Jolting awake, feeling pain shoot up his arms; screaming out in surprise, he stared down at them, nearly sick at the sight. A metal hook went in through the bone of the wrist before spinning itself tight on the other side. One in each arm as Norbert followed the chain it connected and went into the wall, bolted there by a sturdy metal ring that seemed to come out of the wall.
Moving his hand slowly, Norbert could move it nearly at full stretch before it started to dig into his hand, spinning the hook and causing the pain to shoot up again. Dropping his hands to his side with a clang, Norbert looked around the room he woke up in.
Inside a square stone room the same colour as the previous ravine. Turning around, Norbert felt the rough stone mined out, believing himself within the ravine. Metal bars stood opposite him, blocking his way out. Not like he would want to escape at the moment with his hands apprehended as they currently are.
Torchlight flickered on the other side of the bars, creating shadows taunting Norbert, the shadow that stopped him from escaping was here again. Closing his eyes, Norbert forced the magic sight to see if anything was going on. The room looked normal, just faint outlines. It changed when he looked at the chains going through his arms.
Densely packed, Norbert saw red circles and patterns crisscrossing each other, pulsing rhythmically with his heartbeat going through his ears. Following the chains, tracking it going up the chains in a spiral, until it reached the wall where it bloomed like a red spider lily formed out of more circles and lines before slowly fading. Norbert's face was in horror as he turned off the magic sight; what was its meaning, and what fate had in store for him?
The coldness of the stone now reached into his behind. Looking down at his clothes, he was annoyed at what he was currently wearing. The same clothes as before; he looked at the damage. The entire front had been ripped to shreds, remembering the pain coursing through his body. Norbert winced at the memory, looking and touching the skin, happy to see that no scars had formed from the savage pawing he received.
His pants were mainly together, except for one leg cut and stiff from the knee, now much darker than usual and slightly shredded. Remembering the hand clamping down as Arzlan recreated how the green fellow beat up Loki, going back and forth.
Slowly and carefully, not to agitate his accessories, Norbert felt the back, the entire back shredded holes all over it. Resting his hands to the front, he craned his neck and moved his shoulders, feeling them pop after their lack of use. His neck feeling weird, Norbert looked under his shirt, seeing the translator he had on for so long no longer there.
Looking down at his hip, Norbert saw his missing blades and the coin pouch; annoyed that his lucky coin wasn't there, he would have no way of asking Luck for guidance now. Shaking his head, his stomach grumbling again, a gurgle of a beast waking from its slumber. Gazing around the cell, not seeing anything to eat, Norbert breathed in before shouting, "Hello, anyone there!"
There, there, there echoed around the cells, Norbert hearing no reply. "Hey, some food would be good!" Norbert shouted again, not hearing a response at all.
Grumbling to himself, "At least some company wouldn't hurt". A light shone on his nose as he looked up. Twisting his head off, Norbert saw a yellow light floating around the cell.
Staring at it suspiciously, Norbert waited for it to do something, watching as it swirled around. Having enough of it and wanting out, Norbert pulsed the purple energy through his body, resulting in him screaming in pain.
Lying on the ground, seeing the light dance around as he wondered what was happening to him. Rattling the chains, Norbert flopped to the side. If they were going to starve him to death, they would have just killed him instead, so mustering all the patience he could, Norbert closed his eyes, waiting for whoever was there to show up.
***
"'It’s gotta be at least hours now; where is everyone?" Norbert asked, hearing his response battering around the cell.
"Yeah, yeah, you shush up now; I'm trying to concentrate.", Norbert said to his echo. Sitting straight again, Norbert crossed his legs under him, happy that the agility elixir made going into positions like this much more accessible. As he stared and thumped his head, Norbert saw the mote of light reappear.
"Luck, if that's you doing this, then a second one will appear; if it's something else, then the single one will go out, then come back after a second", Norbert said to the mote. Crossing his fingers, Norbert saw as a second one appeared.
"Eureka!" Norbert shouted around, seeing the two motes of light blow away in the air. Shooting his arms in the air, he yelled out in pain, the hooks digging into his arm, turning his cries of joy into those of pain.
Dropping his hands back down, Norbert looked at the two motes of light swirling around each other. "Are you always watching me?" Norbert asked the air.
The lights are not doing anything, just bouncing around. "Luck, you're playing games when I'm like this. Well, one mote for yes and two for no," Norbert asked. He was seeing one disappear from view. Norbert shook his head.
"This is going to be a long conversation, is it?" Flicking to the light, Norbert saw the single remaining moving around in figure eight.
"Is there anyone else watching me?" Norbert asked. The light stopped doing figure eights as it stood still, no twin joining it. "I'll take that as a yes, then. Able to tell me who they are?" Norbert asked, fingers crossed that he would quickly get out with their assistance. Norbert watched, seeing a second one appear. Nodding his head, "Figures." he replied.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Leaning back, he wondered what he could ask while in prison. "Any ways can you help me escape?" Norbert asked; two lights stayed there, one chasing the other. "Worth a shot," he said.
"You currently in the white room, with a book on your lap, drinking some Fanta while being a stalker?" Norbert asked. The two lights stopped chasing each other and started to ram into Norbert's face. He was shooing them away. "Ok, ok, you're not doing that. But is one of those things in the description true?" Norbert said, a grin already forming. Seeing one disappear, not knowing if it was the original one, Norbert laughed.
"You guzzling down that Fanta, aren't you? Man, never seen someone be so addicted to it." He said, holding his sides as he laughed. He was wiping a tear from his eye as he controlled himself, one last giggle before calming down.
"Wait, if one of those things is true and it's the Fanta, you're not in the white room. Luck, are you currently having a meeting with the other gods and bored, so drinking some bubbly Fanta and watching your favourite moral? Tsk tsk tsk," Norbert finished. Unable to keep a straight face as he started giggling to himself, imagining all the gods giving Luck a stink eye.
He smiled as he waited for the lights to do something to react again. "It's all good Luck. Thanks for distracting me, but I guess it's time to get back to work," Norbert finished, slapping his face with both hands to alert him.
Turning around so he could look at the wall where the chains went into, Norbert grabbed onto the chain and pulled with all his strength. No pain shot through his arm from the hook, as it had enough slack so it wasn't tight. As he pulled against the chain, still unable to get a proper grip, his feet skidded on the floor. Taking one step on the wall, Norbert pushed with all his force. Feeling that something was happening within the chain, Norbert put his other foot on the wall as well, stepping closer and closer until he was a quarter of the way up the wall with both feet where the chain was.
Holding the chain with both hands, Norbert reached down and pulled with all his might, knowing he was looking like a fool trying to do a deadlift with a chain. He continued pulling, not giving up on the metal, believing all those elixirs running through his blood would do something.
Changing his sight to view magic Norbert was surprised by what he saw; the once steady pulsing pattern now shone brightly; as Norbert pulled more and more, it became brighter and brighter. With a groan, the chain was pulled out of the rock, Norbert flying through the air from all the force he was putting through it.
ARRRRRGHHH
Norbert screamed, his left hand still connecting to the wall dragging it back. Looking back at his arm as it wrenched, the red magic symbols in the chains were now even darker than before, pulsing brighter. Looking at his hand, the gash was even more profound, with fresh blood coming out. Norbert looked to the hook in his other hand, seeing the light slowly fade from the hook with the dangling chain.
Staring at the other, Norbert smiled, seeing a chance of escape much more accessible. Stopping, he listened, not hearing anyone else coming for him after the racket he had created. Shrugging his shoulders, not caring if they would come, Norbert walked up to the rock wall with the chain still attached.
Wiping his hands on his pants, hearing them tear slightly and wincing, not wanting to run around a prison nearly naked. Standing up on the wall and pulling, Norbert could wretch this one out, not bothering to see the spell break until he slammed into the cell bars. With a clang of his metal chains hitting the bar, now knowing that someone should have at least heard that, he looked down at the chains with magic sight, confirming the spell untangling.
Flushing himself with energy Norbert's eyes glazed over, happy that no headache was coming. Feeling it go through him, Norbert held onto the hook in his left hand, twisting it around its base and moving the metal; it slowly started to bend until it snapped with a relent.
Norbert watched as he held the two pieces of the hook, seeing that part of it still connected to his arm. Swallowing, he started moving the hook around, feeling it squirm within him. Annoyed, he pulled it, feeling his bones resist the pain as finally, it stopped, the hook coming free.
Forcing energy to stay around the wound, Norbert saw as the flesh wiggled closed, going from the inside out. Taking the other hook, he repeated the process, dropping both hooks on the ground as he properly repaired his arms. Knowing they hadn't fully returned, Norbert felts reserves should have enough for this escape stint.
His stomach grumbled at the lack of food; Norbert wondered how long he had been stuck in here; knowing that it wouldn't change anything. Grabbing two bars, passing energy through him. He started exerting force, bending the two bars away from each other.
With a groaning of metal, two of the bars in the cell bent out of shape enough for Norbert to slip out. Looking around, he saw he was in a corridor, torches on one side and lines of cells on the other. Not knowing which way to go, "Hey Luck, one mote for forward, two motes for back", Norbert asked the air.
Thankful when two motes appeared, waving and saying his thanks, Norbert spun around and tore down the cell block, wondering what was there for him on the other side.
Sprinting forward, Norbert followed the torches, seeing empty cell after empty cell, wondering why they would have so many cells if they were just to have no occupants. Not giving it time to sort out, Norbert rushed forward, sliding when in the distance, Norbert saw a person, his first guard standing still next to a wooden door.
As he drew closer, Norbert saw the guard move to watch him, amazement on his face as he reached inside his jacket. Not giving him a chance, Norbert threw a fist in his face with enough force that sent the guard flying, hitting the wall behind him and falling onto the ground.
Norbert reached forward, confirming that the guard was still alive, thankfully just knocked unconscious. Looking down at his rags Norbert saw the tatters, compared to the guard's full uniform. "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do", Norbert said to himself as he began disrobing the guard.
Finally garbed in clothes with no holes, all short and too wide to fit him properly, Norbert wore a leather vest and blue pants; taking the dagger and the leather belt, Norbert left the pile of coins, feeling bad for completely robbing the guard.
Bowing once in thanks, Norbert opened the wooden door, wondering what fate held for him on the other side.
***
Luck just stared at the sphere in the middle of the room. All eyes turned to her as she sucked on her Fanta from her glass goblet as the sphere showed Norbert straight up, guessing what she was doing correctly. Unable to avoid their gaze any longer, she sucked again, causing it to gurgle as she finished it.
With the bubbles in her stomach wanting to release, she burped as quietly as she could into her hand; sadly, in the noiseless room, it sounded like an elephant trumpeting in the savannah.
Looking around, Luck met everyone's eyes. "What, it's a good drink", She said.
Arstech just stared at her. "And you are going to let him get away with it?" he asked Luck, pointing to the screen of Norbert laughing to himself.
"It's nice to see him relaxed, and what I do with my champion is none of your business." She said, looking everyone in the eyes.
Martura seeing the tension swiped in the direction of the sphere, now replaced by a new individual, "I think it's time to look at the next candidate."
"Please, this is taking forever,", Galamamon said, receiving the nods of those around him; Luck smiled to herself as she filled her goblet up with Fanta, sipping on the drink as the conversation turned to other matters. Luck was only half paying attention as she focused on Norbert and answered his questions.