He had been left alone in the stinking Slaughterhouse for what felt like an eternity, though he knew that it was a little more than a day since the Baron and Timmy were there. Yesterday, he had spent the whole day writhing on the dirty floor, occasionally shedding a tear. Although he didn’t remember anything from his past, he was sure that he had never felt so powerless before. He went to bed, if you can call the least dirty corner of a cabin a bed, sobbing and crying. He woke up not feeling rested at all. His eyes were swollen, and his back was sore, but today was different from before. He was able to think more clearly. All his troubles and the mental fog that came with them were washed away by the morning sun. Thinking back to the previous day, he felt some pride. The Baron did not like his answer at all. In a way, he told him, ‘Even though I am a Player, I’d much rather be a slave than an Adventurer like you’. That wiped his smug grin right off his face. Maybe being a Player comes with some perks.
He remembered how Reacher’s behavior had changed since the knights first noticed his ‘Status’. He wondered how he was able to see the ‘Status’. After all, it was Becket who had slapped him that day. He figured that there must be a way to check it without engaging in a fight. He was curious what the ‘Status’ of the other slaves looked like because he had missed the chance during the brawl. And he also wanted to see his own, if possible. What was it? LVL 1? And PP was LVL 10 or so, while the Baron was LVL 50. Man, that’s a lot of stuff to keep track of.
His thoughts soon became unfocused, and he couldn’t concentrate anymore. He was bored. And he was hungry. Very hungry. It’s not like there was much to do inside the Slaughterhouse, and no one brought him food or water during his time in there. At this point, he had already fantasised about all the different ways he would prepare the pig hanging in the middle of the room. However, that only made him hungrier, so he decided to keep himself busy somehow. He had tried opening the door, which of course was locked, paced the room up and down a few times, and tried to climb the walls to look outside through the slits under the ceiling, but that resulted in him falling on his backside. He had to somehow get rid of his wrist bindings first. The knot was tight. He pulled on it with his teeth and even tried sticking a toe in one of the rope’s loops, but nothing worked. All that remained to do was sit there until the sun set and ignore his rumbling stomach. Somehow he preferred working the mines with the others than steaming in there alone. In the end, the Slaughterhouse wasn’t as bad as expected. Then again, I am a Player. Cadmun left here bleeding from top to bottom. Who knows what they do to the others?
He had no time to dwell on that injustice because suddenly the door to the Slaughterhouse swung open. The room was filled with the light of a torch. Two men, Reacher and the servant Timmy, stepped inside. Without saying a word, Timmy grabbed the pig and took it outside. He didn’t wear a mask this time. Even though he’s bigger than me, he can’t be more than 15 years old.
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Reacher came over to him and cut his bindings. The Mace took a look at his busted chin, but when the hand was raised to heal it, he turned away. He wouldn’t do it if I was like the others.
image [https://i.imgur.com/U753bEf.jpg]
Reacher lowered his hand.
“Go outside,” the Mace said, “we’re going back to camp.”
When he stepped out the door, he saw Becket riding on one of two horses with a torch in his hand. Beside him, Timmy awkwardly tried to hold the dead pig. The servant was not allowed to place it on the free horse, as that was reserved for Reacher to ride. As soon as the Mace mounted, they set off. After just a few steps, Timmy lost his balance and dropped the pig on the ground. Upon hearing the thud, Reacher turned to scold him but didn’t because he saw him rushing over to pick up the pig again. He grabbed the front legs and pointed for the servant to grab the other two.
“Let me help you.”
The servant looked up to meet his eyes. Timmy seemed surprised and hesitated. He nodded to show the boy that it was okay for them to do it together.
“Hurry up, you two,” Becket reprimanded them.
This startled Timmy, and he grabbed the hind legs of the pig without a second thought. The pig must have been too heavy to be carried alone in the first place or maybe he was just too weak from not eating for so long. Together they carried the pig all the way to the camp. Occasionally, Reacher glanced over his shoulder to check up on them. They followed the two mounted knights on the different paths of the manor, crossing some fields until they descended a hill. The slave camp grew bigger and bigger in their field of view. When they arrived at the border of the shanty town, the knights left them on their own. They had to make their way towards the campfire without the light from Becket’s torch. The shanty town was once again abandoned, and he half expected Lydia to pop out of one of the shacks at any moment. He was reminded of his first day carrying logs with Varyan. How ironic.
As they got closer to camp, he saw a huge crowd gathered around the fireplace. He recognised most of them by their faces and clothes to be miners, while others wore the typical red garments for servants. There was a third group of people wearing clothes he hadn’t seen before. All in all, there must have been way over 50 people waiting for them. How will that one pig feed us all? It’s not even that fresh anymore…
The two boys got closer to the fire, stepping into the light, and people started to notice them. One after the other, they turned around, and as soon as they laid eyes on the pig, they couldn’t stop smiling.
“Recruit,” he heard a familiar voice yell, “you took your sweet time getting here.”