Chapter 77: Freehaven, Part Two

Upon entering the gates, we were greeted by the bustling sights of a busy settlement. Leather-armored soldiers were training with various weapons, cooks were kiting piping hot meals to workstations, and hope was in the air.

Small groups formed around bonfires as they drank and sang, celebrating a day's hard work alongside the fall of the evening Sun. There would be no cheer for us, though.

Rather than a wooden mug of homebrewed alcohol and a tray of nourishment, we were grouped up at the camp's entrance, like a pile of new weapons to be inspected. Our evaluator: Henry Barrett. 

Akin to how he was in the forest, the man exuded an aura of dominance. His sharp gaze seemed capable of rousing a man's spirit...and crushing it. 

This was a nostalgic experience for me. To be appraised as an object based on usefulness was step one to becoming a soldier.