They were led through increasingly narrow streets.
The buildings grew older. The crowds thinned. The atmosphere grew heavier.
Eventually, they reached a sketchy corner.
The man stopped before a nondescript door and knocked in a specific pattern.
It opened.
Huh! This is…
They entered.
Darkness swallowed them.
But Lunaris didn't need the light to see…
"My apologies for the lack of lighting."
The merchant's voice echoed in the blackness.
"Allow me."
A click.
Light flooded the space.
Lunaris's eyes adjusted.
And then…
His blood ran cold.
Hundreds of cages.
Row upon row of them, stacked from floor to ceiling.
Inside each one…
Beastmen.
Wolf ears. Cat tails. Scales. Feathers.
Men, women, children.
All crammed into metal prisons barely large enough to sit in.
Their eyes were hollow. Their bodies thin. Some bore visible wounds.
Lunaris felt sick to his stomach.
It seemed he had forgotten how cruel humans could be.
No wonder Roselle held so much resentment.
