5th Summer 500AV
A lot had happened to the young Zith in the last season. Against his parents commands he had followed them on a hunt, which ended in him becoming lost and entangled in a great net snare. The snare belonged to a slaver who had been unsure whether to keep the Zith or just kill it. Stalk was not sure if it was fortunate the slaver decided to keep him alive or not as he was now chained and contained in a small cage who's iron bars bored into his back.
Before now he had not really know fear, not true fear. Fear was for lesser creatures not for the proud hunter race that he was tied to by blood. However fear now clutched for sole control of the young Zith. He had gone from being part of a powerful colony boasting some of the most fierce hunters and surrounded by family and slaves, to being alone. He knew little of the world outside his grassland home other than snippets picked up from the slaves in his colony. This had meant the journey had been a bizarre mixture of sensations, none of which could help him place where he was as he had no clue what the suggested.
There had been a lot of walking after he was first captured until he was thrown into the cage that he now sat miserably in. There had been bumps and the sounds of horses for some of the journey however the most unpleasant time came with a lot of swaying up and down and the stinging smell of salt. This part of the trip had induced days of vomiting which only earnt him buckets of cold salty water and beatings from his jailors.
He now found himself in the back of a bleak canvas tent dimly lit by Syna's light illuminating the thick walls of the shelter. Cages of various sizes littered the back wall and the only other furniture in the room was a large desk which was home to a thick leather bound book and a tape measure, a chair was negligently placed near it. The cages consisted mostly of animals of different breeds some of which Stalk recognized, but many that he didn't. Some even had snakes in.
He was drawn from his melancholy by the tent door being pulled apart and a tall woman entered followed by another smaller woman who was tailed by two burly scarred men with broad swords clearly on show. He recognized the taller woman as the one that had brought him from the strangers that had taken him to wherever he was now. He had not heard her voice along the journey and this appeared to be her tent. However he did not know the newcomers.
Stalk's understanding of the common language was poor. He had picked up little bits from the slaves that spoke common within his colony and a rather stout ugly man had taken some, limited however, time to teach him some basic common words on their long trip. He said that Stalk would be worth more if he spoke common, however the young Zith did not know enough to understand what this meant.
Tali (his new jailor) sat down at the desk and looked up at the shorter woman. "What are you looking for? I specialize in the exoitic, mostly Kelvics however I do have a certain number of other specimens that may take your interest?" She turned towards the cages making it painfully clear to the Zith what she was talking about. The shorter lady also turned her gaze upon the cages eyeing them with curiosity. Now she was out of the glare of the doorway Stalk could see that she was almost a foot shorter than Tali with more meat on her. Where Tali wore practical leathers this woman wore a rather elaborate blouse and tight fitting trousers that didn't aid in giving her a leaner appearance.
She spoke then looking down with disdain at the collection of cages before her. "I want a deterrent for my shop, something fierce looking but nothing scruffy that is going to put of my clientele. I was thinking of a predator Kelvic however all the ones I have seen today have been unkempt or not suitable". He didn't know it at the time but the woman was a reasonably wealthy merchant for Sunberth and her haughty nature had irritated Tali. However business was business.
Tali spent the next chime ordering her 2 members of staff, who had appeared out of nowhere that stalk could see, to drag different caged animals in front of the stout little woman. Tali started of with eloquent sales pitches naming the advantages of the different animals but these soon became shorter and with a sharp edge as it became clear that none appealed to the potential customer. Birds of prey, small hunting cats, and other smaller stranger predators that Stalk didn't recognize she turned down them all.
After the lady had turned him her nose at a rather skinny looking kestrel Tali's eyes full upon his cage. She looked thoughtfully before turning to the woman with a broad mocking smile. "If it is rarity you are looking for a have something that may take your interest". She snapped her fingers then and the now fatigued and sweat drenched men headed for his cage.
Before now he had not really know fear, not true fear. Fear was for lesser creatures not for the proud hunter race that he was tied to by blood. However fear now clutched for sole control of the young Zith. He had gone from being part of a powerful colony boasting some of the most fierce hunters and surrounded by family and slaves, to being alone. He knew little of the world outside his grassland home other than snippets picked up from the slaves in his colony. This had meant the journey had been a bizarre mixture of sensations, none of which could help him place where he was as he had no clue what the suggested.
There had been a lot of walking after he was first captured until he was thrown into the cage that he now sat miserably in. There had been bumps and the sounds of horses for some of the journey however the most unpleasant time came with a lot of swaying up and down and the stinging smell of salt. This part of the trip had induced days of vomiting which only earnt him buckets of cold salty water and beatings from his jailors.
He now found himself in the back of a bleak canvas tent dimly lit by Syna's light illuminating the thick walls of the shelter. Cages of various sizes littered the back wall and the only other furniture in the room was a large desk which was home to a thick leather bound book and a tape measure, a chair was negligently placed near it. The cages consisted mostly of animals of different breeds some of which Stalk recognized, but many that he didn't. Some even had snakes in.
He was drawn from his melancholy by the tent door being pulled apart and a tall woman entered followed by another smaller woman who was tailed by two burly scarred men with broad swords clearly on show. He recognized the taller woman as the one that had brought him from the strangers that had taken him to wherever he was now. He had not heard her voice along the journey and this appeared to be her tent. However he did not know the newcomers.
Stalk's understanding of the common language was poor. He had picked up little bits from the slaves that spoke common within his colony and a rather stout ugly man had taken some, limited however, time to teach him some basic common words on their long trip. He said that Stalk would be worth more if he spoke common, however the young Zith did not know enough to understand what this meant.
Tali (his new jailor) sat down at the desk and looked up at the shorter woman. "What are you looking for? I specialize in the exoitic, mostly Kelvics however I do have a certain number of other specimens that may take your interest?" She turned towards the cages making it painfully clear to the Zith what she was talking about. The shorter lady also turned her gaze upon the cages eyeing them with curiosity. Now she was out of the glare of the doorway Stalk could see that she was almost a foot shorter than Tali with more meat on her. Where Tali wore practical leathers this woman wore a rather elaborate blouse and tight fitting trousers that didn't aid in giving her a leaner appearance.
She spoke then looking down with disdain at the collection of cages before her. "I want a deterrent for my shop, something fierce looking but nothing scruffy that is going to put of my clientele. I was thinking of a predator Kelvic however all the ones I have seen today have been unkempt or not suitable". He didn't know it at the time but the woman was a reasonably wealthy merchant for Sunberth and her haughty nature had irritated Tali. However business was business.
Tali spent the next chime ordering her 2 members of staff, who had appeared out of nowhere that stalk could see, to drag different caged animals in front of the stout little woman. Tali started of with eloquent sales pitches naming the advantages of the different animals but these soon became shorter and with a sharp edge as it became clear that none appealed to the potential customer. Birds of prey, small hunting cats, and other smaller stranger predators that Stalk didn't recognize she turned down them all.
After the lady had turned him her nose at a rather skinny looking kestrel Tali's eyes full upon his cage. She looked thoughtfully before turning to the woman with a broad mocking smile. "If it is rarity you are looking for a have something that may take your interest". She snapped her fingers then and the now fatigued and sweat drenched men headed for his cage.
