Slaver Claws has come ta Tox

==================================
Pencil entry, also in a neater hand dated 5/5/08 several spots heavily crosssed out, as if there was no eraser handy.
==================================

Zillinger tha Drow, Slaver. Sharp toothed kidnapper. Caused a bit of fuss in Toxia just recently. Lets just get this straight. I don't like Slavers. Maybe its cause I was zoo-born. Maybe its cause it was "fight or die" in tha 7RAR-L. Maybe its cause I don't see a reason ta have slaves.

That must be it. Lemme make that clear. I understand prisoners. I used ta take em. Good fer intel, good fer leaverage, good fer a field expedient meal as needed. I understand servants. Folks as would work fer ya, fer wage, or duty or love. I get that someone could work off a debt ta ya. I understand punishin someone by given them a task as their time. That all makes sense. I suppose ya could call that a Slave. That ain't what I’m talken about. I’m talkin about tha trade of beins as property, fer whatever use they're put ta. There's a difference. Tha ditch-diggin POW is just that, a defeated combatant who's bein kept busy, because outa mercy or strategic need they didn't get deep sixed, and they stay because they're broken, bidin their time or figure they'll get rescued at tha end of tha scrap. Tha oath-sworn butler is there fer a reason, stays fer a reason. Tha Slaver, though, trades in beins like property. They take their prisoner fer profit, and sell them fer profit. They keep their stock broken, ta keep their trade flowin. Their Slaves let em, and worse, stay slaves after they get traded. That’s how fuckin awful Slavers are. A prisoner who stays broken after those what took em pass custody over ta others someone else, well, that’s just fuckin wrong. Freedom ta run as ya will should only be tempered by ya own free will. We had a sayin "when ya can't run, ya walk. When ya can't walk ya crawl. When ya can't crawl ya find someone ta carry ya" because its tha way of tha Wild ta run free.

Submission ta a victor is one thing. Its their right as victor ta expect that. But if it ain't. Fight. Submit ta show respect but live free. A true Slave has lost that. A Slaver trades on that. A Slaver breaks a bein till they lose that will ta run, tha will ta fight, tha will ta die for it. A Slaver feeds off that. They take tha will tha Goddess gave us. Its worse than any torture. Ya can loose yer mind from enough torture, ya can die. Yer sufferin ends then. Ta loose yer will? That’s worse. I been tortured. A bit. I done my fair share too. But I always ended it. Snuffed em or fixed em and loosed them, give em tha feel they had a fighten chance. Usually tha first. Probably better. I never did it fer fun at least. Not like some.

But that ain't my point, my point is that we took em, used em and fer better and worse, but we never made profit off of tha poor bastards. I see all kinds of capture and bindin goin on in Tox. Combatants collarin their vanquished. Tha alpha-types bindin their lessers by vow, fear or Gaes. Some mark their minions so we can all see. Some are more subtle. I can abide them. I don't like it when it interferes with tha Chain of Command, like it did with Wulf and Zoufi, and Hungry too. I wonder about if it woulda gone that way with Nareth and her vassals. Looks like we don't gotta worry about that, but, I worry. It was bad fer Tha Pack. I don't wanna see it happen with tha Institute. I don't care who does what ta who, as long as Her Ladyships word is law.

That’s as should be. She leads, we follow willingly. Free will. Tied we may be, some stronger, some less but we're all in it because its right. So when I get wind of a Slaver operatin in tha City, taken captives and generally bein a menace, it gets my hackles up. I did some investigatin myself: recon and surveiled on him. I saw him fightin with Jadienne. I overheard him down at tha factory tradin barbs with tha Ryder that came gunnin fer him. They got some deep, bad blood. Jadienne even came ta Tha Library wantin ta know if we'd been meetin with him. Not rude, but pryin. It seems I ain't tha only one who thinks that tha bastard is bad news 'cause Steve Badmanners handed his ass ta him it seems. I don't know anythin about Drows. From what I gathered though, Zill was targetin females, which was a big taboo in his own culture. Seems they got a very strict matriarchy. Irony is, it sounds slave-strict.

My-She used ta be a slave. A slave traded by Slavers, not just tha searvin kind. I met tha fella who rescued her. Who became her "Master" I met him and saw tha light in his eyes. Tha man treats her with tha care of a father. That he expects her ta obey, calls her "His Girl" and she shows her respects as I would an alpha. This ain't what i'm talkin about. My-She fairly cringed at tha mention of tha Slaver. Its a window inta a past I didn't expect ta see. I don't know if I can make it better, but I can be there fer her.

Turns out we invited in Zill tha Slaver in ta tea. Now, usually i woulda been all over him, verbally at least, like a pack on a three legged deer. He was gunna get questioned on tha who/what/where and why, and, that he was. I did my best ta be there fer My-She. I was a bit scattered from havin given some relief ta Her Ladyship, and not bouncin back as well a s i mighta if i hadn't been New Moon'd. So in he walked, and got all eyes (or eye-voids) were on him.

He identified himself as a Drow, some kind of "not Dark Elf" and was fairly agitated at bein questioned and scrutinized, layed hands on his weapon. Poisoned blade as i hear. Typical. Lorne, always good with tha subtle word works around Tha Slavers prickles askin "how it is you employ yourself that you are constantly at the ready to bring your weapons to bear?" Zillinger tried ta bluster outa it, but Steve Badmanners came in and called him on bein a murderous bastard. Things kinda got a bit heated, and i wasn't up ta gettin involved. Not normal fer me. I hope I deal better next time. One thing that came up was Tha Slavers ties to tha Shadows which gives an insight "I don't run with the Shadows.... I only like a couple of them.. the rest are pathetic creatures" he said. He then went inta how Pieter or maybe Janiver had done some magics ta his heart ta blackmail him. True enough about tha Shadows, I know they ain;t got no love fer him. I seen him around tha Cybers a lot though, makes ya wonder what they’re up ta. Aurora too, she runs close tat ha line, that one.

He also weaselled outa admittin ta bein a Slaver. Said he was a male Drow and that should be enough. I like answers, so I was getting weary at that point. Tha fella is a liar, or at best, a scoundrel. Joah sumed it up, with a sniff "All I know of drow society is that treachery and lies are expected, and a devastating betrayal is admired. " . My-She said somethin in their tongue, I guess, least, I don't recognise it. Lorne keeps up tha subtle probins, I wonder if tha Slaver realised how much he was givin away.

He kept on tha line that all tha ill he had done was cause Janiver held sway over his heart. He got a fair brow-beatin from Steve who really seems ta have it in fer him. No bad thing I think. Its about then that Kumori came in, and after I pulled her away from a snarlin match with Steve and his missus, Selene, me and her had another of our little talks, which, I think I can say, is startin ta work in my favour, finally. I had ta leave My-She ta do that, though, and I felt conflicted about that. It’s a rough thing ta be stuck in a room with a fear from yer past, but she’s strong, and knew I was just upstairs. She’d asked me ta make sure she didn’t fall back inta being “tha girl” which I knew she meant, ta be slave-like. When I passed her, and we touched, I got tha feel she was doin awright, so I headed up ta have another match with Kumori. Like I say, that looks like it might be workin out. Good fer her, good fer us, good fer me. Another one rescued, I say. She’s like ta be damaged forever, but away from tha Shadows, she might be able ta heal some, and maybe not get too much more damaged in tha process.

I came back down, and found Pieter tha Shadow was there too, talking with Steve and Selene. Now, I don’t like tha fella, more so since I knew he was Mirah’s not so lovin ex. I started my way down in time ta see Lorne graciously excusin My-She, but missed her as she scooted. Too much ta deal with, tha Slaver, Pieter, and me off workin and not there ta be strong fer her. I was still dizzy, but I knew she’d had needed me, and I had been elsewhere. Tha Slaver didn’t like tha extra heat brought ta bear with tha Shadow contingent so close, ‘cause Kumori had hot-footed out when our talks burnt her too close ta tha bone, and with Pieter and tha Badmannerses there too. I duck out after checkin with Lorne that we got all we needed. I’d hate ta have gone through that and not learnt anything, seems he was content with tha intel, so, mission: success. Seein that I ain’t gonna be of any more help, I ducked out, lookin fer My-She, prayin that when I find her, she’s awright. She was, shaken, but not stirred.

Look out City, Slaver Claws has come ta Tox.