Dreadlords Prisoners Dilemma

[Chasmine]

"Yes," Chas answered quietly as she manifested somewhere toward the center of the room, her pale figure made ever fainter by the flickering candelabras and daylight, "but that does not excuse politeness."

Duncan and Gilram were always so welcoming, but knowing she was welcome would not stop her from requesting their attention rather than demanding it. They deserved their privacy, after all, and couldn't be expected to give up every single minute of their day for others.

She had at least stopped calling Duncan Ser at his insistence many months ago.

"The Prince," Chas began, concern etching across her ghostly face, "there is something I have not told you about him. I should have earlier, but..." she'd been rather incapacitated after her run-in with Wil's little secret.

"He is possessed by some kind of spirit. It is very powerful and I believe it holds some influence over him. He should not be trusted, I do not know what this spirit is capable of."

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

"No that doesn't particularly make me feel better," Wil huffed and poured himself another glass, doing the same to Edric without giving him the chance to protest this time. Clearly, he needed it as much as Wil did. "That's like saying," the Prince continued, swirling his now refilled glass about as he gesticulated, "Oh, sorry you lost your arm Wil. I lost my favourite toy once if it makes you feel better."

He took a more measured sip this time then sighed.

"Aren't you a Deadlord, can't you just blast them to bits and walk out of here?"

 

[Edric]

Edric cringed as Wil’s rebuke, but couldn’t really argue the Prince was wrong. The apology was shit and the circumstances weren’t much better. Anything else he could have said would have just sounded like an excuse.

So instead he simply plucked the glass up and took another drink. Again, downing it as though it were the only way he knew how to drink. ”I mean…everyone here is a Dreadlord.”

He told Wil, wondering if the boy had even realized that.

Even the two men that had been guarding him were, though their powers were limited enough that most Proctor’s of old would have balked at giving them the title. Gilram had men and women who had no sorcery of any sort serving him, but they were few and far between. Edric had never seen any of them here that he could remember.

”And I could probably take most of them.” He contended humbly. ”But…”

Well, some would give even him a run for his money, and a few would outright cut him to bits before he even had a chance to try. ”I’m not a prisoner.”

Edric said, cutting off the murderous line of thought.

”I’m just-” He frowned, seizing the bottle from the table and pouring himself another. Doing the same for Wil if he needed. ”Fuck me, I have no idea what I am now.”

He murmured, more to himself than his companion.

 

[Duncan]

”Mm.” The more Chasmine spoke her warning, the more Duncan’s brow seemed to furrow.

”I had suspected…” He mused for a moment, perusing the shelf for a moment more before he finally found what he was looking for. A small black leather bound book was plucked free. It’s spine reading; ‘Allforths Compendium of Magic Part IV’. Quickly Duncan moved towards one of the small tables in the study. ”I remembered seeing a ring very much like the boy is wearing.”

Duncan explained to Chas as he opened the book and began to leaf through it. After turning a few pages, he found what he was looking for. A mostly empty entry upon the page, save for a sketch of the ring of Haath. No title accompanied the page, though a small notation had been made besides it simply reading;

An extremely useful artifact, for the storage of spells. Dellwin suspects it could do more, but without the ring itself there is no way to further study. Shame.

”It could be entirely unrelated, of course.” The older Dreadlord mused, though from experience coincidence generally lined up. He knew the Anireth boy had been sent away as a result of his sisters magics, and not his own. But Althhaven had many mysteries, and it was entirely possible he’d picked something up at his stay near the school.

”But an interesting development nonetheless.” Duncan said, turning towards Chas’ ghostly form. ”One can infer this spirit is of a malign nature?”

He asked, not one to ignore Chas’ warnings.

 

[Chasmine]

Peering at the book and the illustration within, Chasmine gave no indication if that was, indeed, a likeness or not. She'd been rather involved with the spirit and hadn't noticed the ring.

"I believe so, yes," she replied with strong certainty, "I cannot speak to the nature of his ring, but I suppose we could learn more by asking him to... part with it during his stay here. If the spirit is bound to the ring, then we at least could rest assured it cannot meddle."

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

Well, that was bloody comforting wasn't it?

Everyone's a dreadlord...

Wil grimaced and necked the rest of his glass, then nodded when Edric offered to refill it. So escape might not be possible, was that so bad? It might not have been the palace but even though he was an actual prisoner here of sorts, he felt less trapped here than he did at home with his parents watching his every move, planning a future for him that he didn't want.

Listening to his old buddy Ed, he wondered if they weren't too dissimilar.

"At least you get the option to choose," he muttered into his glass. He took a swig to rid himself of the bitterness coating his tongue then looked at his jailer again. "So what's the deal with your little ghost girlfriend who nearly killed me?"

 

[Edric]

Edric nearly choked on his drink as Wil said the word 'girlfriend'. "Uhh."

Head shaking.

"That's...no." He corrected the Prince, finishing the glass again as he began to feel that familiar tingling at the back of his mind. "Chas is definitely not...that...in fact I think she hates me. I made her lose her fucking mind at a dance once."

Something he'd now come to regret. In the past months, he'd often wished he'd formed a better connection with more than just Noel and Ral. At least it would have made his promise easier. "She's...I don't know..."

He trailed off.

"I'm not exactly the 'best person'." Edric admitted to the Prince. "And before I came here, she was still alive."

A long sigh tipped from his lips. "Can we just...not talk about that shit?"

He requested, tongue growing loose. "I mean, my entire life is fucking Dreadlords, Ghosts, murder, magic and whatever. I'd just like...I'd just like it not to be for five minutes. Ya know?"

 

[Duncan]

"Mm." Duncan intoned quietly, looking down at the page in front of him.

A frown touched his lips, his gaze flickering towards the ghostly figure floating not far away.

Taking the ring wouldn't be too difficult. They had captured the boy once, and he doubted little prince Wil would put up much of a fight against a hundred or so Dreadlords. Particularly some of those who were still in the walls in the moment.

But another thought occurred to him. "Unfortunately my Dearest Chasmine, this is where we must ask ourselves a question."

The older Dreadlord said.

"Is the Prince more valuable as a bargaining chip without his ring?" Duncan mused, tapping the page of the book. "Or as a method of disruption to the Republic?"

The question was cruel, perhaps even evil, Duncan knew. He did not enjoy the thought of subjecting the boy to whatever tortures this spirit had, but ultimately...they had a goal. There was a reason they were here, a reason that Gilram had started his rebellion.

Would taking the spirit from the Prince further that? Or would sending him home still infected cause a pang of chaos they could use? "If the spirit is malign, it may strike out when the boy is returned to his home."

That being the very center of the Republic itself.

"If the Prince killed...anyone, it would create waves that no one could ignore." A frown was almost permanently glued to Duncan's features as he spoke. It was clear he did not enjoy the thought he was having. "We do not want the spirit to meddle here."

He murmured. "But in Vel Anir?"

The question hung in the air, an uneasy feeling settling in his stomach.

 

[Chasmine]

Chasmine fell silent while Duncan explained his thoughts, ever content to listen to the elder Dreadlords of Gilram's ilk speak on things connected to their ultimate goal. She wanted to offer her support and aid wherever she could, though such things were limited of course. If Duncan felt it better to leave that horrible spirit in the Prince ... well, Chas didn't have to like the idea of it, but she would not argue.

After a length of quiet when Duncan finished, the ghost spoke again.

"My concern is for those residing here and anyone that would be in contact with the Prince during his ... visit."

If Duncan wanted to give the ring back to the Prince when he left ... rather, was released or set loose back into the world, then so be it.

"If the spirit is not bound to the ring, but able to transfer between hosts ... what is to stop it from moving to someone like Edric and influencing him?"

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

Wil tapped his ring finger against the crystal glass as Edric told his broken tale, leaving out all of the good details of course. None of it had explained where exactly the ghost-girl was now which was his major concern. The sorcerers spirit was on edge which made Wil on edge. The bond he had naively stumbled into when he had stolen the ring meant for better or worse, he was stuck with it until... Well, until he was dead. That was the only way out of a pact with a devil, so he had discovered through what reading he had done. There was no way she hadn't worked out by now she was not the only spirit on the board. She could tell them all. The fact they hadn't tried to remove the ring from him suggested she hadn't told anyone... yet.

That made her a threat.

Wil didn't like being under threat.

Looking away from the Dreadlord when he pleaded to move the conversation, the Prince cast his eyes over the limited landscape. The hell did Dreadlords talk about if it wasn't blood and magic?

"So... if she's not your girl... who is?"

 

[Edric]

”Uhhh...I don't think…I have one.” Edric said and then frowned for a moment, his fourth glass of whisky now swirling in his hands as he considered Wil's question.

It was a strange one for him, mostly because he'd never even considered such a thing. Relationships had hardly ever been a focus of his life, and probably never would be. Oh there'd been more that a few trists, some with his fellow Initiates and some with women from afar.

None of those ladies would be considered ‘’his girl ‘’, whatever that meant. Though, someone did pop into his mind. ”I once slept with an Orc Warlord.”

Edric offered, remembering Maui and the night that still haunted him at times. A mixtures of goosebumps and utter cringe pulling through him as he remembered the things the Orcess had done to him…and insisted he do to her.

The memory alone made his head swim.

Or maybe that was the whiskey.

”She gave me this.” The Rogue Dreadlord said as he leaned back in his chair and pulled up his tunic. There revealing what appeared to be a mixture of a scar and tattoo. The deep black ink clashing with Edric's skin in a way his other tattoos did not.

”But…” He chuckled wryly, taking another drink. ”I'm pretty sure I'm more ’her human' than she is ‘’my girl'.”

Edric grinned, then countered Wil's question. ”What about you? Girl back home?”

 

[Duncan]

Duncan frowned for a brief moment, nodding his head at Chasmine's words. Her concerns were more than valid, a spirit possessing Edric would be extremely troublesome. There were some here who might be able to stop the boy, but when on a true rampage his magic made the prospect extremely unpleasant.

Especially when Gilram wasn't here.

The question however was not as simple as taking the ring from Wil. Duncan very much doubted that the Spirit would so easily give up it's host, and that wasn't even to mention the Boy's own resistance to having his property taken.

Which wasn't to say he couldn’t be overwhelmed, but the more Wil stepped away from this…incident with a negative light the more difficult the rest of their plan would be.

Plus, there was also the threat that the Spirit was bound to the ring. Which meant that anyone taking it could be possessed just as easily as the Prince.

A long sigh escaped the Rogue Dreadlord's lips. Part of him hated all of this deceit. The games they had to play and the sacrifices they had to make. He knew it was for the greater good. Knew that at the end of the day it would be worth it for what they were working for. But truth was Duncan despised thinking this way. Even small cruelties weighed upon him, and leaving a spirit that was not only dangerous to others but to Wil himself was despicable in his eye.

Though that wouldn't stop him from doing it all the same.

Duncan wondered quickly what kind of man that made him.

”You are right, Chasmine.” Duncan said with a nod of his head, taking a deep breath. ”But perhaps anoth-.”

The Rogue Dreadlord paused for a moment, cutting himself off before he landed on an obvious answer he had not yet considered. ”Does the boy know?”

It seemed obvious that he would, but such was not always the case with possessions.

 

[Chasmine]

"I do not see how he could not," Chasmine blinked at this question as if Duncan had asked her if Wil knew that rain fell from the sky, "they communicated with one another."

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

Well, that's a new fear unlocked, Wil thought to himself with a grimace as he eyed Edric's tramp stamp. He was an open minded fellow, had tumbled with elves and nymphs, and had a very surprisingly pleasing encounter with a leopard shifter, but he drew the line at people that wanted to brand him.

He took a much longer drag of whiskey.

"No - thank Kress," Wil grimaced again as he thought of his poor brother Lynus, married off to the highest bidder. Thankfully nobody was interest in marrying the third in line for the throne. Kezzie was the bigger prize by far. "I spent most of my life in some Gods armpit of a town, I've only been back 'home' for a year," the way he said home suggesting how very far from the word Vel Anir truly was for him.

"I had been enjoying my rather overdue holiday with good old dads money until you lot showed up," he leaned back in the chair and sighed. "Don't suppose there's any chance of you letting me just... go back to enjoying that eh?"

 

[Edric]

”I mean, they probably will.” Edric said with a shrug. ”Duncan already said they're not gonna torture you.”

That was probably a small comfort for someone like Wil, but for Edric it would have meant he was simply in for another long wait. He'd been sent on three separate missions that Involved him going to prison, two of which hadn't had any torture at all. Hell, even the one that had wasn't as bad as what the Proctor's had often done to him.

In Edric's mins, Wil was making out pretty damn good. ”They probably want something from your parents. Money or whatever.”

He shrugged.

”I wouldn't worry about it.” Edric said as he took a other drink. ”There's not much you can do now anyway.”

The Rogue Dreadlord said as he slowly stood from his chair, grabbing the bottle. ”Come on, I'll show ya why.”

Edric continued, clearly not to be dissuaded as he went stumbling towards the stairs.

 

[Duncan]

”Excellent.” Duncan said cheerily, seeing a path forward that might have far more to gain than any others.

He knew precious little about the ring or the spirit with which Chasmine had tangled, but there was something he knew rather well; how other people thought. That included Wil, in fact, he probably knew how the boy thought better than most others. Duncan had been mentor for decades. Never taking the role of Proctor, but teaching those just graduated for years and years.

The role had suited him well, and those whom he had taken under his wing had all thrived. Until the Great Houses had eventually sent them all to their deaths.

The bitter thought clouded his face for a moment, but he did not let the feeling linger. ”We'll need a sealing spell, just in case.”

Duncan said, thinking for a moment.

”Do you think the Tezzelrin Labyrinth will be too much?” He asked Chasmine, forgetting she may not know. ”Well, I can always unwind it after anyway but…”

He shook his head as if dismissing his own question. Then turned back to his ghostly companion to explain his line of thinking. ”First Chasmine, before we take this spirit away, we must offer that precious resource which is so often missing in our dear Vel Anir.”

Duncan said.

”Something you received from Gilram and I, something every one here does.” He smiled wide. ”Something I doubt the boy has received much of.”

An ear to listen to, and some advice Duncan was sure he wouldn't accept.

Not that it would matter in the end.

 

[Chasmine]

The ghost looked on, puzzled but curious as Duncan did what Duncan was liable to do: ramble on passionately about many things Chasmine did not know or understand. In her better moments of clarity in his company, she found an ironic sense of amusement in this. For how often did she ramble about things others were completely ignorant to? How often had she puzzled or confused? Except she felt that the way in which it happened with Duncan was endearing and even charming.

Everyone had only ever thought she was strange in a way that seemed to be infectious enough for distance to be kept.

She did not know what a Tezzelrin Labyrinth was but she did not need to. If Duncan knew, then that was enough. But so far as what he had in mind for the Prince... well, she frowned.

"I do not believe he wishes to speak to me," the ghost admitted. Very few people did, but Wil seemed especially wary of her.

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

"How comforting," Wil muttered beneath his breath as Edric pointed out he was off the torturers hook. He might not have grown up in Vel Anir but he knew enough of his home to know that torture was never fully off the table. If they suddenly decided it was the only way to go, best believe you'd end up on the butchers table. Neither was the idea that they just wanted something from his parents comforting. His father might just leave him here to rot just to teach him a lesson.

With a deep sigh he got up and followed after Edric.

 

[Edric]

Edric lead Wil off the platform and to a narrow set of stairs. Guiding him through the fortress which had clearly been built not by human hands. "Just think of it as a vacation from your vacation."

The Rogue Dreadlord continued his attempts at rousing the Prince's confidence.

It probably didn't help that his own view on the world was...dark, to say the least, but Edric was doing his best. Some of his friends from the Academy likely would have even commented on that. Compared to his journey with Noel, this was practically a musical.

"Watch your head." Edric said, ducking under an ancient beam of wood before stepping out onto the citadels ground floor.

He glanced around for a moment, ensuring no one was around, and then motioned for Wil to follow. He stepped towards the very end of the Citadel's expanse, where the stone gate lay open. Beyond it reached the Falwood, an ancient and old forest that held dangers even the Elves did not know everything about.

"Basically." Edric said as he walked out of the gate. "You're stuck here until someone walks...or flies you out."

The Rogue came to a stop, motioning for Wil to halt in the gate. "Just wait a second..."

Edric said as he looked around, waiting a moment, then two, until suddenly a vine shot up from the floor. Piercing almost instantly through Edric's shoulder. As the spear stabbed through his flesh, the trees immediately around them seemed to yank down. Thrashing and doing their best to grab at Edric.

A loud crack saw the wood in his shoulder splinter into pieces, and with three quick steps the Rogue Dreadlord slid back into place besides Wil. "This deep in the Falwood, the trees get...very active."

He said, ripping the stump in his shoulder free.

 

[Duncan]

Duncan smiled softly. "Your first encounter did not sound pleasant for either of you."

He contended, the smile disappearing after a moment. His head shaking as he realized that his thoughts had gotten away from him. Remembering how frustrating it had been to always be on the other end of that. To not know or fully understand.

"I have often found that the best ways to answer a question is to first ask it." The Rogue Dreadlord explained. "In this situation, I suspect that nobody has asked any questions at all."

Duncan said, wandering over towards one of the chairs in the library and settling up against it's arm. "The boy was sent away from home for nearly half his life because he witnessed something he should not have."

The Dreadlord explained. "I suspect he has been isolated, sidelined, and forgotten."

A feeling that sounded all too familiar to Chas, to many who had grown up with her.

"You may have more in common than you think." If not with the spirit, then certainly with it's host. "And whether he wishes to speak with you or not, the least we could do is ask."

Duncan observed, then added. "I think it is more than anyone else has done for him."

 

[Chasmine]

Chasmine frowned, clearly unconvinced of Duncan's idea but the man knew she was not often liable to flat out deny him or Gilram. Both had been welcoming and supportive to her in ways that no one had for many, many years. She was not of such a hollowed heart to simply not care. Not yet, anyway.

"If that is what you think is best, I will try," the ghost offered after several moments, "but can we not effect the same through Edric? They have some history between them, I believe."

 

[Wilhelm Anireth]

When Edric turned back towards the prince, he wouldn't have been wrong to think Wil was close to throwing up or passing out. Or both. Neither feeling surprisingly had anything to do with the near full bottle of whiskey they had consumed between them. He had thought the old coot was being a bit dramatic about the trees gobbling him up if he tried to leave but it appeared he was less of a coot and more of an outright psycho.

"Thanks for the heads up," no midnight strolls for me, he thought glumly. "Do you err... need a... tissue?" he nodded to the gaping hole.

 

[Edric]

”Hm?” Edric said, glancing at the wound in his shoulder for a brief moment.

”Nah.” He answered, throwing the makeshift spear back into the Falwood where it belonged. The hole that had been drive through his shoulder neatly beginning to knit itself back together as Edric drew upon his magic. Turning away from the gate Edric continued the conversation as though nothing had happened. ”But yeah, we’re all kind of stuck here.”

The Rogue Dreadlord commented. ”Unless you can fly, or talk to trees, or step into shadows or whatever.”

Some of the others could do junk like that, and he was pretty sure Duncan knew a spell or two that could get them through, but he certainly fucking didn’t.

”Stay on the stones.” Edric said, sounding as though he were quoting someone. ”Or swim in the lake, I guess the Falwood doesn’t control seaweed.”

 

[Duncan]

”I think it is best to try.” In truth, he was fairly certain that the boy would be as combative as possible. His attitude had already been shown to be poor, and their circumstances were not exactly the…best, but one had to work with what they had.

And right now they had an opportunity.

After a few more seconds, Duncan dig through a small chest in the corner of the room. Plucking free two small vials, one which contained some sort of twig, while the other held a silvery liquid that seemed to move in slow-motion. ”You are entirely correct.”

Duncan said with a smile.

”Which is why I left them together in the first place.” He continued with a chuckle. ”But, I think we can agree that Edric lacks a certain…understanding in the finer points of magic.”

Wil had never been part of the plan, the boy was not supposed to be here, but now he was and they had to make the best of it. There would be a ransom, that much he knew, but if they succeeded there could be so much more. ”The goal is to give the boy a chance to listen, learn, and grow, while helping our cause along the way.”

Perhaps it was naivety, but framing the situation in such a way helped ease the Older Dreadlord’s conscience. He would manipulate Wil, use him, as they had so many others. All for their cause. The small cloak eased the burden, even if it wasn’t deserved.

”Edric can be Wil’s friend.” Duncan said. ”We need to be…his guides.”

A far nicer way of saying the truth.

 

[Chasmine]

Duncan had a way of putting others at ease, and she knew he was doing well to explain his plan to her in a way that did not make it seem sinister. Chasmine was not ignorant to much of the machinations of Gilram and his crew. She had overheard quite a number of conversations she likely should not have, if only for the fact that only very few ever knew she was around when she was not visibly manifested.

Edric could tell now, due to their strange connection, but he'd yet to rat her out and she couldn't be certain why he hadn't.

"I am sorry," she frowned at Duncan, hands lightly clasping at her front, "I am uncertain how I can... guide the Prince. He will not listen to me. Hardly anyone ever does."