On Hold In Hold
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Prompt from DailyPrompt.com
Whimpers. That was the first thing Gar registered. Whimpers and the weight of shackles around his limbs.
The pain only hit when he lifted his head. Throbbing pounding it would be blinding but the space was pitch black. He went limp again and his groan joined the chorus.
Memory trickled back. He’d been sleeping under a stall in the river market. Found work, earned enough for a proper meal, but by the time he finished all the good safe spots had been taken by others. He’d spent his pennies on a full belly and bedded down as best he could.
He didn’t remember anything past that, but it was easy to piece together.
Pirates. Slavers. Press-gangers. Whatever you called them, they were the terror of the city’s homeless. More feared than the guard. His hiding place hadn’t been good enough. He’d known it was a risk being so close to the water, he just…
The pain had receded enough for him to resume taking stock. He probed the darkness with every sense available.
The shackles around his wrists and ankles were thick and strong. Fastened by short, equally sturdy chains to a rough wooden floor.
He had to be in a boat. But there was little rocking. So they were still on the river? Maybe not outside the city.
Stench filled the space and the air was oppressive. So it was enclosed. No way to tell the time, then. But most of the smells were muddled. Old. The remnants of previous victims.
Turning to his ears, he picked through the soft sounds of suffering surrounding him. They were spread out. This hull was large and only lightly packed. Hm. Were they still on the river because the pirates wanted to get more captives?
While there was no telling what his companions were like, he assumed they were also vagrants. Perhaps with the odd unfortunate drunk mixed in. Sadly that meant they were unlikely to be hale or well suited to fight.
Alright. Seemed he might have time to recover. And then…
Gar smiled into the dark, the Blood itching at his veins.
You ought to be more careful what you pick up at the market, fools.
Prompt was “Your character has been kidnaped by a pirate and trapped in a dark dungeon below deck” [sic]