Chapter 290

The bed warmers arrived at the room not long after, and Brain kept his face carefully neutral when they passed through the doorway. They came in 'dressed' in a most peculiar fashion. Which is to say they were wrapped from head to toe in muslin cloth, it wasn't see through but it was easily the strangest garb Brain had ever seen.

"Why're you dressed like that?" Layali asked, and Brain immediately looked back at her and saw that, to his relief, she had her hood up to hide her ears, Zesshi had clearly done the same, and the child's question clearly was one Zesshi wanted answered as well if he were to judge by the raised eyebrow.

"So that our body heat will warm your bed, little mistress, without our skin having to be on it, some humans find our touch to the cloth they sleep on to be… undesirable." The male slave said, his voice was deep and he was of slight build, taller than the female at his side, he was at least clearly well fed, and the wrap around his body kept his eyes uncovered, though his mouth was concealed.

Only one other part showed, and that was because the cloth around it was not as thickly wrapped.

The cropped ears on them both, the way the fabric was wrapped around their skin was tight and practiced, it didn't take long for Zesshi to realize why the ears were visible. 'So everyone can see it for themselves.' A faint shiver was concealed by the cloak she wore, but the memory of her own knife slicing into her ears was still the worst pain she'd felt in all her life, and seeing the proof of the practice lit a spark of disgust in her heart that would not die.

All her other questions were forgotten, though the pair were well fed, they kept their faces down so that their eyes never met even Layali's. "If there is nothing else, little mistress?" The elven male asked, and she mutely stepped aside.

The pair went to each bed and simply lay themselves on each, arms and legs spread out, and they silently stared at nothing, pausing only to move the pillows aside, they looked at the ceiling without a word to each other or the guests who paid for the room.

"Let's… go out for a little while." Brain suggested, shifting with some discomfort on his feet.

Zesshi glanced over at the two servants of the inn, they laid like corpses. Utterly unmoving, dull and disinterested in all things. 'The living dead.' Zesshi thought as more questions were silently answered, it made her think back to her own private resolve. 'No child of mine will be so weak that they can ever have this done to them… they will be like me, strong… strong is safe… weak is…'

She saw Layali inch unconsciously closer to Brain as he reached for the door, and then she nodded, playing along, "Of course, dear, why don't we go have something to eat."

The faint noise of a rumbling belly from Brain's bed sent a twinge of pity through her when she saw that the slave did not move or speak at the little rumble, and then the trio was out the door and on the way out.

"I told you." Layali said as Zesshi fell in a step ahead of her, "Nightmare… I didn't know about that stuff, but… they're the lucky ones I'll bet. They got a lotta the big, giant farms out here, the latifundias, if they're like the village farms, the slaves get drafty cabins shared together, an' people like us, or humans, work as overseers."

"They'd trust half elves to…?" Zesshi asked.

"A slave is a slave, if it's half human, they might offer a few benefits to help the overseers, a little extra food to sell out their mothers. Or maybe to save em, what do I know?" Layali shrugged, but contempt dripped from her every whispered word.

Zesshi nodded along, 'Their mothers, huh… sure, of course. By the dead six how could I have ever been this stupid…?' She asked herself as they emerged out into the street.

"I don't much like passing through the Theocracy." Brain admitted, "It's just got this miasma of…" He rubbed his scruffy and presently unshaved chin, "I don't know, anger, maybe, to it. Like they're angry at the whole world and it's eating them up."

Zesshi took that in and instantly, instinctively retorted, "With so many nonhumans ready to-" She cut off the statement, her shoulders briefly slumped, she felt the piercing eyes of the little half elf girl on her and recalled the empty socket that stared back at her the moment they met. 'Do you blame them?' seemed inadequate now.

She swallowed uncomfortably and pointed toward an establishment that had the savory smell of roasting meat with a small billowing pillar of smoke rising toward the sky. The establishment was clean of dirt on the outside and built of many stones, rather than the more common brick that was used in the modern age.

A single arching door opened to the front and people dressed in fine clean clothes, men in black and white, suits more common in the south and women in big, billowing dresses entered one by one, before which they were greeted by a well dressed half elf who bowed deeply to every one before waving them in.

"Smells good, should we eat there?" Zesshi asked.

"Sure, if you've got the coin for it." Brain snorted, "I don't have enough money for that place… but… I can probably afford a place like that tomorrow if your heart's set on it… no, we'll have to go somewhere else, but you're not going to like it." Brain said and then turned around and crouched down in front of Layali.

He put his hands on her shoulders, and when she didn't flinch, but rather, focused, he said, "Listen to me, I can bring you something back, the only ones in our room right now are elves, you'll be safe there." Brain explained, and the little half elf frowned.

"It's just food." She said, "I've seen animals slaughtered for food before, it's not like they're going to serve elf flesh," her grim humor was followed with a snort, "even this country wouldn't do that."

"It isn't the food that I'm thinking about. Just… trust me, alright? Can you do that for me, just this once?" Brain asked, and she gave a tiny nod then stepped away from his touch.

He let her slip away from his hand, she then took two steps back, turned around, looked over her shoulder once, and rushed back to the inn.

"So what's so unpleasant about the area around a place to eat?" Zesshi asked while Brain watched Layali depart, he watched the girl until she disappeared back inside the building, then turned around and started to walk.

"You wanted to see more? Listen, we're only staying tonight…" He rubbed the back of his head, "I just don't like it here, I'll get some work tonight, and we'll leave tomorrow, in a little while you'll see why. Just keep your head cool."

Zesshi kept one eye on him as they strode the streets, "It's probably still going on." He muttered, "This is a big city after all and the war with the elf kingdom is going better…"

"This one was a battle captive taken by the Holocaust Scripture themselves!" The voice rang out around the corner, and a male voice shouted in pain. "He hasn't been sent to the breakers yet."

"Scum! Filth!" The male voice shouted from out of sight, the sound of a crack, and a male scream followed.

The mumbling of the crowd was audible after that.

"What the-?" Zesshi's question hung when she followed Brain around the corner and saw the auction block on which an elven male stood, battle scarred and with defiant eyes, he was one of the bigger sorts that made up a fair number of the elven population and which Zesshi had occasionally seen brief glimpses of.

"This way." Brain said and took her arm at the bicep, he gave her a slight tug when she stood stock still, and when she looked in his direction he pointed to a ramshackle booth with dried strips of meat hanging from hooks and swaying in the breeze.

"A public auction. Ikari doesn't do a lot of these, most of the slaves in this city are public workers, but they do sell some to private companies who run the latifundias or the mines farther away." Brain said it in the quietest voice he could as the bidding went on.

"The kinget is a big one, and he's not broken, the city won't take him, so he's probably bound for the mines. If they can reach the reserve price, which they will." Brain pointed out.

Zesshi uncharacteristically allowed herself to be lightly guided away, though she kept her head almost swiveled entirely backwards to watch while she listened to what Brain had to say.

"These spots are big entertainment for the lower classes, so we can get cheap food here, but I'd rather be gone before he's sold." Brain made his whisper rough and swift as he reached a booth.

"Family strip. With cheese." Brain said as soon as he was in front of a spindly unshaven and unwashed man with a gap toothed smile and a hunched back.

"Whassamatta her, eh? She never see a sale b'fore?" He asked Brain while watching the way Zesshi held still, transfixed.

"Five silvers medium."

"Five silvers large."

"One small gold…"

The bidding went on.

"No, she never has." Brain explained, "Sheltered upbringing, you know, her father was very protective of her, I guess." Brain said with a shrug, Zesshi tensed.

"Mhmm… Well, you have a good one, the ores'll go up 'morrow if you want a real good show." It was an ugly laugh, and Brain answered with a fragile little sly grin, though he snatched the meat and cheese away a little harder than was quite neighborly.

"Sold!"

"Zesshi… let's go." Brain said, and gave her arm a little tug.

She was rooted to the spot. "You called that one a kinget… what's that? He looks like an ordinary elf? Just… bigger than usual."

The elf began to struggle on the stage, some members of the crowd got up and began to leave, faint queasy looks appearing on their faces as Zesshi watched them wander away.

"No! You can't! You bastards… you mother fuckers!" The elf shouted as two more humans of considerable size put their feet behind his knees and forced him down.

"Kinget, it's a common word, it means 'King's Get' don't you know who he looks like?" Brain asked, his hand held her bicep a little tighter.

"No… why?" Zesshi asked, her mouth open, her heart began to race when she saw the auctioneer approach with the knife.

"You've never seen a painting of the elf king? King's get, kingets, are his sons and daughters, or at least the ones who look most like him. No other elf produces sons like that." Brain whispered.

"So… wait… kinget, king's get, his sons… so he's the elf king's son?" Zesshi gasped. 'My… my half brother?' Zesshi realized as the male elf on the high wooden platform howled as his ears were quickly tugged taut, they wiggled as if to carry him away like wings, but nimble practiced human fingers closed on the tips and with a few quick saws, the flesh was cut away and half of each ear discarded.

The male howled loud and long enough that it was as if he was intent on dying by tearing out his own throat with the cry of pain, his eyes twisted and seeking help that wasn't there.

'My brother… I have a brother… sisters, lots of them… the King, of course he does it often… how did I never see this…' Zesshi gasped, Brain was tugging gently on her bicep, whispering something to her, but she heard none of it.

The world that opened up beneath her feet before into an endless dark, now burst into flame inside her mind.

[Quickstep][Flashstep][Greater Agility Boost][Windspeed] Zesshi muttered martial arts that Brain had never heard, and then for a moment he was by himself, Zesshi's sleeve was torn off in his hand. His eyes snapped to the stage.

'She's going to get caught?!' He thought in a moment of panic, his pulse pounded for just a moment, on stage he saw the briefest of a blur, the humans who had already begun to slap manacles on the elf male, exploded in a spray of blood and innards, heads tumbling down into the streets below, and the elf himself was gone.

The crowd barely had time to respond with a scream of surprise that became horror and fear as blood spilled over the gray stone and stained those nearest to the stage. The crowd fell over itself to flee with cries of alarm that spread far beyond the public square.

"The'ell?! What'appened, an' 'ey you, where'd yer wife go ey?!" The stall merchant snapped out and leaned over the edge, "All that blood, the fu-"

"Damn it!" Brain cursed, his sword was out and thrust into the merchant's mouth and out the back of his skull, then sheathed again an instant later.

A look of surprise on the dirty, filthy face as he staggered back against the stone wall of the building behind him, he fell to a slumped position. The surprise never left his face, and trickles of blood began to run out of his mouth before Brain took two steps more.

From somewhere else far away as the crowd ran screaming in all directions, Brain heard the sound of cracking, breaking stone.

The blue haired swordsman took off running, screaming in horror, "He killed the merchant, he's killing people, it's a rampage! A kinget awakened!" Brain screamed, and watched the panic spread as the armored guards of Ikari City began pouring out of their gatehouses well out of view and patrolling city guardsmen began to take up positions with practiced skill meant to stop advancing soldiers… and instead putting their skills to use stopping a riot.

Brain worked around that easily enough, he rushed into a nearby alley and hopped from one wall to the next until he was on the roof, his feet pounding over stone and wooden rooftops alike until he was clear of the riot entirely, and then he simply hopped down into another alley and emerged into the city street.

He caught sight of a stooped old man with a cane, one hand folded against the small of his back, and a scraggly unkempt beard of snow white on his face. "What's going on?" He asked the old man who stared at the distant noise of the widespread panic.

"I dunno… somethin' about a slave uprising or somethin'? Prolly nothin'? One goes mad an' people do dumb stuff… nothin' to worry about young man." The old man gave Brain a toothless smile and began to hobble away, the light tapping of the old man's walking stick made noise like the steady clicking of a mechanical clock, and with that relief, Brain made for his inn with steady and reassured steps of his own.

'I wonder if she's coming back?' Brain mused, and to his surprise, he found himself hoping that she did.