The carriage door shattered — pierced by an arrow.Kain and Sir Williams immediately threw their hands in the air and dropped to their knees.
"I SURRENDER!!" Williams shrieked before the arrow even stopped quivering.
"Honestly… this is better than dying," Kain thought, eyeing the two figures stepping out from the shadows.
Two mountain folk emerged, both armed with drawn bows aimed straight at their heads.
"Shit… we're dead if they let go of those strings."
One of them barked, "YOU! FAT ONE! STATE YOUR NAME!"
Williams puffed his chest, about to speak. "Fat?! Do you have any idea who—"
Kain slapped a hand over his mouth. "Shut the fuck up, you lard sponge," he whispered through clenched teeth. "You tryna get us killed?!"
Then he looked up, trying to stay calm. "This is Sir Williams Merrowind. He's a noble."
"A noble, huh?" one muttered. "And you?.....why do you have one arm?and youre eyes.....
"Kain Sainford. I'm just a peasant. Sold by my shitty parents for a handful of gold to this fat pi—this noble. I don't want trouble. Please… we mean no harm."
The two mountain men exchanged a glance.
A noble pig and a peasant runt. Useless. But dangerous to let go. And we can't just kill them outright either...
Before Kain could speak again — fwip.Something sharp pricked his neck.
A small dart.
His vision blurred instantly.
"Shit… is this poison…?""No… not dying… not like thi—"
Everything went black.
"Hey. Hey, kid. HEY!"
Kain's eyes fluttered open. His head pounded. His wrists were tied to something warm. Too warm.
Sir Williams.
Kain groaned. "Ugh... where the hell...?"
"You awake?" Williams said, his voice oddly cheerful. "Good. I think we're in some village. Maybe their base. And this house? Real small."
Kain blinked, trying to piece things together. "Why are we tied together?"
"No idea. I just woke up a few minutes ago."
"Great," Kain thought. "We're prisoners, tied to a sweaty meatball. This just keeps getting better."
"We need to escape," he muttered, scanning the room.One broken window — too small to crawl through. A locked door. Wooden walls. Empty table. No sharp tools.
"Damn. Nothing."
Williams broke the silence. "You got any food, kid?"
Kain stared at him. "Even at this situation!.. Are you seriously thinking about food right now?"
"I mean…."
"You fat piece of—"
Kain froze. Footsteps.
Outside the door. Getting closer.
He whispered fast, "Pretend to sleep. Now. Hurry."
Both men slumped over, playing dead just as the door creaked opened...