Arlin’s existence has always been plagued with corruption. As their borders have expanded, its oversight has greatly thinned.

***

Time continued to pass at a brisk pace. My confidence was building, but I still felt worried that everything could fall apart. We were 5 days away from the revolt, and our numbers had grown. After prodding her, Nicole finally revealed that we had almost the entire female bunks on our side. I hadn’t expected for the results to be that consistent, but a job well done is a job well done. Karla had been given information on it and was simply told to hide in the bunks when it occurred since we wanted to keep her out of danger, but I was still reluctant on that choice. It was a plan which was tense, but I felt confident. Alex had also gotten the majority of the male bunks on our side, and a few of our new recruits also spread the word. All we needed to do at this point was wait. I still hadn’t mastered the ability to make the light around me completely hide my presence, but I was getting there.

The guards had also talked to me a bit more now, which continued to scare me. I hated being around them, and forcing myself to act friendly was a chore. Acting was not one of my best skills. I simply had to lead us to victory and keep us moving. The hands on the timekeeper were a good reminder that things were on pace. I had everyone under control…

Except for one.

***

When I walked out of the bunks that night, I was met with the dark blue hair of the one problem who I hadn’t solved yet. Nicole was an ever looming threat, and seeing her stand out in the open at night was enough to confirm my worries.

“How the hell are you out at night?”

Her simple response was to shrug.

“I told you, I have a few favors lined up. I said to them that I wanted to have some alone time with you. They assume I’m just doing this to have sex with you. They’re watching of course, but they can’t hear us too well. After all, nobody likes being near the bunks for too long.”

I moved away from the doorway, resting my back against the wall of the bunk. It was true that several of the guards were looking, but most of them seemed to not care. It was an especially dark and especially cold night out, which meant most of the guards were staying in their quarters trying to warm themselves up. As I stared at her, a few pieces of information began to click together in my head.

“You’re the other person who works with the guards. That’s why you’re able to go out at night.”

Her aristocrat’s smile was bright, even in the darkness. I had wondered what she meant with favors, and hearing that there was another person who did work at night allowed me to connect the dots. Elm had also said that he had talked to her before, and knowing that she worked with the guards gave that statement a lot more sense.

“Correct.”

“What exactly do you do for them?”

She took a moment to look around, spotting where the guards were. The ones which were close to us had apparently given up on watching and had turned away. One major benefit of being the camp’s other magore technician was that they had placed some level of trust in me, and Nicole also appeared to have gained some miniscule level of respect.

“I write for them. Formal documents, letters, reports, and anything else they ask of me. For a nation which places such an emphasis on literacy, it appears that only a handful of them can write a coherent paragraph. In return, I get a few favors every once in a while. Night walks, talking with specific guards or getting some extra food. Simple things. I had to cash in quite a few just to get this short little talk with you.” Her tone was relaxed and practiced. It all started to come together for me now. I was starting to understand how she worked.

To Nicole, everything was business. It was all transactions and trades.

“What do you want? Are you asking me to earn your trust or something?”

In an unexpected response, Nicole laughed.

“I’m not asking you to do that North. I don’t trust anyone, especially you. I just want to understand you a bit better. After all, we’re working together.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

It was infuriating how much she reminded me of Galen. That sickening smile and absurd confidence that everything is going their way.

“Fine.”

I couldn’t exactly fight against her at this moment. Despite my entire body’s cries to punch her, I knew that it was only going to make things harder.

Nicole took a few steps forward, inching closer to my face. When she had stopped, I could feel her breath on my skin.

“Do you want to go to war?”

What?

“It’s a simple question. Do you want to go to war? You’re not that hard to read, you know. You clearly don’t want this to end here, do you?”

I took a deep breath before responding, attempting to get my thoughts as clear as possible.

“If possible, I would like to save people at other camps. We have the numbers to do it and understand the camps better than any freedom fighting group could. If you want to call that war, then yes.” I spoke in an affirmative tone, trying to sound as formal as possible. Nicole definitely saw past it, but I couldn’t let down my guard.

“I see. Tell me, have you killed anyone?”

I felt this one coming.

“No. I have not.”

At this point, Nicole had placed her hands on the wall and had moved her face directly next to mine. Any closer and we would kiss.

“You do realize that your hands will be stained with a lot of blood if you choose to go down this path.” She spoke in a soft whisper, but her words held the same power as they had before. “Do you have the resolve to do that?”

I gave her a cocky smirk as I answered. “Anyone who works at these camps or protects their existence deserves death.”

It was a belief that I had held ever since I first arrived at a mine. It was a sin that needed to be punished.

“Oh I agree. But that’s not all you’ll be fighting. Arlin will surely send troops your way to try and stop you. But those people aren’t the ones who run the camps, or have probably ever seen them. They’d be there for the exact same reason as you; to protect the innocent. If you plan on going through towns during your crusade, I don’t think the civilians will be the most kind. Are you prepared to potentially kill them as well?”

I had to pause for a moment. It wasn’t something I enjoyed thinking about. I understood what she was implicating me of and I knew that it was something my path would contain. Innocence was a lot less clear on the battlefield, but I wanted to avoid civilian deaths as much as possible.

“If it’s required, I’ll do it.”

Her smile widened. I could tell how much enjoyment she was getting out of this. However, I also needed something from her, and her intrusion had given me an opportune time for it.

“If I go down the path of war, are you going to follow me?”

“No, of course not. I couldn’t care less about going to war. I just care about getting out of this and getting to live an actual life. I’ll be heading to Mylia, with or without you.”

“You sure you could survive that journey by yourself?”

“I know I can.”

Her confidence was palpable. The noble dignity was unwavering, even in a slave camp. I still wanted to know more.

“You said we would head off from the port to our own locations? Where exactly would you be heading?”

“Pluma.”

Excuse me?

“I thought you were trying to run away from the empire, not throw yourself back into it?”

She scoffed in response to what I believed was a sensible statement.

“I love my home, so why would I want to leave it? As I’ve said, I have a lot of favors that I’ve built up over time. Forging documents and starting anew would be rather easy with my connections. I would offer the same courtesy to you, but that doesn’t appear to be an option.”

That was something we both agreed on.

“So what? Are you happy now that you understand me a bit better?”

“A little. I like you North. You want to fight against the Empire which has wronged you and so many. It’s a valiant ideal. You’re a good person…” Nicole moved even closer to me to whisper directly into my ear.

“And that will make you a horrible leader.”

***

Time continued to pass, the gift from Galen marking each day and night. It was the day before the revolt, and I had braced myself. Almost all of the slaves were in on the plan and were ready to fight. I had one final thing to do before I tore this place to the ground.

Today was my last day working as a magore technician.