Bound and Broken: An Isekai Adventure Dark Fantasy (Melas Book 1) by V.A. Lewis (autobiographies to read .TXT) 📕

they were supposed to look like based on descriptions from Mr Walden and my mom, but it was still shocking to see them for myself to say the least. Luckily, I caught myself, and managed to not react.

The Goblins all exchanged a look, and their leader— the first one to come out— walked up to us and nodded. "Follow me," he said.

The Goblin turned around and began to walk towards the camp. Victor followed after him, and I was next, just a step behind the young man. The rest of the Goblins spread out around us— not exactly circling us completely out of fear— but in a way that still showed caution.

We made our way to the campsite, descending slightly as we went. Upon reaching the entrance, heads turned to face us— strangers arriving at the camp for the first— appraisingly. People came out of their tents to look at us as we passed by them, and they stared.

I shifted my feet uncomfortably as I continued walking past all the staring faces; it was not because they were looking at me I felt nervous. It was because they were all Goblins, and I just felt a little bit out of place.

We eventually reached the center of the encampment, and found ourselves in front of a large tent. The lead Goblin turned back around to face us. "Wait here a moment, I’ll get the Commander," he said, then turned around and entered the tent.

It was only a moment before I heard a noise coming from behind the white canvas; it sounded like stomping footsteps, as if they were rushing to get out—

The flap of the tent flew open, and a man came bursting out. A large man stood in front of me. He stood at over eight foot tall, and had the physique of a bodybuilder scaled up to his size. That meant his arms were huge, his traps were huge, his chest was huge— he was huge! An absolute unit!

Also, he was red.

The mass of pale red skin spread his arms wide as he opened his oversized jaw. "Disciple Victorianius Valens! You’ve finally arrived! And a day early, as well," he bellowed.

I flinched as his loud voice reverberated throughout my body. Victor on the other hand, did not seem bothered by it.

"Commander Gerritt, I presume," the young man stated, rather than asking. "And please, just call me Victor," he added.

"Of course." The large man nodded, then turned to face me. "And I see you brought a guest too. A little one. A… Human child?" he asked.

"Yes, she is," Victor replied in my stead.

"Hrmph, that is tremendous! I’ve seen Human children before, but I’ve never actually spoken to one. Tell me, little one, what is your name?"

I hesitated for a moment. But I managed to look up at the large man— Commander Gerritt— and met his black eyes.

"Melas," I answered.

"Melas," he uttered the words as if he were savoring it. "What a wonderful name!"

"Indeed," Victor concurred, stepping between us. "But speaking of her, there's something we need to discuss, and I would like to do so in private." He eyed the tent impatiently

"Hrmph, of course." The Orc took a step back and nodded quickly. He turned to the Goblin waiting at his back, and spoke to him. "Karna, get us some drinks and food please. And ensure no one bothers us while we speak."

The Goblin that led us here— Karna— bowed his head. "Yes Commander," he said, then took off.

Commander Gerritt opened the flap to the tent, and held an arm out. "Please, come in."

Victor bowed his head slightly as he passed by the Orc, and I followed behind uttering a thank you. We entered the large tent with Commander Gerritt, and I looked around the room. It was big.

There were different sections to the room, one being a war room complete with a long table covered in maps and other documents; we walked around it, and passed by a desk that held some sort of device. It almost looked like… a radio transmitter?

I blinked as we walked past the machine. It was definitely some sort of radio. But only powered with mana crystals instead of electricity.

We continued to some seats, and I sat down on a chair next to Victor. Across the table from us, the Orc knelt on both knees, in a sort of seiza style of sitting. Except, not on some cushion or even tatami floorboards, but the hard rock ground.

Commander Gerritt bowed his head slightly. "Apologies, Disciple— hrmph, Victor. And thank you, once again for coming. When we requested for reinforcements from the Infernalis, we were not expecting them to send a Dark Acolyte. When we got the news that you were coming, we were excited to say the least. And now you’re here a day earlier than anticipated, with a curious little one too. Suffice to say, I was a bit too eager to remember my manners."

"Ah, of course. Punctuality is one of my best traits, after all." The young man smirked to himself. Then he leaned back on his chair as he continued. "Unfortunately, my companion came as much a surprise to me as it was to you. But it was a fortuitous meeting— if I hadn’t intervened, she would likely be chained up on a podium, up for sale right now. And by my intervention, I’ve found a potential future ally."

The Orc looked at me, and stroked his gigantic maw thoughtfully. "Hrmph, I see. So that mark on her face is a slave emblem. Is it… the Mancis Company? Apologies, but I’m not too familiar with Human society."

"Yes. She was a product of the now-defunct Mancis Company—"

Victor ignored the glare I gave him for his choice of words, and continued. "But she is something much more than that, of course: she is the Fiend’s