The first thing Red did was to hide in an adjacent corridor, behind a piece of the protruding rock wall that perfectly hid his small frame in the dark and tight space. This was a place that he had picked beforehand when he started visiting the room. Well, it was one of them at least. One of the things that had kept him alive for many years inside these caverns was an absurd amount of caution and planning against things that could kill him, far more consideration than a normal person would put into it, much more so someone with his age. Just so happened, other older and stronger slaves were pretty much on top of that list.
The steps approached, and soon enough Red could guess that it had reached the small opening, where it had stopped in its tracks. Faintly, the boy could see a green light coming over from that direction. A few seconds of complete silence went by before the individual spoke up.
“You little shit, are you here?!” A rough male voice echoed in the cave. There was frustration in its tone.
Red recognized the voice. This was Gruff, a strong guy and one of Viran’s direct “assistants”. Still, he didn’t respond.
“Fine!” After waiting for an answer, the man bellowed in frustration. “If you’re not gonna come out I’m gonna drag you myself!”
The boy heard the shifting of steps echoing around the clearing. The man seemed intent on finding the boy at all costs, which didn't necessarily have Red worried. He could hide from Gruff all day in these tunnels if the need arose, but there was something else he didn't want the man to find in this cavern.. As such, he was left with very little choice but to make his presence known.
Leaving his hiding place, Red had his steps loud enough to bring the man's attention to him, while still keeping a good distance between them. Gruff was a large bald man who always carried a frown on his face, the poor diet in the caves doing little to diminish his menacing figure and the power held behind it.
“Finally gonna show your face huh?!” The man stepped forward in his direction, clearly angry and holding no good intentions.
“What does Viran want?” The boy asked in an impassive voice, even as the bumbling giant made his way towards him, showing no fear in his composure despite his aching body.
This made Gruff stop in his tracks. The boy was able to easily guess why the older man was here, and he was fairly certain he wouldn’t try to kill him or hurt him out of fear of his leader’s retaliation. Still, he was ready to run if his reminder wasn’t enough to dissuade the goon, since many people in this place weren’t really prone to acting logically.
“...Hmph, like I would know why he wants to waste his time with a useless brat. Just follow me!” Gruff responded, clearly more frustrated than before.
“After you.” There was no way he was going to give his back to the man.
Fed up with having to waste any more of his time, Gruff simply sneered before making his way back through the tunnel. Red waited until he was almost out of his view before following him.
Throughout the whole walk back, the boy was occupied with his thoughts. Viran had just met him while they were distributing the food, if he had something important to tell him why didn’t he do it back then? And then there was the more worrying problem. How did they manage to find out where the boy was?
If there was one thing Red prided himself in, it was being able to walk around the tunnel undetected. It was what kept him alive all these years while other slaves were out there killing each other for some breadcrumbs. He was fairly certain that he had never been followed while going to meet with the strange blob thing, he had checked many times, but now he was not so certain anymore.
Red wasn’t worried they would discover his business partner since the tunnel was barely wide enough for a kid to fit in, but the mere thought that he might have been unknowingly followed was uncomfortable for the boy.
It was unlikely someone as stupid as Gruff would have been able to track him down here and none of the other slaves seemed skilled or smart enough to do so, so only one answer came to his mind.
Viran.
To everyone else around him, the relationship between the two seemed to be of a mentor and a student. To them, the old soldier had taken pity for the young boy who had been cursed to live a miserable life in these caves and took him under his wing, keeping him fed and training him to deal with threats by himself. Red obviously knew this was not the case. After Viran had taken over as the leader of the slaves, he had proposed a very simple deal to the boy.
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Red would be protected and fed under his authority. In exchange, he would need to practice the spiritual vein opening technique that the older man was going to teach him. This obviously seemed too good to be true, after all, it was a win-win situation where he was protected by the leader of the slaves and also had the opportunity to get stronger practicing whatever magical method Viran had in mind. Nothing the man had displayed during his time down here indicated him to be the soft-hearted type, so there must be something he gained from this, Red just couldn’t see it.
However, he felt he was left with very little choice but to accept it, knowing better than to test the man’s patience like many others had done before him. So it was that the boy took on his role as an apprentice under Viran. Much to his surprise though, after months of practice under his new mentor, nothing bad had happened to Red. Perhaps he was truly overthinking the matter and the man didn’t have any bad intentions towards him, but he wasn't about to put his life in the hands of someone he couldn't fully trust.
That was why Red hadn't told him about his deal with the dark creature, and also why he had lied about how much progress he had made in opening his spirit veins. Even though right now no one else bigger than a child could make their way through the tunnel, the boy didn't feel confident Viran wouldn't be able to find out about it.
If that was the case, what would happen? Would the dark creature make a deal with the clearly stronger and more capable man instead? Would Viran think that Red had outlived his usefulness now that he had a spiritual energy spewing fountain at his disposal? Would he just freak out about the strange creature and kill it or get himself killed by it?
Red wasn't too sure, but clearly, none of the options meant anything good for him. That's why he couldn't afford for Gruff to snoop around this place and find the hidden tunnel.
All kinds of thoughts were happening in his head before the sounds of talking and shuffling feet became clearer over their steps. Soon enough the boy was able to see yellow light coming from the tunnel bend ahead over the big man's shoulder. Coming up on the clearing, Red was able to see that a lot of slaves were shuffling around messing with all kinds of equipment.
Ropes, stone spears, bone spikes, and even some knives made of a shining black material. He knew this wasn't metal, but rather pieces of the carapace of the monstrous insects further down in the caves. None of these made for very good weapons, but it was better than being barehanded with what they were about to do.
There were about 20 slaves here, most of them men, still in good enough physical condition to offer help to Viran. They gathered in circles as they talked to each other while checking their equipment. Around them, boxes carrying all types of items could be found, such as torches, torn clothes, and a copious amount of moonstones. Some improvised bedding was also strewn all throughout the clearing, a kind of luxury that these slaves that worked under Viran could afford.
By the side, Red also saw the bodies of the two people he had seen Viran kill earlier. Their corpses were being prepared for transportation by other slaves.
Gruff stopped near the middle of the clearing, before pointing towards the direction of a rather big tent made up of run-down and patched leather that was raised up towards the back of the cave. The shadowy silhouette of a figure could be seen inside the tent highlighted by a bright light.
"He's waiting for you." Gruff said before turning around and walking in the direction of the other slaves, paying no more attention to the boy.
Red stood in place looking at the entrance of the tent. After what felt like an eternity of consideration, he simply shook his head and walked in, lifting the flap over his head. What greeted him was an environment that seemed very foreign to find inside of these caves.
Two torches tied to upright sticks illuminated an improvised desk made out of a large piece of rock with a flat surface, covered by a large piece of leather, and with a smaller flat rock serving as a seat. On the desk there were all sorts of yellowish papers and a small stone bowl filled with whatever Viran used for ink. Red didn't know how to read, so he had no idea about the contents of those.
Occupying the adjacent wall was the man's bedding, covered by pitch-black fur and even having some kind of stuffing that passed for a pillow, an extravagance only the leader of slaves could afford down here. Apparently, Viran had been able to trade as much from the surface guards in exchange for some rare minerals and monster parts he had been able to gather down here. Suffice it to say, even though it was far from ideal, the old soldier was still able to afford to live far more comfortably than anyone else down here, something he had managed to get with his own effort. Those that tried to challenge his privilege or even steal it from him, by force or otherwise, were no longer around to tell their story.
On the other side of the spacious tent, Red saw the man himself, sitting on the ground and slowly sharpening his iron knife against a smooth rock, an acute noise resounding in the shelter. It was the only metal weapon down here, and it had seen the blood of no small amount of people. Viran always kept in on him and it was clearly more precious to him than any other of his possessions.
The man lifted his head to look at Red who stood by the entrance waiting patiently, his rough and stern-looking features forming what the boy thought was a smile for a second, before returning his attention to sharpening his knife.
"You're coming to hunt with us." Viran spoke with such a tone that clearly indicated this was an order, not a request.
"...I have never hunted before." For some reason, Red felt alarmed that this matter was brought up out of nowhere, but it didn't show in his voice or expression.
"I'll teach you." The man continued. "You won't need to take an active role anyways. Any of those things could tear you apart with ease, so you can take this as a learning experience instead. Just listen to what I say, hang back, and don't get yourself killed."
Red didn't know what had compelled the man to invite him on such a risky venture out of nowhere, but like always the boy didn't think of complaining. In truth, he had always been eager to learn how to hunt those horrible depth monsters and he didn't feel like Viran would go over such hoops just so he could dispatch the boy. He could snap his neck in front of everyone in the camp and no one would rise up to complain.
"...I will need a weapon." After a few seconds of silence, the boy brought up another matter that obviously interested him.
"Hah!" Viran gave a short and loud laugh, before stopping his repeated movements, bringing the knife close to his face as he ran a finger over its edge, examining the sharpness. Finally, after a nod of satisfaction, he threw the knife up towards Red.
The boy expertly caught it by reflex, taking care to grip around the handle lest he cut himself. Although his expression remained impassive, a glint could be seen in his eyes as he examined the weapon very closely, imitating Viran by running his thumb over the edge, at which a very small cut was formed as a drop of blood slid down the blade.
"You can use that for the hunt. Now, let's get the rest of the hunting party ready." Viran continued as he got up, a dangerous-looking smile forming on his face. "We have some big bugs to kill."