War Gods

She stumbles again, this time injuring her foot. 

He could hear the loud cackles of the satyr slave hunters getting louder and louder. With little choice left he hunch in front of her.

"Climb up"

"Kaeviel?"

"Hurry up Elaine!"

With her on his back, it was difficult to run at full speed. The sound of hooves crashing dry leaves of the forest floor is now audible to him. 

'They're here!'

Elaine's fingers dug on his shoulder, her body trembling as her breath hitch against his neck. He didn't need to look to know that she could hear it too.

Without losing momentum, he changes direction and runs a few more paces before hiding behind a tree and covering her mouth with his hand.

He clenches his knuckles so hard they're turning white. He held his breath for as long as possible while focusing all his attention to the sound of hooves in the distance.

Elaine kept clinging onto him, her usually clean deep purple hair now messed up and leaves sticking to it. Dark eyes filled with fear look at him probably asking what to do.

The sound of their chasers slowly decreases as they pass them. Letting out the breath he held for too long once he realised they're far enough, removing his hand on her mouth.

"I found ya…"

He had a split second to widen his eyes before feeling the erupting pain on his chest from being kicked ten meters away from where he was earlier.

"Kaeviel!"

He struggled standing up while coughing blood on the forest floor. He pushed himself against a tree trying to relax his lungs while every breath he takes feels like breathing in water.

"H-how?" he glared at the humanoid goat covered in black fur who was now holding Elaine by her hair. His evil grin exposing black teeth that could probably tear into flesh if he tried. 

Loud, taunting laughter filled the forest.

"For a young human, you're pretty crafty."

Kaeviel grimace.

"Running parallel to the river. Very clever" 

He praises.

"Also hiding when you're near the waterfall is a good idea."

"Unfortunately for you I have far stronger hearing even compared to other satyrs" said ears tauntingly waved.

In a flash, a dagger was pointed at Elaine's neck.

"Now why don't you be a good boy and stay where you are?" 

The satyr sadistically grinned. As if challenging Kaeviel to attack.

Elaine whimpered, her eyes filled with fear of what might come to pass.

He was left with no choice as he heard the approaching sound of a dozen satyrs holding two hostages. One is a female teen with long white hair dirtied by the forest and the other a teen male with a huge build, missing an eye that was there earlier today.

"Kaeviel"

"Luna? George?"

His other friends. The ones that did not betray him.

"Sorry Kaev"

George smiled thinly.

"It's just impossible to outrun them" the expression, although a smile, radiated sadness Kaeviel can feel.

He froze as desperation creeped in.

It was over. 

There was no point in begging. 

Once captured, they are to be sold as slaves. 

Without warning, he felt an unbearable pain on his neck. He felt his world darken as he hit the ground hard.

~~BREAK~~

He woke up from a sudden shake. He hears the creaking of old wood as the prison carriage continues moving, being pulled by horses.

He slowly pushed himself up, still disoriented due the moving carriage and the earlier hit on the back of his head. 

Looking around, he saw other mythos wearing rag clothes, chained just as much as him. The scent he could smell indicates that they were not given a moment to go outside to at least relieve themselves.

It was an assortment of elves, dwarves, lizardmen and other mythos that he could not recognize. Everyone with dead eyes looking blank into nothingness.

He swore he could see all the races there.

But not his friends.

"Uhm, excuse me"

"Have you seen other humans my age? There should be two females and a guy with a missing eye" he asked the elf next to him.

He shook his head in response.

Turning around, he noticed a small window enough to see satyr slave hunters marching around the enclosed carriage.

"Hey!"

He was ignored, the satyrs kept marching on.

"Hey! I think you forgot my friends!"

"Hey!"

"Heeeeeey!" his voice cracked desperately trying to gain their attention.

"Shut up!"

A satyr suddenly hit his side of the carriage making him fall off his seat hard. 

"Luna!"

"George!"

"Elaine!"

He tried calling for his friend's names in vain.

"You stinking goats!"

"Get me out of here!"

The carriage door slammed open to reveal the same satyr that had caught him and Elaine. He pulled Kaeviel's hair up to keep his eye contact.

"Now, now, would you mind going back to sleep? We still have sometime before we reach the slave sellers."

He glared.

"What did you do to my friends?"

"You don't need to worry about them anymore. They are on the way to their own slave sellers."

"Where?"

The satyr laughed tauntingly while pulling on his goatee in a mocking posture.

"Why should I tell you?"

Unable to take taunts anymore, he shouted hatefully. 

He headbutted the black satyr which only resulted with his head bleeding, he seemed to have reopened a wound that he had sustained in the forest. 

The satyr did not look impressed.

The only visible effect that it did to him is the surprise that made him let go of Kaeviel.

He sighed as if tired, taking care of a stubborn puppy.

"Alright, that's it you naughty kid. Night night!" 

He punched Kaeviel's temple so hard he was decked on the wooden floor of the carriage and even bounced once.

Even when losing consciousness, he maintained his glare against the satyr.

"I'll… kill… you"

~~BREAK~~

"Hey!"

"Hey!"

The sound of prison bars being hit resounded.

"Wake up dog, time for your food."

The lizardman warden threw the hard bread hitting Kaeviel's head.

He woke up groaning, the hit from bread was barely painful but his body felt like it had not moved for days.

"Tsk."

He left before Kaeviel managed to reorient himself.

"Whe-where?"

He could barely see in darkness as he was surrounded by brick walls covered in moss. The only opening is a barred entrance guarded by a lizardman.

"Hello?"

"Have you seen my friends? They're humans, two girls and a boy with a missing eye. They're twelve like me. "

"There's a lot of slaves coming here everyday with that description. Don't waste your time looking for them anymore" the guard replied without turning.

"I-I see"

He looked at the bread that was tossed to a corner of the prison. Even when it's not as appetizing as the forest hunts he's been used to, his stomach still groans.

Picking it up, he noticed the hard moulds that covered it making him feel disgusted. 

Hearing another groan from his stomach though, he reminded himself that he had to survive to find his friends.

He noticed the lizardman guard sipping a hot soup that had been given to him while Kaev was not looking. 

He unwittingly stared too long, fantasizing of having the same soup for his food instead of a mouldy bread.

He coughed hard when a particularly large piece of bread got stuck in his throat making the guard notice him. Kaviel's stare in particular which is still fixated on soup.

"Do you want it?"

He does, but answering yes may result in beatings. Something that he does not really look forward to. 

He shook his head.

"It's okay, you can have some"

The guard approached him slowly.

"I didn't really like this job of guarding slaves, you know? but I'd be the one in your position if I don't do this, my family would be sad if I became a slave" he grinned.

He stared. Behind the kind smile, it was hard to ascertain the guard's intention. 

His words may have made him understand the lizardman's position.

On the other hand, he had been through a lot this past few months to just naively believe his words.

His stomach groaned again making the choice easier for him.

"I can't give you anything"

He finally pushed the soup close enough so Kaev could reach for it.

"That's okay,"

The guard smiled.

"I've always been fascinated with lores made by your kind."

He nodded hesitantly reaching for the soup.

~~BREAK~~

At the earliest break of light, he was dragged into a plaza center filled with various mythos.

This made him realize he was transported to a city.

Although naming the city would be difficult since he grew up isolated in a village.

He recognizes that the platform he's standing on is designed to display slaves as products for sale, like a stage meant for performers.

He can see the hopeless eyes of the other slaves alongside him while a goblin is trying to sell them like some cheap bargain to any passersby that gets too close. Lizardman guards surround the whole plaza, basically making escape impossible.

An orc approached the goblin in charge of selling them asking for the price of the elf beside him eyeing her while licking his lips with his long tongue.

"Hoho good eyes dear sir" 

The goblin grinned.

"This beautiful elf is sure to be a good company in bed just for five hundred gold" he could see her shivering under the obtrusive eyes of the perverted orc.

The huge pig-like race threw a bag of gold to the goblin making his grin wider.

"Oh and by the way dear sir, since this is your first purchase from us. I'd like to throw you a discount" he pulled Kaeviel into attention.

"How about it? He's yours for an additional one hundred gold" he suggested.

The orc gave him one look of disinterest and snorted.

"What would I use that weak human child with? Not even strong enough to hunt flame stags"

He left, pulling the elf lady by the chains.

Kaeviel sighed. He felt sorry for the elf but as slaves, the philosophy prevailing here is to each his own.

The goblin tried selling him as an add-on slave multiple times but none of the buyers seem to be interested in him.

It seems the mythos have existing prejudice against his kind but that's okay with him. Better to live as a prisoner rather than a beaten slave.

As the sun started to set coloring the sky like blood spilling in the air, he could notice various mythos starting to gather in front of the platform. 

Their stares bare as they tried to appraise the slaves. 

It was clear as daylight that the majority of the masses looked at him with disgust. There were some looks of apathy and indifference scattered among them, he noticed a red haired dwarf eye him for a single moment yet that interest quickly vanished.

Among the masses, he noticed a group of humans dressed like adventurers. He had hoped that they might help him, someone of their own race.

Those hopes were quickly dashed as they looked at him in disgust just like the rest of them.

Pieces of conversation about guillotines and slaves were the primary topic of conversation among groups yet he did not think much of it assuming that it was for the slaves that attempted to escape.

"It's time!" the goblin slave seller shouted, acting like a master of ceremony.

"The moment you scums are waiting for!" laughter was the response to his remark.

"Bring out the guillotine!" 

There was a rumbling sound as a huge wooden guillotine on cement wheels was being pulled by the guards.

"Pay your fees, scum! The show is about to begin!"

It might just be him but for some reason it seems like everyone grinned menacingly at that moment.

"Time to kill the third month slaves" 

He was unable to control the widening of his eyes as he realised what was said.