Belladonna sat in her cage, her eyes languidly following anything that seemed to be of interest. There were many weapons in this place, which was definitely expected of a combat arena. There was a lot of activity, because, as she had supposed, a battle was coming up. She clucked to herself and shook her head. There were likely going to be people in the thousands, all cheering to see people get murdered in various grisly ways, and yet, they would scrunch up their noses at her for being a "dark" mage. So, who was evil? The one who affiliated themselves with those who fought against the establishment, or the one who reveled in dirty, callous acts, but hid behind a dainty hand fan, lavish cloths and 'court manners'?
She noticed that the workers in the arena, tough looking people, some of whom had many scars, began dragging out people from their cages. Many of them came out kicking and screaming, aware that they were little more than lambs being led to the slaughter. Belladonna felt sorry for them; they had not asked to be put in this predicament, but it was because of the wickedness of the ones in charge that this was happening to them. The more she lived, the more the accepted the creed of the Errings Rising. Where was the justice in all this? No, people like her had to make the justice for themselves. In a moment, the prison was devoid of much, save the remaining prisoners in their cages, and those who guarded them. She could barely hear the sounds of combat outside, but her heightened senses allowed her to realize that someone was being slaughtered. She hoped that it was not the person she had been sent here to rescue. Perhaps it was time for her to begin twisting things to her purpose. She had realized that it was something she was good at.
"58th Malediction Curse: Imperio!" she muttered under her breath, as she released a surge of overwhelming mental energy. The prison was not very large, and so her power overwhelmed everyone in the room, drawing them into her thralldom. A few of the guards resisted at first, but they soon discovered, the hard way, that Belladonna Black was not a woman to be refused.
"What is your bidding, my mistress?" one of the guards asked, as he unlocked her cage. Mentally, she will everyone else to act normally, so as not to raise suspicions from anyone else. As she walked out, she began to question the guards.
"I'm looking for a young man, Desiertan like yourself. He looks like a rich kid, definitely the kind that should be up in the boxes, rather than down on the sands. Seen anyone like that?""Yes, my mistress. He is currently slated for the next fight, where he will likely be killed by the Sandy Duke." Belladonna raised an eyebrow, and the guard explained:
"The Sandy Duke is one of our regular patrons. He always fights in set-up matches, where he must always win. Those chosen to fight him are usually poisoned, so that they cannot operate at full capacity, making them easy kills."Belladonna nodded.
"Alright. Take me out to where they are preparing the next combatants. I must be placed in the arena alongside the rich kid. If possible, I want to face the Sandy Duke.""It shall be done, my lady," the guard replied, with a bow.
"But if it pleases my mistress, I must have to bind you in shackles, otherwise suspicions shall be raised. I sincerely regret this uncouth treatment of your person, and I apologize...""Do what must be done," she interjected.
"This is just a little price to pay for victory. Act as if I am a mere prisoner, and not your mistress."A few moments later, Belladonna walked out of the prison, with the guard behind her. She was taken to a large room, where people were being outfitted for the next battle. She could hear the commentator of the arena making mockery of the unfortunate soul who had just met his end. If she had her way, some serious blood was going to be shed today.
"Who is this?" a scarred man suddenly asked the guard accompanying her, as he looked her up and down.
"A prisoner, of course," the guard replied.
"I think Appleton wants to give the Baron some more... juicy sport." The scarred man was still appraising Belladonna with his eyes.
"I thought it was going to be the soft boy... but the Duke would prefer this. She looks juicy enough, alright. The lucky bastard! Well, prep her up, then. Don't want to keep our 'exalted war lords' waiting." The scarred man said this last part with ill concealed disgust, as he turned to attend to other matters.
First, Belladonna was brought to a table, where various bottles stood.
"I'm sorry, my mistress, but if you want to face the Duke, you have to drink this poison. Without it, there is no way he will accept to fight.""Ahh, the poison, right?" Belladonna asked, and with one motion, she picked the designated bottle off the table and downed its contents.
"Ugh! It tastes like *****!" she cursed as she dropped the bottle. Many of the inhabitants of the room were watching her, some looked sorry for her, while the others looked somewhat derisive. It was like they were saying to themselves, "we'll see how spunky she is, out on the sands." But Belladonna had an ace they knew nothing about.
Next, she was led to the armory, where she looked around for something that suited her. She saw a young man close by, looking shaken, but trying his best to stay calm and brave. He looked quite like the description of the nephew she was here for, so she drew closer and said, under her breath:
"Dahmin? Is that your name?"His eyes widened, as he turned to stare at her.
"Wha...? How do you know my name? I've never seen you before."Belladonna smiled, and turned back to the weapons.
"Act like we're just discussing. I'm here to bust you out, but you can't act like you know anything about this. I can't promise you much, but just know someone will be trying to keep your head on your shoulders while you're here."She reached out and picked an exotic, wicked looking gauntlet, which covered the entire lower arm and ended in wicked claws. She tried it on, and it fit perfectly. After making various finger motions, she nodded and turned to go, when Dahmin grabbed her arm.
"Shush!" she said before he could speak.
"No one must be allowed to know anything. If we're seen looking chummy, it might be harder to do anything about your case. Now, shoo."Just as she walked away from him, the scarred man announced in a booming voice:
"We're having our fights in quick succession." He pointed at Dahmin.
"You! Step forward." His gaze then scanned the group, and finally rested on...
"Ahh... the 'juicy one'. You both are next. The boy goes first. Cleanup crew, prepare yourselves. The Duke likes to be messy."Belladonna glared at him, but he only returned a look that seemed to have pity. Then he called out something in his strange tongue and marched briskly away. Guards began ushering them outside, and to Belladonna's delight, she discovered that all the gladiators would be outside, at the edges of the sandy arena while the fights went on. She ought to be able to secretly influence Dahmin's match, if she had to. As for the Sandy Duke, she would relish gutting him, when the time came.
It would seem that Fate had other things planned. No sooner had Dahmin and his opponent appeared, and the umpire was about to introduce them, than a sword sailed from above and buried itself in the sands before them. Like everyone, she looked up, and saw a young woman, barely beyond her teens, with purplish-white hair. Belladonna raised an eyebrow as the woman mentioned her name.
Saraphina?!
Errings Rising?!!
This was her Guild Master?!!!
She had heard the name before, back at the guild, but had never met the person behind it. Unlike most people that would probably underestimate Saraphina based on her looks, Belladonna knew just how dangerous it was to do such, as many had looked down on her until it was too late for them. The only thing she felt slightly displeased about was that Saraphina seemed younger than she was... and was still taller?! Life was so unfair.
But Belladonna had to meet this lady.
She put her hand to her lips and stifled a giggle, as Saraphina unceremoniously crashed to the ground below. Then she regained her composure and glanced around. There was some sort of commotion brewing, but she couldn't tell what it was. It seemed that the umpire noticed it too, but so as not to have chaos, and keep the bets running, he gestured for the match to begin. Belladonna, although very interested in keeping the boy alive, started walking towards Saraphina instead. As some guards began filing out to get Saraphina off the sands, Belladonna murmured a spell quietly. A series of black tendrils suddenly grew out from the ground to ensnare the opponent Dahmin was up against. She wouldn't do much about the guards, though; Belladonna had met people who did not like others trying to protect or fight for them. If Saraphina was indeed her guild master, she was more than capable of protecting herself.
Ignoring the guards that were also headed her way for breaking ranks, she approached the white haired woman, a curious look on her face.
"Queen Saraphina, is it? You're the Guild Master of Errings Rising?"Of course, Saraphina had not mentioned her position in the guild to the crowd, but Saraphina would understand how Belladonna was privy to such information, when she set eyes on her. Belladonna had lost since lost her jacket, and her guild symbol, only partly obscured by her pants, would be visible to Saraphina.
Personal WC: 1690
Total PWC: 2722/7000
Total WC: 5037/14000