With the map in hand, I began guiding us through the woods and past the roads better than I ever could before. While also gaining a much better understanding of how the kingdom looked.
The mountain range went from the coast where the capital rested, all the way through the forests I habituated with Makur and his war band, and seemed to end in a choke point where laid a castle separating the human's lands from the rest of the land, Apparently the enormous forest with giant trees and creatures cut through the mountains and poured itself into the human lands as well. In between their territory and also among the untamed forests.
After the choke point the mountain range continued, but not at all as uniform as before, going back to the coast in a larger arch where another kingdom stood. The Toralav Tsardom, its borders clashing with the Kingdom of Luath in a loosely established line cutting through the plains, the Tsardom full of forests and hills, while Luath keeps most of the farmlands and plains for themselves.
I now knew where every city lay, every town, it was exactly what I needed.
With a clearer path, I take my group and reach the border of the kingdom as fall finally arrives, but find it heavily guarded, more than I had ever seen it before. Wooden fortresses were being built where once there were only forests, watchtowers watched everything around them, and not only guards patrolled anymore, but also better-equipped soldiers.
"What is the plan now?" Jorr asked, letting out a tired huff as he crouches next to me.
We are at the borders of the forest, between a large deforested field and the many humans keeping watch in the borders. It is the fourth time we have walked back into the forest and looked for yet another path, only to find an impassable line of guards.
"Let's go back, try another away" I reply as I walk backward.
"No" I stop and turn around. Jorr sits and looks at the edge of his blade "You keep moving us around, almost as if you were avoiding killing these humans"
"They are too many, attempting to push through is suicide"
"With our numbers, yes, but come on, haven't you figured it out yet?" he pokes his head with the sword, and after a few seconds of silence he chuckles "Goblins," he says under his breath.
"Careful" I make my point clear bearing my teeth, and the hobgoblin just smirks.
"Calm down, boss. Look at it this way, if there are this many guards on the border, they will only move if there is a threat, and what bigger threat and something within the lands they are meant to protect"
"We are too few to draw their attention"
"Ah ha! But we don't need to, we have seen many slaves being carried on the roads, and where there are slaves there are slave camps"
I was starting to see what he meant, and it was a solid idea.
If we managed to orchestrate a slave camp revolt that was big enough, the closest soldiers and guards on the border would be forced to act, making it easier to sneak past them.
"How does that sound, eh?"
Even if I disliked my already meager authority being questioned, I agreed with a nod and turned around.
I could hear them boast about his ingenuity, and thought for a moment it enraged me, it was also something that made me realize that even though I was convincing myself that I was no longer attached to humans, I was lying.
Because I still didn't see them as tools.
I still think of humans as beings that are to be respected and treated with equality. But of course, Jorr would have no problem seeing a bunch of starved men and women, of all ages, being thrown against the cold steel and killed by the dozen if it made it easier for us to escape.
Only a monster would think of them as a means to an end...I have much to learn.
After two days we reached the outskirts of a mining field, there was a river at its side, and surrounded by wooden palisades and a few watchtowers I counted at least fifty guards, it was small yet maybe enough.
Under the cover of night, I sneak in, using my war picks to climb the wall and see the field contained within, there are many shoddy tents and a few dying campfires. A stone structure stands in the middle, likely where all guards rest and live.
The mine itself was a large hole in the ground, several meters wide that had rails where minecarts were pulled to the surface, and I saw many humans walking inside of it, descending deep down to toil and die without a care for them.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
But that was not all, I also saw monsters unlike any I had seen before.
They seemed taller than humans but not by much, they had fur on their arms and bodies, and some less or more than others; Their hair was untamed and unkempt, eyes were yellow, green, or blue completely except for slit-shaped pupils, when they opened their mouth I could see their sharp fangs, some had small horns, or tails, or large animal-like ears.
All slaves wore collars on their necks, but the monsters, they had a different kind, those had shining symbols glimmering with a red color, magic.
It is still early at night but I don't think slaves get much rest, so there is no perfect moment to look closer at them. I ready myself and go down into the camp. Luckily, the torches leave perfect spots of darkness for my run into, and with practice stealth, I enter into of the tents.
Immediately, I rush to the monster whose feline ears perk up, waking them from their sleep, and put a hand to their mouth and war pick on their neck. They stare at me with their green eyes in shock.
The monster huffs and breaths in sharply, killing them is not a choice, their found body could make the guards alarmed and make the plan much harder to pull off. But maybe I can use this chance.
I slowly retrieve my hand and put a finger to my mouth, the monster understands and nods, I retrieve my war pick and smash the blunt side on their temple. Making them fall limp on the ground, I can't risk them screaming or trying anything the moment I turn around.
This tent was meant to be used by only one person, so I quickly closed the entrance and tied it shut with a piece of rope lying nearby. To be honest, I expected all slaves to be working, and with the strong smell of feces and waste I couldn't tell if there was anyone inside.
But at least I should be safe in here, so long as none tries to come in.
I look at the monster and grab the blanket where she lay, tearing it apart and tying up their feet and hands together, both with patches of fur and long black claws, I made sure they wouldn't be able to just cut the ropes and break free.
Now, I could get a proper look at them.
Their ragged clothes were only a little better than going around naked, and I just now realized that the nipples were part of feminine breasts, albeit small. I saw now this monster was a she, noticing only then the curves and female shape of her figure.
Thin from malnutrition and her gray fur with black strikes was dirty. Her gray hair was wavy and very long, with a feminine face that looked almost human, where not for the slightly larger eyes and fur on her forehead and along her jaw.
My inspection had to be cut short however because she began groaning as consciousness returned, quickly I tied a piece of the torn blanket on her mouth so she wouldn't make too much noise and this finished waking her up as she panicked and began to wrestle to free herself.
"Don't" I said as I brandish my war picks close to her face, especially the pointy end.
This time, even if breathing in quickly, her face contorted, likely pain from the hit on her head, and anger.
"Do you understand me?" I asked, first in orcish and she didn't seem to understand, so I repeated the question this time in Akani with not as much luck.
Great, another language barrier that would have to be overcome, and I had neither the trance nor the time to do it.
"What to do?" I whispered as I watched my captive carefully, but after I spoke, she reacted, did she understand me or not? "You, can you understand me?" She squinted her eyes, this was getting nowhere.
I decided to risk it, if I got any sign that she would scream I would smash her head, no matter if this killed her, we could always just look for another slave camp. Approaching her she jerks back, and I rest my war picks on my back to show her my hands and take the cloth out of her mouth.
She looks at me confused but also hissing quietly, baring her fangs as her feline ears drop back and her slits get as thin as needles.
"I need to know if you can understand me" After a moment of silence she spoke, a tongue I don't but with a few words that felt familiar, like Akani, but different, "You ask me, what do I want?" I ask, using my hands to help get my point across and she nods.
Then, her language is similar to Akani, but unlike orcish, which orcs, hobgoblins, and goblins could speak but at different proficiencies and with distinctive accents, hers seemed like an Akani that had been warped and changed in several places, but the remnant of pronunciation and meaning remained.
"Want? Nothing to give, no value" she spoke low as she occasionally glanced around.
"I want to help you, get back your freedom" I spoke calmly and slowly, my hands trying to convey my words as best as possible, and she seemed to understand.
"Free? Again" She whispered in disbelief, but it was short-lived "How? How to believe? Bleed!" She hissed.
I swiftly took a war pick in hand and pulled her head closer to me by the neck, repeating the hush I made when she first woke up, but more firmly, to make sure she understand it is better to obey me. And even if furious, she nods once again.
"Free you, free them, free everyone," I say retrieving my war pick and letting her fall back, as I motion to the outside of the tent, and this seems to pick her interest.
"Everyone?" I nod, and she finally begins to give it some thought "No enemy?"
"No" I reply, and this time decide to give her a true show of trust. Undoing the knot on her legs and walking behind her to do the same with her hands.
I do not worry, in her state, she won't be faster than me in case I need to put her down.
For some time there is complete silence among us, except for the occasional crack of the whip in the distance or shouting. But once she seems to have thought about it enough, she shakes her head slightly, as her frown deepens, but then looks at me straight in the eyes, trying to discern my thoughts and intentions as best as possible I'm sure.
But not too unlike Jorr, what other choice does she have?
"Accept, help"
"Tomorrow night, I will come back to find you here, tell however you trust," I say and repeat as many times as I deem necessary until I know she understands.
Leaving the same way I entered, I return to the woods but not without first looking at the person in charge of the camp. A man dressed in expensive silk and steel armor overlooking the entire camp on top of the stone building, on his hand a strange bow with similar red glimmering symbols on its body.