After a long night’s rest, the next day, eventually, came. Just like before, all the slaves and Cord were rounded up and were spoken to by the enforcer. Since he had only just reincarnated recently, he imagined that he’d take some time to get used to these proceedings but that was the odd thing about his reincarnation. Since his body had been through this so many times before, he was used to it. It felt more familiar than he was used to, even in previous lives, which only helped to motivate his need to leave this place. The enforcer didn’t announce anything he didn’t know and they were all soon sent into the mine for more firebrand. From what Cord could tell, the merchant would only be arriving in the afternoon. If that was true, which he guessed it must be, the enforcer didn’t seem to care that they’d be tired from mining when he’d want them to unpack the trader’s supplies.
Normally, this wouldn’t seem like such a bad thing but he was still a child and easily one of the weakest people in the camp. If he hadn’t gone through this reincarnation, this obviously was the enforcer’s way of trying to use somebody he probably felt wasn’t going to produce firebrand, so they might as well be useful some other way, regardless if they died from exhaustion or not. Whatever the situation, he was still forced to go into the mine and did so without resistance. What followed was something like yesterday, however, Cord intentionally slowed himself down and even purposefully dug in the wrong places as well to make it appear as if he had simply gotten lucky on the first day.
Previously, he had dug up a lot to make the guards stunned and to increase his value to the enforcer and the guards, in general. He also did it so that the guards wouldn’t pat him down for firebrands, like they do for the other slaves. It was because of the first day’s shock that he was able to sneak away with the first small firebrand, which was already being hidden away beneath his bed and inside the dirt. He knew he probably couldn’t sneak out any more of the firebrands, now, but he was sure he’d didn’t need any more of them anyhow. The reason he was so fixated on the firebrands was because of what made them valuable.
An old memory showed him where the guards were messing around with a cracked firebrand. They coated it with what looked like fire magic at the time, encasing it in flames, before tossing it near the slaves. It caused an explosion that sent the other slaves scattering and had the guards laughing at them. From that memory, he assumed that the firebrands must be explosive in nature, when they come into contact with fire. As he was thinking of all of this, he could feel the guard watching him a lot more sharply than before. No doubt he was chewed out for not seeing much of how he obtained so many firebrands the day before. He wouldn’t let his guard down as easily but that didn’t matter to Cord. The guards were lazy and he being an anomaly would soon lower their guards once again.
He would probably have to keep doing worse at mining day by day until it seemed as if he really had just gotten lucky out of nowhere and then he’d be able to start his experiments with firebrand. He’d have to come up with a new way to sneak out firebrand or to test it, in general, but if he could figure out a way to use them to break his restraints or cause a distraction, he’d be able to get free. When the mining part of the day was over, he was surprised to see his power had increased again, despite not working as hard. It wasn’t a big a jump as before but even a small improvement made him feel better about his circumstances.
[Power: 26 -> 28]
About half the increase he got yesterday. Truth be told, however, he felt as if his improvement would continue to slow due to his malnutrition. Even if he could increase his own body’s capabilities, nutrients wouldn’t just appear out of thin air. He needed more food, which was something he’d have to figure out as well, if he wanted to get stronger before leaving. After all, only a fool thinks about what they’ll do after escaping. Even if he managed to escape, how would he get food and water? He knew the weather was relatively good where they stayed and it even rained sometimes but the outside world could be in chaos, leaving him with nothing to live off of. To get a rough idea of how he’d survive once escaping, he was relying on studying the condition of the trader themselves.
Someone that travels around the local area or even further, would give him an indication of what he should expect. For the day, he handed in 1 medium-sized firebrand and 6 small-sixed firebrand. The enforcer didn’t look happy but he got a bowl of slop either way. No meat this time but he was fine with just anything to eat, at all. The slop tasted horrible, naturally, but it was better than nothing and he got water too. After that, most of the slaves were sent to their tents early and Cord found himself being kept behind to wait for the trader. Rince, Hops and Cord all sat next to each other, staring at the camp entrance. Cord could feel an excitement growing in him. He realized that due to the strict routine the camp imposed, he couldn’t once recall being able to see once past the gate. He would, finally, get to see the outside world, even if it was a fragment!
Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed. The gate opened and he watched as a horse-drawn carriage with a cover was worked inside. What crushed his spirits was what he could see behind the carriage. There was a second gate. He could tell there was only one palisade but there were two gates. The first gate was further in front than the second gate, which Cord assumed was the only one. The first gate was built into a box like wall that was connected to the second gate. Perhaps to help bolster the camp defences, they make visitors go through the first gate, trap them between the two until they are searched and then let them through the second gate. It was an extra cautionary measure but made Cord consider that escaping would probably be harder than he initially assumed it would be.
His thinking was paused, however, when his attention shifted to the trader and his covered carriage. The trader was a human but a fat one. He wore a big red cap, white shirt, brown pants and what looked like polished shoes. Despite his attempts to look refined or even dignified, his fat shape, sweating and punch-able face spoiled any physical charisma he was attempting to showcase. Cord disliked him already and didn’t react when the merchant glanced towards them. The merchant looked at the three of them carefully before chuckling and turning to greet the approaching enforcer. “Right on time, as always, right, Garet?” cried the merchant in a cheery but snobbish way.
“You were supposed to be here three days ago. What happened?” asked the enforcer with an agitated expression. The merchant took a step back in hesitation. “Come now, Garet. You know how difficult things are, right now. You can’t expect me to do perfectly on every run. It was a miracle I even made it here in one piece” said the merchant in almost matter-of-factly tone. From how well-fed and unharmed the pig of a merchant appeared to be, even Cord could tell he was exaggerating the danger placed on him. He surprised to learn the enforcer was named Garet but, other than that, their conversation wasn’t revealing much else. Cord felt himself looking towards the only other one with the carriage.
It was a human as well. It looked like a man younger than the merchant and he was clad in a complete set of leather armour with metal plates worked into his forearms, chestplate, legs and back. Something about how the guard was yawning and scanning the surroundings carelessly, gave Cord the feeling of an experienced fighter. He had two daggers at his sides so he assumed he must be some kind of rogue. If the trader had one guard, than the outside world must pose some level of danger. Considering how the guard was oozing experience, something told Cord he was even stronger than the enforcer. If you needed that level of security to move around on the outside, he could only hope nothing too troublesome got in his own way. The conversation between the trader and Garet got his attention again.
“Look, let’s just get this trade over and done with. The boss is getting on my back every week about not producing him enough iron but our slaves are dwindling here! Look, the camp is practically half empty and we’re close to the end of the mine. If you don’t hold up your end of the bargain, Lucius, I’ll drag your fat ass in front of the boss and let you explain to him why we’re floundering here” explained Garet, beginning to growl and lose his cool. The trader known as Lucius defensively raised his hands. “Relax, relax, Garet. We all know this is just about the royalty fighting each other like dogs. Once it cools down, your boss should to. Until the fighting stops, however, I can only humbly give you whatever comes my way” explained Lucius, not bothering to hide his own nervousness.
What they said was interesting. Not only had he learned their names but he heard what sounded like royalty fighting on the outside? If it was enough to disturb this slave operation than perhaps the country or wherever he was must be in a civil war? Since he couldn’t remember a proper new influx of slaves since over two years prior, had the civil war been raging since then? That would explain Garet’s desperate behaviour and Lucius’s nervousness. It was unfortunate, however, how Cord only made the most obvious connection as he was given an order by Garet. “You three, get the stuff out of the back before I have you all whipped to death!” yelled Garet. Even Garet must be aware that he couldn’t hurt Lucius while his guard was there and was taking out his anger on the three slaves.
“Do be careful. They are some of the more fragile ones I’ve collected thus far” explained Lucius with an ugly sneer. “Fragile ones? Lucius, you better explain yourself” said Garet, not bothering to hide his killing intent. Cord and the others were soon at the back of the carriage and Rince was the first to open up the back. Cord felt his blood run cold as he saw what they had to help with. “Now, now, go easy on me, Garet. I found them lost on my way here with others from across the border, I promise they should, at most, last a few months” explained Lucius quickly. Cord could tell what they were talking about and he was disgusted. The reason Garet was upset about receiving ‘fragile ones’ was because they were slaves. The back of the carriage was what looked like at least 10 slaves packed tightly together. Lucius was a slave trader.
What followed was one of the worst experiences that Cord had ever been through. The 10 slaves were in worse condition than he could describe. 6 of them were human women, 1 was a dark elf woman and the other 3 were human men. All of them looked as if they hadn’t eaten in days and smelled far worse than any slave in the camp. Cord helped them out of the carriage as did Rince and Hops. He could tell Rince was clutching the side of the carriage tightly since his knuckles were going white and Hops looked about ready to be sick. He didn’t blame them for their reactions, it was a horrid sight. When Garet saw how awful the slaves looked, he blew up at Lucius again. The two started to bicker as another guard told them to get the slaves cleaned up and ordered them to a freshly set up tent.
The tent was then closed off as they were given some supplies to clean the slaves and rags for them to wear afterwards. Cord was taken aback at the idea of being made to clean these women but the look Hops gave made it clear he was expected to. He wasn’t shy to a naked woman’s body but could he really do this? Soon, the tent was split in half as Rince took care of the three men’s cleaning, fitting and feeding, while Cord was told to help Hops by the four-armed woman herself. He wasn’t sure what to expect but kept an open mind. An open mind wasn’t enough. Hops asked the women to politely strip in turn and if they wouldn’t respond, she’d gently guide them to the large makeshift bath they had setup to clean them herself.
The ‘bath’ was a large wooden tub filled with water and she had Cord help her with the washing. She’d wash most of their body while he was ordered to handle the hair. He still didn’t feel like any of this was right but he wasn’t going to be a wimp over just seeing a naked body. He was a slave, after all, it wasn’t the time to question niceties he couldn’t afford, besides, Hops was doing most of the work anyway. Out of respect, he tried not to look at the women’s naked bodies while washing their hair, face and neck but he didn’t think it mattered. They were lifeless. It felt more like they were washing dolls than human beings and he didn’t know how to react to that. Their eyes especially were dead, as if all the joy had been sucked from them and they hardly responded to whatever Hops and Cord did.
Once the awkward cleaning was done and he had calmed himself down, he was happy to see that Hops dressed them herself while telling Cord to prepare their food. They had been given a pot of slop and he dished it out accordingly. He also got cups for their water and such before turning again to see that the slaves looked remarkably better than when they got off the back of the carriage. Still, this was nothing. They all looked less fed than him and two of them were certainly very sick. All of that combined with how lifeless they appeared, he wasn’t sure if any of them would even be any use to the mine and yet it appeared as if Garet bought them anyways. Cord knew what people would assume in this situation and he started to feel the same way. Were some of these women not going to enter the mine, at all?
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He had seen sex slaves in some of his past lives but the idea still revolted him. Perhaps that was why they were so lifeless, they knew what was most likely to come. Unless Cord had misjudged Garet and the guards, there wouldn’t be a logical reason for why the enforcer would buy the women as well as the men. At least the other women in the camp were strong enough to do some mining but these women didn’t look as if they’d be able to do any work for a few days. As Cord handed out the food and water, the women didn’t even appear to acknowledge his existence as they ate. For a moment, Hops looked as if she couldn’t take it anymore and turned away for a short while to compose herself. He didn’t blame her, this was a situation that would sicken anyone, he could only hope he was wrong about what was coming.
Out of the women, however, there was an exception. The dark elf women, who was a good head and a half taller than Cord, didn’t look as lifeless as the others. In fact, she was staring at Cord after eating and drinking. She looked as if she was searching for something in him. He didn’t feel like it was a time to say anything to these women, so he simply returned her gaze. From what he could see, she was better fed than the others and had a few of what looked like cut scars on her arms and even one on her chin. She must have been the last of the slaves to be caught. Lucius mentioned catching someone lost on the road. Was she just a normal woman he had his rogue attack and kidnap on the way to the camp? That would explain the cuts, it was probably from the rogue. It’s understandable that none of them tried to escape by then either, since they were already wearing the camp restraints.
It then flashed in his mind an extra layer of their misery. Were they paralyzed in the back of the carriage until they arrived? “Relo?” asked the dark elf woman, shocking Cord. “What?” he asked as the dark elf woman appeared to be crying. Hops turned as well at the sound of her voice but also in time to watch as the dark elf woman hugged Cord tightly. He gasped as he was grabbed and held in a tight hug. This woman must have been at least in her very early thirties from what he could tell and as she held him she was crying. “I thought…I lost you” she muttered while holding him tightly. Hops looked about ready to break them apart but Cord held up a hand. It was a sudden sure but he had already worked out that she must be imagining things due to trauma.
The women clutched him tightly for a few minutes and despite her condition, her grip never lessened. She cried during that time and even stroked his head gently as she pulled back. He decided not to protest for the time being. If she saw someone she lost in him, than perhaps he could offer her some peace by not correcting her just yet. She was oddly warm too, which didn’t make the experience unpleasant. Once she appeared to collect herself, however, she didn’t speak but didn’t let go of him either. She clutched his hand and made him sit down next to her while they waited. Hops gave Cord a look to ask if she should interfere but he shook his head. It was best to let her do what she needed to, now, rather than cause a performance that would upset the guards.
Once all was said and done, things actually went surprisingly smoothly after that bizarre event. Once all the new slaves were cleaned up, Hops explained to Rince what had happened, both of them watching as Cord sat there quietly, having to endure this new dark elf woman stroking his head and checking him for any scratches or the like. He wasn’t a small child but she treated him like one. He didn’t blame her for mistaking him for someone she knew, however. Although she clearly had dark skin and long black hair and he had pale skin, his long black hair was vaguely similar to hers. His was only like that since he couldn’t cut his hair, of course. Rince didn’t appear happy about the situation and he could hear him explaining how the guards were sure to either beat or detain her if they thought she was beyond reasoning with. Hops came to the conclusion that they should try to hide this.
They succeeded. When the slaves were ready, Rince informed the guard and the slaves were herded out. The men appeared to be ‘sobering up’ back to reality faster than the women as they were curiously studying their surroundings, whereas the women mostly just kept staring at the ground. Only the dark elf woman was looking around as well, all while holding Cord’s hand. Hops stood in just the right position to block the handholding, which appeared to work by chance. Cord could see that Lucius and his guard had left and that Garet was ranting while talking to other guards on the other side of camp. From what Cord could tell, Garet had used the firebrands to trade for more slaves and this was all he got. He watched as the enforcer threw an empty bottle of some kind of drink into the rock wall nearby, smashing it before marching off into what Cord assumed was his tent.
The guard who was made to check the slaves just gave them a brief look over before waving them off. Cord tried but couldn’t ignore the gaze of the guard on some of the women. He clenched his other hand as they walked away, wishing he wasn’t so weak. Some of the guards had setup a new slave tent and he guessed that is where the new ones had to go. He then gently tried to separate the woman from him but she refused to leave him, getting more distressed the harder he tried. She still didn’t say much more but looked on the verge of panic after their hands came apart. Cord wasn’t sure what to do about this but Hops stepped in once again. “Let her take my bed” she said plainly before joining the slaves in the new tent. He couldn’t think of a better solution so he did as suggested.
That night, Cord could feel himself blushing as this older woman was hugging tightly to his body as they slept. If he tried to shift apart, she would get worried and start muttering anxiously in her sleep. He had no choice but to continue to accept things as they were. From what he could tell, she was someone who was kidnapped off the side of the road and made into a slave. From the way she was acting, someone she knew must have died or been taken from her, causing her to mentally break when combined with becoming a slave. He was sure her trauma would lessen over time, he’d just have to do his best to take care of her until then. Since she was in better shape than the other slaves, he should be able to take her into the mines with him, for the time being. That way he could, at least, save her, if not the others somehow too.
The next day, some things changed but others stayed the same. Gater ordered that the new slaves get a single day of rest, which he didn’t look happy about but was a relief for Cord. If he was giving them rest, maybe he did just intend to send them solely into the mine. It was a better fate than what he expected the guards to do and from the look the guard gave the women yesterday, he worried for their safety. Fortunately, Gater looked too worked up to notice the dark elf clinging to Cord nor appeared to care even if he did. He ordered everybody to get to digging for any kind of ore before heading back to his tent and the day started. What followed was a week that Cord would make the most out of.
Over the rest of his ‘first’ week in the slave camp, Cord focused whole-heartedly on escaping the camp. He really didn’t want to leave so many other people behind but he had to be logical. If he wanted to save all these people, he would either have to kill all the guards somehow or break all the slaves restraints and get them out without the guards killing them. He was struggling to get out himself, alone, so it wouldn’t be possible for him to save all the slaves nor kill the guards, since all of them looked to be in far better shape than the slaves and there were at least one of them for every three slaves. The enforcer as well looked strong enough to cut down dozens of them on his own.
During the week, however, he was, thankfully, able to sneak out some more firebrand. He did this by digging up the firebrand and then letting a small piece fall out of his clothes while being the last one to leave the mine. The guard responsible for closing the mining door didn’t notice the firebrand covered in dirt on the ground, which he’d retrieve later by sneaking out of his tent and snatching it. By the end of the week, he had managed to collect a total of 5 small-sized firebrand for himself. It would be enough for what he had planned, he was sure. Theresa didn’t make it any easier for him, however. The dark elf woman that had come to the point of always calling him ‘Relo’ was named Theresa. She had recovered quickly to what he assumed must be a basic level of sanity but appeared to still fully believe in the delusion that he was this ‘Relo’ person.
He was glad of her recovery since she no longer clung to him but she did follow him continually. She worked with him in the mine and acted proud whenever he dug something up. He had unintentionally fallen into the habit of taking care of her, despite how she acted like she was his mother or something similar. He gave her half of his collected ores so that she could get the same level of food and he gave a share of his ores to Hops and Rince, at one time, to thank them for not letting her get exposed as one of the new slaves. Although she was the only dark elf, the guards didn’t appear to pay her much attention since some of the other slaves had dark skin as well and her ears were hidden well enough behind her hair when Cord asked her to hide it.
Something interesting that he noticed was that nobody else could understand what Theresa was saying. He noted that she must be speaking a kind of Elvish as only the other elves, whenever they were nearby, appeared to not question what it was she was speaking. Was she unable to speak English? He didn’t think about it too much but he worried that him responding to her in Elvish, unknowingly, only strengthened her delusion. By the end of the week, he had to decide on the night before the new week, if it was time for him to escape, who he’d bring with him and how it should proceed. By the end of the week, he had improved very well in a few things, which he was sure would help, eventually.
[Mining Lv 4 -> Mining Lv 6]
[Power: 28 -> 35]
[Sneak Lv 1 Unlocked]
[Sneak Lv 1 -> Sneak Lv 2]
[Empathy Lv 1 Unlocked]
His mining had gone up remarkably since he had been digging for both him and Theresa, since she mostly watched him working rather than mined herself. She had offered to help but he made her stand back so he could train his skill instead. Since he had been sneaking out at night to study the palisade and look for a way out, he had been getting around the guards as best he could, unlocking a sneak skill and when it levelled it up, he noticed how it felt slightly easier to move around in the dark. It was a useful skill. The empathy skill appeared to let him connect with others better. Since he was so closely bonded to Theresa, he believed she was the reason for the skill. From what he could tell, it mostly helped him read the emotions of others.
Focusing less on his improvements and more on the escape, he had decided to take Theresa with him, for now. He hated it but he was still far too weak to do anything about the guards. Even taking Theresa with him was a risk but he couldn’t leave the unstable woman in the camp by herself. The other slaves would be able to survive roughly okay on their own but Theresa would fall apart without him. He felt responsible for her, now. As for the women that Lucius brought, he was saddened by his inability to help them. What he feared would come, eventually did. They didn’t go into the mine, at all, and he often saw them around the guards, practically being tugged around like dolls. He knew what they were doing to the women and he vowed he’d come back to kill them for it. It was the first day he noticed it that he burned the image of every guard’s face into his memory.
Knowing he’d have to leave the other slaves behind saddened him but knowing he’d have to leave those women, in particular, to what the guards did to them in ‘secret’, made him feel sick in his stomach. He had been a ‘hero’ a few times in the past, each time resulting in his death and he knew it would be pointless to try to save them in his current state. All he could hope for was to leave the camp and, when he was strong enough, come back to kill Garet and the others before he hunted down that fat pig, Lucius. Until then, however, he knew he couldn’t do anything. There was no point trying to be a hero when you have no chance of surviving or saving anyone. He’d just be killing himself in the attempt and although that may be praiseworthy to some, he felt it only made sense to actually save them in the future. He could only hope they endure their suffering long enough for him to return.
From there, he did his best to push them from his thoughts and focus on getting out. He had found a small hidden away spot next to palisade. For the last two nights, he went behind a bunch of rocks and right beside the palisade to dig a hole next to it. The other parts of the palisade were easily visible or pressed against rock but the one spot he found had soft dirt beside it. After only two nights while Theresa slept, he was able to dig a big enough hole for them to slip through. He’d have to act the next night after the one where he was contemplating all of these things because he found out something worrying from a talkative guard. In two days the slave camp would be recharging all of the slave restraints, meaning if he wanted to wear out the stuff, he had to do it the following night.
That night he went to sleep next to Theresa with his heart thumping. For six years, his ‘Gile’ self had been stuck in this wretched camp and after only one week, he’d finally get out of there. What awaited for him outside wouldn’t concern him too much. He knew where the guards kept some extra rations and water, so he’d steal that and then make a break for it with a small ‘diversion’ to keep the guards off his trail. He wished he could get Hops and Rince to join him but he knew it wouldn’t be possible. Theresa was petite enough to fit through the gap and so was he but Hops and Rince wouldn’t be able to. In fact, most of the slaves wouldn’t be able to and he didn’t trust the ones that could. If any of them ratted him out to the guards for a reward of some kind, he’d be doomed. He went to sleep that night while feeling nervous. Tomorrow, he’d reclaim his freedom.
[Name: Cordell Boras]
{Level: 1}
{Power: 26 -> 28 -> 35}
[Perks]
{Miner’s Dream}
[Skills]
- Mining Lv 4 -> Mining Lv 6
- Scavenger Lv 1
- Awareness Lv 1
- Pain Tolerance Lv 1
- Sneak Lv 2
- Empathy Lv 1
[Gifts]
{Fate’s Memory}
{Fate’s Eye}