Chains of Torment [Archive] - EQ2 Forum Archive @ EQ2Wire

scoutsout2001

07-03-2007, 11:41 AM

The eerie silence of Deathfist Citadel was broken only by the steady beat of footsteps. A few bleary-eyed Orcs, having just woken up, shuffled to their position. The dim lighting cast a gloomy tint upon the Orcs, as it did the thick door, which was slowly opening. Footsteps could be heard walking into the Citadel, and yet there was nothing there, or so it seemed. The footsteps suddenly paused, as if to listen for something, and then a soft voice was heard. "Okay guys, the coast is clear. I think you all can come in without invisibility, cause these Orcs won't attack you unless you use Taunt or Shout on them," the voice said. Murmurs of agreement were heard outside the door, and a band of Elves came in. The leader of the band (who was currently invisible) stood up, taking her sneak off. She peered carefully at the group and frowned. "Fiarn, you forgot to resurrect Tarin, didn't you?" she asked. The Dark Elf slowly nodded, beads of sweat forming on his dark forehead. She pointed to the door, and Fiarn walked out. A Fae lay sprawled upon the dirt as Fiarn walked out of the Citadel. Fiarn stopped when he reached the Fae and took out his staff. "Let's hope this works..." he muttered. His hands began to glow with a holy light as he placed them on Tarin's small body. The glow spread to Tarin's chest and began to creep up to his face. As the glow reached his face, Fiarn took his hands off the body and thrust them into the corpse's abdomen. Tarin blinked his eyes, which had opened already, and coughed. He moaned for a few seconds and spoke in a weak voice. "Oh God, my mouth feels like I ate the skin off one of those Orcs..." Fiarn cocked an eyebrow. "You never been resurrected before?" he asked. Tarin shook his head. "Well, that's what we Clerics call Resurrection Sickness... don't worry, it'll wear off," He healed Tarin's wounds and went back into the Citadel. Tarin grabbed a potion from his pack and drank it quickly. Relief spread throughout his body as he felt his strength coming back. He glided over to the door and slammed it open. "Okay guys, I'm back!" He glanced over at the Orcs, who were already staring at him. "Hey Orcs! Your mama was so ugly that she tried to enter an ugly contest, but they said, ‘Sorry, no professionals'!" he shouted. The Orcs started to foam at the mouth as they rushed over to Tarin, weapons in hand. Fiarn gulped. "You had to insult their mothers..." he started to say, but was cut off by an Orc who had wrapped his meaty hands around Fiarn's throat and had started to drag him away. Tarin tired out and flopped to the ground with a groan. The Orcs quickly surrounded him and tied his arms together, dragging him to the unknown parts of Deathfist.

scoutsout2001

07-03-2007, 12:39 PM

The dank depths of Deathfist Citadel were almost as gloomy as the spirits of the prisoners. Mold clung onto the walls as if it were the last day before the apocalypse. The dank scent of mildew was almost unbearable to smell, and could knock out a Halfling. Tarin, however, was stronger than that, and he forced himself to breathe the stale air. Earlier, there had been a female Fae in the cell next to his. She had looked scared, and when the Orcs finally came for her, she struggled against them. Right now, Tarin could smell the scent of grilling. It made his mouth water, but he knew if he was offered it, he wouldn't eat it. His wings were strapped down by two leather cords. They were aching, and Tarin longed to flex them. The Orcs outside were steadily marching. One of the Orcs looked hungrily into his cell, and Tarin drew back. An Orc walked up to his cell and opened it. He spoke as if he had just learned to speak Common. "We sell you. Big guy from Free Port come buy you for 50 brownish shiny monies. You belong to Free Port guy now. You go to him now!" Tarin raised an eyebrow and went with the Orc. Solkin paced outside the door to the cells. He was waiting for the Fae to be brought out. He cracked his green knuckles and imagined what kind of meal he would have with the tender flesh of the Fae. His forest-green mouth sank into a grim smile as he imagined a good meal for the first time in ages. Tarin looked at his new master. Solkin's hungry look made him gulp as he touched his wings for comfort. "Com' on," Solkin muttered. Tarin nodded and followed the Ogre out. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Well, dis is me house. You'd better get used to it, cuz you're gonna be livin' here for..." Solkin counted on his fingers for a few seconds. "...eh, about the rest of your life, which is gonna be about one hour." Solkin walked into the house. Tarin's eyes widened as he heard Solkin say one more thing. "Oh, and dinner is in about an hour."

scoutsout2001

07-04-2007, 07:51 PM

Tarin slowly paced around his small cot that Solkin had given him. He could hear a grill starting up, and he gulped. Oh God, that thing probably wants to fry me and serve me with a bit of... ...Ew. No thanks. He looked up at the crude stone sundial in the middle of the yard. Nearly one hour had passed since the Ogre had told him about dinner. His hands, tied with a rope, started to shake slightly. If I want to live, I gotta escape! He brought his hands over his head and brought the rope up to his mouth. His tiny teeth grabbed it and tried to tear into it. He could hear a loud crack as one of his teeth fell out. "Good! That'll be less I have to remove!" Solkin said from behind him. Tarin turned around. Oh no. Solkin grabbed Tarin's arm and forced him to a grill. The grill was made out of stone, with a few metal parts on top and a fire running underneath. "Now, c'mon Fairy, get on that there grill..." Solkin muttered. Tarin shook his head roughly. Solkin's brow furrowed as he picked up Tarin and dropped him onto the grill. HOT! SO HOT! A few knocks came on the door. "Be there in a sec'!" Solkin shouted. He quickly tied Tarin's arms and legs to the grill to make sure he wouldn't escape, and ran to the door. He opened it. Standing there was a male Dark Elf with a scowl on his scarred face. "Remember me?" he asked. Solkin's eyes widened as he spoke with a clear stutter. "Oh, uh, Fiarn, so good to see you again..." he stammered. "I'm cookin' sumthin, so I kinda gotta go finish it..." "I'm here for my payment, Ogre. Give me the Fae, and I'll never have to see your ugly face again," Fiarn replied. Solkin nodded and ran over to Tarin. He had already gone completely limp on the grill. Solkin's mouth watered as he fought back a wave of hunger. He untied Tarin, grabbed him, and ran back to Fiarn. "H-here's the payment... I pray to Rallos I don't have to have you spoil one of my meals again!" He slammed the door shut, leaving Fiarn with Tarin's dead body held in his hands. Fiarn turned Tarin's body over, not surprised to see scorch marks. "Stupid Ogre... how could he not realize?" he muttered as he healed the scorch marks. "There's always going to be scars there... now he's tarnished, and not perfect like we preferred." Fiarn got a ticket on a boat to North Freeport. As he climbed off the boat, he took the route to the Academy of Arcane Sciences. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where am I? Everything here was bright white. Tarin could feel a slight breeze blowing past him, rustling his hair. His clothing was pure white. He was dressed in nothing but a simple tunic and a pair of pants. I'm... dead! he realized. He fought back tears as he walked around. Wherever he looked, it was still pure white. Tarin suddenly felt a sharp tugging on his leg. Yep, I got resurrected again... He looked around at his surroundings. He was in the Academy of Arcane Sciences, with Fiarn standing ominously over him. He gulped weakly as Fiarn tugged him to the basement of the Academy.

scoutsout2001

07-05-2007, 12:27 AM

The basement of the Academy was dark, with the scent of stale air, but it was cleaner than Deathfist. Necromancers paid no attention to the Cleric and his tiny Fae buddy passing through. Fiarn came up to an ebony door. He knocked on it three times. "Teir'Dal, have you brought him?" a voice from inside the door asked. "Indeed, I have." Fiarn replied with calm. The door slowly opened to reveal a Ratonga standing there, wearing black robes with red trim. He nodded slowly and beckoned for them to enter. "Okay, the Teir'Dal brought us the Fae! Prepare the passage to Neriak!" the Ratonga shouted. Dozens of Gnomes and Erudites ran out of a doorway in the back, each carrying a piece of a portal. Neriak...? I thought that place was lost in the Shattering... Tarin thought. As the Mages built the portal, he fumbled with his shirt. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "'Tis complete!" the Ratonga shouted. Fiarn nodded, and dragging Tarin along, ran through the portal. A screech was heard, and then it was suddenly silent. The only noise Tarin could hear was the steady beat of Fiarn's footsteps, trudging along the path. He looked around. Not much to look at, just a portal at both ends... he noted. The portals were a deep, glowing red, while the space around them was black. His eyelids started to droop slowly. He quickly opened them. I must not fall asleep! His eyelids closed, and he gave in to the sweet sensation of sleep.

scoutsout2001

07-05-2007, 11:34 AM

Neriak. After the cool darkness of Darklight Woods, this hurt Tarin's eyes with... well, everything he could see. Everything here was glowing, save the inhabitants. Well, at least it's not neon... he thought. The scruff of his tunic was still being dragged by Fiarn, and his behind was hurting immensely. His wings, although out, wanted to flap, but he had gotten them under control as so not to disturb Fiarn and get himself killed somehow. "A furn ma ako. Tu Fae. Fiarn L'Narr," Fiarn said to the gigantic door in front of him. A slot opened within it, and two black eyes peered out at them. The slot shut, and the door opened. "Fiarn, I hope there's a good reason you came back to the Castle..." the Dark Elf standing in front of them said. Fiarn nodded. "Of course. I brought you..." Fiarn started to whisper in the Dark Elf's ear. The Dark Elf's eyes widened and he nodded. "Um, of course. Go through to see the Queen..." He stepped aside and let Fiarn and Tarin pass. The guards savagely took out their weapons and pointed them at Fiarn. His eyes widened and he took a step into a corner. The circle of guards got steadily closer until one movement could tear Fiarn's heart out. "Don't strike him! Let us hear him out, and then if it is not sufficient, you lot can go ahead and kill him," a voice from behind the guards said. The guards stiffened and walked back to their posts. Fiarn walked up and bowed. "Thank you, Queen Cristanos, for..." He was interrupted by a slap to the face. "I'm not here to accept thanks! The only reason I'm actually willing to listen to you is because you have a Fae in your grasp!" she shouted at him. He gravely nodded, the slap mark on his face beginning to turn into a bruise. "I brought him," was all that he said. Queen Cristanos nodded hurriedly and beckoned to a chair. Fiarn sat down. "Not you, you idiot! The Fae!" Fiarn got up from the chair. Tarin wiggled free of Fiarn's grasp and sat down. Ah... bliss for the behind. Queen Cristanos bent her knees until her face was at Tarin's level. "You, my child, are about to become what will be known as the greatest thing in history. Don't worry, we have it under control..." she said. She looked at the guards. "Masks on, people. Knock him out, but don't hurt him," she said. The guards pulled their masks on and placed a mask over Tarin's face. A sound of hissing gas could be heard, and Tarin knew no more.