The market was full as usual of this time of day. Ladies were leaving with their purchases in tow, bound and chained together so they couldn't excape, or being pulled in small trolleys if they were snuff slaves who no longer had their limbs. There were some fresh cries of agony as some sex-slaves underwent their full body branding. One young, snivelling teenager was being prepped, her body placed into an ornate metal branding cage. As the red hot steel pressed against her skin, she howled like a wounded hellhound. It sizzled for a moment, then they ran cold water to cool the red pattern of burns that covered her entire person and marked her as property. She was one of the lucky ones, she still had her arms and legs, so that meant she was a sex slave... It was a hard life, but it didn't preclude her from one day having children, if she served well. Those designated as snuff slaves, on the other hand, were going to endure short painful existences. Genkysou society had assessed their worth as having nothing more than sexual entertainment. They could be used for any purpose their new owners saw fit, so long as they were eventually terminated. The Slave trainers at the market were exceptionally talented, and by the time a slave was sold, she would have already accepted her place in the world, and follow any order given.<br/><br/>Lyra clutched her arm tighter. It was beginning to go numb already, and the bruising ached terribly... more blood began to well out of the wound as it opened wider from all her exercise. She probably should have wrapped something around it earlier, or done something to alieviate it getting worse. She'd seen what they did to scouts who could no longer fight... and it was ... ghastly. She didn't want to lose the arm like her former friend Hanna had. The screams still haunted Lyra's nightmares.<br/><br/>Pushing past the Markets and the Tavern, Lyra finally arrives at her destination - The Scout Barracks and headquarters. It's an imposing fortress of heavy tree logs. There are few windows, and all of them have shutters. The entrance is a sturdy door, open at the moment, but guarded by the elite Scout Warriors. Off to the side is the City Guard training center and the Scout school. The Scout commander should be somewhere inside the complex, as well as bedding for sleep, and Lyra's bunk and personal item trunk (Empty of course - Lyra hasn't accumulated anything yet)... good for storing anything she would need on her adventures.<br/><br/>At the end of the lane was a barricaded off section of the city - with no entryways in or out... On the barricades were notices that just said Quarantine area. Lyra hadn't been informed what was going on in there... but it probably wasn't good if the brass hadn't seen fit to inform a private like her.<br/><br/>Her stomach growled, letting her know that she was still famished. It was also getting quite chilly, as the water still beading her skin was beginning to evaporate. It was now early afternoon, and the scout barracks was beginning to empty of people on their way out to grab lunch from the local hawkers. Blue shoulderpads filed out of the barracks in streams, as the girls wearing them chatted about their latest trip outside the walls of Genkysou.