It was a summer’s day, the morning sun was high in the sky as I was accompanied by father and his escort of guards. Today we going out to collect taxes from the town and villages. The town had a population of 5000 and was simply named Fintan after our noble house and the three villages didn’t have any names and where as follows:

East Forest village, population of 200, subsist on hunting and trading lumber and pelts for food.

West farming village, population of 1000, located on a small river where crops are grown.

North farming village, population of 800, north-east of the villages, sits on a trade road and grows berries for wine as a cash crop along foodstuffs.

Today was the monthly tax collection from the town and villages. Riding my horse into the town with the escort I watched as the knights went door to door and started collecting tax. The residents reluctantly gave the head tax to the knights. This became a recurring scene and quickly I decided to go and explore the town with a pair of guards. Many people who saw me stared and kept a respectful distance, likely due to seeing their lord’s son for the first time. I made my way around town and took in all the sights; the town was mostly made of wooden buildings on a stone foundation with a trampled dirt road about two carriages wide. the roads twisted and were similar to a maze, most likely to confuse defenders. Throughout these streets’ children played before being ushered inside by their mothers. I made my tour of the town and down to the marketplace. There were a considerable number of stalls with each person shouting their wares. The items displayed ranged form food, firewood, clothing, baskets, daily necessities and alcohol. Taking in the sights I wandered through the market before finishing my tour of the town. Heading back to the manor I was in a good mood, I had finally been let out and saw the town, despite the smells and lack of sanitation it had been a good day and I had fun touring the town. Tomorrow I was going the knights to collect tax from the northern farming village. Finishing up my day with sword practice and some reading. I went to bed eager to visit the northern village.

In the morning I made my way into town again the squadron of knights, this time with one of father’s vassals instead of himself. I made my way through town with the knights, slowly riding out of town and on the road north to the northern village. The knights walked while my horse trotted alongside them as we continued down the dirt road. After two or so hours of walking we reached the village, a hamlet where many farmers gathered and sold their harvests or winter crafts. Riding through the village I noticed how most villagers clothes were slightly worse for wear and how a few had gaunt hollow faces and were thinner than the people in the town.

We began taxing the residents, going in a circle. The town residents looked unhappy at paying the head tax but some of these villagers looked like they were counting pennies. Is this the result of both the harvest tax and head tax.

Shaking my head to get rid of those thoughts I went with the knights to the carriages that had just arrived at the village. The knights went up to the carriages and after inspecting the contents they charged the merchants for the tariffs on their wares. Moving onto the last carriage I inspected with my knights and stopped.  A foul sent of unwashed bodies permeated the air, the source coming from the three bodies chained and locked up in a cage in the carriage, this carriage belonged to a slave merchant. The slaves were all beast-kin and consisted of women two in their early twenties and one couldn’t be much older than eleven. The child was a cat-kin beast-man who was huddling in the corner, her long back hair covering her face but not her wounded ear.

Seeing the disgusted expression on a noble’s face the merchant approached and commented ‘’aye those are some filthy beast-kin milord, the barbarians were captured from their barbaric village and are now serving our country. That is their worth afterall’’ he paused for a moment before facing me and adding ‘’if you wish they could be serving you milord’’. Ignoring his comment, I asked ‘’That little girl, what happened to her left ear’’ I say, pointing to her right cat-ear which had the upper half cut off. ‘’Ah, that was a punishment she got for not listening to commands, but don’t worry she is now obedient, not only that but the demi-human has a considerable grasp on our language’’ the merchant answered with a grin. Feeling anger and sadness welling up in me I steeled myself and did my best to keep a calm demeanour. ‘’What fate likely awaits her’’ I snapped. The merchant surprised at my tone of voice and expression on my face replied ‘’wwell she’ll be sold off to a brothel most likely’’.

What, a ten-year-old girl, getting mutilated and sold to a brothel. Though I had heard about slavery and how the beast-kin tribes were raided I had been detached I had never come into contact and witnessed it firsthand. This blissful ignorance shattered on this encounter, this world, the way it works, disgusts me, and I will change it. Even if it take years, even if I have to forgo peace, I will destroy the barbaric practices of this world, one step at a time.

Turning to the merchant and levelling him with a hard stare and a serious, stoic face I asked in a cold voice ‘’sell her to me, for what she’s truly worth.  The merchant, slightly scared but relived in finding a customer managed a strained smile before stating his price ‘’3000 rias and she’s all yours’’. With an expressionless I pulled three large silvers from my coin pouch and handed them to the merchant. The money was a portion from my monthly allowance given to me by father.

Having received the money, the merchant bowed before opening the cage and bringing out the girl. She struggled to get up and walk due to the malnutrition and her muscles wasting away in the carriage. Lifting her dark blue eyes to look at the person who bought her, Nereus saw the hollow and lifeless eyes of someone who had been deprived of everything.

Since the business with taxing the residents and merchants had finished me, the knights and Alina, the slave girl trotted back to the town. After ordering a knight to carry her I was left alone with my thoughts during the two-hour trip back. I was disgusted the world and at myself for taking a part in slavery by paying the merchant for Alina but I reassured myself that the girl would be better under my care, and that I would need allies and underlings if I was to change this world.