“Sorry,” Raven smirked and went on toward the cage.
“Anyway. Good job, one more round to go,” Jonathan Stallington smiled as he helped Raven get into the cage.
“Thanks,” Raven nodded before they covered the cage with black cloth and headed out.
“How badly do you want to kill me?” a familiar voice sounded from the top of the cage.
“Never in my life have I ever wanted to kill someone as badly as I want to kill you now,” Raven admitted.
“Are you going to?” Luna asked softly.
“No.”
“Why?”
“It wouldn’t help.”
Soon doors of the cage opened and Luna slid in, closing them behind herself.
“I am really sorry about what I had done,” Luna whispered.
“You would be way more believable without the huge happy smile on your face,” Raven contested.
“That’s unrelated,” Luna cut off.
“I figured. I am not sorry about what I had done,” Raven smirked.
“You shouldn’t be,” Luna confirmed.
“So… where does the happy smile come from?” Raven asked to change the topic.
“I just spent two days having some amazing sex with my girlfriend… I am trying to wipe the smile off my face, but just can’t,” Luna admitted.
“I am not sure I am the right person for this type of discussion,” Raven remarked awkwardly.
“Yea, you are,” Luna cut Raven off with a smirk.
“How come?”
“I don’t have anyone else to talk to about these things, so man up and deal with it,” Luna smiled.
“I don’t know,” Raven protested.
“I don’t care. I want to give her something, but I have no idea what,” Luna presented the problem.
“I have no idea how to select gifts for women,” Raven refused.
“Give it a shot. I have never given any gift to anyone and have no idea how to go about it,” Luna encouraged him.
“Well, I don’t know… why do you want to give her the gift in the first place?” Raven asked.
“To show how much she means to me, to give her something to remember me by and to compensate her for what I took from her as my own self-given gift,” Luna revealed.
“Self-given gift?”
“Ehh… well… in the heat of the moment, I took something from her in front of her face. I love it, so I am not giving it back, she hasn’t asked for it either… so self-given gift,” Luna smiled awkwardly.
“What did you take from her?”
“Her favorite dildo,” Luna replied and took it out from under her vest. Raven turned red and looked away.
“I really didn’t need to know that,” he remarked.
Luna laughed out loud. “You did because you need to help me figure out a gift and need to know the context. Also, almost all the time we are together we either have sex or something closely related to it,” she added.
“Too much detail,” Raven protested.
“I told you to man up,” Luna snickered.
“Can’t you just give her a necklace or some other jewelry?” Raven attempted an easy answer.
“No… yea… I actually can. I’ve got an awesome idea!”
“This is a horrible idea,” Raven evaluated as they stood with Luna far away from the convoy in the middle of the night.
“It’s a brilliant idea. I shift, you tear out the biggest tooth you can see on me, I go feast on some animals and the gift is solved,” Luna insisted.
“How am I supposed to take out a tooth from you?” Raven contested.
“Use your magic. You could tear steel like paper or make my dagger shatter when it touched my neck; I am sure you can take out my tooth when you really try,” Luna didn’t let up.
“I don’t think my magic can do that,” Raven protested.
“Stop bluffing! I know you want to keep the nature of your abilities secret and I am fine with that. But I am not going to pretend I haven’t noticed that you can make hard materials temporarily soft without as much as touching them,” Luna pressed on.
“… fine.”
Luna punched the ground. Raven stared as the five and a half feet tall girl turned into a fifteen feet tall werewolf in a few seconds.
“This is a really bad idea,” Raven commented.
The monster growled and put its head close to Raven, opening its jaw. Raven reached carefully with his hand to the biggest tooth he saw. He took it in his hand and pulled. The werewolf growled and bit after his hand. Raven barely managed to dodge. Luna roared and put the head back in position. Raven clenched his around the tooth, spun and smashed his shield to the bottom of the jaw. Luna’s head shot up. She grunted in pain and lashed at Raven. Raven ducked and blocked the follow-up kick with his shield. Luna spun and slashed at him with her second hand. Raven leaped back and barely dodged the attack. Luna roared so strongly Raven’s ears started ringing. Luna leaped left and ran off somewhere.
Raven checked his hand and it was still clenched around a massive fang.
“What the hell have you two been doing?” Samantha shouted at Raven and Luna when they got back to the convoy. Raven was dirty and had dried blood around his mouth. Luna was grinning viciously but seemed unharmed.
“Things got a little messy,” Raven offered.
“Little messy? Get down on the bed so I can check you,” Raven complied.
“You have multiple cracked bones and this will leave a nasty bruise,” Samantha evaluated after a quick checkup, “and don’t even dare tell me ‘Sorry Sam, I didn’t want to make you worried’ or more crap like that!”
Raven said nothing, visibly defeated.
“What will you do when I am not around?” Samantha asked softly once she started working on the bones.
“Why wouldn’t you be?” Raven retorted.
“You aren’t going to rot in the arena forever, Raven. One day you will leave and I won’t be able to follow,” Samantha breathed.
“Why not?”
“I am old, Raven. I have spent my whole life serving Stallington; I just can’t imagine doing anything else.”
“You can come with me when I leave,” Raven offered.
“I can’t. Even if you gain your freedom I likely won’t get mine,” Samantha contested.
“I will get you your freedom as soon as I get mine,” Raven proposed.
“No… don’t. Don’t waste effort on me,” Samantha refused.
“Why not?”
“Because I would just hold you back; I would be like a heavy ball shackled to your leg.”
“I can go slower,” Raven tossed up.
“But you shouldn’t. You are the type of man who can change the world. I know it sounds insane now, but it isn’t. People follow you on instinct alone. No matter what you do, you will have people following behind you. There is so much that can be done with that… you really don’t need an old woman clinging on you,” Samantha explained.
“I really need a healer though,” Raven didn’t let up.
“No, you don’t. You just need to stop getting intentionally hit so you can see me,” Samantha cut back sharply.
“I have never done that!” Raven protested.
“You have been doing it for past about eight to nine years. I had tested you and started taking longer time when you came with a broken rib. Ever since then, you have ten times more broken ribs than before. It is sweet, Raven, it really is… but it’s not real. I think the only one to ever truly hit you in the arena was Salazar. I understand why you let everyone else have a few hits on you, it has been smart and let you see me after every match, but still it is not the reality,” Samantha exclaimed.
“Can I get a few free hits as well? I really want to punch you in the face right now,” Luna smirked and cracked her knuckles.
“I’m fine without that, thanks,” Raven cut her off. “Don’t you want to see your children?” Raven softly asked Samantha.
“I do, but it doesn’t matte
r. They wouldn’t recognize me nor believe me. They think I have been dead for forty years after all.”
“What?” Luna shot a question in surprise.
“Right, you don’t know. I became a slave to pay off my debts. By that time, I was seventeen and already had two sons, one and two years old. I sold myself to slavery, to Stallington, to pay it off,” Samantha revealed.
“You never told this to me,” Raven stared in surprise.
“You are a good man, Raven; you would have seen this as an injustice and tried to do something about it. I never wanted you to do anything about it; it suits me. I was to be Stallington’s slave for ten years. I struck a deal with him after four. He pays me like a regular healer, I work for him and he sends all my pay to my family. It has worked like a charm; my sons have both studied a college in Xona for that money. Now I have five grandchildren, all study well, largely thanks to the amount of money Stallington still pays to my husband for my work. I have had a good life, Raven, and I want to finish it the way I have chosen to live it,” Samantha explained.
“I am sorry,” Raven smiled sadly.
“You shouldn’t be. Neither am I. We have made ourselves a pretty world made of little lies and it has worked great. It’s just… I feel like it is going to end with this tournament so I figured we would clean things up before that,” Samantha smiled back.
“Why should anything change?” Raven asked.
“It will. I don’t know what, but it will. Just… promise me you will not try to free me,” Samantha requested.
Raven made a sour face and said nothing.
“Oh come on, Raven, you owe me at least that little,” Samantha pushed.
“Alright, I promise,” Raven squeezed out, “I disagree with it, but I promise I won’t try to free you.”
“Have you seen any alcohol around?” Raven asked Luna once they were walking away from Samantha.
“I thought you don’t drink alcohol,” Luna contested.
“I feel like I want to start,” Raven answered.
“There is a wine barrel in the back of the third wagon.”
“That should be enough to keep us wasted before we get back to Illysaeas tomorrow afternoon,” Raven evaluated.
“Yeah.”
“May ask you for a favor?" Raven inquired once they had gotten their first share of wine.
“Sure,” Luna breathed happily. It wasn’t that it would erase her guilt of killing Raven’s rat friend Nibbles, but it would help her conscience a little.
“I need two things. First, visit the Masters of Contracts guild and find Act 5791C.498Z. I need to know if it’s still valid. If it is, please have them send someone to the finals with a copy of it. Secondly, please find where Samantha’s husband lives. I want to see the result of her sacrifice with my own eyes,” Raven revealed.
“That really doesn’t sound like you don’t plan to interfere,” Luna chuckled.
“Not now, now I just want to check how things truly are. Then, I shall see,” Raven explained.
“Do you think they just use her money to have comfortable lives and all the children thing is a lie?” Luna inquired.
“I do, so I will check it and see.”
“What will you do if it is?” Luna pried.
“Nothing. I would let her live in the sweet lie; anything else would be just cruel,” Raven answered.
“And if it is not?”
“I will tell them the truth. That is not me trying to free her so I will live up to my promise, but I still think her children would like to see their mother and grandchildren their grandmother. They have the right to know what she has done for them and well, I don’t think she will mind seeing them either,” Raven replied.
“You really don’t like doing what people tell you, do you?” Luna asked sweetly.
“Yea, I really don’t.”
“I am sorry, I would like to go there alone,” Raven said to Luna as they arrived back into the arena.
“No problem, I will go get you the information you asked for,” Luna retorted and spun on her heel.
“There is no way you are doing this alone,” Samantha refused as she caught up.
Raven smiled softly and picked up a shovel from the rack. Samantha went to pick a large cheese.
“Here, you will need this,” Luna popped back in and handed Raven a flower. He took it and watched her leave again.
They went down to his cell together with Samantha.
“I have no idea what to do,” Raven conceded as they arrived.
“Just do what you think you should,” Samantha advised him.
Raven took the shovel in hands and started digging into the ground. Soon, he made a small bed on the ground. Raven went on to pick the plant package that contained what was left of Nibbles. Raven’s eyes started burning. He put the package on the ground.
“Something to chew on later,” he added as he took the cheese from Samantha and put it next to the remnants.
“I am sorry… you died because of me… I… I miss you. You were my friend… my only friend… and I didn’t help you… I am so sorry….” Raven half broke down above the small grave. He went on to move the ground over the corpse and cheese, then added the flower into it. “Please… leave me… alone,” Raven whispered as he sat next to the grave and leaned on the wall.
“You don’t have to be alone Raven,” Samantha contested.
Raven leaned back his head on the wall and wailed. Tears started flowing down his cheeks.
“It’s alright… it’s alright to cry,” Samantha said softly as she sat next to him and held him.
“I…. I just…. can’t… forget,” Raven wept.
“You shouldn’t. He was your friend. You shouldn’t forget him… he deserves to be remembered. Even though it hurts… he deserves it.”
“I… I am sorry Nibbles… I really am.”
105
Salazar
“No place like home,” Katherine remarked as they were about to enter Xona.
“Yeah… back to work,” Salazar sighed.
“What’s with the long face?” she pried.
“Fun’s over. Now it’s back to work as usual… we haven’t even arrived and I am already bored,” Salazar admitted.
“Poor you… coming back to being the ruler of Xona. What a drag, all the luxurious parties, servants and armies, I don’t know how you manage,” Katherine breathed sarcastically.
“I know, right? But really, now it shall be seriously boring because we shall need to transfer from a city with slavery into a city without one. I have the laws drafted and the council is prepared for it, so there will be literally zero fun stuff about it. It will be just the long process of everyone getting used to not having a slave to cut their garden anymore,” Salazar explained.
“How many slaves do you have?” Katherine asked slyly.
“About seven hundred in person, I have no idea about how many are at the palace, but I believe it is in thousands,” Salazar confessed.
“You are passing a law that decreases your comfort, that’s unlike you,” Katherine observed.
“Times are changing. No matter the result of this war between the Order and the Union, I have effectively picked a side and can no longer change it. For better or worse, Xona is now allied to the Order and I need to clean up at my porch, so to speak,” he revealed.
“I thought you would just build them a temple, holy orders love big temples,” Kathrine tossed up.
“I am saving that for when I piss them off sometime in the future. After all, I didn’t raise an army to just sit in my town. This would have been a perfect opportunity to grab myself some new territories… but since I need to finish the slavery business, I will need to wait for the next large Palai war before I can do so,” Salazar stated.
“How is Yvonne doing, by the way?” Katherine pivoted the topic.
“Meh. Her spine was shattered to the point where I cannot fully fix it. I have done what I could have. She should be able to walk with a bit of luck
and will eventually recover to be able to function normally. I shall have her delivered to the Alnil temple; they shall take care of the recovery… but it shall take years. Her adventuring days are over, in any case,” Salazar evaluated.
“Meh indeed.”
106
Collward
“How is it looking, James?” Edward Collward asked carefully as he met with his general in the headquarters.
“Meh… I have a bad feeling about this. The city is swarming with more or less hidden Palai soldiers. They could easily have half an army in it. We can’t really get in as the city is literally overflowing with people. I have managed to squeeze in few hundreds of men, but that seems to be the limit,” James mused.
“We have a large force of sleeper agents inside, so that should help. How about the main armies?” Collward asked.
“We are effectively surrounding the city, hiding in the forests. We are deployed well and will be hard to engage due to the terrain. There are absolutely no signs of the second half of the Palai army though and that’s what bothers me,” James revealed.
“The match is in three days; they will likely strike the night before or after it. That gives us some more time to prepare,” Collward evaluated.
“Yeah… I guess I will head out myself. I will take my men for a larger area sweep to find the Palai soldiers. We need to know where they are. Got a messenger bird that can find you?” James asked.
“I do. How can an army just hide?” Collward probed.
“When searching for an army in terrain as difficult as thick forest, you usually don’t just bump into it. Rather, the scouts look for tracks or any traces of movement. That gives an army three ways to hide. One is to use paths the scouts do not. Second is to hide the tracks and the third is to actively stop the scouts from finding them,” James explained.
“I shall take command in your absence,” Collward agreed.
“Meh, this is the point where I should give some advice but frankly speaking, I don’t have any. This is dangerous, really fucking dangerous and unless we figure out what their general plan is, we can end up in a lot of shit,” James summarized before leaving the tent.
Legacy of Dreams: Freedom Page 50