Chapter 9: Volume 1 – Chapter 8

The sun was hiding behind the clouds today, promising a chillier day than usual. Tal put on his holiday set of clothing that was given to him by Farruco. A decent enough, if not somewhat worn, suit that gave the impression of being someone above the very bottom of society.

With a satisfied expression, he inspected himself in front of the living room mirror. The clothes fit well enough to look like they were made just for him. He may not be as good-looking as the wealthier young men, who apparently got their good looks from either their parents or got procedures from alteration specialists, but he still looked presentable.

'Maybe one day I could afford to improve my looks as well.' Not that Tal was particularly bad looking, but he didn't stand out in the crowd either. Sure, there were a few girls who were flirty with him, but for now, he hadn't managed to woo any of them, but it was likely the fault of his inexperience.

The streets in his part of the town were busy as ever. During the last few weeks, he had even gotten used to seeing an odd elf or dwarf walking around without staring at them. Supposedly there were a lot more humanlike races in the world, but they were far less accepted.

Some, like the beastkin and the half-breeds, were not considered people and were either seen as property or as wild beasts. Why that was the case he didn't know, and Farruco didn't provide clear answers either, just stating that 'those subhuman beasts are dangerous if not tamed.' and once again reaffirming why Mishi chose to not follow.

Tal hadn't seen any beastkin himself, but from what he had heard, they were much more bestial, and unlike halfbreeds, looked closer to their animal counterparts than humans.

Today's walk wasn't just a leisure activity as Tal had a clear goal in mind. Knowing that he couldn't just sell enchanted rings to any other general goods trader, due to some agreement between them or maybe it was just government regulation, his only other option was either getting a trader's license or joining the freelancers guild.

From what he had heard from the merchants, the trader's license for general goods was rather expensive, and he would have to save up money for a long time to acquire one. The freelancer guild's membership fee, on the other hand, was not that high, as all sorts of people joined it to provide services for the general population.

The building itself was in a part of the city he hadn't visited yet, but locating it shouldn't have been too hard. The everpresent temple pyramid served as the guide to the city center which was his destination.

As Tal walked, he observed the people meandering through the streets: street merchants trying to sell their wares, street performers gathering small crowds with either music or dancing, or just common folk going about their business.

A darker-skinned girl dancing a rather suggestive dance, with a boy of the same skin color playing small drums beside her, made Tal stop and watch the performance. Dressed in a loose dress, the black-haired beauty mesmerized him.

From what Tal knew, the people in southern countries had darker skin and were somewhat uncommon in these lands. The few he had seen before were the wealthier merchants who sold exotic goods in the bazaar, or, in one occurrence, sold a large stock of spices or other high-value goods to Farruco.

The hypnotic movements of the girl and the rhythmic drumming made Tal reach into his pocket and drop a large copper coin in the hat sitting in front of the drummer, who said with a wide smile. "Thank you, sir."

The girl flashed a quick smile in his direction as she did with everyone who dropped coins in the hat. Her smooth movements surely raised Tal's temperature.

After watching the performance for a few minutes, he finally remembered his goal and walked on. The central bazaar was best avoided if one needed to reach some other destination in a reasonable time.

'I should go inside and look around one day.' he mused as he walked alongside the two-meter tall wall that separated the bazaar from the rest of the city. Tal was curious about what he would find inside, but since money was still rather tight, he had not found a reason to explore it.

There was no need to buy food and more exotic goods were a curiosity he couldn't afford just yet.

After another fifteen minutes of walking, he finally reached a large building with a lot of people mingling in front of it. Most were wearing at least some sort of armor and carrying weapons. The building itself was awe-inspiring to say the least. Four stories tall, built with stone bricks with large arched windows and statues of a mage and a warrior by the main doors, which Tal assumed, were depicting some sort of heroes.

Tal quickly walked past them and, with a light push, opened the two-sided doors, entering the guild's main hall. There was a row of tables with clerks sitting behind them right in front of him.

After a moment of hesitation, he timidly approached one of the clerks, a woman who looked about thirty, dressed in a light uniform with her hair tied in a bun. She noticed Tal's approach and said with a professional smile. "Good morning. How can I help you today?"

"Good morning. How much would it cost me to join the guild?"

"Standard admission price is twenty silver coins and comes with yearly base appraisal as long as you complete the minimum activity requirements. As a base member, you would be permitted to sell raw materials to the guild. We have various gathering tasks that can be easily fulfilled even by unranked members."

"Can I sell enchanted rings with the base license?"

"To sell enchantments you would have to take an additional license for enchanters and perform an enchantment in front of the guild's auditor. The official trade of second-hand enchanted gear is allowed if the initial enchantment is made by a licensed guild member or the crown's licensed enchanter."

"How much would it cost to get one?"

"Standard price is fifty silver, but sometimes it is decreased if there is an extraordinary demand for a specific trade, which at the moment, is not the case." the woman said, still keeping the same professional smile.

"Do I need to set up some sort of meeting to get both the basic license and the enchanter one?"

"It is not necessary. A dedicated auditor is available during the daylight hours and it wouldn't take too long to sort out all the paperwork."

"How much would I get for a basic stamina ring?"

"If I recall correctly somewhere from five to eight silver, depending on how high demand is for such enchantments."

"Thank you for the information, I will return once I have enough money to pay for both." Tal said in a neutral tone. Seventy silver was a lot of money and would take a long time to collect. Still, it was cheaper than buying out the agreement from Farruco.

One thing was clear, he needed to push harder to produce more enchants. Since he only got one silver for any extra enchant, Tal needed to make an additional sixty-two enchants to pay for both licenses and then have a few extra silver for the rings.

Considering that even at worst he would get a lot more for each ring he would sell to the freelancers guild, there was no reason to not get the expensive licenses.

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Mishi cursed as she ran as fast as she could. 'How could I be so careless!? Of course they were starting to notice!'

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The barking of the dogs followed by shouts of men was getting closer and closer with each moment. They were waiting for her. She should have known that stealing from a larger house was too much trouble, but in her greed to get enough salt for all the pig meat, she had become too daring.

The forest line was close. If only she could reach it… The humans would not be able to follow her on horses, and she was able to fight off the dogs, at least if there were only a few of them.

"Get the beast!" one of them shouted. "Do not let it get away!"

'Dammit! Dammit! I can… I just need to run faster.' Her fox-like feet were made for running in the tall grass, but she was not faster than the dogs and horses.

'Just a bit more.' The treeline was near. A few more leaps and she would disappear into the forest. However, something grabbed her skirt, making her fall before she could reach it.

Mishi desperately scrambled to get back on her feet and kicked off the dog that held her. Something heavy landed on top of her, restricting her movements even more.

"We caught the beast, captain!" the nearest man shouted.

"Drop more nets on it! We can't let the beast escape!" a voice further away shouted back.

She struggled with all her might to get free to no avail. One of the men approached her and dropped some sort of powder in her face. Mishi coughed as her already poor night vision dimmed.

Mishi awoke feeling light movement up and down and an urge to vomit. This however was not an option, as there was a gag in her mouth. She slowly opened her eyes and realized that she was tied to a horse. With a quick struggle, it became clear that her arms and legs were bound with a tight rope, with no hopes of getting free remaining.

"Hey, captain, beastie woke up!" a man walking beside the horse shouted. Mishi continued to struggle with all the remaining strength she got, but it proved to be useless.

'No! No! No! Not like this!' When she was still a slave, even as a child, she knew what happened to those of her kind that had tried to run and gotten captured again. An unruly slave would get broken, and her captors would make sure that she would not try to do anything like that ever again.

She didn't know the details, but she had seen those who fought for their freedom. All life was gone from their eyes, their will's broken and hopes crushed.

"Stop struggling, beastie!" a man shouted at her and pushed a small bag close to her face. The strong-smelling substance inside meant one thing: pain.

'Bastards! Monsters! Damn you! Damn you all!' She reluctantly stopped struggling. Maybe there'd be some moment, some opportunity, to get away. Mishi could only hope that her captors would make a mistake.

That, however, proved not to be the case, as she was brought before a large mansion and picked off the horse. One of the men carried her over the shoulder, still tightly bound with ropes.

A moment later she was taken into a barn and tossed into a metal cage. One of the three men walked inside the cage and lifted her skirt. "Hey captain, beastie is not too bad looking. How about we have some fun?"

"No!"

"Why not? A beast like her will surely like it."

Mishi snarled through the gag in protest. What they planned to do was expected, and it would not be the first time either. However, that still didn't mean she would just let it happen without a struggle.

"I said no! If we damage her, the trader will give far less for her. You can take a few days off and visit brothels and get a normal girl once we sell the beast."

"They would not even know it."

"Roxelio, get into your thick fucking skull that you will not touch the beast. I will not risk my and the baron's share because you can't keep your dick in your pants. There is no way you can have your fun without damaging the beast"

At the mention of the baron, the man practically shot out of the cage and said in a timid voice, "As you order, captain."

The third one present asked, "When can we expect payment?"

"I will go talk with the baron. With Ramon using magic to contact a trader in the city, we can hope for money within a week."

"Sounds good. How much could we get for someone like her?"

"I am not a slave trader, so I'm just estimating, but… With the baron asking for a solid gold coin minimum as his share, I hope at least fifty silver each."

"That much? We hit a nice payday." the one named Ramon said enthusiastically.

The one who was the captain of the group approached the cage, kneeled down, and said, "I will cut your bindings now. You better behave or you know what will happen." he shook the small bag that she was threatened with before.

Mishi remained unmoving as the rope was cut. What was the point of moving around? She was stuck in a small cage with no hope of escaping. The only thing she could do was not give them the satisfaction of knowing that they had gotten to her.

The trio soon left, leaving her alone. Mishi sat against the cage wall and sighed, holding back the tears. After all these years, she was captured again. This nightmare of life could not let her have a break.

Edited by Edgy
Proofreading by placid_void

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