Chapter 3
They travelled another two days, leaving the jungle and entering the swamplands, the most treacherous part of the journey due to quicksand, crocodiles, and giant snakes. The swampland soon gave way to lightly wooded grasslands, which in turn became farmland. As they marched in single file down a wide dirt road, Jahl could see houses, constructed from wood and mud with rooves of straw. Each had a stone chimney from which a single column of smoke arose. And in the fields, olive-skinned men toiled hard, each, without exception, momentarily stopping work to observe the slavers and their latest acquisition as they passed.
“Keep ya eyes on the road,” said Dank, tugging on the rope.
Jahl glared at him. Dark thoughts filled his head. Thoughts of blood and death. For all of them. They
