Slave Trade - Stepping Out
Slave Trade
Stepping Out
copyright 2012 comidacomida
Morning started a little later for Sidney the following day. Having slept in, the fox was awakened by the sound of the stable-bound slaves chatting among themselves. Most prominently, the Slave Master heard Uraou and Choel.
"Well, it's good to hea' that the whining's stopped, Choel." the bear announced, with the resounding slap of flesh on flesh, followed by a pause, "What? Yesteday you screamed like a cub when someone even looked at that shoulda'."
"Lord Hector rewarded me with healing." the comment was as casual as if the tiger had said the sky was blue, and it was enough to make Sidney sit up in surprise.
"Lia'." the bear retorted, "No healing works that fast or well." and the fox heard the words followed up with another slap. A resounding grunt from the tiger hinted at pain, "Ah... not ALL the way healed."
"ey! Uraou... enough." the unmistakable accented words of Dorias cut into the conversation, "Ye ain't supposed t' 'urt a team member... so stop smackin' 'im 'round."
"Aye... good point, Dorias... Choel's doing fine though, aren't you, mate?" and Sidney heard another resounding slap.
"You're a dick, Uraou." the tiger countered.
The bear chuckled in response, "And you're a tenda' tiga', Choel." Sidney finally stood up, rubbing several errant pieces of hay out of his head fur as he glanced around the edge of his stall. Uraou had his arm wrapped around the tiger's neck, forcing Choel to lean forward with the pressure the bear was applying to his head. The moment Uraou's eyes caught sight of the fox he quickly released his fellow slave and offered a welcoming wave, "Morning, Slave Masta'."
"Everything alright?" his eyes went from the bear to the tiger to the yak.
"Yea." Uraou grunted.
"Fine." acknowledged Dorias.
"Just fine." Choel snorted, rubbing the back of his neck.
Seeing the tiger use his arm to good effect raised the fox's spirits, "It looks like your arm's moving a little better today." his tail swished freely in acknowledgment.
"Guess that... um..." Choel glanced at Uraou then to Dorias before looking back at Sidney, "That... thing you brought me to Lord Hector for really helped."
"Lord Hecta' really DID heal Choel?" the bear's small, blunted, circular ears stood as erect as they were able, "What in the--"
"Good slaves don't ask questions, Uraou." Choel noted quickly, leaning forward to serve up some morning gruel in a bowl, "Slave Master?" and he pointedly offered the food to Sidney.
"Thank you, Choel." the fox accepted the bowl with trepidation, looking at the other two slaves as he did so.
"Ye be a Slave Master, Sidney... ye don' have't thank Slaves." Dorias reminded him.
"Lord Hector thanks slaves." the fox pointed out.
"An' he's also not above bargainin' with em too." the yak reclaimed the serving ladel from Choel and began filling the set of bowls, "But 'e knows where t'draw th' line."
Choel was quickly to respond, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Ye know what I mean, Choel." the yak responded, handing a bowl to Uraou, "An' so does th' Slave Master."
A moment of heat passed through Sidney's body. At first he thought it was embarrassment, but, as the burning sensation remained, he realized it was something that he was not used to experiencing: anger. The fox glanced to Choel, who returned the glance, and the knowing look on Dorias' muzzle revealed how Lord Hector found out about the deal. The fox crumpled the emotion and tossed it deep down into himself, responding with a clear, calm, and neutral "Why?" instead.
"Ye be a Slave Master, Sir." Dorias answered, serving up a bowl for himself, "An' ye be a good soul... so it ain't right for slaves ye care for t'take advantage of ye an' makin' use of th' ignorance ye gotta work through."
"I miss something?" Uraou glanced between the two of them, but he was ignored.
Sidney frowned, "Lord Hector said that I get to run things my way." he'd used the line so many times he felt almost like a young kit using an excuse for wrongdoing; he found that he really didn't much care for it. "Where's Maern?" he asked, quickly changing his focus for the sake of salvaging the day.
"Outside, Slave Masta'" Uraou answered, motioning to the door with his spoon. "Not hungry, or just wanting to get a start on his day, I guess."
"Dorias." Sidney spoke up, "Go join him."
"Aye, Sir." the yak stood up immediately and exited.
"He hasn't eaten yet." Choel commented.
"I know." Sidney answered, staring down into his gruel with a scowl, "He said he wants me to be more like a Slave Master, so that's what I'm doing."
Uraou raised an eyebrow as he set his bowl off to the side, "Wow."
* * * * * *
Sidney spent a good part of the morning mumbling to himself, eyes going between Dorias and Choel as he contemplated the yak's reveal to their Master. As the morning wore on, the fox began to regret his response more and more. Dorias said that he had been looking after Sidney's best interests and, as the Slave Master had more time to analyze what was said, he couldn't fully fault the yak. Regardless, he stuck to his decision, and if Dorias held it against him nothing was said.
It wasn't until during their noon-time food break that Sidney gathered up enough confidence to confront Dorias. The yak was sitting off to the side hungrily consuming their simple mid-day rations; the moment Sidney approached, Dorias stopped. "Sir." he nodded respectfully, and gave the fox his full attention.
"Thank you for being concerned." Sidney noted stiffly.
"Aye, Sir." Dorias acknowledged, not meeting his gaze.
"I'm glad that someone is..." the fox searched for the best way to proceed, "--is interested in helping me... but--" he paused, and the yak slowly looked up, "Talk to me first before talking to Lord Hector."
"Aye, Sir." Dorias confirmed with a nod.
"I do not want anyone else punished for my inexperience." the fox took a seat next to the yak on the stone block.
"It was Choel's behavior that got 'im punished, not anythin' ye did, Sir." Dorias offered, then paused before adding, "Did 'e really get 'ealed by Lord 'ector?"
Sidney couldn't keep the smirk off of his muzzle as he recited, "Slaves aren't supposed to ask questions, Dorias."
The yak chuckled in response, then nodded, "Aye, Slave Master."
The two sat on the log together for several moments before Sidney added, "Yes, Dorias... I think he did."
The yak nodded in thought, taking another bite of lunch biscuit, "Hmm." he added in consideration.
The fox let the silence spead between them for a little longer before he changed the topic, "How do you think training is going?"
"Slow, Sir." Dorias confirmed Sidney's suspicions, "We don't 'ave a lot of time, an' Maern's barely done any real combat drills or anythin'..." and the yak turned to regard him, "Do ye think it's goin' well, Sir?"
Sidney didn't bother chastising him for asking a question, "No... I mean, yes..." his tail fluffed a little, "I mean I think it's going slow."
"Ye could tell him t'speed up." the yak proposed, "I ken translate for ye, Sir."
The fox considered the suggestion for a few moments, then, at length, nodded, "Yes." he confirmed, "Let Maern known that I want him teaching everyone how to use weapons starting tomorrow."
"Aye, Sir." Dorias acknowledged, and stood obediently, moving over to where the large stallion was going through the stances he'd shown the rest of the slaves that morning. Sidney admired Maern's dedication; the horse never joined the rest of them for lunch. As he watched, the yak hailed him and the two exchanged a few words. Maern snorted, and stopped his activity, turning instead toward Sidney, and starting his direction.
Although the fox didn't think for a moment that the stallion would hurt him, the purposeful stride was intimidating regardless. Maern's intense expression left Sidney feeling that the slave stopped a little too close for comfort, but he did his best to be open toward the horse, "Do you understand?" he asked, making a slashing motion with one arm, "Weapons?" and he motioned to the rest of the group.
Maern began talking immediately, with far more words than Sidney recalled him ever having used. Judging by his tone, the stallion didn't approve of the fox's request and had no problem letting him know. Despite the verbose objection, however, at no point did it ever really feel to Sidney like Maern was saying no... it seemed more like an explanation than a true objection. He didn't quite understand the stallion's case, and looked to Dorias as the yak approached, "What is he saying?"
"Maern said that what ye say 'e'll do, but 'e says the best trainin' is t'experience it." the yak frowned.
Sidney glanced between the two, who exchanged a few words. Maern asked a question and Dorias responded with the word "Experience.".
The horse parroted the word to Sidney, "Yes. Ex-peer-ee-ence."
Sidney let out a sigh and spoke in general, "Well... if we had time then I guess we could... but we don't." and he looked directly to Dorias, "Let him know that you will all be fighting really soon, like you did a few days ago." The yak did as directed, and the fox added, "And I need to make sure that everyone will perform as well as Maern." Again, Dorias issued out numerous words in Vensian.
Maern looked straight as Sidney and shook his head, "Fight? Yes." he nodded and let out a sigh, "Good?" he shrugged without confidence.
The explanation was simple, and drove the point home; Sidney's stomach sank at the thought, but he had little choice, "Just do your best." and he walked off, not waiting for Dorias to translate.
* * * * * *
The all-too-few days between that day and the festival passed entirely too quickly for Sidney. Every day he obsessed over how much the slaves were training and how they were going to put on a good performance to do Lord Hector proud. Despite his incredible reservations about the gladiator arena, Sidney realized that he had to put his personal feelings aside and do his best to make his master look good.
Even though the fox spent most of his time incredibly stressed over the slaves' progress, he was thankfully able to observe their accomplishments. Maern turned out to be exceedingly skilled at drawing out the inner talent from the slaves, and by the fourth or fifth day of wooden-weapon practice, every last one of them appeared to have increased their aptitude. Though Sideny was still incredibly insecure with his position, he did take some pride in seeing how far they had come since the day he had seen them fight under Wragol's control.
And so it was, with a queasy stomach and much self-doubt that Sidney awoke on the day they were scheduled to leave. He was up early, as usual, and made a quick task of awakening the rest of the slaves. Tharis, who had not joined the rest of the stable in training, resisted the fox's attempts to move him. "Go on." the bull snorted, "I'll be here."
"You're part of this group." Sidney objected, "Aren't you coming with?"
"No." Tharis answered simply.
"But--"
"Sir," Dorias interjected, "Lord 'ector gave ye Tharis t'make sure 'e was well cared for... an' ye do that... but 'e didn't give ye Tharis t'make a gladiator out of 'im."
"Tharis spent YEARS as a gladiator." Sidney countered, "It would be good to--"
"'e WAS a gladiator, Sir... but now 'e's a breedin' slave." the yak stated bluntly, eliciting a snort from the bull, "Don' make this any 'arder on 'im."
Sidney's gaze went from Tharis to Dorias, then back to Tharis, "Then... I...." he paused a moment before a flash of inspiration struck him, "I want the entire building cleaned out... um... fresh hay brought in for all stalls, reset the cooking pit... and... uh.... finish clearing out the practice circle in the front."
"Sir, ye--" the yak began, but he was interrupted.
Tharis' booming, baritone voice all but drowned out Dorias, "Yes, Slave Master."
The day only only progressed faster at that point. Breakfast was served and eaten quickly; the slaves had no belongings to gather so, instead, they emerged from the stables and waited for instructions. They had been standing in the cool air of the dawn for less than ten minutes when Sidney caught sight of Gaius making his way toward them, pulling a small work cart along behind him.
The porcupine didn't say a word until he had released his hold on the wagon. At that point he dabbed a rag at either side of his neck and addressed Sidney, "Lord Hector wants everyone's harnesses updated." he spoke simply, and went around to his cart to start separating the jumble of leather straps, "We'll start with Maern, and then work our way down."
"Alright." Sidney acknowledged, then glanced to the horse, "Maern. Come."
"Yes, Sid-ney." the stallion acknowledged, and stepped up to join him in front of the porcupine.
Gaius glanced between Sidney and Maern, then back to the fox, "Looks like your position's growing on you." he commented, and began affixing the straps to the horse.
Sidney was not precisely eloquent with his question, "Huh?"
"I think this is probably the first time I've ever seen your eyes." the porcupine broke of one of his quills and slid it through the leather, adjusting the halter slightly, "Usually you're looking at my feet or the wall."
"Oh..." Sidney blushed slightly, "Slave Masters are supposed to be a little more direct."
"Well then, it's good to know that you're learning right along side em." Gaius nodded in thought, pulling out a proper needle to finish the adjustment on the strap. "Alright... he's good." and he glanced at the rest of the slaves, "Largest to smallest... Dorias next." he motioned to the bull and he went back to his cart to pull out another harness.
"Dorias." the fox motioned to the yak, who obediently moved to stand beside him, "You've been sized for a halter already?" he inquired.
"Aye, Sir." Dorias acknowledged, and Gaius began strapping on the yak's garb. It was, in many ways, similar to Maern's, though the leather was darker brown, and not quite as thick.
The porcupine checked the fit, and then waved the slave away, "Just fine..." and he motioned to the bear, "Uraou next."
Sidney called to Uraou, who took Dorias' place at his left without comment, "Just watch it with the quills this time, mate" the bear stated to the leather worker.
"Don't jump like a startled lamb and I'll do just fine." Gaius countered, standing on his tip toes so he could toss the leather straps over the bear's shoulder. Uraou's harness was of a lighter hue than either Maern's or Dorias', and had a little more give around the mid-section, allowing for the bear's slight paunch.
Uraou snorted, "You have a five inch poka' nea' my meat and potatoes, I think it's pretty normal to--"
"Heh..." Choel spoke up with a grin, "Not used to having anything as long as five inches between his legs..."
"Enough." Sidney spoke up to everyone, and then to Uraou, "Gaius is a servant, not a slave-- show him respect."
"Aye, Slave Masta'." the bear acknowledged, then nodded to the porcupine, "Gaius."
"And... done." the porcupine noted, a faint smirk the only sign that he had acknowledged the bear's respect, "And no unanticipated piercings."
"Thank you." Uraou confirmed, and returned to his place in line.
"Choel." Sidney spoke up, then quickly added, "Behave."
"Yes, Slave Master." the tiger acknowledged, and patiently waited as Gaius made some adjustments to his harness, the straps of which which were thinner than any on the other slaves'. Sidney also noticed that the leather was black, rather than brown.
The confusion on the fox's muzzle was apparently clear enough that Gaius picked up on it, "Noticing the color difference?" Sidney nodded mutely, and the porcupine explained, "Gladiators are separated into weight classes. The heavy classes are any shade of brown; in the case of everyone here I chose leather colors that go well with their fur." he motioned next to Choel, "Middle weight gladiators have black leather." and the leather worker began putting away his gear, apparently done with the explanation.
"What about lighter gladiators?" Sidney questioned.
"Very few survive for more than a match or two." Gaius shrugged at the thought, "so most slave owners don't figure it's worthwhile having them wear anything other than a loincloth, and maybe shoulder strap for their weapon."
"That's horrible!" Sidney barked in surprise.
The porcupine shrugged again, "I'm from Tenvier... no slavery there, so don't tell me how bad it is."
The thought of sacrificial slaves truly bothered the fox, "Why bother having gladiators if you don't plan on having them survive?"
"Couldn't tell you." Gaius responded, going around to the front of his cart to heft it up, "Some Lords and Ladies are a little twisted like that... so I guess maybe they just like watching slaves die." The thought sent a chill up Sidney's spine, and he decided firmly that he was finished with questions. No longer engaged with discussion, the porcupine gave a simple "Good luck." and waddled off back to his workshop.
The slaves were left alone for another stretch of time that Sidney didn't bother tracking. He knew that the gladiator arenas had a reputation for being brutal, but if what Gaius had said was true then it was likely that slaves fighting in the arena could just as easily be expected to die in the arena. Some naive part of him had assumed that the 'games' were set up to allow for the safety and well-being of the participants, but that part of him had suddenly been crushed into pulp.
By the time the slave wagon came to collect them, it was all Sidney could do to keep from shaking. The fidgeting and shivers continued as the fox and his four charges piled into their transport, a large, metal wagon with a covered top and bars on the windows. His quaking and preoccupation continued well out onto the road, and nobody spoke up until the gates of Lord Hector's manor lay leagues behind them.
"Ye alright, Sir?" Dorias questioned.
"You look a bit pale, Slave Masta'." Uraou added.
"Just..." Sidney swallowed against the tightness in his throat, and put on a practiced face of confidence, "butterflies... that's all."
"You don't have anything to worry about, Slave Master." Choel winked, one of his emerald orbs disappearing for a split second in the half-light of the wagon's dark interior, "After all... you're not the one at risk for getting pummeled by blunted swords."
"Or dulled axes... or headless spears... or wooden clubs..." Uraou counted off the possibilities on a paw.
"I just don't want to let Lord Hector down... or any of you down..." the fox murmured.
"Ye did what ye could with the time we 'ad, Sir." Dorias acknowledged, resting a large hand on the fox's shoulder, "Nobody'll fault ye if we don't do well."
Sidney fidgeted again, "Lord Hector might."
"You're 'is favorite slave." Dorias objected, "'e'll blame all of us twice-over before 'e blames you."
"I don't want anyone blamed." Sidney noted, "I want us to do well." but, despite his concern, the yak's comment warmed him. Was he really one of Lord Hector's favorite?
"And so we will then, Slave Masta'." Uraou responded with a confidence that the fox wished he could feel as strongly.
Sidney paused when he felt a great weight press down against his other shoulder, and he turned so he could gaze at Maern's fierce, ice-blue eyes. For a moment the fox felt his tail curl at the attention, but he managed to avoid looking away, "We do good." the stallion reassured him, "Fight good." he clarified, "For Sid-ney." Despite anyone else having said their piece, the carefully chosen, slowly-spoken words did far better at reassuring the fox than anything else.
The trip, in total, was over a day in length. As the hours wore on, Sidney couldn't help but compare the metal carriage to experiences he'd had years prior when he was at the mercy of the pit slavers (and they were very short on mercy). Twice during his time with them they had put him in what was called only 'The Box'. It was a metal chamber barely large enough to stand in, and they left it in the middle of the compound during the hottest part of the day. His first stay had been grueling, but the second one was worse because he knew what to expect.
The difference, however, was that the weather for their trip was much cooler, and the barred windows allowed air to circulate within the carriage as they moved. Regardless, sharing the confined space with four other bodies did start to take its toll. Sidney jolted awake sometime during the early hours of the morning, panting from the imagined heat as the cold night air ruffled his fur. For a moment, he juxtaposed his experience in 'The Box' with the present, and he nearly cried. A soft 'sshhh' from his right snapped him out of the memory.
Sidney could barely make out Maern's eyes in the darkness. "Sid-ney good." the stallion spoke quietly, and pulled the fox a little closer, "Sid-ney cold?"
For a moment, the slave master wasn't sure exactly how to answer the question. As the last vestiges of his half-dream involving The Box left him, Sidney could tell that he was indeed cold. Nodding faintly, the fox gave himself over to the stallion, who shuffled Sidney to the side, and laid him down across his lap on his back. Maern began talking quietly as he patted and caressed the fox's head. Sidney had no idea what the horse was saying, but the calm, even tone helped his heartbeat slow and even out his breathing. By the time he drifted off to sleep, he was almost convinced he could understand the horse, but, he realized, it was just his hazy mind playing a trick on him.
* * * * *
Sidney remained asleep until the wagon lurched to a stop. All of the slaves within quickly composed themselves as the double doors at the back opened. "Up!" shouted a powerful, commanding voice; Sidney and the rest of the slaves quickly complied.
"Get moving!" ordered another speaker, as assertive as the first. The bright light flooding into the carriage disoriented the fox long enough that a firm grip closed around his arm, "Go, Worm!" the second voice required, and Sidney was yanked off his feet and out of the wagon.
"Which one of you is the Slave Master?" demanded the first voice. As Sidney accustomed himself to the bright light he focused on the speaker, a gray blur that slowly came into focus as an imposing wolf adorned in an armor made up of chain and plates.
"I am." the fox answered, and, all of the sudden, the activity in the courtyard came to a stop.
The silence was broken quickly by the grumbling voice of the second individual, a Rhino who still held Sidney off the ground by his forearm, "You?" the Rhino sneered, "You look more like you're someone's dinn--" but his words were cut short as an enormous fist connected with the side of his head, knocking him down with one blow.
"No." Maern announced to the armored men, standing between Sidney and the half dozen armored troops that came to attend to their arrival. They drew their swords and pointed them directly at the stallion.
"Gentlemen..." Lord Hector's unmistakable commanding tone cut through the sound of metal sliding across metal. The guards immediately stood at attention but their eyes remained on Maern. They all acknowledged the stag gruffly. "What seems to be the trouble?" he inquired of the wolf who had issued the first command.
"One of your gladiators attacked one of my men." the wolf motioned to Maern with the bridge of his muzzle.
Lord Hector glanced to Sidney, "Is this true?"
"Yes, Master." the fox acknowledged, feeling a chill run up his spine.
"You see?" scowled the wolf, "I'll see his head removed." and he started toward the horse.
The stag interposed himself, "Can anyone tell me why Maern attacked this guard?" he remained looking at the wolf but motioned to the Rhino, who was slowly getting up, blood leaking out of one of his nostrils.
"Aye, Master." Dorias acknowledged, "The guard was 'andlin' th' Slave Master roughly." The Rhino shot the yak a withering gaze, but Dorias ignored it, attention wholly on the stag instead.
"And you were treating my Slave Master poorly, guards man?" though Lord Hector's tone was cool and collected, Sidney did not miss the faint hint of storm clouds hovering around his demeanor. He could also tell that the guard sensed them too.
"My apologize, Lord Hector..." the Rhino bowed deeply, "I did not realize he was the Slave Master."
"Ah..." the stag nodded, his hand leaving its place on the pommel of the sword at his side, "No harm done then." and Lord Hector's demeanor suddenly became pleasant, "I will see to my things." he motioned with his arm to his slaves, then looked back to the guards, "You're dismissed, gentlemen."
The wolf scowled, "But Lord Levid said--"
"Lord Levid is not a fan of having his guests inconvenienced by his hired help." Lord Hector interjected, his tone becoming ice-cold immediately, "You may show yourselves out, and I will show my slaves to their holding rooms..." his eyes narrowed, "Unless we need to discuss your behavior with Lord Levid..."
The guards murmured to one another, bowed to the stag, and showed themselves out. Once they had left, Lord Hector turned to Maern and spoke a few words. Maern bowed his head and rested a large hand on Sidney's shoulder, responding curtly but respectfully. Dorias leaned over to the fox and noted quietly, "Lord 'ector said 'e doesn' want any more trouble with th' guards... an' Maern said 'e doesn't start trouble, 'e ends it."
"Sidney?" the stag looked to the fox.
"Yes, Master?" Sidney inquired immediately.
"Please tell Maern that he should not be fighting here without permission." Lord Hector directed, "Tell him--"
"Maern... koss covus en ya." the fox announced, his tail twitching with the self esteem he felt at being able to give direction to the stallion in his own language."
"Iya, Sidney." Maern acknowledged, bowing his head, adding quickly, "Yes, Sidney."
The exchange caught Lord Hector's attention, one of the stag's ears raising while the other turned to the side. "Very well..." he acknowledged, motioning toward a hallway, "This way." and with that, he led them through a carefully sculpted archway depicting two angels reaching their arms over the hall with just their fingers touching. Even as Sidney admired the artwork, he was astute enough to hear his master murmur with a faint chuckle, "...and the surprises keep coming..."
Sidney's tail swished all the more.