By Bolgerjc
Samantha watched closely to the route they were taking but felt powerless to stop the journey. The slavers were very watchful of Albert and her, making sure they were kept back from the door whenever they were given food. After several days in the cramped quarters a large stone walled compound came into view. The paladin wasn’t sure they had crossed the border, but this certainly part of the frontier. She almost wished for a raid by orcs or goblins to give them a chance to escape. The humanoids were far less diligent on guard duty but the treatment of their prisoners was far worse.
The giant reinforced gate creaked open for them as many crossbowmen watched closely for any surprise attacks from the distant woods. As soon as there was room the wagon rolled inside the compound pulling to a halt in front of a large stone building where a large man with a whip waited eagerly for them.
“Final stop ladies,” one of the slavers growled. “You sir have a little further to go.”
Albert was signaled to not fight at this point by his mistress, because it would have been a pointless death that would save none of them. Too many eyes, and ranged weapons watched them looking for any sign of rebellion. The future might hold some hope for either Albert or Samantha and if one of them could escape they could rescue the other one, so Samantha followed her fellow slaves out of the wagon to stand in a row with them.
“Watch the curvy blonde she can be dangerous,” the thin slaver said before starting up his beast of burden to go outside the gate. The man with the whip nodded at the slaver’s words but made no threat or violence against Samantha, but his eyes watched her closely.
Her squire gave a wave to Samantha before the gate slammed shut blocking her view of him and she was left to wonder if he saw her return wave. She shut down her emotions and set her mind to escape. The walls were tall, the guards many and she was a long way from friendly territory but escape might be possible. She would keep her head down and obey orders for the moment but when a chance presented itself she would make the most of it.
“I am Bartok,” the man with the whip said smoothly almost sweetly. “I don’t care what you were before you came here, because you are now slaves. I will be training you over the coming weeks so you have some actual value. Obey and all will go well for you but if you disobey or try to escape you will find that I can be most creative with my punishments. I suggest if you feel you must escape the life of a slave that you do it after you have left here because you are surrounded by hostile territory where there are beings who will do far worse to you then I plan to do. Let’s get started.”
