4.Touched

Tjonre also wore a knee-length jacket, because it was still quite cold or already pleasantly warm, depending on whether you were in his or Raft's skin. He jumped up on the cab, in a much better mood than before. He had to sit down to one side, because Raft was sitting in the middle for safety reasons; otherwise it was too easy to tip the vehicle on the bumpy roads. The manor house, stables and slave quarters were surrounded by a defiant wall, necessary protection from marauding gangs of runaway slaves, outlaws who were hunted mercilessly by most of the landlords, but who, for their part, were not exactly squeamish in dealing with the property of these masters. The car approached the great gate, which opened quickly when she appeared. They passed it and drove out into a world in which the bizarre vegetation glittered, as the sun, which now finally seemed to assert itself against the gray but light-rimmed clouds, was reflected in myriads of tiny droplets. The magic of the scenery was emphasized by the clouds of mist that rose from the vegetation in some places. Almost all of Ivarn's land plants were variations on a single theme: on a central trunk, helically arranged secondary trunks were inserted, which became shorter and shorter from bottom to top. In the fractal manner, the secondary tribes often had secondary tribes of the second order, which also arranged themselves helically. Tjonre and Raft were now driving through the head-high Nijem plants, whose fist-sized, round fruits were soon to be harvested. In the vegetation of Irvarn generally a rust-red color predominated, the trunks and leaves were colored in this way, the Nijem fruits, on the other hand, shone green, just like the wine made from them.

In addition to the Nijem plantations, which stretched several miles from the estate towards the city, Tjonres Gut also had a large area of forest in the opposite direction, i.e. to the north; There was also a lake there, which those used to wide, open bodies of water liked to visit - and which also hid a very important secret for him.

The road to town was downhill, muddy, and the fairways deep. The stream that ran parallel to the path had overflowed its banks in parts and had chosen the path as an additional bed. All of this made the journey difficult, moving forward was arduous and slow, about five miles had to be covered. Finally the city came into view, which was actually called "Neustadt", as it was only a little over a hundred years old. Originally built in a bend in the river, a chaotic collection of mostly wooden houses was built around a large market square. Neustadt also had a hydroelectric power station, electricity was available for all purposes that the Lords of Ivarn accepted and for those who could pay enough; the common population did not benefit from it. Only the buildings of the government, some rich and aristocratic citizens, as well as the auction hall in which the slaves were sold, a theater and Evwan's tavern and brothel, the most important meeting place of the wealthy male residents and social center were made of stone. Raft not only hoped for diversion and female company there, he also expected to come across information that might be of importance for the Federation. The latter reason was also decisive for Tjonre's turn. Neustadt had about twenty thousand inhabitants and was therefore considered a medium-sized city.

The closer they got to the settlement, the deeper the fairways became and the more often Tjonre Raft heard various curses. Much heavier companions had already plowed their furrows here early in the day. "I can't get to Evwan via the market square, the harpies are already shy," he snorted. "We have to drive around the outside."

"So that means over the slave pen, you know how reluctant I to come over there!"

"

Can you think of another way?" Tjonre knew that there was no alternative. So they turned left at the next intersection, into a side lane with little traffic on the outskirts of the city. They finally stopped at the slave and beast pens near the auction house, the two of them dismounted and Raft tied the harpies to a metal ring that was anchored in a post for this purpose. A narrow path ran between the two enclosures towards the circular auction house. Each of the two outdoor enclosures was surrounded by a close-meshed, massive inner metal fence that was live and therefore dangerous to touch; it should prevent the slaves or beasts from escaping. The outer fence was used to protect passers-by. It was less massive, wider meshed, and touching it was safe. It surrounded the inner barrier at a safety distance of about one and a half meters.

At first Tjonre paid no attention to the group of female slaves who were some distance away in the slave enclosure, since he wanted nothing to do with slavery and therefore intentionally turned his attention in a different direction. But out of the corner of his eye he saw an iridescent, multicolored sparkle. Tjonre looked at the source of this phenomenon and saw iridescent waves of colored light moving over the hair of one of the girls. The play of colors seemed confusing and fascinated him like nothing for a long time. It seemed as if a rainbow had magically caught in the young woman's hair. The dynamic kaleidoscope was all the more amazing as the hair actually appeared to be black. The girl was delicate and moved easily like a butterfly. Tjonre only woke up from his trance-like state when the deep voice of Raft brought him back to everyday life: “Do you see the luscious blonde? What a woman! ”There was clear interest in his voice. On closer inspection, the scene was less magical. Each girl wore a uniformly gray dress that was as cheap as possible, little more than a sack made of the simplest material, they wore neither jewelry nor shoes. Something disharmonious was going on between the blonde and the girl with the rainbow in her hair. The two faced each other, four others circled them a short distance and laughed scornfully. "Please give it back with me, please!" The tender girl's voice and demeanor revealed a strange mixture of fear and hopelessness on the one hand and an irrational wish to hope born out of sheer desperation on the other. Maybe it was just a game after all, maybe she could regain what the other girl had stolen from her in a moment of inattention. Something that seemed to be of infinite value, at least for the owner. "Get it!" The blonde's voice was sweet as sugar, but it was followed by a pearly laugh that did not bode well. The other girl slowly approached the hand held in her direction. But no sooner was she really close than the blonde hurled the object far away from her, it flew, followed by a desperate scream over the enclosure fence, almost right in front of Tjonre's feet. While Raft continued to stare enthusiastically at the blonde, Tjonre picked up the item, while a high-pitched, ugly tone from the auction house rang out for a short while. In any case, the object was nothing of value, that much was clear, a cheap chain with a shell-shaped pendant, evidently some kind of medallion. Having become curious, he tried to open the trailer, which he succeeded within a short time. It opened and showed the photographs of a man and a woman. The woman was very beautiful, looked like the girl, and her face was also surrounded by a dazzling frame, a glow that apparently emanated from her hair. The man had a high forehead and was also otherwise intellectual. Tjonre closed the locket and was again aware of his surroundings. The owner of the locket had put her hands through the mesh of the inner fence, ignoring the great danger it posed to her health or even her life. For a moment he looked into her face, into her tear-streaked, wide-open eyes. The expression on his face betrayed unspeakable pain and hopelessness. The girl did not look into Tjonre's eyes but at the locket, which now seemed lost for all time. Nothing had ever touched Tjonre as deeply as the sight of him, so he hesitated a little too long. He was about to turn to the girl and give her the locket back when someone brutally yanked her back and pushed her towards the auction hall. The ugly sound had been a signal that called the slaves back that the auction was imminent.