A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Human Solos =&gt; Topic started by: Subtle Trouble on 11-04-2010, 04:01:53</h2>
		<dl id="posts">
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 04:01:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				A soft groan escaped the young woman's bruised throat as she lay in the red sand of her cage, panting and choking on the dust. The red powder settled over her entire form, ruddying her fair complexion, staining her hair. Her wide green eyes were full of grit, but that was he least of her worries. Purple bruises blossomed across her body, both old and new. It was another day. Another lot of <em>men</em> would walk through the pavilion, staring at the unfortunates chained, caged... for sale. <em>How disgusting...</em> the thought snaked through her mind. Men buying women, humans. Those with the power to continue the species. Mothers, sisters and daughters. <em>Disgusting</em><br><br>The long corn silk hair webbed across her body, barely concealing what the rags she was left with did not. She had been with the slavemongers for three weeks, now. It was hard for her to do as they told, but her body thanked her for it. She had fewer new bruises than older ones, today. She grit her teeth and kept her head down. But there was no disguising the hate behind her eyes.&nbsp; Every motion was angry, every gesture too quickly half.<br><br>"Yer nae sellin'" The smelliest one growled at her from outside the bars, crouching down, and reaching through to grab her fine hair. "Mebbe I sh'd cut these purty hair..." His voice was gruff and guttural. She glared at him, but said nothing. Anything she had to say would be a blow to the face. She snatched her long locks away, and quickly braided them, tying a knot in the fine strands to keep them away from her pointed ears.<br><br>The heavy iron collar around her neck dug into her shoulders as she braided, and she sat up, licking her cracked lips, tasting copper and dirt, as the man sauntered away, to open the flaps of the pavilion. Time to try and not get sold. It would be worse to be sold. They needed her virginity as a selling point. She spat in the dirt at that thought, and settled against the back bars of the cage.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 04:22:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				A man walked through the dirt filled desert marketplace, he was dressed from head to toe in tainted, beaten, and battered armor. He was in the market for one reason, to replace a dead horse, and make his way out of that God-forsaken desert. As he walked through he looked at all of the slaves, they were depressed, tired, and sweaty. This wasn't the best place to buy, that was a well known fact. The closest he had come to owning a slave was a squire, appointed by his king, and that was hardly the same.<br><br>The slaves here were divided into two sections, on the north side of the road were working slaves, land drivers, gladiators, and involuntary soldiers. Most of them would die slaves, and die soon. On the southern roadside were sex slaves, all woman. they were often beaten, degraded, and humiliated by owners and potential buyers. Very few were lucky enough to remain unharmed in a single day.<br><br>The desert sun beat down, and the crusader admitted to himself, that after battle, he may likely have just as many damages as any particular slave. You always prayed to God before going to battle, soldiers had a sense of honor and faith, for soldiers at war were the only other beings on the face of the planet that had a lower mortality rate than slaves. It was the price of freedom in many of their eyes, for only the most lucky were born into power.<br><br>The generals were given a handful of slaves, sex slaves to allow soldiers to use when morale was low. If an enemy were to capture a sex slave, they would be treated in the worst way possible, and that's what Ozrick saw in her when she realized that she was an elf.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 10:48:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Milet spent her morning glaring daggers at the men who sauntered by, exclaiming at her large almond shaped eyes, and pointed ears. She was only half-elf, really. She just showed it more than her human side. She'd already earned a few cuffs for hissing at one worm who got too close to buying her. Her fine white brows nearly touched beneath the dust that covered her, and sweat tracked lines through it on her back, until the dust layer became mud. Her stomach jerked every time a man wandered through with a drink, or some food in his hand. She would get a thin sheet of bread in the evening, and a half goblet of wine. If she was lucky a pinch of salt. If she was luckier the salt would come before the water.<br><br>How had she become this? Why had she left the elven city she had been born in? She knew perfectly well, why. Because all of her friends looked half her age and acted thrice it. Though she looked elven, Milet's life span was closer to that of a human. But she had been treated civilly, and she'd had Mother. Father had died recently after she was born. It had taken so long for her Mother and him to conceive. That was why she was allowed to stay and learn Elven life - In a city of three thousand elves, perhaps seven children were born in a year. Partially because many Elven women miscarried. Partially because many women were afraid to try. Elven hearts were like deep rivers, calm on the surface, but racing far beneath. 2000 years is an awfully long time to mourn for an unborn child.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 16:59:59</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He walked up to her cage, and looked into her eyes, as if piercing into the very depths of her soul, for a moment considering her perspective of things. He scanned her up and down, her bruise covered body sickened him. As he walked closer, he took out all of his money, a small amount, not nearly enough for horse and a slave, an exotic one none the less. He looked down the road, to where the stables were. The horses were being fed apples and petted as potential buyers examined their physical health and strength. The owners who bought them would treat them respectfully, as a knight and a horse rely heavily on each other, for their lives.<br><br>For this girl, the story was not the same, when the worst would come to happen, she was currency. Used for bartering one's way out of a painful death or ruthless and merciless beating. He remembered being offered a slave once in exchange for a man's life. The life this girl would receive would be unfair, and cruel. He looked at the girl again, if he was going to make this trade, he would have a very long return home.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 18:57:49</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Milet glared into the eyes at the new man who squatted before her cage, baring her teeth at him, fingernails digging into her palms. She could feel his eyes sliding over every inch of her skin, noted how he glanced back at the horses. <em>Interesting dilemma, get transportation, or a guaranteed fuck.</em> She couldn't see much of him beneath his armour, and the rest was concealed by disgust at the man, looking her over like she was an object to buy. <br><br>She refused to cower back, though her body screamed from weakness and terror. Every day was the same. Every day she dreaded the opening of the cage, a chain fastened to he locked collar, being dragged out, screaming. Being raped over, and over, and over until she died, being traded. She met the man's eyes directly, held herself straight and proud, disdain evident in every line of her body. She couldn't see the concern behind his eyes, she couldn't see anything but what she had been shown constantly since she had been kidnapped.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 19:33:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Ozrick motioned over her owner, he wasn't a very pleasurable man to look at, or listen to. He tried to act normally, so as not to offend the man. "How much for this girl?" he asked him. He was hoping that he could buy her cheap, and planned on bartering low using her bruises and attitude as an excuse for a lower price. He looked back over at the horses and thought about the journey back through the desert, and was conflicted again.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 20:13:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The man lumbered over, his stench preceding him. Milet gagged in her cage. "Fifty gold." He replied simply, quoting an outrageous price, voice guttural. He was missing an eye, and was thoroughly caked with dirt, sweat and whatever else he had happened upon in the year since he had bathed. He settled into his bulk as he came to a stop before the knight, shifting and grunting with the effort of moving his enormous self.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 20:23:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well sir, I don't have quite that much, and she definitely is not worth 50 gold, I'll pay 15," he said, hiding his disgust. He had about 40 gold coins on him, mostly what he had picked up in the battlefield from dead soldiers foolish enough to bring money into a battle. He sped out a few coins on the table, hoping that the greedy man could be tempted to make a hasty deal by the shining coins. He walked closer to the cage, seeing if he could get the girl to act hostilely towards him, in order to argue for a lower price. when he got there he even made the move to lean against her cage and attempt to prod her with his fingers.<br><br>(;D)
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 20:54:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Milet slapped at the man's wrist as he poked his arm between the cages, elven curses spewing from her mouth as she stood her ground, her face an ugly mask of disdain. How <em>dare</em> he? <br>"Not worth..." The merchant sputtered with indignation. "I'll have you know she's elf! Easily worth fifty! Do not insult me or this market!" He hissed, eyes glinting, not making a move to lower the price. He knew she was worth thirty-five at best. She was only half-elf if his guess was correct, and she had a wicked tongue on her. But she was lean, beautiful, and skilled. When they'd taken her, they'd stolen her things. She had parchment, ink, a flute, dagger, bow, and a number of other items belying talent. They had fetched him a pretty penny. He'd managed to annex another girl for himself with what he had given to the market Owner.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 21:07:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The knight grabbed the man by the collar, "Are you trying to swindle me?" he asked, "This girl is only half elf." He didn't know this for sure, but he had studied a lot about elven society as he found a particular interest in it himself. The chances that a full elf would take slavery over death were slim to none, so there was a good chance that she wasn't a full elf. Plus, if this merchant knew anything, he'd know that pure elves would sell for hundreds as slaves to the wealthiest among men. Any other merchant would have quickly traded for this girl at such a price, so he must be a cheapskate.<br><br>"I'll pay 20," Ozrick said, "this girl is going to be difficult to control, and is also bruised and therefore less valuable." He was prepared to go higher if it was necessary, but wanted to keep as much leftover as possible for food and other supplies.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 21:13:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Forty" He growled to the man, settling his weight back to break his hold, piggy eyes narrowing into a squint. "You trying to starve my family?" He countered. "So she's bruised, they heal, and she learns. We left her untrained so you can get her exactly how you want her." He countered. "She would make a fine concubine, she can play, write, teach. Forty."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 21:30:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"30," He said, "take it or leave it." He looked at the man with a serious face, "There's no way she's going to sell to anyone else, not when people have the option of any other slave here." He looked over at the girl, and smiled.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 21:34:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"35." He replied, jaw set. "Not a penny less. I could sell her." <br><br>Milet glared at him, baring her teeth. <em>No, no!</em> She couldn't be bought! She would kill herself before she let him touch her. She could feel the prick of tears behind her eyes at the thought of leaving with this man. She knew full well what he would do. Her soul would be dead within weeks, unless she took her body first. Her thin arms hugged her body, and she pulled her knees up to her chest. Her head bent over them. He was selling her. he was being bought. How long would he wait to rape her? Where would he put her? Would he feed her? Not well. <em>Father, please... Help me...</em> She prayed desperately.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 21:39:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				It was way more than he had bargained for, but his mind was set, "35..." he said slowly, and threw the last few coins on the table, "I need her hands bound for the trip home." He looked at her and could sense the distress, it was perfectly obvious that she was a virgin. He definitely wanted his money's worth, but the whole point was to take her into a better world. He wanted her, but decided that he should at least giver a day's worth of peace when he got home.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 22:03:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"No!" The scream tore from her throat as the man snatched up the coins, and pulled a length of leather from his belt. A boy opened the cage, and he reached in for her collar. Hands curled into claws, she struck at his wrist, fighting, biting, clawing. A sharp blow to the cheekbone stunned her, and he dragged her out by the collar, looping the leather tightly around her wrists, before tying the end of a leash to her collar. <br><br>"Git up." He spat at her, and dragged the dizzied woman to her feet, barely holding her long enough to put her feet under her before dropping her and tossing the leash to her new owner. <br>"She's yours, now git out."<br><br>She stood, shaking, head hanging, and ears ringing. <em>no... no... nononononononononono</em> She was bought. She belonged to a filthy warrior in rusted armour. Her cheek smarted, and she sniffed, biting her tongue to hold back her tears. Gone was the pride, one was the strength. She was scared witless, and she would fight tooth and nail to death before she let the pig force himself on her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 22:17:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The knight glared at her previous owner. He then took hold of the girl's hand bindings and pushed her forward. "Walk forward," he told her, "and enjoy your first steps back into the world from that cage... we've got a long trip ahead of us." He stopped at an armorer, and sold off most of his battered gear to lighten his load, he kept his linen clothes, and his sword. He kept a hold of her, putting his arm all of the way around her binds, to keep a tight grip on her, knowing she would struggle.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 22:35:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Milet glared at the man, and preceded him, walking where directed, dragging her bare feet over the scalding sand, and swallowing thickly. Glaring at his back, she followed him through the marketplace, waiting as he sold the old armour. Her mind worked quickly. She knew how to survive in the desert. She's learned that twenty years ago with her other year-mates. They'd gone out with Nandi and lived in the desert for a moon-cycle, with nothing but the clothing on their backs. If he loosened his hold, she could run over the slippery sand dunes. It would not be easy, especially with the leather thong around her wrists. The bastard had tied her with god knew how many knots and each of them more complicated than the last.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>11-04-2010, 22:44:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"We ought to get you some loser clothing, something easier to walk around in, and survive in," he said to her, "I'd like to let you go, honestly. The only reason I bought you was because you reminded me of a war slave. I could only imagine how terrible the circumstances of them are, and I didn't like the way that disgusting wretch treated you." He walked into clothing merchant's store. "You cost me nearly everything I had, so I can't bring myself to just let you go free. I expect something back for my money, not now, it can wait."<br><br>He looked through some clothes and picked an outfit out to buy for her. It was a simple outfit, a plain white linen robe, and cheap. "Tell me, how did you come to end up in that cage?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 00:21:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She spat a curse at him in elven. "Do not lie to me. I know why you bought me, and I know what you expect." She near-hissed at him, her voice holding an exotic lilt. Elven was obviously her mother tongue. "Do not dare pretend you care one inch for me." She followed him into the clothing store, and stood silently as he chose a white robe. It would not be much protection from the sun, and the linen would scratch at her sunburns, but it would be better than the crude rags that barely covered anything. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 00:58:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He looked at her sternly and cupped her chin to close her mouth, "Stop... yelling at me... and listen up." He was annoyed by her outburst, and random cursing, she was making him regret his earlier decision. "I am one hundred percent certain that your former master have beaten you to a pulp for all of things you have said in the past five minutes, so count your fucking blessings before you give me a good reason to fulfill all of your fears," he finished, staying in a low but frustrated tone. He took her behind a building out of sight from the market crowd, and continued, "I'm going to untie you, I want you to change into this. No it's not wonderful, but I spent nearly a fortune buying you, I'm not going to spent a ton of money more dressing you in clothes better than the one's I'm wearing. Got it?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 01:25:52</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Milet glared at him, fighting a snarl as he grabbed her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his. Her muscles tense, she waited for a blow that never landed. She barely restrained her jaw from dropping at his conclusion, and followed him, dumbfoundedly, out of the shop. Why hadn't he hit her? She stared at him, and nodded slightly in acknowledgement. Suspiciously, she watched him, and stood still. She couldn't run. Not yet. People had seen her with her new owner, and she could not run away in civilization with the blasted collar on. She would be recognized as a slave and captured. She would have to wait until they were alone to spirit herself off.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 01:39:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He unbound her hands and handed her the robe, he scanned her body as she dressed. The girl was very strong, or at least she looked like she was strong before her time in servitude. She had curves in her skin that suggested malnourished muscles. She had more scars than he had thought, these were not simply beatings either, they were well scarred over, and longer than any whip's blade, and two fine to be abrasions or tears. It was perfectly clear to him that she had seen battle before, the merchant that sold her wasn't lying about all of the weapons he took. In addition to all of that he saw a rather painful looking sunburn. "How long have you been out in the sun?" he asked her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 01:46:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She rubbed her wrist silently as he unbound her, chafing life back into her hands, and took the robe from him. She turned her back to him, and released the bindings from around her breasts. Her back was riddled with welts from a whip, and a few knife scars hugged her rib cage and upper arms. She slid the robe over her shoulders, wincing both at the grit instantly staining the white linen, and the scratch against the peeling sunburn. She turned back to see him staring, and frowned, though she said nothing. She reached up to undo her braid, allowing her near-white hair to settle about her shoulders. "Three weeks in the tent, two in the desert." She replied shortly, wrapping the binding around her waist.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 01:59:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"My God," he said looking at her, "It's a 18 hour trip to get to the nearest city on foot. I don't want to waste any time, so we're leaving now." He left her hands unbound and motioned for her to walk in front to keep an eye on her. He grew more and more curious as to her life prior to enslavement, "What's your story? Before you wound up here? You look like you've seen a few battles," he questioned her. As he awaited an answer he admired her hair and elven ears.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 02:07:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She moved off as he motioned, allowing her arms to adopt the human gesture of swinging lightly at her sides as they walked, trying to un-knot the muscles in her shoulders. She paused at each intersection for a gesture as to the direction to walk in, but otherwise walked silently. At his question she shrugged, then winced, reluctant to give him any of herself. "Life is not easy where I come from." She replied simply, stopping as they reached the east gate. She looked to him for direction, feigning servitude. She doubted he would be able to take her in a fight. She'd trained in hand to hand combat for ten years before they let her touch a blade. She was never as graceful as her full-blooded counterparts, but sometimes that came in handy. She was fast, and she was able to move in ways that both elves and humans couldn't. She would be rid of him within the hour.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 02:17:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"As we walk out here, I'm going to give you one warning, try and run, and I'll tie your hands together behind your back," he told her as they marched into the desert, the sun high in the sky. He watched her carefully, where her feet were moving, if she changed her hand motions, look for anything that might hint an attack or a flee. "And I am a trained soldier, if you move to attack me, I won't hold back in defending myself," he said. As he walked behind her, he stayed somewhat close, about an arm's length away. He drank some water and then held out his container to her, "thirsty?" he asked her. He kept gazing at her figure, as he was growing increasingly attracted to her, the robes covered most of her sores and he could begin to imagine what she looked like without them.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 02:23:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She rolled her eyes at his warning, and sighed, walking forward. She would wait for the stars for navigation. They would bed down soon, and she could see better in the dark than he would be able to. As she heard the slish of water, she paused, and looked back, licking her cracked and bloodied lips. She nodded softly as he offered, licking the blood from her lips in vain.She would play dumb. She would do as he said, but as soon as he slept she would be off, and she would not look back. She didn't trust him one bit, and she doubted he would remain kind for long. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 02:30:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As they walked on the sun finally began to die down, they were about halfway there non-stop. "Alright," he said, "we're stopping here for a bit," he sat down and yawned, massaging his worn out legs. He looked at her, "take a rest," he said and then though for a few moments, "I don't think I've gotten your name, huh." He wondered how that had happened, it was assumed that since they were the only two people, names weren't necessary. He could have given her a pet name, but didn't think it appropriate. "I'm Ozrick, Oz for short, you?" he asked.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 02:40:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Milet" She replied simply, as she settled into the cool sand, and stretched. Her burn had worsened to the point where she didn't want to move her face. She would have to find some of the long cactus. Burn-balm. She bent at the waist to hug her knees, and groaned softly at the pulling of her abused skin, and her straining muscles. She hated feeling this weak, hated how she had to feign obedience. Hated how her stomach felt like it was going to collapse in upon itself. At least she wasn't as thirsty.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 02:51:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"There's a skin therapist in the city we're coming up on," he told her after hearing and watching her, "she should be able to give you something for the burns." He walked over and sat down with her. He looked at her, trying to see into her eyes like he had back in the market, trying to see her pain. After sitting there for a few moments, he held out his hand, offering her an apple he had had since before his last battle. "Apple?" he asked her, the apple was too perfect looking, it was bright red, almost pink, in color all the way around its skin. He took a drink of water, and wanted some food himself, but was still trying to prove to her that he really didn't plan on physically harming her as her former owner had.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 03:06:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She looked to him, and shook her head. "If we come upon the correct plant, I will be fine." She replied simply. She avoided his gaze, hugging her knees to her chest and looking opposite him. She could feel his gaze on her neck, and fought a shiver. She froze at his offering, and slowly turned her head, eyes narrow. She stared at the apple, mouth watering, and slowly reached towards it, forgetting her suspicion. She was so hungry. She glanced up at him once, before picking the fruit up, and inhaling it's scent. With a soft moan, she bit into the fruit, swallowing almost without chewing. She groaned and took another bite, slowing down on it, licking the skin for escaping juices as she slowly chewed, eyes closed, groaning softly as the fruit hit her empty stomach. She knew she had to slow down, or she would be ill, but she couldn't help it.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 03:20:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"In my culture, there is a legend revolving around the tree that that apple came from," he said, "The apples form it are said to never spoil, bruise, or rot, and able to last forever. Taking a bite into one would revitalize the spirit and mind." He watched her eat, "We have to start moving again, we might be able to make it there by sunrise." He stood up and looked across the desert. He took a look up at the night sky, and stretched. He walked closer to her, and pulled her up while she ate. He began walking, letting her follow instead of staying ahead.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 03:27:58</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She sighed softly, as she took another bite, chewing the flesh slowly, savouring the taste. She looked to him as he spoke, and swallowed, her tongue flicking out to gather any juices left on her lips, before taking a smaller bite. "It is delicious. My thanks." She allowed him to pull her up, and trailed behind him, eating every bit of the flesh she could, before stopping, and burying the core, taking no heed of whether he stopped or not, and pressed her hands over the apple core, whspering a few elven words of thank before standing to look to him, gauging if he was far enough off to spring in a different direction or not.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 03:36:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He turned back around, "Are ya' coming?" he said, with one hand pulling on the rope. He saw how far back she was and stayed put, seeing if she would come willingly. He looked at her and tried to watch her eyes, to see if she was considering running. He waited for her to make the first move after saying, "Milet... I invested a fairly decent amount of money in taking you out of that cage, taking you away from the hands of an abusive slave driver. I haven't done one thing to harm you, I know you're anxious to get back to your home but you won't get far. If I don't stop you, some-one will, they'll take advantage of you when you're tired, and you'll end right back where you were... it's a long way home from here."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 04:00:10</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She narrowed her eyes, and stepped towards him. Still too close. She said nothing in reply, but simply followed him. <em>I made a mistake, that is why I'm here. It would not happen again, fool.</em> She thought caustically as she followed him, reaching up to hold the heavy collar off her blistered skin. The sun's heat on it did not help her sunburn one bit. Her shoulders were tight beneath it, and her neck ached. What she wouldn't have give to be rid of it, in the forest, with her dagger and bow.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 04:13:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He let her walk ahead again, and started walking towards the city. He watched her fiddle with the collar, and suddenly realized that he didn't have the keys to it. He kept walking, "I would be more than happy to get thing off of you, but I can't, because I do not know how. I'm sure there will be a locksmith somewhere in town... Tell me if your skin stops burning, I can give you a quick massage." He was still trying to gain her trust, at least enough so that she wouldn't run away, and he was still thinking about how he was near broke after buying her. He wanted something back for his money, and she hadn't so much as thanked him for getting her out of her former master's hand. As far as he knew, she was stuck in a Stockholm's like state, preferring the devil she knew all of the time over the potential of a better life.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 04:29:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She glanced back at him, and shrugged, rolling her shoulders back. "It won't stop burning for days." She replied dryly, as she continued to move. She sighed, as they continued over the cold sand, the freezing wind chilling the to the bone, as the moon rose overhead. The steps grew monotonous, and she found herself slipping into a trance-like state. Her throat began to um softly, songs from her childhood, elven lullabies. The keys were different than human music, less cheery, but more chillingly beautiful, like the species the music belonged to.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 04:38:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"It sounds beautiful," he said as he walked up beside her, "what is it?" He looked at her as he walked, awaiting a response he looked up and down her body again. He was growing more and more anxious to see what she might look like in her own skin, what she might have acted like before slavery. As he wondered, he couldn't help but feel that she may never be that way again, and felt a sorrow for her. He held her hand, being gentle with it so as not to irritate her skin too much.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 04:46:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She jerked and looked up at him as his hand slipped around hers, and his voice penetrated her monotonous wanderings. "My mother sang it to me." She replied simply, shaking the cobwebs from her mind. She heaved a sigh, and gentry rubbed her eyes with her free hand, fatigue robbing her of pride. An apple didn't go as far as she had hoped it would. She stifled a very un-graceful yawn and looked over to him. "How does a human get the name Oz?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 04:56:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Well, my original name is Rick, but I in my adventures I had happened to spend a lot of time in a society of sun elves," he began, "they are desert elves, their skin has a reddish gleam to it, and they are typically of a more human stature. A common name for them is Ozzi, I've forgotten what it's supposed to mean but they called me that instead of my human name for the months I spent there. Ever since that I started using the name. The shortened version was given to me by a small band of travelling musicians, whom were fond of smoking a few different things."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 05:03:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"I know the sun elves!" She exclaimed, surprised. "What clan?" She asked, tipping her head to the side. That was where Nandi had come from. She frowned at him slightly, surprised. With her defences down, she was curious. If he knew the sun elves, he would know a few things about elven society, like women were equals, and that to take one without her consent was an immediate death sentence. They didn't bother with an investigation, stating that it was better to kill an innocent man than let a guilty one live.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 05:13:15</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				(hence their primarily female population and lack of bad looking men ;D XD)<br><br>What clan, it was nearly ten years ago, and he had been there for two months at best. Not like it mattered, he was there on a peacekeeping mission that failed, he was pulled out when the fighting started, and by now, the Crimson Dawn clan was so heavily damaged, that all of their members fled into other elven clans, and the rest of them fell prey to the elves dark skinned counterparts. "I don't remember the name, just that they don't exist anymore," he said softly, "their flag was a red background with a violet sunburst."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 05:18:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				(Lol, precisely)<br><br>She nodded, frowning. Nandi's flag had been different than that. She'd been with the Forest people for over fifty years, as well. She nodded softly, and lapsed into silence, fighting to hold back another yawn. Her feet began to shuffle more through the sand, and finally, she lost her footing into a stumble. Shaking her head, she blushed under the burn in shame. She was exhausted. All her life she had forced herself to mimic the grace of her mother. She never had managed, though to a human she was usually unwaveringly graceful. To an elf she was a bumbling fool.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 05:34:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The night was deep, and the town was still quite a ways away. He stopped and knelt down to her level, and sat with her. "We can wait a little while," he said to her softly, "but I'm out of water. Another day in the desert heat without water would prove a tough one for both of us." He looked at her, and could see that she felt discouraged. "You've been trained to be a warrior in your elven culture, but that doesn't help you keep moving. Elves naturally have a lot of endurance, and so training for such is typically unnecessary. You are half human, and posses no training of the mind over matter concept."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 05:46:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She stifled a yawn and looked at him, eyebrows slightly knitted together. She could barely understand him. "I know where to find water." She said softly, shaking her head hard, and pulling her hair back and knotting it. "Did the clan never teach you of the plants?" She asked, squinting at him through a slight headache. "Did they never teach you how to live out here?" She sighed, and tried to sort through what he had said. "Mind over matter? The two are not inter mixable..." She argued. "Matter is physical substance, mind is the spirit... You humans make no sense...."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 06:12:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Mind over matter is not what you think it is then," he said to her, "it's the ability to let our minds force our bodies to keep working, ignoring any pain or tire. I do remember something about plants, but not enough. Could you refresh my mind?" He held her up, trying to minimalize skin contact for her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 06:39:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She hissed in pain as he rose with her, and shook her head. "Inside certain plants there is watery pulp... Tall ones.. with spikes... what are they..." She couldn't remember the human word. With a deep breath, she took her own weight, and began to shuffle again, eyelids drooping slowly. She was unable to focus on anything far away. She was so exhausted, her bones, muscles and mind. "Little ones, with long fingers have burn-balm inside them...." She continued, trying to keep going.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 06:51:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He couldn't understand her very well, "come on," he said trying to pull her to her feet, "get up..." She seemed nearly out of it, and he had some trouble pulling up her dead weight, as he was tired herself. "Got to keep going a little longer," he said, "desert isn't a good place to pass out..." As he pulled her up, he splashed so water he had saved for emergencies on her face. He knew that if they stopped here either they would die in the heat when the sun came up, or they would be buried in sand the next time a sandstorm blew over.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 06:56:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her eyebrows furrowed, and her bottom lip pouted out minutely, but the water did help. She kept walking along, holding the collar off her shoulders and breathing deeply, head hanging forward in the direction they were going. She sunk into her trance quickly as she shuffled along, though she was too tired to start singing again. "How long?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 07:00:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"An hour and a half at most," he told her, "keep going, don't think about the tired or the pain, just keep walking." He followed closely behind her, half expect her to go out again. As they walked he drank a little bit of the water, then stowed it. The sun began to rise behind them as they moved slowly west.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 07:26:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She groaned at the prospect of how long it would be, and sunk further into her trance, her body an automaton, moving forward, never stopping, never wavering, just the slow shuffle through sand. Her mind was far away, in the forest, in the trees, hunting berries and nuts, singing to herself, exploring and climbing, and swimming. Home, where she should be. Where Mother lived and Father was buried. Where she could hunt for the clan, and trade with the humans. Where she could take watch and watch the babes. Where she belonged. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 07:37:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				After they trudged on for a while more, the distant town got closer. He looked in the distance, almost sleep walking, he widened his eyes and yawned. "Milet," he said, "there it is... we'll have a shaded room to sleep in within the next hour." The desert city was an interesting place, holding no siding or faction, it was essentially a neutral ground. It's lack of total authority over it's multi-national inhabitants had made it a haven for thieves and criminals, and a city of sin. About the only inhabitants that weren't present were the drow, and that was because the drow stuck to their own kind; evil, they stuck to the darkness and only moved out of the forest to kill off enemies.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 07:44:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She stirred at her name, and wished she hadn't. It was as if she had been sleeping while she walked. Unthinkingly she scrubbed a hand across her eyes, and gasped at the pain. She stifled a curse, and looked to him, nodding mutely. She had to work every ounce of energy she could wring from her body into moving forward. She was so hungry, so thirsty, and absolutely exhausted. She trained her eyes on the city and panted in the swiftly heating air, holding her arms from her sides to keep from touching herself. <br><br>Finally, they reached a path, then the gates, and she sunk to her knees, limp with relief. She let her head fall back to look up at him, and swallowed thickly, unable to say anything. <em>Please, a bed, a floor, anything. let me sleep...</em> she pleaded silently to whoever would listen.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 07:56:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Not quite yet," he whispered into her ear. He took her hand and guided her through the town, and into an inn. He walked up to the innkeeper, "I need a room," he mumbled, handing a piece of gold to the man. The man nodded his head and said, "take your pick, everything's empty." He walked with her up the stairs, and into the first room he saw.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 14:55:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Milet groaned piteously as he prodded her forward one last time, raising her from her seat and leading her like a child through the town. She could barely walk behind him without falling, and nearly fainted with relief as he paid for the room. Upon entering, she sunk into one of the two scrubbed wooden chairs and leaned against the table, ready to fall asleep right there. Never mind there was a bed three feet away, never mind that her stomach was ready to start eating her insides, never mind that she was so thirsty she may dry up, never mind that she was so dirty she felt like she had doubled in weight. It felt so good to rest. She stifled a yawn, and cracked an eye open to him, barely believing that she was waiting for any further instruction, but not really caring either.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 17:03:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He wandered into the room, stumbling. He laid down on the bed, and looked over at her. "That crazy girl is going to sleep on the chairs," he mumbled as he groaned getting back up. He walked over to her, and stood for a second, gathering his thoughts together. He spoke up, "Milet, come sleep on the bed. You deserve a good night's rest." He held out his hand to help her up as he watched her, trying to look into her eyes again. Something about her eyes, he loved, he couldn't get enough of it, and he couldn't figure out what it was.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 18:25:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She continued to stare up at him, before stretching slowly like a cat, and yawning hugely. She silently stood, and shuffled over to the bed, and crawled onto the far side, curling up on her side with her back to the room. Her eyes fell shut immediately, and she sighed. <em>Don't try anything funny, human...</em> She thought to herself as her mind began to drift off. She still needed him for a little while, to get the damned collar off, a bath, and some decent food into her stomach, but that didn't mean she would submit to any of his urges.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 19:48:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He got on the other side of the bed and laid there for a couple minutes. He didn't care much about covering up in the sheets, he was too tired. As he laid there he thought of the girl. He still wondered about her, she seemed like-able, but had the idea stuck in her head that she just had to 'escape'. <em>"From what?"</em> he wondered, <em>"and to where? I have given her food, water, shelter, a place to sleep. I hadn't done one thing to abuse her except for the ropes that I had tied around her hands at first. Where on earth did she think she could escape to? Right back home, like it was easy. She thinks that she can just waltz across an ocean or two and see her home again. She would be stuck, having no money, and nothing sell... except for herself. Even more so... her home is where she got captured, and enslaved, if it was that easy to take an elf kin out of her homelands, then what in God's name was going on over there, either some-one sold her out, or something way bigger is happening."</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 20:01:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She fell asleep easily, her body relaxing out easily as her breathing evened out. And then she began to dream.<br><br>&nbsp;Her Mother, telling her to go where the humans were, to earn about that half of her. She was torn, Mother knew. She hated not being elf enough in the city, hated being different, clumsy. But she loved it there. Her bother, her friends. The forest, hunting, the rituals and prayers. She'd been giver her Father's clan line. Where he had come from. Human currency. They sent her away.<br><br>Her lip pouted out in her sleep as the scene changed. She was arrogant. Riding her mare across the country, living in inns on dreary days, camping out on nice nights. They'd found her like that, the slavers. They'd followed her from the last inn. They beat her, stripped her, forced that damned collar on her before she had time to gain her feet. They were cowards. They'd killed her gorgeous mare. She'd been dragged away screaming, crying. There was no funeral. No prayers to send her soul up. <br><br>She turned in her sleep towards Oz, curling against his side, curling in upon herself, the way she had slept in the cage, trying to protect herself.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 20:11:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He was half asleep when she began curling up, almost leaning against him. The bed wasn't very large and she left him little room. He turned towards her and saw her face cringe at her dreaming. He felt sorry for her, and brushed her hair back seeing if he could comfort her in her sleep, at he very least, improving the state of her dreams. He laid there not fully falling asleep, not feeling comfortable leaving her in this nightmare state as he slept. He stayed awake, dizzy from the tiredness, he could barely keep his eyes on her. He got up and got a glass of cold water from an icebox downstairs. He came back up and laid with her, he dipped his fingers in the cold water and brushed it along her forehead.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 20:41:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her forehead wrinkled at the cool water, and she half roused, one eye opening to pout at him, before it closed again, and she cuddle closer, as if she was ten years old again, curled up between her mother and father after a nightmare. A hand stole across his waist and she nuzzled further into the bed in her sleep, her breathing returning to a deep, normal rhythm, relaxing once more into sleep.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 20:55:51</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"shhh," he said quietly to her as she lulled back to sleep. He listened to her humming breaths and rested his head on his pillow, and closed his eyes. He dreamed of his home, when he was younger, before war and battle encompassed his life. Life was simpler then, and wanted desperately to return to that state of mind. He knew he couldn't, after seeing the horrors of war, he could never forget it. Killing wasn't his ambition, it was just a profession. He remembered back to his return to the elven tribe he once knew.<br><br>In his dream, he walked through the copper sand. Standing side by side with nearly two hundred of his brothers in arms. He walked up to the desecrated village.<br><br>(class over brb)
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 21:05:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She woke early. She always had. Groaning, she shifted, not quite sure where she was, only that her skin <span class="bbc_u">hurt</span>. She hissed sharply as she sat up, and looked around, gasping at the man in bed with her. Had she? No. She began to remember and frowned, moving across the room. He had bought her. He wanted a return on his investment. She looked around and hissed. She was thirsty, and hungry. The collar hurt even more than it had yesterday, and her skin felt as f it would split at any moment. She remained motionless in the furthest chair, thinking.<br><br>Would it be worth it to run? Could she hide in the city? Not with the collar, she knew that at least.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 21:19:49</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				(continuing the dream.. I'm really getting into the plot in this story&nbsp; ::))<br><br>He looked out at the pile of neatly assorted skulls, all elven, had he decided to stay there, his would have been among them. They were washed, and red hourglasses painted on them, ceremonially. The black widow was the symbol of the drow, and unlike elves, they were not divided into clans, they were well organized, and practiced an occult religion. At the center of the pile was a black banner, with a black widow depicted. As the soldiers began the futile search for survivors, one of them shouted, "Shields!" All but a few soldiers hoisted their shields in the air as they crouched. Arrows made completely of metal, and so thin you could barely see them, rain down from the sky. Their design made them whistle evilly, almost hissing, through the air, an element of fear used against enemies. The sound made for fighting enemies with more sensitive ears, to stun them. The drow were masters of confusing the enemy, half of the arrows flew at an angle, fired up, the other half were fired directly towards us.<br><br>He woke up suddenly, and breathed heavily. He looked over at her and laid back in bed, "Did you sleep well?" he asked her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 21:26:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She glanced at him now and them as he slept, starting as he jolted awake, looking at him fully. "Well enough." he replied softly, trying not to move herself over much. Her skin hurt so much, and her cheekbone smarted sharply from the monger's parting blow. <br>Oz was as dirty as she was, and she sighed, looking to her red-dusted hand. The bed was stained by the sand as well.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 21:31:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As she looked at him, he gazed deep into her eyes, it reminded him of his dream, and reminded him of every single elven girl that was now dead. He looked at her getting up, shaking off a bit. "So, what should we do first?" he asked her, "the collar, or the sunburn... or get some food?" He walked towards the door stretching. When he got there he leaned against the wall, looking at, waiting for an answer.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 21:42:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Her stomach jerked at the mention of food, growling loudly, and answering for her. "Food, collar, sunburn." She replied, ordering them for him. She shrugged, and winced. She stared at him, perplexedly. She didn't understand him. Why was he asking her? He was treating her equal to him, instead of an object to order around. She didn't trust it. But she couldn't do anything about it. She wished he would make sense.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 21:48:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He walked over to her and held out his hand, offering to help her up. He looked deeply into her eyes, her confusion broke his grim memories as he spoke, "let's go." He smiled lightly at her and pictured again what she might have been before she was put into slavery.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 21:50:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She furrowed her brows, and took his hand to follow him. Why was he being kind to her? Why hadn't he tried anything yesterday? Why was he removing the collar, and why was he buying her treatment from the burn? The questions boiled in her mind, until she had no choice but to ask. "Why are you doing this?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 21:52:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He looked at her, slightly confused at the question. <em>"What did she mean,"</em> he wondered, <em>"why he was helping her, why he had bought her?"</em> the answer seemed simple and obvious to him, but he then realized that in her time as a slave she could have begun to lose her face in the kindness of others. "You were brought down," he said, "beaten and bruised and now... I want to bring you back up."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 21:55:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She shook her head, still not understanding. "Slaves are bought and sold every day. Why does it matter to you? Why me? Why not any of the other women, the broken ones? The ones that will murder, the ones that will bring children in the world to be beaten and murdered?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>12-04-2010, 21:57:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"You remind me," he said, "of that elven village I had become a part of. You remind me of the name I carry in their memory." As he spoke he looked into her eyes as he had done before.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 07:07:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She stared into his eyes a moment,searching for a hint of a lie, before she broke the stare, and continuing down the stairs, shaken by the sincerity with which she spoke. Her arms slid around herself, and she squeezed herself, fighting the sudden urge to shiver. She wasn't even the same skin colour of them, she was nothing like them except for the ears. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, she stepped quickly away, not wanting him close at the moment.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 07:17:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He let her shy away for now. He walked out of the inn, and headed down the street. He stopped and turned to her, to make sure she stayed with him, "What would you like to eat?" he asked, continuing to look into her. He was hungry for something fruity himself, as it would be more forgiving than cooked food in the hot desert sun.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 12:22:44</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Food?" She answered simply, with honestly no preference. If it could be eaten, she wanted to have it. Her stomach growled again, and she shrugged. "I'm in no particular mood for anything, though thank you for asking me."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 17:31:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He looked at her when she spoke, showing her the respect he would show anyone else. As they walked he led her towards a place that looked like a fruit stand. "How'bout here?" he asked her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 19:55:40</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She turned to look up at him as he suggested the cart, before glancing at the fruit and swallowing thickly. She nodded, not sure if she could make a coherent sentence in reply until she had eaten half of the produce on the cart. Fruit sounded wonderful to her ears, and it was a battle to refrain from snatching the fruit to fill her malnourished stomach.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 20:01:19</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				I didn't have much money, left, I pulled out what I had, it may have been enough for food for a couple of days, and either removing her collar or soothing her burned skin. As I realized this I looked at her and said slowly, "There's not enough. I can pay for food, and can pay to either get that metal collar off of you, or get your skin treated. We are going to have to save some more for a water passageway... which one do you want?" I asked her, not wanting to, but having to.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 20:06:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She bit her bottom lip, and looked to him. "Water Passage?" She asked.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 20:07:33</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Yup," I say to her, "No more desert... but just as much sunshine..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 20:38:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She sighed, and pointed to the collar. She would prefer that off to her skin feeling better. Her skin would heal, anyhow, the collar would take decades to rust off. Her stomach protested their conversation loudly, and she blushed at the extreme gracelessness her body seemed to have adopted.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 21:04:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				(sorry for the break, was helping a friend write a paper... and let me know if I switch perspective by mistake, I'm doing different perspectives in different rp's atm)<br><br>"Alright," he said, handing the vendor a few gold coins, "Get whatever you'd like, and we can head off," I grabbed a few fruits and packed them into a cloth bag.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 22:01:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Milet grabbed quite a few apples, and a few citrus fruits, and packed them carefully along with his, hanging on to an apple as they set off. "Thank you." She said softly. Whether or not he saw her as a slave, she did not see herself as one. But he was still supporting her, and she would act as her manners dictated.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 22:11:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He at an apple himself, and took her hand, gently, leading her through the streets. As they walked about, he finished his apple. They got to a blacksmith's shop and entered in. He walked up to one of them, "How much would it cost to get that collar removed," he pointed at Milet's neck.<br><br>The smith walked over to her, and examined the collar, looking around it and under it. He shook at it lightly, and heard rattling inside, "It's busted," he said, "you'd have to break it off, and being that it is around her neck, that could prove a little tricky."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 22:26:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Milet frowned, remembering vaguely how there had been a pressure and twisting at the collar when it had originally been up on all those weeks ago. "He broke the key in it..." She asserted. "On purpose." She looked to Oz. "There's a hinge, right? Can't that be dismantled?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 22:34:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The smith turned her around, not wanting to scratch her neck up moving the old collar. He looked at the workings of it, "yea, unfortunately... the hinges are intertwined with the collar's lock, it locks into place as the parts of it's hinge slide into the structure. This collar was not meant to come off." He looked at Oz suspiciously, beginning to think that the slave girl was stolen. "Owner's usually use a collar like this for more permanent slaves, one's not for sale."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 23:00:20</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				(Wouldn't there have to be a hinge and a clasp? It's solid metal, not&nbsp; a pliant material)<br><br>"I was bought." She asserted. "He paid thirty-five gold for me, and as a result, we had to walk across the desert to get here. Please, hold your hand an inch above any exposed skin. My sunburn can attest to that. It is fresh and it is severe." She told him, her voice and face serious. She was too assertive to be a slave.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>13-04-2010, 23:09:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				(I didn't know how you pictured it&nbsp; :P )<br><br>The smith looked at her, and laughed at her briefly. "It will cost 2 gold pieces," he said.<br><br>Oz watched her in her outburst, and repeatedly moved his in front of his neck behind the smith's back, giving the kill signal as he knew she was digging her own grave. Oz looked at him, and tossed him the money. The smith took a few tools and dragged her by the collar a short distance and held up a pin to it, and hit the hinge repeatedly with a hammer. It took maybe ten hits for the pin to shoot out. The collar wasn't off yet, as it would have to be pried off of her neck, the metal parts holding tightly, it wasn't meant to bend easily.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>14-04-2010, 08:20:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She grit her teeth as she was dragged away, and braced herself for the blows of the hammer. Every strike hurt more than the last, and it was a struggle to hold her ground against the blows, fighting her knees urge to buckle, a choke from the blows. She coughed, as the pin finally pinged to the floor, struggling to drag in a full breath of air, before he began to pry at the collar. She bit her tongue so hard, she was ready to taste blood at any moment, her face twisted with pain, hands fisted at her sides, but she would not move. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>14-04-2010, 16:51:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oz watched, the blacksmith was a complete asshole, but he knew what he was doing. The smith had trouble trying to get the collar to bend enough so he went around the shop, looking for a few things. He grabbed a cloth, a bucket of water, and took a glowing hot iron shaft from a furnace. He soaked the clothe in the water and wedged it between her neck and the collar. "Hold very very still," he said, "If this slides onto your throat, it will kill you, not doubt." He pushed the iron rod into the lock, and it heated up slowly. After a short while, he tossed the rod aside and gave the collar another few tugs, it bent a little and he managed to pull it off of her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>14-04-2010, 17:40:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Milet's eyes grew wide as saucers a the man reached for the red hot iron, and her jaw half dropped. Her hands raised to ward him off, but he stuffed the rag against her throat, and the iron into the collar. She stood stalk still as the collar heated, till it was burning her already burnt neck. Her eyes, unbidden, filled with tears as his rough fingers scraped down between her neck and the hot collar, and he once again tried to pry it off. The edges of the collar scratched into her neck as he yanked it off, and her face twisted back to the mask of sharp pain. <br><br>Milt stood, panting, twin tracks of pain staining her cheeks for a moment. Then her hand slowly crept up to feel the bruised and lacerated skin of her neck. It was gone. The weight, the bruising chafe was gone. Taking a deep breath, she wiped her cheeks and opened her eyes. She stepped back to Oz, and shot him a look of thanks. Her neck looked and felt horrible, and she would likely have scars from the abuse it took, but her neck once again belonged to her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>14-04-2010, 17:48:55</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oz looked at her teared eyes, seeing her both relieved and in pain. He leaned against the wall to giver her all the time in the world to recover physically and emotionally, and when she looked like she was done, he motioned with his head that it was time to move on again, and turned to walk out. The boat did go to his home, but the reality was that he had no idea how far away her home was, he knew that many half elves that integrate into human society and full&nbsp; elves alike lived in that direction anyways. If she wanted to leave him after they arrived at his home, he would let her. But he wanted to take her at least that far, and wanted to give a her a sort of rehabilitation from her slavery.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>14-04-2010, 18:14:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She followed him out, not sparing the smith a look. As soon as they were far enough away, she let out a huge sigh. "Thank you." She said softly, looking to him. She owed Oz a great debt. She would pay him back, as soon as she could. The question was how to earn, what was it up to, forty gold coins? More? She could sing on the street for copper, perhaps work at an inn or way house as a waitress and minstrel until she had earned enough.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>14-04-2010, 21:35:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"You're welcome," Oz looked at her, happy that the elf girl was finally beginning to show him some gratitude. They walked to the edge of the city, to the docks. The harbor was vast and ships were coming and going frequently. "Now for the tough part," Oz said aloud, "finding a ship and a captain willing to fare us across the sea to our destination," he looked at her, "I don't mean to cause any bad memories to re-surge, but the easiest ride to get on would be a slave ship. Those ships are much larger, and built for human cargo. Plus the only ships with a stronger and more defended construction are gold transports and military payload transports."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>15-04-2010, 14:45:23</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"It is your money." She reminded him. "I rely on your charity. But I was never on a slave sip. I believe I should be fine so long as I do not have to witness any mistreatment..." She held her tongue, wondering who all of the people were, that had become slaves. Who were the ones that were mistreated, who did not want to be there? Oddly, Milet had met some slaves who wanted to be there. Some hoped to become the concubine of a wealthy man with a barre wife, to be showered with gifts and praise should they conceive, marriage before the baby, It was an odd path, she had decided, but if the women were happy, if they were not getting hurt, then it their choice.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>15-04-2010, 17:53:53</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"The slave merchants that are of this level aren't like the one's you've witnessed," Oz began, "They are more like the slaves of ancient Egypt, entire peoples forced into servitude by some dominant empire, for the purpose of massive construction, often worked relentlessly. Their owners have no respect for life, especially not one of slave. The acts that get carried out here are not personal and private in an way, if you are assigned to cook, you cook 24/7, if you are told to farm you farm day and night, only given a break to sleep, and to eat. This type of trafficking is frowned upon, even by other slave merchants."<br><br>He led her down the pathways and staircases into the main area of the harbor. A master/general was calling role before boarding his ship. "And slave soldiers, who fight for their freedom in times of war..."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>16-04-2010, 12:29:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She shuddered at his description, suddenly wondering if removal of her collar had been so hasty. Would the shipmen decide that a oman with obvious collar-soreness was a slave, that needed to be taught servility? That she should join <em>his</em> harem? She swallowed her fear, pride getting the best of her. she would not ask Oz for a soft collar, she would not ask for it for proteton. She couldn't let the collar be slipped around her neck.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>16-04-2010, 15:58:25</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oz saw the fear in her eyes, and stopped to look at her. He brushed his fingers across her chin to get her attention, "I know it must pain you to think of it this way, but if you feel like anyone is attempting to take you, just point out that you are already taken." Oz looked around the harbor, they would not go with a military ship, because his homeland was not at war. In fact there was no mass trade of any kind going to and from the opposite shores, they would be lucky to find a captain willing to take them. "Once we get back home, I'll point you in the direction of the nearest elven village. I'd like to go with you, but if you don't want me to at that point, I'd understand."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>18-04-2010, 17:03:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Milet nodded, and looked down. "I will repay you." She told him. "I don't know when I will go back, but it will not be until you are repaid." She sighed, and squared her shoulders. She was a strong elven lady - she would not be intimidated by slavers. She refused to allow it. "Thank you for your kindness. Why do we not find a ship?" She asked, determination behind her eyes.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>18-04-2010, 18:06:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oz walked with her around the docks, looking for a ship that was bound for a port close to home. The papers at the base of each dock read where each ship had come from, and its next destination, "read these dock papers, look for Strident Harbor or Strident City."<br><br>(yes the city is named after two brands of bubble gum)
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>20-04-2010, 14:23:49</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Milet nodded, and walked off, peering at the the papers, looking for the word 'Strident'. Biting her lower lip, she took a moment longer at each posting than if it were in elven. She had learned human writing, but it always seemed crude. Finally, she found one. Taking a glance at the heavy, fat ship to memorize it, she went to look for Oz, not wanting to linger out of his presence any longer than he had to. She realized the absurdity - just one day ago she wanted as far away from his corpse as possible.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>22-04-2010, 17:31:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oz was looking around at the different docks. As he looked around, he bumped back into Milet. Surprised at first, he shook his head looked at her when he talked, "any luck?" he asked.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Subtle Trouble</strong> on <strong>22-04-2010, 18:48:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She jumped back as she made contact with someone, apologizing immediately. "I am...Oh. Yes." She said, recognizing Oz. "There is one over there for Strident Harbour." She replied, and pointed back towards the ship. "It looks slow and clumsy..." She observed, biting her lower lip. She knew nothing of boats, but it still seemed like an unsafe vessel to her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A purchase (Thou Shalt Not and Panthean)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Panthean</strong> on <strong>22-04-2010, 18:51:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"And probably the only one," Oz said as he began moving towards it. He guided her hand through the crowd, and moved towards the dock with the old ship. "Alrgiht," Oz said, "we need to find the captain, and see how much the passage will cost us."
			</dd>
		</dl>
		<div id="footer" class="smalltext">
			
			<span class="smalltext" style="display: inline; visibility: visible; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?action=credits" title="Simple Machines Forum" target="_blank" class="new_win">SMF 2.0.19</a> |
 <a href="https://www.simplemachines.org/about/smf/license.php" title="License" target="_blank" class="new_win">SMF © 2021</a>, <a href="https://www.simplemachines.org" title="Simple Machines" target="_blank" class="new_win">Simple Machines</a>
			</span>
		</div>