by Marcus Sloss
“I should have read the letter more carefully. Something.” She dug at her wrist shackles, trying to pry them off with sheer force.
Aquina slipped her hands through the cell bars, grabbing hold of Cera’s fidgeting ones. “It’s nobody’s fault. Trust us, we don’t blame you even a little bit. What’s important now is finding a way out of this mess and resuming our mission.”
The words seemed to finally sink in as Cera grasped hold of Aquina’s hands as well, nodding to show she understood.
“Good, so our first order of business—if anyone enters the dungeon, we are to pretend to be out of it or completely deranged, especially if you think they might be a buyer.”
Illia snorted, “Please go with the second option, I would love to see that.”
Maybe I will. The rest of the evening we discussed the makeshift plan, trying to find alternatives that didn’t make it seem half-assed and premature. We quickly learned that having little knowledge regarding the layout of the land, the number of hostile inhabitants and the amount of firepower the Lezric village held, made the planning stage extremely difficult.
I thought we’d have an advantage with Illia having been a prisoner in the village for so long, but unfortunately for us, the Lezric followed every precaution when handling Illia. Every time she left her cell, she would be blindfolded, meaning she had seen about as much of the village as we had.
That meant everything discussed could only be called speculative until we put it into action and determined what we were working with. If anything, this plan required a lot of luck and based on how the past few days went, I didn’t have much confidence that luck favored us.
Regardless, the alternatives were worse. End up who knows where as a labor slave or maybe as someone’s plaything with no powers or allies. The chances of escaping after being separated would only decrease.
No. As lackluster as the plan seemed, our only choice was to try.
After a few hours, the girls crawled into their beds, the stress of everything catching up to them. Somehow, I found it difficult to sleep.
My mind reeled with what needed to be done and all the uncertainties that came with it. Unable to shut off my thoughts, I sat down by the brick wall, deciding I would meditate instead.
I didn’t know if building mana would work while my gifts were blocked by the runes, but at the very least I could center my mind. I focused on my breathing, letting the background of the small filthy space disappear as I closed my eyes.
I felt the calm wash over me, losing myself to the quiet. I could almost feel the mana flowing through my body, building and strengthening the way it had on the training balcony, which now seemed like ages ago.
As I drifted further into a state of calm concentration, I suddenly felt an intense pain drawing me back to reality. I opened my eyes to see the shackles glowing orange and searing hot.
My skin felt like it was on fire, which wasn’t too far from the truth. My flesh burned with every second that passed. I scanned the small space frantically with my eyes, rubbing my wrists in the dirt to try and subdue the burning sensation.
I spotted a barrel in the corner and rushed toward it, hoping for a source of water. My hopes were answered in the form of a murky grey liquid, which at one point in time may have been drinkable. I didn’t have time to weigh the consequences of submerging my forearms in the gross water, the dirt doing little to calm the heated metal.
I dunked my arms in, all the way to my elbows for safe measure. When the shackles hit the water, a sizzling sound released, providing instant relief. When the glowing stopped, I removed my arms, observing the damage.
Blisters had already begun to form on the skin around the edges of the metal clasps and I could only imagine how my wrists looked under the shackles. I exhaled, the pain returning and slid to the ground, exhaustion finally setting in.
I crawled into the musty cot, feeling a bit defeated and let myself be pulled into a deep slumber.
∞∞∞
The next morning, I awoke to the screech of the front door sliding open, three guards filing in with two others following closely behind. My body felt hot, but at the same time I felt a chill I couldn’t shake no matter how much I wrapped myself in the cot’s bedding.
I tried to sit up, to assess the situation, but suddenly the room was spinning. I rested my head on the brick wall next to the bed, unintentionally glaring at the visitors.
“As you can see, we have three new, high quality, pieces of merchandise,” the one Lezric guard told the fancily dressed gentleman that resembled a goat with his large horns and furry goatee.
He walked on hooves and held a walking cane, surveying each of us with a scrutinizing eye. Aquina received his stare first as she sat in the dirt, hacking up a lung. Cera on the other hand went for the lethargic act, hardly moving her body, pretending to be too weak to get up.
I stared intently at the goatman, wondering why such a being would be in the Lezric clan searching for slaves. Were their villages close by? This left even more questions about where we ended up.
I certainly didn’t need to worry about my acting skill, my body seeming to grow hotter the longer I remained sitting up. As the beastman stared intently into my cell, I threw up, the vomit pooling at the side of my bed.
Gross. He wrinkled his animal-like nose in disgust, pulling out a handkerchief to cover his nostrils from the smell. Like this place smelled like daisies to begin with, I thought to myself, wiping the spittle from my mouth with the back of my hand.
Having reached my breaking point, I slumped back onto the bed, unable to hold the seated position any longer. If anything, I felt confident the beastman and his squeamish companion would not be interested in purchasing any of us.
“I don’t know what kind of establishment you think you’re running, but this place is despicable. And don’t even try to talk to me about high quality. You will be lucky to give those slaves away,” the beastman said to the guards in a haughty tone, leading them back out of the dungeon.
Perfect, I thought to myself before a feverish sleep claimed my consciousness once again.
∞∞∞
“Did you even monitor their condition? Stupid -” Angry arguing from outside the dungeon area roused me from my sleep. The sky outside the small window let me know I had slept through most of the day.
My body felt damp, the soiled, silken shirt clinging to my skin from the sweat. I felt like I could breathe normally again, my body no longer an inferno of trapped heat.
I held out my wrists. The blisters had all but disappeared, the areas around the chains remaining an angry red. Now that I’d regained my senses, I questioned exactly what happened with the shackles.
I remembered meditating and feeling the flow of my mana...
“It’s best ya don’t try nothing like that again,” a soft voice said, breaking my train of thought.
“Try what again?”
“Using your mana gift,” Illia said simply.
“I wasn’t trying,” I started to explain but was cut off.
“Those wounds say otherwise. Yer lucky you didn’t do more damage considering the power locked in those cuffs.”
“Power?”
“Ya didn’t think there wouldn’t be any safety measures encrypted in these devices should the first layer of prevention runes fail, now did ya.”
Truthfully, I hadn’t given it much thought. Just how much planning went into the type of chains that would be used to restrain me? I started to hate the Hivini prince even more than before.
“Are you okay, Nolan?” Aquina’s hushed voice redirected my attention.
“I’m feeling better.”
“I can’t believe they would use something so dangerous,” Cera added, her rage building.
“I can.” I said simply.
I wouldn’t put anything past the jealous prince. Hopefully, this would be the last we even had to think about him.
The doors creaked open, and we all instinctively fell in our beds,
resuming our sickly act. The head guard inspected us from outside the cell bars, while another stood silently beside him.
“They don’t look like they will die any time soon, at least not the Weni and the Hivini. I can’t say the same for that one.”
I cracked my eye open a bit, realizing his words referred to me. I must have appeared worse off than I felt with the trials of the previous ordeal showing on my face.
“If we hurry, maybe we can still make a profit,” the silent guard spoke up, trying to appease the other.
“You’d better hope we can. Give them a little extra for dinner tonight.” He said his final piece and exited the dungeon, not bothering to give us a second glance.
It seemed our plan backfired. Now the guards would be even more eager to quickly find a buyer.
“We need to expedite our plans.”
The girls nodded, agreeing with my assessment of the situation.
Later that night, Tate came in with our meal, an extra helping of slop on Aquina’s, Cera’s and my tray. Opposite from the night before, he delivered our meals first before exiting again to retrieve Illia’s.
He returned quickly with fresh food much more appealing than what we were faced with. Illia perked up when Tate unlocked her cell, a wooden box underneath the plate of food he had brought for her.
“I found everything you asked for this morning. Had to run around a bit, but it was no problem,” he told her, smiling.
It looked genuine, but I found it hard to believe that he expected to have an equal relationship with someone who was being held captive by a village.
“The head wants to see you in a few days. There is a new item he wants you to make for him.”
“Any ideas what it is?” Illia asked, a bit curious, getting closer to Tate.
I saw her reaching for the keys attached to the belt around his waist, her eyes shifting to me momentarily. I simply shook my head, stopping her attempt. While the plan may have moved up, we weren’t quite ready yet and he may suspect her if his keys were to go missing too early.
“No, they wouldn’t release that information to me. You will find out soon enough. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He patted her softly on the head.
“Goodnight,” Illia replied with an unnatural smile.
The guard didn’t seem to notice, returning her affection with a smile of his own before locking her cell behind him.
“Why’d ya stop me?” She asked as soon as the guard was out of sight.
“What would happen when he goes to lock your cell and his keys aren’t at his waist?” I asked, letting the question sink in.
“I didn’t think about that.”
“So, what are we supposed to do?” Cera asked, pressing close to the bars to include herself in the conversation.
“I can provide a distraction,” Aquina offered.
“That’s good. Tomorrow when he’s finished bringing in our dinner and locking your cell, Aquina can call his attention to her. Once he turns, you go for the keys. I don’t think the main door requires a lock, so he shouldn’t notice anything is missing until morning.”
“Perfect. Tonight will be enough time for me to finish my grenade! It will definitely work this time,” she said excitedly, digging through the wooden box.
She pulled out a jar filled halfway with a golden powder. I had my guesses as to what it was, so I didn’t bother to ask, afraid she’d go off on a tangent about the intricacies of constructing a grenade.
If all went well, we wouldn’t need to use her device anyway, simply quietly slipping away into the night after grabbing the guard’s keys.
Her smile faltered a bit when no one questioned what she held, her shoulders slumping.
“Fine, I’ll just get started then,” she grumbled, clearly pouting.
She plopped down at her disheveled workstation with all the new materials laid out on the wooden structure. The room fell silent when she started working, the girls returning to their cots, trays of food in hand.
I stretched out, just barely reaching my own tray as the shackle around my neck kept me grounded to the back wall. My fingers touched the sides as I slid it toward me, nearly choking myself in the process.
The restraint loosened when I stepped backwards, and I crawled onto my bed with my tray of slop. There really wasn’t another way to describe the mound of food that seemed to stare back up at me.
The color unsettled me, a murky brown with pieces of something black mixed in. Chili, maybe. One could hope.
I brought a spoonful up to my nose and sniffed, the smell or lack of one leaving me even more confused. I took a bite and to my surprise, I didn’t get the urge to spit it out. While subtle, it tasted of meat, but neither good nor bad, just simply edible.
I grabbed the roll that accompanied the meal, more like a little stone than actual bread. That would not be eaten.
I did however down the cup of only slightly dirty water, too thirsty to bother caring about a little dirt. After eating to keep up my strength, I closed my eyes, trying not to concentrate too deeply.
I swore I felt the flow of my mana, but remembering yesterday, I forced my eyes open, not wanting to add to the damage. The night seemed to drag on, the anticipation of the next day's events weighing heavily on my mind.
I laid on my cot, listening to the noises created by Illia as she worked tirelessly on her project. At some point I must have dozed off, because when I opened my eyes again the few rays of the suns that reached my cell streamed in through the tiny window.
I propped myself up, scanning the surroundings. Aquina and Cera still appeared to be asleep, while the hunched figure of Illia remained at her workstation.
“Did you not sleep last night?” I whispered.
“I’m so close.” She responded shortly.
“You will need your strength for later, so make sure you have time to fit in a nap before dinner.”
She nodded weakly, her eyes never leaving the work in front of her. I stood up, stretching out my tired limbs. The redness on my wrists had mostly faded, my mysterious healing ability still managing to be effective even with the influence of the runes.
The guards didn’t bother gracing us with their presence that morning, giving me an uneasy feeling as the day dragged on. When Cera and Aquina woke, we all discussed the plan in detail once more, making sure everyone understood the risks we were potentially taking.
No one seemed to mind when compared to the alternative of slave labor.
Around mid-day, Illia shot up from her seat on the floor, raising the contraction she’d been working on high in the air.
“I’ve done it! It’s ready!” She could hardly contain her excitement.
The device appeared smaller than the first she’d shown me, but it did resemble a type of explosive. I remained skeptical if it would work as she intended.
“Great job!” I congratulated, keeping my reservations to myself.
“It’s glorious! I can’t wait to use it.” She wore a devious expression.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” I tried to reign in her eagerness to blow shit up.
“Amazing!” Aquina and Cera said simultaneously, joining in the excitement.
Shortly after finishing the device and reveling in her accomplishment, Illia passed out on the bed, the overnighter catching up to her. She remained asleep when two guards entered the dungeon, carrying buckets of water, rags and three sets of clean clothes.
“I’ve some good news for you lot, we found a buyer for your sorry selves.”
I remained silent, hoping he would explain the situation a bit more on his own.
“Don’t know why anyone wants such a sickly bunch, but apparently word spread of your arrival, and we got some interest.”
The lizardmen opened the cell doors one at a time, telling us first to back up against the wall. They set a bucket with a rag and a set of clean clothes in each of our quarters before locking them back up.
“Try to clean yourselves up. You all smell like dea
th.”
I didn’t appreciate the backhanded comment, but I couldn’t deny it either. I felt gross with a thick layer of dirt clinging to every surface of my body. I’m sure the sweat session from my fever didn’t help either, so I could only feel grateful in that moment.
The two left as quick as they came, and I set to work stripping all the clothes from my body. Illia slept peacefully, the soft inhales and slight snore on the exhale letting me know she probably wouldn’t wake anytime soon.
Luckily, the shirt I wore and the one I’d been given were button ups. The chain around my neck posed no problems as I went to remove my clothes. I dunked the rag into the decently clean water, a strong fragrance coming from the bucket.
When my hand hit the water, the dirt floated freely, soiling it quickly. Wiping the grime from my body, I finally felt like I could calm down a bit.
I glanced in Aquina and Cera’s direction, and I couldn’t help but stare, realizing the show I’d been missing. They caught my gaze and smiled, putting in extra effort to slowly caress the rags over every inch of their beautiful forms.
My own bath forgotten, I got lost in the allure of such a simple act. Cera moved closer to the bars, giving me a better view. She let the rag linger around her supple breasts, massaging them as she cleaned.
Aquina dipped her rag in her bucket, ringing it out on her bare chest. She let the water drip down slowly before catching the droplets with her cloth and sliding it back up her body in a fluid motion.
If they were trying to arouse me, they certainly succeeded. My member reacted in full force, on display for both beautiful women. Knowing there would be no way to completely satisfy the need that started to build, I turned from the girls, willing my desire to calm.
I heard Aquina and Cera giggle to each other, and I couldn’t help but feel disappointment at the missed opportunity. Still an enemy dungeon didn’t seem like the right place for such things anyway, so I hurried to finish bathing and quickly put on the provided clothing.
The simple design felt more comfortable than the formal clothing I had been wearing, even if it resembled a prison jumpsuit, the shirt and trousers both in the same shade of rusty brown. The guards returned to collect the dirtied water, bringing a lunch tray when they came.