Chapter 184

Bredret entered a large tent in the middle of one of Theapan's main cities. All along the inside of the tent various slaves were lined up, chained, and even caged. Each of them were criminals of various backgrounds. At the far end of the tent the slavery merchant was writing down notes in his log book.

"Welcome, I am Damien. May I help you?" Damien said as he slowly closed the book and placed his feathered pen down on the desk.

"You're the slavery merchant who knows how to mark the slaves?" Bredret double checked. He did not want to be sent out again after something as ridiculous as this.

"... What?" Damien was not sure why he would be asked something so strange.

"I asked if you are the one who can do the mark." Bredret repeated while stomping his way in front of the slavery merchant. A cold glint in his eyes as he glared down at the man.

Damien was not a rough man. He worked his job as a slavery merchant but his temperament was calm and collected. One could consider him quite mild usually. That did not make him ignorant of the world. One of his eyes was covered by an eye patch as he worked as what the continent considered a pirate.

Pirates were not like those who strictly rode on ships. They were adept as moving among the twelves kingdoms. Smuggling both people and items from one place to another. Damien made his living being a hidden pirate among Theapan. This kind of thing was illegal no matter which kingdom it was but that did not mean everything they did was cruel.

Damien never killed innocent people but he was not above smuggling goods or aiding in people who needed to sneak from one kingdom to another. His job allowed him to move smoothly without people prying into him too deeply. Not many people wanted to look deeply into a merchant who worked in the slave trade. Those who bought slaves were already questionable characters themselves usually.

"Yes! Of course! All slavery merchants are adept at doing that. If I didn't do it who else would?" Damien retorted. His clothes were a mix of different shades of brown, his hair was long and dark green while his eyes were a soft blue.

"I need you to come with me." Bredret ordered. He was not asking but in fact he was stating a fact. After looking all around for hours he had found someone who could do what was needed.

"What are you talking about? I can't leave my post so easily!" Damien refused. Time is money! To leave his slavery tent meant losing out on a large portion of his income to survive in his daily life.

A dragon did not have much patience. The more they talked about it the more time would be wasted on useless banter. He wanted to return quickly and get his task over with.

"You will be paid for the task you do." Bredret gnashed his teeth together with a deep rumbling growl in his throat. His golden eyes flashing from how annoyed he felt with the man's refusal.

Tossing a small pouch filled with gold and silver coins on the table in front of Damien. The slaver flinched as he watched the coins spill out onto his table. It was an amount that exceeded that of a simple job. It was clear that was he was being asked for was something that others should not easily learn about. Suspicion grew inside him towards the dragon that stood in front of him.

"What kind of task are you requesting from me exactly?" Damien pried.

"Exactly what I said. I was asked to find someone who can do the mark." Bredret answered simply. He did not want to give too much information out in front of others. Even if they were slaves there was still a risk someone could spill things they shouldn't.

Damien did not speak. Standing there by the table he considered his options.

"Don't be mistaken. I am asking nicely but if you try to refuse I will drag you if I have to." A deep growl escaped Bredret's throat as he spoke. It was like a heavy rumbling thunder inside the tent. The shadows of the tent casting a dark shadow over his face that made him seem even further intimidating. It caused the slavery merchant to flinch.

The merchant knew he could not compete against a dragon. It only left him with two options. If he agreed he could take the money while if he refused he would be dragged away by force by the dragon to who knows where. His head slowly nodded in response.

"It looks like I need to close up early today.." Damien laughed off his nervousness as he slipped the money pouch into his magic storage bracelet.

Bredret watched the man carefully put the money away. It was a money pouch that he took from Daryl before he left the temple for this. If they were to bring a merchant no matter what kind they were they only lived for the thrill of one thing. That was money. Merchants were known for being greedy for profit. The fact that Damien was also a pirate meant that greed was even stronger.

While Damien scurried about the tent to settle his matters and close up his shop Bredret walked outside to wait. Standing on the side of the street he watched the bustling street cautiously. Many people cast him glances as he took out some liquor from his clothes and began to drink.

"What is this?" Bredret mumbled to himself as he felt a strange sensation in his chest.

It was like a feeling of worry mixed with sadness. Those feelings were not his own but he could feel them clearly inside of him. No, he did feel a sense of sadness since he lost Celeste. That much he knew about himself. But there was something different about what he was feeling. Something about the feeling that ran through him was like he was feeling someone else's emotions inside of him.

He could not understand what was wrong with him. Ever since he lost Celeste it was like there was something wrong with him. Emotions that weren't his own would randomly fill him up at times. They were not enough to control him at all. Strangely it was more like a phantom was haunting him from the inside out.

Chugging down the liquor he closed his eyes and tried to rid himself of the strange feeling. The more he drank the more it drowned the feeling out of his mind. He did not want to linger on those strange feelings. Wanting to drown out everything around him including how horrible he felt he could only drink more heavily. That was the only way he could think of to rid himself of the pain in his heart. Whether it was when Celeste lost her life all those years ago or when she gave her soul to save him from the state that the god had put him in he wanted to rid himself of all that pain.