02 - JUST A QUICK LOOK AROUND

Lying on the unforgiving black stone I could feel muscle stiffness was only growing worse and my thoughts were no longer working as the distraction that I needed them to. I felt the cold air of the room brushing briskly against my naked exposed skin, surely a draft was coming from somewhere nearby. I was sure however, I would become a bonfire in an instant, if someone walked into the room right then. The embarrassment of being caught in such a state would cause me a full body blush that would warm me from head to toe.

I am by my very nature a person that loves writing, reading, and mathematics, and I have led a fairly solitary bookish kind of life. Having never had the occasion to date or “get intimate” with another person, let alone go in for the type of bedroom play that I was afraid I had awakened to find myself in. I mean there were only so many things you could do with a naked girl strapped to a table and my mind to all the worst options.

—

Lesson 1

Use your experience to gauge your surroundings

My brain automatically does this, but I have been informed by others that it’s worthy of mention. As not everyone experiences the world as I do. I can understand that others may not have a polint of reference for what I mean, and certainly won’t have my experience or expertise; however; they can use their own experiences to inform themselves in a similar manor.

Example: If you have experience in woodwork and forestry you can note the quality of wood, craft, and potential weak points/damage that could be used or exploited in a dire situation. On the other hand, If you're a fighter you may be able to read the strength of people in a room, and better understand what fights may be best avoided.

Keep in mind that your skills may have hidden or extra applications that will save your life, if only you apply a little creativity.

—

Twisting my sore extremities and neck, I attempted to take in the new environment I had awoken to. In this case it may help to understand my thought process. In life, as well as death I guess, I had always taken to being overly analytical. It was a trait that served me well in my work, but hindered me in social interactions. Not everyone appreciates the pedantic, so I had become quiet around those outside my close knit “family”.

Looking back on my kidnapping and imprisonment now, If not for my particular analytical mind, I probably would have lost myself to the despair of the moment. I believe that it is thanks to my analytical side, and the series of intense events that followed that prevented me from having the chance to completely digest the despair of dying or the hatred of being murdered.

The one thing I was sure of so far, was that I was in a very, very, bad place, but thanks to my unique upbring within the church of life orphanage, I was pretty sure I at least wasn’t in hell.

The drafty poorly lit environment was missing the telltale signs of the eight hells burning merrily, and while I was sore it wasn’t the promised painful punishment from tales, but as I took in the dungeon like setting around me, I couldn’t be certain that torture wasn’t just awaiting around the bend. The pit of my stomach roiled at the thought, as if gnawing at itself in anxiety.

“Welp, at least I am alive…” and as a depressing afterthought burrowed into my mind I added morosely “for now.”

My throat sounds raw to my ears. Having dampened my own mood with that thought, I once more squirmed on what I had begun to think of as the “Altar”. The Alter which despite being cold didn’t seem to bother me in the slightest. Which I briefly marked as a strange occurrence, as a with my slight frame a light breeze could have chilled me to my core in the past, but not knowing what to due with that fact while being strung up naked, I chalked it up to that fact that I was probability in some sort of shock at the situation.

It only took a few seconds to take stock of the room. Given I had a poor angle to view the room from. I now had an inkling I wasn’t in some basement, as thick high quality drapes hung from high on the wall blocking light from coming in. There were custom carved stone work and sconces on the wall, and an expensive chandelier made from the horns of hunts hung overhead swaying ominously. Everything I could see was hinting to the truth that this was some kind of ritual room. I could see the kind of apparatus that may be used in a medical clinic, but a doctor's office would be relatively light and clean. This chamber was dim and the tools had a dingy rust quality that stuck to their edges. More likely these medical tools had been twisted to the incorrect use in some mockery of medicine or study. Probably used in some manner of dark forbidden ritual or research. Many of the medical tools stood out to me as being very expensive; a fact I only knew due to having helped with the research for the budget for the new hospital that the Lord of Wymar was budgeting for in the capital.

Outside of doctors, only wealthy traders and nobles would have the necessary funds for such things for their personal “playrooms”. Before some twisted noble these tools would be as toys to the kind of child that ripped the wings off of butterflies. Additional furnishing and twisted tools hung on the wall, whose threatening gleam hinted at a high quality. Everything seemed to be far too expensive for some unsupported family or lesser noble house. A fact that I filed away for the moment.

Taking quick stock of myself, while sore, I couldn’t ascertain if I had any cuts or bruises on my body, but from my disastrous angle it was nigh impossible to really get an accurate check. Since I couldn’t feel any new abrasions or cuts, I assume the “fun” hasn’t started yet. If it was research I doubt that they would want an awake subject to work on, only a sadist would seek such a thing, or so I mused to myself all alone in the room.

My addled brain distracted itself by musing on my courtly knowledge, which oddly helped inform me of my situation. Working as a court official, I had been assigned in the past to calculate the lord’s household’s annual revenue and associated costs. It was an activity that made me painfully aware of the cost of a noble lifestyle. Since a percentage of those costs was paid by the taxes collected from the citizenry, I decided to converse with Lord Bryan on the matter. I explained the waste to Lord Bryan in hopes of curbing the spending, only to have him explain to me that it was necessary for every noble to spend a certain amount of money, and that he had seen to the problem by making sure it was a percentage of taxes and not all of them as some noble houses did. Spending was important, as it was a way for nobles to exercise a form of soft power in society, as well as staying relevant in high society. A noble house that was unable or unwilling to keep up with the trends or social events could easily find themselves without allies or supporters, a situation that could and had led some houses to ruin.

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If I was lucky I would still be somewhere within one of lesser noble palaces within the capital of the Weimar Glenn. Maybe I was being held locally by some viscount or baron, but when I thought of my life so far, I wouldn't be betting on my luck.

Surprise struck me hard, like a rampaging beast, at the thought of my predicament. For even though I was aware that young women had been going missing in the capital, it didn’t occur to me that I would become one of the taken. Chiding myself for how foolish that thought process had been. There had been quite a few reports filed by the families of the missing young women, and as a court official I was vaguely aware of the danger. Most of the women were in their mid-teens to late-twenties, and mostly commoners. I also knew that the local adventurers and knights had been investigating the string of disappearances.

At the time, I foolishly thought it impossible that I might be taken due to my exceptional circumstances. While it may seem foolish in hindsight, as I was a 23 year old single, commoner, with no family in the capital to speak of, and I held no skill or fighting ability that would prevent my abduction. Even so I had thought myself safe, for there was nowhere more guarded and protected to live in the capital of Weimar Glenn than the palace of Lord Byran of Weimar Glenn himself.

—

Lesson 2

Take all threats seriously.

If the knights, adventurers, and citizens are in an uproar about something, then take it seriously. It is important to treat such omens and signs seriously, and never take your personal safety for granted.

—

It was a well known fact that Lord Byran valued: competent, skilled, diligent workers. Due to this fact he graciously extended housing and protection to the many in his employ that had properly served him and the province. His court was a sort of meritocracy, and my hard work had earned me my appointment as a court scribe and an official of the province. The position had come with some benefits. Scores of court scribes, cooks, guards, knights, housekeepers and other live-in employees all shared compact quarters within the servants area of the grand palace.

Being employed by the province included a commensurate room, salary, and meals. Lord Byran had found that by treating people well and providing for their most basic needs it was far easier to find and keep the kind of employees he valued most. For someone in my social station, it was a humble allotment, but having been raised by the church, humbleness had been beaten into me with a switch since an early age. I also enjoyed the small savings on room and board, as it allowed me the occasion to splurge on good books and finer desserts from time to time. Hey every girl has their needs, and mine included curling up in blankets with a book and chocolates once in a while to destress.

Like any Lord's palace, Lord Byran's was a fortress that was staffed with a company of guards and knights. So, it was shocking that anyone would be so brash, bold, or stupid as to kidnap any member of the court from the palace. The only way it could have been accomplished, would be if someone of substantial power and means had wanted me, but for what?

The level of wealth and power needed to infiltrate the palace, and bribe the right people was unthinkable, but also clearly on display in the ritual room I currently inhabited. In all likelihood my capturers were part of a larger organization that could finance such an insane endeavor.

To be fair, kidnapping a young woman with no family, and a low position within society, even a court official, had the potential to keep the blow back of the crime off whoever had commissioned my abduction. I was not even sure who would complain on my behalf, for my disappearance from Lord Bryan’s palace. They could even be as brash as telling the court that I had accepted a job with them, and they had privately hired me to work for them. Would anyone even care to check to make sure?

As a solitary scribe, with poor social skills, who could I depend on to notice my absence. The answer was depressing when I realized that only my fellow scribes might care, and only because they would be saddled with my unfinished work. They would most likely be upset with me, rather than worried. Thinking that I had run off without a word, and If it was me I might have felt the same. Even Mother Mary at the Church of Life wouldn’t know anything was wrong until after she stopped receiving letters from me for a few months. I wasn’t as good as I should have been at keeping up with correspondence with my family.

That meant that my survival in this situation was most likely up to me. In the past, I had thought managing and calculating the last 50 years of harvest versus the known weather in the plains was stressful. That was a calm ocean when compared to the pool of piranhas I found myself in.

Damn this was bad!

I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that my near future would only continue to get worse. Speaking of stomach, wrenching, and churning with pain and growling like a hungry wolf. When had I last eaten? Heck! I couldn’t even remember what I had eaten.

My body throbbed, my stomach ached with a deep hunger, and something was wrong with my head. I had never felt so empty in my life.

Why wasn’t I more afraid?

I knew that I was never the strongest, my sister had proven that to me in our youth, but I hadn’t heard from her in years. I half heartedly wished that she would be coming to my rescue, but alas that didn’t seem to be in the gods divine plans. Based on my past experiences, I should be a sobbing wreck in this unfamiliar horrifying situation, but my emotions felt as though they had been numbed or tamped down. It was most likely due to some survival instinct I didn’t even know I had, but I knew to be afraid of the breakdown that may come later. Once I was safe, then the reality of everything would all hit me, and I may find myself crushed under the emotions I was definitely bottling up.

___

Lesson 3

Track your mental state

If you are aware of your usual mental state. Then you will be able to tell when something is affecting you. This can be internal turmoil or scarier yet it could be the outside influence of a monster or a spell. If you notice early enough you can take the proper action to protect yourself or others.

___

For now however, instead of screaming or crying for help, my altered state of mind was in the midst of analytically breaking down my situation and trying to understand what was going on. Maybe it was some forgotten part of my training as a court official, something my long dead parents had taught me, or maybe it was something else. Either way I would need to work hard to harness my analytical mind. I was on my own, and I would have to try and find my way out of this messed up situation.

Shit…I wasn’t made for this.