Crete Sandro was walking in Camp No. 3 with a bag on his back.
It was called a camp, but it was actually a newly built village to house the slaves brought back by Xiao Chen. There were already five similar villages under construction, located on both sides of the winding Kalma River. Kalma means calm in the local language, and as the name suggests, this mother river in the Montenegrin region is broad and quiet, nourishing the fields and forests on both sides. Some of these riverside villages are close to fertile farmland, some are close to mines in the mountains, and some are built next to small lakes with rich fisheries.
Camp No. 3 was a planned mining village, and most of the slaves who lived here worked in the nearby iron and copper mines.
The houses built of logs were neatly arranged along a gently ascending road. It stretched from the river to the foot of the mountain. The houses near the river had been built and occupied, while those near the foot of the mountain were mostly frame houses. These houses were simple, made of unpeeled tree trunks, with mud on the walls and thatched roofs. Master Xiao Chen said more than once that they were only for transitional use. But almost all the slaves cherished them. Although the houses built in a hurry might not be as strong as the cells in the slave camp, they were new homes with a breath of freedom.
Crete passed by these houses every day these days, watching them being built little by little from scratch, and could truly feel the changes in the lives of the slaves.
The sun has just risen and is not yet higher than the treetops. The third bell urging people to get up is still echoing in the camp. People are coming out of the houses in twos and threes and walking slowly towards the village canteen.
A few young people who knew each other saw Krete and waved the vouchers in their hands to greet him: "Krete, have you eaten this morning? If not, it's my treat!"
"I've eaten. I still have to deliver something to Priest Elena. Just like usual." Krit responded. He cherished this feeling very much. Since he became Master Xiao Chen's nominal student, no one called him "beauty" or "girl" anymore. Almost everyone had a friendly look on their faces when talking to him. Some people could even be described as flattering and fawning. Although his father had left him unexpectedly, for him, the past month's life was warm.
"Ah! Let's go deliver something to that beautiful elf. That elf is very proud and never talks to us." The young man in the lead showed an envious look. His name was Hawke, he was a head taller than Crete, thin, with ocean-blue curly hair and green eyes, and a handsome face. It was said that before he became a slave, he was a minor noble in the southern city-state. Because he could read, he was now a warehouse manager in an iron mine.
"You don't want to talk to her. The only ones who can talk to her now are the wounded who are sent for treatment." Crete shrugged.
Hawke laughed. He took a cigarette butt in his hand, took a deep puff, threw it on the ground, and said with an ambiguous look, "Krete, you are still young and don't understand the benefits of that beauty. In my opinion, if you can get her, it's worth breaking your legs. Don't you think so?" The friends around him nodded continuously. A brown-haired boy said sourly, "But what are we now? The lowest miners. Only magic apprentices like you, Crete, are qualified to talk to her."
"Magic apprentice? I'm not a magic apprentice. I'm just an errand boy." Crete frowned slightly. "And didn't Mage Xiao Chen say that there is no distinction between high and low here?"
"No distinction between high and low?" Hawke laughed unnaturally. "Let's not talk about anything else. For example, we can't even enter the magician's main castle, but you live in it. Is there a difference? Six or seven of us squeezed into one room, but that elf beauty occupied a room all by herself. Is there a difference? We unlucky guys deal with stones in the mine every day, while others who came with us can go boating on the lake and eat fresh fish. Is there a difference? Of course, I don't mean to be dissatisfied, I'm just a little jealous."
"Actually, there's nothing good about living in a wizard's castle. I only met Master Xiao Chen once, and he ignored me. I didn't dare to look for him, and later he assigned me a job of delivering documents and information, and then he went on a long journey." There was a child's unique resentment in Crete's tone.
"He didn't teach you anything? I thought... after all, your father saved his life." Hawke asked.
Crete took a breath and looked like he was about to cry. "I, I think he just promised my father to take care of me and let me live a safe life. I heard that the God of Nature will only choose one or two people out of thousands of people to give them magical powers. Maybe, maybe I'm not that lucky, so he doesn't think highly of me."
Hawke patted the shoulder of the little boy, who was a head shorter than him, and consoled him: "It's nothing. If you can't learn, you'll be no different from the rest of us. Since he asked you to deliver the letter, just do it well. Maybe you can become a butler in the future. That's also a glorious thing."
"But I really want to be a magic apprentice." Crete whispered, "I only knew how to sing before, and I didn't know what a magician was. But that day in the slave camp, after seeing the power of Xiao Chen the magician, I felt that this is what a man should pursue..."
"Man?" Hawke couldn't help laughing. "When I was twelve, I didn't know how to be a man. Then you just wait for the opportunity. Maybe one day you will get the chance."
The few of them chatted for a while, and when Crete felt better, they separated from the road. Hawke silently watched Crete leave, thought for a while, and then led the others to the cafeteria.
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Crete walked along the main road for a while, then turned onto a side road and came to a large house with an open space in front. He straightened his clothes, walked to the door and knocked twice.
The door opened quickly, but the person behind the door was not the owner of the house, the elven priestess Elena, but a girl with green hair, Katarina.
At this time, Crete's face did not have the frustration and unwillingness that he had when he talked to Hawke. He just showed a concerned look and asked, "Sister Katarina, can you get up?"
Catalina was still wearing leather armor with daggers and throwing knives on it. Her face was pale and her movements were slow. She touched Crete's head and said, "I'm fine. Doctor Feng sewed up my wound first, and Priest Elena cast healing magic on me. I feel I have recovered."
"How can it be that fast? I saw your blood stain the stretcher red yesterday."
"If I say it's okay, then it's okay. Don't worry about it, kid."
"Is it because of Lord Xiao Chen? He left on his own and didn't take you with him to visit the Earl. You felt unhappy, so you challenged Lord Ji Yijun to a duel, and fought so hard, right?"
"What are you talking about, kid?" Catalina was startled, then spat, "Stop talking nonsense. In order to stimulate my fighting spirit, I must use all means to hone myself..."
"I know you like him." Crete smiled slyly.
"Shut up, or I'll sew it up." Catalina felt her face getting hot, and her first reaction was to cover the other person's mouth.
"The more exaggerated you act, the more it will seem that you have something to hide, Sister Catalina. Besides, there are people watching us from behind." Crete said hurriedly.
Catalina's hand stopped awkwardly in mid-air. She looked back and saw that Elena had indeed come out of the inner room.
Elena was still as beautiful and elegant as ever. She was wearing a light green robe and walked slowly towards us like a willow leaf.
"You're actually pretty badly injured. Although the combination of Dr. Feng's miraculous medical skills and my healing magic has produced astonishing results, your body hasn't recovered yet and you shouldn't have gotten up so early," Elena chided.
"I'm fine. The more this happens, the more I should try to break through myself and make myself useful." Catalina replied.
Elena shook her head and said nothing more. This was just her job. Life here was simple. She ate in the cafeteria, wore the clothes she was given, and did the work she was assigned. That was all. As an elf, she didn't have much affection for humans, except for some special people. In this camp of a thousand people, as an elf, she often felt like she was drifting in an endless ocean.
"Priest Elena, these are the pills that Doctor Feng asked me to bring." Krete took the bag off his shoulder and pulled out a ziplock bag. In the transparent ziplock bag were two capsules, two white pills, and a packet of herbs. "Doctor Feng said that these colorful capsules and pills are for Sister Katarina to take twice a day, and the herbs are for external application."
Katarina took out the herb and smelled it. "This is similar to the medicine used by Captain Kalanda. I think I only need this. As for the magic pills in school, I'd better save them for others. I heard from Doctor Feng that these things are very precious and they can't be made again after they are used up."
"This..." Krete scratched his head, "Sister, maybe you should ask Dr. Feng?"
"Really? I've been hurt worse before, but I survived with the help of these herbs. You don't understand what life is like as a mercenary." She put the pills back into the bag, sealed it, and stuffed it into Crete's package. "These pills can save lives. You must keep them."
Crete couldn't persuade her, so he had to agree.
"Let's go together. I shouldn't waste Priest Elena's time here anymore."
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The two walked in the camp, slowly heading towards the village entrance along the road they had come up.
"Actually, one of my companions died." Catalina said.
"Ah?" Crete exclaimed.
"A little guy who was very kind to me. A few days ago, when he was protecting the caravan, he encountered bandits and was shot in the chest by an arrow. He couldn't be saved. He has always taken good care of me."
"Sister Catalina, don't be sad. I..."
"Silly boy, we mercenaries have seen many people die, so you don't have to worry about me. But you have to understand that I really understand your feelings. They are like family to me."
"Yeah." Crete nodded, not quite understanding.
Katerina rubbed Crete's head and said, "Let's not talk about this. Master Xiao Chen left in a hurry this time and didn't have time to take care of you too much. Don't think too much."
"How could that be? After all, they took me in." Crete replied.
"I can feel your reluctance. But don't hold a grudge." Catalina looked back at him, and Crete turned his head away from her eyes.
"I can feel your thoughts too. Is it because we are very similar?" he asked.
"Are they similar? Maybe we just have the same problem," she said.