021: Discrimination To Monster

It wasn't up to 30 minutes later that Cao Lin returned to the igloo cell flanked by two bulls… bull men? Minotaur? Taurens? There was a specific name that they were called, but for the life of him Divyat could not recall it. And beyond anything it was most probably due to the extreme fear that was still permeating his bones. Nevertheless they both carried him up by both arms, while Cao Lin watched on with an impassive look on her face, yet the smile hanging at the edge of her lips spoke volumes of her mood… it was particularly upbeat. Divyat could not help himself as he growled at her, his rage at being betrayed and had for a fool directed completely at her.

"First of Divy boy, I'm a Rakshasa. My wiles are even more deadly than a snakes, and secondly you shouldn't fall for every sob story a pretty woman tells you. And while yes to a certain extent I did tell you the truth, the reality is a little bit far from what was earlier told. For example the Cao clan rules this hideout, and I am the first daughter of the Hideout's Enforcer. Amongst other things I'm the resident doctor, scientist, and all around big sister to many youngsters looking to make their way up in the ways of banditry, espionage and just all round having the ability to cause chaos. So now that I've caught you up to speed, it's time you meet everyone else, now come along, a new adventure awaits!"

Divyat wanted to eat her head or something… maybe bite would have been a better word to use… eating her head seems… beastly. Either way he was not allowed to be caught up in his thoughts for too long as he was dragged outside and for the first time in about two weeks, he was face to face with the unforgiving harsh glare of the sun. And beyond that he felt an onslaught of Qi as he left the prison cell, his meridians seemingly pulsing in excitement as, they finally had access to Qi. It made Divyat confused but at the same made him realize that while he was in that room, Qi was tightly sealed out and completely absent. Which was probably why it took him so long to heal, assuming he was outside, then by all means the process would have been even faster.

Even if he was being dragged along, Divyat was still startled enough that his pause caused the Bull-men to stop, allowing him to get acclimated with the sunlight, and the view in front of him. He was on a hill on top of a vast snowy landscape. There were more hills in the distance, with multiple buildings cropping up, many of them surprisingly enough were not igloos like the cell he had just escaped. Normally Divyat would describe a landscape like this a plateau, but from the look of things it was obvious they were on a mountain peak, and one that was shaped like a bowl that's had one side chipped all the way to the bottom, creating one entrance into what seemed to be a mountain peak valley, and one that was quite large if he might add.

There was enough space here for the buildings, and even on the walls of the mountain peak, structures of different kinds have already been built, to either serve as housing, or more entrance into the tunnels where it looks like mining operations were being carried out. There was a massive building far in the distance, an exquisite three story abode that looked more like a palace or a major, and in-between his location and that building was an extremely large town. Calling this place a hideout was not wrong, but it had enough space to be considered a city, but obviously from how haphazard everything looks, city planning was not at the forefront when they settled here.

"Come along human!" Cao Lin said to Divyat, inclining her head to the side as the Bull-men pulled him along.

Divyat watched in awe as races he had only ever seen in the pages of a book popped up and out, one after the other to watch as he was led across the town. He even noticed the ever elusive dwarves, they were supposed to be extinct too! Wiped out during the last altercation they had with eagle demon clan almost 8 thousand years ago. But here they were and they….

*Ptui!*

A thick wad of saliva flew out of the mouth of the dwarf he was looking at and hit him right in the face. And that seemed to be the only signal they needed as spot, stones, rotten eggs and food were thrown every which way, the call of filthy human and monster going about every which way. Stimulation like this was almost too much for Divyat, this time it wasn't anger but anguish as he felt almost pushed to tears. Once again most would be reminded that even with everything he has gone through, Divyat was still just a fifteen year old boy with absolutely no knowledge about the way the world truly works.

But be that as it may, this was a shocking development, and he felt terrible. But beyond the grief was the anger, he kept his head down, his anguish slowly shifting into rage as he cursed at all of them from within the depths of his mind. It was not as if he wanted to be here, it was not as if he had a choice in any of the things that had happened so far. Yet they all want to act like he was some monster? Well fuck them! It is them who were monsters! They were the ones so horrible they caused all of humanity to band against them, driving them into the Ghadovara mountain range. Not a single one of them has any fucking right to judge him, and even worse many of them are all descendants of the humans who had originally come to map the mountains. They were unworthy of Judging him and treating him like this, they were all bastards! All monsters!

Nevertheless, that was how Divyat's trek through their snow laded streets was. There were many children to be noticed, along with quite a few old people. He also took time to notice the lack of distinct architecture in their buildings. They all seem to be styles from either different eras, or different empires all together. But right next to it was distinct lack of proper hygiene, and looking at the annoyed look on Cao Lin's face as she wrinkled her nose and walked past a few houses that had either excrement at the side of the street or, had dirt laying about without properly disposing of it. It was shocking enough that such a place was hidden in the Ghadovara mountains, heck this was just one of many. But in the end even with that achievement, this place still leaves quite a lot to be desired.

Nonetheless, they continued their work, moving ahead through the stench, and the ridicule, while invariably a small crowd formed behind them, following after just to see what the fate of the human would be. And on they went until they got to the opposite end of the valley where the massive major was located. In front of it ,there was an open courtyard, where men and women were training, there was an open arena, and then a small dais where a massive red skinned humanoid with really elaborate and large horns sat down, watching the training as the bastard Naga geezer that almost killed him whispered softly into his ears in a submissive tone….guess he was finally meeting the Boss. What could possibly go wrong this time.