Barbarianlestia

>As you come into consciousness, you feel pain
>Everywhere
>Everything hurts
>Your very bones ache, and the burning pain in your lungs tell you that you had just vomited sea water very recently
>You could feel wet sand pressed up against your body
>You were soaked through the bone, all of your clothes hanging loosely off your frame
>It felt like a giant had picked you up and shook you like a ragdoll
>You were in so poor a state that you couldn't even let out a groan
>Go out on a sea voyage they said...
>It was just like coasting up and down the rivers, they insisted...
>Hell, a months pay was double out on sea, you had been told...
>Well, if you weren't almost positive that those fuckers were at the bottom of the ocean right now you'd be having some very unpleasant words with them
>Oh sure, it had started off well enough
>The weather had held, and the winds had been fair
>The crew to the ship had smelled a bit worse than what you were used to--which was fucking saying something, since you had crewed many a filthy, mangey ship in your time--but they seemed alright enough fellas
>The captain was a bit of a cunt though
>Never came out of his cabin to help the crew, and did his best to rhyme whenever he talked
>He could never quite manage it, though no one had the heart to tell him
>He had wanted to go west, through the dead seas
>Something about finding a new spice trade route and making his fortune
>It hadn't gone as planned
>You had barely made it into those cursed seas when the weather had turned
>There had been nothing that any of you could do
>When you pulled down the sails all three of the masts had exploded into kindling
>Holes in the hull, from rocks, from animals, from the sea itself, had come on so quickly that the crew couldn't patch it quick enough
>The most you all had been able to do was swallow one last mouthful of rum down while the ship sank
>And now here you were

>Wherever here was
>Knowing this sea, it was probably an island of man eating beasts...
>Or worse...
>A wave swelled around you, making its way up to your face
>You sputtered as sea water filled your mouth
>A rush of energy filled you
>You had survived a shipwreck, it would be a damned shame if you drowned when there was perfectly good, safe land just a few feet away
>Hopefully
>Slowly, you picked your head up, taking a deep breath of water-free air
>As the water receded, you let it flop back down onto the ground
>You lifted a hand up, driving it into the wet sand in front of you and pushing yourself forward
>Your other hand came next, and soon you were slowly crawling forwards
>As you crawled, you were pleased to find that you were pretty whole all things considered
>Everything still hurt like hell and you could have drank a barrel of water, but nothing seemed broken
>A few cuts here and there, some parts were sunburn, and it felt like you had one hell of a splinter between your ribs, but better than dead
>Another delight presented itself as your hands began shifting through drier and drier sand
>That meant that you were on a proper beach
>Great...
>Hopefully you'd be able to find a tree or something to lay under, let you get a little strength before--
>There was a shout to your left
>It was in a foreign language that you couldn't make heads or tales of
>It sounded rough, barbaric, but definitely female
>You froze, eyes widening
>You had heard tales of the dead seas all of your life
>Every brat that lived near a port had
>And there were tales of a certain people that lived in these evil waters
>People that would appear out of nowhere to raid and pillage the empire every few decades

>For centuries, emperors had tried to stop them
>Building up great fleets, manning the port cities with huge armies, laying traps in harbors
>Each attempt had ended so horribly that no one thought of retaliation anymore
>It was just simpler to let them take what they wanted
>They were a people strange and powerful, that were ruled by living gods
>The shouting grew lower
>You went very still, trying to play dead
>Out of the corner of your eye, you could see pieces of the ship all around you
>Wood and rope and bits of steel
>You also saw something gleaming in the sunlight
>A pistol
>A battered and rusty pistol but a pistol nonetheless
>Maybe it was loaded?
>Maybe the powder was somehow miraculously dry?
>You slid your hand over to it, fingers outstretched
>Fingertips brushed against the barrel
>Grunting, you stretched a little more, getting a good hold of it
>A smile came to your face as the slightly warm steel pressed against your hand
>That smile immediately faded as the tip of a sword slammed through the trigger guard
>A boot came into view
>You tensed as you heard someone shuffling behind you
>They spoke their guttural tongue again as the gun was thrown out of sight
>You cursed under your breath, voice hoarse from the sea water, slowly picking your head up
>There were two of them, both armored and carrying weapons
>One of them had a sword that would have made any baron green with envy
>The other carried an axe that was bigger than you
>Their armor looked well-made and maintained
>Their hair was neatly braided, with beads and bits of gold and gems
>Their faces were scarred and rough
>They both were also women
>Your blood ran cold
"Oh gods protect me..."
>One of the women said something

>You forced yourself onto your hands and knees, terror filling you
>These were warriors unlike anything you had back in the empire
>Legend said that they also bred horses so fine that the gods themselves rode them into battle
>There were also things about magic and what they did to prisoners, but you didn't want to think about that
>You just wanted to get up and run
>So you got up, slowly, and with great difficulty
>Both of the women seemed to be having a chat as you did so, standing on either side of you
>Their tones were quiet, curious yet wary
>As you stood up, you broke into a fit of coughing that nearly brought you back to your knees
>Your vision darkened, and for a moment you feared you might pass out
>With what little strength you had, you managed to keep your feet, staring back at the women, breathing hard and swaying back and forth
>One of them was eyeing you leg
>The other one nodded, using the flat of her sword to tap your hip
>You tensed, looking over at where that pistol had disappeared off to
>There was no way in hell that you'd be able to get there without them jumping on you
>But maybe you could surprise them...
"HAH!"
>Cocking back an arm, you threw a punch at the one holding the axe
>Your fist didn't connect, knocking her out cold
>You also weren't able to throw a punch at the other one, knocking her out too so you could swipe anything of use off them and run away
>To be perfectly honest, as exhausted and dehydrated you were, you really didn't know what happened
>You just know that you were on your knees again, hands being gently, but firmly, held behind your back
"Hey! Let me go!" you shouted, trying to pull free
>It might have been due to the state that you were in or because the woman was very strong for her size, but you couldn't get her to budge

>She held onto you firmly, nudging her head at the other women, who produced a rope from somewhere in her armor
"Get yours hands off me! Let me go! Don't you take me to some damned pit! I don't wanna be anyone's slave! Please don't turn me into a eunuch! Pleeeeease!"
>Your manly cries were ignored
>Securely tying your hands, you were pulled to your feet
>Callused hands patted your form, either checking for injuries or weapons, before one of the women grabbed your face
>Pulling you down to her eye level, she studied you closely with narrowed eyes
>As she did that, the other one yanked your pants down
"Hey!" you said, trying to kick her
>Your kick was blocked, your leg placed back down onto the ground as the woman studied your hip for a few seconds before a great, big smile broke out across her face
>She looked up at the other women
>She said something, obviously excited
>The other woman's face lit up as she walked around and looked at your hip
"What are you two doing? Let me go! At least loosen the rope a little!"
>The women high-fived, turning toward you with grins that made the hair on the end of your neck stand on end
>...Yep
>They were definitely gonna cut your balls off
>Or eat you
>Or both
>In one last act of defiance, you tried headbutting one of the women as they got close
>She just chuckled, picking you up like you were a sack of flower and slinging you over her shoulder
"Gods dammit! Someone help me for pity's sake!"

~_~_~_~_~_~_~

>The next few hours were a blur
>You remember being thrown onto a beautiful white horse
>You drank some water
>Someone ran their fingers through your hair
>Your pants were also yanked down a time or two, which was followed by that guttural tongue that the barbarians spoke
>The air grew cooler, and you remember sweet smells and the sounds of birds and trees
>When you finally came back to yourself, a canteen was pressed against your lips, with cool, clean water immediately following
>You coughed as the first mouthful went down the wrong pipe, but continued to drink greedily
>Even before the shipwreck, you had been drinking stale, piss poor beer from barrels for three weeks
>You weren't a water drinker, no one their right mind was a water drinker, but you'd be damned if it wasn't the best thing that you had ever drank at that moment
>Water poured down your chin, soaking your once dry shirt, but you didn't care
>You drank the whole canteen, smacking your lips as it was pulled away from you
>You then looked around, immediately noticing a few things
>One: you still found yourself slung over a horse
>Two: being slung over a horse was very uncomfortable
>Three: you very much weren't on the beach anymore
>The horse you were riding was standing on cobblestone
>Shops lined the street
>People, mostly women--most of which wore the same dark grey chainmail and plate as the two that had bound you-- milled around
>Picking your head up, you spied a massive stone castle off into the distance
>You were no mason, or student of war, but even you could tell that this castle was something else
>There wasn't anything fancy about it, no statues or ornate carvings
>But there was... something about it
>A presence, a feeling that made your stomach tighten
"...How long was I out?"
>Someone clicked their tongue

>Looking back, you saw that it was one of your kidnappers
>She was staring at you, grinning
>You looked away, dread settling in the pit of your stomach
>A quick wiggle told you that you were securely tied onto the horse
>There was no escape
>Odds were that you'd be a dead man by the end of the day
>...
>You know, you always figured that you'd die getting knifed by some thug...
>That's how your old man went...
>And his old man...
>You went limp, closing your eyes
>Should just stayed on river boats...
>The barbarian nudged the sides of her horse, bringing it to a trot
>You could feel eyes on you as you made your way down the streets
>There was playful shouting
>Hands would reach out to touch you
>Your ass was grabbed a time or two as well
>You ignored it all, staring at the ground
>Honestly, you had no idea what to do with yourself
>There was nothing that you could do to free yourself, you couldn't fight
>Even if you could, you were a sailor, no warrior
>And if by some miracle you made it out of wherever you were, where would you go?
>You had no ship, no idea how to get home, nothing
>All-in-all, it looked like you were pretty fucked
>If you were some fancy constable or smart, brave guy you might have said something meaningful or biting
>Look the barbarians in the eye and spit at them as they ripped out your beating heart
>The best you could honestly hope for was not pissing yourself and begging like some woman
>The horse stopped
>You picked up your head to see that the horse stood at the edge of the castle
>Blocking you were two massive, scarred women in grey, knicked platemail

>They were conversing with your kidnappers, gesturing at you
>One of the... whatever they were, looking excited, walked over and placed a hand on you
>She waited for a few moments before stepping away, the excitement draining from her face
>The other one did the same, looking just as displeased
>...For some reason
>They said something to your kidnappers before stepping aside and motioning you to enter
>You had never been inside of a castle
>In fact, you had made it a point to stay away from castles as much as you could
>Castles had bored guards
>Bored guards kicked the shit out of people; especially hard working sailors
>They also liked to rob you for your ale money
>The fucks
>As the horse walked, you got your fill of this castle
>It was a lot like you'd thought it'd be
>A lot of stone, loads of guards and rich somebody's
>If you listened very carefully, you could hear flute music
>The horse stopped near a small, well-kept garden
>Your kidnapper got off the horse along with her companion
>You were yanked off the horse and put onto your feet
>You stumbled, your body sore from the uncomfortable ride
"Couldn't you have just cut my throat while I was out?" you asked
>The women just looked at you stupidly, then looked at each other, before one of them grabbed you by your arm bindings and pushed forward
>Both women seemed to know where they were going, leading you through massive stone hallways for what felt like an hour, twisting and turning so many times that you were completely and utterly lost
>The three of you eventually stopped in front of a set of doors
>They must have been three times your size, with carvings of battles hewn into the metal

"...Is that gold?" you asked.
>The woman not leading you walked up to the doors
>Clearing her throat, she knocked on it three times
>The door was so thick that the raps barely made a sound
>Even so, as she took a step back, they slowly began to open
>You turned your head away as a rush of air flooded from the room
>Everything went quiet, and the hall seemed to grow just a little darker
>You dryly swallowed
>You were lead into this room
>A fine purple rug rand the length of it
>Trophies--from banners to weapons to bones--lined the walls
>The room itself seemed unnaturally bright
>There was also a pressure
>You had never felt anything like it; like some giant hand was pressing down on you
>You tried to take a step back, tried to go back out into the hallway, but one of your kidnappers grabbed onto you and forced you forward
>Guards wielding spears stood statue-still throughout the room
>In it's center stood a throne of gold
>There was someone sitting on that throne
>Seeing that someone made you freeze
>Like most people that you had seen, she was a woman
>She must have been seven feet tall
>Her hair shone, and seemed to move, and her purple eyes glowed with untold power
>There was a crown on her head, and a hammer so large that it'd take three meant to lift it sitting beside of her throne
>This was one of the living gods
>The ones that controlled the celestial bodies as if they were toys
>One of your kidnappers tried to push you along
>You stood there rooted in the ground, terrified
>The goddess raised an eyebrow as she looked at you
>She said something to one your kidnappers

>The woman knelt, bowing her head as she replied
>Again, you tried leaving the room
>Again a hand stopped you
>The goddess and the woman conversed for a bit
>It was becoming harder and harder to breathe
>You tried to wrench away from the woman behind you, not taking your eyes off the goddess
>Dying at sea might have been a better idea than what was gonna happen to you...
>The guards, still frozen in place, eyed you curiously
>After a few minutes of talking, the goddess raised a hand
>Both of your kidnappers got onto their knees, touching their foreheads against the floor in reverence
>Now would have been the perfect opportunity to run
>The thing was that you couldn't
>Something was preventing you from so much as wiggling a toe
>The goddess's gaze flicked towards you
"Thy hath the bearing of a man from the empire," she said, her accent thick but her words clear. "Tis been an age since one of thou hast appeared on our shores unannounced."
>She rose from her throne
>Whatever had held you in place loosened its grip on you
>You sucked in a lungful of air, taking a step backwards before it grabbed you again
>"How have thou found thyself upon our shores?"the goddess asked
>She frowned at your lack of reply
>Though, to be fair, you were too busy trying not to piss yourself to answer
>"Speak. I command it," she said, reaching out and placing a hand on your shoulder. "No harm will come to you if--"
>She sucked in a lungful of air, eyes widening in pain and disbelief
>You nearly collapsed, stars exploding across your vision
>It felt like someone was branding your ass
>It hurt
>More than anything you've ever felt
>Opening your mouth in a silent cry, you crumbled to the ground
>Blackness swallowed you, and you knew no more