Chapter 20 - Truth

Kuro's Village - Kuro’s House - Noon

"Any suggestions on where I should start looking?"

Kuro briefly stroked his chin before standing up and rummaging through a nearby drawer. The elder returned a few moments later with an old worn-out map. It was a battered thing with torn edges and covered in numerous splotches of ink. Kuro lightly shook the dust off the poor map and spread it out gently across the floor.

"Our village is located here, while the nearest village was located here. But, considering the rabbit-folk are here now, I can only assume that's no longer the case. This means the next closest village would b- No, that one is no good either. We have a kitsune here too." Kuro continued mumbling to himself as he went down the line of villages, crossing off each one as he passed before he eventually came to a realization. "T-That's not possible?"

Simon fiddled with the empty flask in his hands while Kuro was panicking.

He had already assumed this outcome after seeing how many captives the mercenaries had already taken. His suspicions were confirmed when he read the few records left behind in the commander's tent.

"W-we’re the last ones?" Kuro turned his gaze upwards at the quiet Simon, who just simply nodded his head. "Y-you knew?"

"I suspected as much. I read a few documents left behind at the encampment, but I haven't had the time to confirm anything."

Kuro leaned back, bewildered, "W-Why did they leave us for last? According to the map, our village was the third closest of the beastmen villages to the Baron's town."

Simon nods his head before speaking, "Kuro, You said this plague happened last year, right?"

"Y-Yes."

"That encampment had existed at least three, maybe four, years."

Kuro's tired eyes widened, "W-What does that mean?"

"It means that the Baron decided it would be easier to attack after thinning out your numbers rather than to assault the village head-on or maybe wolfen slaves are less desired than the other races. Judging by the ledgers and the villages marked on this map, I believe these villages were the first ones targeted. The kitsune seem to have been attacked first judging by what the recovered documents reported. Apparently, kitsune slaves are extremely valuable in the Kingdom proper and abroad as well. Similarly with the felinids and the rabbit-folk."

Simon drew a circle surrounding Kuro's village, tracing through each nearby village in the surrounding area with his finger. "I suspect they did things this way to prevent the nearby villages from informing your village of the situation. Fearful that your village might wise up and decide to take their chances by classing up and actively resisting."

Kuro no longer had the strength to keep himself upright and fell backward onto the floor, "T-This whole time, they've been being wiped out one by one, and yet we did nothing."

Simon sighed softly, "There was nothing you could have done. The enemy planned things perfectly so that you would be kept in the dark while they attacked the softer or more valuable targets."

Kuro suddenly shot up and stared at Simon, "But the rabbit-folk who came to us asking for aid, according to you, his village was one of the first ones to be wiped out! How did he come here two years ago if his village was wiped out three years ago?!"

Kuro's loud voice caused Kayae to wake up suddenly. Her head nearly hit the bottom of Simon's chin in the process. Simon quietly stroked the girl's crimson hair and ushered her back to sleep while giving Kuro a chilling glare. Kuro gulped loudly at his gaze before speaking again, barely above a whisper, "How then?"

Simon breathes in deeply while rubbing one of Kayae's ears between his fingers. He watched as her tiny toes curled slightly with each pass before exhaling and turning to face Kuro, "He was sent by the Baron's men. His original intention was never to actually receive any aid. It was to make you aware that the plague had already hit the other nearby villages, and more importantly, prevent you from seeking aid once it hit here. "

Simon paused for a moment to observe Kuro's reaction before continuing. "If your village sent someone out to seek aid once the plague had started to take effect, you would have realized that all the other villages around you had already been wiped out. Didn't you find it odd how that messenger just seemed to accept your refusal of aid despite his village apparently starving?"

Kuro's eyes widened even further, "B-But why? Why would he agree to deceive us? He wasn't enslaved, so that couldn't have been the reason."

Simon sighed quietly, "Enslavement isn't the only method that can be used to force someone to do something they otherwise wouldn't normally be willing to do. Bribery or threats also work. For example, say his family was offered preferential treatment or perhaps outright freedom if he complied with the Baron's wishes?"

Kuro's expression shifted suddenly, his jaw clenching tightly. Simon nodded his head in understanding at Kuro's rage. Out of the corner of the elderly man's mouth, blood started to drip onto the wooden floor.

"That still doesn't explain the timetable. Even with how many beastmen villages there are, there's no way it would have taken the Baron's men three years to wipe us all out. So what took them so long?"

"Do you truly want to know?"

Kuro nodded his head once while wiping the blood from his mouth, "Yes."

"Greed."

Kuro's eyebrows raised upwards, "Greed?"

"Yes, Greed. During our discussions earlier, you mentioned that your village had never failed to send the required tax."

"Aye, I did."

"So, let's think of things in order, shall we? Let's assume that three or four years ago, something caused either the Marques or the King to issue a proclamation demanding the immediate execution or enslavement of all beastmen remaining in the Kingdom."

Kuro nods his head.

"Now, put yourself in the Baron's shoes for a moment. You've just received that order, and before now, you had been profiting greatly off of the high special tax that all beastmen villages are required to pay. While obviously a net loss for the Capital's tax revenue, the loss of revenue provided to you despite the lower percentage is still considerable. Because it was ordered by someone of much higher standing, you can't exactly refuse the order. So, Kuro, what do you do?"

Kuro lifts his eyebrow upwards in confusion, "Obviously, I'd begin the subjugation immediately despite the monetary losses. To a Wolfen, loyalty is everything. When an order is given, it is executed immediately and without question."

Simon blinks at Kuro for a moment before rubbing the bridge of his nose in astonishment, "While that may be true, Kuro, you're forgetting something fundamental. The Baron isn't a Wolfen, or, at least, I don't think he is. Try thinking from the perspective of a human. What would a human, no, a monkras do?"

Kuro pauses for a moment to think while stroking his chin, "I'd probably try to find a way to sque-" The elder cuts his own speech off mid-sentence and is clearly about to scream.

Simon quickly places his hands over Kayae's ears before Kuro can scream out. Witnessing Simon's suddenly heartfelt gesture seemed to calm Kuro's rage slightly.

"Sorry. I'm fine now."

"Damn," a voice says from the shadows "I had just managed to cast a veil too." Kurtin appears from out of one of the shadows and sits down with the other two men. "Trench is done. Some of the women are currently peeling off the gear and trying to clean them up. They insisted on doing it. Some because they wanted to make themselves useful other...not so much. Don't be surprised if some of the corpses are missing their important bits." The old rogue shivers slightly, "Remind me never to piss of a woman. Shoulda asked um to strip the bodies before they tossed um in. No one really wants to use armor that's been pissed and shat in."

Simon merely shrugs before turning back to the stunned Kuro who apparently hadn't noticed Kurtin appear, "It's alright, I may not look like it, but even I want to rip the bastard's heart out."

Kuro nods his head while controlling his breathing before turning to Kurtin and smacking the man across the head, "Demons take you! Kurtin how many gods damned times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me! That shits not good for my heart!"

Kurtin merely offers a shrug at the fuming elder and disappears into the shadows as quickly as he'd come.

"So, The Baron kept collecting taxes from us while his men went around destroying the other villages. Wouldn't the capital send someone to investigate after they kept sending the collected taxes back to the capital?"

Simon had to actively resist the urge to facepalm and instead chose to grimace. Despite being told to think like a human, Kuro still can't seem to shake his sense of loyalty.

"Kuro, that's only if the Baron actually sent any of the collected taxes back to the capital once he received the decree. I suspect the Baron’s been keeping the entirety of the collected taxes and used some of it to pay off what few officials were sent to ensure compliance."

Kuro silently shakes his head, "I find myself liking humans less and less."

Simon smiles sadly before giving a brief nod, "Aye. Even where I'm from, people kept putting themselves ahead of others right until the very end. Hell, we didn't even have the excuse of being separate races, just different colors of the same one."

Simon's gaze seemed to stare off into the distance for a moment while Kuro watched before coughing to snap him back to reality, "Still, that leaves the women you rescued. Are you telling me that those two rabbit-folk were stuck in that cage for three years?"

"No, According to Kayae, the longest anyone had been in that cage was three months. Apparently, her mother found the two rabbit-folk and a kitsune hiding in the forest three months ago. She tried to return to the village after that. However, one of the rabbit-folks legs was broken after a branch suddenly fell out from under her."

Kuro shakes his head, "Aye. I can guess the rest. Kayarna refused to leave the injured woman behind, and they got captured as a result."

Simon doesn't reply and merely nods his head sadly while stroking Kayae's hair.

Kuro started to get up to retrieve another flask, but Simon stopped him with a look while shaking his head, "It doesn't work. Trust me, I've tried."

Kuro sighs and ops to pour a spot of tea instead.

"Anyway, It seems -here- is the closest town still standing."

Kuro nods his head before commenting, "Aye, Ebonshear would be the closest, but it's not a town. It's a city and the one that the Baron resides in. It's been over a decade since I last set foot there, but everything was controlled by the Baron even back then. It's not a place I'd suggest going to unless we have no other options."

Simon strokes his chin quietly, "That's Ebonshear? On the map, it says Ralfin."

"Aye, that was its name before the current Baron came into power and renamed the city. This map was my grandfather's, so things are a little outdated."

"Ah, well, regardless, this is actually good news for us."

Kuro's eyebrows tilted upwards once again, "How is this good news?"

Simon smiles slyly, "Because Ebonshear is where the other beastmen tribes were taken to be processed after they were captured." Simon pauses for a moment to study Kuro's reaction. Good. "Kuro, how are the villager's acting skills?"

Something about the smile Simon is giving him causes his head to ache. Maybe he should have kept drinking after all.