The door to the Emir’s chambers was far less opulent than I expected until I remembered that he had rented this inn and such opulence was probably not necessary here. This was perhaps a common room or small ballroom. The doors were still nice. They sounded solid as Aurthur knocked on them.

  The doors swung open quietly, exposing a well-furnished room roughly fifty feet square. Fifty feet and full of gnolls. I could practically feel Margarite stiffen at the sight of them.

  The Emir was easy to spot at the center of attention. He was easily the most finely dressed gnoll in the room, but only by a thin margin. I could practically feel the magic not only in the various jewelry he was wearing but in the cloth itself. His tresses of gold and purple, edged in green, were probably worth a fortune and better than any armor.

  I looked around the room at the almost dozen other gnolls. All were well-dressed and not one was bereft of magic. As I took them all in, I realized the Emir was of average coloration in his fur—an even gray without the mottling or spots of some of the others. The only colors I didn’t see were solid red or white. There was a heavy brown male with a stature that made him look more like a grizzly bear than the dogish looks of the rest. Otherwise, it looked like a typical gathering of nobility, just with more body hair. The Emir was even a little portly when compared to the rest.

  I noticed the guards next. I missed them on my initial look because of their sheer size; I thought they were decorations. I finally understood why the Monster Hunters laughed when I called Gorn a Minotaur. He was tiny compared to the real thing. A Minotaur, a true minotaur, was almost fifteen feet of pure rippling muscle. This was a fight I was not looking forward to. Sixty feet of muscle with eight feet of gleaming blades among the four pillaring guards. Yeah, that was a losing battle. Escape or hostage, it was.

  “Aurthur! My good man! Bring them in, please, please. My friends, this is my best human. So well trained and so attentive. I take his collar off every year, and he just puts it back on. And No Sh’anda, he is still not for sale.”

  The Emir seemed to be in good spirits. Aurthur seemed to be slightly embarrassed by the attention. He still ushered us in, nonetheless, literally pushing Margarite, who was still locked in terror. At this point, I wanted to know what happened more than see her suffer. I had a bitter relationship with PTSD and could see it on her in spades. It was no longer funny. Ok, it was still funny. I had an occasionally dark sense of humor.

  “Shall we then, friends? They all cleared by Healer Ker’n?”

  “They were your Eminence.”

  “Good…good. Bring in the first sellers, then”

  The doors opened, and a mixed group of beastkin and gnolls walked in. They had the air of adventurers like many of the mercenaries I’d seen on the road, but they looked to be specialized in capturing a specific type of prey. Even now they each had a collar at their hip. A young, male gnoll with black speckled tan fur stepped forward and gestured for Elric to stand. Elric obeyed and walked to the center of the room.

  “Gentle-gnolls, your Eminence, I present for your consideration a male human in his prime. He is a young noble that is worth a sizeable bounty, I am told, to an enterprising individual that could take him to The Belt and facilitate a ransom. If not, he is of at least good working stock, but I will admit a bit too posh and wining for a house servant.”

  “And what say you, human?”

  “Your grace, I am indeed worth a fortune to any who would return me to human lands. I promise a sizable amount to whichever of your brave souls is kind enough to facilitate my return. My father Lord Elman will surely guarn...”

  “Enough…” The Emir was gently dismissive and not upset. He continued.

  “I will pay two hundred and fifty. Do you accept?”

  “I was hoping for three….” The Emir’s stare stole the words from his mouth.

  “Do you accept?”

  “I do your Eminence.”

  “Excellent. Now, what say you friends? Oh, you may leave.” He gestured to the gnoll and his party. They promptly left. I assumed that they would be met with coin on their way out.

  “I will match.” This came from the smaller gnoll with fur as black as coal and silken clothing to match. No one else spoke up.

  “Fine. Witch!” At first, I thought it was an insult, but soon a door opened and a thin, young, human woman walked in, guiding an old, grey, muzzled gnoll. The gnoll witch walked slowly forward, arm in arm with the girl. The girl walked into the edge of a table.

  “Ohh, sorry dearie.”

  “It’s ok, Mishara. I didn’t see it either.” It was at that comment that I noticed the girl was wearing a white blindfold. The old gnoll was the guide, meaning the girl was either an apprentice or the actual witch.

  “Ahh. How is my favorite Witch?”

  “She is fine, Your Eminence.” The girl answered, confirming my theory.

  “Please tell us about the individual in the center.”

  She walked up to Elric and, despite the blindfold, seemed to stare at him. After a second, it appeared that she was staring into him.

  “Human, Male, fifteen cycles, Mortal, no chance of awakening, no unique attributes. Boring.”

  “Fuck.” The purchaser seemed to be upset at the price he paid.

  “Thank you, Ali’ta,” the Emir said, unable to hide the laugh in his voice.

  “Kraton!” At the Emir’s summons, a human I hadn’t even seen stepped out from behind one of the guards.

  “Do you have good news for Garudal?”

  “I’m afraid not. He is indeed Elric, son of Lord Elman, a prominent human lord in the northern reaches. Unfortunately, his sale was facilitated by his family. He was sold as gladiatorial stock but proved untrainable. Fodder at best, your Eminence. Lord Garudal.” After his report, he stepped back and all but disappeared from sight.

  “Sorry, my friend. I will spot you drinks tonight, though.”

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  This seemed to bring cheer to the forlorn gnoll.

  “Next”

  In walked another slaver party. The only notable thing about them was that one of their member was a Human. I thought back of him until I noticed the collar he wore. It was disguised as a gorget, but the runes were familiar. He stood at the back, not wanting to draw attention.

  Alton got up at once without prompting. The leader of the party, a male foxkin with a pair of tails, started his introduction.

  “My esteemed lords, ladies, and your august eminence, Wild Tails presents this fine human for your consideration. He is of noble stock that I will personally verify and even guarantee with half his selling fee. I do not know if his family would pay a bounty. We traded with a group of humans for him.”

  “What did you trade?”

  “We had one of their members’ sisters.”

  “Ahh.”

  “Human. What say you?”

  “My name is Alton, and to save my family’s reputation, I would rather not speak it. I will give it to whoever would return me home, or at least as far as the Buckle. I could assure a reasonable fee of five hundred plus expenses.”

  “I admire stock that knows its value. Five hundred is high, but I feel you would be worth at least twice that. However, five hundred is all I will pay. Take or leave?”

  “Take, your eminence, and thank you.” The fox and company didn’t even need to be dismissed before they were walking out the door.

  “Need I even say it. Bidding starts at five.”

  “Five”

  “Five and a half”

  “Six point five”

  “Seven”

  “Seven fifty”

  “Eigh…”

  “Please, kind gnolls, no higher. I could not guarantee any more. It might be more than I am worth as it is.”

  “Seven Fifty, it is”

  The winner was a female gnoll with a warrior's build and silver fur, not the gray and white silver, literal lustrous silver. She seemed pleased by her purchase.

  “Ali..if you please.”

  The Witch walked up and did her thing.

  “A fine purchase my lady. Human, Male, twenty cycles, awakened, zero, noble blood, divine as well.”

  “Well, well. I think the lady will give you quite the treatment for saving her some excess. Though Gra’al, I can hear your grinding from here.”

  The large gray and white gnoll appeared upset that he missed out on his bid of eight hundred.

  “Kraton, anything to add?”

  “Nothing verified of substance, but I will provide the lady with a copy of my notes, of course. If my hunch is right, she will profit, but the human may be correct.”

  “Excellent. Now, the male or female next?”

  He seemed to pause and think for a moment.

  “The female….only to break the trend”

  Margarite had to be pushed forward into the center in obvious shock.

  “Aw, it’s afraid.”

  “Shhush, you will spook it.”

  These words were spoken quietly, yet still made the woman freeze up. As before, in walked her captors. Unlike before, these were all humans. The one in the lead was holding up some scroll like it was a ward against the gnolls.

  “Yes….yes..we see it human. We acknowledge you are authorized to operate freely….as equals.” The gnoll speaker ground out the word ‘equals’ like he was deeply offended by it.

  “Your Eminence, we have a present for you. Lady Margarite, Courtesan to the king. Any would pay a ransom for her only to use as a pawn against the crown.”

  “A lofty claim. What say you, human?”

  The Emir’s request was met with shocked silence.

  “I’m afraid she may not speak much, Your Eminence. The convoy that was transporting her was hit by Ravagers. They were not kind to any of the guards nor any of the women who survived the initial attack. She was the only one salvageable once we chased them off. It was a pack primarily of gnolls.”

  “Ah….damaged goods then?”

  “She is fine around humans, your eminence. Surely the others could attest.”

  “Indeed, your Eminence. This is not the same as the woman who was in the waiting room with us.”

  “With apologies, we took care to limit her exposure until in your care. I promise she could prove quite valuable. In her damaged state, even more so.”

  “Is that so? Seven fifty then”

  “Agreed, thank you, Your Eminence…Gentle-gnolls.” He bowed and led his team out.

  As the ratio of humans significantly dropped, Margarite froze again, not that she relaxed a bit with her captors in the room. Though in her case, like mine, they did save her…at least a bit.

  “Well…..I think I will keep this one.”

  “I will give you nine hundred,” The bear of a gnoll spoke up.

  “Really? Do you have contacts even to move her for ransom?”

  “Ransom? I like them frail and broken; they scream more.”

  That was more than what was left of Margarite's sanity could take, and she collapsed into a heap of wails and tears.

  The room erupted into hyena-like laughs. I may not have liked her, but that was a bit much. I could feel every power I have start to charge.

  “Enough, Shanda. Pay first, then you can play with your toy.”

  “Still, let’s evaluate.”

  The witch stepped forward.

  “Human, female, sixteen cycles, awakenable, no noble blood.”

  “Spymaster”

  “I have verified accounts that the King’s consort was killed in the raid. There was a quiet state funeral, a closed casket, and the king was in attendance. It’s likely she was in the same harem as the consort. I have additional information that she was already on her way to be sold, having been lied to and told that she was being sold into nobility.”

  “Still worth it”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, the humans have put a bounty on that Ravager pack. She is perfect bait.”

  I was certain that the woman couldn’t scream or wail anymore. I was wrong. Someone actually came in and dragged the hysterical woman out. Thankfully, the doors blocked out the noise.

  “Last one, then I suspect my gentle-gnolls, Your Eminence.” I wasn’t waiting for my captors to sell me, I was going to sell myself. With these deep pockets, the Emir was the mark I wanted. I had to upsell a lot.

  “I do apologize for breaking protocol, but I dare say I know my story quite better than my rescuers. And I do mean rescuers. I was locked in a dungeon, a literal dungeon, not a jail, with no memory of the outside world. Unlike my fellows, I have skills that one such as your kind self could use. Nor am I opposed to providing entertainment to your esteemed guests.” I walked over to one of the female gnolls.

  “I do admit my juggling skills are somewhat lacking, but I make up for it in other ways.” My look and wink sold the entendre.

  “As for your kind self, I am more than a capable preparer of foodstuffs and even remember techniques and treats that seem foreign to this world. Surely the good Master Rogan’dosh can attest, as can the rest of the Monster hunters.” My captors had been led in at this point. It said something to expectation management that they weren’t even surprised that I started without them.

  “He can cook and knows things I do not,” Rogan added.

  “See indeed. As for my more nocturnal talents, at least one of your staff can attest.” I looked over at the spymaster, who, to his credit, didn’t even waver.

  “One for sure with several others showing interest.”

  “Thank you, spy master. Your Eminence, your most noble self would be remiss to pass on my purchase.”

  “Tell me then, Lady Apaste, what would you part with him for?”

  “If only I could keep him, your Eminece. But rules are rules. He has been quite the asset in traveling. His food is quite good. And I believe there are specific others that ‘collect’ ones like him.”

  It would seem that she at least had a hint of my origins.

  “Still, he has only household worth with no bounty or ransom. None would leave him in a dungeon unless it was purposeful. As such, five hundred.”

  “Your eminence, you wound me, kind sir. To value myself as less than a lordling who by his own admission probably can't generate profit or the lying whore whose only value is as rapebait? Sir, that is insulting. I would make a fine addition to your staff, and dear Aurthur could use an assistant. I promise you shall not regret paying.

  “Hrmn. Fine. One thousand Miss Apaste? Only because he stumps well for you. Accept?”

  “Indeed, your Eminence.”

  “Sir, before the others try to snag me or the witch does her magic, may I have a word for my saviors?”

  “Of course.”

  I didn’t hesitate.

  The collar fell from my neck, and I had her throat pinned to the wall before it hit the ground.

  “You think you can sell me into slavery and live?”

  I pointed over my shoulder

  “He will not keep me long.”

  The Minotaurs were moving

  “I will hunt you all to the ends of the earth.”

  I had five seconds

  “I have marked you all. Run far and fast, I will find you.”

  I emphasized my words while I marked Shy’s throat. I felt my skills and power align. Harmonizing. Synergizing. I didn’t create ink and mark her like the others. I felt the skill change the very nature of her skin and hair making the mark a part of her. Forever.

  I had three seconds. I was searching for an exit away to drop her and jump through a window.

  I had two seconds.

  I was wrong.

  All I felt was pain.

  Pain I could not resist.

  I looked over my shoulder and all I saw was a cute face with an angry grimace edged in fire red hair. Then there was pain. Pain and darkness.