Dance With the Devil, pt. 1Mahkana hung there, bound at the hands and feet, like some common criminal. His body was limp, wrists aching for a chance to be free, and bones screaming for the exertion placed upon the joints stretched beyond what was needed.
This was not torture, though. If anything, this was opportunity. For if it were not, he would simply be adjourning at the meeting point sooner than originally planned.
The night before, they had tried to lure him, to gain information. The fenki, Mariana was her name, came to him asking for a ''favor". They'd thought him dimwitted, perhaps, easily led. Her and Wulfar both, trading glances between each other and whispering amongst themselves. It was enough to drive him mad with anticipation, because the trap they were springing was not for him. No, it was going better than planned!
And so it was worth it to hang there, waiting for the Klyros to come on shift again. First, a nap. And as he tried to nap, the events came to his mind, like a whirlwind.
The first letter was hand delivered by a scrawny girl, just entering her awkward stages. He thought her inconsequential, just some street urchin hired to deliver the scrap of parchment. Without a second thought he'd sent her on her way with a few tria as a tip. It paid well to have friends wherever one went, and perhaps karma would serve as an ally this time as well. Nonetheless her face seemed quite inconsequential.
"My dear Lurch," The letter began, "I have a new job for you. One that will require some delicacy, as it involves blood magic. I know that you have no sort of specialty in this field, but we believe you will serve best for this job. Consider it an act of good faith that we will pay you an advance for this:
6 Vials of blood, each vial containing the blood of a Way user of some power. The blood must either be heavily enchanted with the way, or directly drawn from someone with a moderate amount of power. At least three of the vials musts be Master leveled, and there are specifications on how they must be drawn. We'll be sending those to you in the next letter, should you accept. And we're quite sure you will.
Last but not least, you will not be working alone. The young girl who delivered this, and her partner, will also assist you. I will also assist you at some point during this, as well as one other. Be aware, my friend - not everyone takes well to blood magics. The quieter we keep this, the better. Should word get out, I will devise a way to handle it. We will take care of details.
Simply be ready for the next letter, my friend."
That had been the first, and the second one had vested him entirely. The promise was simply too great, the implications unheard of. Never before had such a clear path been laid out before him, or such promise of fulfillment offered. Laanx was the focal point, the tipping point for all of it. He would do it, oh yes, he would do it.
Flash forward to his next memory, and things had fasttracked. Sulaika's blood was his, a simple trick he had learned growing up alongside his "Uncle" and the deadly group he had called friends. His own blood was willingly given, and Wulfar's was a simple draw. Mariana's, while not his target, had been easier than expected also. The old Man had done his job as well, and as for the Azure blood? Easier than the rest, even. So this memory found him opening another letter with shaking hands: "Well done, servant. I am quite pleased with the progress, and we simply wait your arrival where the light is darkest. Do not delay, save for good reason. All of our pieces are falling into place, save the girl. It would be in our best interests that you or some other find her.
All this will be paid and made right.
~M.
Lurch had almost shivered with the glee of it, looking the paper over again and even upside down to make sure that it read correctly. What a promise was held in such simple words!And so he hung there, because the promise was simply worth it. The fools had no idea of what was coming, what would happen when Laanx arrived. And the Man had come to him, setting a vow on his tongue so that he could not tell. It was not the first such vow that he had sworn, but it was equal in power to those that came before it.
When Evirea finally arrived, Lurch smiled at her. It didn't seem like it infuriated the Klyros, which brought at least a measure of disappointment to the man. After all, he did try his hardest to aggravate his captors. He could tell he got to Asmo at least a little bit, and a devilish thought began tickling his mind;
He knows where She is.. Was it going to be that easy? Ah, who knew. If he couldn't escape through civility, than his work here was done anyhow.
And so it began.
"I don't know whether or not you would've killed Mariana, or done something even worse. Whatever you're into, we need to know, and it needs to stop;" The Klyros said, her tone firm and even. Lurch simply smiled back at her, the knowledge rising in his gorge that she would be one of the first to go should the plan come to fruition. Certain deities and winged beasties didn't get along well, especially if this deity happened to be grateful for at least a little bit.
"Tell me where Lyla is. You already know what you need to know - just stay out of the way. This doesn't concern you, never has. No one needs to get hurt." Lurch replied. It was an obvious lie. He already knew where Lyelora was, or at least to an extent. Amdeneir was the city, somewhere in the quadrant near the Pterosaur. Part of the gambit he had played was to simply help narrow it down for the others to go pick her up without event. He now had more than an educated guess that either Asmo or Evirea were aiding the girl, perhaps hiding her themselves.
A few tremors in the area should send her scurrying for cover. With the right eyes, she'd be easy enough to spot. It wasn't like there were any Diaboli around, anyways. Let alone one quite like her.
And so the banter continued: "What makes you think that is any sort of a good idea?" The Klyros questioned him, frank disbelief all over her face. The question was double sided, forged to shame the menki into confession and get an answer from him. It was a tactic that was used from when you were learning up until the day you died if you wanted something, and Lurch knew it full well. She wouldn't like the answer, and his oath forfeited him from telling the entire reason as it was.
She would have to believe power was the reason. She would have to believe that yes, he wanted power. The truth ached in his brain, though, germinating there and sending out roots deep into the crevasses of his mind. More than power, this would be, should it all come too. Although the rewards would be so great that those in Lurch's group would live like Octarchs for the rest of their lives. Or at least he hoped they would. There was always the opportunity that they would earn a trip to the death realm and a nasty surprise on the way out. But that was the pessimistic viewpoint, really. He didn't believe in thinking like that.
Lurch's wrists began to tire, and he began to tire of the monotonous questions. Asmo would butt in occasionally, bringing up an observation or comment, and Evirea would look to him for approval at times.
By the end of it, they believed him a pawn. Used, by this "M" character.
They even drugged him to tell the truth. He already was.....
To an extent. The greatest of his physical abilities, Lurch was telling the truth.
It seemed like it would serve as an interesting puzzle for his captors to solve.
And at the end of the questioning, Lurch knew it was time. The walls here were thick, powerful. It would've been pie to simply pull them down and bury the lot. But that was not how he worked, and the task might've made him an invalid for weeks without his glyphs. No, his magic would be simple and fulfilling.
A small pebble span in the air, a point filing on it. He thought Evirea noticed, perhaps, but did nothing to stop it. Gova, the Klyros, simply watched. Asmo didn't see it.
And with a sigh, Lurch killed himself. Mission fulfilled, to the next step.
Where the light is darkest, Mahkana Ruuka sat, studying the multi-faceted Crystal in front of him. Here he would wait, until M arrived. Until Lyelora was chained here, and the blood magic raised.
Until the girl became greater than he, and they returned to the land of the living, to the Iron Temple of Laanx.
Victorious would be his arrival home. Greater still would be what was to come.
[I'm sorry, I don't save logs. I would love it if Evi, Asmo, or Gova were to post an edited version
]
[Postscript: Thank you to
Wulfar, Mariana, Gova, Celroc, Prreta, Evirea, Asmo, and more for this small section! Hooray for ALL planeshifters!]
