The proctor couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the half-goat with them. It was old, it was weak, and it trembled more than the others. The furs on the lower half of his body has thinned out and assumed a dull color because they had stopped wasting food on it since no one wanted to buy it, not even for meat, yet that's what she picked?
"That is what you want?" he asked, his disbelief evident in his tone.
"Yes," she replied, "and another in your care. I believe you call her devil's mad whore"
"The black whore?" he repeated, his confusion deepening as he looked from her to the faun and then back at her again. "Why?"
"None of your business" she said naturally.
He hates how he expects the demeaning responses and is getting use to it, but her choices are even stranger. Two rejects? Is she going for cheap no matter how they come? Or is there something else going on?"
He gave them a look again, then decided to play along.
"Come with me" he said.
They followed him downstairs into another hallway. There are several doors by the side and half a dozen guards about. She could hear cries and moans from the doors as she passed. From some she heard loud beatings accompanied with loud young painful cries and even louder hysterical wicked laughter.
Some nobles like it that way, she remembered. Sadistic bastards. One day they will get what they deserve. One day.
At the end of the dimly lit hallway, they arrived at a large, imposing main door, guarded by two tall guards. The guards swung the door open, and as expected, it was a Warehouse. Unlike the warehouse she had been in, this one was very big. It was also twin sided, cells by the left and right stretching down. Within these cages, many defeated figures clung to the bars, their eyes hollow and expressions marked by despair. Some are even too young to realize what was going on.
"Welcome, sir," one of the eight guards greeted, his manner somewhat awkward.
Nadia suspected that they must have been slacking off, playing dice or something, then running to positions when they heard footsteps approaching. The evidence was there by the guards' Stand, by the right side corner of the door, but if the The proctor was annoyed he didn't show it. He just gave them a subtle nod of acknowledgement and they continued moving down.
A toddler's cry from one of the cells quickly got Nadia's attention. She saw a young ram-mother slowly rocking her crying baby. Their gaze held for a moment before Nadia tore away and faced straight.
Up ahead, where the warehouse came to an end, they turned to the left, following a dim, narrow passage. Two figures stood guard before a smaller, sturdy iron door, and the faint light from the two torches at the passage's entrance were not enough to keep the shadows at bay and Nadia wasn't feeling very comfortable walking into the darkness.
The Proctor reached for a torch mounted on the wall nearby and handed it to Nadia before they continued walking, approaching the heavy door. Reaching it, he fished out a bunch of keys on a golden key loop, singled out one and slotted it into the rusty key hole. With a swift turn, the lock yielded, the door creaking open slightly, leaving a small gap. He put the key back into his person and with visible strain, he pushed the door open with one hand, before casually taking back the torch from Nadia and leading the way in.
It was very dark inside, and the air stank of everything bad. As they descended the damp and soiled stone stairs, Nadia's ears detected a faint, mournful female voice. It sang in her world's native tongue, a war song, but with a slow, soulful, and sorrowful quality.
โซ...we will give them war like they've never met before. We will eat their dicks for supper, don't ask me how it taste it's not big enough to know...โซ
The eerie lyrics echoed through the oppressive atmosphere, adding a haunting layer to the already dismal surroundings.
The voice sounded so sad and defeated that, had Nadia not known the singer well, she might never have recognized her.
A low growl rumbled through the darkness, causing her to freeze momentarily.
"Mind where you step," the Proctor warned indifferently.
Nadia turned her attention to the source of the growl, discovering a pair of yellow, beastly eyes fixed on her, still emanating a low growl. A Barghest? Why is that creature here? And it wasn't the only one. In every cell, malevolent eyes glared at them, filled with anger. You can't tame these creatures but the greed of humans know no bound.
They reached Ophelia's cell, which was the last one on the left. She never stopped singing. The nauseating stench of the place had already filled Nadia's nostrils, but the odors emanating from Ophelia's cell were so much more repugnant that she involuntarily covered her nose.
"It is your lucky day, whore," the Proctor announced with a hint of mockery. "You've got visitors."
Ophelia didn't respond, continuing her forlorn song. It felt like she didn't even know they were there. Just stuck in a world of her own.
Nadia took the torch and approached, reaching the bars of the cell. When the torch's light penetrated the cell's depths, it revealed a truly heart-wrenching sight. The dark elf had her face turned to the side, her voice lilted in song. Her right arm had been severed, and her left was shackled to the wall by a short, restraining chain, forcing her hand to hang limp. Emaciated to the point of resembling a mere skeleton and entirely unclothed, she sat on the frigid floor, where she had soiled herself over and over again.
The sight of a broken Ophelia was a horrifying reality no one could have anticipated, but Nadia, having her own experience with the malevolence of humans, understood just how diabolical they could be.
"Ophelia," Nadia called, her voice filled with sympathy.
Ophelia's song came to an abrupt halt. She turned slowly toward the light, her face finally revealed. Emaciated from deprivation of food and water, her eyes were hollow, radiating an aura of complete defeat. Nadia pushed her hood back, exposing her face.
Ophelia recognized it instantly and began chuckling. Her sad chuckles turned into laughter, tears filling her eyes.
"I told your mother if anyone would survive the surface world it would be you" she said in their native tongue. " ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ฏ๐ ๐ด๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฉ ๐ค๐ช๐ ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฒ๐ฏ ๐๐น ๐๐จ๐. ๐๐ด ๐ฃ๐ต๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ธ ๐ฟ? ๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ป๐๐ฉ๐ฏ๐'๐? ๐ฏ๐ด๐๐ฉ๐ค? ๐ฃ๐ฅ?(That cunt owes me a lot of fine wine for that. So whose bitch are you? A merchant's? Noble? Hmm?)"
"๐ฉ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ (A King's bitch)" Nadia replied.
"No outsiders' language" the proctor admonished.
"๐ฏ ๐ฒ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฝ ๐๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฑ๐ ๐ฟ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ ๐๐ต(...and I'm here to make you one too) " she added, ignoring the proctor's words.
Ophelia let out a feeble laugh, but the atmosphere quickly shifted to one of impending doom. " ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐๐ ๐๐ฐ ๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฑ ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐น ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐๐ฒ๐ค๐ "
(I must be a very pitiful sight for you to say that before me, child)" she said menacingly, her expression contorted in seriousness. Despite the tears in her eyes, she managed to muster a stern countenance in a way that only Ophelia could.
" ๐ก๐ณ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐
(Just hear me out first,) " Nadia said, "๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ค๐ฑ๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ณ๐ ๐ฒ ๐๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฑ ๐๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ฉ ๐ณ๐ฏ๐๐ผ๐๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ณ๐---
(I can't explain much because I fear it's possible that this bitch behind me may be able to understand us---)" Ophelia's eyes left Nadia momentarily, glancing in the direction of the Proctor, then returned to Nadia.
"๐๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฟ ๐๐ด๐ฏ๐ ๐ค๐ฒ๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฟ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ง๐ค๐
(---come with me, and if after 1 month you don't like it, I would grant you death myself.) "
Both of them stared at each other for a moment, Nadia taking silence as agreement stood up and turned to the proctor, "I will have her"
โโโโโโโโ โ โโโโโโโโ
Back in the private room, the proctor tossed the two keys at the table as the elf was scribbling down her sign on the last document. She is very smart, he will give her that. She was able to haggle the price down to 3 gold and 17 silvers, and though it's fair, seeing that the two are unsellable, she wouldn't have been able to do that without the threat of whoever her master is. He had heard the word "๐๐ฆ๐๐" in her conversation with the dark elf but it has at least 3 meanings in their language---High master, lord, and king. He couldn't tell which it was but he must be someone of very high status, like he suspected.
"Are we done?" her words broke through his thoughts in the worse way possible. She has ego, she has pride, and she sees him as beneath her. Now that she had her hood down and there was only two of them in the room, it made it all worse. He wanted to hit her, he wanted to skin her alive, to fuck her up, but then again that might be exactly what she wants.
Biting down on his anger, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Yes, we are done," he replied, maintaining a semblance of composure.
She gave him a curt nod and started gathering her documents.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"Don't worry," she replied, rising from her seat with the parchments in hand. "I'm sure we will meet again soon, then I will give you my name."
That sounded like a threat, but surprisingly, it concerned him more than it irked him.
"Follow her," he said to the empty room when she closed the door behind her.
Just like she said, he was sure they will meet again but if her master turned out to be who he thought, then it will be sooner than she realize.