Chapter 72

Chapter 72

You know this is far better than having to go on a long series of quests crawling across the city looking for where the bad guys are hidden, I said, staring at the building Jones had pointed us toward.

It is simpler this way, Maxwell chuckled. Ive done enough of those in my life.

The building was three stories tall with no windows on the first floor. There were two large warehouse type doors that led to the interior, one was currently open, revealing a small group of people moving around unloading supplies from a covered wagon.

We werent foolish enough to strike during midday. That was a good way to attract way more attention than we needed. Even if the map was no longer telling my pursuers where I was, if suddenly a powerful creature of death showed up, they would all assume it was me.

I approached the warehouse, Mercy appearing to be a regular old staff made of a pure black material. Two burly-looking men stepped in my way.

This is private property, one of them growled.

Apologies. I smiled and took a step back. I had heard that I could find some interesting I paused as if looking for the right word. Assistance here. While slavery wasnt outlawed in Valdor since it didnt break any of Olattees scriptures, it was still looked down upon. The open trade of slavery was often disguised as other things, and was almost always run by criminal enterprises.

Auctions are held once a week on Tuesdays, the man rumbled.

I dont suppose theres a chance I could get a peek at what will be available? Im looking to make several large acquisitions. I understand your assets can be quite, suited, to different tasks. As I spoke, I flashed a symbol Jones had given me. The contact who hired Jones to contract someone to take care of this issue had wanted it known whos money was behind the hit.

The symbol was similar to that of the Vitruvian man, a human with arms and legs spread and circled by a black ring. It was the symbol of the crime family that dealt the most in the slave trade in the local region. They prided themselves on high-value, high-quality slaves, and even had a degree of protection built-in for their merchandise. They wouldnt sell to people who they knew would abuse and mistreat the slaves to a high extent. From what Jones said, they were as close as you could get to moralized slavery. In fact, it was more like a broker of indentured servants than slaves.

Slaves being sold by the new crime ring had physical modifications made to them. It would appear that the price for these modifications was paid by their mental faculties. All the slaves were somewhat homogenous and fell into different categories: some would be incredibly strong but slow, or incredibly fast but frail. Despite the underworlds unease about the rising power of this new crime circle, that hadnt prevented the other crime families from buying large numbers of these specialized slaves as a new form of foot soldiers.

The guard glanced at the symbol in surprise then nodded at the other man, who disappeared inside the building. We remained in awkward silence as the brute of a guard just stood and watched me. Glancing around, I saw Maxwell and Raven loitering at a kind of caf farther up the street.

When the other guard returned, he was accompanied by a man in expensive clothes. He had an angular face and a sharp glint in his eyes as he looked me up and down. Did not expect that the Culled would send a representative.

The Culled was the crime family whose token I had. Jones gave me a brief explanation about them, and while I still thought they were slime bags, I did understand their role in society. Indentured servants were a kind of slavery that had been practiced for a long time. A person could sell themselves into a kind of slavery to pay off a debt they accrued. There was always an end date to the contract.

I forced myself to smile. Theres no reason for our two organizations to be in conflict. I have seen the quality of your, product. As such, my boss sent me to see what you had to offer.

This of course wasnt true. Jones had told us the Culled wanted this other organization gone whatever the cost. Up to this point, they had been uneasy terms, either side not quite knowing where the other one stood. I was going to use the uncertainty to get as much information as possible. The shrewd man studied me, and then a smile spread on his face that wouldve made my blood run cold if I had any.

There is of course no reason for us to be in conflict. Let me show you what we have to offer.

I grabbed Mercy tightly, hoping my nervousness didnt show as I followed him into the warehouse. Maxwell and Raven would keep a close eye on the structure, so if anything went awry, they would come to my aid. It was the short time where I was trapped in by myself that gave me a sense of unease. The goal wasnt to start the fight now, just to gather information.

As youve no doubt heard, we have the ability to create custom units for people who order large amounts. We have successfully conducted these trades with several of the other crime families, is this what youre looking for?

Of course. Jones had filled me in on the other families purchasing specialized slaves, it was a fair assumption that I was here for the same. What is your name?

He gave me another unnerving smile. You can call me Lucas. May I ask your name?

John. There was no way I was giving this man my name.

Lucas led me across the ground level of the warehouse, and nothing appeared to be out of place. Different piles of supplies and crates were stacked neatly. Things changed when he led me down a set of staircases into a basement. The air of the place changed, its hard to explain, but it felt heavy. Obviously, I couldnt smell anything, not well anyways, but I could just tell something was wrong.nôvel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.

Passing through a series of doors, Lucas led me into a room filled with a series of what I can only describe as pens. They were indented into the floor, and in each of them was a different type of person. The first one we came to was full of men and women that looked like theyd done nothing but eat steroids since they were twelve. They had no necks, small beady eyes, and muscles bulging along their entire body, and not the useless bodybuilder muscles, but smooth powerful muscles.

This is our most popular model, the brutes. Lucas smiled fondly down into the pen. Torches flickering along the walls cast strange shadows as the half-dozen people milled around. They are incredibly strong, as you can see, easy to command and train, and of course, like all of our products, perfectly loyal.

How do you ensure that loyalty? I asked before I could stop myself.

Marissa took a deep breath and got to her feet. I guess I can see your point. I still think its wrong. They are essentially exploiting the downtrodden.

Youre welcome to think that, and I dont necessarily disagree. Ezekiel gestured for Marissa to follow. Just understand that you are what is seen as objectively evil by many people simply by the nature of your being. Does that make you evil?

Marissa walked around in quiet complementation next to Ezekiel as they ventured back into the heart of the castle.

Raven found them and glanced between Marissa and Ezekiel. Whatd you do? Is he being an ass, Marissa?

I did nothing, Ezekiel defended. You remember that crime circle in Maltis? Raven nodded. I was just describing what I saw in that warehouse.

Ah, Raven nodded in understanding. That was pretty messed up.

Its not even that, its just coping with the morally gray, Marissa muttered. And what is truly evil and what is not.

I dont know that Raven is the one you want giving you ideas, I warned.

Hey, thats not fair, Raven protested. The predator decides what the prey does, and if youre not strong enough to not be the prey then you shouldnt complain. It makes perfect sense.

This is why we cant have nice people over, Ezekiel joked.

A sudden explosion of dark magic broke Marrisa out of her musings. Ezekiel and Raven tumbled into the courtyard, taking turns exchanging blows. It became clear that Raven was far more adept at close combat than Ezekiel, and she quickly got the upper hand. Before long, she was sitting on his back wrenching his arm backward.

I yield, Ezekiel grumbled.

I didnt hear you, Raven said, twisting the arm.

I yield, Ezekiel said significantly louder, and Raven let go. As he got back to his feet, he summoned Mercy back to his hand, which had been dropped along the edge of the walkway. You only won because you jumped me.

A win is still a win, Raven said. I think that puts me ahead.

In your dreams, Ezekiel scoffed.

Are you two always like this? Marissa asked. Two of the three times youve been around each other it has ended in violence.

Theyre always that way, Vito said, his eye twitching in annoyance as he walked into the courtyard accompanied by Matthew. I swear, sometimes theyre like children.

I retrieved Vito as requested, Matthew said properly.

Marissa shot Ezekiel a confused look. She hadnt seen him talking with Matthew.

Ezekiel just smiled, not bothering to explain. I hope you were done. I didnt mean for Matthew to pull you away if you werent finished.

We finished up a while ago, Vito assured Ezekiel. How may I help?

Well, I was hoping you could help me teach Marissa the meditative combat trance, Ezekiel said. I understand how to do it, and I think Im really good at it, but Ive never taught it before.

Of course. Vito smiled at Marissa, revealing sharp fangs as he approached her. Tell me, what is your preferred weapon?

Marissa spent the next several hours with Vito practicing with a stiletto rapier. She was by no means skilled with the weapon, and he addressed that as well. In his long-life, Vito had mastered many different weapons. The meditation that could be found in a weapons dance was something that could be learned with any kind of weapon.

When they were finished, they headed back into the kitchen. Matthew produced wine and the potion that would allow Marissas taste for a short while, and they sat down as Ezekiel continued his story.