Üral Series Chapter 4
Now for the slaves...
Üral approached the cart with the driver still sitting on it, he looked at his expressionless face and asked "Are you not gonna run away?"
"No sir"
"Why?"
"I signed a contract to never abandon this cart unless the owner of it or the cart itself is destroyed."
"He is gone though, you dont have to follow the deal."
"This is a soul contract sir, I will die if I abandon this cart."
"Then just sit there and dont intervene."
The driver didnt answer. Üral moved behind the cart and removed the lock on the double door. When it opened he saw a group of slaves inside, they seemed cautious about him. Üral stepped back to give them space, "Here, please come so I can check if you are injured." Üral pointed at the ground.
The first slave jumped down the cart and laid on the ground. Why did he lay down? Is he injured? thought Üral. The the others copied the first one.
Üral seemed confused, "Why are you lying down?"
No answer.
Then he noticed, all of them had animal ears and tails, this was the first time Üral saw feline humans. Ohhhh, they dont speak human language do they...
Üral asked "Can any of you understand me?"
A middle aged woman spoke up, "Yes sir."
Üral didnt lile being called "sir" but he had other things to ask first, "Can the others understand my language too?"
"No sir."
"Why are you lying down?"
"Because everyone else is lying down."
"Why is everyone else lying down?"
"They probably thought you ordered them to lay down."
"Can you stand up please?"
The middle aged woman stood up, the other slaves were looking at him.
"Translate for them please, tell them to stand up."
"Stariĝi"
All of the slaves got up.
Üral spoke while looking at the translator. "I beat the slave trader and his men, you are free now, I can show you the way to the city if you want."
She translated, "Mi venkis la sklavkomerciston kaj liajn virojn; vi nun estas libera, kaj mi povas montri al vi la vojon al la urbo, se vi volas."
The slaves seemed confused, the translator spoke for them, "Sir are you saying you are freeing us?"
"Yes."
"Thank you for sparing our lives."
"I attacked the cart to save you."
"Thank you sir."
"So... are you guys going to the kingdom?"
"Our kind is enslaved there sir."
"Oh... well then how about you stay at my house, I dont know if it will fit all..." Üral stopped to count them "...all 12 of you."
"Please spare me for asking but have you seen a slave before?"
Üral paused. "I was one before."
"Then you must know that we cant leave."
"Why?"
"Our binding stones are on this car, anyone who has those stones are allowed to order us to do anything."
"What? I have never heard of that."
"Those are stones formed via contracts, breaking a contract will lead to you dying."
"Okay then what if I just destroy those stones?"
"That would kill us."
"Wow... since when do they do this?"
"I dont know sir."
"Okay what if I give each of you your stone back, then nobody can command you right?"
"Yes sir."
"Tell them."
The translator spoke, "Li diras al vi, ke vi prenu vian propran ligŝtonon; vi ĉiuj estas nun liberaj. Li montros al ni lokon por loĝi. Li estas ĉe nia flanko."
The slaves seemed suprised, they cautiously moved towards the front of the cart and saw the blood stains, the mercenaries were no longer there. They picked up the stones and everyone found their own but they didnt know what to do after.
Üral said, "Follow this dirt path forward, dont go in any of the branches and keep following forward after the path gets narrower. You will find my house there, it is a green wooden house with two floors, you can live there and eat the food. You can use the rooms but please dont get rid of my stuff. My brother is called Valen, if he ever comes home please give him my letter."
"So we need to wait there?" asked the translator.
"No, you are a guest, you can leave whenever you want."
The translator smiled, "Who is your god, I will pray to him for you."
Üral responded, "I dont know any gods, my father never taught me."
"Then I will pray to mother nature."
"Thank you."
All 12 slaves started walking. Üral suddenly remembered something and shouted "Here, have this, you are going to walk for about 3 days."
Üral threw his backpack full of supplies to them, a man caught it in the air and asked "go tweng ka wena".
The translator repeated, "What about you?"
"I will take the car, it should be fine."
They nodded and left.
Üral sat besides the driver, "Can you take me to the nearest city?"
The driver turned the car around. They started travelling.
Üral couldnt stand the weird silence. "So how do these cars even work?"
"You dont know?"
"Sorry, I have been living in the woods for a few years."
The driver smiled, "These cars are powered by a soulstone."
"What is that?"
"Its gems filled with soul energy."
"What is that?"
"You are a sorcerer."
"So what?"
"How do you not know about soul energy."
"I already told you that I have been living in the woods."
"Soul energy is what you used to cast those spells, it is just a fuel for me though."
"How do they make these soulstones?"
"I think the kingdom sorcerers fill them."
"Right." Üral was quiet again, the driver never turned to look at him.
As they approached the gates the driver spoke once again. "I can help you get through the gates."
"Thank you."
"My contract ends when I enter the city."
"Great."
"Killing is prohibited in the city."
"I dont need to kill anybody."
"Just wanted to make sure. You are a sorcerer that has been living in the woods afterall."
"Im not going to kill you if thats what you are asking."
"Thank you."
The cart slowed down as they approached the gates, 8 guards were standing there, 2 controlling the huge wooden gates, and the rest checking passengers in groups of two.
Two guards approached their cart and asked, "Who are you and what are you carrying?"
As Üral opened his mouth the driver suddenly cut him off, "Im the driver of this gentlemen, he is simply travelling for pleasure and we arent carrying anything."
"Travelling for pleasure? to our city? in a cheap cart like this?" The guard seemed skeptical. He moved behind the cart and opened the doors. There wasnt anything inside. He signaled to the guards controlling the doors. Other 4 guards checking 2 other carts did the same hand movement and the gates started opening. The car started moving and they entered the city.
It was a lively place, colorfull stands were distributed amongst two sides of the street. Stone buildings with multiple floors were everywhere. There were poles for lighting. Kids were running around and adults were inspecting goods, some were giving each other money. I dont have any money. Üral was concerned yet he couldnt help but feel relaxed at the sight of this scenery. Some houses had trees showing behind them and there was a huge castle in the middle of the city. He saw a group of armored men walking. Üral couldnt help but analyze. They dont look like guards, I guess carrying weapons is not a crime here.
He approached one of the stands.
"What are you selling?"
"Travelling gear since my stand is close to the gates. Want spare wheels? I even have some soulstones."
"How much to those cost?"
"Each one costs 2 full schdinks."
"Wow thats a lot."
"These are only produced by the kingdom, ofcourse they are expensive."
"Is there a cheaper way to travel?"
"There are carts pulled by animals but most people just never travel, you might wanna settle down here too."
"Im looking for my brother, maybe you could have seen him? His name is Valen, he has hair similar to black wool, he has a sharp chin and sharp looking yellow eyes. He was probably wearing a shirt similar to mine."
"Sorry kid, im just a salesman."
"Where can I make some money in this city?"
"Well there is an adventurer's guild giving missions, or you can start working in an inn, maybe find some construction business, or just trade goods."
Üral thanked the man and left with thoughts running in his mind. I cant buy and trade goods without money, construction would take a lot of time, I could live and work in an inn and take a look at guild missions in my spare time, I need enough money to travel once I learn where my brother went.
"Okay, im going to find somewhere I can stay the night, then I can start questioning people about my brother." Üral mumbled.