@Datasmith Walking through the crowded streets of Essyrn with your nose buried in a book was not exactly the most advisable course of action, but Lapis had a great deal of practice with it. The only place it was a bit more difficult was near the Coliseum or the slave markets, but she'd skirted around those on her way home- brought up bad memories anyway.
At least, she tried to skirt around the area. She must have taken a wrong turn somewhere, because she suddenly found herself caught up in a throng of excited spectators pouring out of the massive stone skeleton of the fighting pits.
Damnit. She lowered her book just long enough to take a glance around, still sort of dazed and not entirely present. Collecting herself, she turned to be on her way- and smacked directly into a large, solid chest.
"Oh! Do pardon me, I'm so sorry-" Her apology choked off as she looked up and up and up at the giant of a man she'd run into. She swallowed audibly and squeaked out, "M-my apologies..."
In his most resent battle, Delvarus was somewhat impressed. Who would've thought that some noble brat would've put up as good of a fight as she did; she fell reguardless, that was a given, but she managed to put a new scratch on his battle scared plate as well as giving him a new scar, that had already formed a scab and was nearly healed. He assumed she entered to gain some glory, and some enemies of hers saw this as a great opportunity to kill her. Atleast her death was mostly quick.
Now, he and his old fool of a
"master" were on their way to wherever the senile old fool thinks he is suppose to be.
Quote"M-my apologies..."
Still coming off the high of battle the curse gives him, he responded with a harsh snarl and a reach for one of his axes.
"HEEL BEAST!" His master shouted, Delvarus was nearly thrown to his knees by the effect of the leash-stone.
"You know better than that! Now you apologize to the girl like a proper gentleman!" Delvarus growled
"I apologize..." the voice sounded... off. It was deep but yet it had a slight strain, like the words were being forced through him.
"Good! Now, are you alright miss?" If his look, a man wearing fine silks whom boasts a beard that nearly scrapes the ground with its sheer length, beheld anything; this man was very old and more than slightly senile.
"Oh!" Lapis flinched slightly as the master's voice rang out, and she resisted the urge to scowl. "Yes, I'm perfectly fine," she assured quietly. "I was just startled."
She looked back to the behemoth and nodded. "Forgive me, I truly wasn't paying attention."
The old man chuckled as Delvarus scrambled back into his feet. "You mustn't worry about this big bastard, heh heh, he knows when to listen."
The old man paused for a moment, "say, stay right here while I go inside and purchase some things. You stay out here too, Beast." And the old man dissapeared inside the small store.
Delvarus growled the moment the master was out of earshot and rolled his shoulders. Looking back down at the frightened girl, he scowled.
"Tell me, girl, are you afraid of me? Or are you afraid of the man who holds my... leash?" he snarled and looked towards the building.
Stay right here?
...should she just go?
She was honestly considering slipping away while the elderly man was occupied, but then the giant spoke. Her head snapped up to look at him and she blinked, processing what he said.
"I'm afraid of you," she responded honestly, tone even. "You are quite a bit larger than me, in case you hadn't noticed. And I am no stranger to the cruelty that can be dealt on these streets to those unwary." She shrugged. "But if I had to take a guess...I'd say the true danger is the one who holds this leash you speak of."
She shook her head, mouth twisting into a hard line and brow furrowed. "I do not know you, sir, but you speak as though you lack a certain amount of choice. And that is what makes me nervous." She glanced after the old man.
No one should be forced under the thumb of another person- especially not if their will was as clouded as she guessed this man's was.
"Pleasure as always" Magpie said to the storekeep as he passed the bag of gold along with a parchment of his next order. She was just sliding it onto her belt when the old decrepid man nearly barged right into her. She scowled and narrowed her brown eyes at him. He was a little later than anticipated. She gave a knowing nod to the store keep before emerging out onto the store front.
"He should make you nervous" she interjected as she appeared next to the young woman. She eyed her curiously, wondering why she had stopped to talk to the giant. She looked quite startled and Magpie assumed, quite harmless. The towering figure next her though was quite the opposite. She could not help but gorp at the great beast of a creature, up close he was very intimidating, quite capable of swatting them both away like small flies.
"Sorry to interrupt. But your master might be in there for sometime... He had some serious business to take care of with the store keep."
She looked around to see if they were being observed by anyone. Her fingertips traced the golden handle of her dagger on her belt cautiously. This street was busy with all the pushing and shoving. Most were giving them a wide birth and glaring up at the creature, they weren't paying the two small women much mind. She needed to be very careful.
Delvarus scoffed at the other girl, she was just another haughty noble who thinks all is beneath her.
A wicked smile graced his lips as the noble girl thumbed a overly ornate dagger. In response, Delvarus slowly unhooked one of his axes.
"Don't start something you know you won't win, high rider." Delvarus chuckled and watched as the crowd, already keeping its distance, nearly scattered.
"I couldn't care less if he were to stay in that place forever." He said and poked her in the chest with the axe. "What do you want?".
Without breaking eye contact with the noble, he says to the young girl with a point "And you, stay. I will have some words."
Magpie stumbled back and rubbed her chest. He didn't mean any harm but even a prod from him caused an amount of alarm.
"Hey, hey now" she said holding her hands up defensively, "no intention of starting anything."
The dust kicked up from the passing crowd made her cough. In the breif silence a minor disturbance could be heard in the store behind them. It sounded like glass bottles and falling off a shelf. Her eyes darted to the doorway nervously, but no figure appeared.
"I'm wanting to help you..if you would hear me out?"
She glanced around and lowered her voice to a whisper, and looked him in the eye.
"I have a friend who thinks he can fix you."
Lapis took a step back. She didn't want to get involved in this...whatever this was.
But when the man told her to stay, she did. She didn't want to risk angering him.
Damnit. She'd just wanted to get home to finish her book, was that really so much to ask?
"I'd watch what I say, if I were you," she said to the strange young woman, marking her place in the book she'd been idly clutching to her chest and slipping it into the satchel that hung from her shoulder. "Even whispers carry in these streets. You should know that."
Delvarus was silent for a moment after she said her intentions, then chuckled, the chuckle turned into a laugh, and the laugh only got louder. "Help me? How can you help me? HA." Delvarus' laugh faded into a throaty chuckle."If you want to 'help' me, kill the bastard who hold my leash."
Delvarus turned to the crowd, two guards were eyeing him nervously, but made no move against him after the comment. "The bastard who 'owns' me is going senile, and everyone knows it. Soon
Enough he'll make me do something stupid, like killing another high rider for so much as spilling wine." Delvarus said, with a dark smile.
"The guards want him dead just as much as I do; the problem is, the old man has gotten paranoid and has me guard him all hours of the day. Kill him, destroy the stone and do the city a service. That would help me."
"Whoa whoa whoa, wait a second." Eyes wide, Lapis glanced between the two of them. "Why does anyone need to kill anyone? And for the love of gods will you keep your voice down?"
She cast a furtive glance around, then continued in a clipped, hurried tone, "This "leash" you keep mentioning- what is it exactly?"
Delvarus growled. "The leash is the stone he wears around his neck. It bends my will to his, if her were to tell me to do something, I would be forced to do it." Delvarus grumbled and placed his axe back on his hip. "I would have killed him by now had that damn thing not been in my way. Which brings me to my offer, kill him and give me the leash and I would be in your debt."
"Wait." Lapis's brow crinkled, frustration and focus digging a sharp line. "Maybe no one needs to die. I'm a scholar, I study the arcane. Perhaps there is a more peaceful way to remove the power the stone has over you."
Delvarus sneered at the phrase. "In order to even attempt the ritual, you would need the stone. And even then you wouldn't have it for long." Delvarus said with a dismissive gesture. "It's been stolen or forgotten more than I've killed, and I've killed many." He said with a dark laugh "It always finds its way back to him, always. And even if you to break the chan that binds me to him, I'd kill him anyways. Slowly. Think of his assasination as a... mercy."
Magpie listened intently to the for and against arguments. She could not argue with the beasts reasoning.
"Well I certainly have no problem with that" she said, flicking her dark hair out of her eyes. She preferred not to get her hands dirty but if someone inadvertently got killed by someone or something other than herself she would not hold herself responsible.
"Ok, so what's the plan? I go and get that stone for you, you dispatch of him how you see fit then we can figure out how to break this curse that has befallen you?"
She looked again into the doorway. The shop keep had been showing the old man his wears, including some very potent herbal remedies. One of which that with one sniff would knock the man out cold for a good 20 minutes.
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Delvarus froze. This girl wasn't talking about the leash, that much was now clear. "What makes you think I want the curse removed?" He said with a blatantly hostile growl." Delvarus leaned down to face the girl "You may think of it as a curse, but to me it is a blessing I fight harder, and when I do all I know is peace. When I fight, I dream. Would you want to take that away?" His face looms over the girl menacingly.
This close to his face, one could make out each individual scar; one cut stretched from his left eye to the bottom of his right lip, another looks as if something with claws used the right side of his face as a scratching post, the list goes on an on with each scar telling a story of a victim who landed a luck blow.
"There will be a fight in two days time, it will be the only time you would have a chance to strike. Dont screw it up." through the door, Delvarus' master walked out. A scowl etched upon his face.
He quickly made his way to the small group, paying Delvarus and magpie no mind.
"Ah, you, girl. I am in need of a... scribe or person to copy down my memoir, and you seem like the right person for the job! Don't worry I pay very well." He said lifting a medium sized bag of coin. "If you agree, this would be your advance pay."
Lapis gritted her teeth. So much for slinking away.
"I...suppose I can't exactly turn down such a job," she sighed, then forced a smile for the old man.
Magpie still shocked from Delvarus' icy menace watched as the old man dragged him along by his leash followed by the girl. She had two days to bide her time and make plans. This was going to be a harder job than she had first thought.
It was a hot afternoon as usual in the city but this was not the reason for her sweaty palms and elevated breath. She was used to the hot desert heat but this situation made her nervous. She turned the other way to make her way to the tavern only to be bumped into by a runner. A boy no older than 10.
"Message for you miss. Master says he grows impatient"
He cowered a little. Some people didn't react well to messages. She patted him on the head a threw him some coins.
"Tell him I need more time. 3 more days.."
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The two days passed relatively quickly. The master had Lapis write down his life story, starting from childhood. Half way through the second day he goes into detail of his... experiments, but leaves out the gory activities. He tells of buying Delvarus, the implantation of the curse that holds him, the construction of the leash, and the first fight he participated in. All things considered, Delvarus had a horrid life with the master. Now, the master and lapis waited in a private booth at the arena for the fight to start. The master was exited to say the least.
Delvarus himself walked down a long corridor flanked by nervous guards. At the end of the corridor was a set of gates. The guards ran ahead of the giant and opened the doors, a relatively small room with another set of gates was the room Delvarus was to wait in until the fight was to start.
The torchlight that illuminated the room reflected off the giants bronzed plate armor. Delvarus let out a low growl as a headache made itself known, it always did before a fight. Especially so if magic users were involved, and from what he could tell, many in the audience was in some way magical. Delvarus took his time in isolation to prepare for the fight, hooking his two axes to the chains on his wrists. Slowly, the doors in front of him yawned open; harsh sunlight pierced the darkness of the waiting cell, and Delvarus took his first step onto the sand of the arena.
The crowd roared as Delvarus made his way to the center. On his opposite, three figures did the same. Upon seeing the figures Delvarus broke into a sprint, quickly losing himself to the curse. Only spilling blood mattered to him at that time, nothing else.
"KILL! MAIM! BURN!"
Following an agonising few days Magpie had hashed out a plan. She never thought she'd have to kill anyone in her line of work. No killing, no selling her body and no slavery had been the only rules during her career. This time the pay was so good she could finally afford to leave the city.
She put on a plain, slightly soiled tunic and a simple hood with a face mask which many common folk wore to save their lungs from the sand. She checked her pocket for the bottle of "widows kiss" she had acquired from a local herbalist and her dagger holstered on a leg strap. She could not face her reflection in the mirror as she opened the door. She knew she might not make it back.
She entered the colosseum, blending in the the other common folk. Many had already had a belly full of ale and were shouting and jeering. She carried her tray of tankards past the cheap seats to where the booths were for the masters.
There were guards patrolling outside.
"What you doing back here?!" the one questioned, towering over Magpie.
They were distracted by the sudden roar of the crowd. Another came running.
"You gotta come see this!"
They all darted off to watch the spectacle of Delvarus. Magpie could hear the chanting and scream like someone was being ripped apart.
She took her opportunity to head to the door.
"Drinks for the masters!" She called at the door, hoping to be allowed entry.
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The master cheered in his private booth, Delvarus always won death matches. He made a fortune on his savagery, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
"Did you see that way the fool was cut in two? Ha! That looks like a horrid way to die!" He joked to Lapis, uncaring of her blatant discomfort. "He really is a monster. You know I only bought him for 100 gold? No one wanted to chain a boy that killed 16 men! And I did it! Oh, you should have seen his first fight, he tore the poor man in half bare handed." The master sighed, reliving his past experiences.
A knock at the door bought his attention, a voice followed it but he didn't hear it. "Get the door would you? I don't stand as fast as I once did." He asked Lapis.
She was going to be sick.
Feeling shaken and weak, Lapis was all too willing to turn away from the arena, trying to hide her face behind a hand as she hurried to the door and bumped it open.
The door swung open and Magpie entered. The young girl that the old man had taken as his scribe was distracted as she looked like she was about the vomit. She did not appear to recognise her with her face covered as it was. Magpie kept her eyes low, her stomach in knots as she carried the drinks tray to the old man.
She could hear the crowd revelling at the slaughter in front of them. The beast was going wild and she could not bear to look. The old man was not taking his eyes off the fight, a wide grin on his face.
"A drink my lord?"
She asked politely, lowering her head subserviently.
"Compliments from the Colosseum masters."
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The master regarded the servant with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, so now those bastards seek to gain my favor? Bah, anyways, I don't drink. All I need is water. You don't get to my age by drinking all sorts of alcohol, you know." The master said has he took a swig from his water pouch and turned back to the pit.
Delvarus wrenched his left axe out of the corpse of the last of the three warriors. They were easy kills, about as close to warm-ups to one such as him. His true opponent, the main event, should be arriving soon. As his though was concluded, the doors the three came out of opened once more.
Four figures exited the dark waiting room, from this distance Delvarus could make out the weapons they carried; The first, and seeming leader, wielded a long and slender spear as well as a small shield. The second held two short curved blades. The third, aimed a bow at him, he laughed at that. The forth and final seemed to carry a staff of sorts, upon further inspection, the staff appeared to be two blades fused at the hilt; a twinblade, how quaint.
The four figures halted several yards away from the gladiator, the lead spoke, proving herself as female "We are the triari, and we shall be your downfall, monster." Delvarus laughed again; as opposed to charging them he simply smiled.
"Fancy name, fancy armor, fancy weapons. Tell me, will your blood glitter when I gut you?" Delvarus sneered at the group, this isn't the first crew of high-rider nobles to challange him. And with any luck the master will be dealt with by the time he's done. "I've fought your ilk before, it never ends well for them. But you made your choice, no turning back now. Pray to your bastard gods while you can." With that, Delvarus charged.
Her eyes darting between the fighting pit, the old man and his scribe, Magpie began heading back towards the door with the tray of drinks.
"Time for plan B" she thought, but was hesitant.
The sudden cry of the devourer echoed through the stadium. Magpie's heart pounded in her chest as her clammy palm felt the hilt of her dagger. The blade had tasted blood before but had never taken a life. Now or never. It needed to be quick before the other girl stopped her or those guards came back looking for her.
It happened in a simple flash. The master was transfixed again on the fight. With a sudden grunt, she came up behind the master and dragged the blade across his wrinkled little neck, her tray crashing to the floor along with the old man. The sound of his chocking drowned out by the jeers from the crowd as the beast ripped through his enemies.
She hurriedly searched him for the stone. It was such a little thing in the palm of her hand. She winced as the warm blood from his corpse trickled into her sandal. He was facedown on the floor. Such an undignified way to die.
She ripped off her serving girl disguise now saturated with blood, wiping her hands and face clean. She vomited a little as she scrunched the bloodied cloth into a small satchel still clinging onto the stone. She had her best silk tunic on underneath so that she would blend in with the other nobles in that area of the arena. She looked to the girl as she caught her breath and swallowed the bile in her throat.
"Time for us to go".
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