When Rhea finally came to, she slowly opened her eyes to a wooden floor. She also noticed that she wasn't alone. Inches from her face was a row of feet. Each pair was riddled with dirt and small wounds and shackled together by iron chains
Looking up, she saw a row of strangers sitting side by side with downcast expressions on their face. She realized she was sitting in a large caged wooden frame with an even larger cloth so that prisoners couldn't see where they were.
Has it really not been that long since I was knocked out? I'm being transported, just like they said.
She sat up carefully expecting to wince at the wounds left behind from the altercation, but was surprised to see that she didn't feel any injuries. The only pain came from the shackles on her wrists and ankles much like the rest of the passengers.
"Oh, you're finally awake"
A chubby built guy with vibrant orange hair sitting across from Rhea spoke to her in a hushed tone.
"When they first threw you in here, we thought you were a goner. You had so many wounds, it was brutal to see...but then they started disappearing. You even had a couple bones out of place and they just snapped back to where they needed to be."
The healing...
Rhea remembered Chloe talk about her being immortal and recalled how she felt before losing consciousness. She was sure she was going to die, but had somehow made it through all of that and recovered. She was deep in thought about what happened to her when the chubby guy snapped her attention back to the present.
"Hey! A couple of us were wondering...who are you, exactly?"
Rhea looked around at everyone else on the carriage and noticed that people were trying their best not to look at her, but were definitely sneaking glances with every chance they got.
What are they so interested in? I guess it's not normal for someone to recover from fetal sounds right before your eyes. Still, that shouldn't make me all that special, right? Sent there others like me here?
"I'm nobody special. Why do you ask?"
"Well, it's just that we noticed you have a Paldeck. I've been here long enough to know that anyone with one of those is different from the rest of us. You have that power. We all saw it..."
"Yeah, I don't know much about it but apparently I can't die."
"Wow, that's wonderful news! You can help us escape!"
"Whoa there. Just because I can't die doesn't mean I can fight. I'm in here with you, after all. If my power could help us escape, I would've never gotten caught in the first place."
"...I suppose you're right..."
The mood in the cage seemed to dive even deeper with the conclusion of the conversation. Everyone sat in silence for a while before the chubby guy introduced himself to Rhea.
"Anyway, my name's Talt. I've been here a while. Turns out nobody really wants a fat slave, but I've been losing weight since they don't feed us much. So, I'll be sold soon."
God. He sounds like he wants to be sold. Like an ugly pup at an adoption center.
Just then, Rhea realized she had access to a few new memories. There wasn't enough to tell her who she was, but she could see a few things in her head about dogs behind cages. She struggled to make sense of the images but figured her current situation is what triggered it.
Maybe I just have to experience more things here on the island and I'll unlock memories of my past.
"Is everything alright? Talt chimed in evening why Rhea has blacked out for a second.
"Oh, yes. I'm alright. My name's Rhea, by the way. It's nice to meet you."
Rhea didn't know how much she could trust anyone after the incident with Chloe, but didn't see much wrong with exchanging words with someone in the same situation as her. It was the first time she felt like she was on even ground with anyone else.
"So, since you've been here a while, what's it like?"
"Well, it's not easy. Bring unwanted, you see a lot of people come and go. Captured and sold. Every now and again, they let someone in here who still has some fight in them and they cause a ruckus. If it goes too far, they kill 'em to show us all what would happen if we tried anything. We get one meal every two days just to keep us weak. That's how I keep track of time."
"How long have you been here?"
"Captive? It's going on a month, now, but I'm not sure how long I've been on the islands."
"If you could see behind the wool sheet over the cage, you'd see that we're in a cave. There's a couple campfires around us, but they only take the sheet off when a buyer visits, which is pretty random. Sometimes, you can hear them talking about a potential client beforehand. Gives us an idea of who might be our masters. Actually..."
"What is it?"
"Not too long ago, I overheard the guards talking about the Rayne Syndicate Alliance."
"The Rayne Syndicate?"
"Yeah...Wait, don't tell me you don't know about the most notorious organization around. They pretty much own this island. How long have you been here?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but at least a day."
"You've only been here for a day? Wow...I remember what it was like first coming to the islands." Talt's expression went blank as he stared into space thinking about when he first washed ashore. "Anyway, I think we'll be purchased by the Syndicate, which is odd."
"Why is that odd? Aren't most groups looking to gather more followers?"
"Yeah, but the Syndicate doesn't usually take human slaves. Primarily, they deal with the buying and selling of pals. People who don't want to live in the wild usually volunteer to join them, so there's not much need for buying slaves. It's not like they're ever hurting for recruits. It's one of the larger groups and by far the easiest to join."
"Why didn't you join them?"
"I thought about it, for sure, but I felt uneasy about how they treat the Pals. I mean, they really just see them as a means to an end, but they're smarter than they look."
"Pals are smarter than they look?"
"Well, yeah...pals are used for more than just the immediate resources you get from killing them, like the wool from a Lamball. They're also used as laborers. They can accomplish some, and sometimes more of the same tasks we humans perform. They're extremely efficient and valuable...I'm really not sure why they get mistreated so much..."
"Wow, I didn't know all of that. If they can do that much, why don't we just live peacefully alongside them? Seems like a no-brainer, to me."
"That's what I was thinking, but then I thought about how improbable that is..."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, do you really think we could have peace with humans being in the equation? Humans aren't even peaceful amongst themselves."
"Are you saying that humans are the problem here?"
Suddenly, footsteps could be heard from outside the cage as all the prisoners looked around anticipating something beyond the cloth. Rhea positioned herself next to Talt and looked in the direction he was staring at. Moments of silence went by until a conversation between two individuals could be heard.
"I take it all of them are here? I don't think I need to explain to you what my boss would do if you lied about this particular shipment."
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. Every-thing-is-here. Now, do you have the money I asked for? I'm not doubting the credibility of your boss, but it's a larger sum than usual..."
"Of course, but show me that you've kept your word first. Let's see the merchandise."
Rhea felt a sense of unease knowing she and the others are what the voices referred to when they said "merchandise".
How can people talk about other humans like they're...property?
"Look alive meat bags!"An unknown hand gripped the cloth and threw it aside revealing a large hulking man with a menacing face. He peered inside with a disturbing grin that made everyone in the cage uneasy. "Your salvation has arrived."
What is wrong with his face!? It's like a nightmare incarnate.
The large man wore a black hood and cape reminiscent of an executioner's outfit, and the sadistic grin on his face eluded to his possible passion for his line of work. He looked like a man whose soul was tickled at the thought of harming others. He also carried a large gun connected to a strap over his shoulder that looked like it could level a building if he concentrated the firepower for long enough.
The oddest thing about the man was that his skin was of an extremely odd color; a dark grey and purple, almost black.
Behind him was a lanky man in a black uniform unfamiliar to Rhea. He also wore a hood but didn't have a cape. Underneath the hood was a ghostly white mask with glowing red eyes and a black cloth over the mouth of the mask. He carried a very simple handgun on his hip while a few Palspheres dangled from his belt.
"So...is everything to your liking?" Grumbled the large man while rubbing his greedy hands together.
The lanky man took a moment to look into the cage and locked eyes with Rhea. He noticed the Paldeck she was holding onto and immediately answered the larger man's question. "I think everything is here, but you'll be throwing in the lot of them as well, correct? The boss doesn't want anyone witnessing this purchase and living to tell the story..."
"Of course! The rest of them aren't even worth much on their own. The handsome coin your boss spends today is all I'll need to start my next business venture."
"Oh, what'll you call it? I'll have to relay that information to my superiors."
"The Blackstar Market! We'll be the largest human trafficking network on the islands and we'll even provide discipline services for those who just won't listen, if you catch my drift Hahahaha! Let me know if your organization is ever in need!"
"Will do. For now, I best be getting on my way. I have to meet up with the boss soon. Here's the coin you asked for."
Just then, the lanky man threw out two of his Palspheres and a couple unknown Pals materialized out of thin air. They were black cat-like creatures with gold patterns along their ears, neck and feet. Their tail carried a heavy looking object made of gold and their eyes were a deep emerald color. They were identical, but one was smaller than the other.
Rhea saw this as an opportunity to learn more about the pal using her Paldeck. When she aimed it at the creature, the device lit up with information.
*** #24 MAU ***
Its hard tail does not deteriorate even when cut off. Some believed these severed tails to be good luck, but for the innumerable Mau who were poached as a result, they were anything but.
Pal Type: Dark
Heath Points 70
Base Attack 70
Defense 70
Passive Trait: Gold Digger;
Sometimes digs up gold coins using the magnet on its tail. The more powerful the pal, the stronger the magnet which allows the most powerful of its kind to push and pull gold coins over large distances.
Wow. There's even a pal that can make you rich?
"Ooohh...is this one of the Pals from the famous Rayne Syndicate's gold farm?!" The large greedy man stared at the pal with hungry eyes.
"Sure is. I happen to work on that very farm as an accountant." Said the lanky man. "All the ore on the island is imbued with Paldium energy, including our gold. The males of the species have a special charge on their tail that allows them to pull gold coins to their bodies, which is how they occasionally dig up gold, hence the gold farm. With enough training, they can even learn to manipulate the coins into shapes that help shield themselves and their allies. The females have an opposite charge that pushes the gold out. They can learn to shape weapons for combat purposes."
So, these pals not only make the syndicate rich, but use the very same coins they gather to protect the wealth they accumulate. Talt was right, they're smarter than they look...
"Mau, give the man his coin."
Suddenly, the larger of the black cats raised its metal tail and lowered itself between its front paws. In the next moment, the tail was glowing brightly and sending pulses out into the air...This went on for a small while until gold coins could be seen flying into the cave's entrance and stacking itself next to the large man.
"Oh, how fascinating!! I've got to get me one of those!" The large man was exceedingly impressed by the pal's traits.
Everyone in the cage looked on a bit mesmerized by the display of the Pal's powers. Rhea specifically was fascinated wondering if all pals were as complex as the Mau.
When the Pal finished, there was a large stack of gold coins at the foot of Mr. Black who wore a smile even more disturbing than the one he wore earlier. The amount of money gathered was enough to be labeled a treasure trove and would make anyone happy to receive it.
"Alright, you've got your coin. I just need these guys able to walk. We've got a long ways to go to get to the rendezvous point, and the boss doesn't like for people to be late."
"Ah, of course. I'll get them ready for you, my good sir...and please tell Lady Zoey how much I appreciate her business."
"I have a feeling you'll be able to tell her yourself pretty soon, but I'll try."
"And with that...these slaves are SOLD...to the Rayne Syndicate Alliance. Hahahaha!"
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