The procurer scowled, but glanced at the full packet of silver coins, and said, "Aye, understood, sir. What be the place to deliver him to?"<br/><br/>"Kiri?" Karim asked softly. "Is it really you?"<br/><br/>"Step down, boy," the procurer told Karim, obviously unwilling to bark at this very important slave. "I'll finish the auction and then outfit you."<br/><br/>Karim obeyed, staring at Kiri, searching his face for the boy he knew. Kiri's life, it seemed, had gone in a different direction than Karim's.<br/><br/>The procurer sold off the rest of the slaves briskly, the slavers eyeing Karim, weighing him up. Karim's nerves itched.<br/><br/>As soon as the slaves were paid for, the procurer stepped down and took Karim by the shoulder, leading him into town. A moment later, he let him go, obviously unwilling to show force to a slave who could garner fifty silver coins.<br/><br/>The procurer used the silver to buy Karim clothes like he'd never worn before, and good sturdy boots fitted to his feet, a bizarre luxury for Karim. He brought him to the public bathhouse and paid for his time there. The hot water from the hot spring chased the chill from his bones. It was luxurious and amazing. Karim couldn't remember ever bathing in hot water. The soaps and oils cleaned generations of dirt from his skin, but there was still some ground into his callouses on his feet and his hands he couldn't wash off, though he tried.<br/><br/>Karim put on the clothes, finer than anything he had ever worn before. The boots were strange and Karim walked funny in them, having rarely worn shoes before.<br/><br/>Finally, Karim was taken to a tavern and fed fine game pie, hearty with gravy and thick with meat and vegetables. Though Karim knew he could have cooked it better, it was still so good.<br/><br/>He was delivered to the fine address and gawked at it openly. The procurer unfolded the bill of Karim's sale, prepared to explain its contents to him. When Kiri came, the procurer launched into a description of the contract.<br/><br/>At the end, he said, "This slave is a class B danger for attacking his master, and so is legally disallowed from being freed, either in your will or before it. However, any children he has may be freed. The law requires I explain this to you. Well, sign here, then, your grace," he said, and brandished the paper.