Egalo finished hacking away at his deepest hole. He began to wonder...could he dig a tunnel all the way to freedom? The thought vanished when one of lord Dagnar's watchmen passed over him and peered into his hole. No, they would find out. He had been desperate for a way out. He had been a slave man of the desert for a month and a half now. He was surviving beyond expectations. Harod was barely hanging on. He had gotten an infection in one of the cuts on his back. The cut was oozing puss and turned a bright shade of green and black, as caused by the whip of the ever-despised punisher, The Worm.

"The hole's too deep, scum." The guardsman barked into Egalo's hole. Egalo muttered curses under his breath. The guardsman questioned him, "What was that, scum? On the stroke of nightfall, you are really asking for a session with The Worm and his beloved whip?"

Egalo leapt out of his hole and stood eye to eye with the guardsman. Sweat dripped profusely out of the tips of his curly hair onto his face. He stood unfazed, gazing unabashedly into the guardsman's eyes. The two stood for a minute and then the guard landed a flailing fist into Egalo's jaw. He stumbled and almost fell into the five-foot hole he had dug that day. This is it; this is where I die. A kick slammed into Egalo's gut. He spit blood and threw up whatever tiny portion he had stomached for his once daily meal. Egalo tried to stand but failed as he was pushed back down. Baradorn stared from his own hole many yards away, concerned.

"Hey Worm, bring your little friend over, this one's got a taste for it today." The guard snickered, and The Worm was all too happy to make his way over. The whip was unleashed from his belt and The Worm lashed it a few times just to hear the sound of the whip pierce the air. Slave men had just finished their holes for the day, so they sat by their shovels to watch. Some held their heads down, others were watched on, unabashed.

Before the Worm could arrive, Egalo rose to his feet. In an instant of fury, Egalo landed a hard right-knuckled fist into the guard's temple. He stumbled and Egalo kicked his legs out from under him. Nearby guardsmen gathered to the scene and quickly restrained Egalo and held him back. Egalo struggled against their grip but it was no use.

The guard recovered from the blow and returned to his feet. The sun was beginning to set below the horizon, but not a slave dared return to their tent just yet. The guard lined up a menacing hit square into Egalo's nose. Blood squirted messily all over the orange sand, staining it a darker shade. The guard landed a few hits to Egalo's gut. His fury kept him conscious, but barely. The Worm had arrived.

"Leave him." The guard named Isord wasn't done yet.

"No, I'm not done with this scum yet." The guards let go of Egalo in the confusion of orders. The Worm stood watching, and Isord and Egalo squared up. Egalo leapt at Isord, swaying wildly. The heat and labor had taken its toll on his temperament. He was done anyways; he would go out fighting at least. The two were rolling around on the ground now, dangerously close to the hole. Egalo took a few punches to the gut but he returned the favor, giving the guard a swollen eye.

The two rolled around like snakes, but a shout cut across the desert like a whip and suddenly all eyes were on lord Dagnar, "HEY, STOP THIS NONSENSE IMMEDIATELY." Lord Dagnar approached the scene in his dark robes. Isord stood to face the approaching lord, Egalo remained lying on his side, spitting blood.

The Worm appeared shocked for the first time ever. The slaves surrounding the scene did their best not to look lord Dagnar in the eye. An uncomfortable silence came over the desert as the lord approached.

"Why are you killing my best worker, Isord?" The guard suddenly looked foolish.

"My lord, this slave was disobedient and insubordinate." He stood small once lord Dagnar had approached him. Dagnar's thumb hovered threateningly over his dagger at his hip.

"I won't have you murdering one of my best workers. Is this your hole here, Egalo?" Dagnar nudged towards the five-foot-deep hole.

Egalo managed a small nod, still panting with blood oozing out of his nose. Lord Dagnar unsheathed a dagger from within his robes and stared Egalo down. This is goodbye, he thought. In a flash, everything flipped on its head. Lord Dagnar gutted Isord with his dagger and Isord's eyes went wide and his pupils grew large. He stumbled to his knees, and Dalian Dagnar pushed him into Egalo's hole with his foot.

Even the Worm stood in shock, his whip hung limp by his side.

"Enough staring. Egalo, bury him, before I have you hung for treason."

And with that, lord Dagnar walked away, back up to his cave where the light of the fires danced wildly over the mouth of the cave upon the large cliff overlooking the desert plains of the slave's holes.

Egalo didn't sleep much that night, for the first night since arriving. He sat, listening to the howling sands and winds. The blood had finally stopped flowing from his nose, and his head felt dizzy and disorienting from the day's trials. Dried blood caked every part of his chin. The rest of his tent had kept quiet and quickly fallen into sleep. Egalo remained awake, wondering what sort of creatures prowled around in the night outside the tent.

Late into the night he heard it, the long, howling of a creature—chills crept down Egalo's spine. The shadow of a four-legged creature crept past the tent and paused right by Egalo's side. Egalo dared not make a sound before the creature continued on.

Moments later he heard a cry go out from a nearby tent and the sound of teeth gnashing. It was then that Egalo knew why no men escaped by night. The hounds are always watching, and they must have caught someone trying to escape—or so he had hoped. It was too frightening to imagine one of the creatures invading a tent unprovoked. In that case, it could be him next.

He finally dreamt an hour before first light, and he dreamt that he was the first man to ever escape by night. He was euphoric, arriving home at the gates of Sunswood kingdom, finally home, only to find some hired blades awaiting him in his room. He awoke in a panic before he realized it was only a dream.

In the morning, he awoke at first light to shouts of horror. The man outside the tents lay dead, Egalo peered out of the tent and he could not believe his eyes. The body was shredded to the bones. But, still intact, was a tattered red cloak.