Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-24510587-20190130124642/@comment-3293219-20190130153648

The Arboretum’s orphanage wasn’t exactly the easiest place to take down. Still, a few warm looking women, in the right outfits and this place would melt like butter.

Nells watched it, cautiously, waiting for a chance to make his move. Now, all he needed was the right night to do it. A night in which enough of the staff were off, where the others could be easily drugged, poisoned or even paid off.

It was a matter of patience and the patience paid off…

Acelle was ripped from her dreams by several firm and rather large hands. She felt the clammy nature of death chill her flesh as the vice-like grip was sealed around her arms. By the time she was aware of what was happening, she had already faded in and out of half of her room and was already being dragged down the hallway.

She tried to shout for attention but her gag blocked her cries. She tried to thrash but it was like the tide had claimed her, all she could do was go with the flow.

It was a short trip to the largest room in the orphanage, the feeding hall. There, she found herself being tossed to the floor, legs bound together with some rather thick and coarse rope. Oddly enough, her hands remained free…

She glanced up to the large moustached man, looming over her, with a broad grin. It looked like he’d just received his New Light present and was ecstatic with what it was.

“Acelle Lund.” He grinned, kneeling down before her.

“How fortunate we are to finally make your acquaintance.”

Acelle wanted to say something but found her words get stuck in her throat, she had no idea why she was here or what was going on. Though, judging from the whimpering in the corner of the room, she realised that she wasn’t exactly alone.

“Your grandfather’s friends are to be commended.” Nells said, warmly, gently holding Acelle’s hand as he helped her up to her knees.

“Put you here, alone, with a rather pitiable detail. One would think they wanted us to find you.”

Acelle flinched some more as she felt something slip into her hands, a small metallic item, which was rather cold.

As Nells moved his hands, up to her wrists, she noticed just what she had been given. A small knife, about the length of her hand but sharper than any blade she’d seen. It was like a throwing knife, only it was very slender and was seemingly ebony.

“I’m not gonna hurt you, Acelle. It would be a waste. I want to do something for you, something that even your grandfather wouldn’t do.”

Acelle glanced up, really not liking where this was going. She honestly wished he’d shout at her and threaten to hurt her at least pain was… expected.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Now…” Nells slowly turned Acelle, being mindful of what she was holding. She didn’t have the strength to thrust the blade forward and hit his heart, even if she wanted to. She was so scared, that she didn’t feel like she had control over her arms.

<p class="MsoNormal">She was slowly turned 180 degrees, to look at her fellow orphans, who were also tied up and gagged. The only difference was that they were tied up by their hands, instead of their feet and their hands were behind their backs.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Hmm… Bring the girl over, with the bear.” Nells said, snapping his thick fingers and prompting the pale Altmer, beside the hostages to grab the targeted girl by the back of the neck and carry her over. Out of fear, her straw bear fell to the floor and she was tossed to her knees.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Alright Acelle… You and I are gonna play a little game. A game with some big prizes.

<p class="MsoNormal">I want you to…”

<p class="MsoNormal">He then paused, looking a little confused as he glanced down to the trembling Breton girl, who’s teary eyes were obscured by many strands of hair.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name sweety.”

<p class="MsoNormal">The girl trembled, staring Nells in the eye as placed his free hand around her shoulder, locking the other one around Acelle’s armed hand to protect himself.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh, silly me.” He sighed, slowly pulling the gag down as he forced the knife from Acelle’s hands, gently pressing it against the girl’s throat.

<p class="MsoNormal">“What’s your name? Remember, no screaming.” He applied some pressure to make his point as to what would happen if she made too much noise.

<p class="MsoNormal">“K-Karen…” The girm whispered, she was barely audible and if Nells hadn’t gagged everyone in the room and ordered complete silence, it wouldn’t have been heard at all.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Karen! What a beautiful name!” Nells assured her, putting the knife back into Acelle’s hand as he placed Karen’s gag back on.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Now, Acelle. I want you to take this knife…” He tapped the tip of it to emphasise his point.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I want you to plunge it right into Karen’s heart!”

<p class="MsoNormal">As he spoked, Karen muffled into her gag, trying to move away but found the two firm Nord hands of Acelle’s kidnapper on her shoulders. The man who dragged her from her bed was hooded and the dark room kept his face obscure.

<p class="MsoNormal">“N-No…” Acelle murmured, of course her gag got in the way.

<p class="MsoNormal">“No?” Nells asked, it wasn’t hard to translate the muffled sound.

<p class="MsoNormal">“No!”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well that’s a shame! I’ve set this game up and now? Now you’ve gone and thrown it all away!

<p class="MsoNormal">You haven’t even heard what the prize is! It’s really good! I promise.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Acelle didn’t care, nothing was worth Karen’s life. She knew Karen, she rarely spoke out of fear that the other kids would pick on her but Karen was the kind of person who would smuggle food from the eating hall and share it with the others. Not with Acelle as she didn’t really want or need any of it but she knew that she’d been sharing with some of the underfed kids.

<p class="MsoNormal">Everyone had their own stories, there were some she liked and some she didn’t but nobody that she wanted to see die. Especially not by her own hand.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Listne, Acelle. Here’s how it works.” Nells whispered, showing her the knife.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Every time you take a life, with this thing? You gain a life of your own! If you kill Karen? You’ll get her life. If you then die, after this? Her soul will leave your body, instead of your own! So on and so forth…

<p class="MsoNormal">Kill everyone and… well, I’m sure you’ll be around for a good, long time. So… What do you say?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“No.” Why would she want to live with herself, after doing such a thing? Never mind fifty or so times.

<p class="MsoNormal">Did he honestly think she was this kind of a monster or was it something he hoped dearly for?

<p class="MsoNormal">“Acelle, you’re disappointing me…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Good. Acelle glanced up and met his gaze as he slowly felt the blade slip into her hand.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Think of it this way. If you don’t kill everyone? I will! Me and my people will kill them, take their souls, resurrect their corpses and be on our merry way. We’ll also kill you as well.

<p class="MsoNormal">No, I’m giving you a chance at a win, win scenario. I get what I want, which is to do something to you that your Grandfather will never forgive himself for and teach that prick in the Oculatus not to fuck with my operations.

<p class="MsoNormal">You? I don’t want to kill you. Between me and you, I think you could end up like your namesake. A strong, powerful woman. I just want to help you get there sooner. I just want to make sure that this day makes you stronger and isn’t the final chapter of your story.

<p class="MsoNormal">You don’t have to like this. Hell, you can damn right hate it. But think about it. Forty nine deaths is not as bad as fifty. Am I right?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Nobody has to die…” Acelle murmured, though obviously her gag drowned that out, forcing Nells to remove it and gently wrap his hand around her throat.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m sorry?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Nobody has to die… Just leave.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“People have already died, to get us here. To get this knife into your hands. I won’t let their sacrifices be in vain.” As he finished speaking, he puled the gag up before pausing, thinking on it a little more.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Fine, don’t kill her. My boys and I will do it for you, given that you lack the spine. Of course, we’d make it a lot more interesting, than plunging a knife into her heart. We’d slice her face off, gouge out her eyes… It’d be messy and slow and horrible for everyone involved.

<p class="MsoNormal">But I’ll do it, if it motivates you to kill the next one.”

<p class="MsoNormal">Acelle trembled a little more, feeling incredibly small and weighed down by the many robed men and women in the room, each of them armed, each of them holding everyone and everything in a way that kept anyone from being able to do anything more than give a token struggle.

<p class="MsoNormal">She didn’t think she could do it, even if she agreed with what Nells was saying. How could she? She’d never done this before…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Alright then, get the Embalming tools.” Nells shrugged, sighing heavily as he rose to his feet, prompting the large man holding Karen to draw one from his robes and hold it to her temple. Karen cried out, into her gag, immediately feeling the pain of the tool’s tip as it slowly cut through her skin. It was hardly the most efficient weapon and Nells was fully away of this.

<p class="MsoNormal">Karen trembled, screaming into her gag as the blade slowly formed a divide on the flesh on the left side of her face. Even through the gag, it was far from a pleasant sight to listen to. Several of the children cried, repelled in horror or simply stared in horror as their friend was slowly being disfigured.

<p class="MsoNormal">Being on the front row made it somewhat worse for Acelle, who tightened her hold on the knife.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m… Sorry…” She whispered before lunging forward, sinking the blade into Karen’s chest and causing her to stiffen as she stared, wide eyed at her killer, with a betrayed look in her eye.

<p class="MsoNormal">Acelle wasn’t entirely sure if it was in her head or if it was a feeling, that travelled through the blade but she felt the exact moment that Karen’s life ended. She felt the last beat of her heart before her head lulled forward and she became dead weight on the end of Acelle’s arm.

<p class="MsoNormal">The blue energy that was her very being, her soul, sailed out on her final breath. The crackles of celestial energy left the child and flowed straight into Acelle, entering her body and giving her a momentary glow.

<p class="MsoNormal">Acelle was oblivious to this as she watched Karen keel over, landing in a heap on the floor, her tattered clothes slowly soaking up the pool of blood that emanated from her wounds.

<p class="MsoNormal">Her murderer felt the knife slip from her bloody hands, landing with a faint clatter on the floor as she trembled, fiercely. Her own soul felt sick at this point, tainted, like Daedric corruption. She prayed to be taken away from this nightmare, for this violence to be a soon to be forgotten ‘what if?’ that buried itself at the back of her mind.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Next.” Nells declared, rather nonchalantly.

<p class="MsoNormal">-

<p class="MsoNormal">Acelle had never seen so much blood in all of her life. Surrounded by the mounted up corpses of her friends and loved ones, she finally collapsed, curled up on the floor as the last of the souls flew into her body.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Necromancers began to power up their staves and the spells in their hands as they slowly raised them, casting a dark magic on the fallen and slowly resurrecting them. Acelle didn’t even have the strength to lift her head as her eyes slowly failed her. Her hair was stuck to her face and the floor, due to the sheer volume of blood.

<p class="MsoNormal">She could hear the crackling of bones and the rubbery sound of set flesh and muscle as it fought nature itself to rise. Acelle trembled a little as she heard the groans of those she’d just killed as they were forced back into a truly wretched existence.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Congratulations Acelle.” Nells said, losing his friendly edge, from either exhaustion or impatience. He slowly rolled Acelle onto her back, with his foot, turning her blonde hair red as it soaked up the contents of the floor.

<p class="MsoNormal">He gazed into her eyes as he drove the embalming tool into her heart, the pain of which was overwhelming as she furiously trembled in his grasp. The tool was quickly removed and pocketed before Nells leant over and gently ruffled her hair, caring nothing for the fact that the girl was convulsing.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Use yer lives well, lass.”

<p class="MsoNormal">With that, he rose to his feet and watched the light fade from her eyes, seemingly getting some form of satisfaction from the display. It was almost as if he had created something to be proud of.

<p class="MsoNormal">Within moments, Acelle found her body slowly lose all strength, all energy and she could slowly feel herself being lifted from her body. It was a rather calming sensation, that was abruptly ended, like the snapping of fingers as she awoke again.

<p class="MsoNormal">She found herself at the site of the massacre, lay in the dried blood of her classmates, a hole in her blood-stained dress and a small black knife in her hand.

<p class="MsoNormal">Lacking the strength to lift her head up, Acelle faded off to sleep…