18

I plucked several blades of grass, stuffing them into my armor wherever I could.

According to Ihka, it would keep the Arkos away - but only while the grass still carried its scent. After being plucked, it would only last for a few hours at most.

That would be just long enough to either find more grass, or truly lose the Arkos - and survive its hunt.

Once I was satisfied with the ghillie suit I had produced, I walked over to Nira.

She backed away.

"Five steps. No, stay ten steps away." She pinched her nose and started walking southwest - back towards the road and around where the Arkos was last seen.

"Is it really that bad?" I questioned. To me, it smelled strong - but not unpleasantly so.

"Yes. You reek." She replied flatly.

I shrugged and followed.

A few minutes later, we were back on the road - the firelight of the camp was visible just a little further down the road. The slaves looked to be moving around the camp, probably searching for leftover food.

Once we reached the camp, the first thing I noticed was three soldiers tied up near the center of the circle.

Ihka and the Mamoei man were standing before them.

'So there were some survivors.' I silently congratulated them. Even if they died now - I couldn't imagine it being worse than in the belly of the Arkos.

The slaves scattered around the rest of the camp, naturally segregating into cliques of their own race.

Nira and I approached Ihka and caught the tail end of one of the soldiers shouting at them.

"-you! Ahlthazar's group is only a few hours behind us! You're all dead! DEAD!" A Shal'Iri male kicked the soldier's head from the side, rattling his brain. The man lost consciousness, joining his companions. One of which, I noted, was Arbary. 'He must have been the one that escaped back then.'

'More importantly though,' I frowned, 'Ahlthazar is coming?'

Glancing at Nira, she seemed equally perturbed.

"Ugh! What is that stench?!" A couple Shal'Iri slaves near Ihka hurriedly backed away as I approached.

Ihka scrunched her nose and looked towards me. When she realized it was me she nodded - but still backed away a few steps. I removed her cloak and reluctantly extended my hand for her to accept it - which she did as quickly as she could. Perhaps because of my scent - or perhaps because of its value. I suspected both.

Once she confirmed the cloak was undamaged, she wrapped it over her shoulders.

Looking around at the Shal'Iri behind her, she explained, "Relax, he's just using Juju Grass as a deterrent - the Arkos has his scent. And you should have already noticed… he's on our side."

The slaves didn't seem to relax though. Instead, they continued to glare at me with hostility.

'The fuck? Did they forget I'm the one that helped them escape?' I grumbled.

One person though, I noticed, didn't back away - nor did he harbor hostility. The Mamoei man turned and looked at me with a neutral expression, but gave me a respectful nod.

"So, what happened here after I left?" I asked.

Ihka shrugged, "A few returned and I took care of them. Kept three alive to ask some questions."

"And?" I probed.

"Not much - apparently Ahlthazar is coming." Ihka replied.

"I see."

The Mamoei man joined in, "We should be moving then… Lady Ihka." The way he phrased Ihka's name came out awkwardly. Like he was forcing himself to be polite.

She sighed, "I told you, you don't have to call me that. But yes - we should go. We can use the wagons and move through the night. In a few hours we can cut into the forest and make for the Hold."

When she mentioned the Hold, the slaves within earshot began whispering among themselves.

I heard a couple of the closer comments.

"Does it really exist?"

"I told you it does! You didn't believe me!"

The same Shal'Iri man who took the liberty of knocking the last soldier unconscious suddenly spoke up, "What are we going to do about them." He tilted his head towards the group of human slaves.

I was worried about this. Not that I cared for any of the humans, but it wouldn't feel right if they decided to just kill them.

"We'll let them go their own way a little later." Ihka replied.

The Shal'Iri man spat. "I say we kill them."

"Why? They were made slaves as well, we're all in the same boat. There's no reason to find trouble with them." Ihka retorted.

A small Shal'Iri girl suddenly stepped forward, "It's fine Jordo. The forest will decide their fate - not us."

Jordo made a reluctant face, but still bowed and backed off.

The girl glanced at me, - frowned - then said, "Let's get going."

'I don't like her.' I decided.

Her attitude made Nira look like a saint, as far as I was concerned. It wasn't the frown that really got me, it was the look in her eyes. Hate and disgust - they were similar to Nira's eyes when I first met her.

'Maybe she'll get better?' I pondered. Nira did, but that took extreme circumstances. Either way, I didn't really care.

Ihka watched the girl walk away with a thoughtful expression, then turned back to the bound soldiers. She studied them for a few seconds, then sneered and muttered to herself, "These ones on the other hand… we'll leave here… as is."

I shook my head and shifted my attention, scanning the Shal'Iri slaves. I quickly noticed a certain young girl was standing quietly away from the others. She was skinny - too skinny - and seemed forlorn. Comparing her to Nira, she was probably a few years younger. It was the same girl from the wagon earlier.

As everyone began to start preparing to set off, I approached her. She didn't even react to my 'stench', nor did she look up. She just kept staring blankly at the ground.

I pulled down my Dusksworn mask, noting once again that my hair was quite long for a man - reaching halfway to my shoulders. It was a dark shade of chestnut brown, which might even look quite nice - if it wasn't so dirty.

Removing a canteen from the pack I was carrying, I unscrewed its cap and held it out for the girl.

"Drink." I said softly.

She glanced at the canteen, but didn't budge.

I sighed, then reached out and lifted her chin. Her face was dirty and there were barely any red twists in her eyes. One of her two small horns was cracked and misshapen. Hidden beneath the grime was an expression of desolate apathy. Despite that, I held the canteen up to her lips and repeated, "Drink."

Her lips quivered, then opened. When she tasted the water, her eyes widened and she clasped the canteen - pulling it from my hands. I backed away, and watched as she greedily inhaled as much water as she could.

"You shouldn't be too kind." Nira approached and commented.

"If I followed that advice, you'd still be laying next to that bridge." I retorted.

Nira's mouth opened, but closed shortly after. My words were the truth after all, what could she say?

"I guess." Nira grumbled. "But it's probably too late anyway."

"Huh?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Why?"

Nira looked around at the other slaves and said, "Because no one here will help her. They can all barely help themselves."

I looked back at the girl.

When she finally lowered the canteen, something about her had changed. The dull lifelessness in her eyes had taken on an ever-so-slight glint of appreciation.

Seeing the change, I felt hope - I didn't want her to return to her previous state.

I was about to ask the girl her name, when Ihka approached, "Don't worry Abel, I will take care of her."

I looked at Ihka as if she was a saint. 'Thank god.' I thought.

Ihka kneeled in front of the girl and asked, "What's your name?"

She shook her head.

"You don't have a name?" Ihka probed.

She shook her head again.

"..." Ihka sighed.

We all stood in silence, staring at the girl - who had lowered her head once again.

"Cyra." I said.

She looked up slightly - and I pointed at her, "Your name will be Cyra."

The little girl's lips waggled strangely, like they might have wanted to curl upwards but didn't know how. Her eyes, however, remembered how to cry. Tears fell as she lifted a hand to touch her cheek. She wiped a tear and looked at her fingers with grim confusion.

'Jesus, this shit isn't good for my heart.' I thought, watching the girl's reaction.

Bowing slightly to Ihka, I thanked her.

"No need for thanks. I'm not doing it for you." Ihka shook her head.

"Anyway, where are you two heading?" She asked.

I looked at Nira, then replied, "We're heading south, so we'll probably follow along for a while. Don't worry though, I won't follow you to your hideout."

Ihka chuckled, "I wouldn't worry even if you did."

My eyes widened, and I felt a slight chill run down my spine.

Ihka glanced at Nira, "Are you sure you won't come back with us? We could use another healer."

It seemed they had already discussed this part. My hopes of Ihka convincing her were dashed.

I felt strangely relieved though. It seemed I didn't want to part with her after all.

Nira shook her head, "I'm sure."

Ihka chuckled, "Alright then." Rising to her feet, she reached down to take Cyra's hand. Cyra, who had been staring at me, flinched.

"You know, I know where to find something good to eat." Ihka smiled as she tempted her with food.

Cyra's eyes widened, clearly tempted, but she stubbornly shook her head. "I… Want to stay…" She said quietly, barely audible.

Ihka looked at me for help.

'Oh god. What should I even say?'

I looked at Cyra, who had returned to staring at me.

"You want to come with us?" I asked, pointing between Nira and myself.

She hesitated, apprehension palpable - but fought through and nodded once.

"Can you protect yourself?" I paused. "See, as you heard, we're going to split from everyone else very soon and go on an adventure into a really dangerous ruin."

"If you can promise me you can protect yourself, I'll consider letting you come with us." I added. It was cruel, because I knew she couldn't, but taking her along may prove even more cruel.

She teared up again.

"Wait, that's where you're going?" Ihka interjected.

I looked over at her, and she was looking at me with a mixture of amusement and surprise.

"Well, that's the idea anyway." I replied.

Ihka suddenly laughed. "Well, if that's the case then there's no problem."

She let go of Cyra's hand and placed it on her head instead.

"You see, that ruin is the Hold." She smiled.

Nira and I looked at eachother with wide eyes. 'No way.'

***

A few hours later, I was walking south alongside the rest of the now former slaves.

Nira and Cyra were walking beside me.

Cyra didn't talk, just satisfied to walk close to me while holding the canteen I had given her. At some point a few hours ago, I told her she could keep it. From that moment, it had become the most precious thing in the world to her.

She was the epitome of a pitiful creature. I had it in my mind to change that, some day.

My precious 'Juju' ghillie suit finally wilted just a few minutes ago and I was casually removing the dead blades of grass as we walked.

The three of us walked at the very back of the procession. The other slaves would grimace and glare whenever I tried talking to them, so I just decided to walk at the back. Nira and Cyra took it upon themselves to keep me company.

They weren't exactly doing a good job though. In fact I sensed a little tension between the two. They had been shooting glares at one another for the past hour.

Nira finally spoke up, "You. How old are you?" Her tone was suspiciously frosty.

"Fifteen." Cyra replied.

My jaw dropped, and I turned to look at her with incredulity.

'There's actually no way.' I refused to believe it. In fact, I had to confirm it.

"Cyra, are you actually fifteen? No matter how I look at you, you can't be over ten years old." I came right out and asked her straight.

She pouted, "I am! My body looks like this because I have no Mana!"

Nira smirked, "Ah, I remember those days. I hated my life back then."

Cyra teared up and was about to say something, when the Mamoei Remnant made his way back to us and greeted me.

"Abel, can you spare me a few moments to discuss something in private?" He asked.

I looked at the man like he was my savior and happily nodded, "Sure!"

He held his hand out to his side, gesturing for us to step away in that direction.

A few seconds later, we were out of earshot of the others.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier, Abel. My name is Varon. Like you've probably heard, I am a Remnant." He pointed at the silver necklace around his neck.

I nodded, "Nice to meet you Varon. I did hear about that."

He smiled, "Good. I won't mince my words then. I'd like to make a trade."

"A trade? What kind?" I asked suspiciously.

"Well…" Varon reached into his robe and removed a black key, "I was hoping you'd use this on me."

'Ihka gave him the Key?' I pondered.

He stared at me, judging my reaction - which was simply a raised eyebrow.

"And in exchange?" I queried.

"In exchange, I will escort you to the Ruin. The real Ruin." Varon replied.