Without waiting, he went over and repeated the same process with Kierra’s cage. Neither of them needed any help from him to get out once the bars were bent. They both stared and Kierra was the first to speak. “You want us to escape with you?”
“Not exactly, but would you want to if the time came for that?” Kyle asked back.
Again, the lycan spoke first. “I would rather die than live in captivity, but I also won’t throw my life away on a fool’s errand.”
“I also would prefer to be free, but it isn’t that bad here. Of course, there is no way to know which noble house may end up buying us. With my luck, I will get sold to one of those rutting cows that wants to sit on my face rather than have me as a fighter,” the elf added.
“So, escape isn’t what is on my mind. What I want is to form a team and insist that whoever buys any of us, buys all of us. I’ve already seen both of you in action and believe that we would make a formidable team. Then if the time comes that we are no longer benefiting from being here, then we can work to escape. There are other cities in Verden, after all, or even the wilds,” Kyle said.
“And what do we have to gain by remaining slaves?” Kierra’s tone was tinged with suspicion and she even seemed to be sniffing the air.
“You must admit that Saber’s training has us getting much stronger. Hopefully if my plan works the right way, then we will get more training from an expert. Maybe even training for the team events, and that would let us learn to work together,” Kyle said.
“You are going to need to give us more than that. What makes you think that you can control anything about who buys us? And who is this expert trainer that you are talking about?” Gilthan asked. His tone was more blunt than suspicious.
“Look, some of this is going to require that you extend a little trust to me. Either I deliver or I can’t. But I was out here, and you all were still stuck in your cells. I’ve turned down an offer from Lady Sorengaard and left without her permission. Some people get shit done and others just watch. I am one of those people that gets stuff done, but I don’t wanna live this life alone. I want to form a team and I’m offering you the chance.
“As for who the expert trainer is, I have reason to believe that Lash will be the trainer and team captain for the new gladiator team that House Avarda is forming. They are new and so pretty much have to take what they can get. But I believe that I can convince them to buy all of us and keep us together as a team. And before you ask, no, I’m not gonna tell you why I believe I can do that, at least not yet. I just need to know if you are willing to work with me if I can deliver,” Kyle said.
“We would still need a fifth. I get why you think this would be a good team. And I will join in with you if you can make it happen,” Kierra said. Kyle noticed that her demeanor was still different; apparently beating her in the fight had shaken her confidence more than he had expected.
She refused to make eye contact with him when she spoke, even though she seemed to have no problem looking Gilthan in the face. Maybe it was because she liked the way he looked more. Kyle chuckled. Who knew what lycans found attractive? The odd thing, though, was how her tail would wag when he was speaking to her and the way that she kept inching closer to him and ended up rubbing up against him a few times. He just chalked it up to lycan customs.
“I was thinking of Skrug. He would be a great tank,” Kyle replied.
“Tank?” Gilthan asked.
“Yeah, the guy up front who takes all the hits. He keeps the enemy occupied so that you and Kierra and even Lash can do all the damage. Back home, we break the roles down into tank, DPS—which stands for damage per second—and healers. DPS is further broken down by ranged and close. I don’t wanna get into it too much, but I just think we have the parts for a good team. Both Skrug and I can take a hit, and both of us can heal up pretty fast on our own.” Kyle’s enthusiasm started to leak though in his words as he spoke faster and faster.
“I’m not sure that I trust the troll, but if you can get us all bought by House Arvada, then I will believe you can get things done. I do want to escape and as long as you present a viable plan, I will go along with it,” Gilthan said. Then he added, “But we will have to deal with these manacles.”
It wasn’t the unconditional team spirit that he was hoping for, but it was realistic, and Kyle couldn’t fault the elf for it. He simply replied, “I have a plan for dealing with those, but can’t spring it too soon.”
“I will follow you as long as you are the alpha,” Kierra said.
Once again, he was stuck by the impression that all women in Verden were crazy, but she would be a useful teammate and so he simply nodded. Apparently, that was the right thing to do, because she made a deep sound low in her throat, rubbed up against him, and then climbed back down into her cell.
“Okay,
