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

ride on the back of wagons. It will cut down the travel time from around a week to— maybe three days? Even less if we get going now."

"Oh, ok." I clasped his hand and sat behind him. "Let’s go then." I nodded.

Victor waited until I was securely on the horse, before pulling on the reins. The horse took off in a trot, and with that, we were on our way.

I didn’t know what was going to happen. Everything was so uncertain. Maybe I’d get my revenge. Maybe I’d join the Dark Crusaders. Or… maybe not. I didn’t know.

But for now at least, I would follow them. I would follow Victor and the Dark Crusaders, even if they were… zealots. Because hey, at least they weren’t trying to kill or enslave me, right?

...I think my worldview may be a little bit skewed.

 

Chapter 26: Outpost

I rode on a pony once— back on Earth. I was a young kid, barely five years old, and I enjoyed it very much.

I remembered laughing and smiling as I rode back and forth the small field. I remembered the joy in my parents faces as they took pictures of me when I turned to face them. And I remembered wanting the moment to never end. To forever ride a pony in that fairy tale world.

Well, riding a horse was not anything like that experience; it was not fun, and it was certainly not something a kid should do for extended periods of time. And especially riding for two whole days straight? Nope, I hate it.

Maybe it was because there was no saddle, but I felt like my entire lower half had gone completely numb; I just wanted to get off the horse and lie down for an hour or two. And thankfully, I could do that soon.

We had just gone off road, into the forest, and were now headed towards some hills in the distance. Apparently there was a small cell of the Dark Crusaders located here in an outpost of over a hundred people; it was one of many that could be found across the continent.

It did make sense: they were an organization composed of individuals who were oppressed and even hunted down by more than half the world. So of course they would be spread out and keep a semi-low profile.

But even with a semi-decentralized power structure, they still had a main base of operations and a functioning leadership, which was where Victor came from. And in all honesty, they were just fighting to survive; as long as I was not committing any war crimes, I decided I’d be with them for now. Plus, Victor insisted that they’re zealots— something more akin to rebels— and not terrorists.

Regardless, they could protect me and even teach me to protect myself, so I was inclined to believe Victor. I was with him now, as our horse trotted through the trees and finally arrived into a clearing.

"We’re here," the young man said, as we slowed down.

I looked up, and blinked. "Uh… are you sure?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Yes. I’m sure."

"But that..." my voice trailed off. I raised an arm and pointed. "That’s a cave."

"That is indeed a cave, yes," he replied, voice flat.

"But you told me—"

"I told you we were going to an outpost to meet with other Dark Crusaders. And this is the location. What exactly is wrong with it?" he interrupted me. The young man folded his arms, and waited for my response.

"...don’t outposts have palisades and watchtowers and stuff?" I asked dumbly.

Victor just sighed and got off the horse. He didn’t even bother to help me down, and started for the cave.

"Hey, wait for me!" I called after him.

I struggled to climb off the horse by myself. Probably shouldn’t have said anything. I mean, I was kinda joking when I answered. But still, it’s a legitimate question! The thought crossed my mind as I fell on my butt. Ouch. Yep, still sore.

To be honest, I did sort of understand the logic behind camping in a cave; being a natural formation, it was discreet enough that most of the time, no one was going to investigate it without reason. That was much better than the clearly man-made settlement I initially imagined, protruding out of the ground and visible to anyone nearby.

I shook the thoughts out of my mind as I crawled to my feet, and ran after Victor into the cave. He was already entering its mouth opening— it wasn’t that big of an opening, roughly seven foot in height at its highest.

I entered the cool dark shelter, exiting the hot afternoon sun, and caught up to the young man. I followed behind Victor as we walked further and further into the cave, and away from the natural sunlight behind us.

The narrow corridor grew in size the further in we went. Eventually, we reached a corner, and Victor raised a hand to stop me.

"Wait," he said.

I blinked and stared into the darkness ahead, seeing nothing. "Traps?" I guessed.

"Correct," Victor replied as he pointed his staff to the ground. "In this case, tripwires."

A small magical circle flashed briefly, before disappearing and being replaced by a ball of white light. It illuminated our surroundings as Victor aimed it at something glistening on the floor; several razor-thin strings hung barely off the floor ahead of us.

I gulped as I stared at the booby trapped hallway; I didn’t trust myself to not accidentally activate one of the traps, even when I could see them. Just one misstep, and boom— I’m dead.

Victor must have sensed my unease as he spoke to reassure me. "Do not worry. Most of these are just there to alert the camp inside. A silent alarm to prepare them in case people are coming."

I nodded and stepped over