Fires of Prophecy_ Book Two of the Morcyth Saga - Brian Pratt [74]
Miko watches through the window as girl after girl are auctioned off, knowing that soon it will be his turn. He turns his attention back inside when he hears a commotion brewing at the entrance to the slave pens.
A man of obvious importance is entering with a slaver walking beside him that Miko has seen here in the pens before, obviously distraught. The slaver appears to be pleading with the other man, but whatever he’s saying is having little effect.
Several guards are following them and as the man walks through, he points to pens and the guards begin taking out the boys within and tying them to a line. When he gets to Miko’s pen he points to it and soon Miko and the others are tied to the end of the line. The guards come to Viktor who is lying on the floor, gibbering to himself. They look back over to the man and one of them says something. The man looks to Viktor and then shakes his head. His men leave him there as they move on to the next pen.
After half the pens have been emptied, he says something to the slaver who looks to be about ready to argue with him. With a stern look, he stops any complaints the slaver might have had about him taking the slaves. With resignation, the slaver follows him back outside, the boys he’s selected following along behind.
They’re marched through several adjoining pens until they come to the outside where several wagons are waiting. The guards untie the boys from the line and then direct them to climb up onto the wagons. The official gives a letter to another man who then climbs up onto the lead wagon and then they begin to roll out.
Miko isn’t sure just what is happening, but at the moment he’s just happy to be out of there. They roll through town and are soon exiting through the southern gate. Unbeknownst to Miko, on the far side of town, James is entering Korazan from the north.
Chapter Fourteen
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As they approach Korazan from the north, a large complex of buildings comes into view over on the eastern edge of town with many pens full of slaves. “That must be where we’ll find them,” observes James.
“Let’s go,” Jiron urges.
“We need to get the caravan settled in first,” insists James. “Then we can go scout around for Tersa and Miko.” Seeing that Jiron is going to be stubborn, he continues, “If we don’t behave like an actual caravan, we might gain attention that could prove awkward.”
Seeing conflicting emotions running across Jiron’s face, he waits. After only a moment’s deliberation, he nods and says, “Okay, but let’s do it fast.”
“Agreed.”
During their approach, they notice a large caravansary off to the north of town, closer to the lake. When they turn to leave the road and head for it, Hakir and Hakim take their leave, continuing on toward town to deliver their goods.
At the caravansary, they find a suitable location and quickly settle in. After the horses and wagons have been taken care of, Jiron looks to James and urges, “Let’s go!”
James turns to Tinok and says, “Stay here and take care of things, okay?”
Tinok’s face begins to fall as he realizes he’s being left behind. Just before he starts to protest, Cassie calls over and asks, “Tinok, can you help me please?” Torn between conflicting desires, he finally says to James, “Alright,” as he heads over to see what Cassie needs.
By this time, Jiron has changed into native garb, having chosen one that partially covers his face. If there are people from the City of Light in the pens who would be able to recognize him, they won’t inadvertently give him away.
Taking Roland with them to act as translator, they make their way to the main gate leading into Korazan. Here, as nowhere else, the ratio of slaves to citizens is staggering. Wherever he looks, James can see slaves engaged in almost every facet of work. Hardly anyone is walking down the street without at least one slave of one kind or another trailing along behind. Many are carrying packages and other items, most though are simply following behind