Freedom, or something like it: Session 3<< Back to Game Logs After being taken from the communal cell, Gwind was unceremoniously dumped in a much smaller cell. There were some few slaves in the cells nearby, but what she did notice that they were all 'special' in some way. A minotaur, a thri-kreen, and many other non-humanoids inhabited the cells, looking despondently back at her as she passed. She wanted to know what was going on, but the guards wouldn't talk to her at all, only responding to her queries with cuffs with their prods. Finally they threw her in the solitary cell, leaving her there to ponder where everything had gone wrong. Meanwhile, the slaves made their way down the corridor, in full flight from the guards behind them. They knew that they had to find a sanctuary to hide or at least put something between them and the guards before they were run down; these new guards didn't seem the same as the ones that they had subdued. These seemed more professional and better equipped- from the spears that the guards in the forefront carried tipped with obsidian, to the crossbows that the ones in the rear carried. They exuded menace as they came after the escapees- not at full speed, but keeping formation as they followed. Rut rounded the corner, and saw more cells down the hall, and a strong door to his right. Though the door provided more resistance, if he could get through it, they could put it between them and the pursuers, so he put his shoulder into it, trying to knock it open. But he was too slight to make this work, and bounced off of the door. "Xav!" he yelled. "Break it down!" The half-giant picked up speed as he ran down the corridor. He caught a glimpse of an outline in the wall, and realized that they were running right past a concealed door. But without knowing what it was, or if it was locked, he chose to go the way that Rut had already run, bringing his shoulder down to rush the door. Just before the thundering half-giant reached the door, Rut heard a click from it- like the unlocking of the door... Xav hit the door with his full might- finding very little resistance as the door flung open as he hit it. Stair lie before him, and he knew that he could not slow down in time. So he continued on into the darkness, down the stairs. In the spare light in the new corridor, he made out a door at the end of the hall, so tried to use his momentum to carry him through, for he saw light under the door. This time, he solidly connected, and there was a great, deep sound as he connected. The door gave- but it didn't break; he considered himself lucky that his shoulder held out as well as it did with his speed; that door was quite solid! The others followed behind Xav. Rut wondered for a moment how the door had opened. He saw another corridor leading to the left, but chose to lock the door behind them (cutting off the other escapees behind them) following his cell mates. As they came to the solid door, it was very evident that it was made to keep someone out- or in. But before they could make more observation that that, darkness descended. Right before falling unconscious, Rut noted that he felt the pull of magic in the corridor... Gwind had heard the commotion from down the hall, and saw as a few slaves even ran past her, but no one would tell her what was going on. As she strained to see past her cell, a figure walked into view, very close to her cell door. She immediately backpedaled, moving to the back of the cell. "It seems that you find yourself in a bit of a bind," he said. She saw that he wore a rough spun cloak, but she could also make out that beneath that was more sumptuous clothing, barely hidden by the over garment. She didn't reply, looking at him suspiciously, awaiting someone to come by as they always did. "Don't be afraid to speak- you won't be heard, and we won't be disturbed. Listen." And she did, hearing nothing. Indeed, it was hard to see anything beyond the cell, as if she was looking through water at night time. "It seems you have me at a disadvantage." "I'd say so," he replied, a hint of a smile on his face. He wasn't unpleasant to look at, though not handsome by any stretch of the imagination. Merely forgettable, other than the hooked nose, if you went by appearance. But she also could feel a draw from him- like her former mentor, he possessed that strength of presence and character that you had to pay attention to. "My name is Hannto." "I am Gwind," she said. "What do you want?" "Ah, straight to the point. Let me turn that on its tail, and ask what you want." "To get out of here?" she stated, as if that should be obvious. "I meant, in a more metaphysical sense," he replied, unaffected by her tone. "You see, I'm the reason you're here. Here as in this cell- not here as in Tyr. They knew not what you were; so I made a push to get you segregated." "Why?" "You can tell a lot about a person from how they adapt to new information. For instance... you asked why. Not how, nor the more general what of the taken aback," he said, pleasure in his voice. "You traveled with another, a preserver. He told you many things- you came to trust him." Gwind nodded, and he continued, "But in the end, he betrayed those things when near death, and that shook you. Who can you trust, and what is true?" "I will not be so insensitive to your plight as to say that you can trust me, but only that you will, in time." "You have power," Gwind spoke up. "Are you a defiler, or a preserver?" "Those are mere titles, brought about by the change of magic to what it is today. Athas was not always like this- and I mean to change it. To do so, I need people that are of a mind to change it for the better beside me. I think you can be a tempering force on the team that I am gathering." "I noticed that you didn't answer my question." "For there is no true answer, as you've always seen. Your mentor professed to be a preserver, but in the last few moments of his life, defiled." Gwind nodded, looking down. The she looked back into his eyes. "Fair enough. Then do you use your power to hurt, or to harm?" "Again, it depends on the situation. To answer your true question, I am neither selfless, nor totally self-centered. I just am. And I want better for Athas, and in the process of making it so for me, want others to experience it also. Not to exert power, necessarily, but because it will make it easier for me. That is as much truth as I can give you." "And how am I to know that it's truth?" "How do you know that anything is true? I can, however, give you certain assurances if you do agree to help." "What kind of assurances?" "I have come across in my studies, ways of binding two like individuals together. This allows for a link between them, that allows me to aid you at need, and for us to converse. This binding is not lightly made, and should show that I do not view your aid lightly, for you can be used against me, if it came to that." "As long as you get me out of here, I can agree to that." "On that note... your service will require that you bide a while. But things will be better, that I can assure you." "Agreed," Gwind said. And Hannto raised his hand, the power around it becoming visible even to her as he held out his palm towards her forehead, and after a flash of the worst pain that she had ever experienced, everything went black... Rut awoke to find himself laid on a stone table. His companions were not in sight, but he did see a figure watching him from the corner. "Good, you awaken," the figure said, as he came to his feet. Rut instantly took inventory of the man that stood before him. He was of average height- definitely no more than 6 feet, a probably a couple of inches less. What he saw of the man's frame was spare; he held a nondescript gray shift around him closely, though Rut could see a little of what was beneath the cloak. From that little bit, he could tell that this was no ordinary guard, for he caught the glimpse of something metallic. His face was unattractive, though not overly so; there was actually some sort of authoritative presence that he held with a disdainful air; a touch of sarcasm touched his curved lip. What made him unattractive was the large hooked nose that was his only distinguishing feature. His bald pate caught gleam from the spare torchlight. "My name is Hannto," he said with no preamble. "Am I to thank you for spiriting us away from the guards? However dramatic that might have been?" "Just so," he answered, the lips curving into a smile. "And for what, you may ask? One of your 'companions' recovered something of mine; that's what put me on to you." "And all of this for that item? It must be valuable indeed- which companion was that?" Rut returned. "No, no. Not all for that, though indeed it is a part." He held up a hand in abeyance. "But let's take a different tack. I sense you are touched by one of the Sorceror-Kings. I taste a bit of Hamanu's power about you?" Rut raised an eyebrow. He looked deeper at this Hannto, and did sense some power clinging to him, though nothing more than that. "That was true at one point. But no longer." "Ah, I thought so," the stranger said, nodding. "Myself, I was a servant of Kalak. I ... disappeared off the grid a while ago. As I'm sure you know, the Sorceror-Kings dispense their power in a dribble from a clenched fist. This is because of their fear of their servants. Then to keep them in line, they play them against each other in intrigue." Rut found himself nodding in agreement unconsciously. "I played the game for a while, and became good at it. But I've always been good at ferreting out information; I have a thirst for it. And when I found out information about what Kalak intends, and what it boded for myself, and for Athas, I balked. Especially as I did more research and found out there was another way." "Preservers, defilers... labels. All of that looks at the symptoms of the problem- not at the true source. I know you know of the Dragon of Athas, and how the Sorceror-King fuel him. But I also know that you don't know that he was once one of them! Come to ascendancy, he parlayed his new power into this system that we have now, lording it over his former peers, as they now lord it over us. Kalak intends to do the same. That is what this whole celebration is about- Kalak wants to use the blood and power brought forth by the sacrifices in the arena to power his ritual; eventually sacrificing the whole arena in his bid for power!" "I've been working against this since I found out. I have... pieces on the board, and we will disrupt this work. But some of my pieces have been taken from the board- which is where you come in." "Sounds pretty dangerous," Rut said. "And just for someone else who wants the power for themselves." "It is dangerous," Hannto admitted. "But I don't want the power just for me. It is true that I seek a path that will give power, but not as the Sorceror-Kings have it. For Athas was not as it is always. I want to return it to how it was. And at that point, power that does not kill Athas... that does not call the failing of the sun that sustains us... and that provides more power than the Sorceror-Kings could imagine... will be available. I seek those who would work with me for this purpose." "How do I know you speak the truth? How do I know that you don't serve Kalak still?" "If I did serve him, would you have awakened? And as for the truth, that is a nebulous thing." "It's hard to know who to trust. Especially in light of my experience with Hamanu." "That is a truth that cannot be denied. However, I have discovered a way to prove intent- at least to a limited degree. It will give a sympathetic link between us, and allow you to at least know that I do not value your help lightly. It will also give you access to my power, in a way that the Sorceror-Kings would not dare to allow. I would be remiss not to say that it does involve no small amount of pain. But it is your choice, which should say something about my intentions." "And if I choose not to accept?" "Then I will leave you to your..." he cocked his head, listening. "... very short fate. For I don't think that those guards want to just capture you at this point." "And what if I agree? Will you get me out of here?" "Actually, your service will require that you stay. For that piece that your companion found will allow me to disrupt the ceremony. I'll need you to get your companions to carry them into the arena. There will be a grand melee that I am more than sure that you will be able to survive. When there are only twelve left, they will stop the melee, and begin the fight for grand champion, bringing out the personal champions of Kalak. Those are who I will strike at him through, as they are his link to the ritual, and his vulnerability. Get as close to the royal box as possible, and I will do the rest." "What about after Kalak is deposed? What then? You will take power?" "I can't take direct power- I am known here in Tyr. But I will act through you- as a hero of the revolution, you will have no small amount of influence. Meet me after it is all done, and we will plan the rest. If you make it to the stairs under the royal box, I will be able to spirit you away." "Very well... I don't have much choice do I?" With Rut's acceptance of the terms, Hannto walked around the stone wall to his right, beckoning Rut to follow. Around the wall was a fireplace, and Rut's companions, soundly asleep on the floor. Two chairs were in the corners of the room, and in one of them sat the genasi that had been in Rut's cell earlier. "Gwind," Hannto said as the genasi rose, "this is Rut, another recruit. I believe you two know each other, if only fleetingly. As you can see, she is in no ill health having taken me up on my offer, so I give that as further evidence of my good will." "Is this true?" Rut asked, to which Gwind nodded. "So, I suppose we should do this, then," he said, resigned. Rut felt the pull of power, even as he saw it visibly coalesce around Hannto's hand as the mage gestured towards his forehead. He greyed out with the pain, the room going out of focus for an interminable time. Closing his eyes, he sank into the chair, assimilating what had just happened. After a moment to catch his breath, he could sense that there had been a change. A subtle link, unlike anything he experienced when first he took his pact, but he could see in it the roots of the same magic. "I trust you two, with your considerable wits to explain something to the others. We don't have time for anything other than that. The guards will come in a moment- let them take you. They will do no harm; I have paved the way. In the arena tomorrow, I will communicate with you when the time is right; during the finals, my pawns will strike, but that is just a diversion. You two will be the lynchpins from which I will strike at Kalak." The pair nodded. "I say just let them awaken in the cells, once we get there. We can fake coming from unconsciousness well enough," Rut said after a moment's thought. "So be it," Hannto said. Then, with a slight pull of power, he was gone. Soon after Hannto's disappearance, the door was flung open, and the guards that had chased after them were there. "Give up, and come with us," the commander said. Rut and Gwind held up their hands and nodded, but could see an almost palpable disappointment on the commander's face; he'd wanted them to resist, to have any excuse to visit vengeance on them. But their surrender meant he was bound by whatever Hannto had done to smooth their way. The slaves were thrown back into their cell, though this one was at the end of the hall, rather than the middle as they were before. The act of being bodily thrown into the cell, along with the noise that the guards made awoke them jarringly from the slumber in which they had been placed. "Wha's going on?" Xav asked, his mind still muddled with cottony fog. "I guess we'll find out," Rut answered, shaking his head. The cell door was closed, a contingent of guardsmen outside the door. "You will find that we are less forgiving than your former jailers; your performance made the arena guards call out the militia," one of their new guards said. "As you can imagine, we are less than pleased with this duty; so give us any excuse, and you will find what trained soldiers can do." The prisoners said nothing to this threat, so he continued. "You'll be classified for the grand melee, and the toruney that follows. That would have been found out at processing today, but with your performance, that was skipped." He threw shifts in through the gate; one sized even to fit the half-giant, Xav. "What weapons do you use? Melee and thrown only; the crowds prefer close in combat." After taking their order as if he were taking a meal order in a restaurant, the guards left, though soon they were followed by an actual meal. Not skimpy as before; apparently the bare victuals on the previous day had been only to help shake out the weak from those who would be in the arena. Other than this interruption, even that night, they were left alone, to contemplate what awaited them on tomorrow, and prepare themselves in whatever manner they saw fit... Continued in Freedom: Session 4 >>
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