I was given the freedom to walk around the camp, and the first thing I did was get a sense of how many monsters were under Makur's command. seventeen goblins and twenty-three orcs, with only Maeld as a non-monster.

Everything about the camp screamed shoddy. Some tents had holes in them, and the tent themselves were brownish and put up with little care. Food was eaten once every night in a reasonable amount, while leftovers were shared in the morning.

In one part of the camp, there are a couple of large horses, tied to a stake in the ground, and next to them are a few carts with many barrels, chests, and crates. I catch a glimpse of a few weapons poking through the side of crates.

The orcs spent most of their time wrestling with each other or inspecting their weapons and armor, they took great care of their long braided hair, combed it with bone combs, and applied oils to them that made them shine or smell good.

Each orc had a small tent with a bedroll and a small chest where they kept personal objects. Something else they often did was torment the goblins around by pulling from their ears, slapping them on the head, or pulling pranks on them.

The goblins were much different from the orcs, in all ways. They slept in one tent, on top of each other, and ate only once a day, in the morning they gorged on the leftovers like a swarm of flies. Compared to orcs who were given the freedom to do whatever they please, goblins took care of the camp's basic necessities.

Throwing away the trash, cleaning inside tents, making guards around the wooden barricades, searching for firewood, and much more. It was obvious that they played the role of servants. At least it was something I was used to.

So after studying my surroundings I simply began to follow a small group of three around. I was lost so it was safest to do as I saw and I began picking up wooden bowls after some orcs. They were sitting around a campfire and not long after I began picking up the bowls they laughed at me.

"If you are lost, ask Makur what your role will be. No point wasting time and good food for a sweeping goblin" one of them said as I was leaving.

I then left the bowls behind a tent while no one was looking and headed to Makur's tent. It was the logical path to take but it slip my mind. I was not only busy watching my surroundings, but I was also thinking about what would become of my plan to free Maeld and escape this place.

And as I made my way to his camp I pondered just who was Makur, and what was his objective. The events that took place the night I was taken prisoner would indicate this is little more than a band of thieves and murderers.

I hoped to be wrong. But I knew better than that.

Once close enough to his closed tent, I halted my advance. My nose picked up the scent of sweat and heard the sound of colliding meat before I got too close. I felt my blood boil with anger knowing exactly what was going on inside that tent, and I turned around to leave, I will come back later.

It was when I did that, that I saw Fogosh staring at me intensely from afar. The goblin was clearly the most intelligent among the rest of its kind. After all not only was he the only one capable of fluid speech like I, while the other goblins speak in short, sometimes messy sentences, but he also was a capable fighter.

And I knew right then that he was someone I would have to be careful around. Not letting my plans with Maeld be revealed, I could already see him analyzing my reaction just now before he looked elsewhere.

An hour passed, in which a random goblin was blamed for the dirty bowls I left laying around, he was beaten by a pair of orcs and forced to take them where they belonged, another goblin rushed to his side and took a couple too, for the beaten goblin kept dropping them to the ground.

I couldn't help but feel a little bit of remorse. One of my youngest memories after all was that of my brothers, small goblins as they were, standing up to defend me from the oldest when I was about to be beaten to death.

My thoughts were interrupted by the opening of Makur's tent, so I quickly made my way inside. Once I stood outside of it I had already steeled my nerves for whatever I saw, a hanging piece of cloth stood in front of where the bedroll was, and I could catch glimpses of Maeld's silhouette, a bucket next to her, she was taking a bath.

"Ushkur, about time you came to see me," Makur said, his powerful voice snapping me from my thoughts.

He sat on top of the table, at his right side, a bit of cheese in his hand that he ate in one go. He was naked, despite the cold. His hair unbraided was a twisting mess and I noticed now just how incredibly strong was the leader of this band.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Bulging muscle, with scars and an almost ghostly white color. Contrasting with his jet-black hair.

"I was pleased for you to accept my offer, but there are a few things we have to make clear," he said licking his fingers as he stands up, not bothering to cover his manhood that could pass by a weapon on its own "I am Makur, lone in name at the moment but not for long. I lead this warband as its rightful master and I own everything in it, including you" he points at me, reaching for his pants as he finally begins to dress up "Is that acknowledged?"

I gave the questions a few seconds of silence. I knew the answer I had to give but admitting to being property felt like a hard thing to say, however, one glance at the shadow behind the hanging cloth was all it took to steel my resolve.

"Acknowledged"

"Good!" he hit the table with his fist, a triumphant grin on his face "You look for Orokur, the large one with two braids and a funny eye. You deserve something a little better than the ragged armor on your shoulders, grab some weapons of your choice and seek Fogosh" he snickers, aware of our mutual hate "I want both of you to come here, and soon, so be quick"

I nod and leave the tent, now with an objective I scour the camp looking for Orokur until I see him sitting in front of a grindstone he uses to sharpen a one-handed axe as big as me, he is next to the horses and carts. He is a bulky orc wearing a deer pelt on his shoulders, his two braids over his shoulders, and a hard-looking face, and when he turns to me I notice the funny eye Makur mentioned, it looks down even when the left one is staring at me directly.

"What?" he asks, his voice almost like a growl, have I been staring at his eye all this time? But before I can say anything he chuckles "Yes, a hit to the head when I was a baby and it breaks, I can still see with it, only that everything seems slightly off" He inspects the edge of the axe and seems satisfied, resting it on his hands as he focuses on me "And what is it you want?"

"I came to grab weapons, Makur told me so"

"Then what are you waiting for? Have at it! Just don't expect to find the things you had with you when we graciously invited you into our home, they have been borrowed by your cousins" he chuckles a little more as his attention turns to a nearby pile of axes and daggers, he grabs one of them and begins to sharpen it as he did with the axe.

With an annoyed sigh, I climb one of the carts and move away the cloths atop to reveal the treasures within, I rest my eyes on a dagger and grab it, as well as a short spear I don't hesitate to snatch. Lastly, my eyes fall on another hatchet to replace the one I had.

It is similar to what I had used all the time I spent in the woods, but these were clearly better suited for war. The dagger was sharp on both sides, the spear had a longer point and the hatchet had a small pint on one side, perfect to penetrate chain armor.

"Have you seen Fogosh?" I asked Orokur after a moment of hesitation, the orc didn't bother to stop his grinding or look at me.

"Look for him yourself" he muttered, and that was enough to leave. Knowing my welcome had reached its end.

As I walked around the camp looking for Fogosh I was hit on the head by a wooden jug, full of anger I turn around and see an orc laughing with a pair of his kind, and while I wish to throw it back at him or retaliate, I have to avoid damaging my newly acquired place within the warband. So I growl and walk away only for a couple of steps before I hear my name being called by the orc who threw the jug.

"You forget the jug, Ushkur," he says, the other two chuckling.

I bare my teeth in rage and for a moment surprise myself with the desire to stick a knife between his ribs. That murderous intent shouldn't surface so easily, so breathing in I pick up the jug and make my way to the trio, placing the jug on the table.

They enjoy themselves as they watch me go, drinking more ale as they joke with each other.

Eventually, I stumble upon a smaller tent than most, I carefully peek inside and confirm my thoughts, all goblins sleep inside one tent except for Fogosh, who has a small tent for himself. The insides are well taken care of, with the usual bedroll and small chest, normal sized for someone his size.

And he also has a mirror, with a few cracks but that still reflects well enough. He sits on a stool in front of it, using a small needle to clean the dirt beneath his toenails. His ears perk up and he looks up at me through the mirror, his face contorting into a scowl as soon as he lays eyes on me, I reciprocate.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he snarls at me, poison in his voice.

"Makur wants both of us in his tent right now" I reply, having no care for his reply as my task had been fulfilled I close the tent and leave. But I can hear him grumble something as I walk away.

I spend some time inside Makur's tent, Maeld had already finished bathing and she laid on the bedroll, giving me her back as she slept. I didn't have to wait long before Fogosh entered the tent and walked up next to me, standing far from me.

"Good, I want you both to stand by the road to the west and get us some more food, it won't be long for the winter to end but I want my men strong for the busy spring ahead of us," Makur says, now dressed fully with his bear pelt and steel gauntlets.

"This savage idiot will only get in the way, I can't take him with my group" Fogosh immediately answers, annoyed with the idea of being anywhere near me.

"I said both. Ushkur will lead his own men" he nonchalantly announces as if it was the natural way of things or both of us knew he meant that.

The statement echoes in my mind as the voice of Fogosh trying to convince Makur to think twice dims and is extinguished. Me? Leading those monsters to steal and probably murder humans? Could I even go that far to save Maeld?

"Fogosh" Makur finally said, the unspoken threat of saying the name of the goblin out being enough to finally silence him "Pick five goblins and arm them however you want, it doesn't matter if they die we can get more easily, I will be watching what you do with them, Ushkur. Do not disappoint me"

Our eyes meet and I know there is no point in saying anything more than an affirmation, to nod my head and leave the tent. He is the leader of this warband and I have to obey his wishes if I want a place in it.

Now, I have a task to fulfill. And I dread what's to come.