The night is silent as the fires continue to burn throughout the camp. Only the few people standing watch are awake. It’s been a few days since Bao, Keyon, and Maria joined this caravan and tomorrow they’ll go their separate ways. The caravan will continue north just like Barros had said, looking for a home for Letz, while the three of them venture off the main road into the mountains to reach Keyon and Maria’s destination.
Only the gentle crackling of the fires echo though the camp, making their way past the wagons surrounding them and fading into the empty night beyond. Occasionally, those standing watch add wood to keep the light going. The wood cracks in the heat and snaps as it is consumed by the fire. To many, this is relaxing and helps ease them into sleep on these lonely nights on the road. To someone like Maria, however, these are foreign sounds, and every so often the larger pops of the fire are enough to jolt her from her sleep.
Maria already has plenty on her mind, so when the fires wake her once again, she decides to go for a walk. The night is still cold, and she wraps herself in the thin blue blanket she was sleeping with. She gets up quietly from her place in the large communal tent and steps outside.
The campsite feels empty at night. The blankets and pillows set out for dinner are always moved into the tents afterwards so at night there is almost nothing to look at. Only the fires in the center would provide any indication to someone from the outside that this camp wasn’t abandoned. Sitting at the fires are a few of the watches trying to get warm before walking the perimeter again. Among them, Keyon is also there. Staring into the fire in solemn contemplation.
“Tomorrow is a big day,” Maria says as she takes a seat next to him, “Can’t sleep?”
Keyon shakes his head, “It’s not that. No matter what happens when we leave tomorrow, I’ll continue to serve at your side princess. I’ve just been thinking about the children we’ve met these last few days.”
Maria smiles when she thinks about the time she has spent with the Kikka, “Oh yes, Katz, Letz, and Kikka are wonderful children. I’m sure they’ll grow up to be great people.” She leans more into the fire to see Keyon’s face better, “Don’t you think so?”
“I’m not worried about Kikka or Letz,” He gives a soft smile, “Kikka has already found a good family and she’ll grow up in a safe environment. As for Letz, we might not see it, but in just a few days, he’ll be in the same situation as Kikka with the Redmane nomads. Both are still young enough that they can leave this part of their lives behind,” his weak smile fades.
“And Katz?” Maria says.
“It’s Katz I’m concerned for,” Keyon pauses for a moment, he stares into the fire looking for something to distract himself, “Katz is old enough now that his experiences as a slave won’t heal with time. I can see it in his eyes that he can’t trust anyone anymore, and I’m worried he will never be able to move past that.”
Even if she is sympathetic to Keyon’s words, Maria doesn’t understand what he is saying, “Isn’t Katz only a little older than Letz? I agree that the kids never should have had to deal with a life like that, but how are the two boys different?”
“You can just look and see. Life as a slave is unpredictable, even more so for a child. As a Redmane, most people would treat Letz kindly since. Katz on the other hand, is a Strix. Most of them stay within their empire. For anyone with a grudge against the Strix Empire, Katz might be their only avenue to vent their anger. Letz has probably been a servant in one, maybe two houses, and was treated well. While Katz has probably lost count of the people who have bought and sold him. They treated him like a toy for anger and amusement and passed him to the next person when they were done with him.”
Maria turns away, “That’s horrible,” she says that, but as royalty, she can never understand. She does understand how much this means to Keyon however, “Was it the same for you? Before you came to Tab and joined the military you also grew up as a slave, right?”
“That’s right. My father was a terrible man with many enemies. When he disappeared, I had to answer for his actions. Even when I was just as much a victim as everyone else, they still wanted revenge against my father. By the time everyone forgot my father, I was just some slave.”
“But that wasn’t the end for you Keyon, you made it out of that life. You live a good life now. One that you should be proud of. At least I’m proud of it.” Maria lays a hand on Keyon’s shoulder.
“Princess that means a lot. I’m still trying to move beyond my past but I’m happy with the life I’m living now. Still, I was only able to have this life because people eventually saw talent in me. I had people who took me in and broke me out of the cycle,” he shakes his head thinking about it, “I know Barros says they’ll go to the Strix Empire eventually, but that’s still so far away, and anything can happen between then and now.”
Keyon takes a deep breath and exhales. His breath reaches the fire’s edge and stirs the ash underneath, “I know there isn’t anything we can do about his situation. In the morning we’ll go our separate ways and probably never see each other again. It just hurts to see my pain reflected in someone else. Makes me wonder...” he stops suddenly.
“Princess, something is happening,” he motions to two guards running to the entrance of one of the tents. One stops at the entrance while the other rushes through. In a moment the guard exits with Barros. His face is a mix of urgency, shock, fear, and anger. In the time it takes the guards to get their boss, a third guard rushes to meet them. The four of them quickly disappear into the darkness, rushing past the protection of the wagon encirclement.
“We need to know what is going on,” Maria stands up and starts towards wagons. Keyon rises with her in agreement. As they walk past the communal tent the guards had just rushed through, Bao emerges with a yawn.
“What was that about?” Bao wipes his face with his hands trying to wake up more, “Someone stepped on my hand, and then I heard something about a problem with Kikka.”
Keyon and Maria glance at each other wondering what that could mean before the three of them rush past the same wagons Barros and the others had gone past.
When the three of them reach the others, the tired Bao is immediately wide awake. They are standing in front of Arnit, the Sulfuges. Chained to the back of his wagon, apparently no greater threat than he has always been. The cause for this urgency is there beside him, a tiny little Kikka, defiantly wrapping both her arms around one of Arnit’s four large arms.
“Everything is fine papa! You can go back to sleep!” Kikka shouts at the small crowd.
Arnit speaks calmly but appears to be frightened, “Barros, I’m not doing anything. Look, she’s holding on to me. I told her to stay away but she isn’t listening to me.”
Barros doesn’t pay any attention to the Sulfuges, “Kikka I need you to listen to me alright. I’m not mad at you but I need you to come to papa. Everything is ok but you can’t be around the Sulfuges.”
“I told you his name is Arnit! He is my best friend and you never let us play together anymore!” she buries her face in Arnit’s arm.
“Kikka it’s alright, you need to listen to your papa, he loves you after all,” Arnit slowly brings one of his hands down to pry Kikka off him.
“Don’t you dare touch her!” Barros yells. His roar is vicious and stirs everyone in camp. The guards draw their weapons and prepare to move in. If nothing changes, people are going to get hurt... Or worse.
Bao realizes things will only end one way. He looks at the guards and their weapons, all pointed at Arnit. One is a large Redmane holding a massive hammer with both hands. The head is flat and heavy on one side and clawed on the other. Just one swing from that is all it would take to kill someone. Before that happens, Bao runs up to Barros.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“Let me go and get her!” his words draw the attention of everyone there, “She isn’t coming on her own, and Arnit can’t touch her, so let me get her.”
“No!” Kikka protests, “No one is coming to get me!”
Barros doesn’t have the same patience he did the night they first met, “Stay out of this Bao, you’re ignorant. Your innocence is only going to get you killed,” he pauses for a moment, “Besides, she is my daughter. I’ll get her,” Barros hands his weapon to one of the guards, a large poleaxe with a heavy blade.
The men adamantly object to Barros approaching Arnit but Barros has made up his mind. He should be the one to take responsibility.
“Kikka, I’ll ask you one more time. Please come to papa,” he lowers to one knee and extends his arms to the girl.
Kikka looks at her father with tears in her eyes and responds quietly, “Papa... I’m not leaving...”
“I have another idea,” the group turns to face Keyon, “There is someone else here who can get Kikka safely.”
“No Keyon, I don’t know what you are thinking, but the three of you don’t need to get more involved here,” Barros is keeping one eye on Kikka, “This is a family matter.”
“Don’t worry, this is someone who can get Kikka without risking us or your family. Someone from your caravan.”
Barros thinks for a moment and agrees, “There is.”
At this point, the entire camp is awake and knows what is going on. Katz and Letz have woken up and have joined the group trying to talk to Kikka. Barros sends someone off to get the person Keyon was talking about. After a few minutes, the man returns with the Bolbian.
“I found him boss,” the man says while holding the Bolbian by the arm, “He was sulking in a wagon on the other side of camp.”
The Bolbian breaks free of the grip, cradles his arm, and complains under his breath, “I was just trying to get some sleep. I didn’t know anybody was looking... for... me...” his voice trails off when he sees Arnit and Kikka. It doesn’t take long before he realizes what he is expected to do. The man will need to approach Arnit and bring Kikka back to her father.
Bao had only ever seen this man briefly during the few days of travel with Barros and his caravan. The Bolbian’s name is Belos. He had learned that much. Belos is a slave owned by the caravan. When Barros said they don’t trade slaves, he must have meant strictly as part of their business ventures. Belos is a small man, thinner than most Sosuns but only a little shorter. The Bolbian Bao met on the beach was also small, but at that time Bao had attributed it to his age. Comparing both Bolbians more, the old man’s body was covered with a faded and grey carapace shell, while Belos’ armor is a vibrant jet black.
Bao isn’t afraid of the danger Arnit poses right now. He hasn’t seen any reason to think the man would lash out at anyone and he appears cooperative in trying to get Kikka to away from him. Regardless, he doesn’t like the idea that everyone here has no issue with making Belos take on the danger. Keyon’s logic does make sense from their perspective though. No one here likes Belos, so even if Arnit is dangerous, whatever happens to him is inconsequential as long as he can get Kikka back.
Belos timidly steps in front of the group and shuffles towards Kikka, “Alright, so I just gotta walk up to this little kid and convince her to leave her big strong friend and come with me. Easy right? Yeah, easy,” the man says to himself.
He gets a little closer to the two of them and looks up at Arnit, “How’s it going big guy? Is uh- is everything going ok?”
Arnit raises his three free hands. He’s been in shackles this whole time, “I’m in a bit of a bind right now. I could really use your help.”
Belos chuckles to himself, “You and me both,” he finally works up the courage to walk directly in front of them. He leans down to speak with Kikka, “Hey there kiddo, your daddy wants me to get you outta here. Are you gonna give me any trouble?” Belos doesn’t know how to deal kids. Even with adults, he isn’t so much nervous as he is awkward.
“Don’t talk to me! You’re ugly, and scary, and you have a bug face! You’re a bug face!”
“Aw c’mon now, I know I got a bug face but I’m wearing my other one for you, aren’t I?” Belos taps the wooded mask synonymous with all Bolbians, “Besides,” he hesitates for a moment, “Your friend here isn’t exactly a looker either.”
Kikka sniffles and wipes away a tear, “Don’t be mean to Arnit. He isn’t doing anything wrong,” Kikka is only a child, she got worked up by all the commotion the adults were causing. Belos doesn’t know it, but his awkward and casual approach has helped Kikka to calm down.
“I know, I know,” Belos motions to the crowd gathered around, “but all these people are worried about you. They just want you to be safe,” he thinks for a minute, “Isn’t it cold out here? Wouldn’t you like to go back in the tent and get some sleep?”
“What about Arnit? He’s cold every night and has no one to talk to him. No one is worried about him, and he has no friends.”
“Hey, I have an idea,” Belos gives a smile full of forced enthusiasm, “Why don’t I give Arnit a blanket? Then he won’t be so cold.”
Kikka considers this for a moment. Her face looks as though she is mulling over a riddle or a difficult math problem, “But he would still be lonely,” she offers this thought to Belos as if this was an oversight of his.
Belos rests his head in one hand and gives a sigh. He really isn’t good with kids, “I don’t know kid. How about I...” he thinks for a moment, trying to think of anything to get out of this situation, “How about I just stay here with Arnit tonight and you go and get some sleep? Would that work for ya?”
Kikka is a little confused. She lets go of Arnit’s arm for a moment and turns around to face him. Looking up she asks him, “Are you friends with the ugly bug face?”
Arnit smiles at the little girl and answers her, “I think we can be good friends.” he slowly pulls back the arm that Kikka had been holding onto.
Belos notices Kikka isn’t clinging to Arnit anymore and before she has a chance to turn around, he puts his arms on either side of her and launches himself backwards, pulling Kikka with him. He runs to the crowd of people while looking for Barros. The confused Kikka is crying and screaming again with new tears streaming down her face. Kikka is given to Barros and while everyone starts to crowd around the little girl, they no longer pay the Bolbian any mind.
Belos tries to slip away from the crowd to find a place to be alone again when he hears Kikka’s voice, “Bug face!” she is still partially crying, “You’ll give Arnit a blanket right? You’re staying with him tonight, aren’t you?”
Even now, no one is paying attention to Belos. The risk he took, the work he did, and the girl he helped, he isn’t even a thought in their minds. Now that Kikka is safe, it doesn't matter what he does.
“Yeah- sorry kid, that’s just not gonna happen.” He leaves a crying Kikka to be comforted by her father and the rest of her family.
Belos leaves the area looking to find a quiet place to sleep before the sun comes up. The commotion is so big now that he quickly gives up on that dream. Instead, he starts looking in different wagons for a comfortable place to hide when another person calls out to him. He turns around to see one of the new travelers that had joined up a few days ago. Bao.
“Hey Belos, that was good what you did over there.”
“Why is this person talking to me? What’s going on?” again, Belos isn’t good with people.
“My name is Bao by the way. I just wanted to say thank you for helping Barros and Kikka like that. They’re good people, and I think you must be too if you helped them like that. Well, that was it. I’ll see you later.”
The conversation ended as quickly as it started and left Belos dumbfounded. He doesn’t care about what Bao had to say. He only wants to get some sleep.
When the events of the night died down, Kikka cried herself to sleep and now is resting in Maria’s lap as she strokes her hair. Barros is speaking with some of the men on watch. They discover that Kikka had been visiting Arnit occasionally at night. No one knows when this started happening, and it was only a fluke that they were discovered tonight. Barros decides not to punish Kikka too much for this. Instead, they decide to double down on the security around Arnit and change their travel plans moving forward.
“I don’t know why I thought we could postpone dropping off the Sulfuges,” Barros lays back into a large pillow and lets out a deep sigh. Just like everyone else, he is exhausted. He turns to the people still around him, “We’ll go north first to the frozen bogs. After we lose the Sulfuges, then we take Letz to see the Redmanes.” There are no objections to Barros’ new plan, “Let’s get some sleep everyone. The sun will be up in a few hours. I think it’s fine if we sleep in a little.”
In the morning, Bao, Keyon, and Maria thank Barros for his hospitality and prepare to go their separate ways. Maria makes a point to check in on Kikka before they leave. The little girl is groggy from a rough night sleep but otherwise appears not to be bothered by the events of last night. She really is a little child.
Keyon sees Katz during the busyness of the camp’s morning routine. The two notice each other but there is nothing for them to say. Nothing Keyon could say would make the situation any different for Katz. No acts of kindness or words of affirmation would help to heal the damage caused from years of abuse. The same applies for Keyon. Part of him feels that he would be acting selfishly if he were to act now. He resolves in his heart to find a way to help people in situations like these, even if he has to say goodbye to one right in front of him.
Bao tries to find Belos before they head out, but he is nowhere to be seen. He has nothing particular he wants to say but there is still a lot that he wants to learn, and he would rather talk to Belos directly than rely on all the second-hand reports he has been hearing. Belos is supposed to be from a race of evil and violent children of Su, yet there was no aggression of any kind last night. Arnit is the same way, even chained and treated like an animal, he was kind to Kikka and hasn’t done anything to warrant the treatment he’s received.
In these few short days, Bao has learned a lot about how the rest of the world works. Many of his questions have been answered although he does not like most of what he has been given. For now, he sets those thoughts aside. He will travel with Keyon and Maria and later, accompany them to the capitol city of Tab. Once there, he can speak with the many races that inhabit the city and resume seeking answers to his questions.