Chapter 4: Slaves

Unknown, Unknown

The children stepped onto the sandy shore in turns and noticed that all eyes were on them. Surrounding them were men and women that dressed in the same attire as Veronica. They unconsciously quivered at the sheer pressure they experienced from being under the spotlight. Unlike the children, however, Kai’s attention was on the ship that transported them.

What a vintage ship. Everything is made of wood. Why would they use this kind of ship when metal and mechanical ships are far more efficient.

-Cough-

A loud cough resounded on the shore and diverted the attention away from the children. All eyes landed on the conspicuous man standing on a large boulder. The man’s attire differed from the men and women standing below him. Instead of the large overcoat, he wore a thick fur cloak that draped over his shoulders and was connected by a string resting on his chest.

“This was the first time we’ve done such a big raid and although there were some casualties, this was also the biggest harvest we’ve ever seen!”, the man roared with a familiar voice.

So he is the Boss from before. Raid… harvest… why does he use such odd terminologies?

A loud cheer resounded from the bandits. Some even brandished their weapons and thrusted them upwards into the air.

“Quiet!”, Boss ordered after he was satisfied with their enthusiasm.

The noise quelled immediately but the damage was done. The two babies quickly began to cry, drawing menacing glares from the surrounding bandits. The children grouped together in fear as the two boys tried to calm the babies. Boss disregarded the trivial baby cries and steadily yelled out instructions.

“It’s just babies, pay attention! Veronica, take them to the slave’s area already. Mian, you will be in charge of bringing the harvest to our storage. Make sure that a portion is separated for the families of the dead. GO!”

“Yes, Boss!”, all the bandits complied. A man to the right of Boss walked towards the boat and one by one the bandits followed him. Stopping in front of the boat, Mian began yelling out instructions and they boarded the ship.

“Brats, keep your focus on me. Be sure to follow me otherwise I can’t guarantee what everyone else might do to you”, Veronica sneered.

The children attentively snapped their eyes towards her. She turned around and took off with a pace that required the children to run in order to follow along. As they struggling to keep up, Kai carefully examined the exterior layout of the bandit’s home.

A plane of grass and trees appeared past the body of sand. Further away from the sand were columns of spiked stone pillars. He was unable to accurately access the height of the stone pillars from his infant eyes but he roughly guessed them to be approximately the size of two adult humans on top of each other.

Grouping together, the dozens of stone spikes formed a makeshift wall with a small gap in the center. Two men with fierce expressions stood on either side of the gap.

A wall made of spiked stone pillars with no doors and guards to guard the entrance…

Kai continued to mentally take notes as they stepped past the entrance. Walking past the entrance, there was a large group of people waiting on the other side. The group only contained women and children and they differed from the ones aboard the ship as they were more casually dressed with lighter, simpler, clothing.

The men work and the women stay home, what an old fashion belief.

Each person wore expectant faces but they quickly turned sour when they saw the children and babies. They first kindly greeted Veronica then turned to violently hissed at them. This action was painfully normal as even the children among the group hissed. The hissing further worsened the crying babies and the crying babies only further enhanced the hissing. This endless loop made the walk mentally excruciating for them.

Reaching the end of the crowd, they saw numerous wooden houses that were placed in no particular order. The houses were fairly well built with a flat rooftop and were uniformly similar to every other house except for one.

In the center of the wooden houses was a distinct house that stood out from the rest. It’s size was twice that of the wooden houses and was made entirely of stone similar to the stone pillars. Differing from the stone pillars, however, the stone used for the house were more smooth and well polished.

The houses are made from stone and wood . Why is everything so primitive?

“This is where we live and that”, Veronica turned to point at the stone house, “is where Boss lives. You brat’s are not allowed to enter this area. If you do, don’t expect to go back to the slave’s quarters in one piece. Understood?”

She glared at the children, enforcing her last question. The children nervously nodded in compliance except for the girl holding Kai, she fiercely held her gaze and did not move her head in the slightest degree. Veronica raised her eyebrow in amusement.

“Let’s see if you still be so tough in the future”, she taunted with a deeper glare. She appreciated the girl’s strong female character but treated her the same regardless.

She turned and walked towards her designated destination once more and the children ran to match her long strides. They walked until they reached another wall of stone pillars. Leaving the premises through its gap, a small land of dirt came into view. There were no guards at the exit and instead, they encountered an isolated wooden house. There were also two crudely made houses in the middle of the dirtland and surrounding the dirtland were wooden fences.

“Those two houses is where you brats will live from now on”, Veronica pointed at the crudely made houses. The houses were made from jagged rocks and they were poorly held together with dried mud.

Speaking about primitive...

“This house is for the Watchers”, she explained as she pointed at the wooden house. “They are here to monitor the slaves and make sure they are doing what they are supposed to be doing. So don’t even try to run into the forest. Of course, you will more likely die to wild beasts rather than be recaptured us. If you prefer that instead then be my guest”

The children looked at each place she mentioned but their sight fell back to their new home. Thinking about their uncomfortable future they grew dejected and grim, not even listening to her spiteful provocation.

Veronica nodded in satisfaction to their misery and walked towards the wooden house. Reaching the front door, she knocked on the door and yelled, “You two! There are more slaves now!”

The door opened and a short man wobbled through. He was barely four feet tall and was as round as a ball. His eyes wandered to the children in front of him and was slightly startled.

“So we’re accepting children now too?”, he questioned.

“Boss wants to try new things. You can handle these brats now, I never liked kids in the first place.”

She departed with a brief wave and the short man returned the gesture with a nod. The short man gave the children another look before turning his head back inside the house and shouted, “Hey you gigantic buffoon come here and see our new slaves.”

Answering his call, a tall man walked through the door with his head lowered. The man was the complete opposite of the short man with an enormous height and skinny constitution. He stood straight, looked at the children and remarked, “They’re kind of young aren’t they?”

“Thanks for pointing out the obvious”, the short man snorted. “Now that you’ve seen them, you can go gather the older slaves. Be quick about it. The sooner we finish this the sooner I can go back to cultivating.”

Cultivating?

“Why me-”, the tall man tried to argue.

“Just GO!”, the short man retorted while glaring at the taller man. The tall man wore a face of defeat as he walked towards the forest. When he came back, he was followed by two men and a woman. The men and woman gave the short man a bow and greeted, “Hello, sir.”

The short man gave a small nod of acknowledgement and explained, “These are the new slaves we’ve just taken in. You two men will instruct the boys by telling them what needs to be done along with the rules. Woman, you will instruct the girls and help them properly take care of the babies until further notice. Questions?”

He paused for questions but when none were raised he waved his hand and concluded, “Then that’s that. You all can go head your separate ways.”

He eagerly returned to his house and the tall man moved to follow. The door slammed behind him and the children were left with the adults.

“You children are quite unfortunate but we’ll try to help you get accustomed”, one of the men broke the silence. “We’re still not done for today so you boys can follow us and we can show you around. I’m Joran and his name is Adam.”

The other man waved his hand with a smile at the mention of his name. The women then introduced herself. “My name is Sandy. You boys should get going if you want to get your work done by dinner. We can have a proper introduction then.”

Joran and Adam nodded in agreement as they walked back into the forest, beckoning the two boys to follow. The two boys carefully gave the babies to Sandy and the emptied handed girl then hurriedly followed the men.

The girl who suddenly received the baby wore a troubled expression as she improperly held the baby. Sandy noticed straight away and showed her the appropriate way to hold a baby before leading them into a house.

The house contained several mats on the floor and a basket of tattered blankets. Sandy laid a blanket on a mat and carefully placed the baby she was holding on top of it. She helped lay more blankets on the mat and the girls mimicked her actions on their respective baby.

“This is where you children will be staying”, she started to explain while making sure the babies were comfortable. “Us adults will be in the other house. During the afternoon I am given small jobs, such as picking herbs and fruits in the forest, and the men are given physical labor, such as cutting wood. You two will join me soon but for now I think they want us to take care of the babies until they are able to walk.”

The two girls gave her their full attention and nodded in acknowledgment at everything she said. The girl’s innocence filled her heart with empathy and she instinctively knelt down, giving both of them a hug with an arm each.

“You girls are truly unfortunate for encountering the bandits but I hope I can help you two grow up as safe and happy as you possibly can be”, she sighed.

The sudden amorous gesture left them stunned for a second before they broke down in tears. They started with a small sob before crying their hearts out. Sandy tactfully place a hand on their heads and let them rest on her shoulders.

“Mom… Dad…”, the girls whimpered as their tears flowed onto her shoulders.

They had stayed strong and did not want to disturb the babies, but under Sandy’s affection they could no longer hold it in and let loose their bottled sadness. Even the strong willed girl that held Kai cried her heart out.

The scene moved his heart and brought back his memory of the crying daughter. Unbeknownst to him, a protective feeling towards the girls planted itself in his heart.

When the girls finally ceased their tears and left Sandy’s now drenched shoulders, they turned to the babies. She instructed them on how to softly sway babies to sleep and they imitated her. While swaying, she hummed a soothing tune that effectively made Kai drowsy. Before long, he and the other babies drifted into a peaceful sleep.