Kharesh - society
Spoiler
Show
What Zetath says pretty much checks out with Kharesh’s understanding. The industry of raiding caravans near Katapesh, then selling them back definitely happens. Pretty much all caravans have a lot of guards for precisely that reason. A few people slip through, either because no one knows they are arriving, they don’t have anyone to buy them, or they are outbid - ironically, that only happens with the destitute or the very skilled.


Mauricio - mercantile
Spoiler
Show
That price is definitely on the higher end, but it also definitely happens. Usually when two conditions are met: the enslaved person is exemplary at something - usually something valuable, and two or more parties get into a bidding war. According to Zetath, his wife satisfies the former, whether she’d satisfy the latter is up to chance. Additionally, he knows that the city definitely allows this practice. Katapesh’s two biggest exports are pesh and slaves. There is a trend for these extortees to be fairly well treated in their short time as slaves as it keeps the public outrage to a minimum.


Mauricio - legal
Spoiler
Show
There is little that can be done legally once someone enters Katapesh as a slave. If bought, they can be freed, but otherwise the law is set up to unambiguously favor the slave owners. However, Zetath is also correct that if the slave owner doesn’t go through the effort of making a proper paper trail, then simply taking them back is enough. The paper trail does require more effort, time and money - so it is frequently overlooked. To many slavers it is just as effective to keep the slaves hidden until the short time until auction. On the other hand, what Zetath is asking you for is definitely illegal. The repercussions would only be severe is the slaver is a card carrying member of the slavers guild - which isn’t too likely from one of these ragtag extortion rackets. Mauricio also knows that many in the Zephyr guard would be willing to turn a blind eye for a one off slave liberation, for a nice bribe at least.