For four days, I monitor the mine and its guards. Looking, prodding, finding any weaknesses that will make the takeover possible. Alex counts how many guards are in the mine itself, which can be confusing since those knife eared bastards are all so similar. From our estimates, there are between two hundred and three hundred guards in the mine.

I can hardly believe that at first. There are so few guards to actually guard the mine. However, it’s small enough for us for when the time eventually comes.

But that isn’t nearly as important as what Dust notices during his time on the surface. Their defences are pitiful, and their numbers are few. They clearly don’t think we are a threat to them.

This is all the information I need. I have only told Alex and Dust the plan, while the other Dogs stood up to my defence will have to wait. I cannot risk the chance that one bastard will snitch on the plan. Today is supposedly the last day the forge workers would go to the surface. An opportunity I can’t miss.

The plan is simple: start at the end of the mine and liberate my people from there, move to the entrance and spread out throughout the mine, catching any Cinari off guard while Dust takes the surface. While they could stop us in a single tunnel. I’d like to see them try holding off a horde of hundreds. Dust should be able to take over the surface and cut off their chances of escape. If all goes to plan, we’ll have this mine in no time.

I head to the very end of the mine, with Alex right behind me. This uprising will get people killed, but I can’t lose him. I’ll keep an eye on him if things go sideways. Upon arrival at our destination, I grab a pickaxe as to signal Alex to push the mine cart. I deliberately chip a useless piece of rock and haul it into the mine cart. Working to keep suspicion away from us.

Alex pushes the cart off its tracks, making a loud crash. The guards rush over to the cart.

‘I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it!’ Alex lies.

The two guards look at him, one shrug in annoyance as he heads to Alex with a whip.

‘It is a mistake, I swear!’

The guards move closer to Alex, standing directly behind me.

‘You have three seconds to put that cart on it’s tracks. Or I’ll remove the skin from your back,’ the guard demands.

Alex smiles. ‘Sure you will.’

In one swift motion, I drive my pick into the guard’s back. The back plate caves in as the pick pierces his armour and straight through his chest. The guard coughs out blood while he drops his whip.

My first Cinari kill. And it feels amazing!

I yank the pick off the first guard to face the other one. He faces me, his eyes open wide.

He raises his spear, and screams for me to stand down. Before he can call for help. I cut him off by grabbing his spear and cracking the pickaxe down the side of his body. His ribcage crunches and shatters as I lever the pick upwards. The body limps over. I try to get the pick out of him, but the handle breaks off.

The other Dogs in the tunnel look at me in horror. Even Alex seems surprised at the outcome.

‘This ends here! They want us to work for their false Gods, their weak Empire. No! They murder our children, our lovers, and our families. And we get nothing in return! I say this ends now! We have to tools to and the strength to leave this hell that was created for us, but for that future to come into reality. We will have to fight our way through them. Come with me, and I will promise you a future we all deserve.’

The Dogs growl, bark and snarl in rage. They seize their picks, the guards’ spears, and any other weaponry they can get their hands on.

They thirst for blood, with the anger they have held for their entire lives. Today they can finally unleash it on the bastards that wronged them.

This is our time, and the Cinari can’t do a dammed thing about it.

I lead the charge, our momentum is nearly unstoppable. The force needed to break their defences.

Tunnel after tunnel. Dead guard after dead guard. We shatter their shield walls, ripping them apart as we free our fellow slaves. Sometimes the guards will try to escape and retreat from their post. Makes for easy pickings when they have their backs turned.

The thunderous roar of our wrath echoes through the mine, the blood-curdling screams of Cinari filth ringing alongside it. With every swing of my pick, every guard knocked down, it brings me a step closer to Balgazard.

The entrance of the mine is a chaotic battlefield by the time we get there. Pockets of guards trying to hold off waves of Dogs, but they are no match against our numbers.

On the ramp, Balgazard holds his ground with a small pocket of resistance. I move closer to where he is, determined to end that beast.

The guards are in a tight defensive position, keeping the Dogs away with their spears. Behind them stands a handful of Cinari with curved sticks with a piece of string between it. They launch miniature spears at us, striking down anyone that gets hit. I rush towards the Cinari in front of me, hitting their spear away as I pick another up by the torso. I use his body to bash through their pathetic line. We reach to the guards behind the spearmen, ripping them apart limb from limb.

As I go through them, I rush to the top of the platform to meet the monster himself. Our eyes lock onto each other, the eyes of a slave facing down the eyes of his former master.

Balgazard races to the edge of the ramp, waving his sword in front of me. I grab it by the blade while I punch him in the jaw, making him let loosen his grip of his sword as he falls to the ground. I throw the sword away as I stare down at the cowering creature.

He tries to crawl away from me, but I pick him up with my bloody hand to hang him over the edge of the platform. He stares at me with terror in his eyes, the expression of shock and fear.

‘Please! Have mercy!’ He weeps as tears fall from his face.

I glance around to find a noose already prepared. I pick up the noose and place it around his neck.

‘By the Gods, please no, please give me mercy!’ He begs.

I stare straight into his demonic eyes, one more time at the soulless monster he is. All I see is a pathetic man, a creature who only survives on tormenting others. This evil doesn’t deserve mercy, only my wrath.

Without giving a reply, I throw him off the platform. As he falls, he flails his arms in a panic.

Snap!

The warden’s body sways in the mine, the last guard slain. The Dogs look up and cheer, howling and applauding at his death. Down below, Dogs parade the bodies of Cinari around.

On the surface, the Dogs throw down body parts as they cheer for their success. I see Dust looking at me with a smile, he gives me the thumbs up.

For the first time, we celebrate. Celebrating our freedom.

But we are not done yet. I head to the warden’s once private chambers. If we are going to keep our freedom, we need to prepare for them to retaliate.

With a swift kick, the warden’s door bursts open. The room inside is decorated with the flag of the Cinaris Empire proudly displayed on one wall. In the middle of the room is a polished wooden table and desk, with gold trimmings on the edges, having a small mound of paper on top of them.

It may be illegal to learn how to read, but it didn’t stop us. I use to pick up papers left by the guards to learn their barbaric language.

Some documents on the table talks about our quota not being met for years, the population of the mine over exceeding five thousand Dogs, and other less important information. But then a rolled up scroll catches my eye.

Upon unravelling it, it shows a map of the region. The land is so big! The mine is a tiny speck on the vast landmass. On the map are two other locations of interest, a placed called Jalmire Farm, and another place called Fort Balis. Balis being the closest to the mine.

It seems the Empress of the Cinari might live in Balis. Or it could be another slave holding? Whatever it is, we will go there next.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Alex enters the room, carrying one of those string sticks with a handful of miniature spears.

‘You okay, dad?’ Alex points to my hand.

The sword made a deep cut, blood dripping to the floor. I put the map back on the table before I could stain it.

‘I will be fine, are you okay?’

‘I’m not bleeding; let me get you something to clean that up.’ Alex walks to the warden’s closet. He opens it and a Cinari jumps out. Alex leaps back with his weapon at the ready while the Cinari raises his hands and pleads.

‘Please don’t kill me, I will do anything, just don’t kill me,’ he begs on his knees, trembling in front of us. I yank him by the hand over to the map.

‘You know what this is?’

The creature looks at me in confusion, surely it’s a simple enough question.

‘Ye... yes. It’s a map.’

I smack him over the head.

‘I know it’s a map. Tell me everything that is on it.’

The Cinari glances at the map. ‘Well, we got Fort Balis and Jalmire Farm, Lake Mire a-‘

‘What is a fort?’ I interrupt him.

‘A fort, it uh, holds soldiers in case bad things happen.’

That is a problem, and right at our doorstep. He should know enough about that place, if we are going to take it.

‘Alex!’ I call.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘We got a problem on our hands. I need you to go outside and try to get as many people as possible to come with me to Fort Balis.’

‘I... I’ll do my best.’ Alex leaves the room. From his tone, I can tell he isn’t comfortable mustering people, but I need the job to be done, and done now.

I pin the Cinari’s head on the table. He wiggles around as he panics and pleads for mercy.

‘Do you know how to get to Fort Balis?’ I growl while I deepen my voice to sound more intimidating.

The Cinari filth sobs, snot coming out of his nose and tears running down his face.

‘Please don’t kill me!’

I pick him up by the neck.

‘If you don’t tell me what I need to know, I will turn you into our next meal. Now, do you know how to get there?’

He nods. ‘I do, I do. The quickest route is by road, which will take a day if we walk. Please d-‘

I jam a piece of cloth into his mouth to shut him up. I suspect the monster is lying. They always do. I will love to kill him on the spot and watch him suffer. Problem is, he has knowledge of the region and what these places are. So far, by intimidating him, he is compliant in giving me what I need.

‘If you say any bullshit to me, I will break your back and leave you here to starve,’ I lie. He is too useful to kill for now.

The man muffles as he tries to speak through his gag, I tighten my grip.

‘Do I make myself clear?’

The man nods.

I take the cloth out. He coughs and gags, wiping away the tears and snot.

‘Is it necessary to take the road?’ I ask him.

‘No, you can go through the forest. The roads are a safer bet though.’

Seeing he is lying, I raise my hand into the air. His eyes widen in fear.

‘They are safe because soldiers patrol them to keep wildlife away from caravans and to make sure outlaws stay away from common folk. It will also take a day longer to get to the fort through the forest.’

The information is satisfactory. He is a coward, but a very useful one.

I question him more, about roads and how to travel on the surface. I have to hit him a few times to refresh his memory or to confirm he isn’t speaking lies, but he soon gets the idea.

For now, I’ve got what I needed from him. He will live. Not as an equal, but as my slave. And he will die once his usefulness expires.

‘What is your name?’ I demand.

‘Corporal Thristan Lander.’

I backhand him. He spits out blood and looks back at me in terror.

‘Your name belongs to me. From now on you will be known as Vern. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, I do.’

I back hand him again.

‘Do you understand?’

‘Yes, master,’ he weeps.

‘Good. When I come back you had better have a route to Balis figured out.’

He nods as he rushes to work on the map, using some strange tools while he writes on pieces of paper. I need to check who will be coming with me to Balis.

Outside is chaotic. Alex is trying to get everyone’s attention by yelling, but the Dogs ignore him.

‘Listen up!’ I shout.

In an instant, the room goes silent as everyone faces me. Alex looks to the ground in embarrassment.

‘The mine is ours, our freedom finally earned. But we have another problem at hand. Fort Balis, a stronghold, is a few days from here. They have guards at the ready. We must act now before they have the chance to make us slaves again. I am only asking for a handful of volunteers to come with me. The rest to must stay here.’

The crowd talk amongst themselves; their voices are a mix of concern and anger.

‘Why do we have to stay in this hell pit?’ One Dog shouts.

Other Dogs ask the same question, some shouting that I am a fool for wanting them to stay here, one accusing me of planning to leave them behind. I can’t let this continue.

‘Enough!’ I shout, silencing the room once more. ‘If we want to stay free, you will have to do as I say. I have not failed you as of yet, because of me I got us our freedom. Either you do as I say, or we wait for the Cinari to make us slaves again.’

Now everyone listens to what I have to say.

Anything I say here can make or break my rebellion. They are everything I need to truly gain our freedom, and to get revenge against the monsters.

‘We are at war. The Cinari can easily defeat us in our current state. We need armour and weapons to fight against them. I am asking that we fire up our forges and quickly make the necessary equipment so we can fight and kill the ones that murdered our children. Fort Balis needs to fall now! If we destroy it, and the Cinari inside, then we can make it our new home so we can create a new life for our children and ourselves. Now, will you help me or will you wait for them to come?’

They talk to each other; it is clear that I snuffed out any resistance against me.

Alex steps up to my side, showing that he’ll join me. More Dogs walk up the platform to meet me. The rest head in the tunnels to get the work done.

Dust walks up to me, clapping me on the back with a laugh. ‘Now that is what I call being a real chief, Marak!’

‘Thank you. Are you able to make as much armour and weaponry with the black iron here?’

Dust rubs his chin. ‘I could, but I will need to use other metals to make our stuff. Even that I don’t think we will make enough in a few days.’

‘Do what you can, that will be enough.’

‘Well, are you so kind?’ He says sarcastically. ‘Problem is we don’t have enough food.’

I look down to find a lifeless corpse of a Cinari guard, his armour reflecting off the sun. A thought occurs to me

‘We eat their dead.’ I kick the dead body. ‘And we can use their weapons and armour for now.’

Dust grins and picks up the body. ‘Well isn’t that an easy solution, promise me you two come back intact.’ He smiles as he walks off while whistling a cheerful melody.

I regroup with Alex and the Dogs who have chosen to come with me. We scrap around for anything that will be useful in a fight. I settle on the lid off a barrow and one of the Cinari swords. Although I have to adapt the handle to hold it properly.

Alex decides to go with the string stick.

We pick up some rations to last us a few days. Lastly, I grab Vern. He points out it will take two days to get there and two days to get back.

As we emerge from the mine, the vibrant colours of green and blue pour into our eyes. The outside world is bright but also soothing. The outside warmth of the sun and the cool breeze of the wind gives me a welcoming kiss into this new world of freedom.

Fear, excitement, curiosity, anger. All of these emotions rush through my body for what we have lost so long ago. The chance to walk on the surface.

The world welcomes me with its beauty, and I must keep it. We all must keep it.

I get my Dogs together, then commanded Vern lead the way to Balis. My sword is at the ready in case he leads us to a trap. Cinari are like that, after all. And so we set off to our first steps to freedom.