Ekia opened his eyes to see that he was lying inside of a partly dense forest with little view of the sky and the space between the tree trunks. Rubbing his eyes, Ekia felt weird and confused as he tried to work out where he was. Looking down at his hands Ekia’s world was shattered.
“Where the hell am I? Why do I have such small hands?” Ekia yelled out, flustered and confused.
Pulling himself up, Ekia took deep breaths as he tried to remember what happened. ‘Why can’t I remember what happened when I was drinking or afterwards’ Ekia thought in confusion.
“Now that I think about it, I never saw trees like these before?” Ekia muttered to himself as he calmly observed his surroundings. “Guess I should find someone to tell me where I am!”
Picking a random direction Ekia began to slowly walk his way through the forest. It was rough going as the ground was uneven in some parts and he had to squeeze himself between some trees as they became denser. As Ekia continued to move, he began to feel disheartened that he might end up just going deeper into the forest instead of finding the forest edge. Seeing a glimpse of something shining through some of the bushes, Ekia didn’t know why but it made him feel energized and lose control of his body. The next thing Ekia knew he walked through the bushes and found himself crouched in front of a lake. Looking closer Ekia was surprised to see that despite the lake being in a forest, it was extremely clean. There was no leaves floating on the top. ‘Is this safe to drink?’ Ekia thought as he carefully cupped his hands and took a sip. ‘What is this bland flavor’. Getting up Ekia washed his hands and face before getting up to see if there was any food or shelter nearby, there was none. Grabbing a leaf off a low hanging tree, Ekia wondered if it was edible but decided against it. Realizing that he hadn’t really looked at his appearance properly, Ekia went to the lake’s edge again and crouched down. For a moment his appearance wasn’t clear. Leaner closer he waited for it to become clearer. When it did, Ekia found himself staring at a small, child-looking being. His hair was dark brown with curls, partly covering his ember green eyes. His skin was a light tan brown and his ears were longer with a tip. ‘Am I an elf or something’ Ekia thought to himself as he noticed a faint scratch on his neck. Moving his shirt down Ekia was surprised to see that the scratch continued down. Lifting his shirt up, the scar turned into a larger scar that stretched and thin towards his belly button.
“So I came into a new world or something and this body is already damaged, what could have happened to it?” Ekia muttered.
Pulling himself up, Ekia began to walk in a straight direction hoping to find someone to help him. As he walked Ekia picked up a thick stick in case he needed to protect himself, although he doubted he could protect himself. Pushing through Ekia found himself tearing some of his clothing as he kept getting stuck as the gaps between trees were getting smaller and the bushes started to develop thorns. There weren't any animals around even though Ekia could hear birds around him somewhere. Finally seeing a brighter light breaking through a gap between two trees as the surroundings were becoming darker. Reaching the gap Ekia could barely peak through but it was enough. Through the gap, there was a large fire burning with some people sitting around. Ekia was able to count six people with four being male and two being female. They were wearing strange outfits like the ones he saw on advertisements. It was difficult to hear what they were saying but they seemed happy about something. Past these beings, there was a cloth or tent covering something and the area opened up. ‘I want to go there’ Ekia thought as he feared he may never walk on open ground or see the whole sky again. Suddenly his stomach rumbled, Ekia hid behind the tree fearing that they heard. ‘Why am I hiding when they could help me?’ Ekia thought but he couldn’t move his body at all. Hearing a stick snap beside him, Ekia began to shake in fear. Slowly turning his head Ekia found himself staring into the face of one of the men. His face looked hideously scary, making Ekia wish he could go back home and hide under his blankets. The next thing Ekia knew, he was being lifted off the ground by the cuff of his shirt as it felt like a terrible energy began to leak out of the man. Suspecting that they were not adventurers since he had been told adventurers were there to protect everyone, Ekia wondered who they were.
“What you got there?” a sweet female voice asked.
“Just caught another one!” the man boomed in laughter, Ekia felt chills spread through his body.
Ekia was carried through a gap that felt like it appeared out of nowhere and saw that he was being taken towards the tent. As the tent flap opened, Ekia was horrified to see that in front of them, even though it was dark inside, there were cages upon cages with different creatures inside of them. Being carried to one of the few empty cages on the ground, Ekia was dropped inside. Once the cage was locked, the man threw a blanket over him, blocking out all lights. Trying to lift the cage door up, Ekia ended up having to accept that he couldn’t escape. Feeling uncomfortable Ekia tried to get settled to wait for something to happen. When nothing did, Ekia closed his eyes and settled for an unsteady sleep. Opening his eyes Ekia found himself lying on the ground. It was dark and raining heavily. Above him stood a man whose face was hidden in shadow with a gun pointing towards him. Ekia felt panic that he was going to die in this way. Trying to scream, Ekia was finally able to when there was a loud boom before everything went dark. Waking up Ekia realized that he was alive in the cage and no one was trying to kill him, wiping the sweat off his face Ekia tried to calm down his racing heart when the blanket was removed. Finding himself once again being held by the cuff of his shirt, he was carried outside. Once placed on the ground Ekia waited for the man to turn away but he didn’t. Instead the man roughly ripped his clothes off and placed him into a water basin. Ekia didn’t have enough time to think as the man slathered him in soap and dumped water onto him. It was hard to breathe and the soap was hurting his eyes. Once out Ekai was roughly dried being placed into some simple brown clothing.
“Well Luna, is this suitable for you to take pictures now?” the man asked.
“Yes William, now hurry up and take him to the set!” Luna said roughly as she held a strange looking device.
Ekia was picked up from under his arms and carried to the set. The set was a blanket with picnic supplies on it and the female with the sweet voice was sitting there. Being placed down, Ekia was forced to sit on her lap as multiple photos were taken. Once everything was done, Ekia was shoved roughly onto the ground by the female with a sweet voice.
“I’m going to bathe so I don’t get sick from that filth!” the female with the sweet voice said harshly.
‘I guess she isn’t as nice as she seemed’ Ekia thought as he was once again picked up and carried towards the tent. Out of nowhere there was the sound of trees crashing, Ekia was placed down onto the ground before looking into the direction. The trees nearby were broken and out came a terrifying beast. The beast was so giant that Ekia wondered how it was able to move so freely through the forest while he struggled. Ekia wasn’t sure what it was. The beast looked like a lizard mashed with a frog, it was green in colour with a purple underbelly.
“Get into the tent you bug!” William demanded as he shoved Ekia in the tent’s direction
Seeing that there was an opportunity to escape he quickly changed his mind as he felt the terrifying beast deadly stare on him. Before Ekia could take a step, he was picked up by William again and thrown further away, not to the tent with the cages but closer to a fancier one that Ekia was sure wasn’t there before. The tent flap was lifted open and two men walked out, getting a closer look, Ekia saw that one was an elf like him but his skin was a much paler white. He was wearing a shirt that was slightly opened and in his hand appeared a fireball slowly growing bigger. The other one looked more like a human. He was topless with a large scar covering one of his eyes and another one going down his back. It seemed that his weapon was brass knuckles. ‘Guess there are classes here’ Ekia thought as they passed him, heading towards the beast.
“Come here young man!” a voice said charmingly from inside of the tent.
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Feeling slightly drawn to the voice but it turned into instant disgust. He decided that it was the best time to escape with the beast distracted, and to get away from whoever owned that voice. Getting to his feet, Ekia looked around before finding a space between the tree trunks that was small enough to prevent the others from following him. He decided to wait a little longer before adventuring into open areas. Slowly walking towards the direction of the gap, Ekia hoped he wasn’t noticed but he soon found himself off the ground being held tightly.
“Now where do you think you were off to?” the disgusted voice said closely to Ekia’s ear.
It made Ekia squirm and feel like vomiting. Feeling a bite on his neck, Ekia felt a warm sensation spread through his body, his body began to feel hot.
“Feeling better now?” the disgusting, now pleasant voice said. “Now how about you come with me so we can wait out the fighting?”
Knowing that there was nothing Ekia could do, the Voice carried him inside the tent. The inside wasn’t what Ekia had expected, it was full of different decorations and furniture. The place felt so welcoming and comfortable. They made their way to the back where the Voice opened a flap and went in. The main thing in this room was a giant bed that had a bunch of fluffy pillows and toys. Once the Voice sat down, they held Ekia on their lap. Having his head moved roughly to face the Voice, he saw that the Voice was a male with youthful skin and bright green, cold eyes. Ekia wasn’t sure what people call being like this is games, maybe something like sirens.
“Now young man, what is your name?” the Voice asked with a creepy smile.
“Ekia!” Ekia replied happily with a smile on his face, becoming completely charmed by the man’s voice.
“Well Ekia, time for you to sleep!” the man said before Ekia felt a prick on his neck, knocking him out.
Coming to, Ekia saw that it was daytime still, light was casting shadows and shining through some small gaps. He was lying under a warm blanket surrounded by soft pillows. Sitting up, Ekia felt wary and sore. ‘I’m still in the tent’ Ekia realized. ‘Maybe I will be able to escape now’. Counting, Ekia confirmed that all six of the people were sleeping on the bed and none were close to him. Carefully lifting the blanket up and moving the pillows, Ekia began to slide off the bed when he was grabbed by his shirt.
“What do you think you are doing boy?” the Voice yawned. “A small being like you shouldn’t be allowed to travel alone!”
“Just getting some fresh air!” Ekia stated cheerfully, struggling to hide the whole truth.
“Be back in thirty minutes then or you’ll be in trouble!” the Voice stated before letting go.
Getting off the bed, Ekia carefully made his way outside of the tent before looking around. Beside the damage done by the beast, the beast body wasn’t there. ‘Where did it go?’ Ekia thought. Accepting that going through the area where the beast damaged, it would allow him to reach an area where the others wouldn’t catch him. Quickening his pace, Ekia slipped a few times before reaching the gap between the broken trees. He looked at the tent containing the other caged creatures but knew there wasn’t much he could do. Looking in front of him, Ekia resumed walking through the trees quickly before finally reaching the denser area. As Ekia moved he tried to come up with a plan but nothing came to mind as he knew nothing about the world he was now in. hearing a beeping sound around him, Ekia quickly turned around to see what was making the noise before tripping over a root. The next thing Ekia knew he was once again on the bed.
“You really think I didn’t expect you to try escaping, silly boy!” the Voice said sweetly. “Best to accept that it's useless to try again!”
“I understand!” Ekia said cheerfully.
“Good, now get changed!” the Voice said as he got out of bed and woke the others.
It was strange as the others got up and walked zombie-like out of the room. Hopping out of the bed Ekia was going to walk out when he was grabbed by his arm and pulled to the side. Being handed a pile of clothing, Ekia just stared at them. The fabric felt soft and warm against his skin but he felt slightly worried about what would happen if he accepted them.
“Need help getting dressed?” the Voice asked smugly. “It would be my pleasure!”
“No I can dress myself!” Ekia quickly stated, feeling slightly embarrassed.
“I’ll leave it to you then!” the Voice said as he left the room.
Lying the clothes down onto the bed, Ekia was slightly confused on why there were a lot of holes and some pieces just hanging. ‘What hole is for the head and leg?’ Ekia thought as he struggled to find them.
“This is impossible!” Ekia whispered to himself.
“Need help?” the Voice said as he appeared behind Ekia. “Guess you've never tried clothes like these before!”
“Yes please!” Ekia said, looking down, feeling embarrassed.
Watching as the Voice moved the clothing around.
“This is the way it goes!” the Voice stated as he explained where the head, arms and legs go before leaving the room again.
Removing his clothing, Ekia quickly changed into his new clothing. It felt a bit skimpy with the holes showing parts of his stomach, back, legs and arms. But it also felt nice against his skin, it fitted him extremely well.
“It looked good on you!” the Voice said cheerfully before handing Ekia another piece of clothing. “It’s a type of coat!”
Putting the coat on Ekia felt slightly less skimpy and uncomfortable. Being grabbed roughly around the wrist, the Voice began to fix the hanging parts and adding some things so that his back stomach and back was fully covered by cloth and the different accessories, before a belt was placed around his waist.
“This is a tracker so that I will know where you are at all times!” the Voice said as he tucked the tracker into a pocket that was attached to the belt. “Alright we are ready now!”
Being grabbed by the hand Ekia was led out of the tent and towards the others. Being surrounded by all of them made Ekia feel uncomfortable, it felt too crowded.
“Guess the filth is joining us?” the female with the sweet voice asked as she flicked her hair back. “Should we do introductions?”
“Fine by me!” William stated. “I’m William!”
“I’m Luna, she is Mia, his Cole, Lucas and Levi!” Luna stated as she pointed at each of them. “Now we need to start packing to leave!”
As the others departed, Ekia stood beside Levi before he was led to William.
“Keep an eye on him!” Levi said charmingly before heading back to the tent.
Thinking about escaping another way since William was busy and no one was looking in his direction, he began to look around hoping there was an area close by. Unfortunately unlike before the trees were not as close and there were no gaps for him to squeeze through, he wasn’t sure if there would be any gaps if he ran past the enclosed trees.
“Don’t bother trying to escape!” William stated as he began to pile items into bags. “Come here!”
Heading to William, Ekia was handed a bag partly full of stuff. It was surprisingly heavy and would be difficult to move without tripping. Watching as William picked up three more bags before taking the one Ekia was holding, replacing that with a smaller pouch.
“Follow!” William stated as he began to move around the tree corner.
Quickly following behind a large cart came into view, he wondered how it was going to move with no animals. Handing over the pouch Ekia watched as William began to organize things around while the others began bringing things over. Once everything appeared to be packed, Ekia found himself being placed into the cart between some of the stuff.
“Stay there or you will get left behind!” William stated as he headed to the front section of the cart that was empty, where the others were already seated.
Getting comfortable where he was, Ekia looked to the tent with the cages; they were gone. Before Ekia could think about it much, he saw a giant shadow covering them. Looking up, Ekia was amazed to see a dragon was coming down to them, latching its claws onto the cart. One of its back claws was so close that Ekia could touch it but he decided against it, it was so sharp looking. As the cart was lifted Ekia fell back against some of the bags before carefully looking over the side. The view was amazing but the height they were gaining was terrifying. The view showed the large expanse of the forest range and beyond that was vast hopelessness. Settling down Ekia hoped that they don’t crash or fall out, it wouldn’t be fun. Turning his attention elsewhere, Ekia began to enjoy the warmth of the sun on his face before drifting off. It felt slightly off.