"It's there," Mae said quietly, pointing to a small fenced-off area. We were on the edge of a large encampment, with what appeared to be a few hundred people milling around. Thankfully, they hadn't cleared the brush and trees around the encampment, using a natural clearing of the woods as a campground. They were using a large, leafy bush as a hiding spot just outside the ring of tents to the south. Mae held Garon in a wrap that affixed the child to her hip for ease of use, and her flowing red gown had been replaced with efficient leathers that accentuated her curves in ways that made Auric's ears flush if he looked too closely. Shaking his head to clear the thought, he focused on the area she pointed to. Inside, he saw many huddled, hooded figures sitting dejectedly. He pulled his cloak around him and shivered, the night was going to be a cold one, and he needed all of his faculties in proper order if he was going to sneak these people out of the encampment.

  Mae had told him of her plan just the day before they left. She'd kept her intentions masked until he had agreed to come with her on this outing, saying that it was the first step to fulfilling the prophecy. The plan was fairly simple, get in quietly, free the slaves that the mercenaries captured, get out as quietly as possible, and bring them to the city. As far as Auric could tell, there were close to two hundred of the slaves to get free, and it needed to be after the rest of the camp fell asleep.

  Midnight came much slower than Auric would have liked. The chill of winter was fully on the valley where the mercenaries had decided to make camp. Shifting his sword to his back so it didn't drag, he signaled to Mae that he was going to start moving forward. She made a hand sign that he understood to mean that she would stay there and wait for him. Nodding, he stepped lightly into the clearing, stopping just at the edge of the torchlight of a guard. He couldn't have been more than 17 or 18 winters old, and the whiskers on his chin were just starting to come in. Letting the boy pass, he continued for another 50 malms, weaving between tents, avoiding the guards. Thankfully, the brightness of the torches skewed the night vision of the sentries, or he would have had a much harder time of this. Auric wasn't particularly skilled at the sneaking arts, but his heritage gave him a leg up over normally clumsy full humans, and his darkened leather armor helped him blend into the shadows just a little bit better.

  It was close to 20 minutes before he was at the gate to the pen. He thanked the All-Mother that the guards hadn't locked it. Were they so confident that these slaves wouldn't try to escape? Unlatching the gate, he slid in, moving it as little as he could manage. Inside, he noticed two sets of glowing green eyes following his movements, but they hadn't alerted the guards. Taking that as a good sign, he stepped near to the first set of eyes.

  "I've come to free you, in the name of Nathet," Auric whispered intently.

  "You've come to die, it seems," a feminine voice answered. "We will never get out of this camp unnoticed, Elf."

  With a small grunt, Auric walked to the next set he saw.

  "Do you wish to be free?" He asked the person looking at him.

  "I do," another feminine voice answered. All-Mother's tits, were they all women?

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  "I need you to gather everyone willing to leave," He urged, as quietly as he could manage. The eyes stared at him a moment, bobbed down in acceptance, then with a small scuffling, moved into the group, whispering intently. A few moments later, most of the group stood quietly, eyes intent on Auric.

  "I've scouted a path, and my partner is waiting for us on the edge of the clearing. We need to hurry, but we also need to be quiet. Follow me, and don't fall behind." Auric opened the gate just large enough for the contingent to move out one at a time. They worked their way from tent to tent, one at a time, avoiding the guards as best they could. They were almost caught twice, once when a rock was caught by Auric's foot and flung into a tent, causing a few grumbles from inside, but the occupant never woke to see where it came from, and twice when a sentry rounded a corner to stop and take a leak. One of the slaves had just finished getting to the tent where Auric was as the light hit the corner of the tent, causing his blood to run colder than it already was, with the night air chill.

  In total, it took 2 hours to get the one who willingly followed out of the camp. As the last one cleared the edge of the forest, a bell started ringing.

  "Up you fools!" a rough voice called into the camp, tearing the silence. "The slaves have escaped! Which of you nincompoops left the gate unlocked?! UP!" Auric flinched and signaled for them to start moving away from the camp quickly, but quietly. His heart hammered in his chest as he watched the camp go from silent and still, to an agitated hornet's nest of activity in under 2 minutes. Thankfully, Mae had kept them moving while Auric had been distracted by the mercenary camp. They crested a hill to the north, then made their way west, towards the forest line. By dawn, they had made it to The Forests' edge. Without hesitating, Auric stepped through and motioned to the slaves to follow, and started. They were, in fact, all women. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, a Troll, and Half-breeds of all shapes and sizes. Anger welled up in his chest. The slavery of humanoids was forbidden by the king, and these were all humanoids. Naga and Lamia were considered a grey area, but generally accepted to be a race of monsters, same with creatures like goblins and kobolds were much the same. Not that Auric agreed with slavery, but the process of marking the monsters as slaves made them docile.

  These women looked frightened beyond belief that he was taking them into The Forest.

  "I have a safe place for us to stay," He said as confidently as he could manage. "We need to move, please, trust me."

  They moved hesitantly at first, but their confidence grew when they weren't eaten, or whatever silly story they had been told by their mothers to keep them out of The Forest as children. When they reached the vine-covered walls of the city, they gaped as he summoned the door he had the first time he had arrived, just a few days before. They gaped, even more, when they emerged into the streets, wide and as perfect as the day they had been abandoned.

  Smiling at the stunned women, Auric motioned to the houses.

  "Pick any you like, they are all solid. Furniture is in short supply, however, so if you have experience in making some bed's would likely be the first order of business. Welcome home."