Chapter 22: Revenge to The Slave Traders
The soft wind blew, rustling the leaves as the sunlight broke through the cracks of tree branches in Dartrey Forest. The sounds of tweeting birds and chirping crickets orchestrated through the air enlivened the summer atmosphere.
Elegant green pine trees, along with spruce, fir, and tamarack, grew in the biome. A large lake, set in the middle of the forest, reflected the colour of the blue sky, seemingly calm and tranquil in nature.
A knight sat at the buttress roots of a tree, gripping a spear point, double-edged dagger. Holding a little slate stone he picked up near the lake, his rough hand ran it to the blade’s edge — slowly and steadily. He poured some water from his container to wet the blade and continued.
’Sreet!’
The slurry sound of the honing dagger reached the three captives’ ears, who were tightly tied and gagged. They struggled to let loose and screamed as they saw the knight’s action. However, their efforts were in vain as their weak bodies could not break free from the sturdy rope, and their cries were muffled between the wads of cloth stuffed into their mouths.
The smell of urine wafted to the knight’s nose, making him raise his head and glance at the captives with his cold eyes. The sunlight that shot the blade of his dagger reflected on his intense-looking face. He had kept them in close check, and not once did he heed their pleas.
The cracking twigs and leaves were heard as a man’s feet tread through the forest floor. The knight quickly picked up the movement, stood up and turned to the approaching sound. With the skills of a high-ranking knight, he could quickly identify who was coming. Knowing who it was, the knight sheathed the dagger in the sheath.
It did not take long for the commander to arrive.
"So, they are the ones?" Kyren’s low, stern voice resonated as he stood before the captives with a solemn face.
Noah, the knight tasked with capturing and imprisoning the three slave traders, nodded.
"Yes. All three of them. The fourth one was already dead," he responded.