Blood and Sand: A Wandering Inn Quest (Isekai/LitRPG)

Well, well, well. We have a tie.

The caravan is separated, then, with the Sheik's slaves being led aside by bellowing guards and taken to the back of the compound. Livia says that's where her father's training grounds lie. Servants arrive to unload the magically-dense contents of the two wagons that had supplied the caravan for months of desert traveling, and you note that they all wear tight-fitted clothes of a deep red. They're all [Slaves]. Like you.

"Papa trains [Gladiator] slaves, not [Servants]," Livia says, noticing your attention. "But that's what Keliel's for."

"Who's Keliel?" you ask. Several of the slaves look up sharply when they hear you speaking to Livia.

As if summoned by the question, an older man throws the manor's doors wide open, bringing silence to the entryway. He wears the same shapeless red robe as the other slaves, but it's worn and faded, hanging loosely from his frame. His close-cut hair is black, save for streaks of gray around his temples, and he walks with a sort of oddly-flowing grace, as if his bare feet aren't truly touching the ground. He sweeps past the servants and heads directly for the Sheik's wagon. Only as he passes you do you notice that he has long, pointed ears.

Sheik Aurelius emerges a moment later, and his presence sends a ripple of movement through the manor. The staff cease their labors and bow at the waist towards him, while guards force the gladiators to their knees. The Sheik looks over the manor for a moment, his eyes pausing briefly upon you and Livia, the only individuals still standing. Even Sophie has bowed her head at her master's father.

"Welcome back, Master Aurelius," says the man in red.

"I do feel welcomed. You've done well in my absence, Keliel," says the Sheik.

"No thanks to this lazy lot, Master," Keliel says, glaring back at the other slaves. "Back to work!"

The words spark a frenzy of renewed activity from the slaves and a chuckle from the Sheik. "You seem to have things well in hand. Now, tell me what has passed in my absence. The wagon's [Message] enchantment failed a week into the Zeikhal and I've had no news for nigh on three months."

"I shall summon an [Enchanter] to look it over at once, Master," says Keliel. "If you'd care to tour the grounds, I can bring a number of other matters to your attention… "

The two head off into the mansion, and the frenzied pace of the slaves unloading the caravan continues even in their absence. Livia frowns. "Papa will be busy with him for hours. C'mon, let's put you to work."

"What?"

She looks up at you, expression blank. "Papa was paying to have you teach his [Gladiators]. I can get more out of him because of that class consolidation you got for that one girl, but I can get even more if other people are offering to pay me for your time. That's what your economics lessons said, right? Increase in demand leads to increase in price. And there's only one of you, so there's no way to increase the supply." She pauses, looking you up and down. "Unless… no, humans take years and years before they're useful. Waste of time. Come with me; we can start at the Merchant's Guild."

"But Miss Livia!" Sophie says. "You can't go out like that!"

Livia looks down at herself - her pristine silk robes, her perfectly maintained hair and nails, at her smooth skin that is unmarred by blemish or by the dust of the road. "Ah. Thank you, Sophie. Tomorrow, then. In the meantime, Sophie, summon a [Tailor]. You, on the other hand… ugh, let's go talk to Kelly."

Sophie bows and then scurries off to do her master's bidding.

Livia takes you past the laboring slaves, who part before her like minnows around a shark, and into her father's manor. She guides you through twisting, curving corridors and across shag rugs so deep you sink up to your ankles, past statues great and paintings small, until finally the two of you reach her father's office. It is an exact replica of the one in his wagon where you first met him - or, rather, the one in his wagon is a copy of this one. And here he holds court, with Keliel speaking to the state of the manor and the problems - both resolved and un - that have occurred in the Sheik's absence as three others wait in silence.

"Two [Cleaners] are still in confinement for disobedience, awaiting your discipline, Master. As well as - ah, Miss Livia," he says, cutting off his report in order to give a sweeping court bow to the unimpressed twelve year old.

"Was there something you needed?" asks the Sheik. His eyes drift to you, and you see the corner of his mouth quirk upwards in amusement. "Something you had forgotten, like how you planned to quarter this [Slave]?"

Kelial straightens. "A single extra [Slave] is no trouble at all, Master!"

Sheik Aurelius smiles indulgently. "I'm sure you could, Keliel. But you see, this is not one of my [Slaves] - he is Livia's. And if she wishes to learn her class, then she must learn how to maintain her property. And a room in my manor is more expensive than a closet in my wagon."

Livia pouts up at her father. "I was going to work it out with Kelly, Father."

"How unfortunate for you that this is my manor, then, and not Keliel's."

The little girl's pout deepens into a scowl. "Out, all of you," she says.

"Oh?" asks the Sheik. "Giving orders to my [Slaves] and servants in my estate? Did you gain [Boldness of the Lion] for your tenth level?"

"Level ten?" gasps Keliel. "You were only eight when we last heard from your father! I shall prepare a celebration!"

"Do it outside, Kelly," says Livia, gesturing towards the door. And the old [Slave] with the pointed ears, who moves like a dancer and who has her father's trust, hesitates.

The Sheik rolls his eyes. "We shall be brief."

It's apparently the only dismissal the group needs, as they make gestures of obeisance before filing out of the Sheik's office. Keliel closes the door behind you all, cutting off all sound from within as if by magic. Which, for all you know, it very well might be.

You take a moment to observe the four people you're waiting with.

First is a strange looking Lizardfolk. He has very subdued brown-and-green scales compared to Voxitel, his tail is much broader and thicker, and his neck is lined with pointed spines rather than frills. He studies you closely with his yellow, slit-pupiled eyes, sending a shiver down your spine that has nothing to do with your [Dangersense], before mentally dismissing you and turning his attention back to the door.

Beside him is the first free human you've seen since your capture. At least, you assume he's free - he wears a loose, knee-length white kilt and a tightly fitted long-sleeved shirt in black. His hair is a shockingly bright shade of pink, and his rugged face is twisted almost as much by scars as by his deep frown. This seems to be less directed at you or anything else in particular and more a general state of his existence.

The third person in the room is a towering woman in a giant suit of bizarre armor. It's wooden, but coated in some sort of emerald-green lacquer that makes it shine and shimmer beneath the light streaming through the manor's windows. You're trying to guess her role in things - bodyguard? - when she pulls off her head. She tucks it beneath one shoulder and scratches at the exposed hole of her neck.

"Do not stare," barks Keliel. "It is rude to stare at Dullahans, and doubly so for a [Slave]. Were you one of the Master's, I would have you whipped."

You avert your eyes and bite down on the first sarcastic comment that comes to your tongue. The old man is important, for all that he's a [Slave]. You shouldn't burn bridges with him if you don't have to.

"What is your name, [Slave]?" asks Keliel. "Miss Livia has focused entirely on training her [Handmaiden], and I did not expect her to take on another so soon. I hope you are a new acquisition? Surely she would have had some courtesy beaten into you if she'd had the time."

"My name is Roger Davis," you say. "And you're Keliel?"

The man's eyes narrow. "[Slaves] do not ask questions."

You really want to snap at him, but you restrain yourself. "I'm a [Teacher]. I'm supposed to ask questions."

"I shall have to keep you separated from the Master's polite company, then," Keliel says. "Fine. Yes, I am Keliel, Master Aurelius's [Majordomo]. You will address me with the respect I am due as the voice of my Master in his absence. You will give similar respect to these three."

"And they are?" you ask.

A vein pulses in Keliel's forehead. Before he can answer, the armored woman lets out a deep, booming laugh.

"Hah! I like this one," she says. You're not sure whether to stare at her armored torso, her empty neck hole, or her face - and you finally settle on her chin as a neutral option. "I am Elaina Oaksteel, and I am the Sheik's [Head Maid]. This one is - "

"Piss off El," says the human. "I can damn well introduce myself. Bashak Norn, [Head Chef]. And I don't care what in Rhir's hells your mistress tells you, stay out of my kitchen. Bad enough with that [Handmaiden] of hers filching sweets."

You turn to the final person, the strange-looking Lizardfolk, somewhat expectantly. He's bare chested, showing off a heavily muscled physique that's criss-crossed with a number of scars. His only clothing is a loose set of shin-length sky-blue pants with a hole cut in the rear to make space for his tail. "Drokur Flametongue. [Champion Trainer]."

Any further conversation is halted by Livia emerging from her father's office, looking incredibly smug. "Kelly will show you to the Cotton Suite."

Keliel instantly objects. "Miss Livia, that room is for - "

"It's for whatever my Father says it's for, and he says it's for my [Teacher]. Are you arguing with me or my father, Kelly?"

"Well, no, of course not… "

And so the little girl browbeats the old man into escorting you to what looks like a nice hotel room. There's a single bed, dressers for your clothes - of which you have none - and a large desk beneath a wall-to-wall window, which you think is probably what made Livia get the room for you. It's… considerate. Nice.

"Far better than a rude [Slave] deserves," says Keliel, before shutting the door behind him and leaving you to your faintly luxurious accommodations.

And he's not wrong. It is nice. And it is better than the average [Slave] deserves. You have it because Livia thinks the writing space will benefit your class. It is considerate, of course, but… if it were to her benefit, would she have you sleep atop freezing sands, beneath the open sky? Her father did it with his [Gladiators], and they seem cut of the same cloth.

It doesn't take you long to settle in. You take out your journal and make some notes, planning out ideas for your future as best you can. You'll have to start teaching again, which… well, you're not entirely opposed to. You had enjoyed academia. It's why you'd gone for a doctorate in the first place, even if you'd told your parents there were career opportunities. And you'd enjoyed teaching philosophy to your students on the caravan.

Except now you're teaching [Slaves] so that they can obtain unique classes and be more entertaining [Gladiators] when they fight and die for the amusement of their masters. It sours the entire experience. You'll have to do something about that, though you've no idea what.

For now, your concerns are limited to making connections for when you finally do decide to earn your freedom… one way or another. And history may not be your strong suit, but you've read the Letter from a Birmingham Jail.

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.

==========


Who among the manor's staff will you get to know better over the next month?
[ ] Keliel, the Majordomo
[ ] Elaina Oaksteel, the Head Maid
[ ] Bashak Norn, the Head Chef
[ ] Drokur Flametongue, the Champion Trainer