Somewhere Someplace

"Huh? Hwy I… Finally! Ohh, I've been waitin'!"

Nilia had just barely arrived to what was…presumably the front entry point to this camp of cages and prisoners, and as soon as she had entered into the visual processing range of this denizen of sorts, he immediately came stomping her way.

"Uh…" She just paused and allowed him to arrive.

"I see thy armband, ma'am." the halting denizen immediately spoke; "Thou're with the Company, rightly?"

Interesting individual, this one seemed to be. His skin pigmentation was of a modestly darker shade than local average, he had an awfully thin and pointy moustache, and he was wearing trousers alongside a coat of the fur of some skinned mammalian with no shirt underneath, his hairy chest exposed.

Yet despite his manners not being precisely hostile, Nilia felt…oddly guarded with this one, for whatever reason deep within.

"Yes…? Obviously." She plainly answered.

The denizen scratched the back of his head, sighing a kind of hegh. "I traveled my wayn nether hither all the wayn bove from Milk-Toast Dual County… Many the dayn to cross these wayn, onely to arrive to see not a body be home! I thought our arrangement were by hap betrayed!" He was complaining, it seemed. "Haven't any a clue, I say, the costen I've borne! I am relieved to see that some-body was therein yonder to see!"

« … » Nilia did not know how to reply… The ceaseless reading and writing had made her forget the methodology pertaining to speech production, it seemed… She could probably write a formal response, however.

"Now then!" This denizen clasped his hands into a delighted grip, holding them to his side-turned cheek with a smile, one of his incisors being…gold? "Hwat then fancys thy corporacion? I've brought merchandise as promised—onely the most demanded by your fatherlanden."

Nilia tilted her head, confused… "…mer…merchandise?" Wait, so…was this denizen not anyone associated with this prison? Was he just some random merchant who had decided to solicit her? "I have come only to…observe this camp. I am not interested—"

"Oh! Observe?" This apparent merchant coiled back a little, though keeping his donned pleasantry. "Hwell… I, I… I suppose I can give thee a short guide."

Wait, so… He was associated with this prison, then? "Freely." Nilia nevertheless specified.

"Freely it be!" Hm. He was being awfully chummy. "Have a gander, then… But do not interrupt any dealin's or offer-makin's by my people—and, Company madam thou may be, do not touch the merchandise." His eyes scouted her up and down… "Tho, thou bein' a fairest lady, I believe no haps shall hap." He ahemed. "But if thou have any offerin's or interesten, please provide me that knowin'. The Company hath been a finest customer with-to whom I shall be more than willin' negotiacions further-forth-on."

"Rightly…" With the…merchant…stepping aside, Nilia thus made her way to enter this…prison camp.

-|-

Awfully quiet, this camp was; there was not much tumult to fill the air, beyond whispers and occasional coughs. There were a few tents here and there, organized in no particular fashion; there was one noticeably large and striped tent at the center, with the rest being lesser and small. Wagons and carriages were parked about, though not too many. Guards were stationed around, yet they seemed to be unrelated to the Grandberrien security forces she had observed so far; they were probably those 'mercenaries' she had heard about.

Yet from her understanding, mercenaries were essentially the freelancer equivalent for warriors or soldiers. The expectation, thus, would be individual variety without standardization. However, these ostensible mercenaries had a consistent pattern. They had 'menacing' visored helmets, fur shoulder paddings, chained rings around their neck, and a thick tunic (cloth or leather) over chainmail; their primary weapons seemed to be blunt force—maces.

They seemed to be giving her an eye.

She walked slowly, keeping her mask-obscured eyes only subtly observing.

Cages. Both small and large, collective and individual, cages were aplenty… Though, not to an extent she had perhaps presumed for a prison camp. Indeed, many individuals were in no cage at all. Some were bound in linear rows of chains, particularly around the central tent, sitting still as if awaiting processing. More prominently, many were standing on platforms or podiums as if on display.

Seemingly all of these platformed prisoners were completely nude, she realized—no clothes or even basic coverings, despite evident shivers. In contrast, the prisoners within cages had at least… Well, less a tunic and more a rag. The position of these platforms with respect to the cages seemed to indicate that they were supposed to be the focus of attention.

Huh. Weird… She knew not the conventional imprisonment practices of these denizens, but it was possible that the prisoners standing atop those platforms were awaiting some…fate. Execution or a kind of torture, perhaps? She had heard that such was what the Grandberriens were doing—public displays of punitive punishment and humiliation. Though, why were they not restrained? Indeed, nothing was technically preventing them from…attempting escape.

Hm. Nilia momentarily paused, noticing… A fancy—from a denizen perspective—looking man of sorts; he was obviously a so-called 'civilian'—like her. Prisons, she assumed, should be restricted sectors. She was with the Company and so could understand why she would be allowed access… But this denizen seemed random and out of place; he was not the only one either.

He was inspecting one of the platformed prisoners, who was silent and unreadable… As if studying in invasive detail. Besides him was another, who looked awfully like that initial gold-toothed merchant.

"Her teeth seems fine, but she is missing one."

"Hwell, be that as so, her other qualities be—"

"If she's to be the front girl, her smile must be perfect. Next one!"

Hm… With that random denizen walking off, she recontinued her slow observing walk, unsure what to really make of anything beyond this prison being…strange; unlike any detainment facility she had…arguably ever seen in recallable memory. She lacked the descriptors or definitions to describe or define.

As her observations continued, she began to notice a pattern in the…demographics. Most if not all of the prisoners observed so far, both on platform and in cage, were…seemingly aelviforms. Age range was adult, subadult, and child with an apparent lack of elders and infants; the female-to-male ratio seemed skewed towards female. There was an evident segregation as well. Adult or subadult males were seemingly only found in individual cages, alone; females meanwhile were clustered together in larger cages; children, likewise, were clustered together in their own separate large cages, segregated by sex.

The prisoners on the platforms were predominantly female; they were silent and stationary, as if humiliated or ashamed or simply waiting, eyes down and not bothering to look up or around. Those recent arrivals, lined up at the central tent, were also awfully silent; shaken, drained, and defeated—or perhaps simply accepting; there were a few sobs amongst them.

Those in the cages meanwhile were not as quiet, though they were evasive whenever she looked at them. Indeed, there was vocal discourse amongst them, and their expressions were diverse and contradictory… Concern, somber, or broken indifference; yet also cheerfulness or laughter—remarks followed by a giggle or two.

The affects on display were mixed, really.

Hm… Another pattern Nilia was beginning to notice was the conditions of the cages themselves. They were…progressively deteriorating in quality the further within she walked. Indeed, the cages at the front area—whence she had entered—were less subpar than present observations… A hierarchy indication, perhaps?

She did not know how long these prisoners had been in these cages, but the sanitation implied longer than necessary.

"Mreäl dat mazhguaw uja-imi, Tyrheol."

Abruptly, a voice came emanating her way, the source of which was a cage directly to her right closeby. She paused and eyed…

An elven woman, arm sticking out; her eyes were sharp on her, though she was talking to another. "Di nimy kal daï-jid tÿnsit stad." Nilia understood none of these words, but this one's voice was mocking and belittling.

"Mm… Tyi onda-pris zetta dat mrin val-val koit moje stad." the other replied, again in words she knew not.

Whatever this reply was, it annoyed the imprisoned elven lady. "Baïha! 'Val-val koit', shu jai shega…" Indeed, she spat. "Em-tyÿn koit ditol faw omerÿmesh lalult… Hoga-imi yolel zenult!" There was a somber shift, eyes drifting down… "Merl onzaw tyi afapheät sha-paz negi…"

Hm. Interesting language. It seemed unrelated to any she had heard so far. Nilia continued to eye, noticing that each prisoner had their elven ears tagged with numbered labels. Identifiers, maybe? Or… Hmm…

Sighing, she recontinued her way. Truly, she was no Green-Coat; they would certainly have answers regarding what this prison camp even was… It was just so peculiar. However, even so, there was a way for her to uncover potential answers.

Indeed, slowly strolling onwards, she focused on her ears and attuned them to those many voices around; those fancy souls talking to overseeing fellows.

"Aha, I see. Well, then. It appears you haven't what I need—laborers, not servants or whatever else. It's clear for whom your camp caters. I shall move on to the next one."

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"Hwell, hold on now, we do have many strong specimens hwo are more than capable of—"
"I said I shall move on to the next one."

"Ugh… My son is of that age; he has been buggering the maids to their endless complaints."
"I see, I see… Thou seekst thus a friend for him, then?"
"Yes. A girl of his age—a virgin preferably, and I mean a proper one—no 'encounters' of any kind. Healthy, docile, and easy temperament. An elf—not a demi. She is to be a becoming companion of our household, not a plaything."
"Hwell, those are mighty conditions. Uhn, hwell, follow me then. We'th already sectioned everything between those hwom be virgins and those hwom…we know be not."

So, some kind of exchange? Hm… She had overheard from Company discourse of them utilizing 'penalty labor' provided by realms with an 'excessive prisoner surplus'. Was that it, then? Such would make sense, considering Grandberry's excessive imprisonment. Having gone overcapacity, they were now attempting to reduce their prisoner population by exchanging with other localities, of which these fancier dressed denizens were perhaps their representatives? That could explain why the prisoners were seemingly on display, and why they were being physically inspected.

Although, right… This camp did not seem affiliated with the Grandberrien authorities. Perhaps it was that 'outsourcing' practice, as the Company called it? Using a 'private entity' as a surrogate… Hmm… Likewise, one of the denizens was interested in seeking laborers, thus a skillset of persons. But the other was interested in a 'virgin'…. 'Virgin', what even was that? A type of specialty, or…?

Hm…

She continued to listen.

"I am…what you may call a…scientist, in a way. A researcher, if you will… I see that you carry elves, but I was wondering if you…happen to have, uhm, demis…"
"We do have one in stock, yes… In farthest end just up ahead, however—"
"Ah! Heh… Excellent! I would like to inspect her immediately! I've been searching—"
"However, it is reserved inventory. Sorry."

"No auctions here. All prices are set but may be negotiated."
"Mhm… For these prices, I expect quality. And they better understand herbal remedies and arithmetic."
"Hwell, these are savage forest elfen; I am sure they have enough knowings for foragin' and herbalism."
"Yes, and what about arithmetic?"
"…"
"Bah, of course! Not everyone is interested in illiterate chattel, you know! Do they even speak normal tongue?? All I hear is Stad!"
"We do not sell simple chattel… You can surely teach them."

Inventory, merchandise, prices, auctions, 'chattel'… Commercial terms, but appertaining what? She had yet to even see any such 'merchandise', let alone whatever it was that gold-tooth merchant had promised the Company.

She only had to wonder why there were even merchants managing what was supposed to be a prison. Perhaps they were managing the exchange process? Or…

Hm… With all of these cages here, it was possible they also were selling animals as a side… Right, denizens did do that. She had already found that to be an awfully strange practice, frankly; to barter living beings as if they were inanimate trinkets.

She continued walking further, beginning to reach the far end of this camp. She turned a few glimpses here and there whilst listening on… She was trying to ascertain what was missing in her analysis that was making all of this so confus—

Wait.

Nilia paused.

Just moments—seconds—ago, her mind processed, she had walked past something; something that had been in the peripheral of her vision; something that…

She took several steps back and turned her head, seeing isolated in its own little spot…a cage. A particular cage within which was something…strange.

Nilia so blankly stood, trying to process what in all of this universe she had found herself looking at. Her eyes were actually widening, as if genuinely…at a loss.

« Quid…nefas? » Indeed, without second thought, she so went to this small reclusive cage, her mask-obscured eyes looking and looking. « Seríosë, quid nefas? Nûm verë vido?? »

Was she really looking at what she was really looking at?

Her thoughts sped up as she tried to focus her mind; yet seemingly attending to all details simultaneously at once, her focus sputtered.

« Çhauda… Una çhauda? »

She peered down to comprehend as her breaths were uncharacteristically with quite a hollow flare.

Female, subadult—likely early adolescent. Sleeping, thus unnoticing. Tail. A fuzzy, furry tail…protruded out from the lower back, above the buttocks, no apparent connection to the tail bone—a contradiction to the fundamental the human—mammalian—body plan. Ears. Equally fuzzy and furry-looking pair of ears located directly atop her head—the parietal region of her skull… In addition to having regular ears.

Both this furry tail and those furry ears seemed as though they had been directly taken from some…carnivoran species—a canid. The 'fur' coloring matched that of her hair, that being light grey. There was obviously a genetic component, yet these were not simply hybrid features.

Nilia's breaths began to calm, having taken it all in, as she realized…

Yes.

She was looking at what she was looking at.

« Chimaera… » A chimera. « Chimaera…humana. » A human chimera.

Without hesitation and with a held press on her communicator-scanner, she kneeled down and so immediately image-scanned this…chimeric girl. She needed to add this to her records. Even if she might never reestablish contact with her Remnant command, this was just…

Truly, more and more, this entire place continued to confuse her; continued to reveal itself as being more bizarre and complex than she or any one of them could have possibly predicted with respect to initial expectations…

A human chimera. She had to repeat that in her head as she stood herself back up, still looking down at…that sleeping girl.

A human chimera, and a rather precise one too…

Beyond obvious chimeric features were the tail and ears, but…what else? And those pseudo-canid ears… They were obviously nonfunctional as 'ears', considering they were on top of her skull. Indeed, each had a white patch of hairy fuzziness within, no canals or holes atop her head. They had to serve some…other sensory function, if any at all. She already had normal functioning ears, although they seemed evidently smaller and less pronounced, as if underdeveloped.

Hm… And that tail. How was it connected? What was it composed of? Was it bone or cartilage? She wanted to feel it. Indeed, she kneeled down and reached out her hand to…

"Ah!" Abruptly, a voice snapped her out and back up.

Nilia swingingly turned, seeing that that same gold-toothed merchant was arriving.

"I knew thou would take a fancy to this one! I've heard they'th been in much the demand." His hands were interlocked amidst his chummy smile. "A feisty one, that one is… Fangs nearly bit a man; we had to give it sleepers. But it can be tamed like the rest of its kind."

"Uhuh…" Nilia's mind, still stunned from the discovery, was barely able to process his words, let alone respond.

"Demi it may be thusly, but we made for-sure this female was kept with respect, with no bad haps. Virgin, fed, and well-health. It might need a bath, but mayhap after the wayn hapt abroad." he continued on, calmly excited. "And I made for-sure of these qualities; that no-one soiled the merchandise."

"I see…" Nilia looked again at that sleeping chimeric girl, finally seeing…everything else beyond merely the tail and fuzzy ears.

Her cage was subpair, she seemed dirty and was barely clothed. Waste matter was evident, likewise.

"…merchandise, you said?" Her mask-obscured eyes widened. "Wait…" And her head flipped right back to him. "Her? This is…your merchandise?"

It finally hit her. It had all finally hit her. The tone of the voices; the displays; the numbered tags; the bartering words; everything had connected immediately and all at once.

"Uhm, hwy, yes!" And, indeed, the merchant so replied; "This one is for sale! In fact, it was specially reserved for thy company's offerin', being the most unique inventory."

Once again, Nilia required a moment to process… This day was becoming merciless in how many things kept slamming into her mind, stunning it still.

The tension in her breaths, that sinking weight, was hidden by her flattened mask. These were not prisoners, and this was not a prison. This was a market, and these people were the merchandise. They were being sold…as if…trinkets.

Huh… Nilia was struggling to wrap her head around this…

Wait, so… Were every instance of her seeing camps like this; places like this; people in cages being transported or chained lines of souls being escorted… That would explain why that so-called 'prison' she had noticed in Strawberry's central commercial district was in fact…there… Because it was not a prison, it was… They were being sold?

But as what? For what?

Truly, this was just so… She was not disturbed or shocked as much as…terribly bemused.

How did she not piece this together before?

"Thou are…quiet…" The merchant was becoming concerned… "If this be not to the Company's likin', I… I have otheren that be on the wayn hither… Demi-kinden be in short supply, but we have experts who" He kept going on and on, but Nilia stopped paying attention…

There was only just a slight tremble to her hand, affect deeply confused. 'It', she just realized; he had used the object pronoun 'it', not the animate 'they' or 'she'. He was talking as if this girl was some inanimate 'thing', despite being a living and breathing…

"Person…" She looked at him. "These are persons… You are selling the persons? People?"

The merchant gave her a look. "Oh, now girl, no need to feign ignorance… There be no cause for shyfulness in these landen." he so spoke; "Slaven, the lot of them; they be not legal 'persons'. By accordance the customs and bylawen, a slave hath no personhood—they are my property and merchandise for sale. I mustn't explain this to thee, surely?"

"…slaves?" Nilia mumbled, repeating. She had heard that word before, she realized… She just never knew what it truly meant.

Thus, if 'pet' was an animal trinket, then 'slave' was…a human trinket.

Human trinkets…

One could purchase and barter humans…persons…as if objects? Or, no, not even persons, for he himself had just said that these so-called 'slaves' had no 'personhood'. What that even meant, she knew not… But it indicated that to these denizens it was not an 'as if'; these people literally were objects—commodities—for sale.

Truly, out of all the abstractions these denizens had; out everything she had come to expect of these denizens; this just had to be the most…

She had not even the words, even in her own tongues. This was just so bizarre, and she could not even articulate why—let alone comprehend.

"Of course, thou may say 'person' in the livin' sense; mayhap so for the elf-kind, however," he gave a quite disdainful glare into that specific cage, "it should be clearest, alien; I shan't eveh call thhat a 'person', slave or free—but a fiend…with cutesiness deceptivest." Yet he then shifted his glare back to her. "Thou are no deceiver, now thou be?" he scowled; "I have heard of these…so-called 'ab-o-licion-ist' visits who make their wayn hitherwards to lectture us."

"Oh, uhm…" Nilia's attention returned to him. "No, I am not this…deceiver." she simply replied, strangeness in breaths; "I was…sent here, but not…told…what this arrangement was supposed to be, but to only…confirm." She was attempting to play along with his assumptions. "I am new, and…I have never…seen this before…" This was, at least, truthful.

"Oh!" The scowling glare fled the merchant's eyes, face once again with that chummy smile. "Hwell, I should say, I go thru great lengthen to be a mighty ethical business compared to competicion!" He gestured towards that cage behind; "Even this beastly fiend hath been well-cared with respect to hwat be dually deserved. We don't harm our stock, keepin' them alwayn in finest condicions."

Such words being spoken, yet even the most optimal conditions of these imprisoned…persons-for-sale were, for her standards, less than optimal. Some, like that chimera girl, seemed deliberately neglected.

"Uhuh… I see." Nilia just…nodded, slowly and surely. "Well, that is…understood. But now that I have confirmed that you have…the…merchandise, I must now…return to my…uppers, to see if…they are still interested." Not allowing the slaver to reply, she simply stepped past him and began to walk, fast; she kept walking, faster and faster, even as she could hear his voice hailing and calling behind.

She wanted to get out of this camp.

She needed to think about this. All of this.

Ah…
Thus finally bearing witness, you have…
Ironic how you had remained so naive for this long
When you have much in common with them…
Rats trapped in a cage…
Stolen from murdered homes…
Condemned into servitude.
Enslaved.
I wonder, however…
Now that have witnessed
Now that you have seen
What will you do?
How will you stand?
Will you be like her, your formerly associated?
Complicit and willfully aloof…
Pretending as if such did not exist, always out of sight.
Or will you be…
Something different?
Something…more…
Interesting.