I unzipped my pants groggily, my bladder about to burst.

I stifled a yawn as I took out my organ and let the urine, immense relaxation taking over my lower stomach.

Just then the distant howl of some monster reached my ears. The monster was probably a few kilometres away, but nevertheless the howl struck a chord of fear in my heart. My wives, Dani and Lia were sleeping at the clearing that was about a hundred metres from where I was taking my piss. The fire had died and I couldn’t even see the silhouettes of their bodies

Why on earth had I even bothered coming so far just to take a piss? It was dark after all, I could have done my business near the clearing itself. That Dani and Lia’s powers were reduced outside the civilised realm only added to the worry. The last thing my father had told me before his death was that I would make a great king but I should be more careful with the small decisions I made.

“Come on!” I said, wishing the stream of urine would stop sooner. When I was finally done, I quickly unzipped my pants and rushed towards the clearing.

I had only taken a few steps when I heard a rustle in the bushes behind me. I turned towards the bushes, though I could barely see a thing thanks to the moonless night. The next moment there was a whizzing sound and I felt a sharp pain in my neck.

When I touched the spot, I could feel a dart sticking to my neck. A notification popped up in my vision, even as weakness took over my limbs.

You have been hit by a poisoned dart!

The poison will paralyse your muscles so that you will not be able to have any control over your body. You will however be able to see, smell and hear everything.

The effect of the dart will last for one hour.

Good luck!

Good luck?

I slumped down. The distinct thud of my own body hitting the ground was quite loud to my ears. If I somehow survived whatever was going to happen to me next, then I was guaranteed to have a very sore body once I regained control of my muscles.

More sounds of movement reached my ears. I saw a number of dark shapes the size of dogs move towards my body. Were they monsters? Were they going to kill me?

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

I also saw a human shape. Was the person going to save me? Or were they with the monsters?

The monsters were soon all over me. They seemed to have hands much like humans and I realised that the monsters were actually monkeys. They lifted my body and began to take me in a direction opposite to the clearing. The human led the monkeys.

Panic took over me and my heart hammered. But there was nothing I could do, at least not for an hour. And it was going to be too late by then without a doubt. I was little more than a log of wood and a hammering heart inside a log of wood wasn’t of much use. So this was the punishment for my carelessness?

I wanted to cry. I was less worried for me than I was for Dani and Lia.

The monkeys carried me fast over the forest floor, and in a matter of minutes I reached a clearing at the centre of which there was a fire. There were at least five men at the clearing and seeing me being brought they looked quite pleased. One even patted the man who had led the monkeys. The light from the fire illuminated the tattooed bare chests of the men. The ears and noses of the men were also pierced. Without a doubt they were members of the Wahaki tribe… the same tribe to which my dear wife Rozy belonged.

I was certain that I was going to die. I was never going to be able to save Rozy. Dani and Lia were ladies of the civilised realm and there was no way they would be able to survive the wilderness without me. I shouldn’t have brought them with me at all. I felt guilty.

One of the men removed a small pouch from a snake-skin belt he was wearing. From the pouch he took out a gemstone. It sparkled so bright that it almost seemed to outshine the fire. The gemstone was a rough one however and there was something about it which made me feel queasy. The moment the man had taken out the gemstone from the pouch the temperature in the clearing had dropped.

The monkeys had placed me on the ground and the man with the gemstone came and sat next to me. His face reeked of evil.

“Do not worry,” the man said with a smile, his breath foul, “we are not going to kill you.” The man then let out an excited laugh. He bent closer to my ear. “We are going to do something worse to you.”

The other men began to laugh as well. I was completely at their mercy… and they were not going to be merciful at all. Seeing their villainous laughter I knew whatever they were going to do to me was completely out of a nightmare.

“See this?” the man with the gemstone said, holding the sparkling object just over my eyes. “This was given to us by the great sorcerer Mintuk (may he always prosper!). With this little stone we are going to take away all your powers. Each and every spell that this world gifted you will be gone. You will be like a… like a mere plant, incapable of doing anything worthy! Let’s see how you steal Rozy away from us then! ”

He again burst into laughter. Cold fear entered me. I could see the reason why the Wahaki tribesmen were so triumphant. Had they just killed me then they I would have suffered little. But now, I might have to spend my entire life with the knowledge that I had failed to rescue my alpha wife. I would be in mental torment till my last breath.

I had known that the sorcerer Mintuk was powerful, but I had never in my wildest dream thought him capable of creating an object of dark magic like the gemstone that could completely take away someone’s powers. This felt so unfair… this was cheating! All the years I had spent acquiring my powers would go to waste.

The Wahaki man placed the gemstone over my heart. The gemstone was so cold that it seemed to burn my skin. I couldn’t open my mouth due to the paralysis, but my soul screamed in pain.

I was so lost in the torture that I did not know for what length of time the gemstone was over my heart. And then finally, a notification appeared in my vision.

Unfortunately you are down to level zero!

All the spells and skills that you acquired have been taken away from you!

The malevolent grin of the Wahaki man was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

***