70 Vhalar, 719
Location: Melrathian Wilds
With all the mages and criminals taken care of, Abra had the choice of returning to the Syns’ Tower with his teammate. It would have been a much more convenient trip for him to go through a rupturing portal but he would take a different route. He had recently met a slaver who was in the area and he was eager to see if there was some money to be made.
“I hope it’s easier to track down someone than it looks.” Abra sat by a tree and focused on the frequency of the slaver that he memorized previously. He could tell that he was north west so that’s where Abra was going to go. He knew these forests decently well by now with all the border patrols he had been going through. Based on the slaver’s position, Abra knew exactly which trail he must have taken. It wasn’t like there were many options when shepharding that many people around.
Abra caught up within a few breaks. The procession of slaves was clearly visible along with hundreds of footsteps that dug into the snowy ground. The mercenaries responsible for keeping them safe actually spotted Abra before he spotted them. They scared him with a warning shot from a crossbow.
“Slow down or go around!” the called to him. They were made up of Avriel for the most part so it was no wonder they were able to spot him.
Abra stopped abruptly then cupped his mouth so his words could be heard, “I’m the Syns mage, from before remember? I wanted a word with your leader!”
The avriel were far enough away that Abra couldn’t make out their words when they talked to each other. They beckoned for him to come though so he jogged and blinked to catch up. He found the leader nibbling on some bread and riding on a wooden throne that was being carried around by the burlier slaves. “All that just so he doesn’t have to walk,” Abra thought with disdain. Somehow this seemed wrong even though he regularly exploited others for his own gain.
“Yuldin,” Abra called. The cruel gaze of the Bijaq set on Abra’s crackling form then turned calm when he recognized Abra.
“What has brought our paths to cross again Abra?” Unlike last time he didn’t stop his procession of slaves. “Please tell me there is no more danger for us to bear in these cold times.” He seemed to deliberate offering Abra some of his bread but he decided against it. He owed nothing to this mage and he was here legally.
“I’m here as a customer, not a Ragnari.” He huffed while jogging next to the throne. The speed at which these strong men and women could carry the throne and navigate in the snow was ridiculously fast. These were the ones that were bred to perfection, those that Yuldin wouldn’t sell to anyone. Abra didn’t know it, but they were more capable than the mercenaries in combat and would defend their master to the death.
“The floor is yours then. Which one interests you enough to approach me in the Wilds?” Yuldin had a gleam in his eyes that Abra recognized. It was the expectation that he was going to make a lot of money on a desperate customer.
Abra showed the backs of his hands which revealed a set of coins. They were proof that he was marked by Chamadarst. He quickly slipped his gloves back on then said, “as you can see, I am a businessman too. I’d like to exchange my services as a mage in exchange for some slaves. I noticed that a number of them are not quite there mentally and I would like to procure them for research purposes.”
“Not mentally there? I don’t follow.”
“I am an Empath. I don’t typically make business of prying into the innocent’s minds but while searching for the criminal from before I grazed over a few of your slaves. If I were to put a word to what I saw, I would say they were damaged in a way I’d never seen before. I think I could cure them and learning how to do that would be an invaluable skill.”
“You insult me Empath. You come here to tell me that some of my slaves have mental damage with no tangible proof. Still, that kind of rumor can be bad for business… I suggest you watch your words or else I may have reason to put a bounty on your head.” Yuldin sounded as calm as ever but his expression somehow got more sinister. “What would you have to offer me, even if I humored you with a deal?”
If it weren’t for his ability to get out of there whenever he wanted, Abra would have been frightened. Only a complete idiot would attack him anyways when an allied Attuner wasn’t too far away. “I didn’t mean any disrespect and I uphold the neutrality that Chamadarst preaches. I would have nothing to gain from besmirching the quality of your slaves. Likewise I would expect that you have nothing to gain by advertising my proposition. I will try to heal as many as I am able while I’m here. If I can’t make things better then we part ways again. If I succeed, then you reward me appropriately.”
“And if you make things worse?” Yuldin was able to spot the loophole in the deal instantly.
Abra smiled confidently, “I wouldn’t be here if I thought it would make things worse.”
“Fine, but you sit here in front of me to work your magic.” Abra felt the anger of the slaves that were carrying their master. Now they would have to bear the weight of two more people, or more. “Bring me an Unwanted.” Avriel drug a frail slave and placed him on the platform next to the master. They lifted Abra up, a little gentler than the slave. Yuldin pulled out a whip and gave the slave a good lashing. “Indiscriminate punishment is key. It makes them know that relaxation doesn’t come without a cost. Now be quick.”
“Of course,” Abra said. He entered the slave’s tangle and saw that it wasn’t damaged like the one he had seen before. He didn’t need to tell the master that though. The tangle was full of depression linked emotions but it was still in tact and functional. He could fix this by cutting away the negative emotions and stimulating positive ones. The slave slowly started to look more relaxed and neutral. It was a stark contrast from the look he had before.
“You’ve cured him?” Yuldin asked.
“No, this is temporary. It won’t last any longer than my presence here. I think I can make a permanent improvement but it will take time.”
“This bores me. Let me know when you have done then.” Yuldin tilted his head to the side and started fake snoring.
Abra dove into the tangle again and dug deep within it. He was searching for the underlying emotions and sources of emotions that he could take away so that they would take time to reform. It was hard to pick which ones to remove when there was so much to work with. Sadness was the most prominent emotion. Abra used Tapestry almost naturally to see that he mourned over the loss of his family and his status as a slave. He grabbed as much of is at he could and severed the threads one at a time. He tied them together into a powerful thread of sadness and loomed it within his own tangle after knotting his sadness appropriately.
Afterwards, Abra put triggers into the tangle that would reward walking with his fellow slaves and doing labor. The first time the slave did any of these actions he would be stimulated with happiness. The number of triggers Abra put in was extensive and tiring to come up with, though it seemed to do the trick.
After all that, the slave didn’t have a bit of sadness in his expression. He would have even looked happy if Abra really cared to stimulate his emotions. “I’ve removed the powerful sadness within him. It’s no permanent fix but it should be beneficial until he returns to his previous state of depression.” Abra didn’t know what else he could do, since Empathy was a temporary magic by nature.
“No permanent fix… not so useful. How long you think it last? If it last enough to make sale, that useful.” Yuldin called Avriel to put the slave on the ground beside them to observe. The slave walked among his own and he actually started smiling because of Abra’s triggered reward. His life was somehow seemed a little less shitty for now. “How long it last?” he asked again.
“It’s hard to say, I’ve never done this before. I have caused permanent damage before, but I have never had reason to cause permanent healing. The only way to find out is the wait and see. Where are you headed? It might not be a bad idea to try healing some here and checking up on you at your destination. Then if they need more tuning then I can repeat the process.”
“Noatun is our first destination. I will take you up on your offer. Do your magic and know that I will not give payment until my sale. Let’s discuss a price tomorrow. No point in more magic until we see if it will even last one day. You walk now. You stay with us in camp if you want. Safe with me.”
"Abra", "NPC"
