Copperhead’s door creaked open as Azandrae pushed it hesitantly and peered inside. A cloud of cigar smoke obscured her vision, burned her eyes, and made her cough. Inside were shelves lined with random oddities, some of which she had never seen before in her life. Strange creatures, bones, guns, weapons, and even heads held in jars of liquid, blinking at her, their mouths moving but nothing coming out, not even a bubble.

  A rge wooden desk, piled with more oddities, sat front and center, and the man himself was behind it, eating a rge grilled steak on a golden pte with silver cutlery. Smoke plumed out of the open door, clearing up Az’s vision. She fanned the smoke from her face with her hand, waiting for the man to notice her.

  Copperhead’s eyes shot wide. Startled, he pushed away a woman who was behind his desk on her knees. She continued to give him feltio, unaware of Az. He swatted her away like a fly. She stood gently, wiping her mouth, and moved to the corner of the room, standing silently.

  Copperhead zipped up his pants and killed any shame that might have risen in his mind, “Azandrae, what a pleasant surprise. I didn’t think I would have seen your face around these parts again. What’s shaking, pretty dy?” His head was strangely rge, wide at the top like a snake, with a rge scar down the center of his bald head. His skin was deeply tanned, with parts scaly and dry. His eyes unnaturally rge for a human. His tongue struck out of his mouth, twitched, and sucked back in.

  Az ignored the fact that he was just getting feltio and got right down to business, trying to remember how her mother dealt with this scumbag, “I’m looking for information and I’m willing to trade for it, if ya have it, that is.” She stood rigid and unmoving, trying not to convey any weakness. Keeping her face stern like her mother’s would be.

  Copperhead smirked, his mouth wide, his tongue flickered, “I may have what you want, but, I do have quite a bit after all. I’ve been busy building an empire of pleasure and wealth. You’re going to have to be more specific about what you want.” He looked her up and down, moving around the desk, his eyes resting on her chest. He picked up his cigar, taking a deep puff, “Why don’t you come here and join me? We have everything you could ever want. Steady work, fresh food, and plenty of fun to go around.”

  She rose an eyebrow, pointing to the woman in the corner, “And do what she’s doing?”

  “Ha, no, you are too much of a prize for that work. I’d treat you real special.” Copperhead puffed his smoke out across Az. He tugged on his snakeskin vest with his free hand, “So, I didn’t hear a no?” His eyes scanned over her chest again.

  “When hell freezes over, ya can have mah whole being just to yourself.” She crossed her arms. She was getting tired of the small talk, she just wanted to end this now and be done with Copperhead, “Are we going to be flirting all day, or can we get down to business?”

  “No need to rush business.” His tongue flickered. “We can have a good time while we discuss the particurs.” He snapped his finger at the girl in the corner, “Whore, leave us.” The woman quickly rushed out of the room the same way Az came in, shutting the door behind her. “What is it that has my dearest Azandrae down here by herself without her mommy dearest? Hmm?” His tongue flickered again. His eyes hid the devil behind them as he leered at her.

  “Exactly that, I’m looking for information on mah mother’s whereabouts. She’s been missing for a few days now, and I know nothing happens around here without ya knowing it.”

  Copperhead turned back to his desk, his snakeskin boots ccking against the wooden floorboards. He grinned when she couldn’t see him, his mouth opening wide from cheek to cheek. He poured two drinks and set them on the desk, “Please, how about a drink? I’m rather thirsty after the… coitus.” He took a swig, gesturing to her to join him.

  She grabbed the gss, not knowing what was in it. Was he testing her? She couldn’t quite tell what he was doing. She was never good at this kind of stuff like her mother. If only her mother was here. What would she do?

  Az took a swig. The liquor burned all the way down. She let out a quick cough, trying to stifle it. She wasn’t expecting the booze to burn this bad, but her throat felt like it had been set afme.

  “Strong stuff, enough to put a giant on his ass, ha ha!” Copperhead chuckled, “How about we head out on the walk here, get some fresh air. We got a bit of a special auction going on today. I think you’ll enjoy it. Come on!”

  Azandrae’s face flushed with anger. She just wanted answers, but the sleazy man in front of her was stalling, probably just to get her flustered and out of her element. She couldn’t give in to his games yet. “Lead the way, fresh air sounds nice.” She held her tone down, trying not to give her anger away.

  Copperhead pushed the door open and stepped out into the cmoring city, looking out over from his perch, “Ah, what a great city, filled with free trade and pretty woman. Just like our founding father’s dreamed of, eh?” He chuckled again, downing his drink and tossing it out into the city. “My city! My Empire! Where a man can make himself into something great!” He twisted around, flickering his tongue out, “As long as they aren’t as great as me. He he.”

  Az followed him out, looking down on the stage with the group of people chained by the necks and hands. They were being ushered to the stage with bded weapons and ill intentions, about to be sold off as sves. She gritted her teeth and her hand tightened to a fist. Damn svers. She had to keep her cool, for now. She needed the information Copperhead was keeping from her.

  A group of men, smoking and drinking, sat around a table on the catwalk, pying cards with curses flowing as much as the booze did. Dressed in grey uniforms adorned with gold ribbons sewed onto their sleeves. One goon grumbled, “There’s plenty of pretties down there, we should get first pickins out of the bunch. It’s not fair.” He sucked in through his nose, coughing up a loogie. He spat it out on the wooden catwalk.

  She took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. Her eyes scanned the crowd as a guard ripped a young girl away from her crying mother, pushing her up on stage, shouting to the crowd, “Look here, come all! A nice young virgin, guaranteed to satisfy all your needs! Cooking, cleaning, child bearing,” his voice went low, “Or just a pin ol’ good time in the sack.” The crowd ughed at him. “Starting at fifty dolrs! Can I get fifty dolrs?”

  “Fifty!” An old, haggard man, his skin crusty and fking was licking his lips, rubbing his hands together at the thought of getting a nice young dy for himself.

  “Can I get seventy-five!” The crowd began a bidding war for the girl.

  “Seventy-five!”

  “Eighty!”

  “One Hundred!”

  The men in the crowd kept betting over and over. Azandrae felt sick to her stomach. She thought the girl looked familiar. She looked at the crowd of sves below, recognizing some of them now that she was closer. They were from her vilge, at least some of them were, they had to be. She needed to get a better look at them. If they were, then that means she just walked into the snake’s den, set up for a trap, and Copperhead was going to do her something nasty. Sweat began to bead down her forehead. She tried to leave down the nearby stairs to get a better look at the sves.

  A hand grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back. Copperhead’s massive snake-like eyes gazed into hers, “I have some information about your mother, sweets, but nothing around here is for free.” He pulled her tight into him, his pelvis mashing into hers, “So, what say you? How about we make a deal that satisfies the both of us, hmm?”

  She swallowed hard. His breath was rancid with stale smoke and strong liquor. She gazed back into his eyes, uncertain what to do. She didn’t have anything physical to trade for the information except her body.

  Her mind shot to the several-hundred-pound bck knight that was following her around. She did have one thing no one else did. Her mind raced whether she should give up the one thing that she needed to save her mother, but without the information, she was just as lost as she was before.

  The sve auction continued down below. Her eyes looking at the girl crying onstage, about to be ripped from her mother forever.

  Azandrae pushed Copperhead away, “I have something to trade worth more than the flesh you desire. Something ya’d die to get ya hands on. Ya want it or not?”

  Copperhead’s interest was piqued. He crossed his arms, his next words mulling around in his head, “I think it’ll be hard to beat what I want.” His eyes scanned her breasts again. His tongue flickered again, his eyes shot up to hers, “Shit, tell me, what’s so great that can sway me otherwise.”

  She crossed her arms, perking up her chest, “I have a Death Knight.”

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