A Clean Slate

[Aron De Soto]

40th of Summer, 513 AV Aron returned from registering the Courtesan and paying his docking fees. It wasn't too terribly much, and didn't cause too much of a dent in his finances. He was glad that he had bought supplies in Zeltiva before being forced to leave...the guards were getting wise and were asking for more money to keep quiet. It was raising questions and Aron could no longer cope with it. He had bid goodbye to his mother, and the gemcutter he bought his gems from, and made for a city with a thriving slave market. He sighed and raked his fingers through his hair, looking at the ship and remembering the home he'd left behind. He would miss his local gem cutter. She had been a nice older woman and he'd sold one of his pets to her to help her around the shop. When he'd last seen them, the pet was doing well and beginning to outpace even Aron in his knowledge of gems. Aron set the gangplank and lit the red glass oil lamp that marked him as a slaver, in addition to the bright red sails adorning the Courtesan. He didn't have any stock to sell, but he had a single slave in the holds. Leith Mournlith, a Kelvic, had been captured visiting Zeltiva. Currently, she was still bound by an iron ring around her throat belowdecks. He needed to begin training her. He opened the hatch to the living space below and locked it behind him, heading down the ladder and folding his arms. He looked at Leith. "Alright...shall I explain the situation to you one more time?" he asked. He hadn't told her much on the journey, but had fed and watered her regularly and had tried to keep from being too cruel to her. They both badly needed to bathe, and that would be the first order of business.