He awoke to the sound of wood clattering against the ground. He blinked his eyes open, disoriented for a moment before reality settled in. The slave camp was already bustling with activity, and Montgomery was nowhere to be seen. He spotted Varyan near the campfire, stacking the freshly collected wood. Varyan had gone collecting wood without him. He sighed, rising from the rough ground and brushing off the dirt from his clothes. He moved towards him, but before he could get close, two burly miners stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
“Morning, Adventurer,” one of the miners sneered, emphasizing the last word with a scornful tone.
His heart sank. What? How?
“Why didn’t you wake me, Varyan?” he finally managed to ask, trying to keep his voice steady despite the miners' imposing presence.
Varyan glanced up, guilt flickering in his eyes, but he said nothing. Before he could press further, one of the miners shoved him roughly to the side.
“Get away from Lord Blitz!”
He stumbled but kept his footing. Did he tell them?
There was no way he could get through to Varyan. He started to panic. He took a look around and spotted Cadmun at the fireplace, so he made his way to the line where breakfast was being served. The men in front of him started to stare at him and murmur among themselves. When he reached Cadmun, he just looked at him with cold eyes and shook his head.
“No breakfast for you, Adventurer,” Cadmun said firmly.
“Cadmun,” he whispered, “what happened?”
“Your secret’s out. You’re not one of us, and we don’t have enough to spare. Lord Blitz’s orders.”
His stomach growled in protest. Varyan avoided his gaze, busying himself with the firewood. The tension was palpable.
“No, that can’t be. We were just talking about that yesterday.”
“Listen, Recruit. Monty’s gone, all right? Just gone, vanished overnight.”
“Why? What happened?”
“The Adventurers came for him. Too many miners for too few pickaxes.”
He couldn’t believe what he heard. “When did that happen?”
“You were sleeping next to him, you should know. Or are you that heavy of a sleeper?”
Cadmun lifted the empty cooking pot off the fire and placed it on the ground. His gaze was constantly fixated on him. Is he suspecting me?
“I didn’t notice anything about it! I just woke up.”
Did Reacher use his magic?
“Jacoby knows you’re a Player. I don’t think that you’d be stupid enough to tell him.”
Cadmun used a nearby bucket of water and some cloth to clean the cooking pot.
“But how did he find out?”
“My guess? Your enemy in the pit didn’t take his loss lightly.”
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Of course! PP!
A couple of miners were starting to gather around them. He felt their looks piercing the back of his head. An uneasy feeling built up inside him.
“Don’t worry. Varyan put a word in for you, but you can’t talk to him right now. He has to save face.”
I can’t talk to him now? But we just started becoming… friends.
“What now?” he helplessly asked Cadmun.
Cadmun had finished cleaning the pot and rose, towering above him.
“The same as every day, Recruit: Pull your weight at work, don’t get in the way of the others, and always do what the Adventurers say. Especially the Baron.”
Varyan’s words rang familiarly true through his head. It calmed him to know that they were still connected somehow.
“Yes, Sir!” he responded, making Cadmun smile.
A voice echoed throughout the slave camp: “Lords Blitz coming through!”
A huge commotion broke out in the camp as the miners lined up to greet them. When he got in line, the miner next to him shoved him.
“Move it, Adventurer!”
When he looked up to see the miner’s face, he was met with two cold eyes and a disappointed frown. Then, the miner turned forward again. He lined up again, this time a little bit away from the others. I’ll show you that I’m not an Adventurer!
One by one they bowed as the twins walked between the rows of miners, and so did he.
“Good morning, Milord,” Cadmun greeted Jacoby. “I hope the breakfast was to your liking.”
“It was a delight, Sir Frost,” Jacoby said in a monotone voice.
“I’m glad,” Cadmun responded.
“Sir Frost, are the men ready?” Shadis asked.
“Yes, Sir Moore. PP will be with us shortly.”
image [https://i.imgur.com/xynda4E.jpeg]
The old man nodded, and with that, the miners followed them to the shanty town. The daily ritual of those in charge provided the slaves with an established order. It gave him a sense of stability. He’d feel way more secure, however, if he didn’t find himself back at the very bottom of that order. The slaves passing by him spit on his feet as a sort of protest. They didn’t want him to walk with them. How nasty.
He bent over to rub some dirt on his feet to get the spit to dry. As he used his rags to wipe his feet clean, he started to fear that there was no one left he could talk to now that Montgomery was gone. His nose started running while his eyes teared up. Suddenly, a large sack fell in front of his face with a loud clang. It was none other than the biggest miner among them, who threw it on the ground. When he raised his head, he saw the Prized Possession towering above him in silence.