Luz wasn't sure what to expect after the monster of a man grabbed her by her hood and whisked her out of her cell and into the outside where the prior sounds were still subdued from what they were earlier, though some noticeable shouts were still audible, though Luz could still barely hear them as her body was still partially frozen in shock and fear. Despite the obvious strength that they possessed it didn't feel like they were trying to crush her head in their hand, which the though unfortunately put the image of the tall imposing man doing so and laughing cruelly all the while. On a more positive side the vivid imagery of that scene helped strength return to Luz's arms as she tried in vain to grasp her hands around just one of his large fingers that was gripping her head like a vice, though this proved to be fruitless as just one finger was the size of her arm, and she was barely able to make it budge an inch. Her effort doing nothing but straining her arms and hands from the effort, exhausting what little strength her fear had been able to conjure up from the depths.
The man seeing her struggle against his grip let out a groan in annoyance, the bass in his throat reverberating across the hallway they had entered when they left the celled area of the spire, the action causing two nearby guards who were approaching their direction to turn off into another corridor before they could get close. "Do not struggle, and this will be over in a relatively quick and painless manner." They said not breaking stride as they lifted Luz up to look them in the eyes, Luz's own going wide as she stared at the blank expression of the mask just imagining the horrors that may lie covered beneath it. "Understand."
Luz nodded her head up and down as fast as she could, any word of protest or defiance she may have been building up in her throat dissipated as the message and warning were clear to her, if she struggled or was a problem for them it would only increase how much pain she would be put through. Her head swam with images of her strapped in medieval torture devices such as the rack, or maybe she would just be tossed around violently like a ragdoll in a secluded room until the man grew tired of her suffering. She sucked in a breath that thought, which led to him squeezing her head again making her wince in pain.
The man finally stopped before he used his free hand to open a door to one of the rooms that dotted the hallway, the door an unassuming polished wood one with metal rimming it. Due to his massive height that dwarfed anyone Luz had ever seen the man was made to duck as he entered the room, still suspending her in the air as the chilliness of the room grasped at her skin raising every hair on her body. The room itself held the same stone style architecture as the rest of the prison Luz had seen when she was being led to her cell earlier, though this one seemed to have large white panels line the walls that shone like polished marble reflecting the light of the handful of torches that illuminated the room. A simple wooden table and two chairs sat in the center of the room, though the chairs were much too small to be more than a footrest for just one of the man's massive legs; an oblong pitcher full of a glowing, pulsating orange Liquid that writhed in the container sat on the table along with two ordinary looking glasses.
The man roughly sat Luz in the opposite the door making her face the far wall, the man lumbering over to the other one but just sliding it off to the side due to it not being usable for him; instead, just choosing to stand as his neck craned down to look at her. Luz was no longer completely frozen though and she had just enough strength to grip the seat of her chair with enough strength to turn her knuckles white, her legs fidgeting under the table as she used every ounce of her willpower to keep herself from running out the door which had been shut behind them. She did not know if it was locked in some way, as for all she knew there was some magical field that could seal off the room until the man was done with her, or maybe it was unlocked, and she could get out if she ran fast enough.
'He would catch you before you could though,' Her inner mind scolded her as she doubted she could make it far before she was caught, if not by her current captor than by one of the many guards that patrolled this place; and she had already found out that she couldn't take one of them on in terms of strength so what hope did she have against so many. 'Sit and wait, maybe we can get out of this.' She doubted it very much, the lady who had left her to fend for herself, Eda if she remembered correctly, had seemed so nice and welcoming after they had talked, and yet Eda had abandoned her at the first sign of trouble. Why should this man who seemed to be a demon given flesh personified be any different when he at least looked like someone who would cause pain and suffering rather than hiding behind a facade of kindness.
Luz was snapped out of her thoughts and visibly flinched when the man raised an arm and extended it in her direction, and she almost gagged when his hand split apart as each finger became a tentacle that extended all the way up to inside the sleeves of his tunic, slithering as though there was no bone in the limb, wriggling through the air like a pack of ravenous snakes ready to strike. The sight so unnatural that even with all she had seen so far it still made her sick in her stomach at seeming the man's flesh unwind and extend towards her, she didn't know what he was going to do or whether he would be harsher when he realized that she didn't know anything that he was likely to ask.
She closed her eyes as she braced her body for the pain to come, her muscles tensing in preparation of the approaching threat. When the pain never came after a few seconds, and she wasn't even thrown out of her seat, she dared to open her eyes and saw that one of the tentacles had wrapped itself around the pitcher as another two were holding the glasses in the air as the liquid was poured into them. One of them finding its way in front of Luz on the table as she stared down incredulously at it, a sour aroma hitting her nose as the bubbling liquid churned itself like a mini whirlpool in the glass; she wondered whether or not it was some kind of poison meant to slowly kill her from the inside out.
Looking up she saw that the hulking beast was draining his glass with a bright green straw that he had produced from somewhere that was placed under his mask, confirming to Luz that he did at least have a mouth under there. The scent taunted her to partake in the action with him as her tongue and mouth seemed to dry up in an instant like she swallowed an entire desert worth of sand, her throat parched far beyond what it was mere moments ago. She still didn't know if it was safe for her to drink given how it might have stuff that's toxic to humans, but she supposed that it wasn't poisoned since the other man was draining the entirety of his glass.
As she meekly reached to take a sip of hers the hulking figure placed his now empty glass down loudly on the table, the smacking of lips heard as the atmosphere of terror and despair returned and clawed at her throat and eyes as droplets of tears began to break themselves free, what small bit of hope she had begun to have drained away when she heard him clear his throat. The guttural action vibrating her bones and ribcage as her hands froze just before wrapping themselves around the glass as a weak 'meep' escaped her lips as she began shuddering in fear again.
"Now then, I will ask you this once and only once," He enunciated as the tentacles that were his arm retracted back to close their original length before the ends, to Luz's horror, morphed themselves into a singular large blade that despite its organic origins gleamed wickedly in the pale light like a freshly sharpened and polished piece of metal. "Where. Is. She!"
The malice present in those three simple words were palpable as each one shook Luz to her core as the arm with the double-bladed axe at the end of it was pointed menacingly at her, the end of one of the axe blades inching closer and closer to the underside of her chin, threatening to free her neck and head from her shoulders if she did not answer.
Luz tried to find the strength in her throat to talk and respond to his demand, but the blade was so close that she could see her terrified reflection on its surface; her fear rising as it inched ever closer. "I d-d-do-don't know." She managed to weakly mutter, the blade stopping it's advance just a few inches from beneath her chin, as Luz stared up fearfully at the tall imposing figure who practically radiated irritation
Instead, the axe unwound back into the tentacles as they shot out like lightning and grabbed Luz by both of her arms and legs, lifting her over the table to stare eye level with the lifeless button eyes of the beast in humanoid form. "Playing stupid with me will get you nowhere girl," He growled darkly, anger clearly audible with each syllable uttered as Luz felt her limbs being tightened like a boa constrictor wrapping around its prey, Luz finding that she was being held up in the air to where she was actually above them in terms of height. "I am Warden Wrath, and I will do this only once more, just in case you misheard me the first time." The squeezing pressure relenting just an infinitesimal amount as the now identified Warden's neck bent downward with an audible crack as the beak of his mask was now mere inches from Luz's face. "Where is the Owl Lady."
Despite the lack of a tentacle around it, Luz felt her throat tighten and constrict as the rest of her body felt ready to pop like a blueberry due to the pressure that was squeezing each of her limbs, terror consuming her as she feared for what would happen if she angered the Warden further knowing now what he could do with his arms. Pain flooded her systems as she became hyper aware of each thing happening around her, the tentacles wrapping themselves around her limbs that had a leathery texture to them, the increasing temperature of her body as she felt like she was burning up, her hands shaking involuntarily as she could make no move to free herself from her bindings.
"I-I-I don't now who th-that is." She sputtered out as she felt the tentacles constrict again with greater pressure as they felt like they were pulling her limbs out of her body in a slow fashion, the pain lighting her body up and taking everything she had in her to not scream out in pain. That didn't stop the tears from welling up as they ran down her cheeks and onto the ground below.
"MY PATIENCE WANES GIRL!" Warden Wrath yelled in her face, his voice invading her ears and deafening everything else as ringing began to set in, her head throbbing in agony as she struggled to keep her eyes focused on him as her vision blurred and everything, but her mouth was screaming out. "WHERE IS THE OWL LADY! TELL ME NOW!" Through her blurred vision she could make out the form of the axe again as it neared her, the sound of it scraping and dragging against the wall replaced the voice of the Warden in her ears.
"I DON'T KNOW! I JUST RAN THROGH A DOOR IN THE WOODS TO GET MY BOOK BACK AND WOUND UP IN HER TENT! PLEASE JUST LET ME GO HOME!" She cried out as her emotions kicked int overdrive and she momentarily forgot that she was pleading with the apparent Warden of a prison in a demonic realm and not some police officer from back home that could just call her mother and sort thing out, but she did not care as her bottled up emotions finally broke from the dam that had been keeping them at bay. The pain of betrayal and being left to fend for herself by Eda mixed with the shock, awe, and horror of finding herself in a darker and more brutal version of the fantasy world she had long since buried herself in back home, to finally being held in the vice like grip of the massively intimidating prison Warden as she was being interrogated about her miniscule association with the Owl Lady Eda.
The next thing Luz registered was the constricting grip of the tentacles stopping as the guttural hum of the Warden's throat filled her eardrums, though it was not one of anger or annoyance but strangely to Luz it sounded much like when her mother was doing a crossword puzzle in the morning paper it sounded... inquisitive?
"No, no it couldn't be. Could it?" She heard the Warden Mutter as Luz saw the tentacle reform into a hand that was gripping her by her shirt and hoisting her up to head level with the Warden, the earlier aura of suffocation slowly dissipating as Luz saw the Warden's head cock to the side. She felt the cold damp air of the room invade her ears next as her hood was removed from her head, she had forgotten that in the chaos that originally ensued back in the stand where she was captured, and she tried to hide herself by pulling her hood over her head. It had not yet been removed from its position no matter how much jostling had been done to her.
She felt his grip slacken as the sides of her head were revealed to them, the pressure of his iron grip leaving allowed her some modicum of safety even though she was still wrapped in his hand. "Round ears, I dared not think it but, you are a human." Wrath said as he looked in shock at the smooth bumps of the girl's upper ears, not pointed like most pure blood or mixed bred witches, nor did she have any noticeable demon ancestry. No, he realized now that he held quite possibly one of the rarest species to ever grace the isles with their presence, so rare that in recorded history there were barely enough times to count on a five fingered hand how many humans had found themselves on the Boiling Isles. "This... changes things."
Luz felt herself be sat back down on the seat across the table from where the Warden stood, gently she noticed as he was now seeming to be treating her like a fragile piece of glass. She was confused, sure she knew that as a human she was different from the people that inhabited this realm, but she saw many people back at the market area that looked just like a human with the only difference being pointed ears. The sound of the glass sliding closer to her drew her attention to the Warden now presenting her with a green bendy straw and the cup full of the still writhing liquid in an innocent manner.
She quickly took both items from his hands before he could get frustrated again by her lack of action, Luz didn't know the full reason why he was acting nicer now, but she wasn't about to complain as she could breathe easily again; no longer did she have to suck in and force down every breath that she took.
Placing the straw in the liquid it seemed that the thick consistency broke apart as soon as the surface was punctured as the churning ceased and the fluid stilled, the tangy sour odor was still unappealing to her, but Luz found herself unwilling to risk insulting the warden's generosity and proceeded to take a big gulp from the straw. The liquid was iron hot as it touched her tongue that in less than a moment before pain registered transitioned to ice cold, the texture like that of a milkshake that scraped the insides of her mouth like a thousand tiny shards of ice. The taste itself was strangely like that of a strawberry mixed with the bitter taste of a lemon and the tartness of a raspberry, all of it combined along with the shifting temperature made for an extraordinary experience that was not unpleasant despite the circumstances.
Looking up at the warden after she had drained half her glass, Luz saw that he appeared satisfied with her actions despite the lack of any physical facial cues. "I must sincerely apologize, had I known your origins I would not have treated you so... roughly." It seemed odd to Luz to see the most terrifying figure she had ever seen lower his head in shame with an almost comical manner, were it not for her still processing it she might have laughed at the absurdity of it.
How was she to respond to that? Should she thank him for his apology, outraged at the fact he had essentially man handled her like a child's doll without knowing what she went through. "Th-thanks, I guess." She got out, still stuttering as she tried to keep her nerves from flaring up again, still weary of the threat that she could still be harmed further by the Warden. Thankfully the ringing in her ears had faded and her vision was clearing up, but she could still feel his phantom grip around her limbs and still felt her muscles screaming out, hopefully she would be lucky enough to get something for them before they bruised; she idly noticed the already slight yellowing on her arms.
His head rose from its incline but still looked down at her due to the height difference, one of his arms scratching the side of his head that was covered by the dark hood he wore. "Don't mention it, still I was hoping that after waiting twelve hours for her to come and break you out we might have finally caught the Owl Lady," Warden Wrath's voice still intimidating and deep sounded like a hunter who failed to catch a rabbit in a rabbit trap. "Though now I see why she has yet to show."
Luz let the fact that it was already over twelve hours since she had found herself in the world. 'He was using me as bait.' She realized, but Luz felt her curiosity perk up at his words in a deeper meaning, she kept hearing how wanted Eda the Owl Lady was, the men who captured her had listed off some of her crimes and moaned about her escape during the ride to the prison, but it seemed like the warden might be the best one to find out from just how dangerous and wanted she was. "H-how dangerous is she?" Luz asked softly, the wardens head and expressionless mask still boring into her soul despite the lightened mood in the room. "The Owl Lady I mean."
The warden hummed at her question the action not seeming threatening to Luz as the prior times the action had been, "She is considered the most wanted witch on the Boiling isles, wanted for treason against the Empire, untold amounts of property damage and theft, associating with known enemies against the throne, and above all being a Wild Witch." Though his words were spoken harshly, Luz took comfort that the tone wasn't directed at her, still the substance of which shocked her as she realized just who she had associated with.
It did cross her mind briefly that the Warden could be lying and that secretly he and the mentioned Empire were a tyrannical government that wanted to stamp out free will and Eda was one of the few to defy them thus making her a target. Yet just as quickly as those thoughts entered her head the images of Eda flying off away after abandoning her to the local authorities filled her head, the unrepentant look in her eyes as she was held captive by one of the men who had come to capture Eda instead taking Luz in her place. If she truly was some unsung hero against an oppressor, would she not have saved Luz and taken her with her as she soared off into the sky, protecting another soul from the horrors that was sure to be inflicted upon her.
No, she knew better than that, Eda the Owl Lady was a criminal, and apparently the most wanted in this world she ended up in, a criminal that left her for dead or worse after she had helped her sell one of her junk items for what she assumed was a massive profit before the authorities came. White hot anger flashed through her as she heard that sickening snort like laugh of the Owl Lady crossing over with the image of her leaving Luz to fend for herself, she had tried to be helpful to the woman even before she knew of her status as a criminal, and she had been shown the consequences of such a decision.
So, Luz held no sympathy or desire to question whether or not the Owl Lady was truly guilty of what she was being accused of, if the woman was a good person, then she had missed her chance to show it. In Luz's mind it was this Warden Wrath, the second real person she had spoken to and had a conversation with since she arrived her that held greater believability in her eyes. She was still afraid of him and worried that at any moment his arm and hand would turn back into an axe and lop her head off with minimal effort, yet now as she sat in the chair in the dimly lit room and looked at the towering figure awkwardly scratch the side of his head, she felt the sheer and overwhelming terror that consumed her earlier slowly vanish as in her mind he began to seem so... human.
"I... see." Luz muttered as everything proceed in her mind and she took another sip of the liquid to calm her nerves, the temperature change doing a phenomenal of keeping her senses grounded and subdued, the tension that had built up slowly easing up as she found herself slowly relaxing.
The warden shook his head in amusement as a chuckle that sounded more like nails being smashed with a hammer into a watermelon filled the room. "I would not expect most of that to make sense to you human, though I must admit you are much different then how I imagined one of your kind." The earlier threatening tone that Wrath held had all but disappeared save for the natural intensity and growl of his voice, making Luz wonder just what lay behind his mask and whether it looked like a normal human face or the face of some unimaginable bestial horror.
Strangely though, the warden laughing had seemed to help much of Luz's fears dissipate as it seemed like all hostility that he held toward her earlier dissipate, and when she thought deeper about it his actions made some sense. To him before he had learned she was human, Luz was someone who was seen associating with the most wanted criminal there was and there was no telling just who she was to be doing so, to them, Luz supposed, she probably seemed like some young person the Owl Lady had taken under her wing. She nearly gagged at that idea as an image of her standing side by side with the woman as she mentored Luz in the strange magic this world possessed came to her mind, if anything Luz would bet that she'd be left for dead in another situation if that had been the case. Still that image did spark an interest in seeing if she could learn the magic of this world, but she knew this wasn't the time for that since she figured she was still technically a prisoner for right now; but she could still hope that the Warden could help her be released.
"What's so special about me being human?" Luz asked curiously as she had noticed the warden continued to use the word 'human' like it was some foreign concept despite the mostly human like people she had seen earlier, though she had figured that they and the demon like creatures just coexisted with each other given all the interaction they had done in the market.
The chuckling stopped as the warden grabbed the pitcher and filled his glass with the last of the liquid, draining over half the glass in a single sip before he answered. "Your kind are rare here, nay, nonexistent is the word I would use," Warden Wrath sat the glass down gently before continuing his explanation, Luz doing her best to listen to every word he said as her instincts told her that this information would be important. "What little information is known about humankind has been lost to time to us, all we know for certainty is that you often appear identical in stature to a pureblood witch with round ears."
Luz let out an 'ah' of understanding at that information since that would explain why no one had questioned who she was until her hood was removed, if having round ears and no extra body parts was the main thing that made her different to most of the people here then did that mean for her in terms of the future.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Wrath continued to speak, seeming engrossed in the topic as his voice had taken on a more lighthearted tone to it rather than the menacing boom that it held. "Though I will admit I have never been the most interested in Human Realm society and culture, I'm surprised at how 'normal' you look." He said rubbing his chin through the underside of his mask, stopping just a moment as he realized how his words could have been interpreted and quickly explained what he meant. "Not in a bad way I mean, just that there are many theories as to what your kind is actually like. Titan I've heard rumors that your kind have venom sacks and gills, though obviously that's not true. At least for the gills, you don't have venom sacks, do you?"
Luz shook her head at that as the Warden slumped in a defeated manner and let out a long sigh that had Luz concerned that she had upset him, "Looks like I owe Steve fifty snails then." Wrath grumbled dejectedly before picking up his spirits, "Least I can say I was the first one out of us to meet a human though, gotta be worth something."
Luz snickered at the rapid turnaround of the Warden's demeanor as he went from hopelessly defeated to thinking about bragging rights that he could get from having met her, plus the notion that humans had venom sacks and gills amused her as she briefly envisioned herself scaley skin and fangs with long gills stacked on the sides of her neck as she emerged from the waters of a lake like some miniature lock ness monster.
"Lo siento por eso, the 'snails' I mean." Luz said as she had assumed that snails were what the local currency was called given the people at the market had shouted out that name while throwing bills at her.
The warden grunted in acknowledgment of her statement. "I have no idea what you said, but I'm going to assume it was an apology for me losing my bet." At Luz's nod of affirmation Wrath let out a snort in amusement as his head threw itself back, briefly giving Luz a flash of the underside of his mask that only had the slightest hint of pale purple flesh peeking out around the upper neck. "Don't be, if anything I'll just get it back from Steve at a later date, guy can't Skull B'Roll to save his life."
Luz assumed that Steve was probably one of the Warden's friends given the informal manner at which he was mentioned, which made her curious about what he was like given that Wrath seemed to always exude some terrifying aura as she was still very much on edge around him. She figured that was probably due to hum being Warden of this place and being intimidating had become a force of habit to him since he probably had to deal with people equally as big or bulky as he was, given the varied different type of people that inhabited this place.
"Skull B'Roll?" Luz questioned as the name sounded both gruesome and odd at the same time given how skulls would be difficult to roll due to their unique shape, not to mention the lack of bone in the back of it as she had actually done research on the anatomy one time for an art project she had wanted to do. When she though more about it, the actual action of rolling a skull would be more like rolling a bowl with the lack of closure and the protruding bone that ruined the spherical shape.
"Yeah, one of the best sports on the Isles, how do you not know what Skull B'Roll is?" He questioned in astonishment before Luz just absentmindedly pointed at one of her ears, the Warden smacking his face as he realized what he did. "Right, you're human, forgot about that."
Luz gave him a thumbs up to show that she understood as Wrath lifted up one of his hands and transformed the end of it into a perfect sphere. "Essentially you take the Crainiall and roll it as hard as you can at a group of arranged targets," The sphere morphed into a long cylindrical shape that had spikes coming off of it, with four noticeable ones crowning the top and another four in the bottom. "The objective is to get them to shatter each other with as few rolls as possible."
Luz almost cringed at the comparison her mind had drawn as she had never been one for sports, despite her Mami liking golf whenever she was free from work and her Abuela who liked to throw darts and even had a championship award from winning a regional tournament. However, it was the sport her Tio liked to partake in and had on several occasions when he was in town to visit convinced her mom to tag along with, that she had developed an aversion to. "So it's like bowling then."
Words could not describe how much she did not care about that particular activity, no matter how much her Tio had explained the complexities of it from how to spin the wrist to how throwing it with two fingers instead of three in the holes would affect the ball. She just could not get into it, sure she could watch people play it and find some entertainment, but it was always a chore to get through and she'd rather do actual chores than watch Bowling if she could.
The Warden looked at her with his head tilted to the side again as his hand returned to normal, the slithering tentacle mass still causing Luz to get nauseous at the sight alone, never mind the sound. "Human sport?" He asked as his mind began trying to think up of all the ways humans could have a version of Skull B'Roll, as his prior conceived notions of humans had just been proven false by the flesh and blood human in front of him.
Luz nodded her head at the question, and after a moment of silence the Warden flashed her a thumbs up, an action that seemed so odd when looking at him. Just then there was a series of knocks on the door which reminded Luz that she was still in what she could assume was an interrogation room, she was shocked that she had forgotten that fact as the room had seemed less suffocating when Wrath had begun to act nicer to her. There was a surge of pressure though as her throat constricted again though she could still breath, she looked up at the Warden who had seemed to return to his presence that promised pain from just looking at it alone. "What is it! I gave strict order that I was not to be disturbed!"
He terrified her, Luz realized, but then she realized that he was not yelling at her nor was his tone directed at her this time; instead, it was directed at one of the guards who had opened the door and was leaning inside of it. "Sorry about that boss, just wondered if you knew where my pitcher of Scrawberry molten ice was, Ray said he saw you with it earlier and I was wondering if-"
There were no more words spoken as the thundering footsteps of the Warden signaled his movement, and Luz found herself compressing in her seat in an attempt to make herself as small as possible as she realized that he might target her again. She hoped that was not the case but once again images of that sickening snort like laugh, and that pale cackling face flooded her mind, and she could practically hear that voice in her head drowning the rest of her thoughts. "Andy what are the rules of the community fridge." The voice of Warden Wrath snapped her out of the spiral she had begun, as Luz found herself turned around and looking over the seat at the guard who was now in full view of the open door, needing to lean over to the side to see around the hulking chest of the Warden.
The guards head drooped in a defeated manner similar to what Wrath had done just a bit ago as he let out a long sigh of defeat. "Anything without a name on it is free reign." The guard, Andy said in a near monotone defeated manner as his head was still locked in a staring contest with the floor.
Wrath continued his advance as he looked down at the guard who barely came up to his waist in terms of height. "So, what have we learned from this situation Andy." Wrath asked in a tone similar to that of a scolding father taht also retained the edge of authority and intimidation.
Andy looked up at the Warden as he answered the question. "Not to forget to label what's mine in the fridge from now on."
Wrath proceeded to pat the shoulder of the guard whose body seemed to visibly stiffen at the action, though Luz couldn't find it in herself to blame them since they probably also knew what the warden was capable of. "Good," Wrath's voice shook the room again as he held open the door for the guard. "Now I believe your beak time is about up, better get back on patrol."
Andy let out a loud shout of "Yes Sir!" as he ran out of the room, though it seemed like Wrath had heard something else as well as his hand suddenly shifted into a hammer and slammed into the outside wall. "WHAT WAS THAT ANDY!"
Luz cringed as she heard the frantic footsteps that were loud enough to be heard clearly by her, as far away as he was from the source, as the Warden kept shouting down the hall and shaking his fist in an exaggerated manner. Luz would have found it comical were it not for the door falling off its hinges from Wrath slamming the wall earlier drawing his attention back to the room. "Ah Titan, that'll be coming out of my check for sure." She could hear him grumble as picked the door up and sat it against the wall, the mangled hinges clearly visible.
Luz let out a breath she realized she had been holding as it seemed he had calmed down and was now just grumbling something under his breath, before he withdrew a small wooden box from his coat and opened it, then turn his back to her, and Luz was shocked to see that he had removed his mask as it hung limply in his hand. His hood had come down and revealed the leathery purple skin that lay underneath, along with a large solid looking bone that seemed to run down the length of his neck as it disappeared beneath his clothing. From what little Luz could see it seemed like he had put something in his mouth as she could hear the sound of chewing before he placed the mask back on his head.
He turned to her as he raised the hood back over his head, once more concealing what lay beneath as Luz felt her curiosity spike again as she wondered just what lay beneath. "Come human, I believe it is about time for us to go," Wrath said as he beckoned her to come, his form squeezing through the now open space of the door easier since it had been expanded from when he had entered. "I have some paperwork I must fill out before I leave, and I believe new accommodations are needed for you."
Luz bit down the fear that rose in her through as she quickly hoped out of her seat and followed after him, she felt confident that he wouldn't hurt her for now, but she was aware of how quickly appearances could change; the Owl Lady had taught her that much at least. Still that earlier image of him at a desk and filling out paperwork returned, internally laughing at that mental picture.
As they passed through the halls she vaguely recognized the way they were taking as back toward the cell area as the guard patrols seemed to increase in number, though they quickly gave way for Wrath as they seemed to press themselves into the walls or scurry to open corridors that were nearby. Once again Luz was reminded that she was quite possibly being led by a demon among demons as she had seen the fear the guards had of Wrath, and she knew that they were probably what staffed the rest of the prison. She didn't want to know how Wrath had earned his position as Warden, though she was curious if he was put in the position directly by either the Empire he had mentioned earlier or by some other ruling power, or whether he was promoted and had once been a guard himself. Still, she supposed if he was being friendly with her for the time being that was alright enough, it certainly didn't help that she could hear the whispers as they walked past and more than once heard the shocked exclamation of "Human" from many of the guards.
She found herself pulling her hood up and trying her best to sink into it, hopefully that would reduce the whispers as they kept walking.
Idly she noticed that the telltale sounds of the cell area rising as they neared, along with the sound of boots rushing past them as she noticed that six guards were running to the entrance to the cell spire in a frantic manner. The Warden let out a groan that sounded more akin to a growl as Luz felt her hairs rise like a frightened cat, "Another escape attempt, great. Just what I need to complete the night," She heard him chuckle at that last part as he turned his head down to look at her. "Well kid, looks like you get to see the exciting part of my job."
She shuddered at the way he said that, as the earlier images of what she expected him to do to her return, the multitude of ways she knew he could kill, maim, or torture her returned full force as they neared the entrance. "The exciting part?" Luz asked meekly as the Warden stopped in front of the door, her doing the same as he looked back at her and even through his mask, she felt like she could see that he had a large smirk on his face.
"My title of Warden isn't just for show." With that declaration he raised his massive leg into the air and with one swift motion kicked open the large doble door that separated this hallway from the cells.
Luz was awed at how fast the large spire seemed to quiet as Wrath made himself known, though she could still make out the loud whispers of "It's him hide.", "The Warden is here." and "Quiet, maybe he won't notice us.". She tried to be as small as possible as she walked out after him, trying to keep a decent distance as the lumbering behemoth strode forward to where she figured the commotion was, as she saw several guards laying on the floor either groaning in pain or knocked out, with several more in a semi-circle formation pointing their swords at a figure in the center of it.
The figure was taller than the guards but not taller than wrath, though they were hunched over so it may have been taller than she thought. The wrinkled and withered blue skin that covered them was taught in some places and saggy in others, and five curved blood red horns adorned their head which seemed to have a mouth at the top of the skull. It was grotesque Luz quickly realized as its mouth was filled with rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth, that were yellow in color put stained a crimson color at their points, she dreaded to know whether or not she knew what that was; though she feared the obvious answer was also the correct one. It walked on two legs that ended in hoofs and had four arms, each with an eye in the palm of each hand, the hands bearing six fingers with two of them being thumbs, and a long tail that looked like it belonged on a stegosaurus raised behind its form. There was a collar around its neck and a pair of manacles on each wrist, though the chains that bound them had been broken and were hanging beneath them, their torso bare and the only clothing they had were a pair of paints that were secured with a thick rope around their waist.
It let out a hiss at the appearance of the warden snapped its teeth threateningly as he approached. "Situation." Wrath said looking at one of the injured guards who was picking himself up, while at the same time gave a hand signal for Luz to stay back to which she understood given that it was the universal symbol for stop.
"Scouts picked up this thing from the Knee, sent it here since it was responsible for taking out several travelers after they found evidence in the cave, they drug it out of," The guard said as the hissing sound of the creature filled the area again. "They dumped the thing on us, and it got loose before we could get it to Top Level. As far as we can tell it's got next to no sentience level sir."
Luz heard the annoyed grunt that the Warden let out at that last part as he seemed to utter several words in some language, she had no idea what it was. "Of course, they would just leave us out to dry like this, well this should be easy fix at least." He said as both of his hands turned into larger version of the axe he had used earlier and he rushed the creature with a speed that betrayed his size, as Luz had actually blinked and missed the initial action.
She watched in awe as Wrath had performed a downward slash on the creature with both blades at the same time, greenish blood bursting from the severed upper limbs; confirming Luz's suspicion that his blades were sharp enough to easily cleave through flesh and bone. The creature let out a loud roar in either anger or pain she could not tell and lunged at the warden who was actually pushed back from the force, then using the remaining arms the creature slashed into the warden's chest cutting open several large gashes into the front of his uniform.
"I JUST GOT THIS THING CLEANED!" Wrath yelled as he grabbed the creatures' arms and threw it off of him in a whirlwind fashion, the creature being thrown off of the walkway and over the open area of the spire. Luz was stunned as she watched Wrath take a running start and latch onto the creature in midair and piledrive it downwards out of view.
"Woah." She didn't know whether to be impressed at his fighting skills that would put most of the wrestling she had seen to shame, or intimidated that he could have easily performed these moves on her earlier.
"Psst, hey." She heard someone trying to get her attention and turned around to find the source of the noise, coming from the cell she was standing in front of. It was a girl slightly taller than her with a paler shade of tan than she had, with a small black ponytail and large yellow eyes. Luz's mind screamed vampire when she noticed the two fangs sticking out from her upper lip, and the dark clothing she was wearing did not help that image.
Luz was nervous about talking to anyone in her since technically this was a prison and what was to stop everyone in here from being just like the Owl Lady in some way, but the reasonable part of her brain rationalized that that was unlikely. Still, she made sure that the guards weren't currently trying to advance on her as she was distracted, but they all seemed to be preoccupied by the fight that was still going on in the lower levels as they were looking over the ledge and cheering for Wrath. So, with extreme reluctance she approached the cell as the person looked at her and kept motioning for her to get closer.
"What are you doing, make a break for it while they're distracted." The lady hissed as she motioned over to the guards as they let out a loud cheer all at once, followed by a loud hiss from down below.
Luz winced at that sound as it was definitely a screech of pain with no question about it this time, still thankfully it wasn't her that it was happening to. "I d-don't think that would be a g-good idea." She said with a shake of her head, truthfully, she had no intention of trying to escape since she couldn't remember the way to the exit exactly, but she also knew that if she didn't want to jump out of any of the windows she would have to go downwards. Where Warden Wrath was currently wrestling with a creepy looking thing that looked more like a demon than anything she had scene yet.
The lady huffed as her eyes narrowed at Luz in a judgmental gaze, "Come on there's no better chance than now, plus we both know this place is a sham to begin with," she said louder than before, making Luz dart her head to the side to make sure the guards were still distracted, which they thankfully were, and it seemed like no new ones had appeared either. "Be honest, what crime did they shack you with. Walking on the wrong side of the road, eating too loudly, heck the stuck me in here for writing fanfiction about food." She said as she held up a journal filled with neatly arranged rows of lines and splotched with random doodles of food items with arms and legs.
Luz blinked at that last part as she processed the 'uniqueness' of what the lady was saying she was arrested for, though she doubted that it was actually the case. 'Wait they have fanfiction here' Luz internally exclaimed as she had to suppress the desire to get giddy and start asking questions about that, she really did not feel like gaining any sympathy for someone who was probably legitimately in this prison.
"Look if you aren't about to run can you at least open my cell while they're distracted." She all but hissed at Luz, who was doing all she could to not cause a scene as the guards were still distracted.
'How much trouble would it be to open one cell?' Luz thought to herself as she noticed the large lever that was next to the door of the cell, really i the lady was in here for just writing fanfiction then was it so wrong to give her a chance to escape. So, with great hesitation, Luz slowly moved their hand towards the lever as she was still fighting an inner battle between herself on whether or not to lt the woman free.
The ground rumbled as Luz was forced to hold onto the bars of the lady's cell just to keep upright, yet her feet still fell out from under her; the woman not being so lucky though as she fell backwards and landed on her rear. After she regained her bearings, Luz turned around and saw that Wrath had jumped up from below and was holding the unconscious form of the creature in one of his hands as he tossed it to a group of awaiting guards as they quickly shacked and chained its remaining limbs together.
"Put it in lockup in one of the 'special' holding cells." Wrath ordered as the group of eight guards hoisted the creature over their shoulders and began marching it back down to the lower levels, the other guards who had regained consciousness marching with them as they also held the two arms Wrath had cut off earlier. "I swear some days it seems like I'm the only one here who can fight worth a damn."
Luz held out a gasp as she saw the damage that had been done to Wrath's form, his torso was near bare as only shreds of his tunic hung to his chest revealing the light amethyst color skin and bony plates that dotted his form. Small streaks of blue blood oozed out of a myriad of cuts on his chest that were slowly sealing themselves as Luz saw them pulse for a few seconds before the blood flow ceased. A chunk of his trousers was also missing as several areas had noticeable bit chunks taken out of it, as loose strips of fabric clung to the area where they were shredded off.
As he began walking towards her Luz also noticed that one of the eyes on his mask had been ripped off and she saw a fiery white eye that had been hidden previously, and even though it lacked a noticeable iris Luz knew it was trained on her.
"I must apologize once more for that... display," Wrath said as gripped his neck with one of his hands and cracked it to the side, the crunching sound filling the area and making Luz wince at the sheer volume as it sounded much more like wood being broken in two rather than bone. "Rest assured I am not injured, though thankfully I have spare uniforms in my office."
He sounded pleased to Luz and she flashed him a double thumbs up as his head tilted to the side in confusion, she was about to say 'human thing' out loud but stopped herself before the first word left her mouth and just mouthed the words instead.
"Thats... great." Luz said nervously as the Warden was now right in front of her, his ever-intimidating presence still frightening her as the images of her earlier intimidation flashed in her head. Yet she quickly quelled them as she remembered the truth behind the situation that he thought she was an associate of a dangerous criminal, and once he knew the truth he apologized and treated her with nothing but gentleness and kindness.
She noticed Wrath looking behind her and turned to see the woman who was talking to her from inside the cell cowering on the floor as her entire body was shuddering in fear, a small bit of sympathy ran through Luz's heart as she looked at the mortified expression that was worn on her face, but she knew better than to voice that right now. Wrath was probably aggravated at what had just happened and she had no intention of risking his namesake if she could help it right now, as far as she was concerned it wasn't her problem right now as Wrath had merely placed a hand on her shoulder and began guiding her down o the lower levels.
He walked at a quicker pace than before, likely due to his irritated demeanor. "Tell me human, what were you and a known member of BAT talking about?" He calmly asked her as they walked, down the large spiral structure; fear spiking her heart at his question.
"BAT?" She asked nervously as she could feel the still hidden eye trained on her since she was on his side which was still covered by the remains of his mask.
Wrath let out a hum at her question as they neared the ground floor, and the cells began to become less and less populated the further down they went. "BAT, they're known as Bards Against the Throne, a group of rogue Bard Witches that use their magic to disrupt the duties of the Emperors Coven," He said as Luz sucked in a breath as she thought she felt Wrath's grip tighten, yet just as quickly as she felt it the sensation disappeared with not even a feeling remaining. "Scouts managed to capture one of their ranks during a raid last month, however she has been quite withholding of information since Even tried to escape a handful of times."
Luz clenched her fist in anger as she realized what she had almost done, for a moment she had actually wanted to free the lady when she had told Luz of her unjust imprisonment. Yet here Luz was finding out that she was actually a member of an organization that was an enemy of the Emperor and had tried to use her to escape, and lied right to Luz's face without so much as a blink of regret. Yet again someone whom she had or was going to show kindness to had intended to take advantage to her without a single care in the world, her blood began to boil as she thought about it.
Noticing the rising expression of anger and her clenched fists, Wrath decided to speak up. "Hey cheer up kid, won't be the last time she'll try that I can guarantee," He said jovially as they rounded a corner into another quiet hallway with sparse few guards patrolling. "Look Human, I'll be honest and say that compared to what little I've heard of the Human Realm, the Isles won't be pretty for you at all."
Luz's head drooped at his remark as her mind once again ran through her fantasy of a magical adventure in this realm after she had crossed through the door and discovered everything, yet here she was almost over half a day later and she was actually wishing she was at the camp her Mami wanted to send her to. Her eyes widened as she realized that she hadn't contacted her mom yet, nor did she have her phone on her as it had been confiscated before she had been put in her cell; her mom must have been worried sick by now if she was trying to get ahold of her.
Before Luz could contemplate the pros and cons of asking the Warden if he knew where her phone was and if she could have it, the idea of there not being any service in this realm not crossing her mind, the two of them had stopped at a door that was overly large to her but the perfect size for Wrath. Plus, with the words "Warden Wrath's office" painted on the door, there was little doubt as to what the room was or who it belonged to.
"Listen Human, I'm going to grab a spare uniform from my office. You stay out here and don't cause trouble, understand?" Wrath said as he pulled out an old rustic looking set of keys before inserting them into the lock on the door, looking back at Luz for an answer and receiving a nod in return.
When the massive form was completely inside the room and the door closed behind it, Luz let out a sigh as she slumped against the wall and curled in on herself. Her mind was going haywire as she tried to make sense of everything that was happening and had happened in the last hour or so, starting with the Warden dragging her out of her cell to interrogate her, to her sitting outside his office away from the Cell Spire. It was that thought which increased her hope that she wouldn't be put back in a cell for right now, but she knew the Warden could just as easily put her back and she'd be powerless to stop it.
Her thoughts drifted back to the vampire lady as she almost drew blood with how hard her fist had been clenched and her nails digging into skin, honestly, she should have seen that coming now that she thought about it. What person honestly gets arrested for writing food fanfics and for that matter who would care enough about that to arrest someone over it, her being a traitor to the Empire made sense for why she was imprisoned. Sure, Luz may not know much if anything about this Empire but it was bound to at least be decent if they considered people like the Owl Lady criminals.
The door to the Wardens office swung open as Wrath stepped out in a new uniform that looked the same as his old one before it was damaged, mask and all. "Come human, I have just a few more stops to make before we leave this place." He said motioning for her to get up and follow him, Luz doing so as she tried to keep the dour thoughts from plaguing her mind again.
Until her mind latched on to the last few words of his statement, specifically the words "we leave this place." as she thought she understood what that meant but didn't want to get her hopes up. "Where are we g-going sir." She asked hesitantly as his gaze turned back to her when the last words left her lips.
"My House obviously."
