I kept to the wood line after my escape watching the hired help as they prepared the other slaves for transport only able to hear small bits of conversations. The new owner is apparently take with making a new town in an almost unsettled area near the southern mission range and will be by to pick up his "cargo" at dusk.

True to what was said the scarred man showed up with a long flat trailer pulled by a team of four very large horses. Boards were set to the back and a rope attached to a horse was used to pull each cage onto the trailer. Once the last was loaded the hired slaver handed him a set of keys and shook his hand before sending them off. The team of horses made slow but steady progress as the took a near non existent path South.

I followed along in the woods waiting until the market was well out of site before running up and jumping on the trailer near the front but opposite the man driving it. Without even the slightest reaction he simply gestures with a thumb beside him.

"Have a seat and let's talk for a while before you do anything you would regret." I quietly watched for a minute. His heart rate did not betray a lie and there was a small sense of fear while he was slightly tensed waiting to see what I would do.

I slowly climbed up front and sat as far away as the bench would allow me and quietly waited.

"I know some of the truth about your group. The king of the shadow lands made a visit to a deer and was given a prophecy about his downfall and a possible way to save his kingdom. I was told of your group and ordered to gather you too make a"kingdom" of sorts in the south so once his castle inevitably falls he has somewhere to fall back to. So long as you agree to work with me you will not be slaves and will have the opportunity to work your way to owning your own lands. I was told you are crucial to my task."

I sat back for a moment thinking of what I just heard. "What do you know of us. Who was the seer and what did she tell you."

"From what I could understand you and.... your people .... were taken from your homes and experimented on with various dark magics and alchemy killing many of you in the process but those that lived became much more powerful, easily able to overpower groups of people on your own." He spoke as if just repeating what he was told.

"Who was the seer." I laughed at the description of what we were. He looked slightly in my direction before continuing.

"She only recently became known in the land but had already have wearing to other kings who ignored her and had their land attacked by people and creatures from nightmares."

"She was a short woman that looked thin and started but moved around like she was floating. A small scar on her left cheek that trailer back to her ear." I interrupted him with a wave of my hand.

He showed the horses as he looked at me. "So you know her?" I looked back at the cages and a few of the others nodded at me.

"There is a lot you do not know. I will explain some stuff as we go. Your king is doomed no matter what is done. The seer is one of the group who created us. We can no longer be considered human with the way we are. If you want to survive what is coming you need to work with us as much as we work with you. There king that ignored her and fell is because she sent a group like us after them. If you are sent to create a new "kingdom" in the south then make it your new home." I looked up at the sky as I spoke watching the clouds roll by.

"Wait a minute. So the seer made your people. Tried to get other kings to found kingdoms with groups of your people and attacked the kings that ignored her...."

"That is what seems to be going on." I confirmed.

"Then I should return and warn the king."

"That will not work. She will kill the king and anyone else who seems to know. The best thing is to play along and work on a kingdom. She will leave him alone as long as it seems he is following her orders. Once we have a kingdom we can fight back."

"I see." He silently thought for a moment. "There is already supplies that should be at the first site for a village to get us started which is where we are heading after we pass thru Elkhart which is the last village this far down."

"Before we get to the village take the collars of our necks and let us disassemble the cages. No one will run or go after you but we are tired of this treatment." I gestures back to the others.

"That seems fair as long as you hold to your word." He leads the team to the side of the road and pulls out a long chain of keys. One by one he opens each cage and removes the collars. "Why are there spikes on the inside of these they have been digging in your necks."

"That keeps us from using our abilities. There is magic in it." I lied on the second part but he seemed to accept my answer. The others disassembled the last cage as we spoke and piled it on the cart. "Let us continue."

Very little was said as we approached the next town. It was a small town on the edge of the unexplored. Small huts nearly lined up making a cross shaped pattern of the only two roads in and out. Smoke rolled from a few of the poorly put together chimneys making you wonder how it hasn't caught fire yet. There were two houses that stood out as we neared the town square. They were built solid and with skill. The closer one had a group of four men standing outside it talking to an older gentleman I assume was the elder. The second one had an open but built of the side with what looked like a small forge set in the corner farthest from the house itself. We could hear the conversation an we neared the elders house.

"If you see any fitting the description the send word at once. They are unnatural and must be cleansed off this land." The other three turned to follow the one who spoke as he paused seeing us near. "Hold there. Who are you and where are you going."

"I am a knight in a task from King Tyran. These people were sent to aid me with the task." The veterans pulled out a scroll and handed it to him. After a sense moment he handed it back.

"Very well. I wish you success. I warn you too be careful there was a group of slaves that escaped a market and they are said to be the same as the monsters who have attacked the various kings." Without waiting for a reply they marched of the red cross on their shields catching my eye.

"We will not be here for long I just have to send a message to the king and we will be of." He jumped down to speak with the elder for a moment them was right back driving the team out of town to the south. "You might as well get some sleep it will be a while and it is getting late." I looked at the others in silent conversation and we agreed leaving one awake to watch.