A/N: Hello everyone! This is the sixth and final story of my series. It is HIGHLY recommended you read them in order so that you are not completely lost (Lost, Found, Search, Guide, Wander, and finally Purpose).

I hope everyone enjoys :)

Don't forget, I love reviews!

Disclaimer: I am not John Flanagan.

"Left," Liam muttered.

Kane drew back his arrow. It was too dark for him to have a clear shot. He listened carefully, as Gabby taught him, and aimed at about the height of the dark figure's heart. "Right," he whispered.

"Three, two..."

Both men let their arrows fly. There were groans as the two figures slumped over. Liam and Kane ran forward.

Talia searched proved successful. They still hadn't found Mason, but she had him narrowed down to a single tent. Kane had been carefully keeping track of her signals until Liam returned with a Ranger called Paul. William had also been successful in his ride, and a company of fully armed soldiers was set to arrive in an hour. They had that one hour to stir up as much confusion as possible. Earlier, Kane snuck behind the cooking fires with a bucket of grease, dumping it liberally onto each one until they were out of control. Talia had cut strings to collapse their tents and Liam spooked all of their horses into panic.

Kane wasn't sure where Talia was now. She'd paired up with Paul and disappeared into one of the tents used to house slaves while he and Liam went to get Will.

"About time you showed up," Will muttered as they worked to pick the locks around his wrists. He raised an eyebrow at Liam, wondering if perhaps he had become delusional. He shrugged it off. "Where's William?"

"He went to get us some help," Liam replied. "The army's coming. We need to find Mason and get ourselves to a high point before they arrive."

The stiffness in Will's body was too much. He buckled the moment he was free. Kane and Liam, both quite a bit taller than Will, took his arms over their shoulders and hauled him back to the cover of the trees.

"Here," Liam offered. He handed Will his bow and quiver. "You can't run. Cover us while we get the others."

Will nodded. He readied an arrow. Kane led Liam to the tent Talia had signaled as the only one left Mason may be in. Once inside they had to step over four dead bodies. They must have been the guards. Talia and the other Ranger were quickly going down the rows picking locks. The large space seemed to have at least sixty young men and woman crowded in neat rows. Kane took out his lock pick and jogged past Talia to the next row.

"Get the lock in the ground at the end first!" Talia shouted to him as he moved. "Most of them are just looped onto the lead line. Others are anchored to it."

Kane nodded and knelt down at the first of the row. A stake had been driven deep into the ground with the chain intertwined through an attached ring. Kane shoved his pick into the lock and worked the tumblers until they clicked open. He went down the row until he came to someone who, as Talia called it, was 'anchored'. Kane wasn't sure if the anchors were random or under some kind of punishment. All the slaves had chains on their feet and for most the lead line just went between them so that they were all connected. The, anchors, however also wore chains on their hands and a new lock altogether kept their hands and feet connected to the line. While the others were free to stretch and use their hands the 'anchors' were forced to sit hunched over.

Kane couldn't believe people could do such a thing to people who had committed no crime. He pulled the lead out of the others and knelt down at his first anchor. It was a boy around the same age as Gilan's youngest son, Dalby. The thought of Dalby as a slave made Kane sick.

"Thank you," he whispered once he could sit up and arch his back. His voice was so raspy it was difficult to understand him. Kane paused to pass him his canteen.

"Take a drink," he told the boy. Once he'd had a decent gulp Kane moved on. The semi-freed slaves stayed in their rows quietly watching. Chains clinking together were the only sound in the entire room aside from whispered thanks.

"There's another tent like this one," Talia told him as they neared the back. "It's smaller. I think it's the older ones."

"I'll go," Paul volunteered. Kane watched as he ran out. He turned around and searched for Liam. He found him kneeling in a random row. The slaves around Liam stared at him with annoyance. He hadn't freed a single one. Instead, he'd searched row after row until he found his apprentice. Liam worked furiously at the locks. Mason was what Talia called 'an anchor'.

"We'll have to wait to free you all fully," Talia announced as she pulled up the last line. "We have help coming, but for now we need everyone to sit and stay in lines as though we were never here."

Kane watched as Liam passed his full canteen over to Mason. His apprentice had been badly beaten, like Will. Liam tended him as he'd tend Scout or Caitlyn, using his second canteen to splash water over his skin as he drank. The Royal Scouts were trained in groups spending just two years shadowing a mentor. Ranger bonds went much deeper. Kane thought about his own mentor. The man was retired now. He would have never gone after Kane the way Liam went after Mason. But then, Royal Scouts rotated ranks and apprentices more often than Rangers.

"Talia, you go help Paul," Liam ordered. "Kane, you back Will and make sure the army makes it here in a timely manner."

Talia and Kane both nodded and raced out opposite sides of the tent to fulfill their orders.

Kane rejoined Will at the base of the tree they'd left him. "You find him?" Will asked. Kane nodded.

"Liam said for us to make sure the army makes it here."

They whistled for their horses and mounted up the moment they arrived. Tug had been kept with the slave traders' horses and eagerly reunited with his true master.

"They should be coming from the east," Kane told him. They took off. It didn't take long to find the company with William at its lead.

"What's going on?" William demanded as they slowed.

"You need to get there now," Will replied. "Everyone's in a panic, but give them much more time and they'll figure out there are only three people attacking."

"Let's go then."

The company of a hundred included thirteen cavalry. Kane took charge of them and began riding hard towards the camp. Those on foot would take another twenty or so minutes, but those on horseback could be there in three if they rode aggressively. As the camp came into view people in chains stumbled trying to run with terror in their eyes. Kane peered past them. The tent they'd been in caught fire. Guards were now holding torches and surrounding the two slave tents. The larger one holding the younger, more able bodied captives was almost completely gone, but they had been freed from the lines in the ground and had gotten away from the flames. The other tent holding the older, less able bodied erupted with piercing screams.

Kane rode hard towards that one letting the cavalry cut down whoever got in the way. He drew out his knife and cut a rope on one side and then the other. He grabbed the rope and ripped back the canvas as he guided his horse around the exterior of the tent. The frame had caught fire too, but removing the canvas solved their greatest worries. People coughed as the smoke pushed out into open air. Kane grabbed his lock pick and dismounted. He reached the closest lead line and grabbed the lock. He dropped it instantly with a grunt. The metal had seared his hand. Kane took the end of his shirt and grabbed it again working hard to pick the lock before the heat through fabric became too much. It came loose. He ran down the line to the last person. With this group there were no 'anchors', just unfortunate people on the end.

Kane picked the last lock and quickly yanked the chain back until everyone on that row was free. He did two more rows until he reached Talia. She coughed heavily though she still fumbled with her pick. Kane pushed her hands away. She'd breathed in so much smoke she shook, making picking locks impossible. Kane picked the lock and pulled the lead. They weren't able to get up and run like the others, but they did shuffle their way to a safer distance. Kane caught Talia's shoulders and dragged her away to the tree line.

"Where's the Ranger?" he demanded. "Paul?"

Talia still hadn't caught her breath. She couldn't speak, so she pointed. Kane followed her finger and saw the mottled cloak heaped close to what had been the tent's entrance. He went and pulled the Ranger back to the clearing. He flipped Paul over. The front of his shirt was stained red with blood.

"Attacked," Talia gasped. "The g…guards…a…"

"Here," Kane said. He gave her his canteen. "Catch your breath. I'm going to get more."

Talia managed to nod before coughing uncontrollably again. Kane went back to the slaves deemed 'too weak' to have much real security and began dragging one by one to safety. The smoke and roaring flames were gone, but the frame would collapse any moment and people were in the way. He came to the area Talia had given out at and knelt next to the woman slumped over trying to catch her breath.

"Miss?" Kane asked as he touched her shoulder. She looked up at him. She had to be the youngest he'd found in this tent. She sat up with tears in her eyes. Kane widened his own eyes when he saw her rounded stomach. "Don't worry," he told her gently. No wonder Talia had been so determined to get this one free. "I'm going to get you out of here."

He lifted her up in his arms. He took her to Talia, who had finally gotten over her fit of breathlessness. Kane set the woman down in the grass next to her.

"Can you make sure she's alright?" he asked Talia. Talia nodded. She offered the woman what was left in Kane's water and, satisfied, Kane ran back to get more people out. The rest of the army was now arriving and the men responsible for all this were being bound with rope and thumbcuffs.

William came over and joined him. "Anything you can tell us about all this?" he asked.

Kane nodded. "They have about a hundred slaves all in all. I'm not sure what they were being used for. They killed Ranger Paul, but the rest of us are alright. Liam found his apprentice. If you give me four or five people who can pick locks we can start getting the slaves out of chains."

William turned to the soldiers waiting for orders behind him. "Whoever can pick locks and has everything he needs to do it, step forward."

Three men came to the front.

"Close enough," Kane shrugged. "Just find those with chains and pick them. Some ran to the woods during the panic."

The soldiers went to work immediately. Kane tapped William's shoulder before he could go off. "Talia found a woman with child," he whispered. "I don't know if there's a physician in this company, but a medic should be sent over to make sure she's alright."

William nodded. "Consider it done."

Kane worked until dark to unlock chains. Once people realized the newcomers were there to free them everyone who could pick locks sat in a row and the slaves lined up in an orderly fashion. The heat from the fire had caused the metal to leave burns on top of scars. William had the idea to dismantle the horse troughs so they sat on ground level and sent apprentices to fill them with cold water so the slaves could soak their wounds. Nobody felt comfortable lighting a fire big enough to give everyone a warm meal, so instead they passed around cold sandwiches of bread and dried meat.

The slaves were finally free of their restraints two hours after dark. Now the chains were used to contain the slave traders. Forty-two had survived the chaos and search parties had already been sent out to find stragglers. It was easy to pick apart the criminals and the slaves. The slaves had worn shackles for so long their ankles were badly disfigured. The criminals were well fed and had sour attitudes of superiority.

Kane walked back in the direction he'd left Talia. He'd heard a woman screaming for quite a few hours while he sat on the opposite side of the camp picking locks and had been worried. He found Liam and Talia sitting side by side. Talia rocked with her knees drawn up. Once he was closer he saw a baby tightly swaddled in her lap.

"What the…" Kane gasped.

"She was in labor," Talia said simply. "It's a boy. He was born three hours ago."

"And his mother died two hours ago," Liam added.

Kane felt rage build inside him but had no choice but to let it go. "Is the baby alright?"

Talia nodded. "He's healthy."

Kane sat down with them. "So what do we do with him? Take him to the Ward?"

"He's not the orphan of a soldier. He's the orphan of a slave," Liam said with hollowness in his voice.

"Kane, did anyone ever tell you how Liam and I ended up at the Academy?" Talia asked. Kane shook his head feeling slightly off guard. Talia looked back to the baby. "We were sold to its leaders."

Kane felt floored. He'd heard awful things about the Academy and how it took on orphans to train them into assassins but never that it took slaves.

"Our mothers are dead," Liam continued. "We were young children left behind. The Academy's recruiters came to take down the slave traders, but they wanted to get those who seemed like promising students out first before the fighting happened. I had a bad habit of stealing from the masters so the leaders came and bought me. My mother was sick when I left. I have no doubts she died shortly after."

"They were trying to buy my mother because she was pretty and they wanted her as a Charmer. She was younger than I was when I had you," Talia went on. "They found out she had a daughter after she died from being made to eat rotten food so they came and bought me instead."

"We didn't know one another before the Academy but among the orphans there was another divide. It was between those from orphanages and the streets and those who were bought," Liam explained He nodded to the baby in Talia's lap. "If we were in Hibernia and this happened back then this boy would be taken by the leaders and would know how to use a knife by the time he turned five."

Kane felt a chill go down his spine. He'd known the old Academy was a messed up place but nobody from those days really talked about it. Now he knew why.

"What's going on?" William asked as he joined them. He eyed the baby.

"This boy is orphaned," Talia told him.

William blinked several times. "The mother…"

"She died an hour after she had him."

Liam carefully took the baby from Talia and stood up. William studied him. "Are you going to take him?" William asked.

"No," Liam answered. He closed the gap between them and promptly deposited the child in William's arms. "You are. He was orphaned on your watch."

William's eyes widened. "But I sent the physician and…"

"It isn't your fault. It just happened on your watch," Liam assured him. William let out a relieved sigh. "You're free to deposit him at the orphanage or into the care of a maid when we get back. I'll show you how to feed him until then. Or, if you like, you're in your rights to order Talia to take care of him until we get back."

"I don't recommend that one," Talia added quickly in a serious tone.

"However," Liam went on, "I understand you and Anamaria have wanted a child? This boy is a war orphan. You don't have to make him your heir but you are responsible for his wellbeing until he's grown. Whether you pass him off or keep him is your choice, but I'd advise you talk it over with Anamaria first."

"At any rate he still needs a name," Talia said as she stood. "Something to think about."

Liam and Talia left the younger men standing there feeling dumbfounded. Kane took a step towards his friend.

"William if it makes you uneasy then I can…"

"No," William said firmly without taking his gaze off the boy. "No," he repeated in a gentler tone. "I'll take care of him."

Kane nodded and turned his head back to Liam and Talia. They sat with Mason and a couple of other newly freed slaves. All around him there were Araluens trying to put freed slaves at ease. The freed slaves were wary and coward away from the attempts. Liam and Talia, however, seemed perfectly at ease even with the two Kane didn't know. It was as though the huddle of people shared a connection.

Kane's train of thought was interrupted by a baby crying. William nudged Kane. "What do I do?" he asked.

"Feed him," Kane answered. "He'll need goat's milk. That's what Gab and I gave Russ."

William nodded. "Alright. Goat's milk."

"Get a sterile cloth and dip the corner in the milk. He can suck it out of the cloth. It takes a while, but he'll catch on."

William nodded again. "Alright. Um…"

Kane smiled and pointed to the pen near the camp kitchen where two goats stood braying out. "Come on. I'll help you."