Iron, Mine

There was silence as Terry racked the bolt. It seemed as if everyone was holding their breath. Every single click could be heard as he pulled back the device to load it. Realizing that he was going to die, Julio desperately called out.

"You can't kill me! I'm connected to the Baron. You have to let me go!"

Terry looked over at Zanir. He didn't want to cause any problems, after all, he and his men would die if anything happened to him. After a brief moment of consideration, Zanir gave his response.

"Go ahead and shoot him. The Baron has always taxed and bullied our family. I believe we'll deal with him soon enough."

Hearing the reply, there was a shine in Terry's eye as he spoke out Julio.

"Since we worked together so long, I'll count down from three. That way you can close your eyes, if ya want."

Approaching the trigger, he aimed down the sights, and started counting down.

"Three"

Before he even hit two, an audible snap rang out, as the shot was fired. It flew through the air and hit Julio directly in the head. Smashing through, the bolt landed directly behind him, narrowly missing some of the other surviving bandits. They were not, however, spared from the blood and bits flying out.

Terry and his men approached Zanir, removing their helmets. They all took a bow down on one knee. Having delivered on his promise for revenge, he had earned their loyalty. Witnessing the strange powers that he had, they knew that he was far from ordinary.

"My lord, you have saved us in our darkest hour. We can never repay you for this. From now on, we will serve, wherever you may go. We will become your fiercest protectors."

"Arise, my loyal soldiers! We have tasted battle, now let us reap the profits."

He wanted to see how much he'd be able to take, so he consulted Reed. Hopefully they'd be able to take a large portion of the materials. It would be a significant boost to his world.

"Reed, how much can we take?"

Without even musing it over, he quickly replied.

"This area was attacked by bandits. Who's to say the place wasn't already stripped bare when we got here?"

"Haha, excellent! What about these survivors? Should I force them to take the spirit contract?"

Hearing Zanir's question, Reed chuckled in response. He brought out a small devil figurine, handing it over. The figure had an uncomfortable cold sensation when held. The devil figure was red and had both his arms stretched out in front of him. There were chains binding his hands together.

"The spirit contract should be reserved for those who are loyal. Save it for those you trust, your inner circle. This here is a slave stamp. Anyone you mark with it will become your slave. The caveat is that you have to be stronger than them. Or be able to make them submit to it."

Hearing the explanation, he quickly checked the bottom of the figurine. Sure enough, there was what looked like a rubber stamp on bottom. He hoped that you didn't have to dip it in blood to get it to work. Hmm, he could swear that it got a little colder as he thought about blood.

"Is thing evil Reed?"

"No not inherently. It is just a tool. It's all in how you use it. As long as you don't mistreat or abuse them it's fine. It's a surefire way to protect secrets. They'll never be able to betray you, or any information about you."

"Oh, but you do have to activate it with a drop of blood first. That one only goes up a certain power level, so be careful!"

Pricking his finger on the machete he was carrying, he activated the slave stamp figurine with a drop of blood. For a brief moment he thought he saw the devil figure open his eyes and gaze back. When he blinked, the small figurine had resumed it's previous position, having closed it eyes.

Removing the quicksand, Zanir had his men subdue the remaining survivors. He would need workers for the upcoming plans he had. The survivors had seen their leader shot, they didn't put up any resistance. He wanted to see how this slave stamp worked.

Approaching the first survivor, he tried applying the stamp around the collarbone area. He thought it would be cruel to brand their face or forehead. The man shivered slightly, calming afterwards. He was worried that he might have been killed or tortured.

After the first he continued to mark the rest of the surviving bandits. Soon he had twenty four new workers. The unexpected influx of two dozen workers and the slave stamp had Zanir feeling great. He had he gotten great benefits. The extra help would help him wrap up this iron mine even faster.

He ordered his workers to begin loading up all of the prepared iron and supplies. They were instructed to start bringing everything over to center of the camp. Zanir and Reed began removing the traps. They would also work to restore the terrain. Meanwhile he had the Iron Devil Corp loot the site for any valuables.

Soon enough the terrain had been restored. While fixing the spike pits, he absorbed all of the bodies too. It wasn't that he was after the corpses, it would also absorb their clothing and possessions. The armor and weapons could also be used. He was removing any evidence of the attack.

Once the outer area had been settled, he headed inside the bustling camp. The workers were cleaning the damaged areas, creating pathways for others, who brought carts of ore and supplies through. The Iron Devil Corp had two men stationed nearby, guarding a pile of valuables and keeping an eye on the area.

They had grabbed anything that looked remotely valuable. Several chests were piled together, along with other various items. Casks of ale and bottles of liquor had been placed nearby. They had also looted the rations, from processed sausages to jerky and even various hardtack biscuits. Several jars of spices were also taken to complement the bland, yet hardy, food.

Occasionally one the men came back with a small trinket or some coins. It was placed into the nearby chest with the other items. Anything that looked magical, or out of the ordinary had been brought over to this section.

Reed and Zanir worked together to create a large dinner table, after clearing a nearby area. They were going to have a large feast tonight. Everyone would be working together late into the night as they stripped the iron mine bare.

With Reed's approval there wouldn't be an issue. He was planning on taking everything. The entire campsite that had been erected. Every tent and piece of furniture. The supplies the bandits had. All of the Iron, including the entire mine itself.

The best part. There wouldn't even be a stick or a stone left to suggest he was ever here.