A hard slap crossed Loward's face as he was awakened from his slumber.
"Wake up filth." He opened his eyes to find himself suspended over a pit in the center of a well decorated room. A large troll met his gaze before he was viciously slapped again. "Do you know what you have cost me human?" Loward was still groggy and spent more time trying to regain his bearing as opposed to listening to his captor. A hard fist connected to his stomach to remind him of his situation. "I am talking to you boy!"
"Lord Fulton," interjected Khai Lun. "Perhaps he is still weak from poison." Lord Fulton grabbed the boy by the face, squeezing his jaw, and stared into the his eyes.
"Perhaps you are correct, Khai Lun. He does seem a bit addled which I admit makes it hard to accept the fact that a child could have defeated my man, Rionne, or a blooded Phantom."
"Is not the Magus Vrid but a child sir?" Lord Fulton growled at the Killian with an expression of scathing anger.
"An adolescent troll is a far superior creature than some mere human boy." Loward concentrated on manipulating his bonds when his nose began to bleed. "I see Khai Lun is correct in his assumption about you possessing mentalist abilities. If you will notice there is a collar around your neck that is inhibiting your abilities of the mind. The harder you push the more it shall turn back upon you." Loward was not about to fully test the validity of the collar. Instead he posed a query for his captor.
"For what purpose is my live captivity warranted your Lordship?" The proud troll raised an eyebrow at being addressed with such an astute question.
"Labor of course. What other purpose could I have for such a beast as yourself? That is...if you survive being part of this evening's entertainment." Loward tried to ascertain what he could have possibly meant when the headache returned. "Not learning our lesson are we?" Lord Fulton clapped his hands and the pit beneath Loward gained some light. Loward could barely make out people lighting torches on high sconces. The pit itself was fairly large and had a gated tunnel which led deep within the earth. The gate raised as the torch lighters left and a human in rags was throw in. The human was a young boy roughly the same age as Loward, but stood half a head taller and seemed to be shaking with sickness. Lord Fulton spoke down into the pit.
"Tomas, you must prove your worth this evening. If you cannot then this boy who hangs before me shall be your replacement." Loward was slowly lowered into the pit and released of his bonds. He stood silently looking at Tomas. Tomas looked up to Lord Fulton.
"I shall do my best to honor the gift you gave me sir." Loward smirked as he sized the boy.
"Let me guess. This is the part where we fight to the death and I get offered your job before your corpse turns cold. To make this sporting I'll make sure your death is as long and painful as possible." Tomas fell onto all fours and began to convulse. Bones popped and sinews tore as the boy's form began to change. White fur grew about his body as large fangs and claws replaced teeth and fingernails. Tomas had taken on the half-form of the lycanthrope and from what Loward could tell; Tomas was gripped in madness. Loward let out a whispered prayer. "By the whiskers of Bartelby."
The enraged werewolf charged Loward with reckless abandon thrashing claws and gnashing teeth. Loward rolled along and tumbled as close to the ground to focus the beast's weight on it's forelegs. The beast swatted him hard with a forelimb. The force or the blow threw Loward against the wall, cracking ribs and possibly fracturing his forearm. The werewolf closed quickly and bit down on Loward's shin. It shook it's head side to side and tore flesh. Loward was not about to scream out and give Fulton the satisfaction. Instead he struck with an arrow like motion with two fingers and popped one of Tomas's eyes. The beast reared it head back as it let go of it's grip of Loward's leg. Not giving his adversary time to recover, He stood, grabbed the werewolf by it's ears, and drove his knee into it's snout. It staggered backward more when it was caught by a sloppy spinning crescent kick. Loward rushed forward pressing Tomas into the wall and drove in his elbow into it's chest hard. When the lycanthrope bent forward from having it's wind knocked out, Loward flipped him to the ground and held him in a powerful reverse choke. Loward pulled hard against the curve of Tomas's spine until a horrible series of cracks was heard. The werewolf went limp and fell silent.
"Very good boy. It seems that I have misjudged your potential." Lord Fulton appeared to be very proud of Loward's victory.
"Is this the point where you offer me a job? If so you can take whatever you're offering and shove it straight up your pet lizard's ass." Khai Lun shook with anger and looked ready to leap into the pit. Lord Fulton just laughed.
"Perhaps some time in the mines shall change your mind?" The gate to the tunnel that led out of the pit opened as a large number of guards with technomantic rifles approached. "Please follow these gentlemen unless you tire of living." Loward considered the possibilities and his nose began to bleed again. He wiped his face and began to walk into the tunnel and was escorted away.
Khai Lun turned to his master. "I think that one may not be worth the price you wish to pay my lord. He seems a bit high strung and rebellious."
"Yes he is. But did you not notice he used no magics to end the fight?"
"Yes m'lord."
"And do you not find that odd since we found a book of shadows within his possessions. Not to mention alchemy notebooks and four sets of tarot cards. This boy needs to be watched closely."
"I thought you said that one such as him is lower than filth."
"Even in the trash you can find a treasure every now and then. Now leave me so I may meditate upon these transpirings. "
"Yes Lord Fulton." Khai Lun left his master to think in peace.
Loward was led along a series of passageways. Every now and then he would peer into a passing room to see people manning technomantic devices. The tunnel opened into a large cavern which glowed brightly in oranges and reds. He stood in awe as he entered the cavern as he had never seen a foundry as large as the one which lay before him. For a brief moment he forgot that his leg pained him as he walked with a limp and the fact that breathing was a bit labored. That moment ended when he was nudged forward and led into another tunnel. The armed escort led him past a number of cells which housed dozens of workers. He hazarded a guess that most of them were more than likely refugees from Citadel now put to work deep in the earth.
He was thrown into an empty room at the end of the corridor. Before he could recover to his feet, his mind was wracked with incredible pain as blood began to flow from his eyes, ears, and nose. His veins felt as though thew were filled with liquid fire and more waves of pain took him. Fractured visions assaulted his mind giving him snip its of the past, present, and future. So many cascaded and overlapped he could no longer discern their relation in time. The prisoners in nearby cells shuddered from the sounds of Loward's screams as they echoed through the underground facility. The torment lasted for several hours before he finally passed out from the pain.
On to vol. 6 The mines of Fulton part 2