Everything was a blur for Aric. From the moment a blade was placed on his neck to the point where his hands were tied with a strong rope around his wrists. He felt like he was watching himself from a third person perspective and everything around felt like a bad game to him. But he knew everything that was happening was real and hew as in a dip shit. The rope was rugged and it gave a very uncomfortable feeling to Aric as he was being pushed and shoved around until he was brought up close to the mages.
The mages had a better attire than everyone present and even had a hood. Thankfully, not the long hoods which he had seeing in movies and series, but a hood like the Assassin's creed. It was both cool and creepy as Aric could make out the eyes of the mages.
One had green eyes while the other had brown. Their eyes shone bright for some reason and Aric felt intimidated.
"Where did this pipsqueak come from?"
"We don't know boss, but we found him in the woods. And from the looks of it. He isn't local." Said the man who had caught him. The fire mage came forward and touched his cloth. He seemed to be shocked a bit after touching his shirt. His palm lit with fire and pointed at Aric.
This was enough for Aric to almost make a run. He didn't care if the other person would be teleported away with since he was still holding Aric by collar. The mage didn't throw the fireball at Aric and just held it close to his face.
Aric could feel the heat and knew that it was real. He didn't know why he was being the foolish brave and didn't teleport yet but he still stood there while fear was very evident on his face.
"Where are you from? Where did your cloth come from? Blurt out any lie and I will burn your face which can't be healed even by a normal healer." The fire mage said, his voice rough and very intimidating.
"I am from India and this is the ethnic cloth of my village.. I.. I am lost and I have been searching for my way home for the last 1 day.. Please don't kill me." Aric replied. Surprised that he could lie directly even at the cost of his own life and also for the fact that he could even bake a half lie at these circumstances.
The fire mage forwarded the fire burning on the center of his palm towards his face, and Aric almost had to close on eye due to the immense heat he was feeling. But with the other eye he also maintained eye contact, fear evident on his face, and so was the agony and tears.
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"Are you telling the truth? Because in the next 50 kms around there are no villages with that name?" The fire mage asked. His words felt like thunder on the ears of Aric, but also the fact that everything around felt immensely quiet
"Yes.. Yes.. Please believe me.." Aric pleaded as he looked at the fire mage for belief.
"Your village must be really hidden. I have never come across that accent." This time it wasn't the fire mage but the earth/sand mage who spoke.
"Yes. You are right. I have never heard of that accent before." The fire mage said. Aric could only spell 'shit' in his mind but decided to stay mum and oblivious to what he was meaning.
"Boss, I think he is someone from a remote village in the mountains which doesn't have any connection to the outside. You know.. Like the reclusive villages.." The man who had caught him spoke his mind and the two mages just quietly listened to him.
"You are saying this so that you want to go and raid that village while also taking away this fine cloth, and maybe know the process of the making." The earth mage said. This made the man who seemed to be good food stiffen a bit, so much so that even Aric felt a tug on his shoulder.
"B...Boss.. I didn't mean that.. I never want anything more.. I just thought..." The man was fumbling his words as he wanted to portray himself as the good guy.
"Eric, stop antagonizing Rick. We need to get out of here before someone gets here. We don't want any soldier or anyone from the nearest cities to get a wind of us and foil our whole loot. You take this boy and ask him to lead to his village." The fire mage said.
"You are no fun brother." Eric said, his tone seemed to be annoyed but also having fun at the expense of other's fear. Aric could see the classic villain and bully signs right here. Eric, the earth mage, took the 'reins' off Rick, the stealth man, and pushed him away.
"Now you will tell me where your village or I will drill stones into your head slowly, so slow that you will be able to hear the cracks forming in your skull." Eric said. This made Aric shudder but also realized that he was walking in a very thin rope and any wrong move could actually kill him.
Aric pointed at the direction he had come from and Eric pushed him from behind, albeit quite roughly but Aric didn't mind that. He couldn't turn his head but he could tell that the bandits were now leaving the village since it was already pillaged and from the dozens of women, children and young adults gathered before by the bandits, he could tell that they would sold as slaves now.
He had enough history lessons to know that human civilization had a dark past and being in a magical world didn't change that. Aric went through the same route he had come through before and after some walk pointed a random direction into the forest itself.