30th of spring, 515 a.vlate afternoon
The sun had slowly begun her descent when Shahar made his way into the churning throng of people on the outskirts of Endrykas. There were still a few hours of daylight left, but there were more behind him than ahead of him; he wanted to be done with this by nightfall.
The slave caravan had been massive, filled the the brim with a majority of women and children with a smattering of men. Even as he traveled through the tents he could hear voices praising the gods for this sudden bout of phenomenally good luck, and it filled him with a nervous energy that kept Akaidras at a hasty trot; the families of the city would descend upon the newcomers in a great cloud, seeking women to mate with and children to raise.
To his relief, however, the throng had not yet grown to unreasonable proportions. Word was still traveling and preparations were still being made, and Shahar’s early knowledge had allowed him to outpace the majority of the crowd; if he conducted his business quickly, he could leave with minimal difficulty.
The slaves hadn’t been taken into the city proper, as the sheer number of people would have almost certainly proven chaotic; instead, they had been brought to rest on the borders of the Topaz district, where the leaders and lawmakers of the city could see to their distribution. There were a few Drykas about already looking to take in some of the wayward slaves, and so no one gave Shahar a second glance as he slipped through the ranks of warriors and towards their wards.
His plan was simple, but relatively open-ended; the camp had seen a dramatic increase in activity and tasks with the addition of the zibri, and even with all of them to share in the workload it was a challenge to keep everything in order day after day. There was a certain obligation towards adopting an escaped slave, and even one new hand would be a welcome addition.
What he hadn’t realized, however, was that the tools and equipment that had accompanied the slaves were also being sold off, and there was an area that had been filled exclusively with horses. Not that anyone was paying them much heed; out-of-Cyphrus horses were thought to be stupid in comparison to the native Seme and Strider breeds, needing halters and unreasonably heavy saddles to obey even the most basic of instructions, and so there were far less Drykas interested in them as the more humanoid creatures. Still, it gave Shahar pause; a new pack animal, even a cheap one, would certainly be useful, especially with the recent increase in items Drelah was asked to carry. Shahar resolved to keep the horses in mind.
For now, though, his eyes were sharpened for beings of a less equine nature. Coaxing Akaidras down to a walk, Shahar took full advantage of his field of vision; from atop his Strider, he could see a great deal more than he could have on the ground. Only time would tell if he caught sight of what he was looking for.
The slave caravan had been massive, filled the the brim with a majority of women and children with a smattering of men. Even as he traveled through the tents he could hear voices praising the gods for this sudden bout of phenomenally good luck, and it filled him with a nervous energy that kept Akaidras at a hasty trot; the families of the city would descend upon the newcomers in a great cloud, seeking women to mate with and children to raise.
To his relief, however, the throng had not yet grown to unreasonable proportions. Word was still traveling and preparations were still being made, and Shahar’s early knowledge had allowed him to outpace the majority of the crowd; if he conducted his business quickly, he could leave with minimal difficulty.
The slaves hadn’t been taken into the city proper, as the sheer number of people would have almost certainly proven chaotic; instead, they had been brought to rest on the borders of the Topaz district, where the leaders and lawmakers of the city could see to their distribution. There were a few Drykas about already looking to take in some of the wayward slaves, and so no one gave Shahar a second glance as he slipped through the ranks of warriors and towards their wards.
His plan was simple, but relatively open-ended; the camp had seen a dramatic increase in activity and tasks with the addition of the zibri, and even with all of them to share in the workload it was a challenge to keep everything in order day after day. There was a certain obligation towards adopting an escaped slave, and even one new hand would be a welcome addition.
What he hadn’t realized, however, was that the tools and equipment that had accompanied the slaves were also being sold off, and there was an area that had been filled exclusively with horses. Not that anyone was paying them much heed; out-of-Cyphrus horses were thought to be stupid in comparison to the native Seme and Strider breeds, needing halters and unreasonably heavy saddles to obey even the most basic of instructions, and so there were far less Drykas interested in them as the more humanoid creatures. Still, it gave Shahar pause; a new pack animal, even a cheap one, would certainly be useful, especially with the recent increase in items Drelah was asked to carry. Shahar resolved to keep the horses in mind.
For now, though, his eyes were sharpened for beings of a less equine nature. Coaxing Akaidras down to a walk, Shahar took full advantage of his field of vision; from atop his Strider, he could see a great deal more than he could have on the ground. Only time would tell if he caught sight of what he was looking for.
