Ghostly pale light clawed at Astel's eyelids. Stirring awake, he instinctively put one hand in front of his face to block the brightness. He blinked a few times, slowly adjusting to the light.
He looked around and noticed that he was in some sort of cage. Deep brown wooden walls surrounded him, and in front of him was a wall of metal bars.
'I'm really starting to hate waking up in unfamiliar places,' he thought as he crawled to the bars, trying to catch a glimpse of the outside.
As he moved, he noticed that his arm—the one that had been mangled not too long ago—was already completely healed.
'How long was I out?'
He grabbed onto the bars and pressed his face against them, peering out of his cell. He saw the back of a carriage, and all around it were people walking alongside. The cell was moving, heading in an unknown direction.
Astel tried to pry the bars apart using all his strength, but they wouldn't budge. Defeated, he had an idea. He tried summoning his new notion—the odd-looking spear. He gathered and poured some energy into its visage in his mind.
Nothing happened.
It didn't respond.
'That's not going to work, idiot,' an annoyed-sounding voice resounded in his head.
'Oh, great, you're still here.' Astel slumped back into the cell before asking the voice in his head, 'What happened? How did we get here?'
The voice snickered. 'Don't you remember? You tried to kill that defenseless, sleeping, innocent scumbag and failed.'
Astel shook his head. 'Not that. What happened after?'
Sounding more annoyed, the voice replied, 'I have no idea what you're talking about.'
Astel gave up, realizing the voice wasn't planning on telling him. He'd find out soon enough anyway.
He sat in his cell, circulating energy and replenishing his body. Hours passed without Astel noticing—until the carriage came to a stop.
'We'll camp here for a few hours before continuing,' a loud, commanding voice called from outside.
The sound of hurried footsteps in the sand gathered behind him, then people grabbed some items before scattering away from the carriage.
Astel once again pressed himself against the bars, trying to see what was happening outside. He caught a glimpse of someone carrying a large piece of cloth and laying it down on the sand before hearing a slam. The door to the carriage in front of him had shut.
Then, a person walked out.
He wasn't exactly tall, but neither was he short. He had a small build and dark brown hair that looked lighter under the bright rays of light. The man looked young—around Astel's age, maybe a little older—and wore relatively nice clothes: a modified modern suit, all black, with several cuts and tears in places for increased mobility.
The young man looked around the desert terrain before nodding and checking his wrist. He took out a small book and quill, pricked himself on the finger, and with his blood wrote something in the small book before putting it back into one of his pockets. Then he turned toward Astel.
As soon as Astel saw his gaze, he jumped back from the bars toward the rear wall of his cell. There was something wrong about that guy.
The young man approached Astel's cage until he stood just before the metal bars. Speaking in a teasing tone, he said, "Look who decided to wake up. Welcome to the caravan, Astel. Or should I say Riven? Whichever one you prefer."
He grinned creepily.
'How the hell does he know about that?'
Panicked, Astel searched for something he could respond with. 'Help me out here, voice. How the hell does that guy know about my trial? And why aren't you saying anything? What happened while I was asleep?'
The voice didn't answer. Was the voice gone… or just choosing to stay quiet.
"I know you must be confused, but I'm just curious about a few things." His tone was completely flat, which only served to creep Astel out even more.
"I wonder… why would someone like you, such a heroic type, try to kill one of my people while they were asleep?"
His question sounded more like a threat, which made a shiver run down Astel's spine.
Astel hesitated to speak, only opening his mouth after a few moments of tense silence. "I… I never—"
He didn't even get to finish before the chilling young man interrupted him.
"Oh, another thing. Just how did you, as a Category 1, manage to kill not just one but two Category 3 beasts? That just doesn't sit right with me."
He waited a few moments, but before Astel could answer, he simply laughed and said, "Nevermind. I think I already know. Now why don't you tell me how you got here? Not many people survive this desert."
Astel's eyes lit up with hope as he shot toward the young man. "Do you know something about this desert?"
The young man shot back, "Answer my question first."
Astel's eyes dimmed a little as he once again rested against the back of his cell. "I don't know what I'm supposed to tell you. I died… I think. And when I woke up, I was here."
The young man stood still, nodding for him to continue.
"I woke up naked. Then was chased by some big bird thing that suddenly disappeared. Then I survived on nothing but bugs, slept in a cave, fought and killed the owner of the cave, and escaped. And now I'm here."
The young man smiled. "Good."
He paused for a moment.
"What do you plan on doing now?"
Astel answered without thinking. "Find a way back home and find my sister."
The young man nodded. "Good."
He reached into his pocket and took out a key, moving to open Astel's cage.
He turned the key slowly, as if expecting Astel to make a move… or hoping he would.
Astel cautiously moved toward the now open door, carefully stepping through it and jumping down onto the sand below. His feet felt the familiar warmth of the sand. He felt like he was back home.
The young man extended a hand toward him. "I'm Severin. Nice to meet you, Astel."
Astel shook it cautiosly, he couldn't tell if the warmth in Severin's grip was real... or just well-practiced.
"Likewise," he said.
After a short, awkward silence, Astel asked, "Hey, Severin? Do you mind explaining some things?"
Severin looked at him with a dumbfounded expression before bursting into laughter.
"What is it?" Astel asked.
"Oh, nothing. It's just that you were a prisoner until five seconds ago, and now you're asking me to answer your questions. It's just a bit funny." He wiped his eyes from tears of laughter.
"Sure, I'll answer some questions. But not for free. For each answer you want, you'll have to do something for me," Severin said with a friendly smile on his face.
Somehow, Astel felt that the smile wasn't all that friendly.
"Uh… I mean, what choice do I have."
Severin patted him on the back. "Great! First things first—would you check the perimeter for any wild beasts? Oh, and if you find one, bring its body so we can have something to eat." His smile turned mischievous.
Astel looked at him nervously before asking, "Do you happen to know where my spear is?"
Severin teasingly replied, "You'll get that answer after you bring us dinner."
Astel sighed. 'So that's how it's going to be.'
Defeated, his head slouched as he started walking. Severin smacked him across the back once more.
"Make sure to find a good one!" he called out, laughing as Astel walked off into the distance.