Lura Syllana
It’s not long before I’m on a ship with a bunch of other people to be sold as slaves. We were all stuffed below deck, locked behind bars. I’ve completely lost hope. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, drowning myself in grief or anger, I let go of everything. I stop caring altogether. There’s nothing left to care about. I’m completely broken inside.
I watch as sailors and others cram the ship with goods. A human lordling boards and inspects us before he takes his place within a private room.
I sit in the corner of a cell on a rocky ship among other sorry souls on our way to endure a life of abuse and only the Light knows what else.
I don’t know how long goes by. They feed us slop and make us fight amongst ourselves to get a portion. If that wasn’t bad enough, I’ve seemed to catch the eye of an apprentice mage to a lord. A weasel faced man with buck teeth and droopy, pointed ears. He wears robes of red. “You’re pretty. Maybe I can have some good fun before you’re sold off to the whorehouses in Chillshore. The Gods only know what they’ll do to ya. Desperate lot, they are.”
Fortunately, the Captain intervenes. “Unless you have the money to buy her, don’t touch the merchandise. Off with ya.”
The little elven snob of a mage scuffs at him. “Do you not know who I am? I serve the lord Ba’theas Keenreaver. You don’t want to get on my bad side. I’ll soon be a lord myself.”
“I don’t care if you’re the son of the old King Volodar himself. If you ain’t got the money, you ain’t getting the merchandise!” The captain says.
The elf just huffs. “We’ll see.”
He storms off and the captain spits on the ground. “Lousy lordlings. The lot of them.”
Days go by as we continue on to the north. It’s hard to keep track of time as the boat creaks and bobs. Several of the other poor souls get sick and spill the little in their stomachs on the cell floor, making it stink of foulness.
We make a stop along some human town up the channel between the pirate sea and the dead sea. I think the town is called Littleband.
The human lordling gets off the ship along with the sailors. I don’t know how long we will stay here. But eventually, the lordling returns with a lady human with dark chocolate skin. She seems to fancy him as she goes with him into his private room.
However, as we take off to return to our journey north, I hear something downright sickening. Whimpers and screams come from the room. Every now and again he comes out and I can barely see within the room to find the poor girl tied up and whipped. Why such cruelty?
The mage’s apprentice comes back down at some point, sneering at me. “Want some food, bitch? I’ll give you plenty if you wrap those lips around my cock.”
I ignore him. His taunts get nothing from me. I feel nothing. There’s nothing left of me to feel. I’m no less of a shell than Orym’s body was when they sent it to the Light. I suppose there might be one good thing to come out of this. Maybe I will be reunited with my family.
Suddenly, horns blow, and chaos erupts above. It’s hard to tell what’s going on as the crew scrambles up to the main deck. The apprentice goes up and a minute later comes scrambling down. He looks around until he hides under a blanket like a coward. A moment later, one of the crew falls down the stairs, limp. Blood pours out of his neck. Savages covered in furs, wearing metal helmets and holding large round wooden shields come rushing down after him. Several of the crew who were down here rush to attack them and get butchered by their axes and swords. One of the crew members falls to the floor, his dagger sliding at my feet. I grab it and hide it in my sleeve. The fight seems to die down as the giant savages unlock the cages and go through the barrels and chests. A rather large red-haired savage looks down upon me with a wicked grin. “Well, look at what we have here. You’re a pretty one. You’ve got a familiar face about you. I think I’ll have some fun with ya before someone claims ya. I definitely can’t keep another slave. Too expensive.” He grabs the forearm in which I have the dagger concealed, making it impossible to use. I’m dragged behind him, my heart panicking in my chest. I will not endure the abuse of another man. I’d rather die. Fear grips my heart as I remember the stories about these Northern savages. Cannibals they are. At least the ones called Bone Eaters. I can’t die like this. As soon as he lets go, I’ll slit his throat and then mine.
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