Looka and Miw Chapter one
#1 of Looka and Miw
A Zandora tale
The tale of Looka the Slith Slave and Miw the Neko
Within the shadow of the Kunast Mountains, a town thrived. The local humans, under the rule of the King Balzaar, had a mining operation for raw earthen glass. There is also a small village of Neferum, a race of humanoid leopards, south of the human town. The town traded for leathers, exotic meats, herbs and other supplies that the Neferum are keen hunters for. In return they give weapons, cloths and other supplies. But there is one market that thrives in the human town. The slave market. The humans pay the Neferum, bounty hunters, and anyone else who can catch slaves. The market is full of all races. Human, Slith (a shamistic draconic humanoid race.), eleven, dwarves, anyone who they can get and are worth selling.
Today there seemed more excitement at the slave market. It seemed Dargoth, one the more successful traders, has gotten a good find. On the main street, or rather the only street, he stood on his wagon, with a smug look on his face. Trailing behind the wagon, bound in black chains was a slith. One of good breed it seemed, he stood nearly seven feet, and though malnourished, he was heavy set, was would likely be able to hold his own against an ogre or two. He was bound within a stock, his arms bound in thick irons, and a black steel torture collar bound around his neck. Four human guards stood with the chains to the slith in hand. The slith stood defiant and strong, even in the heavy bonds. They hauled the slith up to the center and upon a platform. There chains between two massive oak poles bound him. Dargoth smugly walked and stood before the slith, smiling with crooked yellow teeth. He was human, but looked more like a hobgoblin that could use a weeks worth of bathing.
The slith looked up into the crowd, with a face that seemed to dare someone to buy him. His fiery reddish orange eyes scanned the crowd, in a small way he smiled, they feared him, he could smell it. There were mostly human and Neferum, and a stray Slith bounty hunter. But them he saw something, something he had never seemed before. There coming down the east road was a female Neko. He had heard of Nekos before, but never saw one. And her fur was white and her breed so rare, that the desert rose seemed common. She rode upon an open carriage, Ocelot drones guards marched alongside. Their mechanical workings sounding in time, each holding a spear made of eleven metals. He noticed something, she seemed bored. She was obvisally rich, well-taken care off, and bored out of her mind.
Dargoth looked over the crowd, sadistically enjoying the attention. "Well my friends, you see the slith before you. He was a mighty warrior, and put up a brave fight. But we were able to take him..." the slith laughed at him. "Twenty against one, and I still killed twelve of your armed guards with only my bare hands. IT was pathetic!" Dargoth responded with a smack across his face with an iron brand. "SILENCE FILTH!" Dargoth roared. The slith licked his cut lip, tasting the warm blood, and laughed. "Filth? I'm not the one smelling of goblin shit."
"I SAID SILENCE!" Dargoth bashed the brand into his ribs. Dargoth heard the laughs of the crowds and turned red of embarrassment. He quickly regained his composure and tried to laugh it off. "Now my friends, I'll open the bid for this Slith warrior at 300 pieces of gold." The slith chuckled. "300? Why not make it 500, then it'll be worth killing my next owner. I've already gone through a dozen of them."
Dargoth ignored the comment in hope none of the crowd heard it. There were yells for bids, and the slith looked up again and saw her. The white neko, She seemed to be watching him with great interest, but why he couldn't figure out. He saw a slight wry grin curling on her lips. He didn't understand it then heard an offer from a human for 750 gold pieces. He almost wanted to owned by that human, he would enjoy the screams he would make when he killed him. But then the Neko's coach approached, her mechanical guards pushing aside others. She looked up to Dargoth, whom couldn't get two words out from looking at her. She looked over the slith, smiling mischievously. "Two thousand gold pieces provided you stop damaging him." She spoke sweetly. The crowd was in hush; two thousand gold was double what any slith was worth.
The slith looked at her with a raised brow, trying to understand why she would pay such an outrageous amount. The highest he was ever bought for was only 800 gold. What would she do with a slith slave? The slith work best in mines or in forges where there is heat. They made lousy servants, everyone in their right mind knew that. But then that was the question, was she in her right mind. He saw one of the mechanical guards bring up a small chest of the gold and set down before Dargoth. Dargoth was looking at the gold like a bumbling idiot. The ocelot guards took hold of the chains of the slith, holding their spears ready in case he tried to get away. The slith smiled and willingly went along with the guards, as he passed the neko he looked up at her quizzically, trying to understand it all. She looked down at him with a wry smile, but said nothing.
The guards chained the slith to the coach, and two stayed behind with their spears ready. The slith said nothing, but walked along behind the coach, thinking about the neko. Why would she want him? Unless she owns a mine or a forge, he would be almost useless. The only other thing he was good at was killing people, and he doubted that quality would be wanted around her. He looked up the ocelot guard; it was made of dwarven metals, which was fairly obvious to him. The gearing and the movement were nearly silent, and the craftsmanship was definitely dwarven. He quietly whispered to the machine, in hope that with that quality, that the Neko had it created with intelligence.
"Ocelot." He whispered. The machine turned its head to him, but kept the pace with the other machines, it said nothing but listened. "Why does she want me? Does she have her own forge or mine?" he asked. The machine almost seemed to smile. "She has neither. Her interest is in you only." It turned away and kept marching.
'Her interest is only in me?' he wondered. Then he began to get ideas that she is a priestess of some black order, or perhaps... no that was crazy, why would she want a slith slave for that. But then again, she didn't exactly seem like an ordinary Neko he had heard of.