Slave

The desert of the southern lands of the continent, controlled by one kingdom known for the trading of slaves, and the huge mining industry controlled by the royal family. Cut off from the rest of the content by a large mountain range that wraps around from the western ocean to the southern ocean. With only one safe passage heavily guarded.

The black tooth mountain that surrounds the desert is infested with monsters, high-class monsters such as Trolls, wyverns, undead, and more. The sea creates a natural defense with leviathans roaming the waters.

To the northeast corner of the desert against the mountain range with a large wall blocking off sight to the outside world. A caravan full of fresh slaves arrives, the curtains open and slaves start to pour out as they are being counted and brought to the cattle area. To be branded with the royal insignia right over the heart. The last person to get off the first cart was a young girl with short hair and crimson red eyes with rags covering her body.

She looks around with it being pitch black except for the light given by the torches scattered around. seeing many people in rags just like her. The women have dead-looking eyes, with no hope in them. The men have body look strong yet as if they were torn into pieces. The tents are over-occupied with people sleeping on one another, and some unmoving. A rough hand grabs her and starts to drag her to a man holding a clipboard.

With a rough voice, he says "468 that's it for this drop off that makes you No. 8692." he motions with his hand to the side.

She looks around herself to see many people who have weapons and their heads wrapped in turbans. A hand pushes her back forward as she approaches a man with a steaming hot iron rod.

The man holding the iron rod had no expression on his face. He holds his hand out and grabs ahold of the rags on me and pulls down revealing my chest. He takes the iron rod and places it right in front of my heart. As I feel the burning hot sting, I smell my flesh cooking as it burns my skin away. "Ahhhheaaaaaaaaaaa!!"

The person behind me backhands me to the ground yelling "Shut up you bitch! Now get up!"

I force myself to stand staggering as I walk in front of the guard heading towards a tent by a mine shaft. He opens it up and pushes me inside and closes it while saying "You leave you to die."

The tent was overpacked with people of all races, Dwarves, and elves of many kinds, a few beast people, and humans. All speaking in their language, yet I can understand them.

A tall elven lady is talking to an elder stating "Giya always has a plan, do not lose hope."

The elder weakly looks at her speaking rather quietly "Giya is dead young one…"

The elven lady backs up a little "tch" and looks at the entrance to see a little girl "They even go as low to take children into the shaft."

The child looks up to the elven lady and speaks in a Sindarin "The shaft?"

The Elven lady turns her head away from the child and approaches the elders again. As she's walking she feels a tug at the end of her rags. With the small child attached saying in Sindarin " Please don't leave me alone!"

An elder male elf stands up and walks over and kneels in front of her " you know our language at such a young age? Who taught you and What is your name?"

The lady tells the elder "Do not ask so many questions at once she is but a child"

She looks at the elder and says " I do not have a name, and I just know what you are saying."

The elder is surprised and thinks to himself (For a human to know Sindarin at such a young age she must have lived with elves.) he smiles gently and says "We will give you a name."

The elf lady bends over "First off my name is Siphanien, and the elder here is Neldor." She smiles and pats her head "I've always wanted a daughter, and I always thought I would name her Asura."

Neldor handed a piece of bread to Asura. "I think this one is the one you hoped for Siphanien."

Siphanien brought over a bowl of water speaking softly "Let's not give such a burden to a child" She gestured for Asura to drink from the bowl.

Asura with stale bread still in her mouth takes the bowl with both hands and as she drinks the bowl covers up her entire face. She puts it down whiles saying "Thank you very much"

Neldor holds his hand over to a single bedroll "Take it young one you need rest, these people are ruthless with the labor we must do."

Asura walks over to the bedroll and lies down, she stares at the two elves for a moment before closing her eyes and getting rest for the first time in days.

The sound of shouting is heard as the sun rises in the camp, a handshake Asura. She opens her eyes to see Siphanien smiling gently. "It's time to go little one, we are being forced into the mines."

Asura stands up still staggering a little because she is not fully awake yet. Neldor gestures for her to hold his hand. "Just so you don't get lost, we are going to be jammed in there."

A man with a sword pointing at the slaves is shouting "Into the mines! You go until I count to 30 or you get nothing to eat!"

Asura is shoved along with everyone else, not losing hold of Neldor's hand, she feels it squeeze harder as they are being pushed along. Until they are into a wide cavern, people of all races with pickaxes cutting away stone and iron. The air is dingy and full of dust, some people are laying on the ground being dragged away by the guards to a pit. As the body is thrown in all that is heard is a (tisssss) sound and bubbles.

A man in the front starts to yell his commands. "Males will take a pickaxe and continue to mine deeper into the cavern. Women will gather the chunks of ore and pile it in the carts and the rocks in a separate one!"

Four guards surround the group of slaves from my tent and start pushing us to move, deeper into the cavern. The sound of constant dripping and the bashing of rocks is heard at a steady pace.

Pickaxes stacked along the wall inside a small cavern with only one entrance and exit. A guard sits down and shouts "Get to work or you get nothing to eat, any slackers will be wiped until I feel satisfied."

The male slaves walk over without hesitation to get the pickaxes and start to hack away at a crevice. And females pick up the shards of iron and stone and separate them accordingly into the designated carts.

Siphanien leans over and whispers to Asura "Don't slack because they will never be satisfied."

Asura gets on her knees and begins to sort iron and rocks for the other women to grab quickly and take to the carts.

six nights passed with nothing changing, New slaves come and go. And as the new ones come the dwarves teach us how to use the pickaxe as if it's a weapon against rocks.

The dwarf shakes his head and speaks in Darvish "Aye these people can't tell the difference between sand and bark at this point."

Asura Stares at the dwarf and speaks in a Darvish " I can too tell the difference between sand and bark!"

The dwarf starts to speak "I would hope so-" and pauses expecting a young dwarf girl but sees a human instead, he was looking for someone else. But looking at the girl and speaking in common "Do you know who just spoke?"

Asura replies in Darvish "It was me you old coot." stands tall and proud

The dwarf chuckles to himself then look over at the guard on duty who is sleeping in a chair then continues in Darvish "Let's finish up I'd rather not get wiped."

That night back at the tent after the guard passed out a bowl of slop and left. The dwarf walks over to the two elves and Asura speaking in common "Where did you learn Darvin las."

Siphanien without looking at the dwarf still setting up a spot to sleep replies "She also knows Sindarin very well."

Asura stops drinking her gruel to look at the dwarf pointing at her chest with pride speaking in Dwarvish "I know many things!"

The dwarf starts to laugh to himself and continues in common "If only a smart girl like you were not stuck in a place like this…" he looks down for a moment his lips twitching.

Asura puts her bowl down and gets up, she walks over to the dwarf grabbing his hand with gurl still on her face. "Don't make a face, it will get stuck like that." and begins to pull him with her to the other elves and sits down on the bedroll.

The two elves look at one another and smile as the lights around the tent begin to go out. Neldor the older of the two leans on a bolder groaning with pain. "It's time to sleep, everyone…" he takes a weak breath "they want us to get a month's worth of work done in a week starting tomorrow."

Asura lays down on Siphanien's lap and closes her eyes, as Siphanien speaks in Sindarin "Sleep well little one"