[font=Arial, sans-serif]Her grip on the Elf loosened a little, but her eyes studied the countenance of her. " I'm not sure what your true intentions are, you're a rather confusing and troublesome creature. I unfortunately cannot let you go here. You see..You'd still be in this forest, and I can't trust that you'll up and go without further ado. Besides..."

Her voice changed from threatening to cool silvery. " There is yet one last action to take at the bounderies." Celeste let released her throat and led her back to the end of the line, shaking her head dismissively to the other centaurs.[/font]

"Just experiments..."

They arrived to a cave and Arman walked in drawing Vhraria with him, they came to a dead end, but Arman began casting a spell and as he finished a wall opened. He entered it and then looked back at Vharia as it closed.

"Welcome to my home..."

They were in a huge room with many tables with bodies of men, centaurs, demons and many different races on them, in the end of the room there was a table with many books on them and magical items.

"So I am giving you a chance to live, you would be probably killed by the centaurs unless they are too compasionate and here you might end up like them since they weren`t any good in my experiments. You of course aren`t the experiment, but you are a demon and many of you are not from this world, but from an other plane.... many mages open portals letting creatures pass, but what I want is... well come and see for yourself.."

Arman lead them to the end of the room and opened another door leading her into a lightless room, Arman lighted few candles and then a torch to show that was there. It was a gate that lead nowhere, it was made out of bone and skulls, but also of many other things such as stones, ashes and roots.

"This is what I have been doing for a long time... not even the eternity is enough for me to crack this case, but you imagine my problem.. the gates to the other planes don`t last long and are very instable... If I succeed with you then this will be permanent to any plane I want... the creatures on the other side may not come here without my permission, but this would be something to achieve..."

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Vharia looked on, more than interested. She advanced to observe the gate more closely. She was impressed.

"You are more than an amateur, I'll give you that," she chuckled. "I will gladly help you on one condition." She waited to let her words take effect. Smiling, she sidled closer to him. "Should I will it, my demon blood would have disastrous consequences. Not only on your portal, but on all of your experiments. So before you begin viewing me as a lab animal... I would watch out if I were you."

_________________

"Lab animal? Oh no... I have more respect than that for you, but you just seemed so eager t leave before hearing my reasons and the centaurs wouldn`t have exactly liked the sight of I being friendly to you or letting you go after they had captured you..."

Arman snapped the chains open with a grim smile.

"How ever did they manage to catch you? They used a bait didn`t they?"

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Rhan felt rage bubble up insde her. How on earth was this donkey treating her? She sniffed loudly, and carried on ignoring her, head held as high as ever. "What action?" she asked quietly.

_________________



. O r b i s N o n S u f f i c i t .

-Oki Ann, just don't kill him on the first blow, okay? He's a fragile being. Oooh and for anyone else interested...> http://arwen-undomiel.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5170 -

Raen silently watched the order of centaurs leading their captives away, as they did occasionally. Of course, they would have already caught him by now, but he really did not cause enough trouble for them to be especially offended, although he admitted it must be rather annoying. Such stubborn territorial creatures where not much to be trifled with, and even less so that female they had in their midst. The mere fact that she had nearly caught him, --twice, much to his extreme displeasure-- was enough to earn respect for her abilities as a forestguard.
He sighed, leaning back into the tree as he trailed the group with his cloudy eyes. There had to be some other way to find it, but he couldn't imagine at this point what it was. And so he was stuck following vague clues that led him to more clues. And those would lead to more clues, and more after that...He was so sick of it. But there was not another way, no matter how much he wished there to be.
Finally, when the troup was out of earshot and out of sight, Raen dropped lightly back to the ground, quickly tracing the patterns of hoofprints mingled with feet, and smirked. They made it far too easy. But he did not figure they knew what they had. Lucky him.

_________________
"Where's the thump-thump?!" ~ <3 *Captain* Jack Sparrow~ <a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Silent_Wanderer/JohnnyJack.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

[Welcome, Ali.]

[font=Arial, sans-serif] Celeste did not answer immediately, it had seemed as if the centaur's own thoughts demanded her attention first, and dwell on them she did. Times were hard for the mortal men, she already knew that; but why would an Elf be wandering around these parts, and alone? Her thoughts drifted back to the dragon she spoke of, and did not doubt that indeed there was one. Her kind however, did not interfere with the affair of dragons, and so it was vice-versa. They respected eachother for their wisdom, but truth was their tempers matched too equally, and too stubborn. They remained on friendly terms, nonetheless, always knowing their boundaries.

At length, Celeste replied calmly, now registering that she had been asked a question.

" You shall soon see, Elf."
[/font]

"That would be something I would rather not discuss," she said dryly. The reality behind her defeat had been most humiliating. They had played her own game against her.

She bolted up as soon as the chains were snapped, unfurling her ebony wings and stretching with a small sigh of pleasure. She flexed her muscles and kneaded her flesh to get her circulation going.

_________________

Arman hmped.

"And what do you want as a reward succubus? I know you will want something in time, perhaps I can give you revenge on the centaurs with the help of this after it works?"

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Vengeance sounded good. Vengeance sounded very good. And it felt even better.

"That'd work," she said, sauntering around the laboratory and examining things. "Depending on the pains you put me through, we can also work out more payment later. For now..." She stopped, seated herself without asking permission, and crossed one leg over the other.

"Elaborate more on your experiment."

_________________

"I shall wait with baited breath..." the elf promised sarcasticly.

_________________



. O r b i s N o n S u f f i c i t .

Arman smiled slightly as he sat down in a very old oak chair, he looked at the succubus with an interested gaze.

"As I said the portal will take time and hard work, but a gateway to worlds forever is a powerful feat and I have planned to make it unbreakable... I think I will conjure most interesting beings trough it and perhaps bring havoc into this world, but then I will departure on my own ways trough the gate... of course I will have to find an apprentice for myself... you wouldn`t know any useful mages?"

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

"A few," she said casually. "A discarded lover here or there. No one special. Most of them have some potential, and I wouldn't doubt they'd come at my call."

_________________

"Splendid... but this gives me an idea... while I begin my preparations you will bring me one of these or someone more stronger, understood?"

Arman smiled.

"Don`t disappoint me..."

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

All Vharia did was smile and snap her fingers. Then she was gone.

---------

The merchant emitted a shrill gasp for breath and shook his head furiously. "No, my lord. No, I wouldn't dream of it!"

"Your tongue won't be wagging?"

"No!" the pitiful man nearly shrieked. His eyes wild, he sought both ways down the dark alley. The streets were quiet. Salvation was long in coming.

Nothmere laughed silently to himself and let the magical flames climb up and down his arms, nip at his fingers, and twine themselves around the merchent's scrawny neck. Beads of sweat began running down his victim's face.

No one else was there to witness the merchant's last death throes. No one else was there to hear the his last gurgle. Nothmere tossed the body down a sewer. Lifting his hooded head and drawing his robes closer around him, he started back down the alley.

"You were always so cruel, my love," a silken voice purred from a nearby rooftop.

Grinning to himself, Nothmere looked up. The succubus crouched there, her ebony wings furled about her lithe frame.

"What's a demonspawn like you doing in a human city?" he asked.

Vharia's mouth turned down in a pout. "Can't a girl be nosy?" She sighed, then unfurled her wings and glided down to the alley. "Actually, dear mage, I need your help."

_________________

-Can we not let this one die? I'd like to keep going. Even if I just got here. -

_________________
"Where's the thump-thump?!" ~ <3 *Captain* Jack Sparrow~ <a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Silent_Wanderer/JohnnyJack.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>