Kajidef drew his dagger and pointed it at the woman in front of him. The small merchant lady shuttered and took a step back. She yelled something in Ghiori that Kajidef didn’t understand and threw a silver piece at his face. It hit the man in the eye and he swore.
- “No wonder the king wants to civilize you,” he mumbled to himself.
He picked the coin up and put the rest of his merchandise back into his bag. Six rusted metal spoons, a wooden door stopper, a bag of “healing powder”, and a book with a worn out “Morsurens” written on it, which was in a language that Kajidef had never seen before. I will have to go back to Deria to get more stuff, he thought to himself, and I'll have to increase my prices too. He waited for a moment and, once the lady whom he had just yelled at looked away to talk to someone else, he grabbed two trinkets from her stall and stuffed them in his pocket. Kajidef got up and walked away before anyone noticed anything.
Nadi’s marketplace was renowned for being very diverse when it came to merchandise. The city was near the eastern border of the Ghiori Lands, a province only recently integrated into the Kingdom. This meant it lay near the provinces of Hemoria, known for its old history, and Asido, known for producing some of the greatest warriors, and weapons, in the world. Nadi wasn’t a big city, someone from the capital or from a large Derian city might have even called it a village, but its importance lay in its location. People from three different provinces used it as a hub to trade almost anything, legal and illegal. Hemorians brought in wine, books, or paintings, Asidians brought in weapons, and gun parts, and the Ghioris provided anything that the Kingdom had long deemed illegal. The King’s low manpower made it so the newly annexed Ghiori Lands had no way of enforcing the Kingdom’s laws and things like narcotics, slavery, bribery, or brothels, were still rampant. In marketplaces such as Nadi, a merchant could get anything he could ever imagine. However, more than anything illegal, the people of Nadi, and Ghioris in general, loved Deria. The province which housed the capital and the crown jewel of the Kingdom, Deria was not the oldest or the strongest province. It was the most developed one. With its manufactories, workshops, and ateliers, Deria produced merchandise unavailable anywhere else. Shining metal cutlery, intricate clocks, elegant mirrors, and even candy or cleaning products were seen in other provinces as a sign of wealth and status as they were expensive and hard to come by. This was especially true of a province like the Ghiori Lands which had never seen any Derian products before the annexation.
Kajidef walked down the marketplace and observed what other merchants had in store. A few stalls had books, some others had various herbs, one even sold gunpowder by the gram but not a single one sold Derian goods. He smiled to himself and continued on his way.
- “Hey! Kajidef!” a voice yelled out from the crowd.
Kajidef looked around to see who called him but once he found who it was, he regretted lingering around Nadi.
- “Do you have my money?”
A large, wide man appeared in front of him. The massive steel sword reflected the sunlight right into Kajidef’s eyes and he had to move.
- “I thought carrying weapons was forbidden on market grounds,” responded Kajidef. “And I already told you, I don’t carry any money on me. I have it hidden outside the city.”
The man grabbed Kajidef by his worn-out shirt and pulled him up.
- “You think I’ll fall for that again? Bring me my money or it’s your fingers.”
- “Okay okay!” responded Kajidef. “Just put me down first.”
As soon as Kajidef’s feet touched the ground, he threw himself on the floor, at the man’s feet. In the blink of an eye, he pulled out his dagger and slithered between his legs. Then, with extreme precision, he thrashed the weapon into the man’s heel, hoping to cut the tendon holding the heel and calf together. When he saw the man fall, he knew he had succeeded. Before anyone around could react, Kajidef was already sprinting outside of the city. His feet soon began to ache and he had to slow down. He looked around first and, panting, threw himself onto the sand.
After resting for some time, he got up, and began preparing his journey to Lor, a city deeper into the Ghiori Lands and therefore more desperate for any Derian goods he had to offer. He pulled out a large map out of his bag and came to the conclusion that Lor was a day of travel away… by horse. On foot, this distance would probably take two, maybe even three days. Kajidef sighed but he packed up his map and began the long walk through the hot desert.
- “Okay so each spoon could go for 10 coppers, maybe 12 if I really push it. The door stopper… maybe 5. I could also divide the healing powder into smaller batches… but no one's buying that…”
As he kept talking to himself, he began the long walk. The sand crunched under his sandal-adorned feet. The leather straps rubbed against the back of his heel but he tried to ignore them for now. Step after step, he persevered.
After some time, he realized the sun had started to set. The sky was now orange and he could finally rest. The air was still hot but Kajidef knew it would soon cool and the temperature would be perfect for sleep. He laid down on the sand and positioned his bag under his head. He took off his sandals and stretched his legs out on the warm sand below him. For the first time in a while, he felt relaxed. He thought back to what happened in the market earlier. A part of him recoiled when he remembered yelling at the old lady, but his mind quickly turned to money and the profit he could make from the merchandise he had left. The sun set over the province of the Ghiori Lands, and soon enough Kajidef was dreaming of the money he would make in Lor.
When he awoke it was still dark around him. He could however feel the ground below him shake just slightly. He looked around but all he could see was darkness, and nothing else. He drew his dagger and once again, prepared to face an enemy. But nothing came. He stood there, in the middle of a desert, and even though he was wielding a weapon that he felt very comfortable with, he felt defenseless. His ears seemed to catch something behind him but when Kajidef turned around, his eyes were met with the same darkness as before. Someone is watching me, he thought. He heard another sound, a sort of rustle, and he once again turned to face it. A large wooden object was heading right towards his face and before his mind could even react, his muscles acted on their own. He ducked and slashed his dagger into the night. He thought he heard someone groan and he quickly stepped back to assess the situation. Now that his eyes had finally adjusted to the dark, he saw a dark round shape on the ground. Kajidef let his guard down, which, as he would soon find out, was a critical mistake, and approached the man. What are these loan sharks doing so far from the city, he thought to himself, and he slowly touched the figure’s shoulder. It tried to move away but Kajidef was persistent.
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- “Who sent you?” He asked the person.
The figure muttered something and Kajidef noticed a black liquid flowing from its mouth and onto the light desert sand. He congratulated himself for hitting some major artery in such darkness but his mind quickly snapped back to the interrogation.
- “Derian or Ghiori mob?”
The figure finally looked up. Its teeth drew a large white smile which, despite being tainted with blood, shined thanks to the dim moonlight. Before Kajidef could react, he heard a singular step behind him and an immediate sensation of pain in the back of his head. ‘There were two of them’, was the only thought that his mind could conjure as his body fell. The last thing he remembered was the warm sand scraping against his cheek as his enemy dragged him away.
When Kajidef finally awoke, the sun was out again. He tried opening his eyes but the sunlight made his head throb. Instead, he palpated around in hopes of making sense of this new situation. He could tell he was in a cramped space, there was barely enough room for him to extend his legs. Both above and below himself he felt wood but all around him, metal bars. A cage, he thought. His mind quickly ran through all the possible scenarios which could have resulted in him being attacked and thrown in a cage and, unfortunately, all of them lead to the same thing: Ghiori slavery. That’s when the cage suddenly jerked up causing Kajidef to hit his head on the ceiling. He cursed and slowly forced himself to open his eyes. Behind him, a trail in the sand ran from his cage all the way to the horizon. In front of him, a man, with his back towards him, was leading the carriage which housed his cage. Kajidef’s mind was now racing and the first question that came to him was: Is this man moving me deeper into the Ghiori Lands? He prayed that the answer to that question was no. Had he known any Ghiori he would have talked to the man but all Kajidef could do for now was wait and stew in his uncertainty.
After a long drive, the carriage finally stopped. Kajidef stretched his neck trying to look at their destination from behind the driver. All he saw for now was a large green field and a couple of buildings sprinkled around. A different man approached his cage. This one wore a beige uniform with what looked like a metal plate underneath. On his waist Kajidef noticed a long, curved sword, a shorter one, similar to the dagger Kajidef wielded himself, and a contraption which he recognized as a one-shot pistol. An Asidian mercenary? Kajidef thought to himself, or maybe just Asidian weapons. When the man unlocked his cage and yelled at him in Ghiori, Kajidef realized it was the latter. After all, not many Asidians spoke Ghiori. He quickly jumped onto the sand and walked in the direction that the man was pointing to. Now that he was outside, he could see the field much more clearly. The field, which in reality was an opi plantation, was massive. It stretched for kilometers and, from where Kajidef was standing, it looked vaguely rectangular. The plants themselves were short but they had been planted so densely that the sand beneath them was completely invisible. Other than the field of opi, the plantation also housed two buildings. One of them stood right next to where Kajidef had been dropped off. It was a large wooden mansion painted almost entirely in white. Its color was actually so bright that Kajidef had to squint when the guard walked him next to it. On its porch, there were a few wooden crates with swords and shields. As they walked past it, Kajidef noticed a round red symbol on the crates which he recognized as belonging to a weapon manufacturing company from Asido. His assumption about the origin of the guards’ weapons proved to be correct. The second building at the plantation was a small shack. It was also made of wood but not nearly as well maintained as the mansion. No paint, no varnish, nothing that would protect the shack from the harsh desert weather. At the top, large metal sheets had been placed in lieu of a roof. The road between the place where he had been dropped off and the shack which, as he now understood, the guard was guiding him towards, lay rather far from the actual opi plants. Kajidef kept glancing over to see if he could see anyone working in the fields but they were too far for him to see anything. Finally, the two stopped in front of the door and the guard gestured inside. Kajidef entered and immediately, a smell of sweat and musk hit him. He turned around but the guard had already locked the door. With that, Kajidef plugged his nose, walked towards a corner of the room, and sat down. The floor was made of wooden planks and the few blankets that covered it did nothing to make it comfortable. As he sat there, on the hard floor, in a stinking shack, in the middle of nowhere, the situation in which he found himself really hit him. Kajidef felt his stomach sink and he couldn't stop himself from crying. He had never felt so alone and the thought of being a slave for the rest of his life filled him with dread. For the first time in forever he thought about his family. He thought back to when he left Deria. How his parents and his younger brother cheered him on as he marched on to the newly acquired chaotic province with dreams of becoming a millionaire. How futile that dream now seemed. He sobbed in silence, letting his hot tears fall on the blanket on which he would undoubtedly sleep later tonight, feeling utterly broken.
- “Hey, that’s my blanket.”
The voice was so unexpected that Kajidef almost jumped.
- “You’re sitting on my blanket.” The voice repeated.
- “I- I’m sorry,” answered Kajidef.
He got up and handed the person who had suddenly appeared in front of him his possession.
- “You speak Derian,” remarked Kajidef, his mind slowly calming down.
- “I do speak Derian.”
Kajidef took a few deep breaths and wiped the tears off his face. He then took a closer look at the stranger. He was an older man, boasting a long beard and long gray hair which he had slicked back with what looked like grease. His eyes were wrinkly but Kajidef saw a lot of energy behind them. The man’s eyes were constantly moving, as if he was trying to analyze every bit of the fresh meat. On top of that, this whole time the man was squatting and even when he moved towards Kajidef to reclaim his blanket, he didn’t stand up. It almost looked like the man had reverted back to being an ape and felt more comfortable on all fours. Despite that, hearing him speak Deria’s native tongue fluently gave Kajidef the spark of hope that he needed. Perhaps he wouldn’t have to be all alone in this place.
- “What’s your name?” asked Kajidef.
The man didn’t answer. He approached Kajidef and sniffed his shoulder. He then licked his own finger and put it on the wooden floor, pressing it down hard. He closed his eyes and began humming. In that short moment, most of Kajidef’s hope disappeared. When the man finally finished, he looked back at Kajidef and spoke.
- “Are we friends now?”
Feeling defeated and completely drained by the day, Kajidef sat down and nodded.
- “Sure, man.”
He extended his legs and wriggled around to find a comfortable spot.
- “So tell me more about this place. And also you didn’t tell me your name.”
- “Oh I’m sorry best friend, my name is Finam. I’m from the beautiful province of Deria!”
- “Okay, nice to meet you Finam. I’m Kajidef. Now, what is this place? What time do we work? What do they have us do? Is there any way to escape?”
The questions flew from Kajidef’s mouth at record speed. For now, Finam just observed him. Once it got quiet again, Finam spoke slowly.
- “This place is an opi plantation. We work from sunrise to sunset. They have us collect opi fruit. There is no way to escape.”
Finam stopped and looked at Kajidef. He touched his own toe and suddenly banged his fits on the floor.
- “The Sun God abandoned us! The Sun God abandoned us! The Sun God abandoned us! The Sun God abandoned us!”
Kajidef jumped back with eyes as wide as coins. His eyes darted to the door through which he entered earlier. But no one came. Finam continued yelling and Kajidef threw himself at him. He got on top of him and covered his mouth with both hands.
- “Shut up! They’ll hear us and we’ll both be dead. Shut up! Shut up!”
Finam bit Kajidef’s hand which caused him to recoil.
- “Blood for the Sun God! Blood for the Sun God!”
He licked the blood from his lips and scuttled to the other side of the room. Kajidef jumped up. His eyes were watering with rage. He launched himself towards Finam but his foot got stuck on an uneven plank that stuck out of the floor. He collapsed and his body slammed against the floor. The pain shot through his ribs and all the way down to his knees and he curled up into a ball.
As he lay there, he heard a creak and realized the door to the shack had just been opened. Even though his back was to the door, the shadow cast by the person in the doorframe filled the entire room.
- “What the hell is going on here ?!”