The surface-level shacks were the worst.
Kael walked through them with Aria and Bruski behind him, examining the conditions. The "workers" were not workers. They were slaves. Chained at the ankles. Fed just enough to keep them alive to work. The mortality rate in these shacks was measured in weeks.
Seventy-three people in the first shack. Forty-one in the second. One hundred and nine total across the surface level facilities.
Kael gathered them in the main courtyard outside the mine entrance. They stood before him with hollow, defeated expressions. Their chains clinked as they shifted weight, the sound echoing across the courtyard like a funeral dirge.
Kael drew his blade.
"I'm Kael Cassian Vorn. The new Lord of Ashfall."
"All contracts, debts, and illegal claims of ownership made by the previous administration are null and void. Effective immediately."
