Cenreny woke up some time later with the gag still in her mouth. She was lying down on her stomach, but could feel the ground she was on moving. When she tried to get up, she immediately hit her head on a wooden board, and opened her eyes. She was in a wooden cage with steel bars surrounding the outside attached to two wooden boards on the top and bottom. It was just big enough for her to lie fetal style in, she couldn't sit up or stretch her legs. Outside of her little prison she could see many other boxes and crates. From what she could figure out, she was in the back of a supply cart.
She decided the first thing to do was to try and get out. There was a stretch of metal spanning from the bottom of the cage to the top, and Cenreny realized that it must be there to keep the top of the cage fastened on. That meant that there was a lock on the top of the cage!
Cen tested the width of the bars, and was able to get her hand out of the cage up to her elbow. It wasn't enough to reach the top of the cage, however, and she sighed in despair through her gag. Her gag… her hands were free… Cenreny realized this at once, and quickly took the gag off. Maybe she could use that to get to the top of the box?
Sticking her arm back through the bars of the cage, she tried to use the fabric to get a hold of the lock. Suddenly, she felt and saw an indigo wrist grab her own. It was Gruffvoice.
"Dro phu'dos? Usstan zhal'la plynn dos doeb d'gaer lueth elgg dos." She heard him sigh. "Jhal Anaziroth orn'la naut izilt nindel iz mzilt iz usstan. Kyorl gaer rothe, lueth usstan yorn alu inbau dosst sel Jabbuk."
Letting go of her arm, Cenreny was left alone again. She couldn't understand a word they were saying, but could get the gist of it from the facial expressions and the tone of voice. She knew that Gruffvoice didn't like her, and was probably going to get a nasty weapon to kill her. She didn't know what the sigh had been about, but saw Gruffvoice come back with YellowRobe, and realized that he must have been dissapointed that YellowRobe was so nice to her.
Indeed, the first glance YellowRobe gave her way had been almost kind. Gruffvoice was looking at her like she was something that the clockworks had dragged in, but YellowRobe looked rather pleased.
"Bel'la dos, Acaesean. Usstan talinth nindel dos phu'ssrig'luinus folvel'klar." YellowRobe said to Gruffvoice. She saw Gruffvoice leave, and YellowRobe sat himself on the back of the supply cart. He picked up her cage and placed it on another crate, so that they both could see eye to eye.
"You speak Gnomish, do you not?" YellowRobe said to her in her native language. Surprised, Cenreny gasped and nodded.
"What is your name?" YellowRobe asked her kindly. Cenreny didn't know how to respond. She was about to swear at him for killing her father and kidnapping her, but realized that he was being kind to her while everyone else wasn't, and decided to cooperate.
"C-cenreny…" Cen said softly.
"Well, Cenreny, I am Anaziroth. You will not, however, call me that. You must be confused… yes, you look it. I will explain. Your life has been spared, by me, due to my need of another servant. You shall fit nicely, as I need someone small and un-noticeable."
Cenreny lay quietly as she thought about his words. She was going to become his servant? A servant of a Dark Elf. The very thing her mother had always warned her about. Cenreny hung her head and stared at the ground. She missed her mother. She missed her home. But most of all, she missed her father, because she knew she'd never be able to return to him. If she was to become a servant, she might be able to escape one day and return home, but she'll never see her father again. Sniffling softly, she tried to stop her tears, but wasn't able to until they had fallen. Then, realizing she was still being watched, she tried to change the subject.
"Where am I?" She asked softly.
"You are in the supply cart of a small unit of troops in the Lesser Faydark. We are searching for a band of Light Elves who we've had reports of. Soon, we shall be entering the Greater Faydark, and then we will be teleported back home to Neriak. That won't be for days, however, so prepare yourself to spend some time in your little cage. I shall arrange for you to be fed, and I shall let you out a few times a day. Be warned, though. You will stay by my side and do as I say or you will be killed. There is only so much I can do to keep Acaesean away from you, so do not provoke him. If you try to escape, you will be found, and I shall have to kill you. So don't do it."
YellowRobe, or Anaziroth as he now was called, looked at her sternly and she could see that he would have no problems what-so-ever with her demise. Shivering, she tried to back away from him, but wasn't able to move very far. Remembering one of the first things he told her, she looked at him curiously.
"What should I call you then, if not by your name?"
"I am your Master now, and you shall call me that. You shall also give me the respect that comes with the title. During the next few days I shall begin training you for servitude, and you would do well to listen and try to pick up on our language. You seem intelligent enough."
Anaziroth then lent over to her cage, and undid the lock. Once it was undone, he opened the lid of the cage, and Cenreny immediately tried to stand up. She hadn't realized how much blood her legs had lost in the position they were in, and fell back down into the cage. Anaziroth grabbed her arm firmly and pulled her out of the cage. He then slipped a length of rope around her neck, like a leash, and tied her arms tightly behind her back. She was uncomfortable, but realized that it would be very hard to escape when she was bound like this. Then, tying the other end of the leash rope around his wrist, he set her on the ground and stood up.
"From now on I shall only speak to you in my language, unless we are alone. Just so you know, vrine'winith means stop, nau means no, flohlu means follow, and rothe means slave. Ji flohlu ussa, rothe." Anaziroth said to her and pulled the leash hard, making her follow him whether she wanted to or not.
"Alive are you? I should take you out of there and kill you. But Anaziroth would not appreciate that as much as I. Wait there, slave, and I'll go get your new master."
"Thank you Acaesean, I think that you are needed somewhere."
"So follow me, slave."