“Slaves! Buy your slaves here! They’re young! They’re strong! Obedient! Broken, by the promise of Sallazar. I promise you at least three years in the mine before they shall succumb!” All other slavers shouted some variation of this at the slave markets. Some slavers had to do with raised wooden platforms. Others, more established ones, had their own stone carved podium. Upon which the bound humans and goblins stood. Often in the presence of guards ready to throw a slave down to the ground should he choose to misbehave. City guards were patrolling the streets here as well in greater numbers.

Silas walked through the throng of people with relative ease. He grew up in the slave market. Where his father had often invested in mine-slaves. With a discerning eye the man knew which slaves to get and which to slip. It was the little things. Nails, teeth, hair. Disease was a wretched thing that could destroy even the best of stock. You wanted it nowhere near your slaves. His sapphire eyes darted form stone podium to stone podium in search of some good slaves to work in the Labyrinth. Hauling out that which was found, or perhaps serve as fodder during the exploration. They were, after all, just slaves.

“Anything catching  your eye?” Asked Nidar, another Mystic who had been stalking the slave market for suitable stock. Silas shook his head. “I’ve found a handful of strong ones. Got two goblins as well.”

“Goblins are useless in the mines. How do you think they’ll perform in the ruins?” Asked Silas. Skeptical of his friend’s purchases.

“No worries. The goblins are a gift for father on the farms. He can always use some extra help. Anyway, I heard Fasthus has some new stock. Maybe we should go check that.”

“Should we really work with the mage poisoner?” Asked Silas, sounding quite apprehensive. Most of the nobles had no issue with Fasthus and his methods, but it irked the  young Mystic quite a bit that his poison could render one’s magic entirely inert. Nidar didn’t seem to care though, as he was already heading for Fasthus’ podium. The stone carvings upon the podium were all about that one, red tree he had found as a sapling. The tree that allowed him to break mage-slaves. Opening up a whole new market for Anghebad. They weren’t exceptionally popular, but some nobles bought them as status symbols. On the two front corners of the podium stood two gnarly olive trees upholding the canopy. Allowing the slaver and his slaves some shade. Closer to the back there were various stone statues carved not in the shape of the usual olive trees but in the shape of the mystical tree of Fasthus. Around each were his more…exotic slaves chained.

As the two mystics walked past one of the more unassuming slaves, what might have once been a healthy young woman now ravaged by hunger and spite softly spoke, seemingly to nobody in particular in off-key sing-song whisper, “Deep blue eyes, and yet still so blind. The defiler will soon meet his fate, may this city go tumbling after.” 

The two looked at each other. Their rather new, sapphire eyes definitely made them stand out from the crowd. Yet there was something odd about the woman. Beyond her ravaged looks. She would make a terrible house slave because of that alone. Her bindings didn’t help either. Two separate ropes around her arms were tightly drawn together. “Looks like Fasthus has trouble with one.” Nidar joked.

Silas was slightly more interested. His paranoia would not allow him to simply carry on after such a threat. The defiler? What did that even mean? He stepped in closer to the podium while yelling. “Fasthus! Who is that woman over there?”

Hiseras, one of Fasthus’ younger sons, walked up, “Father is doing business elsewhere. But that woman, I don’t know much about her except her ropes keep getting undone and she keeps saying weird things. Now, I don’t think you are here for gossip. What are you actually looking for?” 

“Shut up.” Silas said as he crawled up the podium to get closer to the woman. Not a usual thing to do. Especially when not invited, but Silas knew he was protected by the Queen. All Mystics were. He stared the woman close in the eyes. “We got a gift from a god, mages are get tests and rewards from thin air and the ground just opened up. Revealing secrets older than our city. But I’m supposed to believe this is just coincidence?” He asked Hiseras, even though he was looking at the woman. His intuition was screeching in his mind. “Tell me about the defiler.” He finally asked her.

The woman began giggling to herself, “You have the intelligence to solve any puzzle, but not the wisdom to know where the boundaries between are. You have received a gift from a god, but you are not the only one, nor is there only one god. Our meeting is as coincidental as the rain pouring upon the soil.”

Silas remained silent for a while. A group of people was gathering around the stone podium now as well. Curious after what was unfolding. “What’s your gift then?” He asked. 

The woman seemed no more serious than before, “Why are you certain with the words of a slave. How could a slave know of the will of the gods unless they heard their voice? I am sure you are more interested in the words of the magisters and merchants. Some of them say that I am mad. Others say I am cursed. One claimed I was not human. None of them” her face began to sour for a moment, before suddenly smiling again, “claimed that I was gifted.” 

“Magisters are too proud to admit others are better gifted at times.” Silas said. It wasn’t a lie. The first God-Forged spell wasn’t visible to the eldest of the Magister Caste. It was seen by a foreigner, Enura and a handful of younger mages. “Merchants only want silver. They’ll spin whatever story they have to.” He continued as he examined the woman. “You… can do things. Can’t you? Tell me about it.” Right then Hiseras tried to interject. Raising only a finger but Silas saw it. He turned and snapped: “Shut! Up!” Before calmly turning back to the slave woman. “Tell me what you can do.”

The woman's voice lowered, but her tone became more naturally pleasant instead of the exaggerated happiness she spoke with before, “I can see beyond the walls. I can see beyond the sky. I can see how insignificant of a speck this city truly is.” 

The Mystic smiled. Answers. Finally. And answers meant a reward. It was how you trained slaves, dogs and stupid people. So he held his hand over the strange woman’s bindings. Embers sizzled upon the ropes. Eating their way through the bindings until the woman was entirely free. “How do you see so far?” He nearly whispered. “Can you teach it?”

“I can not see into your maze. All I see is the dark, circular maw leading to violence and confusion, as well as the crystal which breathes, though it seems you have already slain several of those guardians.” she stated, seemingly uncaring that her ropes were burnt. 

Nidar and Silas looked at eachother. Concern was all over their faces. She knew a lot for a slave. Too much even. Did she see the Labyrinth? No, no she had only arrived recently on the slave market. She had to have. Which meant she would’ve been a slave even before the Labyrinth appeared. “Find Hiseras. Tell him he got a customer for his slave. Pay whatever he asks. Don’t haggle.” Silas said. Even though Nidar and him were technically of the same rank the other still obeyed and walked away. Silans, meanwhile, turned back at the woman and repeated his question: “Can you teach us how to see so far out?”

The woman paused, “The price of my secrets is not my own freedom. Buy and free Anlil, and once she is safely free of this place and do so on the word of the sun, moon and stars, I shall tell you what I know regardless of whether it is kind to your ears. Do not think I can be deceived with hollow words or intentions.” she said, her eyes glaring into mystics. 

Without hesitation Silas looked up and shouted: “Nidar! Free Anlil!” The word ‘free’ instantly caused a commotion. Slaves were rarely freed. It happened so little that there wasn’t even a formal way to do it. You just bought the slave and told them they were free.

“A-are you sure?” Nidar asked as he hurriedly came over. Together with Hiseras who heard silver speaking.

Silas didn’t doubt thought: “Do it. Buy her and free her.” Nidar and Hiseras began to exchange words about price. Hiseras because he knew he could milk this cow for all its worth and Nidar for not wanting to pay half his worth to free a single slave. Eventually, and still surprisingly quickly, the two came to an agreement, shook hands and Hiseras went to get Anlil. “She’s free.” Silas said.

The woman paused, seemingly as though the world faded her around her. “Take her one day away from the city and leave her there. I will tell you what I know, but I doubt you would wish for me to speak of such matters in public.” 

“Indeed.” Silas said, nodding to Nidar. Who took the girl by the name of Anlil and led her away. Much to the amazement of the crowd that had gathered. In that confusion, Silas too took the strange woman with him. Heading towards the main gate as well. Only there their paths separated. Nidar took the girl over the main road. Which led to a handful of eastern tribes. Meanwhile Silas brought the mad woman to the Labyrinth itself. The place where the Queen herself was staying at for the most time now.

The woman convinced them to wait a day before discussing the matter, but she could stall them no longer, nor did she have any further need to. Whenever she finally started to explain herself, she started with, “As you might know, the gods stir once again. The callous one granted you your azure eyes, while the kindly one is the one who granted me my sight. My gift is a certain closeness to the gods that allows me to be aware of what only they can see. I can teach you how to grow closer to the kindly one, but it would be a pointless endeavor as not within his good graces.” 

The woman was speaking in riddles though. Silas leaned in. “Who is the kindly one? What does he teach?” He asked. Meanwhile Enura, the queen, stood a bit behind him. Going back and forth. Restless but suspicious. The rest of the Mystics were away, tending to their duties. But those who passed couldn’t hide their curiosity.

“He is the lord that which is beyond the sun and moon, who governs over the magic which binds god and man in dialogue and who acts to grant guidance and preserve hope. But your simplistic understanding of him is as a cat who is merely the god of night. It is by his will that I can communicate with him, but understanding it and plucking at the magical threads that connect the near and far.” she stated.

The night cat? Silas turned towards Enura. Who was already shaking his head. This woman was spouting nonsense. And she seemed rather hellbent on insulting those who quite literally owned her. Only mad people had such confidence. Silas, resigning that his search might be for naught, stood up and approached his queen.

“Apologies.” He said, sincerely. “I thought we were on to something here but..”

“But she’s stark raving mad.” Enura was quick to add. Her piercing eyes still on the woman. “You’re sure Hiseras wasn’t spinning some tale about her unwinding her bindings? A ploy to profit from our curiosity?”

“I wouldn’t put it past his father.” Silas admitted, looking around almost in shame. He hated this feeling. To have been defeated. It was a costly lesson as well. “I want to keep going. See if we can’t at least squeeze something out of her. Something concrete. Something useful.”

The queen pondered for a second upon Silas’ insistence. “Very well. You got till midday. If she got nothing concrete, she goes underground as a hauler. But Silas, don’t let her spin you a story just because you bought her for too much. If she’s useless, she’s useless and you drop her like a rock. You understand?”

The Mystic just nodded and the queen left. Having no patience for wasted time. She returned to the Labyrinth. Silas for his part returned to the women. “My queen is getting impatient.” He looked up, trying to find the sun. “You don’t have much time left. Give us something concrete. Something we can learn.”

The woman seemed apathetic, “I have started to teach you, but I can’t force you to listen. I am doing this to repay a debt, and nothing more. Should you reject my words, so be it. But perhaps I should start with something simpler. Mana is everywhere and it is far more versatile than simply burning ropes. But your senses are not heightened to the point where you can properly leverage this. You are shouting for it to bind to your will where as a whisper would be far more effective.” 

Silas genuinely laughed at her. Oh how wrong he was at the market. This woman. If he was amongst the magisters, her mere existence would be shameful for him. If he was a magister he would’ve killed her right here, right now. If only for her condescending nature and her straight up insults. “Sure, I am taught by the extension of the nameless one but I’m the one who uses his gift wrong.” He said with an almost mad laugh. “You know nothing and you have wasted my time.” Silas stood up with the intension of dragging her to the pit himself.

Instead, as he heard something. It called for him. Like faint whispers upon the wind. Not echoing but seemingly slowly drifting. They emanated from a piece of stone they had retrieved from the pit. A part of a golem. Like all parts, it was intricately carved but entirely solid. The part was close, so he approached it. Running his fingers over the carved glyphs. His mouth slowly moved, making sounds he did not recognize himself. But as quickly as the sensation came, it also vanished again. 

The woman casually stated, “It seems as though the callous one has taken an interest in our conversation. If you will not listen to me, I can teach you how to listen to them.” 

It was like coming down from a high. At first, the world felt open. Revealing its secrets to him. Then it vanished again. For a split second the world felt dull and empty but his normal senses returned. Showing him everything that was familiar. It was a start, and he would have to report it to Enura. But first he turned to look at the mad woman. “And why should I listen now?” He asked. “The callous one took an interest. Not your kindly one. What would you know of it?”

The woman replied, “I could sense their presence because they permitted me to sense their presence. My gift concerns magic and prayer, those do not change depending on who you pray to.” 

“The Nameless One, your… callous one, he doesn’t answer prayers. He doesn’t listen to them. Never has. Not in 2000 years. You know how we know when stories are false? It’s when we hear a hero talked to the god of magic. Or real magic. So how can you help me? Because magic… and prayer just changed.” Silas said, sounding genuinely fed up with the woman.

The woman replied, “I do not pretend to know the whims of the callous one, but magic is like a web. I can show you how to see the individual threads and how to pluck them. While I imagine that this could be difficult to find anything in the grand web of creation this way, who do you think is at the center of the web?” 

[hider=Summary]Nadir and Silas, two Mystics, are shopping for good slaves to throw into the Labyrinth. They find few and an eager Nadir wants to visit the famous Fasthus’ stock. Fasthus being a slaver who manages to surprise magic and thus sells magical slaves. One young woman, as they approach, makes a prediction which catches the attention of Silas. A slightly paranoid Mystic. Who decides to question her further. The woman possesses some sort of magic that’s not very well understood. She is also deemed mad.

Her seer-like powers intrigue the young Mystic, who decided to buy her. The madwoman refuses to cooperate though. Not unless they buy another slave and set her free. The slave in question, Anlil, is bought and led to her freedom. The next day the madwoman makes an attempt to teach the Mystics how to use augury. Enura, the queen, has her doubts as the woman tells them that the night cat, the god of the night, is actually also a god of magic. Something everyone doubts. Tensions rise as Silas decides the woman’s teachings are just mad ramblings. The Kindly One, as she explains it, does not look favorable at him.

Instead of having to change their ways, Qael decides to intervene and offers up an augury vision to Silas. And so the Mystics delve into the strange art of Augury, powered not by Sirius but by Qael’Naath.[/hider]

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[b]Post Length:[/b] +10K Characters
+5 Prestige >> The Mystics
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