Chapter 78: Trap and Mistreatment
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Chapter 78: Trap and Mistreatment
Marthox had rarely ever felt pain in his life, having been raised from birth to have a supportive leadership role in The Order of The Broken Goddess, so the sudden onslaught of pain from having his hand cut off and immediately cauterized left him paralyzed screaming in pain.
While screaming his body had at some point been moved, but he hadn't at the time been able to comprehend where they were moving him.
At least someone had been kind enough to give him some numbing bush leaves to chew on after they had moved him. His stump had even been covered in bandages in case he ended up reopening his wounds.
With the slight numbing effect of the leaves Marthox had finally been able to relax his mind enough to drift off to mindless, pain free slumber.
At least for a little while.
After a much shorter time than preferred, Marthox was awoken by the sound of massive feet coming his way. Groggily, the muskin raised his head to look at the newcomer. As he did, he absent-mindedly noted he was laying on a bedroll on the floor of what appeared to be an unfurnished prison cell, based on the lack of windows and the handless door with two covered slits. One for the warden to look and talk to the prisoner through and one to pass meals through. Both presumably able to be locked from the other side. With a lack of windows, the room was instead lit by a Light Orb hanging from the ceiling.
The first thing anyone wanting to learn to Enchant learned was how to make Breakthrough Orbs into simple lights. Then they learned how to make the Orb turn on and off with a push of mana, called a Light Orb. Any successfully made Light Orbs would then naturally be sold, and some people would decide they didn't need to know anything more about Enchanting and instead supply the public with Light Orbs.
Having a career of making Light Orbs wasn't particularly well paying, but it was a stable job as people needed to replace their Light Orbs everytime the mana in them ran out. Which for the cheap ones made out of 1st tier Breakthrough Orbs was every 3 months or so if used daily.
It would be nice to have an Enchanter of some kind under my control. Free Light Orbs are always nice, but a good one can do some truly amazing things with the right materials.
The cell door opening drew Marthox back to the present. Mister Agtius, the giant Axe Master of his group who they had left behind when the Dungeon wall took his arm, stepped into the room and closed it behind him.
With no handle on this side of the door that meant he had locked himself in with the muskin. Someone else would have to let him out.
"We've had a meeting on what the town here wants to happen to us." The giant began. Marthox desperately began getting up in response. While, as a muskin, he would never be able to match the height of a giant, he could at least mitigate it by standing or, if not that, sitting up rather than laying down.
Mister Agtius continued as Marthox got himself to stand on wobbly legs. "They concluded that the 4 of us you released from your control, will have no charges placed upon us and we are free to go or stay as we please. Any crimes we might have committed happened while under the Hypnosis and thus wasn't something we did willingly. You, however..."
It was only now Marthox realized the giant had been staring angrily at him as he spoke. His tone had been monotone, but the last two words had been tainted with anger which finally clued the muskin into the matching emotion in the Axe Master's eyes.
It didn't bear well for the muskin, and with a nervous gulp in the face of such fury from such a large and bulky man, his mind frantically began to search for solutions.
"Your Class is Hypnotist which brings them pause. While you likely didn't Hypnotize us willingly as you were Brainwashed yourself, your Class suggests you see no wrong in controlling people." Mister Agtius gave a slight pause here, but Marthox didn't have a good lie ready for him. "It was suggested that there might be certain situations where Hypnotizing someone could be a good thing, but that they're unable to stop you from abusing your powers should they decide to give you the benefit of the doubt."
They can't stop me! Marthox had hoped they would be unable to stop him from Hypnotizing. But in the case they could, attempting could potentially ruin his chances of getting out of this alive. If they could stop his Skills from working, they might also be able to tell it had been attempted.
But as he now knew they couldn't tell...
Well, the hot-headed giant didn't have near enough Awareness or Charisma to overcome the combined power of both of his.
Follow my every command. Marthox inscribed on his new leash. A line he would place on every leash he made from here on out. Then he softly spoke his first command, taking care to only speak loudly enough for the sound to travel the distance between the short muskin and much taller giant. In all likelihood there was a guard outside the door waiting for mister Agtius to ask to be let out. It wouldn't do to let anyone else hear his plan.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.
"You trust me not to mistreat my powers. Tell them I desperately want to prove my worth to them by completing any task they ask of me. Tell them they need to let me live and set me free as soon as they'll let me."
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While Sarzina Acacia had originally assumed - and still hoped - the Hypnotist was a good beastkin with morals, the female human and the giant had reminded her that she didn't know the muskin and had no reason to think he was a good person.
Having left the Dungeon after regaining his senses, the giant had headed to the Security Guild - likely due to it being the one place he knew here, and it being one of the few finished places - in the hopes of either finding his comrades or getting news about them from the sheriff and his people.
Reentering Fraxinus' office, Zina began questioning the unknowns on their background and plans for the future, should they be allowed to leave.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
With the immediate danger of mind control gone, Reid Alvarado could relax a little bit.
To be honest, the fact that Mlartlar has finally gone quiet helps my mood a lot. The hybrid had been almost constantly yelling during the meeting while everyone else had at least attempted to keep a cool head.
The dungeon mistress was currently questioning Reid on his plans for the immediate future to which he replied he would return to his family and tell them why he hadn't been home in years.
He would tell them everything that had happened to him before returning to this place to repay the debt he owed for having been freed.
It was while thinking about all the things he would finally be able to share with his father, mother, and twin sister, that he remembered his earlier discovery. He would naturally be telling his spy mother and sister about this juicy piece of international gossip, but his honor demanded he inform the elves as well.
"The last one of our unwilling group wasn't freed with the rest of us. She's still down there fighting the Dungeon."
"The one with a hood up and a mask on?" The dungeon mistress asked, clearly thinking back on their short meeting before they had entered the Dungeon.
"Yes. Her name is Talindra Delonix-Regia." The elf woman simply raised her eyebrow in response.
How can she not know?!
Oh! Right! Mother said they did a 'public name, private name'-thing.
"Every elf has the scientific name of a tree as their last name, right?" Reid began to explain.
"Yes...?"
"And yet what is the last name of your royal family?"
"Phoenix Flower."
"Which is the common name of what tree?"
Her eyes widened as she replied in realization: "Delonix-Regia."
"Your royal family goes by Phoenix Flower publicly, and only their closest circles know them as Delonix-Regia. That is their real last name." Reid himself only knew because his mother - and later sister - was a member of his own country's spy network.
And naturally the spies knew about it.
"Why?"
Reid shrugged. "Enchanted Contracts only work if you sign with your actual name. Should a royal be threatened into signing one, having a different public name can come in handy."
The dungeon mistress took some time to absorb the new information before the realization hit her: "You're telling me... my Crown Princess is under someone else's control and currently inside this Dungeon. This Dungeon, which is much more dangerous than its size and age suggests. All alone! Even though every Dungeon is meant to be explored with a Party to ensure one's safety?!"
Reid swallowed. "Yes."
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Chapter 78: Trap and Mistreatment
Marthox had rarely ever felt pain in his life, having been raised from birth to have a supportive leadership role in The Order of The Broken Goddess, so the sudden onslaught of pain from having his hand cut off and immediately cauterized left him paralyzed screaming in pain.
While screaming his body had at some point been moved, but he hadn't at the time been able to comprehend where they were moving him.
At least someone had been kind enough to give him some numbing bush leaves to chew on after they had moved him. His stump had even been covered in bandages in case he ended up reopening his wounds.
With the slight numbing effect of the leaves Marthox had finally been able to relax his mind enough to drift off to mindless, pain free slumber.
At least for a little while.
After a much shorter time than preferred, Marthox was awoken by the sound of massive feet coming his way. Groggily, the muskin raised his head to look at the newcomer. As he did, he absent-mindedly noted he was laying on a bedroll on the floor of what appeared to be an unfurnished prison cell, based on the lack of windows and the handless door with two covered slits. One for the warden to look and talk to the prisoner through and one to pass meals through. Both presumably able to be locked from the other side. With a lack of windows, the room was instead lit by a Light Orb hanging from the ceiling.
The first thing anyone wanting to learn to Enchant learned was how to make Breakthrough Orbs into simple lights. Then they learned how to make the Orb turn on and off with a push of mana, called a Light Orb. Any successfully made Light Orbs would then naturally be sold, and some people would decide they didn't need to know anything more about Enchanting and instead supply the public with Light Orbs.
Having a career of making Light Orbs wasn't particularly well paying, but it was a stable job as people needed to replace their Light Orbs everytime the mana in them ran out. Which for the cheap ones made out of 1st tier Breakthrough Orbs was every 3 months or so if used daily.
It would be nice to have an Enchanter of some kind under my control. Free Light Orbs are always nice, but a good one can do some truly amazing things with the right materials.
The cell door opening drew Marthox back to the present. Mister Agtius, the giant Axe Master of his group who they had left behind when the Dungeon wall took his arm, stepped into the room and closed it behind him.
With no handle on this side of the door that meant he had locked himself in with the muskin. Someone else would have to let him out.
"We've had a meeting on what the town here wants to happen to us." The giant began. Marthox desperately began getting up in response. While, as a muskin, he would never be able to match the height of a giant, he could at least mitigate it by standing or, if not that, sitting up rather than laying down.
Mister Agtius continued as Marthox got himself to stand on wobbly legs. "They concluded that the 4 of us you released from your control, will have no charges placed upon us and we are free to go or stay as we please. Any crimes we might have committed happened while under the Hypnosis and thus wasn't something we did willingly. You, however..."
It was only now Marthox realized the giant had been staring angrily at him as he spoke. His tone had been monotone, but the last two words had been tainted with anger which finally clued the muskin into the matching emotion in the Axe Master's eyes.
It didn't bear well for the muskin, and with a nervous gulp in the face of such fury from such a large and bulky man, his mind frantically began to search for solutions.
"Your Class is Hypnotist which brings them pause. While you likely didn't Hypnotize us willingly as you were Brainwashed yourself, your Class suggests you see no wrong in controlling people." Mister Agtius gave a slight pause here, but Marthox didn't have a good lie ready for him. "It was suggested that there might be certain situations where Hypnotizing someone could be a good thing, but that they're unable to stop you from abusing your powers should they decide to give you the benefit of the doubt."
They can't stop me! Marthox had hoped they would be unable to stop him from Hypnotizing. But in the case they could, attempting could potentially ruin his chances of getting out of this alive. If they could stop his Skills from working, they might also be able to tell it had been attempted.
But as he now knew they couldn't tell...
Well, the hot-headed giant didn't have near enough Awareness or Charisma to overcome the combined power of both of his.
Follow my every command. Marthox inscribed on his new leash. A line he would place on every leash he made from here on out. Then he softly spoke his first command, taking care to only speak loudly enough for the sound to travel the distance between the short muskin and much taller giant. In all likelihood there was a guard outside the door waiting for mister Agtius to ask to be let out. It wouldn't do to let anyone else hear his plan.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.
"You trust me not to mistreat my powers. Tell them I desperately want to prove my worth to them by completing any task they ask of me. Tell them they need to let me live and set me free as soon as they'll let me."
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
While Sarzina Acacia had originally assumed - and still hoped - the Hypnotist was a good beastkin with morals, the female human and the giant had reminded her that she didn't know the muskin and had no reason to think he was a good person.
Having left the Dungeon after regaining his senses, the giant had headed to the Security Guild - likely due to it being the one place he knew here, and it being one of the few finished places - in the hopes of either finding his comrades or getting news about them from the sheriff and his people.
Reentering Fraxinus' office, Zina began questioning the unknowns on their background and plans for the future, should they be allowed to leave.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
With the immediate danger of mind control gone, Reid Alvarado could relax a little bit.
To be honest, the fact that Mlartlar has finally gone quiet helps my mood a lot. The hybrid had been almost constantly yelling during the meeting while everyone else had at least attempted to keep a cool head.
The dungeon mistress was currently questioning Reid on his plans for the immediate future to which he replied he would return to his family and tell them why he hadn't been home in years.
He would tell them everything that had happened to him before returning to this place to repay the debt he owed for having been freed.
It was while thinking about all the things he would finally be able to share with his father, mother, and twin sister, that he remembered his earlier discovery. He would naturally be telling his spy mother and sister about this juicy piece of international gossip, but his honor demanded he inform the elves as well.
"The last one of our unwilling group wasn't freed with the rest of us. She's still down there fighting the Dungeon."
"The one with a hood up and a mask on?" The dungeon mistress asked, clearly thinking back on their short meeting before they had entered the Dungeon.
"Yes. Her name is Talindra Delonix-Regia." The elf woman simply raised her eyebrow in response.
How can she not know?!
Oh! Right! Mother said they did a 'public name, private name'-thing.
"Every elf has the scientific name of a tree as their last name, right?" Reid began to explain.
"Yes...?"
"And yet what is the last name of your royal family?"
"Phoenix Flower."
"Which is the common name of what tree?"
Her eyes widened as she replied in realization: "Delonix-Regia."
"Your royal family goes by Phoenix Flower publicly, and only their closest circles know them as Delonix-Regia. That is their real last name." Reid himself only knew because his mother - and later sister - was a member of his own country's spy network.
And naturally the spies knew about it.
"Why?"
Reid shrugged. "Enchanted Contracts only work if you sign with your actual name. Should a royal be threatened into signing one, having a different public name can come in handy."
The dungeon mistress took some time to absorb the new information before the realization hit her: "You're telling me... my Crown Princess is under someone else's control and currently inside this Dungeon. This Dungeon, which is much more dangerous than its size and age suggests. All alone! Even though every Dungeon is meant to be explored with a Party to ensure one's safety?!"
Reid swallowed. "Yes."
Chapter 78: Trap and MistreatmentMarthox had rarely ever felt pain in his life, having been raised from birth to have a supportive leadership role in The Order of The Broken Goddess, so the sudden onslaught of pain from having his hand cut off and immediately cauterized left him paralyzed screaming in pain.While screaming his body had at some point been moved, but he hadn't at the time been able to comprehend where they were moving him.At least someone had been kind enough to give him some numbing bush leaves to chew on after they had moved him. His stump had even been covered in bandages in case he ended up reopening his wounds.With the slight numbing effect of the leaves Marthox had finally been able to relax his mind enough to drift off to mindless, pain free slumber.At least for a little while.After a much shorter time than preferred, Marthox was awoken by the sound of massive feet coming his way. Groggily, the muskin raised his head to look at the newcomer. As he did, he absent-mindedly noted he was laying on a bedroll on the floor of what appeared to be an unfurnished prison cell, based on the lack of windows and the handless door with two covered slits. One for the warden to look and talk to the prisoner through and one to pass meals through. Both presumably able to be locked from the other side. With a lack of windows, the room was instead lit by a Light Orb hanging from the ceiling.The first thing anyone wanting to learn to Enchant learned was how to make Breakthrough Orbs into simple lights. Then they learned how to make the Orb turn on and off with a push of mana, called a Light Orb. Any successfully made Light Orbs would then naturally be sold, and some people would decide they didn't need to know anything more about Enchanting and instead supply the public with Light Orbs.Having a career of making Light Orbs wasn't particularly well paying, but it was a stable job as people needed to replace their Light Orbs everytime the mana in them ran out. Which for the cheap ones made out of 1st tier Breakthrough Orbs was every 3 months or so if used daily.It would be nice to have an Enchanter of some kind under my control. Free Light Orbs are always nice, but a good one can do some truly amazing things with the right materials.The cell door opening drew Marthox back to the present. Mister Agtius, the giant Axe Master of his group who they had left behind when the Dungeon wall took his arm, stepped into the room and closed it behind him.With no handle on this side of the door that meant he had locked himself in with the muskin. Someone else would have to let him out."We've had a meeting on what the town here wants to happen to us." The giant began. Marthox desperately began getting up in response. While, as a muskin, he would never be able to match the height of a giant, he could at least mitigate it by standing or, if not that, sitting up rather than laying down.Mister Agtius continued as Marthox got himself to stand on wobbly legs. "They concluded that the 4 of us you released from your control, will have no charges placed upon us and we are free to go or stay as we please. Any crimes we might have committed happened while under the Hypnosis and thus wasn't something we did willingly. You, however..."It was only now Marthox realized the giant had been staring angrily at him as he spoke. His tone had been monotone, but the last two words had been tainted with anger which finally clued the muskin into the matching emotion in the Axe Master's eyes.It didn't bear well for the muskin, and with a nervous gulp in the face of such fury from such a large and bulky man, his mind frantically began to search for solutions."Your Class is Hypnotist which brings them pause. While you likely didn't Hypnotize us willingly as you were Brainwashed yourself, your Class suggests you see no wrong in controlling people." Mister Agtius gave a slight pause here, but Marthox didn't have a good lie ready for him. "It was suggested that there might be certain situations where Hypnotizing someone could be a good thing, but that they're unable to stop you from abusing your powers should they decide to give you the benefit of the doubt."They can't stop me! Marthox had hoped they would be unable to stop him from Hypnotizing. But in the case they could, attempting could potentially ruin his chances of getting out of this alive. If they could stop his Skills from working, they might also be able to tell it had been attempted.But as he now knew they couldn't tell...Well, the hot-headed giant didn't have near enough Awareness or Charisma to overcome the combined power of both of his.Follow my every command. Marthox inscribed on his new leash. A line he would place on every leash he made from here on out. Then he softly spoke his first command, taking care to only speak loudly enough for the sound to travel the distance between the short muskin and much taller giant. In all likelihood there was a guard outside the door waiting for mister Agtius to ask to be let out. It wouldn't do to let anyone else hear his plan.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n."You trust me not to mistreat my powers. Tell them I desperately want to prove my worth to them by completing any task they ask of me. Tell them they need to let me live and set me free as soon as they'll let me."While Sarzina Acacia had originally assumed - and still hoped - the Hypnotist was a good beastkin with morals, the female human and the giant had reminded her that she didn't know the muskin and had no reason to think he was a good person.Having left the Dungeon after regaining his senses, the giant had headed to the Security Guild - likely due to it being the one place he knew here, and it being one of the few finished places - in the hopes of either finding his comrades or getting news about them from the sheriff and his people.Reentering Fraxinus' office, Zina began questioning the unknowns on their background and plans for the future, should they be allowed to leave.With the immediate danger of mind control gone, Reid Alvarado could relax a little bit.To be honest, the fact that Mlartlar has finally gone quiet helps my mood a lot. The hybrid had been almost constantly yelling during the meeting while everyone else had at least attempted to keep a cool head.The dungeon mistress was currently questioning Reid on his plans for the immediate future to which he replied he would return to his family and tell them why he hadn't been home in years.He would tell them everything that had happened to him before returning to this place to repay the debt he owed for having been freed.It was while thinking about all the things he would finally be able to share with his father, mother, and twin sister, that he remembered his earlier discovery. He would naturally be telling his spy mother and sister about this juicy piece of international gossip, but his honor demanded he inform the elves as well."The last one of our unwilling group wasn't freed with the rest of us. She's still down there fighting the Dungeon.""The one with a hood up and a mask on?" The dungeon mistress asked, clearly thinking back on their short meeting before they had entered the Dungeon."Yes. Her name is Talindra Delonix-Regia." The elf woman simply raised her eyebrow in response.How can she not know?!Oh! Right! Mother said they did a 'public name, private name'-thing."Every elf has the scientific name of a tree as their last name, right?" Reid began to explain."Yes...?""And yet what is the last name of your royal family?""Phoenix Flower.""Which is the common name of what tree?"Her eyes widened as she replied in realization: "Delonix-Regia.""Your royal family goes by Phoenix Flower publicly, and only their closest circles know them as Delonix-Regia. That is their real last name." Reid himself only knew because his mother - and later sister - was a member of his own country's spy network.And naturally the spies knew about it."Why?"Reid shrugged. "Enchanted Contracts only work if you sign with your actual name. Should a royal be threatened into signing one, having a different public name can come in handy."The dungeon mistress took some time to absorb the new information before the realization hit her: "You're telling me... my Crown Princess is under someone else's control and currently inside this Dungeon. This Dungeon, which is much more dangerous than its size and age suggests. All alone! Even though every Dungeon is meant to be explored with a Party to ensure one's safety?!"Reid swallowed. "Yes."
