“Anna, do you want to grab anything to eat?” Ruta asked, “We still have some free time.”
It was around noon and she and Anna, accompanied by Leo, had strolled the streets of Seda for some time. Leo’s guess was that the other five went to sell the pelts and probably do some other business since they took all the luggage with them. At first he was disappointed since he wanted to see how deals were made around here, but after the goddess brought him to several marketplaces he now wished he never entered the city in the first place.
All in all markets looked just like those Leo had seen previously in his life except here in every single one there was a section where the male-slaves were traded. While he was horrified by the sight of people getting sold like a livestock, Anna didn’t shy off to boss him around, proudly showing off her own pet and actually getting offers from the slave traders. Leo didn’t know the value of the local currency and didn’t know if the price they offered was high or low, but no matter what proposals Anna received, she declined them all.
“No, I’d rather starve the whole day and then eat something Leo has prepared.” She said and patted Leo’s head, “Say, Ruta, do you think we could sign him up for a few fights in arena? I’d like to see how he fares against the other male-slaves. I think he has become much stronger compared to how he was when we found him.”
Leo didn’t understand what exactly they spoke spoke about – only that it was something about him. Fortunately there were no slave traders nearby and it probably meant it was most likely about food. In fact, he wouldn’t say ‘no’ to a stew or a soup right about now. Despite the fact that it greatly helped his physical development, he was kind of getting sick of only eating grilled meat several times a day and longed for a simple fruit or a vegetable to bring some diversity in the diet – even a regular apple or a carrot would do.
“We can’t risk it – you know well we have to keep a low profile.” Ruta shook her head, “You’ll have to wait until we’re home to fool around. In fact, if you want your male-slave to compete in arena you should train him a bit more on the way. Even though his endurance has increased I doubt this cook has any clue about fighting.”
“Not a bad idea.” Anna agreed, “Alright, I think we should go to the meeting spot, just in case. Lana doesn’t like to wait.”
“Please don’t tell me you have the ‘feeling’ there might be something wrong.” Ruta looked at her much younger companion with a hint of worry on her face.
“Well … kind of …” Anna awkwardly said, but the next moment Ruta already pulled her and Leo down the street.
“You … girl!” She angrily hissed, “As if you don’t know your intuition is even better than your sister’s! Next time don’t hesitate to bring up anything that comes to mind!”
“I thought it was nothing important. Maybe just the effect of the big city and its busy streets …” Anna defended.
“Listen! You’re the spitting image of your mother and after spending the last eight years with you I can clearly tell you have similar talents! Don’t let them go to waste!” Ruta said somewhat angrily, “… especially considering the stakes …”
Leo had no clue why Ruta suddenly acted like that. Normally she was this nice lady and even with him never really lost her patience despite he tore her hand made leather gear a few times. In the end he figured that most likely one of them needed to pee or take a sh*t and it was kind of hard to do in the middle of a marketplace.
They rushed through the busy streets, but while the young male-slave had long lost the sense of directions, both masters apparently knew where they were going. If Leo’s theory was correct, they should’ve rushed towards the outskirts or find the closest inn or tavern, but for some reason the further they went the more lavish the buildings at the sides of the streets became. He already had a thought of the two ladies loosing the sense of direction from the pressure of their bladders, when they arrived at a wide plaza full of people.
From behind the crowd of hundreds, maybe even a couple thousand people the only thing Leo could see was that further on the opposite side was a palace-like building several stories high, built in marble and from two windows on the top floor was coming black smoke.
“What happened?” Ruta asked a middle aged lady, dressed in expensive looking green robe, standing in front of her.
“They say there has been an assassination attempt.” The woman glanced over her shoulder and said, “But the new warlord the empress appointed is not only much younger – she’s also way stronger compared to the previous one and to take her down is not an easy task.”
“Did they catch the perpetrators?” Ruta asked while squeezing Anna’s hand, trying to force the girl maintain a calm appearance.
“No.” The lady in green shook her head, “But it appears there was only one. That doesn’t sound plausible, don’t you think?”
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“Mhm.” Ruta nodded, “I doubt there is a woman that can take on a whole warlord’s residence on her own, maybe only our empress …”
Leo listened to their conversation amazed by Ruta suddenly engaging in a casual gossip with a stranger. It was really unlike her, but Anna acted even weirder. The goddess was becoming restless, threw glances around and Ruta barely managed to hold her in place.
Only after she was certain there was nothing more to gain from the onlookers in the crowd, Ruta led the other two away, but even though Anna would’ve liked to run down the street, Ruta held her by the elbow and forced to maintain a casual strolling appearance.
“Listen, girl! You know the rules – we’ll do everything according to the plan, but I need you to focus.” She commanded Anna, “It’s already hard enough to keep an eye on your male-slave and passersby, and I can’t be a babysitter for two. I need your help, Anna!”
Leo watched the goddess take few deep breaths and suddenly calm down, at least outwardly. He knew there was only one reason for her to get so worked up earlier and it had something to do with Lana and the burning palace in the distance, but this sudden change didn’t make any sense. Did he miss the news her sister was fine?
Confused he followed the two who for some reason leisurely strolled again as if nothing happened. This time though Leo was certain they were leaving the city because soon the neighborhood changed and they found themselves in the outskirts.
On the way Ruta bought a leash and a large bundle of cloth. The leash immediately was put on their male-slave’s neck and the bundle on his shoulders and the words ‘keep the head down or you’ll die!’ were enough to suppress any potential dissatisfaction. If at first Leo felt humiliated, insulted and bitter, then after witnessing guard squads inspecting the other people on the streets he guessed he suddenly became a part of their cover.
A thought that his masters were outlaws was strange since all this time they seemed to be regular hunters, albeit some carried the oversized weapons. The only two who didn’t fully fit the role were Lana and Anna, but when mixed in the group with the other five they didn’t stand out too much.
Since he actually had no clue what was going on and thinking about it didn’t bring him anywhere, Leo decided to not worry too much and see how things went. When they finally left the city, Anna took off the leash and it wasn’t as uncomfortable and embarrassing anymore, although Leo was more bothered with the second.
The moment they stepped in the familiar pine forest, Leo was ordered to drop the bundle he carried and to speed up. Once again he was able to witness Anna’s otherworldly speed when she disappeared between the trees in the west direction and he and Ruta followed at a slower pace.
Leo’s guess was that it was mostly due to the knowledge acquired from the Jamie’s cook book he was not discarded like the cloth bundle and he noted that in the future he will have to think of more diverse tasty dishes to serve the ladies. After witnessing the fate of men in Seda city he realized that no matter where he went in Dreadlands his life depended on women and if these seven took him under their wing while being fugitives or some kind of criminals themselves, he’ll better try harder to stay alive.
They had ran westwards for around fifteen, maybe eighteen miles when Anna returned slightly out of breath. Leo had no clue how she found them in the forest that looked the same everywhere one looked, but for some reason Ruta was not surprised to see the young girl. Before he was ordered to speed up the only thing Leo caught from their brief conversation were words ‘they’re safe’ and the trio continued to rush towards the west till dusk.
Once again, despite the pine forest looking the same, Anna guided them directly to a small camp where their five companions already waited. They sat at a small campfire having a casual chat like regular hunters, but Leo noticed that this time they kept their weapons at a hand’s length.
“You’re back!” Lana greeted her younger sister with a smile, completely stupefying the male-slave.
A thought of the goddess swiftly covering this distance twice while he barely could lift his feet after the first arrival once again made Leo realize why women were the superior gender in Dreadlands.
“Now rest. We’re going to leave before sunrise.” Lana instructed and without a second thought Leo lied down and passed out where he stood. After spending the last month with them he knew every moment of sleep counted and he didn’t intend to waste any.
“What exactly happened?” Ruta asked after she was sure Leo was sleeping.
“A trap.” Lana nonchalantly shrugged in return, “We were careless while gathering intel before entering the city. While there was the regular atmosphere on the streets and taverns and the dissatisfaction with the empire was obvious, somehow we missed the fact that two months ago the empress suddenly appointed a new warlord in Seda. I didn’t even have a chance to introduce myself when she and her two bodyguards attacked. Fortunately Una noticed the ruckus and with a couple of fire arrows managed to light up the palace’s library. That allowed me to actually leave unscathed.”
“It means the empress knows of our existence.” Ruta said, “Do we turn back?”
“The empress doesn’t really know of ‘our’ existence. She knows there are squads from south that are trying to rally forces against her.” Lana corrected her, “They don’t know our faces, numbers or abilities and our cover as a group of hunters is still sound, especially since we have a weak male-slave with us. By the way, regarding him – did you notice anything out of order?”
“The only irregular thing was his gawking at the city sights.” Ruta shook her head, “The country bumpkin clearly has never seen a city of that size. My guess is that his master kept him in her estate or something.”
“Then we’ll see the look on his face when we get back home.” Lana grinned, “But before we return we need to visit the other places too.”
“What if there are traps in the other cities as well?” Anna said furrowing her forehead. She clearly didn’t like the idea of her big sister voluntarily jumping in the fire.
“I still intend to go. No, we still ‘need’ to go.” Lana sternly said, “Our duty is to report the situation in detail so the queen has more detailed information before the war. It doesn’t matter what happens to any of us – in the end I trust you to return to make the report. Don’t give me that look – we all knew what’s at stake here.”
After discussing the plans for the upcoming days everyone but Tia, whose turn was to be the first on the watch, went to sleep, but when the first rays of sun colored the treetops, Anna’s boot woke Leo up.