Elegy from Another World

The journey to Valencia was expected to take two days. I followed a rudimentary map I found in the ruins of a village, but the journey was not smooth. The heavy rains of the previous days had triggered landslides, completely burying parts of the roads with mudslides. I had to find my way while searching for small paths to climb around the landslides.

The very next afternoon, as I explored an abandoned wagon half-buried in a valley, swept down by a mudslide, hoping to find some useful supplies, I only discovered the already stiffened bodies of the victims inside. Just as I was feeling heavy-hearted and resigned myself to at least burying these unfortunate souls, I heard indistinct voices and footsteps in the distance.

Someone's there! A surge of joy filled me; perhaps I could ask them for help. I cautiously approached the source of the sound, preparing to call out—

"Whoosh!"

A stray arrow flew through the air without warning, striking my shoulder with pinpoint accuracy. The violent impact made me stagger, but thankfully, "Eternal Burn" distorted my pain. However, the arrowhead seemed to be coated with a potent numbing agent; after the initial sensation, a strong wave of dizziness quickly washed over me. My vision blurred, and my body slumped uncontrollably to the ground. The last thing I saw was several blurry figures walking towards me.

……

When I regained consciousness, the first thing I felt was the cold touch of metal and the confinement of my body. I found myself in a dimly lit wooden cage, my hands, feet, neck, and even waist tightly bound by heavy chains, the other ends of which were driven deep into the cage walls. I tried to summon my magic and condense water elements, but found that the magical energy that I used to control so easily was blocked by an invisible barrier, making it impossible to sense or manipulate.

"Awake?" a rough, hoarse voice rang out. Outside the cage, a burly man in leather armor, with a scarred face, leaned lazily against the wall, looking at me mockingly. "Don't waste your energy, little beauty. These six 'anti-magic chains' on you are good stuff, specially designed to deal with magic users like you. Magic? Don't even think about using a single bit."

The magic-suppressing chains… I see. His bluntness in telling me this information meant he was either extremely confident or simply didn't take me, this imprisoned "weak woman," seriously. This, in turn, gave me an opportunity. Since the magic was temporarily ineffective, a direct confrontation would be certain death, so… perhaps I could try to extract some information.

I suppressed my panic and deliberately feigned fear and weakness, my voice trembling: "Who...who are you people? Why are you arresting me?"

The guard sneered, "Who are you? Hmph, judging by your appearance, you're one of those escapees from that looted village, aren't you? Too bad you've run into us again. Us? We're just people trying to make a living, of course."

"You looted the village...did you do it?" I tried to make my voice sound angry and sad, but my nails dug into my palms.

"Some, I suppose." The guard seemed to relish my "despair" and said smugly, "We acted quickly that night and had a good haul. Unfortunately, quite a few easy targets escaped, and we even lost some brothers. I didn't expect to find one today. Although he doesn't look like he's worth much, his face... hehe, it should fetch a good price."

Selling them for money? Human traffickers? My heart sank. I continued to probe, "Aren't you...aren't you afraid the kingdom's army or adventurers will come to wipe you out?"

"The army?" The guard seemed to have heard a joke. "Those gentlemen in Valencia are too busy with their own problems to care about the affairs of this remote village. As for adventurers? Hmph, how many decent ones are there in this backwater? By the time they get the news and come, we'll have already taken the 'goods' into the mountains, and no one will be able to find us."

His words revealed several key pieces of information: First, they were a gang of roving criminals, the same group that attacked the village or related to them; second, they seemed to have a relatively safe hideout or a channel for selling stolen goods ("going into the mountains"); third, the local defense forces were weak, which allowed them to act so brazenly.

I wanted to ask more questions, but the guard seemed to have lost patience and waved his hand: "Stop talking nonsense and stay put! We'll decide what to do with you when the boss gets back."

He ignored me and began wiping the dagger in his hand. I leaned against the cold cage wall, my mind racing. The magic-suppressing chains were key; I had to find a way to break free. Direct resistance wouldn't work; I could only wait for an opportunity, or… take advantage of their intention to "make money." Perhaps there would be an opportunity during the transfer.

My gaze swept over the dimly lit cage and the chains binding me, and I knew that a new trial had just begun.