Hell's Bailiff - Chapter 3 Part 1
Hell's Bailiff - Chapter 3 Part 1
Edited September 5th, 2011 to relocate action to pre-Millennium Mystara.
Over the next couple of weeks I began to hand off operations to my trusted major domo. One of the major hitches to be resolved was our teleporter. For the moment it was powered by my eldritch fire but once I was gone, we'd be at a severe disadvantage. I dropped a pile of cash and gave orders to get it working somehow, but while teleportation platforms weren't a new technology, they were a pricey one and could take a long time to set up to be self-powering. Meanwhile, I powered it up and teleported back to Sundsvall to consult my mentor.
I had given Kana's offer to be a bailiff some thought, and decided it was at least worth a try. There was no point second-guessing so much that I ended up paralyzed with indecision. First-hand experience would tell me if it were a mistake or not. In between missions I guessed that I would be able to tend to company business or stay on the move and open offices in the west.
There was the problem of who to have with me -- I sure as Hell wasn't going alone! -- and how much they should know. I would have dearly loved to be able to rely on ever-trusty Kristy, but I just couldn't drag her into this mess. Naturally, she had sensed my move and made inquiries, but I put my foot down and instead made her promise to keep things in order here so that I might have a home to come back to one of these days. Here was some dire trouble, and I needed to know home was safe. She was swayed, I was relieved, and I dearly hoped that was that.
It was he who put a name to my thoughts.
"You'll want a few slaves then. And competent ones."
"And where am I going to find something like that?"
"I've got a contact. We'll need more coin. And I'd better come with you on this one."
*
Still reading dear reader? I suppose it's hard to sink lower than selling hapless souls to Hell and by this time not even slavery will make you bat an eye. So I shan't dwell on the institution of it, nor justify too much why my conscience sat just fine with slavery. But if you will indulge me briefly on the why...
Consider that I was already by all accounts a through and through villain. No matter how respectable I might conduct myself in public, the mere fact that I traded in souls would make anyone at least just a bit ansy. So I really couldn't consort with just anyone. And for the dangerous and soulless work of collecting Hell's debts, I needed unswerving loyalty, no questions asked. No crises of conscience at the last moment to ruin everything. Evidently, I had enough of that to just about ruin myself.
My mentor informed me that we would be going to one of a very few Underdark Black Markets that he knew of. There was one in sinister Shraek, where even the laws of Alphatia could not reach. There was an unspoken understanding that this territory of reclusive mages would govern themselves, and be free to do what they liked, so long as their loyalties were essentially still with the Empire. What went on in Shraek? Anything -- and no one asked about it. From the strange and grotesque monsters rumored to prowl the region's forests, one guessed that atrociously unethical and horrifying experiments in the name of research went on. So the fact that they had a portal to an Underdark Black Market and dealings with some dangerous and evil factions with unique skills was tame in comparison. Factions like the illithids.
Yes, the dreaded "mind flayers", who were known far and wide for their infamous and disgusting dietary habit of tearing chunks of brain out through your nose with their tentacles. Imagine if you will, sticking a finger up your nose to get at a goober. Now imagine if you shoved that finger up so deep you went under your skull. Finally, imagine a fat, slimy, squid tentacle doing the same, but with a small hook on its pad, and shoved all the way up your brain (once it gets there there's no additional pain, believe it or not, since your brain hasn't the proper type of nerves to feel pain) and then raked back down with a piece of white matter on the hook. Multiply that by about four tentacles ripping your nose open and possibly cracking your skull apart.
On top of that, they had psychic powers to reduce your psyche to jelly and make you that much more willing to get your brain eaten. When there was more time, stories told of feasts where the still-living meal was secured with their faculties intact, a very sturdy gag, and their heads protruding from the centre of a small table. During the meal they would be scalped, their skulls carefully sawed open, and the throbbing, juicy, brain patiently scooped out.
"There are no rules there, really, except no stealing and no bothering other customers," my mentor said. "You take your brawls outside or the illithids make you take it outside. If neither party are paying customers, the illithids might decide you're all more easily dealt with by mind-blasting you into vegetables and eating your brains."
"Furthermore," he continued, "watch for every dirty trick in the book at the market. Illusions and sleight of hand are all fair game since there isn't really any regulation at a black market. It's cutthroat buyer-beware. I still get snookered every time I go. Don't waste your credit notes on trinkets, especially if you might get something comparable legitimately. We'll need them for quality slaves."
"Tell me about these private auctions."
"The best and the brightest slave stock. Mostly really good fighters or vicious monsters. Buyers typically recover their costs with winnings in the arena -- if their slave survives. Other than that, you get unusual and exotic stuff. Sometimes trophies, sometimes sacrifices, could be anyone or anything. It's no holds barred down there. Probably no one of note since those are less trouble if ransomed. Oh, and before I forget: Don't pity them. First, that just drives up the price because you can bet those illithids will be reading your mind whether you know it or not. Second, you can't save everyone. You probably can't even sneak one slave out of there without them getting wise to it, and once they do, they can alert everyone in a hurry telepathically with exactly where you are, what you look like, and what your next three steps are going to be. Try not to think about it: Even thinking of it will immediately put you under suspicion and surveillance."
"Oh boy."
"But if you need a pliant sacrifice to Hell, no questions asked, this is the place. We could probably get a few to sign their souls away."
"And you haven't because?"
"Because they're slaves. They've already got nothing to lose. It's hard to back someone into a corner when they've got nothing left to lose."
*
There were other black markets without such exotic entrances as teleportation platforms, but we had the coin so we paid for the convenience. In fact, this market had a regular entrances elsewhere, though they wound their way through confusing passages before reaching the surface. It was one of the larger markets and the wizards in Shraek had decided on the convenience of a permanent portal to such a handy location.
After paying the entrance fee, we were teleported away. We stepped off into a receiving chamber, walked through a hall with a lot of advertising, then out onto the landing of a long staircase cut into the wall of an immense cave. A ways below was the market. And what a sight it was. My mentor patiently waited while my senses adjusted to the sensory overload.
"Alright... Let's go. Don't buy anything yet. Shop around. Watch how things work here. We'll find a place to stay the night and arrange a couple of seats at the slave auction."
Everywhere I turned, something tempted me to drop coin. A trinket here, a useful gadget there... There was a convenience, as well as a curse, to too much money. Fortunately, lust was my main vice so my purse was still full, less a few coins for meals. I did check out the many prostitutes of course. A bit too exotic for me at the moment, but I made a mental note to give dragonborns a try some time. No self-respecting surface-dwelling dragonborn would whore herself -- as a race they were rather anal about honor, and not losing any. Down here... things were evidently much more open-minded.
I also made a mental note to pick up a charged elemental containment unit for our company teleportation platform in Thyatis -- if I were lucky to come across something as specialized as that.
The common slave market had a wide selection of slaves (and beasts) of all types imaginable. Most were probably prisoners of war or spoils of war, perhaps from raids on small settlements or rival tribes, and had changed hands till they ended up here. A fair number of them were crippled, frail, and old -- their only release would probably be death. They were all naked and lined up in neat rows to be more easily pointed to by prospective buyers. When someone was interested, they'd point to the slave. The slave would then obediently stand up for inspection.
What commanded a higher price among them was strength, health, and education -- promising labourers or possessed of a useful skill. Beauty was dime a dozen if you looked hard enough and bothered to give them a proper bath and proper clothes. Youth was bothersome as the slaver could pick up the cost of feeding them until they were stronger and educated and useful enough to command a good price.
It was a ruthless meat market dictated by the bottom line.
"Nothing for us here, I think," my mentor said, and motioned me to follow him.
We followed another guide to another series of caverns. Here was the slave auction. The lower end ones were healthy specimens, quite possibly hapless adventurers. The higher end ones were gladiators blooded in arenas and commanding more coin than even I had. And from running a merchant house, I had quite deep pockets to begin with.
Out of curiosity, we had a look at the special auction: The most exotic and more or less once-in-a-lifetime finds.
One was supposed to be a holy warrior. A proud human male left fully armed and armored for show, and sporting the holy symbol of Halav on his plate armor. A glowing circlet on his head dulled his faculties and two illithids were nearby to make sure he did not wake from his reverie. Two factions were tied in the bidding, which had met the reserve price -- Alphaks and Asmodeus. They were conferring with their cohorts, and several illithids and their deep dwarf guards were gathered, to make sure things remained civil.
There were also two dragons, chatting amiably. One was a stony earthquake dragon. Very young, and seeming very pleased by the latest bid. No doubt its peculiar earth-related powers were being appropriately bid on. The other was a blue, and very much larger.
"They're not slaves of course," my mentor whispered. "Auctioning their services."
I nodded. I'd never spoken with a dragon before, and thought I'd give it a go while my mentor inspected the other slaves. Besides, I wanted to see if they knew much about the final item on special auction -- a napping succubus. But surely, it couldn't be.
Careful to be respectful to the point of reverent, I quickly gained a rapport with the dragons and sought their opinion on the other slaves. Initially they insisted that they hadn't paid too much attention to the rest of the auction, but ended up offering many valuable tips.
The succubus was actually a doppelganger, forced to take that form for the moment, to elicit more bids. Having failed to raise a good price as an assassin, her owners were switching tactics to sell her off as a courtesan.
"It'll never work," said the Blue. "She's just too surly. And they won't beat her because that would damage the merchandise, and she knows it. So she's spent most of her time napping."
"They can't do anything else to coerce her cooperation?"
"They could, but they've gone. She was the last slave on sale," explained the stony earthquake dragon. "They couldn't be bothered to stay behind until she sold, and the auctioneers offered to take it over, but they aren't really obliged to get a particularly good price. She's taking up food and space and they want her gone."
"Her reserve price may be set a bit high, though," the Blue chimed in. "I overheard that none of the bids have yet to exceed the reserve price. She's pricey. Hard to say why if she's so lazy."
I glanced over to see what the bids were. I could outbid, but I had no idea what the reserve were. And "surly" and "lazy" weren't exactly traits worth recommending.
"Hello there," I called to the doppelganger. "Hello?"
"Hmm?" she roused sleepily and rubbed her eyes. She glanced down at the bids so far and frowned.
"What is your name?" I asked.
"Does it matter? I'm just going to be your sex toy, aren't I? You're probably going to call me something sexual and rude anyway."
"I might call you 'baby' in the throes of passion, I suppose. But that's hardly presentable in public."
"I don't remember my name. I've been so many people and have had to answer to so many names. I'm lucky to remember I'm female. Look, are you going to make a bid? I can be your dream girl if you show me a picture of her."
"I don't know... The dragons say you're surly and lazy. And I'm sure they've got us lowly humans figured out."
"Well, can you blame me? I'm a slave. That's not very motivational, is it? And you're buying me so you can stick stiff parts of you into wet parts of me. I'm not exactly looking forward to that."
"Well, forget it then. I have to second-guess backstabbers all day. I really don't want to have to do that with my slaves. Good bye."
"Hey wait! Tsk. And you! Thanks for nothing!" she snapped at Blue.
The dragon laughed and nudged his friend, Earthquake.
"Let us make it up to you with some advice for getting good bids," said Blue.
"Yes! I have watched what makes these humanoid men interested in females, and I must say that if you were more buxom, that would up your price as a whore."
She glared at him.
"Oh yes. Bigger... um... what did that man call them? Melons?" Blue concurred.
Her eyes shot daggers.
"And your ass could be... well... I hate to say it..." Blue snickered.
"No, no. Please. Go ahead," urged the doppelganger dripping sarcasm.
"Could be rounder. More peach-like. And firmer," explained Earthquake. He then made a show of looking behind her to check her out. "Right now it looks more... oh, how would you describe it?"
"Flat? Flabby? Sagging?" suggested Blue.
"Argh! Sagging?!" she screamed. "Oh, go to Hell! Both of you!" Then she turned to me. "And what are you smiling at?!"
"Hard to imagine they tried to sell you as an assassin," I said.
"I'm handy with a knife," she said defensively.
"But are you trained?"
"Not trained that way, no. Look, if you're just going to rattle my cage, go away. I'm sick of it. If you're going to make a bid, you should know I'm lousy in bed and I don't do the tail thing."
"The 'tail thing'?"
"Yes, what is this 'tail thing'?" Blue inquired with genuine curiosity.
"Well I'm not going to demonstrate! Gods, you're both disgusting."
"You see? She'll never sell." Blue quipped.
"Just shut up, alright?" she retorted. But her eyes had lost their fire. She drew her succubus wings about her like a comforting blanket.
I wondered how common it was to come across doppelgangers. Surely her innate power would be exceedingly useful. She had sass and attitude, though. I didn't need her to be good in bed, but I did need her to be reliable.
:Are your curious about this one?: An illithid auctioneer slid up to me and touched my mind with his cold telepathy. :Reliability can be assured.:
"Assured how?"
:Observe.: The illithid turned to her.
"No! Don't--" she started to protest, but it was too late.
I could see her fighting hard but her will was brushed aside. Presumably the illithid gave her mental commands because she shed her succubus form and her body expanded and took on scales. She presently looked like a fierce blue dragonborn, dropped to all fours, wagged her tail, and mewed.
:You see? Anything you desire. This... mental domination is temporary, but for a small fee and maybe a bit of surgery, it could be made permanent without much scarring--which of course her kind could hide with her shapeshifting in any case.:
There was no point trying to bluff my way to a lower price. The illithid had me figured out and was probably probing my mind in ways I didn't know how. I had to logic him into lowering the price.
His eyes widened. Oops, he'd "heard" that too.
:Look, I hear her reserve price is too high.: I thought to the auctioneer.
:I will offer you the mental conditioning at a discount. Indeed, it will be my pleasure to personally mold her mind.:
:Clearly you want her gone.:
:I do admit... she's taking up space.:
:Doppelgangers are so common that she's not getting attention from bidders?:
:Of course not. She is a prize worthy of special auction -- and a high reserve price. That is why she is placed next to the dragons.:
:What's wrong with her, then?:
His tentacles wilted in what probably passed for a sigh.
:You cannot possibly expect me to give up such information. This sale is by proxy and I would be remiss in not getting my client the best possible price. As you have already deduced so much, however... Yes. There is "something wrong". But I promise you it is nothing of consequence for what her miserable slavery will be about.:
:Okay, fine. Another question: She said she doesn't remember her name. True?:
The illithid glanced over. His brow furrowed and his tentacles waved a bit.
:Hmm... Yes. Interesting.:
:Can you find out her name, even if she doesn't know it herself?:
:Such things are often merely buried. And her feeble mind can be cracked open easily.:
:Well, don't if--:
:Oh, please. I would never damage merchandise, especially that of a client who has entrusted it to me. Ah... here it is. "Anastrianna".:
:Huh... Eladrin name.:
:Any other questions?:
:How low would you go for her?:
:Do not insult me.:
:Look, I didn't plan on picking her up, but if I have coin leftover after my other purcahses... maybe.:
:Other purchases?:
:I was hoping to put together a team.:
:Fighting team?:
:Something like that.:
:Ah... A strike force.:
:Stop reading my mind, will you?:
:Please. I could have deduced that as a tadpole.:
:Oh.:
I felt a sense of amusement.
:Well, my brainpower isn't as formidable as that of your species, I'm afraid.:
:Of course. Ah, no disrespect, honored customer, but... facts are facts.:
:Of course. Look, I need to browse the other slaves. I'll be back. Could you release her mind for now?:
:Oh, yes.:
Anastrianna immediately shifted out and curled into a weeping mess. She was grey and eerily featureless -- I supposed the natural androgynous-looking clay of her doppelganger heritage. I couldn't be sure if she were really a she, except that perhaps she had been brought up that way.
I put down a bid to tie with the highest bid.
Blue raised an eyebrow. "Throwing money away."
Out the corner of my eye I could see she had at least one eye on our conversation.
"I think she's worth it," I said, loud enough that she must have heard me clearly.
(to be continued...)
Edited September 5th, 2011 to relocate action to pre-Millennium Mystara.
Over the next couple of weeks I began to hand off operations to my trusted major domo. One of the major hitches to be resolved was our teleporter. For the moment it was powered by my eldritch fire but once I was gone, we'd be at a severe disadvantage. I dropped a pile of cash and gave orders to get it working somehow, but while teleportation platforms weren't a new technology, they were a pricey one and could take a long time to set up to be self-powering. Meanwhile, I powered it up and teleported back to Sundsvall to consult my mentor.
I had given Kana's offer to be a bailiff some thought, and decided it was at least worth a try. There was no point second-guessing so much that I ended up paralyzed with indecision. First-hand experience would tell me if it were a mistake or not. In between missions I guessed that I would be able to tend to company business or stay on the move and open offices in the west.
There was the problem of who to have with me -- I sure as Hell wasn't going alone! -- and how much they should know. I would have dearly loved to be able to rely on ever-trusty Kristy, but I just couldn't drag her into this mess. Naturally, she had sensed my move and made inquiries, but I put my foot down and instead made her promise to keep things in order here so that I might have a home to come back to one of these days. Here was some dire trouble, and I needed to know home was safe. She was swayed, I was relieved, and I dearly hoped that was that.
It was he who put a name to my thoughts.
"You'll want a few slaves then. And competent ones."
"And where am I going to find something like that?"
"I've got a contact. We'll need more coin. And I'd better come with you on this one."
*
Still reading dear reader? I suppose it's hard to sink lower than selling hapless souls to Hell and by this time not even slavery will make you bat an eye. So I shan't dwell on the institution of it, nor justify too much why my conscience sat just fine with slavery. But if you will indulge me briefly on the why...
Consider that I was already by all accounts a through and through villain. No matter how respectable I might conduct myself in public, the mere fact that I traded in souls would make anyone at least just a bit ansy. So I really couldn't consort with just anyone. And for the dangerous and soulless work of collecting Hell's debts, I needed unswerving loyalty, no questions asked. No crises of conscience at the last moment to ruin everything. Evidently, I had enough of that to just about ruin myself.
My mentor informed me that we would be going to one of a very few Underdark Black Markets that he knew of. There was one in sinister Shraek, where even the laws of Alphatia could not reach. There was an unspoken understanding that this territory of reclusive mages would govern themselves, and be free to do what they liked, so long as their loyalties were essentially still with the Empire. What went on in Shraek? Anything -- and no one asked about it. From the strange and grotesque monsters rumored to prowl the region's forests, one guessed that atrociously unethical and horrifying experiments in the name of research went on. So the fact that they had a portal to an Underdark Black Market and dealings with some dangerous and evil factions with unique skills was tame in comparison. Factions like the illithids.
Yes, the dreaded "mind flayers", who were known far and wide for their infamous and disgusting dietary habit of tearing chunks of brain out through your nose with their tentacles. Imagine if you will, sticking a finger up your nose to get at a goober. Now imagine if you shoved that finger up so deep you went under your skull. Finally, imagine a fat, slimy, squid tentacle doing the same, but with a small hook on its pad, and shoved all the way up your brain (once it gets there there's no additional pain, believe it or not, since your brain hasn't the proper type of nerves to feel pain) and then raked back down with a piece of white matter on the hook. Multiply that by about four tentacles ripping your nose open and possibly cracking your skull apart.
On top of that, they had psychic powers to reduce your psyche to jelly and make you that much more willing to get your brain eaten. When there was more time, stories told of feasts where the still-living meal was secured with their faculties intact, a very sturdy gag, and their heads protruding from the centre of a small table. During the meal they would be scalped, their skulls carefully sawed open, and the throbbing, juicy, brain patiently scooped out.
"There are no rules there, really, except no stealing and no bothering other customers," my mentor said. "You take your brawls outside or the illithids make you take it outside. If neither party are paying customers, the illithids might decide you're all more easily dealt with by mind-blasting you into vegetables and eating your brains."
"Furthermore," he continued, "watch for every dirty trick in the book at the market. Illusions and sleight of hand are all fair game since there isn't really any regulation at a black market. It's cutthroat buyer-beware. I still get snookered every time I go. Don't waste your credit notes on trinkets, especially if you might get something comparable legitimately. We'll need them for quality slaves."
"Tell me about these private auctions."
"The best and the brightest slave stock. Mostly really good fighters or vicious monsters. Buyers typically recover their costs with winnings in the arena -- if their slave survives. Other than that, you get unusual and exotic stuff. Sometimes trophies, sometimes sacrifices, could be anyone or anything. It's no holds barred down there. Probably no one of note since those are less trouble if ransomed. Oh, and before I forget: Don't pity them. First, that just drives up the price because you can bet those illithids will be reading your mind whether you know it or not. Second, you can't save everyone. You probably can't even sneak one slave out of there without them getting wise to it, and once they do, they can alert everyone in a hurry telepathically with exactly where you are, what you look like, and what your next three steps are going to be. Try not to think about it: Even thinking of it will immediately put you under suspicion and surveillance."
"Oh boy."
"But if you need a pliant sacrifice to Hell, no questions asked, this is the place. We could probably get a few to sign their souls away."
"And you haven't because?"
"Because they're slaves. They've already got nothing to lose. It's hard to back someone into a corner when they've got nothing left to lose."
*
There were other black markets without such exotic entrances as teleportation platforms, but we had the coin so we paid for the convenience. In fact, this market had a regular entrances elsewhere, though they wound their way through confusing passages before reaching the surface. It was one of the larger markets and the wizards in Shraek had decided on the convenience of a permanent portal to such a handy location.
After paying the entrance fee, we were teleported away. We stepped off into a receiving chamber, walked through a hall with a lot of advertising, then out onto the landing of a long staircase cut into the wall of an immense cave. A ways below was the market. And what a sight it was. My mentor patiently waited while my senses adjusted to the sensory overload.
"Alright... Let's go. Don't buy anything yet. Shop around. Watch how things work here. We'll find a place to stay the night and arrange a couple of seats at the slave auction."
Everywhere I turned, something tempted me to drop coin. A trinket here, a useful gadget there... There was a convenience, as well as a curse, to too much money. Fortunately, lust was my main vice so my purse was still full, less a few coins for meals. I did check out the many prostitutes of course. A bit too exotic for me at the moment, but I made a mental note to give dragonborns a try some time. No self-respecting surface-dwelling dragonborn would whore herself -- as a race they were rather anal about honor, and not losing any. Down here... things were evidently much more open-minded.
I also made a mental note to pick up a charged elemental containment unit for our company teleportation platform in Thyatis -- if I were lucky to come across something as specialized as that.
The common slave market had a wide selection of slaves (and beasts) of all types imaginable. Most were probably prisoners of war or spoils of war, perhaps from raids on small settlements or rival tribes, and had changed hands till they ended up here. A fair number of them were crippled, frail, and old -- their only release would probably be death. They were all naked and lined up in neat rows to be more easily pointed to by prospective buyers. When someone was interested, they'd point to the slave. The slave would then obediently stand up for inspection.
What commanded a higher price among them was strength, health, and education -- promising labourers or possessed of a useful skill. Beauty was dime a dozen if you looked hard enough and bothered to give them a proper bath and proper clothes. Youth was bothersome as the slaver could pick up the cost of feeding them until they were stronger and educated and useful enough to command a good price.
It was a ruthless meat market dictated by the bottom line.
"Nothing for us here, I think," my mentor said, and motioned me to follow him.
We followed another guide to another series of caverns. Here was the slave auction. The lower end ones were healthy specimens, quite possibly hapless adventurers. The higher end ones were gladiators blooded in arenas and commanding more coin than even I had. And from running a merchant house, I had quite deep pockets to begin with.
Out of curiosity, we had a look at the special auction: The most exotic and more or less once-in-a-lifetime finds.
One was supposed to be a holy warrior. A proud human male left fully armed and armored for show, and sporting the holy symbol of Halav on his plate armor. A glowing circlet on his head dulled his faculties and two illithids were nearby to make sure he did not wake from his reverie. Two factions were tied in the bidding, which had met the reserve price -- Alphaks and Asmodeus. They were conferring with their cohorts, and several illithids and their deep dwarf guards were gathered, to make sure things remained civil.
There were also two dragons, chatting amiably. One was a stony earthquake dragon. Very young, and seeming very pleased by the latest bid. No doubt its peculiar earth-related powers were being appropriately bid on. The other was a blue, and very much larger.
"They're not slaves of course," my mentor whispered. "Auctioning their services."
I nodded. I'd never spoken with a dragon before, and thought I'd give it a go while my mentor inspected the other slaves. Besides, I wanted to see if they knew much about the final item on special auction -- a napping succubus. But surely, it couldn't be.
Careful to be respectful to the point of reverent, I quickly gained a rapport with the dragons and sought their opinion on the other slaves. Initially they insisted that they hadn't paid too much attention to the rest of the auction, but ended up offering many valuable tips.
The succubus was actually a doppelganger, forced to take that form for the moment, to elicit more bids. Having failed to raise a good price as an assassin, her owners were switching tactics to sell her off as a courtesan.
"It'll never work," said the Blue. "She's just too surly. And they won't beat her because that would damage the merchandise, and she knows it. So she's spent most of her time napping."
"They can't do anything else to coerce her cooperation?"
"They could, but they've gone. She was the last slave on sale," explained the stony earthquake dragon. "They couldn't be bothered to stay behind until she sold, and the auctioneers offered to take it over, but they aren't really obliged to get a particularly good price. She's taking up food and space and they want her gone."
"Her reserve price may be set a bit high, though," the Blue chimed in. "I overheard that none of the bids have yet to exceed the reserve price. She's pricey. Hard to say why if she's so lazy."
I glanced over to see what the bids were. I could outbid, but I had no idea what the reserve were. And "surly" and "lazy" weren't exactly traits worth recommending.
"Hello there," I called to the doppelganger. "Hello?"
"Hmm?" she roused sleepily and rubbed her eyes. She glanced down at the bids so far and frowned.
"What is your name?" I asked.
"Does it matter? I'm just going to be your sex toy, aren't I? You're probably going to call me something sexual and rude anyway."
"I might call you 'baby' in the throes of passion, I suppose. But that's hardly presentable in public."
"I don't remember my name. I've been so many people and have had to answer to so many names. I'm lucky to remember I'm female. Look, are you going to make a bid? I can be your dream girl if you show me a picture of her."
"I don't know... The dragons say you're surly and lazy. And I'm sure they've got us lowly humans figured out."
"Well, can you blame me? I'm a slave. That's not very motivational, is it? And you're buying me so you can stick stiff parts of you into wet parts of me. I'm not exactly looking forward to that."
"Well, forget it then. I have to second-guess backstabbers all day. I really don't want to have to do that with my slaves. Good bye."
"Hey wait! Tsk. And you! Thanks for nothing!" she snapped at Blue.
The dragon laughed and nudged his friend, Earthquake.
"Let us make it up to you with some advice for getting good bids," said Blue.
"Yes! I have watched what makes these humanoid men interested in females, and I must say that if you were more buxom, that would up your price as a whore."
She glared at him.
"Oh yes. Bigger... um... what did that man call them? Melons?" Blue concurred.
Her eyes shot daggers.
"And your ass could be... well... I hate to say it..." Blue snickered.
"No, no. Please. Go ahead," urged the doppelganger dripping sarcasm.
"Could be rounder. More peach-like. And firmer," explained Earthquake. He then made a show of looking behind her to check her out. "Right now it looks more... oh, how would you describe it?"
"Flat? Flabby? Sagging?" suggested Blue.
"Argh! Sagging?!" she screamed. "Oh, go to Hell! Both of you!" Then she turned to me. "And what are you smiling at?!"
"Hard to imagine they tried to sell you as an assassin," I said.
"I'm handy with a knife," she said defensively.
"But are you trained?"
"Not trained that way, no. Look, if you're just going to rattle my cage, go away. I'm sick of it. If you're going to make a bid, you should know I'm lousy in bed and I don't do the tail thing."
"The 'tail thing'?"
"Yes, what is this 'tail thing'?" Blue inquired with genuine curiosity.
"Well I'm not going to demonstrate! Gods, you're both disgusting."
"You see? She'll never sell." Blue quipped.
"Just shut up, alright?" she retorted. But her eyes had lost their fire. She drew her succubus wings about her like a comforting blanket.
I wondered how common it was to come across doppelgangers. Surely her innate power would be exceedingly useful. She had sass and attitude, though. I didn't need her to be good in bed, but I did need her to be reliable.
:Are your curious about this one?: An illithid auctioneer slid up to me and touched my mind with his cold telepathy. :Reliability can be assured.:
"Assured how?"
:Observe.: The illithid turned to her.
"No! Don't--" she started to protest, but it was too late.
I could see her fighting hard but her will was brushed aside. Presumably the illithid gave her mental commands because she shed her succubus form and her body expanded and took on scales. She presently looked like a fierce blue dragonborn, dropped to all fours, wagged her tail, and mewed.
:You see? Anything you desire. This... mental domination is temporary, but for a small fee and maybe a bit of surgery, it could be made permanent without much scarring--which of course her kind could hide with her shapeshifting in any case.:
There was no point trying to bluff my way to a lower price. The illithid had me figured out and was probably probing my mind in ways I didn't know how. I had to logic him into lowering the price.
His eyes widened. Oops, he'd "heard" that too.
:Look, I hear her reserve price is too high.: I thought to the auctioneer.
:I will offer you the mental conditioning at a discount. Indeed, it will be my pleasure to personally mold her mind.:
:Clearly you want her gone.:
:I do admit... she's taking up space.:
:Doppelgangers are so common that she's not getting attention from bidders?:
:Of course not. She is a prize worthy of special auction -- and a high reserve price. That is why she is placed next to the dragons.:
:What's wrong with her, then?:
His tentacles wilted in what probably passed for a sigh.
:You cannot possibly expect me to give up such information. This sale is by proxy and I would be remiss in not getting my client the best possible price. As you have already deduced so much, however... Yes. There is "something wrong". But I promise you it is nothing of consequence for what her miserable slavery will be about.:
:Okay, fine. Another question: She said she doesn't remember her name. True?:
The illithid glanced over. His brow furrowed and his tentacles waved a bit.
:Hmm... Yes. Interesting.:
:Can you find out her name, even if she doesn't know it herself?:
:Such things are often merely buried. And her feeble mind can be cracked open easily.:
:Well, don't if--:
:Oh, please. I would never damage merchandise, especially that of a client who has entrusted it to me. Ah... here it is. "Anastrianna".:
:Huh... Eladrin name.:
:Any other questions?:
:How low would you go for her?:
:Do not insult me.:
:Look, I didn't plan on picking her up, but if I have coin leftover after my other purcahses... maybe.:
:Other purchases?:
:I was hoping to put together a team.:
:Fighting team?:
:Something like that.:
:Ah... A strike force.:
:Stop reading my mind, will you?:
:Please. I could have deduced that as a tadpole.:
:Oh.:
I felt a sense of amusement.
:Well, my brainpower isn't as formidable as that of your species, I'm afraid.:
:Of course. Ah, no disrespect, honored customer, but... facts are facts.:
:Of course. Look, I need to browse the other slaves. I'll be back. Could you release her mind for now?:
:Oh, yes.:
Anastrianna immediately shifted out and curled into a weeping mess. She was grey and eerily featureless -- I supposed the natural androgynous-looking clay of her doppelganger heritage. I couldn't be sure if she were really a she, except that perhaps she had been brought up that way.
I put down a bid to tie with the highest bid.
Blue raised an eyebrow. "Throwing money away."
Out the corner of my eye I could see she had at least one eye on our conversation.
"I think she's worth it," I said, loud enough that she must have heard me clearly.
(to be continued...)
Comments
Post a Comment