The wagon moved along the road at a peaceful speed, but certainly faster than he would have walked. Jaymee settled back into the bags of grain, wiggling a bit to make a comfortable "chair". He watched the road behind him, stretching for miles, back to the village he had called home. He would never again have to face the other boys jeers and fists, or watch his mother cry herself to sleep from missing her husband. Best of all, he would never have to be with Father Dernest again. Shivering at the thought of the priest, he reached over and rested his hand on his pack. Inside the burlap was everything he had ever owned, including the set of pipes his father had made him the year before the accident. Those reeds were the reason he was sitting in the back of a wagon, heading north, and to the gates of Haven.

Jaymee awoke with a start as the wagon came to a jerky halt. He sat up, and heard what sounded like thunder that never seemed to fade. He got to his knees and looked over the front seat of the wagon, and saw the walls of the city. The traffic through the gates was slow, there were guards stopping some of them and searching the contents, and tax collectors assessing the goods being taken into the city. The woman driving the wagon looked down at him and smiled. "You might as well get down and walk, it would be faster for you. Them tax men are gonna have a field day with ol' Gertha's grain." The noise he had heard was the sounds of the city.

"Thank you ma'am. I hope I can repay you one day." He gathered his belongings and jumped from the side of the wagon. The woman waved at him, and he waved back smiling. There was a good stream of foot traffic too, and he slipped between people heading to the gates, trying to get ahead of everyone. Finally the people crowded so close together that even he could not fit between them, and he was slowed to the crawl of the mob. Then suddenly, the crowed started to thin, and he realized he was in the city.

Jaymee took off, running as fast as he could along the main avenue. Excitement carried him down the cobblestone streets, following the crowds. After several minutes of this he stopped to get his breath, and realized he had no idea where he was. The crowds were thinner here, and what he had thought was the main road did not look so grand now that he was really looking at it. In fact the people around here looked a little rough, and eyed his suspiciously. He began to head back the way he came.

Haven had grown in the last decade. The wars with Karse, and the Mage Storms had swelled the number of refugees and poverty stricken in the capital. The New Wall, the one that Jay had seen from the wagon, had been finished two years before. Quickly it had become filled and the temporary housing the city had put up became more permanent by the month. This was the area that the young boy had stumbled into, and since he was dressed in simple country garb, was safe from thieves mugging him, but there were other ways that the boy might bring money to an enterprising person.

Jay stopped at another corner, trying to get his bearings. He did not remember passing any of these shops. He was about to follow a large group of better-dressed people when a hand came down on his shoulder. He jerked and turned to see the hand belonged to a thin man dressed in the rough breeches and tunic favored by just about everyone. His face was pinched, and pock marked, with a large nose and a set of buckteeth that reminded Jay of a rat, a very big rat. He was about to scream when the man brought his hand up and made a shushing sound.

"Sorry to startle you good sir. I don't mean to scare no one. I was wondering if you was lost? M' name is Conna, and I grew up in these streets. Where do you belong little sir? I can be taking you there right now!"

The flurry of speech and the friendliness in his voice lulled Jay, and he just nodded at first. Then he realized the man had asked a question. "I need to get to the Bardic College. I have my admittance and everything." He pulled a much-crumpled letter from inside his tunic. The broken seal was still plain, and the man whistled.

"You a might young to be singer ain't ya?"

"Well, I don't think I will be a Bard till I am grown more. But I have to learn all those songs! I need to start right away."

"M' guess so. Well, you look right hungry at the moment, why don't you come with me for lunch, my treat, and then I'll take ye to the Collegium!"

The boy's stomach rumpled and he reluctantly nodded to the man about the food. They headed off deeper into the shanty, and soon stopped at a vendor's stand, where he ordered Jaymee a meat pie and himself a sausage. They sat at on a nearby statue base. Jay dug into the food like he was starving. He finished the last bite, and stood up ready to continue on to his new home. Wave after wave of dizziness began to engulf him, and he fell into the arms of Conna. He was picked up, and the motion again caused his head to spin, until he lost consciousness.

Jaymee came awake with a start as cold water splashed over his face. He sputtered and sat up, looking around. He realized that he was naked, and had some kind of collar around his neck. His bottom lip was also sore on the inside of his mouth. That was as far as he got before he was hauled into a standing position by a callused hand and shaken. "Wake up you lazy sprig. " The hand smacked him on his exposed buttocks. "Stand still." Confused and frightened the boy complied as he was roughly scrubbed with a brush and harsh soap. Then came another bucket of cold water, and another ungentle session with a coarse towel. Still mostly wet he was hauled over to what he could now make out as a wire cell with several more boys his age. He was thrown through the door, and locked in.

Most of the other boys avoided each other, and quickly moved away from the new prisoner. The tried to cover their nudity with their hands, and never looked anyone else in the face. A few were not so easily cowed. One was a boy that looked like he was several years older than the rest. He had a mean face, and if anyone got to near him he was lash out in violence. The other two looked as young as Jaymee, if a bit thinner, and they watched everyone with equal amounts of suspicion and sorrow. The two of them motioned for Jay to join them, and after a second's pause, he moved to them. One of the boys put his finger to his lips for Jay to remain silent.

After a few moments, the man who had scrubbed Jaymee came back in, carrying a cruel looking stick with a hook on the end. He looked over the boys, and snorted, then he left through another door. The mood in the cage changed as the door closed and locked. Several of the boys began a soft crying, a few just lay down. The large mean looking one started to pick on the closest one, but when his victim did not respond, the bully lay down and went to sleep. Finally, it seemed safe to talk, but in a hushed whisper.

"Where are we?" Jaymee asked.

"Slavers hideout."

"But slavery is illegal!"

"Shows what you know. We got nipped and not we will be meat for someone. Might as well get used to it."

Jaymee refused to take that as an answer. He moved over to the door of the cage and felt for the lock. It was a large iron padlock, rusted a little in places but strong enough to keep a 14 year old boy from breaking out. He tried the wire the cage was made of but it was tight and too strong to break. Finally, after half an hour of trying he sat back and glared at the door of the cage. He was not going to sit here and wait for them to sell him like a ham.

He decided he needed to think about what to do, and began to hum a song. The tune was known throughout the country, though words were different depending on where you were. Jaymee's favorite version was one about a traveler returning to a home he loved. The melody was upbeat but there was sadness underlying it all, because the traveler knew that this time he would not leave again, he was going home to die. As he reached the chorus, he could not longer hold back. His voice took over, and he was in that place in his mind that time did not pass, and the world was a swirling lake of color. He reached out, and touched the colors with something that felt like a "hand" and the watched the waves his touch caused. They spread out, carrying all his pent up anger and fear, leaving him calm but exhausted.

"You in there shut up!" the heavy pole jammed into Jaymee's side and knocked him back to the real world. "No talk'n. If I catch you again, I'll take strips out of your hide maggot!" Jaymee crawled to be back of the cage and held his side. All the boys in the cages around him were staring at him. Several had tears in their eyes. His Bardic gift must have taken over. He felt drained, unable to think, so he curled up on the ground and fell asleep.