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Post by knownasstation on Nov 12, 2009 17:37:26 GMT -5
It didn't take Vathek and about 15 soldiers long to gather all the rubble together. Vathek was satisfied - this kind of work trained his muscles and helped him relax a bit, even if there still was something twitching in his heart. But he didn't think about it now. Now, he concentrated on his work.
"Alright, soldiers," he shouted joyfully. "Can anyone tell me what do we have here?" "A pile of junk." one of the soldiers said. "Exactly. And what's the best thing to do with a pile of junk?" "Throw it away." the same soldier replied. "Right you are!" Vathek laughed. "It seems the... Light of Meridian has a talent for wrecking things. None of this can be of any use to us replacing the roof. So, I want all of you to spread out and bring me enough of planks, logs and stone - especially stone, we'll need tons of it. Also, bring me a big ladder." "A big ladder, sir?" "Yes, a big, reinforced ladder." Vathek nodded. "I need to reach the roof somehow."
He looked at the hole above and finished "I'm giving you two hours to do the job. I'll be back soon."
[Exit: Vathek to the forest.]
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Post by knownasstation on Nov 17, 2009 12:16:32 GMT -5
[Enter: Vathek from the Main Gate]
Vathek stormed into the throne room furiously. "Sir?" one of the soldiers said. "It's only been half an hour, we didn't..." "Don't care." Vathek replied. "We'll start with what we have right now. The rest of the supplies will come eventually." "Sure thing."the soldier nodded. "Where's my reinforced ladder?" Vathek looked around. "Over there, by the wall."
Using the ladder, Vathek quickly climbed through the hole in the ceiling and looked down. "We'll need more wood!" He shouted. "We'll have to construct a crane, to lift all this up!" Without waiting for an answer, he sat down and sunk into his thoughts. So he failed. To be honest, he didn't believe he'd succeed in such a task anyway - using his tongue to win battles was never his way. But this time there were no other options. His brute force would be of no use here... Or maybe not? Vathek lost Elyon's trust, that much was obvious. From now on, his words will probably sound like ramblings of a madman to her. But things still had to be done. Vathek couldn't allow Phobos to have everything go his way. So he had to find another way... "And what way would that be?" Vathek asked himself with anger. "Killing Phobos?" That sounded good, despite the fact that it was impossible. Vathek wasn't strong enough to beat Cedric, not to talk about the dark prince himself. So... such a confrontation wasn't a good idea. What about Cedric? Vathek remembered his words about being sick and tired of being everyone's servant. If he'd succeed convincing Cedric, he'd betray Phobos too. But Cedric wasn't someone Vathek could manipulate. The snake was too clever. What about convincing all the soldiers? No, that would require loads of charisma - and the big brute didn't have any. Vathek clenched his fists. What kind of situation was this? He was unable to accomplish anything - just because he didn't have a good way with words! "Sir!" One of the soldiers shouted from below. "We brought the castle's architect! He said he'll begin drawing plans right away!" "That's great." Vathek whispered to himself."Ask me if I care." After that, he continued thinking. A way to change things... A way to stop Phobos from getting what he wants. What if he would just sneak into Elyon's room at night and capture her? It sounded absurd, but it was the only thing Vathek was capable of doing right now. What if the princess would fight... And use her magic? That wouldn't be good. But there obviously was no way to avoid that. If only Vathek could shapeshift! That would have helped him out. But... with his conversational skills, he'd blow his cover soon enough for Elyon to understand everything. "Should I just knock her out?" Vathek asked himself. Yeah, right. He looked at his fists - they were huge, about as large as an average soldier's head. No. Too dangerous. "I'll just bring a sack with me. Inside it, she won't be able to tell what's what." Besides, the princess wasn't skilled enough yet to be able to use magic in every situation. Alright. Capturing Elyon and then what? Even if he'd succeed in escaping the castle, how would he explain himself to the princess? Capturing and dragging someone away wouldn't exactly be the best way to gain trust. Vathek was smart enough to understand that. "Eh.." He yawned."I'll find a way." Just like you did today?. "Shut up." the warrior said and climbed down to see how the architect is faring with the plans.
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Post by Elyon on Nov 19, 2009 16:01:41 GMT -5
[Enter: Elyon from the castle's Courtyard]
Without any notable doors left to sqeak open or knock on, Elyon quietly walked into the ruins of the throne hall. There really was hardly a hall left, though. And the throne itself also took quite a beating while it shielded Phobos from her rage. The princess hardly felt sorry for doing this, however. In fact, considering all the resources Phobos spent to get this place back into it's old state as quickly as possible, she played around with the thought of simply bringing everything down again if he'd continue to act like a hardheaded insultmachine...
Her eyes were looking for Vathek. Although she was counting on the big blue to notice her first, it wouldn't hurt to look for him as well. You know. Just in case he either didn't notice her or would refuse to adress her...
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Post by knownasstation on Nov 19, 2009 16:12:38 GMT -5
Vathek and the soldiers just finished constructing an improvised crane. The soldiers were already using the it to lift the supplies - stone and wood - up to the roof, to finally start fixing it. The others were repairing columns and other parts of the throne room. Of course, recreating the sculptures and the subtle carvings on some of the walls was a task they were unable to do - it required an artist, not a builder. So they were simply rebuilding what was destroyed. After consulting with the architect, Vathek understood that his skill was of no use here anymore, his superior strength too. So he was just wandering around and listening.
And then, suddenly he spotted Elyon standing nearby. Vathek stopped and blinked with disbelief.
"P-Princess!" he shouted. "What are you doing here?"
Did you come here to mock me?
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Post by Elyon on Nov 19, 2009 16:33:31 GMT -5
"Okay! Everybody out!" Elyon ordered as soon as Vathek noticed her. "You can continue working tomorrow!" Most of the soldiers and workers were at a loss. Elyon's order was in direct conflict with that of Phobos... "Don't make me repeat myself! Shoo! Get out!" Hesitantly, everyone dropped whatever they were doing and left. The architect tried protesting first. "But we're carrying out the orders of the prince!" "Yeah. And now you're going to carry out the orders of the princess." Elyon snarled back. "Now go!"
Elyon waited with continuing the conversation with Vathek untill everyone else was gone... "Vathek..." she then continued. "Vathek, Vathek, Vathek... Why are you still bending to my brother's will like this? If you're going to be a rebel, you should be consistent in it..." As a matter of fact, she did come to mock him a bit...
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Post by knownasstation on Nov 19, 2009 16:42:17 GMT -5
"Know that I am only answering the question because I like you, not because you're the princess." Vathek smiled. "Unlike the soldiers, I have a will of my own - and my honor as well." It suddenly became very quiet around, with all the soldiers gone and Vathek couldn't help but feel uneasy. The center of the castle, the heart of Phobos's domain, the throne room now was but a pile of rubble. No time to think about that.
"You see, princess." Vathek continued. "Before I finally understood where I belong, I told Phobos that I shall do all that is within my power to rebuild this place. And now my honor depends on it. The fact that I hate him and that I want him dead means nothing now. But as soon as I'm done here..."
Vathek shut his mouth just in time to not ruin everything.
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Post by Elyon on Nov 19, 2009 16:59:58 GMT -5
Elyon raised an eyebrow at Vathek's abrupt silence... "As soon as you're done here... what?"she asked in a mocking tone. "You'll run away and join the rebellion? Ha! Don't make me laugh! Hahaha!" She noticed she couldn't quite pull the act off as well as she hoped. It came out kinda... forced... Regardless, she didn't want to lose face in front of a traitor like Vathek... "Really. How long have you been in service here in the first place? A week? A month? A year? Maybe even longer? I bet you've been sent out to hunt some of those traitors at least once during your service, am I right?" Elyon slowly shook her head. "I really hope you don't intend on joining the rebels because if I were one, I wouldn't let you join even if you paid me!"
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Post by knownasstation on Nov 19, 2009 17:06:20 GMT -5
"Why are you telling me all this?" Vathek asked. "If I'm such a despicable loser, why did you agree to play our little game back then?"
He sat down on a larger boulder and lowered his head to avoid looking at Elyon - he didn't want to see those shameful words come out of her mouth. Vathek scratched his head and said. "If they won't let me fight alongside them, I'll fight alone. It is the right thing to do, princess. And you shouldn't come and make fun of the one who keeps thinking how to save your life all the time."
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Post by Elyon on Nov 19, 2009 17:36:35 GMT -5
"That's what I hear all the time!" Elyon snarled back. "All my life! 'Honey, we love you. We're your parents.' 'You can say out loud if you want.' 'You're my lucky charm.' 'I thought you liked Matt-ematics.' Well guess what!? All lies, Vathek! My parents were traitors and my best friends are enemies! All in just a single night!" She really wanted to throw something. Or slam something shut. But the only thing she could do to express her anger was to yell increasingly louder... That or destroy the throne room again... "I don't have a life that needs saving anymore! I'm trying to build it up again! And that's a thing I have to do alone!"
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Post by knownasstation on Nov 19, 2009 17:50:42 GMT -5
Vathek hastily stood up, towering Elyon with his impressive height and replied angrily. "You're rebuilding your life? I'd laugh, if it wouldn't be so sad. As long as Phobos and Cedric are near, the only thing that's gonna happen to you is destruction!"
"You say that your life was a lie?" Vathek started circling Elyon. "I don't know about that. But let me tell you something about the truth here, in Meridian. The truth about your brother and your new best friend. You haven't seen the horrors they created and that's why you can come here and throw insults to my face! But I saw it all -" Vathek started trembling. "I've seen people getting killed just because they didn't harvest enough food to pay the *tax* to Phobos. I've seen children looking at their parent's bodies with cold, lifeless eyes! I've seen the city burning like a torch far too many times! I've seen mothers screaming and cursing Phobos moments before getting taken down by soldiers. I've seen men - brave men - picking up rusty tools and fighting to their last breath just to die and be thrown into the river or to be left rotting in the streets - of course, we made sure to clean the place up before your arrival. But it... is still happening. That's the truth of Meridian. And I'm sure it's worse than the lies of your life."
"If you don't believe me..." Vathek was fired up and couldn't stop. "Go and ask Cedric how it is. Go and ask him why is he killing the sick and the poor in his spare time, when he's not being with you."
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Post by Prince Phobos on Nov 20, 2009 10:32:10 GMT -5
At this point, one of the whisperers who were stationed to secretly observe the construction of the throne room creeps from the shadows. [Whisperer: Exit to Miranda's Chamber]
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Post by knownasstation on Nov 20, 2009 13:16:35 GMT -5
[Enter: Lord Cedric from the Courtyard]
Cedric quietly sneaked in, observing the scene from the shadows. With the recent demonstrations of shapeshifting and conjuration, it wasn't easy for him to turn invisible. So instead of that, he simply shrouded himself and hid behind a large supply of stone. From there he could see and hear Elyon and Vathek. The big fool was walking around and waving his arms like a windmill, shouting something about the pain of Meridian in an ecstacic voice. Cedric wanted to jump out and interrupt him, but at the last moment he changed his mind.
If the princess came here on her own accord, without Cedric to follow her, that means she has some connection with Vathek. In that case, it would be wiser to wait and listen to understand just how friendly they are to each other - and how much Elyon knows about her fate and Phobos's intentions. Besides, she wouldn't like to know that Cedric is following her wherever she goes, giving her no privacy or freedom. So as unpleasant as it was to listen to sentimental nonsenses, Cedric just had to bear it - but it was really loathsome.
Before entering the throne room (or its remains), Lord Cedric spotted some kind of shadow leaving the place too. Was it one of Phobos's spies? If it was, then the spy will surely tell Phobos of Cedric's absence. The thought was unpleasant. But to redeem himself, he had to concentrate on spying as well.
"Go and ask Cedric how it is. Go and ask him why is he killing the sick and the poor in his spare time, when he's not being with you." Vathek screamed. "I am killing because it's fun." Cedric replied from the shadows.
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Post by Elyon on Nov 20, 2009 14:32:08 GMT -5
Elyon turned her head away from Vathek, refusing to look at him despite his circling around her... "I should've expected nothing else from a traitor..." she spoke, not adressing anyone in particular... "Do you see the irony, Vathek? I do. I actually came here to taunt you a bit... But now, you're the one taunting me..."
The princess remained silent for a second as she slowly formed a sly smile on her lips... "Stop walking around me like that and sit down for a bit, will you? I've got something interesting to tell you."
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Post by knownasstation on Nov 20, 2009 14:35:51 GMT -5
"You sound like a plotter, princess." Vathek said with regret. "Just like Phobos. But alright, I'll play along."
Vathek returned to his improvised seat and sat down, looking at Elyon with impatience. "I'm listening, princess."
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Post by Elyon on Nov 20, 2009 15:06:04 GMT -5
"You shouldn't compare me with Phobos..." the princess calmly replied... She fixed her gaxe on Vathek's eyes again... If Phobos hadn't acted so ungrateful this morning, she would've loved to hypnotise the big blue guy into a few more years of mindless loyalty... His loss, though. Not hers... "So anyway... You do realise that, if you turn against us, we're not your only enemies, right? There's also the guardians to consider. They're the ones keeping everything and everyone trapped in this cage. They're the ones who cut us off from the rest of the world. You can overthrow the throne all you want. As long as the guardians keep the veil closed, it will get you nowhere." Elyon briefly paused, allowing Vathek some time to let everything sink in.
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