A soft melody slipped through the cold bars of the cell. The floor was cold, and the walls had a few shallow cracks in them, next to a handful of dark stains. The sky seeping through the window was grey and cloudy. It was probably going to rain. The melody echoed through the halls of the prison, reaching other cells as well. It was a quiet whistling, of a continuous and simple melody, resembling a lullaby.
A young man sat against a wall inside the cell. He had a pale complexion, with red curly hair which fell on his face. the same vibrant red of a ripe strawberry. He had a scrawny build, which was mostly covered by a white straightjacket that held his arms tied at his sides, blocking and covering his hands fully.
A man came walking down the prison's hall, slowly approaching the cell. It was a guard, holding a tray of food. His head was fully covered by a metal helmet, with a narrow slit for his eyes to see through. He wore thick gloves, and metal plates covered by a layer of leather, with a chainmail underneath. He pulled out a key from his belt and opened the lock of the boy's cell, before stepping inside.
The melody had stopped, leaving the cell in cold silence, which was first broken by a few droplets of water falling from the ceiling. The guard knelt down carefully, setting the tray down. On it was a small bowl of white rice, a glass of water, and a piece of bread that was cut in two. The man slowly grabbed a wooden spoon of rice and brought it to the boy's lips. Every movement he made was slow, tense, and thought out. The redhead complied without much protest, swallowing the food with each spoonful that the guard gave.
said the boy after swallowing again, in a calm and almost innocent tone.
He stilled his hand, moving the spoon away from the boy's open mouth. He looked back at the empty hallway quickly, before speaking in a quiet tone.
The boy was silent for a moment, before smiling.
At that the man let out a silent sigh of relief. He didn't know what he was expecting. As if the boy could have any way to hurt him at all. He looked so harmless, which in a way only made his waryness grow.
said the boy simply,
The guard took a step back, once the trail of food was finished, standing up slowly. He didn't know whether to be glad or worried that a relative of somebody so unsettling was roaming free, but nonetheless he pulled out the cell's key, before stepping towards the door. It was only then that he froze. The boy, out of nowhere, had started laughing. It was quiet and cold, creepy to say the least. The man turned around carefully, his eyes widening in fear as suddenly, he was struck by something more than just his waryness towards the boy. Pain struck him like thunder, as Robert collapsed onto the ground.
A room was dimly lit by six pairs of candles, scattered all throughout the medium sized space. At a square table, a young woman sat. She wasn't dressed particularly fancy, unlike some of the other participants. She had light-brown hair, tied in a high ponytail behind her head, a short sleeved dark shirt, exposing her neck and some of her chest, which was adorned with several low hanging necklaces that matched the handful of bracelets at both of her wrists.
At the other end of the table sat a middle aged man, he was fat, wearing an open shirt with his round belly out. His large hand displayed many expensive looking rings. His head was shaved and his dark beard covered most of his neck. Behind him stood two guards, silent but at the ready, as their boss spoke.
said another man, who also sat at the table. This one was lanky, with blue robes and spiky graying hair. He laughed under his breath and reached for a cup that was on the table near him.
At the merchant's right, and sitting across from the brown haired girl, was yet another man: probably in his early thirties, with fair skin, and a lean body. He sat on her chair with practiced elegance, one leg crossed over the other, displaying his black, lace up shoes with a short heel. He wore a white and black tunic with long dark pants and short sleeves. a pinned feather on his shoulder, and a simple but expensive looking necklace with a green gem on it around the man's neck. He also wore a bracelet on his left wrist, seemingly made of silver, and only one ring on that same hand, on his index. It was a metal resembling lead, with the symbol of a star on it. His black hair was slicked back and mostly hidden by a brown sunhat, also with a matching feather on the side. He had a cane laying against his chair. With his right hand, he moved a thin stack of papers on the table, before speaking in a very calm voice.
While the brown haired girl took a second to ponder, the two other men were already signing. Amy was the type of person to compromise, and to accept what she was given, but right now in her mind was only one person, the reason why she was here in the first place. the man she'd give anything for.
She followed suit quickly, and after all four had finished writing their names, all four papers bursted into ashes, as a stack of cards appeared in the middle of the table.
The rain had already been pouring down for several hours, as two men made their way into the apartment. Were they allowed to go search other people's houses? Of course they were. They didn't need to do any more than show the guardian their golden pins with the association of mages's logos to get all the necessary keys. With that kind of authority, no door couldn't be opened.
The first man was quite short, as he walked in front of his colleague and into the residence. The place was large, with real fur carpet, a very recognisable Carsen Wydman, wildly popular in the whole continent, especially among mages. Long red curtains, a small balcony, a shelf filled with several bottles of wine, and in the corner a large made bed with white and crimson sheets, accompanied by a drawer to its side.
said the taller man after the two of them finished a brief search of the place. The black haired superior walked around slowly, scanning for clues under the bed, into the curtains, under the carpet, in the drawer, and even stopped to give a few knocks on each wall, scouting for hidden passages. He found nothing.
The quiet slithering from the dark edges of the room made the young girl shake even more violently. She gasped as after a series of vomit and coughs of blood, the merchant fell from his chair and onto the ground, his two personal guards nowhere to be found. The bald man had already been laying with his head down for almost an hour, his corpse occasionally spasming. Her hand was shaking too badly for her to keep her cards steady, as one slipped on the table. Her eyes widened in panic, and she quickly moved her hand down to try and grab it, but it was too late. A glowing green chain appeared around her wrist,making her hand paralyse. The other end of the chain led to Thamior's cane, as he slowly looked up from his perfectly composed sitting position. He glanced from under his hat with a small smile.
The girl felt a growing pit in her stomach. She wanted to throw up.
desperately looked around the room for an escape, but there was none. It actually felt as if the room was growing smaller by the second. Thamior stood up slowly, and held up his cane, as three glowing green chains were conjured around the necks of Amy and the two unconscious men, all wrapped around his cane's staff.
The guard fell to his knees, as he gasped for air. His screams were quickly muffled as his jaw slowly started vaporizing into sand. His eyes were filled with panic as he watched the red haired boy slowly stand up from the floor. His straightjacket slowly faded away, as he stretched his arms and opened his left fist, revealing a ring around his index, with a lead-like base and a red cross over it.
Amy's screams only grew stronger as her hand started turning into sand, before her whole arms were beginning to vaporize. Thamior firmly pulled on the cane, making the three chained individuals inch closer, while they were being dissolved. The ring in his left hand was pulsing with a reddish glow, as he stepped away from the table. The Goat inched forward suddenly, devouring the souls of the three card players, before it grew exponentially, wrapping around the whole room, engulfing it with darkness. The beast's pitch black interiors wrapped around the space like a blanket. And as he walked back and reached the scale covered wall where the door was previously located, the Goat unwrapped itself from around the space, shrinking back to its normal size. The hat wearing man now found himself inside a prison cell, with a few grains of sand under his heel, and a red haired boy standing in front of them, smiling widely.