Three days had passed since we encountered the Elven refugees. Nothing of note happened in the meantime. Kye did teach me some basic Almagandan, basic greetings, formalities, and a couple of other words that might be useful. I'm far from stringing sentences together or having a full-fledged conversation in the language... But you gotta start somewhere.
I did have an issue with the word „Mother“, because for whatever reason if you get the intonation wrong you turn „mother“ into „cattle“ or „cow“... What makes it even worse is that the word for „mother“ is an honorific as well. Mispronouncing it would make for a very uncomfortable situation... Kye did laugh a bit when I first mispronounced it... Then she was all but ready to chop off my tongue after the fourth attempt.
Other than my futile attempts to get the tone right on a single Almagandan word, we did stop a few times to rest, I even sighted the Lydas a couple of times before we went further inland. The journey to this place was much longer than Kye mentioned before. I asked her about that, and she told me she had miscalculated because she had gone alone on one horse. It seems a wagon slows you down quite a bit... Big surprise there.
The roads are better maintained here at least and it is easier to traverse. But with summer now in full swing, the heat was becoming unbearable. The southern climate did not help in the least. We encountered a few other wagons and travelers, all of them human. Kye decided to keep her hood down. One reason was that she was sweating profusely due to the heat, the second reason was her stubbornness. She didn't care what the humans we passed by thought.
I intended to get some information from the passers-by but once they saw a human and elf together they seemed hesitant. Some of them give us dirty looks, most outright ignoring us.
----------------------------------------
„Kye, you know you could put up your hood so they don't see your ears.“ I said to her as we rode on a dirt road. „I had no issues when you told me to do it for my safety and to avoid misunderstanding. Can you do the same?“ I asked her.
„Isn't my hair masking them enough?“ She replied.
„Firstly, they peeking through your hair. Secondly, your eyes are a dead giveaway.“ I said.
„That can't be helped.“ She responded in a monotone voice.
I couldn't do anything but facepalm at that moment.
„If only you could magically change your eye colour...“ I muttered to myself.
„Wyatt, changing your physical appearance is impossible. But you can cut your hair with magic.“ She said. My hand passed through my growing beard, my hair was also becoming a mess.
„You could've told me that earlier. I am starting to look like a damn caveman... How?“ I asked her, looking straight at her. Her eyes were affixed to the road ahead.
„You know you can turn blades of grass into weapons as sharp as knives. If you can concentrate just enough you can precisely cut your hair... And beard.“ She answered. „But I prefer to do it by hand because one wrong move and I'd have a nasty cut.“
„Yeah... I'm not using that then. Not yet at least. I'm surprised you don't have any damn scissors or razors.“ I commented.
„A knife is sufficient.“ She said, finally turning her head to face me. „And we're relatively near our destination by the way.“ She turned her head around scanning the surroundings. „Though a lot has changed since last time.“
„What do you mean?“ I asked.
„I mean the forest is a lot thinner, and we've encountered a few fields where there are no trees at all.“ She said.
„When was the last time you were here?“ I inquired, I hadn't even asked her before.
„About fifteen years ago?“ She said.
Of course, a lot has changed since...
Just as she answered my question we entered a patch of farmland. I could see a group of people, humans, harvesting a crop. Cabbage from the looks of it. Up ahead was an older man sitting on the ground smoking a cigarette. He was taking a break I guessed.
As we approached the man spotted us. He got up from the ground, cigarette in mouth, and dusted himself off.
„Could you stop next to the guy, please?“ I told Kye. She looked at me, sighed, but obliged.
Just as we stopped our wagon I heard the man speak. Though I couldn't understand him...
Turinian, great.
He glanced at me, then at Kye. Though his expression didn't change at all, surprisingly enough.
„Do you speak Weserian by any chance?“ I asked.
„Yes, yes.“ The man replied, his accent audible.
„Is there any village or settlement nearby?“ I inquired, seeing that there were workers here, logically they needed a roof over their heads.
„Yes, down road. Take first left. Village, Pasano.“ The man replied I assumed Pasano was the name of the village. I thanked the man as Kye smacked the reins, continuing down the road. The man nodded and muttered something in Turinian before sitting back down on the ground.
„If there's a village nearby...“ Kye began.
„Yeah I know, this trip was for naught.“ I finished the sentence for her. „But we have another option...“
„And that would be?“ She asked.
„First, let's get to the village. See what we can do there, get some supplies and hopefully a place to stay for the night.“ I said.
„You know that I am an elf, they won't let me stay in a human village.“ Kye said she was right... But we had to see first... They won't kill us, hopefully. The Turinian man didn't seem too bothered with the fact she's an elf so that's a good sign.
„We'll see... I would say you keep your hood up but that would cause more trouble if they do find out. So it's better to be honest.“
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After about fifteen minutes we saw a sign which read „Pasano“ and a road going left just as the man told us. Turning there we finally saw the village. It was rather small, having a hundred residents at most. But as we neared the village we found that the houses were longhouses. Each probably houses multiple families.
At the entrance to the village was a booth of sorts. We stopped next to it and saw it was manned by a guard. Seeing the uniform I could discern he was in the Turinian military. He was using a newspaper to cool himself off.
„Hello there. You the new workers?“ He said in Weserian, though I could hear the accent it was a lot less pronounced with him.
„No, just passing through.“ I replied. He looked over at Kye.
„She with you?“ He asked.
„Yeah, is that an issue?“ I said.
„As long as she's not a mage, no problem. Is she a mage?“
„No.“ Kye said, shaking her head. The guard's eyes widened. He looked at me.
„She speaks Weserian?!“ He said with surprise in his voice.
„Little.“ Kye replied, putting her index finger close to her thumb.
„Aha, aha...“ The guard said.
„Elves are welcome here?“ I asked.
„Well, yeah. There has been a trickle of them coming since last month. We had a few native elves working here but now they've been coming from all over.“ He explained.
„From across the border?“ I added.
„Yes, yes. At first, we didn't really know why, none of them spoke any human language. But the native elves who were able to talk with them tell us it's because of some instability across the border.“ He answered. I nodded.
„Is there a place we can stay the night maybe, or a market where we can buy supplies?“ I asked.
The soldier nodded. „Mhm, there is. The tallest building is the inn. They have some rooms. And at the center, you have a general store.“
„Okay, thanks!“ I said. Just as we were about to go on into the village, the guard gestured for us to stop.
He ushered me to come closer to the booth. I leaned down.
„The elf girl, she's your servant? I see you're a trader here, yes?“ He whispered. I didn't know what to answer...
„Sort of... I guess, yeah? And yeah... I'm a merchant of sorts.“ I replied.
„Do you sell her... For you know...“ He said. I was a bit taken aback by the question.
„No.“ I said plainly.
The guard smacked his lips and said something in Turinian. He then gestured for us to continue.
Once we got a bit farther away I could see Kye still holding her neutral face. But I could also see she held the reins tightly. She heard what the guard asked.
I felt disgusted as well, but there was nothing I could do at that moment. I had to play along.
Once we entered the village proper we parked our wagon and hitched the horses, we paid a man a few gelders to look after the horses and wagon. I looked around inspecting the village itself. It was less of a village and more of a commune of sorts. The buildings looked new and well-maintained. The living quarters appeared to be long houses, with multiple people sharing the same space. My first impression was that the bulk of the residents were humans. But as I looked around more at the passerby's I noticed that at least every third person I saw was an elf. Most of them looked vastly different from each other... The guy at the booth said they were coming from all over.
„I'll speak with the Elves here.“ Kye said as she rummaged through some things in the wagon.
„Then I'll go find the inn and take a look at that general store.“ I said. I reached out into my pocket and retrieved a 50 Gelder note. „And take this as well... If you find anything to buy.“
Kye looked at the note and then back at me, she took it and stuffed it in her cloak. „Thanks.“
Before we parted I realized something. She acted like she knew little to no Weserian?
„Hey, Kye. Why'd you act like you don't know Weserian.“ I said, this time I toned down my voice.
„Keeps their guard down. They'll ask fewer questions.“ Kye answered, I simply nodded, and then we parted ways.
She headed toward some stalls a bit farther up in the village. Those seemed to be run by Elves. I meanwhile headed to the tallest building in the area which was supposed to be the inn.
I arrived at the door and opened it. The smell of tobacco hit me like a train... It was nostalgic, to say the least.
The interior wasn't all too crowded with five or six people sitting around chatting, smoking, and drinking. I noticed that a few had uniforms on. They seemed to be part of the garrison...
All eyes were on me as I stopped just after entering. I saw a bar on the other side, to the left of the bar were stairs leading up. I walked up to the bar, the barkeep had his back turned to me. He was re-arranging some stock I guess.
I cleared my throat, looking around to glance at the other patrons. I saw they returned to their conversations.
„Can I help you?“ The barkeep said, leaning on the bar. He was an older man with a grayish and unkempt beard.
„Hello, I'd like to ask if you have two rooms?“ The barkeep reached under the bar and retrieved a notebook, he opened it and scanned it with his finger.
„We have one free room. Lucky for you it has two beds.“ The barkeep said.
„Alright, I'll have that one then. One night.“
„Aye, six Gelders that one. Name?“ He said. I rummaged through my pocket and got out a fifty... Didn't have any change. „Name's Wyatt.“
The barkeep took the fifty and looked at it, stretching it a few times before nodding to himself. He put it in the register and returned my change. He wrote down my name in the notebook.
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„It's Room 8, upstairs.“ He said, handing me the keys.
„Thanks, I'll return a bit later.“ Just when I was about to turn around the barkeep grabbed my arm. I stopped dead in my tracks. I scanned quickly at the other patrons, they didn't seem to mind or notice this.
I turned around.
The barkeep let go of my hand, he gestured for me to come closer. I leaned on the bar.
„You from Weser?“ He asked.
„Yeah, how'd you know?“ I answered.
„You're stiff as a Weserian and have an accent to boot.“ He said, he looked around discreetly and faced me again, whispering.
„Listen, you and your partner should leave as soon as the sun rises next morning.“ He said, dead serious.
„Why?“ I said in a whisper.
„They ain't selling cabbage here...“ He said. Standing up straight I saw he glanced behind me. „General Store's right across from here.“ He said looking at me, he gave me a soft but forced smile. I nodded and thanked him, turning around to leave.
As I was getting to the door I noticed the other patrons still were conversing with each other. But I saw they were glancing at me and the barkeep...
I exited the inn and was back outside. I began slowly walking to the general store.
I should've noticed already... This is no village.
I walked to the general store slowly. I looked at the residents as they passed by. Now I noticed they didn't dare look at me at all. Both the Elves and humans looked emaciated.
They're not selling cabbage...
I turned abruptly toward the stalls where Kye went. It was still daytime, though the sun would start setting in an hour or two.
I looked around for her, I couldn't find her. I didn't want to shout or cause a ruckus, I didn't want any more attention on myself.
I still had my head on a swivel as I went through the stalls. I saw the Elves were selling cabbage and other food products... They all looked tired. I saw them exchange some packets. There were armed men around. They had bolt-actions slung on their shoulders. They had military uniforms.
They were looking at me.
I saw an elf at one of the stalls, a man. He had red eyes and black hair... Same as Kye. I approached him. As I came to the stall I saw that a small girl clung to his leg. Red eyes and black hair as well... The man had bags under his eyes and he looked lethargic.
I pointed at him and then my hair and eyes. Then at the girl that clung to his leg, his daughter probably.
„Did you see her?“ I said.
His expression remained the same, but he raised his hand and pointed in a direction.
A direction leading directly into the forest. Did he understand what I meant? Can I trust him? Why'd Kye go to the forest?
I looked behind me, I saw the armed men were distracted talking to some Elves. They were shouting at them. I took the chance and began walking to the forest, trying my best to blend with the crowd.
Just as I was going to step into the forest...
„Wyatt?“ I winced,. I was relieved to see Kye standing there with a basket filled with some fruits, vegetables, and some pouches.
„You done shopping?“ She said.
„We should go back to the inn.“ I said. She nodded and we began walking back to the inn.
I saw more of the uniformed men around with rifles. I felt the hairs on my neck stand up as we tried to walk at a leisurely pace back to the inn. I felt a dozen eyes were on us, if not more.
We reached the inn.
Entering the first thing I noticed was that now there were no guests, there was no one drinking at the tables. The weirdest part was the barkeep. It wasn't the same one I talked to five minutes ago. Some younger guy replaced him.
Without greeting I went toward the stairs, Kye following suit. As I put my foot on the first step I heard the barkeep speak.
„Hey, hey! You Wyatt?“ He said. I stopped for a moment.
„Yeah?“ I replied.
„Listen, there's been a slight hiccup. Room 8 is occupied. Though two rooms just got freed up. One bed each.“ He said.
„Where's the other barkeep?“ I asked, ignoring what he said.
„Oh... You mean Liam? He went out back to take a piss or something. He'll be back in a bippy if you need him.“ The barkeep said.
„Alright... What are the rooms that are free?“ I asked approaching the bar.
„Rooms 1 and 7... For you and the missus.“ He replied.
„How much?“ I asked.
„On the house, well, that one room you paid for will suffice. You got a discount due to our little oversight... I do apologize. Now, here's your keys, enjoy your night in our fine establishment!“ He said, smiling. I saw he was missing some of his teeth while the remaining ones were yellow and rotten. He handed the keys of Room 1 to Kye and Room 7 to me.
Without missing a beat I grabbed the keys and went up the spiral staircase leading to the second floor. The barkeep yelled, „Why don't you stay down for a beer or somethin'?“ I ignored him.
Once up I saw it was a rather long corridor. I looked at Room 1. Kye immediately started unlocking it.
„Kye, I think we should stay in one room.“ I said... Was she completely unaware of the situation?
„Pervert.“ She said. Before I could protest she spoke again. „I'm kidding, I noticed. I'm not dumb. I need to check something in here, you go to your room and make yourself comfortable. I'll come to you in a moment.“
„Alright...“ I replied and turned to go to my room. I heard her unlock the door and enter, closing the door behind her audibly.
I went down the hallway and arrived at Room 7. Unlocking the door I entered the room. As the barkeep said it was only one bed. The room was relatively small. It was obvious it lacked any plumbing. There was a bucket in the corner... There was also a window barely large enough for me to fit through. It was big enough to throw the contents of the bucket though.
As for lighting, there were a few candles. Truly five-star accommodation. I sighed and sat on the bed which felt more like sitting on an oversized brick.
I lay down and closed my eyes for a moment, thinking through what the hell this place is...
I heard the door open and close.
I opened my eyes and saw Kye enter.
„What's with the barkeep?“ She asked me the moment she closed the door. Before I could open my mouth she reached under her cloak and retrieved Owen's rifle, she threw it at me.
„Gods! Don't throw that thing willy-nilly like that!“ I protested.
„It's not loaded.“ She replied in a monotone voice.
„Alright... Be it loaded or not, don't throw it around like that. At least you thought of that, we wouldn't want them taking our weapons.“
„You should learn to keep your guard up. Don't trust everyone Wyatt.“ She said.
„I understand...“ I replied.
„Anyway, what's with the barkeep?“ She repeated her question.
„Ah, yeah, there was another older barkeep. I originally asked for two rooms but the other barkeep said they only had one that was free, I bought that one for the night. Thing is once I turned to leave he grabbed me and warned me to leave as soon as possible... They are not selling cabbages here. Whatever he meant by that.“ I answered. „Did you find or hear anything else?“ I asked.
„They're keeping something in the forest... Other than that I haven't overheard anything worth mentioning.“ She said, crossing her arms. „Have you noticed there aren't many women here?“ She said.
„Well... Yeah, there was this little Elven girl with who I assume is her dad at the stalls though. They look like you. Black hair and red eyes.“ I said.
„I saw... The Elves don't speak much. They don't speak at all. They tried their best to avoid me. But I managed to buy some things including some spices. But we won't be eating them, not yet at least. At least they were willing to trade.“ She said.
„The red-eyed elf told me... Well, gestured me toward the forest when I was searching for you.“ I said.
Kye looked at me, then she sat down beside me. She scratched her chin, thinking.
„Listen... I think this is some kind of bandit camp... We should leave first thing in the morning. Hell, we can somehow sneak out once the sun goes down.“ I proposed.
„We can... But who says they already expect us to do that? What about our horses? What if they took them or poisoned them? We can't possibly escape on foot.“ She said she had a point.
„Yeah... Then we'll sleep through the night. If they plan on doing anything they'll do it at night when we sleep. We have to keep our guard up.“ I answered. I didn't know what to do...
„I'm sorry Kye, I made a mistake.“ I said.
Without turning to look at me she put her hand on my shoulder.
„We all make mistakes... Let's just hope this one won't cost our lives.“ She said reassuringly. „What was your plan anyway?“
„Settle near the Lydas. There aren't many threats near its banks and we can safely conduct trade across the river... Well, I can... I just don't know if that's a realistic solution. And it's closer to home.“ I answered.
„We'll figure something out.“ She said.
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I couldn't sleep... It wasn't just the hardwood floor that made it hard to drift off into slumber but also the constant paranoia that plagued me. I heard Kye, which I told to take the bed, was also having difficulties.
I would occasionally hear some laughter or chatter from downstairs. A few times I was woken up by the footsteps of other patrons going in and out of their rooms. But after a certain point, there was just silence. Everyone went to sleep.
I let my mind drift, I tried to think of anything other than our current predicament. If someone were to try to enter our locked room, I would know. I carefully put a bullet on the handle of the door. If someone so much as tries to open it the bullet will drop onto the wooden floor, waking Kye and me up.
I managed to fall asleep... An uneasy one.
But I was woken up after some time in the middle of the night.
It wasn't due to some sound, it wasn't the bullet dropping to the floor or the sounds of footsteps or voices.
It was a soft yet cold breeze. Despite the scorching heat during the day, during the night temperatures tend to plummet, especially during early summer.
The difference was enough to wake me up.
I opened my eyes, I let them adjust for a few moments.
I considered going closing them back up, but I just felt too cold. I got up to a sitting position.
Before I could do anything else I heard a series of thumps in the hallway outside. They seemed to be coming from the stairs. I quickly got up to my feet, grabbing the rifle, and carefully approached the door. I placed my ear against it, listening.
I heard multiple footsteps at first. Then voices... The voices seemed to be panicked. They didn't seem to be trying to be stealthy or quiet.
I heard them stop somewhere at the beginning of the hallway... First room maybe? Maybe some other patron was causing trouble?
I heard them bang on a door.
Then after a few moments, I heard a loud thump and the distinct sound of a door flying open.
Not a second later.
WHOOMP
WHOOSH
The building shook slightly from the force, I heard like something flew to the back wall, hitting it hard and then dropping back to the ground. The bullet which was on the handle dropped to the floor.
I heard yells and screams.
„Kye?!“ I turned back. I saw she was under the blankets, not moving.
There's no way she slept through this!
„Kye! Wake up for fuck sake!“ I said ripping the blankets off of her... Just to see.
Pillows.
Oh no.
I looked up and I saw the small window which was used to throw out excrement was wide open. That's where the breeze was coming from. And sure as hell Kye was small enough to fit through it.
Why!? Was the first question that popped into my mind, quickly followed by When!?
I couldn't think about that now. My main objective now was to get out of the inn and try to find her.
I grabbed the bullet from the floor and quickly unlocked the door.
Upon entering the hallway I could see three people at the end, two of them had rifles and were on the ground, incapacitated. The third held a lantern checking if the other two were alright. I saw other patrons open their doors and look at what the commotion was.
The people in the next room over to ours were out looking at the three. Then the person noticed me and yelped.
I pointed my rifle at him.
„In your room, now.“ I said.
He nodded and quickly closed the door, locking it. I turned my head back and saw others do the same.
I quickly walked to the three, aiming my rifle at them.
They hadn't noticed yet.
The guy with the lantern turned around and saw me. He was the barkeep with rotten teeth.
„Oi, oi... N-n-n-no need to be pointing that thing at me friend!“ He said.
„Bullshit, what were you trying to do?“ I said in a demanding tone, seeing that the door of Room 1 opened widely.
„Nothing! I swear! I didn't know about any of this!“ He said, I made a few steps forward, making sure the barkeep stepped away from the other two who were still dazed on the ground. With my foot, I managed to get one of the bolt-action rifles closer to me.
Still aiming at the barkeep I crouched down and grabbed it and slung it on my shoulder.
„You trying to get to the Elf? Right?“ I said.
„Nah!“ He said.
„BULLSHIT!“ I yelled.
„Okay, okay! We wanted the girl, but bossman said to leave you and her alone. B-b-but the girl got out I think and uhh... She making trouble in the field!“ He answered.
„Which field?“ I asked.
„I-it's in...“ Before he could finish his answer cracks could be heard in the distance. Screams and shouts came from outside the inn.
„The forest!“ I said to myself, quickly bolting down the stairs leaving the three bastards to themselves.
Upon reaching the ground floor I realized that getting out from the main entrance was a death sentence. I looked behind the bar. I saw there were two doors.
I leaped across the bar and opened the first door, it was unlocked. But it looked like it was the storage area...
I saw the old barkeep inside. His body was mutilated.
I repressed the urge to vomit and left the storage area and went to the other door. It was locked.
I couldn't bash it in. So I decided to aim my rifle at the lock hoping the commotion outside would mask the sound of the gunshot.
I pushed the trigger.
BANG
My ears rang, I was completely deaf for a moment, and I smelled gunpowder. I tried the door and it opened.
The fresh night air hit my face.
Darkness.
My eyes adjusted.
The sounds were muffled.
I saw a few people run past me, they ignored me.
I went to the end of the building and peeked my head to see the main street. I saw armed men in military uniforms and in civilian clothing rush to the stalls.
They were going to the forest.
I began running, trying my best to remain unseen behind the houses. Once I reached the stalls I heard the gunshots were closer.
I bolted into the forest following the sounds. After a good half a minute of running, I saw flashes of light. Seconds later I saw the forest end and become an open field.
Farmland.
I got out of the forest. In the distance I saw two buildings, they seemed to be barns. To my right I saw a trickle of people come out of the forest. Presumably taking some kind of path to it I didn't see.
I saw most of them were surrounding one barn in particular, taking cover behind fences and some adjacent wagons.
The gunshots stopped.
I crouched and entered the crops trying to get closer.
Then with the weak breeze, the smell hit me... A specific smell I recall from the more dodgy places in the outskirts of Weser, floral and earthy.
Opium.
I looked at the plants around me... I am no botanist.
But this sure as hell isn't cabbage.
I continued through the crops. I loaded Owen's breech-loader and slung it over my other shoulder, I grabbed the bolt-action I took at the inn. I fumbled with the bolt for a second, but I managed to see it was loaded.
After some time I emerged on the other side near the barn. There was a semi-circle of armed men, hiding behind barrels, wagons, and half-collapsed wooden fences aiming right at the entrance of the barn.
It was dark, but I could see outlines of corpses around. As I carefully crouch-walked closer to get a better look at the entrance I nearly tripped on one of the corpses.
Looking down, I saw... That it was an elf.
I looked up and finally saw who stood at the entrance of the barn.
Kye.
And she had a look in her eyes... Wide and shocked... Disgust, anger.
She stood in a combat stance, her arms raised and ready to dispense unholy fury on those who dared make one step forward.
Why?
I heard the men shout at Kye and between themselves. They spoke in Turinian, I could only understand snippets.
But I knew that they were giving her an ultimatum.
I hid behind some barrels which were next to the other barn. I could guess the contents of the barrels. I popped my head above to get a better look at the situation.
But then I felt someone grab me from behind.
I tried to aim my rifle at the perpetrator but I was unable to. I pulled the trigger and a shot rang out. The bullet went straight into the night sky.
Another two emerged from behind me and disarmed me. I somehow managed to escape their grasp.
But the moment I turned around I saw they pointed rifles at me.
„There you fucking are!“ One of the men said. I couldn't see them in the darkness.
I raised my hands, not saying a word.
„Turn around!“ Another said, I obliged and turning my back to them with my hands above my head.
„Walk!“ One of them said, poking my back with his rifle.
I walked toward the barn where Kye was.
„We found the bastard, boss!“ Another shouted as we emerged from the darkness into the better-lit surroundings of the other barn. I smelled the putrid scent of opium strong enough to make me dizzy.
I saw a man emerge from behind one of the wagons. Tall and well-dressed with purple eyes and human ears.
A halfling, most likely.
„I know you understand me elf! We found your partner! If you dare to fire another one of your spells we're gonna turn your boyfriend here into cheese do you understand?!“ He shouted at Kye.
It was only now she realized I was here. She looked at me, her expression softened for a second, before turning back to anger again.
„Leave him alone!“ She shouted back.
„No can do, you brought this on yourself lady.“ The man said. „You decided to meddle in things you shouldn't have. Now you have to pay the price for your actions.“
I was brought to the front of the barn some distance away from Kye. The halfling man took his stand right behind me.
„What do you have to say, my friend? Can you calm your Elven companion down here?“ He said grabbing my shoulder.
I looked around and saw multiple corpses around. No doubt Kye's doing. I also noticed that not all of the men pointing their rifles at me and Kye were humans. There were Elves within their rank.
„Kye?“ I said in a trembling voice. I would lie if I said I wasn't afraid. I was scared shitless.
Kye didn't respond, she simply looked at me while remaining in her stance. She took two steps to the right, giving me a better look into the barn.
Though it was barely lit inside I could discern there were cages inside... Sillhouttes sat inside.
I realized what I was looking at.
„You...“