The Parish

Dread and doom filled the box, where inside sat six people cramped to fit the 1x2 space. The box shook as the carriage that was bringing it experienced turbulence on the road.

It was so dark that no one could see. It was damp from the sweat and bodily fluid of them or those before. Smell of blood and piss and rusty metal struck the nose.

The six people looked at each other yet none could or wanted to speak. Most with bodies that seemed to barely be able to even lift a leaf. Bones showing and piercing each other in the cramped place.

Capitulated, defeated and hollow eyes that stared into the abyss and wrinkled lips of gaps that showed no emotion.

The carriage came to a stop.

"It's a batch of new slaves for the church." the coachman talked.

"Of course, carry on and welcome to the Parish of Dalry." Another responded.

Then the carriage shook and moved again. For just a time it needed for a drop of sweat to fall off from the face of its owner.

Creak

The sun blinded the eyes, fresh breeze and air rushed inside the carriage, bringing with it relief. A bald man in monk's clothing, emotionless, looked at them.

"Come out." he commanded.

All 6 came out, the last one out was Hubert.

All around them, crowds of activities from monks and priest and nuns, accompanied by merchants selling their merchandise.

"Follow me" the monk said, accompanied by two guards.

They all subjected, into a building made of stone, standing beside a place looking like a church with a dome over it. While behind them, the carriage that brought them here slowly gained speed and left.

Hubert and the others were led to a wet place, like a bathroom. The guards stripped them of their thin rag made to cloth them. They stood side by side, covering their naked bodies with their weak hands.

Some guards were surprised by the states where Hubert was in, wounds shown clearly, visible to the naked eyes. Scars that were still red and bodies full of square marks made by hot iron branding.

Splash!

The guards threw water at them.

Freshness followed by coldness hit Hubert's skin. It brought a feeling of cleanliness, washing away all his sweat and blood from his body.

Then Hubert and the others were moved to another room to be given clean yet simple clothing, then were told to sit on the ground of an empty room. As the evening sun slowly dimmed out, they waited.

The door opened and came the same monk.

"Welcome to the Church of Visions, this is the Parish of Darly, where you will all spend your entire life here." the monk said to them.

Hubert and the others looked at the monk with a blank stare.

"As we all know, you all came here, full of sin and filth! Yet us, the Church of Visions! Accept you all with forgiveness and warm. We bathe and clothe you, and we will do more and more just to help you accept the Goddess Astia. That She is the forgiving one and most kind!" the monk boasted and boasted.

"Let it be known to the world that the Church of Visions is the only true church where kindness is present!" With a huge smile and hands opened to the side he welcomed all the slaves.

Then some nuns came into the room, bringing with them simple food like soup of corns and potatoes, with a dish of bread for each other.

"Food…" some of them muttered, including Hubert.

As soon as the wooden plates of food was placed on the cold hard floor. Most crowded it, grabbing the bread with their bare hands and dipping it in the soup.

The monk grinned hard while looking at them. The nun did the same.

"Ah… A beautiful sight isn't it my dear sister? We are the servants of the Goddess and we shall feed them like a loving master to their pets!" the monk exclaimed.

Hubert heard this yet he continued to eat and eat, ignoring the monk and nuns. He and the others fought for food.

"Ooh? Are you not going to eat?" the monk questioned, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Hubert heard and then glanced, one of the slaves that came with him, a man with grey hair and untidy facial hair, sat there and drooled. Yet he didn't move a single step from where he originally sat down.

The monk approached the man and smiled.

Bam!

The man was hit by a clean roundhouse kick to the side of his cheek by the monk. Where his head soon fell to the cold floor.

Hubert looked at this but his eyes widened, his hand stopped moving and he looked to the other. Yet he was surprised when he saw them like a hungry, gluttonous demon, devouring the food given to them.

Hubert grabbed a piece bread and then dipped it into the soup, then he crawled to the man that was kicked by the monk. Each movement sent a jolt of pain through his body, but Hubert couldn't ignore the man's suffering.

He extended his arm, meaning to give the bread to the man that laid still on the ground.

The monk looked.

"Eat" Hubert said, his voice soft and weak.

The man smiled, with trembling hands he supported himself into a sitting position. Then he grabbed the bread Hubert meant for him while his eyes gave a sight full of gratitude.

Tears came out from his eyes as he bit on the bread. Hubert smiled and crawled back toward the plates of bread and soup.

"AHAHAHHAHAH!" the monk laughed out loud, yet Hubert didn't give him any attention. He focused on returning toward the food.

Yet he found the 4 of the slaves, lying on the ground, with their bellies filled and the food emptied out of their plates and bowls.

"Such is a sign of camaraderie. A dog gave another food, while forgetting to get some for himself." a nun mentioned.

"Sisters! The goddess is such a loving being, she allowed even animals to be kind to others!" The bald monk said excitedly.

"As expected of the goddess!" the nuns responded.

"Then, shall we bring them to their quarters now?" the monk said with a smile.

The 6 of them were then led out of that room and into another building, a building made of woods for its walls and thatch for its roof. The large door of said place were opened by a couple of guards and they were pushed inside.

The evening sun had just died out.

The building was a large room where two windows high up on the roof could be seen where moonlight leaked into the room. The room were also lighted up by the presence of some torches attached to the walls on the sides of it. Hay covered the floor.

"Oh, we got some newcomers here?" a man said among the crowds.

30 or 40 people were present in that room, all wore the same clothing as Hubert and those that came with him. Most of the crowd looked at them with a warm sight but some simply didn't give a care.

"Come sit here," one of man said. A bald muscular man that sat on a corner that was near the door.

Hubert slowly walked toward him, he thought the others would all follow him, he was wrong. Instead, only one man followed him, the man that he gave a bread to.

The other four observed the room, then they walked to a place in the corner further back in the room. It is obvious, the four have their bellies filled, their muscles enlarged from the before bony state, and their gaze filled with vigor and focus.

"Hey, I'm Robert! Nice to meet you two!" the bald man introduced himself.

"Hubert, n-nice to me-meet you to-too." Hubert responded.

"Ron" The weak man said.

Robert smiled and began talking.

"Welcome to this place, we're all slaves to the church. Have you guys get marked yet?"

"Mark-marked?" Hubert asked.

"Yea, like this!" Robert then raised his left hand. On which the back of the hand was branded by hot iron, in a symbol of V inside circle.

Hubert shook his head from side to side.

"Then you'll probably get them tomorrow. Now, let's go get some sleep, we're supposed to wake up when the rooster crows." Robert mentioned.

---

"Ants! The ants are coming!" A warrior shouted, covered by metal armour, holding a longsword that glinted the torches' light and shield marked with sign of the Church of Visions, V with a line that went through it.

His fellow soldiers heard his warning, side by side, they stood and created a sturdy wall made with their shields. Their sword clenched in their fist. The monks and mages stood behind the wall of shields, holding torches for the light in the dark, damp, narrow tunnel.

The grounds rumbled hard, vibration felt under their feet. A sound like thunder rolled toward them.