“Eh, I’ll take this one” a man said, pointing at a filthy cage. The young boy inside looked up as the cage was opened.

The merchant then dragged him, kicking and whimpering, out onto the cobblestones.

“Are you sure?” The slave trader asked in a heavy accent. “It’s in poor condition, and may not be long for this world.”

“Does that mean I get a discount?” the buyer joked sickeningly.

“Two Gans¹Silver coins please”

            “One Gan. You just said he won’t be good for much”

“Yes, but we still need to make money for all of the feed and medicine we gave it”

            “Shut up, like hell you gave him medicine, your lack of care is why he’s half-dead.”

“Sir, you are being rude, do you want to buy it or not?”

            “Yeah, yeah ok, here’s your money”, the man said as he tossed two gold coins at the trader.

“It is all yours”, the slave trader said and then walked away to find another buyer.

            The boy looked up at the man who had just bought him. He then saw something that confused him. The man had what could be considered a warm smile on his rough face. The boy had never seen anyone smile at him during his time as a slave, except for his older sister.

            “What’s your name, boy?” the man asked

            “T.. Taras…..” the boy answered weakly.

            “Taras…” the man repeated back to him, “Well you must not be from here, that’s a western name”

            Taras couldn’t remember where he had come from, but he nodded his head anyway, wanting to please his new master.

            “Names are a funny thing; they make a person as much as a person makes them. My name is Felton, and it would do you good to remember that” the man continued. Taras looked up at him, even more confused than earlier. Then the man started walking and he followed.

            Taras walked with the man through the marketplace, wondering what kind of person he was. On one hand, he went to slave markets, but on the other he was kind enough to ask for Taras’ name and even gave out his own. His master before had done no such thing, she had always referred to him as “Slave” or “Boy”.

            Suddenly he doubled over from hunger. “Sorry…” Taras managed to say before he collapsed.

            “Ahhg, I knew they hadn’t been feeding you, the filthy liars.” The man then stood Taras back up by his collar and walked toward a food stall.

            “Two Kababs”

            “That will be five Kis” the food vendor said.

            “Nah, I’ve seen where you get your meat, it may make us sick.”

            “I assure you we have good meat, fresh everyday.”

            “Look, I don’t want to spend money on medicine, especially here where it’s priced so high.”

            “That’s not my problem” the vendor said.

            “Oh, so you admit it, you don’t care if your meat is rotten and you especially don’t care about your valued customers”. The man said the last part a little louder, catching the attention of nearby shoppers.

 “Three Kis, that’s as far as I will go” the vendor said, looking annoyed.

“Alright,” the man said, giving the vendor three dull brown coins. The man then took two kebabs and walked over to an old stone wall. He sat down and motioned for Taras to do the same.

“Here” the man said, giving Taras both of the kebabs.

“What about you master?” Taras asked.

“I’m not hungry, and quit with the master crap, makes me feel like I’ve done something wrong.”

“Yes master” Taras replied, and then started on the Kebabs. He was done eating in moments.

When he was done eating, the man gave him something to drink from a waterskin, and they moved on.

As Taras walked out of the front gate, he experienced something else entirely unfamiliar to him.

The man, patting him on the head, asked “Hey kid, do you like adventures?”

Taras had never thought about an “adventure” before, sure he thought about escape, but not adventure. Once again, he nodded his head wanting to please this man….no; wanting to please Felton. If Taras had remembered his father he figured he would be like Felton, or at least that’s what he felt.

“Okay, well stick with me and you can go on as many adventures as you want,” Felton said, “but you are going to have to carry my stuff when you get better.”

Felton then did one last surprising thing. He took Taras and hoisted him onto his back like a father would. Then, he walking down the road he started telling Taras great stories from his many adventures before.