• Closed • Breadcrumbs

[Arlo Creede]

"Bread?" Arlo exclaimed and turned back to look at Tio with an incredulous look on his face. Who was scared of bread? Then again, people were funny about their phobias and fears. His own mother had never been able to abide the sound of other people chewing. Oh, the crunching, the smacking and worse, the slurping of soups and the like, she'd exclaim. And his grandmother? As Arlo recalled it, for as long as he'd been aware, she'd been deeply suspicious of sink and washtub drains. Still, Bread?

"I think it's rye," Arlo couldn't help but supply dryly, helpfully, and then shook his head as on they went. But then as he'd handed Tio a lantern, he caught sight of painting behind the other man. He was already afraid of bread. How helpful would it be to point out the portrait that in all likelihood Tio hadn't posed for? He nodded in that direction, an indication that Tio ought to look. But something else about that portrait caught his eye. The fox. What was it about a fox? Searching his memory, suddenly he remembered. The fortune teller.

There'd be a man and a fox. Lots of silver nel, and a key to find? "No, wait...Not a key," he uttered aloud, still looking at the portrait. "A cup. That's the key." Shaking his head then, Arlo had headed down the stairs with his makeshift light. One dog, then the other, or was it the same one? And why was there snow underneath their feet indoors? The door swung open on its hinges and crashed against wall again, and a cold blast of air swept through, but it didn't explain the icy ground.

"This dog is a friend," Arlo muttered when Tio confessed his distaste for the things. How did he know? Well first, it was something that the fortuneteller had told him, combined with the rest. But then there was also the dog's behavior. It was more interested in the dark shadow in front of them. And so was Arlo as he raised his bow and pointed it dead center of the thing. Hopefully it wasn't just the shadow cast by a misshapen bookshelf. "Who are you, and what's going on here," he demanded to know.

[Tio Silver]

When Arlo nodded in the direction of the walls Tio turned to follow his gaze, only to be met with a picture of a man who looked the spitting image of him. The doppelganger was standing proudly besides an armchair, upon which a majestic fox with perfectly combed pelt sat looking inquisitively out at them. Tio's eyes widened as he stared up at the painting, and his mouth opened into a gasp as he sank to his knees before the painting.

"It can't be... father?!"

He stayed like that for three trills, looking at the painting as if it had just revealed the meaning of life to him. Suddenly he broke into a fit of childish laughter, and spun around to face Arlo again and he hopped up onto his feet.

"Just kidding." He sang. "I take all of my good looks from my mother. I've got no idea who that handsome fellow is, but I have to say I like his style. Maybe the artist who painted him thought he wasn't quite handsome enough and used me for inspiration or something? I doubt this is anything we need to worry about." He frowned a little. "But what do you mean cups are keys? I have a slight suspicion you may have misunderstood how doors work."

Tio heroically cowered behind Arlo as they decended down the stairs and encountered the dog that'd been causing all of the noise. Despite the fact that the hound wasn't snarling at them per se and that Arlo claimed it was their friend Tio jumped every time it barked, unable to control his cynophobia even a little. Although he couldn't quite make out what the dark shape was Tio found himself unable to step any closer towards it, for to do so would bring him nearer to the dog.

"... You know what, you've got this Hat Stuff. I'm going to go and cower over by the railings." Tio muttered meekly, slowly walking backwards to the staircase and putting the railings between himself and the dog. Having something physical to protect him helped a little. Draw his cutlass ever so slightly from its sheath Tio angled it so that the light from the lantern reflected off the explosed peice of metal towards the dark shape, hoping to illuminate some of it.

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[Pegasus]

14th Cylus 718

"Please, don't shoot us, sir. Please don't." The dark shadow in front of them, of such interest to the dog and to the both of them, stood. The voice was a man's and when he spoke, the dog definitely wagged its tail. It seemed like it was protecting whoever this person, no, these people were. As Tio used his cutlass to shine a light, there they saw a man and a woman. The man was large. Impossibly, unnaturally large it seemed. He was easily 6 foot tall and possibly as wide, and he had a frightened expression on his face. His arms were around the woman he'd been protecting. She was tall, nearly as tall as him, but she was painfully thin. When she turned to look at them, they both saw quite clearly that she appeared to have no mouth. Whilst that was all that was obvious on first glance, if they looked closer, it was evident, from the scars on her, that at some time in her life, her mouth had literally been sewn closed, but it wasn't now - and the skin seemed to have healed closing over her mouth permanently. Her eyes were wide and terrified, and the man held her, protectively, although it was obvious that he was fearful as her. "I'm sorry, sirs, we were just trying to.. "

What they were trying to, he did not get to say. A low growl came from the Nightpup just trill before the loud bang again echoed over the place. The temperature had dropped even further and the dog suddenly let out a pain-filled yip, although what the problem might be was not apparent at all. Still, it fell over and, should they take the time to do so, they might note that it simply was not breathing. It had yelped once and fallen over dead. "Tiny!" The giant of a man said and then came a voice from the darkness.

"Did you think we would let you escape?" The man who spoke stepped forward and smiled, a friendly and apparently welcoming smile, but his eyes were cold as ice. "Welcome. Please, Arlo, lower the crossbow. You'll be as dead as the dog before you release. There are six bows trained on you. You too, Tio." He gestured to the enormous man and the woman with no mouth. "Wilbur. Back to work, please. Now. We will talk later." The enormous man had tears running down his face and was staring, stricken, at the dog. "Wilbur!" At the repeat of his name, Wilbur's head snapped up and he nodded. "Yes, sir, Mr Smith, sir." The human man, apparently called Mr Smith, nodded. He was short, wiry of build and he nodded. "I will visit you and Thea later. Be ready." Wilbur nodded and the woman's eyes widened in further fear, but she made no sound.

The enormous chap started to move away, towards the kitchens and Mr Smith turned to Arlo and Tio. "I am afraid you will have quite misconstrued that situation. I assure you, it is not what it must seem. Come, why don't we sit by the fire?" As he spoke, he gestured and the flames in the hearth which had been completely missing trill before suddenly flared into life and there was a roaring blaze. Come to that, every candle in the place lit, at the same moment.

And it seemed, he really was not joking about the people in the room with bows aiming at them. They might notice that none of the people were anyone they recognized and all of them had their faces covered. But they had been hiding in the dark. "It is unfortunate that we must do so, but I'm afraid I must insist." He gestured to the chairs near the fireplace and smiled, as though he had just offered them a canape.

[Arlo Creede]

Now that Arlo thought about it, the fortune teller hadn't told him that the man with the fox would be his protector, his defender...and so on. Fair enough, Arlo thought dryly when Tio dropped to his knees to pay a sort of homage to himself. The young traveler and storyteller, blessed of Cassion, and so on, simply shook his head and snorted quietly. But how would he not have been concerned? He was fairly sure the painting hadn't been there before.

"It's an analogy," he muttered as they continued down the stairs, Tio, his shadow. "Or no, its not actually, its symbolism," Arlo decided, on second thought. The cup apparently was the key. But not just any key, probably. "There's a cup that's a key to something." Never mind, he thought. There were more immediate concerns on his mind. Tio's too apparently, but not the same as his, Arlo figured as he eyed the other man retreating behind a post by the stairs. At least he used his sword to shine a little light on the subject.

Then, at the same time they were illuminated, the shadows spoke. And just in time to stop him firing off a bolt at them. If you don't want to be shot," he said, still on guard, "Maybe you oughtn't go skulking around in the shadows and sneaking up on folk?" They were a pitiful looking pair, and strange with one of their mouths closed off. They seemed to be quaking and fearful, and yet Arlo wasn't inclined to trust what he saw. Then another bang and a bark that made him jump and things got even stranger.

The dog fell over but Arlo was too busy to notice, since he'd swung his bow off the direction he'd heard the banging coming from. And there was that blast of cold air again. "Who's there!" The man stepping from the shadows didn't help. Since, impossibly, he knew Arlo's name. Or maybe it wasn't impossible. After all, his name was on the list of volunteers, and he'd filled out form besides that. Dead as the dog before he released? The man underestimated his skill with a bow. "Not before I've dropped at least one, probably two of you," he said bluntly. "You first, maybe," he suggested, considering that's where his bow was aimed already.

The way Arlo saw it, he wasn't misreading any thing at all. Six loaded weapons pointed at him? Not the actions of friends, potential allies or even well meaning strangers. Still, it didn't appear that he had any choice. Even was Tio to charge in as well, they were outnumbered. Even if they dispatched half, or more than half of the men between them, they were still outnumbered and unlikely to survive the exchange. Reluctantly then, he lowered his weapon and took a seat.

[Tio Silver]

There were all manner of creatures associated with lurking around in the dark; snakes, spiders, and other such beasts that relied on stealth and ambushes to catch their prey. Yet when Tio bounced the torchlight off his cutlass it revealed something he'd never imagined would have the capability for sneaking around; giants! There were two of them, both over six foot tall, one a broad and bulky man while the other was a worryingly thin woman. They both looked pretty worse for wear, especially the woman whose mouth seemed to have fused itself closed. How did she eat like that? Actually looking at how thin she was it was likely that she normally didn't. The pair of them were looking at him, Arlo and Arlo's crossbow with wide eyes, clearly terrified out of their wits.

"Who in the world are you?" The words slipped out of Tio's mouth accidentally, and as he realized he'd said them out loud the yludih clamped his mouth shut. As strange as this situation was there was no need to be rude.

A loud bang rang out across the room, and suddenly the dog dropped to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. The giant man cried out its name in alarm, but was interrupted by a chilling voice. Another man stepped out of the darkness, wearing a smile on his face that seemed at odds with the cold look in his eyes. He addressed the giants by name, Wilbur and Thea, and commanded them to get back to work, and it finally dawned on Tio what was going on here. Those two were slaves, and this man was their owner. It became immediately obvious who the one responsible for sewing Thea's mouth shut was, and cast a light onto just what kind of person this 'Mr Smith' was.

As Wilbur and Thea left towards the kitchen, Mr Smith then turned to address the two of them. He invited them to sit, and as he said the word 'fire' the fireplace and all the candles about the room burst into life, revealing half a dozen hidden figures with bows trained on them. As concerning as the arrows were, Tio found himself more worried by Mr Smith's display of magic. Was he a defier? There had been no indication of effort on his face as he lit all those fires at once, so if he was then he must be a very good one, or at the very least have reached kinship with the flames. Calling upon his own spark Tio reached out to the fireplace, asking if it would share with him the secret of how Mr Smith had brought it to life. Regardless of what it said however there was still little choice but to do as this slave master wanted, and so cautiously Tio came down from the stairs and sat down in one of the offered seats.

"So then-... Mr Smitty was it? I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there's some sort of slave escape situation going on here, right?" Tio asked slowly, using the conversation as a way to test the waters. "Which by itself isn't exactly uncommon. I could even pass off a mage being the owner as something I need not concern myself with, after all I'm sure there're plenty of other mages out there that own slaves. What is troubling however is for that mage to just happen to know the names of people they came across seemingly by coincidence, or for that mage to have his own little pack of ninjas in tow. So from your behavior I'm guessing there's something more to this that I should have cause to get worried about. Or should I say something more to you?"

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[Pegasus]

14th Cylus 718

At Arlo's suggestion that he'd get one, maybe two before they killed him, and that the first one would be him, Mr Smith smiled and raised an eyebrow but said nothing. The man had an air of smug which was hard to miss. This was exacerbated, of course, when they both sat down, and Mr Smith smiled at them. When Tio started asking questions, he glanced at him and his expression was positively beneficent.

"You are full of questions, aren't you Tio?" He spoke to him with a condescending smile and tone of voice to match. Then, he clasped his hands together in front of him and pressed the pads of his fingers tight to one another. "Firstly, slavery does not happen in Gunvorton. Shania," his voice was bitter when he spoke that word. He didn't seem to be a fan of the proprieter. "Shania does not allow it. Or many, many other money making schemes. So, I'm taking matters into my own hands," He smiled at them both as though sure that they would understand. "Really. That's only fair. Don't you think? She said that I am not moral enough, strong enough, me? I am a most moral man." He seemed alternately angry, confused and then suddenly, he laughed.

Yet the men with the crossbows pointing at them didn't drop them. Didn't waver. Evidently, they were used to this sort of strange, chaotic behaviour.

Or, they really didn't care.

"So, this is an opportunity. New people, all of a like mind to Shania," he didn't spit when he said her name, but he looked utterly enraged. Evidently. Shania had wronged him greatly in his opinion. "And all with information freely given, written down and stored away. But it seems that even Shania, the saintly Shania, has limits." He looked at Arlo and wondered. "Would you give up strangers in exchange for your eyes? Or would you protect them and let me burn out your eyes? I mean, .. well, I don't mean let me because she had no choice, did she? But still." He chuckled. "She sold you out to keep her eyes. Which is stupid really. If I was her, I wouldn't want to see." His face took on a slightly faraway expression and he bit his lower lip with a smile.

"So. Yes. You two. Arlo Creede and Tio Silver. Welcome to your new life, and all that." He raised a hand and one of those pointing weapons at them stepped forward. The thug in question did not speak, but Mr Smith did. "Drop your weapons and follow William here. He and two of his companions are going to .." He paused, considering the word. "...induct you. Off you go. Oh, and if you fight?" He looked at Tio first. "Well, we won't hesitate to kill you, Tio. Really, it was Arlo we were after, with his blessings and other interesting things. However," he said and he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small piece of paper. Arlo would recognise it, he'd filled it in, after all. Mr Smith's gaze turned to Arlo, then. Unwavering and with a very clear sense of the man being utterly mad. "I have here a name of someone. Sounds Biqaj, the surname. And a place where she's sleeping. A ship. Made of wood, I presume..." Without even a gesture on his part, the flames in the hearth, on every candle, suddenly grew in intensity.

"If either of you misbehave, I'll portal there and burn it with her in it. Either of you try anything, she dies. Now, off you go. I'm going to give Shania another visit." He seemed incredibly pleased with himself.

William, if such his name was, motioned for them to make their way out towards the kitchen, behind the bar. If they did that, if they moved, two more would fall in line behind them, and another with William. So that would mean that there were four thugs. But as they walked, if they did, they were very visible to all in the room and, of course, none of the others dropped their aim.

If they went into the kitchens, it would be just the four of them. Depending, of course, on what was there....

[Arlo Creede]

Tio might be full of questions, but Arlo was full to overflowing with outrage and defiance. If the ringleader in all his smug arrogance thought it would end anytime soon, he'd be better off thinking again. Clearly Shania was involved in all this strange business, or at least it seemed so. Just how that was remained to be seen. But for the moment, Arlo felt there was no option but to take the so called invitation to sit.

The man's smile didn't mean much. Arlo wasn't fool enough to mistake it as him being friendly. It was more the way a viper looked with it first spread its jaw, primed to strike. But then off course he understood. Shania had sold them out, him and Tio. And he himself had been a fool to fill out the paper she'd given him. Still, his new life? Didn't matter what the reason was or what the fool thought. Not a chance. Nonetheless, weighing his options he dropped the two weapons that he was wearing in plain sight. His short bow and his long sword.

He wasn't going to be going off and being inducted to anything however. When the man revealed why he'd wanted him, and then went so far as to threaten Vega? Well, it took all the self control he had not to leap for the man's throat. No question though, he'd kill the bastard first chance he got. "Clearly you don't know a thing about the nature of the Immortals who've given me their blessing, if you think any of 'em would tolerate a trill of what you're doing here." Or threatening innocents for that matter. And he knew even less about Arlo, if he thought he'd ever earn an ounce of cooperation or loyalty, or even willingness under duress by threatening to harm Vega.

"No you won't," he responded to the threat. "Harming a hair on her head guarantees I won't stop until I kill you. and then all your stooges after. Threatening her guarantees that any semblance of cooperation you gain, will last no longer than the first trill you turn your back on me. And I'll plant a knife right in the middle of it," Arlo promised. And in the meantime, through his link with Lyova, he asked her to visit Vega in her dreams, for surely Vega was asleep, back on the Wanderlust. It was the middle of the night after all. And in her dreams, that was the only place that Vega could see or hear his little diri protector. "Warn her. Tell her she has to wake up," he instructed Lyova, mind to mind, "and tell her to put her father and the others on notice."

So long as Lyova did what he asked, and then reported back that she'd done it, Arlo could feel freer to do what he needed to do. It was all that he needed to know. That Vega and her family were forewarned, on alert and would defend themselves, and in that way Lyova was protecting him by giving him more freedom to act on his own behalf without risking her. And that might just be a little bit easier, considering that as they were escorted into an adjoining room, the number of men guarding them was nearly cut in half.

[Tio Silver]

Between his trick with the fire and his threat to portal over to Vega and kill her if they tried anything, it seemed almost certain that this guy was a mage after all. From the way he talked it also sounded like he might be someone fairly powerful in Gunvorton, but Tio couldn't say that he cared enough about politics to pay attention to any of the names associated with the town's recent growth spurt. Combined with the fact that he displayed some serious mood swings that hinted at a deep rooted madness, Tio came to the conclusion that this guy really was a genuinely dangerous person, and probably wasn't bluffing when he said he'd kill Vega.

That being said it turned out that this Mr Smith had a pretty glaring weakness; he was kind of an idiot. When he gloated about the information they'd given to Shania and mentioned that enslaving him had only been of secondary importance to enslaving Arlo, since the traveller had an Immortal's blessing, it betrayed a surprising level of naivety. Or was it overconfidence? Did he really think the followers of the more dubious gods would tell the truth about what they could do just because Shania batted her eyes at them? It was true that this line of work rarely attracted such people, but even so this guy should know better than to take freely given information at face value. Still his oversight could well end up being Tio's way out of this mess. After all he couldn't protect himself against what he didn't know was coming for him, and Tio had a lot of tricks up his sleeve that his form hadn't told Smith about.

"Wait, so not only are you telling me that you're enslaving me, but you're only enslaving me as an afterthought?" Tio replied indignantly, clearly offended. "You know I always imagined that being kidnapped must be pretty bad, and I made peace with the fact that these flowing golden locks of mine could make me a target one day, but I didn't expect the kidnappers to be so rude about it. This has been a truly eye opening experience. I mean I thought that at the least I'd be the prize catch, not the second fiddle."

Looking more like a stroppy teenager than a freshly captured slave, Tio followed William into the adjoining room. As he did he looked closely at the thugs, trying to spot any clues on their person that might suggest who they were or where they might be going. Once in the opposite room Tio looked around at the four thugs, and then back at the one called William.

"You know guys, I feel like this is a good time to point out that I have come into some money recently, and would be more than happy to bribe-... erm, no not that. What was the other word for it?... Ransom! Yes, pay you guys a nice fat ransom if you let me go! What do you say Willy? You could afford to change your name to something that isn't another word for a penis! Now wouldn't that be just lovely for you?"

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[Pegasus]

14th Cylus 718

Mr Smith looked at Arlo as he spoke and he chuckled at the young mans fury. "I know a lot about the Immortals, Arlo Creede," he said with the same dead eyes. "Shania is blessed twice by Moseke and Ashan, thrice by Ethelynda. They didn't help her when I burned her, did they? No. They didn't stop her bleeding when I sliced her pretty face, either. She had what you have, and a lot more. There are people who will pay highly for your blood." He smiled in a benevolent manner, obviously completely insane as he did.

"Not so much an afterthought, Tio, more of an inconvenience." Mr Smith said with a smile. "But, a profitable one, I've no doubt. So try not to take it personally and I won't put the dogs on you." Evidently, he'd heard some of what Tio said about dogs or.. of course...he'd read it. "What secrets you laid bare for me, both of you. All there. Shania had locked them away, you know and wouldn't give them over even when I cut her," Mr Smith giggled slightly, obviously this amused him quite a lot. "But it was to save her eyes. What strange things people are."

Then, Arlo spoke again and he responded to Mr Smith's threat with a threat of his own. As Lyova disappeared, figuratively speaking, to find Vega, Mr Smith looked at the dreamwalking follower of Cassion and for a moment, he looked furious. Utterly furious. And then, he laughed. "Empty vessels, boy. Empty threats. Be sure, mine aren't. Don't push me, and I won't harm her. Only if you make me need to."

But, they complied and went with William, out of the room and into the kitchen. That was all the time that Lyova needed to let Arlo know that she'd done as instructed, she'd woken up Vega and Joq'an too and that she'd told Vega all about it and Vega had told her to tell him that he'd better come home safe or she was going to pound him. The stream of chatter from Lyova about why that made no sense, and how she'd told Vega it made no sense, but didn't really have time to talk because she'd woken her up was constant and continuous.

Meanwhile, the conversation from Tio wasn't a lot different, and as he suggested to William that he might want a change of name, the man in question continued to say nothing. The offer of a ransom (or bribe, depending on one's point of view) brought nothing in the way of reaction and then the kitchen door closed with a resounding thunk. The dog in the room, a large black mastiff growled from its basket.

As it did, one of the other guards who had walked in behind them raised his bow, lifting his hands in a strange movement and then breathed in, and out, like he was a child trying to blow the candles out on a birth-trial cake. But what happened in that movement was like the very opposite as, suddenly, the fire in the open brick stove multiplied in size, maybe three times and fire started to spread, exponentially, through the room. "Mr Smith says he's changed his mind. You're not worth it." He grinned at William and shrugged. "Sorry Willy," and with, literally, a click of his heels, he was gone, as were the others. All that remained were Tio, Arlo and William.

William, slack jawed, looked around as he realised that they were in a room with no other exit. The kitchen door was locked and bolted, obviously in preparation for this and he turned to Arlo and Tio in panic. Lyova told Arlo that the kitchen door was barred from outside, lots of wood firmly in place - as were the windows. They weren't getting out that way. And, as the fire spread around them, they might be forgiven for thinking that this, this was the place where they died. Engulfed by the fire which was growing at an impossibly fast rate and had certainly ruined the bread they smelled. The dog was paying at a spot on the floor, desperately scrabbling at what, from there, seemed to be nothing at all, and William looked at them and pointed to the dog. But still, he didn't speak.

Should they look? There was a cellar door. But it was locked and they really didn't have time to hunt out the key. If they could get it open, maybe.... well, maybe they wouldn't end up like the bread

[Arlo Creede]

So, Tio was offended that he wasn't top of the list for kidnappings? Arlo side eyed the other man curiously, frowning and considered pointing out that this might not be the best time to engage in a fit of moral outrage. On the other hand, might be a nervous reaction. Arlo wasn't inclined to believe what their abductors said, just because they said it. But if Tio had been an acquisition come of convenience, it meant that he was in more immediate danger of being done away with than Arlo was. More expendable, maybe. But if Lyova managed to successfully deliver his message, then the two of them might have a better chance.

At the least, Arlo would feel more comfortable acting, once he knew that Vega and her family were alerted and on guard. "Maybe they didn't intervene," he conceded when Smith supposed that the Immortals might not have been interested in Shania's plight, therefore wouldn't intervene in his. "It might not be their usual business to intervene on behalf of their favorites," he considered. "Can't help but think though that you've been busy adding your name to a number of grudge lists." Divine ones, he meant, and surely that couldn't be good.

But no, he didn't expect Cassion in particular to intervene. More likely the Immortal would relish the situation as another adventure to fight his way out of. Somehow though, Arlo sensed that Smith might just know about Lyova, and where she'd gone off to. No matter. Let him be furious. It was only important that Vega was safe. And once his little diri friend reported back, he could only hope that his warning had been enough.

Still, there they were in the kitchen. Fewer guards than before, but the mastiff was there and Arlo still wasn't sure whose side that creature was on. And just when he was beginning to formulate some sort of plan in his mind, the situation changed in a flash, and the fire flared outside the boundaries of the hearth. Not worth it? That was sudden. Even William seemed surprised. So surprised that in spite of the temptation to do otherwise, Arlo left him be.

There were more immediate concerns to deal with, like the prospect of burning alive and without a thought he checked the doors and windows. It was Lyova that made clear it wasn't happening that way. "We can't get out that way," he said to Tio after trying to ram the door open with his shoulder. The dog pawing at the floor though got his attention and walking over, he spotted the door in the floor. "I don't suppose you've got a lock pick do you?" he asked Tio. Probably not, but most lock assemblies were screwed onto the doors they kept shut. And most doors had hinges, the plates set on with screws.

Pulling his knife out of his boot...earlier he'd only surrendered his weapons that were in plain sight, he handed it over to Tio. "Maybe if the screws were removed, we can pass by the lock completely." Meanwhile, he was going to look for a key. "Wait...key," he said, having just started ransacking the kitchen in search of one. The dog was a friend, as the prophesy went, he thought. Well the dog had shown them where the cellar door was. And a key. They definitely needed one right quick. But a "Cup," he muttered. Maybe the key was in a cup? With that in mind, he began furiously searching the kitchen for a key, starting with inside or underneath each and every cup he could find.