Chapter sixteen.

It took seven days and eight nights to reach the capital. On the morning of Miduss, we approached the entrance to the imperial bay. The mouth of the bay was small by comparison and was only three or four hundred yards (275m) across.

The sight that truly caught my eye was the massive statues on either side of the cliff wall, facing the entrance. The right-hand side was taller than the left, but the figures towered above the opening. They were easily four or five hundred feet (153m) tall.

On the right was a man fully nude but only for a massive crown on his head. The only thing painted on his white marble body was the golden crown. His muscles were done in vivid detail, and his fully erect man hood thrust from his hips. His left hand was on his hip over the woman's hand that stood behind him. His right hand extended up and out as if holding something aloft, and coming from his palm was a bright blue swirl of fire.

A hand was wrapped around the shaft of his cock with the tip and half the length disappearing into the face of a woman bare-chested. Her lips were painted a soft red as she seemed to suck down his length. Her skin was painted a soft tan, and her dress was pulled from the top, exposing her breasts. She was on her knees, and it appeared she was looking up at the man in abject yearning. Her brown hair flowed from her head, and her hair had sparkling ornaments in it.

Behind the man stood another woman, her hands on his hips staring out at sea. Her dress was low cut and revealed her navel. The stone seemed to move in the wind as the black and red garment hugged her curves. She had a happy smirk on her face, and her jet-black hair hung down her back in a braid decorated with gleaming red gems.

Across from the man, on the left-hand side of the mouth of the bay, was a demi-human beast kin on his knees, arms outstretched as if in supplication to the man. The man had long elf ears and great horns that swept back from his temples. His long brown hair, somehow drab in the sunlight, hung down his back in a braid. He wore a collar of silver around his neck and silver manacles on his wrists.

"Well holy shit. Guess there goes the idea of any modesty to be had. Fuck…" I said, trailing off.

The others had come on to the deck to watch our approach into the bay. Apparently, everyone wanted to see the prime pantheon of the empire. The monolithic statues were expertly done and did provide for a grand reminder of just whose domain one was about to enter.

"Timothy, who are they?" I called out.

Timothy quickly came up the stairs and answered. "They are the four. The God Ack, whose domain is of royalty, nobility and pure blood. The Goddess Sippsie who holds lust, sexual pleasures and obedience most high. The Goddess Alleystra, the ever-obedient wife. And the God Roxclou, the eternal slave and servant." He said as I notice him lower his head respectfully.

"Well, that in and of itself explains a lot about the empire. I guess women's rights have a long way to go also. Shit…" I said, sighing and drawing out the last word. "What's the building behind the statues?"

"That is the imperial royal palaces and grounds. It is set at the feet of the highest and encompasses the mount of emperors. As well as a large part of the eastern city."

"Palace, right. And where is the mage college marina?"

"The outer walls of the palace lead to the temple district where the cathedral to the Gods and Goddesses are. In the center of the bay is where you will find the entrance to the mage college marina. The western districts are for the demi humans, beast kin and low casts." Timothy answered.

The bay the capital was built around was massive and easily had a two-mile-wide diameter. There were ships of every make and size anchored throughout and even more in the scattering of the marina that dotted the edge of the bay. I had taken down the sail and stowed them once we reached the opening and used the enchanted engines to cut a path through the center of the bay.

The mage's college became apparent as I was able to make out a high white tower that was nearly dead center along the edge of the bay from the opening. The tower had a massive base, and I could not even begin to guess its size. Every hundred feet, it would step inwards like a cake; there were five layers total. At the base in the water was a large marina wall and an opening in it two hundred feet to aside.

As we made our way to the marina, everyone began to get ready. They dressed in the livery outfits Sasha, Candace, Ray'mea, and Tamara had to help makeover the past eight days.

Timothy had explained the significance of collars and manacles. A slave with string or rope was seen as little more than garbage and treated as such. Leather and copper were the norm and were low in the ranking. Bronze or brass was a low, mid-worth slave. Silver was used for valued slaves, and gold for the highest value.

The collars and manacles offered some forms of protection for the slaves as no one, even a free citizen, would not accost a slave with metal. If done so, it was viewed as an attack on the owner, and full retaliation was not only expected, but the law.

I had made copper collars for the fairies, as anything higher would be highly unusual. All except for the queen Thera who I gave a silver collar and silver manacles.

The manacles were another indicator and could be of a different material denoting value within a collard class. Silver collar but copper manacles indicated the slave was low within the silver rating of the household.

The dryads and nymphs all got brass collars and manacles, except for Arial, who got a gold collar and brass manacles.

Zora, Holly, and Milly all got gold collars and copper manacles. Indicating to all their bodies were highly valued but nothing else. It would keep them from being touched if they went into the city with me.

Timothy got a gold collar and silver manacles. The rest of the elves, Tamara, Ray'mea, Amber, and Candance, got silver collars and copper manacles. Sasha, I gave a gold collar with the same style small silver bell she had had before. However, on the bell, I placed a small ruby, and on the manacles were set two small rubies as well. This indicated a preferred personal sex slave for someone who was wealthy enough to afford such lavish decorations.

This was all carefully designed by Timothy and me to help protect the children as best I could. They already had been branded as slaves and were required to wear a collar. Everyone agreed that for the sake of appearances, they would take collars that others would see as fitting. I made gold collars and manacles for the kids with four large diamonds set in the collar and one large diamond in each of the manacles. I lined the inside of the manacles with cloud wool fabric, and the collars were loose-fitting.

This indicated they were the most highly prized of a household and, to most, might indicate indecent things. However, the display of wealth ensured that no one but the royal family would dare to touch them. It was the best protection I could give them.

-The mothers were beside themselves with gratitude, and still to this day, I am receiving the benefits of that gratitude. -

I had wanted to provide all of them with mithril collars and manacles studded with precious gemstones of every color until they sparkled like a rainbow. But Timothy pointed out that if, in fact, any slave did possess a mithril collar, it would be a slave of the imperial royal family and that to wear such a collar would cause more problems than solve.

As we approach the marina entrance to the mage’s college, a guard platform was stationed just to the right of the entrance. As we approached, a guard yelled, "what is your business at the mages college?!"

"I am here to take the admittance test." I yelled back.

"Very well sir. What is the size of your vessel?"

"130 feet (40m)." I said, allowing for the language skill to translate the size.

"Dock number twenty-five is available. Please secure your vessel there." The guard said as he shuffled through the papers, he was carrying.

We entered the dock with little fuss or trouble. The dryads and nymphs made themselves busy by lowering the gangplank's to either side in securing the vessel with ropes onto the stone cleats built into the dock.

It'd been decided earlier that Sasha and Timothy would be the only ones to accompany me ashore, and everyone else would stay aboard the ship.

As the scantily clad dryads and nymphs went back inside the ship, I made my way onto the dock. I was surprised to find that the dock was almost level with the deck of the ship.

Timothy walked behind me and had attired himself in a Butler suit. The only great difference being the arms ended just below the elbows showing off the golden manacles that adorned his wrists.

Sasha hung herself off my left arm and had worn a pair of short shorts. She also wore a sleeveless crop top that did little to hide her breasts. She had playfully shown me earlier that underneath her blue short shorts, she was wearing light blue lacy crotchless panties.

Her fox tails playfully swished back and forth, creating what I imagine to be the image of a flickering blue fire behind me. I wore boots, black pants, and the almost ever required white poet shirt. The simple attire was made dashing by my cut physique and the bulk in muscle I had recently gained. My face was shaved, and I decided to cut my hair short in the style of the empire that Timothy had informed me of.

As I walked out onto the deck, a man in a long scarlet robe approached. He had two slave women chained to his belt behind him, and they were carrying writing implements. The first male dock attendant I had encountered spoke first, "good day sir, are you a hopeful initiate?"

"Yes, I am here to take the admittance test. I would like to dock my ship here also."

"Understandable sir. The docking fee will be ten gold per day. If you are accepted into the college that fee will be lowered to five gold per day. Is that acceptable?" The dock attendant asked.

"Yes, that's fine sir." I said as I summoned a platinum coin from my storage ring. The platinum dime was worth 1000 gold pennies and would buy me one hundred days of docking fees.

The man was momentarily shocked by the appearance of the coin, but he quickly collected himself. The woman beside him made a notation on some paper and quickly handed over the receipt for the docking slip. Dock twenty-five is now mine for the next 100 days.

The central dock that ran to the shore was large and could easily fit two wagons abreast. It was all made from stone, and mine was the last slip on this section of dock. There were twenty-four other vessels, some larger than mine and some smaller but all large. I noticed as I scanned up and down the dock that the rest of the vessels all had a great deal more rigging in their designs varied widely.

Many of them also had men who were obvious sailors checking over the sails and rigging of the ships.

The exchange with the dock attendant was done; I put the receipt for my vessel in my ring and decided I was going to go and explore the marina.

Sasha was behind me, the soft tinkle of her bell following along as I led her with the silver chain attached to my belt. Timothy followed along behind and to my right as I made my way down the stone dock. The ships I passed were all large, and the two and three-masted affairs towered into the air. The rustling and creaking of wood filled the air as we passed.

My vessel was the last on the stone dock, so I got a good idea of how my ship compared to the others. Where mine was single-masted and clean, the other ships were full of rigging and stowed sails. As for size, my vessel was easily one of the largest.

The stone dock seamlessly transitioned to the marina road, and the walkway followed the road off to the right. Ornate iron lamp posts were set every twenty feet (6m) or so as I walked along the bayside of the road. The street was well-fitted cobblestone and easily could hold three wagons abreast. The walkway split; the right-hand path following along the water of the bay raised some ten feet above the water, left path followed in a lazy cure along the street, and set between the two was a wide grassy area, with trees, winding brick paths and the same ornate iron lamp posts.

The rolling sound of carriages and wagons lowly rumbled and clattered from the street. While the light tones of conversations drifted over the soft lapping of the water.

Along the city wall side of the marina, well-made stone buildings lined the fortification. The fronts of the store were all clear glass and boasted a myriad verity of shops selling all sorts of goods. Mostly catering to the students at the mage's college. Cafes with front dining areas and restaurants with pergolas broke up the line of shop fronts. The area was not the normal rundown dockside but an upscale tourist affair.

As we made our way across the street after a break in traffic, I still found myself taken aback at the stark difference in dress between the slaves and their owners. Just like in Laga'vast, the women all wore what could only be described as late Victorian fashion. The dresses were simple in their complexity and rigidity; high collars and tightly fitted jackets. Large sun hats with a variety of ribbons and flowers spewed from the heads of the ladies. The waists were slim, and the skirts ranged from the simple flair at the hips to outlandish thrusting ass pieces that looked like they could hide a few people under them.

For all the modesty of the dress of the ladies, with only scant well-placed pieces of exposed flesh shown. The slaves that attended them were opposite. If you could find an outfit in a sex shop back on earth, it was on display here along with other wild flights of fancy.

Elves whose hair differed from one to the next like a flowing rainbow walked smartly behind their mistresses in corsets, stockings, and lace lingerie of every kind. The only thing besides dress that set the elves apart from the humans was the refined angles of their face and the ears, which came in two varieties. Short and pointed. Coming up only a little larger than human ears. Then long and pointed, sweeping back to just before the end of their scull.

Different beast kin walked on all fours being led by leashes or followed along behind their owners. There were far more men, walking about in robes and well-made suits. The slaves were still mostly female, and for the men going about tasks, all of their slaves walked behind on two legs. The dresses would still be described as erotic, but you could tell the difference in care that the women put into their pets versus the men.

The refined atmosphere and civility of the marina was jarring next to the sensual barbarity displayed by its citizens. As I walked looking at the shops, occasionally, the loud crack of a riding crop, switch, or heavy thunk of a weighted hand paddle was heard. Delivering sharp corrective punishments to any of the slaves who displeased their mistress. Whether by some perceived overexcitement or some other imagined incorrect behavior.

In the windows of the shop's fashions were on full display, and dazzling bundles of flowers and herbs could be seen. Books and bright potion bottles glittered in the windows. The jewelry sparkled, and the shine of polished steel glinted with the noonday sun.

The passing hum of conversations filled my ears as we walked around groups of women who had stopped to chat. The festive and lively mood brought a sense of life to the marina.

'I had better make some purchases in the shops to fit in better. It appears that citizenry carry their bags to display instead of store them in an inventory.' I thought.

A group of women exited a shop that had bottles in the window. They chatted amiably as I stopped by the door to let them pass. I entered through the wooded and glass door; of what I had thought was a potion shop; in fact, it was a perfumery. The heady and strong scent of perfume and cologne clung to the air as I entered.

The store had an open floor plan, and the products for sale lined the walls of the shop. In the back was a long counter with several attendants helping customers with their purchases.

"Good day my lord. Is there anything I can help you find today?" a caracal demi human cat girl said. Her strawberry blond hair was braided in a crown around her ears. She had large brown eyes that hinted at the feline origin, and she wore a light white halter top cut low to expose her toned abdomen. The light white skirt did little to hide the pink lace panties she wore underneath.

I stared her up and down, doing my best to pretend to judge her apparent worth and if she was subtle enough to assist me. "Yes, that would be acceptable. Sir Grayson." I said, feigning a hoity air.

"Wonderful Sir Grayson. Are you looking for yourself or for a lucky lady?"

"Both in fact, I am partial to the deep cents of sandalwood and amber. While I prefer my women to have a lighter and citrine smell about them." I said, racking my brain for things I knew about scents. The world had been rather clean smelling so far with the spells I had access to, but having mistaken this for a potion shop instead of the perfumery it was, I had to purchase something to fit in and not raise suspicion.

So began the assault on my olfactory senses. I did battle with paper testing strips and sample bottles of the pungent aromas of the colognes and perfumes. I ended up purchasing four perfumes, three colognes, and two slave mists.

The perfumes were tolerable, one being a light floral with notes of citrus blossoms, one reminding me of the almost overly sweet aroma of lemon meringue pie, another was deeper and reminded me of eating pancakes with maple syrup and a fresh-squeezed glass of orange juice, while the last had a wild smell of orange and grapefruit on a summer afternoon.

The colognes came in three types; light, medium, and bold. The light I imagined would be worn to a tea party, or someplace one would stay in one spot for a long period of time, as to not overwhelm the air with the sent. The medium would be worn in day-to-day activities, and the bold was meant for the smoky air of a cigar room. The scents were rich and full of wood and smoke.

The slave mists were cheaper smelling by far, but the quality was still present; each had light citrus tones that would be able to be applied multiple times a day if the scent was going to last.

With the cat girl's assistance, I spent the better part of two hours in the shop. 6 platinum pennies later, I had garnered the attention of the other women in the shop antiquity. They took long sidelong glances at me as they shopped and as the bottles, I had purchased were placed in a thick paper bag with colorful tissue paper spilling from the top and beautiful gold script on the side, exclaiming the shop's name Grand Aroma Thera.

The attendants had assured me that the perfumes would make wonderful first gifts for any lady I was courting, and the colognes were manly and bold. I had purchased the largest bottles available of each type; they were all the same size of various decorations but had an enchantment on them that increased their size to over a gallon on the inside of the small bottles. Handing the bag over to Timothy, who accepted it with a subaqueous bow of the head, we left. The chattering of the women in the store following me out.

I really did want to find a potion shop as alchemy was the one thing I was sorely lacking in at the moment. It was always a smart idea to have potions on hand in any magical world where they were available.

Down the storefront walkways we went, passing citizens eating in cafes and drinking in front of alehouses. The sun was well past noon when I found the appropriate cauldron sign hanging out front of a shop.

The shop was smaller than some of the others we had passed, but the inside spoke of wealth and refinement. The crystal shelves held bottles of assorted sizes with labels attached to each. Signs on the shelves read health, mana, cures, antidotes, enhancements, and even a male invigoration potion. Small tins held powders and small pill bottles dotted the shelves.

"Good after noon my lord, how my I be of service today?" an elf male said. He had short blue hair and wore a well-fitted suit but like Timothy.

"Sir Grayson," I indicated to myself, "I will just be gathering a section of potions today no need to trouble yourself."

"Very well Sir Grayson, if you require anything I shall endeavor to assist." The elf said before heading back behind the counter.

The shop was easy to navigate, and I guessed only the densest of fools would need help navigating it. The prices, on the other hand, were towering, and this shop easily would weed out any but the most affluent of customers.

I pursued the sections going from one to the next and selecting the powders and potions I needed. Placing them all in a basket, Sasha had grabbed and carried delightfully.

I selected a variety of health powders, potions, and pills of varying strength. Antidotes for poisons, venoms, and cures for diseases went in next. I selected three small boxes of the best mana pills the shop had nearly removing their complete stock. They were some of the most expensive items I had grabbed. Each box contained thirty pills, and each pill would restore mana instantly and increases recharged by a factor of ten for one hour.

Enhancement potions for strength and speed went in, as well as aphrodisiac potions. The one labeled feather orgasm boasted the ability to make a woman orgasm by the single stroke of a feather. I bought five bottles of that, thinking of all the fun I could have with it.

Poisons of paralysis and other deathly effects went into the basket. All told, I had a truly impressive collection when I walked up to the counter. The elf's eyes were wide when the full selection was arrayed, and he began to add the total up.

The potions shop was expensive, but I could only imagine that no one ever bought so much all at once. The price totaled, the elf said, "That is twenty platinum pennies, fourteen gold."

"I was wondering I did not see any explosives?" I asked as I handed the wide-eyed elf the money.

"No sir Grayson, only the Artificers guild is allowed to sell explosives." The elf said as I stopped him from loading the potions in a bag and put them in my storage ring, I took the empty bag and winked at him as I handed the bag to Timothy.

"Of course, how could I forget that thank you." I said as I made my way to leave the store.

I continued my walk down the harbor until I passed a group of five women; I knew I had passed earlier in the day. As I approached a finely curved woman with long auburn curls and a large sun hat adorned with flowers turned and asked, "sir, would you answer a question for us, we have hotly debated the answer and only your enlightenment will do on the subject; as it is concerning you."

I stopped some two feet from the women and replied, "most certainly ladies. What can I answer for you?"

"You see here, me, lady Elizabeth," she indicated herself, "and lady Ashly and Lady Margaret have been debating if you are here to take the college entrance exam. Margret believes you to only be here for trade, while myself and newly Exalted Lady Ashly think you are a mage hopeful."

"Well, that is easy enough to put to bed, I am in fact here to take the entrance test on Lastnuss."

"You see Margret, I told you." She said with a slight teasing scorn in her voice.

"Well, he could have just as easily been her to trade with the mage shops, his ship is big enough." Margret said in a harrumph. I hid my surprise, but apparently, my arrival did not go unnoticed.

"How wonderful our young, exalted lady Ashly was just accepted to the college just last week."

Ashly said, "yes it was quite the blessing. You have quite the wonderful specimen of Kitsune if I might say so; such lovely coloring and four tails tipped with blue. Mine only has three tails but a wonderful red with gold tips. I've begged my father for another kitsune; but he is still mad at me for sleeping with the son of Lord Cromwell, it is one of Sippsie's guides."

"Well, it's more of a debated addendum really, lady Ashly, if you insist on spreading your legs for your father's business rivals son, then you should expect him to be mad, it is the whole point of that debated section of Sippsie's law anyway." One of the unintroduced ladies said mockingly.

"Ladies I'm sure sir…?" Elizabeth let the question hang for a moment.

"Sir Grayson, lady Elizabeth." I answered.

"Sir Grayson does not wish to hear about how easily we have all completed the Goddess Sippsie's guide to sexual happiness and skill. Though I am sure he knows that we are all wet and willing as the goddess Sippsie instructs." She said, offering a playful smile.

Having no idea what they were talking about or what to make of the change in conversation, I made up something I hoped sounded ruefully polite enough. "I am sure all of you lovely ladies are slick with accommodating wetness."

"Why Sir Grayson, how wonderful of you to say. We do try and keep ourselves slick with anticipation." The second unintroduced woman said.

"May I examine your kitsune, I can see she is a preferred flesh slave and do not wish to offend, but I am deeply fond of the species?" Ashly asked.

I looked at Sasha over my shoulder and saw the barest hint of a head nod. Under the disguise of pulling her forward, I said, "of course lady Ashly."

The young woman quickly stepped forward and lightly began running her hands over Sasha. Her fingers groped at her breast taking in their size and sliding down her sides. She stroked each of her tails, rubbing the fine fur of them between her fingers. Finally, playfully licking her lips, she slid her fingers up her skirt and plunged them into Sasha's depths. I knew this because as she pulled them from between Sasha's legs, they were slick with her juices as she placed her fingers in her mouth, staring me directly in the eyes and sucked the juices from them.

"Such delicious flavor and so hot and wet." Lady Ashly moaned seductively.

The other girls all had pleased looks on their faces as they bit their bottom lips. I could tell this was some kind of set up but for what I had no idea. I just played along, "yes she does."

"Well, we do not want to take too much more of your precious time today, Sir Grayson, but we do hope to see you along the marina walk again." Elizbeth said, cooing my name seductively.

"It was a pleasure, and I am sure we will see each other again." I said.

I left the group of ladies chatting and continued to meander my way down the marina. I only made it one-quarter of the way down before the sun began to set towards the horizon. Deciding to cross the avenue, and walked back along the bayside of the shore as the iron lamp posts began to flicker on. Every few hundred feet, there were docks that would extend out into the bay that had ships of various sizes docked.

It was at the last of the medium-size docks, before the docks for the larger ships began, that trouble finely found me. To be more precise, trouble finely found Sasha. The dusky haze of twilight had fully descended on the marina when we passed the medium-sized ship docking area.

"You their sir and you white tailed kitsune slut, stop." The obviously inebriated and drunken tone echoed loudly amongst the bustle of twilight.

"Excuse me." I said, heated disdain filling my voice.

"Ah good sir. It was wise of you to stop; I am the exalted Lord Anthony, and I will be fucking your Kitsune right here and now." The drunken slew of words left the man's mouth as he approached.

"I don't think so. You would be wise to return to your ship and continue your night of festive drinking." I said, dismissing the man out of hand."

"How dare you. This filthy little fuck hole is mine and you're going to stand there and watch as I fill her ass hole with my magical seed. And you're going to like it." The drunken Lord Anthony said. At which point he stumbled and reached out his hand, grabbing two of Sasha's tales and yanking them harshly. While the other hand roughly shot beneath her skirt to begin groping her ass.

With Sasha's face going wide in fright as I looked at her, I moved quickly, reaching behind her and slamming my open palm into the man's chest, sending him careening backward and onto his ass. The chain that he had attached to his belt that led to another kitsune girl slipped free as he fell roughly to the ground.

The kitsune girl with bright green hair and five vibrant green tails with golden tips looked at me with horror. One of her eyes was deeply swollen and black and blue, and under what little attire she wore, there were visible scars and bruises all across her body.

"Why you filthy worthless peasant. How dare you lay a hand on an exalted Lord that will be the last thing you do with your worthless life." The sputtering worthless drunkard Anthony said.

"The only worthless peasant I see is you, and I've seen more manners and class on a piece of shit then you are displaying." I said.

The worthless Lord got to his feet and then, in a loud voice, proclaimed for all within the area along the marina to hear, "I challenge you to an Einvigi Holmgang!"

Indicating with my right hand, Timothy stepped up and whispered in my ear, "It's a duel to the death with any weapons, right here and now, for all of the other's property."

"Do you really wish to throw away your life so cheaply." I said, raising my voice to address the gathering crowd.

"Cheaply, you infertile, guzzling shit fuck. You will pay with your life then. I'm going to fuck that worthless Kitsune until she dies from bleeding out from her ass. I'm going to pump her shit womb full of baby's then eat them!" he was screaming at this point, and I saw some guards approaching.

"What's going on here." The lead guard said, deciding to focus on me, the clearly sober one.

"Good, this exalted Lord paid me offence by touching my pleasure slave without permission. When I removed him from her, he challenged me to a Einvigi Holmgang." I said, knowing full well that Imperial law now dictated that the man must give recompense to me for touching a slave adorned as such.

"Is this true?" the guard officer said to the crowd.

"Aye, good commander saw the whole thing." A few said brightly from the crowd.

"Very well, the Einvigi Holmgang is in effect, to the death and for all the others property. Since one is an exalted lord is there any here to witness?" the guard officer asked allowed.

Just then, lady Elizabeth and lady Ashly stepped from the crowd with her other three friends behind them. In a loud voice that carried in the congregated crowd, Elizabeth's said, "I do. I exalted lady Elizabeth NorthStar, daughter of Duke NorthStar ruler of the northern Imperial city of ocean point do witness and affirm this Eingivi holmgang."

Ashly stepped up next to Elizabeth and said in a carrying voice, "I as well, exalted lady Ashly Winter-shore, daughter of viscount Winter-shore leader of the eastern city if winter harbor, do witness and affirm this Eingivi Holmgang."

With that, the guard officer looked at the two of us and said, "make ready, you have one minute. All forms of combat are acceptable."

I could not rightly believe this was happening as lord drunkard pulled a long mace from his bag and swung it back and forth. I Inspected him, and he was only level 12. He had a mildly powerful shield enchantment, and that was it. Deciding to not use magic, knowing I did not want to draw any more attention to myself, I drew the long sword I wore at my hip.

Readying a front guard stance, I stepped into the middle of the circle that the crowd had formed.

"Ready, begin." The officer yelled.

Not moving, I waited as Anthony, the dumb ass, charged forward mace held high over his head. When he was within 2 feet (.6m) of me, and he began the downward motion of his swing, I crossed step with my right foot forcefully and brought my sword up in an angled guard over my head. With the slightest push of my arms, the mace hit my sword and was deflected along with the length swinging until it hit the ground. Stepping lightly around to the back and side of Anthony, I brought my sword down in a cleaving strike.

The sword cut easily through the magical enchantments that I assumed Anthony thought would protect him. With a clean and almost bored strike, my sword cut deeply through his neck and beheaded him in one swift movement.

As his body crumpled to its knees, I stared around at the crowd that had been expecting a much longer fight. Shrugging my shoulders and indicating the body, I looked at the officer of the guard.

He shook his head as he came over and knelt beside the body and looked at the cleanly severed head. "This confirms it he's dead. As this was a Einvigi Holmgang no revival is permitted. We will take the body to be disposed of." The officer said as he riffled through the man's belongings.

Standing, he came over to me and handed me; an enchanted bag, two rings, the shield neckless, and two silver slave bond armbands and three copper slave bands. "These are yours; his slaves and other items are there on that first ship in the dock."

"Thank you. Is that everything?" I asked stupidly.

"Might want to clean your sword be for we take the body away."

Bending over, I wiped my blade on the wine-stained shirt of drunken dumbass Lord Anthony and sheathed it. As the battered Kitsune walked over to me, Elizabeth and her group approached as well.

"Very well-done Sir Grayson, that was most exhilarating." Lady Elizabeth said a heated erotic smile on her face.

"Yes, it was. Thank you for disposing of the trash as well. His perversions where well known and the screams from his ship were become quite annoying, and anyone who treats the precious Kitsune that way deserves no better." Lady Ashly said as she lightly brushed the side of the green haired Kitsune's face.

She flinched slightly at the touch but quickly relaxed as there was no accompanying pain with the stroke.

"What is your name?" I asked the green haired Kitsune.

"Mizzy, Master Grayson?" she answered and asked, looking very nervous.

It was at this point Sasha stepped forward and whispered in her ear, lightly wrapping her tails around the girl and hugging her. They stayed like that for a few seconds, and Mizzy relaxed further, great weightlifting from her.

"Mizzy, will you take me to your dead master ship?" I asked.

"Yes, Master Grayson. It's bad on board, I must warn you." She said more confidently, but the trauma in her voice was apparent for all to hear. Ashly looked furious at how the beautiful girl had been treated as I knew she had a deep fondness for the Kitsune.

"That is fine, we will set to right everything that shit stain put to wrongs."

Mizzy guided us only a few hundred feet to a small sixty-five- or 70-foot sailing Galleon. The back was raised like a Galleon, and from the first mast forward, the deck of the ship was flat. We walked up the gangplank, and the immediate disrepair of the ship was evident. Not that it wasn't clean and tidy and what looked to be best efforts had been given, but that the materials needed to keep the ship in proper repair were simply never purchased.

Through the main door on the ship, we walked into a small entryway with a large sitting area. In the back small dirty glass windows looked out the stern of the ship. There was a large bed and table in the room. The bed was a rather large fourposter affair, and chained to the foot of it were two beaten and battered beast kin demi-human kitsune. They wore dirty white chemises stained with blood, urine, and other debris. The chains around their necks attached to the posts at the end of the bed.

They stirred fearfully and quickly rose to their knees, placing their four heads on the floor. They didn't even dare to look up, and though their bodies were in a fragile state and greatly abused, they managed with the natural grace of the Kitsune.

The room was littered with wine bottles, spilled mugs of ale, and the stench of dry and rotted alcohol filled the room. Bloody rags and clothes were draped over furniture. Along the wall, next to the bed, a variety of whips, lashes, and other brutal implements were displayed. These implements were not designed to be the slim sexy punishment tools that the noble ladies carried in the streets; these were simple, brutal pieces designed for torture.

"Sasha, go and see to them. You to listen to everything Sasha tells you." I said to Sasha and issued a command to the two quivering piles at the foot of the bed.

"Mizzy take me to the rest of the ship." I said in a stern voice, trying to disguise my building anger.

In the back was a doorway that led to the bowels of the ship, and there was no better word to aptly named for what I encountered next.

At the very bottom was a storage room and galley, and chained to the center counter of the galley was a hobgoblin and two goblins. Pots of something foul and filled with the scent of blood boiled on the stove. It just above the clatter of the pots and pans, I could hear the mewling of a small baby. Sitting on one of the counters was a basket filled with blankets, and the tiny arms of an infant flailed upwards in discomfort.

As I surveyed the kitchen, it became grossly apparent what the foul perversions of the previous master had been. He had been dining on the infant corpses of the Kitsune. The glance into the garbage bin was all that was required for a full and gruesome understanding, is this: tiny bones that remain from previous feasts had yet to be disposed of.

I took all of this in and momentarily stood in shock and revulsion. It only took a few seconds, though, before I flung out my hand and created three separate cubes out of Shields. Clenching my fist in one quick motion, I compressed the hobgoblin and goblins into an area of about two inches cubed. With another twitch of my hand, I sent the cubes hurling out of the port side window and into the water of the bay, disposing of the foul creatures forever.

I moved over to the crying bundle in the basket and peered down at the small crying face of what could only have been a one-month-old kitsune. Her face was scrunched up as she shrieked and waved her hands, and I could see the faint outlines of three red tails with white tips sticking up from behind her back. I rubbed my hands together quickly, making sure that they were not ice cold to the touch because I was sure my blood was not pumping normally with the amount of rage and anger, I felt.

I reached down and softly ran a finger down her forehead and nose a few times. Then I picked up the small mass and tucked it protectively into one arm up against my chest. The infant still cried, but as soon as its ear was pressed to my chest and it heard the loud rhythmic pounding of my heartbeat, she began to calm, only crying softly.

I couldn't even look at what was in the pots or in the oven or any of the other cooking utensils. I simply wanted to gouge the kitchen out of the ship and hurl it into the bay.

We moved to the storage room and galley and found a door that, when opened, led to a set of stairs that led down into the bilge of the ship.

There was a faint light, orange in color and maleficent in nature. We reach the bottom of the stairs. It became apparent that the center of the ship was just a large holding area. The Kitsune were chained in rows with their necks attached to the floor, the leads no longer than to allow them to come to their knees. Along the center at the ceiling of the ship ran a long rope, and one Kitsune was attached to it. It appeared she was the only one that was allowed to walk back and forth, though, by the apparent shortness of the lead and the huge black bags under her eyes, it was apparent that she was unable to sit or even kneel and that if she fell asleep, she would suffocate.

The stench is exactly what I thought it would be the foul odor of unwashed bodies, piss and feces rankled my nose. As soon as the smell hit my nose, I flung out my arm and cast purify the air is a massive spell instantly removing the stench from the air, but I knew it would quickly resurface until the messes had bitten taken care of.

On the far end of the ship near the bow of the vessel were four Kitsune, two of which were strapped to the ceiling by the wrists and raised to the tips of their toes much too long ago. The sockets of their shoulders a dislocated, and they were standing flat-footed but in excruciating pain. Another was strapped to a large cross, and the last was strapped to a table.

Soft whimpering and cries filled the air as they heard me approach, obviously thinking I was their previous master. The pleas of, "Please kill me…" "no…no… no more." Filled the silence in muffled waves.

"Holy fucking, what in the…." I said in abject horror.

It was then I heard the soft crying of more infants coming from behind a small group of kitsune women in a corner. They were trying to shush them but failing, their weekend bodies barely allowing them to move.

I walked down the center aisle to the one on the runner. I reached out, and with a flick of magic, it broke. The woman fell, and I caught her, laying her on the floor gently.

I was tempted to send out a massive wave of healing, but something in my gut said healing like that would most likely kill the starving and beaten slaves. The shock to the system from going from near death, starving, and abused for so long to perfect almost instantly would be too much for the bodies to handle.

In total, with Mizzy, there were twenty slaves all chained to the floor and at the bow of the ship. That made for twenty-three Kitsune stuck in this hell hole.

I worked my way to the back, where two Kitsune lay in a circle around a pile of blankets. Their breasts were exposed and writhing in the blankets where six kits. One desperately tried to reach the mother's breast to feed. Their little tails waved a multitude of reds and browns. The mothers looked at me with fear then confusion as they realized they did not know me.

"It's… It's… I will help the best I can." I said; I used a different form of healing instead of the massive burst of healing energy I was accustomed to. I sent out a small thread of manna that I coaxed into healing energy into each of the mothers. The mana attached itself and began to gently drip into the mothers providing a slow but steady recovery.

After observing the mothers for a few minutes, to realize that this method of healing was going to be adequate for the abused slaves. I sent out threads of manna to each of the slaves shackled on the floor and to the young kits that were still being encircled by their mothers.

I felt the slow trickle of manna leave my body and the healing energy began to increase in the room. The next thing I did was cast the massive cleaning and purifying spell, ensuring that the magic did not interfere with any of the healing magic going on. With one more casting of the purify spell, the room now just had the smell of unwashed bodies, but the accumulated grime and filth was gone.

I made my way to the bow of the ship where the Kitsune were strapped, and their torture continued. I had not attached healing energy to the four Kitsune strapped down in the front because I was not sure if, in doing so, I would cause them any more pain than they were already in.

The four seemed to be new acquisitions to the ship as their bodies were not as famished as the rest of the ones inside the hold. I quickly began unstrapping them and laying them down on the floor. There were pieces carved off from them that had been cauterized, brands had been applied all over their bodies. And the one that had been dangling by her wrist was a mass of bruises from her face down to her toes.

In all honesty, I was surprised they were alive. But as I observe their bodies, I saw that they were in much better condition relatively than the starved others. So, I cast greater healing on all four of them and watched as their mangled bodies begin to stitch themselves back together and lasted only a few seconds, and sharp intakes of breath's occurred, but before they could scream, the healing was complete.

With that complete, I turned to Timothy and said in a low and soft voice, "go to the ship and collect the others to help, hire some wagons with covers to help transport them." indicating the abused masses.

It was dark when we finally had all of the Kitsune laid out under the trees of the dryads wrapped in blankets and pillows the others had given up freely. I stared at the fox girls sleeping peacefully for the first time in what must have been years as I held Sasha, her head resting in the crook of my arm. The sight had left me in a foul and dark mood as Milly came and stood beside my other side wrapping her arms around me.

I had left a note on the ship that said: [free to take, first come, first served.] With that, I had put the vessel of horrors out of my mind.

I did not leave the ship the following day; instead, I tended to the Kitsune. Doing what I could to bring them back to full health once more.