***

Sarah stood beside Pridgen. Her attention was captured by the ornate door in front of her. It seemed to be made of an ornate white stone embroidered with silver and gold. They stood several metres high. The strange thing about them was that nothing lay beyond. The doors stood not situated in a wall but freely standing in a frame of the same white stone located in the middle of a large cavern. The walls had been adorned with torches whose light bounced off the frame, lighting up the cavern further.

Ropes had already been attached to either door. They were held by scores of Beastkin ready to pull the doors open. Pridgen had requested them as opening the doors themselves would have been like trying to pull apart a boulder. She felt uncomfortable with so many of the Beastkin around them. The stories that had returned with the end of the last war, even Clara did not like to speak about her time on the front line. For a second, she wondered if the small contingent of guards that surrounded them was enough. But looking back at the creatures, she felt a pang of guilt. Their bodies were dirty and malnourished, not to mention they were all under slave contracts. A single word from the slavers or the overseer and they would be stopped dead. But she couldn't help but feel something felt wrong. The eyes of many of the Beastkin weren’t filled with despair or resignation but… excitement. Particularly there was a light grey Rabbitkin, his body was much better filled out than the other Beastkin, but she still wondered why he was even here. His frame was small, and he looked quite weak. He seemed to be continuously glancing at Pridgen and then at the doors, which made her uncomfortable. She shook herself out of her thoughts. That was not what was important right now. She was more concerned that the Beastkin would pull too hard on the doors and break them.

Pridgen picked up on her worry as he spotted her eyeing the ropes and the Beastkin. He chuckled.

“Don’t worry, lass, all the strong fleabags were executed at the end of the war, this rabble is just the leftovers,” Pridgen said.

“That’s right, Senior Guardsman, I can assure you that we would never put either you or Sir Pridgen at any sort of risk,” said the mine overseer who was beside Pridgen. The man was tall and skinny. He was dressed in traditional white robes. The icon of a chain dragon was embroidered over his heart, signifying him as a member of the slaver’s guild.

“Look Pridgen, maybe we should just wait for Uncle Velo to arrive,” Sarah said, nervously.

“Look girly, the castle already sent word that he’s on a mission for the king at the moment. Something about fleabags poking around the border. He won't be able to get her for several more hours. I promise you that we are safe while in the care of these fine gentlemen.” Pridgen said, nodding at the overseer.

“I might add that my slave masters and I are dutiful in instilling a sense of respect and admiration in the slaves for those who stand so far above them.” The man's words did not make Sarah any happier. She had never liked the idea of slavery and his words rubbed her the wrong way, but she would have been lying to herself if his words hadn’t made her feel a little more at ease.

A strange-looking bald man walked up to them at that moment. Sarah couldn't help but think his white robe looked a little tight on the tall man's body. She didn’t voice her thoughts, but the humoured twitch in the corner of Pridgen’s lips also said that he thought the same.

“Overseer, the slaves are set up and ready.”

“Good job, Loli. Be ready to step in if any begin to step out of line.”

“Of course, Overseer.”

He gave them a simple bow and left.

“My lord, everything is ready,” the overseer said to Pridgen.

Pridgen closed his eyes. He felt a strong hand land on his shoulder. Opening them, he saw Sarah standing there, towering above him like a shield.

“You know, you humans were always too tall for my liking,” Pridgen said, obviously trying to use humour as an outlet for his anxiety.

“What can I say? We are the envy of the short.” Pridgen’s lips curled into a smile. Standing at the entrance to the cavern, Loli’s eye roll was palpable.

“Come on, old man, show me that all those late nights guarding your workshop weren't for nothing.”

“All right, all right, I'm old, not senile,” he said, chuckling to himself.

Taking a breath, Pridgen stepped forward. The light chatter of the guards and the shifting of the Beastkin fell silent. An atmosphere of anticipation formed.

He opened the leather satchel that hung over his shoulder and hefted out something wrapped in fine cloth. Discarding the cloth, Pridgen was left holding a large stone circular tablet. It had a strange-looking symbol carved into its surface. A low hum seemed to enter the air as he hefted it above his head.

“With the authority of this tablet, I command you to life.”

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

The hum intensified at his words. Mana began to roll off the door in waves. Sarah felt it sink into her body. Her already full mana pool expelled what she didn’t need but at a faster and faster rate. Soon the expelled mana began to stop increasing. Pridgen turned to the overseer and nodded. In turn, he also turned and began to yell.

“Commence pulling!” His order rang out and the familiar compulsion washed over the slaves. They pulled the rope taut, their muscles straining with the invested effort.

Slowly a creak rang from the doors as they began to open. The hum stopped. Sarah spotted a soft blue glow radiating from the forming gap between the doors. As they opened more and more, the portal to somewhere else became more apparent. The visuals of the other side were fuzzy, like trying to see beyond a pond's surface. Pridgen raised a fist, signalling for them to stop pulling.

The overseer raised his voice to give the command, but nothing happened. The man's lips moved but no sound could be heard. A confused expression formed on his face, his confusion turning to fear. Battle consumed the guards and Beastkin. Silent movements spoke to the volume of violence. Sarah, spotting the man's terrified expression, turned. Horror filled her at what she saw. Three of the Beastkin were already dead, but the guards were getting overwhelmed. All this was playing out over a silent battlefield, the only thing filling her ears was her heartbeat.

***

Sixon looked out over the silent battle raging. One moment they had been pulling the rope, the next they had been engulfed in battle. He looked at the scene, terrified. The guards were being pushed back. Several Beastkin lay dead at the guards' feet. His mind spun; several more Beastkin also looked terrified and confused. They stood back from the battle, watching in horror at the carnage unfolding. Sixon remembered Sheep's words about the door, but looking at the battlefield, there was no way he would survive running through that. He tried looking for Sheep in the fray but couldn’t find him. He turned, planning to bolt for the room's exit, but what he saw sent a shiver down his spine. Sheep was standing there, with Loli on his knees before him. Sheep had him by the throat much like Loli had done to him earlier. Sheep’s whole frame was shivering violently. Sixon could see the tensed muscle in the Rabbitman’s arms as he slowly crushed the man's windpipe. Sheep was saying something, but it went unheard by everyone, including its intended recipient. He watched as Sheep's muscles bulged and saw Loli's jaw collapse under the pressure. The man displayed a silent anguish as Sheep let him fall to the floor. He rolled around, his agony going unheard and unknown to all but Sheep and Sixon. Sheep raised his foot, and Sixon turned away in horror at what was about to happen. He had seen it; he had seen that perverse smile plastered on Sheep's face. He had seen the wildness and ecstasy he was experiencing in that moment, and it terrified him. He bolted for the door, his instincts telling him the battlefield was a much safer place than being anywhere close to Sheep.

He closed his eyes, terror fuelling his mad dash for the portal. His fox-like agility and small stature allowed him to weave through the crowd. Not once did he open his eyes. He felt as if he crashed into something. It was hard and stocky but was surprisingly smaller than himself. He heard a grunt of pain before he felt the worst bout of nausea he had ever experienced.

***

Sarah watched as the small Beastkin slammed into Pridgen, throwing him through the portal. Fear for the old dwarf filled her as her sword cut down the Lionman in front of her. She wanted to charge through the portal but knew she couldn’t. Three guards remained, the rest being swallowed by the onslaught. They were being pushed up against the portal.

Sound suddenly returned to the area; bestial growls and yells filled the cavern. The sheer aggression and volume of the sounds seemed to challenge her instincts to fight. Suddenly, the sound of metal shattering rang out. One of the guards in front of her, Micel, seemed to slouch as his strength had evaporated.

“MICEL, GODS damn it, stand your ground!” she screamed, her hand digging into his shoulder with cold desperation. His head fell back, blood spurting from every orifice. Horror filled her as she let go, allowing the corpse to fall back. As it did so, the man's caved-in chest came into view. A short grey rabbit man stood before her, staring at the corpse. The Rabbitkin stared at his shaking fist.

“This fuckin’ mission is almost over,” he said under his breath.

Her shock only lasted a second. She raised her sword, fury at her comrade's death flooding her being. She swung down with all her might, planning to dissect the Beastkin in a single blow. As the glimmering silver blade came down, she couldn’t help but scream her rage.

“DAMN YOU, YOU BASTARD!”

The sword swung down like an executioner's axe at the distracted enemy. A flash, and the Rabbitman’s other hand appeared, gripping the blade with two fingers, stopping it dead.

“H-how?” she could only mouth dumbly. Did he have a skill? A Title? Both? She felt as if the other guards by her side were pulled into the swarm.

He sighed, finally looking away from his fist and turning his attention to the human in front of him.

“And who the fuck are you?” he said, staring into her eyes. Her fury had died, replaced with terror. She struggled desperately to get back control of her sword, but it was like trying to pull it from solid stone. She let go of the weapon and threw a desperate fist at the Beastkin’s snout. He caught it in his bloody hand. His hand was smaller than hers but was still more than enough to arrest her attack.

“I don’t like repeating myself,” he said, his tone deadpan. He squeezed her fist, and she screamed.

“Fu-fuck you, you fucking bas—” he crushed her fist in an instant. Her screams changed from pained to agonised. She felt tears fill her eyes and bile rise from her stomach. Her mind was on fire with the agony. The Rabbitman glanced at her sword; its quality and make were impressive even to him. It also spoke of some sort of status. Looking at her face also made him feel uncomfortable for some reason, like he was on the tip of remembering something unpleasant.

“Whatever, Command can deal with her when we get back.” He said to himself, letting go of her. She fell to her knees, clutching at her ruined appendage. She was still crying out, and he felt himself getting annoyed.

“Egh, humans are so loud.”

His foot shot out, digging into her stomach, and she fell back. He scanned the cavern; the other Beastkin had killed or restrained the remaining guards just as he had ordered. At least this garbage still knows how to follow commands, he thought.

“Equip yourself with what you can; we’re leaving,” he said, bending down to pick up the girl. At least he thought the human was female. Humans were always hard to tell apart.

Throwing her over his shoulder like a sack, he marched through the portal.

“God, I hope that dwarf hasn’t run off.”