Here's a summary of the key events:
- Introduction of a Distressed Slave: The scene opens with a description of a pale, branded, and bound slave being roughly led through the streets. The slave appears to have been abused and is clearly in distress. The men leading him are identified as possibly being from Port Kar and are eager to sell the slave.
- Vanora's Arrival and Intervention: Ubara Vanora, accompanied by her guards and slaves, is shopping in the market when she hears a commotion. Disliking disturbances in her city, she sends her trusted guard Tristan to investigate. Upon learning the situation, Vanora approaches the two men with her entourage, and Tristan demands they state their business to the Ubara.
- The Men's Respectful Explanation: Initially defensive, the men become respectful upon realizing they are addressing the Ubara of Telnus. They explain they are selling the exotic slave and present a scroll claiming to prove its unique nature.
- Vanora's Demand to See the Papers: Vanora, with a cold and authoritative tone, demands to see the scroll.
- The Slave's Plea and the Seller's Cruelty: As the scroll is offered, the hooded slave lifts their head and arms, pleading "Mistress?" The more talkative seller kicks the slave, causing them to recoil.
- Vanora's Threat: Witnessing the cruelty, Vanora snarls at the seller, threatening severe consequences if he kicks the "merchandise" again before she decides to buy.
- Examination of the Scroll: Vanora reads the scroll, which describes the slave's pedigree, albinism, and a dina flower brand. Notably, the gender is listed ambiguously as "kajirus," and there's a note about the slave not being exposed to men during rearing, which seems to contradict their current state.
- Vanora's Suspicious Questions: Vanora expresses suspicion about the unspecified gender and asks the men the intended purpose of the slave's breeding.
- The Seller's Confession and the Slave's Ambiguous Gender: The seller admits the slaver intended the slave to be a "pleasure slave" sold as an innocent. He then crudely displays the slave's ambiguous physical traits, stating they are unsure of its gender.
- Vanora's Order: With a cold expression, Vanora questions if the slave is "trained well" as a pleasure slave. After consideration, she demands the hood be removed so the "beast" can answer her questions. Her guards ensure her command will be followed.
- The Slave's Unveiling: The hood is yanked off, revealing a pale, tearful face with a split lip, blinking against the sunlight. The slave, however, does not look directly at Vanora, keeping their gaze lowered.
In summary, the scene depicts Vanora, the powerful ruler of Telnus, encountering two foreign slave traders attempting to sell a seemingly abused and unusual slave. Vanora's intervention, her scrutiny of the slave and the documentation, and her demand to see the slave's face suggest she is intrigued and potentially considering purchasing the slave, while also displaying her authority and disapproval of the sellers' cruelty. The ambiguous nature of the slave's gender and the conflicting information in the scroll add an element of mystery to the situation.
SilverGanymede: Tiny, bare feet padded along the cobbled street, and a tiny, distressed sound left lips hidden behind the rough burlap of a slave hood. The slave’s body was bare, save for a brand and a slim, iron band about the throat. Immediately visible was the strikingly pale skin, though smudged here and there with dirt and what appeared to be a bit of blood. Rough rope was bound about the creature’s wrists, and every now and then, the man pulling the lead gave the rope a rough yank and the creature stumbled, nearly dropping to his knees. Given scuff marks, it appeared the slave had fallen several times already. The ghostly pale skin was burned across the shoulders, chest, and buttocks. The front of the slave hood bulged and then sagged with each frantic breath. “Where’s the damned slave market?” The man pulling the lead growled to his companion. Both men were swathed in vibrant colors, golden hoops in their ears. Men of Port Kar, perhaps. “The sooner we get rid of this thing, the better. You have the papers?” The companion lifted a slim scroll. "Good. Let's hope the Slaver was good for his word. If we don't get a silver tarsk for this slave meat, I'll hunt him down personally and take his head." Another yank was given to the lead, and the poor slave squealed in surprise and dropped to its knees.
VanoraSkarlakMaekir: /me was walking on the market with her entourage of guards and some slaves to carry whatever she decided to buy that day, she was just looking for some cheese as she heard some commotion not so far from her. She sent her most trusted personal guard Tristan to check it out for she did not like too much ruckus in her city, especially those caused by outsiders. Tristan soon found out what was going on and returned to report to his Ubara in a whispered tone, so not all could listen in on their conversation. Vanora nodded and turned to walk towards the two men with her personal guards, including Tristan who scraped his throat loudly to get the attention of the two men. "Let me introduce you both to the Ubara of Telnus... Now kindly state your business to our Lady." He spoke with a voice that demanded authority.
SilverGanymede: The men turned to the guards, immediately defensive, though that agitation faded the moment they realized who it was who now addressed them. They might have been men of standing on their ship, but this was a strange city, and the last thing either of them wanted to do was to irritate the Ubara of the city. The more vocal of the pair offered a short, crisp bow of respect, and his companion followed suit. A quick kick was given to the disoriented slave, and the poor creature tucked its thighs together and hunched forward as best it could. “Tal, Ubara,” he greeted. “We’ve come to sell this slave. Thought it might be of interest at the markets here.” He gestured to the bound creature. “It’s an exotic, you see. Got the papers right here to prove it.” As if on cue, the other man lifted the scroll he was carrying to support the claim.
VanoraSkarlakMaekir: /me looked at the men with wary eyes and then to the exotic creature on the floor, she took a step forwards as soon as they lifted the scroll. "Let me see that." She spoke with a cold tone that demanded even more obedience than Tristan's voice did, which was extremely uncommon for a Free Woman. Tristan crossed his arms and waited for the men to give the only correct answer to his Ladies demand.
SilverGanymede: The man immediately stepped forward, holding out the scroll to the woman in question. He was not so foolish as to think that he could get away with disobeying such a woman. However, hearing the woman's voice, the hooded head lifted, and soft, supple arms lifted pleadingly. "Mistress?" The more talkative man offered the creature another kick, and those arms immediately dropped and curled close to the naked body.
VanoraSkarlakMaekir: /me grabbed the scroll from his hand, but before she could read it she heard the voice of the slave calling to her and looked towards him, seeing the more talkative man kick him and without thinking twice I snarled towards the man. "Kick the merchandise whom I might buy one more time and I will make sure you will leave with a lot of pain and empty hands." It was clear in her voiice and the response from her personal guard Tristan that this threat was a very real one and the talkative man should think twice about what he was going to do next while Vanora started to read the scroll carefully to see what it said about the exotic creature down on the floor, who so pleadingly called out to her.
SilverGanymede: The man's face paled and he stepped back, head bowed. The slave, however, remained quiet a long moment. The documentation was standard for an exotic-bred slave, noting pedigree and breeding. There were notations of the brand: a dina flower on the left thigh. It listed, too, the bred trait of albinism, though when it reached the point of gender, there seemed to be some confusion, and the creature was listed simply as kajirus. A final note was added that the creature had not been exposed to men during rearing, though it appeared that this had obviously since changed. White silk. Weight. Height. Such details as one might expect.
VanoraSkarlakMaekir: /me raised her eyebrow when she came to the gender part and not being exposed to men. "For what purpose was it bred?" She asked with calm and calculated voice. "Why is the gender not specified?" Vanora continued in the same tone, clearly not trusting things. She rolled the scroll up and handed it back to the man who had given it to her while she looked at him with her penetrating eyes, which had a clear message in them, a demand for her questions to be answered.
SilverGanymede: The man shrugged, looking almost guilty. "Slaver said it was meant to be a pleasure slave. Wanted to sell it as an innocent." Rather than kicking the thighs apart, he pushed them with both hands. The slave complied, thighs spreading with practiced ease. What was visible there did not seem to quite align with what one might expect, though there did appear to be traits that one might call male, there were also signs that one might dub female. "...We're not really sure what it is."
VanoraSkarlakMaekir: /me nodded with a cold expression. "Pleasure slave? So trained well?" Vanora looked at the body, clearly thinking things over and after a while she spoke again. "Remove the hood and let the beast answer some of my questions." Vanora's tone was very demanding and her personal guards made sure her wishes would be granted, sort of speaking.
SilverGanymede: The man yanked the hood off, revealing a shock of pale hair, which clung to a flushed face made sweaty by the rough fabric. The poor creature's eyes were wet with tears, and a soft, delicate face turned up towards the sound of the Ubara's voice, blinking against the light of the sun. A plump, lower lip appeared to be split ever-just-so, perhaps as the result of a careless backhand. But the slave did not look up past the Ubara's chin, as blurry as she might have been as eyes adjusted to the change in light.
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