Lameria: The Cells

At long last... a continuation

Baw raised the torch into the air and signalled his men to advance towards the nearest cells. Anxious sighed in exasperation as the men slowly crept forward, “Seriously, you’ve broken into the cells, do you really care if you wake the prisoners?!”
“You’ll understand when we take him away from the metals down here…” Baw said with a grimace. The advisor didn’t answer, but merely walked past the group of pirates to look into the adjacent cells. Most of them were empty due to the king’s love of magi bouts in the arena, but some of them were occupied.
Anxious stopped walked when he recognised a face in the corner cell, “Guessing you thought we were here for you?” the advisor said with a grin.
The Necromancer stared back at the man with the monocle before answering with a smile, “If I was going to be rescued, there would be at least a dragon…”
Anxious smiled as he regarded the prisoner, “Actually, there has been something I was curious about, give me a moment.” he said as he walked down the hallway.
Baw watched the advisor pull open a heavy looking metal door at the bottom of the cell block. The torch light illuminated the entire corridor casting a constant, flickering shadow across the ground. Anxious returned a few moments later, with a shining object clasped in his hands.
Alexis raised an eyebrow as he regarded the advisor once more who now leaned heavily against the bars.
Anxious smirked and looked over his shoulder at the pirates who were quietly prying the metal bars apart with sheer force. “They really don’t understand how resilient Markan is…”
Alexis closed his eyes and resumed his lying position on the cold stone floor, he would need his sleep if he was to survive another fight in the arena. However a few moments later he felt something land on his chest. Opening his eyes, he stared at the shining silver of his Necrosian Amulet resting on his chest.
The necromancer stared at the advisor in shock, “Why are you helping me?!”
Anxious thought for a moment before answering, “I did say that I was curious about something, I just wanted to know if you would be able to get out of these cells with that amulet. I never said anything about letting you out of the cell. I don’t think I could even do that with my powers down here.”
Alexis felt himself smile unwillingly at this man, “Thank you for your help, if ever I see you again, I’ll make your death quick and painless.”
Anxious smiled back, “You mean, you’ll try.”

“Just what part of ‘Leave me here’ are you having difficulty understanding?” the voice grumbled from the shadows of the cell. The pirates hesitated momentarily at the sound of their captain, but after a quick glance at the first mate, they went back to work on the bars.
Baw peered into the darkness to find some evidence of his mentor, but only shadows greeted his eyes.
“The metal isn’t budging at all, we’re going to have to blow it…” one of the men whispered in the first mate’s ear. Baw didn’t hesitate, he turned on his heel and walked towards the advisor down the corridor. His hand signal indicated the pirates to continue what they were doing.
Anxious had disappeared behind the metal door once again, his whistling echoing throughout the lifeless prison. Just as Baw opened his mouth to speak to the man, Anxious placed a pair of silver gloves on the first mate’s hand. “You’re planning on blowing it up, just make sure that those gloves are on his hands before the metal negates…”
The pirate stared incredulously at the Advisor, “You knew the whole time about his condition?”
Anxious paused for a moment and looked to the keystone that hung above them, crowning the stone arch. “Those gloves can drain elemental powers, they’re made of Markan. The necromancer doesn’t use them and they’re rough on the palm, so I’m guessing the pirate owns them. Not much to it really…”
Baw took the gloves and started to turn before he felt the pressure of the Advisor’s hand on his shoulder.
“You’re the first mate, aren’t you?”
Baw nodded slowly, wondering what the fire magi was thinking.
“If you had just left him here, you’d be sailing as Captain. Are you really that un-ambitious?” Anxious asked with a smirk pulling at his left cheek.
Baw grinned, “You really don’t know our Captain very well… but then again, not many people know him as the same person we do.”

Growing bolder from the interaction, Baw decided on asking one of his own questions. “What about you, what are you going to do now that you’re a free man?”
Anxious turned and walked down the stone floor towards where the pirates stood. It was another voice that answered the first mate’s question.
Khance raised himself up against the cell wall and regarded the young man. “A man like him will travel the world looking for a challenge, whilst running from it at the same time.”
Baw absentmindedly replied, “What do you mean?” His eyes still on the back of the retreating advisor.
The necromancer smiled as he said, “He’s not the type to pursue the quiet life with a family or a trade, he’s a cold warrior that needs to prove his worth.”
Baw turned and looked at the huddled figure, “Which type of man are you?”
Khance laughed and a slight twinkle lit up his eyes for a moment before he answered, “I really don’t know yet, fighting seems to follow me wherever I go, but then again I should probably just blame my heritage for that…”
The first mate grinned as he leaned against the bars, “Heritage can be a bit of a restriction, I think I can understand.  I don’t know your accent, are you from Lameria?”
Khance grinned again, “I take it you haven’t realised what I am yet? No wonder you’re still talking to me.”
Baw peered into the cell and caught a glimpse of pure silver hair. Leaping back, gasping, the young pirate made a gesture across his chest. Khance lost his smile as he looked at the hand symbols the young man made. “You know, its really not a good idea to make a mockery of the gods like that…Ecroz would smite you for less than that.”
Baw calmed his breathing after the initial shock and tried to register what he was hearing. “It was to the Deity that is Anthris. I’m sorry for reacting as such, you just surprised me.”
Khance grunted in disgust as he watched the man repeat the gesture slowly. “Who is Anthris?”
Baw stared at the Necromancer and dumbly looked towards the other pirates to see if any of them had heard the blasphemy. Before the pirate had a chance to answer, a small explosion emanated from the bottom of the corridor, followed by harsh admonishments from the Captain’s cell.
“Anthris is the God of Life, he protects us and keeps us safe from the evils of this world.”
The necromancer raised an eyebrow as he looked sceptically at the pirate. “You’re telling me that there are two Gods?”
Baw nodded and opened his mouth to reply when another explosion sounded. This one seemed to be followed with a thunder from the surrounding walls. The cells were starting to weaken.
A guttural scream sliced through the air as one pirate was crushed by a collapsing wall. The other men around him tried to pull the rocks from his lifeless body before they were quickly admonished by the advisor. “I’m sorry, but I thought you were here for your Captain, but here you are pulling at a corpse… explain?”
The Captain stared coldly at the fire magi, who returned the stare with ease. Eventually the stone cold blue eyes in the cell closed and the figure retreated back into the dark corner.
Anxious turned his shoulder and called down the line, “You had better bring those gloves, the next explosion should do it… if your men have a brain between them that is!”

Baw looked to the advisor and then back into the cell at the Necromancer. “Religion lesson is over, maybe someday we can continue it.”
Khance smirked, “If the ceiling doesn’t collapse on me first that is…”
The necromancer heard the retreating footsteps and started to think. Soon another explosion sounded and the walls rocked back and forth as the cell door was ripped off its hinges and the metal bars curled back in protest. Khance laced the silver chain around his neck and sighed a breath of relief as he felt the familiar weight of his amulet fall back into place. The necromancer grinned, it was time to do what he was best at…

The Captain slid the gloves onto his hands and quickly felt a torrent of heat rushing through his skull. Falling to his knees, the middle aged man tried to gather his thoughts, but there was too much heat.
Baw lowered himself and put his arm around the man, trying to share the weight but it took two more pirates to move the prisoner. Anxious raised an eyebrow at the display and muttered to himself, “Two regulators and he’s still losing the power struggle? Might be a fun encounter…”
The remainder of the pirates were pulling at the rocks that lay atop their dead comrade. Baw lowered his eyes as he called for his men to move out. The pirates reluctantly lowered their arms and followed their leader. The last person to move out was Anxious, his eyes were locked on the cell at the bottom of the corridor. Moments later, the advisor turned his shoulder and started to walk up the stairs to the higher levels of the castle. Had he stayed a few moments longer, he would have saw a blue light emanating from the cell at the bottom of the corridor, and had he stayed a moment more, he would have saw the pirates corpse twitch…

Author's Note

Its been a while since i wrote anything, so feel free to criticise...

Reviews

[Bethany Tipping]

Ahh, this is exactly what Bethany needed to get through a hellful school week..Definitley better than an overly depressing irish play...You should inquire on getting your work on the english leaving cert course I would glady support you XD I can't get over how much of a step-up it is from the original and Anxious is , without a doubt, freaking awesome! The detail and unfolding of events is by far, a thousand times better. Oh how I see this becoming a epical movie...I can dream can't I? :P
Looking forward to the next chapter!

[Nocturnal Huntress]

Much more detail, much more conflict! I'm pleased.

[HelLKaraS]

Awesome, but almost JJ abrams like lack of informing the reader of all the little details. xD your style is still refining itself though, I can see this getting better and better.

[FoolsGold23]

YEAH! Anxious, my hero!! Brazen and sarcastic as ever and a welcome read!
And Khance is re-introduced, (Wasn't he debated at the 'Mancer's convention? Just clarifying my thoughts here.)
I honestly didn't expect anything less than what you usually write, which is wonderfully believable and easily read, your grammer and punctuation are spot on, I love the dialogues, (esp. the whip-snap, sharp ones, those make me smile) Way to go, please do continue this, my imagination is twitching for another chapter!!!!~L