Topic: The Corruption Hidden Beneath the Surface... Subject: now you've gone and done it...
Davena's face settles into a tight lipped smile as she dabs once at her bloodied lip. The two dark-robed men look entirely uneasy with the situation.
"Mistress, shall we..." Hagan begins, but Davena cuts him off mid sentence.
"Silence," she hisses, and he instantly complies. The blonde woman takes a deep breath. "Brother Charl," she requests in a tone like one would use to ask for more wine, "please fetch one of the ghouls for me."
He bobs his head. "Of course, Mistress," he replies, rapidly exiting the room.
Meanwhile, Davena - much stronger than she appears - effortlessly maneuvers Kithran back onto the bed, taking a moment to smooth out the gown as she arranges the garment around the rogue's prone form. The silence of the room is broken by quiet giggling as Charl returns, leading a large ghoul with a particulalry savage - and insane - expression.
Davena looks down at Kithran. "Understand, I could continue to channel D'hurgen's power to hold you still, or we could bind you. But I will not waste my Dark Lord's blessings on such trifles, and I see no need for the crudeness of ropes."
She glances at the ghoul, then back at the rogue. "If you resist again, I will have my companion here bite you. I can instruct him to do so shallowly - but it will be enough to fix you motionless. We can do it every time that you so much as flinch; he does not grow weary. And of course, there are plenty more of his brethren where he came from."
"Each bite will hurt, of course," she states lightly, as if discussing seating arrangements at a dinner party, "but I would be amenable to the acolytes practicing their use of the Dark Lord's gifts of restoration upon you. We can keep you like this... indefinitely, really. That is, of course, assuming that we wish to minimize your discomfort."
Her expression grows very cold. "I would prefer to minimize your discomfort. I would prefer that the events to come are a positive experience for all involved, I truly would. But if you refuse to accept our Lord's blessings willingly, if you insist on making a nuisance of yourself... I can ensure your compliance with a depth of agony that you cannot begin to imagine. Great and powerful men have begged for me to end their suffering, have lost their minds to the agony, have lacked the ability to reason, to speak, to do little but soil their own breeches and wait for death. All that makes you... YOU, will be long gone. Is that truly what you want?"
For a moment, a crack shows in the facade - Davena looks ever so slightly weary. But the crack soon closes, and her expression warms as she takes the rogue's hand in her own. "Kithran," she speaks, "I understand that right now, you wish me dead. You hope and pray for your friends to arrive and save you - but that will not happen. If you ever see your companions again, it will be their reanimated corpses in one form or another; your time with them as you know them now is done."
She stares wistfully into the distance for a moment. "You have been brought here to receive a great gift, Kithran. I would choose for you to enjoy all that it entails, for you to receive the honor and power that comes with it. You do not yet understand, but you will. In time, you will."
She releases the rogue's hand, places it carefully at Kith's side as she stands. "You will receive this gift, whether you wish to do so or not. I have communed with the gods, have spoken with an Oracle of the Sands - you WILL be the one to bring the anchor into the world, regardless of your feelings on the matter. Exactly how that happens is largely up to you, child."
She steps back, and at a gesture, the ghoul steps forward. A droplet of ichor falls from its fangs to the floor. Davena speaks again.
"I will release you from the hold now, "she states. "Once more, I will offer to answer any questions that you may have." She pauses, her expression grows hard and cold again. "I would advise you to stay where you are, however. If you move, the ghoul will bite you - and you will receive your first punishment after. If you were not aware, you will be unable to move or resist, but you will feel absolutely everything. Do you understand?"
With an uttered syllable, the paralysis is gone from Kithran's body. Davena's beautiful, scarred face wears an open, almost hopefuly expression.
Posted on 2019-10-24 at 16:54:02.
Edited on 2019-10-24 at 17:02:53 by t_catt11
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