"Are you sure you will be able to handle them?" Savage asked as one of his men handed Lucian reins to his horse and wagon with the slaves inside.
The four slaves sat with their hands tied to a chain connected to the wall. Their upper bodies were bare, revealing the tattoos covering their chests and backs.
The first was a boy by the name of Leaf, his hair a dirty green color.
The tallest and oldest was called Fishbone, twenty years old, the faint tattoos on his chest resembled fish bones.
The small kid was called Goblin, his tattoo on his chest resembled an abstract face with a wide mouth and a long tongue.
Lucian took a good look at them before answering.
"I have a way to keep them in line," he said.
Savage's men helped Lucian tie the slave wagon to his wagon while he got on the driver's seat.
Lucian grabbed the reins, "Thank you for your assistance, gentlemen," he called out over the noise of the wagon, "I'll be back in a month with your goods."
He waved goodbye and marched off, leaving the two bosses to look at each other and then at the wagon.
"Think he can handle it?" Scythe asked, watching as the wagons rolled away.
"I've known him for three years," Savage said, "The kid can talk a wolf into letting a lamb sleep in its mouth. It's good that he is only interested in plants and traveling around."
"..." Scythe was silent for a moment, but then he smirked, "You're just jealous that he didn't pick you as his primary business partner. Aren't ya?"
"..." Savage's veins bulged out, "What did you say, you bastard!"
"What are you gonna do about it, you hairy gorilla!" Scythe taunted, and the two continued to fight, as if they hadn't been cooperating just moments ago.
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After an hour of traveling, Lucian went to check on the slaves in the wagon.
"I'm going to need you to bind yourselves with each other now," he said while taking off his hood.
'...' Jax lifted his head, his mind went blank for a second when he saw him. "Y-you...No way..."
Lucian went to unlock Jax's cuff first, wondering when the other would finally recognize him. "How is my number one buddy doing?"
Jax stared at the blond boy, his eyes widening in disbelief, "It can't be...What are you doing here? How...?"
"Good to see that you still remember me," Lucian chuckled as he unlocked his cuffs.
Rubbing his wrist, tears began to pour like waterfall from the other boy's eyes, "H-how could I forget you..." he looked Lucian up and down to make sure he saw right, "I thought you died...you looked like a dead fish the last time I saw you..."
The others, who were still cuffed, looked at each other, wondering what the hell was going on.
Lucian handed Jax the keys, "Leave the sentimental talk for later. Do as I say first."
Jax quickly began to unlock the others, saying between his hiccups, "Do as...as...he says, guys...sniff... He's on our side...sniff...I know him."
They looked at each other again, and then at Lucian, who smiled at them.
With Jax's reassurance, they began to get ready for the binding process.
The binding worked through the tattoos on their skin. They would have to touch and activate the tattoos to connect them with another, usually by holding hands.
The mark would appear on the arms, for easy access later on. No bigger than a button, it would carry the symbol that represented the bound person.
They couldn't do more than one at a time, so it was slow going.
In the meantime, Lucian continued in their journey, stopping only when the horse needed a rest.
"Done," Jax said during one of the breaks, showing his left arm with three new markings on it. The rest followed his lead, showing off their own arms.
"Excellent work," Lucian nodded in approval. He passed them water skins and rations, "Return to the wagons and take as much rest as possible. Time is pressing and we will have to take turns pulling the wagons. The horse will be put on rotation. It will be hard, but we will make it."
They nodded in agreement and returned to their positions. Lucian could tell that their morale was higher than when they were in the mines.
But for how long?
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Humans' stamina and endurance was stronger than a horse's, but in turn, the horses' speed was far superior.
Lucian had them switch roles to keep up a fast pace. His saplings were at stake.
"Uggghh," Goblin groaned as he pulled on the wagon shaft with the rest of the team.
Lucian ate a lot but had little to show for it; due to all the traveling. So when he joined the others to pull the wagons, they were surprised by how much strength he could put in.
"Why are you helping us?" Goblin asked.
"It's good for the muscles," Lucian explained while picking up speed, "I don't have much time to exercise, so it helps me keep in shape."
"I see...I'll do my best to pull harder!" Goblin said, putting his all into pulling the wagon forward.
The strain on their bodies showed up after around six hours of continuous work with tiny breaks. Their legs shook, and their arms were sore and stiff. They could barely stand upright.
During one of their tiny breaks, Goblin ran to the side of the road to throw up, "Blearghhhh!"
Lucian stumbled over next to Goblin, retching pitifully himself. He wanted to see how long they could last, and maybe even show off his stamina he had been building for five years but ended up joining in their suffering, "Urghh."
'You idiot,' the voice said, 'Why are you trying to show off in front of them?'
'Because I want them to respect me more,' Lucian barfed out his soul and dignity, 'I have to look cool and powerful in front of my subordinates.'
The others didn't fare any better, feeling nauseous and dizzy. They were used to carrying heavy loads and working under extreme conditions, but not walking at the speed of a horse's trot!
"Blearghhhh!" they all threw up on the side of the road.
"Our muscles better be ripped like a shredded potato after this," Jax said, spitting out the last of the bile.
"If we survive this trip, that is," Leaf said, "Wait, your tattoos have grown bigger..."
Jax looked behind himself at his tattoo. It resembled a spiky fruit pattern and was originally only covering his shoulders.
Now it was spreading down his shoulder blades. He tried to touch it, only to wince in pain from the cramps in his body, "Ow ow ow..."
Lucian turned to the group of onlookers, pulling up his waterskin and rinsing his mouth, "Ahhh...that hit the spot. Nothing like a good stomach cleansing to wake the body up."
"..." Four pairs of eyes were staring at the Lucian with a glint of admiration in them.