Sucked into the Abyss

Taking a deep breath in, he opened his eyes and looked at the board in front him. Millions of posters in yellow tinted papers littered and tacked, calling for attention as they screamed their rewards in hand written and drawn clutter. But there was only one that stood out. Oldest in time. Biggest in size. Highest in rewards. It was obvious that everyone’s eyes were to be drawn over there. Just like his were. 

Current Location – Florentina Guildhall of Aglasia 

   It is the main location where everyone who belonged to this guild gathered. A place which felt like home as they gathered to be merry while at the same time, gave them a way to have some adventure in their lives. Obviously, by calling it a job and promising them money upon their return.  

   The jobs that came fluttering in where always through these posters or special requests which the noble, rich and the police put up. Let random people give a try at vanquishing the problems than let the system handle it. It was a weird motto but it worked out most of the time. Many quests were taken and completed and money was earned to keep stomachs well fed. Except that one. The one with the highest bid. 

   Salem Knight stared at it. He had the urge to take it. The money was really good where he wouldn’t need to take up another quest for a few years, even if he lived a selfishly lavish life. And it promised a good adventure. It wasn’t like the usual – procure materials or catch culprits or even destroy the unknown existences. This was entirely different. It was a trek to an unknown small town and report about the well-being of the place. Rumour states that it is a well populated place with a huge and good variety - Phantasmogria. 

     Problem is that, even though this poster has been circulated well around, those who picked up on that particular job, never returned. So, over the years, the number of adventurers opting for that quest began to dwindle. Thus, the raise in the reward, trying to form a way to motivate them.  

    That magic should have worked. But there were a lot of people who thought of their families first. They wanted to be able to live fulfilled lives with them, despite the money that was offered. However, it did attract lone wolves like Salem. They had nothing much to lose. If they manage through, their wildest dreams can get accomplished. To such people, money can get them everything. 

    With this new encouragement, Salem took the old, half torn poster to his master and registered for the quest. To him, it wasn’t just the bills that attracted him but the curiosity finally won him over. The master stared at him for a while and then sadly approved of it with his seal. They would have love to do a farewell party for him. But he shot the idea down. Don’t make it sound like he's dying already.  

    He went back to his small abode and packed the things he needed to survive when he goes to Phantasmogria. Since he assumed that the place he was going to would probably be a tribal area who has some sort of traditions and customs. After all, he did do the climate and weather study, and just to be on the safe side, he also studied about the different cultures so as to not offend anyone. That was probably what went wrong with the previous lot. He was really trying to go an extra mile to survive.  

    The next day, he woke up pretty early. On foot, with his huge bag on his back, he was dressed in khaki shorts, a plain tee and socks and trekking shoes. He was prepared in every way. All that was left was to hitchhike to the closest area to his destination. From there he would walk. With that in mind, he started off with a train ride.  

    A few hours in the locomotive and following the handmade map lines, he got off on his decided station. His journey till them wasn’t a bore. In fact, he managed to entertain two kids with his life experience stories. At least, this way he could leave a mark on someone if he left this world for good. Not that he was planning to die any time soon. 

    A bit of hitchhiking through carriages and animals, he came across so many people. Different castes, adoptive religion, colour and being, his attitude never changed and his interest in making new connections with strangers just grew. He hoped to remember them, thankful to these people who helped him reach his destination. They aided him to his goal. He would forever be grateful.  

   He got as close to Phantasmogria as possible, especially since it was common knowledge that the area was surrounding with thickets of greenery and no one ever went there due to the batch of rumours that had originated from there.  

   The first thing Salem did was, take out his note book and pen and began to write his observations. He began to walk through the forest whose path seemed walked yet it was very twisted and turned. He still followed the trail, hoping it would let him reach somewhere.  

    Hours and hours of walking, he barely had much written in the book, except about the plants and animals that roamed freely. He hadn’t even seen one human and he was already tired and bored of all this green. He sighed. He planned to go back, stay in the nearest town. It was a better idea then set up camp on unknown grounds.  

    Just as he walked a bit more, he saw small buildings that belonged to the town. Excitement bubbled in him as he made note of it. Yes, he did see that the buildings were decrepit and the surrounding rubble that littered around. It was quite surprising that there were rumours about people when he clearly couldn’t see anything.  

    Just then a face peeked out and a little girl came running out, joyfully as she chased the chicken she was playing with. Salem smiled at the sight and let out a light chuckle. That caught the attention of the girl as she stared at him. A pause. And then she let out a shrill scream. It caused Salem to jump back in surprise and he tried to sooth the child with his comforting words. “Hey, little girl. Calm down. It’s just me. I won’t harm you. See! No weapons.” He tried to tell her. 

    Suddenly a twang was heard and Salem jerked forward as his eyes widened. He stilled as he took out the needle that had pierced his neck and collapsed on the ground. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed were a few neutral coloured blobs rushing towards him. 

   Salem was long gone. He felt like he was floating in a sea of blackness. There was no sky, no ground. His senses weren’t working any more. Like he had no connection with his body any more. Did he die? So fast? He didn’t even have a fighting chance to survive. He would eventually have to accept that he’s long gone, but proof said otherwise. 

   The green grass covering the ground... a sunny day... a man in a loin cloth in front... a huge cloth burden on his back... silver shiny chains... women dressed in tribal browns with whips in their hands... 

   Salem realized that these were the image flashes his eyes were seeing. That meant he wasn’t dead. Then why can’t he feel his body? He clearly wasn’t in a coma. It took a while but he had understood. The only theory that fit in place. He was under the spell of hypnosis. So, whatever he would do, it would be quite useless as his struggles would go in vain. All he could do was wait it out till it wears off. 

   Days passed by. Salem was slowly getting his body back. It started off getting his full vision and awareness and slowly moved to his movements. Yet, he pretended to be under the spell. He needed to find a way out or he could be trapped here forever. He needed to plan this carefully. After all, he did find the reason why people never returned back home. 

   Salem found full control of his body but he had no clue how much time had passed by. However, he did understand that this area in ruins did have people, women as the rulers and trapped men as their slaves. No man was allowed their freedom. This was their policy. 

   Pretending to be in their hypnosis was not that hard for Salem. All he had to do was follow what other men did plus the spell had actually given him the ability to understand their weird language. The only hard part was when the men had to wash the women. People who were hypnotized had no reaction. But Salem is a true man. He was bound to react and it was so hard to hid in a simple loin cloth.  

   Even slaves were given a bit of free time, just to relax their bodies. The time Salem used to observe. He noticed that the men were shaved bald and had bruising marks all over their bodies. No clothes were allowed, except a small loin cloth to cover their crotch. And food was just bread and fruits. Meat was a luxury they only got if the women were gracious. Salem didn’t doubt that he was probably in the same state.  

   One day, he took his observations to a newer level. He explored the green grounds and came across a few statues surrounded by broken ruined walls. He stepped in and noticed that the walls had marks. Like in prison, to count the number of days and it was completely filled. It even had newer markings. 

    As for the statues, they were males wearing the small loin cloth. It seemed to represent the slaves that slogged at work. At first, he nearly laughed. The tribal women of Phantasmogria were very creative with their hands. That was until he came across a statue, he seemed to recognize. It was his friend, back from his own guild and he had gone missing, years back. Realization hit him. He finally understood what happened to those who broke out of their true roles. They were turned to stone. 

   Suddenly, a few female hollers were heard. Salem knew what that meant. It meant they were on a hunt, to look for him. Getting scared, he ran into the statues as he realized it wasn’t just a few but a thicket of them as if they were protecting something. 

   He ran, scared to be turned into stone but had rammed into a statue that carried a heavy green gem on her chest. The only female stone statue that had sat on the throne with that radiating gem. The statue was a beauty. A typical female with a perfect body size, unlike the tribals that were torturing the slaves out there. Even in that statue form, she seemed so elegant and would seem not to have any of those wild characteristics. If she were alive, Salem would have probably asked her out, only to get shot down. 

   Maybe the male statues were protecting her. He looked at the jewel once more and an idea hit him. Maybe this is what was creating the problems in this town. With that in mind, he pulled it out. And oh boy, was that a wrong move. It’s just that he realized it too late.  

   The statue had a huge hole in the middle of her chest and had nothing to hold it together. As the winds blew everything into silence, the statue crumbled into tiny pieces and blew away. The throne still stayed yet empty. The gem, however, found a new body to inhabit so it grew tiny legs and crawled up Salem’s arm, fusing into his chest. 

  In all the confusion that was taking place, Salem didn’t understand what was happening until the heat began to spread, making his body feel like it’s on fire. He let out a large gasp as he collapsed on his knees. His body began to induce the transformation to readily host the large green gem.  

  Just a few moments, and the heat died down. The preparations were ready. Salem was able to stand again. But he still felt so weird as changes were actively seen on his body. His fair coloured skin phased into a dusky tan while his limbs began to grow thinner and longer. In fact, he wasn’t able to breathe because his body felt like it was forced into a tight corset and squeezing everything out. What he didn’t dare to realise was that as his waist was sucked in, he had achieved a heavy hourglass figure. He didn’t notice that his bald head was growing thick volumes of brunette hair as his face modified to suit the new body. Even his tiny white loin cloth and turned into a thinner piece of tiger fur just covering the newly evolved crotch. The jewel however nestled perfectly between his newly exposed breasts. 

   He was just so invested in his weird feelings that he didn’t understand what was happening to him until everything paused for a moment. He was able to stand up and look what was done to him. A gasp left his lips. Every shred of masculinity was wiped away but he felt strong magic coursing through his veins. Was this the balance that was needed to achieve this power?  

   With just these thoughts, the course of actions didn’t seem over yet. He was incomplete as more was yet to come. Out of nowhere, adornments in gold and silver began to appear and dressed the new body. Heavy bracelets on the wrists and ankles, heavy yet beautiful designed chains for the neck and a tribal crown for the head. An immediate reaction of pain coursed through the body as piercings of gold were for the ears and belly button. The new tribal goddess was born.  

  However, as Salem tried to move in his newly gifted body, he found out he couldn’t. That he was yet in that hypnotized state. In fact, he was forced to turn around and sit on the stone throne that had waited for its queen. Just as the body was forced to sit down, green lush looking vines grew around the body, making the goddess even prettier and innocent-like, as if loved by nature. The body was forced to pose as if hugging the jewel and ignoring it’s globes, just to complete the picture. And thus, moved on to be looking like a real-life statue. 

  Salem then understood that he was truly trapped here forever. That was until, if another unfortunate soul took pity on him and freed him from his new prison.