Silver - A Fantasy RPG

[Elias]

Well, here he was again. In the slave pits. How did he get here this time? Elias wasn’t even sure. All he knew was that when he woke up this morning, he went and started scrubbing the floors like he always did on the first of the week. He was barely finished with a hallway when a servant found him and informed him he would be sold back to the slave market today. His Lady had no further need of him.

Elias didn’t think he had done anything wrong, and with his Sign, he’d almost definitely know. Then again, the Lady recently bought several new slaves. Perhaps she was simply bringing in fresh hands and getting rid of the old ones. It seemed likely. After all, the boy was hardly noticeable in her estate, doing his best to stay out of anyone’s way and not get into trouble, and was probably seen as easily expendable.

Elias sighed and slowly shifted one of his wings so that it fit a bit more snugly around him for warmth. He was lying on his side on the cold floor in the corner of his cell with one wing draped over him, partly obscuring the back of his head from the cell bars. He supposed he’d be a bit less chilly if he got off the cold ground, but he didn’t really want to be noticed right now. There were several other slaves in the cell who had been suck here much longer than he had, and he wanted them to have a chance to be bought before he did. He and his wings always seemed to catch people’s attention. Not that he was invisible where he was lying; even in a dimly lit cell it was hard to miss his bright white feathers. However, one would have to take his eyes off of the other slaves and scan the floor before seeing him.

[Ash]

It hadn't been difficult to sneak into the slave pits. True, he could have just walked in like any normal person, but that would have been bad for him later. If his suspicions were correct he would be doing highly illegal things soon, and the less people who saw him the better. So, he had done what he normally did: wait for everyone to be busy with other tasks, then slip in relatively unnoticed.

For some reason, Ash was expecting a lot more than this. In his hometown he had heard tales of this place, and seeing it in person was kind of a letdown. He was expecting to see hundreds of slaves down here, and knocking a zero off the end of that figure messed up his plans a bit. He didn't lose hope, though. He was only looking for one person, and that person could still be down here.

Luckily a lot of the slave were male, so that immediately ruled them out. It was odd for a female to be a slave, and that worked to Ash's advantage. He walked past each cell, shaking his head slightly at each wrong person. Eventually he came to a cell where he coudln't quite see the person inside. He took a step closer and peered inside. It was hard to tell who was in there in this light, but Ash could only hope. He looked around to make sure nobody else was coming, then leaned in and whispered loudly, "Amelia! are you in there?"

[Elias]

Elias jumped at the sound of a voice outside his cell. He was just beginning to doze off and the sudden noise had startled him. His brain began to process what was spoken to him as he scrambled to his feet. Amelia? "I'm terribly sorry, sir," Elias said while turning around. He gave a small, polite bow without getting a chance to see the speaker's face. "But I'm afraid Amelia is not here. Perhaps she is in another..." When Elias finished his bow and looked up, he was surprised by the appearance of the person on the other side of the bars and trailed off. The boy seemed no older than he was and, judging by his appearance, certainly wasn't the type who normally came down to the slave pits, usually members of the army or the super rich who were either too busy to come to market day or who would never deign to show up in such a public place.

Elias took a few steps closer to the cell bars so that the boy could clearly see he was not the one he was looking for. He offered him an apologetic but kind smile. "I am afraid I'm not the one you are looking for." He still spoke in a formal manner that, though it would sound odd coming from most people, seemed fitting for his demeanor. "But perhaps I would be able to assist you in some way?" He hadn't heard of an Amelia as far as he could recall, but he may be able to find one. Often slaves were given new names by their new masters and, fearing the loss of the one thing truly theirs or refusing to give up the only remaining power over them, wouldn't give out their real names to potential buyers. But between slaves, one was more likely to go buy their real name.

He offered another small bow, though this one was more friendly than formal. "My name is Elias, sir." Elias wasn't one of those slaves who withheld their real names. He couldn't, not under his sign. Certainly, he answered to whatever nickname his masters may have decided on, but when asked his name, he invariably answered Elias. To do otherwise would be lying. "May I ask your name?"

[Ash]

At first Ash was a bit surprised by Elias' formality. Why would someone like this be a slave? Then again, it wasn't really that difficult to believe. They had taken his sister, after all. What would stop them from taking just about anyone?

When Elias asked for his name Ash said, "Oh, I'm Seboen."

By now he was saying the name with the ease of his real name. A year of using an alias tended to do that to a person. Ash signed and rested his head against the bars. Another dead end. He should have known better, though. Even if the rumors were true, it was highly unlikely that his sister would be up for sale at the exact time that he had come to this city. She was probably working for some family here, and he would have to go searching for her elsewhere. He didn't know the first place to start looking, either. Truthfully, he was starting to get tired of all this searching. It was stressful, and stress never helped his already poor health.

He perked up a bit when Elias offered to help him. Surely a slave, especially one from this city, would know what places to search first. Even if he had not met his sister, it was highly likely that he would know someone who had. "You would really help me," he said questioningly as he tilted his head slightly so he could look at Elias, "Seriously?"

A moment after he said that the obvious popped into his mind. Payment. He would have to do something for Elias if Elias helped him. "Hypothetically," he said cautiously, "If you did help me, what would you want in return?"

Ash didn't have much in terms of resources, but he was sure that he could manage something.

[Elias]

((Sorry for the delay. It's my fall break so I'm off visiting a few colleges this week.))

"It's good to meet you, Seboen," Elias said when the boy told him his name, and, like he did every time he met someone new, he mentally wrote his name across the boy's forehead. It was a silly thing to do, but his mother taught it to him years ago and it helped him greatly in remembering people's names. It was rude to forget someone's name, after all, and rudeness fell in the category of being wrong.

Elias felt so sorry for the boy as he leaned against the bars. He looked tired and disappointed. Elias wondered what relationship he had with this Amelia he was looking for. Sister? Lover? Mother? The boy felt his chest constrict at the thought of someone's mother being taken from her children and home and forced to be a slave. His own mother had a sensible and stout nature, but he still couldn't bear the thought of her being in his place. As he did every time he thought of his mother, Elias felt a strong pang of guilt. She was worried about him. Even now, four years later, he still knew she was hoping he would return, and he was unable to.

"You would really help me. Seriously?"

"Of course," he replied, a little confused and taken aback by the questioning tone in Seboen's voice. Why wouldn't he help someone in need?

"Hypothetically, if you did help me, what would you want in return?"

Again, Elias was caught off-guard by Seboen's question. If he were to help someone, he'd never do it just to get something in return. It simply wasn't in his nature. "I wouldn't want anything in return," he said while shaking his head. It was the truth. "I don't want anythi--" he cut himself off. That, however, was not the truth. There was that nagging feeling in the back of his head. 'Liar,' it said, warning him against doing anything wrong. Elias sighed softly in frustration and starting again, speaking his words slowly so as to neither say the wrong thing or mislead Seboen. "No, well, yes, I do want something." 'My freedom. So I could tell Mother I'm all right,' he added mentally, though he gave no spoken details as to what he desired. "However," he continued without missing a beat, "I would never ask for something in return for helping a person. That would not be right." He would rather remain a slave than have someone believe he was only helping him for selfish reasons.

"Speaking of right," he added, realizing it was important for Seboen to know something about him. "I would do anything I was able to in order to help you find Amelia. However," he said apologetically, "you must know that I am born under the Sign of Virtue, so I cannot do anything I consider wrong." That meant he was severely limited in much of what he could do, but he was nevertheless willing to help.

(( *got carried away with the post...* ))

[Ash]

((ah. Don't worry, I understand. *has visited colleges before* Actually, my fall break is coming up as well, but I get to spend it at home wiritng papers. *emo tear*))

Ash bit his lip. He wasn't expecting this guy to be born under the sign of virute. That could make things more difficult. Then again, he could work his way around that. The highly illegal parts of his plan wouldn't come until much later, and hopefully by then he wouldn't need help. "Don't worry," he said, wording his stentence carefully so that he was being truthful, "I won't put you in a position where you have to do anything illegal."

Ash honestly hadn't given a second thought to rewarding Elias for helping him. He had learned many lessons in his life, but the most important one he had learned was that everything had a price. It may not always involve money in some way, but there was always a price to be paid. Also, Ash had a good idea of what Elias would want. "Tell you what. I'll buy you, so that you can come along with me. Then, once we find my sister, I'll let you go. Does that sound good?"

After a moment he added, "And I wouldn't just be doing it to pay you back. You can't help me if you're stuck down here or owned by someone else, can you? And my family sees everyone as equals, so we don't really want to own any slaves."

[Elias]

Elias smiled appreciatively at Seboen's attempt to rationalize what was still, essentially, giving him his freedom in exchange for helping him find his sister. 'So it is family he's looking for,' Elias said to himself. He had no siblings himself, so he didn't really have any experience with a brother-sister bond, though he was sure that if he had a sister who was sold into slavery, he'd do anything to rescue her too.

Elias was torn by the proposition set before him. On one hand, he was still a little uneasy about what was still, in whatever way one worded it, a payment for helping Seboen. It just didn't sit right with him to do something that seemed so dishonest to him. On the other hand, he couldn't deny the accuracy of the other boy's words. He wouldn't be any good sitting in this cell or working all day in someone's estate. He couldn't just offer to help someone and not give himself the opportunity to, now could he?

Elias gave a small smile and a slight nod of his head. "Alright," he said. Then there was that nagging feeling again, reminding him of doing something wrong. This was his new master, after all. Or at least he would be after he bought him. Taking a step away from the bars so as not to bang his head, Elias made a small, respectful bow. "I am at your service."

[Ash]

Ash smiled. For the first time in quite a while things were starting to look up. His lead may have led him in the wrong direction, but now he would be able to get back on track. "Okay," he said, "Let's get you out of there, then."

However, after he said that, he paused. Money. He had forgotten about the money. While Ash certainly wasn't poor, thanks to his talents at entertaining people, he wasn't exactly filthy rich either. He had some money, but if slaves were very expensive... "Er, this might sound odd, but do you know how much it would cost to buy you?"

If it was a small amount, things would be alright. He could either use the money he had or go do tricks for a while and earn some. If it was a lot more than he had, though, things were going to get tricky.

[Elias]

"I must be put up for auction first," he replied with a rueful smile. 'Oh, right,' he suddenly realized. 'Money...' Elias bent down and lifted his pant leg so as to reach into his slightly-too-large boot. He extracted a small, worn bag. Its contents, only a few small coins, jingled slightly as he offered it to Seboen. "Please allow me to help pay," he said. Even if the coins would belong to Seboen after he bought Elias anyway, the boy doubted the otehr would accept that fact.

"The first bid starts at fifty coins," he explained. It was only a fraction compared to even the poorest of horses, but it was still more than he expected a boy his own age to be carrying around on a search for his sister. "It raises by five coins every time someone bids on me." Elias was no stranger to the system, even if had been made legal only a short while ago. Five owners in four years was not a good statistic. However, in his defense, two died of old age and one went bankrupt, so it was really only three masters or mistresses who had grown tired of or been displeased with him.

"It is doubtful someone else would bid on me, however," he added. He was too odd looking; most potential buyers wanted someone who didn't look like he could just fly away, even if his sign would prevent him from doing so. "The next auction isn't until tomorrow morning." At least, he assumed it wasn't tomorrow yet. It was hard to tell what time it was outside in the dim underground cells. He overheard one of the guards mentioning tomorrow's auction several hours ago, but he didn't think it had been enough time for it to be the next day.

((Would you like me to start the new topic or do you want to? I don't mind starting it.))

[Ash]

Ash was about to protest, but he stopped himself from doing so and accepted the coins. If the cost was only around fifty coins, then ash would have been able to pay it and have money to spare. However, having a little extra money in case someone else tried to buy Elias was always a good idea. "Thanks," he said as he accepted the coins, "I'm sure they'll come in handy."

He slipped the worn bag into his pocket, then looked around. Nobody else had come during this whole discussion. It would probably be best for him to leave before anyone else came. "Okay," he said, looking back to Elias, "I'll come back tomorrow morning then."

He smiled, then said, "Thanks. I really appreciate your help."

with that Ash walked away, moving a bit quicker than he had before. His hope had been renewed. Just the thought that he was closer to finding his sister made him feel so much better. It would be difficult for him to sleep that night, because he couldn't wait for tomorrow.

((Sure, go ahead.))