After the trial, I was escorted by four guards to a house held together by sticks and mud. "Wait, can't I stay at one of the places back there." I said, pointing to the stone houses we had just passed by.
"Ha, what have you done to deserve such a thing!." A guard mocked. There were four guards in total all equipped with spears and knives at the hip. I've always considered myself a capable fighter but it wouldn't be the brightest idea to take on people who can use magic to strengthen themselves barehanded.
"There's a bed in the back and some clothes in the drawers. Don't try anything funny, the four of us will be out here all day and night." A red bearded guard remarked.
I surveyed the house, ignoring the uncleanness there was something more pressing bothering me. "Hey, uh where's the food?" I asked, not finding a single trace of something edible.
"The hunting grounds right over there." The guard who mocked me earlier replied, signaling towards the jungle.
"Wait, I have to hunt for my own food." I said, in disbelief. What type of place is this! Is this some weird way of torturing me? "I can't hunt, I've never killed an animal before. I don't have a weapon or anything to defend myself with. I don't even know what's edible or where to look." I argued, in astonishment. Unable to tell if this was some sort of sick joke.
"I guess you'll starve then." A female guard remarked.
"Can't I atleast go with you guys?" I asked, hoping to pick up some pointers by watching them.
The red bearded guard shot me an annoyed look before a Gray haired guard stepped forward " Iman I'll take him, it's my turn anyway." He said.
Iman scoffed but didn't say anything.
A few hours later, me and the gray haired guard headed off to the jungle "Here, I'll give you a heads up now. I was the head guard for forty years, if you're planning to turn this blade against me you'll regret it." He warned , handing me a small blade.
As we walked deeper into the jungle the sound of the surrounding animals grew louder and louder. "How big do the animals get out here? I ran into a pretty big tiger, lion bear thing earlier. I can still see its bloodshot eyes." I said, recalling the monster I encountered earlier.
"I don't know what a lion or any of the other creatures you just named are but there's only one beast that roams these forests with bloodshot eyes. We call them the Ahanez, it means deaths keepers in our ancient tongue. It's said that staring into the eyes of one is like gazing upon your death. It's the one animal we avoid out here, though it's rare to run into one. If you really did come across one and lived to tell, maybe you really are blessed by the spirits." The man said.
"Watch it!" He shouted, holding my arm. He pointed to the ground. In front of me was a weird looking orange spiky plant. " Those are Trives, very potent. One prick and you'll be paralyzed for hours."He warned.
I slowly nodded my head carefully stepping around the plant. "Those things are just scattered all over the forest?" I asked. This place is a death trap!
To my surprise the man shook his head "No, they grow deep beneath the ground. They can't withstand the sun for too long. If ones planted here it means a Kotais around,"
"What are Kotai?" I asked.
The man cast a suspicious glance at me "You really aren't from this world huh." He said, letting out a sigh. He continued " Kotai are devilish creatures immune to Trives paralysis, they live underground. Kotai are slow and fat but very strong, they have a hard time chasing their prey so they set these up to paralyze their bodies. They'll intentionally eat you alive afterwards. A very painful death if one's not careful." He said.
"Let's get away from here!." I said, eager to get away but he grabbed my arm again.
"No, we're staying, didn't you hear me? The Kotai are very fat creatures with a lot of blubber on them. If seasoned right it makes for quite a tasty dish." He said, brandishing a creepy smile.
I'm in for a long day aren't I?