Chapter 43: Storytime Part 4

By the time he was done with me it the day had turn to dark and my hope had also gone. Those things…sigh… I got put back with the other trapped prisoners who were going to be sold along with me. It was there I finally got a good look at my trapped companions There were mainly Bastinians with a handful of other species sprinkled in. Everyone was silent, defeated and like me looked like all hope had gone. It was terrible even thinking about it, I even heard some of them praying to their own gods to strike them and kill them now. Since it was completely quiet my consciousness soon faded out and I fell asleep, perhaps to temporarily get away from this nightmare or perhaps it was just mental or physical fatigue from my ordeal.

Night became day and we were chained up to the cart and forced to march behind the horse drawn cart. For amusement the Slave Traders would suddenly speed up the cart and drag us along on the ground as we tripped over each other trying to keep up with the cart. They only gave is one relieving break a day which meant you either held it or in some cases for those with less control over their downstairs would just relieve themselves as we walked behind the cart.

As we were marched behind we would be assaulted by swear words and other foul language as they assaulted our minds as our bodies tired too. I can tell you at times I wasn’t sure what was happening. It seemed better to delude myself away in daydreams than be stuck in this real life hell. As time went on I could no longer tell the difference between the two. However throughout this I promised myself I would get away and I would survive free and away from this godforsaken slavery.

The time struck on one of the most windy days I had seen. It was stormy, like you hear about in the legends. Trees and other debris were being thrown in the air around us. The humans were panicking trying to protect themselves from the rain sheeting down and the wind sending large things around and through us. I was completely water soaked , cold and shivering. I wanted it to end, I’m not proud of it but I wanted it to end it just there.

However luck had brought me into this situation and luck for some reason decided it was enough and it would give me a sliver of a chance to get out. A wayward tree had decided on its path and its way was the cart, it barreled through the cart and smashed it pieces root, branch tree and all. The chain stopping our escape was finally gone. I made a dash for it, and I looked back the others had decided to huddle around for warmth instead of running away. It seemed truly that their spirit had been broken. I said quick prayer to them and I disappeared into the woods, the human Slave Traders none the wiser. I sprinted and sprinted for what seemed to me like miles but could have just been a few yards, the forest in front of me was so dense and the wind whistled through it as this crazy storm roared and showed its almighty strength against nature.

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Finally the rain had subsided and I was given reprieve from the weather. I had ended up in a small confined area that was free of trees and by a river. I set to break free from the shackles on my raw red wrists which by the end I succeeded however not until my wrists bled red into the river. I washed myself in the river, careful not to get swept up into it and followed my dead dad’s advice that settlements are usually near rivers.

He was right as he usually was and I arrived at a human/ beast village that seemed to be a halfway point between the two territories. I went into one of the nearest taverns and I recuperated my tired bones, I ate the leftovers of the people before me on the table and felt satisfied to finally have eaten a proper meal. I felt shame doing this but most of my pride had gone when the Slave Traders had finished with me.

I had heard from my dad before that the best way to find work was in the biggest building in the town, which would be called an Adventurers Guild. From there I begged one group of sympathetic Adventurers to bring me along and I got better and better as I managed to try and pick up as many skills as I could, lightning sword style, healing, using my better vision than most. Anything to be useful to the group I was joining. I never stayed very long in any one group as I never really felt very much part of their groups. And as drifted from group to group I moved from town to town until I hit this town. Where I heard there was a fighting tournament. So I decided to join this tournament and pay off the debt I had gotten when I had decided to trust some not so trustworthy adventurers who left me to fend for myself by those people you saw in that tavern.

*Flashback stopped*

“They’re the ones who hired those thugs to force me to repay back the debt. That’s why I’m hoping this tournament will be my way of finally being free of any shackles money wise or physically…”

“Wow…” I was stunned at how much she had gone through, Emi and I had lived far more privileged lives and our “ordeal” was so far less than hers.

We spent the rest of the night just trying to cheer Foxy up and perhaps distance her from having to relive through those horrible memories.

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