Chương 162: 159. Too Good To Be True

Another slave scoffed, "Hah! Like we even have any coins to give!" Other slaves started to add their opinions as well in a rising tide of anger, their voices soon rising into a clamor, making it difficult to hear anything clear ly. But Hudan raised both of his hands and spoke loudly.

"Calm down, everyone! Nobody is asking you to pay for anything." Once the uproar had died down a little, he continued, "The reason for it is that Lord Kivamus has outlawed and prohibited slavery in his domain. That means nobody is allowed to own slaves in Tiranat anymore, not even the baron himself. And he has already freed up all the people there who were slaves before he arrived there." Hudan explained, "If you come with us to Tiranat, you will be treated the same as other villagers.

And like I said, you will not be slaves there. That means you will have the freedom to choose your occupation and the right to get a proper wage for it, and you'll always have the choice to just leave Tiranat if you want." He shrugged his giant shoulders.

"Of course, Lord Kivamus has no control over what will happen to you if you leave Tiranat - including whether bounty hunters chase you, or if another noble claims you as their own slaves because you haven't paid your slave-debts yet. The point is, you will still be free to leave Tiranat - if and when you want, like any other free person. But as long as you stay in Tiranat, you will be treated like just another free man or woman there, and not a slave."

The quarry was completely silent for a while as Hyola and others chewed over those absurd sounding words.

"But it sounds too good to be true!" one of the slaves protested after a moment.

"You must be lying about all that to make us come with you!" Hudan shrugged.

"It might seem like that, but it's the simple truth. Although I haven't known Lord Kivamus for that long, he does a lot of things like that. Even to the locals there, some of those things usually feel too good to be true, but he makes them happen anyway." He gazed at all of them for a moment.

"In Tiranat, he also takes care of those who are unable to feed themselves. Whether they are disabled, or too old or even too young to work, nobody goes hungry in Tiranat anymore, nor does anyone without a house have to spend their nights huddling in the cold outside. Everyone gets food and shelter under him. Of course, those who are capable of working will certainly have to earn their own meals."

"But still, it's... that is..." the older woman tried to speak again but lost her words, probably imagining if such a thing was really possible. Hyola already knew that many of the stonecutters here were getting long in the tooth now, and they wouldn't be able to do the back breaking work of lifting limestone blocks for too long.

So the prospect of having a roof over their heads, and bellies full of food even when they were unable to work in the future was probably too tempting to give up, since the other option was usually to wander to another town to start begging for a meal when they became old and were thrown out by their slave master.

"But no noble is like that..." one of the slaves said in wonder.

"No commoner is like that either!" Hudan gave a genuine smile.

"If you do agree to come with us, you will find out for yourself that Lord Kivamus is unlike any other noble you may have known. But don't take my words for it. Feel free to make your own opinions when you reach there." After a moment, the guard captain continued in a grim voice, "There is of course a third option, which is to stay right here at the quarry, just like you have been living until now. But I wouldn't recommend it.

Nokozal would be reaching here any day now, and once he does, he wouldn't hesitate to take out his anger on you all once he finds out that the rest of his gang is already dead." He added, "But either way, you have to make your decision soon. We plan to leave within an hour with whoever wants to come with us. So you have until then to decide if you want to accompany us or go your own way." One of the older stonecutters spoke up after a while, "But even if we chose to come with you, we can't walk for that long.

Most of us barely had anything to eat in the previous weeks, so we just don't have the strength for that."

"You don't have to worry about that," the guard captain assured him. He added with a smirk, "We didn't come this far from our home village just to return back empty-handed. We have already captured the three horses of the bandits earlier, and from the quarry, we will be taking back both of your nodors, along with your two undamaged wagons, and the axles for the damaged one." He jerked his thumb behind him to where one of the guards was tending to their horses.

"We have also brought enough horses with us to pull those wagons. So those who are coming with us can just ride on those wagons for the whole journey. It certainly won't be comfortable, but it's still better than walking on foot. And you don't have to worry about gathering berries or hunting for food on the way. We have brought enough wheat with us to feed you all twice a day until we reach Tiranat." If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Finally, Hudan gazed at all of them for a moment and added, "I'll leave you all for now so you can make your decision. Remember, you only have an hour to make up your mind." Then the guard captain walked back towards the other guards. Hyola took a deep breath to calm her mind after hearing those incredible claims from Hudan. She wasn't sure if it was even possible for a noble to be so generous, and she had no idea if she should really believe the guards. She looked at others around him to gauge their opinions.

The stonecutters were looking at each other's faces, some of them lost in their own thoughts, while a few were still finishing up their meals greedily. Everyone had doubts visible clearly on their faces, and yet, the promise of a safe journey to a village which had such a benevolent lord while being escorted through the dangerous forests by these trained guards who had killed the bandits without much trouble, and while getting regular food on the way...

That was probably something too enticing for most people to give up. Many of them were discussing with their neighbors about their options, but Hyola wanted to confirm it from someone she could trust. Once she was done eating, she walked towards the fire where Calubo was sitting while warming up his hands.

"Is that really true," she asked, "what the guard captain was saying? Is that baron really such a kind person? It is hard to believe these days, when most nobles are just thinking of ways to line up their pockets." Calubo exhaled into his palms and gave a nod.

"I believe he is. I didn't stay too long in the village before I had to leave for this quarry, but from whoever I asked, including my cousin, they all vouched for the baron. I even met a few maids who had been slaves earlier, but they said that they were living as free people now." Hyola gazed into the distance, thinking about it. Could it really be possible? Had the goddess really heard her wishes? Could she really become a free woman in this life, and live like other common people?

She stared at Calubo, who was looking back at her with an encouraging smile. And within that moment, she made her decision. She already trusted him, and she didn't think he was lying about anything. But even if it turned out that most of those tall claims were just empty promises made by the guard captain to bring more slaves to that baron, she would at least be right by the side of this man who seemed to care for her so much.

"Alright, I'm coming with you," she told him with a grin.

"What?" Calubo asked with surprise as he stood up.

"Really?" She nodded with a huge smile.

"Yes!" Calubo seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then he shook his head, and hugged her, lifting her from her feet in the process. Immediately, some of the stonecutters started to whoop and whistle towards them, which made both of them grin even more. Before long, Calubo had taken off his fur coat, and wrapped it around her, making her feel warm in more ways than one.

But she immediately removed it and gave it back to him, assuring him that she was already used to this cold, and she didn't want him to get into trouble with the guard captain for giving it to a slave. While Calubo seemed to be accepted as a guard again by them, it might not remain so if he went against their orders. Calubo protested about it, but she remained adamant until he reluctantly agreed to take the fur coat back.

Soon, many of the other slaves walked towards them and asked Calubo about those promises again and again, hoping to reassure themselves before they made the decision. And before long, most of the stonecutters had gathered around them to hear from him. One of them asked, "I don't think you are lying to us, but how do we know for sure that the new baron isn't just looking for free slaves?

You already said that you were there for only a single day, so what if the baron just ordered his slaves to lie to you that they are free now?"

"Or maybe Calubo is also in on the baron's plan..." the older woman muttered.

"He already seems to have gotten a sword and a horse as a reward! Maybe he got them when he agreed to lie for the baron!" As much as Hyola trusted Calubo, and even if she was willing to go with him just by herself, she still cared for these people here. They were her only family in this world, and she didn't want them to die a cruel death at the quarry, whether at the hands of Nokozal or just the harsh winter. She took a deep breath, and began speaking before Calubo replied anything.

"It is true that we all have only known Calubo for just a few months, but I trust him and I have already decided to go with the guards. And I don't think any of you really believe that he would lie to us about this. He was the one who was treated the worst by the bandits, even though he wasn't even a slave before they brought him here. Do you really think he is lying to us just to make us slaves to a new master?" Some of the slaves grumbled in response, but nobody said anything openly.

Hyola saw the opportunity, and continued, "But more importantly, whether we fully believe him or not, what other choice do any of us have here? Even if we are only going to become slaves to a new master, we might still get some food for working there, since it is a big village with lots of people - which also means lots of food. Because otherwise, we will either freeze or starve to death at this quarry."

Seeing that most of them seemed to be considering her words, she added, "When Nokozal returns here, do you think he's coming with a sack of fresh bread and meat for us? Do you think he's going to give even a single meal to us?"

When nobody gave any reply, she continued, "And anyway, even if we are only being taken to Tiranat just to become slaves for that baron, don't you think it's better to be a noble's slave with a full stomach and a roof over your head, instead of being a bandit's slave who doesn't give a damn about whether we starve to death or not?" Immediately, a lot of heads nodded in agreement, while Calubo was looking at her in wonder. Hyola finished with a rare grin, "And that's the worst case scenario.

But what if it's really true? What if we can really become free in Tiranat and start living like normal people? Just think about that before you all make your decisions."