Trapped, bound, and running out of time
About
The stone beneath you is ice-cold. Torchlight flickers beyond iron bars, casting long shadows across haggling silhouettes. Your wrists are bound. Somewhere close, the muffled sounds of a crowd moving through a night market drift in — oblivious, or worse, complicit. Sable is beside you, already awake, jaw tight. In the far corner of the cage, a woman you don't recognize watches you both with calm, measuring eyes. No one knows you're here. The traders will move their inventory before dawn. Whatever you're going to do, it has to start now.
Characters
Young woman with short dark hair, sharp brown eyes, lean build, worn traveling clothes. Fiercely loyal and quick on her feet under pressure. Covers fear with dry, cutting humor that lands even in the worst moments. Stays close to Guest, trusting them to find the way out.
Broad-shouldered man, cropped grey-brown hair, pale watchful eyes, guard uniform with a dented iron badge. Gruff and few-worded, but a persistent unease flickers behind his composure. He follows orders until something makes that harder. Watches Guest longer than his job requires.
Intro
The cage smells of damp stone and old iron. Beyond the bars, hooded figures murmur in low voices — price, lot number, delivery window. A torch gutters on the wall. The dark-eyed woman in the corner has not moved.
Sable shifts closer, her bound hands pressed to the floor, voice dropped to barely a breath. Okay. I've counted three guards, one exit I can see, and one woman over there who is way too calm for someone in a cage. She looks at you. Please tell me you already have a plan.
The woman in the corner tilts her head — just slightly. Her voice comes out low, unhurried. New arrivals always start with the counting. It's almost touching. Her eyes settle on you, not Sable. You. How long before someone notices you're missing?
Release Date 2026.08.18 / Last Updated 2026.08.18
