There was no mistake, it was the same beast that had captured me and Leo when we first arrived in the desert, his beady black eye’s stayed on me even after taking off his hood. My palmsdrenched in sweat as the memories began to surface in my mind, followed by an insatiable anger.


    “Whatthe hell is this?” I mutter, “Why is he here! He’s the one who got Leo killed, he’s the reason why so many people have died!” Joining in beside me Celeste barks in agreement, “You brought a beast-man back to our village! Have you gone mad father? They can’t be trusted.” The Captain took another puff from his wooden pipe before exhaling the smoke sending a haze throughout the room, “He’s the reason we were able tosucceedin the mission at all if it wasn’t for the intel he provided we wouldn’t have made a successful attack.”


    The beast-man wore a smile as the captain defended him, only seeming to increaseDa’in’sanger. “If we had just done what I said you wouldn’t need to rely on such a disgusting thing! You trust that thing more than your own daughter!” A thud rang out at as the captain slammed his fist onto the table, creatingsilencethroughout the room. “You’re still just a childDa’in, noteverythingcan beaccomplishedwith brute force. Peewee has been giving us information for a long time now. He may have to do vile things to keep the trust of the beast-man but it is asacrificeneeded in order to purge the deserts.”


    “I’ve had enough of this,” I mutterbefore dashing towardsthe unsuspectingbeast, my hands clenched as myknuckles tore into his face. I had told myself I couldn’t beat him, that I wastooweak, but I didn’t care ifhe beat meor killed me. I just wanted him to pay., for all thebruisesand brokenbones, all thelashings and tears, forBaltor,Zefireand Leo, forwhat Celeste had to endure, forthe nightmaresthat kept me awake at night, for everything. He didn’t budge even as I continued to throw fist after fistat him. Grabbing my armDa’inshakes her head at me.


    My face burnedas Istridetowards the door, Da’infollowing close behind surprisingly. I didn’t expect her to disagree with the Captain and it was reassuring I had an ally on this matter.Walkingout of the building we’re greeted by Hooker, raising a salute toDa’inasking how the meeting had gone. She scoffed at the question as we continued through the village heading towards the carriage we would be riding in tomorrow. “Don’t get the wrong idea about us, not all the things that the Captain does we support. If you have a problem with anything you bring it to me first, then I’ll address the Captain.”


    I nodded, thinking about the right words before asking my question “why is that a beast-men is working with the Liberators?Isn’tour job to free all the slaves?” Looking up at the skyDa’inresponded, “freeing the slaves is just something we do to rally supporters. Why my father decided to trust a beast-man I will never understand, but don’t get me wrong, we enjoy saving people, but our mission is to destroy the wallseparatingthe desert from the rest of the continent.”


    “Why would the beast-men create a wallseparatingthe desert from the rest of the land?” I ask, turning towards me her expression was grim, “the beat-men didn’t erect the wall, the King did.”


    “The King builta wall? That doesn’t make any sense.”Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    “I’msupposed toknow thethinking’sof a King?” She retorts, “It was built before thedisappearanceof magic, I think the King is behind everything that’s gone wrong in Layfront, including the absence of magic. Although many peoplethinkTheDark King is the reason why it vanished.”


    “Then what part do the beast-men play in all this?”


    “The King sends a unit to the desert once a month, to collect new slaves from the beast-men. It’s the reason why so many people are abducted regardless of race, sex or age. If we can stop the king the beast-men will have no reason to attack the villages.”


    “Then what about the witch andWickum? How are they leading the beast-men?”


    Looking at meseriouslyDa’inasks, “witch? What witch? Ifyou’retalking about the man that was working with the beast-men he’s mostlikelydead.”


    I sawit with my own eye’s, it was impossible to survive from that in the middle of the desert and yet, I still felt uneasy. The Witch had known something about me, and her presence had a slimy aura to it.Da’in’sstory had helped me focus more towards my goal, if the King was truly issuing from slaves then going to him would be the quickest way to find Aurora. “It seems our goals are somewhat the same.”


    Smirking slightly,hereyebrowsraise slightly “didn’t I tell you to get a weapon? We leave early tomorrow no shops will be open for you to buy one. Perhaps you need Hooker to help you find asufficientblade?”


    Hooker simply stood with his arms folded shrugging his shoulder, “I don’t mind commander, I was going tohave my bladesharpenedanyway.”


    “I didn’t know which weapon to choose,” I responded.


    “Don’t worryHookeris one of the finest warriors we have, he’ll be sure to help you pick a fine weapon.” Nodding in agreement Hooker pitched in, “Youneedn’tworry Finn I am a master of combat and will be sure your first weapon is one you can carry with pride.”


    Hooker leading the way the two of us began our way back into town,Da’ingrabbing my arm before whispering “We’ll deal with that beast-men eventually, don’t get yourself killed on the first day.” Her face was close, so close I could see the small freckles on her brown skin and couldn’t help but think she wasdefinitelyattractive. “Now hurry up before the stalls close, unless you want to do battle barehanded.”


    Walking through the Village Hooker went on about the different swords and the uses and how toeffectivelypick a proper blade, “Your first weapon is important, it’s the foundation of your learning if notchosencorrectly yourfightingstyle will never be toitstruest potential.”


    “Just take a look at my dearClaudith,” unsheathing his sword he smiled with admiration his eye’s shining. The polishedgentlemanimage I had of him shattering in my mind, he was obsessed with anything about weapons. “We won’t find a blade as remarkable and perfect asClaudithbut we will surely find you an excellent blade.”


    The shop owner was in the same spot, looking up briefly recognizing me and nodding us towards his wares. “Not even an introduction this time?” Entering the shop Hooker, talked with the owner about sharpening and polishing his blade. Allowing me to search through the endless piles of weapons, I had seen everything they had to offer before and didn’t want to waste my time looking through the same stuff. Until something caught my eye, it was in the back of the shop, behind thecounter. A greenhiltedbladelayin the corner leaning against the wall.


    Unlike most swords here it had a thin blade and was a single-handed weapon, the tip of the sword was sharp and void of any rust. With Hooker talking with the owner I slid behind the desk picking up the sword. “It’s light” Imummerswinging it back and forth. Itfeltright in my hand, stabbingthrough the air I looked at the price and had no clue how much it would cost, all I knew was I couldn’t afford it. “now how am I going to get this out of the shop.”