"I been there, where those poor fuckers are. All I’m sayin’, I guess, is thank you. And maybe give ‘em a chance. Might be, they’re shits and need taught t’ fly, like Toka, but maybe there’s some good ’un’s too.”
She trailed off, shrugging as she looked at me. “Maybe they’re all twats, though. Fuck it.” I couldn’t help but laugh as I saw the way she washed her hands of it all, but her honesty touched me, and I smiled.
“Thank you, Lydia.” I said, “I, well… I try. I’m trying to keep us all safe, and I’ll try to be the man you all need me to be.”
She saluted again and walked off, as I looked down at the cages, noting the dejected and scared looks on the faces of those inside. Oren was standing outside talking to them, but only a few seemed interested. The rest seemed, well…resigned to things, as though they’d given up, and a few looked furious. I shook my head, seeing too many similarities to the way the slaves had looked when I’d found them. I had to straighten this out, and I needed these people.
Chapter Five
I summoned Bob, and we both headed down to the cages, coming to a stop next to Oren.
“Well, ye all heard who I be, and this be the Lord Jax I been tellin’ ye about. He be the one that kilt the SporeMother and all, so ye be careful now…” Oren said, straightening up and stepping aside to stand at some imitation of attention.
I stood there for a long minute, looking them over. There were two distinct groups, ten men and women of various species that wore brown coveralls—well, nine I supposed, as the tenth was a humanoid that looked to be made of rock. I’d almost assumed him to be a Golem, until I saw that his eyes were perhaps the most intelligent of the lot, and that he’d had a brown coverall style of uniform painted onto him as well.
The larger second group was a lot better dressed. They too seemed to have a uniform, but it was a simple white top and blue pants. All were human males, maybe thirty of them, ranging in age from about fifteen to maybe sixty or seventy. I locked eyes with the oldest man, and he nodded back to me in acknowledgement.
“You’ve all had the pleasure of Oren’s company here, and you’ve had time to see what’s going on,” I said to them,
“I’m Jax, lord of the Tower, and this land. You’ve seen the announcement, I’m sure. I’m not interested in keeping slaves or prisoners, so I’ll make this quick. Those that want more information can ask, and I’ll talk more afterwards. You can join me, or you’ll be set loose to return to the city. If you choose to swear loyalty and stay, you’ll be free, get food and respect, and the chance to learn skills. Some of you are already skilled with the ship, and that’ll be useful. I’ll be clear, when I say skills, I mean SKILLS. I have some Skill Books, Memories, and Spellbooks, and I’ll be giving those out to people that impress me and earn them.” At that, the people that’d been sitting zoned out or looking uninterested joined the rest in paying attention. There were four that sat at the back that I’d taken special note of, though, as they’d been the angrier looking members of the group. They exchanged sharp looks and pushed forward, shoving others out of their way. I also saw the way the rest of the crew moved to avoid them, all either showing dislike or fear of the small group.
“Aye, alright, we’re interested!” said the one that pushed to the front. He was small, but wiry, and had the teeth missing on one side of his mouth, giving him a lopsided appearance. “What spells ye offerin’, then? And what skill memories? How many ye got?”
He tried to grin at me, and I stared right back at him as Bob hulked up beside me, a low rumbling growl coming from him as he picked up on my dislike of the man.
“As I said, I’ll be giving these out to those that earn them.” I said and he stared at me, licking his lips nervously, then looked away.
I took the time to make eye contact with the rest of the group, noting the looks they gave the foursome. “Those that want to stay, I’ll require an Oath from you, one that will be magically enforced. Those that don’t want to stay, well, I’ll let you go. I won’t hurt you, despite you trying to raid my home. I know you were forced to come here by your captain and by that prick, Barabarattas.”
“You’ll let us go?” Another man spoke up, one of those in the brown coveralls.
“Yes. I’ve no interest in keeping prisoners, or in killing you. If you don’t want to be here, you can go. I’d prefer to recruit you, reward you for working hard, and offer you a place in the Tower. That goes for you and your families, but I won’t lie to you, I’m at war with Barabarattas. There’s risk for everyone, no matter which side you choose.”
“Aye, well, we’re in, ain’t
