While the guards of the city were scouring the streets to look for the thieves that had stolen a few things from the City Lord’s Residence, Thirteen was sleeping soundly on the couch inside Adira’s Living Quarters.
The Drow had left to inform Norris about what had happened earlier, so the Slave Master wouldn’t be left in the dark.
Adira had sensed the presence of these powerful individuals a few hours ago, so she didn’t hesitate to grab Zion and escape while they still could.
The last thing she wanted was to get involved in whatever scheme the people targeting the City Lord were doing.
“It might be a power struggle,” Norris commented after hearing Adira’s report. “But, what I don’t understand is why they are doing it right before a war between the Barbarians and the Tigerkins is about to take place. Weakening one of their Champions before the war starts is a very stupid thing to do in my book.”
“Perhaps they just want to kick the City Lord from his position,” Adira shrugged. “Commanding an entire city filled with warriors during a war, and gaining military merit will allow them to reap bigger benefits.”
Norris pondered a bit before nodding his head. “Or, they could just be after something else entirely. Like a unique and powerful artifact that the City Lord keeps inside his treasury.”
“It’s all just speculation at this point. Also, this is none of our business.”
“Well, you’re not wrong.”
Norris and Adira had come to the Valbarra Archipelago in order to create a branch of their organization, and use the Sumatran Kingdom as one of their bases of operation.
They were extending outward, sending people to different Kingdoms and Empires, digging their roots deep into their land.
Once they had secured their foundations, it would be easier to send their agents to build connections with the local people, increasing the size of their web, allowing faster transfer of information.
Norris had already made a reputation of being a Slave Master who brought in Monsters from the Main Continent that weren’t seen or heard of within the Valbarra Archipelago.
Because of his unique merchandise, he managed to worm his way into Gronar City, and become one of the top merchants when it came to Slave Trading.
Now that he had planted his roots, the second phase of their project was underway, which was why Adira was sent by their organization to aid him in the Valbarra Continent.
However, before the Drow left their Headquarters, her Master, a Shaman, had given her the Black Snake, who was now named Tiona, because of a vision that she saw.
She stated that whoever became the owner of the Domini Mortis was someone whom their organization must befriend no matter what.
Because, there would come a time when they would need that person’s help.
So, when Thirteen managed to acquire the Black Snake, Adira paid more attention to him because it was what their Master had asked of her.
“For now, you and your men should stay here in the Slave Market, and don’t wander off anywhere,” Adira said. “Also, there is a high chance that the City Guards will come here to search for those thieves. If you have any valuables lying around, it will be best if you keep them on your person, or hide them somewhere safe.
“Arthas might use this opportunity to regain his losses by planting false charges of theft upon people who have valuables treasures on them.”
Norris nodded his head in understanding. “Understood. Don’t let Zion leave until sunrise tomorrow. We don’t want him being wrongfully accused now do we?”
A sneer appeared on Adira’s face. “I’m sure that the City Lord doesn’t want to make more enemies than he currently has. He saw me take Zion away last night, so although he will suspect him, he will not actively target him.”
“I hope you’re right Adira.” Norris sighed. “I hope you’re right.”
———————————
When Zion opened his eyes, it was already morning.
He had a good night’s rest despite the commotion that was happening in the city.
Although he was unable to procure the Five Leaf Clover, he didn’t regret being taken away by Adira to safety.
After all, his life was more important than the clover.
At that moment, the door inside the room opened and Adira came in with a smile on her face.
“Good morning Zion,” Adira greeted. “Are you hungry?”
“Good morning, Lady Adira,” Thirteen replied. “And yes, I am hungry.”
“Great! I was just about to have breakfast,” Adira made a gesture for the boy to come to her. “Let’s have breakfast together.”
Thirteen nodded because he had no reason to reject her offer.
When they arrived at the Dining Area, Norris was already there and drinking a cup of hot cocoa.
In Solterra, there were many Cacao Trees, and the locals had learned to grind them to powder, making it a staple drink, similar to coffee in Pangea.
“Good morning, Zion,” Norris said with a smile. “You might be the only one who is able to have the luxury of sleeping in Adira’s personal quarters without having their limbs broken. I am very impressed by your achievement.”
“Good morning, Sir Norris,” Thirteen replied. “Lady Adira was kind enough to let me stay for the night. She is a very wonderful person.”
The corner of Norris’ lips twitched after hearing the younger boy’s reply.
The wonderful person he was referring to was actually one of the agents of their organization, who specialized in killing and torture.
If blood, gore, and brutality was the boy’s definition of a “wonderful person” then Norris didn’t know what a good person was in Zion’s book.
“Come and eat while the food is still warm,” Norris said after he regained his composure. “After that, you should return to your warehouse, and tell your friends to behave and not leave the city for now.”
Thirteen nodded in understanding because he agreed with Norris’ advice.
“Thank you, Sir Norris,” Thirteen replied. “But, before I return to the warehouse, do you still have Tigerkin Slaves for sale?”
“Of course I do,” Norris smiled like the businessman that he was. “In fact, there were four Barbarians who sold me the Tigerkins they captured two days ago. Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances, they are more expensive as well.”
“How much?” Thirteen inquired.
“A thousand silver for each slave,” Norris answered.
Thirteen frowned. “That’s quite a price hike. What happened?”
Thirteen had brought Percival for 200 Silver Coins, while Cristopher bought Jasmine and Ariel for less.
But, now, all Tigerkin Slaves, regardless of their gender, and age, cost 1,000 Silver each.
“Zion, I don’t know if you are aware of this, but there is a high possibility of a war breaking out between the Tigerkins and the Barbarians very soon.
“Because of this, the raids that the two sides were making against each other lessened due to the settlements having more defenders than usual. Several of the Barbarian Raiding Parties raiding the Tigerkin Villages have been killed in action, making Tigerkin Slaves more expensive than their original price.
“I’ll tell you now, they will probably get more expensive in the next few days, so if you plan to buy Tigerkin Slaves, buy them now before their prices further increase.”
Thirteen pondered for a bit before asking Norris how many Tigerkin Slaves he currently had.
“I have five of them,” Norris answered. “Three young men, and two young ladies. They’re a few years older than the Slave that you bought from me. You’re in luck because they only received minor injuries when they were captured, and all of their wounds should be healed by now.
“Since I don’t think I’ll be getting more Tigerkin Slaves soon, I won’t be giving you any friend discounts this time.”
“Very well,” Thirteen nodded. “I’ll buy all of them, Sir Norris.”
Thirteen was planning to speed up Percival’s hero training, and allow his character progression to take place.
However, Heroes tended to become more powerful when they had people they needed to protect.
Since the seven-year-old was certain that Percival had no plans of protecting him, unless he explicitly ordered him to do so, he decided to find people that the Tigerkin would protect without a second thought.
This was where the other Tigerkin Slaves came in.
Since Thirteen planned to become a villain in order to speed up Percival’s growth, he would use the most optimum method in his arsenal.
And that method was to create a Hero Party consisting of Tigerkins for his little Slave.
‘Heroes are born for a reason,’ Thirteen thought. ‘Since Taiga is here, this means that he will play a major role in the upcoming crisis that will befall the Sumatran Kingdom. As to what crisis it will be, I hope that it isn’t a big one.’
During the growth of a Hero, they would often face both minor and major crises, to develop their heart, body, and mind.
Even a minor crisis could be very troublesome, so Thirteen hoped that whatever was coming their way, wasn’t something too dangerous.