The thin man left as soon as the cage had been locked, walking his way towards his post. As my eyes started to adjust to the faint fire light and darkness, my eyes darted about. There had to be something I could do, it can't just end like this. It can't. Frantically I tested the cage door with trembling hands. Locked tight with an iron lock. After a few pathetic tugs at the lock I sat down on the grimy flooring, desperately trying to calm myself. When I regained some control over my breathing I looked about for something to assist me. I had no tools, just my travelling cloak, the cotton breeches and jerkin I wore, and my bindings. The weaselly man had taken my meager satchel, not that it would've done me much good here.
As a searched about I began to make out figures in the other cages. There seemed to be five in total, all lashed to a tree using thick hemp ropes. Three of the five including mine seemed occupied. I hoped the still form next to my cage was still alive, and if gods willing, was Olvia. Trying to keep my voice to a whisper I croaked, "Hey. Hey, Olvia, is that you? Psssst, hey." The figure in the adjacent cage stirred, but to my horror it wasn't an elven face that peered at me through the darkness. As it sat straight and turned I was met by porcine features, a boars head sitting atop a paunchy and stocky frame.
I leaned back on instinct as it wrapped thick, three fingered hands around the bars of his cage had it peered close. "I not a Olive." It said, the words coming in low staccato grunts. I had heard of the pig folk before though I had never seen one. The townsfolk always referred to them as "Grunters" probably due to how they sounded. Though primitive like orcs or goblins it was said that they were surprisingly good natured, and enjoyed some trade with the elven settlements and human frontiersmen. After the initial shock of a talking pig wore off, I recovered and whispered quickly, "You speak common? We need to find a way to escape." It nodded in understanding. "I speak like humies. You smell sorta like humie, but wrong. Smell sick. Smell like old wounds and storms." As if to accentuated the point he let out a chuff from his porcine snout.
"I am ill, but that is besides the point. Did you see an elf get dragged back here?" I asked. He nodded again and pointed to the cage next to his. "Elf got beat bad. Really hurt." He motioned with his stubby digits to his face and body. "Bloody all over. Elf breathes though." A slight relief washed in as he said this. Olvia was alive at least. "We need to find a way to escape. Have you checked your cage door?" I whispered. The grunter nodded more slowly this time, seeming sad. "Been caught fer two days now." He grunted. "Think bad humies wanna eat me. I wanna run but metal sticks stop me." I felt despair at my situation. How was I going to get out of this?
The rest of the night went by as exhaustion finally took me. There was nothing to do except wait, and see if maybe, just maybe the gods would stop pissing on me and give me a break. I was awoken to a sharp bang against my cage door. Bleary eyed I started, blinking rapidly in the light of the new morning. "Time ta see de boss." Barked a dirty man as he fumbled with keys to open the cage. Panicking now, I glanced sideways to see that Olvia's limp form was bring dragged out of her cage as well, and the grunter was being bound, a rope ties about the poor creatures neck to be pulled about like some livestock.
They grabbed from within the cage and bound my hands behind my back. Pushing me I fell a few times as I scrambled to shuffle of weak legs. Each time I fell I was met with a quick kick to my ribs as the men would curse and pull me back to my feet. I was made to kneel between the sitting form of the grunter and the sprawled form of Olvia, the face covered in bruises and cuts. She seemed to be barely aware as she dimly tried to look about through a tangle of dirty golden hair and swollen eyes. Before us stood a towering man, long greasy black hair and beard complimented ragtag, spiked half plate and ruddy skin. As I looked to meet his eyes he sneered, showing jagged, browned teeth. "This is de fuckin cripple yous told me stumbled upon us last night eh?" His voice was the churning of wet gravel.
"Ye, came a lookin ta warm imself up by our fire." Weasel was at his side, he spat the words in a mocking, whining tone. The big man stepped forward and took a closer look, eyes flickering over my bandaged form. "Ya know, I seent sum lepers before when we raided towns, but I ain't neva seen what's under them bandages dey always swaddled in." My eyes widened, and instinctively I started back, only to be shoved down again by rough hands. "Oooooh wasa matter? Don't wan us seein what ye are cripple!" The large man boomed, and my vision bursted into pain and stars and he struck the side of my face, knocking me to the dirt. No sooner had I fell than the men hoisted me into a kneeling position again. Dazed I blinked to clear to fuzzy motes from my vision. My head pounded.
I smelled the man's reeking breath as his face hovered a few inches from mine. "Well. Strip im bois, I wanna see what es hidin." I struggled in vain as the tore the bandages from my head and torso. As they peeled the gauze from me, the men muttered and took steps back, all retreating from me except for the big man, who just stared at my prone form. Sapphire scales poked from red skin, gleaming in the sun. The big man then just laughed. "Yer no fuckin leper!" He belted, still laughing. "You look like yer mam opened er legs to a fuckin iguana!" The men joined in laughing with him, though more than one looked disgusted by my appearance. It was then a voice I barely registered as my own answered. "Better an iguana then the half dead troll your mother fooled into fucking her." The camp went silent almost immediately. The big mans face scrunching into an ugly scowl. "The fuck'd you say cripple?"
Another punch. But I had felt so much worse than this. A surprising heat rose from my belly, rage starting to tighten my chest even as tears stung my eyes. This time, I didn't go down. I spat blood, and what may have been one or two of my teeth as I turned back to glare at this man. Fuck it, if it was to end this way I might as well piss him off enough to end it quickly. "You heard what I said you inbred piece of ogre shit!" My voice was rough, but surprisingly strong as I looked him in the eye. The rage was becoming unbearable, I felt the anger choke me, screaming over any plans of reserve I may have had. The man grabbed me, hoisting me off of my feet.
I was barely an inch away from his face then. "Imma make ye die slooooowly, ya understand?" It was then the dam broke. I went to spit my blood in this bastards face, but something else happened.
Then, everything was thunder and fire.
A flash of light blinded me as I felt something violent and hot rip itself from my innards ans through my mouth. My flesh convulsed and burned as sparks and lightning danced and ravaged my flesh, like a thousand incandescent worms. The ropes binding me were gone. My world was pain. I heard the screams of men, the porcine whine of fear from the grunter. And finally as I felt the merciful dark take me I almost though I heard the distant roar of a dragon.
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