"I don't understand, what do you mean horn of opportunity?" Eustace asked. Artur was speaking in riddles again.
"Don't you get it? This is our chance to get the hell out of here"
"What? How?"
"You'll see, follow me"
Artur took Eustace to the tent where the soldiers were converging but it was guarded. They could not get in, at least in an ordinary camp they could not. This was a camp that practiced survival of the fittest. Artur stealthily approached the tent so that other guards would not see them. They were still slaves that wore collars after all.
He called out to a guard as quietly as he could and when he got his attention he started dealing.
"We want to get into that tent" Artur said to the guard.
"You want to get into the tent, do you know who those are inside the tent? If you get caught you are dead"
"But I suppose there is a way not to get caught" Artur said and narrowed his eyes.
"You are one sharp kid, aren't you? It's going to cost you though"
"Twenty Jeddies, that's all I have and that's all I'm offering" Artur spoke in a domineering voice, he couldn't have this man looking down on him just because he was a little slave. Even he knew the secret laws of the camp.
"Make it twenty-five"
"Fifteen"
"Thirty"
"Ten"
"Look kid it's you who wants to get into the tent, I've got nothing to lose" The guard said.
"Really? I'm sure others would be happy to receive this money. If we get caught, I can even save them by putting the blame on you. After all, nobody else would know. Twenty jeddies, take it or leave it"
The guard gave a scowl of frustration and took the money from Artur's hand as soon as he stretched it out.
"You aren't some ordinary kid, are you?"
He took them around the tent and showed them a part of it which was torn below. Artur was the first to go and when he was sure that it was safe, he signaled for Eustace to follow. Inside there was a pile of chairs which had some space beneath. If they just lay down, they would be able to fit and see and hear everything that was going on in there.
They watched, the soldiers were still discussing different things while they waited for the one who call this meeting to come and address them. It did not take long before a man came and stood on a set up podium. Amongst the men Artur spotted Duncan and almost lost control of himself again. For a brief moment his bloodlust went out of control and Duncan felt it.
'Damn, that was close'
"All right, everybody, I need your attention" The old man on the podium spoke to make them quiet. He had insane charisma, that, Artur could tell just from looking at him.
"We don't have much time, so I'll be brief. I won't be repeating myself. As you know, the war in the south hasn't ended yet so most of you will be deployed tomorrow to the Grimdahl frontlines or east to the Wyrmhold borders" He announced "The lord has come in contact with another warlord by the name of Karn and as of the moment he is in need of more men so, first thing tomorrow morning, our third army sails for Drakmoor. If we win this battle, it means more spoils for us. Food, wine, weapons, riches and plenty more"
"How about we add some women on that?" A soldier said and the rest laughed in response.
"That would be nice, but don't hold your breath" He replied "Of course there are going to be casualties, and they will need help bringing the loot back so we will be assigning some other members too; captains to be precise. Duncan, Lord Khan has specifically requested for you"
Artur grabbed Eustace's shoulder and shook it, whispering: "Congratulations mate, we are getting the hell out of here"
"We should get the hell out of here before we get caught"
"Right, let's go"
***
The day went by quicker than Artur had expected and soon he and Eustace were free. They had very little time to get things ready but Artur already knew what to do ever since he heard about the deployment for the next day.
They had been securing materials since they got to the camp and now that the opportunity came they were going to use them unfailingly.
The duo waited for a lot of the other slaves to fall asleep before they left the tent and went to dig up their stash where they hid it.
They carried the big box out from the ground and went behind one of the tents to go through their stuff. Artur was determined to leave that day and he would rather die than miss the chance.
"We keep planning all this but what are we going to do when we get out of here?" Eustace said.
Artur was still focused on the unpacking, but he answered Eustace saying:
"My dear boy Eustace, what would you do without me?" Artur said as he took out the contents of the box "Don't worry, I know some people" He added with his uncle Darwin and aunt Isolde on his mind. He wondered how they would react when they saw him.
'Uncle Darwin will not believe his eyes'
One by one, Artur went the items. Ropes and grappling hooks, a fancy dagger which he stole, ammunition, leather water bags, two catapults, bandages and some medical equipment because anyone could get cut or shot, some dried treats and the best part, almost two thousand jeddies.
There was also one small piece of gold, their last resort in case anything went wrong. He stole it from the mines when the miner who found it was not looking. Each time he remembered how it happened he always laughed.
One day Artur was being punished for being disobedient and was forced to work the mines. Some fat old man was beside him but paid no attention to him. The man suddenly struck gold and covered it in dust before anyone could see it. Unfortunately for him, Artur had already seen it and immediately determined in his heart to steal it.
The man carefully used his pickaxe to move it under the dust and made sure not to lose its position, so did Artur. He took a rock and threw it across the tunnel and it hit someone on the head. That was the distraction he needed. As soon as everyone turned away he snatched up the gold for himself and snuck out of the mines. It was a good thing the man paid no attention to him so recognizing him was going to be hard. Even if he did, he could not do anything or he would have to explain to the leaders of the camp how he found gold and failed to announce it.
With what they had, they would be able to make it back to Evershire if they used them wisely.
"So, Eustace"
"I'm listening"
"Are you ready to leave this place?"
"Without a doubt"
"You can't say you're scared once we go"
"Right back at ya"
"All right then, let's pack up"