Chapter 4: The Warehouse
I blinked in the bright sunlight, finally getting a chance to look outside the cage. Three of the slavers were in the wagon, unlocking and unloading the other prisoners. The wagon was on a hard-packed dirt road within a thick forest, filled with all sorts of unfamiliar foliage. I gaped in shock at the trees, some of which had trunks dozens of feet wide and canopies hundreds of feet tall. The slaver who had uncovered my cage shoved a grimy key in the lock, opening it just enough to reach his hand through. He grasped at the chain tying me to the cage and jerked it hard, slamming my head into the bars.
I groaned, but my horns protected me from the worst of it. Even so, a painful tremor coursed along their length, reminding me of just how sensitive they were. While I was still recovering, the man jerked me outside, barking something in an unknown language. I stumbled, legs weak from disuse, but managed to retain my footing. Good thing too, because he headed to the back of the wagon with no intention to see if I could keep up. The wagon floor was rough and splintered, biting into my bare feet, but I ignored the pain and kept up, leaving bloody prints in the wood with every step. Most of the other cages were empty, their occupants already unloaded from the wagon.
The slaver jumped off the wagon, falling four or so feet to the ground with a grunt. I hesitated at the lip, but he yanked the chain, pulling me off. I yelped and hit the ground hard, lying there stunned for a moment, but he callously began walking again, dragging me behind.
A massive four-story warehouse hid amid the trees off the side of the road. It was constructed of stone and wood, with small windows lined up vertically every ten feet. Two enormous doors yawned open at the ground level, revealing a massive room that must have taken up the entirety of the first floor. Hundreds of cages built partitions and passageways throughout the room, some stacked two or three high. Most of them were occupied by some creature or another, almost all humanoid. The majority were people with animal body parts, like wolf ears or horse legs. A few seemed exactly like humans except for their unnatural gracefulness and pointed ears, reminding me of elves from the stories of Earth.
Once inside, the first thing to hit me was the smell. A fetid mixture of dust, sweat, and feces swirled around in visible eddies, assaulting my senses and constricting my throat. I gagged, tears springing to my eyes, as my newly enhanced nose made it all the more potent.
The slaver didn't seem too affected by it, navigating through the maze of cages without pause. He descended an aisle near the back wall and stopped before an empty cage. The other slaves nearby looked at me with interest, but they almost universally scowled after getting a good look. My skin crawled under the unrestrained hostility, and I flinched as a large slave with the face and claws of a lion spat, the spittle flying out of the cage and striking my face.
"Filthblood," he snarled, eyes flashing with disgust. Although the word was unfamiliar, it seemed to be in a language I recognized, which was a relief. At least the gods hadn't sent me here without the knowledge to communicate with anyone.
My slaver slapped the lion man's cage, shutting him up. Without a glance backward, he opened the empty cage and looked at me expectantly. I trembled at the promised violence in his expression and swiftly stepped into the bars. He unlocked the tether, freeing me from the chain but leaving the collar on, and slammed the door, locking it.
Through the lines of cages, I could see a few more slaves brought into the warehouse. Once all were locked away, the slavers shut the warehouse doors, plunging the room into darkness. A few small windows near the ceiling leaked trickles of sunlight, but that only distracted my eyes, which immediately adjusted for the dark. Even so, the light of the sun was a comfort, and I soon began to miss the breeze that drafted through the tarp on the wagon.