Chapter 1: The Prisoner

Thin beams of light from the morning sun pierced through the gaps of the shuttered windows, revealing portions of the cracked stone walls, yet scarcely illuminating the dark corridor. Torches that had burned the night before had long been extinguished, but the still air remained heavy with smoke. The ceiling had blackened with the accumulation of decades of soot and the spaces between the wooden beams were thick with dust and cobwebs. On the stone floor were grooves and streak marks made by the heavy carts that rolled over it and the heavy chains dragged by countless condemned prisoners.

A door opened noisily at the far end of the corridor and a bearded man emerged, walking at a brisk pace. He wore a long-sleeved shirt embroidered with red and gold thread and knee-length pants wrapped in a wide belt of intricately woven fabric. His head wrap featured the same weave, decorated with gold embroidery while a gold sash, adorned with precious stones, hung across his chest, indicating that he was a high ranking official. At his side, he carried a sword forged into a serpentine shape that resembled a snake moving on the grass. It was topped with a gold handle, molded into a serpent's head. Two soldiers flanked him, wearing clothes of a brownish hue and cloth wraps embroidered with less elaborate designs. Their curved blades were sheathed and swayed freely at their side.

Coming from the rear was a bald, heavyset man who tried to keep pace with the official and his escort soldiers, but his short stature and slightly bowed legs made it difficult for him to catch up. He wore a green patterned shirt with an embroidered red sash prominently displayed across his chest.

"Where did you find him?" asked the official when the man with the red sash was finally able to catch up.

"He was found by the soldiers in the market square at dawn," replied the man with the red sash, panting breathlessly.

"Have you finished interrogating him?" the official asked without breaking his stride. Not hearing the other's reply, he turned to his right and found that the man with the red sash had tripped over his own feet and had fallen behind.

"Not yet, Jad Enzir," replied the man with red sash. "He hadn't said a word all throughout the er… process… Perhaps he does not know…"

"Perhaps you have not been persuasive enough, Lankko," said Enzir, in a louder voice that echoed in the darkened corridor. He stopped in front of a closed door and stood still for a few moments before turning to Lankko. Enzir scowled to show his displeasure.

"Oh, pardon me, Jad Enzir." Lankko realized his mistake. He frantically searched his pockets and pulled out a set of keys. He extracted one and handed it to the soldier nearest him. Then, he bowed his head and stood one step behind Enzir. 

Lankko realized that he was sweating profusely from the early morning exertions and he wiped the sweat that had formed on his nose and above his brow. As he did so, he saw that his red sash had shifted so he readjusted it with a quick pull of his hand. 

The massive doors swung open and Enzir entered the chamber with confident long strides, his men following closely behind him. Two torches shed meager light in the large room, revealing metal cages and chains fixed to the walls. Lankko covered his nose as the odor of decaying matter and animal detritus filled his nostrils. Enzir seemed to gag from the smell but feigned a cough as he walked towards the center of the room where a prisoner was restrained to a wooden apparatus.

Under the scant light of the torches, the prisoner was revealed to be a young man. He was sitting uncomfortably on an apparatus that was designed to resemble a charging animal. His upper body lay prone over the slant of the wooden animal's head while his arms were tied firmly with ropes and spread over a thick beam that formed the animal's expansive horns. The prisoner's black hair cascaded down his forehead and hid most of his youthful face.

Enzir walked around the prisoner and noticed the slow movements of the prisoner's back as the latter breathed. The prisoner's shirt was torn at the back, exposing his unbroken skin and the mark of seven joined circles tattooed on his left shoulder blade. Enzir paused briefly to look at the tattoo and then walked to the other side of the apparatus to face the prisoner.

Bending low, Enzir looked at the prisoner's face from a safe distance. "Still haven't said a word," Enzir declared, as he stared at the prisoner. The prisoner locked eyes with Enzir and then moved his arms, testing the bonds that restrained him.

Enzir stood up straight and folded his arms around his chest. "Most prisoners speak up at the first sight of my fire ants being brought to them. Then, they would confess everything when they feel the first sting on their skin. Needless to say, the extreme pain of the sting reduced the bravest of men to tears and the most silent to squawk louder than a trapped mankora." Enzir turned to Lankko who had been waiting for the right moment to interrupt. "Lankko, bring in the fire ants!"

Lankko swallowed hard and pointed to the shelves on the opposite wall where several cloth bags were hung. The soldiers picked up two small bags that were hanging limply from the shelf's rusted hooks and brought them to the prisoner. They opened the bags with care and inserted each of the prisoner's hands inside. The soldiers then kept the bags in place with strings which they wound tightly around the prisoner's wrists.

Enzir watched with a self-satisfied air and waited for the screams to start. He raised his chin and looked at the motionless body of the prisoner. He started tapping his fingers and waited some more. And some more. And still some more.

"J-Jad Enzir…" came a hesitant whisper from behind him. It was Lankko with head bowed low, his sweaty forehead shiny under the low light.

"What?" asked Enzir angrily, unfolding his arms.

"The fire ants, Jad Enzir… It's just that the rains have been falling in torrents lately," said Lankko, trying hard not to look at his master.

"And…" Enzir said impatiently.

"And the ants' nests have been inundated with water. We were only able to collect a few that did not drown and they may… they may have already suffocated inside the bags," Lankko finally managed to say. He risked a glance at Enzir and saw anger creeping up his master's face.

Enzir bristled in anger and stomped his feet, cursing at Lankko for not telling him earlier. Lankko shrunk away and avoided Enzir's gaze as a soft chuckle was heard inside the room.

"Who is that? Who dares to laugh in front of me?" questioned Enzir loudly. The chuckle grew louder into a hearty laugh and Enzir looked at each of his soldiers who looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Lankko slowly raised a hand and pointed behind Enzir's back. Enzir turned around and saw the prisoner's head and shoulders moving in unrestrained laughter. Enzir stomped his feet harder and fumed at the prisoner.

"That was just a minor prelude to a world of indescribable pain that you will be suffering within these walls." Enzir remained resolute and looked at the different metal implements around the room. "I will take extreme pleasure watching you scream and plead for mercy." Enzir suddenly turned around and caught Lankko with a fist over his mouth, trying hard to stifle a yawn.

"Bring me the psylugs!" shouted Enzir.

Lankko quickly lowered his hand and became fully awake. After a moment's hesitation, he went to a shelf at the far end of the room. He carefully took out a small box made of woven fiber along with a pair of bamboo forceps. He then returned to Enzir and presented the box.

Enzir slowly opened the box and looked inside. He was glad to see that the gray slug-like creatures were very much alive, but was immediately disgusted at the sight of the writhing animals drenched in their own slime. He looked away from the psylugs and shouted to his soldiers, "Get the Karbo ready."

The soldiers looked at each other, seemingly at a loss on what they should do.

Lankko turned to the soldiers and whispered, "The apparatus. You need to transform the apparatus. Quick!"

The two soldiers nodded, finally understanding what Enzir was referring to. They went to the wooden apparatus and pulled some levers which shifted the prisoner's position. The prisoner was soon lying on his back with his arms still tied across the wooden beam. One of the soldiers made sure that all the prisoner's bonds were secure while another tied a thick rope across the prisoner's neck and chest.

The prisoner tested his bonds again and noticed that he could hardly move with the additional ropes tied across his body. There was no sign of fear in his eyes and his face expressed amusement at what was being done to him.

"Now, let's see if you can resist my psylugs the same way that you resisted my ants." Enzir then turned to his men and said, "Hold him steady."

The soldiers pulled a restraining metal over the prisoner's head which effectively stopped him from making any more movements. Enzir used the forceps to pick one of the squirming psylugs from Lankko's box and brought it to the prisoner's right temple. The creature immediately latched its mouth onto the prisoner's skin and started to glow, rapidly changing colors in waves of bright blue and green. The prisoner opened his eyes widely and jerked his body upwards in an attempt to get free, but was further restrained by the soldiers. Enzir quickly attached another psylug onto the prisoner's left temple which immediately caused the prisoner to thrash around as his screams filled the room.