BXBX NOVEL Chapter 324 - Negotiations III
~~~(Time: 8:03 AM)~~~
Helda's spy has since left, and our food is as gone as she is. While the massive meal was expensive, it was worth it. I still have plenty of money before I have to head to a bank. Hailey and Sally are getting along great, and that leaves a hole in our group. Jasmine and I have yet to have any deep conversations. Talking to her might be a little hard.
I don't know how sensitive she is regarding her past, and I don't know how willing she'd be to listen to mine in a foreign world before we players arrived. Might as well give it a shot. "Jasmine." Her head turns, and she looks at me as Sally and Hailey continue their talk. "Mind telling me a little about yourself. Promise that I'll never tell." She surprises me as she smiles.
Ex-slaves struggle with their pasts, and it's hard for them to talk about it. I'm proud that Sally feels safe enough with me to tell me her past. Hopefully, Jasmine can trust me that much one day. "I'll share a little with you, but you have to start." That's fair. In the end, I'm the one that asked. Opening up first could be the right way to get her to trust me.
Now let's see, I don't have anything in my past she can relate to. She's had a way harder life than I did, and I don't want to make it seem like a competition on who had the harder life. "My first memories were my mom and dad playing mini-golf. They took my sister and me out. This was before Marcus was born." This might be a good way to approach this.
Maybe her first memories are good, but the solemn look on her face says different. "I don't really remember my early childhood, mostly just my time as a slave. I was really young when I became one..." This isn't going the way I hoped, but there is a way to salvage it. Instead of keeping the backward silence, I ask another question.
Being direct is sometimes the best option. "Then how about you tell me the first thing you did after you escaped. How was it to finally be free?" Being free from slavery is a memory anyone would remember, and it could be the best day of her life. She looks at me with a surprised curve in her eyebrow, and he nods her head slowly as she closes her eyes.
Probably trying to recall what happened. "I remember the warm sun shining down on me as I walked through a field of flowers... That was the first time I ever got a sunburn... It was the greatest feeling in the world!" My mind could never comprehend slavery. Illegal or legal, and she has suffered much at the hands of it.
~~~(POV: Saliandra Orvello)~~~
~~~(Time: 8:11 AM)~~~
Hailey finishes her recount of the first time Cera made their parents mad. Apparently, he was an incredible smartass when he was young and before he went to school. Their version of school sounds so much different than our version. "It was the first time mom had spanked Cera! She felt so bad she was apologizing for an hour after it happened!" Her laugh makes me giggle too.
My attention is caught as Jasmine starts to laugh, and I notice this is the first time I see Jasmine and Cera talking. Their conversation must be something on the casual side, but I never know with Cera. His personality is direct, and he's not too great at being subtle with words. "They're getting along, and I'm glad they are." Hailey speaks as she looks towards me.
They're sitting across the room by the windows. Talking quietly and enjoying each other company. "Does it make you jealous?" She asks me something that I haven't considered. Since that's the case, then I'm not. I shake my head, and she wraps an arm around me. "That's good cause Cera isn't that type of man." I know he isn't.
He's told me that he hates cheaters, and they ruin love. He'd rather die than cheat, and I'd rather be killed than lose him. "Cera said he was a virgin when we first did it... Do you know if that's true or not?" She cringes and recoils a little. Normally, I wouldn't ask this. He makes me feel good when we do it, and it makes me think he's done it before.
I won't be mad if he lied, but it will make me question other things he's told me. "As much as I hate this topic, I'd never seen him with a woman in my life before you came along. For a while here, I thought he was gay?" Gay? I'm unfamiliar with that term. It must be a word that comes from their world. She sees my confusion and smiles.
She lets go of me and sighs. "We can talk about words from my word another time. In the meantime, we should get ready. I'm betting Helda is going to be here any moment now." She stands up and walks over to Cera. Smacking him on the shoulder and he rolls his eyes and stands up himself. They're going to be the main talkers.
~~~(POV: Helda Vora)~~~
~~~(Location: Outside groups Temporary Home)~~~
~~~(Time: 8:25 AM)~~~
It's time that I get this over with, and I get what's mine after I help them. My hand pounds on the door, and a tall male opens the door. His black hair and hazel eyes are striking. He smiles and steps aside. Inviting us in and being nice at the same time. "You probably want to get this over with, and so do I. Let's go." He leads me upstairs, and I look around the room to the rest.
They don't have their hoods on this time, and all of them are quite beautiful. "Hailey, show her the dagger." The second tallest in this room stands up and walks over. She takes something out of her Inventory, a word new people use. She holds the dagger in her palm, and my eyes can't leave it. It's amazing and what belonged to my ancestors.
I reach my hand out to touch it, but she pulls it away and puts it in her Inventory. The frown on my face is apparent. " Now that you've seen that what we have is legit, will you take us across the border?" He wastes no time at all. Many would try to small talk their way to getting my help, but he doesn't, mainly because they have something I desperately want.
My arms fold, and I take a step back. I need some guarantee that I'll get it when the job is done. "How do I know you won't just take off with it after I get you across the border?" This is my biggest concern right now, and I'm not risking it. She sighs and rubs the back of his head. His eyes close, and he continues to think.
His eyes open, and a grin spreads across his face. "There isn't a way to prove that we won't, but we can't even use the dagger. We have to be smugglers. Keeping it serves us no purpose, and as your spy probably knows, we don't need money." He's right about that. Only a smuggler can use the dagger, and none of them are.
While there are still holes in these negotiations, I'm satisfied enough to take the deal as is. "Fine, let me know when you're ready to leave. You can contact me through Melimora like you did yesterday." He nods his head, and my eyes scan over everyone. "I want to know about all of you, what kind of shit storm I'm getting into." They all share a look, like this expected this.
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A/N: Below this line, I'll be keeping Cera's player information. That way, I won't have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.
[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.193]
[Exp: 3/100%]
[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]
[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]
[Mana aura control: 6/100%]
[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]
[Stat Points: 30] [Armor rating: 500]
[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [Hardened Tree sap Armor (Very Rare)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir's Whistle (Divine)] [Sally's Dresses 5x] [Camping gear] [Food Rations 4x] [Dried meat 4x] [Fishing poles 2x] [Fish 8x] [Festival Garbs 2x]
[Passive Perks]
[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]
[Active Skills]
[Heavens light Lvl.59 325/5900] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.59 225/5900] [Slash Lvl..77 4600/130000] [Parry Lvl.53 80/5300] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controled Fun]