Chapter Fourteen
Slave Market
"Tylia?" Scorpius sounded hesitant. Tylia smiled at him.
"Yes?"
"Those men-they're yours now." He did not ask it.
"Yes." She sighed. "All of Elvanvyll's slaves are mine, now."
"What will you do with them?" Pyra asked quietly. "You aren't here often enough to put them to use. Are you?"
"I shall likely give most of them to Uncle," Tylia mused, shaking her head to answer Pyra's second question. "Although, those two, I think, will go to Vol'axle."
Eileen looked as though she was going to say something cross, but just then an eerie music wound its way though the again-bustling streets to find them. Tylia looked up, her eyes shining, and she sang a quiet counterpart to the music under her breath.
"Doer jal nindyn nindel ruebuss Ilta dosst dron;"
"Come all those that owe Her your lives;"
"Jal nindyn nindel inbal dro'us vel'klar byrren inbal tois."
"All those that have lived where others have died."
"What is that?" Theodore asked quietly, so as not to disturb the music. Their phalanx of guards drew closer to them.
"Harl'il'cik a Ilta orlenggin, belbau g'rftte lu'tlu o'goth."
"Kneel at Her altar, give thanks and be heal(ed)."
"Nindyn nindel kyorl ssussun wun l'oloth harl,"
"Those that see light in the darkness below,"
"That, my human friend," Vlosorbb began with the slightest hint of a smile on his face, "is the sound of traitors to Lolth. They worship another, a goddess that would lead us from our home and back into the light; Eilistraee, Lolth's daughter by the darthirii god."
"Zhal dro 'sohna wun l'tresk'ri phor;"
"Shall live again in the world above;"
"Duul'sso ulu iala lu'ulu ssinssrigg, ulu sundu lu'ulu kyorl,"
"Free to laugh and to love, to sing and to see,"
"Zil, may I go?" Micarffyn inquired, and Tylia knew that it burned her to ask anything of a male, even this one. "Let me catch them, who insult my goddess so!"
"You were told to guard our guests, Micarffyn," Vlosorbb replied coldly. "If you cannot defend our faith and our guests, then perhaps you should summon Iymzyne to take your place."
Micarffyn flattened at the hint that she was incompetent, her eyes burning. She snapped at one of her slaves and he ran, fear in his eyes.
"Come, friends, we are almost there." Vlosorbb led them around a corner, and a babble of Pasaelael tongues smashed into their ears.
The eerie music continued as Vlosorbb led them into the Slave Market.
"L'ssussun pholor nind jindurnen lu'nind rahi pholor l'lorugen."
"The light on their faces and their hands on the trees."
"Nindolen klexn Il uriu iglata lu'nindolen klezn gaer zhal tlu,"
"These things She has promis(ed) and these things there shall be,"
Stalls were set in a great arch against a black stone wall. Pasaelaer of every description manned them while costumers milled in the vast open space. A blazing silver globe hung unsupported in the air, casting moonlike shadows. The merchandise-in this case, slaves of almost every race and breed-stood in cages or shackles.
Tylia glanced around and shuddered. The only two things that she liked about the Market were that it was easy to avoid and that none of the Aelael peoples save the uncommon Pasaer was ever found there.
Almost at once, their thirteen guards dispersed into the crowd. Tylia knew that they were still there, but their sudden 'disappearance' made the humans nervous. Denask's tail was wrapped around Saeras' wrist, and that seemed to keep her calm.
Most of the costumers (and the stall-managers) greeted Vlosorbb with respect and glared at the guests. Tylia and Saeras glared back.
As they rounded the end of the arch, the slaves stiffened and froze. A moment later, the visitors did, too. The costumers and stall keepers continued as though nothing was happening. Screams, shrill and high, rose over the noise of the Market.
Micarffyn grinned with fierce, feral pleasure.
"They have been captured!" she crowed, glaring at Vlosorbb.
"I am as glad as any other," Vlosorbb replied coolly. Micarffyn gave him a look that said clearly that she doubted his words. "Jabbress Eileen, we should go."
"I am not finished, please," Eileen replied with a coolness that rivaled the Consort's.
"Very well." Vlosorbb sighed and continued around the arch.
"Zil! Zil!" called a raspy voice as the screams stopped and the slaves relaxed.
"Ah! Dirzagh! I have not seen you in many days!" Vlosorbb clasped hands with a handsome male Pasaer.
"Such company you are keeping these days, Zil," Dirzagh muttered in an undertone. Vlosorbb glared at him and he smiled pleasingly. "I hear you lost a slave yesterday. Might I entice you to replace it?"
"News travels quickly, as always," Vlosorbb drawled carelessly. "I might need a new slave, but it would have to be an exceptional one."
"As though I would sell less than the best to you, Zil," Dirzagh retorted, flicking his fingers at two young Pasaelaer. They pulled a short, stocky, muscular person from one of the cages. "A Hargluk! A rare find at Market. Unbroken, so that you might teach it your own rules. It speaks our language quite fluently, if a bit archaically. Strong and a great smith. Nimble-fingered and -tongued. Very intelligent."
"Looks a good specimen, Zil." None of them had seen Vol'axle come up next to Vlosorbb. The Consort nodded his agreement as Tylia, Pyra and Eileen noted the sheen of sweat over Vol'axle's face and the light scratch on his bare left arm.
"And how much would I be asked to pay for this specimen, Dirzagh?" Vlosorbb inquired.
Pyra and Scorpius watched the exchange with interest. Eileen stared intently at one of the cages near where the Dwarf had been held. Teddy watched the crowd, smiling at those few that met his eyes. Tylia swore quietly.
"What is it, Tylia?" Teddy asked quietly as Vlosorbb and the slave master haggled over price.
"Saeras. She's gone."
"Damn." Teddy swore, too. "What can we do? We have to find her."
"Give me a moment." Tylia caught the eyes of one of Vlosorbb's guards in the crowd, who promptly ambled over.
"Yes, Drathirdalharil?"
"My cousin is gone," Tylia replied, glad that someone in the Underdark who wasn't related to her could be civil. "Find her. Alive and unharmed or I will personally feed you to a drider. Use as many of Uncle's forces as necessary. Go."
He bowed and was gone.
"Lerien." The halfbreed knew that Vol'axle's pa'das would be nearby.
How may I help you, cousin of my Bond?
"Find Denaskravital, please," Tylia replied politely. "He and my cousin have wandered off."
If I can, I will. Lerien replied, her green eyes narrowing as she stalked away.
"Vlosorbb." Eileen's cool, casual tone earned her an extra-venomous glare from Dirzagh, which she ignored.
"Yes, Jabbress?" Vlosorbb replied easily.
"That one-" she pointed to the cage that she had been staring at. In one corner huddled a small, pale, long-limbed creature. "-I would have it. I would repay you later in full."
"How much for the little one, Dirzagh?" Vlosorbb asked quietly
"That one?" Dirzagh replied in an obvious mockery of Eileen, who ignored him utterly. "It is good for nothing. A wild darthirii caught with this evening's sacrifice. Too small and weak to be a proper tribute, my brother gave it to me. It is absolutely feral, and attacks anyone that gets near it."
"Has anyone tried to get near the poor creature without yelling or hitting it?" Pyra wondered in an undertone to her brother, who shrugged and shook his head.
"How much?" Vlosorbb repeated, a note of steel in his voice.
"Fifty. That's better than I'll get from anyone else," Dirzagh replied casually.
"Very well. I shall have them both."
"My men will take them to your pens, Zil," Dirzagh agreed with a bow as Vlosorbb paid him.
"No." Tylia made a mental note to kick Eileen for acting as though she had a right to be in the Underdark. "Mine remains with me."
Dirzagh glanced at Vlosorbb, who nodded, and shrugged. Two Pasaelaer took the Dwarf away. A third got scratched trying to forcibly remove the Aer from its cage.
Tylia's heart clenched when she saw the little fellow; he could not have been more than twenty-five years old. That was very, very young for any pure-blooded Elf. She didn't know why, but something about the mix of bloodlines made her mature more quickly.
"Stop that!" Eileen ordered the Pasaer, who backed away, earning himself a slap from his master.
She entered the cage herself, and the Aer stared at her with fear-filled eyes.
"Pai byr thaes, tia tor,1" she instructed him gently. "Ai cali tysti sai o thys shaeraes valaer sal sor, eil shor o bai cas. Tysti shor ti.2"
Most of the fright turned to awe, and the child, no bigger than a human of five, leapt into Eileen's arms.
"Take care not to use that language more than necessary, here," Vlosorbb murmured in her ear as she came back out of the cage. "One word could get you killed. They are our hated enemies. Take care."
Eileen nodded, running a soothing hand over the Elf-child's blonde-brown hair.
1 Do not fear, my child
2 I have come to you from better places than this, and wish you no harm. Come with me