Pluma is a unique nation which, similar to Corith, has almost entirely avoided war throughout its history. However, this is due to a surplus of trade rather than a lack of materials. As a coastal nation, Pluma’s ports act as an essential avenue of trade for other nations, and the multitude of treaties preceding their willing annexation kept them out of the conflicts of their neighbors.
***
The reactions at the table at breakfast to my magical revelation was somewhat unexpected. Out of the crew, Elric seemed to be the most fascinated by my newfound ability.
“Your hand just disappeared?” He asked, his food untouched in front of him. I nodded towards his food, which he promptly started eating. I couldn’t have my team starving on me before we got the plan out of the way. 19 days felt closer than ever now that I was getting more used to using my light magic.
“Yeah, it just wasn’t there. I mean, it was there, but I couldn’t see it. I asked the light to move away from my hand, and it just removed it from vision. It was a dark spot, but I could kinda see behind where my hand would be too.”
Alex, who had been listening in between bites, suddenly paused. “You asked the light to move?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s not how it’s supposed to work.”
Oh right. Sometimes I forget Alex is a trained mage.
Before Alex could respond again, Elric took the initiative.
“Ok, let me get things straight. You listened to the light, attuned to it and then you just asked it to move.”
“I asked nicely?”
I heard a deep groan come from Elric as Alex sat there scratching his head, searching for some way to respond to what I thought was a logical statement.
Did I do something wrong?
“North, attuned mana doesn’t really ‘listen to you’ like that. It’s not like a conversation and more of a call and response. At least, I thought so.” Alex was still scratching, his hand now having moved down to the freckles on his cheeks. If he scratched any harder, it looked as if he would remove the rust that covered his skin.
Before we could continue to discuss my odd utilization of my aptitude, I heard a painfully noble voice come from behind my head.
“Good morning North.”
Right. Nicole. I almost forgot about that headache.
“Good morning to you as well.”
Nicole sat down in an infuriatingly elegant manner. Despite the malnourished and overworked disposition shared by all of those at the camp, she still seemed intent on retaining her dignity. Elina wasn’t at the table with us, which would have likely helped me handle her. She was currently one of the many who were surrounding and trying to talk with Karla. The young girl had acted as an emotional unifier for the camp.
“I was hoping to have a short discussion before we went to work.”
I wanted to respond to her with something that might bring her down to our level, but Elm’s words of the previous night were still floating around in my head. She was my problem to deal with as the leader, but there was a clear difference in levels of social competency. She was an aristocrat, and I was a candlemaker. Diplomacy was not something that I was born into and that meant that I was going to fight an uphill battle as she tried to wrench control over the plan. However, trust was one clear advantage I had over this Plumite. I put up my best smile and decided to indulge her a bit.
“Go ahead.”
A wry smile creeped upon her lips as she continued. “I was hoping you would tell me a bit about Elm.”
It felt as though reality had paused for a second. I was expecting many things to come out of her mouth, but that was not one of them. I looked to my sides to find Elric and Alex having a similar reaction to my own. I hadn’t told them too much of what I had learned about Elm over my time as his apprentice, but I also lacked a lot of knowledge myself. He was a man who had a past he wasn’t keen on sharing, so sharing it with a person like Nicole who definitely had some ulterior motives felt like standing behind a strig and not expecting to get kicked in the jaw. Still, if I wanted her to work with us, I had to give her some incentive.
“He’s an ex-Arlinian soldier. Worked as a magore technician for the military and is a pretty damn good one at that. He hasn’t told me what crime he committed to end up here.”
I didn’t lie, but I kept a good amount of information out. I didn’t inform her that he was alive during the 3rd campaign, that he had a deep knowledge of magecraft or that he was held in respect by Galen.
“Well that is certainly interesting.” She still held that look of deep condescension, even as she took a break to drink from her canteen.
“Why exactly do you want to know this?” Elric asked, clearly sharing in my frustration.
“Oh, simple. I wanted to know whether I should kill him or not.”
Yet again, time seemed to pause. Alex, Elric and I were all shocked by the sudden declaration of murderous intent.
“Excuse me, what?” Elric seemed to be the one who was the most willing to confront her, which helped. I was worried that it was showing some level of weakness on my part that I was willing to let another take on some of the negotiations.
“After the revolt, of course. I’m not the type to throw out a tool before it has fulfilled its use.” She seemed completely calm despite the apparent absurdity of her statement. “He’s an Arlinian. He may be wearing the same clothes as us, but he’s still of the same blood as the bastards who parade around us with burners at their hips. I just wanted to know whether he was just a temporary tool to escape this place or something you planned on using after the fact.”
What the hell is wrong with this woman?
I needed to speak up to assert my authority.
“He’s a good person, and he deserves the same freedom as the rest of us do. So no, you cannot kill him.”
Nicole’s response was to lean across the table and move her face closer to mine. The whisper that came out of her lips felt like drips of venom.
“Do you truly believe that?”
***
It was hard to focus on anything else other than Nicole throughout the day, even during the water break. Her silver tongue and general disposition made her a threat to my plan that I wasn’t entirely prepared to handle. I knew she had a use. She was a good speaker and could very likely convince others to join if given the chance. One problem I’d encountered with Alex’s recruitment of others was gender. Although it was somewhat mixed, there was clearly a preference of males over females. I assumed this was unconscious and simply due to the type of people that Alex befriended. If she could also play the role of a negotiator who could get others to join in, that was a boon to the entire mission. However, she had big aspirations and a clear belief that she knew better than me.
As my mind continued to stray, I felt a small tug on my hip. I turned to see Karla looking up at me, her face showing clear exhaustion from the work. The pickaxe and basket dwarfed her size which had diminished due to malnourishment. It was a sight that hurt the soul. I crouched down a bit to meet her face.
“Hey there.” I tried to speak in a passive voice. She was already overwhelmed and I was worried that anything more could hurt her.
“Hi. You’re North, right? Sera told me you were from Corith too.” Her voice was extremely meek. If I hadn’t leaned down, her voice would have probably been drowned out by the rest of the crowd. A few of the people surrounding me also turned to look at her.
“Yup. Are you doing ok?”
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
She nodded, shaking her black hair up and down.
“It’s really hard but everyone is helping me.”
I wanted to give her as much support as possible. I knew that she was in need of it.
“That’s good.” I placed my hand on her small shoulder and patted it. “Don’t worry. We’re gonna keep you safe.”
I was going to destroy this place. She didn’t deserve to be trapped in here. She deserved the childhood which was stolen from Sera and I.
She gave me another emphatic nod before walking back out into the crowd, snaking in and out of the crowd. When I finally straightened myself to look around, I could see Nicole, staring at me, her confident smile emanating with pride. Without speaking, I could hear the message she was sending loud and clear.
She thinks she’s already won.
***
As Sera, Alex, Elric and I sat around the table, I could feel the tension building. Elina was over talking with a few others, which was fine. She wasn’t really the type for negotiations, and I didn’t expect her to be interested in this type of work. We all stared at Nicole who was happily eating the barely palatable food called dinner. Before I could speak. Elric decided again that there was something he needed to know.
“Before we get into this, I need some trust. You asked about Elm because you were wondering whether you wanted to kill him or not. You’re a penal laborer too, so what exactly makes you different? What did you do to end up here?”
Nicole looked up from her tray and shrugged, responding in the most casual tone possible.
“Embezzlement.”
What the fuck is embezzlement?
It was a word I was unfamiliar with, but it struck a chord with everyone else. I stopped myself from asking for a definition as it would show weakness. Elric had a hand on his forehead, his frustration palpable to everyone else at the table.
“Of course it was. You were a noble example. Arlin put you here to send the message that ‘even nobility is not above the law’, right?”
Despite the clear accusation, Nicole’s tone of voice was unchanging.
“Indeed. Does that satisfy you?”
Before the tensions could rise any further I interjected to get to the main subject. Letting this discussion go on any further would lead to infighting at best and actual fighting at worst. Nicole’s face, despite retaining some noble beauty, looked extremely punchable.
“You said you knew better than me and wanted to change the plan. You haven’t explained what any of those changes are. So?”
Nicole looked up at me and gave me that same venomous smile I was already starting to get used to. It might be minor, but at least Galen’s fake smile didn’t look as sinister.
“Thank you North. As I said, I believe I can make the plan better and help with our success. In other words, I think that while your aspirations are admirable, your plan is problematic in several parts.” Her formal speaking tone and general demeanor felt as though she was giving me a lecture.
“First, Galen. I think the best choice would be to keep him alive. He’s got utility that I think would be lost in the case of death.”
“Wait, you wanted to kill Elm but keep Galen alive?” Elric responded with the thought that was likely on everyone’s mind.
“Oh, I do not sympathize with Galen one bit. Trust me, I’d love to put his head on a pike and parade it around the streets of Arlin. But he has uses. The most important being the soundline.”
The soundline? Is that the thing Elm mentioned that Galen used to contact Arlin?
“You don’t know?” Nicole’s pitch raised in parallel to her ego. “It’s an impressive device. It requires one to have an attunement, but it can send messages across extremely long distances, no paper or strig required. Truly, I would have thought Elm would inform you of them if he was such a master technician.”
“Nicole, you do realize that our deal with the penal laborers is built upon them getting their revenge. If we don’t kill Galen, they won’t work with us.” I needed to hold my ground as best as possible here. She wasn’t entirely wrong in her assertion but I had built up too many alliances with too many stipulations to back down from this point. As I took a peek over to my sides, I noticed Sera giving me a soft smile.
“I know. You don’t have to tell them now. Simply go through with the plan and capture Galen alive, and tell them that you’ll allow them to have their fun later.”
I wanted to say something, but Elric took another moment to put in his thoughts. Something about Nicole hit a specific nerve in him. “I’m sorry, but you realize you’re asking us to capture Galen, a person who is a well trained battle mage, alive?”
Nicole turned to Elric, her smile having only grown more arrogant.
“You know, you seem to be the most sensible one out of this group. I’m surprised you’re not the leader.” Her playful tone was enough to tell me that she was getting a lot of pleasure out of screwing with me. “It’s not too problematic. All you need is to get one of the cuffs on him. I believe he keeps one of them in his office. I have some doubts that he keeps any in the armory.”
She was right on that. I hadn’t seen any in the armory. However, the number was the part that confused me. Before I could respond, Alex asked the question for me.
“Only one? Why so few of them?”
Another condescending smirk creeped upon her lips as she turned to Alex.
“They can’t just throw them around however they want. There’s a limited supply of them.”
The rest of the group stared at her, confused. The cuffs were so prescient in the camps that it felt like the empire had as many as they desired. Throughout all my years, I’d never heard any mention of a limited supply.
“Ok, nevermind that. What are your other objections?” I asked, holding an affirmative tone. The longer we talked, the more ground I felt she was taking from me.
“Of course. My second objection is the run to the armory. I think that it is a noble idea, but I am curious how you intend to increase our survival rates. Numbers do help, but I think your plan is quite juvenile. Using the mine as a distraction is good, but the guards will still be able to fire at us while we run.”
I smiled a bit, knowing that this was a point we could actually argue, until Sera decided to speak for me.
“Actually, I already have a plan for how we’re going to increase our survival rates. We’re going to give the guards magore poisoning.”
***
The table took a moment to turn to Sera with faces of both curiosity and confusion. Sera gave off a confident smile, seeming to take deep pride in her plan.
“I’ve been talking with Twig, and we figured out a way to make it easier to deal with the guards. When we clean the clothes, we collect any dust that has raw magore in it. If we can get that stuff and sprinkle a tiny bit of it in the food at dinner, they’ll get poisoned.” Sera spoke in a generally hushed tone, but the look of confidence on her face was encouraging. It was a part of the plan that I’d partially overlooked, and Sera had filled it in for me. Sadly, Nicole was doubtful.
“You do realize that they’ll notice when they start to experience it. We can’t have them keeling over suddenly and not have them expect foul play.”
Sera’s response, oddly enough, was to nod. “You’re right. That’s why we’re only going to do a small amount. We don’t want to kill them, but a minor amount of poisoning should throw off their aim and make them easier to deal with.”
Nicole sat there for a moment, pondering it. The run to the armory from the bunks was about 90 seconds, which meant that they’d be running through a lot of stuff to get there and get weapons. Once we had Elm able to use magic, he felt confident he could open up a path and help people access tools from the armory so we could then make our way backwards towards the mine.
“Fair enough. I shall commend you on that. Finally, I have a question about afterwards.”
I immediately felt a small bit of dread at those words. I’d been focusing all of my mental energy on the revolt and not much on the steps afterwards. My best solution was to get everyone together to make a decision about our next steps. One thing that I was adamant on was staying together afterwards so we could have the numbers advantage in case they sent people after us.
“I’m going to hold a meeting with everyone to decide our next steps.”
“Oh? Tell me North, do you know where this camp is located?”
I think I do?
“Boralis, right? It’s above Corith if I remember correctly.”
“Correct. We’re at the edge of Arlin and if we decide to go north...”
I paused to see everyone turn to me for a short second.
Thanks, mom.
“Then we will be out of Arlinian territory and in Mylia. There’s a coastal city there which I think should provide a multitude of opportunities to go our separate ways.”
Going our separate ways were words that worried me, but I was aware that there were people here who didn’t want to stay as a group and wanted to spread out after the revolt to go on their own. When the sun rises the day after the revolt, every person who survives will be an enemy of the state.
I sighed, aware of my lack of geographical knowledge. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now, would you mind telling me what you meant when you said you had been planning to escape for years?”
She looked up at me from her food which she had taken a break to indulge in.
“Exactly what I meant. I’d been hoping to do one for years. I’ve seen the outcome of getting caught, but I have garnered enough knowledge and favors to feel confident that I could escape with ease if the timing was opportune. You simply caught me at the perfect time. Our goals align, which is why I will support you.” All of her practiced mannerisms reminded me of the artificial nature of Galen, but there was an odd level of honesty in her words. I was simply another step in her own personal goals, another tool which would be disposed of when the time is right.
Relying on her was dangerous. There was a clear point in the future where our intentions would clash, and I had to be prepared for that moment. Despite all of that, I needed to rely on her for the time being to get as many people as possible on our side. She was good at negotiation and had a way with words which the average slave lacked. As she would say, she was a useful tool that I needed to get something out of.
“I’ll take your suggestions into account in the future. Now, will you help us recruit more people?” Every single person at the table turned to stare at her. She kept up the same act, taking a short swig of her canteen before responding.
“Of course. So please, try and make sure you don’t get us all killed.”