As everyone sat around the campfire, the crackling of the wood and the distant sound of crickets were the only things breaking the silence.
The meal had filled their stomachs, but the weight of their pasts still hung heavy in the air. One by one, they started telling the stories of how they got in Moyap’s slave shop.
The three beastwomen spoke first.
They sat close together, their tails tucked tightly against their legs. They were kidnapped by mercenaries and sold off as they were out to forage for their village. They were looking for simple herbs and berries, never expecting a trap. They weren’t combatants—just simple gatherers—so they got caught easily.
"We cannot go back."
One of them whispered, her voice trembling as she stared into the flames.
"If we return, the slave hunters might be able to track us. If they find the village, they will take everyone. We would rather stay lost than put our people in trouble."
The fear in her eyes was palpable. To them, freedom was a bittersweet gift because it came with the realization that their old lives were effectively over.
The five dark elves, on the other hand, were in a pretty similar case with Tatum and the other kids. [Dark Elves] are also a race made by the demons, just like the beastmen.
The history was a dark one; the demons had kidnapped elves long ago and mated with them, and so the dark elves were created.
They were taken advantage of by the demons as well. The demons saw them as nothing more than disposable forces and used them often in frontline the war, just like the beastmen.
Because of this; even though they already escaped the grasps of the demons for a long time and just want to live in peace—everyone else thinks that they’re evil. The rest of the world has marked them as the enemy of Arcanis.
The village of the five dark elves was discovered by the kingdom’s scouts. They weren’t seen as refugees or people—they were seen as remnants of a demonic army. The kingdom attacked without warning. The five of them weren’t the sole survivors at first; many others were caught and sold as slaves alongside them.
"But now... we are the only ones left."
A male dark elf said, his voice flat and hollow.
"The others died. Some were worked to death, and others were simply mistreated by the nobles who bought them until their hearts just stopped. Moyap was just the last stop for those of us who survived the first few masters."
He added.
Moving on to the [Dwarfs]... they were just an unlucky race.
Way before the ancient war with the demons; their whole race was already a slave.
They were given extraordinary talents for crafting and forging, but aside from that—they have nothing. They’re smaller and physically weaker than humans in terms of raw reach and speed.
Dwarf bodies aren’t really compatible with mana as well, so even though they could use it—they can’t master it. They could never become powerful mages to defend their mountain homes. Because of these factors, their whole race had been taken advantage of by the other races for their craftsmanship since the ancient time.
When the war with the demons happened; they were used by the Arcanis Alliance to mass-produce weapons and defenses. They contributed a lot in the war, pouring their sweat and blood into the forges to keep the human knights armed.
But even with that—their race’s stigma as a slave never disappeared. And to this day; dwarves are still common slaves. It was a tragic and disgusting situation for them.
The eight dwarves with Verc had experienced this firsthand. They were actually four husband-wife couples. They had been working in a kingdom-sanctioned forge until the owner went bankrupt and sold his "tools"—which meant them—to Moyap to cover his debts.
They had stayed together through the cages, holding onto each other’s hands through the iron bars.
Anyway, not far from their situation... are the [Kobolds].
They’ve been used in the ancient war by both the [Demons] and the [Arcanis Alliance]. Kobolds are just monsters who barely evolved to gain some intellect. They became intelligent enough to communicate and form their own community; but their race was still a bit dumb in the eyes of the more "refined" civilizations.
Because of this, they were seen as an inferior race; and everyone else just saw them as nothing but something similar to animals. As a matter of fact; Kobolds are the race that are the most common slaves in the known world.
In the current slave markets of the empire, statistics show that Kobolds make up about 45% of all active slaves. Humans account for roughly 23%, while Dwarves and Beastmen hover around 15% and 12% respectively. The remaining 5% is made up of rarer races like the Dark Elves.
The two Kobolds that came with Verc sat on the edge of the light, looking confused. The two of them were actually born inside the slave shop. Their parents were slaves, and they inherited that status the moment they took their first breath.
They didn’t know what freedom was like since they were born. They had never seen the sky without bars across it.
So when Verc freed them—they didn’t know what to do or where to go. The concept of "home" didn’t exist for them outside of a stone room.
"Master says we go... but where go?"
One of the Kobolds muttered, scratching his head.
"We follow. Master gives meat. Master is good."
They had decided to follow Verc simply because he was the first person to ever give them a choice, even if they didn’t fully understand what that choice meant.
*****
After hearing the stories of how they became slaves, Verc couldn’t help but frown.
"..."
He sat there, his arms crossed over his chest, listening to the injustices piled upon these people.
The more he thinks about it, the more absurd it is how ridiculous the humans and the other races are. They spend all their time deciding who the "evil" races are based on their blood or their history, while they themselves are doing things like this.
They call the demons monsters, but they sell children and keep couples in cages like cattle.
’What a joke.’
Verc thought to himself.
Anyway, an awkward silence enveloped the area. The fire popped, sending sparks into the night air, but the mood became gloomy as everyone remembered their tragic past.
Some of the dwarves were hugging their wives, and the beastwomen were looking at the ground with tear-filled eyes.
Seeing this, Verc felt like he needed to say something. He wasn’t much for speeches, but he couldn’t let them sit in this misery forever.
And so, opening his mouth—
"Don’t worry. From now on, you are all under my protection. Nothing like that will happen to all of you ever again."
He declared that.
His voice was steady and firm. It wasn’t a suggestion; it was a promise.
The others looked at him after hearing his words. They saw the masked knight sitting by the fire, looking calm and powerful. And although they were happy to hear such words... they still doubted if Verc can actually live up to his words.
The empire was vast. The kingdoms were strong. How could one man, even a strong one, protect former slaves from the entire world?
They had seen powerful men before, but even the strongest knights served a king.
"Hmm?"
Verc felt this doubt. He could see it in the way they looked at his mask and his leather armor.
He knew that to lead them into a place like the [Cursed Forest] and for them to trust him, they needed to know exactly what kind of person—or thing—was leading them.
"You doubt me because you think I am just a human knight."
Verc said, his voice dropping an octave.
SWOOSH~
Suddenly, the temperature around the campfire seemed to plummet. The flames of the fire danced violently. A heavy, suffocating pressure began to radiate from Verc’s body, making the horses whinny in fear.
"...???"
The others felt the change in the atmosphere, and this made all of them flinch.
FWIP-
Verc reached up and slowly pulled down the black cloth covering his mouth and nose.
As the cloth fell, his skin appeared pale—almost like moonlight. But it was his red eyes that stood out the most. The pupils narrowed, and the irises began to glow with a piercing, blood-red light. Two sharp, white fangs extended from his upper jaw, glinting in the firelight.
And with a casual look on his face--
"I am a Vampire."
Verc declared that, his voice echoing throughout the area.
"..."
"!!!"
"?!!"
The others were surprised after hearing that. They gasped and scrambled back, some of them nearly falling over.
They knew what vampires were—monsters of legend that lived for centuries and drank the blood of the living. They knew how strong one was; a single vampire could slaughter an entire population in a night.
The dwarves pulled their wives behind them, and the beastwomen bared their teeth in a defensive instinct. The Kobolds were kinda slow and just stared, not really knowing much about the legends of the night.
But Verc wasn’t finished.
"And I am not the only one."
Verc gestured toward Tatum and Jed.
"Tatum, Jed. Show them."
The two boys stepped forward. Their eyes, too, began to glow with that same predatory red light. Their fangs elongated, and the pressure in the air doubled.
"These two are also vampires. I am the one that made them into what they are."
Verc stated.
Hearing this, the others just became even more surprised. The dark elves’ eyes widened in shock. They knew a little more about the occult than the others, but they didn’t know that vampires could turn others into them.
They had always heard that vampires were solitary monsters or hidden nobles, not leaders of caravans.
Anyway, Verc felt fear from the others after learning the truth about him. He felt that they became wary, their muscles tensed as if they expected him to lunge at their necks at any moment.
Even Nara, the little girl, hid behind Bernia’s legs. She looked at Verc’s glowing red eyes with a mix of wonder and terror.
But Verc didn’t mind it.
He already expected such reactions.
And so, he kept calm, and with his lips parting—
"I know what you all are thinking about vampires. You’ve heard the stories. You’ve heard that we are monsters who see you as nothing but food."
He paused, letting the red glow of his eyes dim slightly, though he didn’t put the mask back on.
"But I will not eat you or whatever. I don’t need nor want to. All of you can leave at any time. I won’t stop anyone... Follow me if you want, believe whatever you want."
He just stated that.
He stood up, his tall figure casting a massive shadow over the camp.
"In my territory, I don’t care if you are a human, a dwarf, or a kobold. And I don’t care if I am a vampire. The only thing that matters is that we survive. If you follow me, you will have a home. If you fear me more than you want a home, then I already gave you the freedom way before."
He pointed back toward the direction they had come from.
The silence that followed was long. The group looked at Verc, then at the two boys who looked so young but carried the power of the night. They thought about the stories they had just shared—the kidnapping, the loss of their homes, the cages.
"..."
Then, they looked at the way Verc had fed them, given them tents, and treated them with more respect than anyone ever had.
And slowly... the tension began to bleed out of the air. Pwyll, the scarred barbarian, was the first to sit back down.
"A vampire prince and a barbarian prince."
Pwyll rumbled, a small, grim smile touching his lips.
’I’m not a prince.’
Verc thought.
"It sounds like the start of a good story. I don’t care what you are, Verc. You broke my chains. I’m staying."
Bernia then said that as she nodded,
"The humans who called themselves ’good’ were the ones who put us in those cages. If a monster is the one who sets us free, then maybe the world has its definitions backwards."
She added that, still keeping a hand on Nara’s shoulder.
Anyway, after this, the others calmed down.
And after thinking a bit about it--they decided to trust and believe in Verc.
They would still follow him, even if it was into the [Cursed Forest] and into the service of a vampire lord.
Verc didn’t show it on his face... but he was a bit happy when they believed him. He pulled his mask back up, covering his fangs, and the red glow in his eyes faded back to their normal state.
"Good. Then get some sleep. We have a lot of ground to cover."
Anyway, with that—they all rested for a few more hours.
The fear hadn’t completely vanished, but it had turned into a strange kind of awe. They slept a little sounder knowing that their protector wasn’t just a man, but something that even the empire’s soldiers would fear to face.
... ... ...
When the sunlight started getting warmer and the morning mist began to evaporate from the meadow, they started their journey once again.
The five carriages creaked back into motion, and the twenty-four of them moved as one, heading toward the dark line of trees on the horizon that marked the edge of Verc’s domain.