The chase

He had found her, found Alice!

After getting directions from the thief in the alley and cleaning himself at a horse basin, Krage had made his way into the slave market, deciding to act oblivious to the smell of excrement that was practically atomizing his sensitive nose and going inside.

Thankfully it was far quieter than the clustered main streets and he was able to easily perceive his surroundings. However when he had arrived he had been surprised by the sheer size of the place, the market itself stretched for hundreds of meters across the peer and went from the docks to the housing area of the area. Cages, some the size of houses and others boxes sized were stacked everywhere, some housing people and others animals he had never "seen" before.

They were built in lines that created isles for people to walk through, perusing the wares like one would a jewelry stall or food stall. Some areas were filled with old humans staring passionately at younger female and male slaves and others were filled with extremely perfumed women looking for workers

All up, it was a clear depiction of human cruelty. Showing how humans would happily cause and allow the suffering of those below and above them if it benefited their wants, needs, and lusts

And after a few hours he had finally found who he was looking for, Alice

She was sitting in a medium-sized cage, surrounded by similar boxes and cells being loaded onto a ship! Her small frame holding onto the large bars of her prison as she stood, unmoving and glaring at the surrounding people of the slave market, even from the distance he was standing Krage could clearly see her mana, it was bright and burning like the sun, erratic and explosive, effecting her surroundings and heating them as Krage could see through his new eye.

Dropping the stick he had been using, he made chase, running as fast as he could after the now moving girl as her cage was placed upon a nearby ship. He had shortened the distance between himself and the ship to ten meters, using the sound of his slamming feet to see, when it began to move, the wind filling its sails

Ignoring the pounding of his heart and the aching of his legs Krage ran, chasing the large slave career down the dock, jumping over boxes filled with exotic creatures and past the slaves who were screaming at him, some yelling encouragement and others curses

He evaded a small group of guards and used a food stall as a step up onto a nearby roof, internally panicking as he did so, jumping from tiled roof to roof and keeping alongside the large ship, but he soon encountered a problem

The ship was getting faster!

And he was running out of rooftop!

Trying to focus his ragged breaths and push himself, he forced his stiffening legs to go faster and faster!

Ten meters of dock left!

He let the shoes he had stolen drop off, using even his small toes to push him forward and hissing as the discarded rocks and glass of the dock stuck to the soles of his feet

5 meters left!

He pulled out the small knife from his belt, the one he had taken from the thief's corpse

2 meters

He took in a deep breath

0 meters!

He reached the end of the rooftop and the beginning of the drop into the sea and he jumped! He flew for a few meters, towards the ship, its back now showing to him, and slammed his knife into it!

He felt the wind get knocked out of him as he crashed into the hardwood of the ship and barnacles cut into the flesh of his feet but he held on. Clinging to the stuck knife with his good arm and refusing to let go

Thankfully he didn't have to hold on long as the rising anchor came up below him, allowing him to grab ahold and be lifted inside the ship threw the hole it was attached to and bringing him aboard

As he climbed threw, he layed on the hard and wet floor of the interior of the boat, catching his breath. He could feel his heart against his chest, pounding and his legs hurt so badly that he felt faint.

After a few moments however he pulled himself up, sitting against the wall, feeling it rocking side to side as he did so, and began to inspect his wounds, while he couldnt see anymore, due to the ship's low temperature and clear lack of mana he could still manually feel along his legs, feeling the familiar warm liquid that was blood and the separations of his skin

Nothing lethal, hurt like hell though, the seawater had seen to that

Letting out a breath he let his head drop against the back of the wall, the adrenaline of his body quikly leaving only to be replaced by the cold of damp clothes and the smell of excrement, likely due to the combined efforts of the slaves and slavers

However, he did not rest long

Suddenly in the dark, he heard a sound, crackling and buzzing constantly and getting louder. He felt the hairs across his body rise and fall, his body vibrating slightly as it increased in level. Eventually, the sound reached a crescendo, so loud that he could feel it pulsing in his body

Electricity?

And as he opened his eyes and saw a large form running toward him, he realized

He was under attack

And it had mana!

[???? pov]

hungry

Hungry!

Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry Hungry Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry Hungry Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry Hungry Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry Hungry Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry! Hungry! Hungry Hungry! Hungry!

….

….

…

.

.

.

.

No food?

But… hungry

…

…

.

.

Please food?

..

.

.

….

Boy? Food?

Food!

FOOD!!!!!!