WoG Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen: Slaver's Pit edit
Rinold and the Silone captives, aboard Bossman’s leisurely barge, endure a monotonous journey downriver, subsisting on bland fish, roots, and murky water, while Bossman teaches Rinold fragments of the Wiirê language. After 27 days, they reach a large Wiirê settlement with stilted huts, stone flood barriers, and sturdy clay buildings, where children with non-yellow eyes hint at cultural distinctions. Shackled and paraded through a bustling market, Rinold spots a Histê man, confirming their slaver destination. Imprisoned in a pit for three days with improved but bland meat, the Silone are led to a fighting pit before a roaring crowd of Wiirê and aloof Histê nobles. Bossman orders Rinold to demonstrate his archery, killing a Wiirê warrior with a precise arrow through wooden armor, earning cheers as “Breaker of Armor.” The Silone, armed with their steel armor and weapons, then face 18 Wiirê warriors in wooden armor, whom they slaughter in a one-sided melee, with Rinold killing three. The Histê, recognizing the Silone’s value, bid fiercely, with a noblewoman and her scarred, collared Wiirê slave outbidding a muscular Histê man. Rinold, locking eyes with the slave, mouths “You understand,” sparking a subtle exchange that prompts the woman’s winning bid. As Bossman auctions the Silone as unbeatable warriors, Rinold suspects they’re destined for fighting pits or to forge steel, uncertain if the slave’s nod signals an ally or a new threat, leaving their fate hanging in the balance of the Histê’s intentions.
- WoG Chapter 13 — Blow Holes
- WoG Chapter 15 — Out of the Valley
- Whispers of Ghosts — Main Chapter Listing