Might of the Newborn Phoenix

Chapter 2 - Companions

It's quite the fine haul we're selling today, going to make us a lot of money. After all, its a Kitsune, one of the rarest and most sought after slaves in the market. They're quite hard to capture, too. They live in secluded villages close to the vast Draconic Mountains. The main reason they're so tricky to capture is their fire magic. They're the only known race to be half-elemental. Its a trait they got from their protector and supposed creator, the Phoenix. Unfortunately for them the Phoenix died over 2000 years ago, and while they supposedly rebirth, the Church tells how the Phoenix of old betrayed the gods and lost its gift of immortality in response. Because of that, the once great Kitsune tribes have become isolated and unprotected.

Of course that's a good thing for us, they're quite valuable. They're descendent of Beastkin and the Phoenix itself, so they're quite useful as guards or magical servants. And the fur from their tails and ears can sell for even more if you chop it off. Not to mention the fact it has fire resistance. Of course there's also the appeal of the several tails which seems to be the main draw in for Kitsune purchases. What we have here is a young Kitsune girl, and a cute one at that, she's selling for quite a high price.

I've heard the auction house in Brendal was burnt down in some kind of accident, course that means we need to find someone to store our other slaves, not that they'll arrive until the next caravan comes down in a few days, at the very least the Kitsune already has a buyer planned out in Brendal, so there's no worry about making our cash from her.

5 Mithril Coins... Quite the purchase. In truth it cost only about a single Mithril coin to capture her. Most of which was spent on that damned collar to keep her magic controlled. The over-inflated price is mostly so that we don't sell it to anyone else, or put it for auction. Not that we'd probably make that much from an auction, though depending on where we go there's a chance.

Regardless, once we get this multi-tailed brat sold, we can expand operations. With the money we've been saving up, we might even be able to muster a small mercenary force to take out entire larger villages. We'd become one of the big dogs in the trade easily.

I'd say what could go wrong, but that'd be jinxing it. Eh, screw it, what COULD go wrong?!

Its been about a few weeks since the 'incident.' Though by incident, I mean the time I died and somehow committed the crime of arson on a slave auction house. I now know for sure it was me because I've actually figured out to some degree how magic works.

I originally managed to make a small ball of flame by concentrating on it enough, and through a bit of practice I was able to do it quite easily. Eventually I figured out how to make it move smoothly around me, and I even managed to make a few, though it requires more concentration.

After a while I managed to turn it into a proper attack by causing it to stretch out into a spear or lance-like shape before launching it at my target. For most of the oversized boars and other animals I've been hunting here, its more than enough to burn straight through them as if they were pierced, though technically they were.

Cooking's a breeze when you can fully control the temperature of the fire, and much of the meat isn't half bad considering its basically just an overgrown pig I'm taking it from.

I've made a small camp too, though I should be heading out soon. I'd rather get back to civilization, though going back to that city might not be a good idea. Regardless of if I was seen or not, I'm not taking any chances. Now that I feel like I can defend myself and fend out in the wild for a while, I can probably prepare to head out now.

Suddenly I hear something from a nearby bush. It sounds like a cat of some kind, however I don't trust this fantasy world, for all I know it could be a terrifying monster. Regardless, if it is a cat, I wouldn't mind having a companion. Thinking that, I approach it slowly, taking a fish I had gotten from a nearby stream and approaching the bush with it in front of me, though a flaming lance behind me if it turns out to be a monstrosity.