Chương 16: Falling into the darkness of Humanity (V)
Lately, he had been doing easy-level quests such as helping parents find their lost children and gaining a bit of fame. By the end of his fifty quests, he was given the title "the neighborhood child finder," a title he didn't like much. If he could, he would have denied it and just gone on about his business. What was worse was that kids now ran up to him constantly whenever he was in his origin form. It was suffocating for him to be surrounded on all sides by kids, and he thought he had finally gotten a case of claustrophobia. He refrained from showing himself in that form while in the city, especially around children.
The days when he were completed training and doing personal things, he and Agnis would search deeper in the forest for black bears, red-tempered bears, and even the king of bears. Those were a bit of a challenge, but they did rack in some good experience points.
Zero walked over to his clothes. The last beam of sunlight finally set, and thankfully his clothes were completely dry by now. One by one he neatly stashed away his clothes and began packing the necessary equipment for his quest. Today was Saturday, and it was his last chance to help the pet store owner. He gathered medicine, food, leather-skinned water sacks, rope, a good amount of flint, and small handmade flint knives. He packed them all into his bag. This was all he could afford at the moment. The majority of his stuff was either found in the wilderness or made by hand. Agnis curiously peered over at Zero.
"So, how are you going to take all that with you when you're pretending to be a slave? I thought slaves are penniless," said Agnis as she circled around him. Her hands picked up a small throwing knife that was on the ground next to Zero. There were a dozens of them neatly put in one spot. "It's going to be difficult to fool the guards with a bag on your back."
Zero was lost for words. He'd completely forgotten he was impersonating a slave. This was going to make things a lot harder than he had anticipated. Picking through his items, he left the majority of his things in his bag. He only took out a couple of small flint rocks the size of a penny, a small flint knife which had low durability and enough medicine for about four people.
"Agnis, lend me the sewing kit that you bought from the store, please." Zero looked up at her from the ground.
Agnis pulled it out from her side bag and handed it to him.
"Thanks."
"No problem." Agnis flipped her wrist and threw the throwing knife against the tree with a loud thunk. One after another she threw a couple more, each landing near the vicinity of each other.
"Not bad. You're getting better."
"Well I got a good teacher." She smiled as another landed squarely in the middle of the other three. She began to pick up her pace. One of the throwing knives slipped out of her hands while throwing and it whooshed past close to his face. He could almost feel the cold metal. A thin line appeared as a trickle of blood ran down his face.
Zero stood there frozen.
"Teehee. Sorry."
"Let's just put them away for now," said Zero with a shaky voice. He thought he saw his life flashing before him. Agnis slinked over to the tree and hurriedly put them away.
Zero had noticed that she carried useful and odd items. One time, though, he had caught a glimpse of the contents of a bag and saw that she was carrying black animal fur. He was dead sure that it had been his, shed during his Origin state. He was completely creeped out at her odd habits when it came to animals.
He remembered that one time Agnis snuck a baby horned rabbit into a restaurant under her clothes and fed it food under the table. How she caught that rabbit was a mystery to him. The waitress that brought out their food sneezed and spilled hot soup all over the place. She poured hot soup on Agnis and the baby horned rabbit, causing it to squeal in pain and attack the waitress. Nearby players stepped in and killed it on the spot.
That day no one was safe from Agnis's wrath. A full-blown brawl began. Zero had to step in and use his Stink Bomb skill to stun everyone. People were tearing up and choking left and right and a couple people passed out on the ground. He wasn't able to drag her out in his human form, so he changed into his Origin form to trick her into walking out.
Zero focused his attention back to the present. He reached behind his neck and took off the collar he had received from the boy's mother. He placed it on the ground and picked up a needle and a thread. After threading the needle, he began sewing the items he had picked out to the inside of his collar.
"Huh, that's actually a good idea." Watching over his shoulder, Agnis was impressed by what he was doing.
Zero tried to be as careful in his sewing as possible in order to minimize the chances of any objects falling off. When he finished, he placed the collar back on his neck. All of his items were neatly hidden away.
"You should do that with your clothes."
"Not a good idea. If by chance they take my clothes, then I won't have it. Better to keep what I've hidden in the right places for now." He didn't want to alert anyone to the fact that he still had some kind of weapon he could use in a time of crisis. Not only was he posing as a personal house slave, he was also wearing decent clothes to play the part. The invitation they had received required all slave owners to make their slaves look presentable.
"Makes sense. It's time to go."
They went to the shop to change into their clothes and freshen up for the journey. The shop owner reserved a carriage and bought Agnis a simple blue dress. Using the exceptional persuasion skills she had learned from bartering in the streets, she was able to get them what they needed. They wouldn't have been able to afford either the dress or the carriage without her skill. It was too expensive for those who were poor.
When Agnis stepped out of the dressing room, Zero was struck speechless by how dazzling she looked in her dress. It was royal blue and had a large bow on the back. Though it had a simple cut, it made her look very elegant. He noticed, through her slippers, that her toenails were painted red, accentuated with small flowers. Her long white hair was pinned nicely in a bun with a blue butterfly hairpin. Zero wore a simple black and gold suit with shorts. In the last couple of days, Zero had noticed he had gone through a bit of a growth spurt. He expected it might be because of his level. He had been able to pass Agnis's level because she had focused on honing her skills for the last week. They headed towards their carriage, which was waiting for them in front of Tino's Egg Shop.
"This is going to be so exciting!" said Agnis with glee.
As they stepped out, they saw a small, oval-shaped carriage drawn by four brown sturdy horses with a footman in the back and an old driver holding the reins in his hands at the front. The footman opened the door for the two of them. Zero stepped back and motioned for Agnis to enter first. Agnis smiled as she hoisted herself into the carriage, and Zero followed shortly. They made themselves comfortable for the ride.
"Here." Agnis gave Zero a half mask that was fashioned in a dazzling black-and-gold design with mesmerizing jet black feathers on the side. Agnis then donned her bluish emerald green mask that had feathers around it, making her look a bit like a peacock.
"What did you find out about the castle?" She knew that for the last two days Zero had been scouting.
The castle wasn't far from the City of Diadem. It was only a few hours' walk from Tino's shop, and by carriage it would take less than an hour. The carriage ride was all for appearance's sake. Only people who were noble, had high status, or were personally invited were admitted. Luckily they were able to attain an invitation through the Tyrell, the pet shop owner. Zero took out a map the store owner had given him.
"Well, so far I have found three passageways. The first two are not heavily guarded so it will be easy to bypass their security. The third I found by chance. It's best to sneak out one of these three passages. We have to choose one of them to sneak out of. I think our best chances lie with the one I stumbled upon," said Zero as he pointed to the three locations. "I noticed that the guards have a regular interval shift which changes every hour. They tend to stay in one spot for a while then move every twenty minutes or so." He drew a line with his finger to show her their pattern. "We need to watch out for the extra guards that come out in random intervals." He scratched his chin. "It's too random to pinpoint where they will go next."
"That's quite impressive. You figured all that out in just two days?" said Agnis with surprise.
"I have done real-life surveillance missions before," he said as he waved it off like it was nothing. "The hardest part is staying awake. It can be extremely boring." He sat back, trying to make himself comfortable.
"Do you still do missions?" asked Agnis. She curiously peered over.
"No. It's been a while since I stopped doing it," said Zero as he scooted over towards the window and looked outside.
"What kind of missions were they?" Her eyes became wider with curiosity.
"Surveillance, protection, infiltration, sabotage, and many other things. There were quite a lot of missions to do within the dojo when I was working." He continued to look outside as he cut her questions short with simple answers. He didn't want to talk about his life.
"Did you ever do anything illegal? I know I'm being nosy but would you tell me about one of your missions?" She was literally falling off her seat trying to hear more about his life.
He turned his head towards Agnis. "That's a matter of opinion, and no. It's best that you don't know." He turned back to the window.
Agnis snorted with dismay. Leaning over to see what had caught Zero's attention, she too began looking out the window.
"Oh wow. That's beautiful," gasped Agnis.
Off in the distance a full moon could be seen behind the mansion, creating a calming, scenic view. Orange-yellowish rays of moonlight radiated down to the mansion, creating a soft glow to the moat surrounding it. Tall, beautiful trees with small lanterns shaped like flowers illuminated the night with a soft pink-purplish glow. Japanese lanterns lit the ground in intervals, all the way up to the entrance of the castle. A couple of times, Zero thought he saw small white orbs flying around the pathways.
"We're almost there," he said as he paid close attention to any irregularities in his surroundings.
He didn't want to start out his first adventure by being sold off as a slave. Zero at times felt like a slave to Agnis; he didn't need another owner. There were a few times where he had to sneak away from her grasp when he was in his Origin form. He shuddered at the memories.
"Are you cold?" She looked at him curiously.
"No. I'm fine." Zero kept looking out the window, trying to ignore her.
"I wonder what it's like in there. Do you think they will be selling slaves in some hidden room?" asked Agnis.
"I'm not sure, possibly." He replied slowly thinking over what she had stated. There was a heavy thumping noise as the carriage hit uneven ground. Both Zero and Agnis were lifted out of their seats and tumbled around in the carriage.
"Oww. They need to pave the roads in this game," complained Agnis as she rubbed her back from pain. Underneath her was Zero.
"You're heavy, get off me," he wheezed. Her crushing weight was compressing his lungs, making him lightheaded. Agnis glared down at him, forcing her weight down even more.
The carriage came to a sudden halt. The door opened and a servant's hand reached into the carriage to help Agnis out. A mansion guard wearing heavy armor walked towards them.
"Your invitation please," he said with a gruff voice, extending his hand out towards them.
Agnis pulled out a small brown scroll and handed it to the guard.
The guard looked at Zero. "Is this your son?" the guard asked, frowning. Zero looked at him in horror and got up from the carriage floor.
"No," Agnis said, sounding offended. "Do I look like someone who has had a child?" Her eyes twitched as if she was ready to snap.
"This is my slave Zero," said Agnis with her voice full of authority.
"I'm sorry, my lady. Please go ahead." The guard moved out the way to let them go through. Zero sighed with relief as they went forward.
Loud trumpets blared to introduce them to the crowds as they entered the mansion. People's heads turned as they watched Agnis and Zero descend the steps.
"The family of the Lily Merchant guild has arrived: Lady Agnis and her Slave Zero," the announcer yelled out to the crowd. A couple of men walked forward to help Agnis down the steps, but she declined their help with a smile.
Zero looked upon the mansion hall. As far as he could see, there were many people wearing a variety of different colorful masks that hid their identities. Masters and merchants alike were showing off their slaves' skills on stage as they advertising their assets in order to gain a better deal. A large group of people gathered around, watching in excitement; it was reminiscent of a carnival. From right to left, he witnessed a puff of blazing fire spewing out of one of the chained slaves on a stage. In giant glass containers, there were mermaid-like creatures swimming around in circles.
Kids were running around with balloons held in their hands and food in their mouths as if it was normal event and their parents were not bidding for slaves. Food stands were set up as they sold hot, ready-to-eat food.
"We have a beautiful high elf for sale," yelled a fat ugly man. His stomach spilled over his pants, making him look like a giant whale. Next to him was a young female elf that had gashes on her arms. Her clothes looked like they had been in a rough fight; they were battered beyond any kind of normal use.
"She was caught a couple of days ago. You could use her to be your housemaid for cooking and cleaning. Or you could even use her to bear your children." He chuckled as he held his belly. His rotten yellow teeth could be seen peeking out of his ugly smile, and his face looked like it had been squashed against a wall. His beady eyes scanned the crowd for potential buyers.
"200 gold," said a young man as he raised his hand.
"500 gold," said a gentleman with a top hat.
"1,500 gold." The young man raised his hand again.
"2,500 gold." The gentleman rubbed his ruby cane as he looked dead straight in the eyes of the young man.
"7,000 gold," puffed up the young man as he grinned at the gentleman.
"15,000 gold," said the gentleman as he tapped his cane on the ground.
The crowd gasped in shock.
"15,000 gold. Anyone else?" The fat man announced as he smiled, "Going once. Twice. Three times. Sold! to the gentleman with the top hat." A loud round of applause was heard as they congratulated the gentleman, who nodded in appreciation. The fat man went down towards the gentleman to complete the trade. The gentleman's butler handed the fat man a bag of gold, and the fat man handed him the chains. As the elf walked down towards the gentleman, the ugly fat man smacked her butt one last time.
"Sir, I recommend you use her for breeding. She will bring you some high-quality offspring," said the fat man as he looked upon her with lust. Agnis felt disgust in every fiber of her being. Her anger rose and she slipped her hands under her gloves, ready to pull her hidden knives out to skewer him. In seconds, Zero stopped her and shook his head. There was always a time and a place to lash out and attack. This, however, was not a smart place to do it.
"Ah. Yes," said the gentleman as he took the chain from the fat man's hand.
"Thank you for your business," said the fat man as he patted his stomach with glee. The high elf looked back at the man and gave him a murderous glare. Her eyes were red with bloodlust.
Agnis was revolted with what she just saw.
"Disgusting," she spat. People like him got under her skin, but she couldn't do anything and was forced to quietly watch from the side lines.
Zero and Agnis continued to rove around the mansion looking for any information on Tino. No clues or whereabouts were found.
"Maybe he's not being sold today?" said Agnis as she was getting worried that they had failed their quest. "I hope we didn't miss our chance."
"If we did, then our quest would have probably told us," said Zero. He noticed a couple of guards talking amongst themselves as they were watching Agnis. For the past couple of minutes he had been eavesdropping on them.
"Hey, Agnis. You see that pathway behind the guards?" Zero tugged on her clothes. Agnis looked around towards the guards.
"What about it?"
"So far in this mansion, out of all three passageways that I have seen, this one is the only one guarded. Any time someone goes near them, they are turned away. I want to go check that place out. Can you go distract them?" said Zero, watching out of the corner of his eye.
"Done," she said confidently.
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