Walking through intricately woven iron gates, Cristoph made his way into the large building that dwarfed most other buildings in Gildale’s Docks. Despite its size, it was a simple brick structure that had no windows on any side. It almost resembled that of a warehouse.

  Standing around 5’9” and weighing over 300 lbs. Cristoph was a portly fellow who wore a grey suit coat and pants as well as a black fedora. Heavy footsteps thudded in the structure as he made his way through.

  Inside the structure, he was greeted by a singular armed guard who opened another door revealing a large room just behind it. Once inside, he looked at the piles of boxes all neatly stacked and organized. This was one of the many storehouses that the Hemmingway Mercantile Group had across the land of Ellos. This one in particular dealt with more delicate and high value goods.

  Although the entire storage area seemed empty, Cristoph could see a soldier every now and then patrolling the area for any would be thieves. He stopped his purposeful stride and looked to the side when heard a loud crash.

  Before him were two Fereece youth. One had dog ears, the other that of a cat. Between them was a cracked crate and both of them were panicking. One of the guards on duty quickly approached them yelling. He kicked one of them back onto the floor and smacked the other with the butt of his spear. They quickly started floundering about trying to get the crate picked up and moved along.

  Continuing his walk, Cristoph moved deeper into the compound. As he approached the center of the building, he could hear the sounds of soft whimpering and crying. In front of him was a large man sitting behind a solid metal desk. He wore a leather chest plate with a thick dark green shirt underneath. A large knife and set of keys hung off his belt. He was holding some sheets of paper between his hands blocking his face.

  “To what do I owe the pleasure of the chief financial merchant of Hemmingway Mercantile? The world’s most prominent merchant” The guy said sarcastically as he stood up after setting the papers down. It was easy to see the large scar across his face. It went from the top right of his forehead across the middle of his face all the way to the bottom left of his jaw, his long black hair was tied in a ponytail.

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  Cristoph walked closer to the intimidating desk inspecting the cage located directly behind. A score of young Fereece were huddled together stuck inside the large and thick iron cell. Most of them were covered in dirt and half their clothes were quite worn. “I see you managed to get another haul of these animals.”

  “Hardly worth my time. They’re all cowardly little children that got separated from their parents. Anyone could have caught them.”

  Staring at the scarred man for a second, Cristoph directed his attention back to the Fereece. “Still. They are rather poor and sickly looking. Are there not anymore healthy wild Fereece Argonn?” Letting out a scoff, Argonn replied,

  “Usually, a hunter will capture a couple males a year leaving just enough for them to repopulate. Rarely would you capture the females.”

  “But the females sell the best on the black market.” Christoph said with a smile as he counted 8 female Fereece among the others.”

  “It’s your greed and that of other hunters that is causing this lack of wild Fereece. You only have yourselves to blame.”

  “Bah!” Christoph retorted dismissively. “Once all the wild Fereece are captured, we can focus on breeding the perfect specimens for selling. Not to mention we are doing the world a favor by removing these unsavory abominations from the wild.”

  Argonn kicked the cage, causing all his captured prey to jump in surprise and whimper quietly. Running a finger across the massive scar on his face, it was easy to tell that the hunter was reminiscing. “Thinking back to the one that got away?” Christoph asked knowing full what was going through the hateful hunter’s mind.

  Argonn had always captured his prey. Never had any escaped once he set them as his mark. There was only one in his entire life of hunting that had wounded not only his face but also his pride. He vowed that he would capture the Fereece known as Lucina.

  Regrettably, another creature had already taken his mark, his prey. When he heard of Lucina’s death at the hand of the monster Genesis, he knew that he would never be able to recover his pride. A fact that still burned deeply within his soul.

  Even though Christoph employed Argonn, he couldn’t help but take a step back sensing the frustration the man felt. Christoph knew well the limits of control money had. And its lucrative pull always was lacking on powerful individuals. If he wasn’t careful, there was nothing he could do to stop Argonn from gutting him. “Well, I came to check on the haul you brought in. I look forward to hiring you at a later date when these are sold.”

  Setting down a hefty pouch of crystal on the desk, Christoph relieved Argonn of his duties and set a pair of guards to watch over the merchandise while he planned for the Fereece to be shipped elsewhere.