The First Misfortune

The horde of people surged forward impetuously. I couldn’t estimate their number; the throng stretched across the hot jungle. However, I noticed that cart drivers and a few others stayed behind with the stony cubes, as if this wasn’t their concern.

I was dragged along until they were no longer in sight. I couldn’t even find Madego. I was in the middle of a military march, not knowing what to do or how to ask for help. My hopelessness contrasted with the cheerful atmosphere of the “Heroes”.

It reeked of alcohol.

The march stopped when they reached an empty space in the jungle. Wooden poles, each around six or seven meters tall, stood next to each other, as if forming a boundary. A guy behind me jumped into the line, and with a laugh, he shot flames to the sticks. The rest applauded him and jumped over the imaginary line.

A border. We are…invaders?

We were so far from the starting point that I decided it was safest to stay at the back of the mass of people. I didn’t need a doctorate to understand that even if I were dragged into a war, I wouldn’t survive alone in the jungle.

Not so far from the border, there was a town protected by palisades. I saw a coffee-colored river crossing it, with a few empty boats adrift. When I saw the soldiers over the palisade, a hand held my wrist. It was Madego again.

“You should watch from here. Don’t look away—and wait for me”.

She gave me a stern gaze. Her piercing stare made me uncomfortable.

I heard shouts from everywhere in the jungle. From one moment to another, the marching warriors surrounded the town. Yet I couldn’t understand what the voices were saying; chaos ruled the crowd.

Madego left me on the hill I was on and joined a group of twenty-five people wearing the same blue uniform. They were all going to the town, and the intention was clear. A man from Madego’s group blew a horn, and the raid started.

Fire, hail, lightning, arrows, spears, and even rocks flew in the air. I collapsed to the ground in awe and shock. The troop kept its advance while launching the ranged attacks and easily destroyed the palisade.

Was this even a battle, or just a massacre?

The army didn’t have any siege weapons, but they didn’t need them. Warriors, spearmen, bowmen, mages of some sort: they were enough to crush the city defenders. After half an hour, the smell of burning reached my point. I threw up again.

A woman helped me stand up again. She wore silky clothes, the only proper armor a shiny shoulder pad on her right. She gave me a warm smile.

“Call me Artanas. A noob, right? Poor thing. No need to torture yourself. Here, have a canteen”.

Artanas came ever closer to my face. She smelled so good that I forgot for a few seconds the burning flesh. I saw more clearly her comely features, too. I hadn’t seen such a beautiful lady in my entire life. At that moment, my only desire was for Artanas to carry me to a safer place.

And she just did that.

For once, luck was on my side.

Despite her slim figure, she was strong enough to carry me to the other side of the hill, where the smoke didn’t reach. She settled me beneath a tree and offered more water. I felt so comfy there that I wanted to sleep so much. Not even the distant screams could break my drowsy calm.

My new companion held my left hand, as if massaging it. She looked at the black bracelet, and a new kind of smile escaped her. A sudden sense of danger rose within me, yet my body didn’t move.

“Rest, dear. No need to struggle anymore.”

Wherever this world was, I knew I’d been drugged, and I fell asleep.

* * *

I had no idea how long I’d been unconscious.

A new kind of stench woke me up. I was hanging naked in a dark room, surrounded by other women in the same condition. Only smears of dirt and blood marked our bodies. We dangled like carcasses in a slaughterhouse.

In front of me, there was a broken window that led to the jungle night. It wasn’t my dire state that shocked me most, but the reflection on the window—it wasn’t my face. Yet somehow I knew it was.

Panic tightened my throat, and I started to gasp. I was trapped in another woman’s body. Then I noticed the long, black hair cascading over my bare body. And that I lost the bracelet. I took a deep breath and tried to regain control over my mind.

Is this a robbery? Kidnapping? Is she planning to sell me? Am I going to…?

Suddenly, a door creaked open and two men strode in, followed by Artanas. I pretended to be asleep and gathered every ounce of willpower to concentrate and listen to their conversation.

“They were all below level 10. They're worth shit, Artanas. No, the bracelets don’t mean anything. Just pile them for the summon and get on with it. Don’t expect anything from this.”

The treacherous woman tried to reply, but the man’s strong voice silenced her. I heard their footsteps stopping before each bound woman. When they reached me, I was about to break, but I resisted the urge to scream.

A mechanism overhead whirred to life, dragging us outside.

Like carcasses in a slaughterhouse.

I slightly opened my eyes and confirmed we were still in some part of the jungle. The air was still humid, but at least not as hot. I distinguished the raided town in the distance; I recognized the river’s coffee color and the lingering smoke from the raid.

We are on a hill overlooking the city. I can still escape. I need to free myself and make a run for it. I can…

Or so I thought, but I was hung from some sort of rustic conveyor belt that went from our prison to a platform in the middle of the jungle. We were kidnapped women, not to be sold, but for some prepared summoning.

A sacrifice.

Artanas and the men weren’t close, so I fully opened my eyes. We were ten victims hanging over a platform. No soldiers or watchmen were in sight. They probably thought it was safer that way.

I struggled with everything I had to break free, to no avail. My captors didn’t leave anything to chance. Even so, I persisted and swung my body until I kicked the two captives on my side. I kicked and screamed with all my might until one of them finally woke up.

She looked at me in surprise, but when she tried to speak, terror twisted her expression.

I was never an outdoors girl, but I had Internet at home. I recognized the sound, this time magnified by the size of its source.

The sharp, sinister hiss.

The chilling dragging of its body.

And even when I wasn’t looking at it, I felt its penetrating gaze.

A serpent. An enormous serpent is behind me. Luck wasn’t on my side.