To Save A Fox

Chapter 12 -- Metamorphosis

The rattle of iron chains sung with the song of the sea as he was chained with a group of slaves bought from a market in China. His companions were hurling overboard, chumming the sea. Yet he was from an island nation...the sea ran in his blood.

His dusty blue eyes spied on his masters as they pulled the slaves from the side of the ship and beat them. Sakai stayed low as he was trying to figure out his chains. He had plans on escaping near port and going overboard and swimming under the water until he found a place to run.

He had been a slave many times, and he had a secret trick that kept him free whenever he wanted to be free. When no one was looking, he closed his eyes and whispered a silent chant and a flicker of fire cracked open his chains.

Blue fire danced upon the iron as he was free, but he pretended to remain captive. They were still too far from the mainland. When he saw the port ahead, he planned his escape. The crew of the ship had to man the riggings as they sailed through the obstacles. When Sakai saw his chance, he dropped his chains and dashed overboard and plunged deep into the cold sea.

He held his breath and swam away from the ship as he stayed under for as long as possible. When he finally came up to catch his breath, he watched as the slave ship continued to sail off as his escape had gone unnoticed.

He swam for shore, beaching himself just outside of the port's city limits. With time to dry off, he used his godly talent, coating himself with that 'magical' fire that he had learned from the druids and was finally dry enough to continue onward.

He was dressed as a peasant, and used this cloak to go unseen through much of Nihon. His travels brough him to the village city of Kyo; a beautiful place that was sheltered between mountains on all four sides. Many rivers ran through this plateau, emptying to the east.

Sakai learned that his life depended on being unseen, and moving unseen. He never visited the villages, only living off of the land and the kindness of the countryfolk. He was a survivalist and divination reader, making his living off of rice and vegetables that he could not easily get.

Exiting Kyo, he settled in the foothills of a lonely mountain. It was an abandoned place with ancient trees. He was able to settle down and sleep when he heard footsteps approaching.

Sakai quickly buried himself in a deep foxhole that he occupied, and waited for the wanderer to wander off. But the footsteps only approached closer. Sakai panicked, but kept quiet inside of the hole. When the footsteps ended, a woman looked inside the foxhole, smiling.

"Comfortable?" she asked him.

"Eugh...uhm...wait! You speak my language?!" he asked as the brilliant woman giggled.

"Indeed." though it was through her that Sakai was able to understand the language of the foxes. "You can come out, no one comes up here." as she helped Sakai out of the foxhole and looked at the outsider. "You are not from these lands, are you?"

"I am from Eire." he answered.

"I see, why are you here and not at home, then?" she asked him.

"I am a slave." he answered as this was the first time that he had had any form of conversation with anyone since the day that he was taken from Eire as a little boy. The woman invited him to join her at a lonely pond as she fed him and talked more.

"What is it that you want most in life, child?"

"My freedom." he said, eating fish and sipping on rice wine with a strange expression upon his face. It burned his throat with intense heat. The woman giggled as she asked.

"You never had sake before?"

"No." he said, feeling a heat overcome him. "It is so hot!" the woman nodded, sipping her sake from a small bowl with pleasure. "Thank you so showing me kindness."