CHAPTER 12: BROKEN BODY, BROKEN MIND

It was now roughly four weeks since Malakhay was caught by the slavers. As days slowly went by, the torture of him and Ruon’ga continued. It was becoming a never-ending cycle – wake up in the morning, eating that disgusting soup and waiting for the night in fear of pain.

The whipping wasn’t the only thing that happened to them. Zuron was being very creative and tried to use all kinds of methods on them. If he didn’t whip them he beat them either with his hands or with a club he borrowed from other orcs. He successfully broke their bones a few times, just to savour a desperate look on their faces. Other times he heated a piece of steel in the fire and burned them with it. With some other orcs he even went as far as catching a few mad wolfs from the plains and tossing them together with Malakhay and Ruon’ga into one cage. After that the orcs enjoyed the show where the beasts almost ripped the little imp and troll to shreds.

A few times even Larkus came to look at them, probably out of boredom. When he had a feeling that they didn’t show enough respect for him he had them tied behind the carriage. This way they were forced to walk a whole day and if they collapsed they were dragged instead. Malakhay could occasionally spot how pitifully other slaves looked at them when they brought food for them. But he could also see their relief that they are not in his place; that they only need to do some chores and sleep with the slavers sometimes.

Malakhay was also able to spot the dark elf a few times before Larkus dragged her to his tent. Each time he could see how she observed him with a strange look in her eyes, like she was expecting something from him.

Another bad thing they were suffering from was the weather. Nights in this season on the Abandoned plains were terribly cold. Strong chilly winds were blowing all the time and thanks to them Malakhay and Ruon’ga almost froze to death a few times. It was so bad that they went as far as hugging each other for some warmth.

The worst came when it was raining and they were left outside the whole night without anywhere to hide.

As all of this combined with their torture Malakhay slowly started to ask himself – why was he even born? If it was only to feel the pain then he didn’t want to live in this hell anymore. He couldn’t think of anybody who would help him and as these nightmarish days slowly went by he started to lose hope that he will ever be able to run away.

A few times he was somehow able to secretly observe the two orc mages that were with the guards, but it still didn’t help him to come up with some method to use spells. He became so desperate that he started to try casting the spells he learned from Korpus when he transferred a part of his knowledge to him. He stopped to care if it could kill him, he just wanted to be set free from everything and dying started to sound like a good plan to him.

The only positive thing about all of this was that they were slowly approaching Grimthorn, the capital city of the undead and demonata race and also the target of his personal quest from Korpus. He was able to overhear this from Larkus as he was talking about it drunk one night with the other slavers. Apparently they wanted to sell the human slaves there. After that they planned to buy a new batch of monster slaves which were easily purchasable in Grimthorn and transport them to the human countries. There it was easy to sell monster slaves which humans often used for hard labour or for entertainment in coliseums.

“Malakhay wake up. You hear me? Wake up, we are approaching some village.” Ruon’ga was trying to gently wake him up because last night it was Malakhay’s turn to keep Zuron entertained. When he finally opened his eyes he glared at Ruon’ga for not letting him sleep longer.

“Let me be, I feel like crap after last night. That pig probably broke every bone in my body till he was finally satisfied.”

“Club or hands?” Ruon’ga wanted to know.

“He used a club and I thank my luck for that as it takes less time in comparison to when he uses bare hands.”

These kinds of dialogues became daily for them as they informed each other about what happened last night. Sometimes they could even predict what Zuron will do to them next time.

“If you are satisfied, let me sleep now.” Malakhay tried to lie back which was quite hard as his body was aching all over and he couldn’t find a position in which he would feel at least a bit comfortable.

“You sure you don’t want to know what will happen in that village?”

“…fuck” Malakhay said after a few seconds as he got up. In truth he was really interested in it as it was the first sign of some civilization in the Abandoned plains.

As they slowly approached it, he could see small huts made from wood. They looked like they were randomly built till there weren’t enough of them to call it a village. Malakhay couldn’t think about humans, orcs or trolls living in such a small place. The correct answer came to him as they finally entered the village.

Goblins. They were slowly coming out of their homes to see who was trespassing in their territory. All of them were wearing clothes looking more like old rags instead of armour and were armed with clubs or simple swords and shields. They were ready to attack the slavers, the only thing holding them back were probably the orcs, which are obviously more powerful than goblins.

There were probably around 150 goblins, all looking similar. Small size, comparable to Malakhay’s, they were only about a head taller than him. Green skin, looking as if they had some disease, wasn’t grass green like the orcs have, but more like muddy green. The small black eyes and a long pointy nose looked unbalanced on their faces. They also had long pointy ears similar to the elven ones but not looking so elegant. It looked more like somebody has spent a long time to stretch them to their current form. They had only four fingers on their hands and legs and each one of them was bald.

It didn’t take long and one goblin came closer to Larkus who was sitting on his carriage. Full of caution he started to question him.

“What wanna heeree you?” The goblin wanted to know continuously taking secret glances at orcs.

“My name is Larkus and we are merchants. We travelled through the Abandoned plains and are going to Grimthorn for busyness. We would like to buy some supplies from you and maybe take a rest for one or two days. We’re not here to cause you any trouble.” Larkus tried to explain their situation. It wasn’t like they couldn’t attack and kill them all because with the orcs he had he would probably be able to do it. But this number of goblins would surely be able to kill some of them, maybe even some slavers and merchandise and he was not willing to risk it.

The goblin before him looked like he was thinking about what Larkus said and stayed quiet for a few seconds.

“Me chif, me caaled Gaburon. Me permit yoou stay, but yoou troble - we kill.”

“You have my word.” Larkus confirmed their deal as he ordered the caravan to enter the village.

The goblin with which he spoke started to explain to the others what they talked about as he ordered them to lower their weapons and to go back to their work.

As they slowly went to the village Malakhay noticed something weird and asked Ruon’ga about it.

“I can’t see any goblin women, where are they?”

“You must be really young Malakhay.” Ruon’ga said shoving a smile when Malakhay looked at him. “Don’t look like that. You can’t fool me so easily, because everybody knows that all goblins that are born are males.”

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“Then how…”

“You see that house that is bigger than the rest of them?” Ruon’ga asked pointing to the centre of the village. Malakhay nodded as he was able to spot it.

“Most likely there are captured women from the other races, most probably humans. Goblins copulate with them. When they have an opportunity they will try to steal women from other races or buy them from slave traders. That’s probably the reason they let Larkus stay in the village. One woman is able to give birth to two or three goblins in the span of three months and every goblin that is born is male. This way they are able to survive even with the fact that they are quite weak.”

Malakhay quietly listened still observing the house Roun’ga showed him.

“So that is the reason they look like a mix of all races.” Malakhay spoke more to himself as he thought about what he just heard.

As the night came and Ruon’ga was dragged away by orcs, Malakhay could see how some of the goblins went inside the house where the women should be. It didn’t take long until they appeared again, this time carrying a human woman. As they went around his cage he could have a better look at her. She looked around thirty years old and maybe in the past was even quite a beauty, but now she looked more like a living corpse. Clothed in tattered rags, she obediently walked behind the goblins. Her eyes, open wide and staring into nowhere without any sign of emotion, looked dead.

Malakhay thought she probably went mad from what the goblins have repeatedly done to her. As he observed them, they guided the woman to the part of the village where the orcs were having dinner right now and after a quick conversation with Larkus they killed her. Malakhay could see how they slit her throat without any problem and after that they started to cut her to smaller pieces and they tossed them into a big kettle or started to roast them on an open fire.

A few moments after that Ruon’ga appeared. Brought back by two guards he was tossed back into the cage.

“So soon today?” Malakhay asked a little surprised that he is already back.

*Cough.* *Cough*

“They are having a feast and Zuran didn’t want to be left out. For them it’s normal to eat human meat but they don’t do it with slaves as they would lose their source of entertainment.” He tried to explain between his coughing as he held his neck.

“Could be nice. I don’t even remember how meat tastes like.” Malakhay said slightly surprising Ruon’ga. “Don’t look like you want to judge me. Normally I wouldn’t eat human meat but I don’t really have a problem eating it. Or did you forget that I’m a demon?”

“No. I’m just slightly surprised. I didn’t think you would do that.”

“Well if this hell taught me something it’s that you can’t be picky if you really want to survive. In the past I probably wouldn’t even think about eating a human, but now I definitely wouldn’t stay hungry if an opportunity presents itself. And don’t try to look like some good guy. I know that trolls also eat human flesh.”

“Only those from blood-rage clans.” Ruon’ga strongly defended himself. “We others eat only animals.”

As the night went by they could hear the orcs stuffing themselves with cooked meat.

The next morning, as Malakhay and Ruon’ga slept on the cold floor like usually they were woken up by sudden screams.

“NO, please no! Anything but that!”

As they opened their eyes in haste they could see two women being dragged out from the third cage where the worker slaves are usually kept.

“Please have mercy.” They pleaded as orcs took them out and tied them up with rope. Others only looked on with horror showing on their faces as they thought about the possibility of being in their places.

“Like I promised you Gaburon. Two healthy young women, ready to have children.” Larkus said as the two were brought before Gaburon.

“Gaburon looky good.” As he said this he asked the orcs to take their clothes off and started to inspect them closer. The women were trying to resist his touch but it was pointless. When Gaburon was finally satisfied he called for other goblins and ordered them to take the women away. Their cries could still be heard as they were carried away in the direction of the breeding house.

“Now for the second part of the deal.” Larkus escorted him to the second carriage where the children were locked. He again ordered the orcs to bring out every girl and made them stand in a single row. For a few minutes Gaburon browsed through the little girls like they were some bread on the shelf in some bakery.

“This and this.” He pointed out two girls looking around ten years old.

“Thank you for your purchase.” Larkus smiled with a broad grin as he pocketed some gold coins as the rest of the girls were being locked back.

“So the one from yesterday was broken already.” Ruon’ga stated as he observed the trade before him. “Those two are replacements.”

“And what about those little girls? If I’m not mistaken they won’t be able to have a child so soon, maybe after three or four years.” Malakhay wondered.

“I would say they are investments for the future. The goblins can’t know what will happen and if they will be able to secure more women so they bought them like some sort of insurance.”

Malakhay only quietly nodded to his words, now listening to how Larkus and Gaburon spoke about the slavers visiting the village regularly.

As they spoke some old looking goblin with a long robe appeared and whispered something into Gaburon’s ear. Hearing him out Gaburon looked at Malakhay’s cage and he slowly approached it.

“How little imp, yoou sold?” He asked Larkus who was standing behind him.

“Why would you want him? It’s just a little trash that isn’t good for anything.” He wanted to know, feeling another opportunity to earn money.

“Juka heeree,” he pointed at the old goblin, “be alchemier. He talk imp raree now. He put imp in alchemy.” Gaburon tried to explain.

“I see, you want him because materials from imps are rare today as nobody summons them anymore.” As he tried to confirm, Juka and Gaburon nodded their heads.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t sell him to you, because Zuron over there is the one who owns him.” He pointed at the captain of his guards.

Juka didn’t hesitate and slowly walked towards Zuran. As he approached him they started to discuss something, both of them probably trying to get the better part of the deal.

“You are popular Malakhay.” Ruon’ga stated, now observing Juka and Zuran. “I didn’t know you could be used for alchemy. Care to explain?”

“I don’t know about it. I never heard anybody mention anything. Fuck, the last thing I need is to be tossed into some soup for goblins, fuck that.”

“Well, I don’t think they are going to ask for your opinion in this.”

Just as Ruon’ga said this, they could see how both Zuran and Juka finished their little debate. Both of them returned to Larkus who was also observing them. Zuran explained to him what they settled upon. As he listened to him, he glanced at Malakhay and showed a very nasty grin.

“I bet I’m not going to like this.” Malakhay said looking at them, noticing Larkus’s smile.

After their talking was finally over, all three of them returned to Malakhay’s cage.

“You can start to celebrate you little shit, because you are still needed by somebody. Here our little friends told us that imps are used in some alchemy potions. Well, I should say not imps but their wing bones and tails.” Just as he said this Zuran opened the cage and caught him by the neck the same way he did many times before, so that Malakhay can’t escape.

Just as they took him out of the cage, the goblins from the village, probably at Gaburon’s command, brought over a wooden table.

Zuran laid Malakhay down on his belly on it and some goblins pinned down his legs and his arms, so that he can’t thrash around. When he tried to look around he could see how Juka handed something looking like a saw to Zuran.

“No, you can’t be serious!” Malakhay shouted, knowing what will happen from what Larkus has said to him. “NO, I don’t want it, I’d rather be dead, kill me! Somebody kill me already!”Malakhay tried to thrash around to free himself but the goblins were doing a good job holding him down.

Zuran caught his moving wings without problem and stretched them as the saw in his other hand slowly approached them. Then it started. Zuran started to saw off one of his wings near his shoulder blades. The pain that went down through Malakhay’s body was indescribable. He screamed and screamed and probably everybody in the village could hear him, but nobody moved to help him. He cursed everything that he laid his eyes on, but the pain still didn’t go away. In a few minutes because Zuran was taking his sweet time with his job, one of his wings came off. Zuran handed it to Juka who quickly inspected it and nodded in satisfaction.

Malakhay, who was drenched in cold sweat and his body was trembling uncontrollably, only laid there without any strength to do anything.

“I ………….you.”

“Hmm, what are you saying?” Larkus wanted to know, not hearing him well.

“One day I will kill you all.” Malakhay said again, looking Larkus into the eyes with all the hatred he could muster. Just as he said this Zuran started to saw off his other wing and the new wave of pain appeared. The only thing Malakhay was able to do was scream until he lost consciousness.

“I guess the fun is over, the little shit is in the dreamland.” Larkus said as another one of Malakhay’s wings was tossed to Juka. Zuran looked disappointed but it still didn’t stop him from sawing off Malakhay’s tail. When Juka had all the parts he needed he paid Zuran and vanished in the village, probably eager to use his new materials.

Malakhay, now looking more like a bloodied corpse, was tossed back into the cage without anybody caring if he will survive such severe injuries.

The day quickly went by and it was already after lunch when the caravan was ready to depart again. Ruon’ga tried to ease Malakhay’s pain but there wasn’t much that he could do. He patched the wounds with old rags he was wearing as a shirt to stop the bleeding. Just as he pondered how to help his new friend a dark elf appeared near their cage.

“Hey you, is the imp still alive?” She asked in a whisper, so quiet even he had a problem to hear her.

“How did you get here?” Ruon’ga wanted to know.

“No time for that. Is he alive?” She asked again nervously looking around if somebody isn’t coming.

“Yes he is.”

“Good, when we are out of here and nobody pays attention use this on his wounds. It should help him.” As she said this she tossed a small sack at him.

Catching it he asked her: “Why are you helping him?”

Just when she was about to disappear again she turned around and after measuring Ruon’ga she finally answered.

“Trust me or not, but he is our best chance to get out from here. When he gets up tell him that I helped him.”

Ruon’ga wanted to ask how she meant it, but the dark elf had already vanished. He curiously opened the sack she tossed him and the smell of herbs came out of it.

“Damned father of the chaos, how in the world did she collected these? And where has she stored them?” He was surprised at her craftiness and mastery if she was able to do this under the constant watch of slavers and orcs.

He waited, as she suggested, and when the caravan has finally left the village he started to secretly apply the medicine to Malakhay. It was very slow and tedious work if he didn’t want to be noticed. He was also curious about her words of getting out of here. He hoped they were right, because if not, not only Malakhay but also him will be slowly tortured to death.

“I’m becoming naïve.” He said to himself. “I almost started to celebrate with the first words about being free. That Zuran is doing quite a good job if I’m becoming such a fool.” He reprimanded himself, still tending to Malakhay’s wounds. Now that they were finally out of the Abandoned plains, they will surely go in a straight path to Grimthorn, which was about a week of travel away.