Life as a slave had sometimes been less harsh than Brynn had expected when he was kidnapped from his parents’ camp so many years ago. During Brynn’s first captivity, his slavers had tied him up and beaten him for no apparent reason, but they soon sold him to another band.
Brynn quickly learned that the difference between comfort and pain was how quickly he obeyed his captors’ commands.
“Brynn,” his captor said. “We’re getting out of the business of thuggery, and we need someone willing to do some learning. I’ve been watching you, and I can see your potential. Do you think you can keep your head while attending Caerwyn University?”
“University? Me? How?” Brynn asked. “Why?”
“Which question do you want answered?” the bandit asked. “I say none. You can go or not. Your choice.”
“I’ll go,” Brynn said. “What is it that you want me to study?”
“Business and finance,” the bandit answered. “We need someone to learn all about how legitimate money moves.”
“Who’s to say that I will come back?” Brynn asked.
“We got you into the university. Rest assured that we can get you out,” the bandit warned. “And you’d better be trying to learn. We’ve got people watching you.”
Brynn didn’t need any prompting. A university education was something he had never dreamed he’d be able to get. Before his kidnapping, he had expected to spend his life tending sheep, dreading the sameness of each day. The quiet hours had given him time to think about the world. He had always had more questions than answers. He hoped he would find some of those answers at the university.
Four years at the university changed Brynn. He was no longer the timid, subservient boy who had been kidnapped eight years before. Although the university answered many of Brynn’s childhood questions, he was finishing his studies with new questions he had never known to ask.
“Brynn,” the bandit said. “Are you ready to help us take over the markets?”
“What do you mean by take over?” Brynn asked.
“We buy into the trading houses. You keep their books clean and our cargo moving. No questions about where it comes from.”
“I’ve thought about my mission for four years,” Brynn said, “and I won’t help you hide stolen goods. If you want me to invest your money, I’ll do that. If you want me to help you set up a legitimate business, I’ll do that. But I’m not going to conceal your thievery.”
The bandit punched Brynn in the gut. He doubled over, struggling to draw breath.
“There’s more where that came from, you insolent bastard!” the bandit yelled.
“Kill me if you must,” Brynn gasped. “I know too much now. I can’t do your dirty work.”
The next blow knocked him against the wall. The bandit pulled out a knife.
“I ought to slit your throat right now,” the bandit said.
He held the knife to Brynn’s throat, dragging the sharp blade lightly across the skin. Brynn felt blood trickling down his neck.
“But I’ve invested too much in you to kill you. I won’t get back everything I spent, but I will get something. As a bonus, you will become someone else’s problem.”
“What makes you think I will let myself be sold?” Brynn asked.
“I believe you’re smart enough to recognize that there’s always a possibility of freedom so long as you’re alive,” the bandit said.
The bandit bound Brynn’s wrists together. The next few days were among the worst Brynn had experienced in captivity.
“Last chance,” the bandit told Brynn. “I’ve found a buyer. You can stay with us and help, or we will sell you to your new owner.”
“I’m done helping you,” Brynn said.
“Well, then,” a pirate captain said, entering. “Is this my new cabin boy?”
“Yes, sir,” the bandit said. “A poor boy from a poor shepherd family in Maghrabi. He knows how to work, and how to obey orders.”
“Then why do you have him tied up and for sale?” the pirate asked.
“’cause I ain’t tak’n no more shit from this bastard,” Brynn said.
His head snapped sideways under the captain’s open hand. He tasted blood.
“I can see that your former master hasn’t taught you much discipline,” the captain said. “I think you’ll get an education with me. You see, everyone on my ship obeys my orders instantly. Any sass, and they get whipped and half rations. I stake them to the deck for three days without food, water, or shelter if they don’t learn the first time. You don’t want that. Do you understand?”
Brynn swallowed his next retort. He had learned what defiance bought him. Perhaps ignorance would fetch a better price.
“Yessir,” Brynn said. “I’s will’n ta do whats yous says.”
The bandit shook his head. Brynn lowered his eyes before the man could question the change in his speech.
“His name is Brynn,” the bandit said. “I wish you luck with him.”
“Luck will not be necessary,” the captain said. “Here’s your money.”
He handed five gold pieces to the bandit.
“I’ll be able to beat the insolence out of him. Maybe he’ll rise in rank to deckhand in just a few years.”