The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (43 page)

Before they reach the edge of the city
proper, other buildings begin sprouting up. Inns, chandler shops,
and other businesses catering to travelers line both sides of the
road. They even pass by one such structure, a two story building
badly in need of repair, that has several women outside attempting
to entice those on the road to come inside. The way the women are
dressed leaves no doubt as to what service the traveler will
receive should they take them up on the offer.

Before they completely pass through the
outlying buildings and enter the city, the compound in question
comes into view. A large wall surrounds it and a string of slaves
are being led through the gate.

“I think this is it,” states Jiron.

Lowering his voice so as not to be
overheard, Reilin asks, “How are we to get in there?”

“Buy a slave,” James says. “It’s really not
that hard.” He gives Jiron a glance and they both grin at the
memory of their last experience. Aside from buying many of those
who are currently traveling with them, Jiron had fought a blood
duel with a Parvati to free his sister.

Absentmindedly, Jiron rubs the necklace that
hangs beneath his shirt that marks him as a Shynti, a designation
given by Parvatis to only the most fearsome of fighters. He had
acquired his shortly after winning the blood duel. The fact that he
is so named has proven useful on a couple different occasions.

They work their way through town, Reilin
fending off the few salutations that they receive. After turning
onto the street that will take them straight to the slaver
compound, James’ stomach cramps when he smells the most delectable
odor coming from one of the open air eateries.

“Hold up a minute,” he says. “Let’s get a
bite to eat first.”

Jiron glances to the position of the sun in
the sky and nods. “There are still a few hours of sunlight left,”
he says. “Why not?”

The mouthwatering aroma which stopped James
is coming from an open pit where a whole pig is roasting on a spit.
Sections have already been carved off its carcass for their
patrons. “Here,” James says to Reilin as he hands him a couple
silvers. “We’ll wait here.” He and Jiron stay just outside the
entrance as Reilin takes the coins and goes inside.

He returns shortly with three half loaves of
bread. The insides have been scooped out and spicy pork meat with a
sizzling sauce now fills the cavity. James takes his and looks at
it questioningly, not sure the best way to eat it without making a
mess. Then he notices two men sitting at one of the tables who are
eating the same thing. Watching them, he sees one man tear off a
piece of the bread, and uses it to grab one of the thin slices of
pork. Then he shoves the whole thing in his mouth.

Trying it, James tears off a two inch strip
of bread and snags a piece of the pork. Placing it in his mouth,
his eyes soon water as the spices on the meat set his tongue afire.
Looking around, he sees the counter where the place sells mugs of
ale. Moving over to it, he grabs one that has already been filled
and completely downs it. Several of the men sitting at the various
tables have noticed his reaction and a smattering of laughter
breaks out. Once the fire has been reduced to a dull throbbing,
James realizes that it tastes really good. Placing some coins on
the counter, he takes another mug and rejoins the others.

“Spicy?” asks Jiron.

“You could say that,” he replies as he wipes
away the tears forming once again. Tearing off another strip of
bread, he takes more care this time and manages to reduce the
effect of the spice.

When they’ve finished eating, they resume
moving toward the slaver compound. People on the streets pay them
little heed since they are still wearing their native attire and
doing nothing to stand out. As they approach the slaver compound,
the main gate through which the people are moving comes into view.
Two slavers stand to either side of it looking rather bored.
Occasionally, one of the people would stop and ask them a question
before passing through.

Indicating the two slavers at the gate,
Reilin asks, “Should I see if they can tell us if Buka is
here?”

“Go ahead,” James says.

So when they approach the gates and are near
the guards, Reilin steps up to the two men and asks, “Could you
tell me where I could find a slaver by the name of Buka?”

The two slavers perk up at that. “Buka?” one
asks. “Why would one such as you wish to see Buka?” The other
slaver moves in beside the first slaver.

“I…” he stammers then says, “I…that is
we…have a mutual friend.”

“You do, do you?” the second slaver asks. “I
hardly doubt that.”

“Who is this mutual friend?” the first
slaver asks. “Maybe he’s my friend too?”

The second slaver grins. “Yes, who is this
friend?” he asks.

Reilin glances to James and Jiron. Unable to
follow the conversation, they are no help. “That is none of your
business,” he asserts. “Are you going to help me or not?”

Shrugging, the first slaver says to the
second, “It matters not I suppose.”

“True,” the second agrees. Turning his
attention back to Reilin he says, “Buka is here.”

“Where can I find him?” he asks.

“He’s inside,” the first one replies. “Not
sure where exactly, but he’s in there somewhere.” The second one
nods as well.

“Thank you,” Reilin says then moves to
rejoin James and Jiron. He glances back and sees the two slavers
still watching him, an amused expression on their faces.

“Well?” asks Jiron.

“He’s in there but they didn’t know where,”
he explains.

“If only we knew what he looked like,” James
says. “That would simplify things quite a bit.”

“True,” agrees Jiron. Taking the lead again,
he moves through the gates and into the slaver compound.

They enter a large courtyard after passing
through the gate and find the auction still in progress. Over to
their left on one of the long, raised platforms, a slaver is
conducting the auction. A beautiful young woman stands naked next
to him, obviously the one whom the people are currently bidding on.
Behind the auctioneer stand another five waiting their turn.

Watching the girls being auctioned brings
back the feelings in Jiron that he had when his sister Tersa was on
a slave block. Before that time he had never given slavery much
thought. But after that experience, he came to agree with James
that slavery must be stopped and if possible, every slaver put to
the sword. Or the knife as the case may be.

“We’re not going to find him out here,”
James says. The few slavers in the courtyard are up near where the
auctioning is taking place.

“I think you’re right,” agrees Jiron.
“Unless he’s one of the ones taking part in the auction.”

They look around and find an unguarded door
leading into one of the main buildings of the slaver complex.
Moving ever so nonchalantly, they make their way across the crowded
courtyard and toward the closed door. Before they reach it, Reilin
places his hand on Jiron’s shoulder and says, “We got trouble.” He
then directs Jiron’s and James’ gaze to the main entrance through
which they entered. Guards are entering and beginning to fan
out.

“Come on,” Jiron says as he quickens his
pace to the door.

“How did they find us?” asks James.

“I don’t know and I’m not about to hang
around to find out,” Jiron states. The last few yards to the door
he practically sprints forward. He finds the door unlocked, opens
it and rushes inside with James and Reilin right behind. Just as he
closes the door behind them, a ruckus is heard coming from the
courtyard. One woman screams and several men yell.

“Hold the door,” Jiron tells Reilin and then
moves to an adjacent window overlooking the courtyard. He and James
look out as Reilin braces the door with his shoulder. Out in the
courtyard, the guards have two men in custody and are escorting
them out the main entrance.

“They weren’t after us,” observes James.
Then to Reilin he says, “You can relax.”

Reilin nods and moves away from the
door.

They find themselves in a room with storage
shelves on one side and a table with several chairs on the other.
Two doors exit the room other than the one through which they
entered. Jiron checks the one on the right while James listens at
the one on the left.

“Quiet,” Jiron says after a moment’s
listening.

“Here too,” states James.

Jiron opens his door slowly and looks out at
a hallway extending away further into the building. Several
doorways line both sides. The hallway is currently empty.

When James looks through his door, he finds
a storage room full of chains and other paraphernalia that slavers
might find useful. Turning back to the others he says, “Just a
storage room.”

Jiron nods and indicates they should go
through his door. “Lead on,” James whispers. Opening the door,
Jiron moves out into the hallway. Passing slowly and silently, he
listens for any noise which may indicate that someone is
approaching.

As he reaches each door, he puts his ear to
it and listens for a moment. When he fails to hear anything, he
continues on to the next. At the third door where he stops and
listens, he hears the sound of conversation coming from the other
side. Motioning for the others to stop, he then moves back to join
them.

“There are at least two people in that
room,” he says pointing to the door. Then to Reilin he says, “See
if you can figure out what they are saying.”

Nodding, Reilin moves to the door and places
his ear against it. He listens for a moment then returns. “They are
talking about another slaver,” he says. “Nothing of any
importance.”

Just then, the door through which they
originally entered opens and voices are heard coming from the other
side. All three of them turn to look and find that a slaver is
there with his back to them, paused in the doorway as he speaks to
another.

Panicking, James grasps the handle of one of
the other doors and throws it open. Jiron and Reilin both follow
him in before he shuts it. A second after the door shuts, they can
hear the other door close and the man’s footsteps approaching down
the hallway.

Jiron pulls his knife and waits next to the
door in case the man should enter. But the footsteps pass by the
front of their door and continue further on down the hallway. Then
they hear another door open and close. Putting his ear to the door,
Jiron listens and finds the hallway quiet.

“I think it’s clear now,” he says.

“Should we even be in here?” James asks.

“We have to find Buka,” insists Jiron.

“I understand that,” James tells him. “But
do you think he’s going to be very helpful to those he finds
sneaking around?”

“We’re here now,” Reilin adds. “Let’s just
find him and get the information we need. Then get out of
here.”

Jiron is about to open the door to leave
when they hear a door opening and footsteps approaching. They sound
like they are coming from the direction the earlier footsteps went.
They can hear two men talking as they pass by. Jiron looks to
Reilin but he shakes his head. “Nothing important,” he
whispers.

As soon as the two men are gone, Jiron opens
the door slowly and peers out to find the hallway again clear of
people. Moving out of the room, he continues down the hallway in
the direction they were originally heading.

At the end of the hallway is another closed
door, they continue on down toward it. Jiron still pauses at the
other doors they pass and listens to see if anyone is there. When
they finally reach the end door, he reaches for the handle when it
suddenly opens up.

Three slavers stand there in shocked
surprise at seeing them there. “What are you doing in here?” one
asks.

Jiron is about to pull one of his knives
when Reilin places a restraining hand upon his. Moving forward,
Reilin asks, “Isn’t this the way to view the slaves?”

Shaking his head, the slaver replies,
“No.”

“We’re sorry,” Reilin says, “we must have
gotten turned around. Could you direct us to where we can?”

The slaver looks at him quizzically, and
seems to be contemplating whether or not to believe him. Then he
makes up his mind and nods, “This way.” Indicating for them to
follow, the slaver turns around and begins walking down the
hallway.

“Come on,” Reilin says and motions for James
and Jiron to follow. He can see the questions in their minds but
are unable to ask. “It’s okay,” he says to put their minds at
ease.

Trusting in him, they nod and the three of
them follow the slaver. He leads them along the corridor and then
pauses at a door on his right. Opening it up, they find that they
are being led outside the building and into the courtyard. He
indicates a doorway over on the far side and says, “Go through
there and you can view the slaves waiting for auction.”

“Thank you,” Reilin says and then walks
briskly away from the three slavers.

“What was that about?” asks James when they
are again among the crowd.

“I told him that we wished to view the
slaves and had gotten turned around,” he explains. Glancing back,
he finds the door that they just passed through closed and the
three slavers gone.

Not to be deterred, Jiron looks around and
sees two slavers talking to each other as they stand against one of
the walls near the platform. From their age and dress, he figures
them to be more than the run of the mill slaver. Deciding on a more
direct approach, he grabs Reilin’s arm and points to the two
slavers. “Go ask them,” he says. “See if they can help us.”

“Alright,” he says. Crossing over toward
them, he gets to within fifteen feet when the two men notice his
approach. They stop their conversation and turn to meet him.
“Excuse me,” Reilin says as he comes to a stop a couple feet
away.