The Harukian Chronicler - Chapter 18

A couple of years pa.s.s on by slowly just like this; soon I am allowed to walk around town on my own, seeing as I have a good grasp of the common language. I am nearly going to turn four, a few months away from that time; my horns have grown a little longer and my toe claws have begun to become to talons that would be on a normal demon. Using these, and my claws; able to control my claws to cause the ichor to grow now; I am able to climb up the wall to make my escape and go wandering in town. I don’t try to go into the wilds, yet, and I know that no matter what… I couldn’t truly escape right now… because…

“Little Zeri; you will worry your mother if you go running away like that.” Zekiel says as he taps a blackened claw on his son’s horn, “If you wanted to go explore the town, you just need to ask.” Of course I could, but then I either have a servant or mom following me around. I want to do my own information gathering; can’t really take too many detailed notes in my journal with someone… normal… with me. Father understands, as he can usually be seen doing the same type of note taking; just not as detailed as mine. Zekiel clears his throat; “I am also sure your brother’s would have wanted to join in, they like walking in town as well.”

“Dad, I just wanted to explore by myself…” Knowing that when father is tapping like that he’s not annoyed, but interested in getting answers; “I heard a Thrall Carrier is coming today. Thought to take notes of the Thralls.” I smile innocently, as the best is to tell the truth… father’s eye may not be as strong as mine, but he can discern lies with it… and his eye is currently emblazoned in purple fire. “I’m sorry, should have asked you.”

“Well… no harm in being curious…” Zekiel sighs softly at his child, tapping on the small horn with his claw some more before taking his hand away; “Let us be off then, we’ll talk with your mother later.” The old demon gives a small smile as he begins walking down the path… almost feeling that he was tricked by his son in some way.

The duo walked down the dirt road together, Zekiel sending off his contracted beast; a small owl named Asmode, to send a message to his wife to let her know where he and their son will be. I notice this, but don’t really say too much about it; but I have Mala pull up the map in a translucent way before my eyes. Controlling the filter function with my thoughts; it is pulling up anyone with hostile thoughts, just in case. Then makes it translucent to the point where I could still see the colored dots.

“So, why is it you wish to see the thralls? Any special reason?” Zekiel asks his son, offhandedly as he didn’t really expect much from one of such a young age. If he was honest; then he would admit to checking the Thralls every so often as well… to see if there was anyone that could be of use… and for his wife’s sense of justice. He did love that about her, she usually saved the children and most women that would be used in… darker… places.

“Oh, just doing research on how to use my eye… and to see if there’s anyone there that could be of use.” I smiles a gentle smile, warm and simple; “Also, if they have any children, I’d see if grandfather would have mercy upon them.” Just talking with my dad, I sort of reveal some plans that I have; “I can’t do it myself, not until I begin making money for myself. Plans to join the Guild, and some other things…”

“I see, you inherited your mother’s will indeed… just be careful not to get burned my dear child.” Zekiel was quite surprised at his son’s thoughts; and plans for the future. He had the right to join the guild at five, so in two more years. With his abilities right now, he could make a decent explorer and researcher; would do well while gathering quests to. It was at this time Zekiel decided to make a regiment for combat training for the boy…

“I’ll even get Yehai and Nihlis to join me, if they want to of course, not gonna force them.” I chuckle to myself, having everything planned out in advanced; unbeknownst to me though, my father is quite proud and happy with me… “I want to make a clan with them, so we can grow strong together. I want to help them as much as I can; I know I can make some good equipment for them if I put my mind to it.”

“So you want to be a crafter, that’s a good dream.” Zekiel smiles softly; “Tell you what, point out any thralls on the cart, and I’ll pay for them and we can welcome them into the town. After talking to your grandfather of course.” He chuckles, walking a leisurely stride that his son has to move quickly to keep up with; “How go your studies?”

“I have only been able to comprehend six of the Futhark runes… that’s not enough to use them well..” I sigh to myself, rubbing my head; glad that I can be my self around dad… he is well known for being a scholar, who read books when he was but months old. So his son reading at one year, and doing this… luckily does not phase him; “But I have memorized the ‘History of Handrak’, ‘Botany for Beginners’, and ‘Monster Parts and Their Uses’. Also thought of a strategy to beat you tonight.”

“Is that so; well, we will see tonight my son…” Zekiel chuckles knowingly; having played his son a game of Chess every night for the past year. Seeing as they have all night, they play for a few hours… his son has yet to win a game; “We’ll talk later, we’re nearing the Thrall cart, let’s see what they have today.”

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Father and I stood in next to the eastern gate, this area had a small marketplace for traveling merchants; they had some interesting things here today… but our target was the Thrall Merchant that stood near the gate. This market was for merchants from the west heading east; likewise there was a market at the west gate for those heading west. That is so the merchants can offload some wares they couldn’t sell, and even maybe bring in some more merchandise. Thralls are no different here; being a legal form of slavery in Handrak, though the rights of them depends on the Jarl in charge of what city. By the way, Slavery is legal in this world; goody, got to watch out for that.

The thrall merchant that was here today… was oddly enough a rather scrawny looking sleaze bag of man. If you had to look at the man and take a guess, one would probably say the man weighs about one hundred pounds; sopping wet. His clothes were rather simple, but didn’t quite fit him well, probably being a size too large for his frame. They were of brown and green dyes, so maybe he was a poor merchant? No jewelry adorned this man, but the smile that was on his face would drive any person to want to punch him square in the jaw.

One look could tell you that this man was quite the sc.u.mbag when it came down to it… oh how I worried about his stock of merchandise at this rate. Looking at the cart which he stored the thralls; I let my eye give off a light silver flame as I activate the Keeper’s Eye, staring at each in turn… then taking notes in my notebook:

There were a total of three thralls within the cart; two males and a female…

1)Male – Beast-man (Wolf Varient) – Age 46 years.

The wolf-man was a dark gray color, with a sharp pair of green eyes. From the looks of his stat distribution, he would be a dexterity type build; with plenty of skills in what would make him a hunter. Definitely looked to be a wild one, would cause some issues to whomever bought him due to the amount of work they would have to do to train him to be workable. If one could either win his trust, or get him to follow their orders, they would have a decent a.s.sa.s.sin if they wished; at least someone to bring in furs and meat for selling.

2)Male – Dwarf (Plains Varient) – Age 108 years.

The dwarf has a long bark colored beard with the scraggly feeling of one who hasn’t had a proper bath in a while; with spa.r.s.e patches of brown hair on top. This man has ma.s.sive arm muscles, skills in smithing seems to be the cause of this, as well as a love of bludgeon type weaponry. He could be useful in any towns forge community, making weapons for the levies and retinues that any town needs; or outfitting the local Guild branch. What would make me wary is the fact he has a curse on him right now; which causes him to lose a rank of his highest skill every week, “Eater’s Skill Bane.” Probably p.i.s.sed off a gypsy or something.

3)Female – Half-Breed (Fire Elemental / Human) – Age 7 years.

This one was a little strange, as the other two were adults, this one was a child, and a rather young one at that. Though, she was at least four years older than me at this time; so not too young. She has red hair that reaches her shoulders with a bit of an end curl, though her hair was matted to match the dirt splotches on her. One could see the muscles that she was sporting, could be nice to have as a front liner, and not many skills save for cooking and disa.s.sembly; possibly raised on an outlier farm somewhere. She would be a great blank slate for someone to begin work on something to fit any part of a team that they needed; save for the main issue of… her addiction.

I could only make a simple a.s.sumption as to where her addiction came from; but boy was it to one of those rather painful substances that infest this world. Nothing too bad; it’s a narcotic made from a relatively uncommon flower in this world, but it could be debilitating if taken in large enough dosages. When someone became addicted to it, it would actually be a long road to recovery, as they would gradually become physically weaker in stats till they nearly hit zero… most people die at this point due to the stat bleed.

“Dad, all three look useful in their own right… with their own problems that could become a bit of a hazard. Wolf-man is wild, Dwarf is cursed, Halfer is addicted to Hrash-Flower.” I sit on a nearby bench with father sitting next to me, as I mull over my notes. I am partial to being a good person and saving the girl, mostly because… my mother would tan my hide if she ever found out I pa.s.sed her over for someone else. Though, for me, I’d rather have the wolf-man for the hunting purposes; or the dwarf for the use in making weapons. “If mom was here, she’s kick us for not instantly helping the girl…” I mumble to myself… getting a chuckle from father.

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‘Hey, I have a quick question about Consumption. It allows me to try and absorb any ability or trait from a target by eating their essence; that’s any ability or trait, right?’

<“yeah, there=”” shouldn’t=”” be=”” any=”” ability=”” that=”” can’t=”” be=”” consumed…=”” why?=””> Baalish sort of sounded like he was… a bit worried for what I was thinking…

‘So any ability can be consumed… that is all I needed to hear…’ A sly smile spread across my face as I started to formulate a plan; the smile becoming more of an evil grin as my father looked down at me…

“Son… I get worried when you smile like that.” Zekiel has seen this smile a couple of times on his son, both times it ended with some form of odd experiment or harm to his son. “Try not to cause too much trouble please…”

“Nul sheen father; just follow my lead…” Father gave a confused look at the unfamiliar words that came from my mouth; though I strode confidently to the thrall merchant, the man giving me an appraising glance… and I sort of wanted to punch him, almost as if he looked at one of his products.

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My brain is filled with a thick fog; keeping me from thinking clearly. I just want more of the medicine the merchant gives me, let me feel good on the haze that fills me. Beyond the medicine, there’s nothing else in this world, please just let me stay within this haze. There’s something worse behind this haze, the fog keeps me safe from whatever creature is there; let me stay here where I am safe and sound.

The medicine… I am happy that I get it every night, as long as no one buys me. I want to be here, forever…

“Excuse me good sir, I’d like to take a closer look at that red headed woman, if you please.” A voice of a small child states from beyond the haze… I am the only female here, so he must be talking about me. Why does he was to look at me, just let me stay here…

“Certainly young sir, but if I may ask; why does one so young wish to look at my products? Are you searching for a bed mate already at your age?” The sleazy voice of the merchant comes through now; bed mate? Is that something like what you make me do for my medicine? Would he give me medicine?

“No sir; I am far too young to care about something like that. If I had to say a reason for me to look at thralls… it would have to be… mind your own business?” The young voice is as innocent sounding as can be… I look over out of the cart to look at the small child; looking no older than three… and yet I can feel some strange power from him. I am just a simpleton without a Patron to look after me; the merchant says that as a person without I am no better than a slave. But why… why does my blood boil as I look at this child…

“Ah, my apologies young sir, would this man here perhaps be your guardian?” The tall ebony haired man standing next to the silver haired child gives a nod; “Very good; but are you sure you want the female? She’s not have any Patrons, and is not really cut out for much save for housework. She also doesn’t have much const.i.tution, I have been giving her medicine to try and make her better; but she doesn’t seem to be able to be cured.” The merchant gives a smile, I can feel the oozing sleaze from here… my medicine, I want my medicine…

“That is fine, I wish to see her. Bring her down from the cart so I may examine her more closely.” The child smiles, a strange and… fear inducing smile… he makes the merchant give a face as if he chewed on something horrid. The taller demon gives a soft smile and steps forward;

“Good sir, my son here would like to buy the girl for his own machinations; I would implore you to do as he asks and bring her here for a thorough examination, then we can discuss price.” He smiles, it is then the merchant turns pale and quickly makes his way over to unchain me from the cart; dragging me behind him as I aimlessly follow him… I look at him, and try to voice out my need for some of the medicine…

“Silence!” The merchant hisses, and then shoves his thumb into the back of my neck, causing me just a small amount of pain as he grinds a nerve against my spine; “Be a good thrall, and you’ll go to a good home.” The whisper penetrated through the fog; meaning if I didn’t behave properly then I would be able to stay with the medicine. As I am brought towards the child, in my mind I come up with plans to attack him… cause him damage… I want to stay with my medicine… but I stop… as that knowing smile and that calm voice oozes into every corner of my mind…

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“Wow, you must be truly blessed. Even though you do not know of them; those two still weep for you, and look as if they want someone to save you.” I say without stopping myself. A soft smile on my face as I step up to the kneeling woman, and begin to neaten and clean up her red hair; getting the strands away from her eyes so I can look at the deep green of her ocular orbs. “Hmmm… yeah, you look nice and strong; just need to take care of that stupid little white noise that is filling your head with these really stupid thoughts.” I lift her arms and feel the muscles beneath; she looks to have some decent foundations…

“Good sir, as you can see, she doesn’t appear to have much going on for her; and her const.i.tution isn’t much to speak of either. The appraiser at the hub has stated that she has no Patrons, and her potential is non-existent.” The sleaze ball continues to talk to me, since father and I haven’t used our eyes within distance of this man; its good to let people let their guard down around people like us… continue to lie to me… “If you are really wanting to buy her, then I am asking for a gold coin. She is a virgin, and will make good breeding stock for lat..” The merchant shuts his mouth instantly as I direct an eye towards him… I can almost feel a strand of anger coming from my own eye and piercing into him; “I will watch what I say good sir; my apologies.”

Zekiel looks at his son who goes around the poor girl to check on her body, the young red head has a vacant look on her face… Hrash Addiction huh… though his son seems to have some plan. The old demon sighs as he steps up to the merchant to begin negotiations on the price; having the gold to pay for it, but a single gold for a thrall is indeed quite a price. This merchant must be using this child for his own messed up games; Zekiel thinking in his mind offhandedly if he should try to kill this man…

It didn’t take long for the two adults though; as within a few seconds of beginning to talk they hear the female give a little yelp from where she was left. Both look up to see the child having sunk his teeth into her hand; the merchant rushing forward but Zekiel stops him from attacking his son… the old demon giving his son an odd look. After a couple of second pa.s.s, the child takes his fangs out of her hand, and gives her a smile;

“Heh, that’s the best I can do, rest is up to you. Luckily he used a pretty weak varient of the plant, otherwise I might not have been able to do that.” Zekiel looks at his son oddly, about to ask what he means when the girl’s face fills with color, and her eyes fill with life.. her hand going to her head as if she was holding onto a headache.. a groan coming from her..

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The child had bitten my hand, and felt as if he was drinking my blood… no… it felt as if he was drinking the very essence of my soul. Before he bit me, I could see a glowing sigil on his tongue, it was nothing like the patron marks I had seen before. It was after he had drank a bit of my blood that the fog that I had lived with for years… thinned. I could feel my thoughts come through; and his voice telling me… that the rest was up to me.

I grabbed my head, as memories began to flood into me as a torrent that has broken through a d.a.m.n destroys the countryside; my life before becoming a thrall… my village, my parents… bandits… I can’t take it anymore as I start to cry; I can feel the liquid leak from my eyes, long held pain coming to bare. I could feel the darkness within my soul slowly coming out and seeping into my mind, forcing me to cope without the aid of the medicine…

As I felt as if my own brain would snap at the emotions; I could feel a small hand petting my head, causing me to look up with surprise; seeing the smile of the child… a smile of someone looking at a child… I couldn’t handle it too much longer as I clung to him; burying my face in his shirt and crying. All the while… his hand just stroking my hair.

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“Now all of you can weep; let out the pain from within… we’ll get a proper appraiser to awaken the two. You are not without, it’s just not possible for a mediocre Appraiser to see what hasn’t been given a path.” My eyes look up to the merchant, who does not look happy in the slightest; a finger lower the skin of my right eye slightly, a silver blaze lighting up, causing that unhappy expression to increase ever so slightly. “But nothing can hide from my eye; I can see the fabric of the universe itself, no secrets stand before me.”

End of Chapter 18