Doink (enslaved)

A lot of these slaves have muttered over the concept of freedom for a long time now. Thing is, they didn't expect their chance to come on a random afternoon, by a girl they didn't even know!

This occasion felt random, but in the heat of the moment, at least half of these slaves felt empowered. They wanted to be free, so it took little time for havoc to break loose. 

A bunch of slaves started running towards the exit, they took that risk. They had this sense that no one could stop them now, and they were right; The scorpions barely intervened!

Some casualties were inevitable, however. The scorpions decided to strike, when more than half of the slaves were on the move.

With those green, and surely deadly tails, they struck against the crowd, and killed up to twenty slaves! Their strike was effective, and it managed to steer panic across the rest who tried to escape. 

The attack had turned the unfortunate slaves into dust, and inevitably, those who continued running were kicking away the tiny remains of their friends. It was cruel, but at least the savagery stopped there.

The scorpions knew well enough not to attack any more. They needed these slaves, after all, and knew that they couldn't get far away. There were scorpion scouts all over the forest, so this huge effort to escape was poorly timed and under-coordinated. 

On the other end of the mine, Audera was debating with the host that had shown them around so far. 

"You're stupid aren't you? I can have a bunch of you killed, but your men attack the slaves anyway? That's not even brave at this point, it's just stupid." She said.

"My men know what they're doing, I don't even have to boss them around." The host said, "There is a safety protocol for everything here, against slave uprisings especially. They won't get far, and they'll never be free either."

Audera wanted to threaten the other again, but knew that it wouldn't be effective. These scorpions weren't budging, even in the face of immediate death. These huge, two-foot long bugs that stood idle had a deadly sting, yet the scorpions remained unphased. 

She had to think everything over, in order to make a better counter-plan. One thing was certain though, and to.their favor. The scorpions couldn't kill her or the team, because the bugs which she drew out of that ditch, acted as protectors!

That made her feel a bit more comfortable, but she was still clueless regarding what the next step should be. 

Bardeelus, however, may have a few ideas. He wasn't as burdened by this mayhem, mostly because he barely intervened, but also because the enemy didn't see him as a threat. 

For that matter, he had more than enough time to plot a little strategy. He knew enough to get the team out of here alive. 

"They think they're so smart… I sensed their scouts from half a kilometer away before. The scouts are their safety protocol, they'll be tracking the slaves, it's obvious… So, I just have to kill a bunch of scouts." He thought.

Furthermore he plotted, "We can piss on their protocols quickly… but we gotta get out of here first."

He knew that any form of escape wasn't as easy for his team as it was for the fifteen-hundred slaves. There were a bit under four-hundred 'scorpion people' here, and each one was powerful enough to turn the team into dust; Their powers were unique!

If Bardeelus didn't approach the next few steps strategically, then all may be lost. 

"Hmm… keep forgetting that I'm a necromancer." He cackled. 

The countless heartbeats across this mine didn't even bother him anymore. His senses had quickly adapted to it, to the point where everything felt natural.

He was unbothered, in other words, which in this case was really useful. He paid enough attention to figure out a weak spot.

Courage was one thing that he didn't have to gather up, in order to move. He approached Audera casually instead, as he generally was not fearful.

"Have the bugs surround his highness there. He may act holy, but these fuckers aren't immortal." He said. 

Audera had no idea what that meant, but decided to follow along anyway.

Bardeelus also added, "We have to mess with their safety protocols, these fuckers are still too organized."

Slaves were still making their way out of the mine, so Bardeelus and the team had a bit more time to turn this situation to their favor even further. After a certain point, these four-hundred scorpions could have the little team surrounded, and he didn't want to wait around for that to happen. 

About twenty of these 'red bandit' bugs swiftly surrounded the scorpion host. Their grouped formation was intimidating alone, so no other scorpion dared to attack the bugs. 

"They're really scared of the bugs… wonder why? They can have all of us killed in a heartbeat… there's something that I'm missing here." Bardeelus thought.

He didn't have enough time to figure that out. A little plan had to be carried out instead, and for the fun of it, he taunted the host too. 

Bardeelus starred at the host, dead in the eye, and said. "There's a reason why my friends respect me. I'll show you why."

The panic within this mine was still plentiful, so most of his words were muffled. The host felt fearful in exchange, and couldn't fight back whatsoever. 

He was outnumbered by these bugs, but Bardeelus wanted to use them differently. These bugs were supposed to be a distraction, rather than a group of murderers.

"Your soul is mine now," He muttered, and blew the host's heart up within a blink. 

The host was dead for a couple of seconds only, and had been revived. No one noticed this quick death, hence, the scorpions still didn't know that there was a necromancer in this mine!

Bardeelus had needed these bugs as a distraction. He guessed that the host would topple over once killed, and for the plan to work, no enemy should know that this host was killed and enslaved. 

All those slaves had escaped by now, so it was due time to carry out the next step of the plan. 

Those blistering hot, red-coated bugs crawled out of the way as Bardeelus walked forward. He approached the host with all the confidence in the world; Casual confidence. 

"You were not immortal, lizard boy. I'm your boss now." He whispered.

Afterwards, he acted as if he wanted to cooperate by speaking out. "We don't want to die here, sir. Let's find a way around this, I know you're scared of the bugs. There has to be a safety protocol about compromise, or… it's time to acknowledge that there are other, smarter superiors."

A bunch of the other scorpions who heard him, scoffed at that word. Scorpions considered themselves as a superior race, and they didn't settle for anything less. 

However, this host, who was widely respected, decided to argue otherwise. "We've been bested, friends. Stand down! These kids didn't take the bait, we can't use them as slaves, and we might not even catch the slaves that have already escaped."

Furthermore, the host emphesized. "We lost…"

This had the hundreds of people baffled, but they couldn't debate much either. The hierarchy between these scorpions could be more complex than any other structure of power out there, and yet, Bardeelus had stumbled upon a very respectful figure, which he easily enslaved. 

He bought himself and the team a godly advantage!