"Conrad!", Big Brother approached with sympathy in his eyes, Sammy was not far behind, she could clearly hear and see what happened. Conrad turned to face them with a sad smile, his strong image had disappeared for a moment.
"It's fine Big Bro, I'm a mage you know? I… I'll get enough in time, don't worry about me, this is about Sammy's safety, not about me."
Big Brother placed his hand on Conrad's shoulder, he was on one hand in distress and on the other he believed that what Conrad said held some truth to it. As a mage he could probably find more crystals than the others, so he wasn't that worried. Still, that didn't deprive him of empathy.
Sammy could only see the sad smile Conrad had, she wasn't sure on how strong Conrad was, but if Big Brother believed in him, so should she.
They disbanded not long after to start mining for more crystals, if they didn't gather enough, they wouldn't be fed. So most didn't have any issue getting started with their work.
Conrad immediately went deep into the mine, as the reserves there weren't touched yet. Most didn't want to go so deep as there were a limited amount of torches and in the dark, they would be lost. Sticking to the safer upper area of the mine was simply the best place. No one knew what kind of monsters were hidden deep within.
Not that it stopped the newly recruited mage, he went and gathered. His work and efforts paid off as at the end of the day he gathered enough to pay not only for his own debt but also help others get their food. Everyone saw him as a better version of Big Brother, even he was glad to know there was someone even he could rely on.
His status in the group rose even higher than before, especially after the incessant asking after Sammy came up. Only Conrad was brave enough to stand up for her and protect her. The guards started to hit and kick Conrad, but he didn't budge, he was meant to be a wall for the children to hide behind. He would not give up Sammy, even if he had to gather even more crystals the next day.
His iron will, and strong back made many of the camp see him as a natural leader willing to protect even the weakest of the group. The night came and starting the next day, Conrad's task was to collect more than double of the previous amount, making his work practically impossible alone.
Still, he didn't give up and went back inside the mines. He went deep inside the dark depth not knowing one single other was in pursuit. Sammy had been tailing Conrad, most of the children in the camp weren't forced to work since Big Brother tried to cover for them. They mostly used their hands to clear up the loose rubble to save the others some energy.
With Conrad now helping out, things went a lot smoother, still, his task had grown tremendously and even with combined efforts, they would be barely succeeding.
Sammy, being the one child that never worked due to her circumstances, was free to do as she pleased. Following Conrad proved to be quite a challenge, without the torches to light the way and the confusing tunnels she needed some time to adapt. After some time she realized Conrad was going back to the lake.
Maybe she was curious, perhaps she wanted to convey her gratitude, or maybe something entirely else. But now she didn't know whether her choice to tail Conrad was a good one or not. She could see Conrad sit at the lake with a frustrated look.
"Goddammit!", he punched the water in the lake, large amounts of water were being displaced with each of his punches. He kept going until his breathing got heavy. Sammy was feeling bad knowing Conrad was so angry due to protecting her, feelings of fear also came up at his angered look.
The water proved to be a great punching bag since he couldn't destroy anything. Sammy leaned in a bit closer because she thought she heard something.
"....don't even know.....we're all going to die here...."
Sammy jumped up at that statement, the only rule in the camp was that nobody could die, to hear her savior say such a thing. Her small movements did alert Conrad despite her efforts to stay as silent as possible.
"Sammy?! Oh, I uh....I just wanted to take a bath before working, you know how pleasant they can be right?", his awkward way to clear up the situation reassured Sammy of Conrad's good will.
She came closer while Conrad tried to play things off as if he wasn't furious mere moments ago. His breathing was heavy, yet now Sammy could tell he's simply holding himself back. She sat not too far from Conrad and opened her mouth slowly. The very first words came out of Sammy's mouth.
"...I.....heard..."
Conrad's forced smile and awkward demeanor vanished in an instant. He sat on the ground not far from Sammy wearing a serious face. As someone that always smiled to her, it felt a little jarring to see him so unemotional.
"So you heard everything I said? Well, then you know in what kind of predicament we're in. My friends will ambush this camp tonight, and they don't know that there's a Rank 2 mage here. If a fight breaks out, everyone here will most likely die from the fight."
Conrad's assumption that she heard everything made her exposed to information she didn't want to hear. If what Conrad said was true, this camp would be completely destroyed in a day and a half.
Laughing a little bit out of desperation, Conrad could smile again after sharing his worries with someone.
"I've been thinking on how we could possibly survive, but the only solution I've thought of doesn't work. Brutus is too powerful for me or my friends to defeat, we would to surprise him."
Sammy tilted her head as if to ask what Conrad was thinking about. He sighed for a moment, before reaching in his pocket. He revealed two tiny little crystals. They didn't look like magic crystals that Brutus wanted, no it was smaller and looked a lot more complex.
"I am not just a normal mage, I actually create magic artifacts. These are my most precious inventions.", the way he looked so passionately at the little crystals, Sammy got intrigued.
"Hahaha, although I call myself a forge master of magical artifacts, I'm more of a failure than anything."
Sammy didn't understand what Conrad was talking about, but when he tried to explain how everything worked she only realized that he truly was a master when it came to forging. The way he explained each minute thing in great detail filled with passion showed he knew what he was talking about.
After some time Sammy still didn't hear why he was a failure, as if he wanted to avoid that subject. She was forced to speak up again, although this time it went a bit easier.
"...Why...failure..?"
"Oh, right, I forgot. This is the only artifact that can harm Brutus in a major way, but it can only be activated when you're very close to him, and I'll never get close to him with all those guards. You would simply need to crush the crystals in your palm and the magic inside would attack the enemy, it's extremely simple, but with the current situation, that's not going to be possible."
He held a crystal high and let the light reflect on it.
"When these little guys are activated without anyone else around, the magic starts to come for the closest target, which would be the user. So, I can't activate it from far away, I would need to stand next to him...dammit."
They both wallowed in the silence a bit longer before Conrad stood up.
"...well, I'll try to think of something else. I can only hope that when the fight starts, which is inevitable, not too many people get hurt...or even worse. When my friends and I fail and are dead, your group, if any still survives, will have to deal with the aftermath. They'll be more harsh and will request even more outrages demands.... I'm sorry Sammy. Just forget everything that I said."
Conrad looked sad for once, not desperate or furious, just sad. Things weren't working out for him and the future looked extremely bleak. Only Conrad and Sammy knew of what was to come, but they both weren't capable of doing anything to save the group.
He didn't bother gathering crystals since they wouldn't matter anymore, the end was near.
Instead, he tried to relax in the underground lake, the only other person who knew how dire the situation actually was, was more scared than ever. Conrad had explained further why a fight between mages would be disastrous for the camp. When two Rank 1 mages fight, a street might get destroyed, but when a Rank 2 was involved, an entire town could be wiped of the map.
In their little camp, it would be a blessing and a curse to survive the fight, because they would definitely lose some recruits and be treated a lot harsher. Could that then still be called living?
Sammy didn't know how to place those worries, she didn't have a strong mentality, it was barely stable after three days of rest. She wanted to think with Conrad, but she clearly didn't know enough to come up with a plan.
Time slowly passed and with each minute passing, the fear of Sammy grew a little. Her life and her friends and family would perish the moment night fell. Conrad not taking any action or thinking of something started to even make her angry at some point.
The time came to bring in the crystals, everyone had tried to make sure they wouldn't need any crystals from Big Brother or Conrad, since he needed them for himself this time. It was only occasionally that Big Brother had to step up to help someone else out.
He acted faster than usual, to make sure Conrad wouldn't use any. It all was for naught, as the moment his number was recited, Conrad stayed down.
"Recruit Five, nothing."
"What?!", the guards and the group all stared at Conrad with questioning eyes. The guards were hoping for a massive amount that would satisfy Brutus, but nothing came of it. The advisor was there as well, but he looked tired and a bit annoyed.
"Well, seeing as you can't provide for the group anymore and three days have passed, bring recruit Sixty-Two to me."
It was then that Conrad quickly looked up at the advisor with surprise. He had forgotten that Sammy was going to be taken again after three days. His eyes wildly searched for her and when he found her, he didn't know what to do. He quickly stood up and rushed to stand in front of her.
"...While I did indeed say that three days are enough, more time would be a lot more benificial."
"Recruit Five, I'm not the one asking anymore, the Boss has asked for her. There's nothing you can do anymore."
"What?"
The guards walked into the group and dragged Sammy out.
"NO, no, no ,no, NO!!", Sammy screamed her lungs out, for once she didn't hold back. There was nothing worse for her to go to Brutus at this point.
"Stop it!"
Big Brother tried to hold them back, but a single slap was enough to push him to the ground. Conrad also tried his luck and grabbed her hand. It took two guards and a lot of struggling to pull him off, but Sammy was taken away all the same.
"SAMMY! Stay strong!", Conrad yelled while she disappeared inside the centermost building. Hope was lost, they tried their absolute best to save her, but it was inevitable. Only Big Brother and Conrad had any chance of holding the guards back and they were with too many. They never stood a chance.
The guards eventually left, leaving the group alone. Some were sad that Sammy had left, others were happy they got to eat. Only Big Brother and Conrad thought differently from the group. No one cried or was desperate, which might've seemed strange, but Sammy being taken away happened on a daily basis.
It was only because of Conrad that she got a three days rest. Most of the group tried to just forget about her so they could justify not caring about her. They weren't hateful, simply looking out for their own survival.
"Conrad... I know how much you've done for our family, and Sammy.", he looked proud and embarassed. Focussing on some rock on the ground he continued. "I..I heard what you were talking about this morning, NOT that I was trying to eavesdrop or anything, I just went to find you in order to come up with a plan, but what you said, is it true? Is this going to end?"
Conrad froze up for a second and looked Big Brother straight in the eyes. His look gave of a certain intent that made Big Brother's hairs stand up straight. Staring in his eyes, Bog Brother felt like he was looking into an endless abyss. He didn't know why he felt this way, they were friends, there was no reason to feel this way.
"Oh...so you heard? That's very unfortunate..", his tone felt dead, like all the emotion washed away. His eyes pierced his mind, but they felt liveless, as if Conrad was lost in thought. Out of nowhere, Big Brother noticed something was off, he didn't feel comfterable. Deep inside him, there was something telling him to leave as fast as he could, his instincts were screaming, but Big Brother was certain that nothing would happen.
And he would be right.
"Then you know that protecting the group inside the cave is the safest bet."