It's a warm day, the sun is shining brightly and the green trees make the forest look welcoming. It's very quiet however, with almost no signs of wildlife, except the occasional chirping of birds.

Argh I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten anything all day. I don't even know how long it is to the nearest town. And even if I get there I have no money to buy food.

I'll have to resort to begging.

Perhaps this was all a stupid idea. I don't have anywhere to go. I don't know anyone, and I've never left the city before. There's no plan, I'm just wandering.

A man approaches in the distance, carrying a large basket filled with fruits.

Misa stares at the man.

What? the man asks, seemingly annoyed already.

Can I have some food sir? Please?

I knew you were going to ask a dumb question, your glare gave it away.

Why would I give my hard earned fruit to you? I foraged all morning and night for this so I can feed my wife and 8 children. You think I'm just going to give it away to any stranger that asks?

Like this stuff is free? My family would starve. Do you want my family to perish?

You're a foul, selfish creature. Such is often the case with you beggars. You're vile, egocentric, scum of the earth.

You should work for your own. Or better yet: Be round up and executed so you would stop being a stain on our society.

Misa interrupts the man's ranting.

I didn't ask for your life story idiot, I just want some food is all. And fruits grows on trees so it's free. Maybe you shouldn't have made so many kids to begin with. You're a human, not a rabbit, you don't have to breed endlessly.

Piss off you dumb brat, before I make you. Misa thinks it's funny, she knows that he knows she's right, what an idiot.

As the man walks away Misa throws a small rock at his head, then she runs off. The man doesn't give chase, since he is carrying the weight of all the food he foraged.

Aah I want to eat now. I'm so hungry. I'm going to collapse if I don't get some nutrition.

All this walking has made me exhausted.

Why isn't there any fruit in this stupid forest? Probably that asshole from earlier took it all.

Wait, I think I can see someone.

There's 3 men approaching. They look like bandits, a common sight when you leave the protective walls of any city, and especially in the area surrounding Satharak.

I'm scared.. but if I run away now they'll think I'll have something to hide and they'll chase me for sure. I'll just ask them for food politely and hope for the best.

Hello misters, can I have some food please?

Why would we give you food? What can you offer us in return? The hooded archer remarks.

Why do you ask that! You can see that I have nothing! Misa replies, already losing what little patience she has, her bad traits further amplified by her hunger.

How about you take off those clothes then?

I'm not going to do that, creep!

Come on now, don't be shy. This is how it works, you want something, you gotta give something in return.

The man grabs Misa by her arm as she struggles profusely.

Let go of me asshole!

Come on now, we don't have time for this Jack, the tallest of the three men interrupts.

We're going to miss the caravan if we don't make it there by dusk.

Let's take her with us then? I could bring her.

She looks weak and malnourished, it's quite clear she'd be a major liability. You're just desperate because you've had a dry spell, now hurry the fuck up.

He always does this. Remember the graveyard job when we caught him with a reanimated corpse?

Yeah he can't go a day without it or he goes crazy.

Alright alright I get it lets fucking go then.

He pushes Misa to the floor and she lands on her arms to break her fall. One of the men throws an apple at her head which breaks into several chunks.

You're lucky this time brat, here's your food.

Misa rapidly shoves the dirt covered pieces of fruit into her mouth.

That was close. Now I'm scared, I don't want to follow this road anymore. But it's my only chance of finding food. And I have no idea where I am.

Nobody wants to share.

I'll have to rob the next person I come across. Then after that I can walk further from the road to avoid any creeps.

Not long after that she notices an older man approaching. He's hooded and walks with a stick, hunching forward.

This should be easy! She grabs a large rock and lifts it above her head then waits in the bushes.

Give me all your food old man, or I'll break your legs with this rock!

You've made a grave mistake little rat, the man says, before swiftly casting a magic spell at Misa's feet that sends her flying back into a tree.

Aah that hurts, stop! I'm sorry! I didn't know you were powerful! Please don't hurt me!

Well this is your last mistake, you won't be a pest in this world any longer.

I'm not a pest! Please don't kill me! Misa begs the man, as tears form in her eyes. She hasn't even managed to be free for a single day, and it's already coming to an end.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

As he starts casting his spell he looks at Misa and notices something.

Wait, you have red eyes? Are you a daemon?

My father was or is a demon Misa explains, still cowering in fear.

I won't kill you just yet, you might be useful in other ways.

Here, drink this health potion. Misa drinks the health potion and feels a lot better, she is grateful for not dying, but scared of what is to come.

Although the hood veils most of the man, his bright yellow eyes are easy to spot.

[https://i.imgur.com/hHrQEKJ.png]

Why are your eyes yellow sir?

That's because I'm from a reptile-species, I disguise myself as a human with illusionary magic to blend in better. But I don't change my eyes, human eyes are far weaker than my original eyes. You can call me Lycerta by the way.

Well if you looked like a reptile I wouldn't have tried to rob you.. My name is Misa.

Robbing someone was a stupid idea to begin with. Nobody that walks on these roads is weak, especially not if they're alone.

Follow me to my nearby hide-out, I want to try something. I won't harm you and you'll get a meal in return.

Misa follows the man, although voluntarily, the choice is merely an illusion.

So what are you doing now that you're a freed slave?

How do you know I'm a freed slave?

The clothes, your desperation, and the eyes. Lots of escaped slaves come here. Most of them die.

Oh.. well I was hoping to leave this kingdom to become a bird-keeper.

A bird-keeper? What a peculiar desire, why so?

When I was a slave I had a raven. I could do all sorts of cool tricks, it was my best friend.

But then our slave master found out, and he said slaves don't get to keep pets so he killed it in front of me.

I hate that asshole. I hope he dies a slow painful death.

Well if you want to leave the Arcana kingdom it's going to be extremely difficult. Outside of the cities you're free, you have no rights, no food, and even if you did there's a good chance you would get robbed.

Can you teach me to defend myself so I can escape?

Training you would take years. You've been underfed for years, your arms are so thin a man could break them like a twig. Your stature is tiny. Honestly if you had to fight a rabbit, I'd put my money on the bunny.

You could've just said no, I get it okay, I'm not strong. Misa remarks somewhat annoyed.

Lycerta continues, besides there's bounties for killing ex-slaves. And on top of that you can't go far from Satharak or your entrapment seal will harm you, and eventually kill you.

The entrapment seal is a seal that every slave receives so they can't leave the approximate area of the Arcana valleys to escape. It's very convenient for their masters since there should never be a reason for a slave to be required outside that area.

Then what can I do, Misa asks. I would rather die than live as a slave.

Well I've seen some ex-slaves escape. They got their seal removed and left. Most just live in the woods though. They live in freedom, the authorities rarely dare to enter these woods.

Look, because you're so weak, you need to rely on your intelligence. You need to be smarter than your opponents.

You should travel at dawn and at dusk, shadowing the main roads, that way you wont run into as many people. And if you have to fight someone, use the element of surprise. You don't look very threatening to say the least, so there's a good chance people will let you get close naturally, and then when they least suspect it you should stab them in the head right between the ear and eye, All humanoids creatures have a weak spot there, the bone is thin and it easily pierces their brain, even a weakling could kill someone that way.

You could also try stabbing them in the neck, severing an artery, but they'd be able to fight back for a few seconds, in which they could easily severely harm or even kill you.

And if you run into any rabbits, you should surrender and hope it shows mercy.

Stop talking about rabbits! I'm not that weak!

In all seriousness though, you should avoid confrontations at any cost. I'm only telling you this incase it's a do or die situation.

Well we've arrived. See this altar, it has the same symbols as your clothes. Its the same god I worship and thank my magical prowess too, the god of death, the great Zernebog.

As a slave I was tasked with cremating the dead, that's why I have these clothes.

Place your wrist above this bowl on the altar Misa. I hope this works.

Misa places her wrist above the altar. Lycerta grabs her arm and squeezes it so she can't move before slicing her wrist.

Aaah! What are you doing?!

It is necessary. As the blood touches the altar some of the symbols begin to glow.

This means your blood sacrifice has been accepted. Whenever you see one of these old altars to the god of death, you should make a blood sacrifice. In return he will guide you on your journey. You can also sacrifice other living beings to it, but that is highly unlikely for you. Make it a priority.

You could've told me you were going to cut me, that hurt!

If I told you, you would've struggled. Here apply some of this health potion to the wound, it's not a deep cut, it shouldn't be a problem.

Misa covers her wound with some of the bandages she uses as gloves after applying the health potion. It still hurts however.

We are near my home. I'll give you some food and then tomorrow you can go on your way, you must be exhausted from all the walking.

Wow you have an entire town? Why do you have so many houses?!

These farms were abandoned when the crops started to fail, so I made it my own place. Here's some dried meat and fruits you can eat these.

Oh finally, I'm so hungry! I haven't eaten since yesterday.

Well don't expect much, I'm not a cook. After you finish it you can sleep in that house, there's a bed over there. There's also a water basin in the back where you can wash yourself. There's only one rule okay, I don't want you to enter any of the other buildings, it's where I keep my stuff. If you need anything just yell and I'll come. Not that anything will happen, I've lived here in peace for many decades.

Yum! This meat is delicious, I've never had anything like this before! and these fruits! What is this?

Ehh.. it's pig meat and dried pears. You can finish them all, I got plenty anyway.

Woah really! Thank you so much! I've never had this much before!

Don't mention it. Now go to that house, I have to take care of something. I'll come back early in the morning.

Misa washes herself and goes to bed early, she is tired from walking all day. At night she tries to sleep but she can't fully rest because nightmares of being captured and taken back into slavery constantly plague her. Like somebody is chasing her. Early at dawn Lycerta returns and knocks at the door.

It's time for you to leave, if you want to make it in time. I have some things for you.

Look Misa, this is a portal bag. It's a small pouch that contains an even smaller portal, you can store lots of things in there without having to carry all the weight. I've put in about 2 days worth of food and water. Be careful not to lose it!

I will remove your entrapment seal if you can get me these supplies.

What's that? I can't read.

Doesn't matter, just show this scroll to the general store keeper in the bandit town. If they are out of supplies you may have to go to the mines, that'll take you about 5 days so you have to stock up on food there as well. Also show this to the guards so they know who sent you.

Next is the dagger, use this for the blood sacrifices. Make sure to clean it well, dirty knives cause disease.

Then there's this map. I've made a route that follows the altars which you should make a blood sacrifice to during your trip, it also deviates from the main roads so you're less likely to run into ill-meaning folk.

And finally there's this amulet. It has helped me many times. Do not let anyone take this from you, I need it back when you return.

What does the amulet do?

Pray that you don't have to find out.

You should get going now, you can make it to bandit town before dusk. At the latest you should return here in about 2 weeks.

It won't be easy, but you can do it. I've helped many ex-slaves escape. Some even weaker than you.

Lycerta of course has ulterior motives, he did not simply do this out of kindness. Misa had no reason to question the old man, he seems to be very helpful. And she has no tangible knowledge of life outside of slavery that could make her question the man's motives. Her hopefulness and desperation further clouding her judgement. As is often the case with the desperate, they are willing to overlook any flaws.

Misa continues her path to bandit town, shadowing the roads. Although Lycerta had told her that if she ran into any trouble, she should show them the scroll, and it would supposedly make most bandits leave her alone. But to be safe he told her not to be out in the open anyway.

These parts of the forest are lush with greens, and tall trees. Although the vegetation on the ground is few, indicating an overall poor state of the soil, or that this forest was over-foraged. These roads are well-travelled to say the least. Most wild animals avoid the humans, furthering making these paths more safe for travel.

But the occasional cross or human remains remind Misa to be cautious. The dead did not frighten her, she had cremated many corpses during her time as a slave. The dead never bothered her, it's the living who cause pain.