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Post by Nathalia on Sept 30, 2007 2:31:36 GMT -5
Bernard watched as the small form trotted slowly past him inot the dark stairwell. He couldn't help but feel badly about sending the boy in, he seemed to have either mastered control of his emotions...or that he had none entirely...if anything, this would tell Bernard which; and subsequently...where to place the boy.
A card without any emotions at all...or any desire to help others was hardly worth a place where they could be exposed to the public unless specific measure were called for. Bernard didn't want to believe that the boy was incapable of feeling things toward others...but something about his icy tone...and the fact that his parents were...well, he knew enough about his father at any rate. He may harbor enough resentments to be a danger to others, or more importantly, to himself.
The King of Hearts closed the door behind Severus. Sighing, he sat down in a small wooden chair and waited, eyes closed. Within a few moments, he could see the form of the boy, heading down the stairs, he would continue watching, the whole way through.
He barely felt the fingers as they gingerly gripped his arm. He kept his eyes closed and watched the boy.
"Heh...Now, Bernard?"
He didn't look up, didn't flinch at the sound of a voice that shouldn't be there.
"Yes,...now."
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The stairs extended down for a long while, the air beginning to feel damp and unpleasant, the walls were no longer made of fine grain sandstone, but thick, swollen, coarse rock, rolling with condensation.
After about ten minutes, the stairs even out into a large, underground cavern. Sound echoed terribly, and through the gloom, barely illuminated by three far spaced torches, looming shapes could be seen. They appeared immobile, there was no sound but that which Severus made. There were chains dangling from the walls...and odd stains on the floor.
Upon further inspection, the room contains three stretching racks, five sets of wall chains, and one iron maiden, empty and open, spikes sharpened. There is a door clear across the large chamber, thick wooden, and bolted.
Someone is breathing on the other side...in loud...breathy sobs... Someone is breathing his name...
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Post by FlyingPanther on Sept 30, 2007 18:51:37 GMT -5
Severus was trying his hardest not to breathe to fast, and to keep calm. He was a child after all, and while he may have ambition, his nerves still weren't exactly steel yet. He cursed under his breath, angry with himself for his childishness. He was not a child! He swallowed hard, narrowing his eyes dangerously, and as if his front gave him some new determination, he marched forward through the dark.
The journey down seemed to last forever, and it calmed Severus, and left him intregued. Where was this leading him? What would he encounter when he finally got to his destination? His hair began to cling to his face uncomfortibly from the condensation. It was already a rather greasey mop, but the moisture made it worse. He shook his head, getting the mane out of his eyes before continueing forward.
It was then that he finally enterd the cavern. He lingered on the last bit of stairs for a tiny bit, taking in his surroundings before fully entering the area, just incase. He was in some sort of dungeon, that was clear, then he saw the iron maiden. No....not a dungeon, a torchure chamber. He stepped forward, intregued by the devices scattered about the room, but there was no dark sadistic gleam in his eye, and neither was there worry. He had never seen such devices in his life. His look was one of someone seeking to learn, purely intregue and science. Like a doctor looking at an infectious wound.
It was then that he heard the whimpering behind the bolted wooden door. He had been so sure he was the only one in this chamber, but now he was very sure he wasn't. It sent hairs on the back of his neck flying upward, but his face did not contort with fear. He merely turned around to face the door. After all, the person behind it...was behind it, it couldn't hurt him...if it wanted to.
"Who speaks my name?" he called out in a commanding voice, albeit the one of a child.
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Post by Nathalia on Oct 2, 2007 17:14:44 GMT -5
The voice beyond groaned in agony, as though the creature were being pulled apart bit by bit.
"Se-Severus..."
The voice was raspy and pained, nigh on unrecognizable when it groaned and repeated the same thing over and over. The words sometimes only barely whispered, sometimes mixed with an agonized whimper.
The door looked as though it were made well, no hope of breaking it down, or pulling the hinges out, especially without fingers. A pace around the room, however would reveal on the far left wall directly over the iron maiden, hung a thick ring of keys. They looked old and tarnished, thick and rusted.
The stairs were near by and it might be possible to leap from the stairs and grab the keys if the jump was judged correctly...there wasn't any real danger of falling into the iron maiden, simply the danger of hitting the top of it and having a crash landing.
The voice beyond the door whispered again, sounding desperate, pleading.
"Severus? S-sev..."
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Post by FlyingPanther on Oct 3, 2007 15:15:05 GMT -5
Severus simply responded with a raise of an eyebrow. Who in the world was this person who called his name in such despiration? He couldn't recognize the voice...and for all he knew, no one knew he was participating in a quest...so it couldn't be someone from his family. But all the same, they called out to him...using his name. If for no other reason, Severus would try to find a way to open the door just to solve the mystery of the person that lay beyond it.
He looked at the door, though he knew deep down it couldn't be that easy. This person was obviously a prisoner, and while the guards might be lax at the gate...he was sure the dungeon's master wouldn't be quite so absent. Indeed, on closer inspection it looked as if there was no way to open the door without a key. He turned around casually. There were no noises in the dungeon except for the feeble calls of the person behind the door, so no one was coming...and there didn't seem to be anyone there that he could sence. He was alone...and in the gloom, he was getting used to his surroundings...however strange they might be. After all, his mother DID have a lab that was just as spooky, if not spookier then this place.
He walked around, looking for the key, his little feet pattering softly against the stone ground. He finally spotted the keys above the iron maiden...a formidible challange for one as feeble and small as himself. He narrowed his eyes as a sudden thought occured to him. All this time he was curious about who the person behind the door was....but he had no idea what this person had done to deserve the punishment that kept him within the enclosed space. He sat, contemplating his next move.
"What have you done to deserve the fate that you find yourself in now? Speak truth, or I will find a way to exact the truth from you." in truth he just wanted to know who this person was...he didn't want to resort to anything unless he felt he really needed to. But if this person was in such pain as he/she was...more then likely they wouldnt want him to resort to anything either...his/her words would most likely be fairly reliable. His voice was his usual condicending one.
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Post by Spiderfly on Oct 6, 2007 21:14:48 GMT -5
Nat and FP both receive 1 token each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe.
This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe.
Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!
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Post by Nathalia on Oct 7, 2007 15:17:25 GMT -5
The voice quavered in a sob for a moment, then whispered to him, stronger than the last time... Identifiable...
"Severus...please help me...I don't know why..."
Ophelia
The voice was that of his own mother.
There was another gasp of pain and a tiny dribble of dark blood ran out from under the door.
There was something else now...if he listened carefully, he might catch it. A breathy snicker, the held in laugh only uttered when his mother whimpered in agony.
There was another sharp gasp, as though pain had just been delivered anew, and then silence...
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Post by FlyingPanther on Oct 7, 2007 15:36:53 GMT -5
Severus eyes widened, now afraid. How was he not able to recognize his mother's voice before? How, with his cervine hearing abilities, did he not hear the snickering before? The cold child's heart was gripped with a new freezing sensation. True fear. He had not thought he was capable of feeling such a thing, but here he was cemented to the spot, hearing his mothers pain...and knowing that someone in there was causing it. He had wasted time...and now....there was silence. Was he to late.
His nostrils flared angrily, small snakelike slits opening completely...looking now more like horse nostrils then anything else in his fury. Of all the people in his life, his mother was the only one he really cared about. Even his siblings would not have gained this reaction from him. He teeth ground against eachother, but he couldn't find the words to express how he felt, and everything that came to mind to shout just seemed...cheesy. With a quick and adgile leap he ran towards the iron maiden, with new conviction and determination.
His mother would not die if he could help it. And if she was...then he would avenge her. He was confident in what little magic abilities he had. It looked as if the only way to get to the keys was going to be to leap from the spiraling stairs. The gap between was large...but he didn't have much choice. He quickly situated himself on the stairs. He tried to calm himself down, missing after all would mean broken bones...or worse...death. He was far to fragile a body to get away from a fall like that with no injuries.
His mind suddenly switched off his emotions...and he began to think, despite his despirate want to get to the key as fast as possible. How in the world was his mother here in the first place? She had been safely at home when he had left! How could she suddenly be here...AND wounded near death? Either it was an illusion...or whoever was behind that door was very very powerful...and had the ability to pick Ophelia up around the time he left without the detection of his siblings, race back...and begin torchuring her near death. He shook his head. Did it really matter in the end? If it was an illusion...it was obviously part of the test. If it wasn't his mother was dying in there while his mind decided to play the 'pros and cons' game it so enjoyed to do.
He focused on the key, on the top of the iron maiden where he needed to get to, and with all the might in his little fragile body, leapt...
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Post by Nathalia on Oct 10, 2007 19:17:22 GMT -5
Bernard felt a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth...So, the child could care, then... Good to know, he would make certain the Severus received one of the head positions then. He would probably be harsh on students and underlings...but he would be fair...
"We can stop now." He murmured, reaching his hand up to tap gently at the fingers tensed on his shoulder. "He's shown me what I need to see, let him out."
"....................No..............."
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((OOC: I'm going to go ahead and assume he gets the key and the door to save you a super short post X3))
The voice had been so thick with pain that, even as Severus belabored himself for not recognizing it, it remained a wonder that he had at all. The jump was easy enough to land, keys in mouth. The height of the key hole not too much of a stretch for his lithe body.
The door, even unlocked, was heavy and difficult to push open, once he had though he found that the room beyond was pitch black, a gaping dark maw in the chamber wall. Ophelia's whimpers of agony could be heard reverberating softly from somewhere in the darkness, along with the small snide snickering noise.
A low, heavy voice suddenly echoed out of the darkness, a small trickle of dark blood flowing out into the light.
"Well, boy? Are you going to enter and retrieve your dear mother or shall I just come out and hand you her head?"
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Post by FlyingPanther on Oct 10, 2007 19:47:19 GMT -5
Severus could hardly believe he had actually made it on top of the Iron Maiden. He was sure he was going to fall and nearly kill himself. But there he was, albeit a little unbalanced, and he quickly grabbed the keys in his mouth before finding the best way to get down, and doing so. After fumbling for a little bit, and really wishing he had hands, he managed to unlock the door, and with all his strength, pushed open the door.
Now he could hear the voices more clearly as they echoed off the walls in what would have been a playful manner were the noises being emmited not so ominous. The smell of blood was thick. He looked at the door as his mother murmured in pain, wondering if it was wise to go into such an enclosure without first checking to see if there was someone out there who would shut the door and lock it. He grabbed the keys and kept them in his mouth...just incase.
It was then that the smill ruvlet of blood became visible in the light, and a voice sounded from the darkness...obviously that of the man that had been hurting his mother. He nearly snarled at his words, but instead let his face contort without a sound. He stepped inside, his ears searching for the exact location of the voice...mind searching for his...
His body itched with wanting vengeance for the pain his mother was dealt, but he held it back for now, instead going forward into the darkness...and attempting to find his mother, keys clincking softly and hooves clopping just as lightly.
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Post by Nathalia on Oct 11, 2007 22:10:05 GMT -5
The darkness was complete save for the light of the open door behind him, the hallway stretched for what seemed a long time, the rivulet of blood shining slightly in the glow from behind, leading him on.
A flash of light suddenly shot out of the darkness to the left, looking down at him and sneering slightly, was a tall, gangly-looking, human. He leaned casually against the wall, long blueish hair rolling down his shoulders, face set into an eerie smile, offset by the sneer.
"Well, there you are...your poor mother thought you wold never come...didn't you, Ophelia?"
He kicked the darkness near hi left side and the light moved slightly to reveal the crumpled heap on the floor.
Ophelia was in her animal form, her back legs looked as though they were broken, her eyes were tightly shut and she was breathing shallowly.
"So, boy...how do you propose to take her from me? Tell me what it is you plan to do to me for taking your dear mother...she's quite a sight...answer me in a fashion that displeases me and I may keep her after all...I've taken quite a shine to her cries."
His eyes flickered slightly as he spoke, as though something had distracted him, the corners of his mouth twitching as though slightly surprised.
"Hurry, boy. Time grows short."
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