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Lady Railly

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Emma peered out from behind a lone rock that covered her completely as she stared at Lorja’s camp. To her surprise, when she had first arrived, there was no-one in sight; just buildings and the unlit campfire. Silence filled the air, and Emma was uncertain as to why that was. Being wary of everything around her - she did*’t want to be attacked suddenly – she studied the camp until she noticed someone appear, almost as if they were inspecting the camp for passers-by. He turned around in the tight area he was in, before darting under and disappearing.

Standing on her tiptoes, Emma could now see a grid lying flat in the place of where the person was; only it was khaki-coloured. It was pretty similar in colour to the sand, but not quite; presumably to make people aware of it in case they stood on and somehow broke it.

“This must be their secret headquarters or something. Probably to plan out the attack of their next victim,” she whispered to herself, smirking before deciding to come out from behind the rock and enter the open view of the camp. She took tiny steps towards the hatch before growing more confident and taking larger strides until she reached the opening. Emma hesitated before entering, though. Her confidence was interrupted by the three words that were written on the note. “Expect the worst,” she murmured, pulling the grid to one side as it groaned and creaked. “Ah, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Closing the grid, she plunged herself into darkness and a second after she realised what a ridiculous choice she had made; going down here was a bad idea, as there could be all sorts of things lurking in the black, ready to pounce. But as she placed her hand forward, she could feel something immediately in front of her; a solid sandstone wall. Emma, now realising how stupid she was to think she was in a dangerous place, chuckled to herself. “This must be where they go to if they get attacked or something,” she thought, smiling in the blackness.

13-May-2012 08:46:20 - Last edited on 19-Aug-2013 22:23:01 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Casually, she reached above her and felt for the iron grid, but her movements soon became more desperate when she kept touching sandstone. She considered shouting for help, but she decided against that; it could alert others – or other things – in the dark.

Unfortunately, Emma did*’t have to cry for assistance in order to be noticed. A short moment later, her hands were grabbed and secured behind her back, and her mouth was concealed by a piece of cloth ripped from her own shirt, which now barely resembled a shirt at all. The girl’s instinct was to scream but she thought better of it; who would hear her anyway apart from her kidnappers? She was being dragged deeper and deeper into the never-ending cave, and although she kicked furiously and tried to wriggle her way out of the strangers’ grasp, she soon realised that there was no escape.

Emma was pulled towards a gigantic room, only dimly lit by a few torches dotted around. The trip to the room was seemingly endless, and what she thought to be her final thoughts were racing through her mind. “This could most certainly be where I die,” she thought as an anxious expression replaced the one of frustration already laced upon her features. She could unfortunately no longer speak or feel, and although she could both see and hear perfectly well, she did*’t bother to take in her surroundings as her thoughts focused one thing: the bag.

The bag.

She did not feel the weight of it upon her shoulders any longer, and now she felt lost. It was almost part of her - all the things she needed for survival, or even to get out of the place were all conveniently there. The only possible explanation to where it had gone - as she had brought it with her when she entered the cave - was that one of the kidnappers had taken it. Opening her mouth slightly, she was about to ask where it had gone before realising that could potentially put her in even more danger.

13-May-2012 08:47:56 - Last edited on 30-Dec-2013 22:20:35 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

It was only a matter of seconds before she was pushed against a sandstone wall, her limbs being forcefully tied with rope - her rope? Emma blinked as she thought back to the previous hours. She could remember crafting that spear and using rope to secure the several sticks together, but it was only a piece, not the full length. Where did that spear go, anyway? Emma decided quickly that she must have dropped it or left it behind somewhere along the way to the dates as her legs were fastened to the wall, the ends of the rope held by four guards. Her eyes now focused on the men standing before her.

Concealed with a piece of dark fabric, their faces were completely hidden - apart from the eyes. Their clothing below the face was... familiar, somehow. For some reason Emma was able to recognise not only the clothing but the eyes... she felt as if she had made contact with them before. But no matter how much she tried in her vulnerable state, she could not work out where she could recall them from, and it certainly did*’t help that they were trying to protect their identities as much as they could with the fabric.

For a moment that seemed to stretch time, the men stared at her, and she stared back at them, confused - expecting them to say something. They only responded by keeping their mouths, which were part of what was hidden under the fabric, closed, which prompted Emma to speak first. Before doing so, however, she thought about what to say. It was no use greeting them with a ‘Hello’ or even ‘Why have you kidnapped me?’ because the former would provoke most likely an unexpected negative reaction, and the latter would be pointless to ask as there was no chance they were going to explain that as an answer to a question.

“I thought you might... you know, say something, seeing as I have no idea what any of this is about, or why the hell you’ve all kidnapped me like this,” Emma started off rather awkwardly.

13-May-2012 08:48:04 - Last edited on 30-Dec-2013 22:23:02 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

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This was, in her opinion, the best thing to say to them - albeit slightly rude, it got her point across quite clearly.

Suddenly, she heard a muffled voice in response - presumably, one of the men’s. “We’re just going to start off by saying that we did*’t say anything at first because we don’t know where to start,” it mumbled through the fabric as one man stepped forward.

“What do you mean?”

“Well... there’s a lot that we need to tell you...” he finally said after another long pause. Emma glanced at the man, and since his eyes were the only feature available to look at, she focused her gaze on them. The shade of aqua, along with the voice, again reminded her of someone, but it was impossible to determine who, and that for the girl was extremely frustrating. She peered at the man in front of the others, willing with her own eyes for him to continue, until he finally let out a large sigh. Emma ducked her head, sighing herself, before she abruptly heard his voice again, causing her focus to shift onto the stranger.

“Aaron was actually working for us,” the stranger began, his gaze dropping to the sandy floor. “He was helping us - or at least trying to. We found him helping you, and we don’t like that. He rebelled against our rules. Our rules are quite simple. You kill everyone, and we don’t kill you. But he helped you, and so the only way we can show you that’s not okay is if we punish him. So he will, inevitably, die.”

“No, please!” Emma cried out as a look of desperation filled her already tearful eyes. Aaron had been the nicest person that had ever stumbled across her in the time she had been in that wretched place, and now he was about to be removed from existence. He saved her life, and what the girl was now realising is that she couldn’t repay him that favour.

13-May-2012 08:48:10 - Last edited on 28-Mar-2014 19:01:43 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

As soon as that thought entered her head, she said something that even startled her, and she wasn’t even sure why she was saying it; after all, she barely knew this man that had saved her from death, but she spoke up anyway.

“Why - why couldn’t you have killed me instead?” Those words left her lips before she could clamp her hand over her mouth, and she regretted them as soon as they escaped.

“We did*’t need you,” the masked man explained easily as if it was the simplest question in the world. “Aaron was the one who was in the wrong, not you. At that time, our priority was only him, not you. We did search your bag after you came back and found two items that were of value to us, but those are the only items we need from you.” He looked back up at her as he revealed the two objects; the golden, all-too-familiar key and the crumpled, stained, ancient-looking map. “It was only a matter of chance, curiosity, and fate that led you back here.”

“So why are you keeping me chained up like this?” Emma questioned, her lips curling slightly and her eyebrows rising. Some of this did make sense to her, but other parts did not. It was clear that Aaron was part of this group and that he had rebelled and therefore he was going to be put to death - despite Emma’s feeble protests - but she wasn’t sure why they hadn’t taken her items. Surely when inspecting an unconscious, perhaps dead human in that area, when food and items in general are scarce, it would be wise to inspect the possessions of that person and pick up any valuables.

“Here’s the deal,” the concealed foreigner began. Emma spotted the corners of his mouth turn up as he smirked. “Since our lovely friend - or ex-friend - Aaron here is no longer going to be part of us, we’ll need someone to replace him.” He stepped forward as the girl resisted eye contact.

13-May-2012 08:48:16 - Last edited on 28-Mar-2014 19:05:55 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“We’ll give you the map and key back...” He stopped for a brief moment to allow that fact to sink into Emma’s brain - even though she thought she could probably guess what was coming, “...if you replace Aaron.”

The life from Emma’s sapphire eyes drained like blood from a corpse as the man continued with his offer. “We’ll need you to work for us. You seem to know what you’re doing; you’ve survived for goodness knows how many weeks it’s been now. And you’ll be especially useful with a map and key. We have no idea what they can be used for in this place which is exactly why we need someone to assist us. Aaron was helping us quite nicely until he began helping you. The same rules will apply to you also; you start helping other people and you’ll get the same punishment as Aaron.” He paused again. “So... deal or no deal?”

The one thought that the eighteen-year-old did*’t want happening became reality. Now she faced an important decision; one that could potentially risk her life.

--

13-May-2012 08:49:41 - Last edited on 28-Mar-2014 19:07:14 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

As the man continued to explain their situation, Emma tried to organise her thoughts in her head. “I could take the offer and then, obviously, get the map and key back,” she mused, her eyes drifting to the sandstone ceiling, “but then it could all just be a trick and I might not get the items back at all. Although it seems their offer is legitimate, and it looks like they’re going to go through with Aaron’s punishment after all…” The voice in her head trailed off as she glanced back to the stranger, who was now walking towards the back of the room which Emma noticed had a switch on it. He flicked the switch and another room immediately opened. Aaron lay there, his hands and feet fastened with rope, which the girl guessed was hers. Two guards dressed in full black stood on either side of his restrained body.

Emma remembered the moment she discovered Scarlett’s body. Her thoughts flashed back - to the moment she knelt and inspected the items she had, to the events that followed up to her discovery, but for some reason she couldn’t remember a tear ever falling from her eyes. This surprised her; Scarlett was Emma’s closest friend and yet she did*’t show any clear signs of sadness. “Perhaps the shock softened the blow,” she thought to herself.

For a moment her gaze met with Aaron’s. She furrowed her eyebrows as she tried so hard to break the contact but somehow she couldn’t. His eyes were so undeniably filled to the brim with fear that Emma willed all the strength she had to try and break the rope that prevented her from reaching him, from helping him, but they were tied too skilfully and she was too weak. Her mouth opened and Emma swore she had previously planned things to say when Scarlett was ever in danger. Things such “She gets hurt and I get hurt too,”, “I’d rather sacrifice myself than let her die,” and “Spare her!” were all phrases she promised herself she was going to use, but they were reserved only for Scarlett.

13-May-2012 08:49:47 - Last edited on 28-Mar-2014 19:07:59 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

Posts: 3,140 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Now that she was gone, and Aaron was here almost replacing her, she felt she would be able to use them in this situation, but no words escaped her lips. It was like at that moment all life had been sucked out of her… like she was meant to work for people as lifeless as the gang who had kidnapped her and Aaron.

The girl thought she could see something else in his eyes. Emma’s heart sunk when she realised that the other hint of emotion hiding in the man’s eyes was guilt. If only she could go over there and tell him how she really felt about the situation, how she really felt about him having to die because his human instincts took over and he helped an unconscious girl who could have been hours or even minutes from someone finding and killing her. If he hadn’t treated her wounds she wouldn’t be there, secured to a sandstone wall, unable to even give the simplest of words to whom she now considered a friend. He shouldn’t have helped her in the first place. Surely she was meant to die at that point where she collapsed after being wounded in the shoulder by an arrow. It was at that very moment when she realised that she should feel guilty for not being able to help him like he helped her, multiple times… and yet, all that she could feel was fear.

She wondered what was going to happen to him. How he was going to get cruelly murdered – or was he going to be given a relatively peaceful end to his life? Surely they would want the most violent death for someone who was as ‘rebellious’ as him. And, as Emma finally unlocked her gaze and stared at the floor, as a single tear silently rolled down her cheek, she understood that if she did*** say anything now, the last conversation she would remember having with him would be the argument about the supposedly poisonous scorpion piece, which Emma now considered stupid.

“Could I talk to Aaron before he…” Emma murmured, the edges of her lips turning downwards to form a slight frown, “…possibly dies?”

13-May-2012 08:49:53 - Last edited on 14-Apr-2014 17:52:43 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

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What were the chances of getting to speak to him alone? she thought immediately after asking the question, sighing internally as she awaited an answer.

“Why would you want to do that? And why do you say ‘possibly’?” the stranger asked, folding his arms and staring at the woman with a slightly curious yet knowing expression.

“Because I want to ask him a few questions before I make the decision. I don’t feel I’m quite ready until I find out some more information,” the girl replied with a hint of arrogance in her voice, feeling the urge to also cross her arms but could not do so because of the restraints.

“I’m afraid that due to safety reasons we cannot allow you and him to be unsupervised. He could free you for all we know, and we don’t want that happening, do we?” he responded, smiling. “You have a choice. We can either keep a couple of guards here to make sure you two don’t escape or we can turn the cameras on and have guards in the next room ready to act in case anything happens.” Emma appeared to be confused to the stranger, so he elaborated. “There are tiny cameras installed in all four corners of this room. Don’t even bother looking for them,” he quickly said as he noticed Emma’s glance to the corner above his head, “as they’re too small to see from a distance.” He paused for a moment. “So, what’s the decision?”

Without hesitation Emma answered, “I’d like it to be just me, him and the cameras, please.”

“As you wish,* the man replied, “although remember to be careful what you say.” A faint clicking sound was heard and all of the guards, including the man who Emma presumed was the leader, exited to the room nearby. Left with an awkward silence, the two travellers faced each other.

“I really did know that there was something suspicious about you,” Emma tentatively started, as her thoughts wandered back to the previous few days.

13-May-2012 08:51:24 - Last edited on 14-Apr-2014 17:53:13 by Lady Railly

Lady Railly

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“I always thought that it was so strange that, in a desert where there’s limited food and water and your main way of getting things is from killing other people, you decided to help me. And then it turns out it was all planned beforehand and that you were going to kill me when you had the chance. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful that you did*’t kill me. There’s no doubting that. Except for the time when you gave me that scorpion to eat.” She paused for a moment as her mind relived that occasion.

“The thing is, I actually did*’t know that it was poisonous. I always thought I was going to be the first to die because of my lack of knowledge. I’m useless at geography and I can’t tell the difference between the tail and the body of a creature such as a scorpion. The only thing I’m good at is healing people, because I was actually trained to do that, before I came here,” Aaron confessed.

*So… what happened to you? Why did you end up working for these people?” Emma inquired, keeping in mind what the masked stranger had warned.

“They made a deal like they did with you; if I helped them, I’d get something in return. For me, that was money.”

“Helped them with what?” Emma watched Aaron waver for a second as she waited for a response.

“…That’s something I don’t think I’m allowed to tell you,” he finally said, looking guiltily at one of the corners of the room that were above Emma.

“There’s something going on,” Emma thought to herself as she replayed the words that were just said. “Can you explain a little more?” she asked cautiously. The fact that he apparently couldn’t say anything was also strange. “I mean, you’re going to get killed anyway for ‘rebelling’. I can’t change that, so you might as well tell me. If they choose to kill me too, they’re going to be getting rid of a good ‘helper’ that they make me out to be.”

“Well, as he said, there’s a lot to tell you.” Aaron shifted his glance onto the girl, whose eyes had widened in anticipation.

13-May-2012 08:51:31 - Last edited on 14-Apr-2014 17:53:43 by Lady Railly

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