Assistant of Chang

Ouro made it to the bath and the guards sat outside quietly, none of them saying a word as he slipped into the quaint wooden hut. From the outside it was eighteen feet long, twenty feet across, eight feet high, steam sat in the air as he deeply inhaled. He could feel the moisture filling his lungs as he closed the door behind him, not wanting too much of the heat to spill out into the encroaching winter's winds. Ouro reveled in the heat, unable to imagine the enjoyment that the guards and Chang took for liberty as the slaves only got to draw water from the nearby lake or go out into the rain to wash their battered bodies. He walked further in to see a decently sized pool of water, steam rising off the water as he stretched and groaned as he appreciated the serenity of the hot springs as he slowly disrobed. His olive skin had become rough, lightly chiseled and scars dotted his body from the hard work. He was filthy, the dust from the mining was thick on his skin as if it was another layer of his own and the fair dainty skin he once had was no longer what it was as it rippled with muscle, dirt clinging to every part of him.

Something told him he wasn't to climb into the spring right away but wash most of the dirt off with other water before getting in. He spotted a pail as he knew that would serve useful as he grabbed it and drew some water from the spring, gently he hauled the bucket with ease towards a set of stools used for bathing. Gently he sat down and saw a cloth, clean and black as he rose the pail above his head and dumped the contents as he groaned in a relaxing pleasure he roughly began to scrub the filth off as he indulged. The cloth turned from black to brown due to the amount of grime on him, it didn't take long for him to finish scrubbing as he quickly transitioned from the stool into the pool of water she soaked in the water and indulged. About an hour later he was done and a new, as well as a nicer pair of clothes, sat outside the door as he began to get dressed, admiring the finer clothes.

The clothes were cotton, they were white with a secondary color of black as they reminded him of something like a painful splitting in his skull as he groaned and almost doubled over in pain. He took a deep breath as he stumbled out of the bathhouse where a guard waited for him quietly before leading him back to Chang's tent which was decently sized. As he walked in Chang was sitting at a desk as he did paperwork, seeming to be rather diligent at his job as he lightly sips a tea. The glass was fine porcelain with beautiful art on the side, the white with the various shades of navy blue brought the piece to life, the fragrant tea had a hint of Jasmin as Ouro smiled and bowed at the table.

"Ah yes, Ouro! You have done an amazing thing today and I promoted you. This might not be a job but so long as you work hard then rewards shall prosper from the fruit of your labor!" He beamed before gesturing towards a small chest.

"Take that into my room. I ask you to not touch anything in there and that you hurry back. I have some math for you to do then proofreading of some papers. Shortly after you and I will dine together, as per your reward" Ouro bowed, taking the small chest but was surprised at its weight, he expected it to be empty but it felt as if it was full of metal as it nearly sent him tumbling into the ground as he stabilized himself and better lifted. Chang smiled as Ouro walked into the only other room, slipping behind cloth doors to see a nicely decorated room with grand furniture. Just from a glace, one could see the spectacular woodworking skills that had gone into these works with love. The bed frame, dressers, table, and nightstands were all a matching set and breathtaking. The wood was a deep brown, intricate carving in the solid wood and the painting on it was something to behold as he placed the chest near the table. He was told hurry back and he didn't want to squander the opportunity that was handed to him on a silver platter as he slipped out of Chang's room but not before he heard a whisper tickle the base of his spine.

"MATCH FOUND; ONCE CONTACT IS ESTABLISHED SYNCHRONIZATION WILL INITIATE. STEP FORWARD AND TAKE HOLD OF YOUR FATE, TAKE WHAT IS YOURS"

Ouro spun around, looking for the voice's source to ascertain what everything it just spewed. Slowly he made his way back into the room, his long black hair flicking a bit to the side as he took a deep breath. On the left side of the bed, inside the nightstand's third drawer something called to, begging him to look inside and do whatever the voice meant. As he stepped closer his mindless actions were interrupted as Chang stuck his head in.

"Ouro, what is taking... What were you doing trying to pry open that drawer? That is all personal, you best not be trying to steal from me. I'd hate to punish him who has been rewarded." His tone became serious as his eyes felt they pierced his being. he stepped away from the drawer and gave a polite bow.

"I apologize Sir. I did not steal but simply turned my attention to something else, I thought I heard a voice but being in the mines for so long would make any man go a little crazy." He nervously smiled and rubbed the back of his head as he swore that the thrid drawer shone with intense light. Chang nodded a bit and sighed,

"Very well. Please come out so that you can balance the funds from this camp. The men get antsy without pay and are prone to killing those nearest, that meaning the slaves. I spent good money on those men out there and want their use. Come now and make haste." Ouro nodded as he quickly followed Chang, he was barely able to tear his eyes from the drawer like a moth to a flame. With a deep sigh, he slipped out and was sat down at a small desk, given a stack of papers and told to work.

Numbers flew before him and truthfully he understood everything. taking into account the local market, foreign and *$SD*$^&'s he figured that low-quality gems, the most common were selling at a 5% above average, medium-quality was selling at 2% above market, and high-quality was selling a little over 11% with a repeating decimal. Since he worked in the mine he knew how often each stone was found, took that into account, and gave a rough estimate of the earnings. He then took the price, figured transportation costs, sales to merchants if there were any, the labor of the slavers, and ended up with an income. He then repeated the process without selling to merchants and presented it to Mr.Chang who was impressed with the quick and excellent work.

"It truly seems you know what you go on about boy. Keep this up and we'll be out of work within the week and we can laze around while other men toil in work. My chef is almost done preparing our meal. Tomorrow I want you to figure how many slaves we can buy to increase production then I want those analytical skills put to use on what it would take to enter those ruins. But I say let the problem come tomorrow and let us eat!"