Casual Captive

Smack! Thwack!

A fist and a boot pelted Rizz, sending him back against the iron bars. 

"Shut up, monster." The first, most irritated guard spat in Rizz's face. "You will find no mercy here. Not for your filthy kind, nor for such radical beliefs." 

Rizz groaned and rubbed his gut. "Huh–"

"Go! Prepare the cell while I drag him in," the second guard ordered. 

The duo of men worked in unison, jogging and sprinting to get the deed done as quickly as possible. Rizz was pulled across five pairs of cells until he was kicked into the sixth cell on the left. 

"Hey!" Rizz shouted at the men. "You don't believe in the Sage? Then who do you believe in? The Exalted? Or maybe the Cutthroats–"

Th-Thwack!

Another two kicks landed on the goblin's sides. 

"Your blasphemy is unwelcome, fiend," the first guard scoffed, throwing in one more kick after securing Rizz's shackles to the back wall. "No one here is dumb enough to fall for your tricks." 

The second guard held the door open for the first, closing and locking the iron bars once the job was done. "I recommend you be silent, fiend. Lord Rifton is a powerful noble. But he's not known for his patience or mercy. Be grateful to His Perfection that you're breathing at all." 

As the guard duo stepped away, Rizz yelled, "What about my one phone call? And my lunch? I'm starving!" 

The second guard was perplexed by such strange requests. 

Meanwhile, the first guard ignored the first question. He slapped the iron bar and mocked the goblin. "You'll get no supper, fiend. You'll be happy to get one bowl of slop a day. Though I'm sure it'll be the greatest meal such a filthy monster has ever had." 

"Hey! I'm not done talking to you!"

Rizz tried to garner their attention again and again. But it was futile. The duo marched past the other cells and strolled back up the spiral stairwell. 

"I'm over here! Get back here, idiots! Newbs!"

… thud…

From the stairwell, Rizz heard someone punch the stonewall. 

"That's right, NPCs! Run away!"

… th-thud…

Two more punches landed, though from farther away. 

"You fucking newbie NPCs are as smart as you are green!"

... thud…

Rizz believed that he heard yet another smack against the stone. Was likely the door being slammed shut. So he stopped shouting and plopped down onto the floor.

C-Clang! Ro-Roar!

Stumbling mid-drop, Rizz fell halfway onto his back as something charged into the iron bars in the cell across from the goblin. And he finally got to see what else was stuck in the dungeon under the lone, dim torch of the corridor. 

There was a flash of fear in Rizz's eye, for a split second. But it was quickly swapped for a nostalgic smile. "A Frostcat… I guess old Douche-ard ain't as weak as I thought."

The muscular, patch-covered cat ravaged the iron bars as best it could. But there was something locked around its paw. Each of the big cat's claws was covered and restrained, with a matching piece of gear around the beast's mouth. 

While the cat pawed at the bars, unable to reach them with its head thanks to a set of chains, Rizz crossed his legs and paid close attention to the large creature. 

He studied the cat's thick white coat, the loose rings of glacial blue littering its fur, the sub-zero stare from its crystalline white eyes and pure black pupils… All while the big cat could barely growl through the red muzzle on its face. 

Rizz's mind effectively recollected as many details as possible. *The old broad said "Diamond Almighty," which I've never heard about in the game. I've never heard of a nobleman named Rifton. They see the Sage as radical, not that I disagree… None of that helps me much.

*But I hope this little kitty isn't far from home. Cause it's the only clue I've got to work with.*

Failing to see any information on the Frostcat, Rizz sighed. *The fun of starting over… a whole new challenge…*

He thought to himself with a mocking tone. But there was also the glimmer of a mad smile. 

*I'll play along for now, Shady Sage,* the goblin mentally snickered. 

The next moment, Rizz walked as close to the bars as his chain would allow. "HEY! Is there anyone else down here? Speak now or forever be looted!"

Gr-gr-grrrowl! Rat-t-tle…

Rizz heard what sounded like multiple canines of some sort. The noise of rattling chains and weak footsteps came from all sides as well. 

*So we've got people and beasts down here… I'll have to take a head count later to see what I'm working with.*

That's when Rizz reopened his [Achievement System], now with no one to interrupt him and no drastic details that he might miss out on. With but a thought, he opened the main menu.

[Achievement System]

{Status | Inventory | Quests | Skills | Index | Options}

First, Rizz slid down to the {Options} tab. And he was surprised to find exactly what he'd expected. 

Everything was about customizing the system to Rizz's preferences. He could mess with the color of the text, menu screen, font, and more. There was even a noise setting for notifications. 

He only browsed that tab for a minute or two before leaving it all alone and moving on. After all, he could always go back to those options later. 

{Status}

[Partially Enslaved: bound by the curse of the familiar]

Rizz glanced at his low health, mostly from being lv. 1, and skipped over his meager amounts of stamina, mana, and skill points. His eyes were glued to his [Partially Enslaved] condition. 

*Huh. So it's not considered full enslavement.* Thinking, Rizz rummaged through the potential meanings behind that particular wording. 

At the same time, a pair of icy eyes peered through the dark dungeon, examining the strange creature in the opposite cell. While Rizz was busy paying attention to the menus and lines of text, the Frostcat was confused by the small humanoid's behavior. 

Rizz was indeed looking at the Frostcat, yet it didn't feel like that was the case. So the debilitated big cat laid down and kept its frosted gaze honed on the casually sitting goblin.