Dark Stag Ch. 15

"Do you know everything that's going on here?" I asked.

"I know a bit, not everything. I'm still pretty low on the totem pole." The Wolf responded.

"Okay..." I shrugged.

"You know what this means?" He asked.

"No..."

"The brothel might be in trouble. If the owner of this establishment is dead, with no beneficiaries, no one to sign over the papers of ownership and responsibilities, the warehouse goes back on the market. The slaves, everyone here, goes to auction. People lose their jobs! Devari and his brother homeless..." The Wolf explained

"Brother?" I asked, taken aback.

"Yeah Devari has a little brother, one that's a bit of a handful. He gets into a ton of trouble and since Devari has this to worry about, I'm afraid it might be all too much for him." The Wolf sighed.

"How old is Devari?" I asked, my curiosity peaked.

"He's a kid himself, about twenty three, twenty four." The Wolf sighed.

"I figured such... He doesn't look any older than I do." I responded.

"There's also something else going on..." The Wolf noted.

"You got any clues as to what that might be?" I asked.

"A few months ago, way before you arrived... Devari, his father and a business partner got into a huge, huge fight. It was when Devari was first starting to run things here. I don't know what the fight was about but I'm guessing that business partner fucked them over because immediately after that, Devari was on his own... His father rallied up a caravan that same night and went slave hunting." The Wolf explained.

"Why? What happened? You know?" I asked.

"My guess... money." The wolf shrugged, "And you didn't hear a damn word from me..."

"I got you..." I nodded, the Wolf leaving me.

I resumed sharpening my flay. It was like filing nails, really soothing and mind freeing... to a degree. There was no way around thinking about the well being of Felker Distribution. What precisely was going on here at the brothel? Would Devari's father return? What trouble could have caused this? Was my sister even a part of this brothel? Was I wasting my time? Was she one of the escorts scheduled to return in the coming weeks?

Eventually, the worrying made even the sharpening of the thin dagger in my hand less enjoyable. I slapped it onto the table, clenching my throbbing head. It was hard keeping a strong will in this place. Evenings like this made me want to cry, but tears wouldn't help. They'd only make me sulk deeper into my feelings.

"Summer... it's time for you to head to your quarters..." Someone said. I slowly turned, seeing Mardee standing behind me.

"Okay..." I said back.

He escorted me to my room. Long gone were the nights of sleeping on the hard floor of the warehouse. I was moved to one of the many studio living quarters at the front of the warehouse. They were nice, very comfortable with a ton of amenities. The best part about them was the privacy.

I could work out, and work out and work out without a soul seeing. That was precisely my plan for the night. If sharpening my flay didn't work, then surely a few hundred pushups, toe touches, cycle kicks, and contortium de mal would. Indeed it did! Eventually, I was too sore to continue.

I showered, washing the sweat off of me. Then it was off to bed. The next day, rolled around, a sense of gloom falling over the brothel. Everyone went to breakfast, more quiet than normal. It seemed word had spread of the dreadful news. I sat at a table alone, eating my kiss fruit and bread before the Mammoth came and sat across from me.

I looked up at the giant man.

"Hi..." I said, chewing.

"Hey..." He smiled warmly, "You doing well this morning?"

"Certainly..." I nodded.

"How's your training been going?" I asked.

"Things have lightened up significantly from the first week. Conditions are still rough, but I can't complain." I smiled.

"That's good to hear. It only gets better from here. When you start getting clients, they'll only have love and respect for you! Your training ends in four more weeks..." He smiled, then you'll be one of us.

I don't know why, but a joyous smile came across my face. Surely I wasn't anticipating this. I don't know, but the Mammoth made this feel almost like a family. He was such a sweet giant.

"I can't wait..." I said.

"Who's your trainer for the week?" I asked.

"The Wolf..." I responded, wanting to know the Mammoth's thoughts on him.

"He's good... Very good. He'll do right by you." The Mammoth nodded.

"Why is it so dreary in here today? We're like the only one's talking..." I asked, looking around the longue.

"We got some pretty bad news last night. The entire brothel is shaken." He said.

"Ah, about Devari's father?" I asked. The Mammoth looked at me penetratingly.

"How do you know? You're still a trainee. Things like this aren't supposed to be discussed with you." He said.

"Don't worry about it." I said, shaking my head.

"Don't go repeating this around here. With all that's going on, the last thing you want is to be a subject to a lashing..." The Mammoth warned.

"Well, what is going on around here?" I asked. The Mammoth looked at me in dismay.

"If I could tell you, I would..." He shrugged.

"I'll find out on my own." I smiled.

"...And get yourself all hurt?" He asked, worried.

"No, I specialize in getting information... I'm really good at it!" I said back, still smiling.

"No, you'll end up getting fucked up in here. I'd rather just tell you than to let this happen..." He sighed, hating to do so.

"Okay..." I said, placing my elbows on the table, resting my chin in my palms.

"An old time partner of old boss Felker, crossed him. I mean he crossed him bad! He had went behind Felker's back and signed to a drug contract with the Socoshian dealers. As a result, Felker started distributing drugs in house but the partner didn't tell the Felker family about the high premium. The amount they were selling the drugs for weren't cost covered so guess what happened over the course of a few months? A huge amount of debt accumulated and when the Felkers saw the red ink flowing, they flipped shit! For months they didn't know they were operating in the red, and they scrambled to fix it. Boss left on a slaving expedition and never came back... Devari was left in charge and he has been doing all he can to support this place, but everyday something happens and it just falls apart more. He's really been fighting off the debtors..." The Mammoth explained.

"That sounds terrible... Like, I hate this place but for the Felkers to be doublecross like that. I can't imagine what they're going through, to have built this place up, then for it to just fall apart." I said shaking my head.

"Everyone here is affected. For a lot of people, this is the best thing that could have happened to them. They went from this life of poverty, no guaranteed meals on a regular to this pampered lifestyle where all they have to do is fuck or get fucked and come back with the money to prove it..." The Mammoth responded, revealing just how substantial this actually was. Again, this put so much into perspective for me!

"I assumed this place was just all terrible. Everything about it." I said.

"You'll eventually grow accustomed to it all. Surely it had to be better than where you came from..." The Mammoth insinuated.

"Maybe to some... I'm from central-eastern Illisia so it's pretty cut throat out there but I'd prefer to do what I did out there than be in here." I smiled.

"What exactly did you do?" The Mammoth asked, his curiosity drawn. It then hit me! I know had to be careful with what I revealed.

"Um... I was an average everyday nomad typical of the Illisian regions. I would travel very far to hunt then go back home. We had a number of tribes that lived through drought and famine as well as through abundance and prosperity. These tribes kept good relations with each other communing during the times of prosperity but dispersing during the harder times. Fewer mouths to feed made things easier! So tribes would break down to a family level and send goshawks with letters back and forth to stay in touch. We'd travel extremely far to hunt and since Illisia is a big place, we could go weeks without seeing signs of other humans. It was a peaceful way of life... With that being said, we Illisians are a warrior people. From the time we can walk, we're trained to hunt, kill and fight for what's ours. At the same time, we're also taught to be regal, disciplined and open to cultures foreign to our own. We're taught to be accepting and friendly, but to be honest, I'm neither of those two... When the times of prosperity would come, tribes would bring their finest warriors and have these contortium and feget competitions." I explained.

"Feget?" The Mammoth asked.

"It's a form of martial arts from my region. It's pretty much a way to kick everything to death... My coming of age ceremony revolved me facing off with a scimitar cat and guess what? I killed it with one kick!" I responded.

"Was that how you took down the Nok Giant?" The Mammoth explained.

"Sort of... I um, used my leg to break his neck. I didn't really want to kill him... But he was a very big and strong man and could have easily killed me." I said.

"He was special needs... He couldn't talk properly and he was very primal. The man was literally handed to the Felkers but he was more of a curse than anything. Devari devised a way to clicker train him like he was some type of animal. He eventually got the man to be able to listen to commands and respond to them. He decided that the Giant of Nok was perfect for breaking in new people which... he was. Then you felled him and Devari had to rethink his way of workings... Crazy enough, I thought you'd have been executed by now... You're not breaking..." The Mammoth noted.

"Damn, really?" I asked shocked.

"Yeah... Devari though, he decided to work with you at your own pace relatively speaking. He, unlike his father, legitimately cares for us... I mean his father is a great, great business man and one with a smooth mouth, but money is his concern. Devari, there's passion in there somewhere. He loves this shit! I mean he checks up on us regularly. He makes sure everything is comfortable for us..." The Mammoth smiled.

"That's... Wow... I just... He seems so fucked in the head to me! Like, he's a pretty sadistic person!" I said, having difficulty believing this.

"Oh he is... When he's upset, I mean really upset... You won't believe what he's capable of. That old business partner of his father, Devari fucked him UP!" The Mammoth said, his eyes bold. It made my throat tense.

"I can imagine..." I said with a thin smile, "But back to your point about being executed... really?"

"No, I mean... Devari is a mixed bag. You don't know his next move. A lot of people here were worried about you. You might not know this but people are curious. Every time someone checks into here, other slaves and escorts want to know who they are. And everyone could kind of see that you're different, that you might work your way up through the food chain fast!" The Mammoth smiled.

"I don't know if I care to be at the top... I can definitely say I've learned a lot, though. Sex is an art, man..." I said, more so daunted by it than just plainly disgusted by it.

"It is..." The Mammoth nodded.

Soon the Wolf came over. He looked like he had just woke up, not even ten minutes ago. Upon seeing the Mammoth, the two shook hands smiling.

"I haven't seen you in a while!" The Mammoth smiled.

"Yeah. I had just got back from a two week escort and not even then, they gave me a training job." The Wolf chuckled.

"So, you're training Summer this week?" The Mammoth asked.

"Yeah... I heard you trained him his first week." The Wolf said.

"Yeah... I did." The Mammoth said shyly, as he looked at me.

Indifference was written across my face.

"You excited about today?" The Wolf asked.

"What will I be doing?" I asked, not too enthused.

"You're gonna practice sucking dick a little more... You're good though. You know what you're doing. Then, I'm gonna get you used to power fucking..." The Wolf said.

"Power fucking?" I asked, the very name sounding incredibly daunting.

"Yeah, I'm telling you now, it's gonna be more intense than anything you've ever done." The Wolf explained.

"Give me a fucking break..." I said to myself with an eyeroll.

"Hey, it gets better! Bottom training ends next week with toys and then you'll start learning how to top!" The Wolf said, hoping it would make me feel better.

"Okay...?" I shrugged.

"God, you're just so impossible!" The Wolf said, scratching the back of his head.

"I think deep down," The Mammoth began, turning to the Wolf, "He likes it..."

"Yeah!" The Wolf said, both looking at my reaction. I was as expressionless and indifferent as ever. The two laughed, seeing that these feelings were genuine.

Hours later, time for training commenced. I was sitting on a large pillow in the training studio waiting for Devari and the Wolf to show. Eventually the Wolf came but Devari didn't come. It was a shock because he was always here. Whatever was going on had to be quite serious then.

"This is strange..." The Wolf noted.

"It is..." I agreed.

Minutes later, Mardee, Devari's close assistant and general manager came in. He didn't look happy at all.

"I'll be supervising your training today." He said. The Wolf and I looked at each other, knowing something definitely was wrong.

"Are you ready?" The Wolf asked.

"Yes..." I responded.

He began the vigors of training. As we continued, it was clear Mardee had a hard time watching. He even seemed disgusted in a way. After several hours, it was all over. I couldn't walk, the Wolf plowed me so hard. My entire body felt like living jelly. He helped me to my feet, seeing I was sore.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah... I'm just gonna shower and go to bed." I sighed.

It caught, the Wolf by surprise. He never heard me sound so defeated. Of course I was tired, but I was just trying to get back to my room to pen up a letter I didn't want to forget.

"I told you it was going to be tough..." He said, sounding a bit guilty, "You have a week of it left.."

"Okay..." I responded, making my way to the door.

Worry was written across the Wolf's face but truthfully, he had nothing to be worried about. Getting up the stairs was hard for sure though. I managed to do so, getting back to my room. The chair at the desk was just daunting. Slowly, I eased onto it.

"FUCK..." I cringed, finally taking a seat.

The Wolf had plowed me for so long and so hard, even sitting down was a chore. I pulled out some pen and paper and began writing.

'Gou,

I just found out that Felker Distribution might be in serious trouble. Turns out that a business partner put the brothel in serious debt! The Felkers are trying hard to right the ways they were wronged, the Brothel Lord traveling far to capture slaves so he can auction them. It's a last ditch effort to get money to pay off the debt. Not only that, but they've put a lot of their higher end escorts on big foreign missions, which is another effort to bring in money. I'm a little over a week and a half into my training and will be continuing onward.

My goal is to still find information on my sister but I'm letting you know, things have hit the fan and I don't know the extent of the damage. My mission could be in jeopardy because the Brothel Lord didn't have any beneficiaries. Since he's been gone for far longer than he was supposed to, he's been presumed dead by overseers and as a result the warehouse goes back to the city, unless somehow, the money is made.

If all fails, the mission will be lost...

Kijus'

I folded up the letter, sealing it with tar. It was then time to make it up to the roof and see if Bazahra or Silver were above. Indeed Bazahra was circling, the mighty raptor diving down at great speed to greet me. It had been days since we last seen each other and the mighty bird missed me.

"Give this to Gou..." I smiled, the bird taking the letter in her beak. She took off disappearing in seconds.

Watching her impressive speed made me miss training our coordinated efforts. Hours later, she returned with a letter. I opened it, seeing it was from Gou. It read:

'It shouldn't be you in that brothel Kijus! One of my agents should be there. You still are a royal asset whose family is uninformed about your current situation. If I could I would pull the plug but I know you'd refuse. Get as much information as you can about this debt! Be careful though! You are in a very, very dangerous environment and I don't need you getting ahead of yourself. It is precisely why I want someone trained for extreme conditions to be there instead of you. Just be careful!

With that being said, I really need you to get information on this debt! I feel like it could be related to the debt scheme that Sir Socoshian is running. I need to know what caused the debt, who's affected, its parameters and workings, it's relation to Sir Socoshian and if it's a separate entity entirely! This information could help us in shutting the debt down...'

Suddenly I was restrained from behind, the letter snatched from my hand! It was several guards, Mardee holding the letter, beginning to read it. Bazahra grew upset, puffing up to make herself look twice as large. She screeched drawing everyone's attentions.

"No, go!" I told her. She looked at me with concern before taking off.

"What the fuck is this?" Mardee asked, me shocked, "Who are you writing?"

I said nothing, this man not knowing who he was dealing with. Without warning I twisted, both shoulders popping out of their sockets, the two men losing their grips on me. They tried to regain leverage but were met with flying feet to their chins.

"The fuck?" Mardee questioned, unnerved as he made a run for the stairs. He still had the letter in hand! Just I began to chase him, my legs were grabbed, causing me to fall.

It was a guard. I really didn't want to hurt these men but this was starting to become annoying. He crawled over me, met with a sharp elbow to the neck. I then pushed him to the roof's ledge, getting to my feet. I placed a firm foot on his neck, the man unable to move. He struggled, soon blacking out.

I turned my attentions back to Mardee. I chased him to the stairs, the surprisingly fast man making it there well before I did.

"BOSS!" He screamed as he rushed. Everyone in the warehouse began to look at us. This was about to get bad...

Without further hesitation, I lept from the top of the stairs as Mardee made it to the bottom. I landed on his back, taking him down! His head slammed to the wall as he tumbled down another flight before coming to a halt. I held the letter in my hand, wishing I could resume reading it.

However, guards were rushing over. With no other choice, I crumpled up the letter and put it in my mouth, bringing up both my fists. Every guard in the warehouse rushed over to me, wielding those painful stun staves. I've yet to be shocked by one and today wasn't going to be the first day either.

I backed up the stairs as the first guard made his way over to me. Before he could lounge with his stave, I bolted forward, running up the wall as another guard rushed up as well. I inverted, building up momentum for my foot as it careened into that guard's head. He fell, his mass being a cushion for my momentum as more guards came.

One lounged at me with his staff. I rolled out of the way, the man shocking his unconscious friend instead. He was met with a sweeping foot underneath his feet that sent him toppling backwards. As he fell, I placed a swift hand on his throat to expedite his meeting with the ground. The man hit the ground with such concussive force, the sound echoed all over the staircase.