The Seocurian air remained hot and dry, even as night fell completely over Anton’s position. He watched the glinting plantation lights without emotion. He watched the Seocurian masters herd the Beast-kin into their barn, throwing curses and whipping them with complete and total abandon, even when the Beast-kin followed their every instruction. The guards merely laughed, after taking a young sheep Beast-kin from the terrified arms of her parents, before slamming the door shut and simply walking away.

“They’ve never fought back,” Anton mumbled. “Not yet. Not like you’ve ever seen.”

“It’s very sad,” Calo said. She and her sister stood by Anton’s side, watching the plantation with such silence that Anton often forgot their presence. “So sad they treat anything so terribly.”

“But not for much longer.” Sheso smiled as she looked behind them. “Not for much longer.”

Behind them, their forces waited in silence. Dark Elves, a mixture of volunteers from across the clans but predominantly from the Green Moon, sat in perfect silence. They held their cloaks tight around their heads and barely made a sound as they prepared their weapons and armour. Comparatively the Beast-kin and Human soldiers, there were far more Beast-kin than Humans, were more restless and unsettled. They had the heart but, for many, the number of actual battles they had partaken in was essentially nil.

“Can you get them up and ready?” Anton asked the twins. “There’s no reason to wait any longer.”

The twins quickly issued the orders. The Dark Elves rose without a word, the Humans and Beast-kin made considerably more noise.

Several people moved through the crowd to Anton’s position. Cetina and Rasha led the way, both wearing thick cloaks to hide their bright metal armour. Eider followed behind, with her two Beast-kin bodyguards.

“We’re ready.” Eider stepped to the side of Rasha. “I’ve told my…Subordinates? Subordinate is probably the wrong word…” Eider shrugged. “I’ve told them what to expect and the basic plan.”

“What is your plan of attack?” Anton stepped back so he could see the plantation and Eider. “It’s significantly larger than the previous plantation. And the structure is a lot different too.”

The plantation they overlooked lay nestled in the corner of a twisting shallow river. The Large fruit-bearing trees radiated out from the main buildings at the very corner of the river, an open road lay down the centre with several abandoned carts. They weren’t ruined, only that the Seocurian masters couldn’t be bothered to have them returned.

“I…Hang on.” Eider knelt and cleared a small section of the dry grass until she reached the dirt. It was difficult to see so Anton provided a tiny light, using his body to shield it from the Seocurians on the plantation. “Thanks.”

Eider quickly drew a rough map of the plantation.

“I was thinking that we avoid the road heading into the plantation…At least for now. Leave some Dark Elves along there, and the main road, just in case someone tries to flee that way. But I think that the best way would be to attack from the river.”

Eider drew many lines from the river towards the plantation buildings. “Like this. I don’t think they’ll be expecting that. They have a few fences just before the river bank but I think it’s just to stop people from wandering too close.”

“Is the river traversable?” Anton asked. Calo and Sheso returned to them. “The last thing you want is everyone to get bogged down in thick mud. Then they’ll be easy prey for even a weakly armed attacker.”

“I…I see.” Eider’s forked tongue licked angrily at the air. “I didn’t think of that.”

Anton nodded gently to the twins. “I’m sure that the Dark Elves could quickly scout the area. See how bad it is.”

“Yes.” Eider smiled as she looked at Calo and Sheso. The twins looked a little strange having a Cobra look at them in such a way. “Could you do that?”

“We can,” Sheso said. “But I don’t think it will be usable. The banks look like clay with a dry surface but it could easily be wet and sticky clay beneath.” Sheso crouched before the rough dirt map. “It might be easier to have some of the Dark Elves stand on the other side of the small river and catch anyone that tries to escape.”

“But then we have to approach through the plantation itself,” Eider said softly.

“Those trees are very large.” Sheso pointed to the plantation’s trees. They were indeed large but there were no bottom branches, but several old branches lay discarded throughout the plantation.

“We’ll advance between those branches.” Eider slowly nodded. “Do you think it’s a good idea to light those on fire before we attack?”

Anton looked along the main road. “I don’t think so. While we know there shouldn’t be a patrol there are cities in the distance. They could easily mobilise guards to investigate and ruin everything. But we will set fire to the plantation once we’re leaving, to cover our tracks and buy us time.”

“Right…” Eider erased the markers attacking from across the small river. “That’s the plan we’ll go with. We’ll lead with the Beast-kin with the Humans right behind. Thankfully they aren’t any Seocurians so they shouldn’t be too scared…But they are still humans.” Eider shrugged. “We can’t do anything about that. What will you do, Anton?”

“I will remain at the rear and provide support if things are starting to turn sour.” Anton removed his Fire Bomb. “My magic will certainly alert them to our presence. But I’ll heal everyone that gets wounded, not that there should be many since we have so many people.”

“Alright.” Eider took a deep breath. She gently rubbed down her shirt. “We’ll get going the moment we’re in position…How, how do we know when the Dark Elves are in position?”

“We use whistles,” Calo said. “We’ll stay with you and let you know when they’re ready. You should try and develop something similar.”

“How about we just use that?” Eider looked to her Beast-kin bodyguards. “Can any of you do something like that?”

The two lightly shrugged. Neither could.

“We’ll figure something out.” Anton smiled. “Let’s get into position before something unexpected arrives. The soldier’s information is likely out of date and there could be a new patrol on their way.”

“Right.” Eider and the Dark Elf twins gave a quick nod and ran down the hill to join the others. Calo and Sheso whispered harshly at them to keep their voices and actions to a bare minimum.

Cetina and Rasha moved closer. They both ensured that no one was nearby when they both reached for his hands.

“Have you two been learning from Verona and Kal when we’ve been out?” Anton asked. He held their hands in his, Cetina’s was normal but with Rasha hers was enveloping, as was everything about her.

“How often do we get a chance like this?” Cetina asked.

“Everyone morning,” Rasha said softly.

Neither were willing to relinquish their holds.

“We can’t just stay here for the battle,” Anton said. “But, I have something that might help. Something that will get you through the next little bit. Kneel down for a moment, Rasha, I can’t reach you from there.”

Rasha frowned softly at Cetina but did as she was told. She knelt down on one knee, now she was only just shorter than Cetina.

“Close your eyes.”

Again they did as they were told. Anton removed his gloves and held Cetina’s cheeks. Her eye opened just as Anton kissed her. She jumped slightly as his lips made contact with his. It was a short kiss but Cetina accepted it greedily. When they parted she smiled warmly, she did look a little more energised.

Rasha had remained perfectly still, except for her tail. She was not particularly good at hiding her excitement. Anton cupped her chin and stroked the base of her horn. Rasha whimpered, her shoulders dropped and became like putty in his hands. Seeing such a powerful warrior melt like warm butter in his hands would never fail to amuse him.

“Don’t…” Rasha whimpered as she forced her head back. Her parted, flushed lips and the redness travelling up her ears told him everything he needed to know.

“It’s still incredible that you do that.” Anton removed his hand from the base of her horn, much to her dismay, and gently stroked one of her ears. They were different from Kal’s, not so much soft and fluffy but a hard velvety sensation.

Seems that all Beast-kin are weak in the ears like they’d be willing to do anything you say just to keep rubbing them. Not that I don’t understand it.

“Why…” Rasha blinked. “Why did you stop?”

“Honestly?” Anton held his hands on his hips. Cetina raised a brow as she stood by Anton’s side. “Because I could do this all day to the both of you. There’s something about the way too incredibly strong warriors, like you two, just…Well, I think you know what I’m saying.”

“Can…” Rasha averted her eyes. “After…”

“For someone so strong and powerful you are pretty insatiable.” Anton kissed her cheek. “Aren’t you? Especially the heavy petting.”

Rasha did not deny his words.

“But we can play once we’re done.” Anton nodded to the plantation. “Fun always comes after work, after all.”

Rasha rose to her feet, rather to her hooves, and her face hardened alongside Cetina. Their frivolity just a moment ago had completely evaporated. Anton pushed his errant thoughts aside as well. Thousands of Beast-kin slaves needed their help.

---[]---

Anton, Cetina and Rasha waited near the junction to the main road with two Dark Elves to relay any potential messages. He hoped it would be unnecessary.

One of the Dark Elves raised his hand towards Anton. “Everyone’s in position. They’re advancing on the target.”

“I thought I heard a bird call.” Anton softly replied. “Don’t think birds were awake during the night.”

“It’s not a quick art to learn.” The Dark Elf readied his bow. “But once you learn the differences it’s very easy to understand.”

“I’ll believe you.” Anton nodded towards the plantation. “I want to get a bit closer to watch. I want to see how they do.”

The Dark Elves whistled a different call. Out of the darkness another six Dark Elves emerged and took up a crouched position near the road and began to search either direction for potential intruders. With that secured, and without a word from Anton, they began to advance. The Dark Elves led them through the trees, through areas where their boots, and hooves, would not make much sound. From their position, with the faint light of the plantation buildings ahead, it was easy to see the Beast-kin and Human soldiers slinking through the grass.

The soldiers reached the last line of trees but were hesitant to advance further. Cetina stopped them a few trees back. Anton chose the next tree, Rasha could just lean over without incident.

“What’s wrong?” Anton whispered.

Cetina pointed to the largest of the plantation buildings, the only building with lights and flames. Outside stood nine Seocurian’s. They wore better armour than the first plantation, actual pieces of armour rather than just light clothes, while they wielded iron-tipped spears and large wicker shields lay near their feet. Though the shields were essentially made from woven vines they were exceptionally light and provided decent protection against weak weapons, like the claws of a rebelling Beast-kin slave.

Anton spied Eider near the front. She glanced back, Anton tried to mimic shooting them with a bow. Eider flashed him a quick thumbs up and disseminated the order. The Dark Elf near her whistled and the other Dark Elves readied their bows. As most of the Humans and Beast-kin had melee weapons they were more than content to let the Dark Elves fire from range.

One of the Seocurian guards peered closer into the darkness of the plantation. It was odd for a bird to be whistling in the middle of the night. He took a few steps closer, two of the other Seocurian guards took a vague notice as they continued to talk.

A tiny whistle echoed through the air, then the twang of bows. Dozens of black arrows shot out of the darkness. The Seocurian guards let out a tiny grunt as they fell as one. Not all of the arrows landed lethal hits but the sheer volume of hits was more than sufficient. Eider waved her hand forward, Human and Beast-kin soldiers ran low, jumping over the fences and ensuring the Seocurian Guards were truly dead. Some hesitated as one of the guards was still alive. They gathered courage and drove their weapons into the man’s chest. He shuddered and fell completely limp and dead.

“Probably their first kill,” Cetina said softly.

“I doubt they’ve even killed an animal.” Anton glummly nodded. “Killing in anger is one thing. So much different to when they’re lying down helpless.”

The soldiers again looked in Eider’s general direction for further instructions. She spoke with the few Dark Elves near her and her bodyguards, all the while the exposed soldiers watched the occupied houses with trepidation. Though the houses had cheap glass windows, murky glass but would still allow someone determined to see through and see almost thirty people skulking about outside.

Eider finally gave a wave of her hand and ordered the soldiers forward. Only one building was inhabited, so the course of action was clear. As the Humans and Beast-kin neared the doors and crouched low they looked to the Dark Elves that proceeded to circle around the building. Anton was about to say something about how they weren’t watching the doors and windows but a somewhat angry Dark Elf gestured rudely and they refocused their attention.

Anton slinked closer, Cetina followed close behind while Rasha held the cloak tight against her bright orange horn. Eider glanced back at Anton but kept her attention placed firmly forward.

“All good so far,” Anton said softly.

“Yes.” Eider gripped her hands tight. “But I am still a little nervous.”

“Beyond this being a dangerous mission?”

“I…” Eider coughed. “I don’t know. Someone could die…”

“We’re doing alright so far.” Anton patted her shoulder. “But we shouldn't get complacent. The sooner we deal with the remaining Seocurians the better.”

Eider poked her head up as the Dark Elves returned from their trip around the building. They gave no sign they had found anyone, or that they had already successfully dealt with any further Seocurians, instead they signalled that they were ready to advance on the house.

“Isn’t there a Sheep Beast-kin inside?” Rasha asked softly. “We saw them take her.”

Eider grimly nodded. “We’ll do what we can. We can’t save everyone. Right?”

Anton smiled faintly. “No. But we’ll save everyone that we can.”

“Attack.” Eider harshly whispered the order.

The Humans and Beast-kin tried to push and pull the door open but it was locked. They looked to the Dark Elves who instructed them to knock. Just like last time a silhouette of a woman approached the door, Anton could see her shaking her head and muttering to herself. The moment she opened the door the soldiers burst through, pushing each other in a mad rush to push forward.

“Help!” The woman screamed. “There-”

A spray of blood erupted from her throat as a sword all but cleaved her head from her shoulders. From behind the windows, Anton saw the other Seocurians, men and women, jump to their feet. The women ran deeper into the house, accompanied by the terrified screams of children. Anton tried his best not to contemplate their fate. Though horrible there was no way they could live and tell them of what happened this night.

“Keep going!” Eider waved the remaining soldiers forward. “Don’t let any escape.”

“Make sure the Dark Elves are on alert,” Anton told the Dark Elves. “If there’s any outside of the main building are dealt with.”

Eider watched the slaughter of the Seocurians in silence. The Human and Beast-kin soldiers were far better equipped than the Seocurians and quickly dispatched the men remaining on the ground level. A few shouts and they began running up the staircases, after the women and children. Anton held the fence railings as ear-piercing shrieks echoed out of the building, the terrified screams of children silenced forever.

“I…” Rasha looked to Eider. “This is going to be a constant thing, isn’t it?”

“I think it will.” Eider glanced at the Dark Elves. “They said this happened before. And it will happen again and again, until we win.”

A body of a young Seocurian woman flew out of an upper floor. She was still alive as she crashed into the ground, snapping her neck and rolling limp onto the ground. A Beast-kin soldier stabbed her in the back with his short spear. She was already dead, but one could never be too certain.

Nearly a minute passed and nothing else had happened. Slowly the soldiers emerged, shaken and bloodied but with a defiant look in their eyes. They had won their first battle, albeit against unarmed civilians, but a victory was still a victory.

“Is that everyone?” Eider asked.

“It is.” A human replied. He helped carry a wounded Beast-kin on his shoulder. “But a few of us were wounded. No one is dead...None of ours, at any rate.”

“Bring them to us,” Anton said. “What about the Sheep Beast-kin girl?”

A Beast-kin soldier led a shaken Sheep Beast-kin from the building. She was naked, except for a thin blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her body shook uncontrollably as her wild eyes twitched between everyone around them.

“Is she drugged or just scared?” Eider asked.

Cetina stood up. “Would you think you’ve just been saved from a lifetime of slavery?”

“No. No, I would not.”

Anton waved the wounded soldiers to him. Cetina dismissed those only with small cuts and wounds and ushered the few heavily wounded to Anton.

“Did anyone survive?” Anton asked.

“None.” The wounded Beast-kin soldier clicked his canine tongue. “Even the children. We killed them-”

“Though it is detestable it needs to be done.” Anton chanted a healing prayer. “Can you imagine what will happen to us if word got out of what we’re doing?”

“Nothing good.” The soldier grumbled.

“My Lord!” A group of Dark Elves approached from the direction of the shallow stream. “We’ve found these three trying to escape.”

They thrust three Beast-kin, two reptiles and one turtle, into the ground before Anton. Their legs were covered in dried mud, where they had tried to escape across the small river bed.

“Guess it was right not to go that way.” Eider held her chin. “I must keep aware of things like that.”

“Why weren’t they in their cells?” Calo asked. She and her sister ran up to Anton. “We didn’t find any other Beast-kin-"

“They’re informants.” Eider hissed at the three. “That’s why they aren’t inside. They’ll be killed if they do.”

“Makes for poor informants if they’re known to the Beast-kin as...Well, informants.”

Eider shrugged. “They listen well. Or they just make things up, lying to one group and to one another...I don’t know how it works. We just killed them in Danafra.”

“Divide and conquer?” Anton shrugged as he healed another soldier. “Don’t know if that’s the best strategy…”

“Please.” The turtle clasped his hands above his head. “We heard fighting and fled. Next thing we know we’re being attacked by these...Seocurians?”

“Dark Elves.” Anton corrected them. “But I have a very easy way to determine if you’re telling the truth.”

Anton had the three brought to him and cast a Truth Prayer on one. He wasn’t surprised when they divulged the truth, they were privileged Beast-kin, Beast-kin that ratted on their own kind to their Seocurian masters for better conditions and work.

“You don’t-”

A short spear thrust into the neck of the Turtle Beast-kin. One of Eider’s bodyguard held the spear, quickly retracted it and killed the others.

He looked at Anton with trembling lips, Eider and the other bodyguard looked on with worry. “They don’t deserve to be free.”

Anton said nothing and slowly backed away. The bodyguard silently returned to Eider’s side, Eider appeared a little nervous but he gave no indication that he was about to lash out again.

He must have lost someone important to him from an informant. I understand the anger, but it’s a massive hit to discipline.

“Anything else in there?” Anton asked.

"No Seocurians." A Dark Elf replied. "There was a young man retrieving water from the creek, but he was disposed of."

"I see." Anton took a deep breath. "It's a shame we didn't get anyone that might know where more isolated plantations are..." His eyes fell upon the still trembling Sheep Beastkin. "But there are always other sources of information. Sources that might know more than their masters would like."

"I..." Eider's tongue licked at the air. "I will free the Beastkin slaves." She nodded to the barn where they were kept. "They'll have heard screams and wondering if it's coming for them."

"Don't hesitate to use force to defend yourself if necessary," Anton said. "Shouldn't be necessary but you can never be too cautious."

Eider gave a quick nod and ordered the majority of the Beastkin soldiers towards the barn. They would be the least threatening, although the most confusing to the captive slaves.

"I think that went alright," Anton said. "Calo. Sheso. Did anyone slip past your Dark Elves?"

"We had the place encircled." Calo began. "Nothing got in or out. There was just the water collector...And these three."

She waved weakly to the three dead Beastkin.

"Such a shame."

Sheso frowned deeply. "Do you think they would have, eventually, tried to tell Seocuria about what happened here? They would have had a better life in Atros. At least they would have been free."

"Free and hated," Anton said. "Word would have spread. But if they would have tried to inform their former masters? I honestly don't know."

He shrugged at the corpses. "We'll never know."

The heavy locks on the barn came free. Unlike the previous plantation, these Beastkin were in large cells inside of the barn. There were simply too many for the meagre guards to handle otherwise. Anton watched as the Beastkin were brought outside. They huddled together, from fear and confusion at what was happening to them. They could not comprehend that Beastkin soldiers had set them free.

Eider stood at the front, flanked by her two bodyguards, and began to explain what was happening. It was a rather simple affair, one which Anton did not feel the need to interfere with. Slowly the Beastkin began to relax, they grew more tense when they saw the humans amongst them and even more so when they saw the Dark Elves, their dark brown skin looked suspiciously like a Seocurian's in the dim light.

"Someone go through the house," Anton said. "See if you can find any valuables or useful pieces of information. But be quick about it. I want to be gone as soon as possible."

The nearby Dark Elves saluted and ran towards the buildings, leaving some of the Humans and Beastkin surprised. They followed, but only because they didn't know what else to do.

Eider slowly approached with the Beastkin in tow. Anton knew that every time they freed a slave they would be greeted with the same expressions of fear, confusion and no slight amount of awe.

"This is Anton," Eider said loudly. "He is the human in command of us, the human that will set us all free."

The Beastkin slaves could not believe what they were hearing.

"You are all safe now," Anton spoke loudly but as calmly as he could. "Come with us and never again will you feel the cold sting of iron chains."

The Beastkin had no idea what to say. Instead they looked at him like he was a madman. One of the Beastkin's eyes wandered to the three dead Beastkin lying but a few meters away.

"What happened to them?" The older Beastkin asked.

Immediately the atmosphere began to change. Anton raised his hands before anyone could speak.

“Do you recognise them?” Anton asked.

“Yes...” The older Beast-kin realised that he was the only one willing to speak, rather than he had been unofficially elected to speak for them. “They were on extra work. The Masters had them collecting water and chopping firewood.”

“Strange.” Anton folded his arms. “And how often does this happen?”

“Nearly every night.” The elderly Beast-kin frowned at the dead bodies. “It’s lucky they survived for so long.”

“And has anyone seen them doing this?” Anton raised a brow. “Actually collecting water or chopping firewood?”

None could answer.

“We found them in the company of the Seocurians.” Anton took a moment to formulate his next words. They weren’t exactly lies but they weren’t the truth either. “Strange that they were laughing and having a great time while you were stuck in that shed. Afraid of any noise that might herald the arrival of an angry or drunken Master.”

Anton nodded to the still terrified Sheep Beast-kin. He hoped it would pass and soon.

“But they were new.” Another said. “They arrived only a few days ago. The Masters...” Someone nudged her side and pointed to the dead Seocurian woman. “They...By the Gods. You killed them?”

“All of them. They will never be able to hurt you again.”

The Beast-kin shook her head. “But they only arrived a few days ago. They seemed nice and kind.”

“Did it seem a bit strange how nice they were acting?” Cetina asked. “Too friendly?”

Some murmured in agreement.

Anton snapped his fingers. “That’s a clever way to keep them guessing.”

“Hmm?” Rasha tilted her head

"By keeping everyone moving and continuing to separate them, so they can't form lasting friendships, it's easy to inject one or two new informants. Might not be the best plan but it's what they went with here."

"They didn't do anything like that in Danafra." Rasha shifted her legs. "They kept us all in that giant dome thing."

"You came from Danafra?" The first Beastkin asked. "You escaped from the capital?"

"With help." Rasha smiled. "Eider and I were there, and quite a few others as well."

Now the Beastkin seemed very happy. Already the dead Beastkin were nothing but a distant memory. Anton reasoned they already expected something like this but were not completely sure.

"Please follow Eider." Anton pointed out of the plantation, to where the portal lay hidden. "Everything will be made clear once you are safe."

The Beastkin slaves followed Eider. Some were quite ill and wounded, they needed help in order to move at a reasonable pace. Anton wanted to heal them but to do so would cost valuable time. They had no idea when a military patrol would come by. Granted, nothing was amiss yet but they would notice the stream of Beastkin crossing the road.

The forces that had entered the house to search returned with mixed results. The Dark Elves carried boxes of loot, especially those from the Green Moon, while the Humans and Beastkin carried small bundles of papers.

"We'll take it all back with us," Anton ordered. "Sift through it at home. Anything particularly noteworthy?"

"They had a fair amount of gold." A Green Moon Dark Elf said proudly. Those from the other clans gave derisive looks. "But nothing much else. We just grabbed everything that we could get our hands on."

"I expect to find most of that to be sorted," Anton said. "Remember, you can't buy anything with it yet."

"Well, not yet. But sometime soon we will. Right?"

"Soon. But not right now." Anton inspected the chests. "If you want something that we can't make at home then just let me know. We have people that can buy them for you."

The Dark Elves seemed very happy to receive some of the spoils, and first pick at that.

"Don't worry, Lord Anton. We'll make sure we save you the good stuff."

Calo and Sheso said nothing as the Dark Elves began to retreat.

"And what about us?" Cetina asked.

Anton held out his hand and summoned a dozen small Fire Bombs. "Now we cover our tracks."

---[]---

The Beastkin stood in total silence. The plantation they had worked and lived in was burning in an uncontrollable inferno. Every building was ablaze, every tree a pillar of flame. Soon there would be nothing left.

"It's really gone." A Beastkin whispered through tear-filled breaths. "It's really gone..."

"As will every plantation and slaver," Eider said loudly. "If you follow and help us. We cannot do this alone, not without your help."

There was little more than a hushed murmur from the former slaves, almost a thousand of them. Anton did not expect them to do anything.

The Human and Beastkin soldiers began to usher the former slaves through the portal in an orderly fashion. The Dark Elves waited impatiently to the side, holding their loot tight, even those not from the Green Moon.

"Anton?" Sheso called for him. Anton waved for the twins to join him on the ridgeline, watching the plantation burn in perfect silence.

"Something the matter? I think I remember the Dark Elves collecting all of their arrows and covering any sign we were here."

"They have," Sheso said firmly. "But...You understand that we Dark Elves can hear very well."

"I do."

"When...When you were setting the buildings on fire I heard something.” Sheso leant close. “I heard screams-”

“It must have been the trees burning.” Anton continued to look towards the burning plantation. “Only the trees.”

“But I know what I heard.” Sheso frowned lightly. “I-”

“You must have heard the burning of trees.” Anton held her shoulder. “Perhaps the popping of fruits still on the branches. Nothing more. Certainly not screams.”

Sheso understood what he was saying and slowly nodded. Anton knew exactly what she was talking about. As flames engulfed the buildings he heard screams from the upper floors. He was quite disappointed that the Dark Elves had missed someone. Though it was probably excusable, since the screams came from a child.

We must become more thorough when we’re searching. Then again the child probably knew some secret little hiding place in the rafters...Not that it did them any good. They didn’t expect me to burn the whole plantation down.

“I must have been hearing things,” Sheso said softly. Calo looked very concerned.

“It has been a long night.” Anton smiled at her. “When we get back try and get some sleep. If you need something to drink then do so. You’re old enough to drink alcohol, right?”

The twins huffed.

“We’re older than you.” Calo chuckled. “Probably older than Rasha. So...Doesn’t that make us your elders?”

“Yeah…” Sheso cracked a smile. “But you’re going to get angry at us if we try and boss you around. Right?”

“You can try.” Anton smiled. The next moment he held their heads. “But I don’t think you’re going to get very far.”

He smiled and patted their helmets but something was eating away at the back of his mind, again. Rather, the fact that he felt nothing was what was truly odd. Like the previous raid on Seocuria, they had killed women and children. Again he felt nothing at their deaths beyond a fleeting concern. The twins noticed and stopped their laughing, Cetina and Rasha held his shoulders.

“I don’t feel anything for killing the Seocurians.” Anton nodded to the plantation. “The women and children were not the slavers. They were just living there. But in order for us to survive, they need to die...Unless we’re going to keep them as prisoners for the next ten to twenty winters.”

Rasha and Cetina threw him an odd look.

“There’s no way that we’re going to be able to free every Beast-kin even in the next five winters. We have nowhere near enough resources or housing for the millions of slaves. But...I do not believe that all Seocurians are like the slave owners.”

“Really?” Rasha raised a red brow.

“Do you think that Loretta and her children are like the Seocurian Empire? You seemed more than willing to carry them on your shoulders when we were travelling across the Kar Kingdom?”

“...True.”

“But we can’t expect the Seocurian Empire to just surrender all of the Beast-kin to us.” Anton clicked his tongue. “Definitely not without conflict. And, this is going to sound pretty harsh, but our current methods are just going to end in the deaths of most of the Beast-kin.”

“What?” Rasha voiced the obvious question.

Anton folded his arms. “Imagine that we win. We defeat the armies of Seocuria and we force them to give up the Beast-kin. Just how many do you think they’re actually going to give us?”

“But...We won?” Rasha frowned. “Isn’t that how it works?”

“It should be. But imagine that you’re a slave owner. Some outsider, and his Beast-kin backed army, has just defeated you and ordered that you surrender all of your workers, breaking not only you but the country’s economy. Imagine what might happen to them? Purely out of spite.”

“Oh…” Calo winced at Rasha. “Yeah. Most of the Beast-kin will die.”

“Especially since they think of them nothing more than tools,” Sheso added softly. “They’ll break them like a petulant child so we can’t have them.”

“So there’s nothing we can do?” Rasha’s hands began to shake. “There’s no way to save us?”

“I haven’t given in to despair.” Anton held Rasha’s arm. “And neither should you. Apart from massive simultaneous attacks right across the Empire, which is the main plan, I intend to weaken them from within. I cannot do much, but I believe there are Seocurians that disagree with the current treatment of the Beast-kin. The Seocurians we have in Atros are descendants of those that fought and lost.”

“But they can’t do anything in Seocuria,” Cetina said softly.

“No. But remember when we were in Danafra and walking towards that dome? Where those Beast-kin were strung up?”

“Yes…”

“There was an old man and his children, probably grandchildren, and he did not look happy with the state of the Beast-kin. When he realised we were watching he scurried away.”

“Danafra’s a big city.” Cetina smiled bitterly. “Do you think we’re just going to find him and get him to agree to something like this? He might just be a commoner. We really need a noble.”

“Only one way to find out,” Anton said. “But I do want to go back to Danafra. I know it’s not a good feeling to give the Seocurian Empire any of our money, but I do want to see about buying some more...No. We can’t do that.”

“We can’t?” Rasha asked softly.

“We don’t have a ship to put them on before we send them through the portal.” Anton nodded back, most of the Beast-kin had already passed through. “And there’s no way we could just find someone like Wilford. It’ll just have to be weapons and tools. Perhaps some magical items.”

“Shame…” Rasha murmured.

“We can’t save everyone,” Anton said softly. He looked back to the plantation inferno. “But we will do everything we can. Right?”

He received four serious nods. Though it was harsh to say they were limited in actions against an entire Empire in their current state, it was the truth. It was best to not overreach and lose everything, even if it meant the prolonging of the Beast-kin suffering.