“Animals don't get to speak unless they're asked questions, or ordered to, you animal! NOW BE SILENT!”-Jade through Allura.
Feeling the force of The System Enforced collar, the former baron goes silent, unable to speak, and begins glaring angrily at Allura.
“Do I need to teach an insolent walrus-man its place?! With a nice beating?!!”
Still enraged but smart enough to connect the dots, the former baron lowers his gaze.
“That's better. There are three reasons why a miserable animal like you is still alive.
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Our commandos need intel on the slavery outfit that sold that, as you put it, 'little rabbit bitch' to you. Every last one of them needs to pay for what they've done with their very lives! And we presume you have at least some of that intel to share. After all, you do business with them regularly, yes?
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We were hoping you could free all, and I mean ALL, the slaves here, or barring that, at least transfer them into our custody until they can be freed.
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You know, or should know, the layout of this mine better than anyone. SO! Rather than risk our own operatives, we're going to have you, yes you, personally, destroy this mine with your own two hands.
“Isn't that just wonderful?! You may speak now, but be careful of your tone.”
“And just why the heck would I do any of that, especially destroying my own mine, and at the beck and call of a filthy beast-kin...”-Walrus
“And silence! Seriously, that's what an INT of 5, and a WIS of 3 gets you. Any dumber and you'd have problems speaking in coherent sentences. Even with a magical status screen, you're just too dumb to realize you're a moron! Seriously, did you forget that you're now my slave (POW)? I'm going to order you to do it and The System is going to make you! Now take off that fancy armor and give it to me!”
The nameless humanoid walrus tries to resist the command but fails and glaring with hatred hands over his enchanted armor with the family crest, leaving him wearing nothing but boots and underwear with embarrassing patterns on it.
“Hmm. It's certainly fancy, but all it has is a strength-boosting enchantment. Otherwise, it's just ordinary steel.”
As the armor disappears into nothingness, the man-walrus becomes so enraged, his face turns purple, but the slave collar's magic has him pinned in place, unable to do anything.
Blueprint acquired: STR +5 enchantment.
“And that is the last vestiges of your self-perceived importance and superiority. You already gave me your sweet, sweet sword earlier when you made a fool out of yourself and wound up kissing the dirt. I could give it back, but it would be wasted on a filthy animal like you. Diamond studded pommel, chrome steel cross-guard, gold-plated handle, and a lovely lightning, armor piercing enchantment on the blade that you couldn't possibly use because you lack the ability to use magic. Even though I've already got powerful magical abilities, as you've seen earlier, having a magic enchantment do it for me is not something I'm going to turn away. But that's something that requires more study before I take this sword apart, turning MP to lightning is nice, but what if it can be reversed? Our Traveler companion is getting some really wild ideas regarding that.” -Allura.
Unable to speak due to the commands he's under, the walrus-man can only bark like a beached seal.
“Oh. Looks like you have something to say, don't you? Well, that's just too bad, because beasts like you don't have the right to talk unless it serves their masters, isn't that right? Unless what you have to say involves the slaving raid party that made the raid on a particular little rabbit-kin's home village, or the slave merchants that you got your latest shipment from, I'm not in the least interested, and you are to keep it to yourself. Now let's go to your office and look at your ledgers. Maybe there's a story there that's interesting.”
“Speaking of slavers, what are we going to do about them? Those guys are so horribly broken that they are incapable of doing anything, at all, without orders. To be brutally honest, they're a liability. I sympathize with their plight, I really do, but even if I was a therapist, I don't have the time or tools they need!”
“Huh. Hadn't considered that. Hey, System, what happens to slaves when their master winds up a slave himself?”-Allura
System Message: Query acknowledged. Researching.... Researching complete. Per penal code IV, subsection 3, paragraph 1, under most circumstances, a Master who is taken into slavery through legal means loses all rights to his/her property, including slaves, who are then transferred into the custody of the former master's new owner and can then decide to free them or not at their leisure. Slaves with the (POW) designation remain in the custody of the country where they were interred unless they are either repatriated to some foreign power and freed as refugees or summarily freed by royal decree. Attempting to free them by other means is not recommended.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
“So we're stuck with them, and they're our responsibility. Great. I did see some that had the (DEBT) and (CRIMINAL) tags, but they're just as broken as the rest. I guess that all we can do for now is to move them to the now vacant barracks and at least make them comfortable until we're ready to move out.”
“Ugh. Well, that sucks. Change of plans, we're stopping by the barracks first, and then make sure there are no more 'guards' around before we loot the place.”-Allura.
The slaves are marched out of the stables which are then strategically demolished and consumed, marched over to the communal bath, where they're ordered to bathe themselves clean and then marched over to the barracks, to hopefully enjoy a bit of genuine rest, before they all have to leave the area, the barracks doors secured as Allura, the walrus-man, and Jade leave them behind while heading to the foreman's office.
Blueprint acquired: Building, stables.
“Huh. I can get blueprints by dismantling buildings? Interesting!”
A few minutes later, they arrive at and begin searching the foreman's office. A key-ring containing all the major keys of the property was commandeered, the safe was opened, and the ledger thoroughly scrutinized for intel. Aside from the name of two slave merchant companies and the fact that new slave purchases were made monthly, with almost clock-work frequency, there was nothing more to be gleamed from the official records.
“Well. That's concerning. This mine needed new slaves every month? I can understand there are monsters in there and OSHA isn't exactly a thing here, but bringing in new slaves every month on the month like clock-work? Whatever is going on, it can't be good and it's definitely not safe to stay here.”
“Yeah. That's odd. No matter how dangerous the mine is, I can't imagine going through people that fast. Especially since it can't be cheap to hire raiders who know being caught means a particularly brutal and public death. Hey, Walrus-man! You know something about this, don't you? Tell the truth! That's an order!”-Allura.
“Hah?! A mere beast dares to order me?! Just how much will the rabble put on airs, if it wasn't for this collar...”-Walrus
“ANSWER! THE! QUESTION! By the gods are you dumb! YOU! ARE! NOT! HUMAN! Look at your status sheet, you vile beast! You're officially a walrus-shaped humanoid! I don't know how you and the rest of your ilk managed to infiltrate this country of human supremacists and pose as people for so long, but YOU ARE NOT!”-Allura
“I've had enough you filthy beast! Now, I'm going to show you your place... AGHHK!!”-Walrus
System Notice: Slavery rules violation is in progress. Applying corrective measures as stipulated by national and international laws.
The walrus-man begins convulsing in agony, soiling and wetting himself due to complete loss of muscle control. After a few minutes, the twitching stops and the creature is on the ground, panting heavily in its own wastes.
“So. Have you finally learned your place, Walrus-man?”-Allura
“Yes.”-Walrus.
“Yes, what?!”-Allura.
“Yes....Master!”-Walrus spits the last word with every ounce of spite, sarcasm, and contempt that he can gather.
“Better. Now, Walrus-man, answer the question. What were you, and the self-proclaimed guards, doing that you needed such a frequent influx of slaves?!”-Allura
“We did... nothing. Nothing at all. Every time there was an ore shipment out of the mine, the clients would take the strongest, healthiest, and most attractive of them away, and we'd get a new shipment later that same day. Don't bother asking what they did to them afterwards. Don't know, don't care, not my circus, not my animals, not any more.”-Walrus.
“Well. That's going to be a headache. Not like we have the leeway to investigate those oafs at the moment. Oh well. My... companions and I will hold on to this ledger for a while. Maybe we can make use of it later.” Allura goes on to put the ledger in her backpack. “Now, Walrus-man, show us the storage where the mining tools, ores, and such are kept. Just in case, I'm sure you're aware of what might happen if you try any funny business, right?”-Allura.
The walrus-man just nods and leads Allura to the tool and storage part of the office, but as he opens the door....
“Allura! Stop! Don't go in there!”
“Hold on! What are you up to?!”-Allura.
“Dynamite. You guys have DYNAMITE?! And what are you doing storing it with common tools, ores, and whatnot in a place right next to the foreman's office?! Are you certifiably insane?!!”
“There's that voice again. Who are they and what are they talking about?”-Walrus
“I don't believe this. It's amazing this office, if not the entire mine, hasn't been blown into a smoking crater yet! Just from a brief scan, it looks like you've got a quarter, if not half, ton of the stuff! Allura, Walrus-man. Look at those crates with liquid pooling under them. I don't know what they're called in this world, but in my world, they're known as dynamite and they're very, very dangerous to store or handle. The liquid is known as nitroglycerin and is very explosive. It reacts violently to changes in temperature, humidity, vibration, and even movement. How was it even brought here, and just how long has it been sitting there, waiting to blow? The older it is, the more temperamental it gets!”
Allura and the walrus-man go pale white at the declaration.
“There's no good, easy, or safe way to decontaminate this place.” Jade produces a chain like were used on the slaves in the stables. “Allura, chain that lout outside and then come back. Our only hope is to deconstruct that dynamite, one crate at a time, and hope for the best.”