Star Eater

Chapter 20:

Arthur's Point of View

Warehouse in the Slums

Landing on top of the warehouse rather quietly, I looked for a way inside. I wanted to get a closer looking before slaughtering the slavers inside. Maybe I could overhear some useful information or even learn who was behind all this. If I find him and get him to talk, it's possible I could find other locations like this. Thankfully, a small window on the roof let me enter undetected.

Once inside, I immediately started examining the area. Cages and tarps lined the inside. The interior was an open layout with a plain first floor full of slaves, and the second floor being a walkway with other containers present. Goons patrolled the area, and others played with some of the slaves in a less than savory manner. Gritting my teeth at the horrible scene before me, if I hadn't decided to kill every slaver present before, this would've done it.

"Look what we got here!" One of the slavers said from the ground floor. "We finally got ourselves a Noble Elf!" I looked down to see the kidnapped Elf from the upper rung. "Rennal Bimarr!" The Elf Noble, now identified as Rennal, glared up at her captures. "Been looking forward to getting you in our grasps!"

I watched for a moment to see what the Elf would do, but I was also waiting to see if a leader of some sort would appear. "Unhand me this instant!" Thrashing around, one of the Humans grabbed her by her collar to stop her and slammed her into the ground.

From what I could tell, aside from her blueish noble attire, she was quite attractive as well. Probably one of the reasons they wanted her. Light blue hair with dark blues eyes made for an interesting combination but worked well for her. Elves seemed to take on lighter colors for their appearances. She appeared to be around the same age as Ayda, which meant nothing to me since she was an Elf.

"She's got some fight in her! Such an unsightly display for a Lady." The lead slaver said and grabbed her cheeks. "Keep quiet, or I'll give you a reason to scream."

Rennal bit his hand hard enough to draw blood, and the man screamed before hitting her in the face. "Damn Nobles!" The Noble Lady squealed out in pain from the blow. "Get me our training tool!" One ran off and returned with a whip. "Strip her!" The lead Elf ordered as he gestured to Rennal.

Ripping her clothes and holding her arms in place, I noticed a greenish aura ignite in her hands, but the others saw it as well. A few of the Elves who were with the Slavers quickly subdued her with their own magic and began whipping her. Crying out in pain from welts being left behind, I was surprised that the Noble seemed to hold strong.

After a few lashes, she even mocked her captors. "Surely it doesn't take this many of you to put a Lady in her place, or perhaps this is the only way every single one of you feels powerful?" Rennal mocked with a glare. "Pathetic, each and every one of you."

Smirking a little at that, I removed the bandage around my right eye and looked around. Several energy signals were inside, I already knew this, but only a few of them were moving. The slavers had free reign and were focused on Rennal, which made her the perfect distraction. Moving silently through the rafters, I stopped above two who were relaxing. Once I saw them, my eyes narrowed as my rage grew.

"The Town Guard." I whispered in a deathly tone.

One of them seemed to hear the whisper and start looking around. "Did you hear that?"

"The wind?" The other asked back sarcastically.

Both were monsters disguised as humans. Dropping to their floor, I brought my sword across the two guard's necks. Decapitating both in an instant and before they could make a sound. Immediately, I jumped back up into the rafters and continued the process all through the second-floor walkways. I'd jump down, kill a slaver or two, then jump back up to continue the process somewhere else.

As I was finishing the second floor off, a bloodcurdling scream could be heard from the first floor. Looking back to Rennal, I was greeted to the sight of skin being ripped off her back and blood flowing down her back. Another crack of the whip rang out, and another strip of skin disappeared from her back. The slavers had moved to a more brutal whip.

"Not feeling so feisty now, are you!?" The lead Elf said again.

My eyes focused on him. "Looks like he's the man in charge," I whispered since there was no one coming to stop him after all. "She might not be too feisty, but I'm certainly feeling frisky!" I shouted out.

The group came to a stop and began looking around. "Who was that?" One of the humans asked, bored.

"Can you guess?" I asked back as I moved directly above them.

"Something's wrong." The lead Elf said.

Only six were left in the rather large warehouse. "You don't say?" Was my reply as I held out my sword above one of the Elf's head.

Dropping my sword, it fell through the warehouse quickly and plunged itself deep into the skull of an Elf. Naturally, it fell over dead instantly, and the remaining people moved into a circle as the Elves started shooting spells into the rafters where I used to be. I moved as soon as I dropped my sword.

"Intruder!" Several called out.

"All hands on deck!" The leader shouted, but no one came to their aid. "Where is everybody!?" He asked the others in his group.

"They're dead." Rennal was also looking around to try and find me along with some of the other slaves. "No one is coming to save you."

Shooting another spell off, the leader shouted back at me. "Who says we need to be saved!?"

Landing in the middle of the group, I yanked my sword out of the dead Elf and quickly chopped my way through the group of men. The only person I left alive was the lead Elf who whipped Rennal. The poor Noble Lady was covering her head as she kept her eyes closed in horror and tried to ignore the sounds of dying screams.

Of course, the remaining Elf brought his hands up to challenge me. "You son of a-" He began, but cried out in pain when I cut off his hands.

"This does beg the question; can you use magic without your hands?" I asked as he fell on his back, screaming. "Because this will likely be important information to me in the future."

"AHHHHH!!!" The handless Elf screamed.

"'Ahhhhh,' isn't an answer." I mocked and planted my foot on his chest. "Who are you working for?"

"You've no idea who you're dealing with, do you?"

Putting the tip of Defiance in his mouth, he screamed in horror. "Oh, calm down. It's just the tip. Besides, if you're not going to talk, there's no need for you to keep your tongue, is there?"

He froze, and no spells shot at me, so I figured I had his attention, and I removed my sword from his mouth. "A high-ranking Noble has us kidnap slaves and ship them off! We don't know where they go or why! Our group just follows orders!"

"What's the Noble's name who is in charge?" I inquired.

The Elf blanched at that. "I can't tell you. He'll kill me if he finds me."

I shrugged. "I'll kill you right now, and you'll be at peace, knowing that it will be slow and painful." Crouching down next to him, I put Defiance on my back and brushed my hands together. "Tell me, do Elves have any magic spells for fixing teeth?"

Confused, the Elf responded. "What?" His tone was on edge from his missing hands, of course, but I'm glad the question caught him off guard.

"So, no. Here's what I'm going to do." Gesturing to Rennal, I spoke. "For every lash across her back, I'm going to shatter one of your teeth. Enough for the nerves to go crazy, but not enough for it to fall out of your mouth. Pulling them out will be so much more painful." I shivered mockingly. "Brutal process, I assure you."

"Who are you!?" The Elf asked fearfully.

"Nobody of consequence. You, however, are the person who has the information I need! Which makes you super important!" My overly joyful tone just made his eyes widened. "Now, while I will start with your teeth, I will eventually make my way to your toes. I'd usually start with your hands, but small problem, you don't have any! So, my order is kind of fucked up." Then I gestured to him. "You get how it is."

No hands Elf flipped onto his stomach and tried to crawl away. "Help. Help!" He pleaded with anyone.

Not a single soul replied. In fact, several of the slaves were watching carefully in pleasure and small smiles. Well, most of them anyway. Rennal seemed to move away from us as she tried to escape but couldn't get her feet under her. Probably too weak from being whipped. I didn't blame her. Blood was oozing down her back.

"No one is going to help you. The only person here who can help you is me, and I want a name. Until you give me that, pain is the only thing you'll be receiving." I informed him as I stepped on his forearm, which pushed out more blood. "So, what's it going to be?"

"Okay!" The Elf shouted in a pained tone. "I'll tell you his name! Duke Jhaane Syltar! He's the one we take orders from! He has warehouses throughout the entirety of the slums! We're warehouse three!" Sobbing now, he continued. "Please! That's all I know! Now help me!"

Giving him a fake confused look, I replied. "Help you? Why would I help you?"

His eyes widened as the tears fell, and he almost froze. "You said you'd help me if I told you what you wanted to know..." He said, almost in disbelief.

Shaking my head in an overly mocking manner, I responded. "I said I was the only person present who could help you." A grin came to my lips. "Not once did I say that I would." Then I thought about it. "Jhaane Syltar. Duke Jhaane Syltar! Can't forget his title! Thank you, handless Elf."

"You're a monster."

I shrugged. "Just a small one compared to you."

Stepping off him, I brought my leg back and kicked him in his ribs. There was a crunch that could be heard through the warehouse as his body folded around my leg. It was only for a split second though because he went flying through one of the walls a moment after I kicked him. With that Elf dead, I turned my attention to Rennal. She was cowering in the corner by one of the cages.

Sighing, I put my wrap around my right eye and went to see her. A few cheers could be heard from the cages and under the tarps. I'd free them in a second, but the wounded female Elf was more important. Approaching her carefully, I cleared my throat to try and get her attention. She didn't respond. Gently putting my hand on her shoulder got her to jump and start thrashing around.

"Let go of me!" Rennal cried out

"Hey! Shh! Shh!" I said in a calming manner as I grabbed her arms to stop her flailing. "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise." She slowly stopped.

Eventually, she stopped tensing, and I let go of her arms. They dropped to her sides as she looked up at me. Pain could be seen in her eyes as tears stained her cheeks. Snot ran from her nose, and she appeared to have drool on her chin. All from the lashing she had to endure.

"You won't harm me?" She asked carefully with a tinge of hope.

"No. I'm here to save you. You and everyone else trapped here." Taking one of the nearby tarps, I moved back and wrapped it around her carefully. "If you can use your magic, use it to keep this off your wounds. It'll keep you covered as well. The Town Guard should be arriving soon."

"Not only do you save my life, but my dignity as well?" Rennal questioned in surprise.

I shrugged. "Not many people like being exposed to others in such a manner. I'm sorry I didn't help you sooner." Gesturing to the upper floor, I explained. "Had to take care of the Slavers above before jumping down here." Then I looked around. "I'm going to get started on these cages and freeing the slaves here, but if you'd like to leave," Breaking the lock on the door, I gestured to it. "Now's your chance before the guard arrives."

Rennal looked at it for a moment and then back to me. "Why would I leave?" She struggled to her feet, and I helped steady her.

"Look, I don't know how your politics work here, but I figured you'd likely want to keep this entire incident under wraps." She nodded. "Then leave before the guards arrive. Go somewhere you'll be safe or to someone you can trust." Gesturing to her, I continued. "After all, you'll need to get those wounds looked after."

"What is the name of my savior?" She inquired.

"Arthur Pendragon."

Nodding, she turned to leave. "I won't forget this, Arthur Pendragon!" The Elf stopped right at the door and looked over her shoulder at me. "What're you going to do with the information on Duke Jhaane Syltar? Go to the Priestesses?"

Scoffing at that, I replied. "No. I'm definitely going to kill him too. Just as soon as I'm done here, and I get the chance to track him down." Her eyes widened at that, but she simply left without saying anything else. "Now," I said as I turned to the cages. "Who wants to be freed first?"

********

We didn't hit our goal, but that's okay! I've decided to lower it down to 650 Power Stones for an extra chapter this week since we were so close to that! We got over 630, so I think we should be set to hit at least 650! However, if we hit 700 Power Stones, I will release an additional extra chapter as well! That's two extra chapters for Sunday if we reach 700 Power Stones!