The Unnecessary Heist

Roughly fifteen minutes later, the air inside the hut was thick with a tense, conspiratorial silence.

“…I cannot believe I’m actually rescuing this damned satyr,” Malakor breathed, the words a low rumble of complaint meant only for himself.

“Would you please try to be quiet for a moment?” Jianna muttered back, her focus absolute. She remained crouched by the entrance flap, her eyes scanning the quiet hamlet. “We’re on a mission here.”

He shifted his weight, the movement strangely quiet for a being of his size, and stared at her. There was an odd quality to his gaze, a sort of grudging admiration. “You’re really invested in this, aren’t you?” he remarked, his voice unusually subdued.

“Where I’m from, in the Out-Realm, we outlawed slavery a long time ago,” Jianna replied, her gaze never wavering from the scene outside. The sky was just beginning to bleed from charcoal gray to a pale, bruised lavender, but no one stirred. Of the satyr, there was no sign. “I don’t agree with it, and I’m going to do what I can to change it when I see it.”

“You cannot liberate every slave you encounter,” Malakor chided, his tone more like a gentle caution than a reprimand.

“I know that. But this one, at least, is going to get a chance.” She hesitated, another piece of the puzzle clicking into place in her mind. “Hey… do you think we could bring him to Kaur-Koram with us? He might be able to find a decent job there, or something.”

Malakor gave another of his complex, multi-limbed shrugs. “It’s conceivable. Not every soul who finds their way to Kaur-Koram is a mewling innocent.”

After a final, meticulous survey of the village square, Jianna gave a decisive nod. “Alright,” she whispered. “Nobody’s out. Let’s go.”

Keeping low, they slipped out from the hut’s shelter into the crisp, cool light of the burgeoning dawn.

“Okay…” Jianna murmured, her eyes sweeping across the deserted central clearing. The silence was absolute, broken only by the whisper of a breeze. “So… where exactly is Blynn?”

Malakor looked at her, his expression a mask of pure disbelief. “You don’t know? You truly don’t know? Then what, precisely, was the point of all this skulking about?”

Jianna scuffed the toe of her sneaker in the packed dirt, a flush of embarrassment warming her neck. “I didn’t want anyone to see us leaving,” she shot back, looking up at him with eyes burning with frustration. “You don’t have to treat me like a complete idiot, you know!”

“Well, when you behave like one, I will treat you as such!” Malakor sneered in return.

With an exasperated sigh, Jianna raked a hand through her disheveled hair. “Fine. Let’s just split up and look for him. How far could he have gone?”

“Are you trying to find someone?” a soft, whispering voice murmured from directly behind her. “I can help you find him.”

Jianna spun around, her heart leaping into her throat, while Malakor craned his massive head to see who had spoken.

There, standing with a quiet placidity, was Blynn himself, holding a large wooden basin filled to the brim with water. For a long moment, Jianna and Malakor simply stared, first at the satyr and then at each other, their faces a shared portrait of incredulity.

As if sensing the judgment radiating from their astonished expressions, Blynn bowed his head and shuffled his hooves nervously in the dirt. “Um… I was coming to bring you water to wash with when you woke,” he explained, his voice so soft it was almost lost. “But I see you’re already awake… so I’ll just, um…” He trailed off, his voice growing hoarse, as if the very act of speaking was a laborious effort.

“Hey, Blynn,” Jianna said softly. She closed the distance between them, crouching slightly to meet his downcast eyes. The top of the horned satyr’s head barely reached her collarbone, though he was clearly a grown adult. Ignoring a derisive snort from the demon behind her, she continued, “Malakor and I were talking this morning. We’ve decided to leave, right now. And… we’d like you to come with us.”

Blynn blinked, his expression uncomprehending. He spoke slowly, the words seeming foreign on his tongue. “You mean… you’re going to buy me?”

“No,” Jianna said, her voice firm but gentle. “We’re going to… well, steal you, I suppose. So you won’t be a slave anymore.”

Blynn licked his lips anxiously and shook his head, a gesture of pure, instinctual fear. “No, I can’t do that,” he whispered. “I… I don’t mind my position, truly. You should go on without me. It does not bother me, being a slave.”

This time, Malakor’s snort was sharp and loud, a sound of utter contempt. “This one here may not, but I know a fair bit about the Satyri,” he boomed, his voice cutting through the morning stillness. “I know that servitude is a cage they can never endure. It runs counter to their wild blood. And I can see by the look of you that you are not happy here.”

Startled by his abrupt and forceful support, Jianna glanced back at Malakor before turning her attention back to Blynn. The satyr had taken a small step backward, his brow deeply furrowed as he chewed on his lower lip, his gaze fixed on the ground.

At last, he lifted his head, his fearful eyes darting between the human girl and the towering demon. “Where… are you going?” he asked.

Jianna grinned, a wave of triumph washing over her. “To Kaur-Koram. It’s only a week from here.”

“Blynn!” a sharp, angry voice yelled from a nearby hut. “What are you doing with them?”

All three of them turned to see a woman standing in a doorway, her arms folded tightly across her chest, her face a thundercloud. “Are you bothering the travelers? They have no time to be dealing with you.”

Blynn winced and began to turn away, but Malakor’s next words stopped him cold. “No bother at all, miss,” he called over, his voice suddenly as smooth as oil. “Your slave here was just about to guide my companion and me to some fresh water before we departed. This water he is carrying has been fouled.”

The woman’s expression remained fierce, but she gave a curt nod. “Fine. But you see that he comes directly back to me if he gives you any trouble.”

“Understood,” Malakor said. He smiled, but Jianna could see the tension coiled in his jaw, the sneer lurking just beneath the placid surface.

After one last glare that could have sharpened steel, the woman vanished back inside her home.

Malakor strode over to Blynn and, with a deliberate motion, yanked the wooden basin from the satyr’s grasp, sloshing a significant amount of water over the rim. The liquid shimmered for a moment on the parched earth before vanishing. “Now,” Malakor said, his voice a low command as he loomed over the smaller creature. “Are you coming with us? The time for deciding is now.”

Blynn’s gaze flickered from the familiar confines of the settlement to the vast, untamed forest that surrounded it, and then back to Jianna and Malakor. He was still chewing his lip, a punishment Jianna felt in her own gut. Then, with a slow, almost imperceptible dip of his head, Blynn nodded.

“I’ll go,” he whispered, the words barely audible. “I don’t know what use I can be… but I’ll go.”