The Red Mountain Bandits were more than a mere band of outlaws. They were a continent-spanning criminal organization that had their hands in every kind of vice and evil imaginable, save for a few. Prostitution, Drugs, Extortion, Money Laundering, Vandalism, Racketeering, Piracy, Robbery and more were their domains. In fact, the only major criminal industry they kept themselves out of was the Slave Trade.

To be perfectly honest, the Red Mountain Bandits seemed to be so much against the notion that one member of The races should be property of another, that those who did keep slaves oftentimes tried their best to make their slave’s life as pleasant as possible, despite still being in bondage. It was widely known that treating a slave poorly would result in Red Mountain hitting you even harder than it hit others. Entire noble lines had been ruined in mere months due to mistreatment of slaves, so as a result, numerous nations passed strict laws to prohibit poor treatment and punish those who engaged in it harshly.

The only nation to stand firm against Red Mountain was the Trelawney Kingdom. This was the Kingdom that Red Mountain was based in, having taken over the mountain that was their namesake. Or perhaps it was the other way around and the mountain got its name from them?

So why go into this? Simple; those who had been captured by the fake Red Mountain Bandits were all members of non-human races. Werean, Elves and Dwarves were among those who had been tied up, but no humans. It should have been apparent by now that those humans who were in the caravan had either been with the fake or real Red Mountain Bandits, and those who were non-human would have been sold into slavery by the fake Red Mountain Bandits when they reached their destination.

That would have been the case had the real Red Mountain not gotten involved. Which it did.

As soon as this was revealed to the freed captives, they realized how massively foolish they had been. Had they honestly thought that the Human-supremacist nation that was the Trelawney Kingdom would just let them walk away after their merchant caravan entered? Unfortunately, the answer to that is a big fat ‘yes’.

As it stood, they only had two options available to them. They could either join the Red Mountain Bandits or try and escape the Trelawney Kingdom by foot.

“Neither option seems all that appealing.” Vaile mused internally. It was akin to telling someone that they would either need to walk through a heavily mined minefield with a big sign saying ‘Shoot Me’ or join the mafia with the knowledge that if you did you would never be able to get out alive.

Unsurprisingly or perhaps surprisingly (depending on the perspective), the non-humans left over from the caravan were split roughly 50/50 on which choice they made. Vaile half expected Red Mountain to kill those that refused to join but…

“Very well. We respect your decision and will let you go. Your odds are not great as they are now, so take these supplies and this map. May you find a better place to be. Farewell.”

Seivalt himself was the one to send them off, gifting them come wagons and pack horses to replace those that were taken as well as some food, a map and other supplies. The looks on the faces of the people as the infamous Tyrant of Red Mountain just gave them the tools needed to flee was one of shock and confusion. This same face was on Vaile, just hidden under his mask.

…

As the non-human caravanners fled from the burning mess that was the fake Red Mountain camp, Seivalt smiled and turned to Vaile.

“Do you know why I gave them those things?”

Vaile didn’t, but did not get the opportunity to say so.

“I am not like the current line that rules Trelawney. I have always believed that all members of the Races are equal to each other, regardless of fictional ‘blood purity’ and imaginary ‘divine right to rule’. I created Red Mountain to fight back against the institutionalized oppression that took the freedom of so many others, but over time I realized that a simple band of ‘Freedom Fighters’ would not be effective enough.”

Seivalt sighed as though he had a great weight on his shoulders.

“Being what we were back then was what turned us into what we are today. Back then there was so much oppression that to even try and fight for the freedom of others made you a heinous criminal deserving of only the death penalty. No one in any position of power was willing to support us, so we got funding and equipment through banditry and the like.”

Seivalt’s eyes seemed to look into the distant past, as though he was looking at those who followed him in the earliest days.

“Eventually we stopped pretending that we were gallant and honorable rogues and got serious. It was then that the ‘Long Game’ started. With our organization now free from the limits of morality and ethics, we became so much better at what we were doing. We made those who we targeted bleed and suffer, and one by one the chains began to break. We never could manage to rid the world of that abominable practice, but we at least made the lives of those who were in chains more bearable. There was just one thorn in our side that kept us from truly breaking the chains altogether. And that thorn as none other than my own flesh and blood; those descended from the bastard who kicked me from my rightful place and turned my homeland into the dystopian nightmare it is today.”

Seivalt spat the last sentence like he was cursing the devil himself.

“All that I have done has been to break the chains of slavery and destroy the family who created the concept in the first place. Were it not for my own kin, then the yoke of unwilling servitude would likely have been limited to those who committed crimes worthy of it. Now…”

Seivalt stopped his rant and coughed.

“Ah, forgive my old habit, my Lord. I tend to rant whenever it comes to this blasted Kingdom and what it created.”

“No, no. I totally get it.” Vaile said. “You may not believe me, but I come from a place where slavery is not only forbidden by law but is seen as a barbaric and uncivilized practice. (Aside from wage slavery, that is…)”

Seivalt smiled a big, wrinkly grin.

“Then we are of one mind on the matter! Good, I was hoping you would be so inclined.”

The Red Mountain Bandits had packed up everything that they could, and the outlaws began to move out. They helped Seivalt into a heavily cushioned carriage and Vaile followed him in. The interior was, while modest, quite plush. The walls and seats were padded in order to ease the burden of the Tyrant and keep him from feeling too much pain during the bumpy rides.

The gang of freedom fighters turned criminal consortium moved on into the deep woods, the light of day dimming fast behind them.

…

“Move your lazy asses, you fucking pansy ass bastards! My granny moves faster than you, and she’s been dead and buried for more than five decades!”

The second in command to Seivalt barked orders at a bunch of new additions to the Red Mountain Bandits. They were weak, but she would make them strong. Sure, they had potential, potential to be true elites, but right now they were no use to anyone save as meatshields.

“Fucking dumbass fuckwits!” Nora Vandel Trelawney cursed aloud, utterly dissatisfied with how long it took to whip these nobodies into shape.

“Ma’am! We have word from the Tyrant!”

Nora shot a hateful glance at the man who was delivering the message.

“Well? What does the crotchety old fart want?”

“He has found Lord Vaile and is bringing him here. To save time and avoid patrols they are going through the Kraescan Forest. They expect to run into minor resistance from the beings there. Their route is plotted on the map if you wish to-.”

Nora rushed past the messenger while handing him the megaphone used to berate the trainees. She got to the magic map room and saw in real time the movements of the Red Mountain caravan as well as its expected route. She took a mental note of it and then hurried over to her personal room and changed into full battle attire before running out of the mountain fortress that she was in and making a beeline towards the Kraescan Forest.

Although she had been moving far too fast for anyone to see it, her face was flush with color and her eyes were filled with joy and childish excitement. She squealed like the fangirl she was as she bolted towards her ancestor and her ‘husbando’.

As she ran, she imagined all the scenarios she had daydreamed about for most of her life coming true. Vaile sweeping her off her feet and letting her ride some of his Tamed Beings, maybe even bringing her in close and leaving a lingering kiss on her lips as he serenaded her under the moonlight.

Yes, she was like a powerful outlaw version of fangirl for a popstar. Not that you could say that to her face and survive, and not that she would let anyone who knew about her crush on Vaile live. Her secret collection of dolls made from her own dyed hair in the shape of Vaile, her stash full of self-authored smutty self-insert fanfics and the fact that she self-tattooed the words ‘Property of Vaile’ just above her lady bits only drove home the notion that Vaile was right to have worried that Seivalt would try and give him over to a crazy lady.

“Don’t worry, my one and only, my heart and soul! I’ll come to you, and we can be together FOREVER!”

…

Vaile felt a chill run down his body. He looked out towards the place where Red Mountain stood through the thick vegetation and tree line and felt a sense of unease build in him. He was getting the feeling that something he would not like was on its way.

He was right to be worried.