***

Katla 

It was cold. The makeshift cell my kidnappers had made from a hollowed out cave was rouged and wet. As I went to check if I had gotten injured when they knocked me out, I realized my hands are tied. Bound to my chains and not much else.

Do they believe to be that much stronger than me, to let me basically walk free?

Or are they just that dumb?

The chains holding me made clanking noises as I stood up. Walking up to the bars that were keeping me in I realized that they were made of sticks.

"Stupid. They are most definitely stupid." I said quietly.

I stood dumbfounded looking at the prison I was in.

I was captured by imbeciles like this?

However, my attention quickly changed as I heard the voice of the plump man we wanted to help.

"Sir Zasil she's awake." The voice of Reginold yelled down the tunnels as he saw me.

I heard a pair of footsteps slowly approach the cell. The sound grew louder and louder as the man he called Zasil approached. Until he was here.

"Well good morning Mrs speaker." The bandit leader from before said to me as he emerged from the dark tunnels.

"Would you be so kind to help with this little problem of mine." He said as he threw a severed arm into my cell.

I quickly made the connection that the arm he threw in most likely was his now nonexistent right arm.

"We can’t attach lost limbs and even if I fully were a speaker, I wouldn’t help you." I tell him.

"Well, what are you good for then? I thought all speakers were friendly." The bandit leader known as Zesil said.

"Well, that friendly demeanor quickly disappears when one is kidnapped." I say, spitting at him.

Reginold quickly runs up to the man with a handkerchief and as Zesil is wiping the spit off his face I see a mark that has been burned into his throat. A circle with three tentacles moving with the circle.

"A pirate? Are you with Maya la Cruse?" I ask, the fear in my voice being a bit louder than I had hoped.

"With that she devil? No. If I was, half of me would be sold off to the coordinate in Zarth." He said with a laugh.

"Well, it figures. Only pirates would work with such lazy architecture." I say, gesturing to the sticks they used as prison bars.

"Well with underpaid workers this is what you get. But I assure you after we have ripped you apart and sold ya, then we will be rich." He said.

"Do you realize how much the arm of a speaker can get me? 100 000 Oura. If I find the right buyer. Hell, I’ll get even more if sell ya to Uranos." He continued.

"Why would Uranos want a speaker? We are basically at war with them." I ask.

"That’s exactly why. They could skewer you alive or hang you like a puppet as scare tactics." Zesil said.

"Well, I just wanted to see if I could get my arm back. But I guess the conversation was nice." Zesil said as he walked away.

As the two left it got quiet again. Leaving me with the guard. Taking this chance, I ran back towards the wall where my chains were attached.

"Open gate. Time for all, flow for us. Heavy burden forever rust. Eroga"

I spoke the incantation, feeling the arcana flow through me enveloping the chain slowly making it rust until I can break it off the wall. The rust eventually envelops the entire chain so I can easily break free.

I then walk up to the makeshift prison bars and kick them open. Taking one of the now broken sticks to use as a makeshift weapon.

I use the stick to surprise attack the guard. Dashing towards him I use the pointy stick and stab him in his chest.

He lets out a pained grunt and tries to go for his knife.

I mutter the incantation again and grab a hold of his hand. Quickly the rust starts to envelop his hand and it starts to rust and wither away.

"Argh! My hand! You fucking witch!" He screamed as he went to swing at me with his other hand. I dodge and grab the stick from his chest. I quickly position myself next to him and stab it into his neck. Not entirely killing him.

"May Lunare guide your soul." I say as take a knife from his belt.

"Now where might the exit be?"

***

Arameth

We followed the tracks that the bandits had made to a large ravine down the road.

Sebastian had hidden the wagon by some trees and caught up with us.

"S-so where are we going?" Sebastian asked, catching his breath.

"The tracks lead down the ravine." Gottfrid said.

"Wait but isn’t that Jacobs pit?" Sebastian asked.

"Unfortunately, I believe it is." Gottfrid.

"Jacob’s pit?" I ask.

"It’s an old legend of a farmer named Jacob who had his house right here, and during the rampage of a dragon who split the ground open. It split Jacob’s house in twain and he and his house was swallowed by the ravine. They say he haunts this ravine. Most people who venture down say they heard weird voices and some even disappear in the ravine."Gottfrid tells me.

"I'm suppressed that a folk tale spread all the way to Apeth." Sebastian says to Gottfrid.

"It came up a lot in the ghost stories my grandmother would tell me as a kid." Gottfrid responds.

"Anyhow, it will take a long time to explore the entirety of this ravine." Gottfrid said.  

"If we split up, we could cover more ground." I suggest.

"Are you sure, I know that you can use your sword, but you are a child." Gottfrid said.

"I'll be fine. I won’t charge head on if I find where they are. If I do, I will send some sort of signal and we could meet up." I say.

Sebastian gave me a worried look.

"Wouldn’t be best if you stayed to protect the wagon?" Sebastian asked.

"Oh, come on. I want to help, and besides what if they plan on using a larger group to attack the wagon while you are gone?" I argue. Wanting to be of help.

"Still..." Sebastian says worried.

"How about this? The three of us will all head down and go in different directions. The boy will only help to search for an hour or until it gets too dangerous in there, then he will get back to the wagon. So, if one of us finds it, we will use some sort of signal to let the others know." Gottfrid suggested.

"Sounds good." I say.

Sebastian gives it a thought and reluctantly agrees.

"Just promise you turn back as soon as it gets too dangerous." Sebastian says to me before we started to head down the ravine.

"So, what will the signal be?" I asked before we headed down.

"What about bird noises? There probably won’t be many birds down there anyway." Sebastian suggested.

We all agreed and started to prepare. I put on my chest plate and grabbed my sword. Still elongated.

I thought of it returning to its original size and said.

"Form"

As I did, I felt my energy drain as the sword returned to its original size.

We head down the curvy road leading into the depths of the ravine. Once the road starts to become smaller and divide into smaller paths we split up. Gottfrid takes a path leading into the caves, Sebastian starts to climb down the ravine walls hoping to find more paths downward.

"Are you sure you know what you’re doing?" I ask him.

"Oh, you would be surprised by the amount of mountains I had to climb in my adventuring days. This we be easy." Sebastian said as he started to decedent.

I headed on the path we took down that led to the waterfall and down the ravine in a spiral.

I felt the weight of my chest plate as I started to run. Quickly stopping and checking every cave entrance or hollowed out wall I came across, but no sign of Katla.

As I got closer to the thunderous waterfall, I could hear what sounded like someone whistling. The sound grew louder and louder and eventually, I heard a voice. It was battered and hoarse. Like the painful screech of a dying animal.

"Oh, waves a folly sound like drums. Have battered wisp and turn to one. A hopeless day on longing thread. So, lords of heathen spear me bread. For a worker soul will toil and boil. Steeped in the breakers heart. Molded by the hoards. A farmer boy turn soldiers coin. No longer spearing bread for home." The tired and pained voice sang. Its echo being dampened by the waterfall.

Getting closer I searched for where the voice came from, but I found no cave. Only when I stood right by the waterfall could I see something. In the small space between the ravine wall and the waterfall a small hole could be seen. One where glider rats went in and out. I started to walk closer to the hole. However, as I go to hug the wall, I feel something. The wall was loose.

I decided to see if I could push it in. So, I pushed with all my might hoping I had found some secret entrance to the bandit camp.

The wall slowly gave in, and a door shaped slab of rock fell inward. The room was dark but the sunlight from where I stood lit up the room. I walked in and was met by a terrible smell. Once I had gotten used to it, I looked up to see something. A figure.

There he sat. Or it was more of a beast than a he. Something that looked human in every sense of the way but nothing of him felt human. His cracking dry skin, his impaled body, and that uncanny smile. His eyes were blue and lacked any interest in what was happening. His teeth were broken and covered in dirt. His hair was longer than him, thinner than string and had started to gray on the edges.

His body was wrapped in old molding bandages with strange symbols and words written on them. His body was forced to sit with his arms dislocated and tied behind his back. his feet had been hammered down to the floor with giant spikes. Throw his body where hooks and chains attaching from him to the stone walls of the cave. Two hooks were lodged into his throat and the roof to keep his head from moving and in the center of it all sat an urn. An old urn with layers of dust covering its markings. The man almost seemed to be guarding it. Or was it guarding him?

Torture. A prisoner in absolute agony. It was all I could think of when I saw him. To think the bandits could do something to someone. Was this what they would do to Katla?

"C-can you hear me?" I asked.

"Perfectly fine." The prisoner answered.

"Were you also attacked by the bandits? Don’t worry I’ll help." I said.

"Bandits?" the prisoner grumbled.

"Anyhow no need to try. The chains won’t budge. I had already accepted my fate a long time ago." The prisoner said.

A long time? How long must the bandits have been keeping him here?

"Well, I'm here to help a friend. Do you know where else the bandits could have prisoners like you?" I ask, kneeling down to his level.

However, he just looked at me confused. His eyes shifted from every part of me.

"You're not human." He said.

I got taken back as the necklace was supposed to keep my true form hidden.

"I-I don’t know what you me-" I start but the prisoner cuts me off.

"No need to lie. I can smell it on you. The smell of giants but also human. You’re a hybrid!" The prisoner exclaimed as loud as his hushed voice would allow.

I feel a chill run down my spine. Who was this beast in front of me? Was he really a prisoner of the bandits? Or someone else?

"You don’t have to fear. I bear no resentment." He said.

His eyes kept looking at me. Darting from my nose to shoes to hands to hip. However, when his eyes reached my sword, he seemed to stop. He quickly made eye contact with me. I felt like I couldn’t stop looking at him. I felt how he dug his way into my very core. To try to figure something out.

"No. It's not you. How unfortunate. Or I guess. It’s perfect." He mumbled.

"You wished to help. then free me if you can. I will be in your dept." He said. His voice getting more droopy as he spoke.

I hesitated for a moment.

Should I? I mean he is imprisoned, and probably for a reason. But I can’t just leave him here. But what if he is one of the ones that disappear in the ravine. Like Gottfrid said. Then it would be the right thing to help.

I stand up and draw my sword out of its sheath. Raising it high I strike down at the chains holding him down. With every swing to the chains I make, I feel how my sword starts to feel warmer. With every attempt to break the chains, I feel my sword burning in my hands. Like it was screening at me. However, I kept on trying. The sound of metal hitting metal roared in the room and eventually, they broke. For how long I stood there I don't know. But I had done it. I freed him.

With a look of shock, the prisoner pulled off the hooks in his body tearing off pieces of flesh. He was free. He looked at me and said.

"What is your name?"

"Arameth. Arameth Zalaar." I said.

With a wicked grin he bowed.

"I am forever thankful and in your dept Arameth Zalaar." He said as he took the urn on the floor and in a moment, he was gone.

I stood there unsure of what I really had done. But I broke out of it when I heard it. Bird noises coming from the direction of Gottfrid.