Chapter 337 - Black Rings
The group continued to ride the carriage inside the steel cage, following the pathway ahead of them. It seemed like they were getting closer and closer to the border. Although, all of a sudden, the carriage made a slight turn and started to head into the forest.
The path they were thriving on was quite bumpy, and it seemed that it was only recently that it had been built. Even the trees lining the sides had been chopped and hacked. Finally, the carriage appeared to have reached its destination.
Inside the forest, there was a hut that had been built - it looked like a temporary camp. The area where it was placed seemed to have been propped up against the wall of a hill. Multiple tents were laid out while the guards stood outside. Also, just out front were the two giant flags waving in the air, displaying the guild crest of a bull with a large black ring piercing its nose.
"The Black Rings?" Van said while looking at the Flag.
"It seems like they were;t lying when they said that they were the top guild in Alure kingdom," Lenny said. "It's a shame that they have chosen to side with the empire. It just goes to show how people are easily swayed by money."
"Aren't you being paid to help us as well?" Martha asked.
Lenny started to clear his throat as he hurriedly looked in the other direction. Although Lenny was being paid for his services, as a type of adviser for the Redwings, he had long forgotten about that role. Now, he felt like he was just a part of the redwings as similar to everyone else.
Especially now that he would be staying there for some time.
Most people weren't caught up in the Guilds and the Guild ranks - this was because they had spent most of their time at Avrion. Information other than the ones about the Shadow place didn't come to them that often. Hence, Van was a bit worried while the others were not.
As soon as they entered the camp, Ray began to inspect all the members with his Dragon eyes skill. It was quite a large camp, and there seemed to be at least 200 or more people there. However, out of all of them, there was a single man that stood out.
A man who held a short sword, that seemed to be of high quality, by his side. He might be an individual who was in the advance tier.
"Van, do you know if that man with gelled-back, black hair is the guild leader?" Ray asked
Van squinted and stared at the man that Ray had described. "No, if I'm correct, then that man is the lieutenant, the second-in-charge of the Black rings. In total, the Black Rings have around 500 members or so. It looks like they've sent out half of their men just to guard the border."
To hire this much men, the Empire must have indeed paid them quite the hefty sum. Enough to look the other way, and also to stop the guild form completing its regular quests. Perhaps, the money was stored in this very place.
Martha had said that the city was struggling, so they couldn't do the trade wherein everyone accepted coin at a certain level. A few would have to sneak-in to allure city and buy whatever equipment and necessities they could until things got better.
The carriage continued to move until it eventually stopped, just by the back wall of the hill. Inside the hill, there were several manmade gates with steel bars blockading them, and inhabiting the inside were the civilians.
Not just any civilians, but they were a mix of merchants, children, and even adventures. The group were duly escorted out of their temporary cage and put into the cell with all the others. Meanwhile, Martha made sure to keep an eye on where they were taking all their gear to.
While inside the cave cells, Ray heard a familiar voice from behind. "Wait, I know you!" Aboy said. When ray turned around, he noticed it Tuffy, standing by his side was his sister Candy.
These two had met Ray a long time ago, originally as the adventurer Nes, and later with Jack when they had visited the town.
"What are you doing here? Did they capture you too?" Tuffy asked. But then, Tuffy realised something. He remembered seeing the Emblem on Jack and Gary's body.
"Wait, aren't you guys part of the…" Before he could finish his sentence, Jack rushed to put his hands over the kid's mouth.
At the moment, everyone who was in the cell were shocked by Jack's actions. Not because of what he did to the kid, but because the metal cuffs that were binding all of their hands were lying on the floor.
Martha and the others tried to quieten them down before anything could happen. "Shh, if you want to get out of here, then be quiet."
Once Jack had let go of the boy's mouth, he picked up his cuffs off of the floor and went to the back of the cave to hide them from the eyes of the other guards.
"Do you mind telling me what happened to you two?" Ray asked.
"We were planning to go to the Redwing Kingdom." Candy replied. "After declaring dependence, living near the borderline has been hell. The Black Rings came in and demanded free food and a place to stay while kicking out every other guild. They also wouldn't allow the Redwing knights, that were helping us out before, to enter. In the end, a lot of us got sick of it. We heard that our friend Nes was someone high up in the Redwings Guild."
"We couldn't believe it at first, but remembering how strong he was, it had to be true," Tuffy said excitedly. "We didn't expect him to come and save us. The Kingdom has its own problems, but many of us wanted to leave and join them. Little did we know, the Black Rings weren't allowing anyone to pass anymore. We thought they were just here to stop an invasion."
"Don't worry." Ray said with a smile." You guys have done enough. Of course, the Redwings will take you in."
Ray always had a soft spot for children. Even when he had planned his revenge on the human race, that plan never included the demise of children. He knew they could be easily influenced while young, and now with the slight change in his plan, he cared for them even more so.
Rather than eliminating the human race, he vowed to change them.
"But how!" Tuffy shouted, before realizing that the guards were just outside.
"But how?" He asked again in a lower voice. "You are stuck here just like us, and I'm guessing that they only captured you because of how strong they are."
"We shall wait till nightfall. That's when we will attack."
An old man, who had been listening in to the conversation, walked forward. He was the town's Mayor and well respected by the people. He had been taken in when he started to speak up about the cruel treatment that they have been receiving from the Black Rings.
"We have been paying attention to what you have been saying." The old man said. "Please, we wish to help you. If you plan to attack, we will take up arms as well."
"There is no need old man," Ray replied. "We shall do everything with just us."
The old man looked at the six people standing there. "With just the six of you? But they have over 250 people here!"
"Even if there were a thousand, they would be no match for us."
The man smiled at Ray. He thought he was trying to put confidence in the hearts, not knowing that he truly meant every word that he had said.
The group stayed inside, and once in a while, a group of new people would be brought along, pushed inside the cell in the cages. Now, it seemed like there were at least fifty prisoners inside the cells.
Finally, nightfall had come. Ray couldn't help but look at the Black sword held on the side of the man in the distance. "I must thank you for bringing me a nice gift."