Spirits of the Earth

The caravan moved like a serpent, jostling across the holes in the road as it moved towards the Great City of Essryn.  As with most slave trains, the cages housed quite a number of wares to sell, except the last car remained seemingly vacant.

That was until Ayden groaned.
He had just been looking for a good time, and figured by the massive headache he had sustained, perhaps he had found it. Lapping at his dry mouth, his lips cracked as he moved to rise and paused at the sound of chains rattling at his movements and the suddenly lurching of the cart.

Raising his hands up, he squinted his eyes and began to examine the metal bond around his wrists lifting up his right hand, then is left, the chains attached to them jingling as he did so. THe sight made him tilt his head. He wasn't sure what sort of good time he must've had last night, but he supposed chains could be rather kinky.

That's when the caravan lurched to a halt, and Ayden was thrown forward, crashing onto the ground, crashing onto his face.
The dust settled around him, causing him to cough before he planted his hands to the floor and lifte dhis head, the chains around his neck dangling beneath him as he linked and lifted his fingers to trace around the metal around his neck.

Yes... very kinky.. and if he didn't know better..
He blinked, peering through the messy curtain of his blonde hair towards the cracks of hot light pouring in from the desert sun outside his cage.

Cage..

Right.
That was extra kinky.  As was the fact he was chained up wearing nothing but his pants.
He gave a flick to the metal at his neck before turning around, noticing a man with a spear beside him giving him a nasty look.

"EEYAH! EEYAH!"the man barked, prodding his spear into the cage. Ayden simply tilted his head the other way, examining the man and his foreign words. He knew the desert tongue could be different but the way this man spoke, it sounded like he was speaking through marbles.

That's when the man thrust the spear towards Ayden, the end of it bristling with electricity as it suddenly jolted him, sending the man back onto his face. Ayden groaned as his lungs inhaled the dust at the bottom of his cage.

He needed a cigarette.

The cries of the man continued, wallowing around him like a soured cat as Ayden pushed his head up, trying to peer after the man, but soon found his face met with the brunt end of the spear-
and all went dark.



By the time he woke up again, his head ache had doubled and the sounds of the city were alive and thriving around him. Blinking, he rose just as the caravan passed through the gates, barely able to stand as his cage was rocked about and the people of the city began to stare- bearing up at the strange desert man with tanned skin, dust covering his body and face and ratty blonde hair.

He was a handsome catch, and some of the woman cried out with appreciation as the slavers rolled into town.
Ayden was never a humble man, and his smile grew as the ladies approval beckoned.
Yes.. perhaps he was heading towards a very good time.
It was only then the caravan halted a second time, and Ayden found his footing lost again, but this time he caught himself against the side of the cage, his shadow casting over a nearby pile of apples from the fruit vendor.
Smirking, he reached an arm through the bar and picked one up, only to have the slaver come by with his spear and smacked him across the forearm, causing him to lose his grip, the apple tumbling out into the open road.


"You cause too much trouble, desert t'ief. You no eat for your insolence?"
Ayden raised his head as the slaver spoke to him. The slaver only rattled his spear against the bars.
"We'll cover you for now. You up for sale this afternoon." the slaver cackled, rubbing his dry fingers together, "Pretty boy brings pretty price."
Ayden raised his brows as the man hocked back and spat at him, leaving Ayden to wipe his cheek.
"But for now, you're too tantalizing of a ware. We hide your good face for now, pretty boy!" the man laughed, his hawk like nose wrinkling as he gave a cry out, snapping out his whip. "Cover d'a slave! Do not delay! HASHUCK! HASHUCK!' and snapped the whip into the air- ad suddenly Ayden's world was covered in hot darkness, and with a creak and lurched, the caravan pulled onward into town.

Not far from where the slave caravan's procession slowly wound its way to the market, a man and a woman met for the second time in their lives. They greeted each other warmly as though they were old friends, their manner and dress inconspicuous. "The raven takes wing. " The man said, smiling as the pair embraced briefly.

"And my pockets feel lighter," The woman remarked with a chuckle as they parted. "It is good to see you, old friend."

The man nodded, " It is , indeed. I'm surprised you showed up."
The woman shrugged lightly, " A little bird told me there was to be a special occasion this afternoon. I thought I'd come see it for myself." She smirked, her dark eyes twinkling with mischief.

The man laughed. He was older than she by a considerable number of years, small and frail with age but his voice was quite powerful for his size and doubly merry. He slapped a weathered dark hand over her shoulder and laughed, " Still up to the same old, eh? Well, my dear. You're in for quite a treat! "

The woman grinned broadly,  " Oh? What do you have?"

The man laughed and shook his head, laughing and holding out his hand expectantly towards her. "Oh no you don't, miss. You know the rules."   

The woman smirked and slipped a knife concealed cleverly within the breast region her skimpy outfit. She cut a coin purse tied to the sash that held the outfit together and pressed it into his hand. "I think you'll find the payment more than satisfactory."
The man pulled open the pouch and emptied the diamonds into his palms. He tried not to look so surprised. " You're feeling very generous today, aren't you?"

The woman stood in front of him, blocking view of the contents in his hand from any curious eyes, " You might want to put that away, " She cautioned gently, slipping her knife back to its place of concealment in a swift, but subtle manner. Her movements were so naturally practiced, much like the flow of water.

Nodding, he licked his lips and hastily poured the diamonds back into the bag.
"Inside. " He told her simply and gestured for her to follow him. Wordlessly , she did.
Once indoors and in private they both relaxed, "What are you after this time, Rajini?"
The woman named Rajini cast her gaze about the room, " I was informed that Sufjan would be making a special appearance today to make a rather substantial purchase. I don't suppose you'd happen to know anything about that, would you Aarif? " Now she looked at him inquiringly.

Aarif licked his lips and nodded, " Your source is accurate. He will indeed be present here in the market. From what I've heard, he is looking to purchase some new playthings this afternoon."

Rajini's expression was one of contempt and her tone dripped of it equally, " That pig. I shouldn't be surprised. Don't suppose you'd know where the bastard is staying tonight?"
Aarif smirked, "You know that I do. He is to be a guest of the Shah tonight. He claims to have an extravagant gift.  A large golden mirror from Serendipity. Very beautiful design encrusted with emeralds, sapphires, diamonds even. "

"That would make a lovely edition to my collection. "

Aarif's expression turned to one of dread, "Please tell me that you're not considering what I think you are?"

Rajini winked at him, "Very well, my lips are sealed!"

"Rajini! You can't! The ...palace? The Shah!? You-"

Laughing , the woman leaned forward and planted a kiss on his cheek. " You worry too much, friend. You also forget who you're talking to."

"But it's just a mirror! It's hardly wor-"

Again, Rajini did laugh. It was a beautiful, musical sound, " You think I want some silly old mirror? "

Dumbfounded, Aarif could only stare at her. Yes, he had thought so!
"Come now, you know me better!"

"But there is something else that interests you. I must know what is so important that you would come here at such risk."

Rajini turned away and walked out , " I'll tell you later. I promise!"

~
She wove through the bustling crowd like a dancer, with perfect fluidity and balance. Never once bumping into rush of women passing by with baskets and bowls resting atop their heads and children playing chase . She narrowly avoided a man hastily pushing his hand cart towards a fruit stall, "Excuse me, Miss!" He bellowed and Rajini politely , quickly sidestepped out of his path, snatching one of the fruits from the cart as he passed her and his back was turned. She meandered towards the center of the market where the slave caravan had come to a stop and the slavers were herding their wares out of their cages, one by one to stand before an eager crowd of potential buyers.

Rajini kept her distance from it all , her eyes scanning the crowd for Sufjan whom was not hard to miss. He was the tallest one and always dressed the most garishly out of any of the lords and his snakelike visage boasted a rather long and twisted little goat's beard.

To Rajini's pleasure, Sufjan was indeed present. Perfect. She paused to take a bite of the fruit though as she looked down she noticed its shiny red surface and scowled. Of all the things she could have stolen, she had to go and pick the one fruit she hated most. She tossed the apple over her shoulder with a snort and folded her arms over her chest as the first slave was brought before the crowd of overprivledged, chauvinistic, drooling imbeciles.
The first slave was just a girl. Seeing her brought back painful memories. She'd only been a girl herself and she was sure she'd been just as vulnerable and afraid as this child looked now as she could do little more than stand there and be bid on. 

One by one the slaves were sold off. Several went to Sufjan and the final one she couldn't see for by the time it came for him to be sold, quite a crowd had gathered and tall men had moved in front of her, blocking her view. No matter. She could still see Sufjan and it looked as though he were going to win the final bid...

The Grand Collosium, or something of it's name, though absurd, was bustling with many people shouting excitedly from the stands. Even though it was only  a slave selling day, the commoners were allowed to watch for free. And although there was rarely ever blood, it was still some fun past time for them to do - so those that could walk away from their duties in the market or mines for a few hours, came to find seats and stared down as the slaves were all collected and lined up in procession to be auctioned off.

It was also not very large, for it consumed most of the town center. 

A few hours later, Ayden finally found himself plucked from his cage. Stumbling about as the slaver pushed him forward, he heard the hawk-nosed man shout, "EEYAH! EEYAH!" and prodded the man forward.  As he moved out into the streets, his form stepping out intot he sunlight, he heard the crowd around them grow silent as they all stared at the man drawn towards the center.

He was tall with blonde hair, dark brown eyes that nearly consumed the white, and an easy appeasing face-

Oh yes, Ayden Bane was not only a handsome ware to be sold, but he was tall and muscular, having a finally chiseled body that only looked all the more enticing now that he was in chains.  It was here, as the crowd suddenly grew into an explosion of life that Ayden raised his head, half squinting at the sun beating down upon the crowd.

The bidding began at 100 gold, which, Ayden had to make a face. Clearly he was worth more than that, but as the bidding continued, it appeared to be turning into a frenzy when one man suddenly stepped forward and upped the price.

"Five thousand gold for the blonde haired slave."
The man was Sufjan, and he had his eyes distinctively set upon Ayden Bane.


It was here the crowd went silent as Ayden raised his head, brown eyes piercing towards the gentleman who had raised the stakes.
The slaver who had brought in Ayden, named Ke'ale, smacked the wooden hammer and declared
"And d'is blonde hair, ruffian slave SOLD, for five t'ousand gold!"


Five thousand was quite a lot for a slave, and Ayden had to wonder why such a price? As he was pushed down from the wooden platform and back towards his slavery, into an iron locked cell as he was chained to the wall, then locked within.
Turning around, he moved forward, the chains growing taunt before he made it towards the bars and gripped them, staring down at Ke'ale, the slaver.

"So do you really t'ink d'at man will pay you five t'ousand gold?" Ayden had to asked, voice cool as the slaver returned his question with a laugh.
"Of course, slave. D'at man is very rich." he pinched his fingers together, as if rubbing money between his fingers, then lowered it back down to his side. "You bring in hefty price. D'at man likes his slaves pretty. You pretty. He happy. He make high price." Ke'ale laughed, a dry, piggish laugh as he patted Ayden upon the shoulder. "But do not fret my slave, you will be very well taken care of. D'at man does well wit' his men slaves."  and the devilish laughter echoed down the hall as he left, leaving Ayden alone again in his cell, eyes remaining upon Ke'ale's disappearing form before he closed the heavy door shut.

Five thousand, Rajini thought. She had not fetched such a price and children were quite valuable since they were young and easier to condition than an adult. Though Rajini had not been initially purchased for companionship purposes. Such a generous offer for one slave made Rajini curious now. Sufjan, while very wealthy, had never spent this much on a mere slave. At least, not to her knowledge and she was fairly well-informed about the lifestyles of the rich and famous (ooc: do you see what I did there?) .

This slave , whoever it was, must have been a living work of art. She would have liked to see him for herself, but the crowd was pushy and far more eager about such things than she and so she moved away where she could observe Sufjan at a more comfortable distance.
Sufjan moved forward gracefully to claim his prize and as he did so, the crowd parted for him as though he were a King or the Messiah. Some of the more lowly merchants offered him sugar-coated words and congratulatory remarks, complimenting his tastes and his affluence as well. Their pathetic attempts at flattery fell upon deaf ears , however, as the merchant lord was so enthusiastic about his newest treasure.

The merchant slipped into the slaver's compound with payment in hand which Ke'ale accepted with much delight and as the greedy little toad counted his coins with such , Sufjan found his way to Ayden's cell. Sufjan was an elder man, taller and thinner, snake-like though not quite so unattractive. His features were sharp, sinister and intelligent and he possibly could have had an impressive harem had he been less affluent.

His dark eyes combed over Ayden, his sight absorbing every contour of naked muscle. His expression was cold, indifferent and even his eyes did not obviously reveal his interest or appreciation for the male form. For Sufjan was private about his darker, taboo interests. People knew he had an interest in men, but they merely thought the merchant a collector. They were right. Sufjan did love to lavish his own estate (which was more like a palace) with only the finest things. This included the finest looking servants, the finest looking slaves and even the finest looking dirt.

"You are satisfied, my lord?" Kae'ale inquired hopefully.

Nodding, Sufjan turned his back on Ayden, "I am. Where did you find this man? He doesn't appear to be Essyrni."

Ooc: I'll let you do the honors of telling the story. 

If Ke'ale had a mustche, he'd be twirling it.

"He's as much from Essryn as you or I, I assure you d'at. D'ough I t'ink you recognize his foreign stock, no?" Ke'ale flashed a smile of dark, rotted teeth that blended in beautifully with the dark scruff on his dark skin.  "We found him drunk. Free game if you ask me. Passed out after 'aving a very good time."

It was only at the mention of this part of the story Ayden flashed a foxish grin at the memory.

"And 'is face was covered in sand and dirt. He's filt'y now, but we can scrub 'im down real good. Stinky like an animal, built like one, too." He drew his electric spear across the cage, though the power was off, so it's wooden body merely played musically off the bars.  "But it's d'at face we knew could fetch a fair price. So we took him anyways, despite being asleep in donkey piss and shit." Ke'ale laughed, snorting through his hooked nose and spat into the dirt.
"Do you want to inspect 'im as we wash, yeah?" the man cocked his head to the side much like a chicken, his skinny neck sticking out from beneath the drawn robes of his shirt.  "'D'ere is no fee to watch your goods get cleaned."


Ayden remained silent, watching as Ke'ale, the slaver, presented his story.
So he got drunk and passed out in donkey shit?
And now he was here? Interesting...
Ayden seemed unphased, cool eyes going from Ke'ale to Sufjan.

Ooc: Amusing that I'm roleplaying a minor npc! Ah well!

Ic:

"Indeed?" Sufjan's voice was deep and soft much like a cat's purr. He quirked a perfectly groomed brow at the filthy little slaver. Though he had to give the little rat credit for knowing a good buy when he saw one, he was utterly repulsed by Ke'ale in every way. The man was filthy, uneducated and really only good for buying slaves from. Had he no uses at all, Sufjan would have had a mind to gut this greasy pig where he stood just for the crime of being so unsightly! Those teeth! They were rotten, black and yellow and broken in many places and some were missing completely! Sufjan tried not to stare.

"You were always the clever opportunist, " Sufjan smirked. That was about the only good thing he could say about the slaver, "If you continue to acquire stock of this caliber, I fear you'll run my business into the ground. " He even smiled like a snake, with smooth and deceptive charm. Unlike Ke'ale, his teeth were nearly flawless.White, straight and all accounted for.

Now he walked with the shorter man, turning back to the cell where Ayden was held. "So he is a fresh catch, is he? Then I am to assume he isn't trained?" It hardly mattered to Sufjan. He preferred his boys spirited. It was much more interesting then!

He nodded, agreeing to a cleaning. He detested dirty slaves. His were always clean and handsomely outfitted and groomed because they were his slaves and everything he owned had to be as refined and handsome as he. Anything beneath his level was simply not worth keeping! "Yes, he is rather slovenly. He could do with a good wash." Sufjan drew away, his face crinkling with marginal disgust at Ke'ale's spitting. Hopefully, Ke'ale was not in charge of cleaning or Sufjan may as well have done it himself!

Ke'ale gave a snort, spitting again as he drew out his keys.

"No you worry. I get him very clean!"
Ke'ale grabbed Ayden's chains, striking the spear across the air before him and shouted.
"EEYAH! EEYAH! Slave, you come here and you get washed! Your new master does not want to look at such filth." and the man sneered at Ayden's body, then yanked the chain and moved to take him away.
Ayden only obeyed, slipping a cool glance back towards Sufjan before he was shoved into another room.
The whip was held high, chains locked into place.

"EEYA! EEYA!" the man cracked the whip, then kicked Ayden's head down so his nose was nearly smashed into the floor.
"Keep still now. We water you down, yes?" and with a snap of his fingers, he called to his other slaves as they all clambered together and brought in a few cold buckets, that of which they tossed over Ayden's dirty form. The buckets did little to erase the dust as it dribbled from the tip of his hair, his tongue moving to lap across it. After all, it had been sometime before Ayden had something to drink.


However, it seemed Sufjan was unhappy with the cleaning.
"Do you clean all of your slaves these way? Bring in the soap and clothe. Scrub him down and remove his pants. I need to inspect the wares."

Hesitating, Ke'ale cracked a smile.
"Eeeyah! As you wish!" he turned and barked the orders, and Ayden was stripped down and naked, and more buckets were brought in again, and as his slaves worked to scrub him, Sufjan took notice of Ayden, a cold smile gracing his lips before he walked away.

"I hope this is to your satisfaction." Ke'ale stated. He would humble anyone for five thousand gold.
"I bet his pretty face will make many men and ladies swoon. He will be a fine addition to your lot." He bowed gracefully, then handed over the chains.
"Shall we escort him to your caravan or would you like to have d'a honors?" and Ke'ale presented him with the most rat like grin.

ooc: Time jump!

And forgive me if this isn't terribly detailed or lengthy. I'm tired tonight.

ic:

Sufjan's home was, quite literally, a palace. Large and luxurious, his abode might have made most kings appear to be impoverished! It was also quite heavily guarded with guards stationed around nearly every corner, standing tall and alert for the first sign of trouble.

Sufjan wasted little time having his new slaves escorted inside by the guards where they were introduced to their cages that were more like rather lavish little bedrooms. "I hope you find your arrangements suitable. " Sufjan told his slaves, "I cannot attend to you tonight, but tomorrow morning your training shall proceed." His eyes lingered almost hungrily on Ayden.  Now it was a little more apparent what Ke'ale meant when he'd said that Sufjan liked men!

He gave Ayden's rear a pat before having the guard force him into his cell and lock him in. Then, he was gone.

There was little else to do for the next couple of hours aside from listen to the soft crying of the female slaves in the adjacent cells. The crying stopped however when Rajini appeared, quite unexpectedly, coming through one of the windows. She didn't get a good look at each of the slaves but smirked and pressed a finger to her lips, indicating for them to be quiet. They were more than happy to oblige her, each one hoping that the strange thieving woman might set them free.

Rajini moved quietly towards the guard standing at the end of the cell block with his back to her. He never sensed her coming up behind him until she had his arms locked around his throat, choking the air from him. She found herself not caring whether he lived or died as he collapsed to the floor.

She made a quick scan of the room. Seeing it was clear, she now made her way over to get a better look at the slaves Sufjan was keeping. They were all quite attractive and this did not surprise her, but when her eyes settled on the very last one Rajini did a double-take.

She shook her head , blinked a few times and looked at the man again. He had not changed. Her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. It was exactly who she thought! There was no mistaking it.

ooc: Have fun!

OOC: No worries, not all posts can be of magnificent lengths XD

IC:

Taken away, Ayden himself pleasantly surprised to be escorted to a massive palace that put a Sultan's harem to shame (and he had snuck into a harem or two in his time!).  His grin went wide, seeming impervious, indifferent to the fate that loomed before him in sin and luxury.

'Hell, for five t'ousand, I t'ink I did pretty good," Ayden commented to himself, rather cheerfully as his eyes continued to examine the place and as he was ushered down the plush carpet of a great hall, he put his hands out, fingers running across a great tapestry and the beads of an exotic lamp.
It was met by the sharp end of a stick to his fingers, the hand of which Ayden retracted sharply as he raised his squinty eyes up to and smirked at the slave master wagging the stick.
"Touch nothing." the tall man warned.

Ayden merely cocked his head, smirking as he asked, "Hey, you got a cigarette?"

The man glared at him before gesturing sharply.
"Keep moving, slave."


Ayden only shrugged and stepped onward.
"It was w'ort' askin'."

The newer slaves were kept in the lower, more cooler regions of the estate. ANd down the sandstone steps they went and then taken to their own cells. Some shared, but others did not, as Ayden was left to his own room. He let his eyes flicker about, pacing for a time around the small confines of his cell before stretching out and residing himself to idly staring off towards the back wall.

So he hadn't seen her coming, except for the sudden hushing of tears and the creeping shape of her shadow that grew and stretched across the back wall.  Blinking, he turned around.
ANd it was her face he hadn't expected to see after all this time....
What, how many years had it been? Enough to seal his throat into a nasty, pale and puffed scar.
Even still, any emotions stirred in jeweled sparklings within his brown eyes as an easy grin stretched across his lips.
"Hey, Raj," he said casually, tipping back his head as blonde hair spilled away from his eyes.

Rajini closed her eyes briefly and shook her head. He was the only male slave purchased and she couldn't even fathom what made anyone think he was even that attractive looking. "Five thousand, eh? " She opened her eyes again and went over to the guard, feeling him up for the keys. She found it and returned to where she had stood before, her dark eyes sweeping once over all the cells. "Sufjan must be insane." There was really no other explanation she could honestly think of.

She went to work unlocking each cell , "Out the window, " she told them, "the way should be clear for a couple minutes. " Each woman thanked her before making their escape. Now she came at last to Ayden's cell with key in hand, " Now, what to do with you, I wonder?" It was pretty amusing to see him locked up. Perhaps she should leave him there!

However, she was curious, " How did you even get yourself caught? " This was Ayden Bane, son of one of the most infamous thieves that once terrified the Moraki Desert. "Losing your edge, are you?"There was humor in her tone. 

"Five t'ousand," Ayden repeated, the smile on his lips remaining wide. "I t'ink he got a good deal." As Rajini moved away, he tilted his head curiously, listening to her unlocking the other slaves as his fingers itched, drawing to his lips as if he had  cigarette, then stopped and looked down at his hands, which were shaking due to the lack of nicotine in his blood.
He lowered them only when she approached and his smile returned, eyes dancing as he looked at her and basked in her shadow with coy affection.

At her question of what to do with him, he answered her simply. "I could 'tink of a lot of t'ings." And slowly he rose to his feet, still smiling the same grin he always wore as he leaned against the wall. He still had the chains around his throat and wrists, unlike the other slaves. As he moved, they jingled.

He stood tall now, even taller than Rajini, who was an impressive height for a lady and approached the front of the cell, pressing his forehead against the bars as dark shadows cast over his eyes from the loose cut of his blonde hair.

"Do you want t' hear d' story?" he inquired, the easy grin still gracing his lips.  "It could make for good small talk if you'd ra'dder we wait and I treat you to a nice dinner in town to catch up. D'ough, that would require," and he lifted his wrists, the chains jingling. "A bit of effort if d' lady standin' before me were to oblige. I might even t'row in a treat." He would of winked, but the sparkle in his eyes told her enough about his intentions.

"And I'm a man of my word. I could offer much t' a woman like you." But then he pointed right at his lips and said. "D'ough I could make good on my payment now. Some say my lips are like tastin' ambrosia, food of d'a Gods." And he kept his finger pointed there to make his point, his eyes ever warm and playful, his composure- calm and collected as usual. "I t'ink it might be fair. Five t'ousand gold of freedom right on d'ese lips." Then he pressed forward still, gripping the bars as his normal grin stretched even more.
"And did I mention I missed you, Raj?" Really, he couldn't remember. The last time he was gurgling blood from his throat.

Rajini laughed, " You would think so." By the sands was he ever arrogant! She scowled, noticing his eyes were giving her a good look over. She was used to men giving her such looks and she only shook her head.

"Oh really?" Rajini smirked, having a pretty fair idea of what he was thinking. "Well, keep it to yourself unless you'd rather that I leave you in here to keep Sufjan company tonight."

She snorted at the idea of dinner with him, " You should know by now that I'm a busy girl. I've got plans, Ayden. And you aren't part of them." She finished flatly and there was a somewhat dangerous edge in her tone. Really? The nerve he had talking to her like that! If he wasn't behind bars, she'd beat the camel shit out of him.

However, she calmed herself and flashed him a mischievous smile, " But I'm sure Sufjan would just love to take you up on that offer."

If he wanted out of that cage he was going to have to do a lot better than that.
 

"But it wouldn' be as much fun unless it was you," Ayden pressed at her remark regarding Sufjan. "An besides, d'at ain't d' kind of way I like t' swing. Five t'ousand gold or not." he shrugged.  "But if you let me out, I could be your slave." He leered her, tilting his head charming against the jail cell bars. He even gave a subtle pout of his lips. He knew how to work his body. Too bad the effects would be lost on a woman like Rajini.
"D'eh already got me in chains and I'd be a willing participant." He lifted them up to show her what he meant, and again, the chains jingled musically between them. "It would only be fair, assuming you can get me out of d'is mess wit' d'is Sufjan.  I don't t'ink I want t' know why he paid d'at much money for me, and I'd ra'dder be at d' disposal of a girl I like, ra'dder d'en a man who'd use me like an expensive whore."  The he turned to her, smirking as he leaned against the bars again, pressing his face out as much as he could so he could look more closely into her eyes.
"I promise t' make it wort' your while, Raj. I ain't got much t' lose, except every't'ing and you'd have my word. And you could even have my key." he gestured over towards the wall where it hung, then his blue eyes met to her.
"T'ink about d' possibilities a woman could do w'it a slave like me."
And his stretch grew to where he showed off his teeth, seeming very happy with his idea.

Some women would have been impressed. Rajini was not. She took a step back, her expression somewhat disgusted though she contained her anger well. If there was one thing this man knew how to do was push her buttons. All the wrong ones! Except a couple because then he'd be most certainly dead!

She bit her tongue and held her temper, convinced that he was doing this to her on purpose. Maybe it tickled him to make her mad because he seemed so very good at doing it. And she loathed herself for not just slitting his throat and silencing his insolent tongue for good. Were it not for the apples...she'd murder him and not lose any sleep over it!

"I'm not a woman, not a child," Rajini reminded him. A girl was the naive type who'd giggle at Ayden's words and find him irresistible. Rajini was far past the stage of being impressed that easily!

"I am going to regret this, " She unlocked his cell door but not his cuffs. "You're free. Get  out of my sight. " Even if she didn't like the man, he wasn't the worst and not deserving of having a night with Sufjan.

Ayden smiled, much like a cat, the grin nearly reaching his ears as his grey-blue eyes sparkled.
He only took a step forward, putting out his wrists.
"Why don't you take whats been offered, Raj? I like d' idea of playin' your slave. And I would owe you d' favor. You jus' h've to take me by d' leash and I'll obey your every command. I bet even you could find use for a man like me. I could do many t'ings you'd find useful." Again, there was a slight purse to his lips as he lifted his chin, eyes sparkling even more playful than before.

She regretted her decision already!

Rajini resisted the urge to roll her eyes,  " You've nothing to offer me, " she told him flatly, "please, just go away."

Was he really pleased to see her or was it just an act to lead her into some false sense of security? Surely he resented her for near having killed him and humiliating him before his former colleagues?  This affair would have been so much easier on her if he'd spat in her face. Then she'd just leave him there and be on her merry way!

Much to her displeasure, when she moved away she found him following her like a baby duckling. "Stop following me!"  She snapped at him , but then she gave up. It was her fault, she knew. She should have left him where he was. "Fine. If you're so eager to be useful to me, then unlock yourself, " she tossed him the key and then went over to the guard, claiming his scimitar. "I'm here for something specific. Your task is to watch my back for trouble. Think you can handle that? "

If he thought that she was going to play into his little slave fantasy, then he may as well keep dreaming! But she wasn't a fool either. If he was being honest about wanting to repay her, then she'd take advantage. It made this job easier for her.

Ayden only smiled at her comment following her until she seemed to cave. It seemed a bit too easy and when she tossed him the key, he smirked.

"But d'is is d' elusive Ayden Bane, offerin' t' be your slave at every beck and call," he pressed, still remaining in his chains, key held in his fist as he followed after her and claimed a weapon.
"And as your slave, I'd be held t' my obligation t' see you find t' t'ing you are after. D'ough I can watch your back..." and oh, how he ever liked the view as his blue eyes roamed over her sweet ass.  "I can 'andle d'at perfectly." his grin suddenly became more smug.

"Elusive and yet you wound up here. So how did that rat Ke'ale manage to catch you? "  She moved toward the end of the room and peeked down the hall. The way was clear, but it wouldn't be for long.

"Probably dead drunk somewhere with your pants down," She wouldn't have been surprised had that been the case. This man liked his drink and never could keep his pants on for very long. A lot of men, she found, were like that.

She glanced over her shoulder at him and narrowed her eyes dangerously, " I didn't mean watch my back in the literal sense." She knew exactly what he was watching and she didn't approve. He could stare all he wanted when the task was finished , but she didn't want him screwing things up because he was too busy being male.

"What I'm looking for will either be in his treasury or in his room. I'm hoping it isn't the latter or that'll be next to impossible. We'll hit the treasury first." She slid down the hall, stepping soundlessly and carefully. At the end of the hall, they encountered a guard who was rounding the corner. Rajini lifted the scimitar and brought the heavy hilt down on his skull before it could register in his mind that there were thieves roaming Sufjan's estate.

They turned into another hall where two more guards were waiting. Rajini retreated , flattening herself against the wall and then turning to look at Ayden. She whispered, " Two ahead. They're in the way."  The treasury was just beyond the next hall, down some stairs. And she imagined that there'd be guards down there as well as traps. She'd never been foolish enough to raid Sufjan's estate before so she had no idea what was in store. "I take one, you take the other. On three.

One....

two...

three!"

She moved around the corner and quickly entered the next hall, charging the nearest guard and, grabbing a fistful of hair, she smashed his head brutally against the wall.  He might have been dead when he fell, but she didn't care. None of the men working for Sufjan were honorable.


ooc: Leaving the other one to you!

Ayden flashed some teeth when she made a jab at his own mantra.
"It was probably wort' it." Ayden admitted. "If d' story was d'ere to tell you, i would. But it seems d'at d'ere was so much fun to be 'ad d'at night, I forgot what it was."
Ayden kept his grin smug and followed close behind her, eyes on the prize, and whens he commented, he only looked up and flashed her some more teeth.

As she they pressed onward, he , still in his chains, key still in his hand... he listened intently on her plan.
"So what is 'dis 'ting?" she kept going on about it, he was curious. Though if she was serious to keep him around...
"And you can tell me. I'll keep d'ese chains on. D'at what if you don't like what I'm doin', you can just pull on it and punish me. I won't mind." Again, his eyes could of winked.
But they did not.

"SO how priceless is d'is t'ing anyways d'at you'd risk also stealin' d' fifty t'ousand gold slave? I take it d'ere is a lot involved 'ere or else you would 'ave left me rot back in d'at cage." He studied her and then as they pressed to the hallway, he noted the guard on ahead.
Though as she rushed towards her target- he remained slow and merely strolled on up to him- so when Rajini was taking her man down, Ayden had barely made it to his as the ma gave a short holler before the chains linked to Ayden suddenly went around the man's throat, and Ayden held them there untilt he man was blue it he face and wilted within his grasp.

Letting the man drop, Ayden walked casually away.

"So about d'em questions.."s he said with a smirk, hoping she'd oblige as they walked down the hall, pausing just outside the doors.
"Lady first." He gave her a most suave grin and gestured for her to move forward with a motion of his arms.

Rajini shook her head at the casual manner in which Ayden dispatched his guard. These fools must have gone soft. Sufjan wasn't robbed often enough! "Show off." He was just lucky and she wasn't going to be impressed!

"My sources say it's a full-length body mirror made of gold and encrusted with emeralds, sapphires ,rubies, diamonds even. Before you even ask me why I'd want that, I don't. There's something either on the mirror or in it-a clue I need in order to find something else that will help me locate a map that will lead me to a key that will unlock the vault of the thing I'm actually after." Was that not a mouthful or what?

She smirked, " And how, exactly, does my 'stealing' you suddenly elevate your value from five thousand to fifty? You think far too highly of yourself. "

She paused to eye him with a small measure of suspicion. Ayden being a gentleman? He probably just wanted another excuse to stare at her backside more. She frowned at him, but assumed the lead once more, continuing down the hall and descending a flight of shallow steps.At the base of those steps was a lavishly decorated hallway complete with tapestries spun of golden thread and ornate suits of armor that appeared to be of the most superior dwarven craftsmanship. "Is that mithril?" Rajini shook her head. Despite the rarity of such a thing in her country, she would resist that temptation!

For it wasn't as valuable as the thing she was after. But she hesitated to continue down the hall because it was empty. No guards. No obvious dangers and at the far end of the hall waited the enormous double doors guarded by a heavy combination lock.

"I don't like this. It seems too easy, " She muttered , taking a cautious step forward.
That single step triggered something though as the floor section beneath her stepping foot sunk down like a button pressed. Moments later, a section of the wall beside her opened up, a stone snake's head slithering forth from concealment, spraying a wave of fire towards her!

Ooc: If this makes no sense, too bad!

Ayden could have shrugged at the comment of being labeled a show off.
He is what he is!

Ayden listened to the treasure she described with interest.
"It sound valuable." But as she went on to explain, his grin only grew. "Complications normal ads more value." ANd the at her comment about his price, he flashed more teeth.
"If you add interest, I'd probably cost d'at much. I'm a rare catch, Raj. ANd d'en you add d' fact I've become stolen goods, well, d' price tends to double."

Or in his cause, more than double!

Either way, as the pair pressed onward, he seemed to ignore what Rajini was gawking at, or rather, he seemed much less interested. Then again, he found other things to be of more interest and value as she walked before him.

At the sight of no guards, and a heavy lock at the end, Ayden had to blink.
"It does seem to simple, Raj." Looking around, he tried to assess their location when Rajini stepped forward and he heard a click-
then a whurr as a snake statue seemed to lurch from the wall, spewing fire.
Before he knew what he was doing, he was stepping forward, sweeping Rajini into his arms nd using his powers to divert the flow of flames away from them- but the heat still breathed hotly across them as he held himself like a shield, back to the diverted flames, Rajini in his arms and chains.

He grunted, the temperature heating up, and despite their precarious predicament, he couldn't help but comment as he looked down at her.
"You know, Raj, your hair smells kind of nice." He smiled, his body already glistening with sweat. "Like d'em desert flowers."

"Shit!" Rajini immediately removed her foot from the sinking floor panel. The fire stopped and the snake slid back into the wall. How could she have been so careless? It made sense now why this hallway had been left unguarded now. It was probably completely booby-trapped!

Ayden had been quick enough to grab her and shield her from the flames. If a blush could be seen on Rajini's dark complexion, it would have been of the darkest sort. How embarrassing and infuriating! Nothing was worse than owing one's life to a man that one hated. Rajini pushed away from him as soon as the flames died and considered slapping him for taking advantage of that moment to smell her hair. If he'd groped her, he'd have a nice dark hand print on his right cheek about now. "Ugh...that was careless."

Wonderful! Now he was going to torment her with this incident. Remind her of how he'd saved her. But that wasn't the worst of it! Now she had his stink on her person! As soon as she was home, a shower was the first thing she'd schedule!

She shook her head and took a step back, studying the floor closely for any abnormalities in the stone.

Ayden only smiled. It seemed nothing could deter that smile as he kept his blue eyes upon Raj.

"If d'is place be full of traps, d'en let me check it out. As your slave, I feel obliged," he told her, bowing enough, if she caught the gesture, before turning and stepping his boot on another tile-
only this time a quick dart shot out from the wall, heading straight for his head. Ayden moved just in time for it to sail between them before lifting his foot off the tile and gesturing for Rajini to step back.

"Uh, better move aside while I try d'is next one." he said, then he crouched low, moving forward and delicately tapped the next tile- but nothing occurred. The tile didn't even recess..

Frowning, he stood erect to study it, and when he turned to Raj, he began to explain.
"I t'ink I understand d'is one. If we find d' tiles d'at don't recess..."
Though after he stepped away- there was the familiar 'click'- as a heavy hammer like object came down and smashed right into Ayden, sending him sailing away.

Rajini was a bit put out when Ayden volunteered to go ahead of her, but if he wanted to go and get himself burnt to a crisp then he was more than welcome to it so long as it helped her figure out where not to step.

For a moment she honestly thought Ayden was right and might have even acknowledged that until she heard the click. She saw the hammer coming but it was already too late to warn him. And she wasn't sure whether or not she cared. She went over to check on him anyway. It was the decent thing to do and he had saved her life. Oh how she hated herself and him at the same time for that!

"Any chance that you're dead? " She inquired, kneeling down to see. " You know, any damage caused to a slave automatically lowers their value. I'd say you're probably not worth more than 5 gold now. "

Once she knew that he was fine, she turned away from him and went back to inspecting the floor. "It's probably not that obvious..." Her eyes scanned the room. "A puzzle, maybe? " Most men wouldn't leave clues lying around but Sufjan was the sort who'd have that sense of humor and figured himself so clever. "He's the elaborate and theatrical sort." Her eyes caught the symbols on the floor. Each section of stone flooring had a different symbol that matched the four tapestries lining each side of the wall. Eight tapestries in all but only four symbols. Both sides were displayed in different orders too.

She cut a coin purse tied to her sash and tossed it at a section of floor before her slightly to her left. She stepped back and waited. Nothing happened. She waited a little longer. Still nothing.

And what did it mean? Rajini frowned. Perhaps she was reading too much into it? She collected her coin-purse and studied the symbol, " A cat." Then her eyes went to the feline tapestry . It happened to be the first closest to them on the right side of the room. The next was a bird of prey, a hawk. However, when she tossed the coin purse on the next row of floor tiles and it landed on the hawk, another trap was triggered and the section of wall directly in front became a wall of spikes that smashed together repeatedly.

"Hm. Not right. " She'd missed a detail perhaps?

Ayden's face, though smashed, left him alive.  He sat up, nose bleeding as he held his nose.
"But I bet you'd still love d'is slave all d'eh same. D'at makes me priceless, no?" Though his words came out a lot more muffled than charming (though he did try!)

As she went about testing an idea, he too, turned to the tapestry and blinked.

"I t'ink I'd be better crackin' d'is code if d' clues were woven into d' pattern of a naked woman."

His eyes scanned the area, but he felt he was at a loss.

"We could keep goin w'it trail and error, but how long would eet take before we'd alert someone?"

"I made a miscalculation, " Rajini replied, choosing to ignore his ridiculous comment about naked women, " let me think." Her eyes swept over the tapestries again. Perhaps the solution was a little more complex than she had initially suspected?  Could there be more clues? Her eyes missed little and between the spacing of each tapestry , she did notice a tall standing suit of armor bearing a shield with one of the four animals on it. What was peculiar perhaps was that the animals displayed on said shields on either side only half matched their corresponding tapestries. For whatever reason, two shields matched the opposing wall of tapestries.

"Clever," Rajini bent to reclaim her coin purse and tried her luck again, the sack of coins landing on the snake symbol. And her hunch seemed to be accurate. She grinned, " I think I might understand how this works now. Wait here in case I'm wrong."

Although, had she thought better on Ayden's offer , she might have ordered for him to test out her theory instead! She had confidence in her hunch though and proceeded hopping from one spot to another. She made it to the other side of the hall intact without triggering another trap with a grin on her face. "Shall I tell you the answer or would you like to guess and check?"

She turned away from him to study the large, circular double doors before them. It appeared metallic ,sturdy and heavy. Steel, perhaps? Rajini wrapped her knuckles on it to test its hardness and frowned. The door itself was ornate ,shaped to appear like that of a cobra's snarling head. Within it's gaping jaws there was a small dial lock. One that required the right entry of numbers.

She looked around the immediate area, but there were no obvious clues about as there had been for the floor puzzle. She hadn't touched the the door or the lock in the snake's maw, wary of what trap she might trigger lest she do so!

Now she turned her attention back to Ayden because he was taking too long for her comfort, "Cat, Snake, Hawk, Snake, Jackal,Jackal,Hawk,Cat,. "

She really was being too generous today!

ooc: It could be amusing if Ayden tried to crack the lock and trigger another trap! I promise it won't be too bad!

Ayden obeyed her words, as any good 'slave' ought to.  So he was out of sight, out of mind- but his eyes were ever roaming the are, chains dangling lightly as he moved. He took in what she said with a tilt of his head. He did not full comprehend what it was she was cracking in the code as his eyes shifted around to the various statues.

"Why don't we jus' pick d' lock?" he said, staring at the serpentile door.  "It jus' seems if we make any wrong moves, we could trigger a trap d'at could burn us alive, or skewer us on d'em spikes." and he gestured to where the ferocious,biting spikes had been. Turning to Rajini, then back to the door, he found himself tempted to touch it as he reached out.
"I could try t' pick it if you wan, Raj."

Rajini smacked his wrists none-too-gently, "Don't you DARE!" She growled at him, her voice straining high with near-panic. "Don't touch ANYTHING!"

Of course, like the typical arrogant male that he was, he had to go an touch the lock before she could finish examining it. He didn't even carry the proper tools! "AYDEN!" She yelled at him sharply, rather angry that he hadn't the sense to listen to her.

Now they were both going to pay for it! The snake-head door's hollowed eyes started to gleam like twin rubies but other than that, nothing happened. Rajini wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing. She shot the man next to her one of her most murderous of glares.

"Would it have killed you to listen to me!?" She wanted to hit him, but she wasn't going to waste time. For all they knew another trap had been triggered or an alarm. She removed her toolkit that was tied to her sash at the waist and shoved it at him. "You might as well open it now."

Ooc: You're welcome to describe what the treasury room looks like!

OOC: Slightly mature because of nudity reference XD

IC:

Ayden shrugged as she talked.
"We didn' set up no traps, why all d' fuss?"
He grinned however, and felt right at home working with the tool kit granted to him by his illustrious companion.  The lock was complex, but a lock was still a lock- and after some fiddling and finagling.. CLICK! the lock gave way to his skillful hands.
Grinning, he turned over his shoulder to smirk at Rajini.


"See, it won't no problem t' crack. Just needed some tinkerin' and a gentle ear t' lissen." his eyes sparkled as he stood up, pushed the door open and it gave way with a creak- and before them spilled an unending tomb of gold up high towards the sealing, stretching as far as the eye could see.
As Ayden stepped inside, mesmerized by the jewels, his lips fell open as he whispered, "And d'at bastard w'us only gonna spend fifty t'ousand on me?" Yes, he'd stick with his embellished amount on the already embellished truth of the funds.

Peering around, he felt himself swell and itch- with so many jewels around him- he couldn't help but let his smile grow ever wider.
"How deep are your pockets, Raj?" he inquired, blue eyes inspecting her.. and the goods, before he walked past a tall statue, one with arms posed out towards the ceiling, reaching for the skies, hips jutted out- breasts exposed, body naked...
If Ayden had a cigarette in his lips, it would have fallen out. He couldn't help himself but stare. The crafter placed rubies on the statue's nipples and well...
His lips twitched into a smirk.

"T'ink we can take d'is one home, Rag?" he said, grinning widely while patting the statue on the shoulder.

Rajini gawked at the sight that opened up before her as well. She'd known Sufjan was wealthy as he made it obvious and frequently flaunted it ,but this was...unfathomable! IT was as though the wealth of several kingdoms had been collected and stored within a single room!

Where did he manage to come by such things? Was he a thief himself? She wouldn't have been surprised though she'd heard that his business dealings were quite clean. He was merely a very shrewd trader and played the market like a genius. Of course, it did help that his father had left a substantial inheritance behind after his untimely death....

Rajini paused to admire a decorative scimitar with a golden hilt encrusted with emeralds and sapphires. Diamonds even and the blade's metal...it looked like mithril. Quite a find! She was tempted but she shook her head and turned from it.

She passed Ayden, hardly noticing the statue he'd taken his idiotic fancy to. " Stop screwing around and help me look for-"

The ground started to rumble under their feet the moment Ayden touched the statue. Now Rajini spun around to face him and looked about ready to murder him most horribly, "What. Did. YOU. Do!?" She seethed. And she would have happily killed him right then and there , but that desire would need to be put on hold!

As if to answer her question, a mound of gold and jewels exploded beside her, raining down upon the pair a shower of wealth. Rajini grabbed a shield lying on the floor and held it up above her head, protecting herself from what would have been a rather painful and potentially deadly rain!

From beneath the treasure the massive body of a serpentine dragon roared forth, releasing an enraged hissing bellow from its terrifying maw. It twisted it's head around to glare at Rajini and then Ayden who still had his hand on the statue.

"Shit..." Rajini was the first to flee without looking back to see or care if Ayden had the sense to join her. Unfortunately the double doors slammed shut with a click just inches before she could escape. She tried the door but it held fast. "Shit!"

ooc: It's Volvagia! Aaaaaah!!! Where's that goron hammer when one needs it!?

What Sufjan is even doing with such a creature...I've no clue ! It makes no sense! Isn't it great!?

Again, if only Ayden had a cigarette..
he would have lost said cigarette again as his mouth gaped open, staring wide eyed at the rising dragon above.

"Shit."

Tearing away from the statue, Ayden rushed after Rajini just in time to flinch as the door slammed shut.
"D'ere has t' be anudder way out." His eyes scanned the area, scouting.. looking... then noticed a window far up top.
"We could get up d'ere, or try to kill d' t'ing." Ayden suggested, turning around as the dragon opened it's maw and suddenly swiped at them. Yanking onto Rajini, he jumped with her and away, but unfortunately for him- his chains got snapped inside the dragon's maw as it reared it's head up- Ayden was pried off of Rajini's form in a grunt as the man said high up into the air.


The dragon bucked wildly, furiously and Ayden's form was jerked this way and that. It was only about this time he was regretting his decision to keep up his hopeless ambitions to actually become Rajini's slave, and the key was lost, spilled  out from his hand and lost into the golden world below.
It was only then the dragon noticed Ayden and tried to spit out the pesky, nasty tasting chain from it's mouth, all the while trying to snap and bite and eat at Ayden. The man's legs dangled, boots kicking off the dragons' mouth, teeth, and even kicking off it's slippery tongue to avoid being eaten.

Getting upset, the dragon gave one might thrust of it's face and the chain unhooked itself from it's fang, and Ayden went sailing across the room- crashing into and breaking a massive mirror on the other side where he lay, crumpled, unmoving, and bleeding at it's feet.

Groaning, he turned over to look over at the mirror.
It kind of looked like what Rajini was looking for.
"Hey Raj-" he barely managed to sputter out, voice dry and strained. "I t'ink I found w'at you were lookin' for."

Another way out? Rajini's eyes swept desperately over the room for some route of alternative escape but the windows were impossibly high up and too small for her to fit through. The only way out , it seemed, was shut. They were screwed!

She laughed at his suggestion of killing the monster, " You want to slay the dragon? Be my guest!" She sure as hell wasn't going to fight it! If she didn't have to!

Rajini danced out of the dragon's initial swipe, narrowly missing it's seeking talons.  She protested when Ayden grabbed her. What was he? Stupid? It would have been better to run in separate directions, giving the beast two targets and not one! "Let GO of me!" She snarled at him, but he was snatched up by his chains and torn up high into the air before he could either deny her demands or comply . She didn't pause to watch what his fate would be because she certainly didn't want to die here for him!

While the dragon was distracted with Ayden, Rajini frantically searched through the piles of treasure for something, anything she could use against the beast. She found a sizable diamond , regretted having to let it go to waste on saving Ayden's sorry hide, and threw it as hard as she could at the creature's large, golden eye.  The diamond hit its intended mark true and caused the dragon to hiss, throwing it's head back in agony and tossing Ayden away like an unwanted rag doll.

Rajini took the moment to search for a more appropriate weapon but nothing seemed big enough to kill the thing. She heard Ayden call across the room at her. He'd found the mirror!? If only she had instead ! But now the dragon's eyes were on her and it lunged it's neck forward, snapping its massive jaws at her. Rajini had to leap out of the way, hitting the ground in a roll and quickly coming back up to her feet.

"Try looking for something unusual about it! An inscription , odd markings, anything!" She shouted at him and hastily retreated as the dragon gathered itself up for another attack at her. 

Ayden groaned, wiping mirror shards from his bloodied body before glancing up as he blinked.  "Is d'is really necessary when your about t' become dragon food?" he said, eyes remaining upon her precarious situation as he began to examine the mirror, brushing the remaining shards away as he examined the piece.

"I d'un know if I see anyt'ing, Raj."  Perhaps he hadn't have become so lucky? Maybe he crashed into the wrong mirror, but as he continued to inspect it, one of the ornaments on the mirror came loose, and slowly, ever so slowly, he began to untwist it. Once the piece came off, it popped to the ground and he reached a finger inside, and pulled out a small roll of paper bond in twine.

"Hey, Raj," he said, turning just in time to witness the dragon rearing it's head back to blow fire "I t'ink I found somet'in!" and then he kicked the sword nearby him, forcing it to teetering up and the hilt caught into his hand, then spun around, thrusting the gold sword into the air as it spun abou tand struck hard across the large dragon's face.

The dragon's rage was soon diverted, and flames came pillowing towards Ayden, consuming him whole-
but from the fiery lashes the man leapt, seemingly unphased as he clutched onto the paper and began to make a hasty retreat.

"What are we going t' do about d' dragon?" he said, fire quickly catching at his heels. So he ran faster, but it seemed the dragon was intent on burning him alive!  He kept running back and forth- fire here, fire there, everywhere a fire! It seemed he could not win, and had to keep deflecting the flames lest them burn him to a crisp, and soon his body was sweating from use of deflecting the flames and not just the heat from them.

"I think it's a little late to be asking me that question right now!" Rajini hollered back at him and narrowly avoided being snapped in two , evading with a dancer's grace. "Now, less talking and more clue searching!"

A sweep of it's tail caught her a low blow in the gut and sent her flying across the room. Before she could get up the dragon's massive claws came crashing down over her, pinning her tightly beneath. "Shit!" She gasped as the beast dug its claws into the floor, tightening its grip about her like a vice, threatening to crush her bones. Ayden was yelling at her again , but what he said was not what she wanted to hear. She had no retort for him though as the air was being flattened from her lungs entirely. She couldn't move or breathe and her face was beginning to turn blue.

Alright, now she was starting to consider this venture not to be worth the trouble!

Through bleary eyes, she could see the dragon's maw open wide, revealing rows upon rows of nasty fangs that were nearly as long as her arm! She felt the creature sucking in air and the heat of its breath as it was preparing to roast her alive. She suspected though that she'd suffocate in a matter of seconds before that happened!

Ayden's intervention drew the dragon's attention from her as he struck it in the face with a blade betwixt its eyes. Rajini hungrily gasped for breath as the beast released her and moved away to go after the man.

It took Raj a few moments to recover. What were they going to do about the dragon indeed! She had nothing , could see nothing that would be of any use to either of them. She was about ready to give up hope when she noticed something peculiar beneath her foot. She stepped back and grabbed something that appeared to be a loop handle, possibly a door handle and pulled on it as hard as she could. The floor opened to reveal a narrow, long and dark descent to the Gods only knew where! At least there was a ladder conveniently there for use.

"Down here!" She called to him, hoping that he might look her way before she disappeared down the hole. If he didn't well, that was his damn problem! For the moment, it escaped her mind that what she wanted was in his possession!


ooc: So selfish!  ;D

Ayden barely heard what she said over the roar of the flames. Really, it was a lot of work to keep the flames at bay, let alone hear over it as another hot flare of flames shot across his body. He was feeling his powers weaken- the flames being strong, and it wasn't until he saw Rajini disappearing into a door that seemed to become swallowed beneath the royal pile of jewels that he began to curse.

Tearing across the ground, he tried to reach her, only to feel something give and he was brought back, winded as the massive jaws of the beast snapped for his neck- but managed to get the chains tangled in it's wicked teeth once again.
He heard a crunching of it's jaw, so close to him it was that he felt the hot breath sweltering across his body, even with enough heat to singe some of his hair as he winced but found himself in a precarious position where his face was turning blue, the chains had been connected to his neck held him precarious over the floor- and he could do nothing but gasp and make fishy, bubbled faces hoping the animal would either drop him so he could fetch some air- or eat him to put him out of his misery!

There was no question in Rajini's mind. If Ayden didn't haul ass down here himself, then she-

"Shit!" How could she have been so obtuse? The moron still held on to what she'd went through all of this trouble to get! "By the Night Lady, " Rajini grumbled , pulling herself hastily back up the ladder one rung at a time. A long climb it was, indeed, and she had not noticed before how long it was on the way down!

As soon as she reached the top , it wasn't difficult to discern where Ayden was because her eyes had instantly gone to the dragon first. "Pain in the ass," she sighed and removed something from from the leather pouch tied to the sash guarding her waist. She clutched a dark metallic looking sphere about the size of her fist in her hand.

She regretted having to use this to save Ayden's life of all things. No time to lament this , however. She shook her head and called out to the monster, hoping to win its attention, "Hey, over here you great overgrown lizard!" She shouted, waving her arms and hopping about, making as much movement as possible.

Luck was on her side, for the ruse worked. The dragon's head snapped around and it narrowed it's catlike golden eyes at her and this was all that Rajini needed. "Cover your eyes!" She shouted right before she threw the metallic ball high, right at the beast. On contact with it's muzzle, the sphere burst , shooting out a blinding flash of light that filled the room with impenetrable white for little more than a precious couple seconds , but such a flash was intense enough to blind any fool who had not heeded her warning.

Wasting little time, Rajini hurried over to where Ayden had been dropped and pulled him up to his feet, " Pain in the ass," he might have heard her quiet growl and then down they went , through the door in the earth while the monster was still shaking off its disorientation.

ooc: It would be terrible if Ayden was momentarily blind. She might just shove him down the ladder and watch him fall then though! :/

Unfortunately for Ayden, he had no idea what was going on and would have passed out from lack of oxygen had the ball not suddenly exploded and Ayden, dropped into a blanket of whiteness as he fell painfully to the floor.

ANd he couldn't see, he could even barely hear as he was gasping, coughing; just thankful air filled his lungs.  But somehow he was pulled along, stumbling and seeing white- white everywhere, and it was something he couldn't shake-
"Easy Raj- I 'tink I juz got blind." though his smile was grim as he spoke, he obeyed her words when they moved to the ladder, hesitant, but definitely willign to try to climb down without his sight as he could hear the monster roaring madly about.

"Jus' be careful, Raj. I can climb but I can't see." he warned her, but followed after anyways, hesitating as he went, trying to be as careful as he could not to step on her hands as tehy disappeared into the world below.

Once at the bottom, he pinched two fingers at his nose, shook his head and even rubbed at his eyes, but he was still seeing hot white stars and frowned as he tried to look at Rajini-
but again, would see nothing.

"Move your ass!" Rajini snapped at him. Blind or not, he'd have to keep up the pace. "We don't have much time before-" The dragon thrashed about blindly for the span of five seconds before recovering it's vision. It found the fleeing thieves easily and lunged forward with snapping jaws leading. Had the beast been swifter by a couple seconds, it would have skewered Rajini with its fangs, but alas. The thieves slipped into the world beneath it and all it could do was peer down the hole at them with one eye and growl its frustration.

She descended the ladder quickly so Ayden wouldn't end up kicking her in the face. It happened once and Rajini called him something unpleasant, but after that the climb went smoothly.

"You didn't close your eyes?!" Rajini failed to hide disguise the mix of surprise and annoyance in her tone. "You never listen to me. You're like a child. I told you to leave me alone, you do not. I told you not to touch anything and what did you do? I tell you to close your eyes and now you're blind, "She said sourly even though she had considered that Ayden might not have heard her or , if he had, his mind had been so preoccupied with survival that he'd allowed his panic to drown out all other senses. It happened even to the best. Even to Rajini.

Still, she wanted to find reasons to blame him because she was so sure that he couldn't be trusted. Any moment now, he was going to turn on her. It was a ridiculous notion though, wasn't it ? If he had been planning to stab her in the back , then he would have done it or maybe he understood that he needed her in order to get out of here. She was, after all , the brains of this outfit. If one could call it such.

She felt her foot touch the ground again and moved away from the ladder so that Ayden could stand there. Before her the path was clear, a dimly lit tunnel that only lead in one direction, " Hopefully, the worst of our troubles is over. We should be careful here. I wouldn't be surprised if this area is trapped too. "

She looked up to find Ayden still on the ladder , " If you fall, I'm not catching you."

ooc : and then he falls !

As Rajini went on, Ayden lazily picked at the inside of his ear, digging into it with one pinky, but still managed to climb to the bottom where he paused and smiled over at Raj (or so he assumed by the direction of her voice).

"If a lady could provide a t'ief w'it some assistance," he said, putting a hand out for her to take. "D'en maybe d'is blind fool won't topple onto his ass."
And he smiled, waiting for her, wearing such a ... charming and roguish grin that he hoped she would oblige and not leave him hanging.


OOC: Sorry it's short but- naturally he'd find a way to get her to touch him-
and the other option was accidently groping her XD

"I'd prefer it if you did," Rajini replied, her tone dripping with subtle venom. Why he thought she'd care enough to help him was beyond her. She would have taken the scroll from him then and there and left him down here to rot. But Ayden had helped her and Rajini couldn't escape from the sense of honor that governed her character. "Fine."

The look on his face only irritated her more, but she swallowed her bitterness back and took his hand. Her grip wasn't gentle though but it wasn't as strong as she could have made it either. It was firm, somewhat unkind. If he tried anything funny, she'd rip that damned arm off.

Ayden's grin nearly reached his ear as she helped him. Where her grip was unkind, his was suave.. almost gentle. Then, now secure with a host to help guide him, he leaped down safely from the ladder rungs and landed in a crouch, then brought that hand he held of hers to his lips and kissed the back of it softly.
Still remaining bent over, poised, he said, "T'anks, Raj." And lifted his eyes to look at her- the whiteness barely fading, but giving her form a haloed, angelic look-
but he didn't need the effect to know she was the woman of his dreams.

All the charm in the world wouldn't have quelled the anger that she felt in that moment. It was a minor thing, but this was Ayden Bane kissing her hand and she wasn't comfortable with that. At all. Her instinct was to punch him or slap him, whichever happened first.  Her jaw tightened and her brow twitched , her expression a mask of irritation that belied the boiling , volcanic rage within.

"Do you still have the scroll?" She inquired, her tone fighting to remain civil. Really , it was the only reason his sorry ass wasn't charcoal right now. She reclaimed her hand from him and wiped the Ayden-tainted hand on her pants.

If he didn't have it, she wasn't going to try to be nice anymore!

Ayden didn't have to see what she was doing to realize Rajini was flinching over the ordeal, squirming even. That just made him grin broader, exposing his teeth.
"If I could see, I could give it to you, but it seems it might be lost inside my pants. Maybe if you could help me find it..." and here he raised his hands up in a helpless gesture, his grin dimpling both of his cheeks as the white spots from his blindness were beginning to fade and he concentrated on her form- liking what he say as white peeled away to the vision of his angel.


OOC: OMG SO MUCH CHEESE <3 Ayden <3

ooc: We knew this was going to happen!

ic:

Rajini's patience snapped and she punched him in the shoulder, "I'm not in the mood for games, Bane!" She snarled. She was serious and he had to treat it like a game. Were he not who he was, she might have been charmed despite his less than charming vulgarities. But because it was Ayden, it only pissed her off.

She was not shy about her own body or a man's. She merely had standards now that she had a choice. However,  she'd get what she wanted one way or the other. And so Ayden may as well have got what he wanted. She frisked him roughly and where he might have felt pleasure in the action, Rajini felt little more than revulsion. She found the scroll in his upper vestments, not the lower. She shook her head at him and tucked the scoll away into her belt pouch, " We've wasted enough time here, but I wasn't going to let you leave alive if you didn't have what I'd come for. " She told him solemnly.

"How is your vision? " She frowned. She could no longer feel the vibrations of the enraged dragon above or hear it's terrifying roar , "It's quiet up there. We should move. The guard may be down here soon. "

The path before them was a straight walk. Where it would lead would be anyone's guess.

OOC: Um.. LOL slightly mature content? lol


Ayden's smile could not be bigger-
He didn't even seem phased by the punch, but the tent in his pants indicated he had enjoyed his frisking.  Though when she procured the scroll, he grinned and lowered his hands, just enough to be wary that he was still chained to the cuffs from before. He thought about making a comment to remidn her of his... earlier offer, to be her slave, but decided to keep his mouth shut for a change.
Rajini had just frisked him...
If he didn't bed her soon, he'd have to find some whore after all this was said and done. And play a little bit of.. role play as they'd fuck.

Shacking off the thought, he turned to her when she asked about his eyes.
He shrugged.
"I can see t'ings now but in shapes of white." he admitted, eyes following after her form moving, bobbing against  the world. Though occassionally she would fade into color, but it seemed everyttime he got to see the good stuff- hsi vision would cloud up just a bit more so he coudln't see all of the detail of her face.

ooc: Slightly mature. Read at your own risk. Heh.

ic:

If she noticed his arousal, Rajini did a professional job of acting as though she has not seen it or cared. Ayden was not the first man she'd had to feel up in order to claim what she wanted. Were he not who he was, she might have appreciated his physique. Pity!

She was only pleased when he chose to keep his mouth shut when she searched him. She did not relish the task and was temped to just kill him , then search his body.  Unfortunately, she considered that he may still be of use to her for she knew not what lay in wait down the path ahead.  Her hands were swift, skilled like any experienced thief was, but she was rougher than usual because her mood was foul and it was his fault!

She noted his stupid grin, knew he'd enjoyed it. She should've killed him. She frowned at him in turn.

"You're probably going to feel some slight disorientation for the next hour or so depending on how directly or how long your eyes were exposed. Come on," she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along with her, " just so you understand me, Ayden, this does not change anything between us." This was partially a lie. His voluntarily helping her did make a slightly better impression on her, though it was going to take more than that to win her confidence. Many men had done her favors and disguised their intentions. Ayden may have been no different. She didn't know him so well, but she knew just enough to keep him away from her at arm's length.   

The journey through the tunnel was uneventful and Rajini did not utter a single word to the man as they moved. Rajini pulled him along as though he were a naughty child and, really, she thought of him as such. Every so often she'd freeze and force him to pause with her. She'd look around , searching for a suspected trap and find nothing threatening before they'd resume their walk once more.

The path ahead of them gradually rose to a slight incline, and eventually ended with a flight of stairs leading up to another door. Rajini paused before the door whose surface was engraved intricately in the design of a coiled serpents. Sufjan must have had a thing about snakes. Rajin inspected the door. Aside from its snake decoration, it seemed quite normal. However, when she tried the door, it was locked. "Not surprising, " she sighed.

ooc: It could be a simple lock that Ayden could crack if you wish! I'm thinking this room leads to Sufjan's room. Haha! Maybe they could walk in on him doing something horrifying and be scarred for life!

OOC: Rajini and Ayden forevers <3

IC:

Ayden's grin never EVER left his lips. Not once during their silent 'rendez-vous' through the labrynth of hallways.  He could see, somewhat, his vision only impaired by large gobs of white that would flash every now and again, only serving as an irritation when he wanted to at least get a free look at her ass while he could.
A pity.

Though at her words, he continued to keep silencing, his smile, perhaps broadening at her hostility.
This, of course, was the Rajini that he loved, and once they had made it down the hall, he noticed the locked, tried blinking back some of the white spots that kept stirring nd tried to examine it.
Slipping something from his pocket, he began to fiddle around with the thing- and after a few motions- motions of which he was conducting by listening only, for he still couldn't see well enough, though the lighting here was poor anyways.
THen when he heard the noise- the satisfying CLICK- his face wrinkled into a dimpling smile. He looked up at Rajini- again, another beautiful against against a butterflying field of white light.

"Ladies first?" he inquired, wondering if she would want to keep up the lead- he was.. after all, still sort of somewhat blind.

Ooc: Mature because of implied sexual acts. There's nothing too graphic here though as I don't find it necessary.

Ic:

Rajini eyed the man suspiciously for a moment, but resumed lead. Ever-so-lightly, she placed her hand and the doorknob and pushed it forward. As she expected,  the door did not swing open easily, slowly yielding to her strength. Beyond the frame there was another room, one that was just as lavish as the treasury, but not nearly as cluttered. Much to Rajini's relief, there was also no dragon. Not that she had been expecting another one. Two dragons under one roof was quite insane!

Tapestires spun from golden thread were draped elegantly over the rough surface of the ivory-colored walls where large , portrait paintings of various Essyrni men and women also hung proudly. Standing guard within each corner of the room stood solid gold statues of nude men and on the far end of the expansive room was a king-sized four-poster bed complete with silky violet and gold sheets.

Rajini froze in the entryway and contemplated going back. This looked like Sufjan's room, but when she saw him sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to them. Another man knelt before the merchant lord, dressed in the similarly lavish and scanty slave attire that Sufjan favored. The slave lifted his head from between his master's legs and stared at Rajini.
Now Sufjan turned his head, "Why did you stop-" When he saw Rajini, however, his gaze became filled with something dangerous. "Rajini Iraja, " Not only did he look like a snake, but he hissed her name like one too.

OOC: Only slightly mature 8D  Though thread has Ayden in it >.>;
UNFORTUNATELY FOR AYDEN IT IS NOT MATURE BECAUSE OF HIM XD

IC:
Ayden did not need to be able to fully see to know the sounds of pleasure- though the grin he wore at the sound of moans only faltered when he began to piece the scenario together.
Sufjan wasn't pleasing a woman. He was being pleased by a man. And his grin began to wear away as he realized that, had Rajini not came when she did- his fate might have been similar.

But, being the perfect gentleman, Ayden was not about to start the fight, he did, however, decide to offer his services.
Turning to Rajini, he spoke, "So, you want me to beat d' shit out of d'at man now or later?" Ayden offered, raising his hands up, chains jingling to remind all of them his former plight- and the deadliness of his potential new weapon...
"D'ese chains might seem fitting if I strangle him, no?"

"That won't be necessary, " Rajini told him, " it would be more prudent to take him with us and use him to discourage the guard from killing us while we make our departure." Then, to Sufjan she said, " Put your robe on , quickly." Sufjan complied with her order, seeing that he had little other choice in the matter. As soon as he'd pulled his silken, violet robe about his slender frame, Rajini grabbed a fistful of his lavish material and shoved him in Ayden's direction, " If he so much as twitches the wrong way, snap his scrawny neck."

The male slave had not moved since Rajini and Ayden's intrusion.He knelt down by the bed , staring at the floor and quivering with fear. It was compassion that drew Rajini to the slave, she knelt down beside him and lightly placed a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder, "It's alright now, friend. You are free."

The slave lifted his head to look at her , however when she smiled at him he spat in her face and started to scream, "HELP! GUARDS! CRIMINALS! THERE ARE BANDITS TRYING TO KIDNAP LORD SUFJAN IN HERE!"

Needless to say , Rajini was taken off-guard by the slave's response. It took her a few moments to recover , but her hesitation was enough time for the guard to show up, kicking through the doors, a pair of them ran in with their spears aimed at the thieves, " Assassins, drop your weapons and step away from Lord Sufjan!" One of the guards demanded in a threatening baritone. 

Ayden obeyed, smirking as he took a hold of Sufjan and hefted his arms up and over the other mans' head as he looped the  chains around his neck securely so that Sufjan was infront of him as Ayden whispered.
"So, was I really worth your fifty t'ousand?" the thief couldn't help but ask, then tightened the chains threatening around his neck so the cold metal would bite at his flesh. "Just be wary t' listen so I don't strangle you to deaf' ."
Then he peered over at Rajini, watching as she moved to help the slave, only to visibly flinch when the man freaked out, calling the guards, but when the guards entered, Ayden spun around on one heal, tightening the chain around Sufjan's neck as he gave a toothy grin.

"I 'tink you ain't here t' be givin' any demands bein' as I got d' man in my clutches, no?" He hefted at the chain, just enough so that Sufjan would begin to gargle at the strangulation since the chains were now bond around his neck. "I t'ink you should re'tink your tactics if you don' want him t' die. But I'd be most obliging if you'd jus' git d' 'ell out of d' way s'os we can leave w'itout me beatin' in all of your skulls, but if you'd insist.." and the man flashed his toothy grin again, wondering if they'd dare as he tugged at the chains again and Sufjan once again was gargling for breath.

The guards stared at Ayden and one of them stepped forward with a face drawn tight with rage and defiant fire burning in his eyes, "You filthy little rat! I'll skewer you!"

"Stand down, now, imbeciles!" Sufjan managed to gasp out, his usually calm tone strained with anger and desperation. He certainly did not wish to die.

With reluctance, the guards lowered their weapons and moved aside to let the thieves and their hostage pass. Rajini nodded to Ayden and gestured towards their exit door ," I will follow you out this time. It would be good for the other guards to see Sufjan first."

It was then Ayden realized most of the effects of the blindness had subsided. He was seeing some fuzzy white dots, but for the most part he could see. Nodding, he obliged Rajini and took the light, keeping the chain taunt around Sufjan's neck and prodded him onwards.  The group walked down the hall with only minimal disturbances. When guards would suddenly take notice, Sufjan would talk them down and they would carry on throughout the place.
Ayden couldn't help but grin.  It was rather... nice to be working as an accomplice with Rajini. He had only ever dreamed of such things and always considered such dreams mere fantasy-
the fact it was actually happening... well, he was revelling in each moment. So he took his time strolling through the halls and turned to Rajini to inquire,
"So, Raj, d' you wan t' loot any'ting  else b'fore we dump di's guy off somewheres when we escape? It would eb a shame t' walk off w'it just a small treasure when we already 'ave an ace on d' table."

Rajini had undoubtedly considered taking more than she'd come here for, but she had also planned on this being an easier task than it had turned out to be. "Tempting though neither of us could carry much and time isn't our ally." What she had in her hands was worth more than all the treasure that Sufjan possessed, assuming that the stories were true and that she'd found the right mirror.

If not...


"Hm. I suppose you make a good point. You have anything in mind? " She half-expected him to suggest one of those gold nude statues that he'd had to put his hands on. She could have thought of a few things , but it was interesting to learn what other thieves had an eye for.

As they continued, Ayden smirked as he guided Sufjan forward behind the chains that now sealed around his neck. And his smirk was toothy.

"We's could stop at d' pantry," he began. "Git a few apples...."

He cold hear the exasperated breath from Sufjan before him but he gave a slight squeeze to the chain that reminded the man of his plight.
"D'ey don' exactly feed you much when you're a slave." And his grin became toothier and wider as he looked over at Raj.

His suggestion gave Rajini momentary pause. She turned to stare at him, uncertain was to whether he was being serious or whether he did jest. What was it with him and apples anyway? "You're serious? Of all the things you could choose, you'd honestly just want apples? You could find them fresh in the market, probably better than what you'd find here."

Though perhaps not. Sufjan only ever bought the best of everything, but did he even eat apples? It wasn't a common fruit native to Essyrn, though some of the wealthy did favor it.

ooc: Short posts happen!

Ayden tilted his head and flashed her another toothy grin.
"Maybe I have a 'ting for apples." He shrugged casually, it rattling the chains around Sufjan as the man made a terribly terrified face.
"Just take whatever you want and be off with you!" the man snapped.  Ayden blinked and looked down at the man, then over at Rajini.
"I twould be kind of fun t' stuff one in his mout, don' you t'ink? D'at way he could be quiet and d'en I can get myself a few of d' fruits."
Sufjan began to sweat, lips trembling.
"P-please.." he began to beg, but Ayden cut him off as he continued.
"But d'en we could tie him up, stew him in a pot d'en leave him t' burn like a pig? You know, like d'em roasts?"
Sufjan had almost heard enough and began to cry otu for his guards again, but Ayden tightened the chains, that choked off his words and only grinned down at him, then over at Rajini.


It was a fun idea at least, though he doubted Rajini would want to play.

"How depraved, " Rajini sounded almost offended by his suggestion ,but her expression was one of subtle amusement. It certainly would have been fitting for a pig like Sufjan to roast. However, Ayden was right in assuming that she wouldn't play along with that idea.

In truth, it would have horrified her. She'd killed men before, but the worst she'd ever done was decapitate them and stick their head on a pike. Sometimes she regretted not torturing Hyden Bane for the hell he'd forced her to endure for all those long years, but his death alone had been enough for her. All she'd really wanted was her freedom.

However, that didn't mean she wasn't past playing psychological games. She had to admit that there came a certain satisfaction in watching wretched bastards squirm. "Personally, I think we ought to start by removing the skin first. I've heard it does much for the flavor, "  she told Ayden with no humor in her tone, no indication that she was making a jest.

Sufjan's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and it took every ounce of Rajini's will to not laugh at such a sight. He believed her? How amusing!

"Maybe smoke him , or glaze him in honey, add some pineapples. Have you ever tried that? It's pretty tasty, " she continued on, pretending not to notice Sufjan's whimpering.


ooc: Sometimes my characters disturb me a bit!

Ayden was beaming as it seemed Rajini was playing along. Even if the games were subtle. He gave Sufjan a push.
"D'en let's be off to d' kitchen. A pig takes time to roast." Sufjan's knees began to buckle.
"P-please," the pig sputtered, but Ayden held fast on the chain, with enough pull to silence him.
"Which way to d' kitchen, pig?" Ayden asked, cheek to cheek.

"Although, " Rajini interjected with a measure of contemplative observation in her tone, "I've heard that's it's not particularly good to ingest fatty, spoiled meat." She eyed Sufjan with cold and unsympathetic eyes. She would have delighted in continuing the game if she wasn't concerned about time. She drew a dagger and pressed the blade point to the man's prominent nose unkindly, drawing a trickle of blood. "Lead us to your larders," she commanded in a tone that matched her gaze when she did look upon him, " And I'll consideri sparing your miserable hide."

Sufjan swallowed and nodded , not daring to challenge the woman who held his life in her hands. He moved forward as quickly as Ayden would allow. When they reached their destination, they came upon an expansive room that was stocked about as lavishly as the treasury room had been. It shouldn't have been a surprise that this man lived like a king in nearly every aspect. Rajini wasn't particularly hungry, but she was more than content to peruse Sufjan's wine cellars, claiming some of the eldest and most expensive bottles that his collection did boast.

She'd met Ayden Bane today for the first time in years. She certainly needed a drink!

The larder was as expected, with food so rare and good apples to boot. Ayden smirked, but contemplated what to do with Sufjan as he reached out and took an apple, examining it's polished, red surface before glancing over at Rajini. He slipped it into his pocket, seeming as there was not much else he could want, but then noticed the wine.
"If you could spare t' get a second bottle, I would be obliged." Ayden grinned, his teeth exposed, thoroughly yellow from his cigarettes with deep rotted color near the gums. But he still had all of them.  So his smile was always handsome.  "I seem t' 'ave my 'ands preoccupied w'it somet'ing."
Sufjan groaned when Ayden leaned against him, the chains still rattling in their cold reminder of his plight.

Rajini shot a glare at her temporary partner in crime, " I suppose, but you're only getting one unless you - no . You're only getting one." She had been about to say that if he wanted more, then he'd have to carry it himself but then she thought better of it. There were other , stronger drinks there and knowing him , he'd pick them. No. Wine would do.  The last thing she wanted was an even more obnoxious and deviant Ayden Bane tagging along after her, trying to tap anything with two legs and breasts. Though, maybe if he was drunk enough, she could dump him somewhere and escape. That would be nice. Her world would be Ayden-free once more. Very nice, indeed. She rather liked that idea.

Rajini plucked bottle from the wine shelf and then helped herself to a couple sugared dates. She wasn't that hungry but they were there . Why not try a couple?

"I think that should do," she turned to look at Ayden, "you done?"

Ayden had been waiting patiently on the side lines, his eyes squinty, and his lips, grinning.
"I t'ink I found everyt'ing alright." And his cool eyes slipped down slowly to where Sufjan as still held in chains. "So what do you t'ink we ought t' do to d'is bastard. Take 'em wit' us so we can sell him in town? I bet he could at least fetch us some of d'at gold he was paying out for me." ANd he gave Rajini and easy grin. "D'ough I'll follow you anywhere, Raj. Jus' lead d' way."

Rajini frowned. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of Ayden following her everywhere. No, in fact she didn't like that one bit and he'd better not consider trying it after they were away from this place. She'd make this clear once they were out. Right now she could use his help and she still needed the parchment from the mirror...

"There's a tempting suggestion , though I suspect we'd make more money selling camel dung in a flea market, " Rajini replied with a smirk. "I say we give him a little taste of his own medicine. Strip him, toss him in a cell and let him rot there until one of his hired jackals sniffs him out and comes to his rescue. I don't think we need him to get out of here. In fact, I think bringing him with us is more a burden than a boon. If I hadn't found what I was looking for, I'd likely suggest slitting his throat."

Sufjan trembled but said nothing. He was only grateful to not be dead though he silently promised himself that once he was free of this that Rajjini Iraja was going to pay dearly for this humiliation ! Both she and that beautiful man whom he'd paid a small fortune for!

"This way, " Rajini said , slipping out of the larder and back into a narrow corridor. She moved quickly without breaking into a run, making not a sound as she moved. They turned down a few other halls and decended a flight of stairs, turning into dimly lit room with some holding cells. One guard leaned against a wall, sleeping whilst standing on his feet. Rajini tapped the man on the shoulder. The guard woke with a snort and started to open his mouth to shout when Rajini's fist knocked him hard in the temple betwixt the eyes. The impact caused the guard to stumble back into the stone wall, his head slamming into it and his body crumpling to the floor.

Rajini knelt down next to the body and removed a ring of keys from his belt. She then walked over to an empty cell and unlocked the door, pulling it open. "I think this looks quite cozy for you , Sufjan. " She nodded at Ayden.

Ayden followed Rajini like an obedient dog. And kept the smile widely spread across his lips, too. He had a nice view of that ass, anyway, and as he moved along, his steps seemed to be coming lighter, despite the load he carried (that was Sufjan). Once a cell was procured, the thief's grin grew, and unceremoniously he dumped their undesirably cargo inside and slid the door into place. The man babbled on about his release, but Ayden held the cell door firmly shut as he turned to Rajini.
"Shall I do d' honors, or you?" he asked, giving her a smug grin as his blue eyes sparkled with mirth. THis was turning out to be a fun game indeed and he waited to see if the woman wanted him to lock the door or she herself wanted to do the honors.

ooc: Mild language warning.

ic:

Rajini took the key and locked the cell door.Then she placed the key on the floor just beyond Sufjan's reach. "That should keep you entertained," she told the snake-like slave owner with a smirk.

"You thieving bitch!" Sufjan hissed -snarled. He threw himself at the bars, grabbing at them and shaking them with all the ferocity in his body. The bars of his cell remained unmoving.

Rajini replied by blowing him a kiss and then waving with an impish grin easily spreading across her features, "Thanks for the laugh, Sufjan. See ya around!" 

Turning to Ayden she nodded, " And now, to make our grand exit. After you. "

Ayden grinned. He liked her style, and her ass..
and well, her boobs. Pretty much he liked everything about her. It's why he had give her apples all those times before. But a light kikc to the keys put them another few inches out of reach and Ayden turned to Rajini, appearing quite pleased with himself.

"Are you sure you want me t' lead?" he said, raising his brows, smiling. "I don't t'ink I came in d' same way as you, but if you insist, a t'ief is only as good as his escape. I suppose I could find a way out."A nd his eyes searched the area as he stalked forward, heading towards the door at the end. And he opened it without so much as a thought, noticed the guard on duty who looked back at him, making a face and about to scream and Ayden nonchalant shoved a fist into his face. The man crumpled into an unconscious mess. Turning to Rajini he gestured, "After you," after he stepped over the fallen body.

Rajini smirked at him, "A true thief knows how to improvise. Besides, we probably shouldn't go back the way I came in unless we want to fight our way through a contingent of armed guards. No doubt that section of this palace is swimming with them by now. Not that it's something you or I could handle. Even you are ten times more skilled than a dozen of those imbeciles grouped together." A compliment paid to him from Rajini. Why , how rare!

Rajini's smirked again , watching her fellow thief quite easily dispatch the guard. However , when he suggested that she take point she frowned and shook her head , "So you can stare at me from behind some more while I do all the work?" She crossed her arms briefly over her chest," I don't think so, Ayden Bane. Come on, show me that you haven't lost your talent."

Yes,... he hadn't lost his talents... for he was still staring at her chest, so ripea nd round and nearly bursting from her attire. So when she posed the question, he blinked and raised his blue eyes to her. Then he smirked.

"I'm always one t' appease d' ladies," he said, his grin growing, exposing some teeth before he nonchalantly continued down the path, opening another door and well, blinking when a pair of guards were down the way, with one man in dress, clutching onto his clothing and crying at them as his make up ran down his cheeks.

It was then the other pair of guards noticed them and shouted, "INTRUDERS!" Before swords were draw, the cross-dressing man fainted away, and Ayden Bane stood there with a blink. He wasn't quite sure what he was to do, considering he was still in chains, but hwen the swords came after them, he simply moved without thought, gathering the chains within his hands and throwing them at the oncoming swords that aimed to slice the two in half. His heavy chains were enough to knock the swords back, but he knew him using those chains for weapons could only last so long as he turned back towards Rajini, and smirked.


"I don't suppose you got a weapon I could use?" the man asked, grinning a bit crookedly before he found himself needing to parry another sword slash at his face using another powerful whip of the chains.

At his comment of 'appeasing the ladies' , Rajini rolled her eyes and replied sardonically, "Oh , I'm sure."

She followed after him, curiously watching the cross-dressing man run screaming by them. "That man has way too much makeup on, " ,she commented, making an obviously trivial observation.

Now as more guards approached, Rajini scoffed, "I didn't bring my sword with me. Do you even know how much it's worth? I would never bring that for easy jobs like this. " As she spoke she reached down and untied a small pouch from her waist sash. She opened the bag and poured the contents into the palm of her hand. "This might help," leaning over his shoulder ,she held out her hand, palm extended toward the approaching swordsman and blew hard, spraying sand into the man's eyes. It had the desired effect, blinding him.

The swordsman staggered and paused to furiously rub at his stinging eyes.

"ARRRRRGH!" the guards shouted, sand now in their eyes as they clutched at them painfully. Thankfully there was only the pair of them, and Ayden nonchalantly approached them, seeing as they were hardly dangerous now considering their cries of pain, and grabbed them suddenly by their shoulders and SMASHED the pair together. Their heads collided and the guards fell down, completely unconscious.

"Shall we continue?" he said, grinning back at Rajini as they continued down the hall. At the far end was a large window. Ayden approached it, drawing back the curtain as he looked down to the streets below. They were at least three stories up.
"So anys idea how we ought t' climb down d'ere, Raj?" he asked, peering back at her as he leaned against the sill.

Rajini walked over to the window and leaned partially out , craning her neck skywards and scanning for some means of escape. Frowning she removed the key to Ayden's cuffs from one of her pockets, "Climbing down won't be all that easy. You've been cooperative so far so I suppose I should remove those handcuffs. " Though letting the man fall to his death was tempting, but she was not that kind of person which she hated herself for at times. She fit the key to the lock and gave a sharp twist, hearing it click she let him remove the handcuffs himself.

"Although, at my age, I think the stairs is a more appealing option..."

An arrow shaft sunk into the window frame, a fraction away from where he hand was resting. Rajini looked at the shaft which was still quaking from the impact and then at Ayden.

"Not so fast! You're not going anywhere but the deepest , darkest cell in the dungeon , Rajini Iraja. "  A trio of armed guards entered the room, blocking the thieving pair's only other exit.

"I feel ten years younger already! Move quickly , " Rajini climbed out of the window and stepped out onto a rather narrow ledge that just barely accommodated her heels. She pressed her back tightly against the wall and sidled along  slowly though as quickly as she could manage without losing her balance. Naturally, her experiences coupled with her skill made her quicker than most. She moved along until she reached the end of the ledge where she spied a long , narrow wood pole jutting out from just slightly below the ledge she was.

Cautiously, she extended a leg out, setting a boot down and applying just enough weight to test the pole's stability. It was quite sturdy, much to her relief. With a sigh , Rajini pushed herself away from the wall and walked along the pole, holding her arms out and away from her for balance. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Ayden moving along the ledge and , slightly behind him one of the guards was leaning out the window with a crossbow in hand , angling the weapon in her direction.

He fired and the bolt whizzed past her ear. Though she knew it was coming, it still startled her. She gave a start and , purposefully let herself slip off the pole , falling just a bit before she thrust hear arms out and caught hold of the pole in her hands. She hung there, her muscles straining. It wasn't much of a strain either, but certainly not as easy as it had been when she'd been in her prime even though she was in excellent shape.

Another arrow narrowly missed her. She grit her teeth and looked down, spying another pole a few feet below her, slightly further to the left. There was another pole below that and even further to the left. Perhaps she could swing to each one , Like a monkey, she thought sourly. 

Her eyes kept searching for other options , but unfortunately no other alternatives presented themselves to her. She ignored another bolt that missed her and started to swing her legs, back and forth in unison..gathering momentum to make the jump. Once she built up enough power, she released her hold of the pole and went flying forward and down...

She caught the next pole in hand and kept moving in the same manner, swinging and from one pole to another, slowly descending until she was near enough to the 'palace's' outer walls. Landing on top of that, she crouched down immediately, evading a couple crossbow bolts and peered down into the busy street below. She saw no guards down there yet and the jump was...considerable but not bone-breaking. She jumped down, landing in the dirt with a roll.

She would have run off on her own then , but she had to wait for Ayden because the fool still had what she needed.

   

With a clank, the metal cuffs on his wrists fell away, and with it the pile of chains that had connected them. He gave a smirk, rubbed at his wrists before turning to Rajini and casting her a much larger grin.
"T'anks, Raj."

But before either of them had much of a choice on how or where to go, a few angry looking guards showed up on the scene.
"Seems t' me you got some pretty nice friend here, Raj." he commented, before following her out the window in a nonchalant shrugging step.
Out on the ledge, it was much harder for him, being much taller and with larger feet than she (adn well, a larger body as well), he found himself needing to walk a lot slower, so by the time the crossbows were brought out, he nearly lost his balance when they began firing. Thankfully the few shooting after him were missing, though by mere inches. And for a moment, he watched in mild fascination as his hands clung to the side of the building, bolts flying everywhere before he sighed and gave a wave of his hand; conjuring the wind that was already whipping around them and funneling it directly at the guards.

The guards gave a scream, being blown over as Ayden smirked at his victory then peered over his shoulder down at Rajini an her monkey bar antics. And his grin grew wider again.

Making hsi way towards the pole, he tried to do the same, but he hardly had the finesse as she, so when he attempted to drop down to the second pole beneath him, the guards were already ready with their crossbows reloaded-
and shhhhnkt! One sunk suddenly into his hand.

"Shit." And his grip slipped and down he went, plumeting towards the world below, only to find himself catching onto one of the poles beneath him with a fiery grip. Gods did his hand hurt, and blood was gushing down his arm from his wound. He was dangling now only but a story off the desert ground when he looked down at Rajini, drew in a careful breath and just let himself drop.

Landing with a crouch into the sands, he rose up and looked over at her, his brow sweaty, arm a bloodied mess, before giving her one of those classic, Ayden Bane, carefree grins; that was, until another series of bolts came whizzing past them, striking hte sands but inches from their heels.

"I t'ink d'is is d' time we run?"

It wouldn't have mattered if Ayden had lived or died, she told herself. She could easily loot whatever she wanted from his corpse and make her getaway. Having him alive to give it to her was easier and she was mildly pleased that he was still resourceful enough not to get his sorry ass killed.

"Don't slow down now, you idiot!" When her fellow thief joined her, she grabbed his wrist and yanked him out of the way, running at full tilt and placing as much distance between Sufjan's palace and themselves as possible.   

Eventually, they lost their pursuit in one of the many twisting alleyways filled with beggars and thieves. "Well, that was fun wasn't it? " Rajini said at last now that the pair had a moment to catch their breaths. She looked at Ayden expectantly, "You still have the parchment, I trust?"

ooc: Sorry for the delays. I just got back to working on the field again and it's been busy. I had some family obligations too .

Ooc: That's fine! Yay for Rajini posts!

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Once they were securely tucked away in a back alley, Ayden Bane took the moment to catch his breath,a nd well, admire his partner's body all slicked with sweat. Ah, the desert fashions, they always looked so lovely on her...
Though at her inquiry about the parchment, the thief's grin broadened as he flashed her his teeth.

"It's safe in my pants, Raj," he told her, grinning wider still.

In that moment, Rajini's composure nearly broke. However, she forced herself to grin back and reply in a playful tone, "If you tell me that I have to frisk you for it, then I'm probably going to kill you."

She shook her head, her seriousness melting away, " Do I even want to know where it's stashed in there ?  " She had many pockets , but Ayden? Well, in an outfit like that there really weren't many places one could hide things. She frowned and sighed,  "Ugh. Just hurry up and take it out. "

An elderly man walking by paused and gave them a rather disgusted and accusatory glare. Kids these days! No sense of decency at all!

ooc: Apologies for another delay. I was busy getting my niece settled back into school. I should be able to post more often now.

I've heard about your kidney and I'm glad that you're better now.

Ayden's grin grew wide across his face.
"Rajini, I 'hought you'd know me better d'en dat." Though she pinned the tail on the nose as Ayden took the map out from his only pocket like structure in his 'pants'. Really, he was barely wearing a thing to begin with, didn't mean he couldn't figure out what sort of flaps to use for secrecy. He handed it over to her without hesitation, the marks on his wrist red and evident from where the chains had once been.

OOC: Sorry this took so long to reply to- I'll.. add more stuff next time I post, I swear XD
I just wanted to at least get out a reply for you :T

Before claiming her prize, Rajini stared at Ayden curiously as he held out the map to her. She had expected him to make some ridiculous demand or play games with her. Though perhaps he knew her well enough not to test her. Surprise registered clearly on her face. His cooperation beyond the dangers of Sufjan's palace was unexpected. Eyes narrowed, she scrutinized him suspiciously then shook her head and snatched the parchment from his hand without so much as a 'thank you' because she was still convinced that he was behaving strangely and must have been up to something!

"I really don't know you that well and I'd rather keep it that way," she replied with a scowl , not looking his way once as she rolled the parchment open and studied the map briefly, "So, what will you do with your new found freedom?" She inquired casually, still not looking his way and hardly caring whether he told her or not. She could imagine that his response would have something to do with looking for a very good time. If he ended up behind bars again, she wouldn't be surprised.

Something bothered her though. This was Ayden Bane. Not just any old run-of-the-mill thief. Though if she questioned him about that, then he might suspect that she had a higher opinion of him than she was letting on and she couldn't have that! She hated his guts!

Ayden's grin never left his lips. THe sparkle of mischief, ever present, he simply gave a shrug.
"Do what I always do," he said, and gave her a toothy grin from over his shoulder. He didn't need to elaborate on that. "D'ough we'll want t' move t' ano'dder place if you want t' oblige." And his grin widened a bit more.

Only once she was sure that it was clear did Rajini leave the alley with Ayden following her, much to her annoyance. She found her way to a local tavern called The Shady Scorpion and took a seat at one of the empty tables. The place was bustling with all manner of suspicious looking characters. Among them, Rajini almost appeared to look the most normal. Since she'd already stolen some wine from Sufjan's cellars she popped the cork of the bottle and drank that. The map was safely tucked away somewhere on her person.

"How long has it been since we've seen each other?" Rajini inquired as she leaned back in her seat across from him.

The Shady Scorpion was about as eclectic as it's name. With sharp, wooden tables, and a chandelier made from a large set of scorpion tales, and by the looks of it, as Ayden looked up at the ceiling, a cigarette lit in his fingers as it's smoke wafted towards the ceiling, it had to be some big fucking scorpion indeed!

Snorting some smoke through his nose, he leaned back in his chair, put his boots up and crossed, upon the table, and lifted his cigarette back to his lips as he looked over at Rajini. With her fiery red hair and fiery red personality, it wasn't difficult to see why Ayden had the hots for her. They had quite the history together, and despite the women Ayden had slept with- she was one of the women not on the list. But he always held a special place in his heart for Raj

During their times before she had killed his father, he had taken pity on her. That's when she had been a slave, and secretly, delivered apples to her after he had to over hear his father being brutal towards her. It was the only thing he could do- he tried other methods which, unfortunatel for him, were misconstrued by all parties involved and...
left him with a nasty scar across his throat

It was one reason Ayden couldn't talk too loudly. He was, infact, lucky to be alive that his adoptive father hadn't gutted him prior to his scaring, or that Rajini's scaring of him hadn't killed him off, too. He had always been a bit of a rebel in his own right,a nd nobody could really put a finger on the way he acted. Then again, it was hard to stay loyal or candid towards an adoptive father whom, Ayden had to watch slaughter his entire family in front of. The memories, he still tried to repress to this day.

If it weren't for his magics.. Hyden Bane would have left him for dead. And though he was taken in to the Vorhdic Thieves he never felt he was one. More of a lone wolf type, he kept to himself...
though there was that short time he had 'escaped' for a short hwile on his own, but his curiosity for Rajini had brought him back..
and it was then she had almost killed him and he, surprised she had taken over the guild.


Thinking back to her question, he simply smiled as he exhaled more cigarette smoke.
"A couple of years." he said, giving a light scratch to his throat. Had he his normal clothing, he would have had that nasty scar covered, and the whip scars on his back. But, their most recent captive had Ayden in quite the interesting garb (which wasn't much of anythign at all!).

Not that Ayden minded as he leaned back in his chair, bare chest capped in gold lighting from the scorpion chandelier, and a few, fat, black wax candles on the table also dancing across his form. It danced across Rajini's too, and he thought, with a grin, she looked real good.

"D'ough I never t'ought d'at it was d'at long, but I guess it has been." And he gave her an easy grin "D'ough you look good. D'eh desert life seems to be treating you good, Raj" And he tilte dhis head back, enjoying another drag. "What are d' 'tieves up to now? Is d'is map somethin' you stole for d' guild?"

Rajini wasn't looking at him directly as he spoke. Her eyes were watching everything else, as though she expected something to be after her. It wasn't an unreasonable feeling though. Rajini's reputation had grown over the years and the success of her Guild was no secret. She wasn't reckless like this usually and though she certainly owed no explanations for her reasons here to Ayden she had little to hide. What could he do to her?

She shrugged her shoulders and sipped her wine, " Oh, the same as usual. You know, contract ourselves to some ambitious rich prick and rob his rival blind, then turn around and rob him blind." She smirked, " Then we move on to the next fool looking to push his fellows into financial ruin. This ," she held up the map, "this is just a small curiosity. Things are running a little too smoothly at home and an adventurous girl like me tends to get a little bored. "

"Ah.." he exhaled more smirk through his lips as he remained, reclined in his seat and studying his companion. "So you've become bored w'id t'ings, eh, Raj?" And his grin was playful as he asked. "Suppose your lucky d'en d'at I was available t' help. Not every day you get t' hang out w'it d' infamous Ayden Bane."

Rajini laughed, "Lucky? Meeting you? Ha! You'd certainly like to think so, wouldn't you? I dare say it's the other way around, Bayne. "  Yes, he had made a good point. Without his help, she may not have acquired what she needed. " Even if I had to see your ugly mug again, I suppose it wasn't all that bad, " she grinned, " It's been awhile since I've danced so close to death. It's quite a rush, wouldn't you say ? What is life without a little danger? Ah. It almost reminds me of the old days when Hyden(sp?) lost the guild and I stepped up in his place. Fun times... "

She missed them. Those were the golden years where the guild prospered and worked together like one big thieving family. Now there had been murders and whispers that Rajini herself was being targeted by someone in the guild for assassination. A whole year she had spent sleeping lightly with a knife under her pillow and looking upon every one of her thieves with suspicion. She still couldn't sniff out the traitor, but the assassination attempts had come and gone. For the first time in her life, she actually felt safer outside of the guild even in the company of someone such as Ayden Bayne than she did within it.

Of course, Rajini still had a grudge against Bayne, believing that he had been planning to oust her once and she wasn't about to tell him how dire her situation was.

"I don't know, Raj," he said with a playful grin. "D'is mug don' look too ugly t' me. Maybe all d'at running from death skewed your vision. But if you need somet'ing t' help you remember, I could show you reasons you'd enjoy my company if we were t' get a room upstairs."

"My vision is perfectly fine, thank you. I think you've had too much to drink, " Rajini smirked at him and took another drink of wine, " Heh. Thanks, but I think I'll pass on that offer, " and noticed a serving maid out of the corner of her eye certainly did not share Rajini's opinion of the cocky thief's appearance, "don't look now, but it looks as though you've an admirer."

But Ayden Bane hadn't bothered to look as he gave a casual shrug.
"D'eh only admirer I'm lookin' for d'is evenin' is d' one lookin' at me now," And he caught her gaze with a grin. "Don't forget how much d'at man had paid for me. D'is is prime real estate. And I got lots t' offer t' a woman."

Rajini laughed and rolled her eyes, "That means little. Did you pay any attention to the interior decor? " She shuddered, " So gaudy and tasteless. Honestly, you don't place a vomit colored rug against a neon pink floor tile. That's just...so wrong. If there had been time, I would have asked the dragon to burn it. " She was only partially kidding!

 

Ayden's grin split across his face toothily as he took her in. Her witty comments was one reason he.was hopelessly in love with her. Unfortunately for.him, it was unrequited.
"I hate t' agree but you're right. Some of d'em decorations could make your eyes bleed!"

ooc: there is some mature language in this post.

ic:

Rajini laughed and drained her glass with a laugh, "You're telling me! Otherwise, I would have picked the place clean years ago! " And this was no exaggeration by any extent of the imagination. She examined her empty glass and the empty bottle on the table with a frown, " I'm not drunk enough to tolerate you any longer. I need something stronger-"

Her eyes caught sight of a pair of shady looking men approaching their table. " Well, well...if it isn't Rajini Iraja, Queen of the failed Thieves Guild. " The larger of the two men sneered at her with disdain as he and his silent companion pulled up a chair to sit on either side of her. "You owe us money, you smug bitch, and we've come to collect."

Rajini smirked, "Ayden Bayne, I'd like to introduce you to a former associate of mine,  Kassim and his assclown. They've come to me to beg for scraps through insults and intimidation. Watch carefully now as I politely reject them. " She grinned broadly at the large man, "Go fuck yourselves. I don't owe you damn thing and you know it. "

Kassim growled at the woman dangerously and pressed, " We heard you sacked Sufjan's place so we know you got something valuable. "

"Of course I did, " Rajini replied smugly, " and like I said, I don't owe you. You stole from the guild and I let you live because your stupidity amuses me.  " She laughed, " I'm not sure which is more hilarious here. That Ayden Bayne got caught or that you think I'm dumb enough to part with treasure. " She waved a hand at them dismissively,  " Run away , little boys, before you hurt yourselves." 

A knife flashed in Kassim's hand, "If you won't hand it over, then we'll just take it from your corpse!"

ooc: I apologize for the extensive delay but it couldn't be helped. I've been too tired most days to post after work.  :-[

OOC: It's ok - my last post was done on my phone in the hospital so it wasn't anything special x.x
Now let's see if I can't do something flashy :T

---

The chandelier held at least enough candles that the flames dancing upon them could be manipulated easily enough for Ayden Bane. Though he would have preferred more fire mpower than that- even a small flame could do some damage in the right hands- and currently, the flame was behind summoned in a flash to the wriggling fingers of Ayden Bane.

And his grin was smug as he remained reclined withi his seat, but moved forward to flash the flame before the two men in warning before he held the glowing ball of fire in his hand.

"I'd be careful. D'at knife can cut, but I bet d'is fire will melt your face before you can even git it out of d' sheath. Now be a good man and leave d' woman alone. She's had a long day."

And Ayden's smart remark was all Kassim needed as the man, pissed off anyone would dare talk to him that way, let out a roar nd thrust the knife forward, but not before his wrist was caught by Ayden, and the flames punched into his face. Screaming for mercy, the man stumbled back over the chair. Now floundering on the ground as he tried to dampen out the heat seering his face, Ayden frowned when he noticed a bit of trckling of blood o his arm. Kassim's knife must've got him- but that was hardly much of his concern for long- as the silent partner suddenly tore out a blade resting against his back in a long sheath, and slammed the entirety of it into the table and the wood split into two.