"Faster, Emil!" The Duke ordered to Emil, his aide.
"Yes, Sir!" Emil answered.
Karl, the Duke of Juna, couldn't believe the news when his scouts brought him the information. His own mother had been captured and sold as a slave; now he was racing to the auction.
Not to save his mother.
To take revenge. It was his mother who abandoned him when he was just three; he was sold to a bandit camp, trained to be a ruthless killer. It was not until King Frederick's squires stormed the camp that he was freed. Now he was a powerful knight, adept in the arcane arts. After routing numerous orcish raids and undead assaults, and winning a decisive victory at Juna that turned the tide of the war, he was elevated to nobility.
The 24-year old Duke arrived on time. The commonfolk were enthusiastic about the auction; a young slave's price (about 400-600 silver) was worth three years' a farmer's income, but an older slave could be sold for cheaper.
"100 silver!" one of the men offered.
"150 silver!"
"175 silver!"
"5000 silver!" the Duke roared.
Everyone was stunned and silenced, including the black-haired woman sold. 5000 silver pieces was a high price; for that much money one could purchase a minor noble slave. Furthermore, to think that the Duke of Juna, an accomplished noble, a mage considered among the top ten in the entire continent, not just the realm, would come in person to a backwater slave auction was ludicrous.
Obviously, nobody could, or would for that matter, top the Duke's offer. "Regina Wilter, sold for 5000 pieces of silver to Sir Karl Kray, Duke of Juna," declared the auctioneer with a shaky voice.
As his squires escorted his newly acquired slave to one of his two carriages, the Duke turned to Emil. "What is her crime?" Per the laws of all civilised nations (the human Kingdom of Calva, the elven Kingdom of Wain, and the various human and elven settlements across the continent), one could only become a slave if they commited a crime; a serious one. Of course, should one move to the south, where the orcish tribes and necromancers resided, the laws did not apply. Nonetheless, ever since the orcs and the undead were defeated four years ago in the Third Great War, no man or elf dared approach those lands. The largest threat for peace and stability was rebellions by local nobles, as well as bandits.
"Banditry, Sir," the man with brown, curly hair answered. "She leads a bandit unit of twenty men and has managed to raze one of Calva's village to the ground."
"I see."
The village elder approached the Duke. The old man bowed sharply. "I welcome the Duke of Juna to our humble village."
"I appreciate the warm welcome," the tall Duke answered with a smile. "Is there anything to report, Elder?"
"Ah, the usual banditry, Your Grace," the elder rejoined. "Nothing our local militia could not handle. Although...." The elder stopped for a while.
"What is it, Elder?"
"I am not sure if this is noteworthy, Sir, but sometimes, we are also attacked by a few orcs or animated skeletons."
The Duke's eyes jolted out. "That is certainly a reason for worry," he said. "I will dispatch a few troops from my keep. They should be able to trace them. I suspect a rogue orc band or a lone necromancer."
"That would be most pleasant, Your Grace."
The Duke set out from the village back to his manor. "Emil, order a group of twenty men to move to the village. Track the bandits, undead, and orcs."
"Understood, Sir."
As their chariot moved across the Duke's realm, the Sun set. His first chariot that carried his slave had arrived. As night fell and his chariot neared the keep, the Duke ordered his charioteer to stop. "Halt!"
Out of nowhere, the Duke and his companions were attacked by arrows. The Duke reached for his charioteer, pulling him inside. "Stay inside," he ordered.
"Your Grace! It's dangerous! Let us handle this!" one of his squires cried out, brandishing his sword. The Duke paid no heed and emerged out of the carriage. Almost immediately, arrows swarmed him. He conjured a shield of ice, parrying the arrows.
He fired a powerful fireball at some surrounding trees. The assailants were felled. His squires checked while he and his companions returned to the manor. Such assassination attempts often happened; although, as the Duke built his reputation, they became rare.
The manor's servants scrambled to prepare a bath for the Duke. "It's been four years," the Duke mumbled in his hot tub, "no, no. It must be a single necromancer. No way the Necro-Orcish alliance could rebuild itself."
"Excuse us, Master. May we help you?" The Duke had over five hundred slaves; some he purchased, most he acquired as gifts or spoils. He usually gifted his male slaves to other nobles to curry favours or sold them for cold, hard cash; he does keep a few around. Meanwhile, his female slaves were worked in brothels he owned or given to his soldiers or contacts. He did personally make use of some of them before handing them over to the brothels or to the soldiers.
However, there were two cherished slaves, exclusive for his use. One was an elven high priestess who supported the undead, Jessica: a blonde, slender slave with fair skin, a trait of elvenkind. She was given by the Elven King four years ago, after the War ended. The other one was Isabelle, a member of the royal family who rebelled two years ago, striking a pact with a necromancer that rendered her immortal. She was dark skinned with auburn hair; as a warrior, she had a bulky body yet rather small breasts. After weeks of whipping, torturing, and humiliating, their resistance broke. As with all slaves, they wore a collar and a tattoo. Their tattoo was made with rare gold ink, shaped like the Duke of Juna's family crest.
"What service do you desire of us, Master?" Jessica asked while rubbing the Duke's shoulders. Isabelle washed his feet.
"Just wash me clean," he ordered. "There's a new slave I want to use today."
"Ooo!" both Isabelle and Jessica gasped.
"Who is it, Master? Which noble?" Isabelle asked enthusiastically.
"She's not a noble," he said.
"She must be very pretty," Jessica said.
"Decent," he said. "But I have a vendetta against her."
The slaves nodded. "May we watch, Master?" Isabelle asked.
"Not this time," he said. He rose from his bath.
The Duke wore his coat and headed to the dungeon. "Have you prepared her?" the Duke of Juna asked his slaver. She, alongside her hired slavers, was the one who trained almost all of the Duke's slaves save the ones reserved for him.
"Yes, Your Grace, I have."
Karl entered the dungeon cell. His mother was tied to the ceiling. Having given birth to multiple children, she was rather old; perhaps 46 or 47. He walked around. Regina looked at the floor.
"If you're going to rape me, just do it," she said, resigning her fate.
"Look at me," the Duke said. Reluctantly, Regina did so.
"Do you recognize me?" the Duke asked.
"Karl Kray, Duke of Juna."
"So you don't recognize me," the Duke said. "You had a son whom you sold to bandits when he was three years old."
"How-" Then Regina realized it. The Duke smiled.
"Son!" she squealed, a glimmer of hope returning to her eyes.
That hope was vanquished immediately when the Duke slapped her. "So now I'm your son, huh? I guess I wasn't when I was three."
"No, wait!"