“Ahem.” We both turned to see the Lord standing there, watching us. He didn’t overly happy. “Daughter, if you would excuse us a moment. Lord Persik and I have a few issues to discuss.” I’m in trouble! She patted my arm softly and left the armor, the door slamming shut behind her. “I would very much appreciate it, if you refrained from putting such ideas in my daughters head, this close to the tournament.”
This was not the time to back down, I could feel it. He might be my father in law, but the dick was putting my wife at risk, and I was really starting to grow fond of her. “Apologies Lord, for any offense I might have caused you. But I stand by my words. I do not feel this an appropriate cause in which to risk her life.”
He smirked and strode passed me to view the arm. “What would be? Childbirth, a leisurely stroll to the market, even sleeping. All risks, all appropriate.” His posture became rigid and his arms swung behind his back. “You think me cruel, to risk her so? Well, sixteen other Lords risk their own daughters as well, are they not as cruel as I?” He didn’t let me answer. “While there is a risk in the arena, it is low. The maiden who was killed, well, a misfortunate chain of events to be sure. And she was avenged, the rules are, a single strike, not to beat the contestants to death. The slave was executed in the worst of ways, soon after the tourney.”
“Is this really why you came to find me, Lord?” I could tell he was trying to change my mind, but it would not happen, there was no reason to risk my wife for the chance of personal gain.
“A sore subject, shall we proceed.” It was like he wasn’t even listening to me. “The slave, the one you call Brandon. Has become, how should I say, too difficult my retainers to handle. You have showed him too much favor and now thinks himself above his station.” His head turned toward me. “This cannot be allowed to happen. An example must be made.”
“What kind of example?”
“Lashings from a frail, of course. It is the standard punishment for an unruly slave.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“It is.” He said with authority. “Unless you can think of something else?”
“I am terrible with subtle hints, Lord.”
“As well as I can tell from your time here.” He executed a flawless about face maneuver which would have made a drill sergeant hard in the pants. “I am in need of coin, and you have ruined my slave. Honor dictates you make right what you have wronged. I will sell him to you, at a fair price, of course.”
It’s always about money. “How much is fair market price?”
“Fifty silver.” I almost laughed at him, if it wasn’t so sad. My boots cost more than Brandon did.
“Alright.”
“But there is more.” He started to pace. “His influence has spread amongst some of the other slaves as well.”
“How many?”
“Four in total.”
“Done. Anything else you thinking of selling?”
“What do you want?” I had meant it as a jest, but I could see this Elf was desperate.
I thought it over for a second and looked at him squarely. “How much do you need. Give me a nice round number.” He stopped pacing, and met my gaze.
“Five thousand silver, normally I would have you pay for hosting you so long. However, you graciously filled my pantries with more food than has ever graced it. My citizens are thriving because of it and you have not asked me for a single boon. You do not understand how much this shames me, to come to you this way. Without proper cause, the slave matter ignored.”
“Oh, I think I do.” I said as I scratched my neck. “As much as it hurts me for failing in my quest to get your soil up to par, your soil is shot, dead. Not while you live in these trees will you ever be able to grow crops. They are poisoning the ground, nothing but those plants that are immune will every grow on this Isle.” I looked around the armory. “What happens to Aylana when this tournament is over?”
“She will be free to live her life as she sees fit.”
“Alright, you have you five thousand silver, but I will need to speak with her about what she wants.” He winced. “There is something else you and I need to discuss.” He blinked at me. “You and I, were forced into this by our nations. As much as Aylana and I were. I know you don’t like me, but I respect how you came to me, throwing down your pride and all. So, let’s move past this as quickly as we can and start our real relationship.”
“Now it is you who is being subtle.”
I smiled as my nose started to twitch. “You have a food problem on this Island, and according to my last report, my land is growing food faster than we can sell it. Is that subtle enough for you?”
“You want me to purchase your crops, but I do not have the coin to buy it.”
I held my smile on my face. “Not you, but I do need someone within the Isle to sell it.”
His eyes looked identical to Hana’s as he realized what I was saying. “Are you are a farmer or a merchant?”
“I came here as a farmer.” I said to him. “But now I might be both. What do you think? House Aerathrel brought me here to grow crops, and it won’t happen. But the fact remains, the MRA needs food and your son in law just happens to have an influx at the moment.”
Chapter Fourteen
What I saw before me was not what I had imagined when I thought of a tournament. Crowds of brightly dressed Elves, walked around in clicks, chanting songs and praising their houses. Vendors as far as my eyes could see, hawking their wares at inflated prices, it was like tailgate party at a football game. There was a familiarity to it all, and the comradery of the Elves and their houses left me feeling a little lonely. I wanted this for my own land, just not the event.
The arena was made from within a massive tree, and as a Lord, I got to go into the VIP section. It was awesome, cakes, tarts, different types of vegetables, all poor quality, until Lord Aerathrel arrived with his cooks and slaves. “Remove that rabble from the tables and feed it to the slaves. For that is all it is worth.” To others, it was a shocking display, but we had planned the whole thing out. “Harken to me Lords, Ladies, I invite you to dine as we were meant to. Treat yourselves to a feast in our honor like none other you have had.” He bowed before the other assembled Elven Gentry, I thought he was laying it on rather thick, but the horde was soon tasting my products. Murmurs of delight and excitement filled the area and I winked at him from my corner. He inclined his head back to me, and I turned my attention to the arena floor as the Gentry bombarded him with questions about the food.
I could see Aylana warming up with Wind’s Song in her hand. That had been a hard sell, but the one I had been adamite about. My wife had actually cried when I presented her with her mother’s bow. It should have been rightfully hers anyway, as I saw it. It wasn’t doing anything in the armory besides collecting dust. And it took me pointing that out to the Lord to finally get him to cave. “A priceless weapon it maybe, but what good is a weapon that is not in use and rots within your armory. It is a memory, an honor, I understand all this and more, would not Aylana’s mother want her to have it?”
Aylana had said I needed to behave, for anything I did would reflect on her father. So, I kept my urge to cheer to myself. But when she looked up to the grandstand, I couldn’t help but wave and smile. I pointed to my elbow and made a gesture for her to keep it raised. An inside joke we had for when she started teaching me how to use a bow. She smiled at me and then went back to her task of readying herself. I knew she needed to get in that frame of mind, every athlete did.
“I see anyone passes for Gentry these days.” I knew her voice and decided to ignore Lathura for the time being. “I am speaking to you...Human.” Again, I ignored her. “Insolent whelp!” Her voice carried throughout the arena and more than a few heads turned our way.
“Oh, you were speaking to me, my apologies, Lady Lathura, may I make it up to you with a glass of wine?” I took hold of the glass on the table and acted like I was having trouble
keeping it steady.
Somehow, she managed to smile and have her teeth clenched at the same time. “You cost me dearly with your little stunt in Cree.” She started to back away from me. “I will make sure you are taught your place, rodent.”
“And your people will starve because of it.” I said as I took a drink from the glass. Blah, wine was not my thing. I could see the perplexity on her face and explained, “who do you think is supplying the tasty treats you and your family are eating?” I raised my eyebrow at her, “come at me again, Lady Lathura, and I will make sure Dinhel is the only House eating Poor Quality food, slaves will be eating better fare than you.”
“You wouldn’t dare?”
I sighed and locked eyes with her jade orbs. “There is no lord for you to go tattle to here. Duke Braemir has no say in the MRA, no one will care if House Dinhel loses face because of you, or maybe they would?” Her face was beat red. “You and I, are not enemies, Lady Lathura, why must we continue to act this way. As far as I am concerned, you played your little drama, less than skillfully, and I reacted, we both lost face, and are the poorer for it. How about we end this little feud between us before it gets any worse.”
I had the upper hand; we both knew it. “You are offering a truce?”
“I am.”
She leaned forward, and I could smell a hint of her perfume. “I refuse.” She then tossed her wine in my face and it burned like hell in my eyes. “You rodent, you are not fit to stand among your betters. Humans belong in pins, not the Gentry Lounge.”
There were a few applauses and yet, more than a few angered faces. This was not the place for a retaliation, I needed to be the bigger person, at least for Aylana. “While you might be right, I am still kin to you. A hybrid as I may be, my blood is still Elven.” She snatched my glass from my hand and repeated the action of throwing it in my face. Through clenched teeth, I said the only thing that came to mind. “Thank you, lady, may I have another?”
I received more than few chuckles and Lathura stormed, saying something about how stupid I was, I didn’t even know when I was being insulted. A towel was passed to me and I dried off my face. “You handled that better than I would have thought you would.” I looked up to see a tall elf with chiseled features and grey blue hair that fell to mid back. He towered over me and was the most muscular elf I had ever seen. “Greetings, Lord Persik, may I share a word with you?”
“Sure.” I said as I continued to towel off my face. “What can I do for you Lord?”
“I am not a Lord, Jaeger. My title is an honorific only, “Bow Master of the Middle Realm Alliance.” He led me toward the back of the Gentry Box. “It’s more of a pain in the ass than anything. I have to come to these things, even if I don’t want to.”
“You’re a player.” I stated dumbly.
“I am, my name is Ayeshoot, and I am guildmates with a friend of yours. Count Estar.”
“I wouldn’t call us friends.” I said sourly, but raised an eyebrow at his name.
“I thought you and he formed a Kinship with Duke Braemir? Huh, I must be mistaken. Anywho, yeah, I was a WOW player and an alcoholic. Made the name up on a bender one night, and everyone I know, knows me by the name. So, yeah, I am stuck with it. But that is not what I wanted to discuss with you.” He opened his dark blue doublet and pulled out a scroll. “Our guild is known as the Crescent Moon Conclave, it’s your brother’s guild and we have been trying to find you for some time now. I only learned a few days ago, that you have been in the MRA for some time, and right under Aaron’s nose.” He snorted a laugh and handed me the scroll. “A message from your brother and I am to tell you, don’t worry about the slavery thing, he’s taking the matter up with ALOW. I guess Tier One’s aren’t supposed to be able to be slaves. So, you might get something out of it, he’s fighting for you. We all are.”
“Um, thank you?”
“Don’t mention it, you know, it really is funny if you think about it. We were in the city west of you. Had you gone west, you would have run right into us.”
“Hilarious.” I said dryly.
He gave me a smug half smile. “We did destroy one guild though, don’t know if they were the ones who enslaved you, but, when your brother found out that you were in the Grasslands and on the east side, he went ballistic trying to find you. Even had the mages try and scurry you. Didn’t work though, you Jaeger, are a really hard person to find. Didn’t even know your name until a week ago.”
“Was it you guys who renamed that city...ah what was it called, Dis is mine or something like that.”
Ayeshoot roared with laughter, and drew the attention of everyone in the Gentry Box. “B’Long’s T’me? Oh yeah, that was us. Sweet Nlow nabbed the Land Title and named it before Blear could stop him. He’s a handful, but a mean assassin.” He stopped talking for a moment, “you were there?”
“For a couple days. I was in the jail. Then I let go, I ran into the wilderness to hide.”
He whistled, “a Tier One in a Tier Five land, no guardians, no help and you lasted over a week? How many times did you die?”
“I didn’t. I mean I haven’t yet, at all.” He whistled again. “Is that good?”
“Impressive, I will let your brother know. But that reminds me,” He looked around for a moment. “Once you’re done here, do not dally, you need to get the hell out of dodge. I can’t explain it to you now, but you need to trust me, grab your wife and all who you care about and run back to Aerathrel. The shit has hit the fan ghost rider, if you know what I mean?”
“Not really, but to be honest, after getting two drinks thrown in my face, I am not about to stick around for more.” We shook hands and I said, “Thanks for the heads up.”
“Oh, we will meet again, you can be sure of it. Blessings be upon you, Lord Persik. Have fun.” It was a standard farewell, one over used in World of Warcraft. My brother said it all the time when he still lived at home.
The tall elf winked at me before moving away and I took the time to study those around me a little better. But all I saw were elves who didn’t like me being with them on the high horse. I would take Ayeshoot’s advice and run as soon as I could.
I retook my seat at my empty table and motioned for Brandon to bring me another drink. As he set it down on the table, I grabbed his hand. “Make ready to leave, tell the others.”
An ominous horn sounded and the entire arena fell silent in anticipation. The only sound was a crackity wagon, tightly packed with miserable slaves. Four were pulled down by their shackles by and elf was swinging his hands around to get the attention of the masses. “Lords, Ladies, harken thy ears to me.” An Elf in the middle of the Arena shouted. If you had seen one hype man, you had seen them all. My focus was on the wagon, for there was something about one of the slaves I could not put my finger on.
“With no further ado, please direct your attention to our first contestant. The Middle Realm Alliance welcomes the Daughter of Autumn House.” I section of the audience applauded quietly, it was disconcerting, where was the roar of approval, the pride of the house? This shit wasn’t right, this quiet, collected sporting event that could kill my wife. I could feel it within me, a dislike turning toward hatred, I really couldn’t stand elves, aside from Aylana.
The horn sounded again, and the female elf stood in the middle of the arena, surrounded by what looked like stumps, bushes and various other buildings one would see in everyday life. Movement at the far corner of the arena drew my attention and in the blink of an eye, an arrow seemed to sprout from the target in the shape of an orc, a red circle at where the heart would be. More targets moved at random, each receiving a red arrow in the circle. Ten targets deep, things speed up and the first slave was released.
He was a sizeable human man, and he charged at the elf like his life depended on it. My heart stopped when he closed the distance so quickly that the elf didn’t seem to notice him. He drew back his wooden sword and swung with all his might. At the last moment the el
f spun away, and seemed to invert herself and land a solid kick to the back of his neck. The man cried out and crashed into the floor of the wooden arena. I could hear the sound of his skin on the wood and cringed in empathy. The whole time the elf never stopped loosening arrows, her draw arm turning into a blur.
I looked away in disgust, this was sick and to think it would be going on for the rest of the day made my stomach turn. “You do not approve, Lord Persik?”
Lord Aerathrel was seated at the table next to me, curious how I was making the man rich and yet, he wouldn’t even be seen with me in public. The crowd let out an “Oh” and I looked up to see another human man on the ground, only this time he was holding his crotch. “While I admire the skill with the bow, I don't much care for the added violence.”
The Lord that was seated with my father in law educated me, “in war, one does not always know when or where an attack will come from. The slaves act to simulate this, while I agree with you in it’s barbarism, this is the greatest contest these maidens will ever perform in. It does also add an element of the real world, with the pressure from the crowd watching. It may not be as intense as the screams and cries of battle, but it applies nonetheless.”
I inclined my head to the elf with a forced smile. The sound of an arena full of golf claps drew my attention back toward it, and I saw the maiden hold her bow above her head with pride. A horde of elves stormed on the arena and withdrew the arrows and made their measurements. When the final tally was made, a scholarly looking elf held up a number. “Oh, a eighty four, that will be hard to beat.” My father in law stated. “Aylana has her work cut out for her. But she will be victorious.” I didn’t know who he was talking to, but I could see his features firm up with resolve. “Long ago, when Valenis ruled, he used slaves as the targets and guards as the distraction. How spectacular would that have been to witness?”
I eyed my father in law, the fucker knew I had been a slave once. That could have been my fate. The more he speaks, the more I hoped something bad would happen to him. Trying to turn the conversation away from its current bloody path. I asked, “what happens to the slaves, once they are injured, are they put on light duty until they recover?”
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