I woke up because something was constantly hitting my head.
I opened my eyes and noticed that I was in the carriage. A guard was right in front of me.
I remembered the last things that happened to me and immediately connected the dots. The merchant drugged me.
My chained hands and legs confirmed even further this theory.
//Scribbled on the border of the page//
- So keen, Man, really acute…
"Hey, Boss, he has woken up." – Shouted the guard. Elija appeared a few seconds later. – "You're calmer than expected. I thought that you are a complete idiot, but at least you managed to understand your current predicament." – His smiling face felt far more chilling than in the village.
"Bastards. You and John." – I coldly commented.
Suddenly I felt my whole being shocked by electricity and fell screaming.
"Hm, I guess that you really know nothing about the most basic of things. Now you are bound by a slave contract. I can force you to do anything. I can kill you at any moment. I can inflict infinite pain on you."
Another round of electrocution left me barely hanging on my consciousness.
"That's better. Get used to your new status before we arrive in Altariana." – Still smiling, Elija left.
I was still lying on the floor.
After a few very long minutes I returned to my previous position.
I wasn't expecting an answer asked anyway to the guard in front of me. – "Altariana? What place is it?"
Surprisingly the burly guy answered me. – "For real? Altariana is the second capital of the Kingdom."
"Second Capital? What does it even mean…?"
"So, you really lost your memory? Well, no harm in telling you. The official capital is Klanren where the king resides. But the second biggest city of the kingdom is Altariana, Capital of Slavers, City of Thousand Races."
He looked at me with some pity. – "You will be sold there, and, well I wish you good luck."
Hoping for an opportunity I asked. – "Can you help me escape?"
"Nope, brother." – He crushed my hopes. – "And even I let you escape, with the slave contract in Boss's hands, you won't be able to escape even if set free. Sorry."
Then he pointed at my left hand. – "Look."
Only then I noticed that on my hand and forearm mysteriously appeared a tattoo of a snake. – "What is this?"
"This is your slave mark, brother. Even you manage to steal the contract, kill me and the other guards and then escape, you will be captured by the Fregas headhunters. You have no chance brother."
With my dreams of glory still fresh in my mind I felt desperate. Anybody would be.
[…]
I was silently looking outside of the carriage then suddenly a heard a howl in the distance.
"Shaggra!" – Immediately said the guard in front of me. Later I discovered that this was the most diffused curse in Astria. I never wrote it before but even if the language was ninety-nine percent identical there was the remaining one percent of curses and strange words that were new to me.
The carriage stopped.
Elija's voice sounded from the outside. – "Everyone, prepare. Fergus, take the slave outside. He will have to fight too."
"Quick brother. Outside."
"What's happening?"
The guard named Fergus was extremely tensed and serious. – "The Sin Wolves are attacking."
Outside we stopped in the middle of nowhere. More howls appeared around us.
"Take this." – As I was distracted Elija called for me. – "If we don't fight now, we will die. If you become a slave you still can regain freedom later or at very least live, so don't do anything funny here." – He gave me a slim long sword. – "This all I can give you."
I tried to slash and stab. The sword was surprisingly light.
Fergus came near. – "Be careful. This a long sword, so don't let enemies get inside the range of the sword."
*HOWL*
Suddenly ten clouds of reddish smoke appeared around the carriage.
The guards made a circle and even the old Elija prepared a slim dagger, ready to fight. Suddenly I had a tinge of respect for this old merchant. At the very least he wasn't willing to only stay in the backline.
Noticing my surprised gaze, he smiled as always. – "Yeah, I know what you are thinking. But I can't leave my life for others to decide. RIGHT, MY FRIENDS?"
The five guards roared at the same time. – "RIGHT, BOSS!!!"
And the clouds suddenly took the form of the wolves and attacked.
One jumped right at me. At the start, I thought that it wouldn't be so hard, but my body froze for a second as I saw the maw full of sharp teeth going straight for my face.
Suddenly a warm stream of energy made my muscles work once again. I slashed forwards and the wolf returned to its misty form and backed off.
"Nice!" – Roared Fergus.
"They can return to mist form only two times." – Calmly added Elija after he skillfully stabbed two wolves in a row.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
*Elija Markin POV*
'He is far better than I expected. He felt the fear of death and managed to overcome it. Maybe I will give him a chance in Altariana.'
After looking at this skinny young man named Eliot, suddenly, an old memory emerged in Elija's mind.
It was a dark rainy night.
[…]
He was alone.
Four wolves surrounded him. He had only a dagger.
Suddenly one of the beasts jumped forward and Elija stabbed it between the ribs. He made a wrong calculation and the wolf still manage to bite him on the leg. His mobility was compromised.
The other three creatures dashed in the same moment ready to end their prey.
He saw death in front of him when suddenly his mind became empty.
The wolves missed their target, and three identical shadows decapitated the beasts. After that, the shadows fused into one, and exhausted Elija fell on the ground.
A cloaked figure emerged from the night and squatted near the boy surrounded by four dead creatures.
"You passed…my new disciple."
[…]
"CAREFULL!"
A sudden scream woke up Elija. One of the Sin wolves jumped towards him. The slave named Eliot ran towards it and pierced its flank thanks to the reach of his sword.
Elija's face suddenly became black from fury.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Today, for the first time, I witnessed supernatural powers.
Elija was attacked by the wolf and I protected him. After that suddenly three shadows identical to Elija surrounded every single wolf and mercilessly stabbed them to death.
After that, I became really afraid of the old merchant who enslaved me.
The guards seemed afraid but even more worried for their Boss.
Nothing else happened this day. Tomorrow we would arrive in Altariana.