***
After the fight, Kayden and the other slaves were in the holding cell on the side of the arena. At least, the ones that had fought the bear. The other slaves had been taken away earlier.
They were in high spirits. Even the Jhakarti was smiling and laughing in his strange hiccupping fashion. They had been decorated with honours, favour cloths, flowers and Kayden had been hit in the face by skimpy ladies’ undergarments. The last had earned him quite a few remarks from the others.
Shi’Caperrnel and Shi’Uzdu came to them. The former guarded by his usual armoured men and the latter on his own. The two clapped their hands and smiled at the slaves.
“Well done Rulaf.” Shi’Caperrnel said, beaming in delight. “I made a healthy sum of gold on that game. Who knew that all your drinking would pay off so well? The extravagance that so many other lords spurned.”
“Indeed.” Shi’Uzdu added. “It was most… unorthodox. But it paid out quite well with the wagers.” The Jhakarti lord had raised his one hand, studying his nails on his hand.
The small Shi took the pause and spoke directly to the other. “Shi’Uzdu, would you be interested in the sale of a few slaves to me?”
The tall slave lord looked down at the small, smiling man and grunted. “Of course, but I hope you are not referring to these three?”
Shi’Caperrnel nodded his little bald head. “Oh but I do. I say two thousand gold for each.”
Kayden nearly fainted. What an astronomical amount of money!
The Jhakarti lord shook his head. “How extravagant. I would not want to beggar a lord as powerful as you. No my dear lord, I do not think I want to sell these slaves at all. Give me some time to think about it. I must of course… calculate their potential.”
“I think their worth has more to do with what they have managed to accomplish together.” Shi’Caperrnel said. “The returns may not be so high once they are split up and some of them die off.”
The Jhakarti slave lord stared at his short human counterpart for a moment, then said. “Every pit fighter dies. All that matters is that they make the most profit possible while they can.”
The old slave lord nodded. “Then I have a suggestion. The Sand Pits are not a worthy end to this company. We make the most of it before any of them die. Train your slave fighters and together with Rulaf here, we take them to the Marble Coliseum!”
Rulaf smiled broadly and winked at the others. “Rulaf happy. Marble-palace is the best place for sport. Less dust, more ladies and good monies!”
“You’ve been there?” Shadi asked the man.
“Aye! Is how I got this.” The giant indicated to the chop of missing cartilage that slanted across the bridge of his nose. “They have the best fighters in that place! Very fun!”
“Oh Lord preserve me.” Kayden breathed as the two men discussed profits from his eventual demise and a big man who relished the prospect of fighting in a grandiose arena that spelled death at every turn.
“Tonight we should feast!” Rulaf pronounced! “For tomorrow, we may be dead!”
Shadi looked like he was going to be sick but then nodded and looked at Kayden. “Would be a waste of an opportunity. Maybe it is our last time on earth?”
Kayden sighed. “Aye. I guess so.”
Torassh walked closer to the rest of them, grinning a little. “D…drink?”
“Aye.” Kayden replied and the Jhakarti rolled its eyes, the expression as comical as he had seen in one of these creatures.
“You men crazy.”
###
Thank you for reading my book. If you enjoyed it, won’t you please take a moment to leave me a review at your favourite retailer?
Stay tuned for more of Raiders of the Middle Sea and other World of Kedra stories.
Regards
Zak Ludick
***
About the Author
Zak Ludick, was born 1986 in South Africa. He works currently in the HVAC industry and worked in the IT field before. Creative writing has been a hobby of his since he was a teenager. The World of Kedra has slowly been taking shape in his mind for over a decade and consists of many hundreds of thousands of words already.
Keep an eye out for Raiders of the Middle Sea Part 2!
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