16 The Mine VI : Green District Marke

I had learnt something about myself In the time that I have been....well been....you know....been me. So I knew without a doubt that I loved attention, I craved it, enjoyed it so much that it could almost be considered an addiction as bad as my new lust for the pulsing vein within Asare's neck.

But being watched by numerous eyes as you wheeled an enormous cart towards the guard tower was quite unsettling. And do you know why?, do you. Oh!You don't. Well don't worry, I'll tell you why. It's because I knew what I was pushing was a ticket to a better life in this place for a lot of them. Of course they didn't know that, but I did. And the very idea of making a mistake and ruining everything, had left my back drenched in perspiration, a bodily act which should be impossible, seeing as I was now considered dead. Don't let the slowly beating heart fool you, eventually that will stop too.

But Asare moving ahead of me, seemed to deter the more curious ones from taking actions or even asking questions. But I was nervous, very nervous. Asare told me to wait outside while he took care of some business within the guards tower. After that I took the time to look at the vampires who had been killed and placed on it's walls like a trophy.

It's been almost two weeks since I have been here, but in all that time their bodies were still hanging from the earth spikes jutting from the walls of the tower. This people were here and dead because of two people, they were dead and their bodies made a mockery off because of their belief in me, and the hope that Teluna carries.It was at this moment I truly understood what and how much important it was that Teluna remained unsealed. He could set them free, set us all free if he could get strong enough.

It was certainly disappointing for me though, in a way I guess my time of saving and being a beacon of hope was rapidly coming to an end. I felt suffocated by the responsibility, but it kept me sane and connected to some semblance of my past. It made me believe that the people who I was condemned to the darkness for, would still need me to stand for them even as I have become one and the lesser of them, and considered worth nothing but trash to a lot of people.

Being a hero kind of gave me a purpose, it kept me afloat. But if I was not going to be Kael Cor lion of Shearath, then who am I. Well I don't think I would be able to find the answers at this moment, but time will deliver it to me..….after all, I have an eternity to decide.

Asare came back out fifteen minutes later, with his hand filled with different colored medallions? They each had distinct carvings on their surfaces, so they were bound to mean something.

"What are those?" I asked as soon as Asare was within earshot.

"Let's get going, I will tell you on the way." He replied, and walked past me like I was not worth the dirt under his shoes. Isn't he taking this guard role to far, I'm his liege lord you know....well former lord, but who's going to worry about the Intricacies of prison rules, when the guard is choosing to serve the prisoner.

Ahh!Maybe I shouldn't complain so much, there should be a very big dividing line and status between the guards and the vampires. The bottom line of the matter is that, they are not friends. The guards oppress, and the vampires get oppressed, that's the status quo, that's the way the pit works. If Asare is found out to be a sympathizer of vampires, it wouldn't end well for him or me. So for now, I will tolerate his crass insubordination.

I was about to head towards the rail cart, before Asare shook his head and pointed at a big circular stone platform at the side of the guards tower. He led me there,and almost immediately I could see that it was a medium for weaving.

But based on what Asare had told me, I could see that it was made from a combination of rune phrases,and rune sentences. The phrases were STEADY, SHIFT, SPACE, TRANSPORT, CONNECT, SPEED.They were neatly written on the edges of the platform, and then a circle was drawn, trapping them on the outside of the circle, while the inner circle had the rune Sentence written in it.

SHIFT MATTER AND ESSENCE THROUGH SPACE, CONNECT TO THE DISTANCE, CONNECT TO THE SET.

I felt like the words were self explanatory for the most part, though the sentence was a little confusing, it made sense to a certain extent. Besides from what Asare told me, it's not just the sentence written, but the intent behind the rune words. The weaver has to be sure of the way he wants it to work. Another weaver can write something similar, and it would work in an entirely different way. At least I think it was that way.

I dragged the cart to the middle of the platform, wondering 'now what.' Then Asare turned to me and said. "Brace yourself." "What do you mean...…."

"VOOOP!!"

That was the sound I heard before my body was shifted through very fabric of space. Teleportation!Wow!....good God it sucks!I felt like someone had taken out my organs and scrubbed them with sand and tiny rocks. Then he took them and placed them in boiling oil, and with my organs still sizzling hot, he placed them back into my body. Trust me when I tell you this, it was not a pleasant feeling, not one bit.

"Don't worry, it will pass. It's always like this the first time you use the transference gate. Next time it would be much easier."

Next time!,like hell am I getting on that thing again. This was way worse than the first time I was in an airplane...…wait a minute, what's are airplane? Damn this random and strange words that just keep popping up are beginning to frustrate the hell out of me. I wonder if I'm going crazy.

"Welcome Lord Kael, to the green district market of the pit."

"Seriously you're talking as if the pit is not the only place with a green district, or a market."

After I finished saying that,Asare turned to me with a confused look on his face. It was as if there was something he expected me to know, yet I didn't know it. When he saw that I was really clueless, he decided to spill the beans.

"The pit is not the only prison here lord Kael, you did notice the three other tunnels that branched from the main tunnel on your way here. One of those tunnels leads to the drain, prison of the Nagas, another to the Aviary prison to the Nephilim, the winged descendants of fallen angels from the celestial realm. And the last one only rumored to be the prison of two existences of great power and prestige. In that prison called the den, the last of the nine dragon kings are held captive."

I was surprised, very much so. The vampire were not the only race that humans screwed over. But Dragons, honest to God dragons. How the fuck do you imprison beings like that, it's supposed to be impossible. At least I think so. I had this vague feeling of awe and respect when the dragons were mentioned.

"Well forget about all those things lord Kael, the prisons are kept completely isolated from each other, so I doubt you would be able to see any of them anyway. Now let me tell you about the medallions.

The yellow one is a permit for trade, with it you're allowed to buy and sell within the green district market. To obtain it, you need to have submitted at least five years worth of ores. But with the dasenite, it was not that much of a problem. Apart from Ionite, it's the most valuable commodity in the dancing caves of Noxis Nyx.

The black medallion is a permit to own a weapon,of course the ownership of a weapon is regulated, and even if you own a legendary weapon, there's a hidden mechanism in the seals that prevent vampires from attacking someone who's not sealed.

The grey medallion is a tower ownership grant, your district, sector, area and tower number is at the back. Which means you can begin construction on your tower and build it however you want. It belongs to you now. It took quite a lot of das to pay for that.

The Red medallion means you're now entitled to live in the red district. It gives you certain privileges, like you only have to bring five kilograms of any mined ire, every month. You're also allowed to start your own coven. Now that this is out of the way, let's go buy stuff."

I did not know why Asare seemed to be in such a good mood, but it was Infectious. I was also sure there were more medallions that could be bought, but he didn't get them. When I thought about it, I realized that even with the medallions he had gotten me, it was enough for the entire residents of the pit to look at me with suspicion. Anymore, and I attract more attention than I could deal with. It'll be a bad, bad situation for me and the people involved with me.

After that I looked up and noticed the green glow that suffused the area. The green district was most certainly cleaner than the blue district, but it was also more crowded. An almost endless stream of vampires were walking and going about their businesses. Stalls lined the street, and some towers had shops excavated out of them.

But vampires were not the only race I could see, there were dwarves, dark and night elves, though I still couldn't differentiate between both races. I could see gnomes, goblins,exotic creatures in cages, and other races in cages. Seems slavery is also a thing, I shuddered to think what would have happened to me if I had chosen to fight for the slaves freedom rather than the vampire's. I would probably be a slave to some slimy fat old noble with a taste for cute and exotic young boys. Urgh I can't get that image out of my head.

But with every thing around me, and the haggling and battering Asare did not stop or slow down in his stride. He walked forward with confidence, and because he was a guard the crowd gave way for him, while I followedbehind dragging a huge cart with my body full of holes. It painted a picture, and not a very nice one. They noticed me, they all did, and many of them had fury in their eyes that shook me very badly.

They all looked like they wanted to tear Asare to pieces, I looked up and raised my hands and made an up and down motion as if I was telling them to calm down. I knew it was not what they were thinking, but Asare would definitely prefer this scenario. If people don't see the connection between the two of us, then he could properly protect me from the shadows of the pit.

We marched on, until we came to a tower that was decorated to look like a shopping complex. Then Asare took a significant amount of the Dasenite flasks and went in, telling me to wait. He came out later with another cart, bigger than what I was already pulling. Then he led me towards an obscure part of the market where things most vampires would consider useless were being sold.

We had passed a stall where an old dwarf merchant was selling seeds and farming equipment. After twenty seconds of a silent argument with Asare, where the words we used was just the looks we weregiving each other, he relented and bought all those farming stuff for me. Then we went in deeper until we came to a place where the green glow of the district was so pale. It was obvious we were now at the outskirts. There was another tower here, and it was heavily guarded too.

The tower looked ominous, and I couldn't imagine what it sold or who was in it that it was so protected. Asare told me to stay out of sight and trouble, then he took a hundred and fifty flasks, placing them in a trolley that just seemed to appear out of no where, what the hell!.Then he went into the tower and came back three hours later with a bruise on his face and a huge suitcase. It was almost three meters long and a meter wide. He actually pulled it with ease, I guess he looked stronger than he looked. I wanted to ask him what happened, but he just brushed me off and said let's go. I couldn't help but wonder what the hell had happened in that tower.

We made it back to the blue district and back to my tower without any excitement, then Asare gave me three books which he just seemed to bring out of thin air, and a list of instructions. Before he turned and left without another word, bringing our long day of adventures to an end with gains that can only be exposed in the next chapter. But for now I'm so tired, and I really need to sleep.I can worry about the things bought tomorrow.