163 Holidays and Festivals (1/2)
Sawtooth Mountain Holding Camp
Kaga Whitetail yawned and stretched her body out in a very cat like manner on the simple bed she was lying on. It was just a simple metal frame with a piece of cloth stretched over it, the idea was ingenious to Kaga. In fact, ever since they arrived at this place, she was amazed and constantly surprised by many things.
After the fiasco with the Hero, Kaga and the rest of the slaves, escorted by the strangely dressed barbarians which she later found out that they were mostly from the Kingdom of Goldrose, which the Empire had labeled them as rebels, traveled a couple of days before encountering a caravan of dragon wagons which was hired by the rebels to transport the tired slaves to safety.
The caravan foreman, named Norman, seemed to have come from the same employer who bought and freed them. He appeared to be afraid of something as he kept twitching in fear throughout the journey until they reached an impressive stone castle built into the very surface of the mountains where he adamantly refused to enter, staying outside the castle and leaving as soon as the slaves were dropped off and even refusing an escort through the Uncharted Forest.
They rested half a day before setting off again, this time riding strange mechanical contraptions that appeared to run on magic without the use of any dragons! The speed which it traveled boggled Kaga's mind as the scenery outside the glass windows appeared to vanish as rapidly as it appeared!
They were then told to exit the magic wagons and a small army of white coated and similarly white costumed healers fussed over them before they taken to a place for a shower and fresh clothing were given after which they were fed. Once that was all settled, they were separated into males and females and were given a large tent which was shared by four persons each.
Kaga remembered the healers were saying something about diseases and virus and 'ma-nu-tree-tion' among the survivors, and they were needed to be 'qurr-ren-teen'?
She slipped on a pair of slippers that she was told were actually made out of slime parts. The sole came from the body of black slime, found in the swamps up north, the slime was gutted and its guts removed before the body was machine pressed into a shape of a sole and sun dried. A simple soft woven strap made of grass was secured to the sole.
The slippers felt soft and comforting to her feet as she exited the tent, and headed towards the canteen for food. She noted some of the womenfolk were washing their clothes at the washing areas where water gushed out from taps which she only has seen at either nobles, royalty or the filthy rich mansions.
Finding her way into the cook tents, she smelt the strong aroma of herbs, spices, and meat! Kaga grabbed a tray from the side and joined the queue where a cook was giving out food. As her turn came, she gave her most charming smile at the young man, who blushed and handed her a slightly larger portion. Today's menu was scrambled eggs with ham and two slices of white bread and slices of a red sweet and tart fruit that they called 'toe-ma-to'!
Finding an empty seat, she sat down and wolfed down the food. Ever since she came here, she felt she was gaining the weight she lost over the past few months. The food was just too good and exotic, like that 'bur-girl' she had the other day, two toasted bread buns with a juicy chunk of meat with cheese and more of that red tart fruit! It tasted heavenly and Kaga was looking forward to what is for lunch today.
As she was finishing her meal, she overheard a group of people who came together with her to this camp, discussing about what are they going to do next. ”This all seems just too good to be true!” One of them was heard saying his voice low.
”But they fought and protected us from the Empire!” Another was saying also in a low voice, but Kaga hearing was sharp enough to hear their conversation.
”Yes, but look here! They are keeping us like prisoners!” The earlier male spoke, his eyes glancing over to a couple of guards at the end of the tent. ”We are like slaves still to these people!”
Kaga's ears twitched as she held in her anger, her food forgotten. Did they know how much they sacrificed to save them?
”I heard that they will be asking us who wants to stay and who wants to leave to go to the Isles,” Another person whispered, ”I overheard some of the strangely dressed healers talking.”
”Are you sure?” Another asked, ”Could they be selling us off instead?”
”I just find all this all too good to be true!” The original speaker insisted. Kaga discretely observed the speaker, who had a sunken yellowish face and dark silvery hair and a thin body frame, most likely from being starved over a long period of time.
He glanced furtively around and gestured his group closer and whisper even softer, making Kaga strain her fluffy ears as she leaned closer to listen while pretending to eat her breakfast. ”We should make a run for it!”
”But how? The camp is surrounded by those strange wire fences and there... guards!” Someone hissed. ”You want to overpower the guards?”
”Shhh... lower your volume!” The yellow faced elf sharply whispered. ”You want everyone to know?”
”No way,” Another person said, ”I'm out of this. this is way too much for me!” A few others also disagree and they picked up their trays and left.
”Cowards!” The yellow faced elf spat, ”Ignore them, they can be slaves for all their lives!”
”But where can we go?” Those that remained asked.
”Simple! We know they are going to ship us off,” The elf gave a nasty grin, ”We just steal that ship!”
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UNS Singapore, Main Conference Room