, a sinister grin spreading across his face. Her eyes, fierce yet hollow, locked onto his with a mix of contempt and defiance. The atmosphere in the dark, cavernous chamber grew heavier with each word exchanged. "Tell me about this curse as well trader," Richard demanded, his voice dripping with anticipation.
The slave, shackled and bruised, met his gaze with a burning glare. The trader faced the general as he ignored his son replying quickly, "She was cursed by a demon of seduction. If she doesn't have sex at least once a day, she'll die. But her abilities are quite powerful. It took a lot of my subordinates to subdue her."
Richard's eyes gleamed with a dark, predatory light. The trader continued fully aware of his dirty intention, the slave was as young as the general's son afterall. "She can share the abilities of anyone she fucks. If she fucks someone strong, she gains their strength as an equal. Right now, she's connected to fifty abilities she can wield at will."
Arthur's interest was piqued, his voice betraying his excitement. 'Outstanding. If I enslave her, her abilities would become mine to command, my elite squad is slowly forming.' He silently pondered and then turned to the trader "Good, Prepare her then. I need two others as well. Take me deeper."
The fat trader, his face shadowed under the dim light, gestured to the guards. They approached the girl with rough hands and cold eyes, their movements mechanical as they dragged her away, preparing her for the transaction. The girl's protests were met with harsh gags and chains, her defiance becoming quieter with each step.
Richard's gaze followed the girl with a mixture of curiosity and hunger, his mind already racing with the potential power he could wield. "You have more like her?" he asked, his voice a low growl of intrigue.
The fat trader's eyes sparkled with a dark promise. "Indeed, your grace. We have another similar calibre, each cursed in their unique way. Shall I show you?"
Arthur, his interest visibly heightened, nodded eagerly. "Lead the way. Show me what else you have."
As the group moved deeper into the shadowy labyrinth of the underground market, the air grew colder, thick with the scent of damp earth and fear. The walls were lined with cages and chains, each containing a broken soul.
The trader's eyes glinted with predatory satisfaction as he led Richard and Arthur deeper into the maze-like underground market. They stopped in front of a heavy, iron-barred cage. Inside, the shadows danced across the walls, revealing a figure bound in golden enchanted chains.
As the cage door creaked open, Richard and Arthur peered inside. The sight that greeted them was both mesmerizing and unsettling. The prisoner was a tall, wild woman, her feline ears twitching with a mixture of insidious malice. Her dark skin seemed to shimmer under the dim light, accentuating the natural curves of her body. Her long, hairy tail swayed restlessly, and her angry red eyes glowed with an unsettling, almost otherworldly intensity.
She was stark naked, bound tightly in layers of enchanted chains that glowed faintly with a golden light. The chains seemed to pulse with dark, magical energy, binding her both physically and magically. The sight was undeniably captivating, and even the seasoned general Arthur felt an unexpected stirring in his groin—a reaction he quickly tried to suppress.
The trader's sly smile widened as he saw the effect the captive had on the general. "We only send female guards to feed her down here. Even then, one or two have been known to develop... intentions of their own."
The trader's laugh was unashamed, a crude and unsettling sound that echoed through the hall. He stood with a small protrusion from his groin, a clear sign of his unrestrained interest. Richard's eyes narrowed, and he sneered at the trader's audacity.
Arthur's gaze remained fixed on the captive, his expression a mixture of fascination and desire. "So, she's more of a seductive demon than the other one?"
The trader nodded, still grinning. "Indeed, while the other one was cursed this seemed to be the real deal, unfortunately, though she chose the battle of a warrior and was on the frontlines in one of the invading enemy's brigade, she's much more valuable as a battleslave."
The trader stepped closer to the cage, his demeanour shifting to one of dark pride. " Like the other one, this one is cursed as well. Her curse is as powerful as it is dangerous. She exudes a pheromone-like aura that drives those around her to primal desires. Beyond her physical allure, she has heightened senses and extraordinary agility. Anyone who engages with her in any manner will find their inhibitions shattered. Best of all, these are just her passive abilities, even though we don't know the full scale of her active ones"
Arthur's interest was piqued. "So, if I were to take her…"
The trader's eyes gleamed with a hint of malice. "Her abilities and allure would be yours to command. But be warned—her nature can be... consuming. Many have fallen to their desires before they even had a chance to claim her. She has a remarkable ability to gain the powers of anything she eats, but it only works on non-humans. She must eat at least once a week, or she'll die as well."
Arthur considered his words, his gaze still lingering on the bound girl, who met his eyes with a mix of defiance and seductive promise. The shadows seemed to swirl around her, enhancing her otherworldly presence.
Richard leaned in, his voice low and dark. "Prepare her for us. I wish to see just how powerful her allure can be, what say you father?". The general simply nodded in response. Then he felt a sudden chill. Arthur's attention shifted to the last cage, and he felt a shiver of unease run down his spine.
Something was wrong here.
Inside was a young boy, his calm demeanour starkly contrasting with the darkness of his surroundings. The boy sat in the centre of the cage, spinning a human skull, the head still fresh as the victim had died gruesomely with ripped-out bleeding eye sockets, opened wide in shock. The boy kept twirling the human head on his fingertips with disturbing, almost hypnotic precision.
The head's empty eye sockets seemed to follow Arthur's every movement, adding to the eerie atmosphere of the chamber. The boy's face was serene, his obsidian eyes cold and devoid of emotion. His actions were so calm and deliberate that they sent a chill through the general.
"What's his story?" Arthur asked, his voice betraying a hint of unease.
The trader's expression darkened slightly as he addressed the general. "This boy is no ordinary child General but so far there's nothing currently special about him, your grace. We found him a month ago, but he'd never spoken a single word. I suspect he can't talk. We discovered him across the Obsidian Border, in a cave."
Arthur's interest was piqued further. "The Obsidian Border? People who enter that forest never return for some reason. Who found him?"
The trader's face shifted into a grimace of grudging admiration. "An adamantine adventurer found him. He sold the boy to me for a significant sum, which made me believe he was of great worth. But after appraising him, I found he only had one ability: the power to see in the dark."
Arthur's gaze returned to the boy, who continued to spin the human head with unsettling calm. The general's thoughts churned as he considered the implications.
"Why is there a human head with him in the cell", Richard asked pompously as he tried to hide his fear.
"Well, we normally torture the slaves to reveal enough of their backstories for appraisal so we would be able to seal them better and know their capabilities as well. He was unconscious at the time the adventurer brought him in so it was quite easy to put him in here and seal all his abilities rendering him incapable of using exogene—"
"Get to the point", Richard said in annoyance. The trader frowned and then continued.
"I have one hundred and sixty battleslaves directly under my command. This boy killed half of them the first night we tried to torture him, even with all active abilities sealed he seemed to be unstoppable, and that was just his passive strength. We've layered him with our highest-grade seals but no one has entered this place since that day…this is the most dangerous one in my possession"
Arthur listened without a word or expression on his face, wasn't this what he sought after, someone with overwhelming strength to turn the tide of the army? He knew the potential each captive could reveal more than just their surface abilities. And right now, this boy's potential…
…was limitless.