“Are you a slave?”

Mash prodded Priscilla until she asked the question. He wanted to confirm his suspicions. She nodded slightly and smiled at him. Her eyes looked through him, he thought that they even shone a little. It almost felt like she was seeing past Priscilla’s trick. A skill, or a simple trick? He hoped it was just a trick, or that she didn’t blow the ruse. He stared into her eyes. Priscilla controlled his gaze, but he wanted to see. Despite the power in the woman’s gaze, it was still a little desperate. Although he might just be projecting.

“Yes, but I’m sorry to inform you that I am not for sale. I am one of the king’s personal slaves. One of his three guards and am among the highest level of the slaves here.”

That made Mash worry slightly. Why would one of the king’s personal slaves approach him? Did they have some way of knowing what they had discussed last night? Mash hadn’t felt any magic or anything with his domain but there were ways around it. Not many, but he knew it existed.

“As one of the few truly high-leveled individuals in the city, I am meant to watch over interactions with others. You are above level 100 and demanded a higher leveled escort. I apologize for any signals that I may have given to lead you to believe that I might be available for purchase.”

Priscilla only nodded in response. Mash didn’t want it to end there though. He was curious about something else.

“Wait, are there no slavers who are my level?”

The woman glanced back at him though she kept walking forward. She answered in a way that answered his question.

“I am not allowed to answer that question. However, I can inform you that the highest leveled individual in the city is only 149.”

Mash was surprised by the response. He wasn’t sure if she would actually answer him. And there was clearly something in place to stop her from answering directly too. She worked around it giving him another piece of information to get around the obvious restriction. How much freedom did the slaves have? Although the fact that she did that, made him wonder if she knew he was up to something. Did she really see through the ruse? The visual skill from earlier? The barrier? He decided to ignore it. If she brought attention he could respond, but he would keep quiet if she did.

The level was interesting. Why level 149? It was a dumb place to stop. Whoever they were, they should just level and become immortal. Should he just ask? The way the woman brought it up had been intentional. She didn’t explain, or maybe she just couldn’t. Either way, it was something to bring to Red later. Red and the others were going to go visit the local libraries and try to find what they could about how slavery started here. Mash left the topic alone as the woman stopped at a door and opened it.

The room in question was adorned fancily. Two long couches faced one another in the center. Between them was a similarly long table. A man sat at one of the couches, and he stood when the door opened. He gestured at the seat across from him while bowing slightly.

“Hello! I am Earl Brackenhouse. A level 61 gemstone slaver. Please, take a seat and get comfortable.”

Mash felt the urge to jump at the man, but Pricilla didn’t care nearly as much. She nodded and took a seat while introducing him.

“Thank you, I’m Mash. A level 121 vagabond. And could I ask about the woman who brought me here?”

Priscilla forced a rather polite response out of Mash’s body. In truth Mash was just confused by the situation.

[Too much information. What are you doing?]

Mash trusted Priscilla, and her revealing his class seemed ridiculous. She sent him her intentions, and he didn’t think it would work. But the slight nod of the slaver revealed that she was right.

[You must give some information to gain some.]

Priscilla bragged as the woman who had taken a standing position behind the slaver spoke.

“I’m so sorry for forgetting my introduction. I am Lisa a level 112 Bonded Mana Dancer.”

The slaver held up a hand, and the woman froze in her introduction. The man carried on, even though Mash wanted to hear more from her. The class hurt to hear, but he was so curious. He had never heard of the Mana Dancer class. Was it more like a traditional mage, or was it a supportive class?

“She is quite capable, but sadly she is not for sale. Unless you wished to make a deal with the king? He might acquiesce if you made some expensive concessions.”

“I will consider it; however, I’m interested in knowing how it would work. Surely, someone at her level couldn’t be enslaved so easily.”

The man smiled slightly.

“I am honored by your polite speech; however, you needn’t force yourself around me. You are an adventurer, yes? Feel free to talk more comfortably.”

Priscilla nodded but didn’t respond verbally. She was busy sending Mash a message.

[Control your anger! It is becoming more difficult to resist your emotions. They can and will influence me.]

Mash begrudgingly agreed though he wasn’t sure if he could actually calm down like she wanted. His curiosity helped. The slaver didn’t notice any of the internal struggles within Mash and began answering his previous question.

“You are correct, but I’m sure you realized the odd nature of my class. I am a Gemstone slaver. An important distinction.”

Mash straightened a little as he started to listen attentively. The slaver pulled one of the gems out of his hair and set it on the table in front of him.

“Slaver classes typically place the contract on an individual’s soul when transferring a slave away from themselves. However, that would mean that no one could possess a slave that was a higher level than themselves. The previous king found a way around that. He created the Gemstone slaver class. The class places a slave’s contract into these gems rather than a person’s soul.”

Mash looked down at the small ruby on the table and frowned. That was supposed to be stronger than a person’s soul? He was definitely missing something here.

“Why wouldn’t the gems just break? Couldn’t the slave just break it?”

The slaver laughed a little. He had gotten the reaction he wanted, though Mash hadn’t really been the one to give it.

“Not at all sirs. The slaves cannot destroy any gemstone. As for the previous question, you misunderstand what I meant. When a person takes a contract onto themselves, it becomes a contest of strength. They can’t handle the strength of the slave. In this situation the gemstones are empty. There is no contest. Nothing for the slaves to fight with or against. They have no way of resisting it. Level, strength? None of it matters.”

The man laughed as he spoke. He talked it about like some big joke. An open secret that spat in the face of every person. The woman behind the slaver had dropped her smile. She had kept the expression since the moment she approached him but now it was gone.

Mash wanted to kill the man. It was a chilling thought, but one that he had no problems with. The man sitting before him deserved to die. He could do it easily. That was a short-term solution and save far less than Red’s plan.

[Get us out of here now. I can’t stop.]

The message came out as Mash tried to restrain himself. It felt wrong to stop himself. The man’s laughter echoed in Mash’s head. The sound was worse than anything he had ever heard before. It was the kind of thing that would never leave him. Priscilla didn’t reply, but she did respond to the slaver.

“Oh, that is impressive. That would also mean that I could take Lisa as a slave. I might even have something good enough to convince the king to give her to me. Could you arrange a meeting for me?”

The slaver’s good mood didn’t falter at Mash’s request. His smile only grew wider as he shot Lisa a mocking glance.

“Many get claimed by her beauty. Even I had tried to proposition the king for the same thing once. I will set up the meeting as you request, though I would not expect it to work. The king is quite taken with her as well. Would you like to see any other slaves right now? There are a few that could match Lisa’s beauty.”

Priscilla actually managed to make his face contort into a smile. Mash didn’t know how she managed it. His insides felt like they were boiling again. He decided in that moment to make a list of people that needed to die. And the Earl had the honor of being the first name on it.

“Not at the moment. I am quite interested in Lisa’s abilities as much as her appearance and don’t believe I will have enough to buy her and another. However, I will come back if I fail. Thank you for everything. You can find me at the Adventurer’s Gate. Please let me know when the meeting is available.”

Priscilla stood while rushing through the words. She was obviously struggling to maintain any kind of decorum now. The Earl either didn’t notice or didn’t care. The man’s eyes were raised in a knowing way. He acted like he was staring at an overconfident child. Mash’s hand shot toward the man. The movement had been quick. Quick enough that it would’ve broken the man’s nose had it been punched. Priscilla forced it to change though. It ended as an open hand, obviously left there to receive one in return. The slaver flinched at the speed, but he didn’t let his composure break. The way the man’s surprise vanished was odd, and Mash realized then that it was probably a skill.

“For someone of your level, I’m sure the king will open up his schedule. I would leave your nights open. Expect a meeting soon. I do hope we will meet each other again.”

The slaver gripped Mash’s hand tightly. Mash shook it once and then snatched his hand away. He felt like he would need to stick his hand into an open flame later. The words felt predatory. Like they were worded to get underneath Mash’s skin. They succeeded, but Priscilla had already begun moving him in the opposite direction. Lisa opened the door as he approached it. She looked at him. Her smile had returned, but now he could tell that it was forced. His own smile was fake, but the nod of thanks he gave was real. With that, he practically sprinted out of the building.

Mash took control of his body as soon as he was out. He ran to the nearest shop and entered abruptly. His mind worked although barely. This shop acted as a more traditional restaurant. He dropped a gold coin on the counter and order something random from the menu. After which he promptly stormed into the building’s bathroom. His hands shook a little as he locked the door.

The click of the door was a relief, and Mash opened a portal and fell into it. The portal had opened right behind him as the door locked. It led to an empty hill in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t close to any of the cities, or even to the great tree that hung over his world. He just let himself fall back into it. Grass brushed against the back of his neck as the portal slammed shut. Mash laid on the ground and screamed. His barely contained rage surged through him, and he shouted. He roared throwing out all the words that he had wanted to say to the slaver.