Dirty, smelly and disorganized are adjectives that one would expect to find when passing through the streets of a medieval city, but, surpassing the expectations, the reality is even worse.
Heated discussions, smell of excrement and poverty could be seen and… felt, on all sides that Alex observed, while his prison carriage passed through the outskirts farthest from the huge gates, in the outer city.
No magical glamour could be seen in these areas and Alex, disgusted, not used to the bad smell or the precarious environment, wondered if this world he was taken to was really as magical as he thought it could be, feeling relieved to notice that the closer the caravan got to the walls, less smell and trash were present on the streets.
Betraying his expectation, the caravan that was heading towards the great walls of the city made a detour and, after a few minutes, stopped. Noises of the guards getting off their horses and carriages could be heard.
Observing what he could from the unfavorable angles of the windows that his prison carriage had at the moment, Alex could still glimpse a group of two-story buildings, one of them being the largest, with three.
*Click* A lock noise was emitted when a guard, with a severe expression and a bulky goatee, opened the door of the prison carriage, illuminating its shaded interior.
While the passengers present closed their eyes due to the abrupt change in lighting, the guard took a good look at the 4's, perhaps making sure that the high-quality products were in good condition. Alex, however, noticed the sparkle in his eye when he looked at the elf who was by his side.
Thus, the guard, pulling from the ground the knot of chains that connected both chains on the arms of the high-quality products, guided them out of the carriage.
Alex, getting used to the change in lighting, took a good look around him, freezing for a few moments, after seeing something that made his stomach, already nauseated by the fetid smell of the outer city, curl up.
*Blargh* Alex, diverting his gaze from the grotesque scene, vomits the stomach juice from his empty stomach on the floor, unable to move away much from the chains.
His cellmates, already accustomed to the brutal reality of the world they live in, just frowned as they faced the disturbing sight in front of them.
Behind prison carriage that carried Alex and the others, 3 other carriages with twice its size followed in convoy. These carriages were the means of transport for medium-quality products. Behind the last carriage of medium-quality products, a long chain stretched for tens of meters and on both sides of the chain low-quality slaves had their arms trapped.
Children, men and women with a frail and battered appearance, all forced to walk by the chain that was attached to carriage, carriage that was pulled by abnormally large and muscular horses.
It didn't seem very difficult to guess what would happen to some: In midst of long and uninterrupted journey many of frail and poorly fed slaves had no strength to walk and were dragged.
Men and women who had no strength to walk exposed their dislocated shoulders, mutilated legs and grotesque wounds in various parts of body. Of course, most were already dead, but some with more resistance stayed alive, moaning and cryingin in agony, while some guards were in charge of end their suffering.
The breaking point for Alex when he saw the mutilated bodies hanging in the chains, was when his eyes met a dead child, who didn't seem to be more than 8 years old.
She was hanging by her arms and, probably by speed of carriage added to her frail body, her navel down had disappeared with only a mess of flesh and internal organs hanging.
The eyes of the other low-quality slaves exhaled sadness and helplessness, but, oppressed by force, the poor ones could only breathe heavily, tired of the exhausting journey.
"This world is more brutal than it seems. I have the impression that everyone here is already used to death and blood." Alex thinks, while spitting out the traces of stomach juice from his mouth. "A… a child…" still incredulous.
"Let's go!" The guard shouts, looking with disgust at Alex who had just vomited, while pulling the chains that held him and the other 3, taking them to the largest building, the three-story one.
If Alex was in the mood to observe, he would notice that the caravan was now in what looked like a private courtyard and if he could read the large sign at the entrance of the courtyard, he would know that he had arrived at the outer slave market of Gray Castle city: Black Hand Market.
~~~
Minutes later, in an extravagantly decorated room in the baroque style, a man sat cross-legged in his red suede armchair. Beside him, on a small vintage table, there was an intricate porcelain set that contained a steaming liquid full of fragrance.
"Sir Henry, what do we do with the high-quality slaves?" Said the subordinate who had attacked Alex the night before.
"You must put the two women and the acolyte in the showcase of the VIP area, give them the standard treatment, we will sell them at the next auction." He replied in between sips of his tea.
"And the foreign noble?" The subordinate asked.
"Give me your opinion." Henry said in between another sip of tea.
"Well, Sir Henry, his value as a plaything is high, but for not being able to communicate in the language of the 7 kingdoms his value drops a lot. For being a noble, he is probably literate, which will facilitate learning a new language. Besides, his body is extremely fragile, well below average, so some training may be necessary." The subordinate says as he reflects: "If he is a beautiful and delicate plaything, buyers overlook his fragility, but if he is a beautiful, delicate AND resistant, buyers will kill to get him. A few months of study and training are enough, I believe." He concludes.
"You have a good vision Adam, I'll leave him in your hands." Henry says with a smile on his face. "But don't disappoint me, you'll only have this opportunity." He added, taking away the previous smile as he turned his attention back to tea. "You can go now."
With a quick bow, Adam turns and leaves the room.
With the room now silent, a low and chaotic music could be heard from the fireplace that danced to the sounds of crackling wood.
~~~
At that moment, Alex, who was taken to a simple but private room, stared at the food that was served on a small table next to his bed.
Surprisingly, when he was taken to the building along with others, he was separated from them while being escorted by another guard, who took him to a private room, later also serving him a nice plate with meat grains and vegetables.
Despite the unexpected surprises, a room and a plate of food, Alex seemed in trance as he stared at his meat remembering the grotesque scene he had seen earlier.
An internal fight between a hungry body and a disgusted mind took place in Alex who ,with great willpower, took first forkful of food into his mouth, followed by another, another and another, his appetite take over his movements when, in little time, he scraped the full plate of food, murmuring wistfully afterwards: "This is so inhuman."
Alex got up, moved to the bed and let himself fall back with his arms open, he look at the plaster-decorated ceiling, saying weakly: "I'm eating, lying on a comfortable bed and in a private room, while children, men and women die brutally by my side." A tear, that hadn't fallen since the saddest day of his past life, ran down his face, followed by another and another, until two hands met both sides of his face and in a double self-slap, suppressing his melancholy, he says to himself: "You can't collapse now, you don't have the right, not for this, not lying comfortably in a bed with a full stomach, not after the promise you made to her". Says, waking up from his melancholic state.
"Despite having been put in a room and having received food, I'm nothing but a slave at the moment. I must resist, survive, adapt to the environment and seek some way to free myself in the future." Alex points out, before being interrupted by the noise of his door opening.
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