"Okay Minda, we are now settled in Avarice's town square; right in time for the auction!"
"Hmph, it's about time."
Steering the motor dragon along with the carriage, Pai skillfully maneuvers through the crowded town square and finds an area to station. Inside the carriage, Minda watches over the demi-human children as they sleep.
"Sleep time is over. Wake up!"
SNAP
With the single snap of her fingers, the ears of the children lifted up as if by instinctual reaction, resulting in them promptly waking up. They stare directly at Minda as lifeless androids awaiting commands from their master.
"It's finally time for you smelly rascals to fulfill your purpose–making us profits. You will line up on the platform outside in a single file, patiently awaiting your turn to be sold. Understand?"
The children nod their heads in unison.
"Good. Now follow Pai outside. Get to it!"
One by one, the children exit the carriage via the backdoor–none coming short of Minda's commands. Only one remains left behind.
"And then there's you, kitty cat."
Left behind is a young girl, tied up in bondage and gagged at the mouth. Her eyes, although not robotic, are lifeless with traces of dried-up tears. She lacks the strength, or rather, the will to even lift her head towards Minda.
"Perhaps I've played with you a bit too much. Oh well, a toy that's a bit broken still has good value. Look at the crowd out there; I'm sure plenty of them would still pay a high price for ya! You'll be with me until then."
Minda picks up the girl and carries her over her shoulder. She caresses her tail, but the girl's demeanor remains unchanging, as if she were a corpse.
"Good girl; I've taught you well."
_________________________________________________________________________
"...and sold! This wolf demi-human boy goes to the 50-coin bidder! Thank you for your business, please come to the stage and escort your new property."
In the center of the town square lies a platform full of demi-human children being sold off to high bidders. A sleazy-looking man wears a big grin on his face, as if he's showing off his valuable collection with pride. Apparently, according to Crawley, these demi-human traffickers are a sibling duo named Pai and Minda. I suppose that they are well-known within these circles, but I don't care.
Demi-human trafficking is a pretty high-risk, high-reward business; one misstep can ruin the entire operation, but with careful execution, the potential profits are through the roof. No matter how distasteful one may feel towards the business, the networking is too big and too deep to take down. Some demi-human clans are willing to facilitate the practice for their own gain, and even the great noble families tend to support it. It's no wonder why it continues to thrive.
"It's unfortunate, but it is what it is."
Seeing scumbags happy never feels great, but I'm only here to accomplish my client's request. He wants to use me as a way to sabotage Pal and Minda's business by taking away their highest value "item". He has some personal dislike towards them for whatever reason I didn't care to ask. More importantly, he said that he doesn't know exactly what their highest prized possession is but insisted that I would easily figure it out. How helpful.
"It's certainly taking forever…"
So far, none of the demi-humans appear to be the prized possession; they have all been bided around the same range. Surely the "special" one would bid the highest?
As the hour passes, more demi-humans are gradually sold, leaving fewer and fewer remaining. Now that I think about it, I've only seen a man doing the auctioning; I assume that he's Pai. But shouldn't there be a "Minda"?
"Next up, we have a special surprise deal that you are gonna want to bid top dollar for! Minda, if you'd please."
A middle-aged woman emerged from obscurity and onto the stage, carrying a small cat girl. Several bidders stared in awe and began gathering their coins.
"Tonight's special deal, a rare breed of cat demi-human that you would be lucky to find anywhere around here! Her potential to fulfill your needs and desires have no limit! Bidding starts at 100 gold coins!"
"I'll buy her for 105 gold coins!"
"I'll pay 150 coins!"
"I'll double that offer!
By the second, the bidding price rose drastically. At this rate, only members and servants of the noble families will be able to afford it! I'm not so sure what makes this particular girl so special, but I've got to admit that I've never seen anyone quite like her. Her fur is a unique shade of mint green, her eyes resemble amethyst, and her skin is a nice tone of apricot. I'm not sure what potential these weirdos see in her, but I'd rather Crawley keep her. Knowing him, he'd have her assist him with his shop at least. I've got to intervene soon; else I'll miss my chance.
"It looks like our highest bid is 3000 gold coins! Can anyone top that?"
"I can!"
I swoop down from the nearby building where I was watching from and land onto the stage, to the surprise of Pai and Minda. I use their moment of shock to my advantage and swipe the girl from Minda's grasp.
"Hey! Who are you and what are you doing?!"
"I'm the highest bidder–nothing is more valuable than five golden fingers!"
"Geeze Minda, don't waste time questioning a thief! Use your curse on the remaining children!"
"I know what I'm doing! Demi-humans, attack this masked man!"
SNAP
The once passive demi-human children that remained on stage suddenly responded to Minda's command and aggressively approached my direction. I'm sure that I could easily outrun them, but under the orders of that woman, they'd go to the extent of killing themselves until they have successfully pursued me. This must be the power of her curse.
"Wow, a pair of cowards that are destined to rely on children for power; what a pathetic curse. I could even do a better job controlling them than you!"
"Nonsense! New orders, kill that man and return our property!"
SNAP
The children stopped moving.
"What are you standing around for? Kill him!"
SNAP
The children remain frozen in place.
"Pai, why aren't they obeying me?!"
"I don't know Minda, but your snaps aren't effective right now!"
SNAP SNAP SNAP SNAPSNAPSNAP
Minda throws an aggressive snapping fit, but to no avail. It's rather humorous though.
"Let me help you with that. Children, break free of this woman's curse and run away!"
SNAP
Instantaneously, the children returned to their senses and began running about.
"Hey look, free demi-humans!"
"I want to bid for free too!"
In addition to the children running around, several bidders are attempting to get their hands on them for free, creating the perfect storm of chaos. I look back at Pai and Minda, amused by the look of confusion and worry on their faces.
"Well, it looks like you have to choose between all of those kids or this one. I'll make that choice easier for you."
With the girl in tow, I leap off the stage and dive in the sea of chaos. I take a look at the girl in my arms; she stares back at me soullessly. I whisper in her delicate ears.
"Hold on tight; the way out of here is going to be a little bumpy."
As I made my escape, I could hear Pai and Minda exclaim curses as they tried to undo the mess I created. Bringing misfortune to those kinds of people is therapeutic to the soul. If only misfortune would only target the ones who deserve it.
I continue to run away, making my way towards Crawley's treasure shop. I think I'm too far for them to even dream of catching me, but there's no reason to slow down. At least we're out of that crowded town square; lots more peace and quiet over here.
"...t-th..th..th-an"
"??"
I hear a voice lighter than a whisper exit the girl's lips. I can't make out what she's trying to say. Maybe she needs some reassurance? She's a kid after all, so she's probably scared of a guy like me. Can't blame her.
"Don't worry, I'll get you to safety. You don't have to worry about those knuckleheads anymore."
Upon hearing those words, the girl slowly rests her eyes; her eye bags give away her lack of proper sleep. For some reason, I thought I saw sparkles as she closed her eyes.