With the quiet ambience interrupted, the sound of heavy breathing resonated throughout the forest, quickly followed by the clattering of armour and weapons.

A guard tiredly trudged up the hill and surveyed his surroundings. His dog barked violently towards something in the distance. After taking another look, he spotted the backside of a fleeing slave. "Found him!"

The captain should never have bought him, even if he looked like a bargain, the guard reflected.

He must either be some noble’s bastard or from some fallen house. His thoughts of the man’s origins were interrupted by the twang of a bow.

The guard growled. “Don’t shoot! We need to capture this bastard alive and unharmed!”

“Fine, just know you’re making this harder than it’s supposed to be.” The archer countered after lowering his bow.

“It’s not my fault. Boss’s orders.” The guard grumbled as they kept their pursuit.

Mud and dirt collected on the slave’s already exhausted body as he manoeuvred through the forest. His path had been fairly straight so far, the trees were spread apart and his battered and bruised feet could manage the wet and flat ground below him.

He could still hear the faint shouts of the guards and barking of dogs behind him. Judging from the volume of their voices, they were slowly closing in on him. To his surprise, however, the noise behind him subsided.

They’re anticipating something...

He looked around him and soon saw why. A pitfall lay right in front of his path. They hadn’t covered it well enough, the surface of the trap was partially exposed. The hole under it was sparsely covered under branches and rotten leaves., but it would’ve been enough for a panicked slave to fall into. He winced at the thought of falling into it and breaking his leg.

The guards know the layout of this forest. I can’t slip up now.

As he was about to pull himself together for one last sprint, he heard footsteps closing in on him.

The look of exhaustion on the slave’s face made some of the guards grin; they’d finally caught their prey. “It’s over. Don’t try anything funny now; you’ll regret it,” one of them scoffed at the slave.

The slave looked towards the turbulent river. For a moment, the laughter of the guards faded into the darkness of the night.

Seeing the slave’s confusion, the guards loosened their grip on the dogs’ leashes and prepared for a final strike.

However, once they saw the slave’s desperate expression change into one of sheer determination, they hesitated.

One of the guards raised his left hand and closed his fist, ordering the men to stay alert.

They slowly approached the slave, surrounding him. One of the dogs leapt towards the slave. If its owner hadn’t restrained it just in time, it would’ve minced the slave long ago.

“If you have the guts to jump, then do it. Maybe you’ll find yourself a bloated corpse.” one of the guards shouted.

“Better than leaving my fate in your hands.” The slave spat. He took a few steps towards the edge and peeked over the cliff, hearing the low rumbling of crashing water intensifying. Before the guards had the chance to pull him back, he closed his eyes and threw himself down the waterfall.

The slavers stood there dumbfounded before one of them looked below and asked.

“Did he really just throw himself?”

“What an idiot. We got him from a Brizilum outpost and chased him all this time just for this to happen?”

The guards had always felt this slave meant trouble. They were proven right when that same slave managed to set fire to the boss’s tent and released the more rebellious slaves. This caused them to riot, costing the lives of a few guards. By the time the riot had been put down, he was nowhere to be found.

Besides his rebellious nature, there were other things the guards had noticed. His tall and fit build, not to mention his clean white hair and nails, had signalled to them that he wasn’t of commoner descent.

The guard coughed. “If anyone asks I didn’t dare him to do shit.”

He sat down on a nearby trunk and sighed deeply.

“Too bad we lost an asset. How will we explain this to the boss?”

“Guess we’ll have to pick twigs. Besides, he’s a goner for sure. It’s in the middle of the night and that’s a long fall. We’ll probably find his corpse on some rocks in the morning.” The slaver looking over the waterfall replied.

“Fair enough.”

***

Rapids dragged Eleric along the river. He tried to catch his breath but was repeatedly resubmerged by the waves colliding with his fragile frame.

Am I going to die after having come this far?

Eleric tried swimming against the current but found himself unable to. He’d used up most of his strength fleeing; there was barely enough left to keep himself afloat.

He looked around frantically, trying to find something to hold on to. Just as his body was about to give up, a drifting log passed by. With one last chance presenting itself in front of him, Eleric hoisted himself onto the log with all his might.

He held on firmly and narrowly avoided smashing into nearby rocks. With each collision, he anticipated his death. Eventually, night turned to day, and the stream got calmer.

Eleric felt water flowing to and from his body. In his mind, he was being chased by countless guards. Just as they were about to catch him, a loud crash awakened Eleric out of his fever dream. In front of him, he saw a nearby shore. He flipped himself to the other side of the log, falling face-first on the sand and gravel.

“Finally...” Eleric muttered. His vision briefly flickered before transitioning into pure nothingness.

He felt something cold poking him on his sides. His eyes shot wide open, and he instinctively turned himself around, facing the sky. Two grey figures slowly entered his vision, and as he adjusted his eyes to the bright sun above him, it soon became clear to him that they were goblinoids.

He had never seen anything like it, they had fair features, something he’d never expect to associate with a goblinoid. Their yellow eyes were scrutinizing him, trying to make sense of his sudden arrival.

What the hell are these things?

Eleric glimpsed at the goblinoids' equipment

Bronze.

The two goblinoids exchanged a glance before pointing their weapons towards Eleric.

The older looking of the two calmly spoke to Eleric, but he couldn’t understand what the grey creature was saying.

“I don’t know your language,” Eleric said in a dry tone, causing the goblinoid to raise an eyebrow and attempt to say something else. Eleric immediately noticed that their words and pronunciation were different from anything he had heard before. However, even after trying his best to decipher their words, he still couldn’t understand what the grey goblinoid creature was saying.

Eleric showed a harmless smile. “Sorry, I still can’t understand you. You don’t happen to know Brizilium or Edorai?”

The two goblinoids looked at each other and exchanged some words but kept their guard.

“Can I at least get up? My legs are getting cramped.” He said before slowly standing up. He towered over the two goblinoids. The tallest of the two, the younger goblinoid, barely reached his chest. The two flinched at Eleric’s height; they hadn’t expected him to be this tall.

After seeing how much physical difference there was between him and the two creatures, Eleric eased his nerves. For now, the odds weren’t stacked against him.

Seems like the situation doesn’t seem so bad for now. If I can’t reason with them, maybe I can fight my way out.

Eleric’s thoughts were interrupted by a shout in the distance. Both he and the two goblinoids noticed a mixed group of goblinoids led by another grey one coming towards them.

There goes that idea.

Once the newcomers approached, the older looking goblinoid waved his hand towards them.

The other group, having noticed Eleric, cautiously approached.

The goblinoids spoke in a strange tongue. Eleric could decipher some words, familiar words he had heard in one of the Deka mercenary encampments back in Brizilum.

After a short while, the creatures seemed to take on a more relaxed pose, some of them sat down on the sand below them.

One of the grey goblinoids looked back at Eleric, waving his hand towards him.

Looks like they want me to follow.

However, once he had approached close enough, Eleric saw a piece of rope in one of the goblinoids' hands. Not seeing another way out, Eleric presented his hands. The creature tied his hands behind his back, maintaining eye-contact.

Looks like I can’t escape becoming a slave after all. Still, my chances are better off with these creatures than the slavers the traitorous senate sold me to.

Eleric and the group of goblinoids started moving, and after an hour, he saw their ‘settlement’. He couldn’t help but whistle aloud, triggering a laugh from the goblinoids.

That’s a decent looking city. I hope their treatment of prisoners is decent as well. He thought before he crossed the city’s gates.

Once inside, he felt an uneasiness swelling up inside him with every step he took. Various powers were making their move, and Eleric could only observe the goblinoids as they started shaking the foundation of their fledgeling nation.