Legacy of the Golden Wielder

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It wasn’t long until they reached their destination. Whoever this Neko was, he was sure loaded with money. His Baroque-style mansion stood in the richest part of the city. And it was large; not as big as the emperor’s mansion, but quite big nonetheless. The boys led Aadi through a hidden entrance in the back. They made their way past a number of barking dogs that roamed the yard and into the mansion.

It appeared to be some type of backroom, hidden from the rest of the mansion. Aadi had no doubt that this was where shady deals took place. The room was dim and hazy with smoke. The plain metal walls and lack of any kind of paintings or decorations gave the place a lifeless feel.

“Nice to see you accepted my offer,” boomed a deep voice.

Aadi nearly jumped out of his skin as the front door opened and a tall, husky man walked in. He wore a blue army uniform, complete with multi-colored ribbons and medals on his chest. His face was extremely large with a square jaw. A long pipe dangled from his mouth.

“Leave us,” ordered the man. The boys quickly scrambled back through the back door. “As you might have guessed, I’m Neko.” He took a seat on the cushioned chair that sat in the middle of the room. Aadi waited for Neko to offer him a seat, but once it became apparent that wasn’t going to be the case, he helped himself to one of the smaller wooden chairs.

They sat facing each other now. Neko puffed quietly away on his pipe.

Aadi waved the cedar scented smoke away from his face. “So….”

“My apologies.” Neko inhaled and exhaled loudly. “You’re probably wondering what a great army commander like myself would need from a lowly nobody like you.”

Inside, Aadi chuckled to himself. The man certainly was blunt and full of himself.

“The fact is that even legendary leaders like myself have to resort to using the lesser folk from time to time. As you have already noticed, I have a few boys roaming the city for me. They are my eyes and ears in the streets of Missea.”

As the man finished speaking, a servant trudged into the room. The plates clanked against each other as she placed them down with trembling hands.

“Could you possibly do that any louder?” Neko sneered.

The young girl looked down shyly. “I’m sorry, sir.” She placed down two cups of water. As she made her way out, Neko spanked her behind.

“I’ll see you later,” he called after her.

Still looking at the floor, she left the room.

Aadi’s stomach twisted with anger. Usually he wasn’t one to resort to rage, but he hated to see people taken advantage of.

“Is something bothering you?” asked Neko, no doubt noticing Aadi’s discomfort.

“It was just that girl. She wasn’t wearing the usual servant clothes.”

“That’s because she’s not a servant. She’s a slave.”

Aadi tightened his grip. “No person should be owned.”

“Slavery has been an acceptable institution for centuries in Va’siel. Are you going to change that?”

“Yes, I am.”

Neko grunted amusedly to himself. “I doubt that very much. No one person can make a difference.” He took a large sip of his drink. “But that’s beside the point. We’re here to discuss other matters, are we not?”