Our caravan of slaves was ushered unceremoniously down the streets of Rapforth and in through the back door of the auction house. We drew little attention from onlookers, further cementing my understanding that slavery in the empire was a common occurrence.
The auction house contained a set of holding cells that we inhabited until the start of the auction. Along with slaves, there were beasts and creatures of all sorts locked in cages waiting for their turn. In contrast to the opulence of the venue, it was clear that its owners did not shy away from goods that would be deemed low brow by upper society.
Despite its explicit allowance, the practice of slavery was still looked down upon by those who considered themselves the elite of the empire. Noble households carried a certain prestige that no wealth could buy, and as such, there was no shortage of people willing to serve those with great authority.
As such, the elites tended to see slavery as a grotesque practice that greedy merchants or farmers used to obtain free labor. Despite that truth, money was always king, so even the most prestigious auction houses would still sell slaves as they would any good that could turn them a profit.
Several hours passed as I waited for the beginning of the auction. I had brainstormed a number of protocols to use when searching for the target, but they all made assumptions about the venue that I could not confirm. I decided it was best to not overthink the issue, and rely on my instincts in the heat of the moment. Several howls and growls filled the hall in the hours that passed before a click at my cell door signaled the beginning of my scene. They say everyone wears a mask, yet I felt like I was in full costume; now it was time to put on a performance worthy of a street urchin.
When I was given the signal, I walked onto the stage in my chains and rags with as little confidence as I could muster. I darted my eyes around in a false state of panic meant to cover my real intentions. The amphitheater was composed of a semi-circle opposite the stage. There were three levels upon which spectators were crowded. The bottom two contained rows of seats and were clearly meant for common merchants and low rank nobility. The upper level on the other hand consisted of several box seats each adorned with several insignia signifying the importance of its guests.
"Item number 24, A recently indentured slave who…" The host continued his spiel, but I paid it no mind. Because my eyes had already locked on to an insignia that had begun to feel familiar. There it was, the signature golden scale that adorned the seal and insignia of the Amata trading company. And inside the box seat, a man who was undoubtedly of importance. The distance between us should have made it impossible to discern his features, but once again my enhanced eyes did not disappoint. It was as clear as if the man was only a few feet in front of me.
A short brown beard with a clean cut, stretch marks on his face that betrayed his age. Bland brown pupils that didn't draw attention. And adorned in modest attire despite his wealth. A cautious man in appearance, yet one who had grown comfortable to the point of complacency. I was sure it was the target, Alexios Amata.
He was flanked by two guards which were probably hired arms; their attire did not bear the same signature of that of the auction house's staff. Satisfied with my conclusions, I had all the necessary information to act. Amata was within the city limits and there was only one reasonable path he could take back to his main residence. I would proceed with the forest ambush as previously contrived. He was not known to stay in one place for a long time, and the longer he took, the more time I would have to prepare my ambush.
"Tremendous! 5 Gold! Do we have any challengers?" The host yelled, and my focus snapped back to the moment as I remembered the price of information. Nothing was free and now it was time to pay up.
My time on stage soon came to an end, and only one question remained on my mind. Would it be easier to escape the auction's security or that of my prospective buyer. Five gold was no trivial amount of money to spend on a slave, let alone a poor orphan. The buyer was a younger looking noblewoman or merchant who appeared to be somewhere in her 30s with an average build. Regardless of her intentions, she had just spent 5 gold and surely intended to get its worth out of me.
I wasted little time on the question, I had so easily snuck into the venue and doubted the reverse would be much harder. I would go with the devil I knew rather than the one I didn't. I had no intention of figuring out how extensive the resources of someone who had that much gold to blow, on a seemingly worthless prospect, was. And so my mind was made; I would have to escape before the end of the auction; when the buyer came to collect, it would be too late.
After I was returned to my holding cell, I immediately began work on my escape. With first magic, I crafted a skeleton key out of the stone floor in my cell and removed my shackles. They weren't designed to contain a mage so the process was easier than expected.
Next, I had to decide on my escape route. Collapsing the exterior wall would be easy, but doing so undetected, less so. Also, there was no guarantee that my tampering with the building's structure wouldn't be detectable via a spell. I remembered a book I had read in the Mist academy's library that described a spell capable of magically reinforcing earth, making it resistant to physical and magical interference. While the spell was not particularly a strong defense and served more for maintenance, large fluctuations in the barrier would be evident to the artifact or spell's caster as foreign tampering.
I couldn't risk such detection, if my escape was interpreted as an attack on the building, there was no telling what kinds of alarms would be set off. I cursed under my breath, it was simply not worth the risk and so I would have to go with the much more troublesome route, the door of my cell. On one hand the lock was clearly as susceptible to attack as my shackles were, albeit slightly more sophisticated in design. On the other hand however, passing through the hallways would surely lead to a fight with the guards. Without my weapons, I was unsure how well I could take them in a fight.
The guards didn't seem particularly adept in combat, but were no slackers to be sure. I had only trained against Master Korbyn and the other trainees, so I wasn't sure if my skills would suffice. Either way, it wasn't the first gamble I had made and so I proceeded with caution. The lock to my door put up little resistance, lasting only slightly longer than that of the shackles. I enveloped myself and the door with the 'true silence' spell which covered the loud creak of the cell door.
I proceeded down the hall shrouded in my spell, making sure to keep my head low so that the other prisoners wouldn't see it so easily through the windows on their cell doors. The hall extended for some time before I happened upon a door, this time solid with no window like that of the cell's. I could hear a pair of voices coming from the other side of the door flanking each end respectively.
I steeled myself for battle and prepared a set of spells before I entered. When they were ready, I kicked the door open with my infusion mana. It swung wildly upon its metal hinges and bashed with great force into the guard flanking the right side of the doorway. Without hesitation I leaped through the corridor and released an icicle lance targeted at the neck of the other guard. It slipped between his chest plate and helmet, piercing through the helpless chain mail that remained, and punching a hole in his neck.
Before his blood had even hit the ground, I pivoted to the other guard who had managed to defeat his mighty opponent, the door. While he was still dazed, I retrieved a sword from the scabbard of the dead guard without removing my eyes from the opponent in front of me. When he had regained his composure, contrary to my expectations, instead of charging at me, he had scrambled for an amulet secured around his neck.
I wasn't sure what it was capable of, but the presence of a magic gem betrayed its nature as an artifact. I rushed the man before he could activate it. With his life flashing before his eyes, he abandoned the amulet in favor of his sword.
I closed the gap with a stride and swung wide from the right. The sword was a little long for my liking and more to Austin's style, but due to my training, it was not unfamiliar to me. The guard managed to pull his sword in time and mount a proper defense. We traded blows back and forth several times before it became clear to me that I was in over my head. I had underestimated my opponent due to the ease with which I managed to catch the two off guard, but at the end of the day it was still a duel between a child and a veteran swordsman. I was out of my element and he knew that. If anything, it was surprising that I even managed to last more than 30 seconds.
It became clear that without magic, I stood no chance of victory. He continued to keep a close guard inflicting small strikes, but with his strength, they matched the power of my wide strikes. Small gashes began to open on my arms as his attacks slipped through my guard. In desperation, I used 'quick feet' to create distance between myself and my opponent. He hesitated at first, sensing a trap, but by the time he realized I was silent casting, it was too late. A hail of large icicles showered him, inflicting several wounds despite his effort to dodge.
Though the wounds were small, the amount of blood pouring from them was not. Both his legs and his sword arm began to bleed profusely enough that he realized he could no longer win in a battle of attrition. He charged with haste in an attempt to end the fight as quickly as he could. When I was sure it was not a feint, I played my trump card: 'disturb earth'. The ground beneath him became loose and he tripped on his lunge. He fell face first slamming his helmet into the ground.
The shock reverberated into his skull and left him dazed for only a second, but it would become his last. Before he could reach his feet, I plunged my sword into the back of his neck. He choked on his blood for a moment before falling into the endless night. And within a minute, It was done. It was a grizzly sight as the grooves in the cobblestone floor became rivers of blood around the corpses.
With relief, I released my 'true silence' spell and caught my breath. I healed my wounds with what little 1st grade healing spells I knew. It didn't completely heal the wounds, but I managed to stop the bleeding. When I was satisfied, I wasted no time moving on. It was only a matter of time before my deeds were discovered, and I wanted to be as far away as possible when it happened.
My efforts were rewarded with a stroke of luck as I soon found the door which we had entered through. To my surprise, it was only guarded by a two-way lock which posed little resistance. Once I was sure the coast was clear, I snuck out the door and onto the street. Without delay I headed back to my room at the inn. Along the way I got a few looks because of my attire, but nobody asked any questions.
When I arrived at the inn, I changed clothes and burned the slave rags in the fireplace. I waited some time to make sure I had not been followed. Satisfied that I was alone, I headed to bed. Tomorrow would be an early start, and I did not intend on being late.