When Nox got his bearings after face planting on the ground he finally had time to appreciate the game world. Even in this empty courtyard everything looked and felt real.
The rough cobblestone under his feet, the subtle pain radiating from his nose, the sun shining down from above. He was in awe when walking to yet another archway, but this one leading into the city. As soon as he stepped outside he noticed something else…the smell.
The smell of animals, sweaty bodies pressed against each other on the narrow mud path that weaves its way between the poorly maintained houses. But what made him gag was the smell of…well shit. People throw their waste from windows or out the front door directly on the street. Nox was glad when he looked down and found a pair of scratched leather boots on his feet.
Breathing through his mouth he made his way down the street, the mud splashes beneath his feet with every step and he didn't know how but his brown pants and tunic was soon covered in specks of dirt.
For the next hour he explored the small town and even talked to some of the NPCs, he was surprised how life like they behaved but soon he found himself with nothing to do.
There was so much going on but the motto of the game felt more like a curse, how should he forge his own path? Without quest markers, a starter NPC to earn equipment and gold? But it seems the game decided to offer at least a bit of help.
A rough looking man approached him, his gaze wandering over Nox's body. "Hmpf, boy are you looking for work? Still could use a pair of hands to pick herbs outside of town." He waved towards a group of people, some NPCs but mostly other noobs like himself, easily identified by their player tags floating above them.
"S-sure! I wouldn't mind helping out." He pushed himself off the wall and followed the man down the street, the rest of them close behind. Nox was excited, finally leaving the town even if it was only to gather some herbs. A guard stood near the gate and the man that offered him work slipped some coin into his hand and nodded. The guard had a greedy look on his face and winked the group through the gate.
Nox didn't even notice the interaction, the outside world was taking his whole attention because it finally felt like a game again, picking herbs, killing some Level 1 mobs. They ventured outside and made their way down the road, trees flanking them on both sides while the man led them away from the city. Away from the road and into the undergrowth. Some people started to mumble under their breath but stopped as they came to a clearing, lush green herbs grew in the shade of the trees and the man turned towards them.
"Well folks, it was a pleasure doing business with you but I let my friends take over from now." A big toothy grin on his and a glint of greed in his eyes as twenty men stepped into the clearing, blades in hand and ropes on their waists. Some tried to flee, escape from the slavers that would surely try to earn some coin from them only to be cut down the next moment. Wounds covering their arms and legs but they didn’t kill them, a dead slave doesn’t earn money after all.
Slowly they formed a circle around the group, nasty grins on their faces while they bound their hands together. Arranging them in a loose line, while all this happened Nox was just frozen in shock, he reached up to his face, a bit of blood covering his pale fingers. He looked around but it was already too late, one man roughly kicked him in the back of his knee that made him fall to the ground. He grunted and fell on all fours. Someone grabbed his arms, pulled them behind his back and made him faceplant for the second time today.
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The coarse rope was bound tightly around his wrists, quickly followed by a gag made from dirty cloth, the taste of dirt and dried blood filling his mouth. When he got pulled back to his feet he noticed that all of them were captured, the slavers pushing them forward. Away from the clearing and deeper into the forest, shuffling forward while cold steel pressed against his back every time he slowed down. He soon lost track of time and just stared at the back of the person in front of him. A sigh escaping his lips, why did this happen to him? I couldn’t be bad luck at this point.
When they finally left the forest the sun was already approaching the horizon, bathing the landscape in a deep orange. In front of them was a small camp, palisades surrounding some tents and large cages. Nox could already see some shadows moving around the camp as they got led inside, rough looking men surrounding a campfire. A young woman was whimpering on the ground next to them, her clothes ripped apart and bruises covering her skin.
Nox felt the blade at his back again, the man leading him towards one of the small cages, he opened the lock and shoved him inside, the young adventurer falling against a small man that was covered in a dirty blanket. He leans his back against the bars and sighs, pulling his legs close to his chest and wrapping his arms around his knees. “This is not what I envisioned when playing a game. Ending up in a camp full of slavers.” He sighs again and watches the men in silence while they bring all the new slaves into their cages.
He thought about just logging out, opening his menu and clicking the button only for a message to pop-up.
“You currently can't leave the game because of an ongoing combat situation, after combat ends you’re free to log out again!”
“What? That’s bullshit…fuck.” He punches the bars of the cage, ripping the skin of his knuckles in the process. He breathes in sharply and gently rubs over the wound. "Goddammit!"
Suddenly the small man next to him stirs, sitting up and looking at Nox. “Hmpf, you know boy some people wanna sleep over here so keep your damn mouth shut. Hmpf, don’t you make me repeat myself!” The man pushed the blanket away and suddenly Nox realized that he was sitting in front of a dwarf, the man was a lot smaller than he first thought. His thick bird was braided into a complicated design.
“I’m Brokkr, what’s your name lad?” he asked, stroking his beard while his gaze wandered over the young adventurer. “I’m M..Nox, I’m Nox. Why are you here Brokkr?”
“You like asking stupid questions lad? Because I got captured just like you, now I need to waste my talent on those bandits, repairing weapons and armors that would bring every dwarf shame for a whole generation! Let me tell you, those beasts are ruthless and only think about coins and women so be careful.”
He huffed after every sentence and Nox saw the passionate hate glinting in his eyes. “Hmpf, well at least we will have a quiet night today, those idiots drink themselves half to death after bringing in some…merchandise. But you know lad, maybe now that you’re here we could actually escape.”
A smile crept onto his face and he put the dirty blanket away, revealing a small bag. Nox wondered what was inside, throwing the dwarf and questioning look. “You have a plan to escape? Well…” he also started to smile. “...count me in, I won’t spend my whole life locked up in a cage.”