Rise of the Hegemon

Arrival at the quarry.

The rest of the ride was uneventful aside from the occasional chatter among the prisoners, for the next three hours, I endured the steadily increasing discomfort in my rear end caused by this wretched seat.

But I made no complaints.. who am I to complain against two armed guards, not to mention that I don't speak their language.

The once visible town was already gone, now replaced by seemingly endless rolling hills and a dirt road that seems to stretch as far as my eye could see. So far, we hadn't passed through any major settlements aside from a few hamlets.

Interactions between me and Little Fish only limits to gestures and hand signs, though I occasionally find myself unintentionally slipping English words during my 'conversations' with him. Muscle jaw memories, I guess?

When the wagon finally lurched to stop, the constant shaking and creaking of the wagon had finally ceased, replaced by a moment of peace and silence which offered small relief to the rest of us.

By this point, all of us now are soaked with our own sweat, my tattered red sweater was not an exception. I could now smell the sweat and foul odor lingering inside the wagon... and it's suffocating, I really want to get out of here right now.

Even so, I sometimes wondered if my piss-dried pants were contributing to the smell, it's been five days since I last recognized the smell of urine, that said, I tried sniffing at my pants before I noticed a small tint of foul odor, hopefully it's not enough to catch someone's attention.

I then began to ponder..  was the smell truly gone? or maybe spending days without changing your piss-soaked pants could make your sense of smelling numb? I guess it doesn't matter anymore. Anyone could talk behind my back at how bad I really smell and I will not give a fuck.

That was the moment when the two guards who had accompanied us throughout the entire ride began to disembark from the wagon, I observed them shielding their eyes from the intense rays of the sun, their boots making a distinct thud as they touched the ground beneath.

Then their attention shifted towards us, and one of them started yelling in Artanian. It took me no more than a heartbeat to realize that they were commanding us to exit the wagon, mirroring their own actions.

One by one, they began to lead us out, aggressively pushing anyone who they deemed too slow aside, the air filled with a cacophony of dragging footsteps against the rough board, murmur among the prisoners and shouting, creating a chaotic symphony as we awkwardly shuffled our way down the wagon.

I glance at my naked feet below, now almost covered with dirt and dust, before sighing in defeat.

No use in mulling over lost stuff, they're gone forever, might as well move on.

An empty smile on my face, I turned my head towards the back and my sight immediately met the face of Little Fish, following closely behind me.

He saw my gaze and gave me a nod, I return it before quickly moving my sights back at the front.

It's already my turn.

The guard's shouting doesn't stop, instead it becomes even more louder.

More annoying, every gibberish that leaves his mouth seems like a spear piercing my chest.

I want him to stop..

The shouting continued, I could now feel rage began to boil inside of me.

Just fucking sto-

I feel a hand on my shoulder and it seems the world around me had gone back to normal, my breath begins to calm, my anger slowly recedes, the shouting wasn't so loud as I thought it was before.

I turn my head and saw the confused face of Little Fish, I sighed before turning towards the front once again.

Noticing the look of impatience on the guard's face, as much as it gladdens me to see them angry and frustrated, it's not worth getting beat up over. Wasting no time, I quickly got off, my bare feet creating a small thud as it hits the ground.

Grunting at the touch of natural soil making contact with my feet, I found myself shielding against the intense sunlight above, the rays warming my exposed head.

Thank God for the sweater...

I then heard shouting at my left, turning towards the direction, it was not the group of prisoners being lined up by one of the guards that left me surprised and wide eyed, but the massive hill that stood beyond them... or what seems left of it.

More than half of it is missing, its inner layers now exposed before me. It's carved out in levels, a series of giant steps ascending a few dozen feet tall. Two meters high wooden palisades also stood around the hill, flanked by watchtowers at regular intervals along the walls, a central gate interrupts the enclosure, where carriages and wagons move in and out, some full with stones, others empty.

I could see at least a few hundred miners laboring under the intense heat of the sun, across the tiers, scattered like sentinels of industry, cranes rise to facilitate their labor. Amidst this expanse, the enclosure harbors more than just the workers; within its boundaries, several buildings take shape.

It's unmistakably the quarry.

But before I could take in more of the sight ahead of me, I felt a strong force shove me forward, I cast a glance behind me and saw the figure of the shouting guard, now yelling at me.

And just like that, I joined with the rest of the group, Little Fish and a couple of other prisoners in tow.

The two guards then began pushing us towards each other, cramming us into a single mess of human filth before surrounding us, swords at the ready.

This fucking people..

Since I came in late, I was fortunate to be placed at the edge of the group and unable to experience the fate of the guys who were trapped at the middle. Just the thought of being wedged amidst a throng of bodies, trapped beneath the scorching embrace of the sun brought a shiver coursing down my spine... it must be suffocating for them.

In what felt like an eternity, I suddenly heard a yell from the direction of the walls. Curious, I turn towards the noise and saw a man emerged from the gate, flanked by three club wielding guards.

Then, they began heading towards our direction.

Squinting my eyes towards them, I could finally get a good look at the man.

He's fat and damn ugly, a mole rested beneath his right eye, his nose is fat, his lips were plump, and his brown hair was thinning, though he seemed too youthful, perhaps in his thirties, to be experiencing baldness so prematurely, it's probably due to a not-so-healthy lifestyle.

He's dressed in a fine green tunic while a cloak is wrapped around his shoulders, a sheathed sword also hung on his belt.

His height also seems to match mine.

When he finally arrived in front of us, he exchanged a few words with one of the guards before turning towards us.

Little Fish; who was standing besides me, pointed a finger at the fat dude, before a word escaped his lips, his voice above a whisper.

"Warden"

I nod at him before I went back at staring at the fat monstrosity now known as the 'Warden'.

The warden's eyes scanned us for a minute before it landed on one of the prisoners, it was one of the guys from the other cells back at the dungeon, an old man, who appeared to be in his fifties and unsurprisingly thin.

That was when the Warden suddenly grabbed one of the old man's thin and frail looking arm, lifting it up in front of his eyes. But the old man responded by lurching it back before saying something in front of the Warden's face.

There was a ripple of murmurs that followed, though I couldn't understand a single word, the tone was enough for me to conclude it was that of shock.

I couldn't say less for the reaction of the Warden, whatever that old guy said, it seems it struck a nerve and made him really mad, his face twisted into that of rage and fury.

Without wasting a single second, the Warden placed his fat hands at the old man, yanking him out from our group before throwing him towards the ground.

The warden said something to the guards, and soon after, one of them has joined him in beating the poor old man at the ground, not only that... they seem to be enjoying it.

Such cruelty, I feel my heart break at the sight in front of me... Why must people be needlessly so cruel?

I could now sense the air around me go tense, glancing at the other prisoners, I could see the rage plastered on their faces, they seem to be doing their utmost best to restrain themselves from helping the old man.

Screams and the sickening sound of bones breaking filled the air as the Warden and the guard continued to beat the helpless old man, his body now bloodied and battered.

A minute has passed and they finally ceased their unreasonable violence, I notice myself breathing a sigh of relief at this.

The Warden said something to the guard again and immediately afterwards, the guard began to drag the limp form of the old man towards the wagon, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

There was another ripple of murmurs from our group before the Warden yelled something, silencing them in an instant.

That was until the Warden's gaze shifted towards me, his eyes more fixated on the makeshift sling on my left arm.

I felt my heart skip a beat as dread began to creep up within.

Fuck... not another beating please.

My body begins to tremble as I watch the bloated form of the Warden approach me. Once he was now standing in front of me, I quickly turn my sights at the ground below, the fear of offending this man seems to overwhelm all of my senses.

He said something, yet I still forced myself to look at the ground below.

One wrong move and I'll experience hell again.

Seconds passed and I could now feel the air around the Warden become heavy. Despite not looking at him directly, I felt his gaze pierce through my soul.

Then, he suddenly grabbed my free right arm, catching me off guard.

I glance up and saw him eyeing my shaking arm. Just like what he did with the old man earlier.

As much as I want to pull my arm back, I do not want to end up like the old man before me. And just like that, I let him inspect it as much as he wants, like a butcher studying his meat.

Then he chuckled, an amused expression plastered on his face, somehow he finds my trembling arm funny.

This Warden is sick.

Seconds passed until his gaze shifted towards my broken left arm, then towards my face.

I swallowed hard, desperately trying to stay composed in front of him, I could now feel my rapid heartbeat as cold sweat began forming on my face.

After another few seconds of tense silence, the Warden finally broke off his gaze and turned towards one of the two guards who had accompanied us from Runderdale.

I breathed a small sigh of relief at this.

They then began exchanging words, their voices audible but incomprehensible. It lasted for only a minute, before the Warden eventually turned his face back towards me, a satisfied look on his face.

And to my surprise, he suddenly turn and begins to walk away from us, barking what seemed like orders to the guards surrounding us.

In an instant, the guards descended upon us, pushing and shoving men after men.

It didn't take me long to realize that they're herding us towards the quarry. Flanked both sides by armed men, not a single one of us tried to resist.

As the massive hill quarry loomed over us, I couldn't help but feel the growing dread and fear within me.

Today, I enter hell...

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CHAPTER DONE!!