The next morning Hugh awoke with a strong stiffness in his joints. He was used to sleeping in hard conditions but most of the time he could at least lay down. Kurtis was still snoring away somehow. He should have been the most uncomfortable there, with his knees tucked just under his chin. That hadn’t seemed to stop him from passing out at some point during the night. Exhaustion could turn the hardest of places into beds.

  Venerith was awake but was staring out at the road in silence. At least he hadn’t decided to wake everyone with more shouting and swearing. It took a moment for Hugh to notice he wasn’t just sulking some more. He was watching another cart some down the path. It was hard to see through the forest but it appeared to be three carts.

  This was confirmed when they guided the mules into the camp next to the carts that were already there. It also showed that they had more children in cages. Only about two per cart and one with three, bringing the new total of captives to seven.

  It appeared that they had originally been a larger group and split off to collect more children from some farther out villages. Most of the nearby communities were much smaller than Ordith. Only twelve more guards split into three smaller squads had split off the original group. All of them looked tired and worn. Probably from having to walk farther and rise earlier to make it back as quickly as possible. The sun was barely coming up and they had clearly been walking for some time already.

  Each of the three smaller groups sent a man to speak to Captain Rudwin. They talked for a short time before he patted one on the shoulder and motioned to the camp where some kind of porridge was being made in the same pot from last night. It didn’t smell nearly as good as the stew, but Hugh would have packed up the whole camp by himself if they would give him a single bite.

  The men who were here last night began to pack up their tents and the few supplies they had taken out of the carts. They started to reattach the mules in preparation to leave after eating their own porridge and bringing the younger children a small ration. On the bright side, it seemed Venerith was the only one not getting water as Hugh and Kurtis had each received a bowl full. It seemed they would be on the road soon to wherever they were taking them.

  “What the hell!” Captain Rudwin shouted from over by the newcomer carts. “Godrick! Get over here and tell me what the hell I’m looking at!”

  One of the pudgier men that Rudwin had talked to earlier jogged over to look at what he was talking about. He seemed to be somewhat winded from the short jog over.

  “Tell me what in Resami’s name I’m looking at.”

  The man looked confused and scratched his head, “One of the offerings?” He said more as a question than an answer.

  “No shit, it’s in a cage, you moron! What I want to know is why you thought it would be a good idea to grab a gods cursed elf!” The captain yelled.

  “Well, you said we needed ten percent, and they were part of the children brought out when we asked to see them. I thought it would be better for the offering since it takes longer for elves to touch essence.”

  “And how old is she?” he asked Godrick, who was now sweating in his uniform.

  “I think she’s under fifty,” the man said once more sounding unsure.

  “I didn’t ask for a general guess,” Rudwin was growing now through clenched teeth, “I asked for a solid number. If you aren’t sure how old the elf is how do you know it will be accepted for the offering? This is why I told you all to stick to human children. See how everyone else understood the assignment but you? No one else came back with an elf or vekesh, or even a damn ogrin. Do you know why?”

  “Because they listened to orders.” He said with a pathetic whimper.

  “It’s because you aren’t familiar with the other races enough to tell when they have come of age.” He seemed to be calming down now.

  “It doesn’t matter now and asking isn’t going to work. I can see it in those scheming little eyes.” He said looking at the small girl. “We don’t have time to take her back and we don’t have someone skilled enough to check her core. If I get a shit sandwich for this, I will make sure you eat it with me. Am I clear?”

  “Yes sir!” relief flooded the man’s face.

  “Get your cart ready. I want to be at the ceremony grounds in three days, so we need to leave now.”

  “I’m on it!” He turned immediately and sprinted off much faster than he had arrived. After last night’s confrontation, Hugh wouldn’t want to be around an annoyed Rudwin either.

  The shouting had given some answers but also caused more questions. It appeared the children were to be an offering and they were heading to the “Ceremony Grounds”. Hugh didn’t know where that was but he didn’t like the sound of being an offering.

  ‘Maybe it will be a good thing.’ He joked to himself. Of course it wouldn’t be a good thing or they wouldn’t be in cages. He also hadn’t forgotten the ominous words from the previous night.

  ‘Not that you’ll ever get the chance to find out.’ That’s what Rudwin had said. At the time he thought he was only talking to Venerith, trying to scare the rude boy. Now, he wasn’t so sure. His gut began to twist from more than hunger. If he had eaten anything he might have puked it up.

  While he worried about the future, the camp finished packing. Once everything had been double-checked the carts returned to the road. No more was said for the next two days while they traveled. Hugh tried asking some questions about what he had heard but this was met with either silence or a harsh reprimand to keep his mouth shut. Some guards were grouchier than others.

  It was strange how little traffic they passed on the road. The few people they did come across made no eye contact, not responding in any way to the few children who tried to shout to them for help. They stopped trying at all after a few meetings with the ‘shut your mouth stick’. Hugh knew after the first one that these strangers they passed on the road weren’t going to help them. Slavery was heavily frowned upon by the law, but what were these people going to do when the people outside the cages were a bunch of armed men wearing that same empire’s colors? The answer was a resounding nothing. When the same people had sat idly by and watched him struggle and done nothing.

  All Hugh could do was glare at the men who were closest. Maybe staring hard enough would tap into some miraculous and unknown essence ability, causing the armed men to melt into a puddle. No such luck. Maybe it would be different if he could actually focus. It had been almost a week since he had stolen that loaf of bread and he hadn’t had a bite to eat since. The hunger ate at his stomach and mind. Most of his time was spent in a state somewhere between conscious and barely alive. He didn’t know if he was sleeping since he could hardly tell when he was awake. The only thing that he kept track of was meals.

  The small, hard rations that the soldiers were now eating looked like the best meal he could have ever asked for. He had begged the other children for even a scrap, but the greedy little goblins had shoveled the sustenance away like they were hoarding jewels. Kurtis and Venerith had tried using bullying and aggression to get their hands on something to eat. They quickly figured out the ‘shut your mouth stick’ was multipurpose. The lordling had still not offered an apology for the incident with the water and continued to receive none. Kurtis tried sharing with him but decided better when Rudwin threatened to cut him off too.

  On the second day of travel, they started to enter the mountains. They were close to the eastern border of the empire’s land and at some point, would run into the mountainous races such as the mountain elves and some of the ogrin. Hugh hoped they would run into a giant, and it would trash the caravan. Maybe he could escape and live in the hills. The thought was fleeting as he definitely didn’t know how to survive in these barren mountains, even if he wasn’t so weak.

  On the third day, it began to rain. It wasn’t particularly hard rain, but it was more than a drizzle. This was all that was needed to be deadly here as the water could cause a mudslide at any time. As annoyed as he was with being wet and cold it was almost worth it. Venerith’s pride had stopped him from apologizing to a guard, and yet he didn’t seem to care about how desperate he looked now. Hands out with his face pressed to the bars. He did everything he could to get the water into his mouth. It looked quite funny to Hugh. He probably would have laughed if he didn’t have a pounding headache at this point. Some of the other children also held their hands out to catch some rain but most had become little more than motionless dolls, permanent despair etched onto their faces.

  When the day began to fade to darkness Hugh presumed they would set camp for the night. It was still raining, and they would need more time than usual to pitch the tents. This turned out to be wrong. The men merely lit torches and lamps that were attached to the wagons and pressed forward.

  ‘We must be close to our destination. They wouldn’t persist through terrain like this in the dark and rain unless they had a good reason.’ Hugh considered.

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  This conclusion turned out to be correct as they approached a set of doors built into the cliff face. They were massive wooden doors with dull gray metal reinforcing the edges and center. As they approached Rudwin called out something that Hugh missed through the sound of rain and grinding wagon wheels. Soon after the doors opened and the caravan came into a large cavern that towered so high the ceiling was lost in blackness. The cavern was larger than some of the grain fields back in Ordith. People were everywhere, moving supplies and even more carts to different locations.

  “Cutting it quite close aren’t we captain?” came a nasally voice that Hugh immediately disliked

  A man in red and brown robes, with a hood that was currently down approached. His face was thin with a sharp chin. His hair was a wispy brown and combed back. He looked like the standard priest of the Scouring Light. Of course the name of the church shared the name of the empire. How else would you know they were funded by the king so he could control one more thing in the daily lives of his subjects?

  “Oh please, we have plenty of time before the ceremony and I doubt we’ll be the last in,” Rudwin replied with a look of distaste toward the priest.

  “Just because others do a worse job doesn’t mean you did well. And to top it off you have an elf for some reason. I believe it was stated that only citizens of the empire were to be subject to the offering.” The priest sneered.

  “The family was part of a village, which makes them part of the empire. This isn’t some random forest dweller we ripped from the wilds. Everyone can be subject to the offering.”

  “Fair enough. I suppose your brother would know that sentiment as well as anyone, considering his daughter is in one of these cages.” The robed man searched Rudwin’s face for a trace of anger at his words. The guard captain didn’t so much as ball his fists.

  “Is there anything else you came to inquire about, Cleric Sonnard?” The words were perfectly calm and polite yet sent a sweet promise of a violent death should the clergyman push his luck.

  “No, just punctuality and the elf. Put the offerings with the others and report to the barracks for the night.” The man turned and left in a hurry, not waiting for further acknowledgment.

  Hugh had also caught the part about other offerings. There were more here somewhere. All the carts still here were empty of cages. The remaining ones were being moved to be parked or carry supplies around the complex.

  “Godrick! Put the offerings in the staging room. DO NOT be lazy about it either. One at a time and make absolutely sure the restraints don’t come off. Got it?” Rudwin shouted across the room at his subordinate.

  “Yes, Captain! I’ll make sure no one causes trouble for you later, leave everything to us.” Godrick confirmed and immediately began to lead the cart off toward a barred set of doors with four stationary guards on its sides. These men simply took inventory of the number of children with a brief description and began to open the doors. The smell hit them in a wave that made Hugh’s already pounding head spin. It smelled of a thousand unwashed bodies all mingled together in one room. He probably would have gagged if his body had any strength to do so. Instead, he just stared in horror at the mass of dirty children sitting around.

  A few looked in their direction at the opening of the door but quickly lost interest. There was a rope running through a metal cuff on each of their legs that was then fastened to the wall and covered to prevent the knot from being untied. There was enough slack to allow a foot or two of movement and enough room to lie down if they were packed together. There were buckets that served as waste disposal that could be passed down the rows.

  Godrick and the guards that brought them here began to open the cages of the youngest, one at a time. They would grab the child out and snap a link on their ankle and tighten it as needed. The most interesting part was that before they were linked to the rope they were given a small ration bar and a cup of water by the guards from the door. They were given two minutes to eat it and they made sure each child always had two guards with them. Once they were finished with their ration they were linked to the rope and left there. When it was finally Hugh’s turn, he had to practically be carried out of the cage and snapped a link on his ankle. They had to tighten it a fair bit as he was practically all bones.

  “Sorry lad, we didn’t have as many rations on the trail as we should have but we have some here. Take it slow and make sure to sip the water while you eat otherwise, you’ll just puke it up later.” It was Godrick who had said that.

  He held pity in his eyes. Something Hugh had seen all too often. The difference, in this case, was he received something to eat this time. He was prepared to scarf his food down anyway due to the hunger clawing at him. The thing that stopped him was the ration itself. It was too dry to swallow with sipping the water. After three bites he managed to slow himself down and savor the food. It was a mixture of boiled grains and dried meat that had been mixed and baked until it was a dry bar. It tasted like the mules had smelled but it was the best feeling in the world. Lost in the bliss of finally eating something the bar disappeared all too soon.

  One of the guards laughed, “Godrick, I don’t think even your wife looks at you the way he looked at that ration!”

  “Oh piss off,” Godrick responded with a chuckle of his own.

  The good mood was short-lived before the monotonous work continued.

  “All right, come on let’s get you in with the rest of ‘em. Try and get some rest. Your body won’t use as much energy and the food will help more tomorrow.” They helped Hugh over to the rope and hooked him on with the others.

  Hugh took a chance to glean some information, “What’s going to happen tomorrow? What is this offering everyone keeps talking about?”

  Godrick winced, “You’ll get to know about it tomorrow. No more questions, rest up.”

  He wasn’t the only one who looked uncomfortable either. The rest of the men looked away from the children and a foul mood seemed to overtake them. That was when Venerith’s cage was opened.

  He sprung out like a serpent flying past the surprised soldiers. The door was still cracked open and if he was quick he could probably squeeze through. But, the absolute idiot that he was, decided instead to turn on the nearest guard and punch him in the groin. The man buckled forward

  “Shiii-“

  The younger boy punched him in the face with a hard right hook. It appeared his father had at least made sure he knew something about fighting. Hugh had been on the receiving end of those fists many times and felt the downed man’s pain. The men were trained soldiers, however, and surprise is only good for so much when you’re outnumbered.

  The man directly behind him wrapped his arms around the boy and immediately took him to the ground. The others were on them in seconds. They rained blows onto Venerith, cursing and shouting at him to stop fighting until he was too bruised up to fight back. Then four of them each grabbed a limb and stuffed him right back into his cage and locked it. The wounded man was checked over and escorted out of the room and a new guard took his place.

  The children had different reactions during the brawl. While most had tried to get as far as possible, some had stood up and were jeering at the men who had brought them here. They shut up and sat right back down when they got a dirty look, not willing to get their own asses beat now that it was over.

  “Guess it’s a good thing we did it one at a time. Wouldn’t want to do that with more of the older ones out.” Godrick remarked.

  The remaining soldiers looked at Kurtis and seemed to contemplate leaving him in his cage too. He caught onto this and started to panic, “Please let me out. I won’t do anything, I swear. I just want some food and to lie down, you’ll have no trouble from me.”

  They looked at him with skepticism but decided to let him out in the end. They still surrounded him with six full-grown men. At fourteen Kurtis was still a few inches taller than the biggest man in the room.

  “You sure that one’s under the age for essence Godrick?” One of the men asked as Kurtis ate his entire ration in two bites.

  “Damned if I know, ask the captain. He’s the one who picked him up. Probably has some giant blood in him somewhere.”

  Kurtis looked disappointed at the lack of any more food but got up willingly and walked over to the rope. The man who attached his link did it quickly. It seemed he didn’t want to be anywhere in kicking range of the massive boy.

  Once they had everyone settled in, they led the cart back out and closed the door. The room went dark except for the light shining through the cracks of the door. Hugh sighed and closed his eyes. He should probably get some sleep, but too many thoughts ran through his head. ‘Whatever this is it makes the soldiers uncomfortable. Godrick seemed like a decent enough fellow, but he had been lured in by false kindness before. Usually, it stopped when they got what they wanted. There was nothing he could offer in this situation though, so what-‘

  “Kurtis you coward,” hissed Venerith.

  “What was I supposed to do, get the stuffing beat out of me too? There were almost fifteen of them, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.” Rebutted Kurtis.

  “I still took one down and I’m half your size. You gave up before even trying.” Venerith retorted.

  “You got them by surprise. They were all prepared for me and my size just makes it harder to get out of the stupid cage. I’m not going to lose my food and foot room just to get a beating!”

  “Oh for the love of life will you just shut up!” a new voice rang out. “You’re both dumb, If you’re going to throw a fit and fight your way out do it tomorrow when they’re sacrificing you to the gods.”

  There was silence.

  Hugh spoke up before Venerith could go on a rant, “What do you mean by that? Why would they sacrifice a bunch of their own citizen’s children to the gods?”

  “How do you not know? It was an official announcement by the king himself. Every major city was notified.” The mystery boy stated as though it was obvious.

  “Well, we’re from a smaller city so no one told us. My dad just said I had to go with the king’s men to fill an important role.” Kurtis said with disbelief.

  “Then you’re dumber than I thought. They are sacrificing us all to appease the gods and bring life back to the land. The crops and plants dying are beginning to cause panic, so the church said we have to give something precious to balance Sultarra’s essence. They have to use kids because our cores are still weak and haven’t been ruined by taking in outside essence yet.”

  “No one would do that! The common people would throw a fit at losing their children.” Venerith had decided to join the discussion.

  “That’s why they said only ten percent would be taken. Not everyone would lose someone and those with a child or two to spare could supplement most of the supply. They also made quite a few of the nobles make an offering to show that everyone had to participate. That’s what they said anyway. Supposedly they’re being kept in nicer quarters, but I have yet to meet any.”

  No one responded to this. Hugh was sure he knew what they were thinking though. Venerith was a minor noble’s son. His father had likely used this as an opportunity to get rid of his unwanted son while also appeasing the common folk. After all, he too had given up a child. How could they complain when the city lord had offered his own son up willingly so that they might have a brighter future?

  “Well, nothing we can do about it now. No sense in letting it stop a good night’s rest. Maybe tomorrow you can hit one of those troll-fuckers in the balls again. It was definitely good for a laugh.”

  “-more than hit them…in for it…” Venerith mumbled to himself.

  Hugh had a lot to think about. No way was he letting himself be sacrificed for a bunch of assholes who had never lifted a finger to help him unless they were exploiting him for cheap labor. At some point without noticing, he began to doze off. With food in his belly and more room to stretch out, the little light the room had faded as sleep took him to his dreams.