“Check the bloody wheel you naks! We gotta bring these new skins to the auction!” The bandit leading the entire convoy yelled out, unaware of the team passing by.

Their target was the rearmost convoy, moving just out of the light, seeing bandits pass by them with disgruntled faces. Just a glance was enough to put a sour taste in Kayd’s mouth.

They quickly reached the last wagon, unguarded. A tarp concealed its contents but he had an idea of what was inside.

Flipping it up, they were greeted by a saddening site.

More settlers crammed together into a single large cage. Blood stains painted the floor while chains tied to the bars ensured nobody could escape.

Lia covered her mouth in horror, her eyes starting to well up.

“I’ll break the lock, just stay quiet and don’t cause any issues until we reach inside got it?” Everyone nodded to Ishmael’s order.

With a few strong yanks, she managed to break the worn out lock and opened the door. None of the settlers stood up, spoke, or even tried to move near the door. Their eyes were simply glued to the team, sadness, and hopelessness etched on each of them.

Inside, Lia stared quietly at the settlers with a hand slightly covering her face, shivering once again while one of them looked at her curiously.

“...Lia?” A young woman whispered in a weak and dry voice. The question snapped Lia out of her crying as she embraced the settler. Whispering something.

“Are these the people from that paper?” Kayd asked Ishmael who sat next to him.

She holstered her hatchet, “Must be, the same direction and about the same amount of wagons to be used.” She glared at Lia who quietly sobbed to the weak settler.

“She needs to pipe down…” Just as she tried to silence Lia herself, Kayd grabbed her arm. He remembered what happened early and simply shook his head.

Quellin sensed what was happening and approached Lia himself, whispering to her. She quieted down, regaining her composure and tending to the woman.

“He handled it better I suppose.” Ishmael sat back, just in time for the bandits to march back to their horses and wagons.

“Should be enough, have the smartheads handle the wheels once we get there.”

The wagon shook as they began moving again, the commotion outside not dying down as they conversed with each other.

Phew, that was a problem averted. We really need to fix this discipline thing quickly. And get these settlers out.

—---

Minutes pass, becoming used to the annoying bicker of brigands and bandits. Lia had stopped crying and instead whispered to the settlers, Quellin by her side in case something rash happened again.

The noises outside became louder as they passed through the camp, welcomed by the cheers and jeers of criminals, hearing as they passed by the convoy. The intense light of the camp’s interior illuminated the entire cage.

Kayd took out his sword, preparing for the climax of this objective. The rest quickly followed suit as the wagon became slower, and the glow of the fire that pierced the tarp disappeared.

“We’ll try getting you out, I hope I helped with your wounds and hunger…I’m terribly sorry for Ben…”

“It’s fine, you did what you could. Ben understood as well, besides, you saved the rest of us.” The woman replied, patting Lia on the head with a thin bony hand.

Their interaction was cut short by the sudden stop of the wagon as they arrived at their destination.

“Remember what we talked about, remain close to us. Any deviation and I’ll rein you back here, no excuses. Understood?” Lia nodded.

The riders dismounted and walked along the sides of the wagon, a dozen or footsteps pacing outside while a few walked away. Suddenly the noise of shouting and screams pierced the room, ones coming from the other wagons as the bandits began unloading them. Their pleas cut short with an audible smack.

“Oi, you starving idiots, save some gruel for us! Or one of these runts will lose their auction value real fast!” One of them laughed loudly, followed by a door slam.

“Ugh, I hope these ones are sleeping right now. I don’t want them struggling.” One of the bandits muttered. About three pairs of footsteps remained near their cage.

“Relax, one kunk to the head shouldn’t lower their value right?” Another answered. Their footsteps reached the rear of their wagon.

Kayd braced himself with his blade, pointing the tip at the door. Ikari crouched next to him, bow drawn, ready to fire the moment that the tarp comes off.

“Alright, time for this one.” The tarp was ripped off, and upon seeing their faces, Kayd lunged out. Ramming through the door and into the first bandit, his blade pierced clean through the chest, spouting blood immediately.

As they crashed to the floor, Ikari launched arrows in quick succession, killing the rest without another word escaped their mouths.

“Looks like the coast is clear.” Kayd removed his blade.

“The rest went somewhere in front of the convoy,” Ikari stepped out to investigate.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The others got off, and Lia begrudgingly had to accept that they needed to leave the settlers to not arouse suspicion.

“Can’t you at least let us out?” The woman questioned Ishmael.

“Sorry, but it’ll arouse suspicion, besides we don’t know where to even get you all to.”

“No, we can bring them somewhere, at least give them a chance to survive. Because they sure as hell won’t here.” Ikari retorted. Ishmael sighed, but she tried her best to not start a fight again.

In their search, Ikari found a rusted door locked by chains wrapped tightly around it with a single keyhole to allow anyone passage inside.

“Looks like where they went to.” A dry path of blood painted the wood floor, followed by a horrid stench. Ishmael approached it.

“Let’s hope it is.” She took out her hatchet and began breaking the lock as quietly as possible. Behind her Lia stayed close to the group alongside Mono, calming them down.

Kayd couldn’t bear to look at them in such a state, nor the shame he would feel if he’d left them here.

“We should bring them with us Captain.” She sighed and paused for a moment.

“You as well? Like I said, too much suspicion, and for what? We can handle infiltrating by ourselves.” She replied.

“If I can ask Captain, what is our plan to destroy the camp?”

“We get in, find explosives, and kill everyone else along with the leader of this place, that’s it.”

“I don’t want to overstep but, we have limited healing and smaller numbers. If we want to have a chance to handle deal with the camp then we need more hands on deck.”

“Inexperienced hands, only a few of them are Stone’s Edge soldiers, the rest are common folk ripped from their homes. They won’t stand a chance and will simply die a few seconds into battle.” Ishmael explained.

“But-” With a deep sigh she stopped and turned to Kayd, an inch away from his face

“I don’t want to see people die below my command. Especially untrained ones that can’t raise a sword.” Her voice cracked as she finished talking.

“Not again…” She finished talking, this time her voice more quiet.

“I can lead them instead.” Mono stood in front of the two, the most timid of the group still wearing basic armor and weapons, unsure of how much Quellin managed to train him. A few chinks on his armor and a small splotch of dried red on his sword marked his current experience.

“Why would I? With all that happened, I have no reason to let you lead, much less a bunch of untrained people in unfamiliar territory.” Mono’s heart raced, the tone and barely hidden anger of Ishmael hit him like a brick. With a deep breath and a moment of thought, he replied.

“They’re afraid, untrained, and in unfamiliar territory. Something all too familiar to me, you weren’t the only one in fear of being killed by those rats in the forest. Their plight resonates with me, and when in fear together we must unite and fight. That’s what Mian taught us….Before he died…He wanted all of us to fight and die with those in the same hell as us, to lead them, this can be that time. I want to step up and do something right for once, and I believe this is the only thing that i can do right. I’m not a good guard, nor a good fighter, but I am good at surviving and trying to help, be it here or in the forest.” He finished, his voice weak but desperately trying to keep a confident tone as the words came from his mouth.

Ishmael’s mouth was shut, with no sign of a rebuttal or a quick simple response to shut his desire down. She looked at the door and managed to break the lock, opening it ever slightly. A sigh left her mouth and her grasp tightened around the hatchet.

“I don’t fully support it but, despite the contempt I had for Mian, his desire to ensure everyone is united and safe made me respect him. And I’m not in the mood to have another argument…Nor think of seeing more people below me, be it fighter or civilian, die…” She opened the door, revealing a long wooden hallway with a few more chained doors.

“Get them out, maybe it’s better to take them than hope the army can save their rears when they arrive. Quellin I hope you taught him well.” Her eyes briefly landed on Quellin before looking at the settlers.

—---

The occasional creaking of the worn wood broke the silence in the hallway. The settlers stayed far behind, led by Mono. He wasn’t afraid, happy, or sad. But determined.

Kayd crept alongside Ishmael, moving until they reached one of the chained doors. Similar in appearance to the one they just opened. A faint noise of rummaging emanated from within.

He prepared to attack, standing in front of the door with Ishmael while Ikari leaned next to it, listening.

After a brief pause, Ishmael destroyed the lock and forced open the door.

“What the hell-” The bandit was cut off as Ishmael kicked him back towards a table, sending daggers and coins to the floor.

Ishmael grabbed the dagger from Ikari, quickly grabbing the man’s hand and slamming it on the table before he could recover.

“Where’s the passage to the leader’s stronghold?" The man looked dumbfounded, but fear quickly consumed him.

“Just- just down the hall! Past the door and into the treasury there’s a hatch that leads down to the tunnel!” Ishmael pressed the knife against the man’s neck

“What about the rest of the settlers here?” The man caught a glimpse of the crowd behind them, a mix of anger and terror coursing in his mind.

“Once you get out of the tunnel just find the large wooden building, the basement of it is where the boss puts the auctioned!”

"What about weapons?"

"It- It's in that building, i forgot what floor and room i'm sorry!" Ishmael smirked and released her grip.

As the man took a breath, Ishmael cleaved his head in, ending the insufferable runt’s life where he stood.

Ishmael grabbed the pouch of gold left on his body and looked back to everyone.

“We have the directions, let’s move. Kill anyone in our way.” Ishmael parted the crowd in two, ignoring the shocked faces of the settlers and Mono. Kayd walked behind her followed by the other team members. Mono spoke with the settlers closely, calming their nerves.

Lia stuck close to Quellin, practically leaning on the metal plates of his armor. Their path toward the tunnel came to an end, in front of a locked door.

This is it, time for one of the heads to roll.

A wind chime rang out as Ishmael placed her hand on the lock.

Side Mission added: Burn down the first bandit leader’s camp: [X]

Free the last batch of slaves: [X]

Reward: 700 coins, Scorn of the Lawless title (One of three)