<~> Chapter 19

“She took advantage of me when she was still a man.” The familiar pulse of energy went through the room and I could see both of their eyes widen at my response. It was obvious I was telling the truth, she had once been a man.

“How did she become a woman?”

“I used an ability to transform her into her current form as well as condition her to act they way she now does. It’s not mind control but it greatly reinforces the behaviors I wanted to encourage.”

The room became awkward at the mention of mind control. “Do you know how to use mind magic and did you use mind magic on this dogkin?”

“No, I don’t know any mind magic.” A small amount of anxiety left their shoulders but I could tell there was still a lot of tension.

“What ability did you use to transform the dogkin?”

“Is that in the purview of this interview? Is my ability relevant to this transaction?”

I could sense they were dissatisfied with this answer but they were equally unable to lie. “No it is not. However, who this person used to be is of importance. Who was this person before you altered their form?”

“Mark Williamson.” Jacob’s mouth opened in shock, clearly he knows of him but I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. I decided to probe. “How are you acquainted with him?”

His mouth closes and a frown forms in its place. “He is a person who regularly collects slaves for this firm however many people here suspect that he was tricking slaves into signing contracts they were not required to sign, usually by ‘buying’ them from a family member. I have been trying to find evidence to stop him from continuing this practice”

Bella audibly gasped and I turned to look at her. “I… I didn’t have to sign that? But he gave the gold to my father.”

“Family members do not have the authority to sell others into slavery unless the person in question is still a child. Were you tricked into signing a slave contract by that man? You’re not wearing a slave collar.”

“Um, Lilith freed me the same night she bought me from him. They did the transaction before we even entered the city so he wouldn’t have to pay fees or something. Oh, and I was an adult when I signed the contract.”

“Well, usually you would still have to visit the slaver’s guild to register or else Lilith may have been mistaken for wrongly enslaving someone. If Lilith didn’t have the contract you signed, she would have had to pay for a priest to conduct an interview very similar to this one. Since we’re doing that now and she freed you anyway I won’t bother reporting the situation. It’s not worth the trouble it would bring anyway.”

Jacob paused for a minute and turned to me before continuing, “When a slave is being brought to the guild for registration, a required question to the slave is if they signed the contract willingly. Since it is unlikely this ruse would work without help, this points to Mark having people in the guild covering for him. If you had tried to register this young woman yourself, it would have looked like you were trying to trick her into signing if she said she didn’t sign willingly. Co-conspirators could have covered this up pretty easily but you wouldn’t have that luxury. This means that either Mark was always planning on grabbing you or he realized after the fact that he could be caught.”

I interject, “Wait a minute? He didn’t just get drunk and decide to violate me? This whole thing could have been planned?”

I turn to the dog still sitting on the floor. “Hey were you planning on using me and selling me into slavery from the start?”

The dog girl spoke up from the floor, “Bitch planned on tricking you into slavery but wasn’t planning anything else master. Bitch got drunk…”

I turn back to Jacob. “So this means Mark had a track record for tricking people into slavery in addition to what he did to me?”

“I suppose we could ask. Why don’t you come sit at the table and answer a few questions Mark.”

The poodle dogkin gets off the floor and takes one of the seats at the table. “My name is Bitch.”

Jacob pauses at that but moves past it to ask his questions. “Did you used to be Mark Williamson?”

“Yes.”

“Did you attack this woman while you were still a man?”

“Yes.”

“Did you trick this woman into signing a contract under a false assumption she was required to?”

She hesitated for a moment. “If this deerkin used to be Bruno then yes.”

“I go by Bella now.”

Jacob gave an unsure look and turned to Bella. “Did you used to be known as Bruno?”

“I did.” Bella nods.

Jacob turns back to Bitch. “Have you done this to others?”

“Yes.”

“Did members of the slaver’s guild help you cover up these transactions?”

“Yes.”

“What are their names?”

“Rich and David. Bitch would only go in if Bitch knew one of them was working.”

“I see… Why are you cooperating so completely?”

Bitch bit her lip as she thought about the answer. “Bitch knows she can’t lie and Bitch doesn’t know how else to answer.”

Jacob nodded and turned back to us. “I’m satisfied that this used to be Mark and that she attacked you before you transformed her into… this.” He gestures at the poodle girl. “If you promise not to tell anyone about Mark tricking people into slavery I will promise not to tell anyone about your mysterious... abilities.”

“What will happen to the others that Mark tricked?”

He paused for a few moments. “Well I now have the proof I need to apprehend Rich and David. Morrin will be my witness under a zone of truth that Bella had been tricked and we’ll be able to question them without giving away that… Bitch used to be Mark. That should allow us to quietly reacquire any of the slaves we sold and free them as long as no nobles fight us on it.”

“And you intend to follow through on freeing the people Mark tricked?”

“Yes.” A pulse of energy flowed through me confirming his words.

“Then I have no complaint with that deal. I won’t let any of the information on Mark’s actions slip and you won’t tell anyone that I have an ability that can change people.”

“Good, then I’m satisfied with this interview and I’ll take Bitch into my care while we find a buyer through private auction as discussed. In the meantime, this is your collateral.” Jacob puts what looks like a large silver coin on the table. “This is a silver slave token, I’ve evaluated this dogkin as likely a gold tiered slave on auction so this slave token is collateral in the event that something should happen while she’s in our care. When we finish the transaction we’ll give you the money she takes in at auction minus our 15% cut and you’ll return the token, please don’t lose it. In the case that something happens to her we will further compensate you based on the circumstances and you may keep that token and redeem a replacement slave or sell it back to us at its current value. Don’t worry though, I will keep track of this slave personally, I’m sure I’m going to have further questions regarding the mess Mark created for me while we wait for the auction to go through.”

I nod and he continues, “In that case, this concludes our business. Please return one week from today and I’ll update you on the status or pay out the amount owed to you.” We all stand and start moving to the door.

Before Bitch is lead through the door, the poodle turns around and looks me in the eye. “Lilith… Bitch is sorry.” I’m completely shocked as she turns and continues through the door before I can reply. All I can do is share a look with Bella before we leave a moment after.

The walk back towards our inn was mostly silent. There wasn’t much to say and none of it was stuff I wanted to talk about in public. A bit of a weight was lifted off my chest now that I didn’t have to think about my rapist being held in my room anymore but I still felt a little bad about the whole thing, especially after Bitch apologized… Ah, I should get my mind off of that and focus on something else.

All in all the meeting at the slave traders didn’t take that long so there was still plenty of daylight left. Still pretty early for dinner or anything like that too.

“Hey Bella, do you think we should find you a weapon of some sort? You’re a nature healer but you can also probably do some combat or utility magic as well right? Do you need a wand or a staff or something for that?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure. I also don’t want to trouble you too much, you just bought me clothes and that nature grimoire, I already feel like you’re spending a lot on me.”

“If we’re going to be working together it makes sense to equip ourselves as best as possible. I already have a weapon but maybe I should buy some basic armor too if we’re going to be adventuring soon. We don’t have unlimited money but I have enough to live on for a while even if we don’t make much to start out with. We also need to find some time to practice magic and I would really like to learn to read this language as soon as possible. I’m not sure how easy it will be for me since I’m operating on slightly different rules.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well since I already understand the language we’re speaking but don’t perceive the difference in my own tongue I’m unsure if it’s even possible for me to learn to read.”

“Ah… Hm, yeah I’m not sure. All we can do is try to teach you the basics and see what happens I guess.”

As we’re talking I spot a sign with a sword and shield drawn on it. I’m betting that may be a weapon and armor shop. It’s worth a look at any rate.

“Hey lets check out that place,” I say pointing to the sign. “Even if we decide not to get anything it might be good to get some information on what we need.”

“Sure, alright,” Bella relents.

Inside the shop are racks and racks of weapons neatly lined up. All kinds of swords, spears, battle axes, and all manner of other kinds of weapons, including some exotic things on the walls. There are a couple of armor sets and shields here and there but it’s clear where this shop’s focus is.

On one of the walls is a gigantic slab of metal, it was an honest to god greatsword. If it wasn’t for the magic strengthening everyone around here I would question how someone would even use that. The slab of metal was just as likely to bludgeon someone as it was to cut anything.

Behind the counter was a pretty handsome human man that looked like he was in his early twenties. He was kind of a roguish type with slightly curly blond hair and bright blue eyes. Unlike the tailor’s shop this place seemed plenty busy. There were people milling about inspecting various weapons and eyeing the merchandise. Unsure what we were even looking for I walked up to the counter.

“Hello sir, my friend here just unlocked a nature healing class and we were hoping you could give us a clue about what kind of weapon would suit her.”

He looked a little uneasy when I talked to him, eyes glancing to Bella for a moment before replying, “Well normally healers and mages prefer simple weapons that can be used as magic foci, like scepters or staves. Oh! Did you say nature magic? I actually have something on hand.”

He went under the counter and pulled out a scepter with a large green crystal. “An adventurer bought something here and used this scepter as part of a trade. We don’t normally buy stuff like this but it seemed like a good deal. It has a nature affinity magic crystal so it would probably be perfect for you. I would have to sell this to another shop normally so I’ll give you a good deal on it if you buy it and leave before my dad gets back. He’s not very friendly with beastfolk and I’d rather not hear him ranting about you all night for coming in here.”

“How much are we talking?”

“I’ll give it to you for 20 silver. Something like this is probably worth quite a bit more but you taking it saves me the hassle of taking it somewhere else.”

I turn to Bella. “Any idea if this is a good deal?” She just shrugs in reply.

“Alright, 20 silver sounds good." I pull the money out of my bag, count out twenty silver and place it on the counter.

“Awesome thanks. And uh, in the future we don’t normally accept business with beastfolk. There’s a sign in the window there, you’re just lucky my dad isn’t around right now to blow up on you for even walking inside. I’m really sorry.”

I give a strained smile. “I understand, thanks for the help. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

With that I hand Bella the scepter and we walk out the door.

Saine

Not much to say this week but as always thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far.

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