I spot Reagan coming down into the mine. I’m technically his second but it still feels like I’m lacking in many ways. I try to help him by getting the others in line and everything, but sometimes I’m simply not sure what I’m supposed to do. Like now. I’m not a healer. I look at the slaves half crushed from a collapsed tunnel. Some are clearly gone, but there are three that are still alive, just stuck. I wanted to get them out but someone else told me it will kill them if we remove the stone that is crushing them. So I simply wait for Reagan to tell us what to do.

“Tibald, what’s going on?” Reagan asks me as he looks around to take in the situation.

“There was a collapse with all the fighting and some of the slaves were caught in it…” I tell him as I motion at the unlucky ones crying out in pain and suffering. Something I would not wish on anyone.

He simply nods his head and walks towards the accident. I follow him and I’m honestly curious what he will do about it. I trust him, to some degree, and I do believe following him is the right choice, but I can’t help but judge his actions still. Especially after what we have seen recently. I mean I trust him. I’m just not sure how that… thing… is influencing him. He hasn’t exactly confided in me but he told me enough to understand.

I put those thoughts out of mind for now as we arrive and I see him giving orders to remove the largest boulder holding them in place. I help the others and we count to three before lifting. The stuck half-beast screams in pain as we barely manage to lift the boulder and someone stops lifting in fear of hurting them, to which the stuck ones scream even louder.

“Don’t you fucking stop lifting once you start, idiot.” Reagan admonishes him and gestures for him to leave his spot. The boss takes his place himself and with his help we easily lift the boulders while the stuck slave screams. This time no one stops and despite the scream of pain the boulder is soon out of the way and I can now see his crushed legs. They start bleeding now that there is no pressure on them and the victim is barely conscious after all the pain.

To my surprise, and others too it seems, Reagan kneels by the half crushed slave and lays his hands on him. The familiar and frankly scary red energy surrounds his hands and I see something I wouldn’t have believed if I hadn’t seen it with my eyes. The legs heal at a visible pace and I hear the cracking of bones as they are uncrushed and reformed. The slaves screaming redoubles but we can all see that he is healing. The half-hare’s screams soon come to a stop as he looks in disbelief at his legs. He then turns to look at Reagan with an expression of disbelief and gratitude.

“Thank you so much sir.” The freed slave tells him and he seems to want to say more to this man in front of him but he soon realizes the others are still stuck and quietly goes to the side while still feeling at his legs and looking back at Reagan. I’m… equally impressed and surprised at this outcome. I never thought he could heal using… that. Maybe it isn’t the energy that is bad, but the thing giving it out?

I reserve judgement for later as we repeat the same feet for the next stuck slave and the scene repeats itself. For the third and last, it seems to be a lost cause as I look at the poor slave that is more than half crushed. I’m surprised the half-lizard is still breathing with half of his torso crushed. He doesn’t even scream as we lift away the loose earth and rocks that he is stuck under. Once more Reagan kneels next to him once he is free but I’m not sure how much he can do for this poor soul.

He seems to notice too and whispers something in his ear and then listens for a response that we cannot hear. The former slave is too weak to do more than whisper himself. Reagan stands up and draws his sword. Without an ounce of hesitation he plunges it in the suffering half-beasts neck. Some of the others recoil at the sight but I’m thankful for the mercy of a quick death. How many times did I wish for it myself?

Reagan clearly notices some of the stares but instead of being ashamed or something, he looks at those that don’t understand straight in the eyes until each and everyone of them looks away. It’s not that many, but still. If there is one thing to admire about him it is this, he is a man of conviction who stands behind his actions which is more than some of the slaves around us deserve. I look at the ones who silently questioned his actions and I hope they do not choose to stay with us.

I know Reagan is not perfect, but neither are we. At least he is honest and upfront about himself and his goals and actions. I know more than one slave who picked on others simply to make their own life just a bit more bearable for themselves without a thought about the misery they inflicted on others with their actions. Snakes and liars. Maybe we shouldn’t blindly accept people into our ranks. Something to talk to with Reagan in a more… private setting.

I follow him outside again and the cleanup is clearly done by now. The ones who chased after the few slavers that got out of camp are already back with satisfied grins on their faces. Good. All the surviving slaves are slowly converging here and I spot a decent crate for Reagan to stand on. He doesn’t seem to understand at first as I put it down next to him and I whisper that it’s for him to stand on. He seems distracted by something and it takes a second for my words to register.

He stands up in the middle of the crowd that is forming and most of us let the freed slaves closer while we hang back. I look at him standing there and all of the souls we saved from misery with pride. I see respect and fear from some of them who don't understand what is going on. They will know soon enough.

“Some of you might be wondering what is going on.” Reagan starts with a smile as he looks around at all of them. There are at least five hundred slaves, very few of them died in the fighting this time.

“Some of you might be worried about what is going to happen now.” He says, louder this time.

“And why wouldn’t you be?” He asks them now shouting for all to hear, with a frown on his face to mirror theirs.

“When has anything good ever happened since the Empire enslaved you?” He scoffs and it is clear the slaves agree with his words.

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“Some of you might have heard the men tell you that you are free, and you wonder what kind of freedom we are talking about here, because you are used to the lies of men.” He tells them and I feel it resonates with myself as well as the crowd.

“The truth is that I want nothing of you. What we have done here today is as much for you as it is for us. What we want is to bleed the Brudian Empire dry and the truth is that you are the lifeblood of the Empire. You are the workforce it relies upon.” He tells them, giving them importance and I can’t help but nod along.

“Today you are free. Free to leave right now. Free to flee and try to make it home. Free to wander the forests in hiding of man.” He tells them and I can see more than a few worried faces. Freedom after so long is hard to understand.

“The choice is yours.” He adds as I see clear confusion as his words slowly make their way into their brains.

“However, if like us, you hate the Empire and want to see it bleed, there is one last option.” He tells them as he turns to make sure everyone is paying attention, and they are. He lets his words hang for a moment longer before he speaks again and I can’t help but grin at the scene so similar to what happened with us.

“You can join us. Join us and fight until only rubbles remains of the Brudian Empire, for we will not stop until nothing remains of its filth.” He tells them with finality and conviction. The crowd breaks into murmurs as most of them start to talk with the others they know.

“So you want to use us too?” Someone shouts, shifting the momentum in the crowd as everyone goes silent again.

“No.” He looks at the half-rat that spoke and a lot of heads turn to try and see who spoke. Reagan pauses as he looks at the little ungrateful shit that spoke.

“I want you to make a choice for yourselves.” He tells him and I refrain from getting in there and punching the ungrateful shit. How can he say that after being freed? I bet he didn’t even do any fighting and I’m tempted to speak up but I spot Reagan looking at me and I decide to let him handle things. I know he is right as I’m not a very good speaker and might make things worse, but I can barely believe someone would dare to spit on our help like this.

The crowd starts to murmur once again but it doesn’t last long. The same ungrateful prick opens his mouth again.

“How can we follow you, a human?” The half-rat says and to my dismay a lot of the crowd seems to agree with this statement. Despite my better judgment I roar above the chattering crowd.

“You ungrateful little shit.” I say and despite everything I’m too angry to hold back. I step up on something as I see everyone turn to look at me in surprise but I ignore it as I lock eyes with the offending turd.

“Do you even realize that you are standing there and spitting on your savior, on your freedom?” I scoff at him and I can feel that it’s too late to stop, nor do I want to.

“Not three hours ago were you all with a pickaxe in hand, getting whipped for no reason!” I yell, outraged.

“And now that you are free, free to do whatever you want, you complain?” I ask in disbelief. And I realize it truly is disbelief. I cannot understand someone like him, nor do I want to.

“Reagan is not asking you to join us, he is simply giving you the opportunity to. It’s a choice and it is up to you. To all of you.” I tell them and I can’t stop myself from pointing my finger accusingly at them.

“We came here and risked our lives to free you, the least you can do is show some respect.” I finish and jump down from my position. I hear the crowd starting to speak again. I spot Reagan still on his crate looking my way with a badly restrained smile on his lips.

“It is like my second has said. We will now leave and set up camp outside, those of you who want to join us, feel free to come by. The others, I wish you the best of luck out there and I do hope you will enjoy your freedom.” He tells them and jumps down. The crowd parts for him as he makes his way out and all of us start to follow him out, leaving the freed slaves behind.

I make my way to his side and I can’t help but feel a bit uncertain. I see a few of the others of our group look at me as we make our way out and I can barely believe I just did that. I’ve been shy for so long now. But then another image I had forgotten about pops into my head and I can’t help but smile. Long before I became a slave. It’s of me in the small school we had as I’m running around and yelling something as the teacher desperately tries to stop my antics.

A memory of another life, but I guess that is who I truly am, even if I forgot it for a long excruciating moment. I breathe in the fresh air as we exit the camp and feel better than I have before. A bit more free yet again as I recapture who I truly am, one step at a time. It doesn’t take long for us to reach a suitable area to set up camp and I get to work, still a bit embarrassed about my outburst, but still happy about it. As I set up my tent I spot Reagan out of the corner of my eyes and stand at attention.

“None of that please.” He tells me and I relax my posture even if I’m not sure what to do with my hands as I wait for what he will say. He looks at me with a smile for a while before he speaks up.

“Thank you Tibald.” He tells me frankly and I feel… proud?

“Anytime boss.” I grin at him. He doesn’t add anything but somehow it feels like we understand each other perfectly right now and I get back to getting this damned tent up. I notice Reagan is still hanging around as he inspects the rest of the camp from his position. I finish setting up the tent and turn to him.

“Can I ask you something?” I say and he turns to me.

“Anything.”

“Does it… scare you?” I say and he looks at me for a moment, clearly weighing his options. He ends up sighing as he relaxes a bit.

“Of course. Honestly? I’m rather terrified.” He tells me nonchalantly and I’m surprised by his honesty.

“I won’t lie to you. I have changed because of it and I am still changing. But I’ve also realized that it’s an opportunity. An opportunity to do a lot of good.” He tells me and I can see that he isn’t gazing at me any longer, but something very far away. He smiles a bit sadly and focuses back on the present as I ponder his words.

“I actually wanted to ask you to keep an eye on me, to be the person to tell me if I ever get out of line.” He confesses and I’m both honored and horrified by the responsibility.

“Are you sure I’m the right person for this?” I tell him honestly.

“No.” He tells me and laughs and I’m not sure what is funny.

“But I’m not sure I’m the right person either, so that makes two of us.” I chuckle at the idea but I see his point.

“Look. Life hasn’t been kind to any of us, but I truly believe we have been given an opportunity to change things for the better. Yes it is risky, but what isn’t?” He tells me with a grin and I can’t help but grin back. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to make sure he doesn’t become crazy or whatever, but somehow, right now, nothing feels impossible.

Reagan isn’t perfect but maybe perfect isn’t what we need. Maybe what we need is standing right in front of me, with a hint of red in his eyes.