“HEY! STOP!” a loud guttural voice suddenly shouted from somewhere nearby, drowning out the Eberian scout’s words. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE?”
Flinching in a panic at the unexpected shout, I couldn’t help but instinctively crouch at its volume immediately twisting in its direction, my hand reaching to grab Splinter’s hilt. But before I could even begin to process the fear that we’d been somehow caught, a second voice answered the first in a cool and collected tone.
“I’m just checking over the crops like I was told to,” it said calmly. “We need to make sure that the blight hasn’t spread this far.”
“You lie!” the first voice spat back angrily. “I saw you rub something onto the plant! What was it? You are to check with your eyes only! Nothing else!”
While unable to hear any reply that followed the accusation, I found myself breathing a faint sigh of relief as I realized that the shout hadn’t been directed towards us, but rather to someone else also in the glade. Glancing back at the party behind me, I saw that I wasn’t the only one who shared that sentiment with everyone’s eyes fixated in the direction of the voices, their bodies partially hidden among the nearby plants.
Amaranth said as he slowly crawled forward from behind a colossal tomato plant to take cover behind some sort of nut-bearing bush.
Receiving a mental growl in acknowledgment, we all moved to follow the cat, leaving our impromptu hiding spots among the giant vegetables behind as we stalked deeper into the strange garden in search of the voices we’d heard. As we did, it gave me a chance to take a better look at all the plants growing around us, seeing that they’d all been planted in rough rows, giving us just enough room to pass by without disturbing them. That space also allowed for us to move rapidly through the garden, taking us only a few seconds to catch up with the voices that we’d heard earlier, which had seemed to have finally come to a stop. Slowing as we did so, I made sure to follow Amaranth’s lead as he guided me behind a heavy trellis that was filled with fist-sized grapes, the gaps in both the wood and vines covering it just enough for me to see through.
And revealing half a dozen orcs standing in a small square behind it.
I was right! There are orcs here! I exclaimed mentally, feeling my heart begin to race as my eyes were drawn to five other figures kneeling on the ground in front of the orcs, their hands clasped behind their heads. Glancing between them all, it only took me a second to realize that they were all slaves, the heavy iron collars around their necks leaving no doubt to their status.
Of the five of them, I was immediately able to recognize the species of three of the slaves. Two were very obviously humans, one being a dark-haired and bearded man with the other a brown-haired woman. Both were somewhere in their twenties by my best guess, their clothing covered in dirt and torn in various places but appearing reasonably hale from what I could see. Their status was contrasted greatly by an exceptionally malnourished green-scaled arakissi that knelt between them, the collar around the lizardwoman’s neck hanging so loosely that it swung from side to side as she trembled. As for the last two that completed the quintet, a pair of large bearlike beastkin, I was unable to put name their species, save for recognizing their appearance as being identical to the victims that the orcs had entombed inside some their corrupted constructs.
“I said, answer me!” One of the orcs snarled loudly just as I finished taking in the scene, the creature stepping forward to roughly grab one of the two beastkin, its gnarled hand grabbing a fistful of golden fur on its shoulder and twisting painfully. “What did you do to the plant?”
“W-what…I was sent here to do,” the beastkin answered in a strong if halting voice. “I t-tended to it…to make sure it grows—”
“Stop lying to me!” the orc shouted, cutting off the man’s voice as he shook him once roughly, pulling him off his knees and sending him sprawling to the ground on his chest. But the orc was far from done with his abuse as he then moved to kick the now fallen beastkin in the ribs with a booted foot hard enough that a loud crack echoed out. “I know what I—”
It was the orc’s turn to be cut off as the entire square exploded into a flurry of movement, beginning first with the second, grey-furred, beastkin launching himself forward at the orc slavemaster attacking his friend. Leading with a well-aimed fist, the ursine’s surprise attack took the orc directly in the chin before he could even think to react, the powerful blow sending him falling straight to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. But despite the attack’s devastating success, it was all that the beastkin was able to manage as the other five orcs retaliated, their bodies already moving before the fist had even landed.
Falling upon him like a swarm of angry bees, the bearlike man then vanished from view as the orcs returned his strike fivefold, sending him to the ground to join both his companion and the slavemaster he’d struck. Flinching at the sudden display of violence, I reached for Splinter at my side, pausing as I touched its hilt, weighing the risk of getting involved. So far we’d managed to get this far without the orcs discovering our presence, an advantage that once lost would be impossible to regain. Yet at the same time, I was hesitant to stand by and just watch the orcs abuse a pair of slaves when I had the power to intervene. Fortunately, the decision was taken away from me before I could even fully finish forming the twin thoughts in the form of a loud, authoritative voice booming through the square.
“STOP! Stop it right now!” it shouted in a harsh and guttural tone as its owner, a large orc clad in a mix of thick leathers and bone ran into view from the opposite side of the square, along with three others trailing a few seconds. “What is the meaning of this?”
Instantly, all the other orcs froze and twisted towards the new arrivals as they came to a stop, one of them replying with something that I couldn’t make out among the fading noise. Whatever it was, however, it didn’t impress the larger orc, prompting him to shout back at the group and hefting a heavy club that had been previously kept out of sight.
“I don’t care!” he snarled angrily, waving the cudgel threateningly as he did so. “It is not your place to discipline these slaves, and if you have damaged them beyond repair, I will take the same out of each of your hides in turn! There is a reason why they are Needed!”
Flinching at the statement, the orcs all assumed a submissive pose as their leader finished speaking, the weight behind his final word causing them each to bow their heads deeply in response. Saying nothing, the large orc glared at them for several seconds before becoming satisfied with their display, going to on gesture sharply with his free hand towards the two fallen beastkin. Reacting without any need for a verbal command, the four still-standing orcs practically tripped over one another to lift the two ursine slaves to their feet, unceremoniously kicking their still unconscious companion to the side.
Oof, not a lot of loyalty there, I thought with a wince as I watched the orcs present the wounded beastkin to their leader, who wasted no time in inspecting the pair, his scowl deepening as he turned to look at the golden-furred beastkin.
“You are all fools beyond measure for attacking an earthspeaker at all, let alone in sight of one of his people, no matter what you think he may have done!” I heard the orc state harshly as he gently prodded the ursine man’s chest, which promptly elicited a pained, wet-sounding cough to echo out. This was evidently not something that the orc wanted to see, the scowl on his face deepening even further.
Saying nothing, however, the orc finished his triage quickly, turning to look towards the second beastkin, who was hanging completely li
mp in the arms of his tormenters, having been knocked out cold from the short brawl. Needing only an instant to assess the ursine man’s condition, the orc’s eyes visibly widened in surprise before he promptly placed his free hand on his forehead, a golden glow brightening the square a second later. A few seconds passed as the orc maintained his grip, during which the beastkin visibly strengthened until he was beginning to stir and then thrash.
He’s…healing him? I questioned, staring at the scene as it unfolded with a mix of both curiosity and confusion. But why—
My thoughts trailed off as the slavemaster suddenly released his hold on the ursine and shoved him backward, at the same time the beastkin let out a defiant shout and sent a thick stream of spit splashing across his still-outstretched hand. Barking angrily, the orc promptly thrust out with the head of his club, the blow catching the man in a soft spot just below his belt, instantly ending any fight that he might have had left in him.
Oh, ouch! I thought with a wince as the beastkin went limp for a second time, letting out a nauseating groan in the process.
“There, he is whole enough again. Now take him to be whipped, for he struck one of his masters,” the slavemaster growled as he wiped the spittle on his hand on the golden-furred beastkin’s chest before repeating the healing process once again. “Somewhere the earthspeaker can watch. Once they are done, have them strung up in their cells for the rest of the day. No rations or water until I say otherwise. I will be by to question them once this maggot speaks his story to me and I determine who it is I must punish.”
As he spoke, he waved his hand towards the still-unconscious orc lying on the ground, who had largely been ignored in the chaos. The motion prompted two of the other orcs standing beside him to step forward, moving to grab a pair of arms and legs each, lifting him off the ground as they prepared to leave. Feeling my stomach curdle as I thought about what was in store for the two beastkin, I glared towards the rapidly departing orcs, silently wondering if we’d be able to risk intervening. An instant later I had my answer as a trio of tags appeared in my vision, each of them pointing to the various orcs in the square.
[Orc Slavemaster] – Level 27
[Orc Warrior] – Level 25
[Orc Brute] – Level 24
Damn, there are too many of them to take quietly at those levels, I thought, shaking my head so that the others watching me knew to stay put. While there was little doubt that we would be able to kill all of the orcs and rescue the slaves, it would be at the cost of announcing our presence for potentially little gain. As callous as it was, we had to leave the beastkin to whatever their fate had in store for them, at least until we had more information to work with and were ready to commit ourselves to a particular course of action. That said, however, I wasn’t completely cold to the pair’s situation, my attention shifting to look at Amaranth who was still watching the scene ahead of us intently.
Receiving a mental growl of assent from Amaranth in response to my statement, I felt my familiar’s presence fade from my mind as he moved to track the orcs, which quickly included the slavemaster. Turning as soon as he’d finished delivering his command, the large orc wasted no time in following his entourage, leaving the three clearly shaken slaves without so much as a second glance.
And I suppose that’s my cue, I said silently as I watched the three slaves’ frantic movement slow they saw their masters leave. Breathing a visible sigh of relief, they all then huddled around one another, whispering urgently with looks of fear and worry spreading across each of their faces as they no doubt began to replay the scene we’d just witnessed. Deciding that it would be best to catch them before they went too far into panic, or worse, decided to split up, I rounded the trellis, watching their heads immediately snap in my direction.
Reacting out of what had to be sheer instinct, thinking that I must be an orc, the three slaves instantly straightened themselves out into a line, their hushed conversation falling silent and eyes shooting towards the ground. But those instincts only lasted for as long as it took them to realize that there was something off about what they’d seen, each of their gazes slowly creeping back upwards.
“So,” I said, saying the first thing that came to mind as I saw their eyes land on me,
“it seems like you’re all having a pretty rough start to the day from the looks of it. Want to tell us a little bit more about what we just saw?”
Chapter 38
My words hung heavily in the air for several seconds as the three slaves looked at me with complete shock, their eyes growing wide and mouths falling open at my unexpected appearance. So complete was their surprise that I was certain they all stopped breathing as they stared back at me, their bodies freezing in place as if I’d cast a paralyzing spell upon them. Caught a little off guard by the extreme reaction to my arrival, I decided to try and break the stunned silence that had fallen, hoping to reassure them that I wasn’t a threat. But no sooner did I open my mouth to speak did the lizardwoman suddenly collapse, her legs giving out without warning as she fell to the ground in a heap.
“No, Zua!” the brown-haired woman shouted in a panic as she saw the frail arakissi faint, her body moving reflexively to aid her companion. But before she could even move halfway towards her fallen friend, she froze once again, her eyes snapping back onto me in a panic followed by a near-endless torrent of words flowing from her mouth. “Please don’t take her! She will be fine and can keep working! She just needs a moment to pull herself together! We’ve been working all morning, and she’s a bit—”
“Whoa, whoa, slow down! I’m not here to take anyone!” I exclaimed, raising my hands towards the woman in an attempt to both soothe her and still the terror I saw on her face. Yet as I tried to do that, I noticed that the bearded man had started to back away from the other two slaves, his gaze turning to look down an open laneway amid the giant garden plants. Realizing that he was preparing to flee, I said the only thing that I could think of to get him to stop. “Hey, hold on! I’m here to help! I’m from Aldford! Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re both from a settler group that was supposed to arrive a few weeks ago, right?”
Reacting as if I’d physically struck them both the second that I said the town’s name, the two slaves both froze once again, their eyes widening even further as a fleeting spark of recognition passed through them. Instantly afterward their demeanor began to change, the frightened expressions across their faces and the tension in their bodies softening, to be replaced with the faint beginnings of hope.
“A-Aldford?” the man queried in a halting voice, his attention snapping to fixate on me, fo
rgetting his desire to escape. “Y-you’re from Aldford? A-and you made it here?”
“I did, or rather we did,” I answered, happy that I was able to keep the man from fleeing. “I managed to bring a few friends with me. Here, stay put for a second, and I’ll call them out. You have nothing to be afraid of.”
Using one of my outstretched hands as I spoke, I took that opportunity to signal the others that I knew were watching our exchange to step out where the pair could see them, being careful not to make any sudden movements. Reacting instantly to my cue, it took no time at all for the party to step out from amid the giant plants of the square. As they did, the expressions on the two slaves’ faces only continued to widen as they saw just how many of us there were. The man in particular was taken aback as Berwyn stepped out from the very laneway that he’d been eyeing to escape to, the man shuffling a step closer to his companions.
“Like I said, we’re not here to hurt you,” I reassured the pair for a second time as they glanced between all of us. “We know that you and dozens of other settlers have been kidnapped by a group of other adventurers, the Dread Crew, and sold to the orcs. I’m sorry it took us so long, but we’re here to rescue you and as many others as we can. If you’ll let us, that is.”
“You’re here…to rescue us?” the woman repeated slowly as if not believing my words at first. But after a second for them to sink in, her composure suddenly began to break as she responded to me in a desperate voice. “Yes! Please! Take us away from here! We don’t care where, just anywhere that isn’t this place! My friend Zua here is sick, and she won’t last much longer before she can’t work anymore. When that happens, the orcs will take her away a-and…”
“Turn her into a monster,” Theia finished in a gentle voice as she stepped towards the pair slowly. “We know all too well what they have been doing to you all here. May I take a look at her?”
Glory to the Brave (Ascend Online Book 4) Page 48