After days of forced labor, Krag could take no more. He threw down his shovel and, under the gaze of a Large Elemental, strode up to a worker and looked down at him. "Civilians, tell your Lord we want to see him."
"The Lord won't see you."
The gaunt, dark-skinned worker spoke coldly.
"Do you know who we are?"
"I do. Prisoners. Invaders. Men who slaughtered Civilians." The worker grew more agitated with every word, gripping his shovel tightly. "Harvey was only seventeen. He'd lost his family, become a beggar, been sold as a slave. Lord Annan rescued him, and he was just about to start a new life when the knights who were supposed to protect him—but never showed up—killed him!"
"That wasn't us..." Grafit tried to explain.
"What's the difference?" the worker shot back.
The five captives fell silent. Krag refused to bow his head to a Civilians. "Only a few Civilians died..."
"The Lord attended the funerals of those 'few Civilians' and laid sunflowers on their graves," the worker said bitterly. He shouldered his shovel, unwilling to talk to these bastards any longer. "Loyal subjects of the kingdom were slaughtered by their king... So now we only listen to our Lord."
"...It seems we pushed Star-Moon Bay to the other side with our own hands," Grafit said, stepping up beside him.
"Don't let him fool you." Red-faced after being talked back to by a Civilians, Krag blustered, "Have you ever heard a Civilians speak like that? The Rebel King sent him to keep an eye on us."
Only they knew what they truly believed.
The five captives worked from morning till night. As their strength returned, the overseer praised them for doing the work of ten men—
No one but Hiller was pleased.
At lunchtime, the five