"MOVE YOUR SLOW ASSES!"
The shout was followed by a wet thwack of the leather whip hitting a man`s spine three rows under. Kaelen didn`t flinch; didn`t even look. He just kept on digging into the bark of the Great Tree, peeling away bits of wood and moss.
Even if he wanted to check his co-slave, the possibility of getting the same punishment for slacking off was high. Too high. And after years of such work, you just get used to the whipping and bowing your head.
A large piece of wood came off and he patiently put it in his bag, which became full with it.
Kaelen pulled the rope twice his bench was sitting on, and after a while he was going up to the collection platform seated on one of the roots. The ropes went up, with Kaelen tightly grasping the only thing keeping him from dropping to the ground far below him.
"Mmmm" The slavers pulled him out of the bench and grabbed the bag. Everything was thrown out and judged on value "This is garbage"
"I know sir" Kaelen picked up his bag from the floor and slowly stood upwards. "Its rotten down there"
"I don`t care" One of the slavers tossed towards him 2 small bronze coins and went back to drinking with the other ones.
The coins obviously went on the ground to be picked up by the slave again.
And then he was send back down again, on a flimsy piece of wood and 2 ropes that could break at any given moment. Meanwhile the slavers where either sitting at the large drinking table on platforms or had a specific comfortable basket just to be able to whip the tired workers.
The day of work was long and boring, benches with slaves came up and down, wood being chipped away from the tree.
And for what?
The work is never over, next day Kaelen will be back here to chip away at the bark, collect "money" and a minuscule amount of his debt will be removed.
Debt that his father begun and paid with his life, yet it still wasn`t enough.
So now, his only son, has to continue to pay and pay for what he did.
After a 12 hour shift, the horns were sounded - end of the day.
All the slaves were pulled up and counted on top, just to make sure none of them are taking anything with them - no bags, no tools, not even a splinter of wood.
The only thing they come back to their "houses" are ragged clothes and pocket change they earned throughout the day.
Kaelen looked at his earnings - 22 tiny coins. A whopping amount that will finally allow him to eat today. Maybe buy a new pair of shoes, or pants.
Except, the debt was to be paid still. And right on queue, the floor groaned under a man that everyone at the lower parts knew.
The Overseer.
Large man with a large hat to appear even larger, died large leather pants and actual clothes, of course larger than normal.
The definition of rich in the lower parts of the Tree, the man who all of the people around owed money. And the definition of power - along with his army of goons and slavers, he was one of the only people who owned a part of an angel with him.
With all of that, the Overseer was a god among st peasants, who could both save someones life or more often, ruin it. Nothing was out of reach, nothing was too far fetched.
"Well, let`s get this over with" He groaned while sitting in his prime chair "Spit them out"
He held his hand open and palms up, finger thick and greedy smile on his face. The other hand rested on the chair with a bling of gold and a weird orange glow.
One by one, the line formed and clinks of coins coming out of the slaves. Each of them had to pay half of their necessary earnings that wouldn`t even pay for one of his snacks.
Kaelen came as the rest and dropped the 11 coins he had today and turned to go home.
"Kaeeleeeen" The man almost singed his name "Where do you think you`re going?"
He froze in place . This meant only one thing - more pay. Slowly he turned around towards him with his head bowed down.
"Home Mr. Overseer."
"Mmmm no, no. You see....you`re slacking. This is so so little, and your debt" He clicked his tongue with disappointment and mocking tone "Your debt isn`t getting much smaller, isn`t it"
"I know Mr. Overseer, but the wood...it`s bad here" He held his remaining coins tightly.
"Well then" He snapped his fingers, and the golden accessory on his wrist blinked "Its bad for you too" The Overseer turned his head towards one of the slavers "Leave him for the night will you?"
"Not a problem boss" The guys grabbed a bench and prepared it for the guest
Kaelen`s stomach growled loudly "Mr. Overseer please...I haven`t eaten today yet"
"Awwww.....What a shame" He grabbed a piece of meat from his pocket and gobbled it at once "Good thing we are such good people"
A piece of rotten bread and mushrooms from the swamp - His lunch for the day and the night of working that he`s about to do.
"Drop him"
Kaelen was tied to the bench and basically dropped meters under the platform, the air whistling in his ears as he plummeted down.
I hate this place so much Kaelen was now in his work station, all alone. No whippers, no other slaves. Just him and the tree.
Thump thump He started his work. The bark kept chipping away and was left in the hole he made. Let`s just wait for the fucks to leave Even if he worked all night, he couldn`t bring the wood with him, so the work was just a punishment for him. And of course, he was not going to mindlessly dig for the entire night.
An hour or so later, the slavers got bored. They stopped drinking and went up to their homes. Some slaves were still there, but they also headed home - down to the swamps.
Kaelen could see them clearly from his bench. But he just sat on it, only digging the wood when he felt like it. Boredom was also a good motivator.
Thump
What`s even the point? His thoughts kept getting darker as he looked down towards the muddy Swamps and the roots of the Great Tree The ropes are really weak....I just have to strike them ones...It will all be over soon His tool was bouncing from the bark and the blade was shining when he pulled it back to him, close to the ropes.
Creek
The sound changed. For 5 years, he heard the same sound every day, every strike of his digging tool. But now, it was different. The tool didn`t bounce back, it stayed inside.
As if instead of striking the giant tree, he found some empty space inside.
Huh His brain went back to reality - something interesting, even if just a different sound, was better than thinking about dropping to his death. The hunger was gone, his mind foggy but more and more, he kept on digging. The sun was almost gone by now, but he kept digging.
Well well well Kaelen finally managed to break the wood wall, and it was in fact, an empty space behind the bark Isn`t this interesting A few more strikes made the opening wide enough to fit him.
It was dark, both outside and inside the hole, he saw nothing inside. So of course, he had to go in. There was a slight problem - the bench he was sitting on was only close enough for Kaelen to hit the bark, yet not close enough for him to grab it. And of course ,he was tied to it.
"Come on" No one was around, he could talk as loud to himself as he wanted. And he needed motivation for one of the dumber ideas he had.
Swing the bench back, swing the bench forward.
Rock the ropes as far as he could
The vine rope were screeching and started to scream when the bench was getting faster and faster. They began to break, one tether at a time when finally
SNAP
The last swing, one of the ropes gave up, but the bench kept going forward just a little bit further. And far enough for Kaelen`s hands to grab the opening and cling to it with every thing he had.
Now, he was hanging one one vine and his hands in the tree.
He grunted and screamed as he pulled himself up inside the opening. Now - he was stuck. One rope will give out if he tries to climb it, he can`t sit on the bench.
But he was happy. For the first time since a long time, he made something with his life, even if that meant suicide.
"This....." The tree had a calming smell and the stars started to shine "This is nice"
He sat on the edge of the Great Tree, comfortably letting his legs dangle above the void, he dropped the wooden plank he sat on for years, and just breathed in freedom.