Yup, this is exactly like the beginning of Skyrim. Getting carted off as a prisoner along with a bunch of other prisoners. Carts which are being pulled by the same Chocobo-looking birds in case someone would like to know.

Quite the popular beasts of burden I would guess. Even for these half-bird-half-kitten hybrids. It seems kinda pointless for a species of fliers to make use of them. But then again, carrying a bunch of prisoners on your back while flying at the same time is most likely not easy. Not to mention tiring.

Either way, besides me and my fellow guards of course, there were more prisoners beside us. Some more unlucky souls, and even one curious-looking Gazelle. Curious because its head was wrapped up in a thick roll of cloth, with only its muzzle and rune-covered horns sticking out.

Why this Gazelle was wrapped up like it is was a mystery to me. But this situation certainly again reminds me of that one game I have spent way too much time playing. Maybe this Gazelle is this world's version of Ulfric Stormcloak or something? An important leader and wielder of some ancient power or magic, which then would at least explain why his or her head was wrapped up like that in the first place.

Well… only time will tell.

But whatever, let's just focus back on the situation at hand here and rubbing my sore wrists. Because tying some really tight knots doesn’t seem to be a specialty for these Gryphons, or at least for the one who was instructed to tie me up.

“Wait… you're free?” My prison guard suddenly asked as he was sitting right across from me.

I hummed. “Wait, I am? Huh… funny that. But don’t worry, I won’t try to run away or whatever. Because I know I won't get far inside a narrow canyon with fliers chasing after me. So it’s all good.” I stated before leaning back against my seat and making myself just a little bit more comfortable.

“Should we tie him up again?” I heard someone ask, as the cliff walls in front of me continued to slowly pass by.

“Nah, why even bother? As he said himself, he won't get far even if he tried. Plus, we're almost back at the keep as it is, so again why bother?” I heard someone respond.

“In fact, there it is.” The same voice quickly added as the cliff walls in front of me suddenly began to widen up before disappearing completely.

We were now traveling through an open flat land with just a couple of large rocks being its only feature. Besides that, the nameless Gryphon was right with his statement. Standing on top of a lonely hill was, in fact, a keep. A rather run down looking one with part of its walls missing and sloppily replaced with some wooden palisade.

“Lower the drawbridge!" I heard someone shriek from the head of this depressing carnival train once we reached the main gates of this sandstone-colored keep.

“Well, here we are. Wonder what awaits us inside once we cross the threshold? Certainly can’t be anything good when they tie us up like this.” One of the prisoners sighed as the train of depressed individuals began to move past the bridge and into the maw of the keep.

Once inside, the drawbridge behind us was slowly retracted, trapping us inside as the carts continued to roll into the courtyard. Tall walls surrounding us on all sides, even though most of them looked to be in serious need of repair.

I wonder if these walls would work for fliers? Probably not. Which is kinda dump in a world such as this. But then again, their aren’t a lot of native fliers living on this continent anyway. At least to my knowledge there aren’t.

But let's not dwell on that. Especially when it seemed to be the end of the line for all of us. The Gryphons started to unpack the prisoners one by one once the carts were halted. One at a time, starting with the mysterious Gazelle interestingly enough, along with a few random Zebras who were on the same cart as it. Though they seemed a bit indistinguishable in both looks and accessories for me to really pinpoint who they belonged to. Like which tribe they were from.

The next ones to disembark were my three personal guards. All of them completely naked and stripped of all of their gear and weapons, which was understandable. And lastly me of course. The big tall freak of a hairless ape with more glory then actual guts.

“Hello… are you listening, weird creature? I said get off the cart!” One of the Gryphons stated, sounding quite impatient by the sound of it.

Fek… even in dire situations such as this, my own thoughts are prone in allowing me to space out. I already told myself this, but my erratic attention span is certainly going to be the death of me one day. If not that, then an overdose of caffeine. If such a thing is even possible.

Do these hybrid jokers even have coffee in this shithole of a fortress? I hope so...for their sake.

“For the last time, get off the cart or I will-” The same rude head tried to threaten me before I so equally rudely cut him off by stretching myself and then jumping off the cart without single sounds

I scratched my back. “Yeah, yeah I get it. I have seen enough hostage related movies and games to know the gist of things. I know what is at stake here and yadda yadda yadda, you get the idea. I'm well versed in the art of threats and being threatened. Mostly on the receiving end of it. On the internet in case you are wondering.” I babbled on before again stretching myself to get some blood pumping into these lazy joints and muscles.

The gang of Gryphons surrounding me were of course confused. Which is certainly no surprise.

“Well… anyway, just shut up and do what you are told and nothing will happen to you, got it?” The same Gryphon boldly stated while pointing a dirty claw at me.

I just nodded.

“Good, now follow us and again, be quiet.” He announced before giving a signal.

His fellow Gryphons gave nods before herding everyone into the keep, me included.

Guards were pretty much stationed or flying around all corners of the keep's walls as far as I can tell. So getting out of here is certainly going to be difficult, but not impossible. I have seen enough Mission Impossible movies to know that the more impossible a mission is, the easier it is to complete or some stupid shit like that.

Or… it could also just be because of the script. Like how certain stupid and nonsensical things in movies only exist because the plot demands it.

But this isn’t a movie, now is it? It is real, as real as a cartoon-colored world with talking animals and voodoo hoodoo can be. Like all sentient beings in this world are all four-leggers with no extra limbs that would allow them to hold tools or whatever.

These creatures in fact somehow succeeded in building civilizations with big cities and everything. So saying that this world makes sense would be somewhat right. Because even in my world, a lot of things don’t make sense either.

But I don’t want to go all philosophical when things are getting dark around me. Like literally. These Gryphons should really install more torches to cast off the darkness in their mold-encrusted halls. Again, quite literally, as I just passed a mushroom or two growing on the walls while being herded deeper into the keep's dungeon. Though it didn’t take long after the first reinforced door for the actual prison cell to appear with a couple of neighbors already occupying some of the cells.

Two of them immediately struck me as interesting as they seem to be fairly young. Those two could possibly be the two missing kids of the two warmongering chiefs back at Akamar and Hittar. Though I need to ask them later just to be sure, especially when it seems that my cell was going to be on the opposite side of theirs. How convenient. Maybe a bit too convenient.

Maybe this adventure of mine is plot-driven as well? Which would at least explain some of the rather random shit that is happening around me for no reason.

It's certainly not crazy to assume that life is just a giant play, with you being one of its main actors.

In that case I am ready for my close up. Well… I was ready for my close up the moment I was born. But let's not dwell on that too much as a major scandal just revealed itself to me.

“Wait… these cells don't even have toilets? Where the hell am I supposed to take a piss?” I stated, outraged at the fact that the most bare-bones necessities of an inmate's cell are not even met here.

Like don’t lie to me. Every modern prison has at least a toilet in it so things don’t start to immediately smell like a pig stall. You certainly don’t want your prisoner to die from their own shit. Now that would be just inefficient. Letting your prisoners, bargain tools, slaves or workers die prematurely before they can receive their first case of Diarrhea when eating too much shitty prison food.

In fact, you certainly should at least provide a toilet to prepare for that. At least then you can collect that shit and pack it up as fertilizer.

Now there is a good business idea I should have thought of years ago. Packing up my own shit and selling it to the farming industries. My shit is full of caffeine, which should wake up those crops fairly quickly.

Either way, the Gryphon sighed before tossing a rather rusty-looking bucket at my feet.

“Here, you can use this, so that you won't have to do your business in one of the corners.” The Gryphon stated before finally locking the cell door in front of me.

I looked down at the bucket and saw that its inside were covered in dried dirt. More likely dried shit to be honest, given the bucket's intended use.

It's certainly a good thing then that old dried-up shit doesn’t smell anymore, but that still doesn’t make this situation less disgusting. In fact, it kinda makes it worse. Knowing that these bird brains have very little interest towards hygiene. Or rather very little hygiene for their prisoners.

This was a disaster, a disaster of epic proportions. I am fully regretting my retarded plan of presenting myself as bait. Because these cells don’t have any proper toilets or even toilet paper.

NO TOILET PAPER! THIS IS HELL, THIS IS LITERAL HELL FOR ME!

I clutched the bars of my cell in front of me before pulling on them, rattling the cell door back and forth as I went crazy.

“NO… FUCK… GET ME OUT OF HERE! I CHANGE MY MIND! I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE ANYMORE! IT WAS ALL HER IDEA! HERS I TELL YOU! THIS PLACE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE ANY TOILET PAPER, AND THE TOILET IS JUST ON OLD SHIT ENCRUSTED RUST BUCKET! HELP! HELP PLEASE HELP!” I screamed, more or less causing a ruckus in an otherwise quiet dungeon.

No toilet paper and no proper toilet at the same time? What has this shitty world gone to?

.............................................................................................................................................

Uxie peeked his head from around a large stone and gazed at the run-down keep off in the distance.

He needed to figure out how to get Alexander and his guards out of there without causing too much damage. Or worse, accidentally hurting him or the others after he so cowardly hid away behind a palm tree when the first arrow was fired.

Or so he thought those were what they were called, according to Alexander's mental mention of them. But whatever, it didn't matter what they were called. What he did know about them though was that these arrows were deadly, at least those with the sharp metal tips on them.

Which is why he needs to think this through before just going in guns blazing as Alexander would state. He still felt somewhat dodgy about his psychic abilities to be really going for that option. He had vague memories on how masterful he used to be with them in the past, but they were just that.

Just blurry memories of something.

Uxie shook his head. For him there was no time for questioning his place in the world and just focus more on the task at hand. He needed to get in there and save them, but how? How to do so without getting bold?

Uxie scratched his large head as his closed eyes scanned the landscape around him. Looking for something that could possibly give him an idea.

Then it hit him. Maybe he can go ask for the help of that little bug-like critter who originally showed him those bananas? Maybe he knows something that he doesn’t. He lives in these uncharted lands after all.

With that idea said and done, Uxie quickly flew back towards the oasis as fast as his psychic powers could carry him, in hopes of finding that little critter again.

Time is of the essence, and he personally doesn’t know how terrible the condition of Alex and his guards must be in. He could have sworn that he just now heard Alex scream, which only fueled his endeavors.

The horrors he must be facing.