Chapter 11

Ash and Kuln talked for a while. Kuln answered any questions Ash had. But for some reason, most questions he asked were about Kuln himself. He had heard about the Knights, they were one of the most powerful groups of people in the whole world. One knight was equal to an army by himself. Humans didn't have much magical powers by themselves so they had to use other conduits and methods to become powerful. So Ash was curious about the Knights' power.

"The arena is a bad place, Sakarr knows exactly how to make you useful for him. I have to admit, for the first few years I was here, I honestly liked when the people cheered on my victories. I like showing off. But that's also part of the trap, they'll keep on raising the limits and put you in more and more horrible situations until you finally break. And if you decide to not fight anymore you are even more doomed. Sakarr will make you pay for messing up with his entertainment" Kuln said grimly.

"How does all this happen here? Isn't slavery illegal now" Ash asked?

"It is not as simple as you might think, It's not a small operation, Sakarr is very well connected, he is not the only one with these tendencies, there are much bigger players than him. He knows how to bend the laws and people like him love to see themselves on the top and control others" Kuln changed his position on the ground.

"When I first heard about this arena, I was a young knight. Then Sakarr's father used to run it and he was just a boy, it was a smaller operation also, and I underestimated them and thought I'll be able to handle them alone. That's when I found out how deep this chain goes. We used to call them the Dark Lords, I don't know what they are called now, Sakarr's family was part of one of their net, and they must have found out I was coming, I hadn't told anyone else where I was going or what I was doing, so it was easy for them to make me disappear" he coughed and stopped.

Ash wondered whether Knox was part of this underground club as well, If he wasn't, he sure would love to be.

"And now he has those Amazons" Kuln continued "I expect they are even more precious than I was since they are females, and there are six of them, They came in just a few months ago, I don't know why they were caught though, they don't talk much and usually keep to themselves, I would have warned them about not to show too much of their skills".

"Did you see an Elf brought here?" Ash asked remembering Raeya.

"The blonde one, what was her name, Raeya"

"Yes!"

"Yeah, she was here, but she seemed to have pissed off Sakarr too much, she is in solitary now, she'll only be released on the day of the game, I think Sakarr is trying to make a sacrificial show out of her, whatever she has coming for her in the games, would be the worst".

"Has no one ever escaped?" Ash asked.

"Many have tried, but all failed and the result was not good, I have tried but never succeeded and fortunately wasn't caught trying or I'll be dead"

"When do you think is the best chance to escape?" he asked.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"I did but still, I can't stay here, I'd rather die," he said simply. Even if he had nothing special about him, Ash was not afraid of dying, he was afraid of slaving for someone else though.

Kuln looked at him for a few minutes silently and then lay back down.

"Forget it, I'll find something" Ash muttered under his breath.