Solo [The Lykolav Iron Mine] Party at Twelve

[Aren]

Sylira, The Cobalt Mountains, Lykolav Iron Mine: 23rd of Winter, 514 AV – Fourteenth Bell "I’m going down to Twelve." Aren stated, the men he had been talking with offering nothing more than a wave in response. Twelve was the longest, darkest tunnel he had yet to encounter in these mines, and he liked working it because nobody else did. It had several myriad passageways, many of which were quite wide, and losing your light down there could mean a hell of a time getting back out. Even the Akalak needed a torch if he went too deep down the tunnel, but he could simply follow the trail of heat his own passage had created to get out, assuming he didn't take too long to come back. Hammering away at the hard stone which produced the valuable metal the knights relied on for weapons and armor, Aren’s whole body strained under the continual and repeated effort of the task. Sweat covering every inch of his exposed upper body, he couldn't imagine how some of the other inmates managed to go at it for hours without much rest. Though he was getting better at enduring the constant labor and building up the strength necessary to more easily accomplish the task, the Akalak realized he still had a long ways to go. Hopefully, however, he wouldn't be given the opportunity to truly master the art of breaking rocks, as so many of the other inmates of Lyko had. Taking a sip from the small waterskin he had been provided, Aren was wiping the sweat off his brow when he heard the telltale sound of approaching footsteps. The echo that was produced in these long passages warned of approach chimes in advance, but the Akalak couldn't imagine who would come down here with him. It was clear there was more than one of them, yet as far Aren knew most people wouldn't willingly come this far into Twelve. As the strangers approached, the warrior noticed that they weren't any of the inmates he usually associated with. The fact that they stood off at distance instantly gave him cause for concern, but Aren still wasn't sure what these three were doing down here. They didn't even have any picks with them.

[Aren]

”We hear you've been affliatin’ with people you shouldn't be." The one in the middle spoke, his face sinisterly illuminated by the torch he carried. His compatriots exuded the same telltale air of menace associated with the common thug, and his lack of proper pronunciation told Aren that was probably exactly what they were. The Akalak wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but it seemed to him that thugs on the outside did not generally look as well fed and meaty as these three did, but it was possible he was merely imagining things. It would have been somewhat amusing, he thought, if the conditions in these mines actually lent themselves to the production of heartier variations of the typical brute. It would be just like the knights not to realize that by sending criminals in here temporarily they were just making them better suited to those same criminal activities on the outside. “Listen… friends?” Aren wasn’t entirely sure what word to use in this instance, but he figured everybody liked having friends, right? “I don’t know-“ He tried to continue, but unfortunately, he couldn’t have been more wrong. “We’re not your friends, ‘Lak.” The man on the right interrupted, clearly disapproving of the suggestion that there was some kind of amicable relationship between himself and the Akalak. Aren’s hands instinctively came up in an attempt to convey the fact that no insult had been meant. It was merely a turn of phrase, although perhaps a poorly chosen one, he now realized. “I’m not looking for any trouble, gentlemen. I just want to do my work in piece, and I assure you, I’m not affiliating with anyone. Oh, so you’re calling Jix a liar, now?” The third man who had thus far remained quite chimed in, his words prompting a grimace from the Akalak; he had really just walked into that one. "I know you don’t know me blue one, so let me elucitade you. I don’t lie… and I’m not gentle either." There was an outright disturbing smile on Jix as he said this, letting everyone present know that the time for talk was just about at an end. “Oh, shit.” Aren had been involved in enough fights to know when one was about to break out, and he felt that there could be no doubt that he currently found himself on that precipice. As if on cue, two of the men rushed him. Torches still in hand, their intent was a little difficult to judge from the way they moved. The Akalak’s own torch had been placed in one of the empty sconces that were placed along the tunnels so that a miner could work with a semblance of illumination, and so his hands were free for defense when the two thugs came at him. His immediate instinct was to defend himself, but he knew even the best defense would eventually be overwhelmed by a continuous offense. He needed to attack, and since only two were coming at him, this seemed like as good an opportunity as he was going to get. His first choice was a front kick to the abdomen, which Aren hoped would buy him the time necessary to deal with the other guy. The Akalak was bigger than either of his attackers, but they were certainly large specimens themselves, and the kick did not have the desired effect. It pushed its target back, but did not knock him over, and so he was only able to get in a single punch on the other one before the first was coming at him again. Soon, both men were on top of him, and while Aren did his best to defend from their attacks, he couldn't protect himself from blows coming at him from two different sides. Eventually, his defenses were overwhelmed, and the pair of brutes held his arms securely with their own. At this point the third man, Jix, approached. Cocksure and confident that this outcome had been all but inevitable, he walked with the kind of regal strut reserved for kings and conquerors. As he drew near, however, he could see that his prey was smiling. Bloody, bruised and restrained, how could he think this was at all a laughing matter? Jix had seen these kinds of men before, but he was confident that the Akalak’s attitude would soon change; he had his ways, and they had never failed him. Before he could get too close, however, Jix noticed the presence of an ethereal looking ball moving directly between him and his soon-to-be victim.

[Aren]

“I don’t suppose any of you fine, educated fellows have ever heard of Reimancy, have you?” Aren asked, with a spit off one side that produced more blood than actual saliva. He was seriously hoping they hadn't, but also knowing that he needed to buy some time for the Res to attract the flames which were responsible for the few sources of light that were nearby. The three men exchanged confused glances between themselves. Apparently they didn't know what their captive was talking about, but they also seemed curious as to what this strange, translucent looking object was. The more they stared at it, the more it appeared to glow, and the darker it got around them. Not wanting his new acquaintances to realize this last fact, Aren kept talking in an effort to distract them, “Well, Reimancy, you see… is the art of manipulating Res.” One of the men holding him gave him a look that suggested he might like a little more information, which the Reimancer was more than happy to provide, ”Res is the external manifestation of one’s Djed.” Aren explained, watching the ball continue to grow in brightness. "Djed?" One of the brutes asked, admittedly curious. “Djed is all around us.” The Akalak stated, his pronunciation deliberately exacting and slow, “It’s what we eat, what we breathe, what we are. It’s you and it’s me and it’s everything and everywhere. It is the blade by which a mage rends the world and reshapes it to his will.” His teeth flashed at this last sentence. He knew that while most wouldn't know what Reimancy, or Res, or Djed was, the word mage had a distinct association with magic, and magic was a concept most people had at least some kind of peripheral awareness of. “A mage!?” Jix exclaimed, the seriousness of the situation suddenly dawning on him. It was too late, however. The only source of light left in the entire tunnel was under Aren’s control and he promptly willed it in the thug’s direction. The flaming ball swiftly impacted and disintegrated on the ugly mug Jix called a face, prompting a blood curdling scream from the man. Falling to the ground in agony, he instinctively cupped whole mounds of dirt to pour against his burning flesh, but in so doing he snuffed out the only thing that was allowing him and his compatriots to see in the pitch darkness of the passageway. “Are you alright, J-“ One of the two brutes holding Aren tried to ascertain his friend’s condition, but the sudden absence of light took him by surprise. A moment later, a hard, unexpected strike to the side of his head loosened his grip on the Akalak’s arm, and this was immediately followed by another hit to his midsection, then a third to the side of his jaw. The man’s opposite, holding Aren’s other arm, heard the scuffle, but simply couldn't make out what was going on. He discovered what all the fuss was about a few moments later, however, when he found himself on the receiving end of a very similar set of blows.

[Aren]

With all three of his assailants on the ground and essentially at his mercy, the azure-hued warrior began to think on what to do with them. After a few breaths of listening to their moaning and whimpering, he came to the conclusion that extracting some information out of the trio would probably be wise, “So, which one of you would like to tell me who sent you? First to speak gets to live.” One of them was unconscious, and he probably had a broken jaw anyways, but the other two seemed perfectly capable of speech. Of those, it was obvious that while Jix probably knew more than the other one, the pain of his recent burns might make coherent communication difficult. Aren figured that with proper motivation, however, that shouldn't be much of a problem. Silence. Neither men did anything but produce primal groans of pain, and this was simply unacceptable, “If nobody says anything in the next ten breaths, you’re going to hear a very unpleasant sounding scream.” The Akalak threatened. Still nothing. “Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” True to his word, a horrifying wail cut through the air following the distinctive sound of a bone being shattered into several pieces. Originating from Jix’s still conscious associate, the sheer volume and duration of the noise being produced was enough to compel Aren to bring his foot down again, this time on the man’s face, in an effort to shut him up. Fortunately, one blow was all it took, but now it seemed the would-be interrogator was down to a single possible source of information. "Good job. Now if this guy doesn't talk we’re going to have to wait for one of the other two idiots to wake up, assuming they were smart enough to pay of the guards to ignore anything they might hear down here." Seros offered a straightforward critique of his brother’s somewhat amateurish methodology. “How was I supposed to know this guy would produce the longest damn shriek I've ever heard?” Aren swiftly defended himself, a finger going into his ear as he tried to clear out the lingering effects of the noise in question, “We still got this Jix guy, anyway. He probably knows more than these two morons.” “And do you think you can get him to talk after you burnt half his face off?” Seros questioned, expressing a certain amount of doubt that his brother had the necessary fortitude and imagination to coerce a man who had already been disfigured that there were a lot worse things to be than ugly. Hell, he was already so ugly, the burn marks might actually make him prettier. “Maybe not… but [i]you can.”[/i] Aren said, feeling a sense of pride swell up in his darker Other. They both knew that out of the two of them, Seros was certainly the more “persuasive” one. He’d do exactly what he claimed he would unless his brother actively prevented it, and this lent a measure of credibility to his threats. “It won’t work if he doesn't believe me…” Seros uttered, probing for the possibility that Aren would actually let him go through with any incentives he might need to apply. “Nobody is going to lose any sleep if this guy walks out of this tunnel with one less hand…” Aren purposely voiced his sentiment for Jix to hear, and his brother was inclined to believe him. The thug in question’s marred face looked up into the darkness of the passageway as he heard his would-be victim’s words. His eyes opening wide, Jax was beginning to understand the position he currently found himself in, despite the immense amount of pain clouding his thoughts, “L-listen… I’ll twell you anything you want.” The man managed to say, though not without a considerable amount of effort. "Oh, come on!"

[Aren]

“Was it Max? Did he send you?” Aren questioned, suspecting that perhaps the little weasel had decided not to take no for an answer, after all. The snake had not struck him as the sort, but the Akalak had to admit that he wasn't always the best judge of character. “Y-yeah, swure. It was him!” Jix confessed, yet Aren’s raised, incredulous eyebrow seemed to give the impression that the man was clearly not particularly good at lying, at least not while under duress, “I shwear!” The thug insisted, but he wasn't very convincing. “I guess you get your shot, after all.” Seros did not have to be told twice, and immediately swung into action by producing a tiny ball of Res above his upward pointing index finger. Kneeling down directly in front of Jix, he lit it on fire, producing a small amount of illumination so that the man could see. The thug’s reaction at the sight looked to be a mixture of terror and awe, which is exactly what the Akalak was going for. “Lie again. Go ahead, I want you to.” Seros stated, the light of the flame bouncing off his cold eyes like a sadistic mirror. Jix, trembling with fear at the thought of being burned again, wouldn't have had the presence of mind to fabricate another ruse, even had he wanted to. The truth, he knew, was his only recourse here.

[Sayana]

Your Grades Have Arrived Aren Skills: Skill EXP Body building +1 Observation +2 Negotiation +1 Tactics +2 Unarmed Combat +3 Intimidation +3 Rhetoric +1 Reimancy +2 Interrogation +1 Persuasion +2 Lores: Tactics: Stalling for time Intimidation: Threatening with reimancy Comments : Great thread. I liked how Aren was physically overwhelmed but then used his reimancy and a bit of deception to effectively subdue his captors. I’d like to point out that at the very end where he creates a small ball of res above his finger and then lights it on fire, if it was entirely turned into fire he would no longer have control over the flame (and could very well burn himself). However, I believe mages can light the outer layer of res and still manipulate the inside layers of res to sufficiently control the flame. Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request in the grade request thread. However, make sure to keep the link so that the DS can review graded threads with ease. If you have any questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message. Enjoy.