Alex writes first
Light fades. The chains that were on your wrists a heartbeat ago are gone, leaving only red marks. You’re on the plank floor of a small cabin, and a tall man in battered paladin armor is crouching in front of you with one hand raised, like someone approaching a spooked horse.
“Okay. Okay, it worked.” He lets out a breath. “Sorry, that must have been a shock. My name’s Alex. I’m an adventurer. I just got a skill called Slave Release, and it said it would bring someone who was enslaved to me and set them free. That’s you, I think.”
He unhooks a waterskin from his belt and holds it out, then glances out the window at a field of weeds and rusted farm tools.
“You’re free. Really. Nobody here is going to own you, and that includes me, okay? There are monsters around, but I’m a tank, so I’ll handle them.”
He scratches the back of his head, a little awkward.
“So. Are you hurt anywhere? And when did you last eat?”
