SCENE: Lavish carriage, drawn by a pair of filofials with exquisitely decorated plumage is moving down the road away from the city of Malatok. It is flanked by a pair of guards, riding on top of giant lizards. The windows of the carriage are covered by curtains, obscuring the insides.
As the carriage moves away from the city, the road grows more deserted. Finally, it turns to a rarely traveled side path, and rolls to a stop. The doors of the carriage open, and NAOFUMI, FILO, RAPHTALIA and CONSTANCE walk out. CONSTANCE dismisses her servants, and tells them to return back to the city in the evening. The carriage rides into the distance.
NAOFUMI: We weren’t even stopped by the guards at the gates. This must be quite a convenient method of travel for you, given your work.
CONSTANCE: It comes up less often than you may think. But yes, it is quite useful.
FILO puts her pack on the ground, and carefully unpins her crown from her hair. She gives it to NAOFUMI.
FILO: Guard it with your life.
NAOFUMI nods respectfully, putting the crown away. FILO grins and turns into a giant bird.
FILO: Climb up.
RAPHTALIA and NAOFUMI hop onto FILO. CONSTANCE takes out a large domino mask and puts it on, climbing after them. With three people and their packs, FILO’s back is quite packed. NAOFUMI raises an eyebrow at CONSTANCE.
NAOFUMI: Why the mask? You had a hood yesterday.
CONSTANCE: A mask is a piece of fashion. It tells other people that I am hiding my identity, yes, but also that I am not particularly worried about revealing it. It is, ironically, less eye-catching than the enchanted hood.
NAOFUMI: Alright. Well, hold on tight. You haven’t ridden like this before.
FILO rapidly accelerates down the road, leaving clouds of dust behind her.
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SCENE: Darkness has fallen on a rural landscape. Bright moonlight comes down from the sky. In the distance a town can be seen, surrounded by rings of gardens and orchards, dense town streets turning into roads the further away you get from the center. Further away still, houses group up into individual estates, each group separated from another one by a great expanse of farmland.
In silence, FILO stalks through the forest, coming out on top of a tall, forested hill overlooking this picture. RAPHTALIA, NAOFUMI and CONSTANCE slip off her back. CONSTANCE takes a moment to stabilize her shaking legs.
CONSTANCE: This sort of speed must be unhealthy.
NAOFUMI: In my world we had ways of traveling ten times as fast. You’ll be fine.
FILO cocks her head at the suggestion of yet higher speed. RAPHTALIA approaches the edge of the forest, putting her hand against the last tree, as if worried the wide open farmland down below would suck her in. Her face is determined.
RAPHTALIA: I think it was worth it to push through. We are finally here.
NAOFUMI: In half the time, no less.
CONSTANCE approaches them, looking over the landscape with a trained eye.
CONSTANCE: There. That should be the manor of Marquis Reibia.
She points to a large estate a distance away from the town.
NAOFUMI: Have you been here before?
CONSTANCE shakes her head.
CONSTANCE: No, but it’s obvious if you know what to look for. It is large, but not on any of the major trade routes heading through this area. It’s close to the town, so it is easy to travel there for business or to make others travel to you, but not so close that the town’s noise and smell would affect you. It is exactly where you would put your estate if you had wide-reaching power in the area, which, of course, a marquis has. If you want to find them? That’s where you go.
NAOFUMI looks at RAPHTALIA. She shrugs.
RAPHTALIA: They hadn’t let me out of the dungeon, and I don’t remember much from when they moved me. It could be any one of them.
NAOFUMI nods.
NAOFUMI: Then we’ll follow your lead, Constance.
CONSTANCE nods, then frowns.
CONSTANCE: While I am masked, please call me Fredalia. Let’s not risk someone overhearing my name.
They get back on FILO’s back and head down the hill.
CONSTANCE: If it is similar to the other estates I have seen, it would be split into two parts: an “upper town” where the humans live, and the “lower town” where the slaves live. Let’s circle around and see if we can find it.
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SCENE: Night. A road heads past rows of small, poorly-constructed wooden houses with thatched roofs. The houses are flanked on one side by an apple orchard, while on the other side, the ground slopes gently, ascending to a set of larger, stone buildings further up the hill. A square, three-story building towers above them all: this is the manor.
An elderly DEMIHUMAN man exits one of the houses, and heads to the edge of the orchard. He stops near one of the trees and relieves himself. Closing his pants back up, he turns around and heads back to the barracks, but is suddenly lifted into the air. Slight shimmer betrays the presence of INVISIBLE RAPHTALIA holding him up, one hand locking his arms and another over his mouth. DEMIHUMAN struggles and tries to scream, but can only manage a whine, RAPHTALIA’s hold as strong as iron. RAPHTALIA hisses at him.
INVISIBLE RAPHTALIA: Quiet, Raluva! It’s Raphtalia. I am going to put my hand down now. Don’t scream, for the love of the guardian beasts.
RALUVA’s struggles slow down when RAPHTALIA mentions her name, his whine growing more confused. RAPHTALIA drags him behind the houses, hidden from the manor’s view, and releases her hold. RALUVA turns to face her as her form fades into view, a small globule of light fading into existence above her head. RAPHTALIA bites her lip, and goes for a hug, but RALUVA pushes her away, staring in disbelief at her tall stature, armor and weapons. He whispers.
RALUVA: I must have finally slipped and hit my head, because I am seeing spirits.
RAPHTALIA pinches his arm. RALUVA grimaces.
RAPHTALIA: I am not a spirit, I am real.
RALUVA: How could you be real? Last anyone saw Raphtalia, she was a sick, young girl; sold to slavers, driven off who knows where–to her death, for sure! Here before me stands a woman, dressed in armor! You may have her face, but…
RAPHTALIA: A lot has happened since then. I met the Shield Hero, and fought monsters. I am here to save all of you. Is everyone alright?
RALUVA’s frown deepens, and he looks around, searching for something to anchor himself. He steps back from RAPHTALIA. She looks hurt.
RALUVA: But…No, you died! The Shield Hero is just a tale! This can’t be happening!
RAPHTALIA grimaces, biting her lip again.
RAPHTALIA: Oh, sweet mercy. It’s not a tale: he’s real. I know it’s hard to believe, but please, I am here now, and I need to know if everyone is alright. I fought very hard to get here, and I don’t know what I will do if that was all for nothing.
RAPHTALIA sniffles, tearing up a bit. RALUVA comes closer, touching her on the shoulder, and finally embracing her. She buries her face in his shoulder.
RALUVA: Raphtalia… I can’t believe this is really you.
RAPHTALIA: It is. I missed you guys.
They stand together for a while.
RALUVA: But… The Shield Hero? He’s real?
RAPHTALIA: Yes.
RAPHTALIA breaks the hug, holding RALUVA by his shoulders.
RAPHTALIA: Come on, you have to meet him.
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SCENE: NAOFUMI and CONSTANCE are hiding under a tree in a deep water drainage ditch in between a pair of cotton fields. The manor can be seen in the distance. FILO is hanging upside-down off the lower branches of the tree, streams of wind keeping her dress from falling down. RAPHTALIA and RALUVA approach the ditch. RAPHTALIA slides in with practiced ease, while RALUVA takes much longer to clamber down.
NARRATOR: The mind of a slaver is a disturbing thing. It is like an incestuous slug, wrapped in on itself in a knot of contradictions, hatred, absurd theories, and repressed memories. It twists in it’s puddle of sludge, desperately attempting to do the impossible: to justify the morality of slavery. Every day, from dawn to dusk, it tries to find a way to make this puzzle fit: and every day it fails. The excretions of this process are as horrifying as they are scientifically fascinating. For example, some slavers convince themselves that their slaves actually love them, and stay with them out of sense of “duty” or “honor”. The reality of the situation is very different!
RALUVA is shocked to see a Shield Hero in the flesh. Their group discusses things for a while. RALUVA leaves, and comes back with two other people in tow. They are equally shocked to find themselves face to face with NAOFUMI. This repeats several times. After the first group leaves, NAOFUMI folds his hands and frowns.
NAOFUMI: I really don’t like this adoration they are putting on me. I haven’t even done anything for them yet.
CONSTANCE snorts.
CONSTANCE: You are a legendary religious figure. How did you expect it to go? Some people may not care, but plenty will.
NAOFUMI sighs.
NAOFUMI: It’s counterrevolutionary thinking. It starts out slow, but soon you have nonsense about a “great leader” and needing to study every speech I ever gave. I am not even doing anything special: just giving them weapons and training, and later on, some logistics help. Mostly they are going to be freeing themselves.
NARRATOR: To organize most groups, you have to start with agitation. You have to motivate them to action! But the slaves do not need this: every slave yearns for freedom. As long as their master holds a whip over their head, they may act cowed; but should they get their hands on a sword, the heads will roll!
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
NAOFUMI, RAPHTALIA, FILO and CONSTANCE are brought into one of the small houses. It is crowded: two dozen people have been woken up and gathered to hear NAOFUMI’s plan. They sit everywhere on a simple wooden floor, hay cots having been pushed to the sides of the room to make more space. RALUVA is sitting up front, next to a serious looking WOMAN wearing a red hair scarf.
NAOFUMI: You said some people from Lurolona ran?
RALUVA: Only a couple. How could we run? They have dogs and find us. Even if you run, where would you go? Nobody would take a slave in. If anyone sees us in town, they will catch us. Those of us with families know our loved ones will be tortured in retribution, so we cannot run alone. Some try anyways, to get to Shieldfrieden, but it is too far away.
NAOFUMI: I see. And how many of you are here, on this plantation?
RALUVA scratches his head.
RALUVA: Must be about a hundred of us from Lurolona, and another two or three hundred from other places, as well as two or three score children.
NAOFUMI thinks for a bit. THE WOMAN WITH RED SCARF snorts and crosses her arms.
WOMAN WITH RED SCARF: Are you going to keep jerking our chains or will you say how you can help?
RALUVA turns to face the WOMAN WITH RED SCARF. NAOFUMI smiles.
RALUVA: Syne! Have some respect!
NAOFUMI: Why should she have respect? I didn’t do anything for you yet. She’s right.
RALUVA looks at NAOFUMI in uncertain shock. SYNE narrows her eyes.
NAOFUMI: To answer your question, yes, I am here to free you. I can get you weapons and training to use them, and move you all to Shieldfrieden - or anywhere else, really - with very little risk.
SYNE unfolds her arms.
RALUVA: Move? I… What would we do if we moved?
SYNE turns to RALUVA.
SYNE: Be free.
NAOFUMI: Look, I understand the fear of starting an uprising, but the risks here are really quite low. Just hear me out?
The crowd whispers between themselves, but nobody objects.
NAOFUMI: Here is the plan we have. Simply freeing you would not be enough: we must also make sure you can defend yourselves from being captured again. I have an ability that can let me move across the country in a blink, and bring up to five people with me. At night, I will take adults among you along, in groups of four, and bring you with me and Filo to fight monsters.
FILO gives a lazy wave from her corner of the room.
NAOFUMI: You do not have to do anything except follow us around, though contributing would be helpful: a second ability I have will grant you the combat skills of experienced soldiers just from being in my party. If my math is correct, in about an hour we could powerlevel you all the way to level eight, which is above a typical city guard.
NAOFUMI takes a pause, looking over the crowd. There is some skepticism on their faces.
NAOFUMI: Raphtalia here has been through the same thing.
RAPHTALIA continues his speech.
RAPHTALIA: It’s true. Some of you may remember me as a young girl. In two short months I went from not knowing which side to hold a sword to killing beasts with ease. You have all heard that demihumans who go on adventures reach adulthood faster: this is the same way, but much quicker. Because of this, those of you who would visibly age will have to stay out of it. Everyone else, man or woman, should find it easy.
NAOFUMI: There are two ways to free a slave. Either use a potion that would remove the slave crest, or kill the person the slave crest considers “master”. This would not remove the crest, but with no controller, it would remain dormant indefinitely. I do not have enough potions for several hundred people, so once you can fight, we will deal with your owner, and then I will carry you off to safehouses across the country.
CONSTANCE: We will have to split you up. Safehouses of the Underground are all over the place, but they tend to be small. This is only temporary, until we could move you to Shieldfrieden fully. You all are good farmers or craftsmen: with the combat skills on top, it would be easy for you to find a place to call your own there.
NAOFUMI: That is all. What do you think?
RALUVA: If you can move us, why don't you do it right now?
CONSTANCE shakes her head.
CONSTANCE: We do not have enough safehouses for all of you yet. And we cannot move you in parts. Renlomel is right next to the estate, and there must be daily traffic between them. If any word reaches that town, we will be up to our ears in guards, and any hope of escape would be dead in the water.
SYNE raises their hand.
SYNE: I want to be in the first group you train.
NAOFUMI: Sure.
SYNE: And you said you’d deal with the bastard that owns us?
NAOFUMI: Yes. In two weeks, a month at most, he’d be hanging from a tree.
SYNE: I work in the stables, and I heard that they will head to Melromarc in a week. They didn’t say when they would be back.
CONSTANCE frowns.
CONSTANCE: Must be for the royal wedding. The timeline would fit.
NAOFUMI nods.
NAOFUMI: Then we have a week. Let’s get to work.
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SCENE: The sky is dark, as it is just before dawn. NAOFUMI, FILO and four SLAVES condense out of sparks of light at the edge of a forest. In the distance, the slave village and the manor can be seen. Two of the SLAVES are holding crossbows; another two, shields and spears.
NAOFUMI: I think we are done for the night. I don’t want to cut it too close to dawn.
SLAVES hand their weapons to NAOFUMI and FILO, bow deferentially, and leave to go back to the village. FILO and NAOFUMI head out deeper into the forest. FILO yawns. NAOFUMI pats her on the back.
NAOFUMI: We might have to sleep during the day now.
They soon reach a large, fallen tree, its upturned roots forming something of a canopy. Dense underbrush covers the tree, shielding it from sight. CONSTANCE is sitting on a sleeping bag, eating jerky. She greets NAOFUMI and FILO as they hide the weapons in the underbrush.
CONSTANCE: Raphtalia is out scouting the manor. Apparently she can manage to pull off a perfect invisibility spell.
CONSTANCE sounds bitter.
CONSTANCE: Did you know that normal mages have to train for a decade to get anywhere close to that degree of mastery of Shadow magic, if they have any talent for the field at all? I should know: I spent a good few years on it, and the best I can manage is some glamor. That’s with spell orbs. Raphtalia was very surprised when I mentioned this. Said she learned it in about a week.
NAOFUMI snorts.
NAOFUMI: You know you would probably get the same benefits from being in the party, right?
CONSTANCE sighs. FILO flops on the ground, arms spread wide, and goes to sleep immediately.
CONSTANCE: Forgive this old woman for complaining of years wasted. Raphtalia even offered to teach me.
CONSTANCE looks at NAOFUMI.
CONSTANCE: But there is something else I wanted to speak to you about. It wasn’t the time for it when you explained your plan to them, and then you left to teach them to fight. In a few words, the time frame is too short.
NAOFUMI frowns.
NAOFUMI: What do you mean?
CONSTANCE takes off her mask and rubs her eyes.
CONSTANCE: I expected I would have had at least a month to get you in touch with enough safehouses so that you could travel to them: they are spread out quite a lot. Better yet, within a month, we could have gotten you in touch with Shieldfrieden, and then there wouldn’t be a need for the safehouses. But a week?
CONSTANCE looks NAOFUMI straight in the eyes.
CONSTANCE: How am I supposed to conjure up enough places for four hundred people, all located within a week of travel from us? Even if we push Filo and move around as fast as we can every day, we won’t be able to get to many of them.
NAOFUMI nods, tapping his cheek.
NAOFUMI: It came as a surprise to me too. I didn’t expect to need to rush this much.
CONSTANCE: We really should delay until after the marriage.
NAOFUMI shakes his head.
NAOFUMI: We already told them why we are here. What is done is done, but now, the more time passes, the higher the chance we would get discovered. If we delay, we would need to wait at least a month. Longer, if there are more delays. The risk is very high.
CONSTANCE: Yes, it is. But we are running into a physical limit here.
NAOFUMI sits down and rubs his forehead.
NAOFUMI: Do you think we could push it back, but only by a week? Catch him on the road, maybe? Us four alone could take any guards he’d have. I am not training the others because we need them for this fight, but for the next one.
CONSTANCE shakes her head.
CONSTANCE: No, I would veto any such plan. If you want to plan an ambush you need to stake out the location in advance. Trying to find someone as they travel across the country, in a terrain you do not know… There are too many unknown unknowns involved, it’s not a workable plan.
NAOFUMI sighs.
NAOFUMI: Yeah, I see your point. Perhaps I’ll see if people from Lute village will take some of them in. They are good farmers and craftsmen, and with our training, they could even hunt monsters.
They discuss more plans. Soon, RAPHTALIA returns. FILO raises her head and greets her, but doesn’t get up.
RAPHTALIA: I went around the upper town. This is definitely the place. The manor gates are closed, so I didn’t risk sneaking in, but I recognized the courtyard through them.
NAOFUMI nods.
NAOFUMI: The next few days will be very busy. If we are going to take the slaves to Lute village, then we’ll need to find where they store the food here, and take as much with us as we can. Tools too - saws and hammers to help Lute rebuild, I think. If you could sneak into the manor during the day and find some useful documents, that would be good too, but you may come face to face with Reibia if you do so.
NAOFUMI looks at RAPHTALIA. She meets his gaze with a cold stare.
RAPHTALIA: I’ll keep myself from executing him on the spot, if that happens.
NAOFUMI nods, trusting his comrade.
NAOFUMI: Finally, we’ll probably have to switch you and Filo for the night raids.
FILO gets up, frowning.
FILO: No way.
NAOFUMI looks at her.
NAOFUMI: If I’ll travel with you during the day, and you will also fight at night, then you won’t have any time to sleep. You need sleep.
FILO crosses her arms.
FILO: I don’t need to sleep every day. I can do half of the nights. I want to fight, I am going on those raids.
NAOFUMI and FILO cross glares. NAOFUMI relents in front of a clearly superior fencer.
NAOFUMI: Fine. There shouldn’t be anything here that requires your full strength. Even sleep deprived you could juggle those guards with one hand.
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DRAMATIS PERSONAE
NARRATOR. The voice of drama.
NAOFUMI IWATANI, THE SHIELD HERO. Hobbyist emancipator. Protagonist. Bends the fabric of spacetime into origami.
RAPHTALIA. Ghost of months past. Haunts the dreams of slavers.
FILO. Itching for a fight. Considers sleep to be optional.
CONSTANCE VON MARUKIEVICH / FREDALIA. Experienced emancipator. Tutoring NAOFUMI. Against short timelines.
SYNE. Presently enslaved. Ready to rumble.
RALUVA. Presently enslaved. Friend to RAPHTALIA from childhood. Fearful, yet hopeful.