Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree

Nasa glared at Gaius, but he dipped his head.

"You and your men may rest in the barracks," Gaius said to him. "I'll have a hot meal brought to you. As for your....cargo, we will see to it they are warm and fed."

"Excellent." Nasa bowed again. "You're very kind." He allowed himself to be led away. His three guards followed close behind, leaving the cages to be pulled around to the stables.

Gaius watched him go, then turned to Pratik.
"I will deal with him when he returns," he said quietly. "Do not interfere with his business in any way; that's my job. Your job is to get to Tarr's."

Pratik realized he was holding tension in his shoulders, and forced it to relax before he answered. Ash was right. The slaver wasn't Pratik's problem -- he was just a means to an end. And, he trusted Ash to do what needed to be done, if the slaver was idiotic enough to return.

"Yes sir." Pratik dipped his head. He understood. He hated what he was about to do, but he understood it. It was just two weeks... and then however bad Tarr was going to be. He eyed the cages of people being moved towards the stables. It wasn't his business. They weren't his -- "You're going to let them out to stretch for a bit?"

Gaius paused. He had considered it. He wanted to, but the danger that posed wasn't necessarily worth it. These people would be frightened, but they could very well be angry and desperate as well. Their judgement might be clouded by starvation and exhaustion, and Gaius didn't trust them not to do something foolish and get themselves killed. They didn't know he was going to get them out upon their return, after all.

"No," he decided. "That would be unwise. I'll gave blankets and food brought to them, but I'm not going to let them out. Not today." He turned away. "Try to befriend them, and keep to your story. No reason. they should know you're not one of them, and you might find that building trust will help you once you're sold to Lord Tarr."

He was right. Pratik hated that he was right, but he was. 'Not today'. He just had to believe that Ash was going to do the right thing once the slaver came back, assuming he did. One more month of hell for these poor people. Then, freedom.

"You should probably mention that to your slaver," Pratik murmured. "He already called me a mole in front of them... if he sells anyone else to Tarr..."

Gaius nodded. "I'll take care of it. Do you have anything to do before you go? You've got two hours." He himself had very little to do in the meantime; he'd done a lot of paperwork this morning and there were no letters to read yet, which struck him as a little odd seeing as there were usually piles of the things sitting in his desk since there was a war on.

(It's early for me but I'm absolutely exhausted so I'm gonna hit the hay. Goodnight!)

(night! Hope you rest well! <3)

Two hours.

What he should probably do is take a nap with that time and pack his stomach with every last bit of food that would fit in it. Sleep and food were things he was quite certain were going to be in short supply in the coming weeks and months. But, watching the way the slaver treated the slaves had turned his stomach. And he had far, far too much on his mind to consider sleeping just then.

What did someone do with their last two hours of freedom? Most slaves didn't get the courtesy of choosing that. And, he knew he needed to start thinking of himself as a slave so that he could fully assume the persona -- but even that was fake. Sure, he was going to be treated like one. But he was consenting to that, and if he changed his mind then he could leave. Any moment that he wanted to. He doubted the slavers' cage could keep him in if he truly wanted to get out -- and even if it could, he was certain that once he was out in the open he could get away, the slavers and Tarr's guards be damned.

Still. He felt like he should make the most of his last two hours as a free man, but didn't have any ideas.

"I think I've got everything in order, sir," Pratik answered, forcing himself to turn his full attention on Ash instead of splitting it between him and the slaves. Hopefully, Ash wouldn't force him into the cage a full two hours before was necessary. But he didn't really have any other excuse for what he should be doing instead -- though he'd probably offer a counter point of just going back to his room if that's what he asked for. Still, "What would you have me do?"

"Rest up and eat well," Gaius said. "Do you remember the story you're sticking to?" His reputation for his intolerance of slavery was well-known throughout the continent, and he had no doubt some of Nasa's captives would see through a lie about a slave of his being sold to Nasa. For that reason, Gaius had outlined a story about Pratik being a young journalist interested in first-hand experience. It was weak, but it might satisfy the curiosity of people who were too tired and miserable to be any more suspicious than a few looks and inquiries. He hadn't disguised his intentions from Nasa, though, but he hadn't gone into detail either. The slaver was smart enough not to ask questions.

(so are we not pretending he's illiterate anymore? I am 100% down for anything just making sure I have /my/ story straight xD -- or is that just the story for what he tells the other slaves but still pretends to be a real slave for Tarr?)

"Yes, sir." Pratik inclined his head. The plan was simple enough -- perhaps a bit too simple, but he'd cross that bridge if he came to it. "I'm good at keeping with aliases."

(Illiteracy is for when he gets to Tarr. In the meantime if anybody asks, he's a journalists)

"Excellent." Gaius nodded. "Be out here in two hours, then." He limped away.

(got it!)

Pratik watched him go for a few steps, then looked up at the sky, enjoying the chill of the air against his face. He knew fully well after they left it would be a matter of hours before he was frozen to the bone and miserable, but for now it soothed the heat in his cheeks from the anger the slavers had brought with them.

He gave Ash plenty of time to get back in his keep before he turned around, trying to be considerate of his limp. He had no idea whether Ash was insecure about it or not, but it still seemed impolite to make him feel rushed. But once Ash was safely inside, he turned back to the keep himself, trying to decide whether being able to stand up or stretch out on a bed was was going to be more-missed when he was trapped in the cage for the next two weeks.

(I'm sorry I haven't been as active lately! It's been a busy weekend (fun though!) and I should be more or less back to normal this week. Not sure I have the energy to type up a proper post tonight so I'm gonna bid you adieu oncd again. Sorry again for being so infrequent)

(All good!! I'm really glad you had a fun weekend ^.^ I should probably work on some homework tonight anyway lol looking forward to getting back to it, though ^^ sleep well!)

Gaius hated this part of war.

It wasn't the lying or the risking other people's lives, though the latter was something he tried to do rarely. It was the dealings with people he would much rather see hanging from a gallows. There was a small comfort in the knowledge that Nasa would be bleeding out in the courtyard the moment he returned, but even so the thought of letting the bastard walk out of those gates with his terrified cargo made Gaius's blood boil.

He had talked it over at least ten times with both Sara and Sera in the past week, and both women agreed his plan was sound. There wasn't really a way around using Nasa; Tarr had regular suppliers of slaves so sending a false slaver to sell Pratik wouldn't work. That meant Gaius was stuck with the real thing.

There had been children in those cages. One was barely old enough to walk, by the looks of him. All were half-starved and shivering beneath thin furs that weren't fit to serve as rugs. They had looked at Gaius with glassy eyes, not really seeing him. It had given him chills, even after years of freeing the enslaved. Nothing could ever prepare Gaius for those dead stares.

Pratik decided there wasn’t much need to choose between the two after all. So he stretched out on his bed for an hour, arms and legs stretched in both directions so that he could feel a slight burn in all his muscles from the stretch. He then laid on his side and curled up in the comforting fetal position he liked to rest in before actually falling asleep. And then for the last hour he got up and started wandering around the keep, making sure that he made it past the kitchen to gorge himself on as much food as was humanly possible, then continued his trek through the keep, feeling dread settle in his stomach as each minute passed away.

Gaius spent his two hours wishing he were asleep or otherwise engaged in thoughtless activities. Sara was busy with the children so he couldn't confide in her, and he'd bothered Sera so much he had been reluctant to approach her now. Instead he settled for sitting in the library trying to read a historical account of the reign of Modestus the Mad. That hadn't gone well at all; reading about war during a war of his own made for an upset stomach.

Gaius did eventually make his way back down to the courtyard, where he would see Pratik off and then have nothing to do with the mission except to wait. That would be the worst part of this ordeal; though Gaius prided himself on patience and composure he truly detested not knowing what was going on.