I felt myself break out into a full-body shiver at the feeling of something infiltrating my Status. The sensation of something slithering its way into your very soul felt…wrong, somehow. That was beyond the fact that I could even feel my soul at all, in this instance. Confused and disturbed, I took the chance to call up my Status, to see if it could tell me what had just happened. I didn’t care that I was still kneeling over the dead master of the manor. This shouldn’t take long.

Hopefully.

Hidden Amidst the Spheres.

Sure enough, I had notifications. More than I expected.

You have gained 3 levels! You are now level 24. You have 30 unspent Virtue Points. You have acquired the Class Skill Poisonfang Fist.

What?

What?!

How had I gotten three levels? I hadn’t killed any monsters or even made anything since the Breakers! Even beyond that, I’d apparently gotten a new Class Skill?! But I’d just gotten a new skill...

Confused, I held up my left hand and tried to call up my new ability.

Poisonfang Fist.

For a moment, nothing happened, which was incredibly odd. Deep inside my Status, it almost felt as if the Skill was fighting me, as if it didn’t want to be used. Eventually, though, my invocation succeeded, but not without an almost sense of reluctance.

My left hand erupted into a roiling miasma of green and black smoke.

I stared at my hand in abject horror.

I recognized this skill.

This was what Magnus had used to kill the bear-rabbit during my first of his ‘hunts’.

How…how did I have this skill…

Slowly, my gaze turned away from my hand and back to Magnus. Did I…did I take this from him? Was that what had happened, the moment he had died with my racials?

Did I steal a skill from Magnus at the moment of his death?

“Well, damn,” I heard from behind me. The voice shocked me out of my stupor, especially because I recognized it. Hurriedly, I canceled the skill, causing the eerie smoke to dissipate from around my fist. God, I hoped my body had blocked the view of the skill. With a mounting sense of panic, I stood up and turned around to face the speaker.

It was Stonebreaker, as I thought.

He was standing about ten feet away from me, but I knew that was no protection from him. He could move faster than I could react. His armor was immaculate and shining in the dancing light from the fires across the fence. It didn’t look like he had been fighting yet.

He was watching me with a curious tilt to his helmeted head, arms folded.

I didn’t need to say anything. He just continued talking on his own.

“So, you killed the boy,” He said, sounding mildly interested. It didn’t sound like he cared at all about the fact I’d just killed his charge. “I notice you don’t have a collar, either. Did you kill Orinbar too, in order to get that off?”

He sounded much less pleased at that possibility.

“He…he was already dead when w-I found him,” I said with a dry mouth. My heart was pounding in my ears. I knew this dwarf could kill me as easily as he breathed. I didn’t know if I could get away from Stonebreaker. I’d had a smidgeon of confidence Bleddyn and I might be able to take him earlier, but I had none about my chances solo. “A servant let slip that Magnus killed him earlier.”

Stonebreaker snorted, relaxing. “Did he now. The little shit…,” He muttered to himself. With a shrug, he lowered his arms and turned to leave, visibly dismissing me. He started to walk away.

I couldn’t stop myself from speaking up. “That’s it?” I said to him incredulously. Stonebreaker stopped but didn’t turn to face me. “I kill your charge, and you just walk away?”

“Do you want me to kill you, boy?” He replied, audibly bored.

“N-no! No…I just…you’re just going to let me go?” I asked, confused.

Stonebreaker turned his helmeted head slightly to look in my direction. “The boy didn’t matter all that much. This was his last chance with the Prince before he was cut off, anyway. I’m sure,” He said, amused for some reason. “That Anguis won’t care about the loss of one out-of-control heir. Magnus was replaceable. Orinbar wasn’t.”

I didn’t know what to say to him at that. Stonebreaker didn’t seem like he cared either way though, because he resumed walking away.

I stood there, watching his plate clad back as he walked away, feeling like I’d just dodged a bullet.

………………………………………

I snapped out of it not long after. I didn’t have time to stand around gaping at nothing.

It was time to leave Addersfield behind forever. Preferably before the town was overrun with monsters.

First, though, I’d have to reach Azarus and Bleddyn. During the fall out of the window, I thought I’d seen them fighting at the gates. I needed to hurry.

I sprinted around the edge of the manor and towards the front of it, leaving Magnus’s corpse to rot in the grass. Fare thee not-well, bastard.

Once I’d reached the gate, I found that the fire had reached the manor. The blaze in town had grown so strong that the winds had pushed it onto the façade. As I passed through the wrought-iron gates, I saw that the front of the manor was beginning to go up in flames.

I staggered once I sprinted into the town proper, overcome by the intensity of the flames and smoke around me. The main thoroughfare was wide enough that I didn’t feel in danger, but the heat. It was nothing like I’d ever felt before in my life. I raised my tunic to cover my mouth as best as I could to block out the smoke and tried to hurry to the gate, surrounded on either side by roaring flames.

I had no idea how long it took me to make my way through town. I didn’t see any of the dwarves that had been fighting the fire along the way. I think they’d given up completely, and I didn’t blame them. There was no stopping this fire.

That wouldn’t save them, though. These bloodthirsty bastards had a supposed horde of monsters to look forward to soon. At that mental reminder, I tried to hurry up.

Eventually, I reached the entrance to the front gate square.

It was wrecked.

Even beyond the fire, the square very much looked like it had been through a battle. The buildings that weren’t already burnt were shattered from what looked to be strong impacts. There were very obviously dead bodies strewn all about, as well. Mostly, they seemed to be members of the Addersfield guard that I’d seen Azarus and Bleddyn fighting earlier. But I saw plenty of dead slaves, as well. Many of them were even holding weapons, clutched tightly in their dead fingers.

I guess some of the slaves had decided to fight back, once their collars had fallen off.

The fight was almost over, from what I could see.

Bleddyn wasn’t in the square anymore. There was only one person fighting the remaining guards.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

For the first time, I got to see Azarus fight seriously.

It wasn’t what I was expecting.

From the gear that I’d seen on him earlier, I’d expected him to fight like an armored knight. You know, take a hit on his shield and then retaliate with his Warhammer. That wasn’t what he was doing.

Instead, he fought with chains.

Extending out from his arms, it looked like he had long metal chains that sprouted from his elbows and wrapped around both of his forearms in a spiral. Both his hammer and his shield were attached to these chains.

He was controlling them.

Telekinetically.

The shield hovered near his left arm, either being used to block attacks from the guards with no issue or be thrown out like a large, flat maul to be used as a weapon. I even saw Azarus reel the shield in once, grip the handles, and use it to slam a guard away from him before sending it out to attack another.

The real star was the Warhammer, though. It too was attached to a length of chain by a loop on its handle. Azarus was throwing it around in large, sweeping motions to attack the guards from well beyond their range. Very rarely did any of the guards ever get close to him before they were smacked away.

With a shout, I watched as Azarus flung his hammer and chain directly at one of the last remaining guards. It impacted his face with an audible crunch on his unarmored face. The blow knocked the dwarf off of his feet, where he didn’t get back up. I winced, but that left only one guard left.

I guess I shouldn’t just stand around gaping at the fight. I could help.

I drew my dagger.

The Scintillant Blade. Sylvan Vigor.

I broke out into a sprint at the unsuspecting guard's back. In front, I saw Azarus notice me, causing his face to break out into a relieved smile. I stayed focused on the guard, though. Silently, I leaped forward as hard as I could, reading my blade. I didn’t want to risk whatever had happened with Magnus happening again, so no leaving my blade in this guard. I had something else in mind.

My blade sliced through the unsuspecting guard's neck in one clean motion, causing his head to fly off behind him. A full decapitation.

Landing on my feet in a skid, I slid forward from my leap several feet. I must have hit a rock, though, because my slide turned into a tumble at the last second. I found myself gazing up at the night sky, lit by a moon tinged red from the roaring flames around me.

I blinked.

Seconds later, Azarus appeared above me, his armor stained by blood and soot. “Are ya alright!” He shouted down at me over the roaring of the flames, grabbing my right arm and hauling me to my feet.

I staggered, but answered anyway. “Y-” I tried to say, only to end up coughing from the smoke inhalation. “Yeah, I’m fine! Did everything go all right!?” I said, struggling to make myself heard over the fire.

Azarus nodded. “Everything’s ready! Gren’s onboard! Bleddyn’s helping with slaves!” I saw Azarus pause for a moment before leaning in. “Did ya…get it all done?” He said in a normal volume.

“Yeah,” I replied. I knew what he was asking. I met his eyes and nodded. “Everything.”

Azarus let out a short sigh, inaudible even from this close. “All right,” He said, stepping away. “We need ta get goin’ then! We gotta leave if we’re gonna beat the monsters! The Breakage Effect must be buildin’ up! Let’s go!”

I exchanged a nod with him. We both broke out into sprints in the direction of the gates. Just beyond them, I saw a line of wagons being loaded up with supplies and slaves. Gren was there, and I exchanged a nod with him but didn’t interrupt. He was obviously busy directing several other dwarves and slaves with the caravan. I guess those were his employees.

I suppose I didn’t begrudge him getting them out as well.

More importantly, I saw Bleddyn moving among the slaves. As I watched, I saw him use the Bond Breaker on one of the other slaves. He was immediately wrapped in a hug by the openly weeping man. He said something to the now former slave and moved on to another.

I hurried to catch up with him. “Bleddyn!” I called. The noise of the burning town was lessened outside the gates, so he heard me and turned around. His face lit up and he rushed over to me as well. We met in between two of the wagons. He grabbed my right forearm in a tight squeeze when we did. “Did ye do it?” He asked me breathlessly.

I nodded at him. I understood. “Yeah. Right up and through the left lung.” I said, letting go of his arm and patting him on the left side of his abdomen. “He’s gone.”

Bleddyn took a deep breath, uncaring of the smoke in the air, and held it for a moment. He let it out in an explosive sigh. “Less than the bastard deserves, but that ain’t what matters. What matters is that he’s gone.”

I let out a sigh of my own and nodded. That was what mattered.

But not right now. Right now, we needed to go.

I said as much to Bleddyn, causing him to nod at me. Before we could say anything else, Azarus caught up with the two of us. I turned around, surprised. I hadn’t even noticed that he hadn’t followed me.

Azarus and Bleddyn exchanged short nods before Azarus spoke to me. “Gren says they’re getting’ underway now. We’re out of here.”

“Where are Grey and Walter?” I asked him.

“Wagon at the front. Let’s go, yeah? Gren will meet us there.”

Azarus broke out into a jog right past me for the front of the caravan. I moved to follow before I noticed that Bleddyn wasn’t. I turned to face him, curious, only to find that he had a firm look on his face.

“Bleddyn?” I asked him, confused.

He took another deep breath. “I’m not comin' with.”

“What? What the hell do you mean, you’re not coming?”

Bleddyn walked up to me and set his hand on my shoulder. “I talked to some of the other slaves, and we’re in agreement. We’re staying behind. Azarus told me about the stockpile this town has, and we’ve decided to stay and fight for control of it.” He set his other hand on my shoulder and met my eyes. “Nate, there are so many other slaves in the Principality. Most of ‘em are human, like you and me. A lot of them got caught runnin’ from the war. We’re going to take those supplies, and we’re goin’ to help them. But I need your help first.”

I gaped at him, all through his speech.

“Let me have this,” Bleddyn continued, holding up the Bond Breaker. My eyes numbly tracked it. “I know I don’t deserve to ask ye for anything more, after everythin’ you’ve done for me. But I’m gonna anyway. Let me have this, and I swear to ye. I swear to ye that I’ll fight to free every godsdamned slave in this country. I promise ye that, on the souls of all my ancestors. May Father Wolf and Mother Raven feast on my soul should I break this oath.”

I…

I see.

I let out a shuddering breath. I see what he wanted to do.

Bleddyn wanted to use the supplies that had been collected in this town, and the Bond Breaker I’d made…

To instigate a mass slave revolt in the Principality.

But…

“What about the Breakage Effect? What about the rest of the guard?” I asked him, concerned. “Hell, what about Stonebreaker? Can you take him?”

Bleddyn shook his head with a vicious smile. “Doubt it, but I ain’t gonna try. I intend to let them fight it out with the monsters in town, while me and the others will wait on the edges until it’s nearly done. We’ll train up a bit too, and then when they’re exhausted, swoop in. At that point, I reckon we can drive him off after how he’ll have been fighting for weeks. Hell, that’s assuming he even sticks around.”

I nodded slowly. I didn’t actually know if Stonebreaker was going to stick around. He’d seemed pretty disinterested and done with everything, the last I’d seen him.

Slowly, I reached up and laid a hand over the Breaker clutched tightly in Bleddyns fist. I moved the hand and bident down until the haft rested over his heart. I met Bleddyn’s eyes. “Okay,” I told him somberly. “Take it. Take the Bond Breaker with my blessing. And…” I trailed off, remembering something else. I reached a hand behind me to rummage around in the small pack at the base of my back. I pulled out the tightly folded sheet of paper that I had scribbled down before I’d left for the manor. I hand it to Bleddyn, who looked down at it curiously. “It’s instructions on how to make another,” I said, causing his head to snap up to look at me in shock. “Find an Enchanter you trust, and make more. Good…good luck, Bleddyn.”

Bleddyn took the paper with a trembling hand and clutched it tightly. He met my eyes one last time with tears in his own. Suddenly, he wrapped me in a hug. “We’ll meet again one day, my friend. I promise you that.”

“Yeah,” I said over his shoulder. “Yeah, we will.”

………………………………………

Bleddyn and I parted at that. The last I saw of him, he was walking away from me to a large group of other slaves that had chosen not to join the caravan leaving the nearly destroyed town. God, there must have been dozens of them. Certainly a larger number than whatever guards were left in town.

I guess revenge was a powerful motivator for some.

It had been for me.

As for myself, I turned away and left Bleddyn to organize his burgeoning slave revolt. As I walked by the wagons of the caravan, I looked inside of them. All of the wagons were packed to the gills with slaves. I recognized many of the faces in those wagons. In one, I saw the kitchen crew of the manor. Frederick even smiled and waved at me with teary eyes. In others, I saw some of the slaves from the caravan I had arrived in Addersfield with. Many of them were weeping, but not in sadness. Rather, I saw many slaves clutching each other tightly and wailing. Their time, and their ordeals as a slave…

Were over.

I reached the front wagon before long, where I found even more familiar faces. Gren was sitting up on the driver's bench of the wagon and greeted me with a weary hello. Azarus was sitting next to him. We exchanged nods, but didn’t say anything to each other. He didn’t ask me about Bleddyn. I guess he knew.

I climbed up into the back of the wagon. Inside, Grey and Walter were resting on cots that lay near the front of the wagon, both still out cold. They seemed fine, though. They were resting peacefully, despite the chaos that was about to descend on the village. Both Van and Rachel were in there as well. Van seemed nearly catatonic, which didn’t surprise me. Rachel greeted me with a bright, cheery smile though. She told me that Bleddyn had spoken to Van about his uncle at the same time he’d told him he was staying behind. I think Van would be fine eventually, though. It was just a lot right now.

As I heard Gren let out a shout, the horse-drawn wagon lurched to life. I looked out behind me, and the rest of the caravan holding former slaves followed ours. However, something other than the wagons caught my eye.

On a hill just off to the side of the burning town, I saw a shape come into view. The blood-red moon illuminated its form.

It was a stag.

Rather, from the glint of its antlers, it was a kind of monstrous stag that I was familiar with. A Blade-Rack Hart. Involuntarily, my hand came up to trace the scar on my left cheek.

Even from this distance, I could tell that it was watching us. Somehow, I thought my eyes were meeting its own.

I shuddered, and turned away.