The value of food

Just as the cloak's axe was poised to descend upon the injured miner on the ground, a sudden shout echoed from behind the cloak. In swift succession, the figure of a familiar miner emerged, bursting onto the scene from the rear.

Wait.. is that?

I could feel a small weight lift off from my chest as I watch Gulfram try to wrestle the axe from the cloak's hand, while also shouting something at the same time. By this point, the wounded miner had already been dragged away to safety by his fellow miners.

I noticed several cloaks halting their advance, casting bewildered and confused glances at Gulfram. This pause granted certain miners the opportunity to scatter and flee. Nevertheless, the count of miners that fled was so small that it failed to impact our collective strength significantly.

I shifted my gaze uneasily in the direction of Arde, who appeared equally taken aback, grappling with a mixture of shock and fear, his efforts to arrive at a decisive course of action evident. Little Fish and a few miners from our group were seen tugging at his trembling arms, likely seeking instructions and orders.

My attention turned to the cloak's captain, who had fallen into an unexpected silence, his once furious expression now giving way to uncertainty and doubt. Nearly all the cloaks had halted their progression, fixating their attention on the ongoing struggle between that particular Cloak and Gulfram.

In spite of Gulfram's advanced age and the cloak's youthful demeanor, both parties appeared to be ensnared in a deadlock, neither side gaining an upper hand. The air was charged with the sound of their grunts and clenched teeth as they struggled against each other.

Several miners and cloaks appeared to be cheering on the ongoing fight. I noticed Arde starting to ease up, presumably signaling the other miners to stand by in case we needed to pull Gulfram back to safety.

On the other hand, the cloak's captain began issuing what sounded like orders to the other cloaks. Shortly thereafter, the cloaks abruptly retreated a few paces, forming a line, with a couple of them dragging the cloak who had been grappling with Gulfram, disengaging him from the fight.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I watch Gulfram and the cloak's captain began to converse.

But I couldn't help but wonder what they were discussing...

Then, a familiar grunt caught my attention from beside me. I turned my head toward the source of the sound and spotted Little Fish squatting on the ground, apparently massaging his leg muscles.

Meeting his gaze, he also breathed out a sigh, a sad and tired expression on his face, a stark contrast to his always vibrant personality.

Gulfram's abrupt shout suddenly grabbed our attention, and I turned my gaze toward him once more. I could see he was now engaged in some sort of argument with the cloak's captain, occasionally pointing a finger in our direction.

What's he on about?

Moving a few steps closer, I noticed that the word 'food' was occasionally mentioned in their conversation. Gulfram even pointed a few times towards the wagon beside the captain.

Suddenly, the captain yelled something so loud that it drowned out all the other noises and voices in the area, instantly silencing the chatter and murmurs around him, including those from our group of miners.

I instinctively took a small step back, anticipating what was about to unfold, I could still sense my heart racing and adrenaline still surging through my veins.

Then, the captain pointed his finger at Gulfram for a few seconds before directing it toward the ground beneath Gulfram, wearing a wide smile throughout the entire gesture.

For a moment, there was silence after the captain uttered those words. Soon after, angry rumblings emerged from behind me. Turning around, I could see that at least half of the miners were seething with rage, while the rest had looks of surprise and disgust on their faces.

Arde and Little Fish then stepped up beside me, both of them gritting their teeth as they glared at the captain, moreover I can also hear Little Fish whispering something to himself, his hands were clenched so fiercely that they seemed on the verge of bleeding.

Just what did that guy said that made them react like this?

I turned my head back to the scene in front of me, then waited. Each passing second felt like an eternity as anticipation and fear began to well up within me.

That was until Gulfram turned his head on our direction and suddenly began speaking something, his speech lasted for at least a few seconds before his gaze shifted towards me.

"No worry..." He started, forcing a smile on his face, "Everyone eat tonight, no worry of hunger, okay?" With that, he turned to the captain and began walking towards him, The cloaks in front of Gulfram began to part, creating a path for him. He eventually came to a halt when he was at least an arm's length away from the man and then suddenly knelt in front of him.

What the hell's he going to do?

Suddenly, I heard a familiar shout beside me. When I turned around, I quickly spotted Roslik yelling at the captain, angrily pointing his finger at him while marching in his direction.

Oh no..

The nearest cloaks visibly tensed up, raising their weapons and shouting something at him simultaneously. But it fell on deaf ears, Roslik ignored them and still continued stomping towards them.

I noticed a few miners calling out to him, presumably attempting in vain to halt his actions.

I glance nervously at the captain and I could see he was silently watching Roslik, an irritated expression on his face, before muttering something at the kneeling Gulfram in front of him.

Even from this distance, I could clearly see Gulfram's eyes widen at the captain's words. He quickly stood up and began shouting something towards the approaching Roslik.

Roslik abruptly came to a halt. Although I couldn't discern his expression as his back was facing towards us, his quivering body suggested that Gulfram's words had triggered an emotion within Roslik.

In that moment, Roslik reluctantly withdrew towards us, his face reflecting a sense of defeat. Returning my gaze to Gulfram, I noticed he had knelt once more, his eyes fixed on the earth below him.

The captain chuckled at this and then raised his boot in front of Gulfram's head. Another wave of grumblings emanated from the group behind me in response to the captain's actions.

I see... this is what the fucker wanted.

A sense of dominance...

The sensation of possessing the power to compel others to act according to your desires.

Power...

I fucking hated it... but desperately needed it right now.

I clenched my right hand tightly as I watched Gulfram's head rise, his gaze fixed on the boot hovering just inches from his face.

In that moment, Gulfram's whole body started to tremble. He swallowed hard, then turned his head to look at us, wearing an empty expression on his face.

My heart skipped a beat at this, I could even hear Arde taking a deep breath besides me, Little Fish meanwhile began cracking his knuckles.

Making him go through that just because of... food? pride? amusement?

Seconds passed and Gulfram turned to face the end of the boot in front of him once more. Finally, he opened his mouth, revealing an extended tongue.

Here we go..

I felt my clenched fist tighten, and my stomach churned as I watched Gulfram's tongue eventually make contact with the boot.

This is fucking sick..

After a few seconds had passed, the captain finally pulled back his boot. However, that was short-lived, as he suddenly kicked it squarely into Gulfram's face, sending him tumbling onto his back.

WHAT THE FUCK?!

There were then cries of shock and anger from our group, just as the other miners were about to rush towards him. Gulfram suddenly stood up, gesturing them to stop with one hand while the other clutched his bleeding nose.

Although a part of me was screaming to dash towards the cloaks, I mustered the discipline to remain in my place, suppressing any thoughts of confronting the cloaks directly, I also took a few deep breaths at the same time.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and reluctantly observed as the captain spat in Gulfram's face, uttering a few words before gesturing for the rest of the cloaks to leave from the entire area, his face twisted in disgust.

One by one, the cloaks began shuffling in a disorderly formation, few what seemed like orders were barked before everyone started to leave, leaving the wagon behind them, although the handler detached the horses, taking them to join the leaving cloaks.

As they vanished from view, a collective sigh of relief swept through our group. We hurried over to Gulfram, including the miner who had lost his hand. Even though his wound had been wrapped in cloth, he was being assisted by a couple of fellow miners.

Roslik meanwhile was hugging Gulfram tightly as if they were long lost brothers finally meeting each other after twenty years. This act elicited a few chuckles from the other miners.

When they were finally done, Gulfram then directed his finger towards the wagon, prompting cheers from our group.

Despite the lively atmosphere surrounding me, I found myself wondering whether the humiliation that Gulfram had endured was truly worth it...

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CHAPTER DONE!!