An Unassuming Dwarf's POV
Finally, the harvesting season is over. I always find harvesting easier than planting, but of course, I'd rather just not be here at all. Being in the mines, in the mountains, is where I belong.
Seeing the sun and all this damn wheat gets old after a while. Nothing beats the solitude of the mountains or the smell of the forges… maybe I should just go back. But a promise is a promise…
Tossing the last bundle of wheat onto the pile I gazed out onto the now empty fields. My eyes fell upon the group of new arrivals from the west. It was common practice for slavers to stay in the regions of Sandervile and supply manual labor for the farmers. With so much bountiful land, even the most experienced farmers and nobles had difficulty planting and harvesting everything both efficiently and in time.
But I wonder what someone like him was doing here. Why was someone so strong pretending to be a common slaver? He was obviously a soldier or veteran mercenary, maybe even both.
The man was riding on top of his horse, keeping a watchful eye on his slaves as they transported the wheat to the storehouses. And was he using a B-class magic item? No, some would probably label that an A. The ability to change one's appearance so seamlessly would be sought after by all.
And the item must be compact since I can't see it. It's probably a necklace. I could tell he was using a magic item from a dungeon. I doubt anyone around him would be able to tell, but you couldn't fool me. See one-trick enough, and it loses its magic.
But maybe he is a wanted man? Probably.
Most of these slavers are wanted somewhere outside the City-States. Slavery is only truly legal in the City-States and the Empire of Tel'an'duth. I guess you could include the Vampires in northern Amoth as well but that wasn't really a nation. The Holy Kingdom might have didn't practice slavery, but you can still find slaves there, along with most places in the world.
And what was a Vampire doing accompanying him? She tried hiding under that black hood, but those murderous red eyes couldn't fool anyone. I thought those dirty blooded bastards stayed in their little corner of the world, preferring to kill each other rather than mix about with their "lessers." What an odd group of people. And with them… now that is something you don't see every day.
Falling behind the rest of the group was a lone boy with a slave collar on, limping about. At least I think it's a boy. Always hard to tell with those damn Elves. You can't make them out till you hear them speak half the time. I find it hard to imagine that is the face of a girl, but I've been wrong before…
The boy looked dead both inside and out. His body was nothing more than skin and bones, while the clean-cut scar running across his chest looked pretty gnarly for someone so young. It didn't look like one of his previous owners had some kind of weird fetish. It looked more akin to a sword slash than somebody using a dagger. He also had plenty of more minor scars across his body. His hollow eyes were just staring off into the dirt as he limped along, carrying a bundle of wheat.
But that's not what was making me take a second look. He was a Dark Elf with light tan skin and the ears of a High Elf. I guess there is a first time for everything. Dark Elves just don't mingle with others. Most find them somewhat off, myself included.Then again, I've only spoken to a few Shadow Dancers and they are odd enough as it is.
I also heard it was hard for them to have children, and there was that one time… what did she say again? Something about not finding any other race attractive or something? I mean, High and Wood Elves mingle with each other all the time, but I've never seen a Dark Elf mix with other Elves before. I don't understand why the Dark Elves are like that. Even my own kin has a similar "problem."
I wonder what in the high heavens goes through the thoughts of my thick-skulled brothers? We work day in and day out sweating with each other, and they want to go home to the same thing? Why want a woman that looks almost exactly like the man you just worked the forge with… why not go home to a beautiful Human or Elf?
So soft… No muscles to be had. They don't sound like men most of the time, their sweet feminine voices calling out to you as you open the door to your home. They don't want to fight you every second of the day or challenge you to some obscure waste of time. I just don't get it, whatever…
----
It's finally dinner time, if you could even call this slop food. I get that we are slaves, but I mean, come on… there is enough food in this small town to feed an army. Why can't we just have a little bit of it? I'll be damned. I harvested more grain than any of the farmers around anyways so I should get a decent meal every once in a while.
Who am I kidding? Of course, I know why they feed us this swine food. It's so they can watch us fight over it. It must be a favorite pastime of slavers. No matter how many masters I've had, it's all been the same. Mealtime isn't rest time for us; it's a battle.
Those who are weak get preyed on by the strong. If you can't eat fast enough, somebody will come for your slop. That's how you stay alive out here. They always give us enough to survive but never enough to satisfy the hunger in our belly. Thankfully I didn't have to worry about any of that.
I was served my portion and began to grub out. I savored every bite of this disgusting watery soup, knowing it would probably be the only thing I was getting for a while. One of the newcomers must have thought he had a chance with me as he opened his throat and let the entire bowl roll down his throat. He must have a lot of practice if he could drink this slush that fast. He didn't even gag.
The Human man lunged for my bowl, and I gripped his face with my hand, squeezing it like the hilt of a hammer. The man yelped and stopped trying to fight back, so I tossed him away so he could think about his mistake. He would serve as a lesson for any of the newbies who attempted to interrupt my meal. I was about to finish my dinner when I felt like my very eyes were betraying me… what the?
Perhaps due to him being young or injured, he didn't manage to finish his food in time before the scavengers attacked. As a result, that half-blooded Elf boy had five fully grown men attempting to snatch his food.
What I thought were the eyes of a dead man walking now had a primal glint to them. I was watching as the men attempted to reach for the boy, but they were met with brutal retaliation whenever one of them got close. To an untrained eye, this scene probably looked like a beast backed into a corner fighting to defend the carcass of a dead animal, but that wasn't right.
The boy's moves might have seemed crude, but they had some finesse to them. Fingers were pulled backward, arms were scratched, eyes were targeted, dirt was thrown, and noses were punched. Anytime one reached, they were met with a swift defense from the half-blooded Dark Elf.
Although it was mostly in vain, the boy couldn't fight off all five of them at once, no matter how skilled he appeared to be. He was still a starving little squirt, but he made sure anyone who threatened his dinner wouldn't come out unscathed. If they were going to take his food, it was going to cost them more than they bargained for.
The men also weren't afraid of hitting the child back either. Although for every attack they made, they received double the pain in relation. One man socked the child in the stomach, but the boy didn't even flinch. Instead, he rolled with the punch while jabbing his fingers into the man's eyes.
Another scratched the boy on the face, and he got an elbow to the nose in return. Finally, one of them managed to snatch the bowl away while he was preoccupied with another. As the man was greedily finishing off the bowl, the boy headbutted the bowl out of his hands, splashing the contents out onto the ground. Some of the more optimistic slaves took this as a chance to get something out of the whole fiasco, and they tried to lap the food off the ground like dogs.
This elicited chuckles from the slave masters, and they clapped and egged on the slaves who were just degrading themselves even further. I mean, I was hungry, but I wasn't that hungry. The Vampire woman who was watching the fight transpire must have decided that was enough and broke up the fight.
The men seemed afraid to act out now, so perhaps the Vampire is why they didn't outright overpower the child. Maybe it was some order to protect him or something. What happened next was almost enough to make me look away. The Vampire knelt down and sank her fangs into the boy's soft flesh.
I watched as the wounds on his face healed slowly. Watching wounds close like this was disgusting, the skin and tissue being forced back together right before your eyes. I knew Vampires could heal wounds, but it was apparently nothing like how light mages did things.
From my experience, the warmth of a light mage's healing was peaceful, even god-like. I wasn't a pious man myself but I could see how many thought light magic was a gift from the heavens.
However, watching the Vampire use her blood magic on the Elf was nothing short of evil. The process looked horrendously painful, but the child didn't even seem phased. He didn't fight back either and instead let it happen. The primal fury that was in his eyes had disappeared, and the boy's eyes looked dead once more.
How interesting.
—
The next day we were packing up to leave for the next town to be used in their harvest. They were behind schedule, and we were on the way to assist. My master needed to stuff his pockets before winter came to enjoy his time in one of the bigger cities. The process was simple, lend your slaves for the growing and harvest season so you could live a life of luxury in the winter.
"You aren't going with us, Dwarf," my master called out to me.
He was an ugly fellow, looked more like a pig than a man. His scrunched-up face just made me want to rearrange it or put a small pink tail on his behind, but it is what it is. I tilted my head in confusion at his statement.
"I'm making a trade. You have a new master now. So get a move on. He is waiting outside for you," he snorted.
I gathered myself and was escorted to my new master. But I already had a feeling I knew who it was going to be. I felt his eyes on me for nearly an entire workday. While still in shackles, the door to our sleeping barracks opened, and four chained men walked in.
Good to know I'm still worth so much. I was starting to worry if my age was gonna decrease my value.
Outside waiting for me was the same man who was altering his appearance. He had an ugly smile plastered onto his false face as he called out to me from his horse. "So you really are here. Why is a Dwarf like you a slave? Unless my eyes deceive me, you are most definitely—"
"I'm nobody," I replied curtly. The man's eyes bulged a little in surprise at my voice. "And I'm here on my own accord, so I would prefer if you didn't ask useless questions."
"Such insolence! Do not speak to your master with such a tone, Dwarf!" The Vampire all but screamed.
How annoying.
"Now, now Jessine, I thought we talked about your outburst? You heard the man. He is here because he wants to be here," he chuckled. "Besides, I don't care how he addresses me. I've been looking for a new toy since I broke mine a few months ago, so he will do nicely. Tell me, Dwarf, if I order you to forge me something, will you do it?"
"I'd die and be reborn again before I ever forged something for you, master," I spat.
"I see, I see… well, can't be helped. If you didn't put your heart and soul into it, then it wouldn't be worth my time. However, maybe I can change your mind with a little incentive? You make me what I want, and I'll clear any debt you have and free you from your chains. I'll even take you back to Krunbar on an express carriage myself."
"No."
"Are you sure? Perhaps you desire something else? Money? Women? Men? Children? Whatever you want, I can get," he said with a wink.
"What I want you could never give me, so please stop asking, master."
That's right, you disgusting creature, what I want… what I need to do is far beyond the understanding of a monster such as yourself.
The Vampire looked like she was about to blow a blood vessel, but I couldn't care less. I wasn't suicidal, so I didn't want a fight, but I wasn't about to break my promise now. I still have things I need to accomplish before ever touching a forge again.
The man just chuckled. "That's that, I guess. Just make sure you do the work assigned to you and don't cause me any problems. Since I traded four men for you, I expect you to do the work of four men. Also, don't injure that Dark Elf boy. I finally found a buyer for him so if you damage him, I'll have your hands as trophies, Dwarf," the man threatened. I shrugged my shoulders and was escorted over to his horse-drawn cage.
The cage was spacious now, considering my new master had just traded four men for one Dwarf. I plopped down in the corner and rested my back against the cool iron bars. The wood planks were still wet from being cleaned, so it soaked my arse.
Fall was fast approaching, and the temperature was beginning to drop, making my balls and toes cold. It never got freezing in the plains of Sandervile. The temperature wouldn't plummet until you went further north and crossed the mountains. Ah the cold. I wouldn't mind a bit of snow this year.
My eyes kept drifting to the Dark Elf boy sitting in the corner. He had his head resting on his knees as he stared out into nothingness. The more I tried to ignore the boy, the more I felt drawn to him. I'm not sure if it's pity or something else.
I couldn't help but feel there was more to this child than what I could see on the surface. The fight he had with those men yesterday kept replaying in my head, if you could even call that bullying a fight.
Trying to compare the savage wild child to his current self just confused me. If he really had given up on life, then why was he trying so hard to secure food for himself? Natural instinct, perhaps? But if he were that broken, then he would be that feral all the time, not just during dinner. So maybe he hasn't fallen all the way into despair.
I wanted to go speak with him, but that was going to have to wait. I highly doubted he would talk to me, considering what he has been through. But all it took to get a man to speak was a little convincing…
---
Later that day, we got served our usual dinner. Somehow I felt this water-down mess was even worse than what I was used to. I took a few more sips and maneuvered myself over to the boy. He was one of the last ones to get food as the Vampire poured the liquid crap through the bars of our cage.
I sat down crossed-legged in front of the boy, and his body tensed up. His fierce eyes locked onto me as he tried finishing his bowl faster, anticipating that I was going to attack him.
But I didn't plan on doing that.
I had my back to the rest of the slaves, and even though I left myself wide open, they fought amongst each other instead of attempting to harass the boy or me. They must have seen my little show of dominance last night and wanted nothing to do with me. As the boy was licking the last drops of sustenance from the bowl, he quickly readied himself for a potential fight.
Instead, I thought I would surprise him. I slid my bowl that was still half full towards him and then turned my back on him. I didn't catch what his face looked like, but it took a few minutes for him to finally take my offer.
I could hear him practically drowning in the watery soup as he tried to force more of it down his throat, afraid that I was coming to take it back. He choked on the last bit from eating so fast and began coughing up a lung. He sounds a little sick as well.
I heard him drop the bowl as he finished, and then I felt it. It felt like I had turned my back on a dangerous monster, and it was deciding whether to rip my head off or use me for more food. The feeling was fleeting, but it was there. It even made me sweat a bit.
I turned my head to look back at the boy, and he had resumed his sitting position, but instead of staring off into space, he focused on me. I could feel the intensity of his gaze as he attempted to figure out my plans.
I highly doubted he thought I was doing this for no reason, but I really didn't have any reason to help him. It was just something I felt like I needed to do. His presence was drawing me in, and I was curious about him, nothing more. From what I've seen and felt so far I think I'm right on the gold.
Then again, there was no way this child would be the one to help me fulfill my promise, but a little bit of kindness goes a long way. And I need to stockpile some good mojo for when that person really does show up.
I'll be keeping that promise, brother.