Then it was just that—an unforeseen event. As such, it went on with a Splash of water on my face. A cold bucket was emptied on me with a jerky movement. My black hair was plastered on my forehead and my face was dripping with water.
Feeling the disagreeable, chilling sensation of the cold water on my body, my body came to with a quickened heartbeat. I was awake only then. And my mind was still blurry enough. After I was assaulted by the cold sensation of water on my head, shoulders, and chest, my eyes were shot open and I looked all around me frantically.
The tiny bit of lucidity and panic that seized me, albeit only superficially, let me quickly know about my situation, and about the bucket of cold water that had been splashed on me. The water wasn't so cold, but I guess, as my dizzy mind wasn't expecting the freezing water, I felt the cold sensation in a more dramatic way. The heart pounding in my chest was fighting so hard that my breathing grew ragged instantly.
I was irritated, mostly. And so, all in the same fashion, my eyes were now moving around the room I was in with irritation. As they shot open, I hastily began to scan my surroundings. My first function ever, back when I was about to be created, was to collect information. Today, too, it was what I'd do right away, then.
On top of all the feelings related to my being lost and probably in danger, there was one feeling that was stronger than the others. Yes. Irritation. Looking around, with knitted brows and flared-up eyes, I felt oh-so-annoyed. I had many questions: What the hell was going on? Did someone or something want to have at me? Did someone think I was weak? Did someone really think they could take away my life from me? Again? To all these questions, some part of me answered "I'll show 'em."
Still, that answer wasn't nearly enough to quell my irritation. If anything, the answer my mind produced only served to aggravate my mind further. Somehow, maybe irritation was key, here. So maybe I had better keep fueling it.
Anyway, I had just come to. Aside from the panicked "Huff!" I let out on waking up, I didn't say anything more. A handful of seconds after I came to, I then fully understood where I was, how I most likely came or was brought here, and why I was tossed cold water in the face. My eyes then rapaciously scanned every obstacle they could get their teeth onto. By doing this, the goal was obviously to deepen my understanding of my situation. What kind of place was I in? What kind of people surrounded me? How does all of that situation involve me being here? Should it be simply about that quest the System issued, "You passed da test!"?
I didn't like this situation. Far from that, actually. It reminded me of my first day. The thick reddish hand that tossed the water at my face wasn't the only object thrown at me. Observing and assessing eyes were there, too, as they wildly yet calmly danced around me. The observing eyes calmly rested under the large brows and dense eyelids.
Many, many, a great many pairs of eyes were shot at me or rather thrown at me. And so, in the same fashion the cold water invited me to glare daggers at the crazy demi-human who tossed it at me, the staring eyes quite irritated me too. And so, should I ask the misters? The hell was going on here?
At first, the eyes danced about the room: they jumped from looking at me to eyeing their comrades, over and over again. Now, they stopped that. With a tacit agreement, they all decided to immediately call off the dancing, and instead stare at the monster thingy in front of their eyes.
Some wondered whether the boy-looking thing could really be a gift to the Warchief, and some others didn't dare ask the question, knowing perfectly well that if some guy doubted the value of this gift, they simply weren't looking closely enough. Still, it wasn't like they didn't have questions of their own. "Where was such a monster first sighted, and can it really be an ally to the demi-human?" was most likely the most popular question among the speculative minds.
Like this, not letting go of me, every demi-human present wondered about the monster in some kind of way. Being as insistent as ever, they all seized me. I said it already, but I didn't like that. What were those eyes even searching for? Why were they so staring?
And, of all eyes, these unsettling and ugly ones ought to be the ones staring at me? Well, to answer another question, my initial question, I understood I shouldn't focus on the eyes so much. It had been, what, maybe ten seconds since I came to my senses, and the eyes weren't helping.
On a chair, I was exposed for all to see, like some rare goods in an auction or something. From that place, I made my observations and collected info. Around me, there were walls, but they could hardly be called walls. They weren't especially run-down or anything, however, they simply weren't as sturdy and established as real walls. The unknown structure didn't have a ceiling, and the walls were simple sets of ropes and rods made into empty panels that were coated with beast skins and leathers. It was a crude-looking tent of some sort. With no ceiling, thankfully the sun reached me and my tunic. I was soaked with water, so I appreciated the sensation. The sun beat down on both me and the uncovered soil beneath my feet. Two words were fitting, then—wild and untamed. The place was not even and poorly established. The planted sticks and rods, meagerly propping up the walls, threatened to break down at any time.
I mentioned I rested on a chair. Well, I was being trapped, I think. My chair was at least sturdy and of good quality. I could wriggle around and it didn't shatter under my weight. My ankles were fastened to the forelegs, and my wrists to the chair arms. I could try and move, but I wouldn't break free without strengthening myself with mana.
Or well, I could simply undo my human form, slip away from the chair, and grow back into a human after I'm through the jail. Wondering about the quest the System gave me, saying I passed the demi-humans' test, I knew to stay calm for now and not break free. I didn't think I was in danger, and besides, as an adventurer-wannabe, I had to pause and appreciate this kind of adventure.
I was still dripping and soaked in water. "Achoo!"
"OH…! Oh, oh, oh!"
Everything was good: the crazy orc who knocked me out seemed crazy as ever, so it was fine. As I sneezed and wrinkled my nose, he jumped all around me with a chant of Oh oh oh, looking quite like a monkey. He had just emptied a bucket on me, but then he still slid the bucket above my head, and slowly flipped it over. A cold trail of water rained on me again and I clicked my tongue. Redoing his Oh oh oh jumping dance and stuff, I ignored the crazy orc and turned my attention to the third element of this setting. I spoke about the poor settlement, then myself, and now the other folks around.
Mostly, those were orcs. I could make out two groups. My group, the group of the prisoners, and the other group of the sturdy-looking beasts. The staring veil of eyes was the orcs' thing. What did they want? I passed the test, but then what?
"Achoo!" I sneezed again.
"Oh! …Oh! Yoh!" Amused, the orc, who, unlike the other demi-humans, stood right next to me, redid the gesture of slowly bringing the bucket of water above my head and flipping it over. This time, there was barely any water left. The orc who held the bucket was a familiar orc. He was the one who earned me my ticket to this place.
Even though they seemed to all look the same—that orc, and some others, stood out, somehow. Was it their aura? I didn't know. Aura or not, I could also distinguish him from the others with the heavy bluish tattoo that went from the top of his skull down to his eye, imitating a wide scar.
With the same big tattooed face and bald head, the demi-human brought his face closer to me, as I was kept seated on my chair. He bent his long and thick body over, like a growing tree bowing down, and stuck his face right next to mine, as he stared at me from the closest station with his enormous blinking eyes.
With a blank expression, I turned my face to meet his eyes. His face seemed bemused by something. A certain sense of nausea invaded me, but I wouldn't lose the staring contest. The creature was hideous. It was hard to stare at it from this up close, but I held it fine.
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