The Black Pits

It was a rather uneventful day, with darkness surrounding all over.

There were screams all around, of one thing but pain.

It was an odd situation too, how could the honourable and reputed Order of the Black Pits do this?

How could they kidnap an innocent man of common-birth and stash him in a basement like a dirty rag?

What about their reputation? Were they all fake? Were they merely wearing a façade?

Ruiki opened his red eyes in the all-too familiar darkness. It had been six meals since he had been confined in this place.

If he was right, then the meals provided everyday were just the dinner and breakfast.

It signified the routine of the captives — Meal after slumber and meal before slumber.

Although the food wasn't of good quality and merely of the hunted animals in the vicinity, it was meat that was cooked thoroughly so as to not make it chewy, making Ruiki somewhat surprised of the generosity.

Yet again, it was the Noble Order of Black Pits, as worthy of the name.

There wasn't much Ruiki had done after being confined besides counting his days as an inmate.

The captors rarely let the inmates get out of their cells to get a decent walk — although it was a habitual routine for older and special inmates as he had noted.

Most of these special inmates though, he doubted they were humans. Ruiki could bet that he saw their ruby-like eyes glisten even in this laborious darkness.

Special inmates aside, the captors themselves were diligent in their work.

Although they wore the custom-made robe of the Order of Black Pits that he had fawned over when he was a child, they wore at least studded leather armours underneath, lest there was an emergency prison break.

Some even went as far as to wear full plate-mail armours — Ruiki wondered if he'd even be able to stand in those heavy-weighted armours. They looked enchanted on top of that.

This made him doubt if they were mages though, probably hired mercenaries.

It was a surprising thought however, that the Order of Black Pits — whose members were proud to be Wizards raised in their own grounds, also recruited paid mercenaries.

It looked as if the Order of Black Pits was launching a massive operation of some sorts, which he still had to figure out, if he were left alive.

Shifting about on the cold ground, Ruiki heard whooshing sounds near him — those of the tides of the river surging.

And it was probably raining, for the river to gush so loudly that it was audible inside the cave he was in.

Ruiki and many prisoners had already deduced that they were near a river. Perhaps River Strenzo which bore the 'mark of the Undead' as Ruiki heard the prisoners say.

Although the inmates usually chatted at night and played many verbal games, Ruiki was mostly out of it.

In fact, he bet that many inmates thought that he was probably dead if not for the food being slid into his prison cell.

They had tried to commune with him the first and the second day, then, after learning that he was just some seventeen-year old child of common-birth, they had ignored him due to lost interest.

Though Ruiki heard the noises of the games they played at night — which included rock paper scissors and something they played with a chipped rock — he didn't part-take in any.

Although it was a great source of information for him as he heard all sort of rumours and information from the inmates at night, though the inmates didn't particularly talk about insidious or important information — either they didn't know anything about the Order or they were just cautious that the captors were eavesdropping, Ruiki didn't know.

But he had heard all sorts of things from his fellow inmates — to occasional womanising to talks about beers and ale, learning about the various varieties of alcohol present in his surroundings.

He'd also realised that he had paid less attention to his surroundings, for there was a covert inn nearly twenty to thirty metres from his house.

And yes, he did have a family and he had a good relationship with his siblings as well.

Only if he'd had bunked the school on that fateful day, he'd probably be eating supper at home currently...

Kuhum... Realising he had day dreamed enough — far more than someone his age should — he sat up straight, gathering his apprentice robe that he had used as a pillow and patting it, to get rid of the dust.

And yes, he was also an apprentice Wizard of the Iron Wire School, although he was not even barely qualified to be called as a 'Wizard'.

Well, I still have a thesis to prepare. Would've been half-done if I wasn't in this wretched and foul smelling place.

Somehow, his fears of failing to prepare a thesis far overtook his fears of not making out alive, perhaps due to how 'harmonious' the atmosphere was in the prison.

Perhaps because he was still a teenager or because Ruiki had been an inmate for less amount of time than the others, he wasn't subjected to what the other prisoners were.

He was neither taken off to a place for interrogation or experimentation, nor had he been barred from his meals for not answering the guards' questions.

All in all, except for the two meals a day and the lingering boredom, it wasn't so bad.

Ofcourse, he was still worried that his family would be worried about him.

And judging that his captors were the 'honourable' Order of the Black Pits, he doubted he would be released in ransom either.

Not that his family could afford a decent ransom, at the very least.

Even though Ruiki's family were considered as middle-class in terms of wealth due to his mother, he doubted they had much money due to the recently increasing taxes.

Atleast not enough to pay for the wealthy Order of Black Pits which even rivaled the Royal Family in terms of wealth and manpower.

What a messed up situation this is. Waking up in the morning only to be greeted by some rabbit or deer meat thrown at your face. Even the water is salty and filled with suspicious minerals... Ruiki recounted, having started exercising to make sure the food didn't mess him up before he himself messed himself up, atleast.

Thankfully, the meat that was cheaply provided were enough for him to sustain mild exercise and yet be somewhat energetic throughout the day — although with power naps in between.

He was getting skinnier though, he knew.

The food provided were somehow getting worse and worse by each day, their quality diminishing and deteriorating.

The same was for the water which was barely drinkable now due to the black particles filling them.

The last time they had provided him with water, he'd had to take off his shirt to filter and keep the minerals aside.

How laborious... Is this really the Order of Black Pits? What happened to the hospitality you provided for the first three meals?

Well, atleast the meat was thoroughly cooked until it was tinder and easily chewable. He didn't know how long that'd last, though.

Might as well add spices to it. What about some peas and rice alongside? Might as well send me to a buffet if you will...

Not that the order was incapable of doing so. They could probably feed an entire town for months, lest a lone prisoner or prisoners.

Having had vented his frustration enough, Ruiki wore back his apprentice' robe, rubbing his eyes that had turned red due to some affliction.

Going near the horizontally barred gate, he slowly stood and watched over.

Since it was early morning, prisoners were first taken away for questioning, and depending on the prisoners actions and answers did they get their breakfast.

Ruiki watched on, the lamp the guards' held increasing his visibility.

"Come fast," the guard chided, dragging a sickly pale man alongside him. "We don't have all day. It's either this or no meals till death."

The guard who held the sickly pale and skinny man by his shoulder and supported him looked at his companion, who brought another batch of prisoners before nodding and proceeding onwards.

As Ruiki watched and waited, the guards soon arrived from the opposite side, their lamps illuminating their surroundings and casting shadows.

Ruiki saw that despite their fears, the prisoners started cursing and mocking the guards, throwing some black stones they had somehow gotten at them.

But the guards continued on nonchalantly, their armours protecting them from the weak barrage.

Resigned, Ruiki saw that the inmates soon gave up as the captors reached out of their view.

The prison was a long passage with prison cells on the sides. So the visibility was limited, counting on the darkness.

"Hey," One of the prisoners called out to his friends. "I think old man Barley is going to die. He hasn't eaten anything for days,"

"Tsk," another one clicked their tongue,"I'd say It's well deserved. If he wasn't so stubborn and yielded, he wouldn't have gotten himself in trouble."

Ruiki opened his mouth, feeling it was dry.

"What was he imprisoned for?" He asked, surprising a few inmates.

"Ah, the ghost-child finally talks," The inmate who was captured in the cell in front of Ruiki said. "We had thought you were dead, you know. If It weren't for I, Arviese, in front of you, we would've very well thought that you were."

After a few seconds, the voice sounded in front of him again while the others grew silent.

"Old man Barley was imprisoned for illegal use of magic," the voice came in front of him. The voice contained a trace of anger though it sounded calm.

"Barley was a street vendor who had somehow learned spells even without visiting any magic schools," the voice began. "Although it is illegal, it isn't a crime that's worth imprisoning someone and... Torturing them."

The sounds of muffled breath sounded, the inmates next to him weren't happy either.

"Hmph," One of them harrumphed, Ruiki guessed it was his neighbour, placed in the prison cell beside him. "How ridiculous, I used to watch the parades of the Black Pits Order of 'the highest Nobility' with my son, who knew they were so rotten deep inside."

"Going as far as slave trade to other regions..."

Ruiki gripped the prison bars, his breathing hoarse as he asked, "They declared themselves as politically neutral, right?"

"Everyone does that these days kid," The inmate in front of him named Arviese said. "Magic schools who aspire to only research magic and nothing else, yet they find themselves in the midst of a political brawl the other day."

"Such are the days we live in."

His voice resounded across the grim prison, the inmates' expressions contorting fiercely.

But before they could say anything more, they heard a bang, sound in the distance.

"Ah, ahhh!"

Ruiki looked around and recognised the voice as Arviese's, but soon similar screams died out his voice.

What's happening? Ruiki soon found out the reason, for his right foot suddenly sunk in the ground, aligning with another bang sound.

Ruiki's pupils dilated, unable to see anything in the darkness, as all he could assume was that the ground had split open.

Damn it!

He tried to grab something and jump off, but that was in vain as he realised the ceiling itself was collapsing.

Going against the flow would be suicide... Resolving himself, he jumped as high as he could and stomped down with all his might.

In the end, he didn't know if it helped or not but he was somewhat glad that his footing disappeared wholly and he felt himself free fall into the unknown depths.