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Post by newb23 on Dec 16, 2013 22:40:19 GMT -5
His hands were bound above his head. The shirt that he had worn was now in tatters, several tears running along it from where they had used the whip. He could no longer see nor speak as they had blindfolded him as well as gagged him. Normally they would love to hear a person scream. To see the terror in their eyes as the tortured the prisoner. Harlow was different though. He had made that apparent as soon as the first guard had tried to bring the whip down. He had stayed there frozen for a while. They hadn't expected Harlow to be difficult. He looked older so why should there have been any problems in torturing him?
That train of thought had made things very difficult. Harlow neither screamed nor did he have the look of terror and despair that others had. He didn't even look like he was in pain at all. No he simply looked like he was contemplating, studying, those in front of him when he didn't have the blindfold on. He hardly spoke when he wasn't gagged and the words he did speak didn't make much sense to most but to those he spoke them to they became more of a nightmare than what they were trying to do to him. Once they figured out how it worked they had finally found a way to do their job without being interrupted. Yet Harlow did not seem to be in pain nor did he seem to care that he couldn't see or speak. He simply looked like he was waiting. Waiting for someone.
"So why is this prisoner blindfolded? Why can we not see his eyes? You do know I like to look them in the eyes as I bring a new idea of terror to them." Harlow heard a voice speak that was new to the room. He had heard the footsteps approaching, louder and heavier than the others. This man was new. First time ever visiting and first time meeting Harlow. Behind the gag he smiled.
"Well Captain you don't understand we had to blind and gag him. The guards wouldn't come in here if we didn't." A second voice said. This voice Harlow knew. It belonged to a younger man who wasn't quite as high in rank as the others and seemed realtively new to the whole Knights thing.
"Oh and why is that?" the Captain asked. "Well and I wouldn't quite believe it myself but he had caused some of the guards to stop moving completley just by speaking to them. One guard even stopped breathing." The young voice replyed.
"Hmm well that is interesting. Any other news you would like to share?" Silence followed this question for a moment before the young voice spoke up. "Well sir he caused Jenkins to quit." A smile appeared slightly on Harlow's face, made somewhat difficult to do with the gag. "How did he do that. Talk him into quitting?" The Captain asked, disbelief forming in his voice. "Well at first he did. Tried telling him what he was doing wrong. Spoke about things that most people wouldn' t know about....He told Jenkins he knew about the children. Yet Jenkins just beat him some more, ignored his jabs. Then the prisoner got his arm loose. Hit Jenkins three times in the chest. I've never heard a man scream nor cry for mercy like that before sir. None of the prisoners I've seen come in here even compare to whatever he did to Jenkins. It took about three minutes before Jenkins stopped. Then after a while he just got up, turned around and left, saying he did not wish to do this anymore. It was a while before anyone would approach the prisoner to get his arm back in the restraint."
Harlow heard the Captain huff. It seemed he did not believe the story. "Why would he not try to escape if he got his arm free?" The Captain asked now sounding very disbelieving. "We don't know Captain."
Harlow felt the Captain get close. He felt the gag being removed from his mouth and the blindfold being removed. He stared up at the Captain as the other guards began to move back towards the door. The Captain had a brutish face, the hair on it covering his mouth and making it hard to see him actually speak. Two scars ran down near his right eye which was blue in color while the other eye was grey.
"So prisoner. Why did you not try to escape?" The Captain asked Harlow the smell of whiskey and death protruding from his lips. It took a moment before Harlow spoke. "Waitin'. Simply waitin'." The Captain looked confused. "Waiting for what?" Harlow smiled broaden. "Justice."
"Justice? We are justice. You have no need to wait for it to arrive." The Captain laughed slightly at the old man in front of him. His laughter was cut off as Harlow spoke again. "No. You are children with a gross misunderstandin' of Justice. You believe what you dole out as punishment to be an accurate balance to the crimes that people commit no matter how small of a crime and you care not for the circumstances behind said crime. That is not Justice. You are but mere bullies. I speak of true Justice. A judgement based on the actions of a person and the reasonin' behind such actions. Justice is a balance. A balance between right and wrong. That judgement must not be to severe based on the sins but also not to light based on the righteous actions of the person. Do you know why the symbol for justice is a scale? It is because those who truly follow Justice and understand it know that there must always be a balance, a weighing if you may, of right and wrong before judgement can be determined."
At these words the Captain's eyes filled with anger he raised his hand and quickly brought it down upon Harlow's face. A trickle of blood appeared at the corner of Harlow's mouth but he simply continued to smile. Again and again the Captain brought his fist against Harlow's face and yet the man never ceased to smile.
After a while the Captain tired. Standing he glanced down at Harlow. There he noticed the ring upon his finger. Quickly grabbing Harlow's hand he removed the ring and placed it in his pocket. "Why no one took this from you is questionable but now that I have it I do believe you can no longer play any tricks." He did not bother to replace the gag or blindfold. As the other guards moved to do so the Captain turned to look at them. "NO! He will remain as I left him! By the end of the day we shall see fear in his eyes and shall hear screams of terror escape those lips!" Turning quickly the capatain made his way down the hallway before he was gone from view. Harlow glanced up at the other guards as they quickly left and locked the cell behind them.
"Yes we shall see. As they say Patience is a virtue....though it is not mine."
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Post by Hitotsumami on Dec 16, 2013 23:12:13 GMT -5
It had been over two weeks since the events at the Holy Rock. With Lian back with the group, the Seven Virtues were a step closer to reuniting. However, there were still many more challenges ahead of them, and Arx knew this well.
"Perhaps this is a town we should rest at for the day," said Arx as the group walked atop a hill. Down bellow, a small town spread across a valley, a river cutting through. Small, gray buildings made up the town, chimney stacks pumping smoke into the air. Located in the valley, it was almost as if the city was in permanent shadow. The town since drab and weary, and though Arx was sure he could continue walking for miles more, he knew that a strong body depended upon a strong mind, and a strong mind was the best after being well-rested.
"What do you think, Lian, M? Perhaps it is not the kindest of places, but I think it may do."
"Oh, going down to that town, eh?" Sitting atop a rock a few feet away sat a figure. He was an elderly looking man, balding on top. He had a short, bristly white beard and big brown narrow eyes. The group my have sensed a bit of craziness emanating from the man.
"Do you know of it?" asked Arx.
"I live there, so of course I do. The village is named Vallyway. But if I were you, I wouldn't spend too much time there! Heard there is a particular prisoner down there in town, someone causing people to stop dead in their spot! Like a statue! But what do I know? I'm just a crazy old man!"
The old man would then sit down on the rock, pull out two sticks, and then began rubbing the sticks together while sticking his tongue out. If either Lian or M wanted to know more, if they could get more out of the old man, this would be the time.
Arx tilted his head. "Strange prisoner? Well, this certainly feels reminiscent..."
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Post by Mise™ on Dec 17, 2013 6:34:41 GMT -5
"Thou art the virtue of Diligence and yet thou wisheth to rest." Lian said as he stared at the city in front of him. "Doesth we ne hath any other choices?" It probably wasn't very surprising that a man dressed in an expensive robe and jewelry, like a some sort of noble, wouldn't want to go to a place like this, unless he had to. Lian did not pay too much attention to the old man other than that even he seemed to agree that this place wasn't worth going to. Not that he really could call him an old man, since the odds are Lian was way older than he was. "Men who art caged art strange and some hath got the will of steel and shall not yieldth. What doesth that remind thou?"
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Post by CJ on Dec 17, 2013 23:37:45 GMT -5
"Mmmmmmmm," M nodded in response to Lian. "Arx certainly isn't acting diligently."
She turned rapidly with a crazed look in her eyes.
"But you're not being very patient, are you, Lian? You want to get to the end of all this right away, or so one could imply with your impatience to finish our journey! How are you supposed to fulfill your roles if you're not adopting them in the first place!"
Shaking her head, she placed her hand on her face. It was clear she wasn't happy with Arx and Lian since their last adventure.
"Well, this prisoner situation does sound familiar, but how would you guys know that? You don't even know yourselves, much less know of an important task at hand!"
M was being unfairly passive aggressive. Like Lian, she even ignored the old man. She turned her back to him, Superbia's Mask faced right toward him. Her mood was as dark as the city in their sights.
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Post by Hitotsumami on Dec 18, 2013 10:18:49 GMT -5
Arx gave a small smile to M. "Calm down, M. I am sure you are just weary from our long journey without a proper bed. There is still time to save the world, you know. Even I can take a break every once and a while."
The old man spoke up to Lian's question. "Oh, I know! I know!" he yelled, swinging his arm in the air. He then stood up on the rock once more and held one stick in his hand, pointing it to the sky. The other, he sheathed into his empty belt loop. "It sounds like you're describing a Holy Knight!"
The old man then plopped back onto the rock. "But unfortunately there aint no Holy Knights around these parts. They leave us here to get attacked by bandits and thieves. But that's okay. Cause I'm here. And I'm as good as any Holy Knight! That's why I'm here, day and night, watching the roads. Protecting my home."
The old man then went to fiddling with his sticks again.
Arx smiled back at the others. "See? No Holy Knights. It should be perfectly safe for us."
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Post by Mise™ on Dec 18, 2013 11:07:50 GMT -5
Lian appeared to be quite upset when M questioned his patience. He thought very highly of himself and wasn't one to take accusations like this very well. "But I dost not. I couldth spendth years or even a lifetime of a common man in this quest and it wouldth not make any difference for me." Lian sounded quite agitated as he spoke.
The old man said that there were no Holy Knights in the town below, which got Lian thinking. It would be good place to rest if that was true, but it could also be a lie or maybe even a trap. Though to set a trap the enemy would have to know who they were, which did not seem very likely, despite the fact that Arx just carelessly called everyone by their names no matter where they were. According to the old man the town has it's share of thieves and bandits, so they should at least be careful.
"Very well. If thou wisteth it, let us visith this village."
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Post by CJ on Dec 18, 2013 19:07:27 GMT -5
"Breaks are for the weak," M spouted, "especially when lives are at stake. You should know that best, Arx."
She tapped her foot, still in her sour mood. She was more of a tag along than a leader at this point. Glancing at the old man, she realized there were more important things than staying mad at her friends, though it didn't make her completely solemn.
"It would be best to go to the town if no one is there to protect the citizens. No for the safety of you two, but for theirs."
With a puff of her breath, she blew a strand hair out of her face.
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Post by Hitotsumami on Dec 19, 2013 1:32:28 GMT -5
Arx stood there, a bit stunned, as M walked ahead of him down towards the town. He looked over at Lian and whispered, "What's gotten into her?" though he doubted he'd get a straight answer.
Before he joined the others on the way down to the village, Arx waved at the old man. "Thanks for the information. Perhaps you should take the night off. If anything were to happen, we will be there to help."
The old man raised an eyebrow. "Oh, would ya? And why exactly would that be?"
Arx smiled and didn't answer, leaving the old man with his rocks and sticks as he joined his group.
---
A few minutes later and the group would come across a rickety old tavern. A sign hung above the door, reading "THE LAUGHING RAT". The building was made out of old, red wood. Every step creaked. The windows were nailed shut, except for a small circular one near the top of the tavern, where a faint yellow light shown out.
Arx entered the tavern.
Inside, the group would see about a dozen people. Some were sleeping on the sprawled, grimy tables. Others were playing cards with an incomplete deck, knives strapped ready on their belts. Others still were at the bar where they were drinking some devilish brew. There was a staircase at the back of the tavern, which most likely lead to the bedrooms.
The bartender saw the group come in the door. He was washing a glass with a dirty rag. He had a bald head, but a very thick mustache which curled at the ends. He lowered the glass and nodded at the newcomers.
"Welcome to the Laughing Rat, travelers," he said in a gruff, deep voice. "Come for a drink and meal to quench your hunger and thirst? Or perhaps a bed for a night's sleep? We have either. Just make yourself at home."
"Thank you for your hospitality," said Arx, nodding. "I think a drink would be fine." He flipped a gold coin the air which the bartender caught.
While waiting for the drink, Lian and M could ask the bartender or any of the random villages around whatever they'd like, if they wanted to.
And afterwards, one of the drunkards suddenly stood up from his card game, throwing the cards through the air. "I've had enough--hic--of your bullshit, you cheating rat! I don't care if you're the sheriff!" he yelled. In one hand he had a green bottle of alcohol, and in the other he had a rusty knife. "If you don't-hic--pay up what you owe me, then I'll... I'll.."
The drunkard then noticed the Arx, Lian and M nearby. He took a few steps closer and pointed the knife right at M's face, just a few inches away. "I'll skin this lady right here and now!"
The man whom the drunkard was playing card's with turned in his chair towards the scene. He wore a black vest and dark blue jeans, stitched in a few places. A brown wide-brimmed hat sat atop his head, covering his short, black messy hair. The man raised his hat, showing his yellow eyes.
"Will ya now, Simon?" he said in a rather calm voice. "Huh."
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Post by newb23 on Dec 19, 2013 2:18:53 GMT -5
A man took a swig of ale. He was clearly somewhat drunk though not as drunk as the man yelling. He looked at the men that sat at the table with him. Sighing he took another drink before he started talking.
"So have you heard? Theere is a new prisoner. Apparantely the guards arrested him for murder though I don't really believe it. I saw him. It looked like he was trying to save the person that died, but the guards didn't care. He was there and no one else was so they blamed him for the murder."
The man took anothe drink before continuing his story. "I've heard the guards speaking. The seem scared of the man. I heard one guard quit because of him. Others have complained about being unable to move when they are in his presence."
"How have you heard of these things," one of the men sitting at the table. "You know how guards are. They like to talk and pay no attention to those around them. It just so happened that I was at this very bar listening to a couble of drunk guards talking about the prisoner."
[OOC: Please excuse any mistakes in the post. Also the post is probably really bad. I wasn't feeling very well.]
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Post by Mise™ on Dec 19, 2013 12:02:53 GMT -5
"What I thinketh is that she isth upset at thou and I. Perhaps she still feels anger because we hath dealth with the blood of the demonkind. I believeth that for her the Seven Heavenly Virtues art truly heavenly, saints. But we art not like that." Lian spoke very quietly when he responded to Arx. He was quite sure that he was right on this, probably more sure than he really should have. --- Lian wasn't too pleased with the pub they had chosen, it didn't seem like the place for someone like him to go. He was on his guard here, even though it wasn't really visible on the outside. When the bartender offered his services Lian did consider it, but ultimately just ignored him. The stories of the drunk man did interest Lian as the man he described sounder very familiar to him. Sure it might not have been the most reliable story, but he thought that it wouldn't hurt to ask about it. "I heard thy tales of this caged man and I liketh to hear more of him. Or maybe thou hast other interesting tales like that? If thou couldth do that I shall buy thou an another drink." To prove that he could afford to buy him a drink Lian flashed a couple of coins in front of the drunken man. Lian did not want to draw too much attention, so he tried to act as casual as possible. Meanwhile another drunk tried to assault M. Lian took a note of this, but was not too worried. M should be able to handle it just fine by herself. In fact he was much more worried that his companions might do something stupid again. Just a while ago a certain genius had destroyed a certain holy rock and put thousands of human lives in danger.
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Post by CJ on Dec 19, 2013 16:34:46 GMT -5
M looked up at the tavern sign. Her face scrunched up.
"Hah," she said to herself, trying not to sound too amused. She didn't want to make Arx or Lian think she was too happy with them.
Unfortunately M, she actually stood out in this bar. Her plain appearance contrasted with the grimy patrons. Her face fell when the bartender greeted her. It seemed like she had a plethora of things to be upset about.
"Water, please," she said, glancing only briefly at him before shoving a huge bag of gold in front of him.
Turning slightly, she blinked, seeing the knife in her face. Her mood remained unchanged. She only became a tiny bit more miffed, realizing she was now an integral part of a scene worth attention. This wouldn't do at all.
So in order to draw notice away from her, she did the best thing she could think of at the time. Nothing.
Literally nothing. One could think she stopped breathing altogether. She barely existed.
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Post by newb23 on Dec 19, 2013 19:57:55 GMT -5
The drunk man smiled widely at Lian. "Well I can only really describe what he looks like. Somewhat. I haven't heard to many stories from the guards. It's dangerous to try to listen to close. Some might notice," the man stated as he motioned for Lian to sit.
"Let's see," The man spoke as he scrunched his face trying to bring back images of the prisoner that saw. "He had short hair?...No no long hair. Almost reached down to his ass hahaha. Anyways I couldn't quite make out the color but it looked like an odd color for hair. He looked somewhat older. Though for someone as old as he appeared he seemed rather healthy. He was quick to get to the site of the murder. Faster than the younger ones in the guard unit. He looked rather plain as well. Very common clothes....Let's see. Can't remember much else other than the fact that he didn't seem worried at all when they arrested him. He seemed quite calm about the whole thing."
As the drunkard finished explaining all he knew abou the man to Lian he took a final swig of his drink. Noticing it was empty he smiled broadly at Lian. "So how bout that drink friend?"
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Post by Hitotsumami on Dec 20, 2013 0:01:44 GMT -5
The man with the knife continued to point it at M, even though she became so unmoving. His face was covered in sticky sweat and his frown stretched across his beard-stippled face.
The sheriff chuckled and lowered the brim of his hat again. "I ain't worried about that. Not one bit. I saw it the minute I looked in that woman's eyes... That complete... dullness. You ain't gonna do nothin' to her anyway, Simon. You ain't got the guts. So just put that knife away and go home for the night."
The sheriff then laid his hand of cards out on the table. A royal flush. "After all, I won fair and square."
Simon looked from the sheriff back to M before finally grunting loudly. He threw the bottle of alcohol on the ground, splashing it everywhere and then stomped out of the bar.
"When are you going to control that guy, sheriff?" asked the bartender.
"Controllin' ain't the word," commented the sheriff as he collected the cards from the table and floor. "You know who that kid is anyway, don't ya? He's the Captain's kid."
Suddenly, the entire tavern went quiet. It was like time had temporarily frozen, and Arx had to check to make sure Lian wasn't playing a trick.
"But the Captain don't care too much for the boy anyway," said the sheriff, and slowly the regular sounds of the tavern returned. "He's always in that prison, especially since Jenkins... quit."
"Oh, friends, your drinks," said the bartender. He handed Arx some alcohol, which he gladly drank. Once, when he was the royal priest for the King, he'd never partake in alcoholic beverages, but times had changed. He had changed. And he needed anything to calm his nerves.
The bartender also handed a small glass of water to M. "Here you are, M'am," he said. He reached in the gold pouch M handed him and took out a single silver coin before returning the rest to her. "Water isn't worth that much, ya know. But, I have to say, never say no one stand up to Simon the way you just did. Usually they'd be throwin' punches by now. To be perfectly honest, if I didn't see you come in here with my own eyes, I wouldn't even be sure you actually existed."
"That's her specialty," said Arx, finishing his alcohol. "Another please, good man."
After a few moments, and as the conversation between the drunkard and Lian continued, the sheriff stood up and stood between the two men. He looked at the drunkard. "Hey now, no need to be giving such information to a few travelers. That person you speak of... well... he's..." The sheriff trailed off. He gave the drunkard a mean look. "Just stop talkin' about it, ya hear?"
The sheriff then turned towards Lian, M, and Arx. "Listen, sorry for the folk around here. Most can't keep their mouth shut to save their life. Listen here, you three seem like good people. People who shouldn't be staying in this town, let alone this grubby old tavern." Sheriff glanced at the bartender and smiled when he saw the bartender hadn't overheard. "Rarely do we have travelers, so please, come down to my place. Ain't the nicest place by any means, but it might do ya better than gettin' eaten up with bed bugs here. What d'ya say?"
---
Simon stumbled out of the tavern, falling flat on his face in a puddle of mud. He stood up, coughing up chunks of dirt, and wiped it off his face. He then turned away from the tavern and began running down the street, pushing anyone and everyone out of his way.
"Damn sheriff," muttered Simon, clenching the knife he used against M tightly in his hand. "Damn travelers... Damn town! They'll see. I'll show em all. I'll make father send them all to a life in prison!"
Eventually, Simon made it to the prison. From the outside, it looked like a cold, stone square jutting out of the ground, slightly leaning to one side. Only a few small windows, tiny long rectangles, provided light into the dim place. Simon ran inside, up a guarded staircase, and into the main office. The Captain's office. The overseer of the prison. His father.
"Father!" yelled Simon, breathing hard. "There are some new guys in town who made a fool out of me! And that sheriff! He keeps thinking he's all that! We gotta show him! We gotta show him!"
All the while, he swung the knife in his hand.
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Post by Mise™ on Dec 20, 2013 11:51:44 GMT -5
"Thank thee. Thou shall have thy drink." Lian said as he tossed a couple of coins to the bartender. "Giveth this man whatever he wisheth. Thou can keep the rest." With that Lian began walking towards the door, ready to leave the bar. "I goeth for a stroll. I shall meet with thou later." He completelly ignored the sheriffs offer. If the others decided to stay there it would be fine. The strange prisoner really caught Lian's interest. He wasn't sure if he was right about this and it wasn't like him to carelessly just rush in to things, but thought that it was certainly at least worth investigating on. So he began searching for the prison, while trying to avoid too much attention from the people in streets. It hopefully wouldn't take too long.
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Post by CJ on Dec 20, 2013 12:31:24 GMT -5
Oh no.
There it was. The ultimate paradox. Because she was so unmoved and emotionless from being threatened, she was noticed. She did nothing so she wouldn't be noticed but because of that was noticed.
M's brain nearly broke. Her face contorted in agony from the frustration she felt that day. Not a single thing was going right.
Her eyes went wide to see the bag of money handed back to her. She had meant it as a nice favor and wanted the bartender to accept it, but trying to persuade him now would bring even more attention to herself. She took the bag and placed it into her backpack.
She clenched her teeth at the bartender's and Arx's comments.
"No, it was nothing. Please, understand that."
M was about to up and criticize Arx again for drinking excessively, but remembered that Temperance wasn't his virtue. No, it was someone else's, someone she had nearly forgotten about and feared she might never see again.
Her thoughts drifted as the sheriff offered them a place to stay. She figured it wasn't such a bad idea, especially since Arx had been drinking.
"Sure, that would be very kind of you," she said. "I'd go with you but..."
Lian wasn't here. Already, he had taken off somewhere without M noticing. She cursed her ignorance. With worried eyes, she peered up at Arx.
"Arx, have you seen Lian?"
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