"You are right... go check the other boy; it looks like he needs your attention," The white-haired man said while showing a serious expression. "Calm down, son. We are not your enemies. We ca to free you all... but it seems that you already have a plan to escape in motion."
The girl went to check on the other boy, and Raiden stepped forward while still holding the sword with both hands. He didn't know those people, and he knew better than to trust strangers. While he only had a few days of experience in that land, he already knew that he couldn't trust many people.
Still, Raiden couldn't help but drop his guard a bit when he saw the girl treating the boy. So green light began to leave her hands, and she was absorbed by his body after she checked his condition. That could only be magic...
"It seems that you stole the weapon of their Capitan and killed him with a strike from behind," The white-haired man said after he checked the bodies. "As for the other guy... you ambushed him and finished off by cutting his throat. You know a thing or two about killing people at your age, kid. Are you the son of a soldier or an officer? Where do you co from?"
Raiden hated the idea of being the one answering questions in that situation. Still, he wasn't the one who had the upper hand there. The white-haired guy slled like a cut way above the guards... his strength was the real deal.
"... I don't know, I don't rember," Raiden replied.
"Hmm... could it be that you have been here for as far as you rember?" The white-haired man asked while frowning. "I find that hard to believe... slave kids don't last that long, nor would they try to free themselves after being slaves for so many years. Amnesia, perhaps? Do you have a wound in your head or sothing?"
Raiden couldn't say since he didn't have the chance to check it. He didn't even know what he looked like aside from looking like a walking skeleton. In any case, after not so long, so other people appeared, and Raiden confird that he was more outnumbered than anything. They also seed better soldiers than the guards as well... Raiden couldn't do a single thing against them, even with a sword in hand.
"Boss, all the other kids are at the base of the mountain already," One of the n wearing similar clothes to the white-haired man said. "Most of them are in pretty bad shape; reaching our camp before nightfall will be difficult."
"I suspected as much... a lot of them are coughing as well, so we will take our ti," The white-haired man said while looking at Raiden, who was trying to contain his coughing. "Just clean the place with whatever you can find and burn the bodies. Our base is the closest to this place, but no one will be able to tell who did this."
"Yes sir," The others said and then nodded.
"Father, this one here is a little better, but I can only do so much when he is withering away due to the malnourishnt," The redhead girl said. "His bones were broken in several spots, so carry him with caution."
"All right... we are leaving this place, kid," The white-haired man said. "You may not trust us yet, but you should at least co with us. You can keep the sword with you if you want, but you won't be able to surprise the beasts in the forest if you try to leave by yourself."
While Raiden didn't like having limited options, he decided to follow those two to the exit of the cave since he was offered a al as well and since he could keep the sword. While it was a dangerous weapon, no one would fear a ten-year-old malnourished boy in a fight.
Regardless, Raiden relaxed a bit when he saw the bodies of the guards piled outside and ready to be cremated. Going that far to fool the kids would be too much... Raiden didn't know those people's intentions, but they were on their side.
The path down the mountain had been easy since there was a route that the slave trader used. That being said, while Raiden was used to working all day, he got tired of walking downhill the mountain. When he almost fell, he noticed that the redhead girl had almost helped him, but she was quick to retreat when she noticed Raiden recovering his balance. When he looked at her, she tried to play dumb.
In any case, the people working for the white-haired guy were close to twenty, and at the entrance of the forest, they set up a camp and cooked a al for the kids. They wanted to depart at noon, so they had to help them recover even so strength. They looked like good people, but Raiden wasn't able to relax around them without knowing what they would gain in all that. Unfortunately, he was the only kid interested in that... the others were only looking at the pans that were cooking so kind of bird soup.
"What's up, kiddos." The white-haired man said. "My na is Harth, but you can call Uncle from now on since I am the cool uncle that rescued you all. We are going to take you all to a safe place, I assure you. You might not rember how your old lives were, and I am not going to promise that you will recover everything you lost. Still, you will have the chance to start over and live a new and happier life. Chains won't slow down your feet any longer."
The kids didn't know what to make of that, so they didn't react much. They were probably too traumatized... While Raiden didn't think too much about that, he could easily assu that wars were what turned the kids into slaves. Wars and invasions.
In many ancient and dieval societies, won and children of the defeated group were often captured and enslaved by the victors. They could be sold as slaves or forced into servitude, enduring various forms of exploitation and mistreatnt.
Unfortunately, sexual and other types of violence have been used as a weapon of war throughout history. When n lost wars, won and sotis even young girls were subjected to sexual violence by the victorious soldiers. This was a traumatic and grotesque aspect of warfare in many conflicts.
Wars often left behind orphaned or abandoned children. Without the protection and support of adult family mbers, they face a high risk of exploitation, violence, and neglect.
Raiden could tell that the won and girls older than ten were probably sold sowhere as servants or worse. At the sa ti, the kids could only be used like that for simple tasks.
"Here, eat slowly," The redhead girl said while passing a bowl of soup to Raiden when the food was ready. "There is plenty for everyone, so don't hold yourself back."
"... What do you all gain from doing this?" Raiden asked while receiving the bowl and then gulping when the nice sll filled his nostrils.
"I suppose it makes sense that you are doubtful of our intentions," The redhead girl said. "We don't gain much; we are just following tradition. We are from a place that was created hundreds of years ago by a runaway slave. He created a village that grew when he began to fight to free others who were in the position that he once had been in. His friends, followers, and descendants decided to follow in his footsteps since he made a promise to the goddess of freedom. As long as our village exists, we must continue doing this. We don't do this often or all the ti, so it isn't troubleso at all for us to help each other when it is necessary."
That seed too good to be true, but Raiden was more worried right now about the food. He began to eat the foot, and he felt almost as good as when he leveled up. He couldn't even rember the last ti he ate sothing so good... since his mories were sealed.
"My na is Iri; what is your na?" The redhead girl asked.
"Raiden," Raiden replied and then resud his al.
"That is an unusual na. Are you from a faraway land?" Iri asked while looking at Raiden's hair.
Raiden didn't know the color of his hair, and he didn't think that everyone was different since they were all dirty, but the guards had so weird hair colors. Brown, yellow, blue, red, and white... they didn't feel unnatural, though.
"Don't know," Raiden replied after he looked around.
"Can I check your head for wounds?" Iri asked. "I am not a full-fledged healer, but I am almost there. You said that you don't rember anything... what is the oldest thing that you rember?"
"No... don't get closer," Raiden got up when the girl approached.
"All right, all right," Iri said and then moved away. "Sorry for bothering you."
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