Sounds of water being stepped on could be heard. It was us who were walking around the damp place and under us were some liquids on the floor… what those liquids contained, I didn't even wanna know.
The slave keeper looked here and there for the girl I asked him for and said, "You have a very unique selection, sir."
He moved the fire ball around a cage, lighting it up but didn't find the person we're looking for, "It's very specific, your choice. Fortunately, I have one who should fit those descriptions."
"Strangely you have quite a general description that matches someone I have."
The slave keeper walked for a few moments before stopping abruptly. He murmured something like 'Am I fucked?' then turned to me.
"Remind me sir, where was it that you heard I have someone like that here?"
"A friend of mine told me that."
"And that friend's name."
"Why should that be your concern?"
He frowned slightly, "You don't… happen to be the girl's brother or something right?... if-if you are I-I should tell you that I keep all my produ- people in good condition."
I deadpanned at the guy, "Do I look I came here to cause trouble."
"No?" He said uncertain.
"I came here to buy guards and heard from a friend that a person I'm looking for could be here, so I came here to buy her." I turned slightly angry, "But if you think that by accusing me of nonsense things you can increase the price then I'm not buying." I turned back.
The slave keeper immediately sweated buckets seeing a good business going away because of his blunder and tried to stop me, "Sorry sir! I didn't think before opening my mouth and said nasty things to you." But I didn't stop.
"I- I'll lower the price of the girl to 90 pounds, n-no 80 pounds… 70!" He said but I still kept on walking and was almost close to the stairs.
He bit his lips and finally shouted, "50 POUNDS!"
I smiled from his back and turned around, "Alright then, show me."
The slave keeper had sweat falling from his head at the great loss, but nodded as he kept the bigger picture.
As we searched I finally got a good look at this place. Which should be close to impossible because of the darkness.
With so little light because of the fire, nobody would have been able to see more than what the light provided. But I had special eyes which let me see in the dark… it was kinda similar to night vision goggles, but the view was clear and had great zooming distance.
So color me surprised when I understand how large this place is actually is. This place was very big, enough to hold hundreds of such steel cages and there was ventilation system here as well for air.
Even if at first glance this place may look like dump and for those who didn't see it from my way will continue to look at it like dump. But in hindsight this was a great hiding place and good for dark businesses like slavery, drugs and black markets.
It also has a great hiding spot and distraction caused by the grocery shop, which was the main reason why the city guards never found this place.
The slave keeper in front of me isn't the real owner but just a keeper. The real owner is a nefarious organization known to deal in such businesses around the whole kingdom.
Something my late father also had a share in.
Sigh… just thinking about all the treasonous thing that would lop my head off is exhausting. But if I could get a share of all those businesses in the future…
The slave keeper said lighting up the cage in front of him. I looked ahead and all I saw was a person huddling their knees together and keeping her head down.
"Ting!" "Ting!" "Ting!"
The guy banged the cage with a baton bringing an ear numbing sound and awakening the person inside.
"She is a good find too, not much scratch on her and she's pure too."
As the person slowly unfurled themselves, I was able to get a good look at her.
The girl in front of me looked close to my age, younger even. I couldn't accurately tell with the loss of nutrition in her body. She wore a single cloth that only covered her chest, stomach and back, leaving all the other places for the cold to penetrate her.
The most distinguishing fact about her was that she had purple hair, it was cut to a bob-cut and her eyes had tears mashed under them but her eyes still had an intense hatred for the slave keeper.
She didn't have the strength in her body but if eyes could kill, the guy beside me would be dead a thousand times over.
The slave keeper didn't like the fact of her looking at him like that as he gave her a dark look, "Still so defiant huh! Let me just give a few baton-" I place my hand over his shoulder and he immediately changed his expression and smiled, "Ju- Just kidding sir, Sh- She's the one you're looking for right?"
I lowered myself down to her eye distance and looked at her deeply, "Are you the one?" This update is available on novelFɪre.net
She changed her look from the slave keeper to me and even if she didn't have that much hate for me, she had suffered enough to hate the world for what happened to her.
She looked at me defiantly and went further back into the wall, clanging the chains bound to her leg. She hit herself back in the wall because of the hurry but didn't care about it and huddled herself once more.
'Yeah… she's the one!'
"Leave for a moment."
"Hmm?" He looked at me in question but nodded seeing I was serious and left.
I opened the latch and went in as the girl tried to bury herself into the wall in caution.
"It's okay, I won't hurt you."
She didn't believe my words and only hissed at me.
Seeing her like that, I sigh and sit down over the floor. Her brows went up in fear as she saw me do that.
"They hurt you, didn't they."
"They murdered the innocent girl from a time and made her into this."
"Tell me… whatever your name is, what would you do if I let you out right now?"