3 days have passed since the attack on our village. The fire has started to die down, blood dried up from where they were spilled, and the smell of rotting corpses have started to take over our town; despite all that, I decided to stay in the town hall where there is warmth, shelter, food, and clothing. Memories of that event still haunt me, causing sleepless nights, tasteless food, and unexplained series of emotions.
I lay on the makeshift bed I made, still sobbing from the tragic loss of everything that know of. I grasp the necklace my mom gave to me before she was taken away. "Mommy...Daddy..." I mutter to myself as I shiver from the sorrow. I sat up from the bed and wiped away my tears. I wore the necklace and took a good look at it before I stood from the bed and decided to check out the village for supplies. I walk towards the closed entrance of the town hall and placed my hands on the massive wooden doors. I struggled to open them at first,but after a few tries,I managed to get used to the weight of it.
I walk down the bloodied stairs and into the town. Today,I decided to check out the village farms, to see if any food there is remaining, and if I have more time for the day, I might check out if the town has anything else to offer. So far, from my explorations, the village seems to have no survivors except me...
I jog the roads of the town towards the farms, seeing banners of the Human Kingdom of Yorthos scattered around still gives shivers down my spine, I don't know if I feel anxious or frightened by Yorthos banners, but something about them makes me feel uneasy. I managed to reach the farms, only to be met with barren fields. From first look, I have immediately seen that the crops have either been stolen or burned...
However, I did not give up hope yet. I run around the farm to see if there was any left, and to my expectations, nothing. I only had a sliver of hope yet as I was yet met with empty supplies and almost no hope of survival. There was only a few places I didn't check though, which were the barns, and the storage houses. I first checked the barn, there had to be a few pigs or chickens there. I slowly open the doors, and immediately, I was met with a familiar smell. After I fully open the doors, I took a look at the animals, only to see pens which were either empty or filled with a corpse of both Half-Dragon or animals. I let out an empty sigh as I left the barn.
I quickly ran towards the storage house, reaching it in seconds. I stood in front of the door, praying for anything to be in there. I slowly open the doors with my eyes closed. As I felt the door reach its full swing, I opened my eyes.
Food!
I let out a wide smile as I was greeted with a storage house filled with many supplies. I ate some of the food stored in there and decided to ration the rest. I placed the remaining food on a crate and carried them back. I let out a quiet hum as I walked back to the hall, my tail swinging to the tone of my hum. I regained a small bit of hope, and that was enough to keep me going. I grasped the pendant of the necklace and took a deep breath.
I started walking up the stairs back to the main hall until I started to see something strange.
The hall doors were open...
I certainly remembered closing them before I left to gather supplies. I hid the box of food and went to check it out. I hid behind the wooden door frame and peeked over to see what or who went inside. Inside, I saw 2 men, lacking armor, but carrying swords, they had masks over their faces and was certainly looking for something. It was clear that they were thieves or bandits, I had to avoid them at all costs.
As I started backing away from the door frame to make a run from it, I accidentally stepped on a shield,which caused a loud sound when it hit the floor.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" A Bandit yelled from inside the hall, causing a slight echo. I had to hide. I immediately ran down the stairs in hopes of outrunning the bandits. I then jumped behind rubble to conceal myself. I took some breaths before peeking over to see the bandits look confused.
"Must've been the birds..."
"Come on man, let's hurry up and finish up here, the boss doesn't like it when someone comes late"
The second bandit gestured the first one to follow him back into the hall. I let out a sigh of relief. As I looked back, a man hit me in the head with the hilt of the sword, knocking me out completely.
Everything was dark in just an instant, I couldn't move, and I could only hear faint sounds. The sound of horses galloping, the sound of metal hitting each other, and other more sounds. It was only a second before everything went completely still and quiet.
After what I could assume were hours, I slowly open my eyes, my head still hurts from the hit. I tried to stand up but something was stopping me. As I looked at myself, I had an iron collar and cuffs on my hands and feet. I was starting to panic from this sight. 'This can't be happening...This is just a dream right?' I thought it out as I looked around to see myself in a cage, with a red cloth covering it.
As I looked around some more, I could hear faint cheering and a dominant voice, which was easier to make out.
"And now...for the next item on our list..."
As I heard him say that, my cage started to move. I panicked even more as I was helpless in that moment; it reminded me of the attack, causing me to have tears slowly covering my eyes.
"A rare juvenile Half-Dragon!" The man yelled and cheering followed.
The red cloth that was covering my cage was soon removed, a bright light met my eyes, and I couldn't see anything for a solid moment. I covered my eyes to see better. As I started to see better, I immediately knew what was going on... A Slave Trade...
"Now, who wants this rare find?!"The man yelled again, filling me with fear and despair, while it filled the crowd with excitement. Not a second lost, people started yelling out prices.
"70 bronze!"
"25 silver!"
"50 GOLD!" The crowd gasped at the man who yelled out that surprising find. The man on stage was surprised too. The people felt ecstatic about this, but it filled me with even more fear.
"U-uh...May I see the hand who yelled that out?" The man asked. A fat nobleman stood up and laughed confidently.
"I did..."The nobleman fixed his tie and head towards the front of the crowd.
"Are you sure about that price Lord Hitch?"
"Yes,I would like this wretched Demi-Human in my dungeons"The nobleman named Lord Hitch laughed. It filled me with fear and anguish...Tears ran down my face as I crouched down and froze up in terror.
The man on the stage smiled happily as he took the wooden mallet from the podium.
"SOLD!!!"