Two Graves - The Song of Nephiah and Brelyna

Chapter 10: What a Tiny Space

The heavy door swung open. Nephiah lay in a corner, she had whip marks on her arms, a black eye, her head had been shaved. She had lost track of how long it has been, but the sound of the door still made her flinch. Frokwulf remained in the corridor outside. "Come.", he simply said. Without delay she stood up and walked over. She turned her back to him and put her hands behind her back. Frokwulf bowed down to put iron shackles on her wrists. It all seemed very automatic. "Today is the day.", he said pointing down the corridor. Nephiah started walking, Frokwulf followed closely. At a T-junction, two bandits crossed their path from left to right, they turned right as well.

"Hey Frokwulf!", one of the bandits in front of them said over his shoulder. "What's it with your obsession with Elves anyway." Another T-junction, they turned left. "Do you know how old Elves get.", Frokwulf replied. "I don't know, 200 years?" "I've heard they live to over a thousand.", the other Bandit interjected. "Nonsense, they'd have to use magic to reach that age." "Shut up!", Frokwulf yelled. Nephiah flinched, she had heard that tone of voice a lot. The bandits looked back. "The point is, they get very old. This slave..." He put his hand on Nephiah's shoulder. "...won't show signs of aging for the next three generations of Nords. So if you train them young, you will have something very valuable. If they are pretty, well. That's just an added bonus.

"

The corridor opened up to a hall that was filled with iron cages. Each one was populated by children of all races and all ages. Some of them were unconscious, some of them were curled up and crying, some stared at them fearfully as they passed. Fear that intensified upon laying eyes on Nephiah, a sign of things to come. Eventually they left the hall into another corridor.

"Well, in any case, this might actually become a profitable business. We have received word from a kind of blood cult out west which seems to be very interested in our merchandise." "A blood cult.", Frokwulf laughed. "Those are vampires, you dim wit." The bandit looked back at Frokwulf with surprise. "How do you know?" "Let's just say they appreciate people with certain... talents." "Oh so the boss is one of them?" He looked back into the direction he was walking. "The boss is not a vampire, are you crazy? Have you ever seen him eat somebody.", the other bandit said. "Why do they call him 'The Unliving' then." "Probably because he's supposed to be over 150 years old." "Magic?" "Damned if I know. But definitely not a vampire." Frokwulf followed the exchange with amusement.

The corridor opened up to another hall, it was filled with people. A big chair lined with satin was placed onto an elevated platform at the far end. The hooded man sat on it, looking down into the room. Many bandits lined the sides of the room, building small clusters of people. Many of them had a piece of cloth sown into their armor that was the same color as the robe of the man in the chair. Three men stood in the center of the room, looking up at the hooded man.

"Who do you think you are.", the man in the middle said with distain in his voice. "We are Nords! This is not worthy of our people!" The bandit in front pointed angrily at the hood. As they reached a place close to the throne, Nephiah was made to stop by the hand on her shoulder. The other two bandits moved into a different group. Everybody was watching the exchange in the middle of the room.

"Are you not bandits?", the hooded man replied in a tone much more sophisticated than was usually heard in these halls. "Are you not amongst the lawless riffraff, that steals and murders for their own gain?" "This is different! We engage our prey in combat! If they are worthy fighters, they get to live and it is we who get to die! You are capturing people, turning them into obedient animals!" He turned to the spectators. "Have you seen the cages?! There are children there! Nord children!" An uproar went through the room.

The hooded man spoke loudly to reach over the chatter. "I have made preparations that will award us with much wealth!" The room quieted down again. "And power, if you care for that sort of thing." The three bandits on the floor turned back to him. "But in order to meet the demand and also to keep the Yarl's men at bay - because believe me, they have taken note of what we are doing - we must organize. Work together. And together we shall reap the benefits!" A lot of the crowd applauded, a good number demonstratively crossed their arms and remained silent. "This is not our way!", the bandit in the center said. "And I am not the only one who thinks that way! If I see you hunting in our territory, there will be trouble!"