Chapter Two: Really?
Naomi woke up with a bump to her head. She felt herself being dragged along the street, pieces of gravel and broken glass cutting into the back of her head. She looked down and saw a three-fingered hand wrapped around her left ankle pulling her forward. She blinked a few more times as she realized what had happened before everything went black.
Her captor was walking through a previously bustling area of her town down the main street. She looked up to see two more of the same figures following them as she was being pulled towards whatever destination awaited her. With the adrenaline running low in her body, she was able to focus her gaze on the creatures that had captured her so easily.
The creatures were pale with splotchy patches of darker skin spread randomly through their limbs. The cloak she had first noticed about them was more like a poncho than a full-length robe, and their arms swung freely as they walked. Under the hoods they wore, she could see the familiar bright orange eyes that had petrified her during their initial encounter.
Under their eyes was a long-pointed nose that reminded her of what an old witch who resided in a house made of sweet-bread and frosting to lure unsuspecting children to their demise.
The two following creatures noticed that she was looking at them but said nothing. Their eyes moved forward towards their goal, and they kept silent.
Naomi felt a wave of dull pain on the back of her head, and she winced when she realized that it was there. She felt her hands tied at the wrists above her, wondering if it was too much to ask to at least be carried to her death rather than dragged through the street like a prize catch.
She looked down past the legs of the creature that was pulling her and saw other figures dozens of meters ahead walking in the same direction towards the town center. She had lost all sense of time, but the familiarity of her surroundings and the fact that there were still storm clouds in the sky told her it had only been a few minutes since she was knocked out.
As she looked at the creatures ahead of them, she was able to see that they were all carrying what looked like limp human bodies with them. Some had their prisoners thrown over their shoulders, while others were using the same method as her captors and dragged them along by the arm or leg.
Naomi turned her head to the side of the street where she saw a group of three creatures holding down a frantic man. He was shouting and struggling against them and being held by the larger hands of the creatures above him. She watched as one of the creatures held up the man’s right arm and snapped it in the wrong direction. The man let out a scream as the arm broke, only to be enhanced by the pain of the creature taking a bite out the man’s bicep.
Her eyes widened in horror as the other two began breaking limbs and feasting on their prey. The cries of pain slowly turning into gurgles, and then silence. She began to hyperventilate at the thought of the slow and painful death, only to realize something.
She looked down past the now familiar three-toed feet and saw that all the creatures ahead of them were carrying women. She put two and two together and realized that there are worse things than being dead.
With a gradual turn to the left onto a new street, she saw the original dozens of creatures around her turn into hundreds. The group she came with had now moved at a quicker pace, dragging her along and merging with the now densely populated street. The grim fate of the man on full display among the corpses that littered the sidewalk and alleyways she passed on either side of the street.
She noticed a faint glow of dark purple light emanating from the buildings she passed, growing brighter the more they walked. She lifted her head to see the origin and her eyes were immediately drawn to the source.
A large circular wall of light enveloped the end of the street they were on. The light swirled within the rift, and pulsed every few seconds as she saw the distant figures walk through.
The distant chorus of screams started to muffle as previously unconscious prisoners became aware that they were walking through the gate of light to an unknown destination. Some were left to scream, while others were smacked by their captors to quell their noise.
Naomi began to move her arms towards her torso, only to have one of her tailing entourages grab her tied hands to stop her. She looked up at the hand grabbing her own and made an angry face at the creature. It looked back with a menacing smile, bearing sharp rows of jagged yellow teeth at her.
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The lead creature turned back at her and let out a chuckle when he felt her resistance.
“Renta koo fass lia bibtre” The creature muttered.
They began to close in the light, only a few feet behind the line of creatures walking through.
“Pasa neua kea—” they passed the threshold.
“--with your squirming. You will see what it gets you, slave.” The creature finished in what Naomi could strangely understand.
She felt the rough street asphalt turn into soft grass on her back and head as they passed into the light. The previously stormy skies turned into a bright blue with distant scattered clouds.
Naomi looked around and saw that she was now in an open field, grass spanning for as far as she could see on either side of her. Directly ahead of her was a wall of tall brown trees as high as skyscrapers. She looked at the tree line and saw that the previously formed groups of captors had scattered and started heading into various points of entry into the woods.
“Beha, are we keeping this one or is the clan?” asked one of the trailing creatures.
“I need to consult the shaman to see what the needs of the clan are first, if he permits personal use then we may share her among ourselves. I am not about to smuggle goods past the guard only to have it taken away and punished like Unthor.” Beha responded.
“Unthor was a sneak and traitor to the hunt. He knew what would happen. We brought at least ten times as much game as him and I think we earned some extra rewards” said the third creature.
Beha stopped in his tracks right at the border of the tree line and looked over his shoulder towards the other two.
“We are not above clan rule, Tero. We have orders and will meet them as they are given.” He turned back and continued to walk.
“Fine. But I’m not waiting to get my taste last again.” Tero spat as he looked back down at Naomi.
Her eyes were darting back and forth between the talking creatures who suddenly had a handle on the English language. She started to look at the creature apparently named Tero when a square translucent box appeared in her vision.
Name: Naomi Salazar
Class: None
Birth Class: None
HP: 100/140
Mana: 100/100
Stamina: 57/100
Current Birth Class is unknown – recalculating…
A small blue wheel began to spin below the last message.
What in the fu—Her thought was cut off when the box changed again.
Birth Class has been recovered:
Birth Class: Priest
Level: 1
Available Abilities: 2
Ability: Healing Touch:
You have a connection to all things holy. Physical contact with an ally will heal them if the connection is uninterrupted or until you are out of mana. Current cost: 5 mana/second .
Ability: Holy Arc:
The forces of light lend you their power. Cast an arc of light to burn through your enemies and heal your allies.
Cost: 15 mana/cast
Naomi read over the messages until a rock dragged under her brought her attention back to the current situation. She looked through the barely visible window in her vision to see that the trees they were passing were marked with what appeared to be yellow splashes of paint.
She looked down and noticed that through the dozens of trees, there was smoke rising from a distant cluster of huts. She looked around her and spotted a few lines of the creatures heading in the same direction but following different paths based on the color of paint that was on the trees.
“We are coming up on the village. Hoods down. Tero, be respectful or you will have me to answer to. Viron, pick up the other side.” Beha ordered.
Not a second went by when a pair of hands grabbed Naomi’s bound upper half, holding her above the ground as they walked. She couldn’t help but be relieved that she didn’t have to feel the dirt on her ass any longer, but also felt like she was about to be the main course of some random monster village.
This…I mean THIS is how I die? Really?! She admonished herself more than anything thinking about all the running she had done in her daily routine only to be caught and trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey.
As the group walked, Naomi noticed that the smoke rising from the village was the result of a massive bonfire in what appeared to be the center.
The village border was guarded by ten creatures, all wearing matching cloaks. Five stood on either side of the beaten dirt path that Naomi and the three captors were walking on. Naomi could see the faces of the guards and noticed how on their pale faces, there was yellow paint over their brow line and nose.
“Beha. Welcome home. I see the portal provided well.” One of the guards said as Beha came to a stop in front of the entrance to the village.
“Thank you, Elder. We were fortunate to bring tribute to the clan. May this female prove capable of providing new warriors to the Kal’ Aaht.” Beha responded. His tone took on a respectful inflection as he spoke rather than the dry impatient tone he had with his companions.
The elder moved around him towards Naomi’s left side. Eyeing her up and down before placing a hand on her stomach.
“Was this the best of the pack on the other side?” the elder asked.
“The world was filled with these creatures, but they were hidden away in tall huts of stone. We came across a few others, but most were taken by the time it was our turn to travel through the gate.” He reached to her thighs and Naomi jerked to avoid his touch.
The elder laughed. “She doesn’t seem to care for our hospitality”.
Tero raised his hand at her to strike and froze when he saw both the elder and Beha looking back with disapproval.
“She is not yours to do with what you want YET, Tero. Should the shaman decide otherwise, then you are welcome to do as you please.” He stepped closer into Tero’s personal space. “Be grateful that you were allowed to even accompany Beha through the gate, whelp.” He hissed.
Tero lowered his head in shame. “Yes, Elder” he whispered.
The Elder turned to face Beha. “Come. The ceremony starts soon” he began walking past the group of guards into the village.