Special at the Auction: A Denvali Slave!

by **Alea Davenport** on December 1st, 2013, 10:06 am

The Rules :

3rd Winter, 513

By the time the boat carrying Alea landed in Ravok, she was willing to admit that maybe it was a bad idea to whine to the Captain that she was tired of being at sea. Especially since she had handed over all her remaining money just for fare to Mura, and had nothing left with which to bribe him to put up with her. She was just glad her animals were safe in the Spires. It had hurt her to leave them behind, but now she was glad of it, since all her possessions had been taken away. The only thing she’d managed to keep was a small, white bracelet, which was at this moment attached to her ankle.

Now, the teenaged girl was dressed in rags and chains, standing on a platform, glad of that small separations from the absurd mass of people below. Her hair was cleaner than it had been in years, her scalp still sore from how they yanked the tangles out. She remembered them trying to interrogate her, ask her what she was good at, but instead of cooperating (or perhaps by way of answering), she bit one of them. She promptly received a punch in the gut, which kept her out of trouble for a few chimes at least. The tattoo was less painful. She even thought the little black half-sun was kind of pretty in a way, though she had no idea what it was for.

She was currently displayed in front of a bunch of people dressed in soft clothes. Several other people had been “sold” already, and now it looked like Alea’s turn. She still was not quite sure she understood what had happened. She was not among friends, she knew that much, but the particulars of her situation escaped her.

A rather ugly man was addressing the crowd, saying bizarre things and gesturing wildly at Alea. “And here we have an exotic beauty from the far-off land of Denval!” Alea winced. The ship captain had told her kidnappers of her origin, though she would have preferred to keep it a secret. For some reason, they seemed more interested in her after that. They gave the captain a bag heavy with coin, anyway. “Shall we start the bidding at, say 300 mizas? Do I hear 300?” Alea felt slightly ill. Three hundred gold mizas was more than she’d ever seen at once in her whole life.

The auctioneer was congratulating himself on the inside: nothing like an auction to drive up the price of a slave. If he’d had to sell this one privately, there would be no way to hide her unbroken nature. He’d be forced to sell her at a discount for sure. But if he could get rid of her at an auction, he could sell her for many times what she was actually worth, and without having to suffer the expense of training her! And with an auction, the bidders were buying more than just a slave. The mere act of winning the auction would be a mark of status and wealth...as long as the auctioneer did his job right and drove the price into the sky!

by **Rheon Blueheart** on December 6th, 2013, 5:54 am

Rheon walked through the area as he saw a large gathering taking place. He was sulking in his lack of success of building a crew; however, large random gatherings are always a good thing right? Hoping to lift his spirits Rheon shoved his way through the crowd to see what event was actually going on only to find it was a slave auction. “Jeez, who’s the lucky one today?” Rheon said aloud not thinking of the people around him as the auctioneer shouted out the price. Another man nearby who was full of sweat and stench begin to nudge Rheon and speak. "Ah are you interested? No one has made a bid yet. She sure is a beauty; she reminds me of myself. Man if I had the money.” He said drooling.

“Excuse me sir now that you’re done creeping me out I have some advice for you. It’s called INTRODUCTIONS. You make them before you launch into full conversations. Second, some things are better left not said. Third, I don’t have the money either…well, I sold my house for 5oo gold mizas and been living on the streets until I could save up for a ship. She might not be up for the street life, so I could rent an apartment but that sounds like too much work to buy a slave. Then I gotta feed it, and pet it, and...anyway I get around just fine on the streets. I don’t really agree with the practice anyway.

The man starred at Rheon for a few seconds in confusion. He could tell he did not know about slaves.“It's a slave not a pet idiot, anyway that sounds like an excuse to me man. Who doesn’t want a slave to do your every bidding? It’s great! I bought this one a few minutes ago, but I should have saved my money. I might try to get a trade in. HAHA.”

“Eh, I don’t know. Although I’d hate for her to go to some creep like you, I doubt all the Ravokians all act the same.”

“News flash buddy, I’m one of the mild mannered ones. Hee, hee.”

“Oh gods. This isn’t looking to good. How do I get involved in all these situations, and on my birthday at that.”

“Your birthday?! Oh go ahead splurge, live a little!”

“Uh so how does this work exactly? I’m not a real slave market guy.”
The fat dirty man began to explain the process to Rheon using a variety of gestures and sounds. Rheon tried to ignore his stench as he picked up on everything he said.

“So I put on a look of prestige and raise my hand like this? I then shout 300 gold mizas loudly like im some bigshot.”

Just at that moment another person in the auction yelled out to the crowd while pointing at Rheon. “Hey this bigshot just cast the first bid everybody. It’s about to get heated!” Rheon watched helplessly as the crowd cheered and things got out of hand. “Wait I was just…” Rheon attempted many explanations but he could not get through to them. “Oh damn, look what you got me into.”

“Don’t blame me. Blame the auction fever baby.”

“He did not just say that…” Rheon put his hand on his face as he sulked once again on his birthday.

by **Valerius Nitrozian** on December 6th, 2013, 7:22 am

Valerius Nitrozian often visited the slave market. His family owned a few hundred slaves and were involved in the trade themselves, and thus he considered it wise to keep an eye on their competitors. He also wanted to acquire a companion for the slaves that he personally owned. The two women didn’t seem to get along at all. With that thought in mind he walked through the market and looked around. Unfortunately most of the slaves that were on sale that day seemed to be humans, without any interesting traits.

He was about to leave again, when his gaze fell on the platform where Alea stood. He stopped for a moment, furrowing his brow. She was unremarkable, neither beautiful nor ugly, but there was something vaguely familiar about her, as if he had seen her before. Had she once belonged to one of the other families of Ravok?

That strange sense of familiarity made him stop in front of the platform long enough to hear the slaver’s sales pitch. As the man claimed that she was from Denval, the Nitrozian arched an eyebrow. He had heard of Denval, the city in Kalea that had been destroyed during the djed storm. It had been isolated for centuries after the Valterrian. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of knowledge its people had possessed. Did this girl have any information on the way the world had been before the Valterrian? Had she been there when Denval had been destroyed?

He stepped a bit closer so that he could take a better look at her. As the slaver called her an ‚exotic beauty‘, he shook his head. „You must be blind, Sir“, he informed him, although he had already decided that he would buy her. Unlike Rheon he knew how to act during an auction and make sure that he didn’t spend more money than he absolutely had to. „This girl is no exotic beauty. She is thoroughly unremarkable and not worth the price. I paid three hundred golden mizas for a Konti that could sing and play the harp and bore a goddess‘ mark. Does your so called Denvali have any gnosis marks? Can she sing and dance? Use a weapon? Convince us that we aren’t just wasting our money.“

He turned to Rheon who seemed to have accidentially made a bid. „You should retract your bid, Sir. I’ll help you if you are worried about the slaver’s reaction. He is trying to cheat you. The slave probably has some kind of disease and isn’t even from Denval. On top of those three hundred golden mizas you will have to feed her which means at least an additional one hundred golden mizas every season. Are you sure you can afford that? You don’t look exactly rich.“

by **Alea Davenport** on December 6th, 2013, 11:12 am

Alea stared down at the mass of people below. It was probably less than a hundred, but still more than she'd ever seen in one place at a time. For about half a chime, it looked like no one would buy her. What would that mean? Would she then be let go? She had no money, but she might be able to find a stable to work in, which should give her enough to live on...

But then things started happening quickly. There were shouts of a bid, though Alea hadn't noticed anything. Then particularly clean--but otherwise unimpressive--looking fellow approached the stage. As he proceeded to enumerate the various reasons Alea was 'unremarkable', Alea began to wonder what would happen if no one bought her. Perhaps, if she were useless enough, no one would be interested, and she could go free. She began to hope for this outcome, and a small smile crept onto her face.

All her clever plans when out the window when the clean man doubted her origins. She instinctively tried to punch him, but she'd forgotten she was tied up, and she only succeeded in rattling her chains. "Come over here and say that to my face!" she shouted angrily, baring her teeth.

The auctioneer looked furious, and he turned to an assistant and hissed, "Somebody gag her!" The auction assistant hurriedly brought a piece of cloth to tied around Alea's mouth. With a slightly nervous laugh, he turned back to the clean man. "It sounds like you got a remarkably good deal for your last slave, Mr. Nitrozian, but I assure you I'm offering a fair price for this one. She may be a bit feisty, but that's just a sign of how healthy she is! You could have her trained to do whatever you want!"

by **Rheon Blueheart** on December 6th, 2013, 6:16 pm

Rheon was thinking of all the crap he would have to do to take care of slave when suddenly he heard a mysterious stranger speak as he walked toward the stage. Rheon was intrigued and paid special attention to what he had to say. Most of what he had said had to do with the slave not being worth the price. That’s when the man suddenly turned to him and advised the retraction of his bid. Rheon would have retracted his bid as he nodded with agreement with the man’s words until he stated that Rheon did not look rich.

You see, Rheon is a very trivial person and will make rash decisions to prove someone wrong. “Rich you say? Not all that glitters is gold mate.” Rheon said with a smile. Rheon knew the man was right, for he wasn’t rich, he was the exact opposite. He had been living on the streets although he could afford a home; this was due to the fact he wanted to save enough money to finally travel the world. Mizas were important, but again Rheon thought of some of the things worth more than gold. He had no idea what was going on through the slave’s mind as he looked up at her on the stage, but he did know what would be going through his mind if he were in her position. First thing he would want to do was get off that stage, and the last thing he would want to do was have to work for some of the jerks of Ravok, not that the clean man was a jerk; in fact he was rather helpful.

At this point Rheon knew the auctioneer was a swine, he also knew that he himself could not take care of a slave as well as someone else, but maybe if he played along and drove up the price some rich family would buy her, and although she would be a slave she’d be working with someone who could provide. Besides the worst that could happen would be that she get out of those chains and work for a poor street rat. Rheon usually did not get involved in such matters as he usually tried to avoid the slave market, but perhaps he was impressed by her spirit, or more likely perhaps he was mad because he was seen as “not rich”. He took his gaze off the slave and looked upon the man who seemed rich, intelligent, and sophisticated. Rheon adjusted himself and stood up straight. He tried to look sophisticated as he spoke. “Thanks for the help but I think I’ll stick with my bid and take my chances. Besides it is my birthday and as my stinky friend over here said, I should live a little.” Rheon smiled as he said this and bit into an apple he stole from the man beside him.

by **Abstract** on December 7th, 2013, 5:15 pm

A woman walked closer to the stage, one arm held high. "I bid 310!" she called, before lowering the arm. By her appearance, she was quite obviously a Valindox, and one of the middle daughters... if you had to guess, she looked about in her mid twenties. Her skin had the slightest bluish tone, enhanced by the blue tunic she wore. Her right arm had a black tinge, due to her half-blooded heritage.

Glancing over, she snorted at the two squabbling men. Though she recognized Valerius as a potential competitor, this woman was quite determined to win the auction. By trade, she was a beekeeper, an odd trade to take up in such a city. However, she'd managed to build herself quite the set of hives near the Valindox family home, and worked her own business selling honey-related products. However, it was well known that her business was booming... meaning she needed some extra help on the job. And that was where Alea came in.

by **Valerius Nitrozian** on December 24th, 2013, 5:09 am

„A fair price?“ Valerius asked and shook his head. „I don’t think so. She is clearly aggressive. How can I be sure that she won’t attack my family or my other slaves when I’m not looking? I will have to keep her in shackles for at least several bells a day and teach her the proper behaviour for a slave.“ With that he turned to Rheon who had apparently decided to be stubborn. „I’m not your mate“, he informed him coldly. If the man had not insisted to continue to bid, and it that Valdinox woman hadn’t shown up, Valerius would have left.

He didn’t need the supposed Denvali that urgently, no matter how familiar she looked and how great his interest in her home was. One problem slave was enough. He had been gifted with a Kelvic by his aunt once. The creature had killed one of his guests and ruined his dining room. He really didn’t want another aggressive slave. But he also didn’t want to be outbid by a commoner and an unattractive halfblood Valdinox with a black arm.

And thus he raised a hand and informed the slaver, „I bid 320 golden mizas!“ Maybe he could make the Denvali fight in the Pit or punish the other disobedient slaves, have her channel all that aggressiveness into something useful. He would also suggest to his grandfather that he do something about that slaver. His behaviour and the way he tried to sell defective slaves was unacceptable.

„I’m just saving your life“, he said to Rheon after he had made his bid. „You don’t look as if you know how to handle such a problematic slave. That woman would likely murder you in your sleep.“

by **Alea Davenport** on December 26th, 2013, 4:54 am

Alea struggled against her bonds, but whoever had gagged her was also keeping an uncomfortably firm grip on her. Finally she gave up and decided to watch the show. She'd clearly made an impression on the talkative one who was reminding her more and more of a certain someone she'd known in Avanthal. She wanted to giggle with glee at his accusations of violence. She'd like to see him try to teach her "proper behavior".

And yet, for all his talk of how worthless she was, he still offered to pay more than the other woman. She was beginning to suspect that his objections were not really all that important to him, and it looked like the auctioneer caught onto that fact as well.

"I have 320. Do I hear 330?" There was nothing more certain to drive up the price than two prestigious houses trying to outrank each other.

by **Alea Davenport** on December 28th, 2013, 4:42 am

OOCIn order to not threadlock Alea for a whole season, I'm bringing the auction to a close now

The auctioneer waited for at least ten ticks, hoping someone would make an offer. He watched the Valdinox woman, but she was apparently re-thinking her interest. Valerius's accusations of Alea's defects had sufficient weight to make the Valdinox consider other options. There were, after all, other slaves on the market.

After a tense silence, with some disappointment, the auctioneer finally declared, "Sold! To Mr. Nitrozian for 320 gold mizas!" It was below the average price for such a slave, but considering he'd only just bought her and had no time to condition her for servitude, he supposed it could have been worse.

As Alea, still gagged, was dragged back off the stage to make way for the next slave, the auctioneer turned to Valerius and asked, "Would you like to take her home with you now,, or shall we have her shipped to your residence?"

by **Abstract** on January 4th, 2014, 2:05 pm

Grade Awarded!

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Alea

Award :

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Valerius

Award :

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Notes

Rheon, as there are some complications with your situation, I can't grade your part of the thread... however, please PM me so we can work your stuff out.

Open Special at the Auction: A Denvali Slave!