Winthrop the Slave
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 105217
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Belboz made no improvement on the uncomfortable itchy piece of clothing he had given Winthrop. It was fitting for a slave. "All right, boy," he finally said in a moment of quiet. "Now that I have fed you, it is time for you to start earning your keep." The boy scrunched his eyebrows and tilted his head. "Huh?" "It means you will do as I say and I will give you more to eat." The sorcerer smiled amiably, knowing that though Winthrop wouldn't understand the true meaning of the words now, he would come to. "Ohhh." The small child nodded excitedly. "Okay." It would be foolish to overestimate a three-year-old, but Belboz had no plans to be lenient. He spent the rest of the day showing the boy the ropes, or at least the simplest ones that Belboz would trust such a small child to do correctly. At the end of the day he showed him his "bed"--a small cot in the dankest part of the tunnels that Belboz had made his home. His last act of the day, when he placed his hand on the boy's forehead as he wished him goodnight--the very last decidedly kind gesture he would ever give to the boy--was to place a spell on the child. If ever he attempted to leave the caves without Belboz's express permission, he would grow sick. The sickness would increase in severity as his distance from Belboz did. By the time he was a mile out, he'd be almost too weak to stand. Belboz planned to work out any possible kinks in the coming years. He was not going to let this worker get away without a fight. He roused Winthrop early the next morning and gave him breakfast before listing off all his jobs for the day. As three-year-olds are wont to do, the child became distracted quite often, and would run around and play. Belboz allowed this once or twice, but after that he would punish the boy with a jolt of electricity from his fingertips anytime he was caught shirking. Each jolt was more severe than the last. Winthrop learned quickly. And he continued to learn quickly. At the beginning of every day he'd be given a list of tasks to accomplish. He was not allowed to rest or take a break until their completion, with the exception of his two meals, one around brunch time and one in the evening. If the tasks were not all completed at the end of the day, he was punished accordingly, always with some form of magic. Belboz made it a point never to be needlessly or obviously cruel, but he certainly was not charitable either. Winthrop quickly became a hard worker.
It was quite some time before the routine was broken in any significant way.
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Koth
12/18/2014 10:40:00 PM
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