Chapter 043:

The morning sun shone bright over the village of Atros, at least from where Kal was standing. She had said to Anton and Verona that she was going to collect the other parts of her belongings, which was in fact the main reason, but it was also to spend some time alone. Alone with her thoughts. Thoughts that she never imagined she would be having. Thin and dry grass crunched underneath her wrapped feet as she ran hurriedly to her hiding spot, though compared to her human friends she was essentially silent. Just like the breeze that whipped past her, drowning her mind in its pleasant rustling.

As she reached the final crest before the cave she found that her feet could take her no further. At least not without sorting a few things out in her head.

"I'm glad I didn't listen to myself before coming here." she mumbled aloud to nobody in particular. "If I knew what I was going to find, I would not have believed it. I would've thought it was a trap or crazy dream."

She stopped, taking another look back. From where she stood she could still see the village that she now called home. Everything about that place was bizarre, nothing like she had seen before. Never in her wildest dreams would she have ever imagined such a place could even exist. A hand clutched at the medallion that lay around her neck.

“I never thought you would actually answer my prayer.” she mumbled, looking towards her destination.

It was mostly out of habit that she prayed to the medallion and its goddess Tethra, especially as the thunder and storms roared overhead. Yet, for the first time in her life, it was answered. She took a deep breath and held her hands on her hips. No matter how much she fought it, a smile formed on her face.

“Everyone there is crazy.” she muttered with a smile, “Especially those two.”

'Those two' were Anton and Verona. Two of the most bizarre in the village of the bizarre.

Verona is...different. Despite being from Atros, she has no issues with talking with me...or even holding my arm. A beast-kin's arm. Or even hugging me. She goes well out of her way to make sure that I'm alright. When I first arrived, and I was exposed as a beast-kin, she did nothing hostile towards me. She lept to the defence but only because she did not know who was in the wrong. She didn't even think of me as something to be killed or hated.

Thinking about Verona gave her an unpleasant tingle at the base of her tail. While she was certain that Anton was interested in seeing what it looked like, he was not going to force her to show him. Verona was different. She had tried to grope her tail, almost groping her butt in the process, on her first day of living in Atros. She slapped her hand away hard in response but Verona just seemed to find it funny.

Kal shook her head as she continued towards the cave. She kept her hands hovering over her weapons but found herself grossly distracted by her thoughts.

That whole thing was...interesting. But it's not something I'm going to show to just anyone.

Though, that thought brought her mind to an uncomfortable person. One which made her mind become muddled in twisting and spiralling thoughts. There were many things about Anton that made her feel confused and strange.

He's...He's not from Atros, that much is certain, and everyone seems trusts him with an unwavering belief. I'm sure that wasn't always true, but he is now. He has near limitless power. More than enough to make mountains of gold in the Graterious Empire as a mercenar magey, and yet he is here, in the middle of nowhere and doing what he can to make to make a tiny village stronger...

But it was how he treated her that confused her the most.

Not once did he ever look at me with revulsion. My eyes, my ears, not my hands and claws. Not even when he saw my foot...

She could not finish her thought. The thought of having her feet exposed was utterly terrifying, and she had done everything she could to not show him. Yet when she did he looked at it with a curious gaze, like it was not repulsive to him at all. Her dreams often wandered to that moment. Especially when he was playing with the knuckles of her toes, completely uncaring that it was not human in any way, shape or form. The only reason he stopped was that he saw her red face. Thinking about it even now caused her to flush lightly, she was very thankful that nobody was around to see her like this. Those flushes, around him, had occurred more and more as time went by. It was getting harder to keep herself under control. But thinking more about it brought up another, disturbing possibility. One which caused her stomach to turn cold the more she thought about it.

He's a liar. But I don't really know why.

There were things that he said, phrases and expressions, that even she had not heard of. When she looked at him he knew that he had slipped up. Even if the others did not see it, she did.

It's the little things, like how he knew how to behave infront of Duchess Belinda, how he knew what a centaur was even though nobody else did. Some of the words too. And...he was kind to me even after I punched him in the gut...Though...

Thinking about that brought her a sense of shame and guilt. Though Anton said it was fine, as he had not explained what he was in Maxill for to her, it was probably a little too much to hit him so publicly. And that hard, she had put all her weight into it. The mere mention of slaves, and the thought of someone like him being involved in the ghastly flesh trade, made her blood boil. Taking another deep breath, she calmed herself down. Even remembering anything about slavery briefly was enough to make her angry. Her hands were already curled into fists and were ready to draw her daggers at a moments notice.

The entrance of the cave was not far away. It was hidden by some large bushes and trees, hidden amongst the small forest on the ridge. Only a freak accident, when she was desperately looking for shelter from the storm, allowed her to find it.

A niggling and gnawing feeling continued at the back of her mind. Something about his origins still refused to make sense.

On the way to Maxill, when I made that mushroom soup for the first time, I said that he wasn't from any land on this world.

He didn't deny it.

Then I said that he isn't even from this world.

He didn't deny it.

Is he? Is he from another world...A place so far away....It would explain a lot of things. Most importantly, how he doesn't seem to have any concern about me being a beast-kin. Perhaps his world, if he really does come from another, is more....tolerant of creatures like me. Or maybe that's just the way he is?

She looked back towards Atros, now nearly hidden from view.

But, who could I tell? Who could I ask without making someone angry and distrustful? And what could I possibly gain from it? So what if he is? He's...he's the only person that has given me a chance.

Thinking that brought a strange smile to her face, one that she did not really understand.

I will not let him down!

Before she realised it she had brought her hands into fists, but not in anger. She took another deep breath as she readied herself to approach the cave properly and carefully. The few times she had been in a true life or death situation had been when she was too eager or desperate to do something. A few times had seemed harmless enough, but those had landed her on her back, trying to fight off something that wanted her dead. Or worse.

The cave was well hidden from prying eyes, like an open mouth leading back into the ground. Several small bushes hid the front while the grasses adding to the secrecy of the cave. A strange sense of relief overcame her as she saw it, the place that she had called 'home' for some few days before journeying to Atros. Quite a few important things to her remained inside.

The grass outside appeared to be long and upright, nothing had trampled it flat by walking over it. As she took her first step to the edge of the steep slope into the cave, her body screamed for her to stop. She had done well, over the winters, to listen to that feeling. Instantly she lowered herself, pulling out a dagger and planting her other hand onto the ground for stability. One deep sniff at the air told her that something was wrong.

That's Goblin shit...quite a bit of it.

Staying low she slowly crept to the edge of the cave. A tiny change in the light around her told that her that she was doing something wrong. The shadow, cast from her body, would be entering the cave if she took another step.

Goblins might be stupid but they're smart enough to know that a shadow might mean a predator. I don't want to be attacked like I heard Dana was.

Moving as silently as she could she moved around until the sun was infront of her, and her shadow cast behind her and not into the cave. Next to her was a small pile of Goblin waste. It smelt as awful as it looked. At times like this she wished that she had a human sense of smell; far weaker and less debilitating when encountering such potent smells.

Nevertheless, she started to breath through her mouth to lessen the stench.

The quiver could be quite noisy as I move through, if I hit anything or spill it with the arrows bouncing around. They'll know that I'm here.

As she started to take off her bow, as quietly as she possibly could, she heard another noise coming from within the cave. For a terrifying moment she thought that she had been discovered already. With one hand she placed down the bow and quiver right next to her as she brought both her legs close to her body, so she could launch herself at whatever was coming for her. Scratches on rock, the sounds of pebbles and clods of dirt being forced loose, told her that it was coming towards her. Knowing that she should see the enemy first, just in case it was someone like her, even though it was almost certainly a Goblin.

The waiting was the worst part. Each breath seemed to last for eternity, waiting to see the something that accompanied the noise. Finally she saw it. A green, balding, diminutive head rose above the edge of the grass. It was unmistakably a Green Goblin. As she readied herself to pounce, she noticed something odd about it. It swayed slightly and its eyes looked clouded.

Is it drunk? I didn't have anything like that for it to steal.

Fearing how many more could still be lurking inside the cave, she waited until it's head was completely exposed to her sight. It bobbed from either side like it was floating in water. Its eyes had not yet seen her but she was not going to give it the chance. She readied the knife, lunged forward and grabbed it hard on the mouth with her free hand, pulling it towards her. Any sense of inebriation vanished instantly, its dull eyes snapping into focus, as its life was threatened.

Before it could squirm or scream she plunged the dagger into its neck, dragging it away from the cave and onto the grass. A few tiny bloody splutters and the creature was dead. She stabbed its neck and chest five more times to ensure that it was dead. There was virtually nothing holding its head onto its body as the blood pooled onto the grass.

There was no other sound coming from the cave. Kal glanced around, still finding nothing to indicate that she had been found out yet, and pulled the body further away from the cave. The nearly severed head almost came off as she dragged it away.

Just going to have a quick look over you, then I'll see about your friends.

The Green Goblin was almost identical to like the hundreds of Goblins she had seen over the many winters. Small and deformed green limbs that belonged on a bloated child-like body, with yellowed and chipped teeth and claws. Even though it was dead its beady eyes stared back into hers, utterly lifeless. She had seen that look before. So many times that she felt nothing at seeing it. Nonetheless, she focused on the goblin infront of her. She needed to be careful, and make sure it was not something more dangerous. Like a warrior or champion. The Goblin was only wearing a raggedy piece of animal hide around its waist. Its distended stomach hung over it and helped to keep it in place. Other than that, it was completely nude. With her blade she lifted it up the hide, and saw that it was a male.

It doesn't have any of the marks or signs that it's anything but a normal goblin.

She looked back up and saw no more goblins, of any colour, emerge from the entrance.

Greens would only go alone out like this if there are only a few. They never go alone if they can help it. That means under a dozen at most. If they were this drunk that they didn't see me they probably aren't listening too well either. This should not be too difficult. Hopefully.

There was nothing else to learn, or to steal, from the goblin, so she started back towards the cave. Even dimwitted creatures like them would soon look for the missing goblin. Leaning over the edge she saw no more Goblins lazing about. She picked up the bow and quiver, knocked an arrow, and descended into the cave.

The cave was not very large but the main cavern was around a corner, which obscured her vision. And theirs. Only the tiniest crunch of rocks followed her footsteps as she made it to the edge. Her worry about the quiver was unfounded, it barely made a sound. Part of her felt a little silly for thinking that.

Remember...Find out where they are and surprise them as best you can.

She took another deep breath and readied herself. Fighting was always terrifying, and this was no different.

You can do this. You can do this. You can do this!

As she pulled back on her bow, she peered around, aiming the bow into the cavern. It was not as dim as she thought it would be. A few torches provided flickering orange light. Torches that she did not have. They must have been brought by the Green Goblins. Through the flickering light, and some staggering movement, she could count eight Green Goblins in the main cavern, all male and congregating on one side. She could tell they were male as the female goblins wore something more akin to a raggedy dress rather than the thin piece of fur the males wore.

This means that they're going to be looking for a woman to...breed with.

That thought made her want to vomit. Memories of her life in Seocuria came flooding back, vivid recollections of her early life. Blood curdling screams and cries for unaswered mercy pounded through her. It was almost enough for her to vomit despite the danger. She had to retreat back out of the way for fear of loosing the arrow early.

Don't think about that. They're not here. They're not here, and they don't know where I am.

She turned around the corner again. Most of the Green Goblins were sleeping or chatting amongst themselves. Apparently nobody had ever figured out what they were saying, or even if they were saying anything at all. One was looking vaguely in her direction. That gave her a little fright as she thought as she thought she had been spotted. She counted her breaths and readied her dagger but nothing came for her. Another quick glance showed the Goblin lying on its side asleep. She had been lucky that it was so tired.

But from what? Why are they all so tired and distracted?

A further glance showed that the floor shimmered near the Goblins and reflected the dull orange scenery, but it was not water. It was too thick and pooled in an odd way for water. A goblin stumbled back and stood in the puddle, dying the back of its heel red. Red with blood. But who's? As her eyes quickly became more adjusted to the dim light she could see more of the cave. On the far side of the cave, and seemingly untouched, were the small bags of loot that she had managed to build over the many winters. It was not much, but it was all she had.

Another goblin stumbled about from the huddle, this one falling down too. Though this one had a satisfied expression on its deformed face.

Kal felt her stomach turn over as she looked closer at the huddle. One of the Goblins was moving in a fast rhythm, over and over again. She knew what that meant, there was no mistaking it. There was another body underneath it and it lacked the green skin of the Goblins. It was a little hard to tell, but it appeared to be a very dark brown in colour, almost black. That's why it was so hard for her to spot it right away, especially when her attention was focused on the Goblins.

There was only one place where humans had that colour of skin. Seocuria.

Why is a Seocurian here? It's hundreds of miles from there. And quite far from the furthest village in Graterious, and they've certainly not been to Atros.

Her mental musing were stopped as she continued to look. There was not just one body. There were three. She had no idea if the others were men or women, but the Goblins paid them no mind. Either they were dead men or dead women. Neither of those could bear children and were on no interest to the Goblins now. Perhaps they would eat them later. Right now they were focused on their most basic instinct.

She watched the horrific scene, but could not determine anything more.

I can't learn anything else from here. I'm just going to have to go in.

Kal drew the bow and aimed it at the most alert Goblin, the one that seemed to be waiting its turn on the woman.

Kill them first. And then find out what three Seocurians are doing so far away from home.

She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly to calm her nerves and aim.

You can do this!

She loosed the arrow. It struck the Goblin in the back of its head, killing it instantly. The dead body slumped onto the dead humans. Only then did the others realise something was wrong. Kal readied another arrow and loosed it straight away, killing the Goblin next to the dead one. Another two were killed before they even started moving towards her. She dropped the bow and pulled out both daggers. Wielding both daggers, in what she had been told was a 'reverse grip', and lunged forward.

With only four Green Goblins remaining, still dazed and stunned, it was not much of a fight. She pushed away their crude wooden weapons and stabbed them in the back of the neck before moving onto the next one. It only took a few heartbeats, her own sense of time made it seem to last only as long as a flicker of light in a droplet. When she stopped her heart was racing.

It took a few moments to calm herself properly. Before investigating the bodies more she turned to each Green Goblin, even the ones struck by the arrows, and stabbed them repeatedly in the head and chest. She did not one of them to feign death and strike her later.

Blood covered her cloth wrappings. Instead of being disturbed that the wetness of the blood had already soaked through, it was the reaction she was expecting of the people at Atros that concered her the most. Even in the dull torchlight she could see that her hands, legs and some of her cloak, was covered in blood.

I wonder what they'll say? Hopefully they'll wonder what happened...

Her thoughts drifted to the three human bodies in the cave.

Though that might change once I figure out what they are here for...

She picked up a torch and walked closer to the human bodies, holding the torch close to them. Up close they were undoubtedly from Seocuria. On her travels she had never seen anyone with skin darker than theirs. Spending her child years in that Empire made it impossible for her not to recognise the dark skin as anything but Seocurian.

Two of them were men, their faces were torn apart while their jaws hung loose. Each had terrible wounds covering there body that looked to be a mixture of old and new. The other, where the Goblins had focused their attentions, was a woman. She was not fairing any better, with her guts barely held in by a few thin pieces of skin. The Green Goblins were never nice to their captives, more-so than the others of their kind. On their faces were white line tattoos that ran from their nose, along their cheek bones to the edge of her face then to the base of her chin. Several other white dots ran above and below their eyebrows. She knew the marks.

“Slave hunters..” she mumbled aloud. “And poor ones, if this-”

The woman spluttered, Kal took several paces back in surprise. She made sure both of her blades were held firmly in her hands as she hesitantly approached.

“Help...me.” the woman begged weakly.

It seemed that it took everything she had to stay awake, her eyes rolled around in her head as they tried to focus on Kal. How long had this woman been forced to stay here like this?

“Why?” Kal asked, taking another step forward.

“Please.” Her voice was now a whimper.

A hand, and a bloody stump, tried to push her spilling guts back in. Kal took a deep breath and sheathed one of her blades. With her free hand she reached into her waist and pulled out a few dried pieces of Shimmer Soral. She always kept some, and had been able to build her collection again after taking it from the Kobold camps. It would not save her, but would keep her alive for a bit longer. Long enough for Kal to figure out what to do with her.

She lent down and pushed the leaves into her mouth, the woman's intact hand pushed it in further as she weakly chewed on the leaf. Every bite seemed to restore some measure of life to the woman. By the third leaf she looked a lot better, comparitively. Well enough to speak without passing out.

Kal gave her a fourth leaf and sat on the other side of the cave, near her own supplies.

“Can you talk?” Kal asked.

The woman shuffled backwards so her head rested against the cave wall.

“Yes. Thank you.” she said, her voice still trembling through weakness.

Kal pursed her lips. She pressed her hand onto her small bags. Everything felt the same. At least the Goblins had not pilfered her loot.

“What's a Seocurian doing so far from the Empire?” Kal asked.

“I need...help.” the stump pointed at her horrendously wounded stomach.

Kal sat next to her goods, brought her knees up under her chin and watched the woman.

“If you tell me who you are and why you're here, I'll get my...” she flexed her toes, almost breaking out into a smile, “Friend, to help you. He's a devout follower of the Old God, Tethra, the goddess of prayer. He can fix your wounds.”

She reached in a pulled out the silver medallion, a final gift from her mother, just enough so the woman could see the bright reflection. A hint of recognition came over her face as her eyes looked from the reflection to her face.

“So, your kind do exist.” the woman said.

Kal put the medallion back underneath her cloth wrappings. She let out an involuntary sigh as she looked back at the woman.

“Your eyes....nobody could miss those. On a human face.” she said weakly. “A half-breed.”

“So, what's your name?” Kal asked.

Something in her mind told her to follow something more akin to Anton's line of talking, like with Duchess Belinda.

Don't just answer everything they ask, make them work for it.

Kal said nothing as she stared at the woman. Whomever she was, she knew that she was dying. Her eyes knew that she had to answer at least some of Kal's questions if she had any hope of getting help.

“My name is...Farida. And these are...”

She looked at the bodies.

“It doesn't matter now.”

“You're a long way from Seocuria.”

The woman moved herself up further against the wall.

“I think you already know that, half-breed.” she stared into Kal's eyes.

“Which clan are you from?” Kal asked.

The woman did not answer.

“And why were three of you so far away from home?” Kal asked again. “Or even from Graterious?”

“Travelling...to Qaiviel.”

“There are easier ways to get there, especially if you are in Seocuria. You could head through the Bebbazzar Kingdom and then through to Qaiviel. That avoids the Deweth clans and this wilderness.”

Kal looked at the dead Green Goblins littering the floor. Farida shook her head.

“Bebbazzar has changed over the last few winters.” She weakly explained. “They're becoming a very paranoid people. Everybody is searched at the border crossings-”

“That's the way it has always been.” Kal answered, sounding rather annoyed.

Farida took another large pained breath.

“The countryside is filled with bandits. Far more than usual. First, when we tried to go through there were eight of us. Then we got ambushed.”

If three of you managed to get ambushed and slain by these Green Goblins, it's no wonder you lost to some bandits.

“They took us prisoner. Their leader tried to recruit us, always-” Farida coughed up some more blood, Kal moved over and gave her a few more Shimmer Soral leaves to help her ease her pain. “Talking about the labourers and workers of the Kingdom. How they should rise up and overthrow the King and his followers. That those that created things and tilled the soil should be the rulers. Not those that sat in palaces and mansions abusing their efforts and lives. Some crap like that.”

Interesting. Anton might know something about this. If he is from another world, perhaps something like that happened in his? If he's willing to accept me, who knows what happened there.

“So, you decided to head the other way, through the deadly remains of the Kar Kingdom? Full of goblins, beasts and creatures that only the Old Gods know about?”

Farida looked rather uncomfortable.

“I can see now that it was a terrible decision.”

Kal nodded. Her eyes were continuing to become more adjusted to the dim light. Underneath the leg of the Seocurian to the right were several sheets of old and worn paper. Some blood had leaked onto it, but it looked like it was still readable. She moved forward towards the pieces of paper, Farida tried to stop her but no words came out, only more blood.

“What are these?” Kal asked, lifting up the leg to free them.

Farida refused to answer. Kal held them close to the torch. While she did not have a perfect understanding of how to read words, she was certain it was better than most people in the village. She guess that only Anton, and Bertram and Sybil, had better reading skills. She didn't even know if Verona could read, a strange hint of pride swelled up inside of her.

It was crushed when she turned her attention to the sheets of paper.

“Bounties...” Kal mumbled.

Farida looked like her heart would stop at any second from shock.

“Who are these?” Kal asked.

“Criminals.” she answered. “We are, were, bounty hunters.”

Each piece of paper had a drawing of the hunted person and how much they were worth and to whom.

Kal hummed in agreement. “Most are these are for Bebbazar people, and a few from Qaiviel. Still a long way to come for....”

She flicked through them, stopping cold when she saw one at the bottom of the pile. Unlike the others, filled with angry and scarred men and women, this one was softer. But it was not a human. It had distinctive horizontal cat-like eyes and long furred ears. One of which was torn off half way.

It was Kal's.

“Why do you have this?” Kal asked angrily, showing her the paper.

Farida refused to answer.

“Fine.” Kal grabbed her own bag from the other side of the cave and stormed towards the cave entrance. “Die here then.”

She only made a few steps before an angry cry rang out.

“Wait.” she begged, “We needed the money. So we took every bounty that we could find. We never had a hope of catching the highly rewarding ones.”

“Catch any?” Kal returned to her previous position but remained standing.

Farida shook her head. Kal felt a shiver run down her spine. It had been almost twenty winters since she escaped Seocuria and almost nine since she last saw a hunter with an allegiance Seocuria. Knowing that somebody was still after her was terrifying.

“There's a bounty on me?” Kal asked, almost chuckling as she looked at her own wanted paper. “I thought they would have given up by now. Thought that I was dead after so long.”

Farida shook her head. She groaned angrily as another coughing fit brought up more blood. She knew that her chances of living were now very slim.

“The bounty still stands. Three hundred gold coins.”

Kal coughed at the mention. She had no idea that someone wanted her so bad, though she knew what it was for.

I'm probably the oldest living Half-breed to have existed. They'll keep the bounty open until they're certain that I would have died from age. At the very least they'll want me as part of a collection. Or worse.

Another thought crept up into her mind.

Anton was talking about needing more money...He wouldn't. Would he?

The terrifying thought flashed through her mind. Of her kicking and screaming in vain as she was handed off to some Seocurian slaver, while Anton checked over a chest full of gold. It was horrific and made her want to be sick.

No! He wouldn't do that...He wouldn't! Get that out of your head!

Kal shook her head and focused back on the wounded woman.

“And you travelled all that way on the hope that you would find me here, in the wilderness?”

Farida remained silent.

“If you want me to save you, you're going to explain.”

“There was a rumour in Graterious. We...” she looked either side to her dead companions. “We were trying to enter the Red Company-”

“How did you fail that?” Kal asked, a uncharacteristic smugness in her voice. “They take anyone so long as they've got a bit of money or skill.”

Farida scowled angrily.

“We didn't have enough of either. That's why we tried to work the bounties, but my companions spent anything we made. It was only lowly criminals, poachers and things like that. But, as we travelled to Porswea, we heard a rumour about someone that was prowling around the smaller villagers. Something about it, the way the person was behaving and dressed... it just sounded like a runaway slave.”

“And you thought you would track me down, and get me all the way back to Seocuria so you could get the reward?”

“It took us three winters to track you down, even vaguely.” Farida continued, not acknowledging what Kal had just said. “It became an obsession. The little hints and bursts of information became maddening for us. We heard nothing about you for some time, only that you had headed here, to the remains of the Kar Kingdom. Do you know how well we could have lived with all that money? For over twenty winters we would have been able to live the good life without any worries.”

The blood loss was starting to make her delerious, her eyes no longer had the focus they once had.

“I didn't head this way on purpose, but the further away I got from the larger cities the easier it was for me to hide and travel. I guess it just sort of happened that I came this way. It also stopped people from finding out that I'm...well.”

Kal frowned deeply.

“So, you just wandered the wilderness until you stumbled into this cave, and were ambushed by nine Green Goblins?”

“Yes.”

Kal folded her arms.

“That sounds...extremely unlikely. Especially with how easily these Goblins dealt with you. For you to have been able to track me.”

“My brothers were the trackers,” she nodded either side.

“For all the good it did them.”

Farida said nothing, barring her teeth as she pushed her struggled to keep herself together. The Shimmer Soral seemed to be starting to wear off. The immense pain was starting to carve through her face.

“How did they do it?”

“Can you please help me now?” she pleaded.

“Are those bags yours?” Kal asked as, pointing to some bloodied bags next to one of her dead companions.

“Y...Yeah...” she looked desperately at Kal as she walked towards her. “Please, I'm dying!”

“I know.” Kal said dismissively.

She bent down and picked up the bag, fending of a desperate swipe from Farida. Kal took another step back, kicking away another swipe.

“My friend...one, one of my friends.” Kal began, rummaging through the bag, “I actually have friends now. He took a chance with me. Even though I'm a half-breed, and every human I met before treated me with hatred and disgust. But he...he didn't.”

She found herself smiling. She opened the bag fully. It seemed to be food supplies and a few more copper coins. There was nothing in there to indicate how they knew how to follow Kal. The absence of information was most disturbing.

Was it luck that they found here? Or was it a vision? I guess I feel like Anton does; not knowing anything and having to try and guess my way through it.

“He gave someone like me a chance. But,” she looked towards Farida, “He would also give someone like you a chance. At the very least the chance to explain yourself. He might heal you... and save you. Then you might even live happily in Atros. For a time. Then if we to head to Graterious, what's to say that you wouldn't find some people from the Red Company, tell them of my bounty, gather them together to get me....to take back 'Home'?”

Kal put down the bag and pulled out her knife.

“Please.” Farida begged, trying her best to shuffle backwards, “I swear that I would never do that.”

“Would never?" Kal snarled, "You were going to capture me and bring me back to Seocuria for money. If you could find me. You...”

Kal left her statement open. Farida knew what it meant.

“Please.” she begged again, trying in vain to crawl away.

“You'll bleed out before long. Those wounds are too much for me to deal without magic. But, I'm not going to let that happen to you.”

She turned to face Farida.

“I'm-” was all that she could say before Kal plunged the blade into her throat.

A few spluttered coughs and she was dead. Her wounded limbs fell limp and the few intact muscles on her stomach weakened. Blood started to pour out, in great quantities, as her muscles failed. Kal took a step back and wiped the blood off her dagger onto her sleeve. Her cloth wrappings were already so wet it took her a few goes to get it remotely dry.

“I'm...” Kal could not finish.

She was not sorry, even though she felt like she should say it, yet she could feel or say the words.

Kal rolled the bodies to the side and looked for anything valuable.

Might make this whole thing a little easier for me to explain. Or at least worth it.

Underneath Farida was another small bag. This did not look like it had been found by the Green Goblins. They were far more likely to be interested in the warm body on top of it. In it was another small stash of coins, twenty silver and a few copper, as well as something that looked like a lump of-

“Ugh.” Kal groaned as the rotten fruit burst and released its pungent innards.

She threw it to one side, wiping her hand onto the pants of one the dead men.

“Not too bad.” she said aloud, dropping the bag full of more rotten food, “Anton will be impressed.”

She looked back at the three bodies.

“Why didn't you head south?” she asked aloud. “That's the way I was heading once I left the Empire.”

She tore through the remaining bags but found nothing of value. Feeling rather disappointed and annoyed, she grabbed the wanted posters and used the torch to burn them. She did not even want the thought to enter anyone's mind. The extra light from the burning paper caught something odd near the other body. Near the wall was something purple, with a hint of the same green of her eyes. It gave her pause as she continued to look.

On closer inspection it was a piece of flesh. She reached over and picked it up. It was as cold as the cave surrounding them.

She felt and studied it in her hand. It was about the size of her arm, slightly tapered at one end, it had large smooth scales covering the outside, with a set of two bright green scales running along the top. The base of the meat looked like it had been ripped free rather than cut and there appeared to be bit marks along it. Even though it had been almost twenty years, there was no way that she could mistake this for something else.

It was the end of a beast-kins tail. A Cobra beast-kin to be precise.

Guess that explains how they were able to find me. They've always had a good sense of smell...taste, I think they called it. Said it could linger for days or for a whole season if it was strong enough.

She glanced at her bag and took a sniff. It smelled like it normally did, but perhaps that was the problem.

Maybe there was just enough for a good Cobra beast-kin to follow me. They might have only been a few days behind me at some points. Guess heading to Atros has was good for more than one reason.

She looked closer to where she found the tail. There were some gnawed bones around it. Not enough for a full body but too many to have belonged to the wounded Seocurians. The Green Goblins looked like they had eaten the poor beast-kin for food. While she felt nothing like guilt or remorse for the three Seocurians, she did feel something for the Cobra beast-kin.

“A slave, forced to serve, hunt and kill for their master.” She placed down the remains of the tail in the center of the room. “I'm sorry that you died so far away from your family. From those that cared for you.”

She was sure that the Cobra's, along with all other beast-kin, had some sort of burial rites but she did not know theirs. At least if it was left here some creature would come along and make use of it.

Kal took another deep breath and took stock of what she had gathered. She rummaged through her bag, now filled with whatever she deemed valuable.

“I have about forty silver and thirty copper coins.” Kal grimaced slightly. “That's not much compared to what Anton had in that little box I was protecting. But it's something.”

As she bounced the purse, hearing the wealth it contained, brought a smile to her face.

“I'm sure he'll appreciate it.”

She took one final look at the cave, which had been her home for some days, and opened her mouth to say something but could not think of anything. There was nothing to say.

Leaving the bodies behind, she crawled out of the cave and back into the light and air. She took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh air. Though, she could still smell the blood on her clothes.

“If Anton, or Verona with her blood power, see the blood on my clothes they're going to ask what happened.” she glanced down at her hand cloth wraps. “I could say that it was Goblins, but they'll want to look into it, to make sure there aren't any more lurking about...”

Kal looked back down into the cave.

“I...I don't want them to see this.”

She put down her bag and pulled out several long clean pieces of cloth, the same colour as those covering her. There was no second cloak, she would not be able to hide that. Removing her cloak would attract even more questions.

As she started to unwrap her bloody clothes it gave her another thought.

“If someone still wants me, does that meant that I'll have to wear some sort of mask when we head to Graterious and then to Seocuria? I do enjoy the wind on my skin.”

Kal sighed loudly, not that there was anyone to hear. It was something she would have to plan out carefully when talking to Anton. She did not want to allude to what had happened here. She looked up at the bright sun in the sky. As she looked up she started to think about Verona had said the other day.

What would I actually say to my mother? After so long, could I just say hello? I...I might need to ask for help on that.

That brought a smile to her face.

Now I have people that I can ask.

----------------

Hello everyone.

Got a Kal centric chapter. Wanted to show how she behaves on her own and how she considers the people close to her. She's figured out that Anton's not from their world, but doesn't know what to do with the information. As well as how she deals with someone that might be a threat to her fragile new home.

Met the first Seocurian, a slaver hunter, and found out what they look like.

Also a bit of what the Cobra Beast-kin look like. Well, a bit of one.

There's also the problem with Kal being a very old half-breed and therefore valuable to certain people, that makes her a 'wanted' person throughout the rest of the world, so that's going to cause some issues in the future. When I was writing this, I thought about the potential that not all of the slaves are hateful of the system. Some could work with the system for a better life, like possibly one that travelled hundreds of miles as a sort of enhanced traker.

A tiny bit of information about the Bebbazar Kingdom, the one that really hasn't been spoken about. Only in so far as that they are going through a sort of communist revolution on the eastern side of the kingdom.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and thanks for any and all donations!