Levandi stared at the "instructions" for several seconds, turning the paper to look at it from different angles to see if it made any more sense that way. Enyo, for all her laziness, was not COMPLETELY stupid so there had to be SOME kind of logic to it... but she quickly realized this was neither the time or place to really dedicate to such a puzzle. Putting the piece of paper in her pocket, she climbed on one of the sandworms and sighed. Patting the creature's hide, she muttered, "To the village," before holding on tight. As her ride began to move, she went over her plans for the immediate future. Get her wounds looked at (the numbing poison was starting to wear off and she could feel a dull throbbing in her leg again), get some proper food, get cleaned up, maybe buy a thing or two with her well earned spoils and/or snag a room to rest in before... Well, she could always check in with the hideout later, if it was still there, but Enyo had put the thought in her head. It had been a while since she had seen "Dimmy" and with a small smile on her lips, she realized that yeah, she was kind of in the mood now to see what he was up to.
As soon as she begins to drink, she can feel a lingering taste on it. It's almost like....no. It's....after another gulp, she could almost be sure. A solid few minutes later, as her vision started to blur just slightly, she had a better idea of what it was after drinking the whole canteen. Yep. It was definitely poison. It probably would be enough to subdue and render a lesser demon unconscious, but Raven didn't have much trouble simply sitting and finishing her meal, with minimal difficulty. If anything, the slight taste of the toxin made digesting such a commoner meal, that much easier. From the look on his face, Oz seemed to be expecting she should be ready to pass out at any moment. "Or that would be the case, if you were telling the truth, in the first place. One of Aversa's cultists, perhaps? We'll find out soon enough." Feeling confident that things were going how they were supposed to, Oz was already in the evil gloating phase, seeming to expect Raven would faint at any moment, though she herself was hardly even affected by his attempt. (A critical failure on persuasion, but you resists toxins so kind of a wash.)
On her travels to returning to the encampment to think, she had to weigh what her options more. As much as Dimitri might want to, nobody would seriously allow an audience for her to get close enough. He would definitely accept an invitation to meet with her privately, though it would likely be on his terms. He was far from the type who would go back on anything he said. Smarter than the average rage demon, but still a rage demon. Once they made up their minds about something, getting them to second guess, their decision is...challenging. On the other hand, she knew him well enough that while he didn't have the explosive fiery temper that the wrath tribe was known for, once someone did manage to get in his bad books, he will never forgive a grudge. Ever. Given her current stance with the thief king it was hard to know where he stood. Most likely he was more focused on the actual threat than any of the thief's following. While she had time to think about what approach to take, she had found herself already approaching the walls of the city, the gates opening at her arrival to enter.
Heh, fool. You thought such meagre poison could best one such as ME? "O-Ooh... I don't... Don't feel too good..." Raven moans, feigning being dazed.
As she went into "Unconsciousness" she saw two black blurred shapes the size of the guards who escorted her in, appear on both sides and her wrists being moved behind her back as the feeling of cold metal wrapped around her wrists with a clack. From the glimpses and shine she could see of a light blue, and the feeling of a strangle warm light against her wrists, they were obviously imbued with magic as a basic precaution. Already being guided down the stairs to the lower levels. Peeking out of feigning sleep, she could see her being lead down the steps to a wooden door glowing with a green pentagram, follow by a circle of runes and charms lined along the walls. Charon's scouts probably weren't able to phase through this section to take a look at this level, but as the guard began to open the door, it started to creak open into a place that was made of stone that contrasted the above levels, but the main difference was the magic glows of light all across the walls and floors. This place was pretty heavily warded and sealed compared to the surface. The fortress itself probably could be leveled and that still wouldn't break down the actual prison. The real thing she could note, was the actual cells. Very few of them were actually next to each other. Or even had walls for that matter. Pure magical cubes of energy, each containing a person, some seeming to enjoy more freedom than others, but all sealed in their own kind of magic box. The actual use wasn't lost on her. No solid walls left the prisoners visible at all times, and it was much harder to dig your way out of a magical prison....this was actually looking quite a bit more high end than Charon had made it out to be. Even the castle's prison didn't bother with this kinds of measures. And not even that many prisoners. Not a small amount. But only about thirty or so. This place. It was specifically built with not your average demons in mind. That much was obvious. As she walked, she could hear prisoners vary from being loud, to leecherous looking ones asking if she wants to share a cell, or some so sullen they just ignored her completely. "Fresh meat? You'll do." As she began to pass by the fifth energy box, she could see the figure standing in it. A clearly masculine figure. Good hair, strong face, perhaps would be even considered handsome by some if it weren't for his body being utterly covered in bandages, only vague parts of his face being visible. He didn't look deformed or anything at all, underneath it, but from the look on his body, the toll of how long he must have been here said enough. "Haha, feel like you're going to drop dead at any second,, now? The witch really must be taking her time with the "rescue." isn't she?" This was the first time one of the guards laughed, but there wasn't any joy in it. Just mere taunting as the bandaged man pulled at his chains, getting close to the wall of his cell before being pushed back by a massive pure blast of energy. She could hear it. The raw sizzling and the burning of some of his bandages. That wasn't rigged to knock someone down if they got to close. It was made to make sure they wouldn't go back. Yet, he stood on two feet and just growled. "I have nothing to eat!" Raven couldn't be sure....but if he was with Aversa...from the looks of him...that would be....Faust. If the stories were true, while he was supposedly one of the deadliest swords, he wasn't really soldier. Not even an assassin. He was....something else. However, there wasn't much time to confirm it as she walked past his cell, other prisoners starting to echo his shouting for food, each getting louder and louder trying to scream over each other. "Too noisy. Be quiet." Just like that, dead silence. The man in the next few cells over didn't even raise his voice beyond a calm, but strict tone. The man seemed more lost in his own thoughts than focusing, ignoring Raven's passing. She didn't really have a name to put to the face. He didn't say much...so it was difficult to catch, but he had a slight accent to it that sounded closer to the guards here than that kind of northern accent most of Aversa's people had. Even from the way he dressed, it looked designed for open air. More suited for the desert heat than the kind of heavy cloth Aversa's type usually did. As she began to be escorted to the center of a square, she saw the guards start to get some distance away before the emerging of a blue light began to shine around her, a new cube like prison joining the mix, with Raven standing right across from a few people. Namely that woman right in front. She wasn't chained up like the rest. Still a prisoner, but seeming to have slightly more liberates given the cup of tea she held and sipped, but calmly sat, unmoving. "Ah, hello, little lamb. Come here often?" That kind of tone....definitely one of Aversa's crowd too. The woman was relatively soft spoken...but more than a little off. Pale skin. Purple hair......bad outfit.... Valyeria. Envy demon. Minor noble, but rich. She had already been linked to having some kind of involvement and relation to Aversa, but even with all of Morena's digging, they weren't sure exactly how. The moment, she began to lower her cup, she stared at Raven before frowning. "Just a little joke, dear."
Medical care was her first major concern. Then she could decide if sleep or hunger was what needed to be addressed next. But that did not mean she could not handle a (relatively) minor detail before all that. Using some of her darkness magic, she summoned a small, shadowy creature that resembled the outline of a ferret with purple eyes. Shade Rodents were good messengers for several reasons. They were fast, agile, and able to get into all sorts of small nooks and crannies that larger creatures could not. Best of all, their ability to literally dive into shadows and lack of any sort of malice (and inability to carry anything malicious as a result of that lack) let them find unexpected ways around potential barrier spells and were a clear sign to the message's recipient that there was no overt trickery at play. Picturing Dimitri in her mind, she put her lips next to the ear of the Shade Rodent's ear and whispered, "Hey 'Dimmy', it's 'Levi'. Ran into Enyo today and we reminisced a bit. Made me realize I missed you a little. If you're in the mood, would you want to meet up for lunch or something? Just tell this little guy the time and place and send him back to me. I promise I'll try to make it as fun as possible no matter what you want to do." With that, she gave the creature a pat on the head and let it drop to the ground, where it began sprinting in the direction of the palace, diving into shadows where it could to cover more ground quickly before skittering completely out of sight. Now... to start looking/asking around for the nearest doctor. It wouldn't do to meet an old friend if her leg was falling off from gangrene or the like.
Raven looks at the gathered throng with open disgust, and glares at Valerya. Sitting quietly, she waits for the guards to next show their faces, preparing to ambush them.
[Sorry for taking so long, I really didn't know where to take this.] Capris looked a bit surprised, 'Me?' He tapped his chin, 'Perhaps, I know a bit of the theory, but I can't say I ever seduced anyone on purpose before. Apart from that, I'm no succubus myself so I can't teach you about all the spells you should use.' 'What exactly does this succubus test entail, anyway? I don't think you ever told me, and I never asked before,' Capris wondered, 'You needed to show the old guy that you're desirable and then what?'
With her message sent, she knew it would be a while before she would hear anything back from him. But she would. She knew that. Heading up to the palace area, she can still feel the pain in her leg. Not too serious, but not exactly light. Why did this place have to have so many steps? Making her way up, she had to wander to the palace door, where Cera sat at the steps, arms planted under her chin as she sat pouting. "Get lost.." But...I have to watch the palace....ungrh..." From the sounds she made of being pained to think too hard, the dog girl demon was clearly off in her own world trying to draw a conclusion, but didn't appear to even notice Levandi's arrival as she moved past her and entered the palace way to make it to the apothecary wing. If there was anyone who could manage this, Capris could probably heal this in a snap, with or without supplies. Safiya's mind strained when actually asked about that. "Well...a succubus needs to seduce people to steal their energy, so you need to be sexy. And to be sexy you need to....." The way she trailed off showed her difficulty to actually think about it too hard. "The tests are usually done differently though. This one time I had to try invading a human's dreams....it....that wasn't my fault. Then this other time, I was supposed to infiltrate a Arch-dukes harem so I could manipulate him from the inside after becoming the favorite....but then they bought me for manual labor instead because I "Didn't have it.".....then that other time I had to amass a following through that "Web-cam" stuff.....but I couldn't figure out how any of that was supposed to work. Human technology is too confusing. Also that other time where I had to tame the squid beast to make it into a pet....and that kind of worked...but not really...it um....I don't have good luck with it. The instructor keeps saying I don't know how to be attractive, but they never tell me how to do that." As she made off her explanation, Capris could see the door to his place open as Levandi began to enter, Safiya looking distracted at the entrance of the gluttony demon who seemed to be mostly intact...but limping. Probably the best that could be hoped for, all things considered. "Levandi! You're back! Get anything good-ah, your leg. That doesn't look good." Safiya's more normal personality began to surface, not really thinking of trying too hard as she approached Levandi to offer her support. "I heard you were eaten by a hydra before breaking out of it's stomach and ripped all the heads off at the same time! You look good though!"
"Oh? Quite the fight in you for a slave." Valerya dismissing the looks Raven provided, sipped her tea again. "But if you aren't amused, that means you speak my language then. Perhaps, you'll listen to this then. I'm not entirely certain what you're here for, but it's a reasonable assumption the guards will return soon to escort you to interrogation. What you can do in the mean time, since you're so keen on being silent is bite your lower lip until it bleeds, just enough. Surely, you've seen my friend in another cell with the bandages. When being taken for questioning, trip and fall landing in front of the right corner of his cell....the rest should take care of itself." "Woah! Hey! DO NOT take down that barrier." From the left side of her, she could see a demon in a cell next to her. "These rooms are rigged in a highly specific way, you know. It's built like that so only a few people can be out at any given time, so prisoners can't swarm and riot. If one thing goes out of place, everyone else will be fried. That includes me, and I'm not too crazy about that." Valerya didn't seem disturbed by the other demon offering his input, instead she simply gave a slight nod, ignoring him and staring toward Raven. "True. Some others may die, but such is life. Of course, the magic circle etched out still only exists in front of the bandaged man's cell.....it would only take a little bit of fresh blood to jumpstart it, if someone were to do that." Valerya didn't sound especially concerned about Raven going forward with it, one way or the other, though the demon guy in the other cell beside her looked more insistent. "Hey, I know people. Lot's of people . There's no big name's in the netherworld I can't call in a favor from. By extension, if I owe you, that's good in your corner. So, what you should do is since you're not a serious capture to them, is they'll probably feed you. Ask for apples. There's a reason for it. Simple enough, right" "You sure talk a lot, don't you?" Valerya seemed more or less dismissive of him, remained focused on Raven. "You have options. But who knows, maybe you'll surprise me." Before either one of the two giving their plans could talk further, she could hear the sounds of the door opening as four masked soldiers began to file out and approach her cell. All of them moving to cover different sides of the energy barrier, weapons drawn, not seeming to take any chances even with a slave, as they kept their spears drawn and the energy sphere began to vanish. "You're wanted for questioning." They didn't say anything more, as they began to advance to the center to collect the prisoner and take Raven to start the interrogation.
It was always tempting to reach out and scritch between Cera's cute little ears... but that could wait for later. Maybe. Levandi gives a wave of greeting to Capris before accepting Safiya's shoulder to lean on as she approached. At Safiya's statement she chuckles, "Now that is an exaggeration! I broke out of its stomach and crushed its heart. That's how hydras get you. They get you so hyper-focused on the heads you forget their are other organs you can destroy to kill them." She then sighed, putting her gold filled boots on a table. "And I got... something. Also ran into an old friend who almost killed me."
'It nearly sounds like you are cursed with bad luck,' Capris chuckled at all the tests Safiya had failed, 'Perhaps you should seek out a cleric?' 'It's good to see you made it out in one piece, Levendi,' Capris nodded to the fellow demon, 'Help her to the table, Safiya, so I can have a look at that.' 'I see you didn't leave with empty hands either. If the old friend is Enyo, you are quite luck to only have an injured leg. Now, let's see,' Capris made conversation, as he attempted to inspect and mend Levandi's foot.
Pfft, why should I care about some lesser demons getting fried? Raven thinks to herself, quietly listening to the two prisoners bickering, not saying anything herself. Still, if they live, the prisoners could attack from the inside while my brother attacks from outside. She stands as the guards approach, nodding meekly at their demands and moving to follow.
Getting impatient, one of the guards shoves her from behind as they make their way to a dimly lit room, with nothing in it but a dirty wooden chair with straps and a rack full of tools that are doubtful there for pleasant conversation. They don't waste time before forcing her into the chair and strapping her wrists to the arms of the chair. Though, even though they have the same kind of feel of the other metals, these ones seem...more dim. The enhancements reinforcing these straps are much older and weaker than the others. She's forced to wait in silence as the guards exist for who knows how long, until she hears footsteps down the hall. As the figure enters, Raven can tell this guy is definitely not part of the regular forces Yeven has. A more brooding look on his face, but the style of dress doesn't really look militaristic. There's plenty of human looking demons, but he'd be easily passable for one if not the red eyes and his hands he gestures out as they shift into becoming more animalistic and clawlike. He doesn't make direct eye contact at Raven, but still somehow holds a deathly serious stare. "...you know why I'm here. Why don't you make it easy on yourself?"
"No kidding," Levandi replies, "Especially considering how... rough Enyo's new friend plays." The leg is pretty badly cut, not unhealable but she probably would not have been able to keep walking on it for too much longer.
Capris used his magic to slowly heal the deep cut, while he held Levandi's foot. Instead of pain, a pleasant sensation spread from her wound through her leg up her body as it mended. 'How'd it go for the others?' Capris made some conversation while he did his work, 'Got plans for all that gold yet?'
Levandi lets out a small hum of pleasure, teasingly wiggling her foot so it brushed against his arm as the cut closed. At his question though, her smile faded a little. "Not so well," she replied with a sigh, "Everyone else except Zariah and Yegen got taken out. And Yegan thinks he's gonna be a Demon King Slayer now because of something he found. Not really the most stable of company at the moment, y'know?" She then dug into her cleavage and pulled out the amulet, showing it off as well as examining the markings on it more closely now that she had the time. "And poor Hayu. Even this thing couldn't save him, even though it makes you 'kinda bleh'."
Arrogant prick... Raven thinks, before she begins to sob in feigned terror. "I-I-I don't know anything, I swear! I'm just a slave, please don't hurt me!"
(Finally got most things sorted after moving. Going to try and keep this going if people are up for it. Just going to speed a bit along here. Maybe going for a more fresh arc will remedy the pace a bit. It's going to be a bit rushed.) Not having spoken for a while, Safiya moved in closer to Levandi as she displayed the chewed up pendant. The demoness looked curious at it for a moment as she seemed to be thinking to herself. "That's amber, right? Well....I'm not an expert, but I think there's a belief in the mortal realm that it can ward off bad dreams....still kind of sounds like a stretch when I say it outloud, though. Buut....Lady Morena used to have me babysit Enyo when she was younger when I was trying to get her to mentor me. I always liked her the best out of them. Never asks for too much. Raven though...even when she was younger, she was always a little b-I'm getting distracted. I guess....while I can't say for sure, it might have something to do with sloth demons are always at least partially tapping into the dream world even while conscious....I'm just completely guessing though." As Safiya voiced her thoughts, before there was too much time to cover them, Levandi could hear the squeaks of something behind her. Scurrying close to a table, a shade had returned holding a letter between it's teeth before dropping it, for the group to see. .....right. Curious, over it, Safyia looked over Levandi's shoulder to peek at the paper. "Dimitri sent a letter? He has Lady Morena's handwriting." Looking a little more serious, she glanced to Levandi. "I'm not going to be sharing your business and I don't think Capris is going to, but, try to avoid getting caught being too friendly with him."
