3

Upon seeing your face drop Palaemon quickly stammers out a compliment, "Now, now... I-... it fits you! You look really manly, you know? You look like a tough soldier!", you can't help but...

despise this style of hair already. Why would they cut our hair like this? It serves no practical purpose and it just makes my head colder", you groan after having said your piece and you feel a creeping sense of irritation. You can't help but move your fingers to massage your temples in an attempt to stop the headache making its way through your head. "This situation is shitty to put it bluntly. Palaemon, did you and the others at least try to... I don't know, probe the windows or something?", your gaze shoots up to the person you just questioned, who avoids your gaze as if it was a blade. You can't believe this.

As if on cue to distract you, Palaemon's large hand extends down to help you up. You begrudgingly grab a hold of his hand and pull yourself up. "We haven't, but I doubt there is any chance of finding a way out of this. Unless you happen to... I don't know, take out a big axe? We don't have any pockets, though, or any storing space...", Palaemon seems to trail off in thought and you find yourself questioning the very logic of everything he just said. Quite frankly, it just confuses you even further and you decide to take a good look around yourself once more instead, but find nothing of note to add to your previous observations. Most of the youths seem to either be asleep, or just completely ignoring you now that the 'tantrum' (as that Acacius would probably describe it) of yours is over.

Now that you're on your feet and since they failed to at minimum check for any possible weakspots, you may as well proceed to take a look at the barred windows or through them. The cage itself resembles a small prison cell, and it has two barred windows paired with a reinforced wooden door. You make your way to the right window, underneath which a threatening youth sits, but they don't appear to even acknowledge you as you run your fingertips over the wood around the steel bars of the window. It's robust and most definitely it isn't something you can simply pry apart. The outcome of your hunt for a potential escape is already evident before you even test the reinforced wooden door.

Great. Your only choice at this point is to peek through the barred windows to at least acquire a basic picture of where you are. It may even provide you with a hint as to your final destination...

Next

One look is all it takes to know: you are in the northern regions. If you haven't been unconscious for a long time, you'd suppose it should be summer, which is Sol's grace period. You doubt it has been that long, though. Why the northern regions? Even though it's summer, it's rather cold and wet, which is a recurrent motif throughout most of the north. The key clue, though, is the dense forest you appear to be traveling through on the cart. They are undoubtedly the thick, imposing forests seen in the northern regions - despite not being quite as terrifying as some myths have it - they are nevertheless a good indication of one's location. After all, they are to blame for The Border's reputation as a slaughterhouse and the fact that even the biggest Imperium known to humankind has been unable to successfully expand beyond it. At least, that's what they say.

It occurs to you that as darkness falls, they may transition into the forests of terror. What's worse is that even if you manage to escape, there's a high likelihood you won't be capable of survival in these woodlands. Unless you manage to stumble into a settlement, of course, but depending on fortune is a gamble. Regrettably, this gamble may include your time on earth as a stake, and you are not yet ready to wager it. There is still so much for you to learn and encounter. Essentially, the world is still yours to explore, and you still have all of life to live.

You can't help but grimace at this point... what have you gotten yourself into? If it meant having even the slightest chance to surviving, you'll bet your life. You're not going down without a fight. Your body seems to be flooded with a dosis of energy as your eyes narrow and you experience a fierce sense of purpose. Well, there's no use in dwelling on it any longer; instead, you should probably take a cue from your fellow captives to get some sleep before arriving wherever. As a result, you choose the lone open space, which is clearly yours to occupy, and make your best effort to rest.