Toriel was resting in a inn having ordered a small salad and a mushroom soup,it was the first time she was able to get a meal she actually wanted since she now knew a bit of the written language
The events of that day were still in her head 'how could such a horrible thing be normal around here? Why would the king allow for slavery of children to be part of the ever day life?... Does he...does he hate these demi humans so much to the point of allowing such thing!? Even Asgore was a more decent king even after what he was doing...how can this be...' She was lost in thought not understanding why this world could be so cruel,there had been wars with a demi human country but that wasn't the answer to this,in the end that was just a excuse to do terrible things to others like all wars do
"Hey you!" A man says loudly to toriel,she was a bit confused
"You're talking to me?" She says, although it was kinda of a dumb question when she thought a little more,the man was looking right in her face and had a hand on her table,of course he was talking to her
"Yeah, you're the shield hero right?" He asked if thought he already knew the answer
"Yes...is there something you want help with?" Toriel replied back,she didn't know what this man and his group wanted from her but she hope they wanted her help with a small problem instead of the other option of them starting a fight
"You look very lonely for a hero,how about we become a party? All the other heroes have companions,why shouldn't you?" The leader of the group of man says
"...are you sure about this?" She said as she gently took a slip of her soup,she wouldn't mind having companion on this whole journey but she couldn't see anyone joining her at the moment
"Of course we are ma'am!" He responded with a crooked smile
"...Well in that case I should ask if any of you have the proper gear for adventuring" she asked, if they really wanted to get into adventuring they should at the very least have the necessary equipment for the thing,she heard it was a very reward but very dangerous job
"No we don't have unfortunately" he says with confidence
"You'll have to buy it for us" another one of the man said with greedy eyes
'I knew it they just want to extort me...' Toriel said in her mind,it was clear that they wanted to get her to buy them equipment and then ditch her after getting the gear
"Ah! so that's what this is all about,you just want my money don't you?" She says with a unsurprised expression of
The man chuckled as one of them got closer to toriel almost over her shoulder "we just want a little pay in advance since we are gonna be your party members"
"It is so obvious that they want to rob me it is quite of embarrassing" toriel thought as she had a uncomfortable situation at hand,she could easily clean the floor with them using her magic in front of everyone in the inn but it would be bad not only for her reputation but also to the damages she would have to pay
"I am not looking for party members at the moment so if you could allow me to continue my meal in peace i would very much appreciate it"
"Hey don't be so cold lady..." The leader said that the other man close to her pulled out a knife
"it's only fair..."
"Let me make it clear...You can either back away now and I will treat this whole situation as if it never happened or you can continue,which i must advise that i can't guarantee your safety" toriel threaten's the group
The man pushed the knife closer to her throat
"I suppose it's going to be the hard way..." She said unmoved by the knife in her face
"What did you say demi!?" one of the groups members says very loudly
All of this was caughting the attention of the other patrons how were all looking at the situation and toriel could fell that they weren't really afraid for her sake,she could see that some had malicious smiles and angry looks at her instead of the crooks that were trying to rob her but after learning the type of law this place had it was only natural that they would want her to be robbed or even killed by these man just because of her looks,they just turned their attention away instead of trying to helping her. It was such a awful thing but she decided that she would take the higher ground at this situation instead of lowering herself to their racist standards
"Let's take this outside,i would hate to disrupt the meal of the other people of this inn like you so rudely did to mine" toriel said as she got up and went through the door with the group of men chasing after her
They were now in a alley way with the group of bandits all with their knife's out "well looks like you really tried to play up the heroic type back there but now you are done for"
"Oh really? And why is that?" toriel asked sarcastically
"Ha! You must be retarded! because everybody knows that the shield hero is the weakest in terms of attack" one of the thug's says
"Well that may be true to physical attacks...but I'm sure that my magic is much stronger than you can imagine" as she says that a wall of flames erupted from behind the thief's causing they to squirm
"So are you willing to test your luck?" She taught's them
"Y-you filthy demi human!!!" The leader of them charges at toriel sloppily just trying to hit her with his knife in a foolish attempt to kill and make this flames disappear
"Y-yeah your just scum!!!" Another joins the assault with the other three paralyzed in fear at the display of power,the wall of flames was made of smaller balls of fire that were one atop each other and despite the menacing look it actually gave of very little heat,not enough to burn someone to crisp but the bandits didn't know this
The leader tries to stab her right in the arm but she dodges with little effort using her now covered in flames fist to punch the man right in the stomach, although she didn't cause any damage with her punch the flame around it did, the man now was down on the floor with his shirt having a burned shaped hole of her fist going through it
The other man goes to stab her while she had her back open but he is hit by a small ball of fire with two more hitting him in the leg and face, he quickly falls into the ground having first degree burns on him
"I think is time for you all to go" she dismiss the wall of flames,the other tree bandits look at her with fear after having seen such overwhelming display of strength in front of them, everyone said that the shield hero was a dumb demi human and the church had always said of his unholy ways but this amount of strength was completely unheard of
"I hope you learned your lesson" she says crossing her arms,the bandits get their fallen companions and run off into the night
"My that was quite the show!" A voice comes from behind toriel who turns around to see a short fat man using glasses,a unusual mustache,a very extravagant suit and top hat to complete the visual. He looked like some sort of circus man
"And who might you be?" She asked the suspicious individual
"Oh me? I'm just a business man very much interested in showing his rumble shop to a possible investor" he chuckled which just Toriel even more uneasy
"..." Toriel didn't respond,she didn't know what to think of the man other than a uneasy feeling coming from him,this man saw what she did to those bandits and he seems to be not a tad bit scared
"What type of business is that..." She asked skeptical
"If you follow me i could show you" the man says extending his hand out as he lead the way
--
Toriel followed the man still unsure about it to his work place,it looked like a large purple tent similar to a circus,a awful smell came from it 'i shouldn't get in there' that's what she thought before the man opened a curtain
Entering the place she saw various cages lined up with creatures inside, from giant birds to small dragon-looking horses
"W-what is this place!? Why are all of these creatures in cages!?" She asked now getting a bit scared, even if this creatures weren't intelligent as she was, as a monster that was still a bit uneasy for her to see, especially as they seemed to get scared when she came closer to them
"Why? Because they are the merchandise my fair maiden" the man chuckled
"You're selling them!?" Toriel asked irritated on the treatment of them, this animals were living in terrible condition and were clearly abused
"Why of course" the man responded, not even showing any sort of expression other than a creepy happiness
"This is despicable,this is cruel this..."
Cough* *cough*
Toriel looked in the direction of the sound, going deeper into another side of the tent, the man beloukas just looked not caring too much. What she saw was the definition of misery, many demi humans in cages, wearing nothing but rags with collars and leashes on their necks, looks of emptiness and death in their eyes
"T-this! n-no, d-don't tell me th-hey are-"
"They are slaves yes" the man said with no execitacion
"!" Toriel gasped in horror at that, realizing where she was
"Y-you c-can't be..."
"As I said, I'm a business man, I sell monsters, trade and even sell items for them like saddles as my front and that's truly what I am, a monster seller and trader, slavery is just a side hustle, though it is more profitable" the man said while looking at one of the cages with a par of birds inside, same creepy smile on his face
"That's terrible! you-"
Cough * cough *
She looked once again at the direction of the sound, seeing a cage cloaked over by some old sheet
"What is in..." She stops her sentence,a feeling of overwhelming dread consumed her with what she saw,two little girls one with weasel ears and another with raccoon ears both in the cage. The raccoon girl had a dead look on her eyes almost like her very soul had been crushed but in comparison to the small weasel girl she was far better in health, not only she looked malnourished but also seemed to have a high fever and her eyes had fear on them. Toriel was completely horrified at the cruelty of all of this, how could this this amount of pain and suffering be allowed...how could this kingdom allow such a evil to be normal!...this had to end!!...this pain needed to be stopped!!!
All the lit flames in the room began to burn hotter and brighter than before, all the caged beast began scream and cry in terror as if they could sense a rising bloodlust that was making their instincts go wild, a red glow of red flames came from toriel, however they were not from her magic... They were something different
[Cursed series unlocked]
[First condition for the Shield of Wrath met]
She turned her attention to beloukas " you better have a good reason for me not to burn you and this whole place down..." She said now sounding much more menacing than she ever did, flames forming in her hands ready to incinerate him, but the man didn't even flinched, he just chuckle and replied
"Because even if you did my lady ,it wouldn't mean that all of this slaves would be free. See they have this special slave marks on them that makes sure that they will always obey any order their master says so if you kill me they would still be someone's property" the man said, now with a neutral expression on his face
"But let's say you do free them of the slave mark, what happens afterwards? There is nothing stopping the king or his guards or any person in this kingdom from capturing them again and force them into slavery, it is not a problem you can just stop by killing a humble business man like me" he continued, his signature grin back to his rounded face
Toriel's red flames disappeared with her looking down "you are a horrible person..." She says in defeat at the slaver's logic
"That my lady is very subjective in this country" he responded with a chuckle, but she payed no attention to it, as Toriel looked at the two girls in the cage
"How much for them?" Toriel asked
"Oh?" The man smiled at that, glasses shinning from happiness
"For the less than ideal state they are in, I would say 30 silver each" he said as he looked at them
"And how much for you to remove the marks?" She asked, never looking away from them
"100 silver individually" beloukas said
"Deal..." Toriel said as she took out her bag of silver and grabbed some coins from it
"Alright then" he snapped his fingers and walked of to grab something, a tall hulking man wearing a executioner hood came from the back of the shop and open the cage, picking the two girls up, the raccoon girl tried to fight it but the weasel girl didn't try resisting at all
"Now let me apply the ink" beloukas said as he returned with a pencil and a white ink bottle, he soaked the brush in it passed on the slave crest in both girls chest,they squealed in pain for a bit which toriel didn't like at the slightest
"All done" he said as the hulking man left the raccoon girl on the floor, while Toriel came and hold the weasel girl in her arms, as she seemed to have passed out
" *Huf* *huf* " the raccoon girl was catching her breath when she noticed her slave mark gone "what..." She questioned what was happening when she heard a voice
"Here's your payment" Toriel said as she gave the slaver the coins, the raccoon girl looked and saw Toriel for the first time 'a demi human?! But why is she free and not a slave as well?!' she thought about it before seeing her friend in her arms, seemly forgetting everything around her in the moment as she focused on her best friend
"There's 20 coins extra, lady" beloukas said with a slight hint of confusion
"That's your commission, I knew you would ask for it" Toriel responded with a cold voice at the vile man
"My my you got a eye for business" he said while grinning at her, as if his glasses sparked in seeing a possible future customer
"I hope we never meet again" she said as she observed the weasel girl, she knew she had the necessary equipment and skills to heal her but it would take time
"I know our paths will cross again" the man said as Toriel walked away
"I will pray for it not to" she responded as she approached the raccoon girl
"Come child, let's get out of this wretched place" she said while moving to the exit
"O-okay" she said as she followed Toriel out of the tent
--
"What's your name child?" Toriel asks the little girl
"Huh?" The small raccoon girl looked at her still a bit afraid
"You're name, what is it?" Toriel asked again, something about her gentle aparrence and calming voice made the girl relaxed and become more confident about speaking up
"Raphtalia..." The girl responded a little nervous
"Do you have parents Raphtalia?" Toriel asked, much to the surprise of the small girl
"What?..." Raphtalia was caught off guard by the question, what Interests had this woman had on her parents?
"I have to bring you back to your parents if they are still alive, I can't let a family stay broken apart if I can prevent it" Toriel clarified, for a moment raphtalia stopped and began to tear up, Toriel got a certain worry from the child's reaction, before the girl wiped away her tears and began following Toriel again
"My parents...are dead..." She said with a melancholic look in her eyes, almost if she was trying to hold in her tears from coming out again
"I'm sorry for asking" Toriel responded a bit down, she understood family loss from the eyes of a parent, but never did she think the other way around
"What about this one?" Toriel asks while looking at the weasel girl who was still unconscious
"Rifana? They perished as well..." Raphtalia responded, at least Toriel knew that the two girl knew each other, but that's not the answer she was happy with, it seemed that there was no one to look after this two
"Sigh..." Toriel sighed, before a small warming smile appeared on her face "Guess I will have to take care of you two then" she said in a somewhat cheery tone
"Huh?!" Raphtalia was a bit of confused and scared, as 'take care' could mean something horrible like killing the two of them or-
"I will prepare a bath for you two, do you or you friend have any allergies when It comes to food or do you not have them?" She asked smiling at raphtalia
"What are you-"
"And I need to buy you two some clothes and shoes" Toriel said as she began to think where a clothes shop would be, she remember passing through one by the guild...or was it the apothecary?
"What?" Raphtalia was baffled at this, that was the biggest amount of kindness she received in weeks of torture 'this can't be real...can it?' she thought
"I have a friend's place that we can stay for a bit until your friend gets better, he's trust worthy and I feel it would be more safe than an inn" Toriel said, after what that man said, she was a bit worried that the kids would be kidnapped if she wasn't around, but she knew that Erhard was very much against the slavery of demi humans and was pretty capable of fighting, so there would be a safe place for now
"Why?" Raphtalia quietly asked while looking down
"Huh?" Toriel got confused from the girl question
"Why Are you doing this? Why are you helping us? How can you be so nice?" The girl asked lost in thought, thinking this was a dream and soon she would wake up to the nightmare life she knew
"I just want to help because that's the right thing, it hurts my heart to see people, especially children, suffer the way you two have, so I will help in any way I can instead of doing nothing against this cruel actions" Toriel explained, having to explain that she did good things because they are good things seemed redundant, but after what the little girl has been, it makes sense that she would find acts of basic kindness confusing
"That's *sniff* so nice from you miss! You're just like a hero!" Raphtalia smiled at amongst her crying
"Well that's my title, I have to live up to it" Toriel responded in a bit humorous way to help lighten the mood more
"Huh? What do you mean? You're a hero?" Raphtalia got confused, this woman had a title of hero? Then was she...a vassal hero? It is said that heroes couldn't get branded with slave marks, so was that why she was free? But if she was... what was her weapon? She didn't seemed to be carrying one from what raphtalia could see
"Of course, that's what everyone been telling me since I was summoned here to save the world, but how can I call myself a hero if I don't help the one's in need" Toriel said as they walked the street
"What..." Raphtalia whispered in confusion 'but the only heroes that are summon are...' it was then that raphtalia noticed the shield in Toriel's arm, it looked exactly like the one in all the books and stories she read, the slick white rectangle with a sharp edge in the end with a gem on the middle, that was the shield of legends, which meant...
"Y-you're the S-shield Hero!!!" Raphtalia said out loud, the tears she was holding coming loose
"Uh...yes? Is that a problem?" Toriel asked a bit worried from her reaction
"You *sniff* came! Me and Rifana *sob* prayed everyday for *sniff* you to rescue us! And you did!" Raphtalia said as smile covered her face, contrasting the tears in her eyes, but this one's were out of happiness rather than sadness
"..." Toriel was left speechless, but after seeing the smile in the girl's face, she was overcome by the motherly instincts of her
"Sorry I took so long" she said as she patted Raphtalia's head, causing the girl's tail to waggle side by side
" how about I make you a pie? Any flavor you want" she said as they resumed walking
"Caramel and nuts!" The girl cheerfully responded
"Hehe, okay! Hope you are ready for some seconds as well!" Toriel joke a bit, as she was used to baking pie the size of the girl's head
"Yay!" Raphtalia said as they went into Erhard's shop
[author's notes]
that's right baby, rifana! she's not dead! and she will meet the shield hero she so desperately wanted to see, but she is into a surprise on the next chapter
please leave a comment,it helps a lot
