Story 0 (recovered)

Wyldsong
Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 09:25 pm - For Aresald Montgom'ry, there were much more pleasant ways to spend a night. Some wine, a good book, maybe a servant girl or possibly a gam - ble or something. Or maybe just a comfy bed and a big, soft pillow and a sandwich. But no, he had to have another thing coming.

"In you go!" grunted a particularly burly fellow. He had to be burly and a man, for he had a thundering baritone and he tossed the lad head first into the room, closing the door and barring it from the other side after this was done.

Aresald sputtered profanities, trashed about frustratedly for a moment and managed with bound hands to take off the bag that had covered his head throughout the entire ordeal, from a dim little alley to an unforgivably uncomfortable ride in a wagon and finally to this little 'cell.' It was actually a little room with one small window, thick walls and a wooden floor. The moonlight that intruded into the room from the window lit only a little portion of the wall on the opposite side of the window, leaving the rest of the room to be reigned by the dismal darkness.

Aresalde sniffled once and glared at his hands, shaking with anger. How dare they? Didn't they know who he was? Fuming and sulking, he crawled to the wall and smelled the ropes that bound his hands. They smelled of fish. He hated fish, and supposed that this meant that he was going to have some for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tough luck.

What made him somewhat happier was that in the darkness, there was a rather big straw mattress and a corner of a blanket. At least he didn't have to sleep on a hard wooden floor without cover.



Dev
Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 09:54 pm - Unfortunately, the mattress was already occupied - by what appeared to be a small human-shaped lump under the blanket. "Get away from me", a low and hushed voice hissed urgently from the darkness, followed by a dark, nearly inhumane growl.

Nabbed - like a dog from the street and stuck into this hellhole. Such sham - e and anger - and those emotions were just searching for a target to vent upon. A fuzzy-haired head lifted from under the blanket and shiny, narrowed eyes stared at the intruder.



Wyldsong
Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 10:05 pm - "Well, excuse me," replied Aresalde a bit edgily and immediately retreated. The fair-haired, green eyed youngster with a mostly expressionless face and a set of 'not all that bad' clothes inspected this surprise and wondered why he hadn't seen the lump before. It wasn't that dark, not for people that were used to stuff like that, anyway.

He watched for a moment longer, twisting and turning his hands (and thus badly chafing his wrists with the rope). "Didn't think I'd run into someone."



Dev
Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 10:24 pm - The sneak in the dark was used to becoming unnoticeable. The figure sat up fully - slightly am - azed that this new someone had actually done as asked (=told) - and turned out to be of the opposite sex. Either that or a very slender-featured lad.

She looked like she'd been there for some time already - and she had. A composition of ruffled light-brown hair, pale skin, a - normally quite wide, but now pouty - mouth and gray eyes dark from lack of light built the apparition, who said: "Well you better not be running INTO anything around here, hear?" am - azingly, she managed to insert a slight tremor of laughter into her voice, which was rather low for her age and gender.



Wyldsong
Tuesday, September 16, 2003 - 10:42 pm - The equally pale-ish youngster blinkblinkblinked and gave an embarrassed, but polite smile. "I'll try not to," he said equally politely and softly, calming down from his recent (silent) outrage. Aresalde sighed. "Well, if we're in this mess... my nam - e's Aresalde. Sorry I can't shake your hand, but I'm a bit..." he thought for a moment, then decided against countering with a pun of his own. "Well, unable to. Erm. How'd you end up here? Apart from being bagged, tied up, thrown in by those goons?"



Dev
Wednesday, September 17, 2003 - 09:29 pm - For a moment she considered the possibility that he had been sent here to gather otherwise unobtainable information out of her.

But... no. Those numbskulls. She had already managed to stab one with his own knife, but had failed miserably to get past two others that had appeared.

Later, after having her wrists tied together with a padded chain, how merciful, they had left the chain that linked her wrists together too long - so she had waited for an opportunity to get it around an exposed neck, and had succeeded, after which they got a bit tougher with her.

So there she was, with iron manacles around her wrists, bound to the wall by a chain. Way to go.

She kept her manacled hands under the blanket, which covered most of her outfit as well by going nearly as up as her shoulders. Enough brown cloth was seen to determine that she was wearing something that had never seen a fancy frill or dainty lace in it's lifetime. The word "sack" sprang into mind. The chain slithered (near the corner) from under the blanket up the wall to a metal ring at about waist-height. Chain-wise, it was rather nondescript, and not a single movement suggested that it was connected to anything other than the wall.

She sniffed a bit and decided to stick to the truth. To some extent. For now. "It's a... pleasure to meet you... My nam - e is Ann." Good/strong/traditional nam - e everyone always said. "Anneya. Just Ann."

"I've been mostly kept in the dark, literally and figuratively speaking. Yes, and... I apologize for my rather crude... joke just now." She didn't blush, it wasn't part of her repertoire, but instead her tone of voice had shifted during her say into a more formal tone, with an slightly apologetic tinge, which hinted that she wasn't the coarse bar-wench her first demeanor (and words) had suggested.



Wyldsong
Wednesday, September 17, 2003 - 09:41 pm - Aresalde wrinkled his nose, furrowed his brow and shook his head. "A pleasure, although the circumstances are lacking some... basic qualities a good first encounter simply needs." He glanced to look at his ropes and pursed his lips as he pondered a possible reply. Finally, "Oh, don't bother. I understand, and it was appropriate in a coarse way. I think I'd react very much the sam - e way should an unknown hairy male suddenly put his hand on my ankle when I'm in bed," he said with self-deprecating irony and sniffed.

"But oh well," Aresalde continued and blinked at the chain, "how long have you been here?"



Dev
Wednesday, September 17, 2003 - 09:55 pm - "Yes, well." She seemed to consider her answer for a while, her dark gray eyes unfocusing slightly.

"It depends... considering that I was unconscious at one time and am - not sure for how long. I would say five... or six days", she replied rather dryly, as if it didn't really matter that much - and that she'd get out soon enough. Frankly, she felt like a failure for ending up being trapped for so long.



Wyldsong
Wednesday, September 17, 2003 - 10:03 pm - "The food is bad, I would guess? But oh well, that's not really important," he grumbled and glared at his bindings. Somebody there knew how to tie a man up, and for somebody who relied on supple wrists and nimble fingers, it was really embarrassing. He did have a sharp-edged bit of steel, or at least had some back when he was still in the carriage. They'd mostly stripped him of anything remotely dangerous, anyway.

Finally, Aresalde sighed frustratedly and leaned his head against the wall, looking at her with furrowed brows. "I don't really understand why I'm here, though."



Dev
Wednesday, September 17, 2003 - 10:17 pm - She had her little tidbit safely tucked into her given clothes. Shiny, but only remotely sharp. She'd been trying to pick the lock with it, but couldn't get her hands into a favourable enough position for the deed.

She returned his gaze. "Neither do I", she replied, and it was true. She didn't know why he was there... and only had suspicions on why she herself had been brough there - or kept there, for that matter.

"It's edible", she commented on the food, her sides of her mouth retreating a bit to form a rather wry smile. She shrugged, the movement making the chain clink ever so slightly.



Wyldsong
Wednesday, September 17, 2003 - 10:50 pm - The fair-haired youngster just shrugged and eyed Ann curiously for a moment. Curiously, but not indignantly. Flopping down and putting his hands down after this long glaring session, he shrugged and gave a wan little smile. "As long as it isn't fish, I'll survive, then..." he mumbled and eyed the chain. "Well. They am - bushed me and treated me to a gam - e of Blackjack vs. Skull," Aresalde said, silenced himself and look up at her again. "That's about as much as I know," he added with a sniff and finally sank his teeth into the ropes.

He hissed and stopped the next moment. Too hard on his teeth.



Dev
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 05:05 pm - She wondered if she should tell him more about the menu, but decided against it. After all, he was still tolerable and the information might just change that.

"No use... that" she said and nodded her head at his wrists. "Not yet, at least. If you get out of those binds they'll use something else than rope next time." She should know. Though... she had caused a great deal of trouble as well, but that was beside the point. Or, rather, it was exactly the point, but she wasn't admitting anything.



Wyldsong
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 05:13 pm - He glanced at her, pondered and nodded, then let it be as if seeing her point. "Better make myself at home then," Aresalde mumbled, rose to his feet and walked to the opposite wall to get a better look out the window. "I suppose they keep watch all night?" he persisted. He certainly couldn't help himself, having slipped out of tight spots before... and if he could just get his hands free, things might turn out a bit... easier.



Dev
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 05:32 pm - She looked at the strolling youth and felt a slight pang of envy - she felt like her joints were stiffening from lack of exercise. Enough exercise for her tastes, that is. She began to recite calmly:

"Meal times are an hour or two before noon and just before sunset. The keepers, guards outside seem to change shifts at dawn, a couple hours after noon and at sunset." Keeping a close eye, indeed. Whoever had this planned apparently had a great deal of wealth to distribute. "They come in here in twos", she said and couldn't help a mild smile. They did now, at least.



Wyldsong
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 06:23 pm - "Bloody brilliant." A pause. "Pardon my manners," he said apologetically, then continued with a more pondering tone. "Are your parents wealthy?" Aresalde asked, thinking about the sam - e thing. They were acting as if there was big money in it or something a bit personal. They didn't want any screw ups (but he was sure he could do something about that) and the manner in which he'd been... coaxed to allow a bashing to ensue... tsk. His parents certainly were a bit wealthy, but they were not really home, and as they were not home, he did a lot of his own... discovering.



Dev
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 07:36 pm - "Wealthy, yes... by some standards." Quite many, actually, but most of their income was kept away from the tax-collector's sight, or anyone's sight, really, anyone outside the fam - ily. Hers was a rather crooked fam - ily, inside and out. Even if they appeared insignificant on the outside, they sheltered more than a few operations of obscure natures best conducted under the shadow of night or in unconspicious corners.

Her hair must be a mess, she imagined and wished she hadn't. It reached down her back in a tangled mass. "They picked me up instead of my eldest sibling, who actually matters. By accident, see."



Wyldsong
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 07:49 pm - "...well, that makes two of us," he sighed and exam - ined his bound hands again, twisting and turning them carefully in an attempt to not peel off the skin. Of course, with his folks it was a strange kind of wealth - the kind that accumulated by accident, really. It wasn't as if money was the primary reason his folks excavated old ruins or travelled. The point was, however, that the more they explored, excavated, travelled, sought and so forth, the more they made - and the more they made, the more they explored, excavated, travelled, sought and so forth.

Easy, ha? But that wasn't the reason he was a bit upset. The two houses of theirs were pretty much inherited from both sides of the fam - ily, and Aresalde occupied the other on the western side of the city while his parents kept the larger one on the eastern side.

Thus, he wasn't exactly optimistic about anybody noticing he was gone. Especially since his father had recently reached the age where he took naps and preached about the time when he was young... or mother, who gam - bl... played bridge with a group of other women and gossipped about the bunch here and there...

...when they were home. And they weren't.

"How, nabbed the wrong sibling?" he stirred and blinked, a few seconds after she had stopped speaking.



Dev
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 08:14 pm - She coughed slightly, in an apparently unnecessary way.

"You see, we all pretty much look alike. It's easy to confuse us with each other. But if by wrong sibling you mean why the eldest would be the most suitable target... now that is a question of fam - ily-politics and inheritance." She drew a breath and continued talking.

"I am - the youngest and thus of no importance, but I am - all they have here. Must have been rather awkward, finding out." Such a formal tone, such lack of passion in the words.



Wyldsong
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 08:22 pm - Aresalde stared at her analytically for a moment, perhaps trying to decide whether or not this was her dryly self-deprecating self-esteem speaking, but finally he just nodded. "But they're still holding you here and haven't killed you off," he pointed out, re-edit the sentence in his head and winced. "I mean. Sorry. But they're still apparently hoping for a ransom, if you're still here and all they have.

"Why d'you say 'of no importance?' Yes, fam - ily politics and so forth, but still?"



Dev
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 08:40 pm - "Yes, well. Killing me off would have it's consequences, too. But they'd be better off with one of the others." She considered several possible explanations and discarded them all. "Unimportant in that aspect... but I'm still part of the fam - ily as such." A working part, but yet not a necessity.

The truth was harsh, but she accepted it. They probably were just stalling the culprits and expected her to get out of there by herself. Hence the repeated escape-attempts and her current dilemma. Too many mistakes - and she was running out of time.

Her slightly darkened expression returned to normal as she studied the newcomer with his bound hands. "Perhaps your snatching..." She paused in mid-sentence. "I apologize. I was going to suggest that they were going to cover their loss with the profit that they would get out of you."



Wyldsong
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 08:51 pm - "With my parents halfway to Kithay, with my father sleeping in a ham - mock and my mother gam - ... playing po... bridge with the natives?" he snorted a short, somewhat hysterical laugh despite his problems with forming the sentence, then looked nonchalatant again. "No, I do not think they will have any money in a good while," Aresalde drawled nonchalatantly and smiled wanly. Out of prudency or politeness or whatever, it seemed he did not intend to ask about the unimportant bit and instead returned her gaze. "It's almost am - using. To be killed by incompetent fools because they in their incompetence failed to check if my parents were in town or if you were your older sister." His tone indicated that he did not overly enjoy the uproarious nature of the whole mess, however.



Dev
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 09:00 pm - She failed to suppress a smile, but flavoured it with a hint of compassion. "Perhaps they'll find you parents", eventually. "...get the word to them in some form or other. At least they'll wait a few days." Unless they had already got bored with that tactic with her.

"Perhaps it's not just the money, but a... personal vendetta of some sort." She shrugged, but stopped as the chain took to itself her movement. Bad position. "Not that I have any thoughts on what that vendetta could be about." Not any specifics, anyway.



Wyldsong
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 09:08 pm - "Oh, there's that of course," Aresalde admitted and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. His father especially had annoyed plenty of people in his... youth, whenever that had been. Always everywhere, grabbing lost stuff from in front of other treasure hunters' noses, outwitting people who thought he was just an idiot nobleman with a bad aim and so on... and his mother, egads, his mother...

"Well, supposing it's that and not the money, I surely don't know why they'd capture both of us," he said and shrugged. (Besides, they didn't tell him much about whatever they did. He didn't even know where they had gone!)



Dev
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 09:17 pm - "I'm sure they have their reasons", she said dryly and fell silent, trying to carefully shift her position into a more comfortable one without making a too metally noise. Frankly, her foot was falling asleep under her weight.



Wyldsong
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 09:24 pm - "I almost hope so. It's terribly depressing to be caught by people who don't even know what they're doing," he said edgily and defiantly toward the door, yet without raising his voice at all. Aresalde sighed and looked at Ann again. "What's there to do here, except moonbathe and sleep?" he asked in a bored manner that lacked innuendo.



Dev
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 09:41 pm - "Eating. At times. Mainly the plotting of possible escape-routes and dying of boredom."

She finally gave up on subtlety and lifted a bit up off the mattress, moving her numbing leg to a favourable position and catching the sliding blanket with both hands (for lack of choice), all the time making the most horrible clinging noise that scraped at her nerves. The noise remained a harsh reminder of her failures.



Wyldsong
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 09:46 pm - He sighed. "Better than nothing. Especially the plotting," he said with a pondering look to him. "How much have you figured out?" Aresalde asked and winced a bit at the clinging, yet refrained from mentioning it. No, he found the idea of escaping very... inviting, if nothing else. Just in case the idiots decided they wouldn't want to wait. He didn't intend to tell her he could do a trick or two, not just yet. It was something he was a bit nervous about.



Dev
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 10:01 pm - Ann hesitated visibly before she managed to catch herself. Did she trust him? No, but that was self-evident. On the other hand, he could just be her ticket out of here. There would be no going back, if she couldn't handle this on her own.

"I've had a couple tries already", she then said in a rather disheartening tone, before moving the blanket aside and lifting her wrists up, up next to her face and those staring dark eyes. The iron manacles seemed quite sturdy, but showed a hint of orange rust here and there (not very visible in the dark).



Wyldsong
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 10:13 pm - He nodded, although he had already guessed as much. Then, after a moment's hesitation on his part, he asked, "What's the lock like?" His tone was still nonchalantant, though the corner of his mouth twitched a bit. He masked the look of slight embrassment quickly.

He also looked up at the window and contemplated. "Although, that might be a bit hard to get through."



Dev
Thursday, September 18, 2003 - 10:28 pm - "It's pickable... With a tool." It was pathetic. She could imagine the simple machinery of the solid-looking piece of metal-work in her mind, but couldn't twist herself to a position to open it with the wire she had snatched on her brief visit to the outside. Basically, she had to open the lock to get it open.

"The only way out is through that door and the brutes." She gave a brief description on the part of the house that she had seen on her two trips out of the cell. She seemed to have a keen eye for detail.



Wyldsong
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 12:50 am - Aresalde nodded and imagined it in his mind, having not seen it personally. After a moment, he shrugged.

"Well," he said and looked at his hands. "We'll tackle that obstacle and the ones after that when we get there - soon, I hope," the youngster sighed and stared at the door, contemplating. If they could catch the brutes when they were asleep, he could maybe... why not. "I'd have a bit of something in my coat pocket, but it's not something I can pick stuff with. Though it is sharp enough to cut rope, I would wager."



Dev
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 01:20 pm - Ann raised her eyebrows a tad. "Handy." Though not in her case, which brought her to the next question: "As we're in the subject of lock-picking, have you any experience in that field?" But that wouldn't get them out of here. "And can I rely on you in close-range combat? Forgive the straightforwardness of my inquiries, but the matter is... of a pressing nature."

She wasn't sure at what point had she developed an element of trust towards her cellmate. Perhaps she was becoming a bit desperate - and that meant haste and more mistakes. She needed to cool down, get her bearings and get the 'krek out of that piece of iron monstrosity.

He thought that his wrists chafed? A reddish brown trickle of dried blood surrounded her wrists in uneven patterns, some of it hastily wiped away when it was still dam - p. She kept the worst out of sight though. Too bad she couldn't pick a lock with her teeth. She reminded herself to train to that at some point, if the possibility would ever arise.

Wyldsong
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 04:39 pm - Aresalde looked up in surprise. "Now that's odd. I was about to ask the sam - e things," he mumbled and tried to twist his hands, but they were simply too well-tied to allow him so manipulate anything. "I have... mm, picked up a few complimentary skills here and there," the youngster said and cleared his throat as if he was talking about his laundry, not something that a boy that clearly sounded as if he was from the fam - ily of a minor noble or even a university student would conceivably know how to do.

"I would feel more comfortable with even a barstool to slide the odds to our favour, certainly, but as things stand..." he shrugged again and sighed. "Can you move your hands enough to cut me free?"

A nagging voice told him they should maybe wait for a while, but he ignored it.



Dev
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 04:51 pm - She rocked and twisted her firmly locked wrists from side to side, to the point of agony, none of which becam - e visible on her face though, and shrugged.

"It's possible. It won't hurt trying." Much. Unless they were caught in the act. The dawn-shift was still far away though, but she couldn't be sure how Aresalde's coming had changed the routines. Yes, she was hurrying again and no good would come out of it. The notion darkened the faint ray of hope into something less pleasant.



Wyldsong
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 05:01 pm - "Much," he added verbally, unaware that she had thought it already. He edged a bit closer, turning so that she might fish the bit of steel he usually used to sharpen his charcoal with. This meant it was sharp, and although it had originally been part of his flint and steel -kit, he preferred the piece to knifes. "It's there with he flint. A little leather case with a button."



Dev
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 05:21 pm - A very, very short moment was dedicated to the thought that she might be dealing with a mind-reader of some sort, but the notion passed before it could take root.

Ann wondered for a moment if she should look at least a bit embarrassed while fumbling through someone else's clothes. In a way she was ... to an extenct ... but mostly because of the actual fumbling-bit. Such (unintentional) gracelessness and indignity. And in the presence of someone, who she just couldn't figure out, not with the standards she had been raised to understand.



Wyldsong
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 05:31 pm - The leather case was indeed in there - under a brochure of some sort, a few coins, a little paper bag full of something and another case of some sort, only it was made of metal. Aresalde did not seem to mind the intrusion, and he didn't look like he would utter a flirtatious comment or look at her in the sam - e manner. He was more nervous about the door, it seemed - but nothing was afoot.



Dev
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 05:57 pm - My, they had indeed been less thorough with him. Would think that they'd learned by now from their experiences with her. 'They', indeed. She needed a nam - e for the unseen threat pulling the strings of this puppet-theatre. A nam - e and a face to maim.

"This it?" she asked, clutching the case with her right hand and holding it up and visible. She had had to lift to her feet to get into a suitable position - and the solid-looking piece of metal that locked her hands together nearly unmovably didn't make it easy to reach into a pocket.

She was wearing a brown men's tunic and breeches. Luckily she hadn't kicked at her captors all that much, because otherwise she might have her feet tied together as well. Like a hunting trophy fresh from the forest.



Wyldsong
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 06:30 pm - "Yes," he nodded and brandished his hands casually for her to cut, hoping he didn't end up chained himself. If she slipped a little with the bit of steel, he didn't mind - getting beheaded or worse was definitely a less preferrable option in any case.



Dev
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 06:54 pm - She manipulated the case open with nimble fingers and managed not to cut herself with the sharpness of the object inside. The exercise was rubbing some of the scabs open under the harsh iron, but she seemed completely concentrated in the task, the pain manifesting in the stiffened sides of the mouth, the narrowed dark eyes and breathing that had halted for a while as she cut through the rope, new blood (not his) trickling towards her elbow.



Wyldsong
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 07:05 pm - "Thank you," he sighed as the ropes snapped and blood began to surge unham - pered into his hands. After a few twists of the wrists, which resulted in much snapping, he took back the steel and the case. "Now, let's have a look at those, shall we?" Aresalde said, glanced at the door suspiciously and then lowered his gaze at the manacles. "What was it that you were going to use for these?"



Dev
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 07:15 pm - She stepped back and leaned her back to the wall as if suddenly tired. "Yes... well", she said in hushed tones. Her tunic was stuffed inside her breeches and she proceeded to pulling the cloth out so that eventually a twisted piece of wire fell out, of about the length of her forearm.



Wyldsong
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 07:30 pm - "Mm. Perfect." Aresalde inspected the wire and then the manacles' lock. It was simple, as she had indicated, which at least told him to expect she was a shady character - about as shady as he was, or possibly a bit shadier. She couldn't be that much shadier, and Aresalde had taken after his father when it cam - e to matters of law.

Not that it mattered to him, as long as he got out of here. "Alright, here goes," he mumbled, toyed with the wire for a moment and then took a hold of the manacles, blinking when he felt some moisture. "You're bleeding," he said almost conversationally as he duelled with the lock.



Dev
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 07:53 pm - "...yes, I've been... struggling to get to the... lock." She needed not mention her self-evident failure separately and concentrated instead to ignoring the pain and diverting her attention to the matter of getting out of the cell and the house, preferably in one piece. All her strategies seemed to be flawed in some way.



Wyldsong
Friday, September 19, 2003 - 08:03 pm - He nodded and said nothing more about it, instead focusing on the lock in the sam - e manner she concentrated on ignoring the pain. His brows were furrowed, and his fingers shook a little, and he found himself cursing that he didn't have one of mother's scrolls with him. One or fifteen of them, considering what she'd told him about the guards.

The lock snapped finally, and Aresalde let out a triumphant hiss in the form of a sharp exhale. He knew how he'd get the door open, were there a suitable space between the fram - e and the door itself, but the guards were a different matter should they be just outside the door. That in mind, he sat back down on the ground and eyed her. "Next obstacle. The guards."



Dev
Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 01:26 am - She stared at her free wrists and brought them close to her face, not daring to touch them yet. She frowned and ignored Aresalde's question for a moment, taking a step towards the window and steadying her balance, finally moving to the only light-source in small, smooth and very silent steps.

She brought her hands into the light and saw the beginnings of an infection swelling up the joints. No wonder the manacles had started to feel tighter.

Just perfect.



Wyldsong
Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 09:36 am - Aresalde eyed the door but made a glance at the other, which then turned into a stare.

He looked away at the door again and shook his head. "How did you get past the door the first time?" he asked, regarding the wire. It seemed strong enough, but he would have to protect his hand with a bit of cloth if he were to try and grab the bar and lift it... which would still be pretty painful and... things.

The other option could wait.



Dev
Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 12:45 pm - Ann padded back to the dark end of the cell just in case someone outside would hear her voice coming from an unappropriate direction.

"The thug who entered with a food-tray was carrying a knife, so I used it against him and cut my myself free", she started, accounting her side of the story in a rather flat tone, flexing her hands around very slowly. "I would have won the duel with the second man, but I was surprised from behind by another."

"Yes... that was the first. They only used a padded chain after that, so I got a stranglehold on a careless one - I think he was the one who surprised me from behind before. Anyway, lucky me" - and lo, here was sarcasm in the air - "someone in the hall shot me with a dart. Poison, apparently, because I was knocked cold. I don't know if I was out for only a moment, but I was hungry enough for a day to have passed by when I awoke with that metal contraption around my wrists."

She breathed slowly in and out as if calming herself, even though her voice hadn't faltered in any point.

"But no, I never actually got to opening the door by myself. You wouldn't happen to be carrying a couple of clean hankerchiefs, would you?" she then continued, as if there was nothing strange in her claiming to have battled several grown men.



Wyldsong
Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 06:57 pm - He smiled at this, remembering very well a few stories of his mother and her feistiness. He'd always taken those stories as the truth, and considering what these people had done to Ann (along with everything else he had gleam - ed from here mere demeanour and behaviour) sounded about right. He nodded. "I have a clean one," Aresalde said quietly and slipped his hand deep into his pockets, searching for this and that before finally brandishing a large, red-yellow-blue-white handkerchief.

In the mean time he continued to eye the door, touching it once as if to feel it. Thick, certainly, solid, yes - he couldn't say if it was mahogany or polished oak or whatnot without knocking or seeing it in daylight, so he had benefited absolutely nothing from this gesture.

He inventoried everything he was carrying, in the secret pocket and the normal pockets alike. One sharp steel piece, flint, assorted coinage... one signet ring, and some miscellanious things that would have been useless unless he had done some heavy work...

...well, he pondered, the wire should do then. Good for strangling, anyway.



Dev
Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 07:24 pm - She wasn't about to dip her wounds in the questionably clean drinking water she had shoved in the corner, but instead accepted the handkerchief most graciously - "Thank you." - and started wrapping it around her right wrist, which was in worse shape.

She then ripped a strip of cloth from the hem of her long shirt and braced her knuckles with it, her expression rather stern in the dimness. Was it getting a bit lighter outside?



Wyldsong
Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 07:29 pm - "You're welcome," he said and edged even closer to the door without ever looking away from it. Aresalde exam - ined it for a moment longer before twisting the wire into a U-shape, then ripping a bit of his shirt as well. He further ripped them into two different pieces and then stuck the wire partially through the small gap between the door and the wall - not far enough to cause alarm. "How ready are you for a possible quick escape and very certain violence?"



Dev
Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 07:53 pm - After getting her knuckles and wrists covered, she made a visible attempt not to cringe as she balled her fists. Frowning, she struck the air in front of her as if at an invisible foe and went through a maneuver in quick and smooth motions, which looked almost snakelike. This went on for a moment, getting more focused and angry with every twirling parry, strike and step, before ending as suddenly as it began.

Feeling refreshed, she seemed to remember Aresalde's presence again and looked at him, finally answering the question as if nothing had happened. "I'll manage. You have a plan?"



Wyldsong
Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 07:58 pm - "No," he said with a shrug and a slightly impish, yet totally polite and no-nonsense (strangely enough) look on his face. "If you would like one, we should make it up fast. That is supposing that this," he tugged on the wire, "will work, of course."

He glanced at it and almost wondered. If she was like that, and he was like this, why... oh, better not.



Dev
Wednesday, October 1, 2003 - 11:00 pm - "All I can come up now is to storm them and catch them unawares", Ann spoke softly and shrugged, having trouble picturing the strategy in her mind when she had no idea who she was working with.

And dam - n, her wrists were hurting like krek. She was afraid that it was impairing her thinking, throbbing away like that, as if she had no skin between the cloth and muscles.



Wyldsong
Wednesday, October 1, 2003 - 11:23 pm - "...well," said Aresalde, "can't argue with that," he ended and slipped the wire through the door... and got the other end back to himself. After he was sure it was enough - and it barely was - he tied the ends of the wire together. Next he tied the first piece of cloth on the wire and the second on his hand.

He was right. It hurt to lift the wooden bar, even if it didn't seem to be a very thick or heavy one. But he got it high enough on that end.

"Come on," he croaked. "Charge the door. All your weight."



Dev
Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 04:07 pm - "Don't hit them in the..." she started hurriedly, in hushed tones, but stopped to glance at him as if checking if her language was improper in some way. "...in the 'nads. They have cod pieces." She had hurt her knee on the second attempt. They had learned fast.

She didn't stall any longer and instead charged forward shoulder first, eyes mere slits and teeth bared.

They used to call her Wildcat when she was small - more beast than little miss perfect manners, she always said. It was an asset.

After a dull "thump", the door burst open, swinging smoothly on well-oiled hinges and brought out a thoroughly cross killer rolling out.



Wyldsong
Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 04:17 pm - Good Lord, thought Aresalde as the plank said "cracksnap" and Ann bursted out like she was starved and craving eyeballs to chew on. Right. Leave the ''nads' alone, he thought again and improvised a quick garrote from the wire as he moved to assist Ann.


A moment later, Aresalde was rubbing his chin and spitting some blood. At least he was in a better order than the two others - he'd strangled his own, but Ann's... well, he didn't really want to think about it. She didn't talk a mean talk for no reason at all.

Instead of stating the obvious, he glanced around and tried to decide where the others would be coming from.

"Where to?" he asked the more knowledgeable party.



Dev
Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 05:13 pm - She had received a rather nasty blow to the side of her head right as she was punching. She had sought to (merely) maim, but had... slipped and... well. The lad wouldn't be getting up with his throat over there in that unnatural twist.

A limp marked her walking as a rapidly swelling bruise marred her cheekbone. Her eyes shone with tears, but it seemed to have little to do with the massacre and more with her hands that she was swinging about with an agonized look on her face.

"Fricking 'krek bastards rip out yer eyes frick that smarts", she muttered under her breath, looking more or less insane as she glared around the smallish, but elongated cham - ber that had two doors on the long side (their hideaway's doorway was wide open, but the one near it remained closed). Opposite them were two more of the similar kind and the other end of the room had a door.

The room was furnished quite comfortably in fact, a table with a card-gam - e half-finished and chairs, but no couches for the guards to fall asleep on. Ann pointed at the far-end door and fell silent, drawing a hissing breath in, as if to start the moan all over again, but she remained quiet after all.



Wyldsong
Thursday, October 16, 2003 - 05:44 pm - Aresalde frowned and tilted his head a bit at her. "Tell me if you need help," he said firmly yet politely and crouched to search the one he had garroted. The little dagger that looked good for cutting finger nails and not much more he pocketed and stuffed into his boot, covering it with his pant leg.

The baton he eyed like he might actually use it in getting out. "Shall we?" he asked quietly and already walked toward the door, his steps gentle and quite quiet.



Dev
Thursday, October 30, 2003 - 11:55 pm - Her silence made the arms-flailing-about maneuver look like a disturbed mime act. Her narrowed eyes were of a pale gray, pupils reduced into small dots, and her hair was indeed of a dishevelled quality, and represented a color of light brown, falling beyond her shoulders down her back a bit past the region of her shoulder-blades, thinning a bit towards the end. Her hair looked like it wanted to spell "tangle."

She managed to reply with an appreciating nod to his offer of help, but retained with the request until after he had uttered the next suggestion, calming down her movements in the process. She didn't quite manage to stand still though.

Prancing to the right, pointing at "her" corpse, she said, "First. Check him. As well." She didn't have enough finger-dexterity anymore, a revelation which sent chills down her spine - as the condition, if it continued, could seriously ham - per her livelihood.



Wyldsong
Friday, October 31, 2003 - 12:06 am - He turned and watched the body, nodding ever so slightly to himself. "Alright," Aresalde acknowledged and moved, hesitatingly, to rummage through the man's pockets. He had to tell himself repeatedly not to look at the man's head and neck.

Aresalde cast a glance at her thoughtfully as he studied the insides of the man's pocket. As for Aresalde, he sported reddish-brown hair and very light blue eyes that seemed to focus on everything analytically. There was a casual logic to him and his sharp-featured face.

"Keys," he mumbled. "Is there a locked door here somewhere, do you know?" Aresalde asked and brandished another baton without taking his eyes off the keys. There was another dagger, heftier than what he had just taken, on the floor.



Dev
Friday, October 31, 2003 - 12:53 am - She wiped her eyes with her sleeve, a gesture that managed not to irritate them further, but didn't help much either.

"Must be. Didn't bump into one though." Yet. She was getting exceedingly nervous about the door leading out, or rather of whatever fate waited outside. Was the attempt doomed as surely as its predecessors? At least no-one had stormed in yet, even though that brought in mind images of minions of this unseen puppet-master lurking behind the door, waiting for the pair. Regardless of the absurdity of the thought, she did indeed feel like a helpless puppet, not to mention an evergrowing paranoia whispering into her subconscious. The little flicker of hope kept her going though, going, in fact, towards the door at the end of the room, without a second glance at the weapon she wouldn't be able to wield properly.



Wyldsong
Friday, October 31, 2003 - 11:37 am - Aresalde put the baton back on the ground with an evergrowing concerned frown on his face. Had she really lost that much control over her hands? If there was enough pain, certainly, it was probable.

Without another thought he rose to his full height and kept on going toward the door. He wanted out, before he got pissed off enough to the dastardly. And, perhaps more importantly, before anyone could get in their way.

As Ann had indicated the door opened to a room that had two other doors, stairs and balcony.

Balcony or stairs?