The Cost of Freedom [PM me]

[Vexxus]

He was scared. He was angry. He...wasn't alone. He had family. Vexxus could not leave him; she had to do something. She looked at his bleeding hands, which had then left blood on his face when he attempted to cover it.

Vexxus opened her pack, taking out the cloth bandages that she had. She took one of his hands gently. He flinched, and tried to pull away, but then allowed it grudgingly. She wiped the excess blood off with a scrap piece of bandage, and applied some ointment to the wounds.

She did not speak then, but went to search the rest of the castle. She knew from what he had said that he would not show her his family easily; so she had to find them herself. It was also likely that she would find something about the curse in some books hidden somewhere in the castle; as no great magician with purpose leaves anything unrecorded.

Vexxus transformed into her light wolf form, a luminescent beast with piercing blue eyes. This both lit her way and allowed her to see better through the animal's eyes. She began looking through the halls. Figuring that she should head down to the lowest level of the castle, (where prisoners were more likely to be held) and work her way up, she began looking for stairs to descend.

[skimaskkass]

When she had left Ithen, he sat with his back against the wall. He merely slumped his head over to one side, transfixed on the bandages on his hands. The bandages, again reminding her of the man that was now dead. They were both kind, but now he knew the biggest difference between them. One wanted to keep him in, and one wanted to take him out. He sighed, sensing that she was going lower into the castle, and closer to his family. He didn't bother stopping her, in fact he... wanted her to free them.

It wouldn't be long before she meets them...

[Vexxus]

Vexxus descended into the lower parts of the castle. The dungeon was dark, and Vexxus could not see anything, even with her luminescent form and enhanced eyesight; unless she was only a few feet from the wall. The darkness almost seemed tangible, as if she could take a bite out of it with her sharp canines.

As she walked down the dark corridor, she neared one of the sides. She could barely see the rusty metal bars, and the occasional stone wall separating cells. This must be the dungeon... She walked carefully, fearing that there may be something on the floor. Just as you might walk with caution in the dark, feeling for anything you might trip over.

Every once in a while, she thought she heard a noise. Of course, being in a dark place sometimes makes one imagine things, so she dismissed the sounds as her own mind playing tricks on her. Vexxus had never been one to be scared of the dark, but this was not a dark that she was used to...

Eventually, she reached what was the end of the corridor, which took a while, since she was walking very slowly. What awaited there was not what she expected.....

[skimaskkass]

This area had a sense of numbness. Frozen in time, dulled senses, and absent feelings of emotion.

As the newcomer walked, life began to sir. The first ones who moved, were also new to the castle. They were only starting to feel the effects of the mighty spells casted upon them. They were soon losing a sense of time, no longer would they know when it was day, and when to sleep at night. Even the rats that could move freely to and from the cells squeaked, and walked with a sense of heaviness.

The only light that could be seen were the glowing eyes that adapted to the darkness, as if trying to seek a savior. They all had the same longing hope. To be free. There was a dozen of them. Many with different colored spheres, some with multiple. The ones that were here the longest merely looked on without even coming close to the cell walls. Though they pleaded with their eyes, they knew there was little hope. As the stranger walked past them, they lowered their heads again to sleep, in attempts to make time pass quicker.

A voice echoed from the end of the hall. It was masculine and strong, massive, yet desperate sounding voice. "Are you the one to save us? If you can't even walk, how can you kill us?" He said, his yellow eyes followed far above the white wolf, as she came slowly closer.

[Vexxus]

"Are you the one to save us? If you can't even walk, how can you kill us?"


The voice came through, masculine and strong. Having thought she saw a pair of reflective yellow eyes glowing in the darkness, she continued towards them at a quickened pace. Thoughts raced through her mind. That must be them...kill them? Do they really think that's what it is to save someone?....I suppose if you were stuck here long enough you would want to....die...
She ripped her mind away from the thought, and went on.

Still moving, she sent thoughts towards the origins of the voice.

"I'm here to save you, not kill you. I'm going to get you out of here."

She reached the bars of the cell. Cold, rusty metal stretched from floor to ceiling. She would have thought that the bars would be rusted away partially had it not been for the fact that she knew the place was enchanted.

She stood with front paws on the bars, and closed her eyes, trying to feel exactly how far they stretched, and where she would get them open.

[skimaskkass]

His voice gave out a deep laugh, a shriek was heard somewhere in the distance by a small creature. The stone beneath her feet rumbled, and loose pebbles moved slightly as the being walked forward. His eyes came down to her level, these eyes were about the size of her head. The eyes became narrow as he tried to analyze her form. After a moment of silence, he was just about to open his mouth to insult her but his train of thought was interrupted, which merely resulted in a heavy breath of air over her.

At the middle of the hall, a familiar voice called out. "It isn't her." Though he didn't yell, his voice carried through the echos of the dungeon hall. It was Ithen. He quickened his pace to catch up with her. He had a torch in his hand, being thoughtful to the fact that it the area may have been too dark for her. But he didn't light the other torches aligned against the neglected wall. If someone did, the figures would be seen.

As soon as Ithen came with the light, the being behind the cell walls seemed to have backed away into the dark corners of his cell. The light hardly touched the mysterious figure, for a moment massive black plates could be seen before the being fully retreated.

Ithen, knowing that he was still there continued. "I haven't..." He hesitated, "I haven't been able to bring anyone here yet." He paused and glanced at the stranger. "She... came in on her own."

The sound of plates moving and flexing was heard from the cell. "What is your name...?" The being's voice directed at the female, as he noticed that lack of information.

Since there was light now, the cell bars that held the voice back could be seen only so far up. As the light didn't travel far enough to see the ends of the bars, and neither could the ceiling be seen in this area. It was apparent that she and Ithen were in a separate room from the normal sized cells, even though she managed to get here in the dark.

[Vexxus]

As Ithen came with a torch, she dropped back to the floor on all four paws. Pondering his words, she tilted her head slightly.

The other being asked her her name. Vexxus sent throughts towards the creature again.

"My name is Vexxusaria, or Vexxus."

Now that there was a torch, she debated transforming back into a human. However, she was hesitant, because she could feel the odd magics at work. Perhaps her altered form had allowed her to pass without difficulty.

[skimaskkass]

The creature behind the shadows uttered words in a different language after she stated her name.

"Used oyutsih ah uri ednis. Ukayih..."

"...Usami etyodot aw enako. Used Vexxusaria ak Vexxus aw eaman on ojonak. In ikihsies."

Ithen listened, and the being finished his foreign words with a growl-like hiss.

"Come Vexxusaria," Ithen said. The creature had told him her name. "My father would not like to be bothered any longer." Ithen used the longer version of her name to sound more formal and polite, his father had told him to.

[Vexxus]

...Father...? Vexxus followed quietly, thinking about all that had come to pass. When they were again in the upper reaches of the castle, she would ask Ithen exactly how this all started. Perhaps that could give her an idea of how to release him.

The two walked back up the corridor, many of the things in their cells making small noises or murmurs, and others shrinking back further from the disturbances. A few rats scurried in front of their path, but kept out of their way. Soon, they ascended the stairs.

[skimaskkass]

As they finally made it upstairs Ithen turned to Vexxus. He looked slightly down as he spoke near the torch light. "Your quite eager to help someone's who's name you don't even know." He didn't tell her his name yet, he wouldn't tell her unless she asked for it.

He continued walking on the floor they met on. Yet he was heading to the only decent room in the castle that was located higher in the castle.

Politely he asked, "Will to be staying tonight?" He said this as if it would someday be morning outside. He didn't want to lead to the higher floor where the room was if she intended to leave.

[Vexxus]

At the mention of not knowing his name, Vexxus returned to her original form once again, and inquired about his name.

"You did not know mine until he told you, and names are but a label to limit us to the ability of that name. But regardless, I must sate my curiosity by now asking you what your name is. I am Vexxus. What is your name?" She turned to look at him, still walking. He was slightly taller than her, but still did not seem like a large person.


((OOC: Sorry I was gone for a bit...travelling/on vacation stuff...busy Dx))

[skimaskkass]

"My name is Ithen Mikelru." He felt eased when he finally told her his name. But he didn't understand why. He went quiet for a moment.

When they reached the end of a hall he halted. One way lead to the entrance where they met, and the other led deeper into the castle. He looked out into the distance, towards the entrance. The maddening idea of "freedom" struck him again. He started to get irritatingly tense again.

"Are you staying tonight or not?" He said impatiently. A second later he caught himself and stood up calmly. Trying to keep secret his deep inhale to keep his composure. The thought of his father telling him to be proper was a very powerful force against his insanity.

[Vexxus]

Deep within her own thoughts, Vexxus took his name into her mind, as you would take a new object, turning it over, feeling its surfaces and making mental notes of the sensations you encountered. She was pulled from her thought by his question. "Yes, I would, thank you. I do not need a room or place to sleep if there is not a spare one. I can stay up for long periods of time." She informed him.

"I would like to look around at some of your books, if I may. There is not a wizard in the world powerful enough to restrain anyone like this without any loopholes, if you're knowledgeable enough about the person himself..." Her words trailed off as she looked around the castle. It was old, she could tell. But there was a certain feeling about it that gave it an immortality that could set one quite astir with questions about its' history.

[skimaskkass]

Ithen chuckled at the thought of spare rooms. "There are spare rooms, but I doubt you want to be staying in them," he remarked, and then paused. "I haven't bothered keeping those rooms clean and I'm afraid little demons have made the rooms into a home of their own." When he said little demons he meant the small furry serpent dragons that she saw earlier. But he assumed that she would at least know that he was exaggerating any threat that might be in those rooms. He was merely stating that the rooms were rotten and disgusting. "Please, I insist." He said, beckoning her to stay in his room with a slight motion of his arms.

He went into the room to show her where she would be staying. The room looked like it would be a decently rich guest room, if it wasn't for all the colors in the texture faded to gray and brown. A bed with a canvas, rug, a single seat sofa seemingly used for reading or contemplating, a balcony with curtains, and a wood and glass door to keep the weather out. There were no cobwebs though, and unlike the other room it also didn't have leaks, mold, moss, dust, or pests. Even if the pests were deemed as cute. There was a bookcase a ways across from the single sofa. It wasn't massive, and was either missing books, or just wasn't filled all the way.

"As for the books..." He said, walking towards the book shelf. "Here they are-- the rest of them in the castle are illegible, but I assure you those books were unimportant for I have read them." He spoke with honesty. But then took one book off of one of the shelves. "...I'm currently reading this one," He looked away at the corner of a ceiling. "I'll be reading this one tonight."

He started to walk out the door, turning his back to her, his wings still crossed behind him by the hooks of the bones. "I hope you find what you're looking for..."


[PM me for questions you want answered in book contents if you pick up any books for your next post.]

[Vexxus]

Vexxus smiled and thanked Ithen for his kindness, "Thank you. I don't really sleep, actually...but you can go ahead and have some time to yourself if you need it. I'll stay here." She walked to the bookcase, looking at the books, all of them seeming pretty fancy, perhaps once being colored vibrantly in reds, greens, and purples, some with intricate gold designs that were now beginning to flake off with age.

She looked at the book Ithen took, not seeing anything special about it in particular. She nodded as he said he was going to read it tonight. Turning back to the shelf, she picks up a faded scarlet book, medium-sized, with the fading gold filigree.