Orub gave a slight, dismissive wave. "Yeah, yeah, I've got the ships. I hear Colors here managed to get his ships confiscated. He's good at that. Losin' ships. Bit of a patter with him, it is."

While he had been noticeably nervous outside, Colors actually appeared comfortable at the moment. He leaned back in his chair, relaxed, and met Orub's jab at his abilities with a laugh. "Ah, well, it's a particular talent. Really, it takes a talented smuggler to make whole ships disappear."

"Yeah." Orub began with an amused grunt, turning to Gallus before he continued. "You know what we used to say about Colors here? He's the absolute best, most skilled Argonian smuggler with full colorblindness in all of Senchal. And that's completely true. Ain't no one whose [i]exactly[/i] like him." 

After another hardy laugh, Orub leaned back in his chair and shifted quite suddenly to a more serious expression. "Anyway, about these cattle. Now, I hear you've got Senche with them. Just ignoring how mad you have to be to try to keep one of those under control, just transporting those things is gonna be a problem. We have cages we can put on the top decks, but there aren't any chains that we have that can hold them back for long. I don't want any of my crew losin' an arm 'cause they wandered too close to the big cats' cages."

Meesei spoke up clearly and politely. "I have checked, double-checked, and triple-checked all of the enchantments on their collars. It pacifies their mind, and if need be, I can drain their energy as well. So far, there has not been a trace of resistance from our larger stock. Our buyer believes he has a way to keep them under control, but we will be paid regardless of his success or failure."

"Right, well you'd better be confident in that magic stuff. Any one of my crew gets hurt, and I will get my...compensation." Orub warned. "Now, before we talk price, there's a few rules you've got to know. Your people will be guests on my ships; they'll be treated like guests, and will act like guests. All your cargo will be searched, and any weapon's you've got bigger than a dinner knife will be locked up as long as we're at sea. Understood?"

---

Ma'tanza lifted up the shackles in her hands and stared down at them worriedly. "Ma'tanza...knows she shouldn't be afraid. These bindings aren't nearly enough to hold any of us. If something goes wrong, we can get out of them at any point, but..."

Pausing a moment, Ma'tanza looked down nervously towards her feet. "It's just...being bound, chained up as slaves. It's something this one was told about as a cub. Back when the Dunmer used to come to our lands and steal people away from their families, never to be seen again. It's terrifying. We're supposed to be vigilant to never let it happen again. Weren't you told about slavery as a cub?"