Chương 20: (20) B1 C20: Monolith of Commerce

It took me a little bit less than an hour to return to the docks after looting the slavers' campsite. By the time I arrived, I had maybe four hours until sunrise, and I used those four hours to thoroughly search through the rubble for anything of value. I had hoped to find something decent, but unfortunately the docks and everything within had been turned to ash by the time I started poking around. The most intact item I found was the broken shaft of Amy's crossbow, which she'd used to nearly kill me.

The fire had consumed everything else—including the few slave bodies I'd left behind. The pack I carried, despite being filled with everything I could find, felt remarkably empty. With nothing else to search for, I moved on from the docks and began my journey back to the cave. There was no road or path to follow, but I'd already memorized the lay of the land ever since my first night here, and thus found myself back in familiar territory long before the moon set upon the horizon.

When I stepped into the cave, Lucia's stern gaze was the first sight I saw. She was awake, despite the late time of night, and was waiting for me with an impatient frown.

"Why aren't you asleep?" I asked as I set the pack upon the stone floor. I began to remove the armor covering my body—a task that was made simple now that I'd learned where all of the straps and buckles were supposed to be fastened. Once the heavy pieces of leather were lifted from my body, I turned back to Lucia.

"I wasn't able," Lucia began to sigh with a shake of her head. She looked up at me, the words in her mouth beginning to form some sort of complaint. But before she had the chance to continue, her eyes widened in shock and the words in her throat vanished. Whatever she'd planned to say disappeared as horror and fear donned her expression, "You're covered in blood! What happened to you?" I looked down at myself, toward the frayed cloth and blood that made up the remains of my brand new shirt.

Half of it was gone—courtesy of Norman's firebolt—and what remained was dyed crimson with the remnants of the slavers I'd fed on. The skin underneath was smooth and perfect, as I'd long since healed from the terrifying attack, but my regeneration couldn't do a thing to help the state of my outfit. I hadn't even noticed the damage back when I was putting on the leather armor. Was it too dark to notice at the time? No—it was darker now, so why hadn't I cared?

"The blood's not mine, I assure you," I told her. Then, upon remembering how I'd nearly been killed by Norman's attack, I quickly clarified, "Well, most of it isn't mine." Wait… did that attack even draw blood? It was entirely fire-focused, so maybe it had cauterized my wound as soon as it tore through my flesh? So was this blood covering my collar entirely from the people I'd killed? Gruesome.

"What happened?" Lucia's voice pulled me from my thoughts. I chuckled, amused by her concern, before setting myself down upon the cave floor.

"I ran into a few slavers—no big deal," I told her, "There were three of them. The last was the one who even stood a chance."

"Slavers?" Lucia groaned, "I thought you left to look for a way out of this forest! You were going after slavers, instead? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

"I do now," I replied as I took one last look at my shirt. I brought my attention back to Lucia. Her brow was furrowed with annoyance, her eyes widened with concern and her lips pursed with rage. She was genuinely furious with me—no, for me. It was unexpected for somebody who'd only just met me the other day, yet it felt nice all the same, "I'm sorry. I should've warned you."

"Warned me? So you would've gone after them anyways?"

"Probably," I answered with a nod, "I know I'm not the most morally correct person to walk this plane. Hells, the things I've done over the last few days would've made the me from a year ago vomit in confusion and disgust, but I like to think I've been trying my best with the tools and knowledge I've been given. If acting upon that knowledge puts me in danger, then so be it." Lucia blinked at me for a moment as silence stretched on between us.

After a few seconds, she sighed and brought herself back to a comfortable position. She didn't seem as angry with me anymore, but rather confused and curious.

"What do you mean?"

"Hmm… Well, let's focus on the topic of slavery. Where I come from, it isn't really a thing," I tried to explain, "Well, I guess it is, but it isn't legal—even if there are rumors that it happens overseas. So, when I saw it being practiced here, and so openly, too, it shocked me to my core. Not doing anything about it felt wrong, like I was committing some sin by the simple position of being a bystander. I had to do something—anything—and I've found that the most violent option also seems to be the easiest."

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"And you've been hunting down those that practice slavery because of that worldview?" Lucia confirmed. I nodded, then watched as she let out a long sigh. She sat in silence for a few moments, her eyes drawn to the ground in thought, before she slowly looked back up at me, "Well, I can't help but admire you for your ideals, even if they are ultimately foolish and suicidal.

You don't seem to know, so I'll tell you: The slave trade is a massive international business that's responsible for the buying, selling, and shipping of thousands upon thousands of slaves per year. It's an international monolith of commerce—sure there are illegal parts to it, here and there—but the large majority of those practicing it aren't just supported by the business, but by the monarchies and governments partaking in the trade. Going to war with one slaver group means going to war with half of the world.

Only those who have already outlawed themselves would be willing to take arms against such a force, and you simply do not have the power to count yourself among them." The memory of the elves surfaced in my mind, and I found myself turning back to Lucia, "Then who were the people who attacked the docks? If they were willing to go against an entire government, then they must've been organized by quite the authority."

"They were elves, correct? If so, they must've been some rogue force from the Veilarus Military. The shipment I was a part of was lawfully purchased from the market in Saleti, but there were some rumors of, how should I say it, foul play among those who were sold as merchandise," Lucia explained, "Rumor is, one of the slaves was secretly a nobleman's daughter, but was sold as a slave by her father in an effort to stabilize the family's income.

If discovered, the other nobles would've condemned the nobleman for the egregious practice and would ultimately attempt to destroy the nobleman's reputation. That would lead to potential takeovers from adjacent landowners. If it was true, of course."

"But the elves attacked anyway?"

"It seems the rumor held some truth, after all," Lucia sighed, "Unfortunately, the allegiance of the elves can't be exactly determined by just the weapons they used. If the nobleman learned that his plot was discovered, he could've used his private force to recapture his daughter and attempt to bury the whole incident. On the other hand, those elves could've belonged to another nobleman who hoped to use the daughter as blackmail in some political maneuver to gain power or favor over the offending nobleman."

"Either way, though, they were most likely from Veilarus?"

"Yes. Firearms are a staple of elven weaponry. It is possible, but extremely unlikely, that the Kingdom of Eldion was involved, so we can naturally assume that the attacking force was from Veilarus. It is also important to consider that they wouldn't have been here legally. If any of them were killed, or possibly captured, the plot would've been discovered and war would've broken out between the two nations. It was a risky play, and honestly I'm surprised they even tried it.

It isn't necessarily an illegal act to sell your progeny as a slave—it's only plain stupid."

"And you knew that nobleman's daughter? I recall you saying her name when I told you what happened," I continued. Lucia nodded.

"Yes. Her name was Laura—at least, as far as she told us—though I had no idea she was nobility at the time. Both the mannerisms and the speech aligned with the common population I grew up in. As for her name, it's possible that her identity was fake. Searching for her name won't lead us to the offending nobleman, nor will we be able to track her down and ask her ourselves. She's probably long gone by now. It's possible she isn't even in the Consortium anymore."

"As much as I feel annoyed thinking about how a father sold his daughter to slavery," I sighed, "It's not like I can do anything about it right now. Best ignore the situation and focus on what I can actually deal with."

"Again, I can't stress enough just how foolish it is to go against the slavers," Lucia sighed, "They have enough hired hands to oppose entire armies. Some of their soldiers have passed the level two hundred mark. If you catch their attention, you won't be able to stand a chance."

"But weren't you enslaved? I found you at the docks, along with all of the others," I asked, confused, "Don't you have some personal issues with the practice?" Lucia's expression dropped and her eyes fell to the floor. I leaned back, surprised by her reaction, before quickly moving forward to apologize. Something about what I said must've brought up some bad memories. Before I could get a word out, however, Lucia continued.

"I would prefer to keep our conversation away from topics relating to how I found myself in shackles. Regardless, poking such a lion will only result in your head being fit between its jaws. You should be trying to find a way out of here, not picking a fight with forces you can't contend with." I leaned back against the wall, then sighed, "I get it, I really do, but I don't think I'll just be able to stop. I mean, what else am I supposed to do?

Ignore them while they commit atrocities that would make Hell seem tame in comparison?"

"To not commit murder? I would imagine so," Lucia nodded, "the proper thing to do now is lie low. The docks were recently attacked by an armed force—their attention will be on that for now. While you have the opportunity you must search for a way out of this forest. Veilarus is to the northeast. If you find a village in that direction, especially one on the seaside, it may be possible to hitch a ride across the ocean.

Don't give them a reason to hunt you down, lest you find yourself outnumbered by an army you can't contend with." It was sound advice, but not advice I had any intention of listening to. Call me foolish or naive—I was fully aware that I was acting like a child—but letting that sort of evil go felt wrong in my gut.

"I appreciate you trying to convince me to stay away from that sort of danger," I explained as I turned back to Lucia. As I spoke, I felt the hunger within me rumble in agreement, "But I don't agree with you. I need strength, and I need it as fast as possible. If there's a convenient source of that strength just waiting for the taking, I'll seize it at the first opportunity—damned be whoever gets in my way."

"You're being suicidal."

"Naturally," I nodded with a smile, "I wouldn't be having fun otherwise."