The doorman asks me, "Your necklace please," in a tired and disinterested tone.

I stand there in contemplation. Should I give him my necklace, or should I make a scene? As I’m contemplating, I look back at the man, perhaps even giving the doorman a hint of my horrible situation. Unfortunately, the doorman fails to care, maybe out of sheer disinterest or maybe due to the long hours spent doing his job numbing his thoughts.

As I stare into the glaring face of the man, I ponder the effectiveness of making a scene and attempting to get myself rescued. Unfortunately, he has made such efforts quite hard to pull off. Considering the gag in my mouth and my weakened muscles, I doubt that it will be easy to pull anything off.

Although, if I could pull it off, I would be freed, and no more innocent people would have to suffer the wrath of this monster. Or I could fail; there aren’t many people around currently. If I try something, the man may kill the poor worker blocking the exit and me next, after which he would likely flee the academy through the exit before any wizards arrive.

On the other hand, I could follow the man’s expectations, give the doorman the necklace, and trust that I will learn magic and free myself, in the future. Although, before that happens, there will most definitely be more innocents taken out by the man, people who wouldn’t do anything wrong, who are living their lives far better than I ever was.

I look down at the soul-bound necklace, most definitely not obtained in a just and fair way. It’s all just so unfair. Why must I choose between myself and others? Why must the lives of other innocents rest upon my shoulders?

I look back up at the man, and he starts scowling at me like a beast. As I look into his eyes, I make my decision. Although the most moral decision would be to raise my voice and protest the horrible man, it will also likely lead to my doom. Maybe a better person would be accepting of such sacrifices, to prevent the murders of good people, only at the cost of their life. Unfortunately, I’m too greedy; I don’t want to die, and I don’t want to risk my life if there is a way to succeed without sacrificing myself. I want to live on to experience what I was too ignorant to see in my past.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

With my decision made, I reluctantly give the doorman the soul-bound necklace. After checking its legitimacy, he lets me by, and soon my lovely captor follows.

Over what must have been an hour, he led me from the beautiful streets of Lomund to the disheveled and disgusting slums. I have only visited this place once in my life. I was sent by my father; I must have been around eleven back then. He made me see the true disgusting part of my blood, inherited by the sickly, starved, unhygienic, and unintelligent people of the slums.

And now I’m back, and it is as terrible as I remember it to be: the rotten construction, the soggy air, and the disgusting smell lingering in every nook of this place, which might be a mix of rotten meat, fecal matter, and whatever other disgusting particles the air can contain.

The man brought me to a gray and brown building, which looks to be barely holding against the elements. He knocked on the door, and after some time, a voice spoke out on the other side, asking for a password. The man replied with a weird string of words.

The door opened and a typical dirty commoner showed his face, dirty clothes, horrid stench, ugly looks, and the likes. “Greetings, boss! Is this the one you were talking about?” he asked with excitement.

“Quiet, you fool. If someone realizes anything about this, all of your pay will be cut.” the “boss” half whispered half yield.

“Oh, no need, it won’t happen again. Sorry, boss.”

The man made me give him back the three bags he gave me and removed my mask and gag.

After that, he pushed me in front and said, “Yes, this is him. Treat him as I told you to, and don’t do anything stupid.”

The man left, leaving me alone with the commoner at the door. Who forcefully grabbed me by the shoulder and dragged me to a room inside their decrepit house. While being forcefully pushed, I got to see three more people, who were playing cards at a table.

The commoner dragged me into a room with a bed and a chair, and made me sit down on the chair. After that, he wrapped my legs and arms the exact way the man always did.

When he was all done tying me up, he left the room and left me alone once again like the man always did. Well, that’s what I thought until I looked at the bed.