Climbing from the pile of warm bodies I’d collapsed into the night before and followed the throng of already moving people out of the tent.
Rain wasn’t uncommon in the region where they’d taken us, in fact, I expected we’d probably see more before the day was out, especially with winter so close. Thankfully, it seemed they had stopped long enough for the dirt paths to mostly dry out.
Soldiers wandered through the masses, spears held high and hands on their sword hilts. Their eyes shifted as they looked for any sign of trouble. I tried to keep my head low, in case the guard from the night before was around and had managed to get a good look at me during our incident.
Following the group led me deeper into the camp still until we all filed into lines in front of a small tent with smoke rising out of its top. The smell of something cooking lingered in the air with the scent of our bodies, and while part of me wanted to vomit, the other part recognized that I needed to eat if I had any hope of keeping my strength in this place.
The soldiers kept the line moving quickly, and within moments I was standing before a brawny-chested man, a bowl of warm sludge being thrust into my hands. I peered down at the stew for a moment before a soldier tapped me with the butt of his spear, motioning for me to keep it moving. I did, my eyes still lingering on the brown muck in the bowl that I held.
While it didn’t look particularly appetizing it still carried a welcome scent.
“It tastes better than it looks,” Lilan said as he stepped up next to me, an equally unappetizing bowl of sludge in his hand. “Try some?”
I watched him take his fingers, scoop out a glob of the muck, and stuff it in his mouth. He swallowed a moment later and offered a half smile.
“See? Not so bad.”
“Right…” I said, not quite believing his attempts to oversell the goop. I stuffed my fingers into it and then slid them into my mouth, letting the warm muck coat my tongue.
My first instinct as it made contact was to immediately spit it up. However, as it lingered there, resting on my tongue, I noticed hints of salt and pepper, as well as meat. It was impossible to tell what kind of meat, but it tasted good enough to swallow—even if the sensation of it on my tongue felt like eating mud.
“Thoughts?” Lilan asked, having already stuffed a second fingerful into his mouth.
“A bit grainy for my taste, but it’ll do.” I replied, taking another bite. The second was less assaulting, but it still took a moment for my mind to register I wasn’t stuffing my face with the same mud I’d spent most of the evening before trudging through.
When we’d finished our bowls, Lilan took them, returned them to the tent, and then grabbed my arm gently, pulling me toward another throng of people moving through the camp.
“Have they assigned you to any work yet?” He glanced around as we walked, and he kept his voice low.
I shook my head.
“That’s good. We should be able to slip you in with our group. We’ve been assigned to the southern lumber operations. It’s outside the camp, which means we get to go beyond the walls.”
My heart leapt for a moment at the thought of freedom, at being able to slip away and leave this pit behind. But I still didn’t know where Ophelia and Sil were.
“And that’s a good thing?” I asked, trying to carry the conversation forward.
Lilan nodded. “It means we get some fresh air away from the muck, and that we’re some of the more trusted ‘residents’. ‘Course, there’s still plenty of soldiers around, so I wouldn’t recommend wandering off like you did last night.”
I grimaced slightly. “Yeah, sorry about that. I tried to find my way back, but the camp was confusing after dark.”
He chuckled softly. “Why’d you go running off anyway? Trying to find a way out?”
“Not quite.” I said, shaking my head. “I was brought in with a couple of others, and one of them was taken to the healers. I’m not sure where the other ended up, so I was looking for them.”
“Ah, well, the chances of finding anyone in this place are pretty slim. The army has so many people packed in here, that you could look for days and never find them.”
I frowned.
“But, I might be able to help. Once we get back inside, maybe I can pull some strings with one of the soldiers I know.”
I looked at him with a bit of skepticism. “And what is that going to cost me?”
“A day of your company chopping wood.”
“Seems like a cheap price to pay. My mother always told me that if a deal was too good to be true, then I was being fleeced somehow.”
He laughed, drawing the attention of one of the soldiers. Others around us pulled away, giving us space, but the soldier didn’t step forward or make any outward motions. He simply stared.
Lilan nodded his head slightly at the man, and we continued on as if nothing had happened.
“You seem to carry at least some respect from the soldiers,” I noted. Was it possible I was falling into a trap here? Would the army set up spies inside their own prison?
Lilan ran a hand across his stubble. “I’ve been here for a few weeks now. I was in one of the first groups that came in. I don’t like what they’re doing or how they’re doing it, but I’ve come to terms with it, I suppose.”
We continued our walk, meeting up with the others from his tent. Together, the group walked toward the outer wall of the camp—a fact I only knew because of the large gates that rose before us.
They were closed, and several soldiers stood guard in front of them and along the top of the wall that surrounded the camp.
“What’s going on?” Kev asked in a hushed voice as we came to a stop.
Lilan grew tense. “Nothing good.”
Before any of us could say anything else, the sound of a horn playing erupted through the air. I followed Lilan’s gaze, his face already settling into a troubled look, and found the general climbing the stairs up to the top of the wall, two soldiers pushing a thin-looking woman along behind him.
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A frown twisted across my lips. Another show? What had this poor woman done, taken too long to eat her breakfast?
When the general and the soldiers reached the spot above the gate, they stopped, turning to face the crowd, which had grown to a larger mass of prisoners at this point.
“Today, each and every one of you standing before me will find yourselves tempted with one thing; freedom. A life beyond these walls. A life that the empress has not granted you.”
Every eye was on the general now.
“You are being allowed beyond the walls because I have put my trust in you. Do not break that trust. I serve the empress, but in here, you serve me. Which brings me to the point of this entire thing. Last evening, the woman beside me was found wandering the camp somewhat aimlessly. When approached by a guard, she attacked him viciously and then fled.
“This kind of behavior will not be tolerated within these walls, or outside of them. Anyone who breaks my trust in them, will meet the same fate as this woman.”
He raised a hand as he finished, and one of the soldiers drew his sword. My eyes found the woman’s. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and while I was too far away to see her face as clearly as I could see Lilan’s next to me, she didn’t seem to look anything like me. Did that mean that the guard hadn’t managed to get a good look at me?
My heartbeat pulsed in my ear at the prospect of having slinked away from the incident the night before. But should I really be celebrating that another woman was about to die for my actions? I was supposed to protect her, wasn’t I? She was one of my people.
I glanced to the side, catching Lilan’s own eyes watching mine, as if he knew that I was the one to blame for this. I met his gaze and then looked back to the woman on the top of the wall.
I was supposed to protect her. That was the entire reason I planned to tear down my own empire and rebuild it. To give humanity a better life in this world than I had before. But I couldn’t do that if I was dead.
I watched the soldier drive his sword into the woman’s gut, her face twisting into a pained gasping expression. When he withdrew the weapon, he turned from her, and the other soldier pushed her body off the wall. It fell through the air and then slammed into the dirt path before the gate with a thud that seemed to carry across the crowd.
“Now get back to work. And remember, I am always watching.”
The general and his guards left the top of the wall behind, descending back down the stairs away from the crowd as hushed whispers began to rise throughout the camp around us. The soldiers in front of the gate pushed it open, allowing the first of the throng to pass through. Lilan and I were pushed forward by the others.
“This place makes my stomach turn,” Hina whispered as we walked.
Beside her, the others all nodded their agreement. Lilan continued to stare forward, a troubled expression painted across his features. The throng parted around the woman’s body, like a river around a rock. I looked down at her as we passed.
It should have been you, a voice said in the back of my head. But I pushed it down. I had to survive. One woman’s death was worth what I was doing. What I was trying to accomplish.
“Not all of us are going to make it out of this,” Lilan finally said as we passed through the gates. “But, I’m trying my best to keep as many breathing as I can. It isn’t easy, especially when the ones I try to help go running off on their own and get others killed.”
I glanced over at him, catching his gaze with mine. A breath passed before he looked away.
“I had no choice,” I responded, leaning close to him so the others wouldn’t hear. “I cannot die here.”
He scoffed. “Nobody wants to die, Aria. But that doesn’t mean you should let others die for you.”
I shook my head. “You speak as if I were the one to kill her. I did nothing—“
“Exactly. You did nothing,” he interjected, anger lacing his words.
I let out a scoff of my own. “And what should I have done, Lilan? Step up and say ‘oh no, general sir, it wasn’t her that kicked your soldier in the crotch. It was me.’?”
He rubbed a hand across his eyes. “I don’t know. But an innocent woman died today because of you. Because you went running off on your own instead of talking to someone.”
I stopped, turning to face him, drawing a few worried looks from the others. “I just met you. Why in the Seven would I trust you?”
“Because you have to trust someone. I didn’t have to help you outside that tent yesterday. I didn’t have to give you new clothes. I could have let you sit in those blood-stained, mud-covered pants and that shirt. But I didn’t, did I? I took a leap and, I don’t think it’s unjustified to expect you to do something similar.”
I threw my hands up and started walking again. It only took him a few strides to close the distance and catch up.
“If you keep running off on your own, you are going to get yourself killed. Let me help you. Let us help you.”
I shook my head slowly. “Why do you want to help me? What’s in it for you?”
He shrugged. “You seem like someone that will be useful to have around. I can’t explain it, but I have a good feeling about you.”
“I don’t know right now. I want to trust you, maybe I should. But it isn’t that easy, Lilan. I have a lot riding on me right now.”
“All the more reason to let someone help you carry that burden. We’re over here,” he said, motioning to a stack of axes leaning against a tree.
He grabbed one and then started toward another tree, when I reached for one he shook his head.
“You watch. I’ll chop.”
I scoffed. “I somehow doubt the soldiers are going to be okay with me not doing anything but standing around.”
“You aren’t standing around. You’re making sure the tree doesn’t fall on me.”
“You think I can’t handle an axe?” Did I look like I’d never used an axe before in my life? You didn’t typically need those when you were large enough to knock a tree over with a push and had talons sharper than any blade that man or beast could forge.
“I think you can handle a lot of things. But we still need to finish our conversation.”
I let out a defeated sigh and then grabbed an axe by the handle anyway. “Then we can talk while we work.”
Lilan gave me an exasperated look. “You just don’t know how to shut up and accept someone’s help, do you?”
I shrugged as I followed him to the tree. He hefted the axe over his shoulder and then pulled it back, swinging at the tree with a loud thud as the axe-head connected with the trunk. I took up an angle opposite from him—the trunk of the tree was at least 20 hands wide—and then swung the axe a bit less confidently. The tip of the axe-head plunged into the wood, but not nearly as far as Lilan’s head.
“Hold it here,” he said, showing me where to put my hands on the handle. “That will give you better control and a stronger swing.”
I nodded, taking his advice, and swung for the tree again. This time, the axe-head buried itself deeper into the living wood.
“Listen,” he finally said after we’d been chopping for a few moments. “Let’s just call the past the past. Now that you’re back with us, we can at least look forward and focus on keeping you from ending up in any more trouble that might get someone else killed. Fair?”
I offered him a slight nod and silence fell over us for a few moments.
“I do trust you, though. I want you to know that.” He kept his voice low as he pulled back from the tree, his hand held up to stop me from swinging anymore.
“I can’t promise anything, Lilan, but I’ll try.”
He smiled. “Of course. Well, maybe I can change your mind.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “How so?”
“I’m planning to get out here.”
I watched him with skepticism.
“We all are. I want you to come with us.”
“Why?”
“Like I said, you look like someone who will be good to have around. I’ve got a good feeling, and those feelings don’t often let me down.”
“I don’t know what you expect me to do—or who you think I am…”
“You just trust me. Even a little bit, and I’ll get you out of here.” He leaned closer. “I know a few of the soldiers. We used to serve together before I left the army. But my plan is dangerous, even with the connections I have.”
I smiled to keep from frowning.
“Not buying it?”
I crossed my arms. “Not quite.”
He shook his head. “It’s good to be skeptical, but it can also be a disadvantage. I understand not wanting to blindly trust me, but I have a lot more riding on trusting you than the other way around.”
“Okay, so let's say that you’re being honest, that this isn’t somehow a trap of some kind…”
“It’s not.”
“Well, let’s say it isn’t. Can you get my companions out, too?”
His gaze lingered on me for a moment. “Yeah, I think we can. We just have to find them first.”
Gold flashed across the corner of my vision and I focused on the image briefly, a series of words shimmering into existence before Lilan.
Hidden Quest Complete: Hoarding Allies
Congratulations, you have completed a hidden quest. As a reward, you will be granted a random Boon of Enchantment.
Would you like to receive your reward now?
I stared at the words. A hidden quest? A [Boon of Enchantment]? I hadn’t even known that there could be hidden quests. I shook the confusion away and shifted my focus back to Lilan, the window fading from view for the moment.
“How soon are we talking?”
“A few days, at most.” He hefted the axe up and swung, the thud of the axe-head on the wood punctuating his words.
I didn’t trust him. Not yet. But perhaps I could learn to.