Waking up to the burning sunlight, I could feel the heat beating on me. My throat was dry, and I seriously needed water.
"Kaylin..." I spoke quietly.
Kaylin opened her eyes and looked around.
"We're nearly there." Said Kaylin.
"Where are we going?" I asked her.
"To the Voiceless Desert, it is north of the town we were in."
"Voiceless Desert? That's a weird name."
"It is where the barbarians dwell and are ruthless, for me they will abuse my body. But for you, they will kill and eat your remains."
Suddenly I got sick to my stomach. I felt dizzy and faint.
"Haha, you're so weak Luke."
I kinda got mad, weak?! I just fell off a cliff and am still recovering, plus I'm in a desert and shackled in a cage.
"You think I'm gonna sit here and let them do that? You have alot to learn Luke."
As she was talking to me one of the men looked at us and shouted.
"Shut up! No talking! Prisoners are not permitted to speak!"
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I looked at Kaylin, as she was doing something with her hands behind her back.
I raised my eyebrow and smirked at her.
"Hey buddy, you got any water? I'm kinda thirsty, I don't think you want us dead or you would have killed us by now."
Kaylin smiled at me while she kept working. Our cage was on the back of a cart, being pulled by donkeys. There were a group of men surrounding the cart and four camels that I could see in tow. Each camel was carryng junk on their backs. We obviously were in some type of caravan.
"Shut your mouth prisoner, or I'll have to shut it for you!"
"You must have some tiny hands for such a big guy. To fit those hands through these bars to shut my mouth, I would say is a sight to see."
Kaylin gave me a nod and quickly pulled her hands free, showing me she was lose.
The cart stopped and the big guy yelled for a couple of men. A group of them stood outside the cage as they began to unlock the door.
"Look at me." Kaylin said to me.
"Dodge left when I say go." I didn't know what she was going to do but I shook my head.
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The man unlocked the cage and turned around to call the other men. When he lifted the latch, Kaylin yelled out, "GO!" Quickly I threw myself left, as Kaylin flew toward the gate. Kicking it open, she threw the big guy a few feet back. Standing on her feet she was out and hands up. The others, swiped their swords at her. She ducked and swept kicked the one to her left.
As he fell, his buddies sword impaled him in the gut. Kaylin popped up and punched the other guy, who was occupied with his buddy on his sword. His face crunched, as he fell with his eyes rolling to the back of his head.
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Another man came with his sword and just missed her, as she tumbled out of the way. She scooped up one of the swords that fell from the ground, and cut into the guy's arm, severing it most of the way. He falls, as she finished him with a blow to the head. Two more guys come with their swords drawn. She throws her sword impaling one man, and dodges the swipe of the other. Quickly, she kicks his knee braking it at the joint. He crumbles to the ground as she turns to face the next guy who staggers back, drops his sword and runs.
Still in the cage, I just closed my mouth that apparently I had open the whole time, watching her take on a few dudes at once.
"So Kaylin, uh...wish I could help, but I figured these shackles wouldn't do me much good."
She laughs at me as she starts unlocking the shackles.
"So your from the land of California? Have you ever rode a donkey before?"
I honestly didn't mean to laugh.
"Bah ha ha. Ride a donkey?"
She frowed her eyebrows and scoffed at me.
"Useless weak man! I would be better off leaving you here. You are useless!"
"Wait! I'm not useless...I can code almost any program, I am a handy man, and..."
"I don't know what those things are. Wherever you're from, we don't do those things here. You need to be able to fight, make a deal, and survive! Doing those things where you came from, will get you stranded and killed."
I thought this was some kinda dream, and that everything was going to go back to my normal life.
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Kaylin started searching through all the bags and things, while I sat there taking all this in. Wait a minute, where am I really?
"Kaylin, I'm sorry. Look I didn't plan on any of this. I am really lost, I don't know where I am right now. Please, can you at least tell me where we are?"
She stops searching and hops down from the cart.
"You're really not from here at all, are you?"
"No I'm not. I'm from a country called America. I'm use to a big city with lights and cars. Not the wilderness like this."
She looked confused, and just cocked her head to the side.
"What are cars? And you said lights, like a candle?"
Wow is she for real?
"You don't know what a car is?"
She shook her head.
"Hmmm, what country is this?" I asked her.
"We are in the land of Arcadia."
"Arcadia? Are there any other countries close by like Africa, Russia, or Europe?"
Both of us starred at each other confused. Then I started thinking about how I got here.
"Wait, you said I came through a portal, right?"
"It seems so, yes." She said as she shook her head.
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"Look, we need to hurry up and get what we can and start our journey to the north."
She started to rummage some more.
"Wait, I wanna help! What can I do to help?"
She kept gathering things as she said, "First we need water and whatever food we can find. Put all the food and water in the cart.
"Got it." I started loading a bag with food I found and flasks. She grabbed the cage and tried to pull it off the cart but it barely budged.
"Wait, I can help you with this."
"So, weak man wants to help...haha ok then, push from the other side."
But before she could finish, I got two camels together and tied their ropes to the cage.
"Ok, watch out Kaylin." She stepped back as I whipped the camels with another rope. The camels grunted and pulled the cage. It slowly started sliding out. A little bit at a time, until it crashed to the sandy dirt. I untied the camels, and loaded the cart with the few bags we had.
"Some men are not strong, but they are wise. So you are useful. That will do Luke."
I was happy that I got her approval.
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After gathering a few things, Kaylin threw a few clothes at me, and slammed down a sword with a sheath next to me on the cart.
"Put these on weak man. If you're going to travel, you need something more protective and a weapon."
I put on the leather armor that covered my torso and braced my ribs that were still sore. I looked like an old pirate with a sword. While I was changing behind the cart, Kaylin went to the top of a hill nearby. We seemed to be in a desert with no plants. The ground was a tanish brown with sand, and a few small shrubs here and there.
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"We are close to a river. We will travel along the river, until we get to a village."
She looked me up and down, then got in the cart's front seat and I climbed in the seat next to her. We pulled off with the donkeys towing us and the camels tied to the back of the cart. We had piled up some bags in the cart and left the dead bodies.
We traveled in silence for awhile, until we got to the river. We stopped for a bit, Kaylin got out and gathered some flasks. I looked for sticks along the bank to build a fire, then I realized I don't have a lighter.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"I was going to light a fire to boil some water but I can't light it."
She shook her head and started filling the bottles.
"You're a very strange man."
"Actually, after thinking about it for awhile, I think I know why I'm so strange."
She raised an eyebrow as I continued.
"So if I came through a portal, then I could very possibly be in a different world. Because there is no such thing as Arcadia where I'm from. I don't even thinks it's on the map at all."
"That's possible, I guess." She said filling the last bottle.
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We loaded back up and traveled down stream of the river.
"Because if you don't know what a car is, then you have to be from a different world." I chuckled, then stopped my laugh as she kept a straight face.
"So this America you're from, you don't use weapons to protect yourself? Or travel by animal?"
"No, that's the thing. We usually protect ourselves by calling the cops and then we drive cars...kinda like this cart but it has lights and a motor."
"Lights? You have used this word before."
"Ugh...Ok forget it. Obviously I'm in the world or land of Arcadia and basically time traveled back to the middle ages, where we used swords to get our point across. Right?"
"More or less." She had such a straight face. I couldn't read her at all.
Ok, so I time traveled and am no where near earth. Great, now what?
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"So now what? Where are we going?" I asked.
"We are traveling to Giovia, I will assume you have never heard of it. It's a refugee village, where many people go when they don't have anywhere else to go."
"Why are we going there?"
"Because, you tried to help me, so I will try to help you."
"But why, all I did was try to stop those guys from...well I thought they were going to hurt you."
"It is a lengthy tale and you may not understand."
"Yeah, but I hardly did anything. So you're telling me that no one has ever tried to help you...ever?"
"No Luke, humans don't help no one but themselves. I have learned they are very selfish people."
"I know I shouldn't ask, but why would you do all of this to help me?"
"Weak man if you don't stop asking, I will slit your throat and drag your body until I reach Giovia."
She is definitely touchy about this. I have to find out why.
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The sun started to set, so she pulled the cart away from the river bank and untied the camels to drink water. Kaylin began to pull the stuff out of the cart and make her bed. I gathered a soft bag for a pillow and sat to watch the sunset on the cart. Kaylin finished her bed and pulled out some meat and bread to eat. She passed me a few pieces of meat and bread.
"Eat weak man, we have a long journey. You will need your strength."
"Thank you." I said ripping off a piece of meat.
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"I was exiled from my tribe."
I didn't want to stop her, so I just looked in her direction.
"My tribe is ruthless and kills for fun. They never negotiated, only killed. My people don't look like me."
"What do they look like?" I asked eating some bread.
"They have long fangs that jut out of their jaw, many are green and have red hair. They are big and very strong."
"I've seen some people with some funny looking teeth and are pretty big." I commented.
"Luke, have you ever seen an orc?"
(Like the ones from the movies?)
"Are you talking about the big ugly beasts, that are like super strong grabbing trees and throwing big boulders?"
"Yes, those are orcs."
"You are an orc?!" I asked, because she looks like a small woman who would work at like a coffee shop.
"Yes, but after my exile I refused to be an orc."
"Makes sense why your so strong. But why not be yourself?"
"Because, I had to travel and find a place to dwell. But nobody wants an orc in their town. The closest town was Drulle, the place we just came from. I shaved down my fangs and took out all my piercings so that I looked like a human."
"Oh well that seems reasonable. But what happened to get you exiled? You don't seem so ruthless and aggressive like I've seen in the movies...or I mean that I've heard orcs are supposed to be."
"That's why...during a raid of a human village, I saved a little girl who we had just killed her parents. I had compassion on her, because I wouldn't want that to happen to me. My father when he heard what I did, was forced to kill me because our tradition demands it."
"So you were killed? But your alive, so explain...please."
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She exhaled deeply before going into it.
"My father as chief, was forced by the tribe to follow tradition. Which means I was supposed to be put to death for treason. But my father instead, exiled me rather then have me killed. And so I was sent away with only clothes. I learned to survive."
I could tell she was getting emotional about it. I didn't want her to feel alone and I've only known her for a few days, but I wanted to help.
"Well for what it's worth, I think you did the right thing. And even though that girl doesn't have any parents she didn't deserve to die either. Which is probably why you didn't die. I think it's ok to have compassion. Someone has to care."
She put on a tough face, but I think she heard me.
"You need rest weak man. We have far to travel still."
"Alright, thank you for telling me your story. And thanks for your help. I'll pay you back somehow."
She didn't respond, but simply laid down in the back of the cart to sleep. As for me, sleep came quickly and consumed me.
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"Daddy....daddy!!!"
"Where are you?!" My daughter's voices echoed in the distance. Their faces blurred, as I tried to see them. I tried to run towards them but seemed to move too slow.
"I can't see you anymore daddy!"
"Daddy, I'm gonna miss you."
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"Ah!" I said lunging out of my sleep. It was pitch black with the dim moonlight. Kaylin was dead asleep in the cart. The animals were asleep as well, the only sound was the crickets and gentle flow of the river. I laid back down and quickly fell asleep again.
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Tires squealed as my body floated through the air, I could feel a cold breeze brush my face. I opened my eyes and saw nothing but snow. The bitter cold crept in my lungs, as I reached through the air. I couldn't tell what I was reaching for, until I saw a glowing aura. It got brighter as I got closer. It was the portal, I could hear faint whispers coming from the portal. It was a very dark portal. The blackness seamed to seep through it. As I got closer, I felt the dread creep down inside me. Just as my hand touched it, my eyes flew open to the sunrise as I snapped up from sleep.
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"Where am I!?" I said to no one.
"On the southern out skirts of the Voiceless desert." Kaylin said packing up the cart.
"Get up weak man, we have work to do and a long day of travel."
After packing up we set out down stream the river again. We made some small talk, she seemed more open and friendlier then before.
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"So what's the plan?" I asked.
"First, we get to the coast. Then we can start traveling east, to avoid any barbarians and orcs."
"Wait, we can be encountered by these people?!"
"Yes, which means you need to get better at handling that sword. I can't be the only one fighting every time." She smirked watching me squirm.
"I don't know the first thing about fighting with swords, or fighting period."
"That's why when we stop, we'll train at the coast for awhile so you can get used to it. From here on you must get better. You're in Arcadia Luke, it's survival here."
I was quiet for most of the trip, taking all this in. It took all day, but we made it to the coast with no events.
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Unloading the cart, Kaylin grabs her battle axe and a few other weapons. On the coast it was a beautiful sight to see. The ocean seemed huge and there was a lot of tropical plants. It seemed like the closer we got to the coast, the more plants we saw. But here it was nearly a full blown jungle.
"So, I need you to gather three big pieces of wood and two large vines." She said handing me her battle axe. I went to grab it and wasn't expecting it to be so heavy. I almost fell over from it's weight.
"Ok, what are we doing?" I said confused.
"You're in training weak man, and it's time you get started. We need to build a hut for a place to sleep."
"Wait, we're staying here for a while?"
"Yes, it's not too far from here that we make it to a bandits outpost. We will have to fight our way through there to get to Lok'Tar."
"Bandits? Lok'Tar?" She started laughing, I guess she could tell I was nervous.
"Yes, the bandits shouldn't be a problem. We will upgrade our clothes and survival equipment there. Bandits won't let us pass through unless, we prove that we can fight. Lok'Tar is the ones we should be worried about. That's the noble orc tribe and my uncle's tribe. I'm exiled from them too."
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I got weak in my knees. Weak man might be the right nick name for me right now. I gathered a few big branches and some vines. It took me awhile and my chest hurt from all the physical strain. After setting it all down in a pile, Kaylin inspected it.
"Weak man, you must put this hut together before night fall. I am going to train you like we orcs train our young. Until I see you develop into a warrior, you are weak man. We will battle, hunt, build, and scavenge for plants we can use. We are not moving from here, until you are no longer weak man. Do you understand?"
Is she for real? What is this the Army? I kinda got upset.
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"Wait, hold up we are actually training?"
Before I could finish she picked me up and threw me into the ocean. She is so strong for a little woman, thankfully I could swim, so I made it back to shore. But when I did my chest hurt from the struggle. While catching my breathe, I felt her pick me up to throw me again. I grabbed her by the arm and the waist to pick her up but then she pulled me backwards and tripped me. On the ground she grabbed my legs and wrapped me up into a choke hold.
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I struggled to breath as she held me.
"In a choke hold you have to use your strength and wit to untangle your self. Now use your arms to push my head up and away from you. Then squeeze your arm through the crook of my elbow and pry one of my arms free."
Shoving her head up I felt her grip loosen, quickly I squeeze my arm through hers and push away from my chest. Her arm popped loose and I rolled out of her grip and grabbed her leg to pick her up. When she quickly kicked me in the gut, I collapsed with all my air out of me. I gasped for air as she started lecturing me.
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"Luke you should have rolled away and then grabbed me by the neck. I was exposed for you to. My legs were the worst thing to grab. I have the advantage over you with my arms open, but my legs were free. You have alot to learn. Now get this hut together your running out of daylight."
I could tell she has a heart to help. She taught me how to build the hut with what we had. Then, I learned how to build a good fire pit with a sword.
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By the time night came I was hungry and we had just enough bread and meat to last for tonight.
"So what do orcs call their teacher?"
"There is no name, except what I tell you to call me. But the traditional ritual is called, om'riggor. Which means rite to adulthood. That is what you're are training for."
"So I am really training to be an adult?"
"Yes Luke, you have to let go of where you came from and actually live here. You are in Arcadia, and if you plan on staying alive longer to reach a portal...you're going to have to train to survive as a warrior."
I sat in silence and ate. Kaylin patted my leg.
"Besides you're not my first child I've ever trained."
"You have kids?"
"Haha no, I was the trainer in my tribe. And it's been almost seven years since I had someone to journey with let alone train."
"Well then, I feel honored to be your student."
She looked out at the sun threatening to dive into the ocean, as the daylight fades and the glow of the campfire gives off our only light. She had a tear roll down her cheek. And I could tell she was hurting.
"Hey Kaylin, it's going to be ok."
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It was instinct really, I wasn't trying to get to close but, it seemed like she needed it. I sat next to her and wrapped my arms around her. She laid her head on my shoulder and I could feel her weep. I rubbed her back as she let it out.
"It...has been...so long Luke. No one cares....I have wondered alone for...seven years."
She kept crying and I honestly felt really bad. So I just held her.
"Kaylin, you're not alone anymore. I wanna find a way back to my world, but while I'm here you're not alone."
"Thank you weak man."
She gave me a long hug then got into the hut. I slept on the opposite end of the hut. That night I didn't have any bad dreams. The lapping of the ocean on the beach reminded me of home and comforted me as I slept.
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Pretty much for the next few days we trained. I learned to hunt, fish, build tools, what plants are good for food. She trained me on basic fighting and grappling. I learned to throw a knife and stab it in a tree. But she said that I had to test my skills in order to get to the next level.
"Ok weak man, after this fight you will no longer be weak man." We were tracking a large beast that she said is very strong. It was a creature she described as a panther but bigger.
Finally we spotted it, that thing was way bigger then I expected. It was panther like but as big as a rhino. Yep, I'm gonna die. She said if I kill this thing, then we will travel toward the bandits.
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Following her advice, I crept up to it while it was eating a dead animal. I was told to get it's attention first to provoke it to fight me, then it's a fight to the death. But she said she would help if needed. As it ate it's prey I moved into a clearing and threw a rock at it. It growled and looked at me. I stood with my sword ready, but without warning it leapt forward with insane speed. But I held my stance. It lunged at me, I side stepped and threw my sword down it's throat. It growled in agony as I stabbed my knife into it's side and climbed up it's back. It tried to run but my sword hung out it's mouth and I grabbed his neck. Using my blade I cut his throat, stabbed it's side of the chest and used my weight to swing down to the ground opening up the side.
It fell to the ground and bled out. I pulled my sword from its mouth as the blood drained from the lifeless body.
"Luke you are no longer weak man, you are smart man."
"Smart man?! Not strong man, or fast man, or how about great warrior of beasts?"
She laughed, and I am pretty sure it was laughing at me, not with me.
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"Smart man because you've learned not to fight with your strength, but with your head. A sign of a true warrior, is one who uses their mind to defeat the enemy. You're not strong or fast, but you used what great warriors fight with, that is strategy and timing."
"How about Luke the grand warrior!"
"No Luke, you just made it to the adult rites of passage. Now you have to fight a real war before you become a warrior."
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I playfully pushed her, and she pushed me back. But I forgot how strong she was, so I flew into the bushes.
"Ok not a warrior yet." She laughed as she drug the beast back to the hut. By the time I got there she was preparing to cook it. I grabbed some spices I made and sprinkled the meat.
"Hey what are you doing?" She asked trying to get me away from the meat.
"We call it bar-b-que on my planet. And if you want good eating, you gotta season it right."
"Ok meat man."
"Oh so I got a new name." I said laughing.
"I hope your spices taste good." She said smiling.
For the first time I noticed how beautiful she really was. I could see her fangs or at least what use to be her fangs. They were no more then big kanines now. But her face had a glow to it, and I could see she was happy. Not just from our joking, but truly happy.
"Kaylin, please don't take this the wrong way, but I would consider you a true friend."
She went to say something, but instead she kept working the meat.
"I know it's alot for you, because you haven't had a friend yet."
"No I had a friend, but they turned on me when I was exiled." She said, as the tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Well I won't turn on you. You're all I know here in Arcadia."
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I wasn't expecting this, she turned to me and gave me a big hug. "Thank you Luke, I know you're true to who you are. And I know with some real fighting, you'll be a good warrior."
Totally not what I expected. But hey, I can be a warrior. We finished up cooking our meat, and I built a make shift box to hold it in. Finishing up, I packed up our cart before we went to sleep. Tomorrow, we were heading to the bandit outpost.
As we slept, I looked over at Kaylin. She seemed to be sleeping good. The last few years of my marriage had really taken a turn for the worst. Karen was all about how much money I made, she always wanted to buy something or was extremely picky on everything. She had a strong sense of entitlement, as if the world owed her something.
We left the next day and journeyed for a few days, until we made it just outside of the outpost.
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"So they have a code for traveler's. When we approach the gate follow my lead." I nodded at her instructions. Coming to the outpost it was a tall fortress, with high walls and small slots on the upper parts. It was built on the bank of a tropical river going out to sea. So it acted as both port and I guess small city or fortress. Walking up to the large doors, they opened up to a small corridor and another door behind, it with a small balcony above the them.
"State your business!" Said a stout man walking onto the balcony.
"Fairy dust sells for two birds and a couple of orc fangs."
"Open the doors!" Said the man as the doors parted to a large market place. Many tradesman discussed deals and showed off their goods to possible buyers. We walked down a dirt walkway, lead by four guys, they were dressed similar to the ones that took us toward the Voiceless Desert.
"Are these bandits?" I whispered to Kaylin.
"Yes, keep watch. They are not to be trusted."
Snaking through a couple hallways, we finally made it to a dock with large tables that had scales and some men dressed like Aladdin.
Some bandits stood around behind our cart and camels, others stood in front by the table.
"Make way!" Said a few bandits behind the men standing at the table. They separated, letting a tall man stand at the front of the table facing us. He had scars on his face and a rightside leather shoulder plate. His left arm was covered with a coat of mail and a huge sword across his back. To his side was a short handled sword, and a smoke pipe tucked in his belt.
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He pulled out his pipe and held out his hand. A bandit to his left opened a box. The man pinched out what looked to be some tobacco and packed his pipe.
"The name is Bruce Grin, welcome to the rebels outpost. What brings you here?" He said lighting up his pipe. He had broken teeth and a few gold teeth. It was obvious he had poor hygiene as he had stubble on his face and seemed like he hadn't showered in awhile.
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"We have some camels, jewelry, and weapons for sale." Kaylin said.
"And who are you?" He said with a large cloud coming from his mouth as he talked.
"I'm Kaylin and this is Luke, we are travellers and need some coins to get to Giovia for more business opportunities."
This seemed easy enough. I'm sure we can get enough to live off of with what we have.
"Hmmm, we need to inspect what you have and assess how much it's worth. Be patient as they go through your cart." He signaled for a few of the bandits to go through our things. As they did, I noticed that more came from behind Bruce and got on either side of us. I could see them getting closer and I put my hand on my belt. But Kaylin noticed me and waved her hand low enough that they didn't see. So I relaxed.
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"Bruce, we have a tribal." With that Bruce gave a quick whistle, and about eight bandits grabbed Kaylin and wrestled her to the ground.
"Hey get your hands off her!" She fought back and was able to smash one of the bandits face with her head, as the other quickly got her on the ground and began kicking her into submission. They had large wands and beat her until she stopped struggling.
One of the men hit me from the side, I fell and my vision became blurry as I stumbled. Another hit me in the face busting open my lips and sending me to the ground. A few kicked me in the ribs reminding me that they weren't healed. Quickly, I tucked my arms in and protected my chest as my vision went black.
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Waking up I was in a large room stripped of all my armor and weapons. But I wasn't chained up, so that was good. Until three large bandits walked into the room.
"Hey hero, so we thought we would tuck you in tonight." The biggest one said stretching his neck. But before he could start pounding my face in Bruce pushed his way through them.
"Your little orc girlfriend is gonna make us alot of money. As for you, because you seem to want to be a hero, we have a new business that we do. So here's the deal. We put you in a circle to fight. You lose, you die. But if you win, we win more money and you can get some too. Deal?"
Thinking about it, if I'm gonna get out of here I have a slim road to travel. Well here goes...
"Deal, when do we start?" I said watching them.
"You will start this evening. After your meal. Enjoy it, for it might be your last."
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With that, they all stepped out and closed the big door. Quickly, I ran to the small window and looked where they went. They turned left from my door and down the hall. I lost sight of them after that. I had to plan this right and act quickly.
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A few hours passed and I heard some foot steps down the hall. Ok it's time. I waited by the door and made sure I was on the opposite side they would open it, so that they couldn't see me right away. Keys jangled as the lock was turning. The door creaked open and two men walked through looking around at first. They were holding chains and a short sword with a belted sheath. The man closest to me had a dagger strapped on his side. Suddenly, as they were scanning the room I swept kicked the first, knocking him over. lunging forward I grabbed his knife and stabbed the second guy in the neck, pulling it across his throat. Landing behind him he slumped to the ground making gurgling noises.
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The second man scrambled to his feet, as I front kicked his gut doubling him over. Quickly I slammed my knee into his face, splattering blood on my pants. He too slumped to the ground out cold. Grabbing his knife and the sheathed sword, I put on the smaller man's shirt and jacket. Tucking the keys into my belt, I peaked outside the hall. All was clear, slowly I closed the door and locked it with a key. As quietly as I could, I crept down the hall. There was another hall to my left, and a door in front of me. The door started to open and I ducked down the hall facing away from the door. A bandit walked out of the room cursing and holding some chains and shaking his head.
I walked casually as he came down the hall. "Hey! Bruce said to chain the orc to a cart, the buyer will be here soon."
"Ok, let's go then." I said keeping my back turned, but I slowed my pace. He walks past me without looking at me. Quickly, I walked with him as we navigated the halls.
"She's hot huh? Did you get a good look at her yet?"
"Yeah, I did when she first came in." I said.
"Man what I would do with her. I would chain her up and make her my slave to do whatever I wanted. Makes me excited just thinking about it."
We walked into a room that looked like a loading area. I almost said something when I saw Kaylin held in shackles to a wall. She had cuts on her arms and legs and her hair was a mess. She seemed like she had a very rough night. Her head was down looking at the ground.
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"Hey orc! It's time for you to be freed. Your new master is on his way to claim you."
He walked up to her and grabbed a fist full of hair. He got close to her ear.
"You know what I would do with you if I could buy you, honey?" He pulled her head back and I could feel the blood rising in my veins. He sniffed her body and gave her a disgusting kiss on her cheek.
She snapped at him to bite his face, he dodges and slapped her hard. She opened her eyes and looked at him in disgust. Then she looked at me and grinned.
"Oh you like that? Well then maybe we can get a little action before your master comes." I nodded at her as she looks at me, then back to the bandit who was busy unbuckling his belt and weapon. He then hands it to me.
"Hold this and watch for others, while I claim this wench and make her mine before her master does."
I grabbed his sword and sheath as he dropped his pants. I nodded at Kaylin pulling out his sword. Before he could get closer I grabbed his pants from his ankles pulling him to the ground and putting his sword through his throat. Blood spilled out as I drug his body to the corner.
Quickly, I found a key that unlocked her shackles.
"Luke! Smart man, let's go we need to move quickly." She grabbed the sword from the man's lifeless body, a bag of food and rushed to a door on the other side of the room.
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Opening it up, there was a group of bandits getting a cart and a couple of horses ready. The first one looked surprised as the others drew out their swords.
"Get the orc!" Yelled one.
Quickly, Kaylin cut through one to her left as I waited for the bandit in front of me. He slashed his sword from the top. Quickly, I deflected his sword knocking him off balance. Jumping onto his back, I leapt in the air and came down into the shoulder of the guy behind him, who was looking at Kaylin cutting off his buddies arm. The man toppled to the ground. Turning to my right a fist slammed into my face knocking me back.
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Shaking myself, I lifted my sword in time to block another blow. The man dived to the left, as the guy to my rear tackled me to the ground. His fists came in fast, but I dodged the first fist that crunched into the ground. Holding his hand I punched him in the mouth. He fell over and a sword clanged against the wall above my head. The man falling off me took the blow to the back. Getting to my feet, two men where slashing at Kaylin as the one came back at me with his sword slashing.
I hit his sword to the side, but he kicked me in the chest knocking me back. He lunged forward with his sword, just in time I shifted left and he cut through my shirt, slicing into my side. Taking my dagger, I jammed it into his arm causing him to drop the sword. Jumping up I slammed his head into my knee and punched him in the jaw.
He slumped to the ground. Kaylin trips one of the bandits, while the other grabs her from behind.
Pulling out my dagger from the arm of the bandit, I throw it stabbing into the guy holding Kaylin.
He holds onto her as the other guy grabs a sword. Running toward him I tackle him to the ground. He gets up and hits me in the mouth and then in the eye. I roll away from him and stand to my feet. He stands like a boxer and throws a hard right hook. I bob into it and under his hook, using my weight I shifted my hips and uppercut him slamming his head back. Then front kick him to the ground. Grabbing his sword I slash through his neck. His head rolls away.
The other bandit flys through the air with a sword buried in his chest.
"Come on, Luke!"
She unties the horses and hands me the reins to one. Grabbing a bag she jumps onto the horse. The horse stands on two legs and kicks the door open, leading out the side of the out post. The cool air refreshes my dripping, sweaty, and bloddy face. We ride hard out of the outpost. She turns toward a small river going toward the front of the outpost. I'm trailing behind her as we ride quickly out into the night.
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We rode for a while along the river at a fast pace, until the river widened. It led to what looked like a pool with a fountain in the middle. She slowed down and trotted to the far side of the spring. Getting off, she leads the horse to the edge of the water. The horse greedily drinks water. I followed what she did and soon my horse did the same.
"Come here Luke, let me see your wounds." She grabs my shirt and takes it off carefully as it clung to my cuts.
"Ah! that burns." I winced in pain.
"Yeah they got you pretty good, but I think you will be ok. We just need to clean it and wrap it."
She grapped a long clothe from her bag and soaked it in water. She used it to wipe my wounds which stung really bad.
"Are you ok?" I asked her as she wrapped up my chest.
"Yes, they just beat on me a little while and touched me when they could. But Bruce made sure they didn't rape me. Apparently there was alot of buyers, so I sold quickly. What about you, what did they try to do?"
I explained to her what happened.
"Luke the warrior." She said with a smile.
I smiled but didn't say much. She pulled out some bread and gave me half.
"We need to move quickly. We will cross the desert tonight. And hopefully in the morning we will make it to the northern river by the mountains."
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"How close is Lok...loke...uh the other place?"
She laughed. "It's just past the valley beyond the mountains. About another three days. But we need to cross the desert quickly. The bandits will have a bounty for our heads by tomorrow."
"Ok, so what do we need?" I asked.
"We just need to feed the horses and fill our waters. The desert is dry but the horses will do the work. They will be drained when we get to the river." She fed the horses until they refused. Then she rubbed them for a minute.
We mounted our horses and dashed into the night.
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