"Oh, Fredlin," a voice said as a man approached, a young man slung over his shoulder unconscious... or not. I was, of course, not unconscious though I can't tell why. He knocked me pretty hard with the hilt of his sword, and I should have blacked out, but I couldn't. However, I did pretend to, which is why he had me on his shoulder.
"Where were you?" the same gruff voice that spoke previously added. I don't know what exactly is going on, but I already have a bad feeling about it. For now, I should remain cooperative. The look the man gave me back at the stream made it abundantly clear he was willing to waste me if I proved difficult. It seems I've fallen into a rather messed up situation. Best thing I can do now is pretend to be out cold until I get the perfect opportunity to escape.
"Just took a stroll, and guess what? I once again stumbled upon more goods," the man said, his tone smug.
"I don't know, should I be worried? You seem to have a talent for stumbling on strays," the other man spoke, gruff as before.
"Come on, old man, that's why I'm doing this in the first place. Can't let such a good talent go to waste," he laughed, obviously amused.
"Tsk, get over here, we have a problem," a feminine voice this time, and then—
Movement.
BAM!
I hit the ground, hard.
It seems he dropped me.
"What happened?" His voice was now serious.
"It's concerning the canyon," Another man spoke, his voice smooth. He sounded younger than the other two. "You are aware of the alliance between Asteria and Yuphena, right?"
Silence.
An awkward silence.
"Yeah, I... am," the man said, but the hesitation in his tone made it obvious.
"Sighs. Just where were you when the gods distributed sense freely to imbeciles?" an irritated, more vibrant lady's voice than the other woman.
"Well, I was with you, of course," he added, and I heard a weird sound.
"Enough," the smooth voice cut in. "The problem we currently have is... since Yuphena now has an alliance with Asteria, we can't go through their territories with strays possessing these... relics." I felt the sensation of being stared at but forced myself to stay still. Can't blow my cover.
"Oh no... Curses," the man said in irritation.
"So... what do we do? Take a detour?" He sounded annoyed.
"Exactly," the young man's voice once again.
"Wait," the very man who had brought me here muttered, sounding apprehensive. "We are now east of Asteria, and further up is Yuphena. Since there are only two routes to Cambria, one being the canyon, then the other is..." he trailed off.
Okay... what the hell is happening?
With an exhale, the gruff voice spoke, "Yes, it's what you're thinking... it's our only choice."
"Our only choice? That's suicide!" roared the man in annoyance.
"I told them," the vibrant woman's voice chimed in.
"It's the only way, you fools," the gruff voice insisted.
"Only way my ass! If getting these strays through the canyon will be a problem because of the damn relics, let's just abandon them and take those without it. I'm pretty sure we would stumble upon more strays after crossing the canyon," he admonished.
At this point, I could guess what he was hinting at—it's the strange watch on my wrist.
"What? Are you stupid?" This time it was the other woman who hadn't spoken for a while. "We have more than three hundred slaves with that relic, three hundred damned slaves from over four months of hunting, making up about 60% of all the strays we have. And we just leave them? Just because you can't take a little risk?" She sounded irritated.
"You're the one I should ask that question. Are you an idiot or are you just pretending to be one? I see no reason for you not to be aware of the tiers of monsters on those treacherous paths," he replied.
"Tsk." The younger one. "Here's an idea: why don't we split the strays into those with the relics and those without. Then we break them into two groups. Those with the relics will be led by the mercenaries through the Wanderer's Path, and WE... WE go through the canyon with those without relics. If they survive, fine. If they don't, then fine as well." Those were the words of the young man, cruel and unforgiving. I couldn't sense a trace of hesitation in his tone.
"That... that is actually a good idea," I heard.
"But the mercenaries... I don't think they would be willing to risk their lives going through that cursed place..."
"Don't worry about it... those bastards will do anything for the right amount," I heard. It was the vibrant woman's voice.
"It's decided then," this time it was the gruff voice that spoke. "Fredlin..."
"Yeah?" the man who brought me here, who I guessed was Fredlin, responded.
"Take the boy and chain him up with the others... Make sure to keep an eye on him... Must be exhausting pretending to be asleep..." I heard, and my eyes flew open.
All my gaze met were faces with grins that made me shiver.
They knew all along.