The door turned out to lead to a set of stairs, which made sense as the event was apparently in a basement of some sort. The stairway was made from old cracked wooden planks and was extremely poorly lit, but was also noticeably not dusty, nor dirty. In fact, the stairs were rather clean, spotless even. He wondered to himself how they could afford the lavish lobby, to pay someone to clean the stairs, but not new, fully fixed stairs, nor proper lighting. Seemed like a poor allocation for their money to him, but what did he know? He walked down the stairs for what felt like forever before getting to the bottom. At the bottom of the stairs were two huge wooden doors with light seeping through the cracks. He leaned in close, placing his ear to the doors, and could hear the faint sound of an auctioneer on the other side.
His shoulders instantly sank and he became rather depressed. It was a black-market auction. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was hoping to find, but certainly not this. It was such an obvious answer. The hotel was so fancy because they held underground auctions and got paid nicely to do so. This also all but confirmed that the person with all the power was probably someone of high standing, like a duke or duchess. Many of them participated in shady events such as these as they helped fund their lavish lifestyles. The problem though was he wanted to find out who the person with all the power was. But if the person was in the back acting as security for the event and the items being sold, he would somehow have to sneak behind the scenes to find them. And that was a level of effort he really didn’t want to put in. Especially since the person felt extremely powerful, if they caught him sneaking around in the back rooms of a black-market auction, a fight would surely break out, and he definitely didn’t want to deal with that. He debated turning back and asking Greg for a refund, maybe a rematch in blinks would do it? But after a few moments of internal debate, he decided he had come this far and proceeded in. Hell, maybe the person with all the power wouldn’t be security, but someone in the crowd.
He tried to quietly open the door, but the door didn’t comply with its old, squeaky hinges. He grimaced at the loud screeching noise as he walked into the room, but was relieved when he looked around and saw no one had noticed him. In front of him was a huge auditorium, with hundreds of seats, of which only maybe a quarter were taken. Large golden chandeliers hung overhead, and there was a huge stage at the front of the theatre. He raised a confused eyebrow as he scanned the room trying to find where the person from which all the power was coming from. Greg apparently wasn’t lying when he had said the event had a dress code you had to follow. Almost all of the people had on tall black top hats with frilly tuxedos, dress shoes, canes, and white handle bar mustaches to match. Some even had long, white powdered wigs stylized into various hairstyles. He was giggling to himself while staring at one particular man with a huge white powdered wig that was braided into dual ponytails, when the auctioneer began to sell off the next item, causing him to turn his attention to the stage.
But on the stage wasn't an item, instead, it was a person. A small female elf walked onto the stage, wearing next to nothing, just a small bit of cloth around her chest, and another around her waist, and around her neck was a large metal collar containing a small blue crystal on the front. “Lot #52. This girl here is from the town of Horith, she is but 12 years old, a virgin, an elf, she has been trained how to cook, clean, and is considered an 8/10 on the obedience scale. She also has a considerable amount of echos, meaning she could be used as a soldier, mistress, maid, or all 3. Bidding begins at 100 gold coins.” The auctioneer yelled in a perfectly monotone voice.
His relief from nobody noticing him instantly vanished, and depression washed over him again. It wasn’t even a black-market auction; it was a slave auction. At a black-market auction, he might have at least been able to find a cool new weapon, or maybe a new drug, or in a perfect world, some sort of underground alcohol that only the rich and famous drank. But a slave auction? He didn't want a slave, nor did he need one. He spent all his time wandering around drunk, a slave would just get in the way of that. And that was before you considered the fact he had spent a lot of his time in the past tracking down places like this, then killing everyone inside.
He slunk to the back corner of the auditorium and sat down in an old, ripped, leather seat. Though old and beat up, he actually found the chair to be rather comfortable. He closed his eyes as he once again tried to search out the location of all the power, but grew even more dejected when his theory turned out to be true. He could feel where the power was coming from now, he could place it exactly. It was behind the stage, in the back rooms. Just like he had thought, the person was security for the event, most likely blasting their echos in an effort to intimidate people from trying anything. Why the echos felt muffled, and why it seemed only he could sense them, he didn’t know, but unless he took some large risks, he couldn’t find out right now. He decided his best option would be to quietly wait for the end of the auction, then when it was over, and everyone was claiming their new slaves, he might be able to sneak a peak in the back and find whoever this person was.
But his problem now was that slave auctions could take a while, so he would need to kill some time before he could enact his new plan. As if on cue, the feeling of exhaustion came over him once more. With the seat he was sitting in oddly comfortable, and him needing something to pass a few hours, he came up with a pre-plan to his plan, sleeping. He threw the bottle he had been carrying back, chugging what was left of it, then placed it on the ground next to his seat. He then closed his eyes once more, pulled the hood of his robe over his head, leaned his head against the wall, and tried to fall asleep. “Lot 56…lot 59…lot 63”. Slave after slave after slave were sold, and he tossed and turned in the chair, trying to lay in every position he could think of, but he couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Everyone was being too loud, with screams of bids and comments on the slaves, it sounded like a tavern during happy hour.
He began to consider just leaving all together, his curiosity was at least somewhat satiated, and honestly even if he found the person, he wasn’t entirely sure what he was planning on doing. In fact, the more he thought about it, and the more he thought about wanting to sleep, he began to wonder why he even wanted to find this person to begin with. He wasn’t a researcher, nor was he looking for a fight, so what was the point of finding them again? Was there one?
As his exhaustion started to become almost unbearable, he wondered if one of those alleys would be open now, surely the drug deals had to at least be finished. But just as he was about to get up and leave, the auctioneer spoke again. “Next up, lot 71.” He yelled, but he didn't give a description of the slave. Onto the stage walked a young, female fairy. She was about 5 feet tall with blonde hair that looked like it hadn’t been washed in weeks, pointed elf like ears, dead brown eyes and wings all black, dark as the night. Like the others had, she was wearing next to nothing, just a rag covering her top and bottom with the metal slave collar around her neck. As she walked to the middle of the stage, the raucous auditorium fell silent. Shade though noticed something as his eyes went wide. The overwhelming echos he had been sensing was coming from her. The power wasn’t in the backroom because it was guarding the slaves, it was because it was a slave.
“We will begin the bidding at 1 gold coin.” The auctioneer yelled.
Shade looked around the auditorium confused as the bidders all seemed to have no interest in purchasing her. His curiosity instantly peaked once more as he began to wonder what was going on. One gold coin was next to nothing for these people. Sure, the girl seemed to be slightly old for the disgusting pedophiles who attended these events, but as he looked at her, she was still rather attractive. Nobody wanted to dish out just one gold coin? And that was ignoring the fact she had an immense amount of power, though he assumed once again he must be the only one who could sense it for some reason. This brought about even more questions though. Who was this girl, why was she so strong, and why was she a slave? What was he missing?
“One coin, she can be yours for just one gold coin!” The auctioneer pleaded to the disinterested crowd. “Going once…twice…three times…. if she doesn't sell, she will be killed and sold for parts, one last chance.”
The auctioneer raised the gavel into the air, about to drop it and send the girl to her grave, when Shade spoke up. “I will bid one coin!” He yelled, and the whole room turned and looked at him in shock.
The auctioneer gave everyone another chance to outbid him, but the bidders all just stared at him in silence. The gavel fell and he had won the bidding, becoming a first-time slave owner. He left the empty aisle his seat was in and began to stumble down the stairs of the auditorium to the stage. As he did, the auctioneer held up his gavel and stopped him. “All payments and pickups are at the end of the auction, as per usual.” He said monotoned, yet clearly annoyed.
“A newbie.” One of the guests next to him laughed, the man with the obnoxiously large powdered wig with ponytails. “Must be why he purchased such a bad lot, he will learn.”
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Shade ignored the man, instead, looking to the auctioneer. “I, uhm, only came here to buy one slave; I have that one slave now, so I don’t plan on purchasing anything more. May I check out and take my leave?” he asked, trying to sound professional and not drunk.
“Well, if that is the case, please follow the administrator to the back.” The auctioneer replied, then pointed to a tall human looking man standing at the edge of the stage, wearing a suit, a large top hat, and a cane in his right hand. “And in the future, please wear the attire listed on the invitation.” He said, gesturing to Shades outfit, causing the people in the crowd to giggle.
“Sorry, I, uh, couldn’t find my nice top hat.” Shade replied, trying not to laugh himself.
He followed the administrator down the aisles and past the stage, to the back room. The room had concrete floors and brick walls, the classic dungeon aesthetic. There, all the slaves were lined up and chained to the wall, one next to the other. The ones that had sold already were being grouped into sets for each purchaser, with their selling price being written on their chest with ash. His purchase stood in the middle of the room as not enough time had passed for her to have been chained up, though they apparently had time to write one coin in the middle of her chest, probably as a joke. At the end of the room was a desk with a tall skinny male elf behind it, top hat and tuxedo on like all the others. “Over here girl!” He yelled. The girl quickly and quietly walked up to the tall man, and the man put his hand on her collar. The blue crystal on the collar glowed then went dark. Shade winced as he was sure the instant she was free of the slave collar, she would attack. From what he could feel, she had more power than everyone in this place combined. But she didn’t, she just stood there. “Now you.” The man said, pointing to Shade.
Shade walked over to the girl with a raised eyebrow. Her face was stoic, and doll like, showing no emotions. He grimaced as he realized maybe they had beaten true obedience into her, even with how strong she was. What kind of horrible training could that have been? He put his hand on her collar, and the crystal glowed, then went dark again. He felt it, he was connected to her, and she was now his property. But something was wrong. The feeling of all her echos completely disappeared. But how could that be?
The way slave collars worked was simple. The collar around the neck connects the slave to its owner. The owner can use the collar to punish the wearer, though as seen by his new obedient slave, typically that wasn’t needed as most slaves had been thoroughly trained before being sold. The main thing it does is echos control. The owner can control how much echos the wearer is allowed to use, so that they never have enough to fight back. But not only that, the owner can transfer the power of the wearer to themselves. Many people use slaves like this, as almost batteries. Though the wearer has to be relatively near the owner for the power transfer to work, causing some logistics issues with travel, a strong slave can make an already powerful person that much more powerful. This was one of the reasons Shade was confused as to why nobody bid on her. Even if she could hide her echos from everyone else, her master would have at least known about her strength from the collar. But he was now her master, and he couldn’t sense anything, causing his confusion to turn to concern. Was she somehow hiding the echos from the collar? Was that even possible? Was she an assassin, a mercenary? Was she sent to take down this slave ring? But then why not attack when given the chance? Did she notice how strong he was, and when he purchased her, bail on whatever plan she had? But he was hiding his echos as well, surely she couldn’t sense them, right? Thoughts raced through his mind as he began to wonder if he was in any imminent danger, but as he stood there lost in his own head, the girl stood next to him, stoic as ever, not making a move or showing any emotions.
“One gold coin.” The man at the table said, putting his hand out. Shade snapped back to reality, took a quick peak at his new slave, then reached into his pouch and grabbed a coin, handing it to the man. “She's all yours now.” He said, but when Shade began to look around the room like a lost child, he sighed. “Have you been here before?”
“No, first time.” Shade admitted sheepishly, though he wasn't sure why he felt embarrassed about never having been to a slave auction before, well at least as a customer.
The man pointed to the back corner of the room where there was an entrance to an elevator. “That elevator there will take you to an exit behind the hotel, thank you for your purchase, and we look forward to seeing you next time.” He said, trying to sound like a good retail employee, but his emotionless monotone voice letting him down. He then looked down at some paper on his desk and began scribbling notes on it.
Shade looked at the elevator, then he looked at the girl again. Even if he ignored the issue of her maybe being some sort of powerful, influential person on some secret mission who may, or may not, have allies nearby ready to kick his ass as soon as he left, he had another problem. She was wearing virtually no clothes. Most people came to these things with carriages that waited for them out front, so that the new slaves could just be thrown into the back of the carriage and taken to their new homes. In fact, he recalled that as he was walking up to the hotel, he passed many carriages. He though had no carriage, and he knew that his new purchase would stand out like a sore thumb. Virtually no clothes on, and a large slave collar? He would get caught instantly. “You guys don’t happen to deliver, do you?” He asked the cashier.
The cashier grunted and looked up, giving him an irritated look, but not actually saying anything.
“I will take that as a no. I’m going to also guess you don’t offer clothes either.” He said, once again looking at his mostly naked purchase. “Well, this should be interesting.” He led the girl to the elevator and they got in. As they rode up, he fidgeted and looked around the elevator awkwardly, as he didn't know what to do or say. Should he ask her who she was? Would she tell him? Could he tell her he didn’t want to fight, or that he wasn’t a patron of slave rings normally, but was only there because he sensed her echos? Would she believe that? Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was mere seconds, the elevator reached the top, opening up to a door.
He opened the door and walked outside. Dawn was breaking, and he looked both ways, trying to determine the direction the least amount of people may see them. But with the hotel being at the center of a roundabout, every direction led to a main road. This meant his very first issue was covering up the fact she was a slave. He couldn’t even get to the part where her potential allies try to kick his ass if the local authorities tried to arrest him for owning a slave. He noticed a window next to the elevator door. He punched through it, reached inside, and tore off the bright purple drapes from the other side, then draped them over the girl so that nothing but her eyes were showing. While he figured this would actually make her stand out more, at least people wouldn’t see the collar. They would likely just think he, and she, were crazy.
He then led the girl to the front of the hotel where all the carriages were. The very best option would be to get out of town before people even had the chance to notice them and ask any questions. He walked up to the same doorman he had previously thrown a coin to. “Can I help you sir” The doorman said, this time much more chipper, though he did look at the purple draped girl with furrowed eyebrows.
“Yes, you can this time. Could you tell me, are all these carriages already accounted for, or are any of them free to take me somewhere?” Shade replied.
The valet smiled, and nodded, then pointed to a carriage being helmed by two white unicorns. “Make an unexpected purchase, did you? No problem, our hotel is always sure to have a few extra carriages on hand just for situations like this. That carriage there is owned by the hotel, and it seems to be available. Please feel free to ask the coachman to take you home, but do be advised, it is an extra charge.”
“Of course, I understand, and thank you.” Shade replied. He led the girl to the carriage, a bright blue carriage with two white unicorns at the helm. A carriage meant for the rich.
“Where you headed.” The driver said in a deep gruff voice, taking a puff of a cigar. He was a tall male wolf with black and white fur, wearing the same purple tuxedo as the dwarf, which Shade now figured was the uniform of the hotel.
As he thought about how to answer, he didn't know what to say. His house didn't have an actual address, it was in the middle of the woods so that no one could track him down. “Do you have a map?” He asked. The driver nodded, reached into the front of the carriage and took out a rolled-up map, then unrolled it. Shade looked the map over and pointed to a spot that he thought was relatively near his house. “Anywhere around there would be perfect.”
“One gold coin.” The driver said, sticking his hand out. Shade thought that was rather expensive for a carriage ride, but the carriages probably figure one coin is nothing to the rich, and the rich would probably pay the one coin without thinking twice. And they would be right, as he was rich, and threw his gold coins around like they were nothing. He took out a coin from his pouch, and handed it to the driver. The driver took the coin, then looked questionably at the girl and her purple drapes outfit.
“Something wrong?” Shade asked pointedly.
“No.” the driver replied, slowly turning away and getting on top of his perch.
Shade got in the back with the girl and looked at her one more time. As they started moving, he leaned in towards her. “So, who are you actually?” He whispered.
The girl looked at him with the same stoic emotionless face. “I’m sorry master, I don’t understand the question.” She replied monotoned.
“Come on, no need to hide it. What are you, an assassin, a mercenary, a spy?” he probed.
The girl looked at him with a similarly stoic, but now genuinely confused look. “I am your slave.” She said, looking down at her collar.
Now he was even more confused. Did she just not want to give away who she was, her mission? He wasn’t so sure. She seemed genuinely confused by his questions. Was she actually a slave? But then why couldn’t he sense her power through the collar? What was going on with her echos? He leaned back in his seat, confused, concerned, but also, exhausted. He had again forgotten about how tired he was while purchasing her, but now he could once again barely keep his eyes open. He took one last look at the girl and decided she wouldn’t do anything to him. She would be sober hims problem tomorrow. He put his head on the window and closed his eyes, falling asleep instantly.
