The Wailing Captain

The sun hung up high in the sky. Hundreds of people passed by each other on the streets of Zeah, going about their business. Carriages carrying goods numbered in the hundreds as they passed by each other in the middle of the street.

The streets were ridiculously wide, they could fit at least eight carriages side by side at the same time, but it was needed because of the traffic that passed by them every day.

There weren't many people like Theo. People who were looking intently at everything happening around them, like it was something that they had never seen before.

To them, Zeah, the capital of the whole kingdom was an everyday sight. It was normal to see the pristinely white buildings that gleamed in the sunlight.

Even though Theo had been here once before, it had been years ago. Back during the time when his parents had still been alive.

He had been so young that he could barely even remember what they had been here for, let alone what the place had been like.

There was quite a lot of slaves following their masters, too. Different from the usual sight where only a few orcs could be seen in some of the more remote cities.

It was Theo's first time seeing the stout and short dwarves lugging around baggage twice their size as they struggled to follow their master. The orcs, who looked like bulky humans, only with slightly green tinted skin were a more familiar sight, but he was yet again surprised to see so many pale skinned elves demurely following their masters.

Orcs were native to the Kingdom of Hubrias, while dwarves were from the Kingdom of Sernia to the west. The elves came from the Kingdom of Vulcania to the east.

It was rare to see so many slaves in one place, not to mention the variety of races here. There must have been hundreds if not thousands of slaves walking around. Some were quite obviously goods waiting to be sold to the richest bidder at the slave auctions and others had already been bought and were following their new masters.

But it made sense, given that Zeah was the capital of trade in the entire world, currently.

'I wonder if I can ever achieve that spell.' Theo thought as he looked at the common denominator amongst all the slaves here. There were no collars, but there was a turquoise gem embedded into the middle of their foreheads that gleamed in the sunlight.

Theo was deep in thought, so he didn't notice the crowd around him quieting down and stopping in their tracks almost completely. He was only shaken out of his musings as he was about to crash into the back of a commoner.

He took a look around to understand what was happening and noticed that there was a huge convoy of carriages making their way towards them.

There must have been at least ten to fifteen carriages being pulled by beasts Theo had never seen before. It wasn't the usual bull-like Wijin that most people used. It was far more bulkier and looked quite aggressive for a beast of burden.

Apart from the beasts of burden that were pulling the carriages along, there were at least ten people on horseback leading the convoy.

At the forefront of them all was a tall figure atop a pure onyx warhorse. That alone would have been a clear indication of the man's station, but the robes he wore would convince anyone who didn't recognize the beast.

The robes were an even deeper onyx black than the horse. It was as if the robes were absorbing all the light around them, dimming the area around the man and leaving him cloaked in the shadows.

It wasn't possible to see the face of the figure, in fact, Theo wasn't sure if it even was a male or female figure.

The only thing that could clearly be seen on the figure was a badge of pure black. Different from the robes, it didn't absorb light, instead it glowed slightly. Not enough to break free from the shadows surrounding the figure, but it was enough for others to notice the badge.

The badge was purely black. No ornaments, no carvings, no inscriptions, nothing.

"A Slaver." People around Theo were mumbling with a reverence in their voice.

"I wonder which family they're from?" There was an old couple standing behind him, conversing quietly amongst themselves.

"Shush, you don't want them to punish you for insolence, do you?" The old woman berated the man Theo presumed to be her husband.

'So, that's a Slaver?' Theo wondered. He had never seen one in person before, only heard the tales.

They were rumored to be the only people capable of casting the Slaving spell. Every single Slaver was a part of at least one prominent noble family.

Everyone around Theo were dead quiet and had their head bowed as the Slaver passed by them. Soon the ground underneath their feet started quacking as the carriages pulled by their peculiar beasts followed the Slaver.

One of the flaps on a carriage moved, revealing that at least a dozen elves were sitting inside, all of them having a turquoise gem embedded into their foreheads. From what little Theo could see, their faces were full of despair and hopelessness.

After around five minutes, the whole convoy had passed by them, and people were already getting back to what they were doing before, while still whispering amongst themselves about what had just happened.

Theo gathered that seeing a Slaver, even in Zeah, wasn't a common occurrence.

/-/

"This is the tavern that most suits your needs." A small, timid voice told him.

A boy, clearly under the age of ten, clothed in rags that barely passed as clothes stood in front of him and pointed at a large building in front of him.

Theo nodded but didn't say anything. He tossed a single copper piece towards the child and watched as the boy deftly caught it, before quickly hiding it somewhere.

Neither of them said a word as the boy departed and Theo turned his gaze towards the tavern in front of him.

It was tall, at least four stories tall. The base was made out of a pristine, well-hewn white stone that gleamed in the sunlight. Different from the other buildings nearby, the wood that made up most of the tavern wasn't the white that most others had.

Instead, it was a deep brown, quite like mahogany, which it probably was. It created a striking contrast against the otherwise white surroundings. Making the building stand out.

There was a big placard placed above the doors leading inside that told Theo that the place was called The Wailing Captain.

He walked inside and was slightly surprised to see the amount of people that were there. The first floor was completely filled with tables and chairs, and every single one was filled to the brim with people. Food was being brought in and out by dozens of waiters as they tended to everyone.

There were four lines towards the front desk where four different clerks were attending. Theo joined one of them and waited for a good while, almost thirty minutes until it was his turn.

"Welcome, sir. What can I help you with today?" The female clerk behind the counter greeted and smiled at him.

"I'd like a room for a week." Theo said.

The clerk nodded and pulled out a hefty pile of papers before checking them. "One of our premium rooms opened just a moment ago, would that be okay with you, sir?"

"How much would it cost?" Theo asked. He couldn't help but be curious about what luxury cost here.

"Five silver a night, so a week would total to an amount of three gold and five silver." She smiled at him.

Even though Theo was prepared to hear an absurd price, it still made him wince slightly.

"What's the cheapest option?" He asked instead, concealing his emotions as well as he could.

The clerk looked slightly disappointed but went back to the papers. "A room on the third floor, has a bed, desk and a wardrobe. A silver a night, a week would be seven silver."

The respect in her voice had diminished quite a large amount, but she still held up the courteous façade.

"I'll take it." Theo smiled at her. "Do I pay now or after?"

The clerk pulled out a key from underneath the counter and pushed it towards him. "The payment is to be paid upfront."

"Ah, I forgot to mention that the room comes with free access to the baths, but the food options you have are limited. If you want to upgrade, you can spend an extra silver a night for unlimited food."

Theo fished out seven silver from his pouch and placed them on the counter before taking the key. "I'm fine, thank you."

The clerk nodded but was clearly annoyed by the fact that Theo wasn't spending much.

"The stairs back there will take you to the third floor." She pointed at the stairs situated at the back of the tavern that led upwards. "Now, if you have no other business, I wish you a happy stay."

She ushered him out and Theo gladly obliged, quietly making his way towards his room on the third floor, trying hard not to gather any unnecessary attention on himself.