Areal woke to the smell of freshly cooked food.
A couple thin pillows supported her head, a woolen blanket. She lay upon a full-sized sleeping pallet. Next to the sleeping place, was a tray full of food, cooked sausages, eggs, a glass of juice, a warm bread roll, and knife and fork.
The room was small, with stone walls and no windows. A silver door was the only entrance, its glowing bars gave Arael a partial view into the outside from where she lay.
Arael sat up slowly, trying to recall why she was in such a place. As memories from the previous night arose she was left with one lingering thought.
"Well this sucks."
She stood and approached the bars, careful to not touch them, and attempted to see further outside what was obviously a cell (or quite possibly a dorm room).
Arael walked over to the door. Peering out, she could see the profile of a soldier next to her door. She could also see the other side of the wall, brick and plain.
"Prison it is," Arael thought. She made her way back to the pallet and sat down, her mind trying to assess the situation. There wasn't much to assess, sadly.
First, she was in prison.
Second, Lafiel was the reason she was here, if memory served her. Probably meant she worked for the target. Oh yes, last night was disastrous indeed.
Not much more than that was known to her. She wasn't even sure the rest of the party hadn't been taken. All things considered it wasn't likely. At least not if Lafiel had worked by herself, and considering she had left Arael alive they probably weren't murdered in their sleep or anything like that.
Left with little to do Arael first checked herself to see what all had been taken, and then ate the food laid before her. If they had bothered to keep her alive this long there was a good chance that it wasn't poisoned.
Idly, she wondered exactly where she was.
A quick check showed that Areal had been stripped of her items, but she was healthy.
Finishing the meal Ararel stretched. Before she could recall the problems that were probably associated with the act she flexed her 'mental muscle', checking the level of power at her disposal.
Her muscles came up empty.
With nothing else to do at the moment she returned to the door, hoping to at least make out more of the guard's figure.
The guards profile was unmoving. His black hair was cropped short, under the leather helmet he wore.
Sound came from down the hallway, a door opened. Footsteps were heard beneath the sound of the door closing again.
Twisting her head, Areal could see Lafiel walking towards her, a guard trailing behind.
"I see you're awake," Lafiel said. "Step away from the door."
Arael stepped away from the doorway, leaving plenty of room for her captors to enter.
The lock made a change as it was opened, followed shortly by the door. Lafiel strode in, eyes glaring at the captive woman. A soldier, silver haired with a sword at his side stood in the doorway, watching as well.
"Why did you agree to help Arkanel?" she asked.
"My, you certainly cut straight the point," Arael quipped. She leaned against one of the cell walls, her sapphire eyes easily meeting Lafiel's own.
"The reason I agreed to help? He made a very good offer. For helping to fight some great evil I get anything I want out of it? Do you know how few unspoiled places like that grassland remain back home? From what Arkanel told me there was plenty of room over here and judging from what I've seen so far it looked like a reasonable place to set up a colony." A look of annoyance crossed her features.
"Colony?! You want to take over this continent?!" Lafiel shrieked. "You think killing Zaphiel will entitle you to walk in here and take over whatever you want?!"
"Take over? Feh, I was under the impression from Arkanel that there was enough open land on this world that such extremes wouldn't be necessary. "
"Under the impression or told? I can't believe Akranel would allow you to found a settlement here... I know he wouldn't have said that? So why do you want to move here, what's so bad about your world?" Lafiel said.
"I believe it went something like 'The world I live on is rich in minerals and natural resources, which you can have and pretty much whatever else you can use'. That in conjuncture with there only being a few hundred people in the WORLD meant there was practically a whole world out there with nobody in it. As payment for 'fighting the darkness' as he put it, I expected to claim some of that land as my prize.
"My world isn't exactly the greatest place around. Too many people competing over too few goods, too little lands, and too many willing top do whatever to whomever to get their way. Not even the might of Zeal can control all of it."
Lafiel rolled her eyes. "There's a difference between taking some land to settle yourself upon, and starting a colony of your people..."
She looked directly at Areal and spoke. "You said when you got here, you wanted to speak to me alone. What about?"
Arael shrugged.
"Semantics. Doesn't matter now, anyway." Arael moved from the wall a pace, turning fully toward her captor.
"I wanted to talk to you earlier because you seemed a bit more perceptive than 'the great sage Arkanel' when we first showed up." She shook her head. "At first I just wanted to see what you had to say about the situation as I thought you his servant. After a bit of time with him, though, I felt more inclined to find out more fully what exactly was going on. It seemed prudent to find out a bit more about this situation."
"What's going on is a movement to free the people from the ant farm they are kept in. Allow them to grow and mature on their own merits. Arkanel doesn't like what Zaphiel plans to do, and instead of talk him out of it, or contact those who can stop him, he sought to 'hire' those who would do his job for him."
She looked pointedly at Areal then.
Arael blinked in surprise. "Eh, what? Could you repeat that? I don't think I quite caught it."
"Which part. The part about you being hired because Arkanel couldn't stomach doing what he thought best. The part about everyone here living in a kind of part menagerie, part breeding pen?" She asked.
"That last part."
She sighed heavily. "It is something I have learned from Zaphiel, and his words ring true. The current chosen, Arkanel, myself, others on this continent are the weakest of the race of magic users that won the war. They once ruled openly, until they had to fight the last great war; but they still rule today. In response to the war, they set up the people as breeding stock. Both to keep them in check, and to use them. Breeding for experiments, breeding for their powers, and cattle for the magic that keeps this continent perpetually subjugated to them, without knowing. They breed the other people of this continent to be simple folk, and during the 'rite of decay' those over forty, and not of the chosen, are sent to fulfill their real purpose, as guinea pigs and cattle.
"Zaphiel, and others have banded together to stop them. Stop this attrocity. Since you answered Arkanel's call, you are against that purpose. You are here now to determine what to do with you."
"I... see," Arael murmured as the woman's words sank in. "Does Arkanel know about these experiments?"
"He knows. He doesn't care," Lafiel spit.
Arael winced. It made sense, in a disturbing sort of way. It also hit way too close to home with Zeal and the lambs of her world, though to the best of her knowledge they weren't being used as guinea pigs.
"Do you have proof of your claims?," she queried tentatively.
"Proof. Huh," she whispered. "What proof did Arkanel give...? No don't answer that. Proof and truth don't exist in the soft world of these walls." Her hands rose as she indicated the cell.
"Shall I take you to where those who are sacrificed are taken? If you get in, you can find the proof you speak of... one way or the other."
Arael remained silent for a moment. "So what do you plan to do with me?"
"I don't actually know," Lafiel said as she leaned against the wall.
"Zaphiel does think he's found a way to the heart of the old one's magic. He intends to go after it. Being the softy he is, he might take you."
Arael cocked her head slightly. "So there is a way around the magic deterrent?"
"There are always ways. Camelot itself is immune from outside influences... although this cell, and others in it were specially made to hold mages."
Lafiel smiled.
Arael returned the smile. "Of course."
You had to respect that kind of forethought, unlike a certain idiot mage.
"I'm going to get Zaphiel. He can answer any further questions," Lafiel turned, and strode from the room. A moment later the cell door boomed closed, and the turning of keys could be heard.
Closed in and alone Arael returned to the pallet and waited.
A little while later, walking was heard in the hallway. Areal's cell door opened, and a tall man with a lush silver mane walked in.
"Areal, I presume. I am Zaphiel. I've talked with Lafiel, and wish to ask, shall I return you to Arkanel, or will you help us?"
Arael stood as the man entered the cell.
"You would return me?" she asked, surprised. "You already hold me prisoner and you know what I'd be doing if retuned. Why would you let me go?"
Zaphiel chuckled. "I have better uses for my soldiers than having them babysit you. Bloodshed, unless absolutely necessary, is useless. The choice is yours."
"I've heard Arkanel's version of the story and Lafiel's, though she seemed to assume I had more knowledge of this place than I do. With you being at the center of it all, tell me, what is transpiring on this world?"
"I am hardly the center of it all. As to what's transpiring... I'm setting out to destroy the mechanisms that alter the destiny of this land," he responded resolutely.
"So you're starting a war to 'free the people from oppression', so to speak. It sounds noble enough, considering what Lafiel has spoken of. But what do you plan to replace this... order... with? Excuse me if I seem blunt and distrustful, but I have heard two entirely different stories and a dart to the neck isn't the most endearing way to great someone."
"I can appreciate your skepticism. We'll replace it with something different. I was thinking of some sort of elections, to give those freed the ability to elect their leaders. But in all honesty, I haven't given it a whole lot of thought. It's something to worry about, after we are succesful.
"And if I help you could you send me home? As is I know Arkanel can do that much. "
"And if I can't send you home, you will side with Arkanel?"
"Most probably not," Arael admitted, slightly deflated. "What would you have me do in your service?"
"It depends on what your capable of. There are three entrences to the underground caverns the "Old One's" set up. One is located on the island in the middle of the lake, one is loacted at the mouth of the valley, by the huge statues that adorn them, and the third is behind Camelot.
"I've considered, and think the best chance of succesfully destroying the old implements to to enter from the entrance here. The other two are used somewhat regularrly, and are most likely monitored. Will you join a group of adventurers into the unknown warrens to destroy the magical devices that help them keep control of this land?"
"I'll help. However, without my magic I'm severely limited in what I can accomplish I'm afraid. I gather from what Lafiel said that you might know some ways around this magic scrambling field or something to that effect. Is this true?"
"This castle was build in defense of magic. They also left some artifacts that will nullify the effects of magic greatly. These have been tested and showwn to be quite useful. When the parties that travel are set, if you choose to go, I could supply you with one," he replied.
Oh sweet baby Judas! I can get my psi back!
"Sounds like a deal," Arael replied quickly. More slowly she added, "What about the others that were summoned? Dart-girl wouldn't happen to have gotten them as well, would she?"
Zaphiel looked askance at the young woman. "Dart girl..? Ah, Lafiel," he chuckled.
"One of your fellow saviours has come here, as I feel the others will as well. Perhaps you could tell me about those you traveled with. A way to approach them and enlist their aid would be more desireable than the others ways I had considered using to dispose of them."
Arael noted the wording of the last statement with a bit of unease. 'Dispose' was something done to garbage, not people.
"I really don't know much about the others," she spoke truthfully. "Other than Miaka you could probably bribe the rest with money and battle." She shook her head, recalling her earlier opinion of several of the people meant to save the world. "As for the priestess..." Arael shrugged. "She doesn't seem the type."
"Who else is here, by the way?"
"A young lady asked to speak with me--" he was cut off as a soldier walked into the room and whispered into his ear.
He looked to be considering for a moment before he stated to the soldier, "Show her to conference room. I'll meet her there and ask Lafiel to join us."
The soldier gave a crisp salute and left.
Zaphiel turned to Areal. "Your companion Miaka has questions for me. Will you join me," he asked extending his arm in a gesture to the open door.
"Miaka? Heh, figures." Arael stepped outside the cell, stopping once she cleared enough space for Zaphiel to exit.
"Lead on."
Areal found herself in a small prison corridor. One direction was a dead end and the other opened up into a room. She noticed the two guards that had been in the hallway made no move when she exited.
She stopped as Zapheil nodded to her and followed the woman out the door. He nodded to the two soldiers and moved down the hall into the main room.
Areal followed and in turn was followed by the two soldiers.
The larger room conisted of a desk that was currently occupied by a jailor who only nodded in deference as Zaphiel led them to a door that was on the left side of the room.
Areal could see there were two other hallways, each with a row of cells in them.
Zaphiel opened the door and led the three into another hallway. He walked to his left, after entering the hallway(the only direction accessable).
The three walked dow the hallway, passing up adjoining passages to the right until they reached an intersection that ended the hallway they were traversing over. Turning left, Zaphiel led them upa staircase. He turned around again, and went down the hallway, until they came to a door on the right.
He opened it and walked in.
Areal saw Miaka sitting a a large table, a soldier close by her side.
ooc: Might as well respond in Miaka's thread from now on.