The men at camp quickly gather around in small groups, looking like scared animals seeking comfort, their eyes locked on the stream of newcomers pouring into their sanctum, hands occupied with whatever weapon they could hold.

Large wolf-like creatures that look almost sickened with how there are furless patches all over their muscular bodies, snarl at them as they make their way deeper into the camp. Lead by a larger black warg, whose face still is recognizable as human, least for his long grin of sharp teeth. Among them, several hobgoblins look around with their purple eyes and inexpressive faces, hands resting on the handles of their swords or grabbing tightly their axes.

Only my brethren, the goblins, waste no time running around and gathering with the others of our kin, who quickly begin to slap them and boss them around.

Dandrie can be heard arguing with Enon on their tongue inside one of the tents, Indri simply stares at the long line of marching monsters with curiosity, but by how she holds on to the vial hanging from her neck, caution. Thorum kneels next to Morgana, speaking in yet another tongue I do not recognize.

"This is insane," Nojus remarks next to me, his ears moving around as they pick up the sound of the very snow falling on the ground, then suddenly he looks back at the forest "No..." he whispers.

"It can't be" Lina takes a hand to her mouth, staring in horror as well.

I turn back as well to see him rush to the forest, more humanoid figures appearing from deep within it, Huani with slave collars. Yet they do not walk proudly, in fact, they stumble about as they seem barely able to stand on their own, like small toddlers..oh. As soon as Nojus reaches them, many recoils in fear, their hands raised as Nojus stands there, his eyes wide, mouth agape.

"Move!" A hobgoblin from behind them shouts and he cracks a whip, hitting someone's face, red staining the white of the ground.

"Shit!" Jorr charges forth, throwing away his shield and weapon.

Nojus jumps at the hobgoblin, smashing him with his horns and falling on top of him, a barrage of hits falls on him for a bit before Jorr catches up to him and tackles him to the ground, managing to detain him.

"Hmph" Thorum stands up, looking away from us.

"Apologies, can't expect much from a place like this "She takes a hand to her mouth as if trying to prevent laughter from escaping it "I would offer you some wine in my tent but..."

"I don't drink," He says as he rests his hand on the palisade, seemingly testing its firmness, he walks inside, but Morgana instead calmly walks towards us.

"Jorr!" I shout, making my way to them "Let him go" I order and he releases Nojus, I look at the bloodied hobgoblin still on the ground and then at the surrounding Huani.

They look thin, no different from how Nojus and the rest looked when I first liberated them from the slave camp. Looking further back into the forest I see a dozen or more wagons being pulled by their kin. The groaning sound of the hobgoblin near me makes me go closer, extending a hand for him to hold on to.

He stares at me in silence for several seconds, before standing on his own and grabbing his whip. He turns to the Huani, they recoil in fear and run towards the camp. He walks past me, looking at Nojus with anger, both men bearing their teeth. As the wagons begin to pass next to me I look back at the camp. Nojus and Jorr do the same. There must be more than fifty new men, without counting the Huani pulling the wagons, or the wargs.

"This is what Scarlett's patronage offers, "Morgana says as she stands near me " She could field an entire army in a few weeks if she so desired"

"At what price?" I ask, glancing at the huani stumbling on the snow.

"Not any you have to pay, don't you?" She smiles "Or are you feeling sorry for them?" Her eyes go to the Huani as well.

"Are they not your kin?" I reply, feeling my stomach turn as I focus on their pale, animalistic faces. Knowing well how it feels to be something you are not supposed to be.

"None of them are my parents, nor my brothers. Not even someone I bother to remember, like the old lady that bakes near the brothel. And I haven't even spoken to her, I simply like the smell of her bread and pies." She giggles, slowly walking back to camp "And even if one of them were my brother or father, it wouldn't change a thing. They are in chains, I'm not, that's all that matters" She stops a few meters ahead of me and turns around "Gather yourself and do what you have to do, I will await you in my tent to iron out the details of Scarlett's command"

Morgana leaves, and Jorr approaches me.

"Well, this is...this is something else," He says quickly grabbing a sword from the back of a passing wagon, and inspecting its shape "Proper steel too"

"They made them," Nojus says, his eyes never leaving the Huani pulling the wagons " They tore their humanity away"

"Is not right" Lina adds, they look about to explode, and the few others inside the camp are more likely to do something drastic.

I take a deep breath and shut my eyes. I have been so busy dealing with each new problem, and so far from the humans that I had almost forgotten how it felt. The creeping sensation of guilt, needing to remind myself that they are tools for my ambition. Once I open my eyes, I push it all deep down, where it belongs.

"Jorr" I snap at him, getting his full attention "Stop the wagons and gather your men, break the collars of the...Huani" He nods and rushes forward, yelling at the wagons to stop "Nojus, Lina. Head back inside and make a space for them, keep the peace "I say the last bit staring directly into Nojus's eyes, he nods.

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What follows is a brief moment of chaos, as the wargs rush to the horses and kill them all, feasting on their bodies. The few Huani I had left are furious, but Nojus manages to make them focus on looking after the new men. Jorr and his men break the collars of the Huani, guiding them inside and pulling the wagons on their own, a difficult task even for my well-fed, muscular hobgoblins. All of this at the same time, and with the occasional shout or threat of an all-out brawl breaking out.

Getting on top of the nearest watchtower I take control of the situation and manage to keep things civil, quickly dividing the groups to prevent any more fighting. Hobgoblins and Goblins have no issue following my orders, but the Wargs don't even bother to listen to me, instead, they remain on the bloodied spot where our horses once were, now their lair.

With things under control, I approach Thorum, who is busy setting up a tent of his own, needing a couple of other tents to be moved so there is enough space for him. Up close I see better his slightly yellowish skin, his brown hair is long and unkempt, like his beard and bushy eyebrows. His eyes are black like mine, with silver irises.

"I've been told you are called Rokan," He says, busy setting up his tent "Fitting name, at least from a first look. Picked it yourself?"

"Yes. And I don't suppose Thorum means Large" I reply, he has a hearty laugh.

"No, it doesn't. It simply means Hammer Striker. The confusion is understandable, I am not a giant. I'm a Thronpkai" He says moving some ropes around and raising his tent, being done with it. He turns around and cleans his hands before sitting down, sending gusts of wind to my face "You have questions"

"You are part of Scarlett's refuges?"

"Ha! No. I'm your guide. The mountains are a treacherous place, especially during winter, and taking care of the obelisks can only be done by one of my kind. Whatever deal the Betrayer has with you is not my concern. I fix the obelisks, and I depart back to Petrapolis" He says while rummaging through his backpack, pulling out a large waterskin "Epiba!" He raises it and drinks its contents, afterwards, he offers it to me "Milk?"

"No-"

"YES!" Indri shouts, rushing to us, leaving her brother behind who tries to stop her in vain.

"Woah, a Djhalhanari? This is a surprise" He leans closer to her, who smiles at him, not moving an inch "And a brave one too, perhaps a bit too much?" He says pointing at her missing arm.

"Hey! I thought you had manners!" She exclaims flipping him off, he laughs louder than before in return.

"I'm a runemaster, can't help looking at details" He strokes his beard and hands over the waterskin.

Indri excitedly tries to hold on to it, but being the size of a deer's leg, and having only one arm, ends up being too much and she falls hard on her ass. But besides a quick pained expression, she focuses on the reward she holds and begins the arduous task of getting to drink from it.

"Apologies, she believes it must be Dragon's milk," Enon says managing to get to us, thanks to my men constantly getting rid of the snow inside the camp, most of the time.

"What? Dragons lay eggs" Thorum says, his eyes widened.

"So what?! Babies drink milk too, don't they? The stories say you milk dragons, is this not dragon milk?" Indri says after managing to get a few sips from the waterskin's contents. By her expression, it doesn't taste too good. Thorum looks at Enon, who offers an awkward smile in return.

"Is goat's milk" He replies, causing Indri to contort her face in disgust "And you got it wrong, in the myth it is not milk, it is blood" He says leaning back and staring at the Huani "It is always blood" Then, he notices Dandrie keeping watch on the siblings from afar "An Ahajlii?! Now that is!... What type of men are you, Rokan?"

"You call yourself Runemaster, why is that?" I don't want to bother explaining the why of these people being here, I rather he answers my questions.

"...because I am. Few of my kind are left, in more than one way" He says as his eyes get lost looking nowhere for a moment before he returns his attention to me "Runes need proper care, otherwise they stop working with each passing year, and needless to say, if they break down, only we could repair them"

"They help gather the magic from witches" Enon add, realizing that I wanted to know more details "Especial symbols carved on bronze or copper tablets, the more there are around a structure, the more a spell can last"

"Correct," Thorum says reaching out to his waterskin, Indri eagerly handing it over "You are knowledgeable, that is good. I expected that by now the Ahajhalnar would have gotten rid of everything your people knew" He then looks at Indri "Well, I can see they have had different degrees of success" This prompt hers to flip him off once more, and he chuckles as he drinks.

"I'm smart! I can speak Pkaipai!" Indri then shouts some words in a very unique tongue, its words rise and fall in tone and speed, accompanied by an almost gasping sound. Thorum spills his drink in shock.

The two of them start discussing, and seeing my time to ask questions is done I turn around to leave, Enon, as usual, offering a sympathetic look in return, knowing Indri's involvement is to blame. I will have time to know everything I need soon enough, at the moment I should see Morgana and get to know exactly what must I do.

Once in her tent, she lays out the objective: To escort Thorum to a certain spot deep within the mountains, where he must check the state of all obelisks and repair them if necessary. I must deal with the harpy problem permanently, and then return with him alive and well. Turns out Scarlett had someone of trust tasked with dealing with this problem, but they failed, so it now falls onto my shoulders.

Morgana also clarifies that I am to wear my amulet at all times once I enter the mountains as well as take no goblin with me. That this person will be nearby along with her group to assist me. Anaid, the witch once tasked with looking after my first order given by Scarlett. And remembering how things went the last time we saw each other, I can already see trouble brewing in the future.

My mind punishes me by flashing the image of the kid, the one I...no, don't think about it.

I leave Morgana's tent and make my way to mine. Lina is still busy with Nojus, looking after the new Huani, they seem to be talking to them. I see the Huani cry and embrace together while they watch with stern, pained expressions, they must be making them come to terms with their new lives. I am to leave as soon as possible, so I need to put some things in order as well as plans if the Orcs attack.

"Hey"

I look next to me right before I enter my tent and see Indri standing there. Her expression is as cheerful as usual.

"What do you want?" I ask bluntly, and she physically recoils from it.

"Fuck, do you have a rash in your balls at all times or somethin'?" I'm not dealing with this right now "N-No wait!" She says entering the tent behind me.

"You dare-"I feel the anger burning within me, too much for something as trivial as this. And yet, right now I just want to snap her neck right here, my eyes wandered there on their own, and she quickly takes a step back, holding the vial. I take a deep breath "What do you want?" I ask again, I must not let this anger take over me.

"I want to go too," She says after watching me in silence for a bit, her expression now cautious "Thorum told me about the trip" Her request is strange, but given her attitude she must simply be bored.

"And why is that?"

"He said that at this time of the year humans who flee the kingdom make their home in the mountains, that there must be small settlements" Ah, she must want to leave already with her brother. But there is only one type of person who would flee the kingdom.

"If they have left these lands then they must be-"

"Bandits and outlaws. I know"

"You want to try your luck with your crippled brother with them?"

"No, I want to go with you, just me...I want to kill humans"