Chapter 172:

Darkness began to fall over the dry savannah of Seocuria. Though winter had come to Atros and the southern countries the lands of Seocuria, especially those far from the coast, remained extremely warm. Warm enough that they could easily pass for travellers not willing to pay an Inn for the night's accommodation, an adequate story. Anton and the girls established their camp and portal some distance away from the road. With only a small fire they waited for night to truly fall.

“Do you think anyone followed us?” Cetina asked, shifting her horse to block the direct light heading towards the road.

“No.” Anton smiled. “But they were looking at us weird.”

Verona nodded. “We are the lightest people they’ve seen in a long time. Even though we’re this close to the border. I guess they don’t get many visitors from Graterious.”

The Seocurian merchants and travellers all slowed to gawk as they passed. Most attention was directed at Verona’s pale skin and silver hair but Anton and Cetina didn’t avoid some scrutiny. Thankfully Kal was just regarded as a complete oddity and not worthy of further scrutiny. Some tried to stop and chat, if nothing more than gossip, but Anton politely continued on their way. If they chatted there was every chance they could give away hints, hints that would make their activities in Seocuria all the more difficult.

A slight rustling of branches came from behind. Anton readied to strike but it was Kal, crawling through the bushes. Though her face and tail were hidden he could tell that she was very happy.

“There’s a plantation nearby,” Kal spoke softly, taking a seat next to Anton and resting a hand on his leg. “I’m not sure exactly how many guards there are but I counted thirty. About two hundred Beast-kin.”

“Is that large or…” Anton trailed off.

“Small.” Kal rummaged through her pack, lifted her mask and began to nibble on some dried meat. “It’s a fruit plantation. Well, nuts. Too dry here to grow fruit. The nearest river is two or three miles away.”

“Cetina? Could you tell everyone to come through? The slaves aren’t just going to break free on their own.”

Cetina nodded, finished her drink and stepped through the portal. She returned a few moments later, far less dizzy than before, followed by Rasha, Ulyaa and Eider. Once they were cleared from the portal the Green Moon Dark Elves began to file out.

“My skin’s crawling to see this place again.” Ulyaa scratched her arms. “All the bad memories are coming back.”

Eider nodded. Her head drooped low as a clawed finger played with the scales on the rim of her hood. Rasha tried to act tough but Anton saw the slight tremble in her legs. He tapped the armour on her arm, just the single touch was enough to instil some confidence.

The last Dark Elf stepped through, Cagec, and looked around. “We are actually in Seocuria. That’s…A surprise.”

Verona chuckled. “After everything that Anton’s done you tend to get used to it. No…No Calo or Sheso tonight?”

“Not tonight. Leran wanted to speak with them. And since they can’t use the bow yet, and we need to be very quiet…”

“I understand.” Verona idly brushed away the pieces of dry grass stuck to her pants. “They have a different mission. Right? There are all kinds of fighting, and not all involve killing.”

Cagec said nothing. Before he could answer Verona gently pulled Anton and Kal to their feet.

“It’s not too far.” Kal pointed the direction she came. “It’s pretty easy to see if we just travel that way for a short walk.”

Cetina began collecting the portal stones and slung them over her back. There was no way they were going to leave something so valuable behind.

“Cagec.” Anton began. “Have a few of your warriors stay behind. Guard the horses and the fire. We’ll be returning here when we’re done.”

Cagec pointed to six Dark Elves. They nodded, not overly concerned they weren’t going to fight, doubly so over something that really didn’t concern them. Four took up hiding positions while the remaining two pulled their hoods tight and sat around the fire, for anyone approaching they were two Seocurian travellers huddling around a fire, not two Dark Elves.

Anton signalled them to advance. The Dark Elves slipped silently through the thin undergrowth, darting from tree to tree. The Beast-kin girls, however, were finding things a little more difficult and noisy; Rasha had trouble with low branches and Ulyaa was too wide in some instances. Eider found it quite funny and hid a smirk, not very well though.

Kal whispered something as they approached the edge of the small savannah forest. The Dark Elves lowered and readied their bows, the Beast-kin girls simply tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible. The plantation was very simple; three small wood and stone buildings lined next to the road in front of rows of trees, a tall wooden fence surrounding the plantation with a larger mud brick building to the side of the three wooden buildings at the front. A few lights leaked from the central wooden building, silhouettes of guards moving past windows with more shadows of those inside. The larger mud brick building had no lights or any movements but had six Seocurian’s outside. Unlike the heavily armoured soldiers in Danafra these wore much lighter gear, more befitting the arid climate. Despite that it was unlikely the Beast-kin slaves, unless they had someone like Rasha, could mount much of a resistance against them.

“Here we go…Your armour.” Anton turned to Rasha. “Your armour’s too bright. It’ll give us away when we approach.”

“What?” Rasha’s armour clinked as she looked at her arms. “Oh…I see what you mean. I didn’t realise…”

“We could camouflage it.” Cagec offered, though his eyes hid a wince. “But it’ll take some time.”

“Did you actually want me to fight?” Rasha asked softly.

“Not yet. I don’t know how the slaves are going to react when we turn up.” Rasha looked a little disappointed. “And I don’t want you to get stabbed with a spear, I can’t heal people if they’re already dead. What weapons do the guards normally use?”

“Spears.” Kal began, Rasha looked a little happier. “Some of the bigger Beast-kin can be very dangerous so it’s a good idea to keep well away.”

“I’m sure you outreach them, Rasha, but if any survive we don’t want them to have any idea Beast-kin were involved.” Anton smiled at the Dark Elves. “If we are spotted they’ll probably think it was some rival Seocurian business. At least, that's the plan.”

Verona chuckled. “Maybe we should do that. Throw a little chaos into their midst.”

“More than just a bandit attack?” Anton asked.

Verona shrugged.

“I’ll wait here then.” Rasha smiled. “I’m sure they’ll be surprised to see me. You’re coming back this way, right? I don’t want to be left behind in Seocuria, not after getting away from it.”

“Of course. Now, Eider and Ulyaa?”

“We’ll come.” Eider glanced at Ulyaa, the Arachnid took a moment before returning the nod.

Cagec whistled, mimicking a bird’s whistle. “Take out every Seocurian guard. Don’t hurt the Beast-kin slaves. They should all be inside, yes?”

“They should.” Eider pointed to the big mud-brick building. “If I was in one of these plantations that’s where they would put us.”

“It’s where the guards are too.”

“What about the owners?” Anton asked. The Beast-kin girls frowned. “Will there be women and children here?”

“Yes,” Kal said calmly. “I’m not sure what to do about them.”

Cagec shuffled closer. “If you want this to go smoothly, and no one know about this, it’s best to kill the owners. All of them.”

Anton scratched his beard. “They might not fight us but if they survive and see us running with the Beast-kin to the trees…Just make it quick and painless.”

“I think it would be best to start a fire once we’re done.” Cagec pointed to the trees of the plantation. “That way they’ll think it was just a fire and the Beast-kin fled. They’ll definitely find the tracks leading towards the forest regardless if we try to hide them. If they don't find tracks or bodies they'll find that even more suspicious.”

“Lots of practice?” Verona asked.

Cagec glumly nodded. A pirate needed to be ruthless in order to survive.

“Four Dark Elves are to stay with them at the tree line,” Cagec ordered. He pulled his hood tight and readied his bow. He whistled, a different bird sound and the Dark Elves slinked through the dim light towards the plantation.

“Pull that cloak tight, Cetina,” Anton said. “Your armour is just as shiny as Rasha’s. Not to mention those colours.”

Cetina nodded and followed them closely behind. The Dark Elves moved like a silent wave across the dry grass. Their experience moving silently through their fortress, trying to hide from the Goblins, paid dividends here. Anton received many looks from the Dark Elves; their boots were almost silent while their own grass crushing underneath their steps was unbelievably loud. He even received a derisive look from Kal, thankfully it was playful.

The Seocurian guards were caught completely unaware. Most were drinking or dozing, not keeping an eye out towards the forest, not that it would have done them much good. A black arrow jutting out of one of their companions was the first sign something was wrong. Before they could ready their weapons the next guard feel, then the next. Within but a few seconds all of the guards at the front of the plantation were dead. The people inside the central building did not come out, there were very loud and drunk sounding voices coming from within.

Cagec looked back, whistled and waited for Anton to approach.

“All dead.” He whispered. “We should deal with these buildings first.”

“What about the other guards?” Anton asked.

Cagec signalled to the Dark Elves at the edge of their lines. They scampered over the low wooden fence. After a few twangs of arrows they returned.

“Everyone’s dead.” A Dark Elf reported to Cagec. “Just those inside this building.”

“That quick?” Anton asked.

The Dark Elf warrior nodded. “No armour covering their face. One arrow to the head is more than enough.”

“Well…This is a small plantation.” Anton waved the Dark Elves forward. “Deal with those inside.”

Cagec motioned the Dark Elves to advance. They slunk towards the building and peered through the murky glass window. They darted down and signalled, with hand gestures, back to Cagec.

“Seven people. Three women and three children, one man.”

Verona bumped his side. “Seocuria’s the place with harems. Probably a lucky…”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Unlucky tonight.” Anton rubbed her head. “Deal with them. Quick and as painlessly as you can.”

Cagec signalled the Dark Elves. One knocked on the door, he drew his swords while the others readied their bows.

“What is it?” A muffled woman's voice called out. “Do you not have enough wine? We have some more if you want.”

The Dark Elf knocked again. A sigh came from within, the revelry began to dim.

“Brother, are you that drunk that you can barely stand?”

The Seocurian woman peered through the murky window. The dead bodies did look like someone drunk, the light was too weak to see the growing pools of blood.

With a faint creak the door began to open. “I have to say, that if you think-”

A Dark Elf released an arrow, through her jaw and out of her temple. She staggered, the Dark Elf opposite caught and threw her clear of the building. The Dark Elves rushed in. Panicked screams followed, a spray of blood splattered against the wall, thumps of bodies crashing over furniture before everything fell silent.

The Dark Elves emerged, their thick cloaks stained with blood.

“It’s done.” One said calmly.

Anton saw a young hand lying limp on the floor, the pooling blood seeped through the cracks in the floorboards.

“We’ll burn them once the Beast-kin are safe.” Anton smiled, ignoring the death of the child. “A good send-off for the former slaves.”

The Dark Elves shut the door and slinked back into the shadows. Eider and Ulyaa remained perfectly quiet during the slaughter. The death of the Seocurian children and women didn't faze them in the slightest. Anton wanted the slavers gone, not the wholesale slaughter of the Seocurian people. Stopping that, the revenge attacks, was going to be a tall order.

They approached the mud brick barn, the other Seocurian guards all lay dead, none knowing who their killers were.

“Are they just sleeping in there?” Anton asked. “Just thrown into the barn?”

“We were thrown into those cells,” Ulyaa said quietly. “We didn't have much of a choice.”

“True. Is there going to be someone that’s going to charge out and try to kill us?”

“Shouldn’t be.” Eider looked to Ulyaa. “But if they see one of you they might be scared. I’m sure they’re listening to us. At least the Felines and Canines will be.”

“Open it up,” Anton ordered.

The Dark Elves knocked the beam holding the door shut free. The doors hinges tried to push it open naturally, letting in what little light remained in the setting sun. Anton summoned a fireball, a weak flame as to not scare the Beast-kin, any more than he already had. Beast-kin eyes stared back, a pile of fur and scales hiding on the far side of the room nestled in piles of old straw and hay. A waft of faeces and urine flooded out, the straw wasn't used to keep them warm.

“They aren’t moving,” Verona said quietly.

“I wouldn’t.” Anton rubbed his beard. “Imagine if this was some sort of trap.”

The slaves spoke rapidly amongst themselves, none were willing to come closer while most chose to crawl further away.

“I could try ordering them…” Anton looked to Eider and Ulyaa. “But I might need you two for this.”

The girls closed their eyes, took a deep breath and slowly approached the door.

“It’s alright now,” Eider spoke very gently. “The guards are dead. It’s all…going to be alright now.”

None of the slaves were willing to move.

“We aren’t slaves.” Ulyaa raised her body up, just to show that she was an Arachnid. “At least not anymore.”

“But you need to come with us.” Eider chuckled, her tail swishing slightly through the cooling air. “Unless you actually like being a slave.”

Eider held her hand out into the darkness. Slowly a Beast-kin, a fellow reptile, stepped forward. His legs shook, not just from nervousness, as he walked towards her. The others watched him in fear and cautious optimism. Another reptile, a female, tried to run after him but the others held her back.

“You…” The young reptile, hunched over, picked at the scars, young and old, covering his arms. “A Cobra…”

“Yes.” Eider knelt down. “I was a slave. Just like you. But now we are going to free you. All of you. But.” Eider raised a finger. “You need to come with us right now, otherwise you're going to stay here for the rest of your life. Someone else might come along soon and we can't be discovered.”

“Where is Master?” The reptile winced, picking at a small area of ruined scales above his eyes. “Why haven’t the guards…”

He saw the dead Seocurians lying at the feet of the Dark Elves. “What?”

“They’re dead. All of them.” Eider outstretched her hand again. The Reptile was still hesitant, his eyes focused on the Dark Elves. In the low light, and with their hoods up, they looked just like Seocurians. Obviously very confusing.

“Take off your hoods,” Anton whispered to Cagec. “They’ll understand.”

Cagec repeated the order and the Dark Elves obeyed.

“What?”

“Dark Elves.” Eider shuffled a step forward. “And the humans with us are our friends. The humans that actually made this happen. Without them…You’d be a slave for the rest of your life. And I know, I know, deep down, you always wanted to be free. Even if you really don't understand what it means. If only to stop the horrible beatings and work you’ve had to endure every day.”

The reptile slowly nodded.

“If you come with us we can show you a life that’s far, far better than this.” Eider stood up. “But you need to come with us now. Otherwise, when the Seocurian’s find what we’ve done, they’re just going to put you back in chains.”

Eider lifted her arms and rotated her wrists. “I haven’t worn chains since the middle of autumn. You have no idea how good it feels.”

The reptile took a step closer. “How? Where can we go in Seocuria…”

Eider winked, something that looked rather odd on a snake. “You’re just going to have to trust us. Well, trust him.” Eider pointed at Anton. “He’s the one that organised all this.”

Not really but…

The reptile nodded and took Eider’s hand. Ulyaa smiled back at Anton and shrugged dramatically; she really wasn’t needed. The female reptile broke free of the others and ran to him, grabbing his hand and pulling him back.

“You can’t go with these people.” She whispered harshly. “Do you have any idea what they’re going to do to you when Master returns?”

“They’re all dead,” Eider said. The reptile didn’t believe her, not until Eider pointed at the dead Seocurian guards. “All of them.”

“They really are…” The female reptile stepped back, a few fingers lingering on his.

“Come on.” Eider smiled. “It’s time to go.”

The Reptile didn’t move, Eider had to take the initiative. She pulled him out of the building and into the dim light. His female friend followed, the other Beast-kin right behind them. All were scared beyond belief, battered and bruised, those with fur and scales were mangy and covered in rashes and patches. Eider brought the two reptiles before Anton. Now that he was presented with them he found himself lost for words.

“Everything will be alright now,” Anton said calmly. “No more slavers, or masters await you in your new home. You will be treated, all of you will be treated as equals. But first we need to do something about that wound.”

The two recoiled as Anton placed his hand upon the Reptiles shoulder and healed him. He was utterly shocked to see his body restored, restored to how it should be.

Eider chuckled. “I was like that too. I could barely see when we first met. And he can do that for everyone. But…I think Anton will agree that we need to leave now.”

Anton nodded. “There is something that we need to do first.”

Though the slaves now listened to Eiders words the sight of the dead Seocurian guards brought them to a dead halt. A mixture of disbelief and fear, of the inevitable reprisals and the generations of beatings and punishments, kept them locked in place. Even the Dark Elves could only usher a few forward. Anton opened his mouth to speak when an elderly canine snapped, yelling with a primal rage before kicking and beating the closest Seocurian corpse with everything ounce of strength his frail body could muster. The release of suppressed anger spread and consumed the others, beating the dead while hurling abuse and untold obscenities at the guards. It became clear extremely quickly that the guards were of the vilest kind and responsible for more than one blatant murder of an elderly Beast-kin that simply had trouble moving in the morning. Anton didn't need to guess who that was.

“Come on,” Anton ordered. The furious Beast-kin stopped and looked to Anton. “We have to leave.”

Anton created multiple Fire and Lightning bombs. The realisation of his power quickly cowed the Beast-kin into submission, they followed his and the Dark Elves instructions without complaint.

“That wasn’t too bad.” Eider chuckled. “Will I have to do that every time?”

“Probably.” Anton withdrew the Lightning Bombs and threw the remaining Fire Bombs over the plantation trees. “No one can know about this. If word gets out it’s all over.”

“Why?” Eider tilted her head, cutely licking at the air.

“Because Seocuria has Principle Mages. And I’m not too confident against them. Well, at the very least hiding from them.” Anton patted Eider’s head. She didn’t move his hand away, looking up at him with honest searching, and strangely piercing eyes. “And I don’t particularly want to die.”

“What mage could threaten you?” Eider pointed to the plantation’s trees, rapidly engulfed by flames. “When you can do that?”

“A lot,” Ulyaa said calmly. “Probably. Cetina told me about the fight he had in Qaiviel.”

“Really?” Anton looked to the Bebbezzarian. She looked away, feigning innocence.

They began to return to the forest, Anton looked back and saw Ulyaa a few paces behind. She looked concerned with something, something deep within her, but when she saw Anton looking it faded away. She forced a smile and quickly caught up.

“If something’s wrong, say something.”

Ulyaa nodded but said nothing.

The Beast-kin slaves were halfway to the forest when Anton signalled for the Dark Elves to stop. Immediately they fell into a panic, fearing an elaborate trap.

Anton smiled and summoned more Fire Balls. “I just want you to witness something before you go.”

The wooden buildings were an excellent source of combustion, illuminating everything in a bright flickering orange in but a minute. The Beast-kin slaves looked on utterly shocked and stunned, but he could see the smiles on their faces. They needed to see their hell engulfed in flames.

“Where…” The reptile began. “Where are we going?”

“To the forest for now.” Anton smiled. “We need a safe place to establish the portal.”

None of the Beast-kin understood his words but followed them regardless. Rasha emerged from the forest, the Beast-kin backed away until her blue skin was revealed from the small fireball.

“Hello everyone.” Rasha smiled, holding her halberd tight. “I’m so glad that you’re all free. Don’t worry. It won’t be long now.”

“A…Minotaur?” One of the former slaves asked. “But blue skin?”

Rasha nodded. “Anton accepts everyone. No matter what they are.”

The Beast-kin murmured amongst themselves.

Cetina quickly established the portal. The Beast-kin backed away from the shimmering white disk, Eider stepped forward and waited for the Beast-kin to calm down.

“We just need to step through here, then you’ll see the wonderful place that Anton is building for us.”

You’re making it sound like I’m some sort of saviour…Again. I’m sure this is going to end well, a whole bunch of desperate and thankful people…

Eider picked the two reptiles. She held their hands tight and stepped through the portal. As the white flash receded from their eyes the Beast-kin murmured and grew increasingly anxious. They weren’t willing to try and run, some nearby Seocurian was more than likely on the way to investigate the fires.

Perhaps we can use that, Tethra’s magic could be used to extract all sorts of information.

The portal flashed and they stepped back through. The Reptiles were clearly suffering from the distortion, though one could not deny the smiles on their faces.

“It’s…It’s incredibly...” The male could barely formulate words. “You have to see it. There’s so many Beast-kin, humans…It’s a real place.”

“And you all need to come through.” Eider smiled, stepping to one side. “Someone will be waiting for you on the other side. They’ll take care of you, make sure that you get food, water and somewhere to sleep. An actual room, not just a dirty barn with some old straw. Though the first few nights you might have to sleep together.”

The small admission of their bunking arrangements concerned them little as they patiently stepped into the portal. At one point a rush nearly developed but Rasha stopped any such notions by simply stepping forward. None of the Beast-kin could compare to even a quarter of her muscle mass, even after a full healing.

With the last of the Beast-kin sent through to Atros Cetina began to collect the portal stones.

“Now what?” Eider asked, a slight giggle to her voice. “That was a lot of fun. Ah, the looks on their faces. Can I keep doing this?” Eider looked to the Dark Elves. “With them, of course. I’m not ready to fight like them.”

“You already asked for this job.” Anton patted her head again. He heard a grinding of metal, he pretended he wasn’t seeing Rasha look more than a little jealous in his peripheries. “But yes. I’m sure these little nightly excursions are good for your warriors too, Cagec.”

Cagec nodded. “We need to ensure that our senses and skills don’t dull. We cannot hope to be proficient warriors if become slack and fat.”

“I think I’ll have to pass on this.” Ulyaa smiled. “I really didn’t do anything. And, well…”

“Well, what?” Anton asked.

Ulyaa pointed to her arm, specifically her exposed skin. “My upper body does look a lot like a Seocurian. I know it’s pretty hard to say that with this…But I don’t know. I think I’ll just take you up on the magic instead.”

“The what?” Eider asked softly.

“Another time.” Anton clapped his hands. “Send…Hang on.”

A small light approached the burning plantation along the small dirt road. Anton enhanced his vision; a small Seocurian military patrol. These had armour somewhere between the plantation guards and those in Danafra.

“We might need you for a bit longer, Ulyaa. How much silk can you make right now?”

“Now?” Ulyaa’s legs tapped nervously. “Right now?”

“Yes. I don’t have any rope.”

“I…A bit, I suppose.” Ulyaa reached for Anton’s arm, a nervous expression on her face. “But it doesn’t come out like that. I know you know that-”

“It’ll be fine, Ulyaa. We’ll make it work.”

“And the plan for them?” Verona nodded to the still raging fire. “You were just saying you didn’t want to make a scene. Well, any larger than what you’ve made there.”

“If we plan to strike at Seocuria we need information, information that the Beast-kin can’t provide. Where are their bases, patrols routes and routines, how they’re paid and any trouble spots with the Beast-kin. We could hit those and no one would be the wiser.”

“Paid?” Rasha asked. “Why does that matter?”

Anton smiled. “If they’re not getting paid it’ll make them far more willing to break and run away. I wouldn’t risk my neck against someone like you without being paid.”

“I don’t get paid…” Rasha trailed off.

“Taking them alive will be a little more difficult,” Cagec said. “But I’m sure we can gather a few.”

“Wait until…” Anton shook his head. “Do what you need to in order to capture them. I can heal them if they’ve lost an arm or something. If they’re not cooperating don’t hesitate to break a finger. I'd like at least one.”