"What is the meaning of this, Morey!" Etani said.
The room was empty except for the five of them. All the servants were dismissed and they were fairly sure none of them wanted to listen in to this conversation.
Morey frowned, "I stopped a punishment for the slave. "
"Wasn't this precisely what we were talking about? That getting the Hero involved with Illastein could lead to wider repercussions?" Nal chipped in, "how are we going to explain this to the Alawi?"
"I know that," Morey said, "but I think we are getting our priorities the wrong way around. "
"Oh, and tell me, how are we misunderstanding this?" Etani said acidly.
"How am I to misunderstand cruelty when it happens in front of me?" Morey shot back, "if you were there you would have helped them too!"
"I would have kept the greater picture in mind!"
Morey frowned at her shout. "I have been wondering," Morey said, "what exactly does the word 'Hero' actually mean? I am asked to save Inath, but who is considered part of Inath?"
They looked at him silently. Nal and Etani with a mixture of fear and confusion. Morey continued, "am I supposed to save criminals? What about slaves? If Illastein starts slaughtering their own people, will Inath just stand aside in the name of political convenience? How far do they have to go before I am supposed to consider them enemies?"
He blocked a retort from Nal with a sharp look, "at what point are we saying 'to keep the Federation stable' as an excuse to discard basic human decency?"
Morey paced around the room, looking for the first time at the furnishings. The tightly woven mattress fabric, the wooden cabinets polished by thousands of hands, even the brick walls. Virtually all of them would have been built or made by slaves.
"Does that mean you are going to free them?" Ereli asked.
Morey shrugged, "I never really thought about what it meant to be a Hero. Finding the Sword or fighting the monsters. They were just things I did because we are trying to protect everyone. But if being a Hero means protecting everyone, that includes the slaves. So yes, I am going to try. "
"Can it not wait until the war is over?" Nal said gently. That she didn't appear angry anymore was a plus, but Morey could tell that she was just thinking of how to persuade him. "Once you find the Sword and destroyed the enemy, you can come back to Illastein. "
"And for every year that passes, so many more will die and suffer," Morey shook his head, "I am not going to wait. "
Morey continued, "besides, Illastein's not very useful. I've done my homework you know. They provide weapons and armour and adventurers out seeking fortune. But these need not stop even if we free the slaves. In fact, those slaves who know how to make bows or cure leather can contribute to the war effort. Prior slaves can be convinced to fight in an army if it means their freedom. "
They weren't convinced of course. Etani had an unhappy look, but Nal's calm calculation was more worrying. She wasn't trying to appeal to him anymore but instead treating Morey as an outside factor to be taken into account. Well, that much was expected.
"If you help not," Locoss said to Etani, "I will. "
Etani frowned and looked at Ereli.
Morey nodded at Ereli, "if it's not possible to do this as the Hero of Inath, then I will do it by myself. I won't ask you to come with me. "
Ereli looked conflicted but nodded anyway, "I... I will go with Morey. "
"I will not," Nal said firmly, "and if Morey attacks Illastein, I will be in opposition. "
"Eh?" Ereli looked a little shocked, "you're going to leave?"
"So will I," Etani said, "if you will not turn from this path, I will have to report this to my queen. "
Morey sighed and nodded. It was sad to part with the two of them but he would just have to do his best. Perhaps they might see each other again after he got back to finding the Sword.
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The girl clung to her father's leg, tears and snot streaming down her face as the debt collector shouted at her father.
Her father was holding her shoulder, fingers digging in painfully but she didn't care, right now she didn't want him to let go.
Satis was too young to understand the intricacies of a debt contract but she was old enough to understand that the slaver was here for her. And her father was desperately trying to stop him from taking her.
But the four burly men accompanying the slaver were bigger than her father and one of them even knew magic. They had disgusting grins on their faces as they loomed menacingly at her father.
"Just give me a few more days! I just need to sell a few more bolts of cloth and I will have your money!"
"You misunderstand me," the debt collector grinned, "your daughter is worth more than your debt. The contract is clear, you must pay today. If you can't, we will take one of your family. "
"Then why her!" her father shouted. Satis was too young to understand why she was worth more than her older brother or father.
"You know very well why," the debt collector leered at her, "looks like he's not cooperative. Guys, persuade him. No matter what, do not harm the girl. "
At his cue, the four men stepped forwards, magic building up around the leader's fists.
There was a loud crack like a whip and the leader's head abruptly exploded. Blood rained down from the sky and bits of bone splattered in a red streak on the ground. A misshapen eyeball slipped off her shoulder onto the floor.
They all stared at the collapsing body in shock when there was another crack and the debt collector's shoulder erupted into a fountain of blood, bits of arm and bone scattering across the sandy road. Then Satis's vision went dark as her father pulled her into his chest protectively.
There was scrabbling and panicked shouting around her, a few more of those whiplike cracking sounds, then her father dragged her back into their house calling for mother and brother.
They crouched in their meager kitchen, shivering in fear as her father stood by the doorway with their biggest knife in his hands.
But the debt collector didn't come back. A few hours later, her father told them to pack up everything precious they owned and by evening they were heading out of town on a hired cart.
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Morey handed the metal stick back to Locoss who immediately and silently started tweaking it. As if he hadn't just killed five people with no more than a wave of a hand.
"The accuracy is good, I think that conclusively proves decreasing the weight works," Morey said, "your combination enchantment really multiplies the power. "
Locoss nodded without looking up. She examined the scratches on the twin guide rails left by the shots.
The weapon was a simple concept. Physical projectiles like arrows were always limited by the fact that they could only carry so much power for their volume without degrading. That put an upper limit on the maximum speed that could be achieved even with lightweight wood. And lightweight projectiles fared badly at long range.
But if the weapon itself accelerated the projectile, it didn't need to carry it's own power and the projectile could be made as small and dense as it needed to be. Added to the fact the magic exerted a constant force, not an acceleration, lighter objects were driven to higher speeds than heavier ones. A small resist enchantment powered by the bullets after their acceleration then increased their effective weight. The acceleration and weight increase enchantments worked together and multiplied the killing power into instantly lethal levels.
Altogether, the magic equivalent of a gun or crossbow killed instantly and without mercy. It could strike from outside magic sensing range and if Morey was right that those cracks were sonic booms, those small stones he just fired flew faster than sound.
All for the cost of having to lug around the steel staffs needed to power the thing. And a master alchemist to make it.
Ereli fretted on the roof behind him. After Morey had gone back and broke free all of Zain's slaves, they were quite sure that his name was on the wanted list now. Or at least assassination list if the Illastein nobles weren't sure of Inath's stance.
The forty or so slaves working on the plantation and ten in the mansion who wanted to leave were getting hard to take care of. While Morey could buy enough food and the huge stock of wands he had left with them were sufficient for defence, he needed to have them become independent. And quickly. They couldn't camp out in the nearby forest forever.
The three of them left the rooftop when it was clear the debt collector didn't have any goons who were willing to approach the cloth merchant's house.
This world didn't have the concept of a gun yet and it would be some time before they could understand a weapon that could kill faster than the eye could see. For now, the rumours said that Zain had somehow pissed off the Hero and gotten his entire estate burned down, exaggerated as they were. But after today, Morey was determined to make the rumours say something else. Something that would make any slaver think twice about continuing his business.
"How is the wear and tear?" Morey asked Locoss.
She simply nodded, "good. Failure not likely. "
"And how are you for magic?" he asked Ereli.
She nodded, "we have enough. There's still two charged steel staves and I'm at full power. I still can't believe that all those people out on the streets can't feel it. "
"Barrier block. Special," Locoss smiled.
"Good, then I think we're ready to take on the slave market," Morey said, "three days is far too long to leave them alone. "
The two girls nodded at him.
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The market was busy as usual. Humans milled around the market area, browsing through wares and generally chatting noisily. The central area was where the slavers displayed their goods, with tattooed and chained slaves on pedestals for display, not all of them adults. There were even a few Fukas and the special centerpiece was taken up by an Elka woman.
Her wings were fully stretched out and it was clear from the way they bent that the wingtips had been broken. Despite the beauty of her white feathers, she could no more fly than a standard human. That was more than enough to condemn them in Morey's eyes.
Morey frowned at the sight. A number of knights and mercenaries were standing around, keeping passersby from getting too close to the slaves. It might be difficult to take them all on and still win before the order of knights got wind of the attack and sent help. He had no illusions that the Order in Illastein would share his dislike of slavery.
Of course, Ereli could kill everyone in the market with a single summon of Grand Cross but that was defeating the point.
So even though these mercenaries weren't directly related, he would have to start by killing them first. He pulled down the louvers of the window in the empty inn. When Morey had offered to book the entire building and asked the innkeeper to close up for the day and leave the building to him, the knowing gaze of the innkeeper towards the two girls was slightly painful.
The inn slightly down the street was in a perfect position to overlook the square, sited at a bend in the street that gave Morey a clear view of everything that went on in the square. And Locoss's low powered barrier around the room that shaded the magical signature meant that only those who passed right outside the inn would even know there was any magic around.
He took aim at the big mercenary who appeared to be the leader of the big slaver group in the middle. Then with a thought, he triggered the gun.
The magical charge sent the finger sized piece of carved stone screaming out of the guide groove at over twice the speed of sound. Then the stone itself activated it's own enchantment to increase its weight to nearly half a kilogram. It wouldn't have to do it for long, the bullet covered the length of the market square in a fraction of a second and plowed into the mercenary woman's chest and shattering on bone.
The characteristic crack of a sonic boom accompanied her sudden collapse, a large chunk of her chest and left shoulder missing.
Without mercy, Morey adjusted the manually calibrated iron sights, loaded another round and fired. Another mercenary's head exploded, and a third lost his arm before panic started to set in and the screams started. Shoppers scrambled to get out of the way and merchants abandoned their goods and ran, carrying only cash with them. The slavers panicked but the slaves could not be loosed from their chains quickly.
The mercenaries were still putting up barriers as the bullets continued the slaughter. Even when they started to put up slowing fields or hide behind carts, the bullets were too fast and too powerful to be stopped by half measures. Morey aimed at a spellstorm and the weight enchantment stripped off as it flew through the disruption shield. Her stomach didn't explode but she still went down screaming, the first survivor.
There were no more mercenaries that he could reach without risking hitting a slave, so Morey started killing the slavers. He fired again and noted how precisely the bullet flew, he really had to thank Locoss and the master smith who made the barrel, the weapon was far more accurate than he had any right to expect from a new idea.
Or perhaps the speed was just so fast and the range so short that the bullet didn't have much time to deviate. This wasn't Earth after all, a distance of approximately fifty meters was considered long range here. And he only needed to hit somewhere on the body for these inertia enchanted bullets to generate a sure kill.
The tenth shot went wild and shattered on the cobblestoned ground, fragments demolishing the support of a nearby fruit stall. Fallen chokos and braid stalks scattered over the ground.
And by then, there was no one but the terrified slaves left in sight. The surviving mercenaries and slavers were all hiding under cover.
So now came the hard part. He had to get the slaves out of there while minding the mercenaries and that Elka was going to be a problem.
"Locoss, you take the gun," Morey said, "Ereli, come with me. We're going to put on a play. "
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The slaver huddled behind the overturned cloth stand, not caring that he was squatting on the expensive fabric. Only one knight he hired was left alive and that man was behind the cart with him.
"What under Selna is that weapon?" he asked the knight.
The knight shrugged, "An extremely powerful arrow launcher. Maybe. "
"I don't see arrows. "
"In any case, we only know it's coming from that direction," the knight waved vaguely towards the opposite side of the cart, "if we stay out of sight here, we won't get shot. "
"That doesn't help us get away!" he said.
The knight sighed and peeped around the corner of the cart. The mysterious shooter had stopped firing once there wasn't anyone left in sight. He had an idea which organization was responsible, given that the only targets had been slave merchants and their guards, but this weapon could only have been magic powered. Who in their right minds would help them anyway? And why couldn't he feel the magic if there was such a powerful enchantment?
A pair of knights approached at a jog from the side. Help at last! The knight beside him cursed instead. "Stop!" the knight shouted at the two idiots, "don't enter the square! There's a sniper!"
The man and woman paused hurriedly and stuck behind the building. She shrugged at the man's question but they nodded and walked out anyway. Argh, that's right, the arriving knights wouldn't know about the threat and they would be...
The woman stepped out from behind the shadow of the building and his breath caught in his throat. Black hair, that heavy cloth robe, the characteristic facial features. A full blood Iris. She spun around as if warned and a ghostly green plane of light popped out from a stone around her neck, revolving around her to place itself between her and the direction of attack. Then another appeared between her and the shooter.
There was a crack while the third plane was forming. The woman didn't fall, the crack was deeper and louder and it accompanied a spraying of stone shards around the woman. Her shield could survive the bullets!
"Come, while they're reloading!" the man urged the two of them, crouching behind the building wall of shields.
The slaver and the knight looked at each other then nodded. After the next crack and bullet shattering, the knight and slaver dashed out from behind their cover to the woman and then to the side street.
The slaver ran as fast as his legs could carry him, not even wondering how the man knew the shooter's firing speed.
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Nal examined the rock fragments that the Order of Pastora doctor had dug out of the body. She never really appreciated what Morey's ideas could do but now she understood what it was like to be on the other side of Morey and his ideas. Just how had he packed so much magic into a tiny bullet like those?
It was terrifying, that he thought of- no, he couldn't have invented a new weapon in a mere three days. Morey must have had this idea for months now. But why didn't he use it against the zombies then?
She looked at the corpse of the only survivor of the attack. A survivor for a few painful hours that is. The spellstorm had a hole blasted clear through her body but this woman wasn't displaying the same sort of injuries that the others had.
Etani came into the room and looked at Nal expectantly.
"A projectile weapon definitely," Nal said, holding up the bloody fragments, "firing small stone bullets. They looked shaped, we should investigate if any stone workers had odd requests in the last few days. I wonder if he was holding back against the zombies. "
Etani tilted her head, "what makes you say that?"
"This weapon," Nal indicated the massive injuries on the bodies. Many of them were missing limbs and even blasted practically in two. "It's so powerful, why didn't he tell us about this idea to use against the zombies?"
"Perhaps it won't work well against the zombies?" Etani shrugged, "or it wasn't possible without Locoss around. "
They both knew that working out how Locoss could contribute beyond improving their wands was something Morey was still working on. But that wouldn't explain it if Morey had had this idea before he even knew about slaves.
"I wonder why this woman didn't have the same injury as the rest," Nal asked aloud, "was there a different weapon there?"
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"The witnesses said that an Iris girl could block the shots with bladewall, perhaps it just redirected the shot to this woman? On hindsight, that was probably Ereli. The man accompanying her was likely Morey, so that means Locoss was the one firing this weapon. "
"Bladewall blocks it?!" Nal latched on to the earlier part, "what did that look like?"
Etani smiled, "that's Morey style, you know? To want that much detail. I asked already, the bullets shatter when they hit the shield. They say it sounded different, like stone breaking. "
"I see," Nal nodded, "I see! The bullets must be Resist enchanted after firing! With the bullets travelling so fast they're invisible, even a small enchantment will increase the damage massively! If this woman had put up a disruption shield, it would have destroyed the enchantment and that's why her injuries are so light. "
"Like Resist arrows huh?" Etani muttered. The older style magical arrows were famed for their penetration power and damage but were notoriously hard to use. If one activated the enchantment before firing, it prevented the arrow from flying at all. And of course, once fired, the arrow was too far away or moving too fast to do anything with.
"That's probably Locoss's work," Nal dismissed her concern, "the weapon must activate a tiny timer on the bullet. Somehow. But this also explains why Morey didn't suggest this weapon against the zombies. "
She poked at the small hole drilled clear through the woman and continued, "the dark aura of the zombies will kill any Resist enchantment and while something like this hole is deadly to us, it's no better than any normal arrow against the zombies. It's a weapon that's only good against humans. "
Etani nodded, "but that doesn't help us defend against it. No one can duplicate bladewall with normal magic and not even Ereli can keep one up all day. Do you realize how dangerous Morey is now? No one saw even the direction of the attack until after a few shots, no one saw or heard Locoss with this weapon. No one even felt the magic!"
The prospect of Locoss finding a way to make the enchantment that anyone could use, something none of them would put beyond her, was terrifying. With Ereli for power, a party of slaves all armed with a weapon that could kill from beyond visual range or magic sense spelled doom for Illastien. It made Etani consider giving up on the quest and returning to Inath.
But Nal crinkled her nose and shook her head, "the weapon is not unstoppable. Bladewall can stop it and we know bladewall works like sword. But I have no idea why would a stopping field shatter the bullet. "
Bladewall wasn't precisely a stopping field, it utilized both acceleration and diversion magic to actively repel objects inside it's volume.
"If you layered the shields, disruption in front and stopping behind, would that stop the bullets?" Etani asked. That was a common method of protection from arrows, with a disruption field to strip resist enchantments, but Nal shook her head.
"The bullet travels too fast, you know how stopping fields only slow down movement? The bullet will just slow down a bit and punch right through. You will need to use a huge bubble to actually survive a shot. "
"But shield and bladewall both work that way, so why would those break the bullet when a normal field can't even catch one?"
Nal frowned and thought for a while, then she folded a piece of paper with an air of experimentation. She created a thin and dense stopping field in the air, packing a lot of magic into it, and then pushed the paper against the field.
It bent as it met with resistance from the field.
"Perhaps... this is just my guess, but just perhaps, the bullets are undergoing the same process?" Nal said, pointing at the bent paper slowly pushing its way through the field. "See how the paper bends as the field pushes against it? If I take two ends of a piece of paper and push it against each other, it'll bend for sure. This is just the same thing. Now, you can't bend rock, but you can crush it, with enough magic. "
She took the paper out and threw it at the field. The paper stuck through it, bending and flapping slowly until it dropped out. "The bullets are moving so fast that when the front part enters the field, the back parts that are still moving crushes the stone. If you throw a stone fast enough and hit a stopping field strong enough, hitting will be like smashing the rock against a wall. Whatever shards come out the other end will be slower and much less dangerous. With multiple shield layers, the bullet won't get through at all. "
Etani narrowed her eyes, "how sure are you? A field this strong will cost a lot of magic to put up. And do you even know how? No one is going to even try standing up to Morey until we have a chance of surviving that weapon. "
"So we'll test it," Nal shrugged, "I just need to shoot you a few times. "
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The slaves entered the camp to a jingle and clanking of metal chains. Morey's hasty detachment of the chains had damaged many of their locks and the slaves were busy filing away at their restraints. It was a symbolic act that made them realize they were really freeing themselves and even though Morey could use a Sword stone to simply cut away the cuffs, he left the slaves to it.
The forty men originally Zain's estate had already put up a temporary camp from whatever materials they could find. The looted knives and cleavers used on the plantation were now busy felling trees for wood and making boards for light walls.
"We can rest here for today," Morey said, the father he had saved from the punishment was still unfit for work and had become the defacto organizer of this bunch. He introduced himself as Omal. "How are we doing for food?"
"Enough for ten days, if we stretch it," Omal nodded gratefully.
Morey raised an eyebrow, that pile did not look good for ten days but he supposed slaves were used to less. He better obtain more soon.
"What are we going to do now?" Ereli asked.
Morey looked at Omal and Locoss and gestured for all of them to sit down.
"We cannot stay here and we cannot attack the town. Not unless you're willing to use Grand Cross and demolish it, but there's no point in doing that," Morey began.
"It also depends on your resolve," he nodded at Omal, "I want a country where no one is a slave, where all of you can be accepted as human beings and not objects to be owned. "
"That sounds like an impossible dream, sir Hero," Omal smiled gently.
"No, it's not impossible, not if you topple the existing government," Morey said, "revolutions happen in my world. I have read stories and news of how they happen, how they succeed and fail. It can be done, especially since debt slavery exists. Most people would be worried about becoming slaves themselves instead of dreaming of owning slaves. "
"How. Method, I demand," Locoss said brokenly, but with a rare intensity.
"It's not easy of course. I killed nearly twenty people today and more will have to die. And not all casualties will be the enemy or even those slaves willing to fight for their freedom. Revolutions are inherently bloody affairs," Morey nodded.
He counted off the points on his fingers, "these are the things we need to start. First, we need more people, more weapons and more magic. Not just that, we also need to become known. There will be those who dislike the existence of slavery, relatives of slaves for sure and those at risk. Spread the fact that we exist, what we stand for. We also need to decide if we are going to try to capture villagers and hold land. "
"Right now," Morey continued, "we are small and weak. The weapon Locoss made for me requires good steel to shoot properly, so we won't have many of it or good ones. Until the movement grows, we need to canvass the villages for support. "
"I have a cousin in a village six days to the south," Omal said, "she might be willing to pass on some rumours or information. "
"That's good, thanks for sharing. Ask the others if anyone else has relatives or friends who would be willing to help. Especially in this town, I would like to keep an eye on Nal and Etani. Until the movement grows, all we can do is ask for support and raid slaver caravans," Morey looked at Omal sternly, "but I don't want us to turn into mere bandits. Our legitimacy with the people of Illastein depends on it. "
Omal nodded. Locoss had returned to her normal passivity, so Morey supposed she was satisfied too.
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Morey looked down from the small patch of stars. The crunching of someone approaching over the undergrowth was not the sound of someone trying to be stealthy.
Locoss emerged into the clearing, her form lit only by the red moonlight of Selna. She sat down beside Morey on the freshly cut tree stump. Nal must have told her about that night time talk so long ago.
"Why are you here?" Morey asked after a while. If he waited for her to speak first, he'd be waiting all night.
"Question, intention," Locoss replied softly.
"Are you talking about the slave market?" he asked and got a nod. "I'm just trying to help the slaves. It's funny how I don't really feel all that bad about killing those people. Even if those deaths were rather gruesome. "
"Question. You, slaves, will free?" she asked.
It was Morey's turn to nod, "I will. "
"Mmm," she seemed satisfied and turned to look up at Selna.
They stared up at the night sky in silence, the tranquil forest around them whispering with night time animals. The nights here on Inath were never really dark, not with a huge glowing red moon hanging above, and the wildlife was correspondingly more active. Morey could even spot the occasional bird or ground animal hurriedly hiding after spotting them.
Locoss leaned against his back suddenly but she was clearly still awake. Morey looked at her to find her staring at him.
Come to think of it, he never knew what she was thinking about. Locoss never talked much and anything she said was always broken and short words. That and her lack of expressions made her fade into the background easily, people just ignored her in conversations.
Perhaps he should ask.
"Locoss," Morey said, facing her properly on the wide stump, "I only understand Ereli, Etani and Nal. I know why they want to fight for or against freeing the slaves, but what about you? Your skills are great but I realize I don't know anything about you. "
"You want me?" Locoss said, inclining her head questioningly, "my story?"
He nodded.
"Story long," she warned but he nodded anyway. Locoss sighed and began to speak brokenly, "Father choko, merchant. In Illas. Travel often. Six years old. Learned magic, little. Brought along. "
She was from Illastein?! This was news to Morey.
"Bandits attacked. Parents. Killed. Brother killed. I used," she held his gaze to make sure Morey understood what she was talking about. "Head hit. Face, hard to move. Words thinking. Hard. But listen. All right. " Locoss coughed and continued, "Talking without pause. Painful. Three four sound, only. "
She coughed again and rubbed her throat a little to emphasize it. Then pointed at her body. "Sold as slave. "
Morey gulped. He had not expected such a painful story when he first asked for it.
"As slave, in house, life easy. I hid magic. Found use, taught self. Practiced. Five years," Locoss put on a small smile as if recalling something happy now, "passing knight. Inath. Not Illas. Showed magic, he took me. Learned magic. Give food. Kindness. "
"I make wand. For him. Magic power high, alchemy easy," she held her smile and pointed at her head, "cannot talk. Words stay here. Used to, thinking. Make armour. Make wand. Make trap. All easy. Fourteen girl. Better alche. Than party mate. Party mate, jealous. Paid me, join Academy, learn alchemy. Properly. "
She shrugged and continued, "Academy easy. Alchemy, all simple. Not interesting. Famous now. Magic mirror, for princess. Princess now queen. Three years, making alche, for queen. Now you come, queen send, Etani, Nal, Ereli. You want none. Then find me, say, go find you. Think you want, girl to pity. So, I not say. Ha. "
Morey let out a ragged breath. The tale had grown lighter towards the present, as her fortunes improved. But her dark past gave him the answer to what he had been suspecting but too afraid to ask, why Locoss seemed to behave far older than her apparent age. Her unflappable calmness was born of experience.
He resolved not to pity her or treat her any differently, she had implied that she didn't want that.
This was also the first time anyone had outright confirmed that Amarante was using the girls to seduce Morey although he had long suspected that. Right now though, he ought not to mind it. Locoss's uncooperative attitude at least indicated that she was more on his side than the queen's.
And who knew if the queen would be his ally in this matter of Illastein slaves?
"Thank you for telling me that," Morey said softly, "it must have been hard for you. "
Locoss just nodded.
"I suppose that's also why you want to free the slaves?"
She nodded again. "Me alone, cannot. You Hero, maybe. "
They sat there again in silence for a long moment.
"I promise you that I will see this through," Morey said solemnly, "I will never understand how traumatic your childhood must have been, and I understand I cannot do anything for you. But I have decided to take this path so I'll see it to the end. Even if it means I have to remove the Illastein rulers. "
Locoss put on a tiny smile, "I need no help. Not now. But slaves yes. Thank you. "
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Morey was about to go back to the camp when he noticed a patch of darkness in the forest. Shadows were everywhere of course, but this patch... seemed to be magical? He wished he could rub his magic eyes, if there were any such thing.
He took a few steps toward the shadow and blinked at the clear signature of magic. Someone was concealing themselves.
With a sudden burst of violence, Morey sent a blast of magic down into the Sword stone at his wrist. Even before the startled yelp could get out, the green blade had already sliced the nearby tree in half.
Morey bit down the fire all over his body that meant he had spent his magic too quickly. He had tried to improve his power limit but progress was once again difficult after the initial gains. It looked like he still had some ways left before he could perform instant Sword summons.
Locoss beside him reacted quickly as well. After the first initial shock, she had already drawn a firebolt wand and was aiming towards the faintly glowing Sword.
"Come out," Morey snapped, inching the Sword closer.
With both hands raised, the shadow stepped out from under the trees into the clearing.
A Fuka. Her scruffy outfit was clearly not a knight. And Morey had never seen a Fuka knight before, come to think of it.
"Who are you?" Morey demanded.
"You can call me Harlos," she said, "I was tracking down the escaped slaves. "
"You're with the knights then?" Morey asked again.
"No, I'm just a baker's adopted daughter, or so they think. We've been very interested in Zain's slaves," she said hurriedly, "I was sent to find out how they broke out and where they went to. "
Morey raised an eyebrow, "who's the 'we' you're referring to?"
"We're a group of runaway slaves. And there are a few of us who try to help those who manage to do so," she explained, "smuggle them elsewhere and try to hide them in the towns and villages. "
She paused, "do you want to join us? I can introduce you to our network. Most towns have one or two people who are sympathetic. We could really use someone of your skill, and hers too. " Harlos nodded at the silent expressionless Locoss.
"That depends," Morey said, "this camp has nearly seventy slaves, including ten Fukas and an injured Elka. I don't think a few people can possibly hide all of them. "
"Seventy..." Harlos shook her head, "Zain doesn't have Elkas. Or Fukas either. Where did you get them? Raiding a slaver convoy?"
"You haven't heard?" he got another shake of her head, "I shot and killed fifteen mercenaries and slavers at the market square just before Little Night today. The extra twenty were from there. "
The look on her face shifted between incredulous and disbelief. "How... what..." she sighed and shook her head, "the nobles and slavers are going to be furious! We have to leave, immediately, the knights are going to come down on us like landslide!"
He held up a hand to stop her, "if you've been listening, you know that I'm serious about ending the slavery. I don't want to just free a few slaves and call it a day. Raiding slaver convoys is only the first step. If need be, I'll even fight the knights. We'll have to, in the end. "
"You're strong, so you don't know what the knights can be like!" Harlos pleaded desperately, "how many spellstorms can you fight off? They really will all attack you!"
"I have plans and weapons," Morey gestured at Locoss behind him, "she is one of the best alchemists in all of Inath. And we are going to free the slaves. Not just free them, but make them independent. Teach them magic. "
She gaped at him like a fish out of water. He continued, "perhaps I should be asking if you want to join me?"
The Sword floating behind her waved back and forth meaningfully.
"Let me go back and ask," Harlos said slowly but Morey shook his head.
"But how can I trust you?" he shrugged, "if you're just here to track me down for the knights after all, you could indeed fake everything you just said. "
Harlos frowned and looked down. Clearly she hadn't thought that far. It was a wonder they hadn't already been penetrated and taken down. Or perhaps the knights just weren't sophisticated or organized enough to do something like this?
"I'll go back with you," Morey said, "bring me to your leader. As they say. "
"As who says?" Harlos asked, confused.
Morey grinned, "never mind. "
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A/N: So, now that all four girls have been introduced in some way, I wonder which one people like the most? =P
(no, I still haven't decided on any possible romance subplots on Morey's side)
Also, it looks like Morey's plot is getting bigger than I thought. So it might take all of next chapter to 'finish' it. Side Danine might get rolled in or might not, depending on how long that takes to deal with too.