“Humankind cannot gain something without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost.”

Hiromu Arakawa

Captain Kashif had made a fine showing of his trade goods, but we had already been forewarned. Namir had already described what we could expect to see based on his knowledge of the trade routes in the Kingdom of Ostro and Libeccio and his time aboard the vessel. He might have been slightly biased from personal experience, but he did not paint a flattering picture of either country regarding the slave trade. Ponente was not perfect by any shape of the imagination, but the slave trade was not quite as prolific within the kingdom, at least according to him and Lady Acacia. He had also raised the fact that Captain Kashif both dealt in and used slaves, so it was no surprise to see who he accompanied our morning petition.

All of this prior knowledge, or rather insider trading, meant that Aleera had already discussed in detail how to approach the trader when he arrived with Lady Aleera, and much of her side of the conversation had already been scripted between them. She could have delivered it better, and I was sure she would gain a fair few levels from the transactions she offered. But what did this mean for us as a family and an island?

As a family, our excess production of Salt had already lowered its price significantly within the isles. By spending our surplus on slaves, it maintained the price of salt for our local market. We also planned to make this a self-perpetuating system of salt for freedom, but it would depend on how quickly our island could expand economically and the quality of the slaves we were sold. A lot depended on their skills and stats on whether this would work out in the long run.

Namir had informed us that many sailors aboard the vessel were slaves and had been for some of them as long as they could remember. Not only that, but the captain’s employment practices for sailors in Libeccio looked startlingly similar to being press-ganged into service only backed by the strength of the captain rather than a nation. There was little they could do if they had lower stats on a vessel in the middle of the vast ocean where the captain was as good as a king. This was just how the world worked, even if it was a little worrying. I thanked the Lodestar that this was where I had fallen.

I watched with interest as Aleera and Captain Kashif battled back and forth on the details of the trades. Aleera was keen to push for as much as possible without breaking the captain’s ability to make a profit and sail home afterwards. Something he might not be able to do if she pushed too hard or demanded too much. He was hardly a golden goose, but despite having his hands in what I viewed as a despicable trade, we were not planning on killing him. Not because Namir couldn’t have quickly taken care of them but mainly because once we started, we would have to ‘take care of’ most of the crew. Half of whom were as innocent as the slaves. It would be an impossible tangle to pull apart if we tried.

There was no way that we, a small island on the edge of nowhere, could end the slave trade. Especially when the Western Kingdom of Ponente tacitly accepted it, and the Southwestern Kingdom and Southern Kingdoms of Ostro actively encouraged it. If a slave could make it to the kingdom of Maestro, they would, with the Church’s help, be able to regain a regular metier. However, that meant they also had to avoid the Elven Wood, where they were more likely to be shot on sight rather than freed. Ostensibly it was not much better further north in the Kingdom of Tramontana with their version of thralls.

Regardless of the practices on the Compass Continent as a pioneer island of humanity expanding the compass, we were not subject to their rules and could write our own but only within reason. By becoming a place where a slave’s freedom could be bought for their weight in salt, we hoped to expand our population with people who were hopefully happy to receive such an improvement to their fortunes despite it occurring so far from civilisation. If each slave freed bought the next slave, it would hopefully cost us nothing to do.

Des and Sinis were the first and would have a share in each slave that was bought. They had done most of the work now that the salterns were set up to collect the salt. A pyramid of economics that had us standing at the top. It should be self-perpetuating. Starting with Des and Sinis, now these new four. We were not entirely sure how many slaves Captain Kashif had onboard and whether or not his boat could sail with a reduced crew, but we were eager to find out. The man had not objected yet, but that might have been because of the men standing arrayed behind us. If I had been an equivalent distance away from home, I doubted I would have felt comfortable standing up in similar shoes against men like my Arawn and Namir. It was also helpful that the Bishop and Compass Knight now attended our petitioning session and stood with us backing our position for all intents and purposes. To have the church onside was another piece of political weight the merchant would be unable to push against.

Finally, it looked like their haggling had finished.

We were left with a long list of individuals and their approximate weights that we would be looking to buy or purchase their freedom with our salt instead. We would have to rely on some muscles to move that much salt to the ship. As well as create some scale to balance the weight of the individuals against the weight of our salt. Once all that was finalised, Aleera bought out a box of our pearls. Our ability to analyse their grades was terrific in helping us to calculate their value. We no longer attempted to do it by size, colour or weight, trusting instead the system's guidance to calculate their value much more precisely. Lady Acacia had informed us of the actual value of our wares. With them being mana sources for enchantments and runes, glyphs etc., they were highly sought after, particularly in kingdoms such as Libeccio and Ostro, where they were rarer. Our box of pearls should be enough to buy most of his goods—the rest of the purchases comprised of produce from our cauldron garden at the top of the mountain. Per our agreement with the Archbishop to provide him with Caracol Purple, we removed the dye from all our local goods except those produced for our family and supporting Adals.

As everything seemed to be swimmingly, I retreated into my mind fortress to converse with Callen, who I spun up to discuss the list of slaves we had received and how we might employ them.

“I think harvesting their weight in salt to repay their cost is straightforward enough to start.” Callen agreed with my own reasoning.

“Then, after that, we have the cauldron garden,” I added. As the food continued to flourish with mana and manure, the amount of produce rapidly increased.

“Manure collection for another.” He pointed out.

“And if they don’t want to do manual labour now that they are free?” I asked myself.

“I think an initial repayment in manual labour would be outstanding. However, after serving as a sailor under that captain, nearly any form of employment would be an improvement. Especially if they are given the option to buy into the value of the next set of slaves that arrives should they continue once they have paid back their own weight,” We self-justified.

“And then after that?” we pondered.

“It all depends on the skills and stats. But surely, with a world’s worth of knowledge, we can develop some business or enterprise to use their abilities.” I thought.

“It’s quite exciting. I mean, we are coming at it backwards in that we are employing people for jobs we will then have to create rather than having a job to employ people for, but that will hopefully make the job market of Wester that more diverse.” we continued to spitball ideas.

“Provided they are interested in staying,” he cautioned. “Or capable of working. Not all slaves are going to be those who were born into it or defaulted on their debts. There are worse reasons for becoming a slave.” I cautioned.

“Fair point. We might need to rethink purchasing freedom for all of them if they serve sentences for crimes greater than theft or defaulting on their debts.” I realised this might be a little more complicated than we initially thought. But there was no reason we should continue to go through with it. We would have to be more selective about whose freedom we would purchase.

Returning to the room, I watched with interest as the four former slaves realised that the noble family in front of them might be serious about their offer to purchase their freedom from their former owner. Captain Kashif, Aleera, Lady Acacia and Namir had left to discuss the quantities of fresh produce he hoped to buy for his return journey. My entourage and I were still in the hall with the former slaves as I focused on them with my mind sense. There was a wide range of intense emotions bleeding from each one. Fear that this was a joke, cautious hope that it was not, and brave to dream of future possibilities. While one dared to dream of somehow returning home to a family, the other three were ecstatically relieved to be freed. They were looking around themselves, wondering what they thought might become their new place of employment.

I inspected them to see what we would be working with and was surprised to see that not only were all of their metiers listed as Slave but that their levels were all the same. That struck me as rather curious and questionable.

Name: Saava

Level: 20

Metier: Slave

. . .

Name: Theodulus

Level: 20

Metier: Slave

. . .

Name: Abadun

Level: 20

Metier: Slave

. . .

Name: Abdalla

Level: 20

Metier: Slave

. . .

I was happy to have an expert on hand for my questions as well as to use as a cover for my abilities. “Bishop Bailie, the four men we have freed. I was wondering how best to employ them. Can you tell me their names, levels and metiers?” I asked.

“That is rather personal information. Would you be happy with someone asking for yours?” He chided gently. Teaching through questions rather than statements.

“No,” I answered honestly before addressing the former slaves directly. “Could you tell me your names, levels and metiers so we can consider best how to employ you?” I asked. I had hoped to move directly into questioning the bishop about why they all had the slave metier and the same level seeing as I already knew the answer to the question I had just asked. Still, as always, I was attempting to keep some of my more unusual abilities out of common circulation.

If the former slaves were surprised by being addressed by a small child, they gave no evidence. Either they were reassured by the other attendants' expectations that this was normal or conditioned through however many years of slavery to answer any question quickly when asked.

They quickly responded, “My name is Saava. I am level 20, and my metier is that of a slave, my lord.” Soon all of them had responded, and I could ask the question I had wanted to start with.

“Bishop Bailie, why are they all level 20, and why do they have a slave metier instead of a sailor?” I asked, confused. Surely it would make more sense for them to be sailors or some other form of sea-faring metier to gain greater experience.

“To restrict them from levelling any further.” He answered with a frown. “It is one of the main reasons that slavery is frowned upon by the Lodestar church. It hinders humanity's expansion for the benefit of the few.” He continued to explain. “How can they ever find balance when their bearing has been blocked?”

“I don’t understand,” I said, confused. “How does it restrict them?”

“Once the system recognises them as slaves, it deems them shackled and unable to spend the experience they acquire as they wish. It is why the metier is so insidious. Their owner can restrict their level and create a ceiling they cannot pass through to prevent them from ever becoming dangerous to their owners. It would appear that Captain Kashif chose level 20 as their ceiling, and they levelled until they reached it and then levelled no further.”

The four former slaves nodded along with what the Bishop was explaining. It was a horrifying thought. To be caught, captured, enslaved, and cut off from my growth was a new nightmare for me. But, once again, I thanked fate. I had been sent to this quiet little town on the edge of nowhere. There might not be any magnificent warriors or worldly wizards, but I had been free to explore and level unfettered.

“Can you help them now they are free?” I asked, concerned. The whole idea behind freeing the slaves was that they would add to the island's economy. That would not work if they were still functionally slaves in the eyes of the system, themselves and the town.

“Yes.” He answered succinctly. “If you are serious about freeing them with the light of the lodestar, I can unshackle their systems.”

Phew, “That would be perfect, thank you.” I responded, relieved. All was not lost. I wondered what. . . .

I started thinking about their skills and how they might be best employed when the Bishop began to move forward and placed his hand on Saava’s now bowed head.

“In the light of the Lodestar, let your limits be lifted.” He pronounced. I had not realised till now that he had the same or similar ring that the Archbishop had wielded. Its light shone on the man, with a blue light shining underneath his shirt. A quick inspection revealed that the system no longer viewed him as a slave.

Name: Saava

Level: 20

But Bishop Bailie was not finished, “May your bonds be broken and wounds healed,”

As if he could hardly believe it, the unconvinced man pulled down his shirt and watched with his own eyes a tattoo on his chest, the black ink being purged by blue light until it was only a scar, and a moment later, even that too was wiped away by the healing the bishop was filling him with.

Now that was a skill worth learning!