Lance took in a deep calming breath, his brows furrowed as he took in the sight before him, his darkened leather hood covering his face though it was not needed on account of the mask he was wearing. Ahead of him was one of the darkest practices amongst the many in the Atlan Kingdom, slavery, in action. A practice born from originally misguided and lacking morals, but carried on by the debaucherous greed of others, who felt that with their status, wealth and power it was only their right to own other sapient life.

  It had taken a great deal of money and resources to find the location of this auction and buy his way in, but he has money to spare, and his actions were by all means worth it.

  He took his seat in the amphitheatre like structure, the long stage and walkway below outfitted with an enchanted device that works the same as a microphone, projecting the announcers voice out to the audience. Above him was booths reserved for the VIPs, individuals whose continued support has meant that such auctions can continue unabated, even if everyone in the kingdom knows about them and their illegal nature.

  Whilst slavery isn’t illegal, the conditions to own a slave lawfully can make it annoying for some Nobles, but ultimately, it’s a small matter of a few well-placed bribes to be able to effectively go ahead and kidnap said person, even getting away with murder if anyone gets in their soldiers’ way.

  Looking around, the seats were bustling with guests in a variety of animal style golden, silver and black masks that cover the top half of their faces, whilst ‘servants’ in skimpy outfits served wine and appetizers amongst them. Before long, a man with a gaudy deer mask encrusted with jewels and filed horns walked onto the stage making his way to the mic.

  “Welcome! Welcome! To the annual Wishmaster Auction, I hope your pockets are bulging otherwise you’re going to miss out on some truly wondrous merchandise that we have here today”

  As the man droned on Lance took the time to compose himself, he had to be careful now, its said that there is a mage that guards the auction, not to mention the army of guards. He wasn’t here to fight, but to make a purchase, to buy the freedom of a kidnapped child, one that the gang had grown fond of even seeing her as a little sister. He had brought a great deal of money to ensure that this wouldn’t be an issue, although the fear was great that the child’s lineage may make this a difficult endeavour.

  She is what is called an Auroras, a Child of Aetherius, identified as such from her beautiful blue hair and grey eyes. Unfortunately, many a mage sees such beings as potent ingredients for a variety of magical and alchemical uses, making them a hot commodity for whenever they show up. Ultimately a dark fate awaits them.

  His comrades in arms where on standby around the estate, though he hoped their intervention would not be needed, with the credibility of the Wishmaster auction at stake should anything happen to the guests on the estate. Unfortunately this only safeguards guests until they leave, at that point they must rely on status and their own resources to protect themselves, though it must be noted that most don’t go out of their way to kill unless truly prompted to by way of a particularly precious artifact or slave, as if found out their pass may be revoked.

  The Wishmaster Auction itself was a notorious event focusing primarily on the sale of rare slaves and named as such due to the man who is at the head of the institution, an incredibly wealthy man with the kind of wealth whereby he can grant ‘wishes’, and in a world of magic this may be more of a truthful statement than a false one.

  As the Auctioneer starts to present a variety of items and slaves one after the other, a silence falls on the crowd, short of a few whispers and shuffles of clothing from raised paddles and drinks.

  Some of the merchandise went for a few silvers and even a couple going for a gold or two, though Lance held out, biding his time for what would no doubt be the prized possession. They had gone to great lengths to create a plan to ‘disappear’ after recovering the girl, on account that it is highly unlikely that nobody will attempt to recover the girl once purchased due to how precious she is. The most likely reality deduced is that Lance will get away with the purchase, even though there is no doubt many present at the auction will have far more wealth at their disposal, as the likelihood is most will want to let him pay to have the girl taken off of the estate and then recover her for free, rather than paying the Wishmaster.

  As tension builds with the progression of the auction, most found themselves on the edge of their seats, a cold sweat permeating their clothing. Occasionally Lance could hear the nervous gulps of those around him as the auctioneer finally arrives at the precipice of the night.

  “Now! I hope you are all ready, for what is truly a rare product like no other! Only 8 years in age, with blue hair that shines like the Lake of Aetra, and eyes mirroring the unquenchable potential of magic, said to be a being from the Realm of Aetherius itself, an Auroras! In the flesh!”

  The man made way for a young girl to approach the stage, shackles restricted her movements, though it is clear that she had had make up applied and was fitted with a dress in order to make her look more appealing to the bidders.

  The response was immediate, and a hubbub of noise followed. Auroras were already a rare existence, but centuries of persecution have made them virtually extinct outside of a few institutions and mages that have them as slaves. Anytime one appears, it isn’t long before slave traders make their capture with nobles happy to look the other way regarding the lawfulness of forcing slavery upon someone.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Lance clutched at the side of his chair, gulping hard as the response indicated a much more dire situation then he had initially expected, feeling at his purse, hoping that it’d be enough. Thinking back on the years that had passed.

  Over the years they had grown rapidly as a gang, the 6 core members having grown into young adults becoming the head of their own gang operations. The cavern has remained as their hidden base but is still only known to the integral members of the gang and had grown to be heavily outfitted with a variety of wooden structures for privacy other the years.

  Speaking of time passed, a total of 10 years has passed making Lance 18 years old, growing into a young man and having continued the practice of combat as well as physical exercise he has grown into a well-built physique and making them all fairly adept when it comes to a fight. Lance himself was 6’1 now and cast a domineering figure to most in this world, especially in the slums where malnutrition is rampant, few growing to their full height.

  There is not one part of the slums that isn’t covered by his animals now with a wide variety of birds, rats and mice having taken over. The Half Hands are a problem of the past, after Lance had taken them all out with an outfit of dogs and birds that annihilated the hide out of the Half Hands, allowing Lance to satisfy his urge for vengeance regarding Jack, as well as open the door for expansion regarding his gang, of which Lance now employs many street urchins.

  Each of the gang have taken up roles that they fill:

  Jace – Combat and animal husbandry

  Blake – Law enforcers (Gang rules)

  Ester – Magic and research

  Fad – Business and resource

  Astrid - Assassinations and information

  Cane – Science and research

  Lance had outfitted them with a variety of books for study, though said books were very basic and so not particularly helpful, though he would try to shore up this gap with his own thoughts to get them on the right track. As such over the years they had grown each of these departments significantly with Lances support and seemingly endless supplies.

  A fleeting smile crossed his face as his thoughts refocused at the task at hand. The price has grown to 4 gold coins in no time as the Auctioneer was inundated with raised paddles, only mellowing out at 9 gold coins, though it wasn’t till 15 gold coins when Lance finally made his move. With the 22 gold coins in his possession, he truly hoped that it’d be enough, though if there was an overzealous noble or mage that would make it difficult.

  Luck, at least this time was on Lance’s side and at 19 gold coins he had successfully bought Alice, though the fear in her eyes not knowing who had bought her was ever apparent. The first phase of the plan was completed and now was the next part.

  As the auction started to close, Lance collected his purchased ‘prize’ and left. She was undoubtedly confused and very scared, being taken by a weird man in a mask as a number of birds and rats that had infiltrated the estate in order to ensure the smooth extraction of Alice began discreetly encircling the area.

  After recovering Alice Lance hurried along, covering her with a hooded cape as they made their way through the gardens of the estate passing by elaborate fountains, hedgerows and statues navigating his way past servants and guards before at last breaking free from the estate’s territory, his eyes darting in every which way direction.

  The team converged towards Lance as they made it out through the gate all nodding to each other as difficult part commenced. Now was the hard part, they had been followed and by a number of different parties at that, each maintaining distance whilst in the estate and will no doubt be emboldened to take a shot now that they are out of the estate, without the watchful eyes of the staff of the Wishmaster.

  The plan was simple, to make it to the slums and to lose them in the maze-like structures. They ran at full speed, Lance carrying Alice who struggled in his arms. Other than the inner circle that joined him, an array of animals also ran along, namely 6 huskies and 8 Pitbull terriers making up the brunt of the force. They painted a very odd picture, running through the clean streets of Eruden past a variety of shops and peoples towards the slums, their pursuers keeping a distance biding their time for the most opportune moment to strike. Like this they made it to the slums with relative ease as the morning sun rose over the horizon.

  “Move!” Lance called out. Now is most likely when they can expect an attack.

  A dagger slammed into the rotten wood of a shack sinking within.

  It had begun. The hidden pursuers attacked in a blitz of fury, their patience tested too much, they had no desire to stay in the slums longer than necessary. The ensuing pandemonium was immense as birds of varying species dive bombed the hooded assailants.

  “Shit! Fucking bird! Don’t lose them!”

  Winding past another corner, a lithe lanky gentleman had attempted to cut Lance off, swinging a sword at his neck but just as he enacted his swing a maw clamped on his swinging sword arm causing a wail to ensue as another overgrown husky slammed into his torso causing him to fall back.

  Lance moved, the aim wasn’t to win but to lose them, they had little chance of winning as numerous separate groups wanted the girl.

  Rats billowed out of the buildings as screams followed from both the pursuers and the confused residents. Bodies dropped as Pitbulls mauled any that got in their way, the huskies skipping through the chaos to body anyone that would dare approach the master. Shacks were smashed and as dogs were thrown into them, men screamed as they lost their footing only to find a swarm of rats enveloping them like a tsunami.

  Lance carried on with the gang, losing their pursuers with relative ease as his beasts went to war with them. Before long they managed to make it back, taking care as they bounded down the rock path, and only breathing a sigh of relief when making it into the Cavern, with a number of animals finding their attention roused as they raised their heads to the approaching Master and co. No doubt many guards will have converged on the battle zone at this point and finished off the feral animals, attempting to give their rudimentary first aid to those injured, no alchemical potions nor mages would be used to heal them.

  Taking off her mask, Alice’s eyes had tears that streamed down her face, her blurred vision not being able to discern that the man who had just taken off his mask in front of her was her friend.

  “Alice” His voice broke through the hysteria.

  “Lance” diving into his arms she smothered her snotty nose into his shirt and cried ever more.

  “It’s alright your home”.