Master of the Fortress: A Reincarnation LitRPG Adventure (Dragon Core Chronicles Book 4) by Lars Machmüller

Author:Lars Machmüller [Machmüller, Lars]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mountaindale Press
Published: 2023-01-17T13:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

It was my first public speech since outlawing slavery. Speaking in public was no issue for me normally—but given that eloquence wasn’t exactly my strong suit and I knew what rode on this—yeah, you could say I was a bit nervous. My brain was having a ball considering what would happen to my reputation in the city if my bladder decided to leave a kiddie-pool-sized puddle underneath me during the speech.

They’d come out in numbers. We’d argued about the venue—holy crap, we’d argued. My ears were still buzzing with all the complaining, sniping, and objections. In the end, I’d talked them around, though. We needed to get this point across, not lay it down from up high. Heh. Now, instead of complaints, my ears were abuzz with all the noise from the crowd. They were not being silent. I couldn’t blame them. I had been out in public here and there, but I hadn’t been there to address them directly, and now I showed up… along with thirteen people in chains.

Thirteen. That’s how many bastards our guards found flaunting the prohibitions against violence and slavery in mere hours. We’d made damn sure that these weren’t misunderstandings or misdemeanors, either. We needed everything to be ironclad, especially the first time. Each person here had kept slaves against their will the day before, caused grievous bodily harm or, in one case, death.

We lined them up in the middle of the Glamour Plaza. The chained people were clearly expecting violence or death. Their reactions ranged between defiance, hatred, and sheer terror. I did not catch a single whiff of anything even remotely resembling remorse. I sighed. Not from Leith either. The Talpus looked me straight in the eyes as he was marched into place at the center of the chain. I didn’t look down, but did curse before I let my gaze move out toward the rest of the plaza.

It was completely packed. If things went tits up today, we’d have a hell of a time forcing our way back into the fortress. Ah, well. I’d just have to argue my case well. Heh. If my ex-wife was anything to go by, that was not my strongest suit. Still, I needed to know. And if Timothy and I were right, we’d be able to prove, right here and today, that these weren’t monsters, but people, who understood logic and emotion, who could be argued with and… taught to appreciate morals and justice, even if they weren’t used to it.

I addressed the crowd. “I told you that there would be few laws and rules here to begin with. Simple rules, but rules that would not be ignored. Just two, I mentioned. Rules we would not tolerate people flaunting. Slavery is forbidden. Nobody can hold any slaves against their will, and those who do will be punished. And do not commit violence unprovoked.” I lifted a foreleg, letting it sweep across the row of chained prisoners ahead of us. “These thirteen people all decided to ignore our laws.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.