"I want this one" Dannon pointed to one of the males standing along the wall. He looked about his own age, but it was hard to tell with these. He was tall, and his body was slightly more muscular and tanned than Dannons, not that that was any indication. In contrast to many of the others, he stood straight and proud, glaring at him.
His mother wrinkled her nose "That one? Sweetie, it's your first slave, don't you think you should take one that's more tamed? What about that one over there?" She pointed to a scrawny girl with a lowered head.
Dannon resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I finally agreed to let you get me one, can I not at least choose one for myself?"
"But look at him. Are you sure you can handle anything like that? It could be dangerous." She turned towards one of the handlers, a huge guy with a whip standing behind them. He was an ugly fellow, but at least he looked like he knew his trade. "How long is it since he was captured?" She asked him in a polite tone.
"Four months" he answered gruffly, and Dannon raised an eyebrow. That hardly seemed right. He pointed to a thin guy a little further away. He was leaning hard against the wall, sweaty and pale. "That one," he tried "Is he healthy?"
"Oh yes." The man answered with reassuring grin.
The little guy suddenly got into a fit of wet coughs and sank down on the floor, before a strike from a nearby whip forced him back up again. "Just a bit tired, that's all."
Dannon said nothing, but instead turned directly to the slave in front of him.
"Can you talk?" He asked him. The slave simply glared at him, snarling slightly.
"Answer when spoken to!" The man behind them demanded, and stepped forward to harshly punch him in the gut. The slave winced at the strike, but got up without giving any hint of responding.
"This one needs a bit of a firm hand." The handler explained with another disgusting business-smile.
"It is fine" Dannon said with a big sigh. "I guess it is too primitive and stupid for speaking after all."
The slave quickly leaped forward, causing them both to jump, but he was stopped by the chains. "Dear God!" his mother gasped in shock at the behavior. Dannon however gave a satisfied smirk. At least he seemed to understand the language.
"Tell me more about him." He demanded from the handler.
"Dannon dear, you cannot seriously mean to take this beast into your home?" His mother exclaimed beside him, never taking her eyes off the slave in front of them.
"I will be fine, mother. I will get the proper equipment, and you have seen how well I do at training dogs and horses. I am sure I can handle it." The slave made another threatening yank at his chains at that comment. "So what do you know about him?" he asked the slave-trader again.
The handler considered Dannon a moment, scratching his head. He probably thought he was crazy.
"Got it from the red forest out west." He started "Strong and smart, but you might have to break it in before you can use it. Not too sure about any abilities yet." He looked them over. "The markings and eyes are rare though, so once he's trained he'll surely be worth a lot."
He grabbed a hold of the chin of the slave and signaled Dannon to take a closer look into the glaring eyes. They had thin pupils, like a cat, and the eyes he had thought brown had a slight red tinge. Dannon nodded approvingly, and once he stepped away the handler turned the slave forcefully around against the wall to reveal a few wounds from a whip along with thick red markings drawing spirals across his bare back. "Are those natural?" Dannon asked curiously as he leaned in to study it.
"It's the real deal" The handler said proudly. "If you're smart, you get him now, or the price will just keep rising."
"It's damaged" Dannons mother broke in, slightly fading the smile of the big man.
"Only a few scratches, madam" He assured her. "The scars will be almost invisible!"
"Caught late, no training, possibly untamable." Dannon summarized. "Rare qualities, but with scars. What is the price?"
The handler eyed him calculatingly. "You seem like a smart guy." He started in a businesslike tone "For you, 30 000 G"
"30 000 G for that?" His mother exclaimed, before Dannon could say a word "And it's not even trained!"
"If it was, you would pay twice as much." The handler stated. "Did you even see the markings?"
"Markings or not, I doubt you'll ever get that much." Dannon stated dryly. "With the amount of work it would need, it might not even be profitable at all." He paused for a minute for effect. "10 000 G"
"10 000 G?!" The handler shouted, making a few nearby slaves flinch. "Even a normal slave rarely goes below 20 000! Do you think I'm an idiot?" He loomed closer, threatening, and Dannons mother shied away. He stayed put however, and looked the man straight in the eyes. The man probably knew better than beating up a paying costumer, even when the price was low.
"A normal functional slave would, but he's hardly functional." The slave gave the chains another yank, unknowingly confirming the statement. Dannon sighed. "15 000 then. Even if you drugged him and sent him to a whore house, you wouldn't get any more than that."
The slaves glare faltered slightly for the first time since they arrived as his eyes jumped from Dannon to the handler.
The handler however was unaffected, and he only seemed more hostile than ever. He scowled, giving the slave a calculating look. He muttered something Dannon assumed was an insult in his native language before loudly stating "17 000 G! Final offer."
Dannon nodded "I'll take it. Pleasure doing business with you sir." He said as he turned to smile at the woman behind him. "My mother will arrange with the rest."
So that's my second story here, yeey.
Tell me what you think so far:)