SUMMER

Angkar: Wet season. Precipitation is common during the late afternoon and evening hours. Vegetation grows significantly during the summer, but flooding is a danger due to the monsoons that ravage the country. The rainforest sees evenly distributed rainfall throughout the season.

Ashoka: Desert: Extremely hot and dry. Violent, heavy downpours following long dryspells. Jungle: Hot and humid with frequent, violent rainstorms.

Morrim: Relatively hot and dry, but with a chance of thunderstorms from time to time. The heat may cause forest fires.

Soto: Hot and humid, tree cover is dense while ground growth is restricted. Thunderstorms see the most amount of rainfall during the season, and it can be very windy. On occasion, there are flash floods that can destroy homes and farms built on flood plains.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

March 30th, 2018 As you might have noticed, Elenlond has changed hands and is now under new management! If you have any questions, please direct them to DaringRaven! As for the rest of the announcements, including a season change, you can find them over here at the following link!

January 16, 2018 As you might have noticed, Elenlond has a new skin, all thanks to Mel! Don't forget to check out the new OTMs as well!

December 2, 2017 Winter has settled on Elenlond, bringing sleep for some and new life for others.

September 26, 2017 With the belated arrival of autumn come some interesting developments: new OTMs, a Town Crier and the release of the Elly Awards winners!

July 14, 2017 After a bit of forum clean-up, Elly Awards season has arrived! Head on over to make your nominations!

May 31, 2017 Summer has arrived and so has activity check! That's not all though – we also have some new OTMs for you and some staff changes!


WHAT IS ELENLOND?

Elenlond is an original free-form medieval fantasy RPG set on the continent of Soare and the Scattered Isles, which are located to the south in the Sea of Diverging Waters. The four chief nations of the western side of the world—Ashoka in northern Soare, Soto in western Soare, Morrim in eastern Soare, and Angkar, the largest of the Scattered Isles—continue to experience growth and prosperity since the fall of the Mianorite gods, although power struggles within the countries—or outside of them—continue to ensue.


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    Angkar: To honour the reinvigoration of the ancient city of Mondrágon, the majestic Queen Eulalia has permitted the opening of a Coliseum where people from around the world and all walks of life can test their combat skills against one another. Many have already done battle in search of honour, glory, prizes and money.

    Ashoka: In an otherwise peaceful times, Ashokans are beset with the relatively minor inconveniences of wandering undead and occasionally-aggressive giant rock worms. There has also been some controversy over the recent re-legalisation of human sacrifice.

    Morrim: Rumour has it that Emperor Leofric de Hollemark is mustering forces for a war. Though the threat from Soto’s forests has passed, the forces previously employed in watching the forest now linger at the border. Rumours also circulate of a small group that has been dispatched to make contact with the tribes of the Do’suul Mountains.

    Soto: The Sotoans have defeated the fey and liberated themselves from Méadaigh’s oppression! Preliminary efforts have been made at rebuilding the city of Madrid, which had been captured at the beginning of the war. However, the Sotoans are hindered from recovery famine. Méadaigh’s magic caused summer to persist in the Erth’netora Forest through the winter. Her power has been withdrawn and the plants die as if preparing for winter – even though it is now summer. The Sotoans must sustain off what food they can get, what creatures they can kill and what can be imported into the city from Morrim and Angkar.

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    Nobody Can Hear You Scream; Meryn!
    Topic Started: Jun 15 2011, 06:50 PM (553 Views)
    Orion de Lacey
    Member Avatar
    Moghul of Ashoka

    It was clear that Sophia's efforts were beginning to pay off in the Prison, long ago abandoned and left for Oblivion because the upkeep on it had cost more for Ashoka's kings than simply letting criminals run free (or executing him, which happened just as frequently). Of course, it had originally been a place for the desert tribes to detain the lawless within their own circles, but it had later been adopted once the Moghuls had risen to power, turning it on its head so that lawful tribesmen were being imprisoned, not their outlawed counterparts. Since his discussion with Sophia several weeks ago, Orion had finally come down to see for himself what she had accomplished. The results looked extremely promising.

    The guards that she had hired to oversee the prison while she was away from the country - as the case usually was, for the King had rarely heard of her exploits in the City of Oracles - stood to attention as he came down the stairs, a cloak wrapped around his body to shield him both from the heat of the desert and the blowing sand, both of which were nearly unbearable this time of year. As soon as he was out of the arid atmosphere and down inside what was a considerably cooler chamber the cloak came off; the Moghul nodded to each guard he passed, inspecting the cells as he moved along, noting prisoners who were fettered within. The treatment for such people was unreasonably harsh - they were chained to the walls with only enough slack to reach for food and water put down in front of them, where the former was put down once a day and the latter twice - but it was the only way to ensure that one's spirit was broken, and Orion didn't personally care if they liked their circumstances or not. If one was going to wind up in a prison cell, one ought to have thought better about one's actions or words to begin with.

    "Very good," he murmured, his booted feet thudding heavily against the stone floor with each step he took. The King paused in front of the second to last cell in the Underground Prison, looking almost thoughtful as he silently wondered what had and would happen to it when the torrential downpours came. He imagined, giving it some serious consideration, that mages would have to be employed to protect it. And they were due, he knew, for one of those downpours soon...

    Orion's eyes settled on the figure within the cell, the dim light offering him a vague image at best. "Why's this one here?" he asked one of the guards, his head cocking so that his mismatched eyes could make contact; his brunette hair hung in front of his face. Orion didn't actually care, but it seemed like an appropriate question.
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    Meryn


    Meryn, despite being rather excellent at her work, had gotten caught.

    What really rankled was that it hadn't even been for stealing, or snooping about. Was there anything illegal about finding a clue that lead to another clue that led to a trap, that led to a map that had led her here, to where there was apparently an ancient treasure hidden? She doubted it. Meryn hadn't been stupid enough to just walk on in either; no, she'd watched, listened, and learned enough to wait for just the right time to sneak in so that she could get to the secret door that should lead her through what promised to be a maze riddled with traps with a worthwhile treasure at the end.

    Somehow, between sneaking in and trying to get to the door, she'd been caught. It hadn't been nice. The guard had seen her, caught her, beat her, and thrown her in a cell. If it were like any normal cell she'd be out within moments, but this was no normal cell. After searching her head to toe - and she meant head to toe; she could still remember them eying her appreciatively as they stripped her so that they could rip everything she owned from her body - they'd chained her up. The shackles around her wrists were so right she was afraid she was going to lose her hands from lack of blood circulation.

    At least they'd put clothes on her. Not her own comfortable wear, but an itchy, scratchy thing that left like a burlap sack with holes for her arms and head, bottom cut off. It was hardly high fashion, and meant to degrade her. It was almost working, too, especially since she'd lost the use of her voice after they'd figured out that she was not above taunting them from inside her cell. Her new gag was far from pristine. It coated her mouth thoroughly with grime and it stunk terribly.

    Footsteps. At least her ears still worked right. They paused in front of her cell, and she heard someone ask in a soft voice what exactly 'this one' had done to deserve a cell. "Admiring the stonework of the floor," she muttered incoherently through her gag.

    The guard's answer was far different. "She was caught sneaking around down here," the guard told the person, a clear amount of respect in his voice. "Coordinating a prison break."

    Meryn jerked her head up from the ground where she'd been looking at dully. Matted hair fell about her face as anger and disbelief flashed in her eyes. A prison break? What? Those - those - "You stripped me bare, stole my map, and forced me to tell you exactly what I was doing and you lie and say I was coordinating a prison break?!" she cried, unable to claw at her gag so that her angry speech was coherent due to that fact that her hands were chained to the floor. "You - you - LIAR!"

    The last word was more than loud enough to ring throughout the prison, despite the fact that she was gagged.
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    Orion de Lacey
    Member Avatar
    Moghul of Ashoka

    Orion arched one eyebrow at the sudden outburst from the prisoner, his eyes glancing towards the guard in question. It wasn't as if he actually cared one way or the other - the woman had done something to draw attention, stupid thing, and now she was here. The punishment would be the same regardless.

    "Keys."

    The guard retrieved them and placed the large metal loop in his King's hand. Finding the appropriate key, Orion slid it into the lock and pulled the heavy door open, handing the keys back to his soldier. Careful not to have his fingers bitten - it had happened before and the perpetrator had been promptly executed in the most brutal way Orion could think of at that particular time - he removed the prisoner's gag and moved to stand back, dropping it on the floor; it was soaked right through.

    "What was that about liars?"

    He smiled thinly, folding his arms across his chest. At his hip there was wound a chain and hanging from that chain was a large, dangerous-looking scythen head, curved and silver, black feathers attached to the back; upon his back was the rest of the weapon, a full scythe with another matching head, only with white feathers. If he had wanted to murder her he certainly could have with one sweep of his prized weapon. "Do you actually believe that there is any reason - any at all, mind - for me to believe you over him?" and he pointed his thumb at the guard. "Prison break though. Interesting. And why would we want to orchestrate one of those? Surely you don't wish to attract the attention of Sophia, High Inquisitor of Ashoka? She really is the last person you would want to vex, you know." Orion should have, of course, believed the guard over the girl, but he somehow doubted the reasons for her imprisonment were that exciting. After all, she didn't strike him as a native Ashokan and she certainly didn't seem to be from one of the tribes - though, certainly, Orion could have been wrong. All these things pointed, he assumed, at the fact that she didn't have that much knowledge about Ashoka or the work that had been recently done on the Underground Prison, meaning such an effort would have been made with sheer dumb luck, not careful planning.

    "If you weren't trying to start a futile riot," the Moghul continued after a moment, leaning his left shoulder against the point at which the door and the rest of the bars met as he crossed his arms, "then what were you doing down here, hmm?"
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    Meryn


    To her surprise, the man demanded, and got, the keys to the cell door, which he immediately used. As he carefully de-gagged her, obviously trying to keep his fingers from being bitten, Meryn watched with eyes that burned brightly with anger. She immediately let her mouth close once the gag was gone without even trying to get the man's fingers. There was no point to biting him; after all, he was going to actually talk to her.

    She just let him talk, at first. The weapons at his hip glinted menacingly in what little light there was, but Meryn ignored them, keeping her eyes on his face, green locked with mismatched blue and green. As he spoke of Sophia, her jaw tightened. There was a name she recognized - a respectable. And just why would she want the attention of one of those? Respectables brought nothing but trouble for people like her.

    Unfortunately, she noted to herself, it appeared that she'd attracted the attention of a fairly powerful respectable. An attractive one, yes, but that just made the entire situation worse. And he spoke to her as though she were an blubbering idiot on the streets with less brains than a bird. It wasn't something she appreciated, though Meryn did acknowledge that the fact that she'd been captured likely had a part to do with stupidity. That and lacking the proper skill level to pull something like this off.

    It wasn't until he finished speaking that Meryn allowed a faint, self-deprecating half smile to twist her mouth. "Being stupid, apparently," she said in a hoarse voice, something that made the guard at the door move his hand towards his sword, likely to hit her over the head with it's pommel. He stopped himself, however, with a fearful glance at the respectable. Meryn swallowed, refrained from making a face at the taste of gag sludge oozing down her throat, and spoke again in a clearer voice.

    "I was after a thieves' den," she began, forcing herself to calm down; anger would do her no good towards this one, she suspected. "They're lost treasures of the guild, and I found a map. It led me here."

    Her eyes flashed and she jerked her head towards the guards, though she refused to take her eyes off of the man in front of her. "They've been trying to get me to tell them the location of the secret door for days, maybe longer. Oh, I admit I got caught fair and square," she added matter-of-factly. "And yes, I probably deserve more than a slap on my wrist for sneaking into a prison to look for ancient treasure." Her eyes and voice hardened. "But them? They steal it when they can't read a single word it says and imprison me under the lie of a prison breakout so that they can try to break me. That treasure? It belongs to us. They have no claim to it."

    She shut her mouth and stared up at the man who'd removed her gag. The likelihood of him actually caring was slim to none, and probably worse than that. Still, there was a chance. A small one, but a chance nonetheless. More than likely she'd be gagged again and left to rot, and there was a very, very small possibility of being released, maybe with all her things, but...

    Meryn wanted him to listen. She wanted him to understand. Thieves' dens were rare enough - dens of treasure made by ancient thieves and linked to the thieves' guild, always containing objects of great value and things that could help the thief that found them - that the discovery of one wasn't to be taken lightly. She needed to get in there. She needed to find that treasure.

    And, well, there was the fact that being listened and understood by someone - respectable or not - was something she hadn't had the pleasure of in quite a while. Selfish? Yes. But she had never claimed to be otherwise, had she?
    Edited by Meryn, Jun 19 2011, 10:28 PM.
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    Orion de Lacey
    Member Avatar
    Moghul of Ashoka

    Orion weighed her claims, ignoring his guard's hasty actions, knowing full well that if he wanted to he could easily defend himself against any onslaught this little thief thought she could level against him. Not only was she bound, but she was also in a newly instated prison engineered by the wits of Sophia, High Inquisitor of Ashoka, a woman whose path no living entity wanted to cross, unless they were hiring her, more powerful than her, or too stupid to realize the gravity of the situation that they would find themselves in. It occurred to the king that the woman hadn't yet figured out who he was, which was probably a good thing - she might not have spewed as much information as she had until this point if she had known.

    As his eyes scanned the cell more out of boredom with the conversation than interest in his current surroundings, Orion also pondered that minor little issue with Soto, since that was the country this girl clearly originated from. Though it didn't much matter to him that one of the Council's precious citizens had wandered into his den, the issue of Sotoan and Ashokan citizens was touchy at best at the moment, mostly because he had a number of refugees still squatting on Sotoan land, refusing to return to Ashoka out of fear of their new Moghul. Ordinarily, there would have been no issues with that, save for the fact that Sphynx and the other Councilors had repeatedly asked him to force them back into his own country and he had either ignored them or, as was his wont, outright refused. Relations were therefore not good and to have news travel back that he'd clearly had a Sotoan prisoner tortured and then murdered would only intensify relations. He did wonder, however, if Soto was stupid enough to launch a war at his country after Morrim's disaster had only been a few months ago.

    "And to which country do these thieves belong, exactly? And what, pray tell, is this important treasure that you seek? I will decide if these things are worth the trouble.

    "And I also assure you," Orion continued in a drawl, the boredom really beginning to shine through now as his mismatched gaze finally settled on her, not an ounce of humour in it, "that these men did not steal your 'precious' treasure, as they are not mere common thieves, but men who currently oversee this prison in Sophia's absence. If I happened to discover that any one of them-" and his tone became dangerously malicious "-had been gallivanting across Soto stealing treasure from petty guilds, I would have every single one of them tortured and publicly executed. By my hand." Orion looked pointedly at his guard. For those who knew of the events during the conquest, they would know that Orion's public executions were perhaps the most gory ever devised. To date the most scarring was the late king's murder, in which his body had been hacked to pieces by the then-fighter and distributed to a crowd of onlookers following the end of Eldahar's takeover. For five short minutes it had rained human flesh on the masses.
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    Meryn


    It was very clear that he didn't care. She didn't need to see his eyes in order to tell that much; his body language and tone of voice oozed boredom. Well, that was to be expected. He was a respectable after all. Since when did they care about ordinary people like herself? Never, that's when. She'd have better luck talking to a wall. Particularly walls that were actually secret entrances to treasure troves, secret passages, and other interesting things.

    She opened her mouth to reply, but he continued to speak, and she shut her mouth rather angrily, waiting for the man to hit a nice pause so that she could answer what questions she could - which, quite honestly, were all of them. The guild was no secret, and this situation wasn't good. Could she lie and scheme her way out of it? Honestly, Meryn doubted it. Those mismatched eyes of the respectable appeared as though they could see right through her, and if she was caught lying, Meryn had no doubt it would be her death.

    For she recognised him, now. Oh yes. A delayed recognition, true, and she was angry with herself for not recognising him earlier, but Meryn knew who he was. (She blamed the lack of food and water for her stupidity.)

    Besides, none of the things he asked her particularly important. He hadn't, for instance, asked where the numerous headquarters were, nor had he asked for any actually important information. In fact, the single question he had asked was something that all important respectables were supposed to already know, for it wasn't unusual for the higher ups to collaborate with the guild when they needed.... special help.

    And it was because of this blatant ignorance that she let the anger she felt at calling her guild petty cool into a lump of cold, knotted anger in her chest. It was because of the ignorance that she let him finish talking before bursting out in anger - and indeed, bit her tongue so that she wouldn't lay it on him. When she finally spoke, her voice was cold. "Everyone and everywhere, sir respectability.

    "And for your information, these guards of yours or of miss lady Sophia, whoever, wouldn't have to gallivant anywhere. The entrance is here." She looked at him coldly. "Orion." Yes, that was a death wish. Did she care? Well, she wasn't likely to be let loose now, was she? Death was... preferable to rotting. "If you want to know the treasure, then come find out what it is."
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    Orion de Lacey
    Member Avatar
    Moghul of Ashoka

    ((If you mind this post, let me know and I will change it. =) But I figured you'd probably be ok with it, considering you put poor Meryn in a compromising position to begin with.))

    Insolence would not be tolerated.

    Especially not by a king.

    But, least of all, by Orion de Lacey, whose propensity for violence was only rivalled by those whose minds were literally clouded by delirium and dementia.

    The first remark, dripping acid, was met with a very swift, very forceful slap to her face. One firm, calloused hand came down, across her cheek, with a brute force that made it clear that Orion hadn't even attempted to stay his hand in any way. The second, however, in which she merely said his name - and he knew, then, that she'd finally realized who he was, stupid girl - was met with punishment far more severe than a slap to the face. In fact, the first punishment seemed tame in comparison.

    The scythen head at his side was unattached from the chain, and for a moment it seemed as if he might attach it to the rest of the weapon and possibly lob her head off. Instead, however, that same chain was unwound from his waist and without so much as a blink, a flinch, a twitching of a single muscle, it suddenly lashed out, across her body, wherever it fell. It was a single strike but, again, he had put force into it - enough with the clear intention to hurt and even maim. Orion stood over her, his brunette locks falling across his face, the shadows playing across that smooth visage augmenting the malice that lingered there. He smiled.

    "I would watch your tongue, miss, because you have no power here. Whatever thoughts, whatever beliefs you had about yourself ended the moment you set foot in this prison - before your imprisonment. Say another slight against me - to you, rat, I am "your majesty," "sire," or "Moghul" - and you will find yourself missing a limb. And I will hack them off one-by-one and I will keep you alive until you have none left; for the fruits of your labour you can watch the starving in Eldahar devour your flesh and blood. And then we'll leave you in the desert to die of dehydration, starvation, or to be eaten by the carrion birds. Or the tribes, if they are so desperate."

    Orion's head snapped to his guard and he pointed at her, his jaw set in a firm line. "Unchain her from the wall, bind her hands. She's going to show me where this supposed treasure is, and if she's lying... Well, she already knows what I have prepared for her." The guard did as he was bidden, edging by Orion. While the prisoner seemed to want to die, he did not.
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    Meryn


    The slap came as no surprise. Meryn knew she hadn't been respectful, and indeed, would have been disappointed in Orion de Lacey if he hadn't hit her. When the scythe lashed out at her and sliced across her arm, she acknowledged her deservance of the pain with a slight bow of the head. A long gash trailed down her left arm now, dripping blood; she felt lightheaded for a moment, and closed her eyes so that she could remain conscious. When the bout passed, she opened her eyes and gave Orion the first look of - not respect, exactly, he hadn't earned that - but it was definite acknowledgement that he was the higher power, and a slight addition of... admiration.

    "That has to be one of the best threats I've ever heard," she commented idly as the guard set to work unchaining her. "Better than anything these idiots could come up with." She glanced up at Orion at that. "...Sire. I'll call them idiots if I please, and I don't care who it offends. It's true."

    And cowards, she thought, annoyed. They were terrified of the Moghul, and probably with good reason, but Meryn had never set much stock in terror. Fear, yes - that could be helpful, could be harnessed - but never terror. That led to not being able to think straight and being unable to think led to even more problems. She'd learned that the hard way.

    Perhaps she should fear Orion more, but Meryn just couldn't bring herself to, and she wasn't sure why. Some of it was due to her less-than-kind views on respectables in general, some of it was her lingering anger towards his insults to her guild, and some could probably be attributed to the fact that she'd gone through worse before, but as for the real reason? Meryn had no idea. Perhaps... perhaps it was because of his intelligence, and the fact that he used it. If she were honest with herself, besides from the obvious (pain, dungeon, severe gap in social statuses), this was the most fun conversation she'd had in a while. It was intelligent, it was interesting - though the topics could stand some work - and the threat had definitely shown a creativity that Meryn appreciated.

    The guard reached roughly for her hands; she yanked them away. They'd probably break them, the fools, and her hands were her livelyhood. What good was she without them? She only held her hands back for less than a second before holding them out, wrists together, for the man to bind. He did so with much more force than was necessary; she winced as the bindings cut into her skin. "If I lose my hands to loss of blood circulation..." she muttered half-heartedly with a glare to match at the guard. She understood the necessity of it, of course, but still. Likely it was because she'd called him an idiot.

    She was yanked to her feet and shoved out the cell; Meryn stumbled and nearly fell into the wall, but somehow managed to catch herself before doing so. She took a deep breath and attempted to steady herself. It was difficult without the use of her hands, and she nearly had to resort to leaning on the wall to get her balance, but in the end, managed though sheer stubborness to stand up properly and waive off of the dizziness from blood loss by herself. Her legs were weak - she hadn't stood in over a week; it was only to be expected.

    Meryn closed her eyes and mentally summoned up the image of the map. Though it'd been a while since she'd last seen it, she'd memorized every stroke of ink in case she lost it or a situation like this occured. Once she had it, she opened her eyes."Final dungeon cell," she directed. "There'll be a combination of bricks to tap and thiefspeech to say before the door'll open."

    That said, a guard shoved her forward again to get her moving as the guards ahead of her started on ahead. She very nearly tumbled to the ground again, but caught herself, quicker this time, and turned. "Does your threat stand good if I ask them to kindly back the hell off?" she asked Orion with as much politeness as she could muster through gritted teeth. "My beliefs about myself -" Which equaled to precisely nothing, I know what I am, and I know it's nothing at all - "might be ended, but I do know how to walk." She paused a moment. "Sire."





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    Orion de Lacey
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    Moghul of Ashoka

    The gaps in her speech - the obvious delay between her regular sentences and the "Sire," added almost as an afterthought - humoured him, if only because she was complying with so little hassle. It was not the sort of compliance he would have expected from a woman who, only moments ago, had been enraged by what his guards had said and had even deigned to irritate him, and yet she did it - but for what purpose? There were a dozen reasons why she might suddenly be so obedient and each one filtered through his mind, entertained for a fleeting moment, discarded. The only conclusion that he could come to was that, if there really was treasure to be had, there was something that she had "failed" to mention and he would be all the more sorry for it. Best not to let that happen if it could be helped. Orion had been ridiculed in the past for mistakes but they didn't bother him - he just kept on going as if nothing had ever happened. But none of those mistakes had ever cost him his life.

    The Moghul ignored his guards as he stepped outside of the cell himself, the chain wound around his waist again, the scythen head grazing against his calf. Her hands were bound roughly and she was shoved out mercilessly, like an old animal that could no longer do its job. As they moved towards the last cell - obviously, if she had not already ascertained, he expected her to go first - and she spoke irritably, he laughed, eyeing her back with a grin upon his lips that bespoke his feelings on the matter. Not that she could see it.

    "I don't care what you say to them, frankly. If you'd like to insult them nine ways to hell be my guest - but I will not be responsible for hindering their actions should you piss them off and they decide to rough you up, as it were. So I suppose I would advise that you watch yourself, but I have no interest in defending any of them or you. They're men - if they have a problem with you they can sort it out themselves." It was a license to beat if ever there was one, and there was some certainty to the fact that they'd probably do it, too, now that the opportunity had presented itself. Of course, the guards knew better than to hurt her to an inch of her life, for doing so would interfere with their Moghul's current interests and that would get them all killed.

    The one guard fumbled with his keys before he managed to unlock the last cell's door; the other, as the iron door swung open with a creak that suggested it had not been used in some time, shoved her roughly forward as Orion followed casually behind. He leaned against he cell's wall, against the one he assumed was safe, and folded his arms across his chest, one leg drawn up so that his foot could lay flat against the stone. He watched her, waiting with a patience that wouldn't last long. "Well?" he asked. "You're the master thief here..." He paused, wondering if she would fill the implied blank in with a name. Not one to wait for long, however, he verbally nudged her. "You have my name but I don't believe I have yours, and what a pity that would be to never have it. I should think it appropriate to return the favour." The implications were reflected in the poisonous smile he offered her.
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    Meryn


    Having received the Moghul's little speech that she had only half listened to, Meryn was prepared for the rough shove that came after the guard unlocked the door, and so managed to stumble into the cell with a minimum of trouble. Once she was sure that she had her footing, the thief slipped over to the far wall and pressed the tips of her bloody fingers together, trying to decide how best to manage this. Before she could decide on the best course of action, however, Meryn was interrupted from her contemplation by the Moghul's silky speech.

    She bit back a sigh and lifted her bound hands to press them against one of the stones, smiling to herself in satisfaction as the stone grated and sank into the wall slightly, shaking loose mortar and dust from ages past. A bloody imprint was left behind as she moved on to the next stone, exerting just enough force to push this one in before reaching up high to do the same to the next rock, a trail of red following her every move.

    "My name?" she finally asked, stepping to the left, searching the wall with her eyes for the next brick. Once she found it, Meryn pressed her hands against it, wincing a bit as a sharp shard of rock slit into her skin. Carefully, she maneuvered her hands so that the stone was placed over her bonds and dug her hands in with far more force than was necessary. "I don't see why you'd want something like that, considering the circumstances, but -"

    With a slight smile, Meryn yanked her hands down, dragging her wrists across the rock face. The abnormally sharp shard of stone sliced cleanly through the dirty rope (and some of her own skin) freeing her hands. "-since you seem so interested, it's Meryn," she finished, pressing the final two stones in order with her freed hands.

    An invisible mechanism clicked, and the wall began to shake. One of the guards, who upon seeing what Meryn had done with her wrists had started forward to break her worthless wrists, jerked back, startled. She didn't turn to look at any of them; Meryn simply watched, satisfaction glinting in her eyes, as the wall shook, moved, and finally cracked to reveal a dark opening. An odd, sickly yellow light glinted in the depths of what appeared to be a long, downwards spiraling staircase. "I wouldn't recommend taking many people down there," she finally said, turning to look directly at Orion de Lacey, ignoring the others. "The more people there are, the greater the danger - unless you want every trap in there to be triggered. Because there will be traps."

    She paused for a moment, then raised her hands slightly, still focused in on Orion, feeling more alert than she had in days. The freeing of her hands, her very livelyhood - she felt alive again. "I won't be of much use to you like this," she told him, her voice very steady, calm, and matter-of-fact. "I'm not saying you won't be able to get through that without me, but I wouldn't recommend it."

    Meryn let her arms fall to her sides, but she didn't relax. That would just be foolish, and though Meryn was many things, a downright fool was not one of them.
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    Orion de Lacey
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    Moghul of Ashoka

    She was crafty. He liked that. At the same time that she looked towards his guard—who had obviously wanted to step in something fierce but had been prevented by first her gaze and then his King's—Orion's eyes slipped to her hands, the bonds broken. Meryn was right, of course, and it didn't bother Orion, but it would certainly bother the man who was supposed to be handling their prisoner. The Moghul's eyes flicked to the guard, who continued staring at Meryn for a long moment before his own eyes met his King's.

    "We shouldn't let her walk around unbound, Sire. She could lead you astray... Or kill you. And we wouldn't know! I ought to come down with you, just in case..."

    "You think that I cannot care for myself?" Orion raised an eyebrow, his gaze questioning. The guard quailed under his mismatched eyes, suddenly afraid for his life. It was difficult to know what Orion was thinking at any given time and even harder when, thinking the King would agree, a person discovered that he didn't. It could either spell death, dismemberment, or a chuckle depending on the situation. The guard was glad, then, when the Moghul turned his back to him entirely and cut the man completely out of the conversation.

    "I can let you walk free," he said carefully, an almost bored expression passing across his face, "but if I do that, how do I know that you won't try something? I have no guarantees from you that you aren't some sort of assassin, that you aren't in many ways very dangerous. You're crafty, I can see that much for myself, and they do say not to trust a fox. And, besides that, if we reach this so-called treasure alive, what then? Are you going to take it all for yourself? I imagine that you could make it all the way down there yourself, but having another to help you..." He was insinuating, of course, that he deserved something for his efforts, especially if he was going to follow her down into the unknown and possibly help her.

    As if to make the fact clear that he was more than capable of taking care of himself, Orion pulled the scythen head from the chain at his side and slid it onto the headless end of the polearm, which made a quiet click. The black-feathered head was propped against the ground and he leaned against the silver shaft, looking at her with that same almost bored expression that seemed to cross his visage frequently enough. There was a pause and, regardless of what she wanted or what she had to say, he made it very clear that he would accompany her. The guard, by this time, had retreated to the entrance of the Underground Prison, knowing better than to hang around when his King was in one of his fluctuating moods.

    "Ladies first, Meryn. I wouldn't want to seem impolite." The smile he offered her was malevolent.
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    Meryn


    She let a sardonic smile rise to her lips as the Moghul quelled the guard's worry with a simple question. Really, the stupidity of the common hired armsman was ridiculous. Anyone who didn't believe that Orion de Lacey could destroy her in her current condition if he so chose was a fool; she was no match for the sleekness of a predator that lurked in every muscle of his body and shone brightly behind his mismatched eyes. Not in this state, anyway. Now, with her weapons on her and her body in perfect condition, perhaps, but as such was not the case, there was no point in wasting time thinking about the possibility, particularly as they were unlikely to ever meet again outside of this occurrence.

    His words recaptured her momentarily fleeting attention; cursing herself silently, she flicked her eyes back to him to see what his body language could tell her that his words couldn't. Unfortunately, not a lot - the most she could get from him was a very obvious threat as he brought out his weapon. It was clear he had every intention of accompanying her, and without the guards, as she'd requested. Excellent.

    "You don't," she informed him before he had a chance to speak, tone light as she touched the cut on her arm, pleased that the blood flow was stemming. What an ugly mark that would leave behind. "though considering what I've gone through to get this far, I'm hardly about to back out now, am I? Besides, your minions have all my gear, and I'm hardly in the best condition to navigate the maze by myself." She let her fingers rest along the cut for a moment before withdrawing. Message sent and received.

    It was, she decided, too much to openly ask for her things back, but she hoped her verbal play would get the request across. Her insinuation for her gear and clothing was a response to his insinuation that she would give him something in return for going down there, but she still acknowledged it with a slight nod.

    As he spoke again, she retreated slightly and placed one hand on the doorway, leaning against the stone. "Gladly."
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    Orion de Lacey
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    Moghul of Ashoka

    A nod at his guard and a brief indication at his own weapon to establish what that nod was meant to signify sent the guard to gather up Meryn's things, a task that was easily and quickly accomplished. The man handed them off to his superior and Orion carefully attached what he could to his person, holding the rest, giving Meryn a smile that had malevolent undertones in it, the sort that made it obvious who was in control here. The guard retreated from them, taking his post at the entrance of the prison, glancing back at them only once or twice. He had been a personal guard under the previous Moghul before being demoted when Orion came to power, and unlike the current king, the previous one had been a dithering dolt who wouldn't have been able to fight his way out from beneath his own cloak if it were to fall on his head. That Orion had come here, had been a part of the conquest that had taken Eldahar and, within the same day, all of Ashoka, was astounding for much of the country. It was part of the reason why Ashoka feared him more than they respected him. For most, it was a difficult task to wrap their heads around the fact that their king could fend for himself and had been for many, many years.

    "I'm not giving you anything back," Orion said, almost nonchalantly. "However, I'll make a deal with you. Maybe I'm wrong to assume, but I imagine you have a decent idea of what's down there and what to expect, so I'll cut you a deal: I'll give you your weapons and your gear back when you require them, but you are to return them to me immediately thereafter. Lie to me or try anything funny and I'll be more than happy to relieve you of some of your limbs. Or would you prefer some digits? I would truly like to see what a thief does with herself when she has no fingers with which to steal."

    The Moghul leaned against his scythen with one hand, lifting his eyebrows at her imploringly. "Well then... Go! I have a country to run and you have treasure to find. We can't stand here all day having friendly banter." The irony behind his words was palpable.
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