"Selling their neighbors into service? They must fancy themselves entrepreneurs." His tone drips with disdain, covering up an honest twinge of unease. Lovely. All the more reason not to care about the locals, then.

But all this talk gave him an idea, for seeking out what he really wanted to know. All of the outsiders here had previously been captured, hadn't they? He could use that. "Those lords must have made some attempt to control us. I don't remember anything about the kidnapping itself." And given the number of dazed captives hauled into the bandit camp, he wasn't the only one.

"Is there anyone here who knows how to fight back against mental domination? I'm not planning on being anyone's puppet."