Royal Captive

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Garret felt a shiver going down his spine, but then said "Oh, don't think of it like that. So let's see, food, architecture, bazaar, spa. Those are things we have to do, and don't worry, you're not going to be felt up by a middle-aged man in some shithole. You're probably going to be felt up by some pretty women or well-oiled men, to be honest." He raised a hand and rubbed his chin. "... How about we go for some food first? I'm starving. Then we can always take a stroll through the city if you want to see the buildings. Then the bazaar? Because I'd like to end it all with the spa, and we can just leave stuff somewhere there anyway, I'm sure." He turned to her "Sound good?"

 

[erikaleeanne]

As Annabeth listened to him talk, she couldn't help but realize one fact, something that he was bringing to her attention: she didn't feel like a captive. It was a strange feeling, really. Nevertheless, she figured that, for now, these said feelings could be ignored. At the moment, she was going to enjoy the somewhat 'freedom' that she had.


"Sounds grand," Annabeth replied to him with a small smile, "Let's go."

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

"Yes, let's." He responded, and held out a hand to help her up from the ground.


(Plz, it's late and I'm all out of creativity. Can you describe the environment? You can go "Garret led her to..." or something like that.)

 

[erikaleeanne]

(Certainly. It's about 5am there, isn't it? Go to bed.)


Annabeth took Garret's hand, and he soon led her to the most beautifully chaotic places that she'd ever seen. The town was large, but it's structure was easily seen, with compounded houses, both abandoned and occupied, littered the edges of the area. From the right angle, you could see the town in a sort of kaleidoscope fashion; these said houses on the out-skirts, then slowly developing into an array of markets adorned with rugs and jewelry and fruits and books (practically anything that Annabeth could imagine), all covered and connected by extravagantly crafted tunnels, overpasses, and balconies. Some buildings and market stands proved to be much larger than others (she guessed them to be the spas and restaurants that Garret spoke about, as she could smell the familiar scent of food caught in pre), but they were all basically made of the same thing; colored stone and marble, all seemingly handcrafted.


An extremely noticeable feature of such a lovely bazaar was it's population. People of all colors barreled left and right, backwards and fowards, laughing and shouting and talking as if such clattering bothered them none, which was probably the case. Although she found this to be wonderful and exciting, Annabeth still gripped Garret's hand with ferocity, afraid that she would be simply swept away in the midst of colorful accessories and clothing and produce.

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

(Yes indeed it was, and I went to bed. I was quite tired. Good post, by the way!)


Garret laughed as he recognized how extravagant the place was. It had been some time since he was here last, and the place was always sprawling with life and happiness. He looked at Annabeth when she gripped his hand, and once again got another smile out. "Alright, so how about over there?" He asked, and pointed to a large building with a staircase that led up to the roof, where people were sitting and enjoying meals he himself hadn't even seen before.

 

[erikaleeanne]

Annabeth nodded and smiled back. "Looks great. I'm longing for something to eat that isn't infested with sand."

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Garret shrugged. "Aw, I thought I did a pretty good job avoiding the sand, considering the sand-to-food ratio in our camp." He held on to her hand and led her to the restaurant, where he simply told her to sit down at a table, and he went over to talk to the chef personally. After a few frantic hand-gestures and weird looks, they seemed to have come to some sort of agreement and he returned to the table. "Alright then, now we just wait."

 

[erikaleeanne]

Annabeth watched the sorcerer nervously from the table. When he sat down and told her to wait, she raised an eyebrow and shifted uncomfortably in the chair.


"Well," she began, "what exactly was that? You were nice to them, I hope."

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

"Hey now, I'm always nice" He said with a smirk. He looked over his shoulder at the chef who looked thoroughly confused, but nonetheless did his job. "No, don't worry about it. I don't speak the language perfectly, so such things as ordering food can be a pain, but I got the point across." He turned back to Annabeth. "And I know the guy from before, so no need to worry there." He leaned back in his chair and then sent a quick glance across the scene, and then leaned in close to her. "Aaand I might've maybe read his mind once, just to understand him."


He leaned back again, but then added "Don't worry, I haven't read yours. Not that I can. How easy it is to read someone's mind is highly dependant on their intelligence." He sent another glance towards the chef. "That guy is... kind of an airhead, to be honest."

 

[erikaleeanne]

Annabeth looked from the chef to Garret, then to the chef, then back to Garret again. It was surprise, to say the least, that the man sitting in front of her had the ability to do such a thing; yet, at the same time, she was relieved that he couldn't read her own mind. From time to time, she had thought incredibly hostile as well as incredibly kind things about the sorcerer himself.


"So," she said, caught between amazement and intrigue, "that's definitely not something I've ever heard before. A mind-reading sorcerer." She cupped one side of her face in the palm of her hand and leaned her elbow against the table. "Not to re-enter the subject, but I suppose the one you're working for had to pay a hefty price to get ahold of you."

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Garret smiled. "Well, it isn't a usual talent. Then again, wouldn't you think they'd only hire the best to capture the princess of an entire country?" He shook his head. "Nonetheless, you'll see that there are cooler things you can buy for money than me." He looked over his shoulder "Right about now, actually."


A group of waiters started streaming out of the kitchen carrying... Well, anything you can imagine. "I have a hard time picking, so why not a bit of everything?" He'd ordered everything on the menu, and though you'd never get him to admit it, he did it just to impress her. Once it was laid out on the table in front of them he leaned forward on his elbows and waited for her to begin. "Go ahead, you've ought to be starving." He said, with a smile.

 

[erikaleeanne]

Annabeth stared down at the table, wide-eyed, then back to the sorcerer. She hadn't seen a meal like this since the palace; and even though that was only a week or so ago, it had felt like an eternity since her last decent meal. The look on Garret's face made Annabeth believe that the reason for the gesture was because of more than just his indecisiveness, but she hardly cared about any other motive. Her stomach was growling too ferociously for that. Annabeth chose the dish closest to her and began eating rather rapidly, the warmth and aroma hitting her in a most pleasurable wave.


"I can't believe you did this," she said between mouthfuls, "Of course, I'm not complaining. All of this is delicious."

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Lloyd smirked and grabbed a couple of falafels. "Heh. I'm sure you're used to better food than this though." He leaned back in the chair and looked at the table. He wasn't even sure if he wanted anything, but there was just so much, he could hardly ignore it. After a few moments, he shrugged and grabbed things from the nearest plates and ate them. A couple of people on other tables looked over at the stuffed table in disbelief, but he paid them no mind.

 

[erikaleeanne]

Annabeth smiled as she felt her stomach cease to growl. She sat back and put a hand on her stomach, sighing happily. "That was fantastic," she said, "I couldn't possibly eat another..." Her eyes drifted down to the ground below. From their spot on the roof, she could see a bustle of people, but a group of four or five stuck out like sore thumbs. They were dressed in familiar robes that covered their mouths and noses. Eyes wide and face pale, she recognized them almost immediately. She put a few fingers to her bottom lip, where she had been struck once. The mark itself was gone, but she could remember it in a way that the pain was almost still there. One of the men that was glancing about looked up at the restaurant, and seemed to make very brief eye contact with her.


She quietly gasped and sunk down, until she was almost hiding behind the table. "Garret," she said, voice shaken, "You might want to get down."

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Garret's immediate reaction was to raise an eyebrow when she widened her eyes, but when she shrunk down behind the table with a gasp and told him to hide he immediately resumed his neutral expression and acted naturally. He stood up from the table and pushed the chair in, before calmly walking away from the side of the roof where they were actually visible and over to the kitchen. Once out of view he signaled for her to come over. "What did you see?" he asked her, and left a couple of golden coins on the counter.

 

[erikaleeanne]

Annabeth nervously peeked down back to the ground, where she could see the men now stopped in the middle of the walkway, looking up. She nervously cleared her throat and approached Garret.


"The men from before," she whispered, although she knew there was no reason to, "The bandits. They're right in front of the restaurant. I think they've seen us."

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Garret's expression immediately became serious. "Shit." He exclaimed quietly and looked around. He lowered his voice further and whispered to her "I don't suppose you'd know this, but sorcery is incredibly taboo in these parts. If I start using magic I'll have the entire town after me, and I'll never be welcome back here ever again. They might even launch a full-scale witch hunt, and I don't want to murder innocents." He cleared his throat quietly and then opened the door into the kitchen. "We're going to have to be smart about this. There should be a back exit, let's find it."


He casually walked into the kitchen, where immediately some of the workers looked at him with suspicion. He smiled at them and pointed at the few gold coins on the counter, upon which focus was immediately taken from them. "Come on." He said.


(Feel free to lead them out of the building and stuff :3)

 

[erikaleeanne]

Annabeth timidly followed Garret through the kitchen, trying to keep herself as calm as she could. She looked around and pointed to a door in the back corner. "There," she said, and grabbed his wrist and began pulling him through the door, which lead to an innard staircase that chefs and waiters walked up and down, occasionally glancing in her and the sorcerer's direction; however, she paid them no mind. All she wanted was to get out of the restaurant and as far away from the bandits as possible. After the peace she had experienced after the ordeal, Annabeth had no intention of being their prisoner again.


After descending the staircase, they faced a large oak door that led to (rather, she guessed that it led to) the outside. She mentally prayed and pleaded to whatever higher power existed that the bandits weren't there, waiting. She slowly opened the door.


It turned out that the door led to a small alleyway. Annabeth, still clinging to Garret's wrist, glanced left to right, and saw no sign of the men. Sighing in relief, she closed the door behind them and began quickly walking out of the alleyway. "We musn't let them see us," she said, "so I'm guessing we'll have to hide for a bit...until they're gone, at..."


She halted. Two of the mean came from behind the front walls of the alleyway. She glanced over her shoulder. The other three were coming from behind.


"Hello, dear," one of the men said. She couldn't see their mouths, but Annabeth could guess that they were smirking, "Nice to see that your lovely little face has healed up from our last encounter." The same man advanced upon her, pushing her against a wall and putting a finger under her chin while a few of the men grabbed Garret and pulled him back. "And you brought your friend with you, too. The murderer. Makes things easier on us."


(If you want, you can play a few of the bandits.)

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

(Lovin' the long posts )


Garret waited behind her and looked up the stairs as she opened the door, then quickly followed her into the alley. Garret noticed the bandits quickly, but was powerless to them. He couldn't physically overpower them, and passers-by were outside the alley on both sides. "The murderer." The words caught his ear and he looked back at the bandit assaulting with a dark glare. "Do you want to make that mass-..." He stopped his sentence when he looked past the bandits. A couple of small children, orphans probably, were hiding behind a crate at the end of the alley and looking at them. He couldn't say things like that in front of children. "Shaddap!" one of the men holding him back shouted with a deep accent and gave him back-hand to the side of the head with a studded glove. Garret recoiled and a couple drops of blood ran down the side of his face.


He looked up at the bandit again but held his tongue. His mind was working frantically to come up with some sort of plan, but there was a drought of thoughts. Partially by the many constricting factors, and the deep anger he felt towards the bandits. He stared at the hand against Annabeth's chin, and internally swore to himself that he'd do terribly uncomfortable things with that hand to it's wielder. What the hell are you going to do now, asshole? He thought with a dark expression on his face.

 

[erikaleeanne]

Annabeth glared the man before her with extreme disdain. Her eyes looked to Garret, and the drops of blood running down the side of his face. "Hey!" Annabeth finally hissed. "Murderer or not, leave him out of this. I'm the one you wanted, right? The one who got away? Just let him go." A few of the men chuckled.


"A brave effort," the man said, removing his hand from her chin, "but I can't exactly leave him behind, now can I? He's a loose end. If we men are known for anything, it's for tying up loose ends." More chuckling echoed across the alleyway. The man grabbed Annabeth's arm and began pulling her out of the alleyway, and to a door on the far right wall. The other men followed suit, dragging Garret behind them.


The man opened the door to reveal an empty building, with the exception of a few crates lying around. The only light came from the half-broken windows at the very top of the building, windows that couldn't be reached without a good climb. "Now, let's get started," the man said, shoving Annabeth to the ground. She fell and looked up just in time to see the men arranging a large crate (body sized, to be precise) upright. It was an old crate, with a few holes and crevices, but sturdy enough for what she guessed that it was going to used for. The men holding Garret shoved him inside, shutting the crate's lid and pulling down a large metallic latch.


"You killed one of my valued men," the bandit said. Annabeth concluded that this man was the leader of the group, "and I don't like that. I really REALLY don't like that." The leader then drew his leg, kicking Annabeth in the face. She fell onto her back as pain shot through the newly decorated wound. "So," the man continued, "I'm going to kill one of yours. Plus interest." He delivered a swift kick to Annabeth's ribs. "And you, my boy, are going to watch. It's not the best view, I know, but it gets the point across, I think." Another bandit from the group approached Annabeth, who was attempting to catch her and breath and bring herself to at least sit up. Once she did so, the said bandit kicked her right back down. "Don't feel too guilty about all of this," the leader chimed, "I'll kill you after I kill her, so you don't have to live with that burden."


Annabeth, incredibly disoriented, tried to look for the crate that held Garret. The laughs and shouts that came from the bandits seemed to dissipate to her ears, and she only thought about the sorcerer. "Garret," she muttered, then a little louder, "Garret." The bandits began to laugh even louder, and mimic her pleas. "Go to hell!" She managed to sputter out, spitting in one of the bandit's face as he loomed over her. The bandit recoiled in disgust and struck her across the face.


"We should go to hell?" The leader scoffed, "We'll make you wish you were in hell when we're done, trust us." Another bandit loomed over Annabeth once more, pulling a knife from his belt. Before the princess had time to react, she felt the edge of the blade sink into her forearm, and she screamed.


The leader leaned against the crate that Garret was trapped in. "This isn't easy for us," he chimed, "but everyone has to pay for their sins. Is she paying for hers? Perhaps. I'll make a deal with you, though. I'll stop the pain for your pretty little friend if you, say, persuade me. Apologize. Repent. Bribe. Maybe I'll listen. Maybe I'll agree to something before my friends are done...carving her up." Annabeth was vaguely listening to the conversation, but she could feel her body slipping into numbness as the knife wrote across her forearm like a paintbrush on canvas." Her screams were reduced to moans and whimpers. "Garret," she found herself whispering, "don't do anything stupid."


The leader of the gang chuckled, "Look at her, still trying to defend you. Adorable, really. Now," he turned his full attention to Garret, "I'm listening."


 
(Got carried away...again. )

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Garret was shoved inside a room, and before he had the time to assess the situation the strong hands had shoved him into a crate and locked his only way out. He was in an incredibly uncomfortable position in the cramped space, and he did his best to shuffle into a better one. He didn't know what they were planning to do now, but he was convinced he wouldn't like it. He flinched when he heard the bandit's threat, and the all-too familiar sound of blunt violence. His brain was racing. Endless amounts of spells and incantations were clear to him, as if they were black writing on paper in front of his eyes, yet still none of them fit the occasion. What wasn't helping was the uncontrollable rage he found burning just under his chest.


He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Something... There must be something... He thought. His eyes opened again, and in the dim light inside the box he started shuffling, reaching down into a pocket in his pants and fished a flip knife out of it. With the small movements the cramped space allowed for, he started carving into the wood of the box. He grinded his teeth as he heard her screams. "don't do anything stupid." He momentarily stopped his carving, and looked at it. Stupid. He was doing something stupid. He should really listen to her more. He slowly removed the knife from the runes, then immediately rammed it back again. No, doing nothing meant death. This was the best chance. He finished the rune and placed his hand onto it, then frantically looked for something on his body. His eyes widened of fear when he realized he didn't possess anything he needed.


"I'm listening." The words cut through the quiet that had replaced Annabeth's agony. Garret contemplated it for a second, and then whispered "Sorry." so quietly it wasn't heard outside the box. "Sorry Anna." Then he raised his voice, and said "... I wish for one thing... Can I have a strand of her hair before we die?" The question echoed out into the room, and a shocked silence laid over it. Suddenly the bandis bursted out in loud laughter. "You sick asshole!" The bandit said, and kept laughing. "Fine, have it your way. Your last twisted pleasure before your death. Go ahead." He heard shuffling outside the box, and then a small strand of hair slid in through on of the many holes. Garret twisted his body and managed to get a hold of the hair, then pushed it to the runes he'd carved into the box and mumbled "Thank you."


Next everything happened very quickly. A light appeared from the runes he'd carved, and then a feeling as if he was falling came over him. All his air was violently ripped out of his lungs, and he coughed loudly when he appeared on the floor in Annabeth's place. He groaned as he felt the knife inside his arm, and a look of shock came upon the faces of the bandits. He'd switched places with her. The bandit who had the knife in his arm recoiled and pulled the knife back from him. "What the hell!?" One of them exclaimed, and the leader shouted "He's a dirty spellpeddler!" but none of them dared to approach him again. He stood up from the ground and walked over to the box where Annabeth had been moved to and placed a hand on it. A line of light coursed down his arm and briefly illuminated the entire part of the box he was holding his hand on, breaking it's integrity up and making it about as tough as paper to break through. He didn't unseal it however, but sent another light down from his arm and into the box, using a very draining ability to heal her ever so slightly from a distance. He whispered, just loud enough for her to hear it: "Be careful, and don't reveal yourself. Find a man called Caius Ariates when everything is over. Remember that name."


That's about when the bandits' patience ran out. "Oh, come on! He's just one guy!" All the bandits hissed some sort of agreement, lifted their weapons and slowly started approaching Garret. Garret looked at them with something wild in his eyes, then in a seamless motion lifted the flip knife above his head, then brought his arm down, sending the knife straight into the throat of one of the five bandits. The man immediately fell to the floor, clawing at his neck and giving out gurgling noises. The bandits roared and jumped at him. The first one got thrown across the room and hit the wall with an audible crack, upon which he stopped moving. The second man had his own sword broken into several small sharp pieces and pushed into his gut, causing him to shout in pain before he slipped and fell into a pool of his own blood. The third man swiped at Garret with his curved sword, but Garret dodged it. He then turned around and ran for the door, which Garret didn't stop. The leader also cut towards Garret with his sable, and Garret was quite quick enough. He erected a transparent gold shield in midair, stopping the blade before it had cut through his entire arm, but it left a large gash just by his triceps. Garret exclaimed out of pain, and then whipped his right arm around and got a hold of the leader's head.


With a flick of his barely functional left wrist his blade was ripped out of his hand and crashed into a wall, and with his right hand Garret forced the leader back until his head hit a wall. The impact dazed the bandit and he slid down against the wall until he was sitting. He looked up at Garret with fear in his eyes and started pleading for his life in a language Garret was unfamiliar with. Garret leaned down and looked him in the eyes. "Don't worry. I'll give you a quick death. That's more than you'd ever give us." The man started pleading louder, but then Garret closed his eyes and a low thud was heard from the palm of his hand. The bandit's eyes rolled back in his sockets, and all his limbs when limp. Garret got up and backed away from the corpses, and looked at all the bloodshed he'd caused. He sighed and added under his breath "Not again..."


Suddenly the door out was flung open, and the bandit from earlier came in through the door again and looked at Garret with fear in his eyes. Garret met his gaze, and then widened his eyes when the bandit's chest was pierced by multiple iron bolts. "So they're here now..." He said aloud to no one in particular. A man wearing blue robes with tattoos all over his face walked into the room and stood by the door, then pointed at Garret and shouted what meant something along the lines of "Heretic". Garret recognized the robes. This man was a "detector". Every large town in the southern cities had one. Someone born with the magical abilities who only uses them to detect sources of magic so that they could be apprehended. A group of elite guards stormed into the room and forced Garret down to his knees, then locked a bracelet made out of metal that suppressed magic abilities on his right arm, before lifting him up and carrying him off.


All that was left in the room was silence and dead bodies.


(Alright, so I wrote a lot more than I had planned to. So some things 1. Sorry for hogging the show ;c 2. Feel free to roleplay finding Caius, who is a high official in the town who happens to be on very good terms with Garret. He'll probably get someone to look at your wounds, and start organizing some way of getting Garret free. 3. After your reaction post, I'll reveal everything that's happening/happened to Garret. 4. Just speak up if you think any of this is dumb or anything, I did get a bit carried away.)

 

[erikaleeanne]

Whatever happened after she was shoved into the box, she hardly paid attention to. Everything that happened around seemed unreal, as if her mind was a ghost, staring down at her blood-drained body. She heard thuds and shouts, but all she could think was : I'm going to die. I'm going to die like this.





When a light came through the box, she wondered if she was dead. Then, Annabeth heard Garret's voice, her weak spirits were slightly lifted.


"Be careful, and don't reveal yourself. Find a man called Caius Ariates when everything is over. Remember that name." It was a whisper, but the sweetest whisper that she had ever heard. The wound from her arm stopped its bleeding. A seemingly small fix, but life-saving none-the-less. She refused to look down at the bloody scar it left. She had no intention of learning what had been carved into her skin. She heard thuds and rattles and shouts.


Then there was silence. Eerie silence. "Garret," she weakly muttered, throwing herself against the box until it slowly opened, her entire body still feeling numb and ragdoll-ish. Annabeth frantically looked from left to right. No sign of him. No sign of any living thing. Just lots of blood and bodies. She looked away, not wanting to see any of it. Although she was believed to be strong, she was still a princess. A princess who only read about scenes like this in books.


Caius Ariates. She had to find him. It's what Garret told her to do, and she saw no other option. Very weak, yet still capable of stumbling around, she left the empty building and stumbled out into the streets, where she grabbed the arm of the nearest seller at the market and whispered, "I need to find Caius Ariates." The marketplace man, confused, gently pried her off of him and stared at her. "You look like you need a doctor. Badly."


"No," she replied weakly, her vision furiously blurring, "I need Caius Ariates." The man sighed, and pointed to a group of officials huddled around a stand, admiring extravagant rugs. Without another word to the man, she stumbled over to the officials, clinging to one of them as her knees began to fail her. "Caius..." Her consciousness was slipping, "...Ariates. Where is he?" That was all she could muster before she felt her eyelids droop shut and her ears ring.


"Ariates?" One of the officers exclaimed, "I think I know where he is. At the moment, at least. I saw him this morning..." After she heard those words, she almost immediately blacked out.


When she woke up, she found herself lying in a bed, her head throbbing. Yet, she was alive. That alone surprised Annabeth. She tried to sit up, but her body was too heavy. She glanced from left to right, and the first thought that came to her head was : Caius Ariates. "Caius," she said as loud as her still-weak voice could manage, "Caius Ariates?"

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Caius


A distant "Yes?" was heard, and then as if he'd moved across an entire house in a couple of seconds a man appeared in the doorway. The man was tall, a little chubby and had short blonde hair - which was unusual around here - with gray streaks on top of his head, and he looked at the woman who lay in the bed with curious eyes. "Oh, you've woken up!" He said in an enthusiastic tone and clapped his hands together. He pulled a chair from a table in the corner of the room and pulled it up alongside the bed. "I had my maids change your clothes into something less dirty and wash you, I hope you don't mind!" He said and folded his hands over his knees. "Running around half-dead in the town like that, what got into you?" He smiled and the wrinkles around his mouth and eyes got even more obvious. Though he looked as if he was doing well, it was clear that his prime years had just passed him by.


"Now, of course you must understand that I'm pretty confused why such a pretty little girl is asking about poor old me in the middle of the day like that." He chuckled, and the calm, happy expression never faded from his face. He must've been very happy with his life, or very good at faking it. "So what's your name, girl? Why have were you looking for me?"


Garret


When he finally woke up after fainting from exhaustion, he found himself in a surprisingly comfortable bed in a surprisingly comfortable light, spread in surprisingly comfortable room. He immediately felt like something was wrong and sat up straight in the bed and instantly regretted it. A piercing pain shot up from his chest and left arm, and he immediately fell back down again. A loud yelp was heard, but it hadn't come from Garret, so he looked down and noticed a lightly-clothed - most likely a servant - girl who looked like she'd just seen a ghost. She sighed loudly and then leaned down to keep washing the small gash on his forearm. With a thick accent he heard her say "Don't move around too much." and he decided to calm down and do as she said. Instead he took a look around the room. It was completely made out of some sort of polished bright beige stone, and the ceiling was rounded without any corners to it. An oil lamp hanged in the center of the ceiling, but it wasn't lit, nor did it need to be. On his right side just a little bit from the bed there was a 5 man wide opening in the wall which lead out to a balcony which seemed to stretch a little beyond the opening itself, and stuck out a couple of feet with high railings made just like the rest of the building. There were no exact corners or sharp edges anywhere in the room, it all looked like it was a soft handmade piece of beige pottery.


On his left side there was a wooden door put into an uneven opening in the wall, but it looked very sturdy. A gentle cool breeze blew into the room and alleviated some of the heat from the sun that sent it's rays directly into the room, and also shook the clothes that Garret was now wearing. He looked down a the new garments, and was somewhat disappointed to find that instead of his expensive robes there was baggy pants and an open sleeveless shirt on him, all of rather common quality. White bandages were surrounding his torso, which he raised an eyebrow to. The servant girl noticed him, and said "Doctor say you have broken bones in chest." with her thick accent. Huh. He thought. I must've taken a hit I didn't notice somewhere.


Nonetheless, the entire situation was quite absurd. He'd never been put in a holding cell before, but this seemed a lot nicer than he'd expected. The servant girl finished washing his wound, then tied a bandage around that arm as well. She stood up from the bed he was laying on and grabbed her things before leaving the room, and tightly locking the thick door behind her. Garret raised his right arm and put it on his chest. "Alright, time to fix this..." He said, and then recoiled as he felt a burning sensation in his arm when he tried to channel magic. He looked at his wrist and found the red metal bracelet on his arm. He frowned. Bloodstone. Made to repress the natural magical talents of common mages. He scoffed, then exclaimed "But I'm no common mage." and pushed his hand onto his chest again. He groaned loudly of pain as the rib snapped back into place and partially healed, then waved his arm around. His hand felt like it was going to melt. He possessed enough power to defy the suppression of the bracelet, but he was nowhere near what he could usually do with his magic.


He slowly slid his way out of the bed and tested placing his feet on the warm floor, heated by the sun. He took a couple of steps, and then noted that his balance and leg strength wasn't particularly affected. He took another few steps and went out on the small balcony, and gasped at the view. He found himself in one of the town's tallest spires. The town perfectly aligned in front of him, and the dunes in the distance partially covering up the slowly descending sun, it was a beautiful sight to behold. He looked down, and felt a little disappointed. With the bracelet on, a jump from this height would kill him. He was a little more than a hundred feet up in the air, and only two or three other spires in the entire city could reach this height. He backed away from the balcony and sat back down again. This was quite a predicament.


(I'll do more things for Garret later, but I guess we'll focus on Annabeth now.)

 

[erikaleeanne]

Annabeth stared at the man with intense curiosity, before slowly pulling herself into a sitting position. She contemplated how she should answer his question. She looked down at her clothes. They were changed, and very nice as opposed to her dust and sand and blood covered garments from before.


She then remembered what Garret had told her about revealing herself. She decided to not let anyone know, especially this unusual looking man who she wasn't one hundred percent sure that she could trust.


"My name...is Annabeth," She began, clutching the bed sheets to steady herself. The room was spinning a bit from what she was guessing to be considerable blood loss. "I'm friends with Garret...the sorcerer. I'm assuming you know him because...well, we were ambushed by these bandits, which sort of explains the state I'm in right now," Her eyes drifted to her marked up arm, then away again, "Anyway, Garret killed most of them. At least, that's what I'm assuming; I couldn't see. But when I could see...he was gone. I think he was taken." She tried to hold back her tears. Annabeth couldn't believe that this had happened for a second time. "Before he was gone, he told me to come and find you. It was almost as if...as if...he knew what was going to happen."


She ran her hands over her face. "You've got to find him, sir. Please. You have to help me."

 

[Prizzy Kriyze]

Caius


Caius sat with his head leaned on his open palm and listened intently on what she had to say. His eyes slowly widened over the course of her explaining, and when she was done he took a deep breath and gazed out the window. He sighed, then looked back at the girl. "You've been through quite something, haven't you?" He stood up from his chair and started pacing around the room. "But you should remember not to use terms such as sorcerer aloud here. You're lucky I know him." He kept pacing for a while, seemingly contemplating something. Eventually he stopped in the center of the room and looked at her.


"So, he killed the bandits and now he's gone? No Garret I've ever known has been bothered by a few bandits. Before national laws against sorcery came up he used to go bandit hunting on his own all the time. He was rather infamous around these parts, actually. But then again, that is true. He was never one to fight with conventional weapons. So unless he's recently picked that up, he had to have...." Caius stopped himself and scratched his chin. "So the detectors got him."


Judging by how the girl looked she wasn't from around here, that was for sure, so he quickly added "Ah, sorry. The detectors are mages only trained in how to detect sources of magic. They're used by the local militia to track down and apprehend 'talented' people who use their arts. If he used his magic, they're bound to have found him and then he's most likely locked up now. That would explain why he sent you to me." He continued to scratch his chin and stared of into space with thoughtful eyes. Suddenly he snapped out of the dreamy expression and took a look back up at Annabeth again. "Hrrm. And he'd do all that for a pretty girl?"


Caius started smiling warmly again, and chuckled lowly. "Annabeth, was it? Garret must have taken a real liking to you. The Garret I remember didn't even talk to girls, much less go through any trouble to help them. He didn't even talk to most guys." He evaluatingly looked over her. "But you tell me if he ever treats you wrong. I know his type, and he ain't someone you'd want to be friends with." Not unless he's changed drastically in the last two years. He thought.