The life of an adventurer was never dull. That's what you were told, and ever since you were young, you believed it. From the first time you had heard the stories, becoming an adventure was a dream of yours. You had come from a small family in the city, but it meant here were plenty of opportunities for you to train and learn. Many seemed to pass by, and your hometown, Ganecia, always seemed to be a busy hub for them. You got to see many stopping, some fresh out from their first days and others clearly more experienced and toughened. You heard their stories, and you couldn't help but dream about it as you were growing up.
You took every chance you had to try and train, as a result. A bit of swordsmanship here, a bit of archery there, some time out in the woods nearby... You had even managed to learn a small bit of magic from the mages who liked to show off. Although you couldn't do anything nearly as flashy as some of the people you had seen, you had gotten comfortable enough to do a few small tricks.
So, when you had come of age, one of the first things you did was set off on your own. Your parents had worried, of course, but you had made your mind up, so they chose to send you off well instead of having you run off on your own. As a result, when you had decided that you would start looking around at the list of jobs available to adventurers, you had their support. The one you picked was a few days away, and it was simply to investigate and report a possible group of unlawful slavers.
It didn't seem like that big of a job. It was purely investigation, and the reward for it was relatively small. However, it seemed to stick in your mind. While there was a small, legal trade for living creatures, the laws and regulations in it made it difficult to deal with. There was supposedly a much larger underground market, where even humans could be moved. Few people tended to worry about individuals suffering under it, and only traffickers had to worry a lot about it.
At least, that's what you had heard. Ganecia was large enough to be fairly well regulated, and you could never remember seeing anybody like that. However, even though all you ever heard were rumors, the idea of it always unsettled you. Now was a good chance for you to start looking into it, so you had decided to start traveling immediately.
You didn't have that much on you. It was only a bit of food and some traveling supplies, along with a small bag of coins. The only weapons you had on you were a light spear, a bow, and a hunting knife. They were the tools that you could afford to take with you, and while it wasn't much, you were comfortable with each of them.
The first few days were straightforward, and gave you plenty of time to get used to things. It was a fair amount of traveling, with a bit of hunting for small game when you had a chance. It really didn't seem like anything extraordinary, and quite honestly, by then, you were wondering how other adventurers passed their time like this. However, even though it felt a bit slow, you were happy to just be out on your own.
However, on the fourth day, you had made contact. It seemed as though the rumors were good. You had managed to catch a glance of something while you were trying to get dinner. You could hear a couple of quiet voices, and tried to take the opportunity to sneak in closer, listening in.
".... out of all of them. I mean, seriously? We were lucky enough to catch him, we should've gotten a better job. Instead, we're stuck out here, waiting for a guy that might take a week to show!" The voice seemed to come from a rather burly-looking man, hauling a heavy iron axe and only wearing a few light bits of armor. He didn't look like too much, and seemed more like a wood-cutter than a slaver.
However, the other man made the scene rather clear. "Quit whining. You're getting plenty to sit out here, aren't you?" He took a sip from a wineskin as he glanced around the area. His equipment was laying nearby, but he seemed to have numerous weapons within reach, and was wearing simple clothing to try to blend in with the area.
"Not for days!" You heard the clanging of a bit of metal, before the grainy-sounding voice spoke again. "I told you we'd be early. Why would you think it's a good idea for us to be stuck, waiting in the middle of nowhere for days with something this valuable?"
"You know you don't want to keep our buyer waiting." He responded in a slightly fearful tone. "We were lucky enough to catch this guy, and the buyer's known to be reliable. And we both know how he is with timing."
"Grr..." The sound of someone kicking at the ground passed through the forest. "Meanwhile, we have to keep an eye on him like a couple of sitting ducks. The sound of metal hitting metal rang out, and you managed to move enough to see a rather well-armored man kicking a cage.
Your eyes widened as you looked into the cage. You couldn't help muttering to yourself as you took a good look. "No way... A Krethid."
At first glance, you had thought that it was a hawk. The head certainly seemed to fit, and you could see a light brown, feathered coat moving down from his neck, stretching into a pair of wings. However, it was far too big to be a normal bird. As you tried to get a better look, you could see his arms coming in from his shoulders, his talons bound together tight on the end. His wings were draped over his body, but you could see his legs against the ground. Enough though many of his features were birdlike, the majority of his body was shaped like a human, though he seemed worn and weak. Some of the feathers flowing down from his arms seemed to be poking at odd angles, and he had a hard time moving them about.
You swallowed as the bird looked at the ground, trying to avoid his captors' gazes. He seemed to quietly glance around the area, but his eyes stopped moving when they moved into your direction. You tensed a little, and tried to mouth out a few words to him. However, before you had the chance to say any more...
"Hey! There's some guy over here!"
You nearly jumped as you heard one of the men shout. You tried to get free and pull at one of your weapons, just grabbing for whichever you could reach. However, the brush you were in caught against your arm, and it took you too long. By the time you had managed to get your bow out, the big guy had managed to get close, smashing it into two pieces with his axe before pinning you onto the ground.
"Hmmm... What have we here... Looks like a little kid decided to try to spy on us..." He had a rather amused grin as he sat onto you, holding you tight against the ground. "Who are you, little boy?" He asked with a condescending tone.
You shot him a quite glare, but you weren't going to say another word. There was no point in giving anything away to them. You gasped as you felt him giving your face a firm smack, knocking it against the dirt. "Idiot." He looked up at his companion, yelling a bit. "Hey, what should we do with him?"
"Toss him in the cage, too. We can deal with him after our sale."
You grunted as you felt him pulling you up, yanking your pack and weaponry from your body and tossing it onto the ground before moving. "Looks like he's only got cheap stuff... I doubt anybody will be looking for him..."
You swallowed as you saw him working on opening the cage door, trying to think of a plan. The avian was looking at the ground again, his talons bound by a few ropes and his wings awkwardly bent as he seemed to move a little bit.
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