AN: This chapter was actually quite interesting to write. Hope you're ready for it ^^
Chapter 2:
Axel felt…strange. Like he was off balance in some way. His limbs, his body, felt heavy and sluggish. And his mind felt foggy. It was as if something was draining his energy somehow. Taking it away from him.
That bastard was doing something to him. He was taking away his energy, his strength. How? Was it from the etchings on the ground? Had he injected him with something? Was a spell he had cast himself?
"Comfortable?" a voice suddenly asked him.
Axel winced slightly as he rolled his head to the side, still unconsciously pulling at the shackles around his wrists as he glared up at the haunting man. "What do you think?"
Ronaldo strolled into the room, much like he had done previously. "You appear to get snappy when you're irritable," he said as he paused near the altar Axel was chained upon and rested his hand casually near his side. "Or maybe it's a defensive mechanism for when you are feeling weak?"
There was a slight tone of triumphant in his voice. So…that bastard was doing something to him.
"What are you doing to me?"
"Curses," Ronaldo supplied readily, that smirk of his turning more conceited and chilling. "Sapping. Frailty. Decreases your strength and resistance. Or, rather, a personal rendition of said curses."
He then unexpectedly purred as he reached over to stroke the side of Axel's face with the back of his hand. "You're as weak as a newborn babe."
His stomach clenching from nausea, Axel grimaced and abruptly turned his head away from that cold, pale hand. "What? Couldn't face me honestly?"
Ronaldo looked positively thrilled with Axel's reaction. "No, not at all. You could easily beat the living shit out of me. That is exactly why I am doing this. It's more fun this way."
Axel wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that. He honestly wasn't used to being on the receiving end of such a predatory look. "Are you always like this or is today a special occasion?"
"I just love your sass," Ronaldo said as he lifted his hand, and to Axel's absolute horror, trailed a fingertip over his throat and to the collar of his shirt. "I'm actually in two minds about completing this ritual. I think you would make a lovely pet."
Axel grimaced at the touch once again. "Don't fucking touch me!"
"Don't get so worked up," Ronaldo suddenly chided him as he mercifully pulled his hand back and straightened his posture. "We still have a few more things to do."
Axel suppressed the need to sigh with relief as the man turned away from him. He found him nauseating, and unfortunately intimidating. While he was willing to let Ronaldo know that he absolutely disgusted him, he was unwilling to let him know just how much his presence, his touch, made him fearful.
Didn't want him to know that he actually…frightened him.
Axel rolled his head to the side as he watched Ronaldo pause near the other altar, to seemingly dust off some cobwebs from that strange suit of armour. "That armour is from the Grand Duchy, isn't it?" he abruptly asked him.
"Ah, indeed," Ronaldo answered as he trailed a fingertip over the red coloured crystal situated at the head of the armour. "This will soon be your new home."
New home? That meant…
"It's a shame when things, when people, go too soon, isn't it?" Ronaldo unexpectedly mused aloud. "But it doesn't have to be this way. I can change that." He suddenly turned his attention back to Axel. "We can change that. Don't you want to be a part of something magnificent?"
"A part of what?" Axel snapped in response. "You're going to kill me."
"Yes, but for a great cause," Ronaldo insisted with a grin as he made his way back toward Axel and stopped by his head. He placed his hands on either side of Axel's bound wrists and leaned over him. "It's not nearly as bad as it sounds, Darling."
Oh, he was pretty sure it was. "Don't call me that."
Ronaldo leered at him with that sinister grin for a few moments longer before he pushed away and turned toward the armour once more. "Dear, beloved," he practically cooed. "Soon we'll be together again. And I'm never letting you go."
"I'm pretty sure their spirit is quaking with fear right now," Axel muttered.
Ronaldo abruptly turned around to face him, his eyes wide and his lips pulled back into a feral snarl. He looked…insane. "Don't you dare think you can speak for my beloved's behalf!" he snarled before he lunged forward and snared Axel harshly around his throat, dangerously cutting off his air supply.
Axel squeezed his eyes shut and unwilling arched his back off of the altar. He pulled harshly at his restraints, all but withering beneath the man's hold as he tried to desperately to breathe again. "Hng."
"Heh," Ronaldo suddenly sniggered, his hold lessening a little. "All this wiggling and squirming. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to seduce me."
"Not on your life," Axel managed to wheeze.
"Not on your life, more like it," Ronaldo said as he released his hold on his throat, watching with a sense of sadistic glee as Axel spluttered and cough to get air back into his lungs. "Don't worry, I can wait. I've waited years for this moment. Time is approaching, though. I'm looking forward to it."
Ronaldo then disappeared back into the shadows, leaving Axel alone once more.
… … … … …
Tobyn felt a strange, gnawing sense of tension and distress in the back of his mind, urging him to wake up. To get up. To anticipate trouble. To anticipate danger. And yet he felt tired, sluggish. As if incapable of moving.
Despite the effort it took, he managed to open his eyes and found his blurry gaze fixating on a wall covered in faded yellow wallpaper. A feature he did not recognise. And it immediately caused the low sense of tension to peak considerably and he snapped his eyes open fully, attempting to sit up.
But he was being impeded somehow. His arms were pinned behind his back, his wrists together and bound in something thick and coarse, wrapped painfully tight. As if to ensure he would not be able to pull himself free. And it wasn't just his arms that were being incapacitated; his legs were also, at his ankles and his knees.
Lifting his head up, he looked over at himself and realised with a sense of dread and fear that he was lying on a bed in a room he didn't recognised, and was bound tightly with rope. Thick rope. Wound tightly around him in such a way that prevented even the smallest of movements.
That didn't stop him from immediately struggling.
What the living fuck was going on? What happened? Where was he?
As he desperately twisted and tugged at the bindings around his wrists, Tobyn tried to think back to what happened. He remembered being at the inn and in the tea room with a few others of his guild. He remembered teasing Macerio about a set of armour going missing and the only way for it to have happened was for the armour to walk out itself. He remembered Jhon chiding him a bit. And he remembered Lynus telling them something about a crystal. A red quartz. About it being able to capture energy. A vessel to entrap a spirit?
But then…the smell of sleeping gas following the sound of breaking glass.
No fucking way. Did someone throw a bottle of sleeping gas into the tea room, knocking them all out?
Where were the others? Had Jhon and Axel been taken, too? How could the two of them be subdued? Fuck, they would have had to been knocked out cold for either of them to 'allow' this to occur. What about Lynus, Magnus, Macerio? They were in the tea room, too. He remembered them being there.
The sound of a door opening pulled Tobyn from his frantic thoughts and he immediately turned his attention to it. He felt a deep scowl appear on his face when a man dressed in long grey robes step into the room, his eyes piercing as he peered down at him with a haughty upturn of his chin.
"Well, awake and struggling already," the man said with a smirk. "How typical of a survivalist."
"Who the hell are you?" Tobyn immediately bit out as he continued to struggle.
"Me?" the man returned as he tilted his head to the side slightly before straightening and releasing a rather indignant yet mocking scoff. "Well, since you asked so nicely, my name is Lord Ronaldo. And it would be of your best interest if you refer to me as such."
The name Ronaldo twigged a sense of recognition in the back of Tobyn's mind, but he ignored it. "Oh, if you care so much about my best interest, then remove these fucking ropes," he hissed in response.
Ronaldo's smirk turned unexpectedly more sinister, though his eyes held a glint of anger. "That's quite a fearsome expression you are wearing. Pity you don't have the skill or strength to back it up."
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Tobyn snapped in response as he tried to sit up, his anger masking his fear. "Where are the others? What are you planning?"
Ronaldo suddenly lashed out with his foot, kicking the edge of the bed harshly, causing Tobyn to wince and fall back onto his side. "You ask as many questions as that scrawny medic," he snarled at him, his eyes more piercing than before. "Everyone is alive, if that is what you are asking. For now, at least."
Though the man's gaze and smirk was sinister and frightening, Tobyn absolutely refused to let this Ronaldo know that he was intimidated by him. "For your own sake, they had better stay that way."
The corner of Ronaldo's left eye twitched and he gave a low, threatening chuckle. "Heh, my sake? Survivalists like you are hardly a threat. The strength of your arrows are weak at best. And outside the labyrinth, you're worthless."
...That bastard. Once Tobyn got out of his restraints, he was going to fucking murder him.
Ronaldo suddenly pushed away from the bed and stalked out of the room. "I won't waste any more of my time with you."
"Go fuck yourself, you stupid bastard," Tobyn spat out as he increased his struggling.
He was inwardly grateful that the bastard had stalked out and the sound of the door slamming shut was actually somewhat reassuring. He wouldn't have been able to do anything with a vulture like that hovering close by.
Now…he needed to find a way out of these fucking ropes!
Twisting slightly on the bed, Tobyn tried to edge his feet closer to his hands. Any decent survivalist kept a knife hidden in their boot. A flick knife. Sometimes one in each. Hopefully, when the bastards were securing him, they didn't find the knife.
He hoped the others were all right. Jhon, Macerio, Lynus, Axel, Magnus…were they in the same condition as him? Was that arrogant bastard restraining them, too? Fuck, Jhon and Axel were probably experiencing the worse of the restraints. They would have to be; those two would have torn this god forsaken shithole to the ground if they weren't. Wait, shit, what about Macerio? Was he alone? Did he think that he was alone? What about Magnus? He'd be freaking out, so they must be retraining him, too. Lynus? H-he had already been a captive to a lord once before!
The sudden sound of something being moved behind him caused Tobyn to tense and tilt his head back to look at the far corner of the room. To his surprise and apprehension, part of the wall seemed to be moving. At if there was actually a door there, hidden within the gaudy looking wall paper.
Slowly, it creaked open and Tobyn felt his heartrate increase substantial. He hadn't the faintest idea what could be hiding within the walls of this shit-hole, but he was in no state to defend himself yet alone fight back.
However, the person he saw crouched behind the section of the wall startled him greatly.
"Lynus?" he spluttered when Lynus cautiously moved away from the opening in the wall. "How-?"
"Shh," Lynus whispered as he held a finger to his lips, granting him a small smile that held a sense of unease to it. He quickly made his way toward him and began to inspect his bindings. "I've...been through this before. Let me get these ropes first."
Tobyn was unable to prevent a small sigh of relief upon seeing Lynus, alive and unharmed. "Check my boot. I usually carry a knife in my boot."
"Right," Lynus said simply as he turned his attention to the ropes around his ankles. It took him a moment or two to loosen them enough to search within his boot. He finally made a soft sigh of relief when he pulled out the knife. He quickly flicked it open and started on the ropes binding his hands.
The second Tobyn was able to move his hands, he pulled them from behind them and sat up. As Lynus began to cut at the ropes around his arms, Tobyn leaned forward to pull out his other knife and quickly cut away the ropes around his ankles and knees.
As Tobyn hastily pulled off the rest of his bindings, he noticed Lynus pick up a piece of torn paper from the ground next to the bed. As he looked at it, a slight frown appeared on his lips and he shook his head slightly.
"How did you get here?" Tobyn asked as he grabbed the knife off of Lynus and slipped the both of them into the pockets of his clothing, within much easier access.
"Servant passageways," Lynus explained as he indicated to the opening he had all but crawled out of it. "They haven't been used in years, so it's safe to assume they've forgotten about them."
"Perfect," Tobyn muttered as he glanced at the door to the room.
The bastard said he wasn't going to waste any more of his time on him, but he could have just been having a fucking hissy fit for all he knew. He could turn up at any second. And the last thing Tobyn needed was for the bastard to spy them sneaking into the servant passageways, reminding him they were there.
"Hang on," he muttered as he grabbed an old wooden chair and quickly barred it against the door. "That should slow them down a little. Let's go."
Lynus nodded his head as Tobyn placed his hand on his back and urged him toward the opening in the wall. He pushed Lynus in first for two reasons; he knew the hidden passageways a little better. And to ensure that if someone did happen to break down the door, they would spy Tobyn first, allowing for Lynus time to hide.
"How did you know this was here?" Tobyn asked as he moved to step into the darken passageway behind Lynus.
"I found a journal in my room," Lynus told him. "The previous occupant had discovered it and wrote about it in their journal."
Tobyn furrowed his brow. "Journal?"
Lynus nodded his head before he continued. "From a hundred years ago. Though many pages are missing. I did find one in your room, though, surprisingly."
So that was what he was looking at in mild confusion. "What did it say?"
As Tobyn moved to close the door behind them, Lynus pulled the piece of paper from his pocket and read it quietly.
I am finding myself becoming fearful of Lord Ronaldo. He spends all hours in his office and has made numerous trips to the basement at all times of the night. He barely has the time to visit me, though I found myself relieved from that.
…Lord Ronaldo? Were they talking of the same man?
Never mind that. They had more important things to contend with.
With a telling and somewhat satisfying click, the door fell back into place and plunged the two of them into total darkness. They both fell still as they took a moment to allow their eyes to adjust to the darkness.
"Any idea where they're keeping the others?" Tobyn asked softly as the two of them slowly began to navigate their way through the darkness.
"I can sense them close by," Lynus whispered in response. "They're all alive and unharmed."
"Sense?" Tobyn asked, no more than a few inches directly behind Lynus, keeping the medic as close as possible without hindering his movements.
"It's…hard to explain," Lynus said as he lightly pressed his hand against the wall to move about without stumbling. "But since I developed the technique of inspecting a patient's aura for abnormalities, I've been able to sense the presences of those I am close to. The most prominent is, obviously, Axel. But I can sense the others as well. Magnus, Macerio, Jhon. They're here as well. No one else, though."
Well, that would make finding them all easier. But…he did catch something in Lynus' voice. It was subtle, but he sounded as if he was…
"You're trembling," Tobyn murmured as he reached out to place a hand gently atop of the medic's shoulder. He frowned when he felt him tense underneath his touch.
"It's…nothing, don't worry," Lynus murmured around a low, shaky sigh. "Just…memories."
Tobyn immediately tightened his hand on Lynus' shoulder, remembering what he had said earlier. He said he had gone through this before. He meant when he was a hostage. To a deranged lord. He had…
"It won't be the same," he said firmly.
"…I know," Lynus whispered so softly. "I'm…just glad that Rahas and Lirit aren't here as well."
Yeah, that was a minor blessing, really. Who knows what Rahas would have done should he found himself in that situation again. Held captive. He could have done anything. He could have…put himself into jeopardy in desperation not to be a captive again. He had muttered once that he…would rather die than be a captive again.
"There's an opening ahead." Lynus' voice pulled Tobyn from his musings. "I think it might lead into a hallway."
If it did, perfect. That allowed them a better chance to look around and access how much shit they were really in.
Carefully, Tobyn pushed Lynus to the side as he turned his attention to the small pinpricks of light emanating from the wall. He took a moment to study it and was satisfied that it was indeed a door. And he…couldn't hear anyone or anything on the other side.
Slowly, he pushed open the secret door just a fraction, allowing him to peek out and check before moving on. If he could assume anything, there were many rooms connecting to these servant passageways that it would difficult to tell where they were. He was grateful, somewhat at least, that this door led out into a hallway. Going from room to room would be risky.
Tobyn suddenly tensed out of habit when he heard the sound of footsteps, but he kept looking through the small crack in the door.
Another person suddenly came into view. It was someone dressed in grey robes, a hood pulled up and shadowing his face. A guard? They seemed to be pacing, either on guard or simply bored. But with the long spear they carried, Tobyn felt it was safe to assume that he was on patrol.
"There's a guard coming," Tobyn said to Lynus. "Those robes might come in handy."
Lynus nodded his head before he unexpectedly pointed to his neck, his fingertips brushing over the curve of where his neck met his shoulder. At first, Tobyn wasn't entire sure what he was trying to communicate, but it soon dawned on him. The neck was the weak point.
Where he needed to aim.
Tobyn nodded his head once to signal that he understood and motioned with his hand for Lynus to stay hidden. No need to pull him into anything physical. And, honestly, Tobyn was pissed enough to do all the fighting himself anyway.
It wasn't hard for Tobyn to sneak up behind the guard. Normally, he preferred the use of his bow and arrows. Hell, just the arrows were enough for him, jabbing one with sleeper into someone's neck would soon render them unconscious.
But he was so utterly pissed right now that he would actually take minimal pleasure in beating someone senseless. And if it had to be one of these grey-robed guards things, then all the better.
Lifting his hand, Tobyn harshly chopped the guy on the neck, where Lynus had indicated. The guard went down immediately. Didn't even have the chance to utter a grunt of pain or surprise. Just fell to the ground with a thud, their weapon promptly following.
Good.
Moving quickly, Tobyn leaned down and grabbed the guard by the arms and started to drag him toward where Lynus should still be hiding. There was a cupboard they could shove the guard in. Might be a bit cramped, but who gave a shit?
Before that, though, those robes just might come in handy.
Grabbing the robe by the hood, Tobyn roughly pulled it off of, the man underneath, seemingly no older than twenty, wore simple white clothing and that their skin was nearly as pale. Throwing the robe over his shoulder, Tobyn than proceeded to shove the guy into the closet. Although it was difficult manhandling a dead weight, he managed to do so, kicking the guy further in for good measure.
As he unceremoniously shut the cupboard doors, he turned to face Lynus, finding the medic inspecting the robes. "Where did you learn that?" he couldn't help but ask as he indicated to his own neck.
Lynus granted him a somewhat weary smile. "Dr Stiles isn't the head doctor for nothing. He knows how to subdue patients better than anyone."
Well...that would explain a lot.
"I'm too short for these robes," Lynus suddenly said, drawing Tobyn back to the severity of their situation. "But I think you're about the right size."
Tobyn nodded his head and took the robes from Lynus. Though he loathed touching anything these bastards wore, the robes would be useful for him to loiter around out in the open, avoiding suspicion. Or at least long enough for him to cause a disturbance so that Lynus could get to safety.
He could also shred the cloth and use it to choke someone if necessary.
"I can sense Macerio's presence," Lynus said as Tobyn pulled the hood up over his head. "He's close by."
"Right, he's next," Tobyn said as he carefully peered around the corner into the hall, and when he saw that the coast was clear, he signal for Lynus to follow him. "Let's go."
He picked up the spear as they hurried past. He didn't know how to wield it skilfully, but he should at least put the fear in some of them. Honestly, with the mood he was in, that shouldn't be too difficult.
He just hoped that the others were ok.
