Chapter 384 Locked Up

I had gotten myself captured by an Old God, who wanted to make me into one of her pets. This was not a good situation to be in, but I was glad I would not be eaten. Yet.

I sat up and looked around at the other people in the cages with me. There were all kinds of people, not all of them humanoid, and some of them looked to be in bad shape.

I didn’t want to be here, so I needed to find a way out.

“Hey, what is your name?” I asked the person in the cage next to me.

“I am Sarah,” The girl said, and I could see that she was shaking.

I couldn't really tell what she was at this point, but if I had to guess, I would say something related to an oyster. She was attached to a shell, but there was no top on it, just one half.

“Okay, Sarah, my name is Kazz, and I am going to get us out of here. I promise,” I said, and Sarah just stared at me.

"No one gets out of here," Sarah said and then looked away from me to stare at the wall.

I looked around and saw that there were all kinds of cages, some with creatures more like people and some with animals. I could see a few that had both people and animals in them, and that was not a good sign.

I needed to find a way out of here, but I didn’t want to leave anyone behind. Looking around, though, their cave was literally only filled with cages and nothing else but some sand.

I could break out, possibly, but I needed to learn more before I made any rash decisions. I had to believe that this Old God had been keeping people prisoner for a reasonable amount of time, so breaking the bars might not be as easy as I think.

I sat down and started to try and think of what I could do. I could always close my eyes and talk to my elementals about this, but I wanted to get more information first.

I also didn’t want to anger Eelyasha because if she got angry, I was sure that she would kill me. The woman seems to be quite mentally unstable and not very good control of her emotions.

No, I needed to find a way out that didn’t involve angering the witch that held us captive.

“Kazzzz,” I heard someone hiss from another cage next to me, and I turned to see a girl with red eyes and black hair.

“Yes?” I asked, and the Snake girl motioned for me to come closer.

I got up and went to the bars of her cage, and the girl grabbed my hand.

“I am called Lilith, and I can help you get usss all out of here. I have been planning my escape for a long time, but I need your help,” Lilith whispered, and I nodded.

“Okay, I am in. What do you need me to do?” I asked, and Lilith smiled.

“Firssst, we need to find the key to these cagesss. I have a feeling that it is in the Old God’s chamber, ssso we need to find a way to get there. Then, we need to find a way to kill her after!" Lilith exclaimed in a fury of hisses.

"Slow down. This all seems like a very well-thought-out plan, but it seems like you don't really have much past the idea of breaking out. Still, knowledge of a key is good, but then how do we get out of here without it?" I asked, and Lilith nodded.

"I have been working on that part too. I have a friend on the outside that can help us, but we need to find a way to get a message to him," Lilith explained, and I nodded.

"That is a good start. I will help you with whatever I can, but we need to be careful. If we anger the Old God, she will kill us," I said, and Lilith nodded.

"I know, which is why I need you. I can't do this alone, and I need someone that can think on their feet. Will you help me?" Lilith asked, and I nodded.

"Of course, now let's figure out how to get out of here," I said, and Lilith smiled.

"I have been here for about ten years, give or take, and I have been planning, but I have never gotten any further than this plan. I don't know if you can help me, but you are new, and it is worth trying," Lilith explained, and I nodded.

"You are never going to get out, and Hoodum isn't going to help you. The creature has no mind and only listens to Eelyasha. You should work on getting used to the idea of being a blood bag," Sarah called, and I turned around to face her.

"What is a Hoodum, and why would I want to get used to being a blood bag?" I asked, and Sarah just stared at me.

"You think you are different. I can see it in your eyes. You are not like the others that have been here. You are going to try to escape, and you are going to fail. Just give up now, and it will be less painful," Sarah said, and I shook my head.

"I am not going to give up, and I am going to get us all out of here. I promise you that," I said, and Sarah just stared at me.

"We will see," Sarah said and then turned away from me.

I turned back to Lilith and saw that she was watching me with a curious expression.

"What?" I asked, and Lilith shook her head.

"You are different. I can't explain it, but I think you might be able to do this. I hope you can because I don't want to die here," Lilith said, and I nodded.

"I am not going to die here," I said, and Lilith smiled, but it looked sad.

"I hope what you say is true, but like Sarah says, many have tried, and none have escaped. You will notice that most of the people here won't talk to you even if they could. They just lie and wait for their turn," Lilith explained.

"What do you mean their turn?" I asked, and Lilith's smile dropped.

"Eelyasha comes in every few daysss and takesss… sssomeone out. SSShe drains their blood and uses it to ssstay young. The Old Gods don't age like we do, but they can die. Eelyasha is paranoid that sssomeone is going to kill her and take her place, ssso... ssshe killsss anyone that ssshe thinks might be a threat. That is why most of usss don't talk. We don't want to give her a reason to kill us," Lilith explained, and I felt sick. "SSSorry for my ssspeach."

"Don't worry, I am used to it. That is horrible, but it makes sense. I had just taken one of the weaker Old Gods out and made her submit to me; next thing I knew, this one was coming for me," I said, and Lilith nodded.

"It is, but it is our reality. Who wasss it that you forced to sssubmit?" Lilith asked curiously.

"Ursula, a Crab Old God. Why? Do you know her?" I asked, and Lilith nodded.

"Ssshe wasss a friend long ago. Ssshe wasss an excellent fighter, but Eelyasha stole her magic but was not able to beat her. I am not sure how you managed to make her submit, but it is impressive," Lilith said, and I shrugged.

"Luck, I guess. I don't really know. I just know that I need to get out of here, and I am not going to let Eelyasha kill anyone else," I said, and Lilith nodded.

I didn't want to reveal just how strong I was, and even talking about Ursula might be a bad idea. I should try to move away from this topic for now.

"I hope you can do it, Kazzz. I really do," Lilith said, and I nodded.

"I am going to try my best," I said, and Lilith smiled.

"That is all I can ask for," Lilith said, and then her eyes started to close.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and Lilith nodded.

"I am just tired. I will be fine. I just need to rest for a bit," Lilith said, and then her eyes closed all the way.

I sat down and leaned against the bars of my cage and tried to think of a way out. I needed to find the key and then find a way to get out of this place, but that might be harder than it seemed.

I looked around, but all the dwellers of the cages had turned their backs to me or lied back down. Looks like I wasn’t going to get anything else out of anyone here.

I might as well go see what my elementals thought of my current situation. I might even have to disturb Harold.

You would think after all the people that I sent to him in Libra’s ring that he might come and see what was going on.

[Oh, I have been, but I have about as much clue as you do at this point. How did you get yourself in this mess?] Harold asked me, and I grinned to myself.

‘I was trying to take a vacation.’

[I think that you should stick to your route. The women should have let you go out on your own. They should all know better.] Harold sighed, and I stretched out on the ground and closed my eyes.

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