The atmosphere in the forest became very quiet. Davis was lying unconscious on the ground and Aelius was standing on top of his (Davis) body. Aelius looked at Davis as if he was an insect.
Seeing Davis unconscious, some of the boys started running towards Davis out of loyalty and others started fleeing.
Aelius sat on Davis's back and grabbed Davis's left hand's wrist with his right hand. Then he looked around and saw the boys were about to approach him. After looking back and forth, Aelius placed his right foot on the elbow of Davis's left hand. Then Aelius grabbed the wrist with both his hands and broke the forearm's bone with a twist.
With a scream of anguish, Davis regained consciousness. Hearing the screams, the boys all froze like ice. Davis fainted again in agony.
Aelius cleared his throat and shouted, "Come here, all of you. Don't force me to stand up. "
The boys all gathered in front of Aelius. Aelius was still sitting on Davis's back.
James was quite far from them. James could see and hear everything even when he was trapped by the artifact.
James could feel that the artifact was getting weaker. James let out a scream and immediately his body began to move slowly. The artifact exploded with a monstrous sound. And James came out of the smoke of that explosion.
James saw that the boys had gathered around Aelius and they did not react at all to the explosion. He understood the reason. They were not in a position to respond because of fear.
James walked over to the boys. He then went through one or two boys to see what Aelius was doing. He saw Davis was being tied up with six other boys. They were tied with ropes made of their cloth. And the six tied boys were over 18 years old. Aelius was looking for something inside the bag where the stolen items were kept.
James asked, "What are you looking for?"
Aelius took out a small red wallet with an ornate fountain from inside the bag. Aelius said happily, "Found it."
James asked again, "What is it?"
Aelius countered, "Shouldn't you ask what we should do with them?"
James said a little hesitantly, "Oh, yes. This too. "
Aelius looked at the boys (the boys who weren't tied up).
Aelius said, "They are still young. What do you think we should do? "
James replied, "As you said, they are still young. We should let them go. "
Aelius agreed with James and said, "You guys can go now. But if I see any of you stealing somewhere again .... "
One of the boys muttered something.
"If you have something to say, dare to say it out loud," said Aelius, not finishing what he was saying.
The boys all looked down. No one said a word. Suddenly one of them shouted, "Do you think we haven't tried another way to survive? The world is not fair to everyone." (After saying this the boy started crying)
The boy who spoke was probably as old as Aelius. James was about to say something to comfort the boy.
But Aelius said, "I know that the world is not fair to everyone. That is why you have to live without fear. Give me a truthful answer, whenever you see a soldier, don't you feel afraid at all? If you live in fear, this world will consume you. So, live honestly. That way no one can point there finger at you."
James was surprised. He didn't understand how a 10 to 12 year old boy could be so mature.
Aelius asked the boys what things they had stolen from rich families. The boys took out some statues made of gold, a few drawings and lots of gold coins. Then he (Aelius) gave the boys some gold coins from that gold (the gold of the rich family) and told them to go.
James also helped Aelius to give the gold coins. The boy who was crying as he left looked at Aelius like he found his path.
Then Aelius told the six boys (who were tied to Davis) to get up. They got up but Davis was unconscious. So, one of the boys asked, "Would it be nice to wake up our boss?"
Aelius replied, "It is not necessary. You will drag your boss to the army base. James and I will be carrying the bags. But you have to carry your bags when we get close to the city. And don't try to escape after going inside the city. We will keep an eye on you from afar.
In front of the army base:
The six boys, including Davis, eventually reached the army base and collapsed in front of it. People were curious about them. Because they were all tied together. Everyone was looking at them with curiosity. People were gossiping among themselves about the boys. The boys looked like skeleton. They had to carry 16 to 18 bags and the weight of Davis.
A soldier came to ask them what they had come for. However, they were not in a position to speak. The soldier saw what was inside the bag and he understood everything. He called some more soldiers to take them inside.
Aelius and James were watching everything from a distance. Aelius begins to walk when he saw the boys going inside the army base. James began to follow Aelius.
James asked Aelius, "Where are you going?"
Aelius replied, "Thanks for today. But I have something to do now."
James laughed and said, "I'm not following you. I also have to go somewhere in this way. "
Aelius said nothing more. But James continued to follow Aelius.
A few moments later Aelius stopped in front of a house. The house was nothing fancy, it was ordinary to look at.
Aelius said, "I have reached my destination. Where is your destination? Don't say again that this is your destination. "
James looked around and said, "I forgot which house to go to. I'm trying to remember. You go, do your job."
Aelius let out a sigh of frustration. Then he knocked on the door. Someone from inside the house (woman) replied, "Wait a minute. I'm coming. "
Aelius left the wallet (which he took from inside the thief's bag) in front of the door. Then he jumped on the roof of the house.
James also jumped on the roof. James asked, "Who are these (the people inside the house which door Aelius knocked) people?"
Aelius asked, "Do you remember which house you are suppose to go?"
James replied, "Oh, I remember. In fact, this is the house (Aelius looks at James) I'm supposed to go. So goodbye." (Aelius said, "Wait!" And tried to catch James.) But after saying that, James jumped off the roof and landed in front of the door.