Lesh didn't have to wait long as Butcher soon returned with what seemed like a makeshift blanket that he then lightly wrapped around the sleeping girl before gently carrying her in his large arms. At the same time, he saw an old man approach them from the prison, the screams having already stopped much earlier, he seemed to be leaning on a young girl for support. It was clear why when Lesh gave him a look over and noticed the old man was missing a leg.
The girl in question had fiery red hair, covered in scratches and bruises visible through her torn cloths and dirt even from the distance between them. Despite her appearance Lesh could see the potential for beauty beneath the grime. Her outfit was little more than scraps of fabric that barely held together that thankfully still manage to preserve some sense of dignity.
As Carnage locked his gaze onto them, the girl seemed to hesitate under its intense focus yet the old man reassured her it would be find before the pair eventually stopped Infront of him. Lesh spoke to them first in a calm yet cold and horse tone. "So, you are a pair of chosen representatives then? Interesting, I had thought it would only be one person, but I can see and understand why they would send a pair instead though."
A look passed between them, seemingly unsure what to say before looking back at Lesh, taking in the sight of the demonic creatures up close, one standing menacingly and the other gently holding a young blond woman in a blanket then to the various unconscious bodies on the ground. The old man eventually tore his gaze away and focused back on Lesh once more, seemingly looking him over now that there was little distance between them as Lesh did the same.
The old man was thin, his bones visible beneath his leather-like skin with sunken eyes that he seemed to keep mostly closed with long eyebrows with a clean yet clearly scratched and scrapped bald head. Adorning his face and running down past his ribs where skin pulled tight was messy grey beard matted with dirt.
The girl couldn't contain her curiosity upon seeing the downed bodies and Alice wrapped up in Butchers arms. "What happened to all of them?" she asked, her voice laced with fear yet unable to hold back her curiosity. The old man remained calm and simply nudged the girl, giving her a look to not question what she shouldn't.
Upon seeing this Lesh couldn't help but chuckle softly, amusement coloring his tone before gently ensuring Alice was content and signaling for Carnage to patrol their current area, to keep it protected from any stragglers or opportunistic fools Alice might have missed but to also search for any hidden items or valuables that may prove useful or interesting.
"The blonde one in the blanket is a companion of mine who seems to have fallen unconscious from exhaustion, I am unsure what type though," Lesh began well gesturing to Alice. "In regards to the two big guys you already know all you need to know, The girl in the broken armor was a companion we met earlier who head us here under the pretenses of aiding her friend and to prevent this camps people from causing us issues in our territory, the guy on the floor over there pulled a gun on me and even shot me, so I had to disable him along with his companions, it seems the tin can and he two girls on the floor have been broken by him somehow, seemingly a mix of his abilities and due to conditioning that 'trained' them to his liking, forcefully raping them repeatedly and breaking their wills from what I have managed to piece together but either way, I will be making him suffer constant agony for it as one of my experiments before giving him a slow death."
"But why didn't you do that to Blade? She allowed that and more to happen to us, so why spare her but punish this person?" The girl couldn't help but ask, the previous fear having given way to confusion after realizing trusting him would be worth whatever risk may come even if she her question accidently offends him.
Instead of lashing out or receiving an angry reply Lesh laughed. "And why should I have ended her or caused her even more pain than what my companions had caused? Yes, she attacked me but I was on her turf and trespassing with plans to free all of you. Other than that, she had done nothing to me and even though she confirmed her actions towards all of you, even referring to all of you as her merchandise it didn't impact or affect me or my own. Even if she let her men rape the women and beat the men to death it had no real relation or impact on me even if it did for all of you. That is why I left her there in a damaged state and unable to fight back, it was to allow you all, those she had brought pain and suffering upon to get your own vengeance upon her, I know not to rob others of their well-deserved vengeance."
It was at this the old man finally spoke, his voice rough from thirst and lack of use. "What happens now? Will you force is to follow you or be traded by you for benefits? To be used in various rituals? Perhaps you plan to use us as cannon fodder against your enemies and as free labor, working us till we break. The two beasts of yours would be more than enough to beat us into submission well crushing the spirits of those who still have some fire in them."
Lesh's reply was extremely swift and to the point, "That would all be up to all of you. I'm not going to force you to follow or give empty promises of better times and other such crap. If you lot want to go out on your own and embrace your regained freedom, you're more than able to do so. But those who choose to follow me will need to earn their keep and prove useful in some way, I'm not a charity or a good Samaritan who will give others a free ride and be aware I refuse to accept or entertain those who would join and then attempt to backstab us or harm those under my care. The only reason we bothered to come here was to avoid trouble down the line with the lot who took control of this small area and to take any of you prisoners with us that choose to follow, we will also be taking a portion of the goods at this camp along those who choose to follow well leaving the rest for those who don't want to follow."
After a few moments to let his words sink in the old man spoke up again in a slow, deliberate tone. "And how would one earn their keep as you say?"
"It depends on the person and what they can bring to the preverbal table," Lesh began. "Helping build and fortify the place, scavenging, defending, fighting, hell even cooking or tailoring would be acceptable. As long as they can do something useful that will be of benefit to the camp no matter how small as long as it's useful and beneficial it would be acceptable as a means to earn there keep. But the key point would remain the same which is how they would not be permitted to leech off our protection and supplies."
The red-headed girl spoke up, her voice trembling slightly with fear that she quickly swallowed down, needing an answer to a very important question. "And the women? Will we be forced to serve you and anyone else at your say so? Paying our keep with our bodies well having the threat of being traded away hanging over our heads constantly?"
They could practically feel his frown at this question as he slowly shook his head. "No, the previously stated rules apply for the women not just the men, the rules are the same for everyone. As stated, they would just need to do something that would earn their keep and not be a leech and drain on resources and protection, but if they expect to be pampered or treated like flowers in a greenhouse then they will either be kicked out upon noticing it or flat out rejected if they show signs of such behavior. As for the matter of more carnal desires, well that would be permitted under strict conditions such as consent on both sides, no tempting, pressuring or manipulating others into such actions and only if it doesn't affect their duties or image of the camp we wish to make."
After another beat of silence, the old man asked another question, seemingly tempted already by the stark contrast of what was being offered compared to what they had been through. "Would we have proper homes and food or be forced to sleep outside and be fed either the bare minimum or nothing at all like when we were in cages?"
He seemed to think on that, head tilted as he tapped his chin under the hood. "My current residence isn't exactly the best and is barely large enough for myself and my companion but that is also the reason why labor will be required, mostly to fix up the current residence along with establishing our own area and building places for them to take up residence. People would be responsible for helping one another on that, helping one another to build homes, even if it's just shacks at the start that, over time are transformed into proper, decent housing as the resources and materials are gathered. Food would be what we have on hand which is currently consists of mostly fruits and vegetables along with any meat from beats that are hunted and butchered. But that does present a good point that would need to be addressed, the amount of food each shall receive will correspond to a person's standing within my group. For example, a tailor or cook wouldn't get the exact same amount or type of food as those who had spent the day building or those who had risked their lives to acquire the food. That is not to say they would get scraps but rather being more a matter of contribution, the amount and type of food reflecting what had been put into the camp but a cook or tailor would be able to receive the same type and share of food as a builder or warrior if they put in an equal amount of effort, time and dedication including food preparation. But even so it would not be scraps and they would still get decent amounts and fair meals."
He looked over them both, glad to notice they were accepting his words and hadn't started yelling or trying to press him for equality or more. "Those who would be willing to follow and accept our offer would need to work early on in order to build a base up together with whatever experiences they have. We would build a place together that would hold a level of protection, again I will state that I will not force those who refuse to join, they are free to go and try to make their own place or join other camps out in the world, but know this and I expect it to be told to the others as well: those who do join can't suddenly back out after a week if they don't like how things are run. They would need to pull their own weight for at least a month before having the option to leave and if they think that means they can slack off over that one month period without anything happening then they are sorely mistaken, they would be given to our resident tree girl Elena and used as a form of food for her and the other plants I have till they either die or the one month period is over and what's left of them is released."
"You promise to let those who don't accept go without any problems? You won't hunt them down or try to kill them for refusing to follow or obey you?" The old man pressed.
"You have my word on this matter even if you may not feel its much." Lesh replied. "I swear it upon my very being that none of us will hinder or cause problems for any of the former prisoners if they choose to leave here, we will not hunt them or force them to join but they will not be accepted by us at a later time if they suddenly decide to come join us, furthermore their safety will not be guaranteed if they choose to attack us or turn on us."
The old man seemed to weigh his words before instructed the red-headed girl to take them back, promising he would inform everyone about his terms but asking for him to be patient as there would no doubt be some who would choose to go with him but there would be a lot to be discussed among themselves.
With a nod From Lesh the old man and the girl slowly returned to the former prison where he noticed a group of three people standing outside, no doubt watching their interaction as a means to ensure Lesh didn't do anything to the old man or girl.
With a sigh Lesh looked back at the cloudy sky. "I truly hope this is the correct choice, I am no leader and rather dislike wearing such a hat, at least we have the girl to help keep them inline should they attempt to make any moves against us. And should they manage to subdue or get past her they stand no chance against you or your brother, if they do though? Well clearly, we would all be in a grave amount of trouble and hopefully be able to rely on that damn corrupted dryad to protect us, wouldn't we?" His reply was a deep grumbling grunt from Butcher who gently repositioned Alice in his arms, trying to take extra care to not disturb her, clearly uncomfortable. "Indeed, my friend, indeed. Things truly are interesting around Master John."