Disobedience Has a Price
It had not taken many years since ordered societies' demise for the institution of slavery to again take precedence. At the onset of the war, the strong were already beginning to lean towards slavery as an ideal. Many survivors would, after all, do anything to be accepted into the communities that had survived the initial destruction. If they had to bow and scrape to be admitted they most often did, and in a very short time it became the norm, the strong, exploited the weak, and slavery was reborn.
Human livestock had become a lucrative business not only for powerful men such as Master Jacques who sat at the top of the wealth pyramid of this new reforming society, but even for those assigned to capture this valuable resource.
Many seemingly very ordinary men participated in this unsavory trade. Even those closest to them never knew of their dark activities. They lived fairly ordinary lives most days, and on occasion, they left their families, farms, and trades to carry out the unthinkable. Most who were enslaved never saw their assailant's faces, as these men were always masked. Anonymity was of the utmost importance to them.
However men like Jormugar were an even rarer breed, he was not ashamed of his trade. To him, it was survival of the fittest, and he had no qualms about putting anyone in chains as long as there was gold to be had. He rightly didn't need the wealth, after all his tastes were simple, but he enjoyed the kudos his currency could buy him if he so chose to flaunt it. However, for the most part, the young man preferred the company of his fellow creatures and was very much a man of this new age.
Once again he rode north on his trusty grullo gelding, however, he was not alone this time. He had with him nine other slavers. They had gone north with Master Jacques' blessing and funding, to capture the prizes that Jormugar had alluded to. The young man had been told not to fail.
They had only been a few days into their excursion when they encountered a family traveling south. It was unusual to see anyone traveling in these parts anymore, and Jormugar guessed the family must have been fleeing some hardship, hoping to make a better life in the South.
His keen-eyed animal instincts had spotted the retinue when they were no more than a speck on the horizon. The men had halted and lay in wait. After all good captives even if they were not the original captives they had sought, would still bring a good price. Jormugar, never a man to miss an opportunity decided that this chance at more slaves seemed too good to pass up.
The family had been an easy target, and dusk found the party of slavers heading back to Master Jacques' compound. The family consisting of one middle-aged man, his wife, and three children, a comely daughter and young identical twin sons in chains. Jormugar was already counting his gold.
*****
Jormugar stood next to his horse in the hot, dusty compound as the animal sated its thirst. He stroked its shiny, warm neck, and ruffled its black mane as the animal took long deep gulps, making a sound that was calming to the wild tracker. He didn't enjoy the habitations of humans much, they always set him on edge. He preferred instead to spend time up north, alone with his animal companions. The cunning tracker was thinking that perhaps after he retrieved the slaves he had promised Master Jacques, that he would look for a new puppy and go back and spend some time alone on the land that he called home.
The other men who had ridden with him had departed for their former lives, and the captives had been removed to the holding cells. As for Jormugar, he had been asked to wait.
The bright sun had a sting to it today, and although used to the heat, the man felt beads of sweat accumulating on his brow, and on the back of his neck under his mop of thick, chocolate-brown hair. He wiped at it with his hand and decided to lead his horse away from the center of the compound, to the meager shade of the walls. He sat in the dirt and waited.
Jormugar more a wild animal than a man did not feel calm this day. He was unsure why, but his senses were on high alert as he scanned the hot, dusty compound. It appeared the Master had visitors, poppy buyers most likely.
