To buy a slave

[Sean Renaud]

Marcus tried hard to conceal his grin, that deal was considerably better than anything he could have hoped to have gotten. Free labor for his ranch, the slave that he wanted. The problem is that he would be paying for her, quite literally, forever which wasn't something he was particularly looking forward to. Still it wasn't quite what he wanted.

"As a sleeping partner I would maintain control of my farm, you would just make a percentage?" Marcus asked. "Will you be paying anything for the slaves that I will be breaking for you? I am fully aware that fully trained slave, as they would likely return from my farm, generally fetch higher costs."

He was trying his best to play hard, but deep down he was already largely sold on the idea.

 

[bullshot]

Jason's final offer

A Runner came into the room at that point to inform Jason that the bidding had gone over two thousand strengthening Jason’s hand at this rate Marcus wouldn’t be able to afford her if he carried on bartering.

“Why should I pay for slaves working on the farm when you’re getting their labour free?” he asked. “Even the cheapest slave goes for over three hundred and they’ll increase the profits of the farm,” he added.

“Now the deal is this, you sign over half the farm to me remember you’re getting the K’zin free. On top of that you’ll sign a declaration that if anything happens and you should die the whole farm and any slaves working their becomes mine. As for a percentage I’ll take only ten percent, I need your answer now so that I can stop the auction before the bidding gets to high for you to afford,” He told Marcus finishing the conversation.

“It’s your decision and I’ve got work to do,” he said getting up to show Marcus that he’d finished and he either agreed or the K’zin would be de-clawed.

Jason was keen to look at the new Elf that had been brought in as he hadn’t seen her yet and wanted to question her about her magic.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Marcus frowned watching Jason. He knew that he wasn't going to get him to bargain with him any farther, the cards were all in his hand. He was curious though, not a fool at all so he would read the contract firmly. A man owning 50% of a farm and only gaining 10% of the profits sounded shady even to him.

"Stop. You've got a deal." Marcus said trying to draw Jason's attention back to him. There was something about that slave that had captured his attention immediatly and completely.

 

[bullshot]

Jason

Jason smiled at Marcus’s quick decision knowing that he had the better of the bargain if the K’zin stayed as she was there was a good chance that Marcus would be dead within the week.

“I know that you’re probably thinking that I’m mad to only want ten percent from the farm but with the money you had to purchase a slave I’m sure you’re not making a lot so it wouldn’t do me any good to take more than you can afford. Remember I’m making my money here so I don’t really need more, here’s the contract that I’ve had written up you’d better sign it before the bidding gets much higher,” He told Marcus.

As far as Jason was concerned he didn’t really care if Marcus signed or not he’d make a good profit either way and he had other pressing business to attend to.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Marcus would thoroughly read the contract, he understood well that 10% of all of his future profits was ultimately alot more than the K'zin could possibly be worth, particularly once his father died or the farm started to expand. After reading it thoroughly to make sure that Jason was actually a silent partner owning 10% and not a silent majority who could somehow sell the farm out from under him. He wasn't ignorant and his father had warned him against trusting city folk but once he found no loops he'd sign the contract.

 

[bullshot]

Angry Slaver

Jason was getting annoyed with Marcus with the fuss about the contract, he knew there were no hidden catches in it but this young man seemed to be taking to much time the contract was drawn up in plain language and Jason wasn’t willing to wait any longer before stopping the auction for the K’zin.

“The bidding outside is slowing down and I’m going to have to let her go or announce that I’ve had a bid of five hundred gold’s more for her, if you don’t sign I’ll let her go my men are ready to de-claw her for the purchaser,” he told Marcus

“Do you want her if so sign?” He added as he was anxious to go and inspect the new Elf that he hadn’t even seen yet.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Marcus hastily scribbled his name down on the contract and handed it over to Jason. "You have a deal." He smiled, he was pleased with how the entire situation had ended. "I will let you get back to your day. I'm sorry I waisted so much of your time today."

 

[Britwitch]

Keena

Keena watched the bargaining and bidding around her, men offering more and more gold...more and more gold to own her...to enslave her as their own...
Her narrow golden eyes flicking from one bidder to another, growling whenever a fresh bidder stepped up, running their hands over her body, pinching, weighing, groping...
Then the bidding seemed to stop...was it over? Had she been sold...?
She glanced around, confusion seemed to be rife, the bidders as well as herself seemed a little lost as to what had happened.

 

[bullshot]

Sealed

Taking the signed contract Jason called one of his men into the room, “Go to the auction and tell the man doing the auction that I’ve just had a bid one thousand gold’s higher than the present highest bid,” he instructed.

“That should finish the auction in your favour,” he said turning to Marcus, “Now let’s get her off the block and ready to travel with you,” he added as he led the way towards the block where the K’zin was secured.

“Meet your new owner,” he said to the K’zin before turning and taking a syringe and showing it to her. “I’m sorry but we have to knock you out again and get you ready to travel,” he told her showing her the syringe.

 

[Britwitch]

Keena

Keena watched as the bidder's dispersed, moving to the next auction as the announcement was made. A bid of a thousand golds higher than the previous highest bidder. Someone had wanted her badly.
Growling almost constantly, she spotted the Slaver approaching, the man with dark hair following him, smiling broadly.

“Meet your new owner,”

She snarled, showing her lethal teeth to the young man beside the Slaver.
"I shall be owned by no man!" She all but hissed furiously.

“I’m sorry but we have to knock you out again and get you ready to travel,”

The Slaver raised yet another needle and Keena could only struggle uselessly against the shackles as he plunged it into her flesh.
"You...you c-cant...I w-won't..." Her angry words melting into feeble whispers as her eyes rolled slightly, shutting as her body became limp, hanging from the shackles as she slipped into unconsciousness.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Marcus looked at the K'zin then at the syringe. He started to speak up but quickly thought better of it and held his tongue. "I'm sorry, it is the law. You're lucky I managed to keep you intact, they wanted to take away your claws." He would smile softly watching as they knocked her out again.

"Let's hogtie her and wrap her paws, don't want her slicing through the knots before I can get her home. I'll have her out of your hair with in a few minutes sir." Marcus said calmly.

 

[bullshot]

A New Slave

Jason had his men wrap the K’zin’s hands in thick leather so that her claws would be unable to protract from her, he knew that they were sharp enough to cut the leather once they were unsheathed but this way she couldn’t unsheathe them they were so tightly bound.

He nominated four of his men to escort Marcus to the city limits with crossbows that fired syringes filled with the knock out drug just in case something went wrong, they tied her ankles so that she could only walk with one foot paces to prevent her from running then with Marcus holding the lead rope and two of the escort holding ropes pulling her back Jason waved goodbye to Marcus .

Once Marcus had left Jason headed for the cage where he knew the Elf was being held captive he wanted to see how fine a catch his men had made. When he saw her crammed into the cage he nearly laughed as she only just fitted inside. The only details he could really make out where her long silver hair and her deep blue eyes as she looked at him.

“What have we here?” he asked as he approached the cage.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Marcus stood back and watched the men work. Throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes he caried her briskly to the the gates. He more than anybody didn't want her to wake up before they were at the borders. It wasn't only his life that was in danger, but also the innocent citizens that the beast my slay in her escape that he would be responsible. Not to mention he'd paid for her to keep her claws, it would have been a shame if she'd escaped and gotten declawed at this point. "Don't worry my pretty, I'll teach you how to be a good pet." Marcus whispered to the sleeping beauty.

Once they were at the border of the city he dumped her in the back of his wagon and pulled out extra rope. Her knees were bound together keeping her from walking at all, she'd have to hop. To make it worse he used a short length of rope to connect her wrists to her knees forcing the beauty to remain on all fours. Growing up he'd had to bind many animals for the slaughter so he was quite confident they would hold against her unique combination of intelect and strength, but even if they didn't he had one final rope tied around her neck and to the floor of the wagon.

"Wake up beautiful." He whispered as he spurred the horses into action. She was far enough from him that she couldn't attack him, not even if she somehow gotten free but he was watching her closely anyway, not only because of her beauty but also because he was a little afraid.

 

[Nibbles_n_Tits]

Miren

Once Marcus had left Jason headed for the cage where he knew the Elf was being held captive he wanted to see how fine a catch his men had made. When he saw her crammed into the cage he nearly laughed as she only just fitted inside. The only details he could really make out where her long silver hair and her deep blue eyes as she looked at him.

“What have we here?” he asked as he approached the cage.

The Elven girl eyed him with curiousity as he spoke. She saw that he found humor in her situation and decided immediatley she had every right to hate him, even if he was here to help her. Not that it was likely he would help, she just refused to automatically assume the worst about everything and everyone, even about Humans. Although every bit as prideful as all of her kind, it was Miren's lack of Elven arrogance that made her one of her people's best healers. Nonetheless, she decided to hold hatred in reserve, it has power, but so does civility.

Had it been possible, she would have stood to make a formal introduction.

"I am Miren Bellspring of the Twin Glades, House of Treswyn." The sound of her voice is soft and melodious, it has a calming quality and her manner is gracious, as if attending a courtly gathering, not imprisoned in a slave cellar. Between the chain collared between her neck and the floor, and the small size of the cage in which she was held, Miren was forced to remain her knees with her head slightly bowed or lie down. She would not lie in the filthy cage, so she knelt uncomfortably but remained clean.

"My Family and my House will pay generously for my return, as will the Houses in our debt. In the mean time, while payment arrangements are made, there is no need to keep me chained. I am not a threat."

 

[Britwitch]

Keena

Words and actions drifted in and out of her mind.
"Don't worry my pretty, I'll teach you how to be a good pet..."
Pet? She wasn't a pet...she was a warrior...wasn't she...?

Keena could feel herself being carried, then a stranger rocking motion took over.
As her eyes flickered open, she soon realised several things at once. She was in a cart, travelling at no great speed. She was bound, tightly too. Her legs together and her hands connected to her knees, arching her in an uncomfortable position, her hands wrapped tightly, so tightly she couldn't straighten her fingers, let along release her claws. She was also attached to the bottom of the cart by a rope around her neck. She also realised she was still naked. Lifting her eyes higher, she saw him. The dark haired man from the auction. Sat high up on the cart's bench, reins in his hand, his eyes flicking between her and the road ahead.

She growled low and dangerously, pulling a little uselessly at the tight ropes.
"Who are you and where are we going?" The first snarled questions to leave her lips, her golden eyes narrowed both in anger and against the bright sunlight.

 

[Sean Renaud]

"I am your Master Marcus." He smiled looking back at her and running his fingers gently through her hair. "I want you to understand me. I did you a great favor today, you still have your claws. All other captured K'zin are declawed but I think you are a beautiful creature and deserve to be kept in a single peice. I'm taking you to my farm, once you've been trained you will be a combination sex slave and herder. We have problems with wolves in the area which makes you even more valuable."

He patted her cheek affectionatly. "So how hard are we going to make this?"

 

[Britwitch]

Keena

"I am your Master Marcus...I want you to understand me. I did you a great favor today, you still have your claws. All other captured K'zin are declawed but I think you are a beautiful creature and deserve to be kept in a single peice. I'm taking you to my farm, once you've been trained you will be a combination sex slave and herder. We have problems with wolves in the area which makes you even more valuable....So how hard are we going to make this?"

He smiled benignly as he stroked her hair and patted her cheek like a lap dog but all he did was inflame the anger alread smouldering within her. Keena roared, watching with a small spark of pride as he quickly withdrew his hand, away from her razor sharp teeth and now glittering eyes.
"I shall be a slave to no man...!" She growled, her voice rumbling as she spoke. "It will take more than 'training' to make me into a slave..." She pulled hard at the ropes, hearing them strain against her strength but they held firm. "I see you are no more a 'man' than the Slaver...a 'real' man wouldn't keep me bound like an animal...a real 'man' wouldn't be afraid to face me..." She almost taunted the man who called himself her Master.

 

[bullshot]

Jason meets the Elf

Jason was surprised at the way she answered him obviously she didn’t know where she was and that instead of holding her for ransom she was liable to be sold as a slave. But then again maybe she was worth more as a kidnap victim than as a slave he’d have to find out more about Miren Bellspring of the Twin Glades it might just be profitable not to brand her and put her on the block just yet.

“Well Miren for your information my name is Jason and my occupation is that of a slaver and at the moment I’m your master it’s just a case of where I can make the most money out of you from your family or on the block. Now do you still insist that you’re not a threat, if so I’d like to know what type of magic you’re skilled in I wouldn’t like to unlock the cage and find myself paralysed from one of your spells,” he said to her still making no attempt to open the cage.

He had a syringe with him that would knock her out long enough to fit the bracelets, anklets and collar made by renegade Elves that he knew would prevent her from carrying out any magic other than healing. The renegades had produced this metal for their own use before they started working for him and had told him that they didn’t restrict healing because at times it could be useful to them if a captive was an experienced healer.

As he waited for her reply he wondered what she would look like stripped and fastened to the poles on the slavers block even this close he couldn’t really see what her body was like, all sort of ideas were going through his mind as to what he could do with her as he waited for her reply.

 

[Sean Renaud]

"I don't fear to face you. I intend to face you, and you will have you're claws intact when I do so. You won't be able to claim that I beat you because you were disarmed or any other excuse."

His farm was begining to appear over the horizon now. Not that Keena could see it very well from her vantage point but it was expansive with animals and crops both in abundance. The forest had been cleared back but not nearly far enough to prevent animal attacks. He would have liked to have pushed forward but his horse was exhausted and needed time to rest. Marcus took the time to sit near the K'zin.

"I just need to face you in a place where you won't just run. You'll get your chance to prove what a warrior you are soon I promise."

 

[Nibbles_n_Tits]

Miren

“Well Miren for your information my name is Jason and my occupation is that of a slaver and at the moment I’m your master it’s just a case of where I can make the most money out of you from your family or on the block. Now do you still insist that you’re not a threat, if so I’d like to know what type of magic you’re skilled in I wouldn’t like to unlock the cage and find myself paralysed from one of your spells,” he said to her still making no attempt to open the cage.

With the exception of twin shades of pink on her high cheekbones, her face blanches to white at the mention of slaves. She had accepted the possibility that she fallen into the hands of slavers but possibly and absolutely were two different things. Now, she had additional facts to consider.

The elf-girl’s voice is soothing as she speaks, “I am a Healer, trained since before my birth. It is my art and my craft. I was on a journey to tend an illness in another House, when the slavers attacked my party.”

The corner of her lip lifts in a little smirk, revealing a hint of Elven pride but her voice retains a reassuring quality. “Do you not think that if my magic included the ability to paralyze with a glance or with woven spells, or even pick locks with my mind, I would have done it by now, and removed myself from your gracious hospitality? No, healing magic is very specific and very complex, True Healers do not train in other magic, we leave that to those not born to our art.”

She pauses to look at buxom, brown haired girl in a cell on the far side of the chamber; she draws a heavy breath and sighs before speaking again, “That one, over there. She has the Prison Fever, by tomorrow she will show the all of the signs, it will be too late for you to save her, and she will pass it on to others before she dies.”

 

[sunandshadow]

The big yellow dragon was amusing hirself, or himself as the two-leggers would have it, with his usual, slightly dangerous, habit of flying over the bustling city of Kalumparu. Mairr did not spend much time with other dragons because their company only reminded him that all the other dragons his age (28) already had mates, while he had casual lovers but had never felt the urge to claim any of them as a permanent mate. Some dragons were happy being single, but Mairr was not, because liked tales of romance, loved children, and longed to meet his soulmate and start a family of his own. He knew every dragon in the Fyvalin mountains though, and there was not one unmated one he was particularly interested in. (He was too honorable to even think about trying to steal a mated one.)

So Mairr felt discontent and restless. He was contemplating making the long journey to the Chargassa mountain range and seeing if he could find a mate among the dragons there. He hadn't quite talked himself into leaving all his friends and family behind yet, but his restlessness had driven him to venture further and further from home. In his wanderings he had discovered that he could distract himself quite effectively for a few hours by watching the fascinating and doings of the two-leggers in their anthill-like city. He would have preferred a less dangerous pasttime - the two-leggers had bows, crossbows, and magic, all of which could easily ruin an otherwise lovely day. Mairr had learned to sneak into town before dawn, then lay quietly on a rooftop with only his face showing; that way he could generally remain unnoticed. Then when he wanted to leave he could either wait for dark or, if he just sprang into the air and flew away as fast as he could, generally no one reacted fast enough to attack him before he was out of range.

Today Mairr was watching one of the larger roads, which led from one of the city's main gates to largest market. All sorts of interesting things went by: humans, elves, Ssktak, and K'zin, along with various domesticated animals and wagons laden with almost anything imaginable. Mairr knew that some of the two-leggers were slaves of the others, bought and sold at the great market like any other goods. Mair had been taught about slavery and the keeping of working animals and pets - a few dragons kept a pet of one sort or another, often the orphaned cub of a mother animal they had eaten, or a broken-winged bird they felt pity for. He thought that there was a good deal of similarity between the keeping of domesticated animals and slaves and the way one cared for, but also gave orders to and sometimes yelled at, a pet or a child or an invalid.

Dragons also sometimes had violent duels where two rivals tried to rip each other to shreds and the other dragons didn't interfere, but adult dragons did not permit bullying among their children and did interfere in that; Mairr was uncertain whether a lot of the violence he saw fit into the first category or the second. Sometimes he wanted to rescue a two-legger who seemed to be suffering particularly cruelly, but he reminded himself that doing so was more likely to result in himself getting hurt than do any good.

Today however, Mairr saw something new - something that made him furious, tore at his heart, and made him realize immediately that this time he HAD to interfere, risks or not. What Mairr saw was a half-grown green dragon, barely more than a child, bound and crying in a cramped wagon-cage while the two-leggers gawked and gaped, and the one driving the wagon waved and blew kisses to the crowd as if by kidnapping this child he had accomplished some great heroic feat!

 

[bullshot]

Jason & Miren

Jason considered what she’d said if she was an important healer her tribe might pay a lot of money for her or give him the chance of capturing more Elves as they tried to rescue her before she was branded and sold. As he hadn’t had a chance to examine her properly he really had no idea how much she’d bring on the block but his life was full of gambles and he decided to take one now.

Calling three of his men with crossbows fitted with drugged darts to watch over her as he got her out of the cage, he could have just used the syringe on her but that would mean that she wouldn’t be able to use her healing magic on the sick slave.

“I’m going to let you out of the cage so that you can use your magic on your fellow slave,” he told her once his men were in position. He undid the top of the cage and undid the chain fixing her to the floor allowing her to stand upright finding that she was almost as tall as he was. He liked what he saw even if she still had her green Elven dress but he’d get rid of that later once she’d cured the sick slave, and he’d be able to examine her as all slaves were examined while she was naked.

Jason knew the next bit was vital for the success of his plans, she had to have a proper slave collar on her to show that she was his property but he couldn’t brand her if he was going to return her to her tribe for a ransom.

“Before you get the chance to heal your fellow slave you need to have a proper slave collar fitted so that nobody else will try to enslave you as I don’t want to brand you if I can persuade your tribe to pay a hansom ransom for you,” he told her. “The problem of her sickness is easily dealt with if you don’t heal her she’ll be killed and dumped well away from the city so as to avoid the contamination of others. The question is are you willing to live as a slave while we try to contact your tribe to see if they’re willing to pay a ransom for you?” he asked wondering if she knew what it meant to live as a female slave.

“If you are willing step over the cage walls and kneel in front of me so that I can change your collar,” he instructed Miren.

Although she didn’t know it at that time it was going to take at least a couple of months before his men managed to contact her tribe as they wouldn’t be leaving for some time to even try to find them.

 

[Nibbles_n_Tits]

Miren

“I’m going to let you out of the cage so that you can use your magic on your fellow slave,”

Miren gracefully unfolds her long body through the open top of the cage. Beneath the cover of her long robes she tenses and flexes her muscles, quickly working out any stiffness caused by the cramped confinment. Three archers and one large man, all to keep one small elf at bay. She nearly smiles as she realizes how little they truly know of her kind.

“Before you get the chance to heal your fellow slave you need to have a proper slave collar fitted so that nobody else will try to enslave you as I don’t want to brand you if I can persuade your tribe to pay a hansom ransom for you. The problem of her sickness is easily dealt with if you don’t heal her she’ll be killed and dumped well away from the city so as to avoid the contamination of others. The question is are you willing to live as a slave while we try to contact your tribe to see if they’re willing to pay a ransom for you?”

Miren's soft, calm voice carries a trace of concern for the suffering of the innocent girl/slave, "Jason, your jewlery, your collar only marks me as a perceived slave, it cannot make me a slave. If it must be worn to save the girl, then it is a matter of no concern to me. It goes against my nature to allow the girl to die simply to prove a meaningless point."

“If you are willing step over the cage walls and kneel in front of me so that I can change your collar,”

She balked slightly at kneeling before the human but would not make a liar of herself, and realized her height, though not great among her own people would make difficult to put the collar on her unless she kneeled.

"If I must" She steps out the cage with a fluid motion made possible only by long legs and natural grace. Without additional comment she kneels in front of Jason, her head rising far above the usually height of a suplicating slave girl.

 

[Britwitch]

"I don't fear to face you. I intend to face you, and you will have you're claws intact when I do so. You won't be able to claim that I beat you because you were disarmed or any other excuse."

Keena let her eyes roam over his physique, he looked like a man who worked the land. Sturdy and strong, but surely no match for a warrior like herself, certainly not the type of man she expected to best her in a fight. She had spent her entire life fighting and preparing to battle.
The cart rolled to a halt and Marcus moved to sit beside her in the back. She shifted, as much as the ropes allowed, making sure her eyes were fixed on him at all times.

"I just need to face you in a place where you won't just run. You'll get your chance to prove what a warrior you are soon I promise."

"And should I win...? If you lose, if I defeat you...'fair and square' as I believe you humans put it...what shall be my reward...? I would expect to be given back my freedom...that is the way between warriors but you're not a warrior, are you...you're a farmer...a farmer who wants a slave he can 'use' and then put out to work when he's bored of them..." She regarded him with contempt. Slavery was something her people had never understood. "So...what will you give me should I win, Farmer Marcus...and it had better be worth your life...for that is what I will take from you should the reward you choose not seem sufficient..." Refusing to acknowledge him as her 'Master', she smirked wickedly as she saw something like anger flash in his eyes at her words. She knew she was treading a fine line with her words. Anger him too much and he was as likely to punish her cruelly for it. "Should you win, I swear I shall call you by the title of Master and do my best to meet your...requirements..." Her nose wrinkled at the thought of what a sex slave would be required to do.

 

[Sean Renaud]

"If you win you will of course gain your freedom. I will personally escort you back to your lands as well and pay for your genoriisty in not taking my life." He was again letting his eyes wander over her body he was fairly certain that he coudl take her, he'd seen how the K'zin battled, they weren't to different from any most beasts.

A flash of anger lit across his face, not becasue she didn't call him Master but because she so intentionally avoided the word. "I don't expect you to instantly serve me if I defeat you in fair combat. I expect your word as a warrior that you won't use your claws against me. I don't want you declawed but if I feel the need I will take you back and have it done. I want you intact, you're a very beautiful creature and shouldn't be torn apart. We'll work on your training later."