Once the group reconvened inside of the safe house with all of the slaves they had rescued, they gathered everyone while instructing them to form three separate lines. The former prisoners and slaves were all nervous as they didn't know what was about to happen to them as these powerful people hadn't said a word to them other than giving them instructions.
The three lines soon formed, each with roughly 30 to 32 people in them. They had rescued roughly 95 people from this operation. While it was going to be a pain to get everyone sorted out and back where they belonged, it was definitely a good feeling being able to do this.
"Please step off to the side once your collar is removed. Once everyone is free of their bonds, we will work with you to help you return to where you call home. For now, we need everyone's cooperation and swift movement. We recognize some of you may be tired and hungry, but the sooner this process is over, the sooner you all can eat!" Charlotte spoke gently but with a tone that left no room for question at the same time.
Kayn expected to be removing the slave collars with only Charlotte's help, but to his surprise the dagger wielder, Two, stepped forward as well. The remover of the slave collar needed to have a spell that was specific to their element and a decent understanding of their underlying enchantments.
As the years passed and slave collar technology advanced, this became even more important. One used to be able to simple destroy it or break it if they had enough strength, but nowadays they were also enchanted with a failsafe that would kill the slave if it wasn't disabled before removal.
Kayn only knew how to remove them because he had been studying Rowen's spells, otherwise he probably wouldn't be able to understand how the enchantments worked. Enchantment and inscription were definitely areas that Kayn wanted a better understanding of. He made a plan to spend time with Rowen during his next semester break in order to learn more about them.
Yelena turned her head and whistled when Kayn looked in her direction as he thought that by all means she should be able to remove them with her years of life, but it seemed that she was either lazy in this regard or didn't understand enchanting. Shrugging at her attitude, Kayn approached one of the lines and got to work.
After Kayn and the other two began their work removing a few collars each, Kayn watched as four people left Two's line and entered his own. Two of them looked quite nervous, one was happier than a bee on a flower, and the last looked like she was agitated, which Kayn couldn't understand one bit.
Once it was finally time for one of them to approach, Repha stepped forward with her sister whom was more than excited to have the tight collar removed from her neck.
"Why didn't you tell us anything?" Repha's stern and accusatory tone caught Kayn off guard a little. He had just rescued her and her sister! Not to mention that he had saved her from being violated by one of the other VIPs, you'd think she would say thank you or something.
"I needed you to play your part. If I told you, you would have acted differently and potentially given away everything. It was a risk that I couldn't take, I apologize. As you have already told me about where you and your sister are from, we will contact the local Great Forest ambassador for you. I'm sure he will be more than happy to get you two an escort home."
Kayn's voice seemed detached and even a little bit dejected at how she seemed to blame him for not telling her earlier. When Repha noticed the sadness in his voice, she apologized.
"I'm sorry Mr. Hasan, it's just that I've been extremely stressed ever since we were captured. Not knowing what the future held for us, especially my sister, has caused me to become very aggressive as of late. Once again, I'm sorry for the way I've treated you when you have done nothing but show my sister and I kindness. Also, thank you." Repha gave Kayn a deep bow which was soon copied by her younger sister that also said thank you.
"You're welcome, and don't worry about it. You were right to be suspicious of my actions and to be protective of your sister, I don't blame you. Also, I too apologize for using the collar's influence on you those few times as I know how it feels. Now, let's remove those collars from you two so that you can feel like you're getting closer to going home." Kayn gently spoke his genuine thoughts.
He honestly did feel bad for giving her commands, and he was impressed with her rebelliousness given her situation. Plus, she was always trying to do whatever it took to keep her sister safe and Kayn found that admirable. Kayn removed the two girl's collars and they both started tearing up before thanking Kayn again and moving off to the side as they were originally instructed.
Next, Colleen approached. "Thank you Mr. Hasan. You've done so much for me and saved me from a terrible fate. I honestly don't know what I can do to express my gratitude."
Kayn smiled as he reached his hand forward and began the process of removing her collar. "You're welcome Colleen. Now, you can return to your family safe and sound, I'm sure they will be excited when you return to them."
"Yes! Thank you again!" Colleen shouted before grabbing Kayn's hand and suddenly placing a kiss on the back of it before scurrying off to stand with the others.
Jack then approached Kayn while also stealing glances at Colleen from time to time. Clearly the young man was infatuated with her. It made sense though as she was a kind girl who was fairly pretty. Also, the two had been talking quite a bit ever since Jack started staying with the group in the VIP room.
"Thank you for freeing me Mr. Hasan. I don't know what I will do going forward as I don't have a family, but I won't waste the opportunity you have given me." Jack stated with firm determination.
"You know, you could always see if you can follow Colleen. You two seem to get along quite well and with your skills, I'm sure her parents wouldn't mind having you around their restaurant. Just ask her if that's what you want, I doubt she would say no." Kayn chuckled a little bit as he had seen Colleen looking back at Jack every now and then as well.
'Good things can come from bad situations I guess.' Kayn thought to himself as he chuckled and watched Jack scamper over to Colleen's side and began talking to her. From the smile that showed on her face, she was quite happy with what they were talking about. Seeing this, Kayn couldn't help but smile with contentment.
As Kayn was the slowest at this process since he was new to putting his spell into practice, people moved from his line to the other two lines as time went by. A short while later everyone's collars were removed and a few massive tables were set up in a corner of the warehouse. Several different types of food were then placed on these tables in a buffet style ensemble.
For the next couple of hours, the former slaves filled their stomachs with delicious food that they hadn't been able to experience in quite some time. During this time, the group mostly supervised the freed prisoners to ensure that there was no rough housing or anything of the sort. Only Charlotte moved around the group of former slaves, healing the ones that needed it.
Kayn could have participated in healing, but he was told not by Charlotte as only she and Yelena knew about his uniqueness. To the others in the group, he was simply a mysterious fire and dark element mage.
Once everyone was stuffed, a few of the group members handed out a clean blanket to everyone before instructing them to get some sleep for the night. They would get everyone where they needed to go in the morning.
There were a few of the former slaves that could just find their way home at this point, but since it was currently nighttime, they thought better of it and decided to wait until morning as they were told. They didn't want to end up back as a slave from being kidnapped off the street again after all.
…
When morning came the group was split up by where they needed to be taken. A few of them were half elves that stated they lived in the Great Forest, so they were put into the same group as Repha and her sister to be brought to the local Elven Embassy.
Some lived here in Palatine but would have since lost their accommodations. This group was provided with one silver coin a piece and would be escorted to an area where they could get a ride to wherever they wanted to go with the carriage fees paid for.
Similarly, those who had homes to go back to like Colleen were also given this same opportunity. Others lived in small villages outside of Palatine and would also be taken by a carriage service with any travel fees paid for.
The last group were those who were taken while the rest of their families were slaughtered. They had nowhere to go and no idea what to do. Just like the others, these people were also given one silver coin, but they would instead be taken to a local shelter that would provide them with job opportunities and a bed in while they looked for a place to settle down.
The entire day was filled with the group members going their separate ways and getting the different rescued groups where they needed to go. Kayn was assigned the group that needed to see the elven dignitaries. His group was the smallest, so he was sent with just himself as he could manage the small numbers fairly easily.
The building that Kayn took them to was located near the northern wall of Palatine. Repha and her sister once again thanked Kayn for everything he had done for them, even if Repha was a bit sad she didn't get the see the face of her savior, even to the end.