Chapter 95 - Slave Market of Volantis (Patreon)

The next day, Valkorion was going to the slave marker of the Volantis.

And he was here alone because he had taken Camille Ferros with him too, because she insisted on participating. On the other hand, it was a good thing that she went with him because she knew the people who were selling the best slaves.

"How much are you planning to invest?"

Camille asked him as they were walking through the bustling streets of the Volantis.

"Around 50,000 Gold Dragon Coins for sure."

Hearing that caused the Heiress Apparent of the Clan Ferros to raise her brows because that was a huge number. In the different coinages, this would be an astronomical number; in the Westeros, this would be a number that only the Royal Houses would be able to pull out to invest out of nowhere.

Even among the Valyrian Freehold and rich Magisters of the City-States, fifty thousand Gold Dragon Coins wasn't something that was taken lightly. Camille knew that the adventurer profession was something that could bring someone great riches or nothing at all aside from death.

And there were even fewer people who would be willing to invest this kind of money into their own security. Mostly because this was just an initial investment, as she knew that Valkorion was planning to buy slaves who were either Beyonders already or had Beyonder potential.

Not only that, but he also wanted to buy a Pure-Blooded Valyrian, who were slaves, and that was rather pricy, especially because he was going for the skilled ones.

"That is a very high number you are going to invest."

Valkorion nodded but didn't really say anything else.

A slave market in a Volantis was a rather new experience for Valkorion, who went to the slave market for the first time in his life. It was a weird combination of the gritty, dark underbelly of a bustling metropolis with exotic, otherworldly elements.

Within the Volantis, the slave market was in a separate district in the Merchant District called the Slave District, mainly due to the safety measures as some of the slaves were Beyonders.

Due to that, the Slave District was constructed separately as a closed complex that could be instantly turned into a prison the moment the first signs of slave rebellion happened. The entire district was a sprawling, open-air plaza surrounded by towering, black stone walls with intricate carvings that depicted scenes of conquest and subjugation.

Overhead, colorful but tattered canopies stretch between stone pillars, filtering sunlight and casting dappled shadows on the scene below. Everywhere where the eye could see, there were countless guards from the Volantis City Guards that were called Tiger Warriors, mainly because many of them had various species of the Tigers as their tamed partners.

The security in the Slave District was extremely strict and strong. It was clear that they were not taking any chances with the possibility of the Slave Rebellion that may or may not happen.

Having Beyonder slaves was always a very dangerous thing. No matter how many countermeasures one came up with and created, mistakes could happen all the time, and even some of the best methods to contain the Beyonder Slaves could fail spectacularly.

Valkrorion was led through the slave market by Camille, who knew this place like the back of her hand. While the Clan Ferros wasn't actively dealing with the selling slaves, because it wasn't really worth of the effort for them.

Having a successful slave business was something that required a ridiculous amount of initial investment.

A lot of money was typically given to security measures and other things because the highest demand was after the Beyonder slaves, slaves that were skilled warriors or ones with the potential to become Beyonder.

So any good prospecting slave master would need to prepare a lot of money for the increased security, Beyonder guards, Beyonder capable of using Magic and creating Slave Crests, accessories, advanced slave pens that could house the Beoynder slaves, and so on.

Camille once told him that if one wanted to become a big slaver, then the initial investment would be somewhere around half a million Gold Dragon Coins as started. However, this was applied only when the slaver was planning to capture and sell Beyonder slaves that were in the greatest demand.

Though many of the slave masters preferred to deal with just rather ordinary non-Beyonders, maximally, some skilled fighters and warriors could be subdued by a few Low Sequence Beyonders in advanced gear.

Clan Ferros wasn't going to invest a lot of money into the slave business for uncertain results because today's slave market was already entirely controlled by a few factions that were dividing the entire market between each other, especially when it came to the Beyonder slaves.

The slave market of the Volantis was like a cacophony of sounds: the rhythmic clang of iron shackles, the sharp cracks of a whip, and the murmur of negotiations mixed with cries of the enslaved. Merchants, many adorned in flowing robes embroidered with strange sigils, stand behind raised platforms or sturdy wooden cages reinforced with glowing runes to prevent escape.

Each slave pen is packed with a variety of beings. Most of the slaves were humans, mainly the ones of Valyrian origin, but there were also a lot of Ghiscari, Tall Men, Dothraki, and most obviously, the non-human species.

Most notable from the non-human species were the hulking forms of the Orcs, with heavy chains and rare Extraordinary Creatures that had already reached Sequence 7 or Sequence 6.

Some cages are marked with arcane symbols warning of dangerous powers within; this was done by the Beyonder spellcasters, who could create protective wars around the slave pens to contain the most powerful of the slaves that were being contained within the place.

Buyers, ranging from wealthy Valyrian Nobles or the rich Magisters from the other City-States through various Beyonders that needed some slaves either as servants or as some for of sacrifice for their rituals to the various unsavory elements of the society that were here to buy what they wanted.

Most of the experienced buyers already had keen eyes on the merchandise, their keen eyes appraising the captives not just for physical strength but for Beyonder's potential or unique talents.

And there was, for certain, a lot to choose from, because Volantis had it all.

However, Valkorion had to admit that he didn't lie about this place. Even though he was from the 21st century where the traditional slavery was non-existent, he didn't really cared aoobut such thing as strict believer in the social Darwinism.

The scent in the air is oppressive, a blend of sweat, fear, exotic spices, and the tang of blood. This place was filthy, and no matter how efficient they claimed to be, Camille told him that maintaining large amounts of slaves wasn't really as cheap as one would expect, and it was rather an expensive endeavor.

The Valyrian Freehold was functioning solely on the slave work, including many of the Beyonder slaves, which required astronomical amounts of Gold Dragon Coins each year to maintain the status quo for the slaves to continue work so the Pure-Blooded Valyrians didn't have to.

Valkorion knew from his own history that any civilization built on the concept of slavery was destined to perish sooner or later; Freehold was no exception to this iron-clad rule.