Mendax held Aureum on the stage as carefully as he could. He didn't know what the next step was.
The audience before him looked just as confused.
"Your desire to help a wounded woman is laudable, sir, but she is a slave."
A man of power, both of mana and authority, stepped onto the stage. His greasy hair and sleazy smile contrasted his fine apparel.
"I heard such things are illegal in Fluentem," Mendax said.
It would be difficult to fight and hold Aureum.
"Yes, well. There are exceptions. Perhaps we can have this conversation somewhere else, to let the auction continue as undisturbed as it could be?"
With this, Mendax knew what to do. He had an entire auditorium of witnesses. An exception would not be made here.
"This woman is not a slave. I traveled with her to this city, and was going to meet her tomorrow."
"The fact that you traveled with her doesn't necessarily mean she is not a slave? She seems to have a predilection for escaping. No?"
A few guards came up behind Mendax to shove him forward. They didn't manage much. As they went to grab him, he walked across the stage as he spoke.
They were unsure themselves how much force they could use in front of the audience. Mendax used their confusion to his advantage and spoke.
"I know two people in this city, Sitis of the Viadelux University, and Lacuna of Fluentem. Both will testify that this woman is not, never was, and likely never will be, a slave."
The smile on the man's face became forced.
"I see. There must have been some terrible mistake made. We don't even let our slaves touch port, knowing this fine city's standards."
Most of this was said for the crowd. He threw away any pretense of privacy next as he turned to them.
"Lords and ladies, it seems there has been a misunderstanding. Please take part in the other offerings we have for you as we sort this out."
With his bow, the crowd was dismissed. The auctioneer and other workers began to pack the stage up as people were directed to the exits.
He walked up to Mendax.
"You. Come with me."
"By whose authority?" Mendax asked.
"Mine. Come quickly if you don't want your skin burst like a grape's, as well as hers."
The threat was spoken quietly. With the audience in the business of leaving, there was enough noise for it not to be heard by the room.
"If threats are all you have," Mendax said, "I'm leaving."
He turned and walked off the stage. The man did nothing, and none of the guards stopped it. He could do nothing obvious without destroying his reputation.
It would be one thing to have slaves in a black market. It would be another to have illegal slaves in front of an audience not fund of it. It would be too much for these illegal slaves to be a friend of one of the audience.
Even a black market had to follow some rules. Especially one with richer clientele.
The other guards were filing out the audience quickly, but not that quickly. And not all of the audience was passively complying.
Though Mendax could sense the rage from behind him rising.
"Boss!"
"Be quiet you ingrate!"
Mendax spent a moment to turn, but their conversation continued out of his sense of hearing. A look of shock and horror grew upon the boss's face.
"They escaped?!"
As long as he was distracted, that was Mendax's best chance.
He smoothly turned back and made his way for the doors before the man regrouped and figured out a quiet way to deal with him. One guard directing him to another room would be all it took.
But the exit was close by, and Mendax shoved his way past the crowd. They made it out fine.
Outside, Nivis leaned against the wall.
"Kind of you to wait," Mendax said, continuing to walk.
"The thought of you in irons amused me," Nivis bent his head in acknowledgment as he spoke. "Is that my Aureum?"
"No."
"Actually, I'm pretty certain it is?"
Nivis spoke as he came to Mendax's side.
"She's not your Aureum now, is she? I'm pretty sure she's in my arms?"
Nivis tilted his head.
"Huh."
Mendax kept walking, trying to look over his shoulder inconspicuously.
"What's she doing here?" Nivis asked. "I doubt she wanted to follow me."
"Is that the first thing you thought of?"
"She is my ex-fiance, in my defense."
Mendax snorted.
"Like that marriage held any weight for you?"
"Hey! It was my first engagement. It has meaning!"
"Then leaving her behind on the stage had meaning too."
Mendax continued walking without looking back at Nivis. Nivis flinched.
"I didn't recognize her. I'd have helped if I had known."
Nivis strolled behind Mendax, trying to hide his discomfort with more confidence.
"Must be your nature to ignore things that cause discomfort for you."
Nivis chuckled at this.
"Bet you're the heir of that particular flaw over me."
Mendax had no sharp comeback.
He was the king of fools on this day.
Countless opportunities to end this and return home, and each one he had let slip by. Yet.
What do I even have to return to?
A lord that recognized neither his ability nor his bloodline. One that would use him without even looking at him.
But what do I even have outside of Nix?
Outside of the bloodline, outside of the city, he was just an ugly little man with a past no one would sympathize with.
Nothing and nothing. The only problem is one choice may come with death.
Aureum was light to carry.
The midwife he chose to take her to was all glares as she examined her. The older woman about spat on him as she gave her observations and poultices.
Mendax did nothing to sway her opinion of him.
Despite the blame falling on him, he wanted this kept quiet. A woman abused by a lover would not be lumped in with the newest mess Aureum had landed herself in.
He doubted this fiasco would end with this. The less anyone could know for sure the better. Nivis ogled the various jars on the shelves.
They left, with Nivis still tagging along. Mendax went to the dirty little inn he was staying at and laid Aureum on his bed.
"You must really care for her," Nivis said.
They both looked down at Aureum on the bed. Mendax had done everything he could, so he could only wait.
"No, I was just watching her for Lord Nix," Mendax replied.
He didn't even have to think about the lies, they were there.
"Really?" Nivis said. "I doubt she's very interesting to follow. Until now I guess."
Mendax's eye twitched.
"You seemed as shocked as me to see on stage…" Nivis continued.
"Why do you think Lord Nix had me follow her?" Mendax asked.
Nivis shrugged.
"How am I supposed to know what he's thinking? You probably spend more time with him."
Is that what he thinks?
Mendax spent more time being ordered by Flos than seeing Lord Nix's face. Flos was a burden in himself, but Mendax was satisfied. Had been satisfied.
Or so he had told himself.
Mendax left the room. He locked the door. As much as he didn't want to leave, he needed to.
I can hope cracked ribs will be enough to keep her out of trouble for now.
"Let's go."
"For drinks?"
"Whatever."
In the street, Mendax continued the conversation.
"I was sent after her. Flos told me to… stop her," he said softly.
"Stop her?" Nivis said as he shook his head, not at all soft. "Just how do you get off treating me so rudely when you're here trying to kill people?"
"Is it possible Flos was trying to frame me?"
"Why would he bother? You have no favor with father. His goal would be me, not you."
Harsh, but true.
"So you're not going to do it?" Nivis asked as he stopped walking.
"Do you want me to kill her?" Mendax said.
He looked Nivis in the eye, but his brother stared at the night sky. A touch of blue was in it. The hint of the coming morning.
"No. Of course not," Nivis said. "But it makes things complicated."
Mendax nodded. What could be said that hadn't been said between the two? Arguments were the language of their strained connection.
Surprisingly, now that there was a perfect reason to argue, they didn't.
"I thought I'd be the one to get sick of it," Nivis said, he looked at Mendax. "I don't think she's worth it."
"We're not doing anything like that."
Nivis smiled. Mendax's eyes narrowed.
"Good luck on your independence from the old man. Looking at the sky, I have somewhere I need to be. We can get drinks next time."
"Think you've got it all figured out?"
Nivis was already turned away as he replied.
"More than you, I'll bet."
Not likely, Mendax thought, as he watched his brother leave.
Nivis made himself scarce as soon as disobedience to the Lord of Nix was voiced. It was more or less what Mendax had expected from him.
Mendax shook his head and sighed. He'd hoped to get more information out of him.
Regardless, with Nivis gone, he could follow up on the people who may a have clue as to what was going on.
———————————————————
Aureum woke up in a strange room.
Compared to her previous situation, it was a step up, so she didn't awaken to fear. It was closer to an inner stillness than any emotion.
Not peace, but quiet.
There was still pain, but since she wasn't moving anything, it was less. Less would do.
No jumping out of buildings for a while for me.
Especially without her cloak.
She frowned.
A lot of gentle time passed. Aureum was able to reason that anyone who wanted her dead would not be putting her up. So any chance fear had of wrapping her up, died.
That and she was too exhausted for it.
Eventually, voices echoed from the hallway. This had happened countless times throughout the early morning. They sounded familiar.
"AUREUM—
Vitreum burst out through the door. Before she could leap at Aureum, Mendax, and Sitis grabbed at her from behind. Mendax caught her.
"LET ME GO! SHE LIED!"
"Stop it, stop it. If you were really mad at her you wouldn't have cried on the way here," Mendax said.
He picked the girl away from the bed and sat her on a chair.
"Don't tell on me!"
But Vitreum's voice had already lost its power. She looked down shyly.
"I'm sorry, Vitreum," Aureum said, with a smile. "It's good to see you safe."
"You too," Vitreum muttered.
"Now that you're awake, maybe you would like to explain how you ended up at the black market?" Mendax said.
"Black market?"
Aureum could feel the strain on Mendax's patience. She looked away.
"Do you remember being kidnapped?" Mendax questioned.
"I thought I was the one doing the kidnapping."
Mendax's gave a slow blink.
"I remember being knocked out and waking up in a boat. Hard to forget."
"Give me the tale of what happened."
Aureum told them, trying to skip over the worst details for Vitreum's sake. Mendax and Sitis noticed, which made Sitis and Vitreum go for a walk.
After which, Aureum gave her honest version of events.
There wasn't a lot of emotion for her over it yet. It felt like she grazed death. It had been too quick to be terrifying.
She mostly didn't want to realize how bad things could have been.
The summary was kept succinct for her own sake.
"I was nearly out of it near the end. Did they really call me a slave?"
"Yes."
"That's… not great."
Slavery in Aeternitus varied from city to city. Many city-states rejected it in practice, if not in their laws. The idea that the Sorcerer King enslaved his subjects was common, and so slavery was seen as evil.
Even in the city-states it was allowed in, the laws stated slaves were to be debtors, deserters, or prisoners.
Nix held the reform that such people owed the city a debt, and would serve. On a practical level, there were worse options. It seemed a necessary evil.
Not if these slaves just happened to come across the wrong thug though.
"Actually, that's the least of what I'm worried about," Mendax said.
"Huh?"
"Tell me more about why you were looking into Vitreum's situation."
"Uh. That's a bit personal." Aureum said, stiffening.
"You don't have to tell me everything. Just. Tell me why you thought he was suspicious in the first place?"
As long as we focus on Benedic.
"Well, I overheard him wanting to sell some artifacts."
"That's not enough to kidnap his sister."
"Hang on! I told you when we went to Greenscales there was a bunch of suspicious men in his room!"
"That's it?"
"It was a completely indecent place to raise a kid!"
Mendax shook his head, his expression rueful.
"What I'm thinking, and what whoever Benedic's working with is fearing, is that you saw or heard something more serious."
"What, like them kidnapping people?! I only saw that after they kidnapped me!"
"Well, they didn't expect you to escape, now did they? Not that that couldn't have gone better. Or worse. Did you even think?"
Mendax rubbed his face with his hands and sighed. He continued.
"Another problem is that Vitreum might have been what they were using to keep Benedic in check."
"I doubt Benedic is that deep."
"You don't think he cares for his sister?"
"Nothing I've seen really shows it, but maybe I'm just judgemental."
"If she was a bargaining chip, they're going to be looking for her. If he has any concerns for her, and they want to keep him pleased, they'll be looking for her. And you too."
"Did I stomp all over their parade?"
"It's more like you could, if you acted as a witness in Fluentem's court of law."
Aureum's face twisted in disgust.
Court?
Nix's court was famous for its brutal efficiency, but even it could take months. Fluentem's court was likely to be much different, and this would be a major dispute.
Despite waiting for Spesavia to reply, Aureum was thinking less and less of staying in Fluentem.
"Couldn't me and Vitreum just run away?"
"Maybe. If you don't care about Benedic. I don't know what the repercussions for him will be."
Aureum found herself swallowing.
"But. Don't you care about what happened to the rest of the passengers on that ship?"
He said this as if it was an ace he just played.
"Not really," Aureum said. "Getting involved in other's nonsense is more your thing."
I have enough problems keeping myself alive and Vitreum alive.
Aureum squinted at Mendax.
I tell him about them and the first thing he does is use them against me!
"What? You want me to get involved with this? I'm on bed rest!"
"Another reason you can't run away."
"What do you want from me? I can't help you."
"I don't want anything from you," Mendax said. "I want to help."
Aureum looked at him, as much doubt as she could express through narrowed eyes. She didn't feel like moving much.
He sat at the edge of the bed. As always, it was difficult to read his face. Only obvious expressions made much of a dent in it.
The green eyes seemed sincere. She could use help.
"I really don't know what you expect," Aureum said quietly. "I'm not even sure if I can move today."
"All I need is your description of them, and then you can sleep."
Aureum closed her eyes. Her admittance of defeat.
"As long as it's just that."