T'Lar - Precious Cargo

When they pulled me out of the temple and onto the beach, I saw that the rest of the pirates were nearly done with their share of the plundering, and had the ship mostly loaded. My captors hauled me onboard for all the crew to see. They crowded around me, staring, touching, grabbing. The rope held tight to my skin as I struggled, and this seemed to entertain them further. I could tell they had all been toughened by life at sea and were experienced at taking whatever they wanted by force. A particularly seasoned veteran pushed his way through the crowd. I had to assume he was the captain, the way he shouted at the others.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, bringing this woman onto MY ship!?” He directed his anger towards the men who captured me. The man with the hood calmly replied, “I know that’s traditionally supposed to be bad luck captain, but try to see her as a treasure instead. There are those who would pay a fortune for a rare creature such as this. Look at her, look at the horns, the tail, the color! You know who I’m talking about.” The captain considered it for a moment. He leaned in close and looked me over. He smelled me. He looked tempted but kept his hands to himself, and agreed, “Alright Salazar. Keep her stowed with the rest of the take. Make sure she’s tied and blindfolded at all times, and keep her gagged except to eat or drink. I won’t have this woman running amok on my ship. You’re responsible for her.”

I now knew that my warden’s name was Salazar, and he followed the captain’s orders to the letter. He had them throw me in a cage below decks along with the rest of what they had taken from my village. Judging from the other sacks and crates down there, ours was not the only one they had plundered recently. It was dark and dingy, and smelled like burlap and brine. Besides my bindings, the only two things they gave me were an old, disgusting blanket for padding and a water dish barely fit for a dog. That was all I could see before they slipped on a black blindfold. So began my first journey across the ocean.

Salazar kept watch most of the time. He would periodically bring over some fresh water and hard-tack, and would only remove my gag long enough for me to consume it. I could have spoken to him at these times, but when it actually came to feeding time I was too famished for it to cross my mind. He also did his best to keep the pirates away from my cage. Any woman on board would have been enough to gain their attention, but I was one-of-a-kind, a curiosity. Sometimes they would ask to touch me, or reach a hand into my cage, but Salazar would convince them otherwise. Of course I couldn’t see him, but even through the blindfold I could sense a certain, magical presence about him. Growing up on the island I learned much of the ways of sorcery. I was actually particularly gifted in it, especially that which involved charming, sensing, and communicating with others. I had considered trying a few spells to charm my way out of this mess, but a few things held me back: though I was “gifted,” I was still largely untrained and didn’t recall any spells I could cast consistently. Even if I could, I was still tightly bound and gagged, it would be impossible to cast anything. Not to mention we were already miles out at sea. Were I to escape the hold and talk my way out, how would I get home? On top of all that, if I failed, Salazar didn’t seem like the type to take any resistance lightly.