Julian recounted briefly, choosing a few things to tell Rowan, deliberately skipping over the details of the ultimate humiliation and pain he had endured.
He did not want pity from strangers.
"Those Vampire Bat bunch didn't distinguish right from wrong; they locked me up there and treated me like a slave. The wounds on my body were gifted by them. After escaping, I accidentally found this place. My tribesmen don't care about me, so I won't go back to be a nuisance either; let life and death take their course." Finally, he summarized roughly and shrugged, indifferent to whether Rowan believed him or not.
Rowan listened for a long time, observing his expression, and felt that he was not lying. The grievance and pain in his eyes were real.
"So, what do you plan to do next? This forest isn't easy to live in."
