Ascendance: The Rebirth Of The Unknown Gamer

Farbridge, Dawn

Fiona had been in the smelly, dank bas.e.m.e.nt of this rundown slave dealership for a week.

She had never held out hope that her country would send men for her, and she didn't think anyone would want a blind, crippled slave who had been thoroughly soiled.

Until she heard the door open and a slave came over and dragged her out into a room that smelled clean and fresh, with low crackling from the candles echoing throughout.

A voice she didn't recognize began to speak,

"That's certainly her. Do you mind if I speak to her privately? Given her state, I don't think she'll recognize me, and I can't in good conscience give her a private message with you here."

The greasy voice of the slave dealer responded,

"She can't tell who you are by your voice?"

"No, we didn't know each other very well, I just peddled goods in her village a few times, but her parents and I have been friends for almost a decade."

"Fine, I'll get the paperwork, hopefully you can prove your claims so I can get rid of her."

Fiona winced at this, knowing that she would probably die if this mystery gentleman couldn't get her out of here.

"Of course, of course, rules of the slave trade and all that, I understand."

"Good, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Fiona heard the slave dealer exit the room, then the man on the other side of the room rush over to her and quickly whisper in her ear.

"I came on orders from your father, we don't have much time so I'll make things short. The code phrase is 'dancing under the dark river's moon' and we need to get you out of here quickly."

A ray of light entered the darkness where Fiona used to see the world and gave her the hope she needed.

"I'll need to keep up the act until we get back to the safehouse, so please don't say anything extra."

As if she could, she hadn't spoken since the bandits sold her not because she was unwilling, but because the back of her throat hurt so much she couldn't.

To respond, she gave a weak thumbs up, the only thing she could really do in her state.

"Good, he's already almost back, I'll tell you the details when we're out."

Once more, the door creaked open, and the soft thuds of a fat man's feet sounded into the room.

"Slave, is this man's claim on you valid? Speak the truth."

Since any order given to a slave is absolute, Fiona had no choice but to give a truthful answer, so she once again curled her hand into a thumbs up.

"Good. Dear customer, since it seems that your claims are truth, I will now transfer ownership of the slave to you, or, if you wish to spend an additional ten gold, I can release her from slavery."

"No thank you, ten gold is a little too much for me at the moment, if her parents can pay the fee that's fine with me."

Fiona was a little surprised that she wouldn't be released immediately, but then remembered how the man had been acting earlier, 'her parents village', 'peddling'. He was probably undercover as a peddler, and no sane peddler would willingly pay 10 gold just to do a friend a favor.

"Dear customer, all you need do is find a licensed slave trader and have them perform the release ceremony. Now, I will transfer the slave over to you."

After some brief few formalities, a slave transfer spell, and the purchase of a small hand cart, a severely damaged black catkin was being dragged along a cobbled road towards the city gates.

And then the man who saved her, who had given her her family's secret code phrase, who had given her hope in her darkness, plunged her once again into hell.

"I wasn't sent by your family, they probably already gave up on you. I came here on my own, because I wanted to test my skills, and also get a princess for myself. I knew your family's code phrase because an old friend gave it to me."

"I won't treat you poorly, I'll give you new eyes and a new leg, I'll even fix your tail. But I have every intention to experiment on you and use you for my own d.e.s.i.r.es, and since nobody even knows you exist anymore, you'll be perfect for what I have in mind."