Bound and Broken: An Isekai Adventure Dark Fantasy (Melas Book 1) V.A. Lewis (feel good books to read .TXT) 📖

I donned the change of clothes that had been prepared for me: I stepped out of the tent wearing a black cowl hanging behind my neck, and a brown leather tunic stretched down below my waist, slightly obscuring the darker shade of pants that reached near my ankles. A belt held the outfit together, and the look was completed with the arm braces on both my hands.

I didn’t need to wear all that; I could’ve just worn the shirt and pants and been done with it. In fact, I was not even planning on dressing up in all this, and only brought it into the bath because Gerritt insisted I was adequately armored. But when I saw my reflection in the water— when I saw how dreadful my appearance was— I immediately changed my mind. I wanted to look good.

It was such a meaningless thing. A superficial desire that I could— and I did— forgo for more important things. But now that my survival was guaranteed (at least, for the foreseeable future), I could at least enjoy these mundane joys of life— such as fashion.

Of course, there was no makeup here. This was a camp, inside a cave, and deep within a forest. So I had to settle with what I had… which was the typical Goblin wear in this camp. Their clothes fitted me perfectly since I was about the same size as most of them.

I paused and stared at the encampment around me. At all the Goblins milling about and talking to each other. At the way they were dressed.

At least I fit in, right?

I started for the center of the camp; we had arrived here a day ago, and this morning Victor had sent me off to do whatever I wanted for a bit, to only meet him and Gerritt when I was ready. Or in other words: ‘Go away, the adults are talking’.

After all, everyone knew that when there was something important needed to be talked about, you told your kids to go play somewhere else. But I wasn’t a kid, so I knew what adults meant when they said that.

I wasn’t offended by it or anything; I had been a kid for 11 years now, so I was pretty used to being treated like one. However, I would never force myself to pretend to be a kid if it was not necessary, so I was not going to play any childish games. It had been almost an hour, and I was done bathing, so I was going to go back. I walked past some tents, turned a corner, and—

There was a face. No— a person. I was going to bump into them! I raised my arms up and braced myself, but they just sidestepped around me.

Swiftly. Smoothly. I didn’t even realize that they went around me. I blinked and stumbled, but caught myself from falling.

I turned to the person standing next to me. He was a Goblin, of course.

"Sorry about that, uh, Mr... Karna?" I waved my hands apologetically.

He eyed me with a sidelong glance. "...it’s nothing," he simply said.

There was a pause. A moment of silence. I shifted my feet uncomfortably. Awkwaaaard!! What do I say? Do I just—

"Well, um, I’m just going to..." I politely excused myself and backed up.

I turned around and continued my walk to the center of the camp. I took a few steps forward… and we were going in the same direction. Oh my God, I hate it when this happens! This is making it even more weird!

Karna was following right behind me. Apparently we were heading in the same direction— the war tent where Gerritt and Victor were at. We were walking side-by-side, and neither of us said anything. Our destination was nearby, yet it lasted forever; a short walk that was prolonged by the blaring silence between us.

I felt uncomfortable; I tried to avoid glancing at the Goblin, but I found my eyes flicking towards him a couple times. That only served to make me cringe even more, since he had a deadpan expression, facing only forwards. Do I say something? Do I just stay quiet?! Do I— oh thank God we’re here!

I stopped right outside the large tent’s entrance. I looked at Karna, and pointed uncertainly at the door. "Do you want to go in first or—" I began to speak, but was interrupted.

A deep voice resounded from within. "Karna, how did—" Gerritt poked his head out of the flaps, and paused as he saw me. "Melas, you’re back."

"Oh, I—" I started, but the Goblin spoke over me.

"Commander, we’ve returned from our reconnaissance."

The Orc stepped out of the tent. "Hrmph, of course. Where are the others?" He asked.

"We’ve been moving all night, they’re resting now." Karna answered.

"I see." Gessit nodded. His eyes flickered to me for a moment, then back to Karna as the Goblin continued.

"We searched out three towns and two small cities—"

"Apologies, Karna. But could you report back to me later."

"Excuse me, Commander?" The Goblin blinked.

The Orc gestured at me, standing idly by the side. "There’s something important Victor and I have to discuss with Melas. After we’re done, I’ll send for you, so you can just rest with the rest of the scouting party for now."

"But Commander—" Karna paused abruptly. His gaze shifted to me for a moment, and his eyes narrowed. "Yes, Sir," he said simply, then turned around and left.

What’s his problem? I frowned to myself, as the Goblin stalked away. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?" I asked.

"There is not a problem. Come in, Melas, there are things we need to talk about." The Orc ushered me into the tent.

I found myself entering the large meeting room, and curtly nodded a greeting to Victor. The Human was sitting at a table, and smiled when he saw me.