The early morning sun still hung low in the sky, casting a pale orange light over the land. The Great Green was just waking. Birds sang in the towering trees while shadowy figures darted through the underbrush.
The world of Humans though had been awake for hours. The chimes from Vaskaan Cityâs Temple of All Gods called the citizens to morning prayers; the students in Etanaâs magic schools were summoned to their first classes of the day; and Feraziâs extensive marketplaces and rows of merchant shops were already bustling with activity. Hunters, awake since dawn, crept through the forests. Slavers in Greystrand, Volarra, and Blackstone set out to their daily quest for Elves and Dwarves. The guards along the north and south borders of the Dead Plains passed their posts off to the next shift.
In Seranto, the slave market was starting as a few slave traders finished setting up their shops. Wood Elves, Water Elves, a few Light Elves, and even the odd Dwarf, appeared among the numerous humans up for sale, some dressed, some not. They were displayed in various manners around the massive grey cobblestone square where small trader stalls lined the sienna walls. The round court was easily 500 feet across with a tall wooden dais in the center where a quartet of Elf musicians in short tunics played. Rickety kiosks dotted the square between the slaver stalls and the band, selling all kinds of slave accessories from clothing and collars to whips and restraints. Armed guards in a variety of identifying colours patrolled the market near the stalls of their respective employers. The largest force by far was that of the Slave Magnate himself. His soldiers were tall and muscular, covered in chainmail with solid steel gauntlets, greaves, sabatons, and armets. Their outfits were covered with a tabard displaying the black X on a red field which was the banner of the Slave Magnate. Complete with heavy crossbows and long bardiches, the official Slave market guards were an imposing sight to any would-be trouble makers.
On the eastern edge of the market, untouched by the low sun, a short broad man reviewed his recently purchased market licence in front of a cage holding a stunningly beautiful human woman dressed in a tiny grey thong and tattered grey bandeau which did little to hide her large breasts. A seamless silvery metal collar etched with strange characters clung tight to her neck. A taller man, dressed in the garb of a Vaskaan guard, stood next to the cage with a spear. The guard keep eyeing the imprisoned woman with a hungry look in his eyes. The smaller man had already admonished the guard twice that morning, demanding he pay attention and keep his hands off her.
It was the first time to the Seranto slave market for either of them, and as excited as the guard may be, the shorter man was anxious. As beautiful as the woman was, he had been unable to break her fierce spirit. He tried his best to hide his concern. He knew it could be hard to sell her for a decent amount if buyers knew how eager he was to be rid of her.
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