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Venturi's wrists ached desperately against the iron shackles and he found himself shifting uncomfortably on the hard wooden floor of the slave hold. He couldn't find a way to rest his short tail against the rough grain of the floor or wall without it growing stiff.

The length of chain that bound him to his corner of the hold was just long enough to permit him to stand, but he dared not, fearing that doing so would bring unwanted attention his way, as many of the others were much larger creatures, and therefore their fetters more restricting. Most had forgotten about him since he first woke, having returned to their troubles.

That squirrel, however, would occasionally shoot a look his way, an expression on his face that Venturi couldn't decipher. Not like he tried much, however, as he avoided eye contact at all costs.

Three days had passed since the lynx awoke in this room. Other than the terrifying boar that would come around and drop rock hard bread on the slaves and trickle a few drops of water from a water skin, Venturi never saw any other creatures enter or leave the holding.

The length of days grew unbearable, and he found his mind constantly returning to the cliff edge, and the wolf and ibex. These thoughts would then bring him on the verge of panic as the pains and smells would return in an instant.

He fought with fits of tears often. Rarely did he succeed in forcing them back, and it was in these moments that others would take notice of him once again, though most just shook their head with a look of disgust or contempt.

Then there was his current situation. Of course he'd heard of the city of Aarus. Who hadn't? It was the largest trade metropolis in the known world. Any goods that traveled east to west, north to south, passed through Aarus. Wealth unlike any even an agathoi could know was said to be locked away in the city's treasury. The city itself was said to be a true wonder of the world. A city so grand and large, carved from the desert of Miltos, locked away in a labyrinthine network of narrow canyons. Said to be unconquerable, it was a testament to the ambition and determination of the people who built it. Even many of his family's orchard products were shipped over this very sea destined for the markets there, and the rest of the world they connected to.

And now, it seemed he was nothing more than another product being shipped off to market, where appraisers would discuss price and eventually shake paws and exchange gold.

What had Venturi done to earn the gods wrath so? His family was agathoi, they were the blessed. They held to the gods laws and obeyed the law of the land. He never did anything to upset the divine order, as far as he knew. Why, then, had he fallen so?

These thoughts passed through his head as exhaustion had him slumped against the wall, paws limp across his lap. His tongue was dry and cracked from the salty air and the pitiful amount of water he'd received the last few days. His fur had long since grown gritty and itchy all over, and his skin beneath was dry and parched as well.

The jackal chained to his right relieved himself again, letting the mess run through his filthy loincloth. The lynx wrinkled his nose in disgust and turned away. It wasn't like he had any better options, though he would at least relieve himself against the wall, and had tried to keep the filth off himself as best he could.

"I'll admit, not the best accommodations I've had." The squirrel chittered with a grin. "Though, they're certainly far from the worst."

Venturi cleared his dry throat. "How could it get any worse than this?" He rasped.

"Well, we have a roof. The sun isn't baking the shit into our fur, and burning our ears. So there's that."

The lynx fell silent. He didn't know how to respond.

The squirrel continued to confuse the young feline. He had such an odd atmosphere about him. He didn't carry himself like an enslaved creature. It was unnerving, given their shackles and their filth.

"Look, you want some advice, kitten?" he asked, suddenly.

Venturi caught his large dark eyes. He wasn't sure what insight this creature who shared his same misfortune could possibly provide that would prove of value, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Focusing on the bad is the quickest path to death. Look for what's going good for you."

It took a moment for the lynx to unpack his words.

"What if there is no good?" he replied, memories rushing unbidden to him bringing moisture to his eyes. The plague, His parents, his attack, this ship.

"You're alive. That's good. That means you can do something about what's happening now. But only if you choose to."

The shackles around his wrists weighed heavy as a reminder that he currently had very little agency to do anything at the moment.

"Slaves don't choose." He managed to say while swallowing a sob.

The squirrel laughed his chittering laugh, and then asked. "So what happened?"

"T-There were these two kakoi who attacked me in the orchard." He fought desperately to ignore the faces of the wolf and ibex that swam in his head.

The squirrels eyes widened at his words, and he glanced around the room quickly, before leaning in and speaking so quietly, Venturi had to lean in closer to hear.

"You're agathoi?"

"Y-yeah?" he replied.

"I'd keep that to yourself, if I were you kitten. Many of these folks here don't care much for your kind." He stated before regaining his normal composure and leaning back.

"Why?"

"Well, you see, many of them feel their life is terrible. Take one look around this room, and you can sorta see why. Many folks like to find someone to blame for that, and who better than the people who by 'divine right' get to live comfy lives of luxury, all the while making the rules that seem set to keep wretches like us down?"

"That's not my fault. How am I to blame for what the gods do?"

The squirrel frowned. "Right or wrong, kitten, it's the way things are. The creatures here can't kill Anu'Ra for shining light on only certain folks, but they sure can get their paws on those folks receiving that light, if given the opportunity."

They fell silent at that. Venturi spent a while digesting the squirrels' words, which only brought a whole new wave of worry. If he was in danger just because of the circumstances of his birth...how was that fair?

"So why are you here, then?" Venturi asked, trying to force his mind off his troubles.

"Oh, me? I needed to get out of Alexinos. Was short on coin, so I booked the only free passage I could find." He grinned.

It was just before midday on the fourth day since he had awoken that the door to their hold swung open and a bull entered, followed closely by an odd tan-brown creature with dark spots that Venturi had never seen before. He had a muzzle similar to a canine, though there was something different about it. It was much broader, with wicked looking teeth set in powerful jaws. His ears were rounder and his neck thicker than any canine Venturi had ever seen as well, and his back was hunched about the shoulders, and a thick ridge of coarse fur ran from his head to about midway down his back. He was dressed in an odd long tunic of a sort, which was fastened with linen cloth about the waist, a small bronze knife tucked in it, and in his paw he held a bronze axe.

The bull drew a key from his belt pouch and set to work unlocking the heavy locks that held the chains to the walls. He then would roughly yank the chain up, pulling the bound creature to his feet, before refastening the lock to the chain of the creature's shackles beside them, so that each creature was bound to one other.

As he went, he dragged a new chain through the refastened lock of each pair's bindings, so that each pair was bound to a central chain.

He came to the squirrel, who was already standing and holding his wrists out for the bull.

"Finally. I can't wait for a bath and a hot meal. No offense, but your cook is terrible." He chittered.

The bull grunted, grabbed the chain, and yanked the creature up harsher than he had with the others, pulling him completely off his paws and holding him suspended in the air by his wrists.

"I envy whoever gets to break that one." The axe-wielding creature laughed in a shrill cackle that set Venturi's fur bristling.

The squirrel chirped in pain, or surprise, or both, before he fell back to the ground once his chain had been freed from the loop in the wall. The bull tugged him roughly over to the lynx, who rose as well to hold his paws out. He, however, kept silent.

The bull linked the twos shackles, fed the chain through, and then continued on to the next.

"Well, it seems the gods haven't forsaken you entirely, kitten." The squirrel whispered, before reaching a paw into his mouth.

The lynx gave him a puzzled look, but he just withdrew his paw and grinned. "You're stuck with me."

The bull finished his work and muttered something to the axe-wielder, who laughed his shrill laugh, before tugging roughly on the central chain.

"Follow." He grunted, turning toward the door.

Venturi's legs felt very unsteady, and wobbled threateningly, but he forced his paws to move beneath him, fearing if he fell, he would be dragged by the rest of the creatures. He realized he was not alone, however, and that made him feel a little better. Even the lion that threatened the squirrel when he'd first awoken seemed to lack any of the vitality he showed days ago.

The door opened to a set of roughly hewn stairs that lead up to the deck of the ship.

The glaring light of the sun seemed to reflect from all directions, and the poor felines eyes stung painfully at its intensity. He tried to clench them shut but nearly tripped on his unsteady legs when the chain tugged at his wrists.

The heat was nearly unbearable as well, and he felt his skin quickly warming beneath his fur.

Slowly, his eyes adjusted and the image of a port swam into view. The coastline was very foreign, with sand stretching much further beyond the beach inland, up to cream colored cliffs in the far distance. The port itself was the same color of the soil here, the buildings each made from baked clay bricks that reflected that intense sunlight.

"Ah, the port of Ingriss. Haven't been here in...six years?" the squirrel said, pausing to think. "hasn't changed a bit."

They were tugged across the deck towards a boarding plank that crossed down to a small dock. The lynx felt very unstable as he tried to make his way down the plank, terrified his legs would give out. They held, however, and once on the dock, they were marched down it toward a large barred wagon that sat outside a large building with an open front that housed crates and barrels within.

The building was obviously a warehouse of some sort, and looking around, the lynx saw a dirt road cut through the sand leading away from the small dock. It turned inland further up the beach, no doubt twisting up a shallower incline to head toward some point within the port town itself.

Beside the warehouse was a set of clay-brick stairs that served as a shortcut to the town above.

Other docks along this same stretch of beach had creatures moving about, unloading crates, barrels, and boxes of various goods. Venturi found himself surprised at how much activity was about for such a small dock, but couldn't dwell on it long.

The first of the slaves were just being loaded in the wagon ahead. Venturi had no idea where it led, but dread built with each new step he took closer to it.

"So, you wanna choose to get outta here?" the squirrel whispered.

"How?" the young lynx asked hopelessly. How could that damn squirrel possibly be so positive?

"When I tell you to, run. Don't go for the stairs, they'll only slow you down. Make for the crowd unloading that boat. Break line of sight, and try to make it for those stairs further down." He nodded to a set of stairs further down the road that Venturi hadn't noticed before. "And if anyone tries to grab you, bite them, claw them, whatever it takes. Don't let them get a hold on you, or you're done for.

"Baring fang or claw is against the gods." Venturi replied. "And besides, how can I run with my paws shackled?" he left out how wobbly his legs felt.

"Anu'Ra bit out his predecessors' throat. If he can do it, you can." The squirrel chirped. "And leave these to me." He added, revealing a small strip of metal he had palmed in his paw.

"They always forget to check my cheek pouch."

He inserted it into the padlock linking their shackles to the central chain, and twisted it around inside the keyhole for a moment, before, to Venturi's surprise, the lock popped off, causing him to stumble away from the chain, suddenly free from its pull.

The slaves around them stared for a moment in surprise. The two guards hadn't noticed yet.

"And they always use cheap locks. I'd be running now, if I were you, kitten." The squirrel said, before slipping the metal pin into the padlock binding the slaves behind them.

The lynx turned to see the armed guard staring at him with wide eyes. "Hey!" The creature growled as he started toward him, brandishing the axe in his paw threateningly.

Venturi turned to bolt, slipping between two of the slaves, only to stumble in the sand on his weak legs.

The creature was on him in a moment, rough paw gripping him by the forearm and pulling him around.

"What do you think you're doing?!" the creature growled, bringing the axe blade to rest against the lynx's cheek.

He froze as fear gripped him once again, much tighter than the guards grip on his arm.

Other slaves started to run now, only a few being set free by the squirrel, who was now nowhere to be seen. The bull guard was shouting something, which caused the guard holding Venturi to turn and shout something back.

Venturi wasn't listening to what they were saying, the blood pounding in his ears drowning out the growing chaos around him. His vision narrowed in on the large spotted paw gripping his arm, and without thinking, he dragged his claws as deeply as he could through its flesh before he could stop himself.

The creature yelped out in shock, releasing his grip and yanking his paw back.

"Oh, you little shit!" he roared, raising his axe for an attack.

"Hey, hyena!" a high voice squeaked above the chaos. "That dagger, there. That's mine!"

Both Venturi and the spotted creatures gaze fell on the black squirrel, who glaring at the much larger guard with his paws crossed over his chest, appearing mildly impatient. The contrast of the two was shocking in that moment, with the filthy rodent donned in only a threadbare loincloth, and the guardsman dressed in leather armor.

"Dagger?" the guard laughed. "I use it to slice my sausage."

He took a step toward the squirrel and swung his axe.

The rodent tumbled forward, narrowly avoiding the attack, and rolling to his feet before tugging the bronze knife free from the sash around the guardsman's waist.

Before Venturi could blink, the small creature thrust the dagger into the taller creature's groin.

The axe clattered to the ground as the creature gave an otherworldly roar of agony and fell to his knees.

The squirrel spun around in a black blur and turned to stare the guard in the eye.

"Then allow me." He said with a slight blow, before slashing the tiny weapon across his throat.

Blood ran freely, effectively turning his wail into a horrible gurgle and the guard collapsed in the sand.

The squirrel turned to see Venturi gaping wide eyed at the dying guard.

"Why aren't you running?" he snapped, yanking at the lynx's fur on his neck.

This pulled Venturi's gaze away from the dying man to see more guards rushing down the dock from the boat they had just disembarked.

"Come on, kitten!" the squirrel roared, pulling him toward the crowd.

Adrenaline strengthening his legs, and Venturi found himself running after the black blur as he wove through the crowd.

He struggled to keep up, but somehow managed to make it to the base of the brick stairs just after the rodent, who was already halfway up them.

At the top, there was a cobble clay footpath that ran parallel to the street they came out on. The squirrel pulled him down the street, weaving his way through the confused creatures there, and occasionally brandishing his knife to clear a path.

They slowed only when the squirrel pulled Venturi into a small alleyway where he crossed through to where it opened to a smaller street on the other end. They wove through various such alleys until finally they arrived at one that let out into another small street. A quick glance both ways told them the street was empty, so the squirrel hurried across it to a doorway to a building with boarded up windows.

Venturi hurried to follow, and the squirrel pulled the door open easily and disappeared inside.

The lynx quickly followed and pulled the door closed behind him, turning to see the squirrel wiping the blood from his blade on old drapes that hung from the boarded up windows.

The lynx still felt his heart hammering in his chest, and it was only then that his legs finally gave out, now that the excitement of their escape had left him.

He collapsed to his paws and knees, panting heavily, his skin burning from running through the heat of the sun outside.

"W-what..." he panted. "What just happened?"

The squirrel turned to face him now, a wide grin on his face.

"We just got free passage across the Great Sea." He chittered as he fell back onto a very dusty cushion that sat in the corner of the room.

Venturi was still trying to understand...well, everything, and this strange squirrel, who he had just witnessed slice a man's throat, seemed completely at ease.

"We should lie low here for a while. Let things calm down out there." The rodent stated, snuggling up into the strangely inviting cushion. After the hard filth of the slave hold, Venturi's definition of comfort had certainly shifted slightly.

"Then, after, I for one would love a good bath." He continued.

"Who are you?" Venturi asked, more wondering aloud than anything. "How did you unlock those chains?"

The squirrel opened one eye to consider the young lynx for a moment.

"I suppose it is time for introductions, isn't it?" he laughed his chattering laugh. "My name is Acutus. And you are?"

"Uh, Venturi." The lynx replied.

"Well, Venturi, chains are much easier to unlock than collars, and I imagine you're tired after all that. I think it best we get some rest. There's plenty of room on this cushion." He said, shifting over to make room.

Venturi hesitated for a moment, mind returning to the Cliffside of his orchard. He wasn't quite certain he wanted to lay so close to this creature.

"Well, kitten? We both probably have fleas at this point, so it's not like I'm gonna give 'em to ya'."

A sigh escaped the lynx's muzzle and he crossed over and slid into the cushion beside the rodent.