Open Chronicles Desert Discoveries

[Martillius Rex]

Annuakat, the capital city of the Empire located deep within the desert of Amol-Kalit. Growing up in the Allir Reach, the desert lands of Amol-Kalit had never really been of much interest to Martillius. The son of a farmer himself, he had only ever heard about the desert home of the Sand Elves as a barren, inhospitable and worthless land. Granted, the personal bias of a ninth generation farmer may have gone into his words at the time, but Martillius had little other information to go on. Only recently had he begun to hear rumors that an Empire existed within the desert. The small villages he had stopped at along the busy roads of the land were ripe with rumor and gossip, but little credible information.

Still, given recent events, Martillius had decided that a strange Empire in a land he had always been told was pointless was the perfect place to hide from those that hunted him still.

Months of careful travel had taken him through Amol-Kalit, either as a lone traveler or as part of a merchant caravan, but in that time he had seen little to change his opinion of the land. The massive, obscenely painted walls of Annuakat changed all that, though he was not sure if it was for the better yet. The caravan he had been with that entered the city had been generally a gregarious lot, with a mixture of human's, dwarves and even an elf in their ranks. It had taken Martillius five days to learn the common language of the reason simply by listening to the caravan, and he had even begun to correct some of the younger members grammatical mistakes when they came in sight of the walls. Not long after that, they had all fallen silent.

The Sand Elves guarding the gates had given them little trouble, though their glares had given Martillius chills, something he had not felt in many years. Once through the massive gates, the caravan had drawn up in a large communal square, where they began to offload their goods for the markets in the city. Martillius assisted where he could, but the scars that even now felt fresh flared up across his body, and he had to leave them with his apologies and thanks before heading off into the city alone. Potentially a bad plan, he mused, but undoubtedly the best for a fact finding expedition such as his.

Almost by chance, Martillius passed into the slave quarter within the markets near the port, his eyes widening slightly as the sheer scale of the operation before him. Slavery was not an alien concept to the necromancer, but he had only rarely seen it back in the Reach. Most families were too poor to buy more than a single, sickly donkey in the best of times. Only the occasional merchant or lord passing through his farmlands back home had slaves with them. To see an entire industry built around the practice shocked him to an extent, but also filled him with some ideas. Pausing in his tracks, Martillius closed his eyes and extended his senses, feeling the fear and pain that flowed like wine through the market here, and the potential that it presented to someone such as he.

Smiling slightly, he reached up with a gloved hand to push a stray strand of blonde hair from his eyes as he continued his path once more through the market. There were certainly less interesting places for him to hide out in.

Loxa Visl

 

[lionman]

being here in the hot sun was not something i had planned on but war in my home land of falwood costs resources and the furless folk may be mindless animals but trade seems to be one of there most useful attributes. our party consists of me and 5 brave lionmen and 3 lion cubs who are charged with slave watch and my protection, as well as merchanting, not that i need it. even in my old age i am still a beast to be weary of. we have 15 slaves in a line all chained and most wishing they hadn't run into us on the way to the market, we left home with 12. 6 males 6 females all under the age of 30. managed to come across the other three by mistake. a father a mother and there child.

"this is a true working man people! he can lift whole trees and break rock for days without rest! but he wont go for cheap buy him now and maybe we can work out a deal that is applicable for both parties, maybe throw in the child for half the cost"

yells one of our parties merchants, he grabs the man from the line and rips off his clothing.

a few brave souls who weren't bothered by large lions examined and probed the man checking his teeth his muscle tone all while making "hmmm" and "ahhh" sounds.

i huff and sit on a log near our area that naturally cleared for us as less brave people moved away from our group. well known for being savages its no surprise to me but widely bad for business.

suddenly one of the slaves at the end of the line managed to slip his bindings and began to run. one of the cubs pulls his bow and shoots an arrow. it lands perfectly straight through his neck. one of my men grumbles something about being too hot for chasing dirty animals as he goes and drags the now gurgling and wheezing slave into view of the other slaves.he rubs the cubs head telling him he did the right thing he stomps the slaves head and his life ends there. my man glared at the slaves.

"run and this will be you, we don't have time to chase you and if we are going to lose money we might as well secure a meal for tonight."

he smiles and drags the body to our cart thats a few yards away ordering one of the cubs to prepare the animal for tonight's meal. my merchants seemed a little peeved as im sure a dead slave was worse for our pocket than one would think.

my eyes lock onto a face not like the others. in the crowd. a man who seemed he wasnt supposed to be here, couse there is no way i could know this but my instincts were telling me something was wrong about this man, his blond hair stood out, not as much as lionmen but still. could he be a royal who needs a slave? i continue to watch him seem to wonder there was nothing else for me to do im just here for command purposes all the grunt work isnt my job it isnt easy being a king its boring and becomes more of an administrative job as your kingdom grows

 

[Elspeth Sirl]

Between the merchant calls and the commotion of buyers in the market, the din of the port slats could only be described as a droning buzz. Here good exposure was at a premium and so was the shade. It paid to arrive early and stake your claim - the Tera'terre were not ones to accept the second best locale.

Off to the left of the center stage auction platform, poles of polished wood held up a mass of white material. They billowed in the salty breeze with the call of wind chimes at the corners and the scent of burning herbs. Two gnoll guards stood at either side of the open, arched entrance, their figures adorned with the customary gleam of gold that tied them to an entity of either high rapport, renown, riches ... or perhaps all three.

There were no walls to block the view of the products found within: slaves of great variety. All ages, races, and statures. Some performed dance while others crafted. A harpy with a gilded collar sang a soothing tone while an elf next to her plucked upon a small harp.

These were not slaves one purchased to work the wheat fields.

Just beyond the entrance a smaller stand attended by a variety of assistants spoke with consumers who stopped to question their inventory. The myriad dialects and languages being exchanged was enough to sting an eavesdropper's ear. Among those in the stand was a female gnoll that turned the heads of quite a few. Far larger than those found in Amol-Kalit and curiously marked. A foreigner in an exotic land, she spoke a language that belonged halfway across the world while a human translated at her side to an Abtati elf bearing the insignia of the Empire.

"The Sha would be pleased to speak with the Emperor on the subject of regular orders..." the man waited while the gnoll spoke quietly in her native tongue, "...whatever his needs or tastes, we can deliver reliably in number from Cerak At'Thul as well as distant ports."

 

[Martillius Rex]

Martillius shivered slightly as he watched the slave collapse to the ground, the arrow snapping as he slammed into the ground. Martillius closed his eyes, turning his head away for a moment as the slavers dragged the man back towards his original holding cell. Many people might find it ironic that Martillius, a necromancer by trade, was uncomfortable with death. Well, to be specific, he was uncomfortable with dead bodies. The smell they gave off, for one, was something he cold never get used to.

Many people just assumed all necromancers were lumped into a single category of evil, when they were just as varied as their mage counterparts at the Elbion College and elsewhere across the world. Martillius's expertise lay not in the realm of the dead, but in the realm of the mostly dead. Shades, ghosts and the souls of those who perished. They were what truly interested Martillius, and he had dedicated his life to studying them, and finding uses for them. It was a much more interesting field than reanimating corpses if he said so himself.

Plus shades did not smell, they just made a room cold.

The next few minutes of walking through the markets were filled with Martillius considered the cost benefits of not needing any form of automated air cooling in an enclosed space when he came across a smaller area of the market. Here, the droves of lesser slaves had been replaced with those of a higher quality, and judging by the...assets of some of the dancing women by the entrance, considerably better fed. His eyes lingered longer then he liked on a few of them before they settled on the conversation going on between three figures.

He had to take a second glance at the tallest of the group, his eyes widening briefly at the large female form before him. He had heard of the gnoll, but much like the deserts, he had not been expecting that which he faced now. He was able to catch a few of the words spoken between them, though the speed at which they were exchanged had him a bit lost. He had only started learning the language a few days before, it would take him at least another two or three before he could fully understand it.

Besides, merchants talked much slower than politicians did. They wanted to be understood while politicians did all they could to be confusing. At least, as far as Martillius knew.

 

[lionman]

i see the man i was watching and caught his scent on the breeze, he smelled odd, a smell i only know to come from the magic folk. a keen nose can spot it a mile away, my secound in comand sees me eyeing the crowd.

"whats the matter my lord?" he asks sniffing the air for whoever i was looking at.

"nothing just another animal that seemed interesting to me."
i growled, i dont know why this one hairless creature has me so weary.

i stand and motion for my second to follow me, he looked worried but did as he was told, ordering his son to follow close behind bow at the ready, cubs are great at stealth as they have not put on the muscle and weight that comes with being a full grown male, so cubs at the age of 8 must begin working for the king as assassins and scouts, i would never take a son from there father and bring them all the way out here so each of the three cubs also have there fathers here all are sworn to protect the king.

i begin following the man he stops to admire a quite beautiful creature that stood close to a lionmens hight not far from were he stopped.

"beautiful isn't it"

i say in a low growl at his ear my second stood very close to his other side sort of blocking him in between us.

my second simply gave the furless man a glare. he adjusted himself so you could see the human and elf bone necklace he wore and continued to give the furless man the look of hunger occasionally licking his lips but staying ever silent waiting for my go ahead to eat this man to his boots, unfortunately that wasn't my reason for standing here.

"animals like this should never be kept captive they are far too beautiful, unlike furless folk this is a real animal, the gods may see favor in her yet for her body may not be the same as ours she has been gifted with fur ever so magnificent" i say to the man while keeping my eyes fixed on the creature

 

[Elspeth Sirl]

"What about...disposables?" the Abtati questioned, his voice dropping to a somewhat quieter ask.

The man, Roque, exchanged a glance with the gnoll beside him who seemed to understand the intent behind the query without understanding the words. She nodded once before leveling her gaze back on the elf.

"Cerak At'Thul is filled to the brim with deplorables," Roque offered on a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "you are seeking ...what? Battle fodder? Subjects for research? Vessels for necroman-"

"It is not a matter of public discussion," the elf held up a hand to stay the man's further implications for what the Empire did or did not have need or use of disposables for.

"Naturally. Why don't you join us in the shade? We have a selection of deplorables out back you may inspect at your leisure. Can I get you a drink? Our Cortosi Rum is freshly acquired from the gulf. I insist..." Roque would not take no for an answer as he lead the Abtati into the relief of the tent.

Loxa lingered there for several moments longer, keen gaze surveying the crowds of the marketplace, round ears erect and attentive. Her eyes landed upon a group of lionmen, ra'kasziir in her tongue, and a man who seemed out of sorts among them in more ways than one. She held his gaze for a distant second before silently and fluidly turning to follow her customer and associate into the tent.