Erian woke to the stench of animals in close quarters. It turned her stomach, but after the last few days, there was nothing left to throw up. Her head hurt. She lifted her hand to rub it, and was instantly reminded of the manacles chaining her to the wall. She slowly opened her eyes. It was dark. She had no idea how long she’d been here; days, a week, maybe more. At least the tossing, rolling motion had stopped. She’d been given food, of a sort, but couldn’t keep it down due to the non-stop motion.
Looking around, Erian noticed the other prisoners were gone. She carefully sat up, trying to avoid aggravating her pounding headache. Would they be coming for her soon? The others had been able to communicate to her that they were to be sold as slaves. She did not intend to let that happen.
She tried again to pull her hands through the manacles, but as before, it only bloodied her wrists. Suddenly, Erian heard footsteps coming toward her. She slumped back down on the floor. A man stopped a few feet away. He snarled out a command. She simply stared at him. The language was completely unfamiliar.
Angered, he drew a sword and pointed it at her, repeating the command and motioning upward. For a moment, Erian’s eyes flashed. That was her sword; her father’s sword. She held back her anger and stood, trying her best to appear meek and defeated. He came closer, grabbed her hands roughly and slipped the key into the manacles. They dropped to the floor. Sword still threatening, he clutched her arm and pulled her toward the doorway. She shuffled along with him for a few steps, then made her move.
With all her strength she kicked her knee into his groin. As he double over, Erian snatched the sword from his loosened grip and smashed the hilt into the back of his head. He dropped like a stone to the floor. She paused a moment, listening. Had anyone heard? When no sound of alarm came, Erian took but a moment to lock the manacles on his still form, then made her way silently out the door.
The place was like a maze, and she had no idea how to get out. She came to stairs leading up. The smell of fresh air reached her. Erian followed it as it lead her up two more decks. Thankfully, she met no one else along the way. She reached the top and paused. The place seemed deserted. She crept up onto the deck and hid in the shadows near some crates to take stock of her surroundings. She was on the deck of a ship. To one side she could see the faint light of candlelit homes, and smell the cooking fires. A city. As she looked out, it seemed to go on forever. It was much larger than Meril Tirion, her own home.
A pair of footsteps reminded her she still had to get off the ship. That city was her only chance at freedom. Two men passed by her hiding place without stopping. Once they had gone, she made her way to the rail. It was too far to jump and two men stood guard at the gangplank. Erian looked down into the black waters surrounding the ship and balked. She couldn’t swim. Then she noticed the heavy ropes that tied the ship to the dock. Climbing over the rail, Erian grasped the ropes with her hands, crossed her legs over them, and pulled herself to freedom.
Once on shore, she made quickly for the nearest building, hiding in the shadows and winding her way through the alleys between buildings. Her only thought was to put as much distance between her and the ship as possible. Finally, Erian stopped, found what she hoped was a safe hiding place, and sat down. She was exhausted. Her head was pounding, she was weak from hunger and thirst, and she just needed to rest. Only a few moments, she thought. But once she rested her head against the wall, she fell fast asleep.