Round Robin 1.3: The Saga Continues Again

[kalier]

3)

"[i]What did you say?[i]" He demanded. Yep, his ears were definitely twitching.

Robin guessed that he had misconstrued what she'd said. She gigled. "Oh, nevermind! It's nothing important." She lightly smacked his arm.

"Uh huh." He flushed scarlet, and began looking around. Robin smiled behind her hand, and started off on her own.

She was touching the stone wall, and glanced over her shoulder. "What exactly are we looking for, anyway?"

"I think there's hidden passages here somewhere." He admitted. "A while ago, I thought I heard something. Stone sliding on stone. Our friend is probably behind the walls here. We just have to--" He gave a startled gasp, and she rushed to his side.

"What is it?" She asked worriedly.

"My hand...it's stuck." He whispered. "Something's here, Robin. Help me get my hand out."

She took him by the shoulders, and tugged. He wasn't budging. "Danny, I can't!" She struggled, pulling harder. "How did you get stuck that deep?!"

"I don't know! Pull harder!"

Daniel was stuck pretty good, and he knew it. However, he also happened to notice something else, too. A switch or something was pressing against his fingertips. Maybe if he could reach just a little bit further... "Robin, forget about pulling." He said. "I can feel something."

"What?" She stepped back a little. "What do you feel, Danny?"

Sweat dripped on his brow, as he tried to reach into the hole even further. The switch...it was right there! Just a little more. He flicked his finger. Not close enough! Darn! If his arm was just a little longer, he'd be able to get it.

"Danny, wait!" Robin grabbed him by the shoulders. "I just had a thought. If you hit that switch with your arm stuck, you could get it ripped off!"

Oh. He hadn't thought of that. "I guess we better get me out of here first." He agreed. "Then look for something that we could stick in the hole to push the switch. Try again, Robin."

Robin wrapped her arms around Daniel's waist, and Daniel placed his free arm against the wall. "One, two, three!" Robin called, pulling while Daniel pushed. This time, they felt Daniel's arm give slightly. They were on the right track.

"Again!" Danel told her.

This time his arm made it halfway out of the wall, before Robin slipped on some loose gravel. She went face first to the ground. "Robin!" Daniel called out in alarm. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." She muttered. Getting to her feet, dusting herself off. "Can you get out on your own now?" She asked, concerned.

"No, I'm still stuck."

Grumbling, she returned to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "This last time should do it." She told him. "One, two, three!" She pulled, and his arm came free.

Grinning, he shook his arm. "Thanks." He pulled her against him gently, and pressed his lips to hers.

[Mea]

1)

SMACK!!

"OW!"

"Gods Daniel, do you think about anything else?"

"Hey, you were the one talking about 'taking it off' later!"

"Not clothing!"

"...Oh."

An awkward silence followed.

"...You're bleeding." Robin said at last.

Daniel looked down. Scrapes covered his once trapped hand and blood oozed across the skin. He'd barely noticed.

"It's nothing," he mumbled.

"Let me see it," Robin ordered, pulling off one of her gauntlets and taking his hand to examine it. Her touch sent ripples through his body and it took a lot of effort not to risk one more kiss.

Robin frowned. "Doesn't look too bad -"

"Told you."

"- but we should bandage it anyway. I'll do it."

"But-"

"No 'buts'. Hold on."

Using the edge of her sword, she cut a strip of cloth from her borrowed red tunic and wrapped the piece of fabric around Daniel's hand a few times.

"There, all better."

"...thanks, Robin."

She smiled. "Don't want you to bleed all over the place after all."

"...Um, Robin? I-"

"It wasn't that bad."

"Hm?"

"You know.. the... kiss. It was... nice. But honestly, your timing stinks. Really REALLY stinks."

"...oh."

"But... maybe later, you know... when we're not in Tomas' place surrounded by things that want to kill us and Balthus is gone and... well, maybe..."

"...Maybe?"

"Maybe... We can worry about that later. First thinks first; let's see what grabbed you. Okay?"

Daniel sagged. I swear, she's doing this on purpose. Reluctantly, he followed her over to the darkened crack between the rocks and began to peer inside.

"See anything?" asked Robin.

"Kind of. It almost looks like... clockwork. Gears maybe? Something like that." The thing he'd thought was a switch earlier turned out to be a curved bit of metal with prongs on either end resting against one of the gear's teeth.

"For what?"

"Can't tell."

"You think it-"

As Robin shifted her position, a chink of stone moved under her hand, sinking slightly into the wall.

Daniel almost jumped as the gears inside started to whirl. He briefly imagined what might have happened if his arm was still in there caught amid all those whirling gears, and the image made his stomach clench.

Beside them, a section of stone swung inward, revealing a black foreboding corridor beyond.

The two stared at it for a moment.

"Think it's trapped?" said Daniel.

"Probably."

"We going in anyway?"

"Of course."

Daniel sighed. "Thought so. All right, I guess I'll go first. Follow my lead."

[DerVVulfman]

2)

Uncomfortable in the confined space of the stone passage, Daniel kept his eyes peeled for anything that remotely looked suspicious. Unlike the previous chamber and the stairways before, the floor was made of cobblestones and any one of them could be a trigger.

Just follow the light, he thought. As dark as it was, Daniel could see a faint reddish trail. Every step that the red-robed man took left a warm footstep among the cold stones. Even if the man was somehow able to fly, he could follow him in this dank tunnel as a misty crimson trail snaked down the corridor. It was the gift of seeing warmth itself, and it was one time that Daniel didn’t curse being part elf.

Looking back, he made doubly sure that Robin wasn’t falling behind... or worse.

She was only a couple yards behind when he threw a glance back in her direction. With a wink, he gave her a warm smile which she quickly returned in kind. He then tore his attention away and back towards their goal. Drawing himself back to reality he continued to watch for any dangers that lay await. All the while, Robin stayed close behind.

Dear child. After learning about his little meeting, you may not wish to dismiss me so readily.

The raspy voice in her ears was strangely polite. Robin knew that Balthus would try to threaten or persuade her at any costs to stave off his coming demise. He’s been a burden along her matriarchal line for centuries, passed on from mother to eldest daughter. Always the daugher, and somehow... always firstborn. And in all that time, he always dominated over their family in some malevolent fashion.

Yet she felt no malevolence this time.

What are you playing at, Gramps? she mulled over for him to hear.

Absolutely nothing, was his reply. But you may want to check on our Necrordinator friend again if you do catch up with him.

Necrordinator? The word careened in her head. They were a forbidden order. Though their stated objective was to free the world from the thread of the undead, they became the threat itself as they used unspeakable means to that end. They became an order as fearful and loathsome as the things they sought to destroy.

Wait! I didn’t see anything about any Necordi- -

But I did, sweet child. Balthus replied back. You forgot who I was? In a way, I’m touched. The voice inside her head became serene and almost concerned. His meeting with Olan was a veiled message that something large is brewing. I can feel it.

Inwardly, Robin sighed. As much as it tortured her to accept the truth, her quest may have just died. She then realized that she was several yards behind Daniel, she began to pick up her pace.

Honestly though, his voice continued. What do you see in that boy?

“Shut up,” she muttered. She was in no mood to continue that discussion yet again.

[kalier]

3)

The robed man was pleased. Everything was going according to plan. He hadn't expected the duo to interrupt his work, but since they were here, he might as well make use of them.

Actually, they were perfect for the little test he wanted to run. Youthful and strong, they were exactly what he needed. Unfortunately, they couldn't be stupid as well. That would have worked even better. However, their intelligence was what had brought them this far. He only had to turn that against them to meet his own needs.

Come closer, my little mice. He carved a moon-shaped symbol into the crevice along the wall, concealing it within the shadows and the rot. The elf watched for traps, but this particular trap would be invisible to even him.

Chuckling to himself, he pulled a loose stone from the wall, and slipped through. He knew the elf would probably find his trail. In fact, that's exactly what he wanted.

* * *

Daniel noticed that the trail abruptly came to a dead end. "Robin." He said. "There's another fake wall here."

"I don't see anything that might open it." She told him.

"Neither do I. Why don't you check on that side?" He indicated the right side of the wall, then began searching the left. "Be careful, though. I wouldn't put it past these people to have laid yet another trap."

"Right." She agreed.

After a while, Daniel heard Robin's exclamation. "Danny!" She said triumphantly. I found--" Don't touch it! Balthus' voice rang loudly in her ear. She snatched her hand back quickly. "Balthus says not to touch it." She told Daniel.

"What is it?" He peered over her shoulder.

"I don't know. It's shaped like a crescent moon."

"I think Balthus is right. Don't touch it. Ask him if he knows what it is."

Balthus? She asked.

A trap. A very dangerous one. If you had touched it, you would have lost most of your fingers on that hand.

"An explosive trap?" She asked aloud.

Daniel stepped back, pulling Robin with him. "Let's not get too close." He said. "Stuff like that might go off without us even touching it."

"R-right." She agreed shakily. "What's the plan, then?"

"Ask Balthus if there's a way to disarm it."

There's not. And the trap is probably the mechanism to open the door. You two will have to turn back.

Robin told Daniel what Balthus had said to her. Daniel hissed between his teeth. "But this is the way he went!" He protested. "If he can get through, so can we!"

"What do you want me to do?!" Robin demanded hotly. "I'm just telling you what Balthus said!"

Daniel grumbled to himself in irritation. "There's either a way to disarm it that Balthus isn't telling you, or that is not the mechanism to open the door. We'll keep looking. Chances are that if we go back, that might trigger yet another trap."

Robin snapped her mouth shut on whatever she'd been about to say.

[Mea]

1)

How can you stand that boy? the oily voice of Bathus whispered in her head.

Shut. Up. She thought back as she continued to search.

Except for his eyes, he's useless. Of course, I know how we could take them and use them ourse-

"I said SHUT UP!" Robin snapped out loud.

Daniel's head jerked up in surprise.

After a moment, he asked "Balthus again?"

Robin nodded. "He's getting louder. I guess because we're close."

Though he didn't say anything, this worried Daniel. Balthus in general worried him, and the fact that he seemed to be getting stronger was even worse.

Problem was, there didn't seem to be a way around the symbol that blocked their way, and going back wasn't an option either. There had to be another way, through.

Unless...

He picked up a small rock and tossed it up and down a few times.

"I think I have an idea..."

* * *

They should be there by now, though the robed man in the shadows. Just a few more moments and-

The metal rod swung out of nowhere, aimed at his head. He barely lurched backwards out of the way in time, nearly tripping over himself in the process. He struggled to regain his balance as the rod swung downward again, slamming into the arms he'd raised protectively in front of him. The force of the blow sent him sprawling on the dirt, his forearms throbbing in excruciating pain.

"Don't move, Tiberius," his attacker ordered.

The robed man's eyes narrowed. "Marcus, I should have known. And here I thought Tomas had sent you to Sarrs."

The second robed man looked down and him over the rims of his thin glasses. "Goes to show you can't believe everything you hear."

"Still Olan's attack dog I see."

"Woof woof," Marcus said sarcastically. "Been expecting you for a while Tiberius. I knew you couldn't resist a prize like this.

"It is ours by right."

"Just because Balthus was a Necrordinator too doesn't mean his tainted treasure belongs to you as well. So, were the children a distraction or are you that hard up for help?"

"The boy and the girl?" the old man smirked, "No they're not mine. Not yet at any rate. They seem to have been more than a match for you, eh?"

Marcus tried to ignore the bruises from his encounter with the two earlier. "Maybe Tiberius. But I'll deal with them after I'm sure you won't be causing any more problems."

From somewhere in the caverns, a sound like a thunderclap shook the very floor.

"Oh dear," Tiberius oozed, a terrible grin spreading across his face. "It seems the two lambs found one of my traps."

[DerVVulfman]

2)

The stone passage was thick with smoke and soot and the heat from the blast had scorched the walls. What remained of the cobblestone floor became nothing more than earth and loose stone. And at the end of the corridor, a new passage was revealed.

From over twenty yards away, Robin and Daniel stood as the air cleared.

That boy is nuts.

Robin chose not to agree with Balthus, but merely stood there after witnessing the impeccable aim her friend had. With a single stone hurled, Daniel struck the crescent mark and set off the explosive trigger with them a safe distance away.

Slowly, she turned her head to see Daniel with a triumphant grin on his face.

“You’re nuts,” she stated just before giving him a little punch in his arm.

Daniel gave her a mischievous look. “You’re one to talk, Grape Girl.”

Upon hearing that, Robin gave Daniel a sour face and stuck out her tongue. Hearing him refer to the incident that occurred at the last Solstice Festival annoyed her greatly. It wasn’t even Robin who ‘sampled’ the wine that night, but Balthus instead as she slumbered. Dammit, I should have made him swear instead.

Robin continued to glare as Daniel stepped into the dissipating cloud. Slowly he edged toward the gaping hole. Through the hole he could see another chamber, a chamber of marble and glass. With a wave, he signaled Robin to his side.

As Robin approached, Daniel’s demeanor changed and clutched the hilt of the sword on his hip. Widening her eyes, Robin quickly veered to Daniel’s side, spear in hand.

Someone was coming.

[kalier]

3)

Daniel gripped Robin's arm, pulling her behind him protectively. "Hide." He told her.

"Where?" She demanded in a whisper.

"Behind the rubble or something. Hurry."

"Danny--"

"Do it."

She lowered the spear, and ducked behind the fallen debris from the wall. She wasn't sure what Daniel was up to, but he evidently had some sort of plan. She would just have to wait to see what it was.

Daniel had no idea what he was going to do. He'd told Robin to hide, because he didn't want her to get hurt. He was certain that the trap had been laid specifically for them, which meant the robed man wanted them dead. Not that Daniel could blame him. Their very presence put a chink in his plans, whatever they might be.

The footsteps were drawing closer. Daniel listened with his elven ears, and his grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. The footsteps sounded different from before, almost like there were two sets. He strained to hear, holding his breath. Yes, there were two sets!

"Danny--" Robin whispered.

"Be quiet!" He hissed. "Just wait."

Daniel slumped against the wall that was still standing, his hand over his face. Two of them! He and Robin were in worse trouble than he'd thought! He was going to have to do something crazy to save Robin and himself. Something he normally would have avoided doing.

He wanted to investigate the marble and glass chamber, but at the moment, the advantage lay in outwitting the two that approached. To do that, he needed Robin to be very still and very quiet. He had to make them think she was dead.

"Throw me your helm." He told her softly.

"What?"

"Just do it."

"Alright." She muttered, and threw her helm at his chest. She was pretty annoyed at having to cower behind rubble, while he stood bravely to meet his doom. She should be there at his side.

Daniel caught the helm with one hand, and laid it upon the ground. He collapsed next to it, his legs drawn up to his chest. Imagining that Robin had actually been killed by the blast, tears began to flow down his cheeks, and he rocked back and forth.

He'd never thought of himself as a very good actor, but if the men who approached bought the scene, he might be able to surprise them. This was a big if, but he didn't know what else to do at the moment.

[Mea]

1)

Through the blur of false tears, he could see two men approach.

The first he didn't recognize; black robed and pale with graying hair, a well trimmed beard, and sharp features that reminded Daniel of a crow. A length of rope bound his arms and kept his hands behind his back, obviously the captive of the man in red following behind.

Daniel recognized his red-robed adversary immediately and got some satisfaction at seeing the purpling bruise on his face, a souvenir from the previous encounter. The man was looking around at the devastation, taking it all in.

"Gods..." he breathed.

"Guess it was a bit too powerful," the bound man shrugged.

"That's enough Tiberius," the red-robed man snapped. He turned towards Daniel. "Are you all right boy? Where's -"

"She's dead!" Daniel sobbed, clutching the helmet to his chest. "MURDERER!"

Okay, maybe he was laying it on a bit thick, but still his best bet was to keep the man off balance until he could see an opening.

"Lad, I didn't-"

"LIAR! You caused this! Your fault!!"

The man opened his mouth to argue and stopped, realizing it would do no good. After a moment, he looked away and said in a soft voice. "I'm sorry."

Daniel said nothing, curling a little tighter and managed a ragged sob. He actually sounds sincere. I can't believe he's buying this.

"One less brat to worry about, eh Marcus?" remarked Tiberius.

"I said that's enough," the other man ordered, glaring at him.

Now.

Briefly distracted, the man named Marcus barely deflected the helmet hurled at his head, only to leave himself open as Daniel plowed into him. The elf-blooded boy quickly pushed the advantage and stabbed with his borrowed blade, only to see his target twist out of the way and the sword scraped harmlessly across stone.

"Stop!" the man challenged. "You want vengeance, boy? You want the one who set..." He didn't finish - Something behind Daniel had caught his eye.

"DAMN!" he cursed.

Before Daniel could look, Marcus shoved the boy aside an instant before a gout of flame the size of a large melon slammed into him, the force of which threw him across the cavern.

Daniel recovered his balance and stared. His opponent was lying in an unconscious heap, part of his robes burned away revealing chainmail and a breastplate decorated with a lion's head beneath.

What just happened?

"Pathetic," Robin-now-Balthus spat as she stepped from the shadows, regarding her own hand with disgust. "Hardly any magic in this girl. I'll be glad when I'm rid of her."

She turned her gaze towards Tiberius. "Terror vos vereor nex?*"

The bound man's eyes widened in surprise as he answered automatically "Nex est meus mucro. Nex terror mihi.** How did..?"

Wordlessly, Robin raised her hand and displayed the ring she wore.

Tiberius gasped. "Balthus' Seal?"

She smiled. "Correct. Good to know it's still remembered. And as for you," she turned towards the stunned Daniel. "Be still."

There was a flash, pain, then darkness.


* - trans: "Do you fear death?"
** - trans "Death is my sword. It is Death that fears me."

[DerVVulfman]

2)

“Hey, I found some over here.”

“Great. Aunt Monica will love this. This should be plenty.”

“Danny?”

“Yes, Robin?”

“N-n-no, it’s nothing...”

“Okay.”

“Race you back!”

“Robin, you cheater!”[i]

* * *

It wasn’t how he expected to end up. Waking up, his hands tied behind him as he woke up on the cold stone floor. As dark as it was, he could not see a single thing. Then it dawned on him. It wasn’t dark. It was a blindfold.

“You’re awake now, lad?” spoke a gravelly voice.

“Who’s there?” he tried to reply. It merely came as a whisper as a fiery pain stabbed him in his lungs. Immediately, he began to cough violently.

“Easy. Easy now, boy. You’re lucky she didn’t want you dead either.”

The voice was lucklessly familiar. He only heard it seconds ago. Taking his time to build up strength, Daniel muttered a single word. “Marcus.”

“Yes, that’s right. I do apologize for the accommodations. But if it makes any difference to ya, I’m a guest too.”

The half-elf scrambled over to what he felt was a stone wall and sat up. Arms still tied behind him, he couldn’t remove the blindfold. “I guess you can see me, right?”

“Yes. But I’m afraid that I’m in no position to help you right now.”

[i]Help me? This was the second time the robed man sounded sincere. But Daniel wasn’t buying it. He trapped them, threatened his life in front of Robin, set that explosive trap to kill them both, and...

He pushed me out of the way of Robin’s... no, that was Balthus!

“Okay, old man. I don’t know what is happening right now, but I don’t intend to stick around here to get killed.” declared the half-elf prisoner. Straining his wrists and arms, he pulled his hands from under his legs. No longer were his hands bound behind his back, but in a more manageable position in front of him. And now that he was finally able to remove the blindfold, Daniel could now see his surroundings.

He wished he didn’t.

[kalier]

3)

Daniel found himself in what looked to be an ancient, long-unused dungeon. Well, that was his first impression, anyway. The more he looked around, the more unnerving his situation became.

The robed man, or rather 'Marcus' was lying spread-eagle on a wooden table, shackled by chains on both wrists and ankles. Around his neck was steel ring, fixing him rigidly in place. As uncomfortable as Daniel was, he imagined that Marcus must be even more so.

Daniel had merely been tied up and discarded. The other robed man seemed to have very specific plans for Marcus. "Where's Robin?" Daniel demanded.

"I don't know." Marcus admitted. "Although, I don't think she's 'Robin' any more. She's wearing Balthus' Seal, so it's more than likely her mind has been taken over by Balthus. That would make sense, as Balthus supposedly discovered how to transfer his life force into an object."

"He what?!" Daniel demanded. "Where did you hear that?"

"The Records spoke of Balthus' experiments." Marcus explained. "He wanted to give himself eternal life. Instead, he discovered a way to house his soul inside a container. That ring your little friend was wearing."

"But--" Daniel shook his head, unwilling to believe that Robin was lost.

"Believe it, boy." Marcus said. "Why would I have a reason to lie? I'm certainly not in the position to benefit from such a falsehood. I'm probably in much more danger than you are."

It certainly did seem that way, but everything had been so messed up since they're arrival, Daniel wasn't taking anything for granted. As far as he knew, Marcus being manacled to the table might also be a trap.

Well, the first thing he need to do, was figure out how to get his hands freed. His sword had obviously been taken. However, there might be something else in the room that he could use to cut the ropes.

"What are you doing?" Marcus asked as Daniel began to move about the room, searching for any sharp object he could find.

"There must be something to cut the ropes..." Daniel muttered, noticing what looked to be a large cabinet leaning against the wall.

"Don't touch that!" Marcus cried out, straining his neck to watch Daniel. "That thing is dangerous! If--"

"What is it?" Daniel asked, not quite backing away from it.

"It's an Iron Maiden. A torture device."

Daniel studied the thing for a moment, considering. "A torture device?" He said to himself. "How does it work?"

"The cabinet closes in on its victim, and pierces them with swords or nails." Marcus told him. "If you open it wrong, it could slam shut on you. You wouldn't be able to help your friend then, would you?"

"No." Daniel agreed. "But, if I open it correctly, I might be able to cut the rope around my wrists."

"Find something else." Marcus suggested. "You don't want to mess with that."

Daniel stared at him for a moment, indecisively. "How do I know you're not lying?"