Where am I? (Raythe Silvus)

[Hoppy]

TIMESTAMP~ 11th Samheen~


Something jogged the slumbering Raythe awake, she had the feeling that she was being carried down a small slope. The sound of voices were all around her, but even when she opens her eyes it is pitch black...some kind of hood.

The sound of water was another she could hear, waves rocking against the shore. Hunger pains were the only idea she had about the length of time she had been out, that and a really bad case of cotton mouth.

"Careful, I dont want the lass damaged you fools!" the voice sounded as if he was speaking of property or livestock....

[Raythe Silvus]

Raythe tried again to open her eyes, ignoring the pounding headache that seemed about to split her skull open. It quickly dawned on the young girl that her eyes were already opened and that it was pitch black. 'Where am I.....how long have I been unconscious?!?' she thought frantically, beginning to panic. As she was jolted again, she inadvertently let out a clearly audible gasp and immediately tensed, expecting something bad to happen now that the people carrying her knew she was awake.

[Hoppy]

The moment she let out the gasp she could feel the two carrying her come to an abrupt halt. "Cap'n, Cap'n! She's awake." she was gently lowered so that she could stand on her own, but with her ankles tied she wouldn't be making any quick escape attempts.

"Alright then, might as well get rid of the hood." at that there was some movement and someone was untying the hood from her neck, a quick tug and she was free of the darkness only to get an eyeful of the blinding sunlight.

When her vision began to clear she could make out several men around her, and behind was a large ship docked in the shallow waters. The men were busy unloading the ships cargo, directed by a man that Raythe assumed was leading the group. The man was now headed in her direction, he wore a dark blue set of leather armor and at his hip was a mean looking sabre. Not an impressive figure of a man, but no one else seemed to be willing to get to close.

"So my little lovely I see you are awake, and what might your name be?" he held her chin in his hand, forcing her to look him in the eye.

[Raythe Silvus]

Raythe fought back the urge to faint again from pure confusion and panic. The young elf locked eyes with the apparent leader of the group and said as calmly as she could. "My...my name is Raythe..." she said in a soft, quivering voice. The man's steady gaze unnerved her, and after a few moments she tried to avert her eyes from his piercing stare. "What do you want from me?" she asked desperately, now almost shaking with fear.

[Hoppy]

"Raythe, such a pretty little name for a pretty little critter like yourself." he moved her head from side to side so that he could get a better look at her.

"Its not what I want with you child, I am just the middle man, to be paid for your...attendance. Right now you are nothing more than cargo, precious cargo mind you, but cargo none the less. You can either keep me happy and behave in which case you will live to see your new home, or you wont..." he shrugged and stepped away, he didnt seem to really care one way or the other.

At the nod of his head, the two holding Raythe begin untying her restraints and soon all she has is a rope around her waist which in turn is being tied to the wrist of one of the captains men.

[Raythe Silvus]

Raythe felt a mix of curiosity and revulsion form in the bottom of her stomach. “Cargo?” she repeated in a low whisper with a faint grimace.
Sighing dejectedly and wondering once again how she could have been stupid enough to let this happen, the young elf reasoned that it would be pointless to misbehave. She gave the rope a quick experimental tug, more as a faint expression of discontentment than as any attempt at escape or rebellion, and waited to begin moving again.
Glancing up at the man whose wrist was attached to the rope binding her, Raythe smiled cynically. “Since I doubt you’re enough of an amateur to let information slip about where we’re going and who or what you're delivering me to, care for a quick debate on the meaning of life? Or would that be disobedient of me?”

[Hoppy]

The man that Raythe was connected to arched a brow at her question. "Talk all you want, I might hear you but dont expect me to be listening." he was an unkept looking fellow, but the axe he carried in his free hand carried many notches that could well have been a reflection of its use.

Less than a mark later the captain gave the signal, it was time to get moving.

[Raythe Silvus]

Raythe rolled her eyes and pushed a strand of hair back behind her ears. The young elf turned her head away from the man with the axe. "Right..." she remarked dryly, then glanced up at the captain. Raythe sighed. "Time to get moving, then? To...wherever we're going..."

[Hoppy]

"Captain" a voice behind the captive elf spoke up "Maybe I should watch the girl." a younger looking man came into view, human but not at all displeasing to look upon. At his hip was a longsword and dagger, both whose hilts were gem studded, his clothing was well kept and at least he looked to have a care about his own personal hygiene.

"Its obvious that Kel would only scare her, what good would she be if she was just a rabbit when we got there?"

The captain sneered at the man for a moment but seemed to agree as he gave a nod of his head. The rope attached to the brutes wrist was removed and re-tied to the others.

[Raythe Silvus]

Raythe raised an eyebrow speculatively at the somewhat handsome human who had volunteered to ‘watch her’. Her expression showed more interest in the weapons he carried than it did in him, but inwardly she was more than a little surprised that the good-looking, well-groomed man had anything to do with brutes like that 'Kel' fellow, even if it was only working with them and knowing their names. The young elf also wondered even more now what was to be done with her once she arrived at this mysterious destination. A part of her was eager to get there, but Raythe reminded herself that after being drugged, kidnapped, and waking up who-knows-where, tied up and held prisoner, to be delivered to this unknown person or place… it was likely not going to be pleasant.
For the moment, though, she swallowed her fears and forced a weak, tentative smile at the man. "So, how far are we going?"

[Hoppy]

The young man walked up to Raythe, carrying with him the slack in the rope as it fell. "G'morning fair damsel, from what I gather we may be walking for a week or more. Something about the laws and certain 'objects' means we have to stay off the beaten path so to speak."

He looked her over as if to appraise he worth "My name is Perith, I know you wont give me any trouble so this shouldn't be such a bad trip and I'll be sure that you arent accosted by those brutish fellow we travelled with."

[Raythe Silvus]

Perith’s pleasant tone caused Raythe to frown suspiciously, tilting her head and studying him intently for a few moments. Satisfied for the moment that the friendly demeanor wasn’t an act, the young elf smiled faintly and nodded her head briefly in greeting. “Why would I have any reason to give you trouble?” Raythe remarked with a trace of sarcasm invading her voice. She sighed and spoke again in a more defeated tone. “…I won’t give you any trouble.”
She then restlessly glanced at the captain and the rest of the men, shifting her balance back and forth from one foot to the other, subtly but impatiently. “Are we going now?” she inquired with an anxious tone, turning to Perith.

[Hoppy]

"We'll be leaving soon enough I think." Perith explained "Whats the hurry? Is my company wearing on you so quickly?" he flashed Raythe a quick smile.

"Why would you want to escape? Oh I dont know, maybe because you are being transported into slavery? who knows what you'll be forced to do at the whim of your employer..." he shuddered slightly "I could be wrong though, some people find a really good life with their new masters, I hope you get the latter."

"I noticed a flute amongst your possessions...do you play?"

[Raythe Silvus]

"Why wouldn't I be in a hurry to be sent into slavery where I'll most likely be forced to do horrible things at the whim of another? Sounds interesting, at least." Raythe replied with a wry grin.
The young elf blinked, surprised by the inquiry about the flute. She nodded. "Yes, I play...though maybe not very well yet. That was why I was on Pan's Isle, to learn..." She smirked. "That turned out just how I planned, didn't it?" Looking around curiously, the young girl frowned and looked at Perith. "Where are we now, anyway? And where are we going?" She smiled. "Am I annoying you with my stream of pointless questions yet?"

[Hoppy]

Rather than seem annoyed by all the questions, Perith blinked at her twice before breaking out into a real belly laugh. It was a few burns later that he managed to regain his compsure. "I am sorry Miss Silvus, I do not mean to belittle your predicament. Your questions are fair and I will tell you what I can, but should I digress I would hope that you wont press upon me with bad manners." he grinned a silly little grin.

"We are currently on the southern most tip of the Western kingdom, does that help you any?As for our destination Im afraid I can not divulge that bit of information just yet since I am not completely sure myself." he gave a shrug of his shoulders. "Maybe, if you are willing that is, I could teach you something about the flute that you dont already know? Im no grandmaster but I can carry a tune rather well even if I do say so myself."

[Raythe Silvus]

Raythe grinned, enjoying Perith’s obvious amusement. “It doesn’t take much to entertain you, does it?” She smiled then turned serious for a moment. “The southern tip of the Western Kingdom, hm?” The young elf pretended to nod wisely and appear enlightened, then shook her head. “Nope, still no idea where we are. I suppose it doesn’t matter much, though.”
She looked at the man interestedly. “You play the flute? Why am I not surprised? You probably do know more than me about playing, though. I’d love for you to teach me a few tricks...if it isn’t too much trouble for you. At least it’ll pass the time.”

[Hoppy]

"Nope, I like to think of myself as low maintenance." he continued to smile only now it seemed more genuine. "Im not paid to worry to much, I do my job and let my employers worry about the headaches involved."

"Unfortunately no, knowing where you are doesnt help you, neither would where you were going." his next words seemed to trouble him, but he gave no indication that he was lying. "I ask that you dont try to escape or I would have to kill you, Im not looking forward to such a task."

"On to a happier subject though, wouldnt you agree? I would be glad to show you what I know about flutes and maybe you can show me a thing or two? hmmm?"

[Raythe Silvus]

Raythe blinked, surprised by Perith's ability to switch from a normal conversation to a somber warning and back to normal in the blink of an eye. The young elf pushed a strand of hair away from her face and smiled somewhat uneasily. "I doubt I'll be able to teach you anything you don't already know..." She grinned wickedly and added, "...well, nothing about flutes, that is...."

[Hoppy]

The young man looked at Raythe through half closed eyes and his toungue in cheek. "Another time, another place and that would have been music like no other to these poor human ears. To bad my employer wants you unsoiled, but I have never broken a contract before and I'll not start now."

Still, he looked her over again and shook his head slightly, a tsking remorseful sound was audible as he gave the rope a slight tug. "Looks like we are ready to go...shall we?"

[Raythe Silvus]

'Unsoiled'....Raythe rolled her eyes and bit her tongue to stop from making yet another sarcastic remark. The young elf shrugged, disappointed but not that surprised by Perith's dedication to the contract. She wondered briefly who her new master was, obviously quite wealthy or influential to have slaves transported into the Western Kingdom. Was slavery even legal here? Yet again, Raythe regretted rushing away from home to ‘see the world’ before she had learned anything about it.
‘Still,’ she told herself, trying to be rational, ‘I won’t turn back time by complaining about it…better get a move on…'

She smiled at Perith. “Sure, let’s go…lead the way…”

[Hoppy]

It would be a small group that began its overland trek to destinations unknown, most of the men aside were staying with the ship including the captain. Aside from herself and Perith, there were four others accompanying them, each carrying heavy looking sacks.

During the first part of the trek Raythe learned most of their names, Mardo and Melas were twins, male and female respectively, both were nasty to look at and even harder on the ears. Harmik was a half giant, used mostly for his strength, he wouldnt be speaking much as Perith pointed out to Raythe that his tongue had been removed when he was a child.

The fourth, now there was a mystery....not once did Raythe ever get a look at the face beneath the robes and even Perith seemed at a loss as to an explanation.

Perith however turned out to be rather pleasant company, all things considered.

"So where do you come from Raythe? Where did they take you from? home? or were you out and about before they caught you?"

[Raythe Silvus]

Raythe shrugged, looking at the ground and absentmindedly kicking a small rock from foot to foot. “I was born and raised in Kislovan...I should have just stayed there,” she remarked, “but no, I wanted to see the world. Hah. I spent less than a candlemark on Pan’s Isle before I was drugged and ended up here.”
She smiled at Perith. “What about you? Where are you from, and how’d you end up in this…line of work?”

[Hoppy]

"Raythe from Kislovan, yes, perhaps you should have stayed there." he laughed, he found the idea rather humorous. "As for myself? I never really had a home, travelling with my parents from place to place and my father looked for work. I dont think it would be wise to fill you in on my ascension, it wouldnt be just your life on the line then.."

He gave the rope a tug, pulling her only slightly off balance, perhaps she had hit a sore spot with him.

[Raythe Silvus]

Raythe stumbled slightly from the unexpected tug, and in the process of regaining her balance put her foot down hard onto the small rock she had been kicking. She cursed under her breath in Elvish and barely avoided falling as she finally recaptured her balance; the elf winced, shaking her foot and stomping on it a few times to restore feeling.

She glanced at Perith for a moment and then looked away, unwilling to say anything else that might inadvertently annoy her captor. Burns passed, each one seemingly an eternity, as they walked silently. Looking at the sky, Raythe tried to calculate the time. The sun blinded her for a moment as the young girl winced and shaded her eyes, estimating it to be Tradetide, perhaps in the second mark…
“Although even the sun may be different here, what do I know?” she mused quietly, not realizing she had spoken out loud.

[Hoppy]

Perith had remained silent for the next mark or two, rather aloof from the woman attached to the other end of the rope. Finally Raythe could see his features soften again somewhat, and when she had spoken aloud he had turned his attention back to her.

"Allow me to appologize m'lady, I had no call for treating you as I had." he approached her, gathering the slacking rope around one arm. "After all I did say I would answer what questions I could, but that one is not on the list." he tried to smile at her again, she could see the guilt on his face plainly.

"Allow me to make it up to you, we should be stopping soon and I would be willing to begin working on your flute playing." he pulled out a bright silver flute from one of his sleeves and began playing a beautiful elven ballad.