Sasha’s stomach rumbled as she tried to recall where she was. She did not see any of the same bars and cages that held her for what seemed like ages. Instead, all she saw was a small little cavern, with a simple stool and nothing else.
She lay in a small comfortable bed made out of fur, before a dull aching pain seared through her, stemming from her hand. She raised her right hand to reveal a bandage, soaked in blood and another type of liquid, slowly oozing onto the forearm. Another type of punishment?
Sasha was used to the beatings from the forest bandits. She had been in slavery for more than twelve years now, her entire town being enslaved by greedy slave traders. She could recall Vin’s face full of greed when they stuffed her in a sack and gassed her to sleep for days.
Paulie’s face was still vivid in her memory, as he raped her time and time again, even when she was underaged. Now, at the age of twenty, her face no longer bore the joy she once had.
Her days were filled with combat, as she was continuously used as target practice by the forest bandits, forced to dodge arrows or withstand sword blows. In the hope of getting stronger, she would sneak into the weapon storage or training yard, fiddling with the weapons and learning how to handle them. She managed to do it undetected for a year before she was caught.
Strong emotions had faded into nothingness over the years, and despair and hopelessness soon took the void. Even the other slaves were of no comfort to her, fighting with her for survival and favouritism from the forest bandits. Every day was a struggle – no one was her friend or willing to help her. With a lack of proper food and no weapons, she was unable to defend herself nor support the muscle mass needed to even fight effectively.
Strangely, my stomach no longer feels hungry. And my stamina seems to have recovered…
As Sasha moved, her right hand throbbed with pain, causing her to scream. However, only a weird guttural sound came out, which helped her quickly remember why she was one of the forest bandit’s favourites: she was mute. Her vocal cords were damaged, rendering her unable to talk back or scream.
However, no one responded to the weird sound as she was alone in the cavern. Loud footsteps could soon be heard coming down the hallway, with Sasha instinctively curling up into a defensive ball, hiding from view in the corner as much as possible.
Soon, the owner of the footsteps was visible - it was a goblin. It sighed as it walked through the main corridor connecting the hundreds of small cavern rooms, poking its head inside and glancing at Sasha.
Sasha immediately tensed up, but the goblin did not do anything, instead walking back briskly to wherever he came from. Oh no, it’s going back to call the others! I have to escape.
The only thing she knew about goblins was that they thrived off the dead bodies of humans, having had former slave friends sent to the mass pits to die.
She peeked around the corner of the cavern, noticing that the patrolling goblin had long left. The room opposite was empty, leaving Sasha curious as to why there were so many rooms as she continued checking them. Some of them seemed to be inhabited by goblins before, with clear signs of their habitation laying around in the form of goblin clothing and even some rudimentary toys.
I’m staying in a goblin room? But why? Sasha began to worry even more about what was happening to her, checking each room. Somehow every room was devoid of people or even goblins, frightening her even more.
As she passed a room, an arm suddenly reached out and grabbed her, causing her to flinch and react violently, nearly punching the person. However, she stopped, realizing that it was one of the other slaves she knew: Ciel.
They weren’t particularly close – no one was to Sasha. Ciel had on a few times joined a group to beat her up, steal her food and even rape her, for which Sasha always bore a grudge.
However, Ciel did not take note of Sasha’s angry expression, instead putting a finger on his hand and hushing her. “Stay quiet and don’t make a sound! The goblins are hunting us, I know where the exit is, follow me!”
Before Sasha could protest, Ciel started running off, motioning to Sasha to follow him. The two of them ran down a long hallway, before turning a corner expecting to see an exit. However, a handsome man with a domineering presence instead was standing in front of them, smiling.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Sasha and Ciel were startled, before immediately running down the corridor in the opposite direction. Surprisingly, the man did not give chase, simply standing there and watching them run off. Sasha found the man’s behaviour odd, until she saw a dozen goblins holding nets moving past the man, obviously aiming at capturing them.
With the man blocking off what seemed like the exit, they had no choice but to run deeper into the corridor of rooms. They soon hit a fork, with both of them instinctively splitting up, forcing the chasing goblins to divide their forces too.
Sasha kept running down the room, her head glancing into each of the room until she found what she was looking for, dashing in. The six goblins chasing her immediately surrounded the room, only to peek inside and see nothing.
The goblins chattered among themselves, with them preparing to give chase. But just as they were about move off, a figure dropped from the ceiling of the room, her fingertips covered in blood from clinging onto random nocks in the cavern. She quickly tackled one of the goblins, grappling it to the ground and twisting its neck quickly.
In a swift motion, she grabbed the knife from the dead goblin’s belt, wielding it and pointing it towards the five goblins who were now inching slowly towards her, holding nets. The net was soon thrown, but Sasha quickly dodged it by leaping backwards. Leaping off the wall around the net, she lunged with the knife outstretched, plunging it into the chest of a goblin.
Without attempting to retrieve it, she quickly punched and kicked her way through the goblins, nailing all of them in a single hit. Soon, the five remaining goblins were either dead or squirming on the floor. Instead, the sound of clapping was heard from behind.
Sasha spun and threw a knife at the source of the clapping, only to see the man catch it by the handle with his bare hands. “Impressive. Much better than the young man.”
Sasha turned and began to run again when the man suddenly lunged and grabbed her by the shoulder, twisting her into an arm lock and dragging her with him. The man brought her out of the corridor into a wider area, where there were already six of her former colleagues waiting for her, including Ciel who was sitting there quietly eating a piece of bread. Each of them had a similar bandage on their hand.
Instead of a joyous reunion, they all stared at Sasha awkwardly, their gazes avoiding her as they continued to talk among themselves. “Ciel, you told me she died to the goblins!” One of them whispered angrily.
“I didn’t!” Ciel desperately tried to deny that, but his eyes told a different story. Sasha had long been used to such gossip behind a back, being a black sheep among the slaves. The main reason was that she was hard to talk to, and no one knew how to communicate with her. Sasha did not know how to read or write either, making things worse.
However, her condition only emboldened other slaves to bully her even more, sure that she would never be able to speak the truth. She had been the target for venting anger countless times, a dummy to beat up so the slaves could feel better about themselves. Even after learning how to fight, there was no way she could fend off an entire group of slaves unarmed.
Weak, I’m too weak! From one slave master to another, only to be bullied by others! Sasha raged internally, but her face remained calm, heading to a corner and sitting down far away from the other slaves.
“How could she die to the goblins? The goblins were not intended to kill you, but to test you. Sasha is the only one who managed to kill a goblin. Well done.” The man praised Sasha, observing the reaction of the surprised slaves and Sasha, who was in pure shock. It was the first words of praise she had heard since she was enslaved.
“All six of you are what remains of the forest fort. All the other slaves are dead, either used as shields, bait or due to collateral damage.”
Ciel’s heart clenched, knowing that his friends made over the years were mostly dead. The six slaves began to weep silently for a brief moment, before recovering. Death was always a moment’s notice away in the life of a slave, but they never expect them to die just inches away from freedom. Some cried for their parents who were enslaved with them, others cried for their friends.
Sasha did not cry nor weep. All of the slaves had been dead to her for a long time ago. Instead, she felt some sort of satisfaction, knowing that those who had hurt her, indirectly or directly, had finally gotten their due. Except the six of them.
The furious gaze from Sasha’s eyes was spotted by the man clearly. “Follow me.” The man beckoned to the seven slaves including Sasha, who moved their bodies and complied on reflex. They had spent far too long in slavery.
The man led them to what seemed to be the main exit of the mine, showing patrolling goblins, a few of them training with bows and swords within a barricaded wooden fort. Most of the armour they were wearing was clearly from the forest fort.
“I am the one who saved you all, and you now have a choice. Walk out the gates, and you will be free. There will be no more debts to settle between us.”
Ciel and the six slaves’ faces lit up at the sound of freedom, but Sasha’s face remained downtrodden. She knew perfectly that she was a long way from home - if her village even existed anymore. Being mute and weak would only have her captured by other bandits or slavers within a week.
“Second option: Work with me, and I will train you to be strong. Everything you need to live will be provided, but the training will not be easy. You will follow my every command, but I promise no one will ever look down on you again. You will be trained to overpower everyone you meet.”
Sasha’s face brightened tremendously, but she quickly noticed the souring faces of the other six.
“You’re offering us enslavement? Just when you freed us? Are you crazy?” Ciel spat angrily, with the others nodding in agreement.
“It’s a choice, no one is forcing you. Two minutes to choose.”
Ciel quickly grabbed the rest into a huddle, including Sasha. “I think we can make it out. The town isn’t that far from here, I went on a grocery run before. I can get us there, but we will need to make sure we can fend against other goblins. Even if the man here controls the goblins, it isn’t the only tribe.”
“I will provide you a basic weapon to defend yourself with.” The man interrupted.
Ciel bowed in thanks, before continuing to explain. “If we work together as a team, we can fight off anything. We just need to fight for a day or so, and then we’ll be in town. Then we can go our separate ways. Maybe even stick together to make something for ourselves. What do you say?”
His optimism influenced the other five who excitedly agreed, already having dreams of freedom beyond the forest. Some wanted to return to their homeland, others hoping to strike it rich on their own. None of them wanted to follow the command of the man, which only reminded them of their slave life.
However, Sasha broke free of the huddle, walking over to the man and standing next to him. To her, freedom without strength would only end up in slavery again. She had witnessed the man’s strength personally and wanted to be as strong as him – no, even stronger. Anything that could help her take this next step, she would grab it.
Furthermore, why would she want to escape with those who tormented her for the last few years?
Ciel’s face turned from a bright expression to a scowling face. He had hoped that Sasha would join them on the escape, seeing as she was the only one among them who had killed a goblin barehanded.
“One minute left.”
Ciel and the other five made up their minds, collecting a simple dagger each from a goblin before walking out of the fort. They did a simple bow of gratitude to the man, before leaving for a better future. Ciel gave a final glance at Sasha, one of pity as though she had chosen wrong. This irked Sasha even more, causing her to clench her fist. I’ll get stronger than all of you idiots, and one day I’ll have my revenge.
The man turned to Sasha, who was the only one left. “How good are you with a crossbow? Nod for good to great, shake for not good.”
Sasha nodded her head slightly. The forest fort had crossbows, and while she never received any formal training, her time sneaking around the weapon storage and testing them gave her a basic understanding.
The man handed her a crossbow, one she recognized to be Orthon’s personalized one. “Show me.”
Sasha glanced around the mine entrance, noticing a dummy strawman used for target practice. She aimed the crossbow carefully, firing a single bolt and nailing the target on the head. She then handed the crossbow back to the man respectfully.
“Good enough. Are you ready for your first mission?” The man handed her a Strength Potion and a Stamina Recovery Potion, telling her to drink them.
Sasha felt a satisfying rush of strength, as though she had somehow grown more muscles out of nowhere, while her body felt like it had eaten well for weeks. She had never felt better before, nodding vigorously in response to the man’s question.
The man tossed her the crossbow and a simple knife. “There are six liabilities running towards the town through the forest now. Kill them all before they spread the word that we are here.”
Sasha’s stomach rumbled as she tried to recall where she was. She did not see any of the same bars and cages that held her for what seemed like ages. Instead, all she saw was a small little cavern, with a simple stool and nothing else.
She lay in a small comfortable bed made out of fur, before a dull aching pain seared through her, stemming from her hand. She raised her right hand to reveal a bandage, soaked in blood and another type of liquid, slowly oozing onto the forearm. Another type of punishment?
Sasha was used to the beatings from the forest bandits. She had been in slavery for more than twelve years now, her entire town being enslaved by greedy slave traders. She could recall Vin’s face full of greed when they stuffed her in a sack and gassed her to sleep for days.
Paulie’s face was still vivid in her memory, as he raped her time and time again, even when she was underaged. Now, at the age of twenty, her face no longer bore the joy she once had.
Her days were filled with combat, as she was continuously used as target practice by the forest bandits, forced to dodge arrows or withstand sword blows. In the hope of getting stronger, she would sneak into the weapon storage or training yard, fiddling with the weapons and learning how to handle them. She managed to do it undetected for a year before she was caught.
Strong emotions had faded into nothingness over the years, and despair and hopelessness soon took the void. Even the other slaves were of no comfort to her, fighting with her for survival and favouritism from the forest bandits. Every day was a struggle – no one was her friend or willing to help her. With a lack of proper food and no weapons, she was unable to defend herself nor support the muscle mass needed to even fight effectively.
Strangely, my stomach no longer feels hungry. And my stamina seems to have recovered…
As Sasha moved, her right hand throbbed with pain, causing her to scream. However, only a weird guttural sound came out, which helped her quickly remember why she was one of the forest bandit’s favourites: she was mute. Her vocal cords were damaged, rendering her unable to talk back or scream.
However, no one responded to the weird sound as she was alone in the cavern. Loud footsteps could soon be heard coming down the hallway, with Sasha instinctively curling up into a defensive ball, hiding from view in the corner as much as possible.
Soon, the owner of the footsteps was visible - it was a goblin. It sighed as it walked through the main corridor connecting the hundreds of small cavern rooms, poking its head inside and glancing at Sasha.
Sasha immediately tensed up, but the goblin did not do anything, instead walking back briskly to wherever he came from. Oh no, it’s going back to call the others! I have to escape.
The only thing she knew about goblins was that they thrived off the dead bodies of humans, having had former slave friends sent to the mass pits to die.
She peeked around the corner of the cavern, noticing that the patrolling goblin had long left. The room opposite was empty, leaving Sasha curious as to why there were so many rooms as she continued checking them. Some of them seemed to be inhabited by goblins before, with clear signs of their habitation laying around in the form of goblin clothing and even some rudimentary toys.
I’m staying in a goblin room? But why? Sasha began to worry even more about what was happening to her, checking each room. Somehow every room was devoid of people or even goblins, frightening her even more.
As she passed a room, an arm suddenly reached out and grabbed her, causing her to flinch and react violently, nearly punching the person. However, she stopped, realizing that it was one of the other slaves she knew: Ciel.
They weren’t particularly close – no one was to Sasha. Ciel had on a few times joined a group to beat her up, steal her food and even rape her, for which Sasha always bore a grudge.
However, Ciel did not take note of Sasha’s angry expression, instead putting a finger on his hand and hushing her. “Stay quiet and don’t make a sound! The goblins are hunting us, I know where the exit is, follow me!”
Before Sasha could protest, Ciel started running off, motioning to Sasha to follow him. The two of them ran down a long hallway, before turning a corner expecting to see an exit. However, a handsome man with a domineering presence instead was standing in front of them, smiling.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Sasha and Ciel were startled, before immediately running down the corridor in the opposite direction. Surprisingly, the man did not give chase, simply standing there and watching them run off. Sasha found the man’s behaviour odd, until she saw a dozen goblins holding nets moving past the man, obviously aiming at capturing them.
With the man blocking off what seemed like the exit, they had no choice but to run deeper into the corridor of rooms. They soon hit a fork, with both of them instinctively splitting up, forcing the chasing goblins to divide their forces too.
Sasha kept running down the room, her head glancing into each of the room until she found what she was looking for, dashing in. The six goblins chasing her immediately surrounded the room, only to peek inside and see nothing.
The goblins chattered among themselves, with them preparing to give chase. But just as they were about move off, a figure dropped from the ceiling of the room, her fingertips covered in blood from clinging onto random nocks in the cavern. She quickly tackled one of the goblins, grappling it to the ground and twisting its neck quickly.
In a swift motion, she grabbed the knife from the dead goblin’s belt, wielding it and pointing it towards the five goblins who were now inching slowly towards her, holding nets. The net was soon thrown, but Sasha quickly dodged it by leaping backwards. Leaping off the wall around the net, she lunged with the knife outstretched, plunging it into the chest of a goblin.
Without attempting to retrieve it, she quickly punched and kicked her way through the goblins, nailing all of them in a single hit. Soon, the five remaining goblins were either dead or squirming on the floor. Instead, the sound of clapping was heard from behind.
Sasha spun and threw a knife at the source of the clapping, only to see the man catch it by the handle with his bare hands. “Impressive. Much better than the young man.”
Sasha turned and began to run again when the man suddenly lunged and grabbed her by the shoulder, twisting her into an arm lock and dragging her with him. The man brought her out of the corridor into a wider area, where there were already six of her former colleagues waiting for her, including Ciel who was sitting there quietly eating a piece of bread. Each of them had a similar bandage on their hand.
Instead of a joyous reunion, they all stared at Sasha awkwardly, their gazes avoiding her as they continued to talk among themselves. “Ciel, you told me she died to the goblins!” One of them whispered angrily.
“I didn’t!” Ciel desperately tried to deny that, but his eyes told a different story. Sasha had long been used to such gossip behind a back, being a black sheep among the slaves. The main reason was that she was hard to talk to, and no one knew how to communicate with her. Sasha did not know how to read or write either, making things worse.
However, her condition only emboldened other slaves to bully her even more, sure that she would never be able to speak the truth. She had been the target for venting anger countless times, a dummy to beat up so the slaves could feel better about themselves. Even after learning how to fight, there was no way she could fend off an entire group of slaves unarmed.
Weak, I’m too weak! From one slave master to another, only to be bullied by others! Sasha raged internally, but her face remained calm, heading to a corner and sitting down far away from the other slaves.
“How could she die to the goblins? The goblins were not intended to kill you, but to test you. Sasha is the only one who managed to kill a goblin. Well done.” The man praised Sasha, observing the reaction of the surprised slaves and Sasha, who was in pure shock. It was the first words of praise she had heard since she was enslaved.
“All six of you are what remains of the forest fort. All the other slaves are dead, either used as shields, bait or due to collateral damage.”
Ciel’s heart clenched, knowing that his friends made over the years were mostly dead. The six slaves began to weep silently for a brief moment, before recovering. Death was always a moment’s notice away in the life of a slave, but they never expect them to die just inches away from freedom. Some cried for their parents who were enslaved with them, others cried for their friends.
Sasha did not cry nor weep. All of the slaves had been dead to her for a long time ago. Instead, she felt some sort of satisfaction, knowing that those who had hurt her, indirectly or directly, had finally gotten their due. Except the six of them.
The furious gaze from Sasha’s eyes was spotted by the man clearly. “Follow me.” The man beckoned to the seven slaves including Sasha, who moved their bodies and complied on reflex. They had spent far too long in slavery.
The man led them to what seemed to be the main exit of the mine, showing patrolling goblins, a few of them training with bows and swords within a barricaded wooden fort. Most of the armour they were wearing was clearly from the forest fort.
“I am the one who saved you all, and you now have a choice. Walk out the gates, and you will be free. There will be no more debts to settle between us.”
Ciel and the six slaves’ faces lit up at the sound of freedom, but Sasha’s face remained downtrodden. She knew perfectly that she was a long way from home - if her village even existed anymore. Being mute and weak would only have her captured by other bandits or slavers within a week.
“Second option: Work with me, and I will train you to be strong. Everything you need to live will be provided, but the training will not be easy. You will follow my every command, but I promise no one will ever look down on you again. You will be trained to overpower everyone you meet.”
Sasha’s face brightened tremendously, but she quickly noticed the souring faces of the other six.
“You’re offering us enslavement? Just when you freed us? Are you crazy?” Ciel spat angrily, with the others nodding in agreement.
“It’s a choice, no one is forcing you. Two minutes to choose.”
Ciel quickly grabbed the rest into a huddle, including Sasha. “I think we can make it out. The town isn’t that far from here, I went on a grocery run before. I can get us there, but we will need to make sure we can fend against other goblins. Even if the man here controls the goblins, it isn’t the only tribe.”
“I will provide you a basic weapon to defend yourself with.” The man interrupted.
Ciel bowed in thanks, before continuing to explain. “If we work together as a team, we can fight off anything. We just need to fight for a day or so, and then we’ll be in town. Then we can go our separate ways. Maybe even stick together to make something for ourselves. What do you say?”
His optimism influenced the other five who excitedly agreed, already having dreams of freedom beyond the forest. Some wanted to return to their homeland, others hoping to strike it rich on their own. None of them wanted to follow the command of the man, which only reminded them of their slave life.
However, Sasha broke free of the huddle, walking over to the man and standing next to him. To her, freedom without strength would only end up in slavery again. She had witnessed the man’s strength personally and wanted to be as strong as him – no, even stronger. Anything that could help her take this next step, she would grab it.
Furthermore, why would she want to escape with those who tormented her for the last few years?
Ciel’s face turned from a bright expression to a scowling face. He had hoped that Sasha would join them on the escape, seeing as she was the only one among them who had killed a goblin barehanded.
“One minute left.”
Ciel and the other five made up their minds, collecting a simple dagger each from a goblin before walking out of the fort. They did a simple bow of gratitude to the man, before leaving for a better future. Ciel gave a final glance at Sasha, one of pity as though she had chosen wrong. This irked Sasha even more, causing her to clench her fist. I’ll get stronger than all of you idiots, and one day I’ll have my revenge.
The man turned to Sasha, who was the only one left. “How good are you with a crossbow? Nod for good to great, shake for not good.”
Sasha nodded her head slightly. The forest fort had crossbows, and while she never received any formal training, her time sneaking around the weapon storage and testing them gave her a basic understanding.
The man handed her a crossbow, one she recognized to be Orthon’s personalized one. “Show me.”
Sasha glanced around the mine entrance, noticing a dummy strawman used for target practice. She aimed the crossbow carefully, firing a single bolt and nailing the target on the head. She then handed the crossbow back to the man respectfully.
“Good enough. Are you ready for your first mission?” The man handed her a Strength Potion and a Stamina Recovery Potion, telling her to drink them.
Sasha felt a satisfying rush of strength, as though she had somehow grown more muscles out of nowhere, while her body felt like it had eaten well for weeks. She had never felt better before, nodding vigorously in response to the man’s question.
The man tossed her the crossbow and a simple knife. “There are six liabilities running towards the town through the forest now. Kill them all before they spread the word that we are here.”
