The Shameful Past of Mistress Т.

1. The Red Web (part 2)

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"... but then a whole bunch of new ones will appear," the black beast mocked his mistress, finishing the sentence for her.

The bell's magic transported the runaway slaves' hunters into a spacious white hall, and the same magic separated them from their guides. Mnorh and her family found themselves locked in a cage with very strong bars, forged to resemble a shape of chains. The guide with her pet—a black leopard of impressive proportions—appeared in a gallery, which entwined around the hall. The gallery was covered with threadbare carpet and littered with piles of brochures stuffed in bright parchment wrappers.

Jumping out from a side passageway a shaggy giant appeared. His fat wolf-like face broadened into a smile, four paw-hands squeezed a temptingly jangling bag. At every step, he as though a giddy kid engaged in a play only he knew the rules for, tried to step only on those carpet patterns that resembled spring scales.

"Mr. Garrl," the treacherous guide shuffled her foot.

"My little flame-haired princess," Garrl cooed, patting her cheek with his greasy paw. "And formidable Enaor, of course."

Talia an Kamian wiped her face in disgust but said nothing of it. She was embarrassed to appear indignant. As there is not much she could say after she watched Enaor take place on Garrls favorite armchair, and smear his black fur, shedding all over the place.

Without noticing a thing, the wolf approached the cage. Talia and Enaor followed him. Immobilized, numb captives could only stare in anger at the traitor-guide and her accomplices. Madame Nirshimnorh looked stunned, bewildered and full of disgust, like a snake that just gave birth to a rat.

"What a rich catch!" praised Garrl, after taking a little stroll around the cage. "What a naive piece of meat! Where do you find such people, Talia?"

"They find me themselves. Enaor's anti-magical collar that I give away as chains for a poor slave, is the best advertising. And besides, we have such wonderful reviews!" Talia beamed radiantly.

"How did everything go?" asked Enaor.

"On the highest level. The observers did not reveal any violations. A clean deal if I've ever seen one!" answered Garrl, passing Talia a bag of money.

"Glad to hear it, Garrl. I'll buy myself some shampoo. From fleas," explained Enaor.

"Do not pout!" Talia scratched the beast's ear squatting down.

"I'm not pouting at all. How does it even occur to you to apply such a verb to me? Pouting?" Enaor hissed, without turning his head. "Only stupid An Kamian girls pout."

"His Ballsiness is in his repertoire," Garrl grunted.

"Of course," Talia sighed. "Amanita Pantherina."

Enaor wrinkled his face in contempt. He did not like the sound of being called a poisonous mushroom.

"And now, he's a dried Amanita Pantherina," Talia shoved Enaor with her shoulder and placed the bag with their hefty reward over her neck.

"Someday I will definitely shortchange you two," Garrl appreciated her friendly gesture.

"Above all, please do not forget about the review."

"Oh, yes, yes, my memory is like a sieve".

With agility, most unexpected for a creature of such massive size, Garrl stepped behind Talia's back and extracted a tablet and a pen from the bag that he just gave to her. Obeying a careless wave of his paw, Mnorh nearing the edge of the cell, approached the cage's edge, and obediently took his pen and began to fill out a form.

"What a great review!", praised Talia, browsing the fruit of Mnorh's forced labor. "And in gratitude, I will answer one question that disturbs you so. No, we cannot seize and sell a first comer to Lennes. The slave trade here is strictly forbidden, so we simply would not have anyone to sell the poor fellow to. However, your case is quite different, you are not an innocent first comer. You are a slave-owner yourself, just like all your retinue. And since you deeply and sincerely support the idea of slavery, your own enslavement is not a crime. Such is the specificity of local laws."

"An amendment to a symmetrical answer," Garrl prompted. "An excellent thing, the profits and the triumph of justice all at once."

"Oh, and Enaor and I really belong to the same race—the Alae[1] ..."

"But, fortunately, to different breeds. She is raffish-pawed an Kamian, and I am Eale, a proud member of the glorious house an Al Emenayit" proclaimed Enaor.

"And Enaor cannot conjure up spells or change his form to a two-legged one, thanks to his collar," Talia continued in the same benevolent tone. "This collar was not placed on him to make my darling helpless against the fleas, but to make the cockroaches inside his head behave better."

"Alas, it has not helped much yet," howled Garrl.

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[1] Alae (cats of Alasais)—one of the races of Enhiarg; sensible ageless humanoid creatures that have a number of cat features and are capable of taking feline form. They have souls that give them the ability to influence feelings, sensations, and desires of others, to read and to inspire thoughts without resorting to magic, and also to see the features of other creatures' souls. Created by Alasais—the Nae of Emotions, Feelings, and Self-knowledge.