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A Life in Chains

Chapter Six: Faces in the Crowd

The sound of cloven hooves on paved sandstone, the joyous chatter of a lively crowd, the air rich with exotic scents and the sound of music. So unfamiliar to me it had my head swimming from the moment I stepped off the Zeppelin. Caprii was like nothing I could have imagined. All the buildings were tall; made from some squared off quarry stone that was white and chalky, all painted over in soft reds, cool blues or warm greens. Tiled roofs and accentuated doorways and windows all set in a larger white brick of some sort. Everything was arched with wood finishes and greenery seemed to sprout from everywhere. The streets were grand, all paved in sandstone with cobblestone pathways, and winding quite alleys.

The street was swamped with street vendors, musicians and performers, till today I'd never even heard music, ever. We walked down the city's main street, toward something called the amphitheatre, Bastille and I clad in uniform. I wore a full set for the first time, sandals with plated grieves and Frai, a matching lightweight breast plate and bracers. Bastille wore a heavier set, pauldrons and chest plates, even tail coverings of some sort. Both of us clad in that odd plate like metal weave I was unfamiliar with. Virgil slithered along between us with the others following behind in casual Frais and simple jewellery. I had my pair of plain daggers, Bastille had his halberd, and the others all wore a short knife hidden away for good measure.

My eyes couldn't stay fixed on one thing for more than a second, here I was in a country I'd dreamed of for so long. It felt surreal, like a waking dream, my focus was brought crashing back to reality as I ran face first into something.

“Excuse me sir, sorry sir I wasn't watching where I was going" I muttered apologetically as I stumbled back. I'd run into an Antt Vedn, a sea guard, military of Siricuse. He turned his head and peered down at me, but simply smirked and ruffled the tuft of short hair between my horns. The diversity here was also something that surprised me; we rounded a corner and found ourselves in a market. Here I could see everything from Satarians and Vermian to men of Mirodel and even Deamons.

Before I could take in the breadth of the market before me; which stretched on in the open plaza like a maze almost. I was tapped on the shoulder, I looked up to see Virgil handing me a small purse, a coin purse.

“Sir"? I questioned with a puzzled look, back in Ludos if a Slave had been caught with even a single coin they were often killed on the spot.

“Can't go to the market without coin Kaiber" he said with a smile, waving the purse at me till I took it tentatively in hand and stowed it under my belt. With that everyone scattered like mice, disappearing into the thick crowds and I found myself alone, by Virgil's side.

And there I stayed, following him down one of the winding market isles as he slithered along, hands clasped behind his back humming away as his eyes keenly pawed over everything on display. Never having had coin of my own I didn't know exactly what to do in such a place, I hadn't a clue about the worth of coin.

Nonetheless I was far more distracted by the scent of exotic foods being grilled in vendor stalls and the street performers to care for buying anything. I was contemplating buying something from one of the food vendors nearby. Breakfast had been light and now with all these wonderful scents I found my stomach growling eagerly. I had my eyes on a vendor selling something called a kebab, meat yoghurt and cheese all cooked in a thin bread of some sort; I didn't know what yoghurt was. But before I could step forward my eyes spotted something behind the stall. Men clad in black garbs, silver sigil on the chest; Inquisitors of the Black Church. I quickly turned heel and made for the end of the markets; The Black Church was out of Rigel, a religious movement of men and after my experience of Aldorans 'religious' views I wanted nothing but to be as far from them as possible.

Tahl and Logan were waiting for everyone at the far end of the plaza, sitting on a long stone bench by the amphitheatre. Tahl had bargained for a small rack of spice jars and something else which he hid from me in childish fashion. Logan had bought a snazzy vest top, clearly one with a flair for fashion he was. I joined them objectless and stared out at the amphitheatre; it was nothing more than an indented third of a circle. Build right into the cliff face with lone stone benches and railings to prevent anyone falling off. A few meters off from it was another lower island set up as the starting marks for the races that were being set up whilst I sat there, waiting for the others. The grandeur of the whole city so far was giving me headaches as I tried to take it all in.

My mindless thoughts were shaken back as Tahl's touch brought reality back to me; he'd thrown some fabric over my shoulder with a snicker.

“Surprise"! He squeaked cheerfully in my ear; it was some sort of shoulder cloak, like the ones noble knights wore.

“I thought I'd get you a gift, to commemorate your transformation; to your new beginning" he added with a shyer tone as he stood there digging his foot into the pavement. My shoulders hunched in and my ears folded back; Tahl definitely liked me and I wasn't even doing anything to entice him. Thought the cloak was nice indeed, just my size; canvas on the outside soft cotton on the underlay, all a light chestnut brown. I inspected the clasps a tad closer before turning to thank him.

“You didn't have to fritter your coin away on me Tahl; surely you could have put it to better use..." I said with a weighted frown.

“Awe come on Kaiber It suits you, really accentuates your hide colours and besides we all know Tahl fancies you" Logan retorted with a sly snicker. I caught a glimpse of a blush on Tahl's face as he turned sharply to scowl at Logan who simply snickered more.

“Come on Tahl you don't hide it all that well" he added with a smile. I didn't realise it but I was blushing to, I could feel it but I was still uncertain of how to feel on the matter. I'd never really thought about that sort of thing; I'd been sold into slavery as a boy but I'd been freed as a man and know I forged my own path.

I sat there staring down at myself, there was a question forming in my head that I didn't know how to answer or even approach.

“Do I like women... or men..." the thought rattled around in my head loosely with the ever certain knowledge of Tahl's growing crush on me. From what I'd learned so far things such as public nudity, male on male intercourse or marriage and even casual sex were all legally permitted and some even encouraged. At least in Mayoran that is but still the thought had me more consumed then I would have liked.

The others slowly joined us one by one; Briar now sported a leather satchel bag, Luca had bought some sort of book. Neil and Mathias both sported matching horn rings as they exited the market. Bastille had haggled his way into a new round shield bearing the bust of a ram on its face.

“Master Virgil has said he's catching up with a friend in the Amphitheatre gardens, he told me to grab the lot of you and wait at the White Theatre Inn just over there" Bastille said, pointing to a grand and inviting tavern just a few yards away. The others all cheerfully headed off but I remained seated where I was.

“Not coming with us Kaiber"? He asked, I shook my head, “no I want to wait, see the dragons and all; never seen one before" I replied with a rather unenthusiastic tone. In reality all I wanted was some time alone with my thoughts and the fresh crisp air. Since I had awoken just a week ago I hadn't really thought about much, I'd been too consumed by training and study. My desire to become stronger, smarter all so I could never be tormented or sold ever again had clouded any thought of things besides my goals. In the back of my head revenge was still present; I wanted to see Brant dead by my hand. But now I was stuck with the realization that perhaps I had a friend, or more than one. Fourteen years old and never before had I had a friend; let alone a crush or any form of affection, the last I could remember of such things was that of my mother.

I had lost so much during those seven years under Brant's malicious heel and no matter how many times it dawned on me, it still came back seemingly bigger and more hollow than before. My thoughts were once again interrupted as a tall man in sharp casual formal wear stepped up beside me.

“Tis strange to see someone with such a glum look upon their face when in such a lively and colourful place, no"? He said, his voice sharp and piercing. I didn't look up at him or anything, just some kindly concerned stranger I thought.

“A troubled mind can sour the best of places I suppose..." I muttered back as a response; there was a pause and I heard the ticking of a pocket watch.

“I find that troubled minds are often the sort who over think the simplest of things; they worry and fret so much that they turn something with a simple answer, into something that twists and turns, till it's a tangle. My suggestion, If I may, stop overthinking things" he said confidently with a soft hum.

“I would also suggest you hurry inside, storms brewing, wouldn't want to be caught in it now would you" and with that I listened to the sound of his footsteps as they bled into the crowd. But what he'd said defiantly sat with me, all I'd originally been thinking about was weather I was one for women or men. Yet here I was dragging myself back to the thoughts of the life I wanted to forget. I cracked a smile, just a soft one as I gazed up at the sky's still blue and clear. So what if Tahl fancied me I certainly enjoyed his presence in bed at night; perhaps I could experiment with him, learn a thing or two. I shook my head with a silly grin as I turned to look for the stranger, aiming to thank him before he vanished entirely. But that never happened, I barely got to drink in the view of the market one more time; before I was blinded.

A wave of hot air struck my face accompanied by a blinding flash; for a moment I could see a man standing there in the centre of the short of empty plaza at the end of the market. Dressed in plain red robes; minimal and featureless with odd marks upon his face and some sort of porcelain cask in his hands. But in a blink he was gone, replaced by fire, shattered stone and body parts. And the next thing I knew was weightlessness and a stinging pain on my right side. My ears rang and all I could see as my eyes cleared was the blue of the sky above.

But then the screams and cries reached my ears and with a rushing sound I was pulled back to the earth and it all snapped to blackness save the faint ringing in my ears.