“Let me see… Oh, you will not see many of these here. That is a Muniavra. Part lizard part troll. They are great in water, well far better than most Horde. I wonder if they brought some water creatures for sale. The Muni as we call them are sea herders. They manage a few of our aquatic monsters very well. They are probably here because of the event and the big sales day. Okay, that is enough for now. The dvaren will have their own section. Let me say this now in case it gets too loud. Do not complain about the conditions the slaves are in. That goes for both of you. Also, expect to only hear Horde and for me to treat you as subordinates.”
We joined the swift moving outer section of the road and got caught up in the tide of Horde flowing the direction Roz wanted to go. I was thinking that being this jammed between bodies, there would be more fighting. It must be regulated tightly because, while people bumped and jostled into each other, no one angered to battle. The road passed other banks until all I saw was restaurants. At the start of an opening junction, there were additional vendors with large ads displayed over their stores. These sold whips, collars, chains, and about every accessory imaginable to a slave owner. The wide road transitioned into an intersection so large that Roz said this was the central location that led to all slave displays in this city. This intersection had a dozen wide roads that spiraled off the main circle. It was at this point I realized each road went to display a certain type of slave. We passed all these and did not head for the junctions toward the tall wooden pens. I noticed orc chieftains, ogres, and shamans headed down that road. Instead, we went up a wide ramp where it was mostly cyclops and a few shamans. This is a good time to disclose all this transition is through lots of walking. A lot of walking, so much that even the decent shape Riza was complaining. The planet was large and the slaving that occurred here was a major business. Evident by the sheer scope of the displays. The ramp we went up was hundreds of feet wide. As the slope progressed farther from the central part there were eight smaller roads options. Each divergence held a sign indicating something in Horde.
The bustle of the one road quieted as the Horde flowed down the side paths. Roz felt this was a good place to catch our breath and instruct us. “You will notice these signs. This is a pricey path. All eight of these roads are for dvaren. You need to understand something. Humans roughly battled for a dozen years before either winning or surrendering their planets. Dvaren took millions of years to conquer and dig out of their deep homes. That was over a billion years ago. They owned hundreds of thousands of planets when the Horde collided with them. That is a good way to term it too. They brunted all our invasions for a very long time. Eventually, our supplies, numbers, and tenacity won the day. There are many variations of dvaren today after all this time and selective breeding. There are longer lived ones, some with a shorter stature, others that are quicker breeders and so forth. These eight roads represent the price difference per soul. The top road is mighty seasoned warriors. The bottom row, old and infirm, no longer able to breed. They can still shovel shit or knit and before they die, they can be converted into souls. I recommend we start at the top and find you a set of warriors. Then match them with a set of breeding females with some skills. If you see something you want, buy it out. It will cost you more but again, who cares. This is your soul number from the bank. All the stones come down to a single valuation point. One soul is the equivalent to one orc soul sunk into a stone. Your balance is six million three hundred thousand souls. There are forty three million souls in escrow from the arena win so you can buy even more when that clears. No one will lend against it though so don’t bother trying to overspend this six point three million. When we get into the viewing areas I will show you how to read the price on the buy it now option.”
Riza stayed quiet and Roz waited on me to say we should move. I indicated for her to go forward. I was expecting the road to lead to wooden pens. Instead, it opened up to large plots on a lower level thirty feet deep. This reminded me of a zoo enclosure from Swan. I walked to the first pit and it was a mile wide by three miles deep. We stood over the brigade of dvaren who wore black and golden armor that was thick metal. A few sparred while most rested. In total there had to be a thousand in here. Waiting to be purchased and sent to some distant battlefield.
“Five hundred thousand souls for a veteran squad of dvaren. These are accustomed to putting down rebellious chieftains and setting an example to other orcs. They have over six successful campaigns under their belt.” Roz read the sign for us. Not many were viewing these. “Here on the sign is the buy them price. Then here is the current bid. The board contains contract magic and the bidder is anonymous. Rules of the planet. If you wanted, you could bid over the three hundred and twelve thousand souls. Merely need to bid a thousand more and then all other bidders on this contract are notified and able to compete.”
“Damn, that is efficient. Where would you use these Gryff?” Riza asked.
“They could stall a Horde invasion while griffins cleaned the back lines. Or I could send them to guard vital areas or resources… I want to save them all, but obviously, I cannot yet. My goal is to keep buying all I can from here until this market dies. If that is even possible. We have the space on Vin if we settle them between our cities. I checked the contract law of the peace accords. They do not qualify as humans with weapons and avoid our restrictions. I don’t think a slave race has ever bought slaves after a peace accord. Or the originators of our accords were new. Who knows, I am on a tangent. Next, please.” I said and Roz walked us to another pit on the other side of the road.
It was the same thing for the next four rows on both the left and the right side. Eight companies of awesome orc killing dvaren. Each with heavy armor, great formations, and angry mean demeanors. That ninth pit was different. Finally.
“Three hundred thousand for five hundred monster hunters. These dvaren are desert bred to handle the heat. They can handle orcs rebellions but prefer to hunt creatures. Includes nets and tools for capturing beasts.” Roz said as I viewed the troops.
Sure enough, these dvaren were different with short beards and tanned skin. Instead of hard compressed battle lines, they were wearing light armor that was leather only. A few held extended long polearms and pikes, while other readied nets. Sure they were training on mock animals but you instantly got a different sense of purpose. Alas, I had not visited my desert biome cities. I had no idea if I could utilize these troops. It was highly likely I could, so I would probably pick them up at the end.
I shook my head and said next. We moved across the road and saw another desert unit. We moved further down the road covering another mile to see the next pit. It was a winter unit this time. They wore thick furs of white. Their beards long and frosted. Somehow the biome in the pit was frozen to reflect the tundra. They trained on fake yetis in the snow.
“These white beards are three hundred thousand for three hundred. Ha! The sales pitch is funny. Listen to this. These dvaren stomped our yeti uprising so thoroughly into the ground. None can be found. With our problem solved, they are back up for sale. That is promising probably why they are so expensive. Bid is already over two hundred and twenty thousand with half a day left.”
Riza and I looked at each other and he nodded at me. “Buy them before someone else does. I sure hope there are more on the other side.” I said as I watched the yellow magic swirl from our bank statement and into the contract board. The sign changed to a single word.
“Okay, they are yours to command. There is an extensive tunnel system underground. I will have them moving to a portal zone now to await removal from this world. Let us cross the road.” Roz said as I watched the lead dvaren realized his contract had changed.
The dvaren commander wore a yeti skull on top of his helm and he hollered at his troops to assemble. I wanted to watch the rest but we moved on. We walked a hundred feet across the road that was making more sense for its size. If there were tunnels under the ground then these wide walkways were probably routes for s
laves. When we arrived at the next side I was disappointed. There were jungle dvaren. The last two were mountain dvaren. This got me thinking about the golems. Of the two options, I picked a small company. Only a hundred dvaren priced at seventy five thousand souls.
I watched the sign change to sold and observed the company of dwarves. They wore a mix of cold weather gear they would hate by the lava fields. They did have warhammers, where the other larger unit had shield and axe. These were more creature focused than the other ones were. When they entered the tunnels under my feet and disappeared Roz lead us to a new eight way connector. She selected the fourth road.
“This will be females in prime breeding age. Each will have a specific generalized tasked they have perfected, but they are not dumb animals. Dvaren women are smarter than males, merely not as sturdy in battle. You have four hundred males. Remember I can always come back for more later if you overbuy what I can move today. See this first group are field workers.” Roz said and pointed to the sign.
I observed female dvaren for the first time. They were four foot tall plump cuties. Not my thing but I was expecting hideous bearded women. Nope, they fought to display the most bust and had rosy cheeks that matched warm smiles. Not bad on the eyes. I saw Riza’s eyes widen. I was sure some shorter men were going to be decently enthralled. There were so many of them I had issues trying to count them. Unlike the nicely aligned soldiers, these females were constantly moving.
“These females are great at tending the land. They can produce up to ten offspring before they should be retired and none of these for sale have birthed more than one. Their offspring still in the group. One thousand of breeding females for one hundred thousand souls. You can see a few females nursing. They should live to nine hundred to twelve hundred of your years, assuming nothing violently murders them. So ugly,” Roz scoffed and the Duke joined me in a laugh. “The only thing uglier are those dainty tall elvath. I have good taste, don’t judge me.”
Roz turned her nose up and led us to the other side. More farming women.
“Will we see much diversity here?” I asked.
“Sure animal tenders should be next, then breeding seamstress group, male and female brewers, and finally a mix of smiths. That should be male and female smithies at a three times premium over regular workers.” Roz said.
I was curious as to what animals dvaren attended and should not have been surprised. Five hundred females in the next pit watched over yakin. Twenty five hundred on the other side. They were at that same ratio of one hundred souls per slave. So three hundred thousand for the three thousand. Roz kept asking if I wanted to buy them but I needed to see how much elvath and the smithing dvaren were. The next two pits were female dwarves sewing sails… That answered a question of mine. There were no ale brewers on display and Roz assured me the next largest market or direct sales for them were possible. Finally, we approached the billowing smoke of the smithies. One pit had already reached full buy out price and the other was climbing. It was a thousand dwarves sixty percent female asking four hundred thousand buyout. Roz scoffed saying it was too much for mere smiths. I told her to buy them. The sign erased and wrote the term in Horde for sold. A few cyclops bidders overlooking the pit grew frustrated.
“It will take a long time for them to pack up and be ready to portal. Most likely a week. Your remaining balance is five point five million. I have bound all the contract bidding boards we passed in case you want to make later bids. You need to realize the bidding stops on the earliest ones tonight in six hours. Some were placed to go longer. I must confess the slave prices are much higher than I remember, Rakmar only dragged me through once. If you will follow me we will go to the uppermost region. The elvath warrant that with their immortality and amazing skills.”
The Duke and I sighed. It was a few miles of walking through crowds before we reached the circle intersection with a dozen spin offs. Roz led us up the tallest ramp that only a few cyclops traveled. This trek up the hill was quiet with at most six cyclops sharing the road with us. They scoffed our direction assuming we could not afford what was up the hill. Unlike the Dvaren where it split again eight times, there were only two roads here. A team of greeters waited to assist the nobles wealthy enough to visit. Our accounts were scanned and a surprised well dressed female cyclops raced to us.
Her solid pearl eye was different than the teal iris I was used to.
“Greetings lady shaman and noble male humans, I am Urshoe,” Urshoe said in perfect English. “I was a liaison for a campaign on a human planet. I find you humans intriguing. Not to mention some human disrupted the arena event today. What an uproar. Who cares if he claimed a heart right.”
She was pandering to us and we all knew it, but I did not mind. I decided to speak. “Lady Urshoe, I find your eye mesmerizing and your honesty refreshing. I represent a very powerful lord. We want to see your elvath. By any chance are there any males for sale?”
“I am colorblind, I find my eye is a boon for clients who come expected to see the unexpected. There are a few thousand elvath here for sale but no males. They are dwindling with time and accidents. As you will see there are no auctions here, only a sale price. Too often we find buyers become enthralled with the potential product and instead want a straight purchase agreement. I see your accounts are in order so why don’t we start the tour. Follow me kindly.” Urshoe said and led the way.
There were no massive pits here with thousands of elvath. Instead, there were small homes with patios. The moment I neared the first display the three women who were painting sensed me. I sensed them. Our aura raced from our bodies and clashed then entwined. My center pulled in their blank colorless aura and the ladies staggered. When they recovered they kneeled in unison. All three heads raised to gaze upon me at the same time.
They were stunningly beautiful. They all had long ears, bright eyes of different shades that accented their high cheekbones. Tight luscious lips were bitten by the ladies as I was gazed upon. They wore form fitting, very revealing dresses that showed off perfect large breasts and smooth curved hips. It was elegant clothing that could have doubled as bedroom lingerie. They were taller than humans at least six to six and a half feet tall.
When they rose they spoke rapidly in Horde. Roz translated. “Do not travel further, do not let the cyclops see more react to you. Or let others see our reactions to you. Secure us before it is too late.” They said and retreated into the house.
Hmm… How to proceed? “We are at an impasse Urshoe. I need discretion and you are not bound to it. Sign my contract and I will give you this.” I reached into my belt and withdrew a bible I had stashed. I then offered it in exchange for a closed contract of complete discretion. She hesitated in confliction, then accepted. The moment our yellow magic transferred the three elvath raced out in gasped shock. They spoke in Horde again. “Thank you for accepting, Urshoe, what are they saying?”
Urshoe gulped and squirmed. She grew frightened and the elvath gave a terrifying laugh at her displeasure. “They call you the harbinger of death. You will kill, maim, and destroy your foes…” She said collecting her courage. “You are to be worshipped and feared. I am to never forget the day I met you and so it has been prophesized.”
“Urshoe, you signed the contract, I do not allow loopholes in my work. You will never speak of this and if you try to… you will disintegrate. Who knows you could always join my side at some point… How much for the three?”
“They are triple the ratio of the ice warriors so three thousand per slave. Nine thousand for these three. It is overpriced but they are a rare commodity. How many elvath for sale and are they all priced this high?” Roz asked Urshoe.
“Prices have gone up. A breeder acquired a new male today and bought most of the stock up. The breeder is rotation stock and trying to get lucky with late cycles maturing. You can buy a thousand or so. If you send me four million I can try to get fifteen hundred if I am lucky. That is the best I can do,” Urshoe said and I knew sh
e was being honest.
I escrowed the souls into a holding account attached to her. I did not want to work the other elvath into a further display of reverence. It was quite frightening. I ordered Roz to take us to where the awaiting dvaren were. I looked over our accounts one point five million souls were left.
“Buyout both groups of lady dvarens with yakins and then all the females bid a good amount. If there is enough left add in some desert warriors please.” I ordered.
“Done, purchased both the yakin groups. Be advised that it is nearly thirty five hundred dvaren. I will have enough to get them to Lakeland but then I will be done. I may not even risk going to my harem. The latest purchased female dvaren are en route and should reach the mountain and snow dvaren at the portal area before we do. I also think you will win most of the bids, I placed them higher than normal. We will have to wait until late tonight to find out so probably tomorrow. My next trip will be able to handle them all except the smithies. I will get them later in a few more days. You will need to house the dvaren and elvath separately for long term sanity. They are bound not to attack your property but that doesn’t mean they are peaceful.” Roz said as we walked toward the central circle again. “Prices have gone up. If you give me next week I can sell more bibles and we can purchase additional slaves. There are also livestock planets. You are drawing attention though. I think you should let me buy samplings and bring them back for you to view. Then you can buy those animals you find to suit your needs.”
Duke Riza had a laugh at this statement. “Yes keep the wild human on Vin please, isolate the violence. Lots of people to feed and Horde to kill at home.”
“Very true,” I agreed.
We went down a ramp after reaching that main intersection with a dozen side roads. A few miles later we arrived in the well lit wide cavern – we found portal pens. There was a pen with our purchases I recognized. Thirty five hundred dvaren stuffed together in an area with large yakin hooting. Yeah easy to tell it was our purchases. Roz was already leading the way to them. We were confirmed as the new owners by shaman gate guards and allowed entry.
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