Captain Troy is the commander of Troy’s Company and the best mercenary commander in the Four Quadrants of the Cities. On occasion he would find a mercenary unlucky enough to have been lost to slavery and buy him. He might sleep with the man, but would allow him to earn his freedom and a place in the Company if he wanted it.
On this occasion, Markus is that slave. On a day of unforeseen catastrophe, everything he valued was taken from him -- his home, his position, and his freedom. Now astray in a part of the world he’s never seen before, he struggles to find his feet and understand his attraction to Captain Troy. Soon he realizes he now has everything he desires. In Troy’s Company he finds the life he always wanted and the love he never dreamed he needed.
Then, one day, a man Markus hasn’t seen for five years brings his past back to life. Will he choose his duty or his love?
Captain Troy, commander of Troy’s Company, walked through the Yvet slave market looking for a rescue. He wasn’t really expecting to find anyone, but most Company commanders kept an eye open for a mercenary who had fallen into slavery after a battlefield loss, and would buy them and enable them to earn their freedom. This market, however, was mostly domestic, house slaves and such rather than field laborers, so unlikely to hold a captured fighter. His Company had always looked after those matters themselves, with troopers who could no longer fight but wanted to remain with their friends taking on the tasks of running the household side of things.
Troy wasn’t planning to stay much longer, but he looked down a final row of traders and his eye was caught by one man. He was tall and looked strong, with the build of a swordsman. He didn’t have any tattoos to mark a prior Company allegiance, but not every mercenary wanted a tat, and he had a couple of scars that looked like sword wounds, as well as marks of more recent floggings. He was unusual in his coloring and looks, dark hair cut short, but light skinned, with clean sharp features.
Troy was aware of a tug of attraction -- looking at the man made his throat suddenly dry and his cock twitch in appreciation; even naked and chained the man had presence. Troy walked closer, met his eyes and smiled, feeling that there was a connection between them. Briefly, the man looked back, but then Troy was surprised to see a snarl appear on his face. That wouldn’t attract a buyer. Still, he was the best prospect for a buy-in he’d seen here and, well, also very attractive. Perhaps he’d bid.
“When is the auction?” he asked the proprietor of the booth.
“Tomorrow evening, starts an hour before dusk. Not many people likely to bid for that one, but Ridley’s interested, so I’ll make my profit.”
“Ridley?”
“Aye, he runs a house, men who take their pleasures from blood go there. This one would last a long time, be worth paying for.”
Troy walked away feeling somewhat sick. Slave whores weren’t his preference at any time, and no one deserved the sort of death a house of pain provided. He’d bid.
The next day Troy made his way to the auction house, sitting through several sales to be sure he was there on time. The man he was here for was brought to the front of the stage, and not without difficulty. Most slaves had learned not to fight, it was wasted effort and only brought punishment, but this man was still resisting, despite the whip marks clearly visible on his back.
“Gentlemen, we present this fine specimen for your consideration. He’s strong and would earn his keep at any physical job. Bidding starts at five silver.”
“Ten,” Troy called.
“Twenty.” That was the man he’d had identified as Ridley.
“Fifty.”
“Seventy-five.”
“One gold.” That was plenty for a single slave, no matter how strong.
“One gold, fifty silver.”
“Two gold.”
“Two fifty.”
“Three gold.” This is getting ridiculous, Troy thought, three gold is more than the man could earn back in several years, which defeats the purpose of buying him. If he wasn’t so damned attractive, would I bid this much, even against filth like Ridley?
“Three fifty.”
“Four.”
The audience for the auction was silent, watching two very different bidders compete for the future use of a single slave with bids as high as those usually seen for a whole group.
Ridley paused, then bid, “Four fifty.”
Troy took a breath. “Five gold.” It was a significant portion of his discretionary funds, and potentially wasted if the man didn’t prove to be a fighter, once his buy-in was complete. He waited, holding that breath, and then Ridley sat down and conceded the purchase to him.
“Sold for five gold. Thank you, sirs.”
Troy walked up to the payment counter. He had the coins with him, although he’d never dreamed that he was going to spend it all on this one slave.
“Thank you, sir, a fantastic purchase you just made.”
“Yes, in both senses of the word.” The slaver didn’t get the slightly wry joke he’d just made, but handed over the ownership paper as the auction workers half-dragged his new possession to him, taking off the wrist manacles when he nodded at their question. Troy looked at him and thought he saw a flicker of relief in his eyes as he realized which of the two men had won the bidding.
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