The Dao of Magic

109 - Launch

Ferah opens her crusty eyes with difficulty, rubbing the grit accumulated from a long slumber. She blinks as her pupils dilate while they adjust to the bright surroundings.

Then adrenaline starts bursting through her veins as she remembers what happened. Now wide awake, she panics a bit. All was fine and well until the town guard ran yelling through the main street of her small village. Then she saw horses, ridden by pale skinned beings covered in glistening metal. Then she saw the wooden club in front of her face.

The next thing was a cart. Dirty wooden planks hiding the sun. Hiding the metal shackles. Hiding the slowly dying villagers she barely even recognized. Hiding the fact that her grandma was nowhere to be seen. Hiding her desperate sobs and tears.

Rough hands dragged her into the blinding sun as she barely recognized a harbour and a boat. Then there was more waiting and barely any food in a dark hold.

Then there was a blue haired girl? And a bearded man that seemed immense and not there at all.

And now there are clean sheets, a soft bed and white walls.

Absolutely confused, on edge and clean for the first time in weeks, the small beastkin discovers that her chafed wrists are raw no more. Hunger overwhelms the girl as her sensitive nose picks up something delicious.

A small plate with simple food sitting on the square nightstand is pounced upon and swiftly licked clean. Licking her fingers and feeling a bit better, the half-starved girl looks around the room a bit more.

Four white walls, a glowing sphere on the white ceiling and a cold dark grey stone floor make up the medium sized bedroom. The bed is white stone, a simple frame topped with the softest mattress she ever saw. Sinking her hands in the luxuriously dense fabric, she wonders if there is more food to be had.

Ah, no, that would be bad. She is starved enough that refeeding syndrome would be a problem.

That mystery solved, she pats the wrinkles out of the white, smooth sheets and turn-

She freezes, wondering what in all the tails refeeding syndrome is.

Ah, it's just the effect of an overabundance of nutrition on a starved metabolic system. The sudden restart of the digestive system can fatally imbalance mineral levels in the blood.

AS IF THAT WOULD BE FINE! How the fur does she know this? Tail puffed up in panic, she jumps under the bed.

Ah, no, it's just the small stone stuck to her forehead.

Probing fingers find said stone to her forehead. As if touching the thing made it real, she suddenly realizes the small amount of information stuck to her brain. She pulls it away, and the small repository of knowledge vanishes from her mind. Putting it back, it sticks to her fur-lined brows, and the few paragraphs of basic information return to her mind's eye.

That is really freaky. The panic turns to intrigued anger as she explores the data held within the small stone.

Someone from Earth would recognise it as the very basics of education. It contains the basics of numbers, math and an alphabet. Some base knowledge about starvation and nutrition in combination with more primary school knowledge.

That all is capped off by the current situation. Kidnapped from the kidnappers. Unslaved. Freedom within bounds. A cage with a clear, demarcated path to outside. You may leave, but right now you can't. So try hard.

The combination of words, images and concepts held within those last sentences confuse the girl for a bit. Ears and tail twitching, she lies beneath the bed as she tries to comprehend what is going on.