From my binoculars, I watched as the nomads arrived. I've been living in this abandoned house for a long time, and I've grown to consider it my territory.
Whenever nomads, hunters, or explorers pass by or get lost, I scare them off. With just one blow on my shell whistle, it creates a macabre sound that really makes their hair stand on end.
I've got four unwanted visitors - three men and one woman - who are making a ruckus. They look like troublemakers, and I can tell just by looking at them that they'll bring chaos into my life.
To make matters worse, they've also got a Jaguarnaut with them - a dark-type Meadow Feral that's fast and has a keen sense of smell.
When I blew the shell whistle, it let out a sound that seemed like a warning from a poltergeist. But instead of being frightened, they simply burst out laughing. They breezed into the house with ease, helping themselves to the belongings I had painstakingly gathered over time.
It really gets under my skin when people handle my things without permission, especially my prized ceramic collection.
"We're fortunate to have found a place to call home," said the muscular man to his companions. His bushy eyebrows and full lips made him appear almost absurd, yet there was an unmistakable air of mortal peril about him - a sense that if you dared to mock him, he would unleash his wrath upon you.
"And check it out, there's a river right behind the house - perfect for washing up and catching some Crescentfish," said the other burly man, who wore an eyepatch over one eye. His other hand ended in a stump, with a menacing sickle strapped to the end of it. One misstep or misplaced phrase could result in him cutting you down.
"Everything in this house is in order," their apparent leader commanded, his voice low and mysterious. "If the owner's not here, they might be hiding. Check all parts of the house." His face was shrouded in a hood, and his gold-plated teeth glinted in the light, giving him an air of terrorizing authority.
"What if we catch the caretakers of this house?" the only woman in the group asked. "What will we do to them?" There was something unsettling about her, and the freckles and acne that dotted her skin only added to her unappealing appearance.
"We're not sure if there's more than one person living here," their leader replied, "but if you encounter anyone, dispatch them immediately. I don't want anyone besides you all to share this place with us."
Unbeknownst to them, I had been observing their actions from the second floor of this house.
Given that they're accompanied by a Jaguarnaut, I've taken the precaution of applying bitter melon extract to my skin, ensuring the Meadow Feral won't pick up my scent.
While they were discussing their designated search area, the woman's attention was caught by the spinning jenny behind her. She touched it, letting her fingers wander, and when she spun it, the wooden floor beneath her feet suddenly swung open, and she fell through it.
The men immediately checked on their female comrade's condition, and although I couldn't see her, I knew she had been impaled by the blades.
The man with the gold teeth shouted, but it was too late for him to save her life. His face contorted in anger as he took in the sight of the woman's bloodied body.
Since I don't know his name, I'll call him Goldfang. Goldfang looked at his two companions, seemingly giving them instructions.
"There might be more booby traps in this house. The person who set these traps is probably lurking around here somewhere. Let's not be inept in our movements if we don't want to end up like Bacardi." They started searching the house, with one going to the basement, another going outside, while Goldfang and the Jaguarnaut headed upstairs.
When Goldfang stepped on the fifth step of the staircase, a poisoned arrow flew towards him, but unexpectedly, he dodged it. He ordered the Jaguarnaut to search the area where I was hiding, while he would search the other side of the second floor.
One advantage I had was that the Jaguarnaut couldn't track my scent, thanks to the bitter melon extract. And when I had the chance, I grabbed the Meadow Feral and stabbed the area where its heart beat using my poniard.
Goldfang called out to his pet, which now had its tongue hanging out and wasn't breathing. When it didn't respond to his commands, he decided to follow its tracks. As he made his way to this room, I hid in a wardrobe.
Goldfang was devastated when he saw the Meadow Feral's body lying on the floor, and I even heard the gritting of his teeth in exasperation. He hugged the body of the Jaguarnaut, and before he could explode in anger, I emerged from my hiding place and attacked him.
"Don't worry, because you're next in line to lose your life!" I sneered as I moved to strike him, the blade ready to plunge into his back. But before I could do it, someone struck me.
The blow was so swift that I thought I would lose consciousness. Indeed, I lost sentience, because the next thing I knew was that they had submerged my face in water. This was their method of reviving me.
When they found out that I had regained self-awareness, they submerged me in water again until I struggled to catch my breath while my body trembled.
"I would have considered making you a servant in our group," Goldfang said as I struggled to catch my breath, "but you're reckless, so you deserve to be punished."
One of his hands was clutching my hair, and it felt like he was about to pull it out from the roots due to his intense grip. Again, he submerged my face in the water.
My vision was already blurring, and the bubbles obstructing my view made it worse. Water was entering my nostrils, and some of it was slipping down my throat.
"You poor tramp," said the man with thick eyebrows. "You don't even have parents, and yet you don't know how to respect those older than you." "But you're clever," he continued. "You outsmarted us. You caught us off guard with your little traps."
"I still haven't forgotten what you did to Bacardi, and you'll definitely pay for her loss!" the man with an eyepatch bellowed at me.
As they took turns punching me, I saw Goldfang watching with a pleased expression.
I couldn't see even a hint of mercy in their eyes. I endured all their pain, absorbed all their punches, and withstood all the hurt just to stay alive. But they weren't satisfied, especially Goldfang. He pulled the chain to lift me up until only my toenails touched the floor. They laughed and left me in the dark basement.
As I grew hungry and thirsty, they feasted upstairs, eating the food I had stored. I was jolted awake again by a sunray that hit my eyes. It was morning already, and I could still feel the anguish they had inflicted on me. Most of all, I was weakening.
I saw the man with the eye patch and the man with the thick eyebrows coming down the stairs, carrying a chest.
"Before you put that vagrant in the chest, make sure he can't escape," Goldfang instructed. "Break his bones, and if possible, don't kill him. I want him to suffer as he's slowly killed by the water."
No matter how hard I looked into Goldfang's eyes, I saw no hint of mercy. He was truly evil. They beat me up, broke my bones, and put me in the chest. Now they were working together to nail the box shut.
My dream was to reclaim the throne stolen by my uncle. I wanted to bring justice to my parents' death and find my missing siblings.
I knew they had thrown me into the river, and as the water slowly seeped into the hole they had carved, I told myself that if I couldn't be the one to avenge the wrongs done to my family, I hoped someone else would do it for me.