《Road to New Kingdom》


 Prologue (Version 4:Draft)

    A cold sensation caused me to jolt up, breathing fast I shook my head a few times causing some of the water I had dripping from my face to fly off but before I could pull myself together a searing pain ran through my back along with the sound of a whiplash.


    I groan as I tried to get up, but I was placed in some kind of medieval wooden cuffs, those used to place your hands near your face, a pillory I think it was called and its weight was causing me to stagger while trying to get back on my feet.


    Another lash hit me along with someone yelling in some strange language but I could not stand by myself properly yet.


    Somebody finally forcibly pulled me up, it was a guy in front of me and like me was in one of the wooden devices which were linked to mine with a chain.


    Using the connection between both sides he pulled me up so I hurriedly took a deep breath to gather some strength and did my part before a third hit that would come from behind.


    Besides the one that just helped me, which was a tall bald guy with a long beard and many scars, another six cuffed individuals were in line and around them two guards riding horses while looking at me with clear hostility in their face.


    Behind me, a voice yelled out in a language I could not understand but it effectively caused the line to start moving along with the guards.


    With no way out of the situation, I found myself in, the only answer for the moment was to move forward along with the rest of the prisoners while clinging to hope for a chance to escape.


    The scenery around me was a forest-like area with some shade from its coniferous type trees, covering the light of the sun, which was just enough for me to avoid the small rocks as I had no shoes on.


    The truth was that all eight of us prisoners were stark naked with only the guards being heavily armored, but at this stage, I doubt anyone cared for clothes as we all mindlessly walked without stopping to some unknown destination while feeling harsh ailments like starving and thirst.


    Finally, the end of the forest was in view after what seemed to be a few hours from where we started and currently it was just near sunset.


    Smoke was seen rising in the distance, which I believe is what we were following all along as a few tents that gave the impression of popping out from the grasslands as we got closer appeared.


    A few meters from the camp I noticed that another six guards were moving around while two caged carriages were parked with some people inside each.


    One of the carts was full of women while the other had children who were soundlessly crying, everyone who appeared to have lost hope.


    No one said anything besides the guards who were yelling out orders, mainly the one that was behind me, who was the one everyone looked up as the leader.


    He had a terrible looking face, one that inspired fear, a long ponytail with uneven bangs and a long beard. Although short he was well built and had two swords and a golden dagger hanging from his waste as well as the whip.


    Every guard had armor that was made with green and brown fabric with metal guards and breastplates to protect them.


    The men were made to sit outside near a tent as night came in with only one guard being stationed to watch over us. It didn¡¯t take long before he began to relax while the cries of some women could be heard nearby but no one in the men slave group seemed to care.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    I had tried to do a few things throughout the day to release myself from the cuffs but nothing worked, and without the ability to understand the language spoken by the guards nor the whispers I heard a few times by the other prisoners there was no way to gain any additional information.


    I closed my eyes while trying to think, remember who I was, or what I did to get here but there was a blank in my past. I could not recall anything besides waking up to that cold douse in the afternoon.


    The wounds in my back itched as the blood dried, but this was nothing compared to the cold that started to overtake the area causing goosebumps throughout my body as I shivered.


    An hour had passed with only the sound of some guards being merry invading the unobtainable quiet peace I wished for, so my mind was still a work trying to craft a way out.


    I was close to giving up, resigning myself to the cold while forcing myself to sleep when I spotted the leader who was entering his tent while fixing his belt in an exaggerated manner, probably from having fun with a woman.


    Right before entering he lit his pipe with a snap of his finger which surprised me, with no match no flint-like item nothing that could make a spark.


    After entering his tent, I was left wondering what made the pipe light up, his fingers were at least ten inches away as it lit up.


    ¡°Magic¡± The word kept circling in my mind, fascinated by the phenomenon I tried to imitated it myself with no success and for the next half hour, I kept reciting anything that could possibly produce a flame.


    I made a long sigh after attempting to make a fire for so long which in reality discouraged me almost to a breaking point.


    As I looked up to the moon which was the only source of light, I finally felt like giving up, closing my heart and like the rest follow blindly like cattle to their death.


    Suddenly a headache hit me and a random word came up in my mind, ¡°Status¡±, it was a strange word in this medieval-like setting but it kept floating around for a while as if it came from a dark place in my memories.


    ¡°Status!¡± I mumbled out trying not to scare the rest of the slaves around me.


    Suddenly a blue screen appeared as I dared to say it, of course, I was startled by the screen which mysteriously floated in front of me and was bright but didn¡¯t seem to give off light to the surrounding.


    The guard who was keeping watch probably thought I was crazy as he sneered at me for moving around while the others were sleeping.


    Pretending to yawn while I closed my eyes, I sat there waiting for him to take his attention away from me before checking the status window which was still shining in front of me.


    Name: Nelor Arc¡¯los Age: 19


    Skills: Body Strengthening, Oriation


    Blessing: Trails of Leadership Stage 1


    I didn¡¯t quite understand what everything it contained meant but focusing a bit more on each skill a bit of information was given.


    The first of the two would make a part of me have enough force to be able to break stone for a very short period of time and Oriation gave me the ability to bypass language barriers at a close distance to another person.


    "Body Strengthening" I whispered softly, activating the skill as the part of my body I wanted to strengthen was my dominant right arm.


    I felt like a strange power akin to heat surrounding my right arm after silently saying the words, this made the feeling of being useless in this situation beginning to clear and hopefully, with enough force, I could break the wooden part of the pillory.


    While the skill was active, I tried carefully to move my arm around as a lever, but just enough so that it wouldn¡¯t make any noise that would awaken the guard who was now asleep.


    As minutes passed, I felt the power was consuming the little strength I had within me, but it was not much longer till I would be able to break the hinge.


    Feeling like I was about to pass out a small clink sound was heard; the pillory was just about to fall but I caught it just before it touched the ground.


    I was free! It was now time to escape as no one else seemed to have reacted being that everyone was busy snoring, especially the guy that help lift me earlier who was obviously a heavy sleeper.


    Standing up I walked a couple of steps towards the forest, I looked back a few times while going forth several more steps.


    I was closer to freedom with each step but I could not stop this feeling which made me turn back towards the others that were nothing to me.


    Letting out a sigh in resignation I walk back towards the camp as I just couldn¡¯t go through with it, no matter how many times I thought it would end badly if I didn¡¯t use this chance they would not be saved.

 Chapter 1: Quick Retribution (Version 1:Draft)

    It wasn¡¯t long before I stopped wavering and made the choice of going back to help those that were still confined.


    My mind was made since I could now count on the skill to at least made me strong enough to do a killing blow, which meant there was less of a danger to my life if I used it correctly.


    Only one thing made me have true confidence in being able to win this, the guards which at this point were obviously Slave Traders.


    They were a truly careless bunch, something which I noticed throughout the day.


    For instance, during the whole night only one guard actually did the work of watching over the men while the others were enjoying themselves, and yet the one guarding kept snoozing off every so often.


    The slaves, of course, were chained by the pillory, as I was, a few of them were also given ball shackles so they must have felt sure no one would escape.


    I came closer to the guard sleeping as he hung his head to the side while snoring.


    On closer inspection, he only carried a small knife that was hanging on his waist, which would be a bit hard for me to take as his left hand was laying over it.


    I decide the best choice would be to activate my skill while holding his head and hopefully with enough force to break his neck while using his own mantel to cover his mouth.


    This was a bet I wanted to take so as to not dirty the clothes he was wearing with blood and maybe with them on, I could get near the other guards easier.


    I used the skill again and quickly held his head and roughly turned it to the side holding his jaw so he wouldn¡¯t make any verbal noise.


    It ended as fast as it began and with it, I killed for the first time, or at least I hoped.


    Many thoughts ran through my mind as I quickly stole the garments from the corpse only to notice one of the chained men staring at me.


    He was the bald guy from before which nodded as I became aware of him.


    I tried to speak out but he jerked his head as if telling me to quickly get out of here, I stood up while twirling my finger around signaling that I would return not knowing if he understood or not.


    I rushed a bit while hiding behind the shadows, checking for any movements as I got closer to the campfire.


    There were four guards in total three of which were sleeping on the floor probably caused by drinking while the last guard was on top of a woman which seemed to be unconscious while another laid near them on her side crying.


    A rage quickly built up in me, as I bit hard on my molars but there was nothing I could do without a plan.


    I had to keep hiding while waiting to see if there was one of the guards roaming around.


    Finally, I spotted him, one of the guards who was probably in charge of scouting the area as I saw him walking around earlier while whistling.


    I had to follow him for a while to make sure he was the only one moving around, but he moved to slow, yawning every so often that it made me want to stab him already with the dagger I had stolen.


    Fifteen minutes or so had passed and he was closing in on the area were the men slaves were at, as well as where the corpse was lying.


    It was now time to act, as I got closer waiting for him to do his exaggerated yawn to which he would rub his eyes for a few seconds.


    Just as he was about to stretch, I covered his mouth with a piece of cloth and quickly slit his throat.


    His body convulsed a bit before giving out but it didn¡¯t fall as I held him from his hairs and dragged him to where the other corpse was at.


    Most of the other prisoners were still asleep as only three were up and they were whispering with the bald guy about something.


    I couldn¡¯t release them yet; I didn¡¯t want to take a chance of them making any noise while I moved around to kill the other guards even if they were willing to help me.


    Removing the short sword that the newly killed man was equipped with; I went back to the campsite to see if anything changed.


    There was now a total of six individuals on the floor, four drunks and the two naked women almost lifeless.


    I went in slowly taking out the dagger with one hand and a cloth in the other. I had to make sure they made no noise even if they were out cold so before stabbing them in the heart or slitting their throat, I covered their face as to not see their final moments.


    The four died in a matter of minutes as I used my skill just before doing the killing blow.


    As I finishing off the guy who was near the women while leaving the dagger stabbed near his heart, both of the women reacted. I quickly placed my finger on my lip hoping they wouldn¡¯t make to much of a fuzz.


    They only watched as the man''s life was giving out, but just before he took his last breath one of them pulled the dagger out and began stabbing the guy again and again.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    She stopped after the tenth or so time only to stare at the dagger which was now dripping with blood.


    I was taken back from the scene but noticed what she was trying to do as she put the dagger near her wrist.


    She was hesitating for a few seconds while her hand was shaking, I wanted to stop her but I could not move from my spot as she looked up to me.


    A smile was finally visible on the contour of her face, shown by the fading flames of the left-over coals.


    Her shaking hand finally stop as she made her decision and finally ended her life with the dagger, the one she just used to finish off her assailant.


    There was no time for me to do anything as she stood still waited for her life to come to an end to come while finally looking as if she found peace.


    The other woman lowered her head wanting to avoid watching the death of her comrade while covering her mouth with both hands.


    I stood up knowing there was more work to be done, only six guards were dead as the two or so were probably sleeping in the tent nearby leaving on the leader for last.


    With that in mind, I went back into the shadows moving around the tents, which were five in total.


    The women and children were all placed in one tent to avoid the cold, this one was a bit further from the campfire at least. Next to it, a small storage area where boxes with dried food and such were placed that had a strong scent to it.


    I slowly opened one of the other tents and was lucky to stumble upon two guards who were sleeping on the floor with a type of bedding, the area was small with only two or three steps beside each other.


    Brandishing the sword as the dagger was behind due to obvious reasons, I tiptoed near their faces and decided to kill the left guy first as he was the quieter one as far as snoring.


    After a clean cut that went through the neck, I turned the blade around to use the better side for the big guy to the right and proceeded to put closer to his existence.


    Unlike the dagger cutting with the sword broke after using the skill on both guys so I scavenged around for another blade and found another two daggers luckily.


    Feeling things were going smoothly for me I passed an empty tent which was probably for the four who I killed in the campfire leaving only one last one remaining.


    A light as lit from within as and upon closer inspection a thin guy was scribbling on some scroll-like parchments.


    The person looked to be counting and unlike the rest didn¡¯t appear to have touched a drop of alcohol.


    I opened the cover thinking that with the uniform I could probably get near the guy, he didn¡¯t respond though as he kept his concentration on the paperwork.


    It was until I got near the illumination of the candle that he looked up startled.


    ¡°Y..yes what do you need?¡± He was quite startled and almost fell back, the guy or should I say the boy didn¡¯t seem to have armor on only using the mantel with both brown and green colors.


    Unlike the others, he didn¡¯t seem to be too capable in combat and with the room full of parchments he was clearly a type of administrator.


    The room seems to only accommodate one person with their only being one bed placed and to be frank everything in the room seemed to be well in order.


    I activiated the skill "Oration"


    ¡°Gowd... Ahem Good evening" I adjusted my vocals a bit to be able to the speak the new language correctly.


    "I just came in to see if you wanted to join me in a drink as everyone else went off to sleep.¡± I said while trying to keep at a distance to keep my face from being seen but also where he could be in arm¡¯s length.


    ¡°No thanks, you all already know I didn¡¯t sign up for all this, just leave and let me finish my work.¡± He looked disinterested at my approach not even trying to keep eye contact as he went back to writing.


    Now that Plan A didn¡¯t work and with a carefree individual who didn¡¯t know his death was close, maybe I could take this chance to learn a bit more.


    ¡°Say, so about our numbers, aren¡¯t we too few for the number of slaves we have?¡± I only counted 10 including the leader but didn¡¯t know if maybe there was more to watch out for.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m stuck here in camp if you haven¡¯t noticed, cough... uhm we had at least thirty-four when we started, how we got reduced to ten isn¡¯t hard to tell.¡± He took a sip of water from a canteen near him just as his voice was giving out, maybe he had a cold but looked quite indifferent to the situation of his comrades.


    ¡°So how long have you been doing this for?¡± I went on to asking trying to probe just enough to let him him talking.


    ¡°You all should have already known by now, right? I just joined because of the ad like most of you all. That it was a Slavery Trades Caravan is different from just ¡°the¡± Caravan I thought it was. But enough about this why are you here starting a conversation when we will be separating tomorrow, just let me finish this work, please and get out.¡± Irritation was clearly on his face as he looked up, not that I could see it clearly with just the light of the candle so I tried to get closer as it seemed he wouldn¡¯t speak anymore.


    I activated my skill as I raised a dagger hoping to get one good strike at his neck but missed and slashed his chest.


    The slashed was superficial only cutting the top of his clothes as he tumbled back.


    I tried to follow landing on top of him as he didn¡¯t react, fear was in his eyes as the dagger was adjusted on his throat.


    The only thing stopping me was his look, it didn¡¯t look at all like a man or a boy.


    ¡°Please, I didn¡¯t do anything¡­ I just came here thinking the administration job would be a good way to earn money.¡± The voice changed, it was now high pitched and girly causing me to waver.


    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you do anything, why did you let them enslave so many people?¡± I threw those words in a low voice feeling the anger brought from watching one of the women committing suicide.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any power, I am only one person¡­ but you what about you, what reason do you have in blaming me for all this when you pigs enjoy the cries of those poor women every night, you¡­¡±


    I had forgotten I was still dressed like the other guards while asking my previous question, I calmed myself a bit understanding that the person in front of me was also opposed to slavery.


    I loosened the grip on my dagger and deactivated the skill but kept a wary stance in case the other wanted to try something.


    ¡°To be frank with you, eight of the guards are dead, only you and the leader of this group are left.¡± I stopped my rough manner of speaking and went back to it being casual trying to dispell any form of hostility.


    Whipping the remaining tears, a surprised expression was present but it wasn¡¯t until he, or she cleared her short hair behind the right ear that I noticed.


    ¡°You¡¯re a woman, aren¡¯t you?¡± I got closer to the girl who was sitting in an awkward position caused by her falling back. Her face at a closer look was androgynous, maybe with a few years, it would start to look more feminine.


    Failing to answer my question she was still shaking so I release the dagger, of course, I still had another one nearby for safety measure.


    ¡°Look here¡¯s the plan, I kill the leader and we release the slaves one of which escaped, you surely know who I am talking about right?¡± I pointed to myself while saying this.


    ¡°After everything ends, we gather the corpses and burn the unnecessities, I am sure that with the gold the leader has saved up somewhere we can live a few days of peace after all this ordeal, right?¡± I proposed a simple plan hoping that with her help I could make future plans by enticing a split in the cash.


    She thought of it for a few seconds before accepting and with that I had a few more questions, like the location of the keys to release the prisoners and if she knew of the leader¡¯s skills but both came in negative.


    Without much left to do, I told her to stay in the tent and wait for my return as I picked up the dagger and handed it to her, but to my amazement, she almost cut herself.