Chapter 85: Chapter 77 – City of Sin

"Freedom and equality are nice words. They are the privileges the prosperous dangled to their people to make everything seem better. To those poor and downtrodden, they mean little, as food to fill your stomach for the day matters far more." - Azar'ēl Cèbrúnæ, lifelong Mayor of Sev-Galas.

 

By the afternoon of their fourth day, the carriage had reached their destination. Contrary to what Cal and the students expected, carriages and travellers formed two orderly lines as they waited their turn, with nary a sign of disorder in sight. Other than the guards who looked to be rougher types than most cities employed, the city gave a thoroughly orderly impression.

 

Since they were already there, and the line for travellers moved notably faster than the one for carriages, the group descended from their carriage and lined up behind those on foot. Aideen tossed the driver his remaining fees which he accepted with thanks and a mouthed blessing, before he turned his carriage aside and lined up on the other line.

 

Despite their roguish looks, the guards proved to be very efficient at their job, and it was only fifteen minutes before Cal's group was near the front of the line. In that time she watched how the guards inspected carriages meticulously, and also how one merchant whose goods were considered suspect tried to bribe the guards. In most towns that would have gotten the merchant a pass, but the brute of a guard he faced laughed in his face, before he dragged the merchant away into the city. Other guards secured the carriage and led it into the city proper.

 

When their turn for Inspection came, Grünhildr and Salicia stepped ahead of the group, and Salicia gave a sudden, sharp whistle. The younger guards looked at her with puzzlement clear on their faces, but an older guard, their captain, straightened up when he heard the tone, and somberly approached the group in a pace that could only be called hurried. All while he kept his back ramrod straight somehow.

 

He saluted stiffly when he faced the couple, with a slight tremble that Cal barely noticed. The middle-aged brute of a guard captain was clearly afraid of the couple for some reason. His trembling only intensified when he spotted Aideen who teasingly waved at him.

 

"Ma'am! Welcome back to Sev-Gasal, Ma'am! To what do we owe this pleasure?" Yelled the guard captain much like a soldier in the presence of their drill sergeant.

 

"At ease, Gus. It's still another half a decade to the next training period," Grünhildr said with a smirk on her face. "We're just here to give ol' Az a lil' visit, 'tis all."

 

"Ma'am, certainly, ma'am! Please go right inside with your group!" The middle aged guard captain said as Cal and her students looked on, somewhat unsure how they were related. Their group were waved through the inspection without a further word, and as they left human hearing range, she caught wind of how one of the younger guards asked what that was all about, only to be cut off by a meaty smack and a tirade of curses.

 

"So… what was that about?" Cal asked the three unliving women as she walked.

 

"Nothing much," Salicia said. "We just help Az train his guards a little bit every couple decades or so, is all."

 

"Help keep 'em disciplined, yea," added Grünhildr with a smirk. "Most of 'em be thugs and no-good wastrels, so a lil' bit of fear helped make proper guards outta 'em."

 

"Az is an old friend of ours," Aideen chimed in. "He's been at it here for four centuries now, and I'd say he did a better job than most ever could."

 

As she looked around the bustling cityscape around her, Cal couldn't disagree with what Aideen said. The city was downright prosperous, with healthy citizens who roamed the street without fear, and all sorts of goods put on sale. If anything was unusual about the city, it was probably how prostitutes - both male and female - openly advertised their services in broad daylight as they posed in risque clothing. Also how a man hawked his slaves openly right next to a stall that sold children's toys.

 

Yet none of the citizens batted even an eyelid at the unusual sights. They clearly saw it as the norm. And the way some of the children would play with the prostitutes and be given candies, all while their parents let them, showed how both sides are used to each other's presence.

 

One stall in particular openly sold various poisons, aphrodisiacs, and recreational drugs, something that would have definitely gotten the vendor arrested anywhere else. Yet here, the citizens didn't blink an eye, some patronized the vendor just like they would buy groceries. Aideen even paid the stall a short visit and bought three vials off the smiling vendor.

 

The city's guards patrolled the street openly, and the citizens made way respectfully for the thuggish guards, who returned the courtesy with polite nods. Cal even saw a little girl walk over and gave a brutish, scarred, ugly guard a wreath of flowers, which the guardsman not only accepted, but he also patted the girl's head gently as thanks, to which the little girl giggled in joy.

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One thing Cal's students found unusual as they passed by the third slave vendor was how they spotted no sign of child slaves, despite the open slave trade. The youngest of the slaves in sight seemed to be in their late teens or early twenties. Giselle had heard stories from her parents about them since slavery was not illegal in Iznuguod where her family originated from, and she asked Aideen about it.

 

"It's simple, really," replied Aideen to Giselle's question. "Az loathed the idea of child slaves. While he certainly didn't give a damn if some adults were stupid enough to get themselves so in debt they were sold as slaves, the idea of children being sold off by their own parents was abhorrent to him."

 

"He even made it law that anyone who brought child slaves into Sev-Galas would-" Aideen's words cut off when they approached what passed for a town square, except that at the raised platform in the middle was the merchant they saw dragged away from the gate earlier, as two burly guards forced him to kneel with his head rested on a cut log.

 

"Speak of the devil. An example just came up, girl. Watch and see," Aideen said as the guard who played the drum by the side ceased his playing. The crowd's attention was gathered by the noise, and the guard unfurled a scroll from which he read aloud.

 

"For the crime of attempting to smuggle child slaves into Sev-Galas, the criminal named Bastian of Ludveg is hereby sentenced to death by the authority of the Mayor of Sev-Galas!"

 

The gagged merchant tried to say something, and struggled against his bonds, but the guards held him easily. Meanwhile, two more guards, one with an axe and the other with a sledgehammer in hand, took up their posts to either side of the log. The one with the axe laid his axe gently on top of the merchant's neck, while the other measured the distance then raised his sledgehammer high with both hands. They waited for the signal as the merchant trembled and soiled himself out of fright.

 

The guard with the drums frowned and showed disgust on his face when the stench reached him, and he lowered his hand as he gave the fateful signal. "Execute!" He yelled.

 

As the signal was given, the sledgehammer descended, as it accurately struck the flat back of the axe with full force. The force of the blow drove the edge of the axe cleanly through the merchant's neck, as his head rolled over and fell into a prepared basket. Below the stage, the crowd applauded the execution, some even cheered at the top of their lungs.

 

"As per regulations, the child slaves in the criminal's possession shall be freed and placed in the care of an orphanage. The rest of the slaves shall be auctioned tomorrow evening right here in this square, with the auction results deposited towards their freedoms!" Announced the guard to the crowd, which elicited more cheers from them.

 

"What does he mean it goes to their freedoms?" Giselle asked, somewhat puzzled.

 

"Unlike most places which allowed slavery, here slaves received wages," Salicia explained to the girl. "If they earned enough, they may buy their freedoms and be counted as a free citizen instead. Many of those who cheered loudly earlier? Likely used to be slaves themselves before."

 

"This… is not exactly what I imagined when I heard stories of this place," Giselle admitted.

 

"As they say, girl, seeing is believing," replied Salicia with a smile. "Welcome, to the City of Sin."

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