Completed Slave of the Mind

[Yato]

Timestamp: 11th of Summer, 514 AV With the sun just having rised above the horizon, the sky was clouded with shining orange and red tints all around. It was almost worth enough for Yato to stop in his tracks when leaving the Quarters and look more than a split second at the worldly phenomenon. Almost, as the years passed have had enough of these mornings in store, even when he was still a human, not to mention he had another self-induced mission hogging his concentration and focus. Thanks to his newly acquires Sahovan Ring, he went on his merry way to the location he wanted and needed to visit more than any other, The Dungeons. Not usually a location the willing go to, he wasn't sure what feeling was flowing throug him on his way there. A mixture of excitement and fear, maybe? Or could it be a blend of sick, sadistic pleasure to witness the 'locals' of the Dungeons? Either way, he passed the Courtyard and took a left on the road designated to lead to the 'end of the line' for most going this path. It could be that this realization was the cause to Yato's uneasiness, either way, he wasn't about to let a light frightened feeling make him turn tail and abandon his plans. The Nuit was there with a goal after all, he had to make sure his slave was going to be an easy target to hypnotize, a ghoul if you will, and nothing more. Shifting his eyes towards his ringbearing hand way too often , as if he expected it to dissapate into thin air at any moment, Yato arrived at the entrance. A large corridor leading downwards, a pair of torches at either side of the hallway every now and then. Still barely enough light to see anything more than no light at the end of the tunnel. Swallowing away the tension, or attempting to, he placed foot after foot into the darkness. The first one, was terrifying even to his aged mind beyond life's years. The scream was toecurlingly highpitched and stretched out long enough to make you cringe and involuntarily feel as if you were the one screaming, feeling the agony the person must be going through. As he courageously continued to walk into the Dungeons, at the most illuminated areas, just at the torchstands, he could see grooves into the walls and floor. Very thin and faint, yet in such an abudant amount they were visible even while standing. The lines weren't long or deep, short scratches as a cat's clawing would leave. But he doubted they were keeping cats down here. The creepy thought crossed his mind that these were man- or Nuitmade...A chilling shiver crawled over his spine, fast and erratic, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew it to be true. This was fear.

[Yato]

Fighting the urge to turn tail and come up with a different gameplan, one not involving entering the Dungeons even once, Yato groaned slightly and tried swallowing his tension away time and time again. He knew he had come too far to crawl back now, this was a battle of willpower vs fear and he wasn't about to lose. Even if the fear had the advantage of surprise as it was an unfamiliar feeling to him, the years of his unlife had made him near impertinent to surprises and this type of feeling, yet he knew it to be real and undisputable, but that was no excuse not to fight it. Placing the palm of his hand against the engraved Dungeon corridor's walls, he glided his hand and fingertips over the wall, concentrating his mind on the cold touch of the wall and not on the uncomfortable sensation clouding him from the inside out. After quite a walk, he encountered the first door, wooden with enforcing steel bars intertwined with it, one small barred window at eyeheight giving sight to the innars of the cell. The screams became louded and more penetrating, but he continued his feigned stoïcism and stopped at the door, slowly turning his head to see inside this rathole. First, he saw nothing from the outside, the innars of this cesspool seemingly too dark for even Syna to illuminate it. Slowly moving closer and closer to the barred window in the door, he blinked a few times to grow accustomed to the darkness. Literally, in the blink of an eye, there appeared a gnarly and rotten face of a man before him, on the other side of the bars. Fortunately for the Nuit, his vessel was still fairly fresh and he was able to jump back in time to avoid the clawing fingers shooting out from between the bars. A shout of surprise and fear escaped his dead lips as he moved as far away from the door as he could, shuffling sideways deeper into the Dungeons. As he moved on, the vision of the teethless face and nailless fingers constantly reappeared before his mental eye. 'This is insane, what am I doing here?!' He was about to crack and finally turn back when he saw a figure from the deeper end of the corridor coming towards him, slowly and shrouded in darkness, but it was impossible to mistake this for coincidence, every move the man made towards him, resonated through the hallway. To make matters more suspenseful, with each step resonating, the screams subsequently halted and transformed into held back whimpers and sobs from all around him. It wasn't until the Nuit showed himself and crept out from the darkness into the field of illumination from the torches near Yato, that he was distinguishable as someone who wasn't on the receiving end of the tortures taking place here. The Nuit carried himself with dignity and a certain aura that demanded respect, whether it was by fear or actual respect, it mattered not. Bottom line was, this Nuit was not to be triffled with.

[Yato]

The Nuit appearing before Yato, made him nearly cringe just by being in presence of the old male Nuit wearing all black clothes and even a black top hat. The only colorful thing about the Nuit was the shiny gold Miza being flicked through the dead fingers of his lefthand, without even looking he let the Miza flip under and over his fingers with expert ease, as if he was a hardcore gambler. But it was doubtful that's where the Nuit's passion lied, considering he was completely at ease in these parts of Sahova, even more so...It was as if he ruled these parts. "Your business here, tell me." It wasn't a question, he demanded this information as if it was the most normal thing to do when meeting someone in the Dungeons, not a hair on Yato's head that even thought about not answering him right away. Let alone reprimand the unknown Nuit for his lack of tact, Yato knew better. This was not someone to show lack of respect towards, not even hesitance was allowed when answering the Nuit, the aura he gave off was enough to make even the most prideful and stubborn crack instantly, Yato was no different. "I am here to speak to a certain captive, I was told he was in Cell A-0-14...With your permission of course, sir." "The name is Cryptly and you can be damned if you think your fancy words will get you anywhere here. Purpose of meeting, tell me without beating around the bush and get your coins ready, boy." Again Yato acted on instinct and with survival in mind, he moved his hand towards the closed bag of coins inside his vest instantly and opened it, ready to spill every last coin on the whim of this Cryptly. No price was high enough to forsake his freedom, it was clear Yato knew his place and this visibly pleased Cryptly as he shot a sly grin at Yato while he was busy fidgeting with the cord keeping the small bag closed. "I'm here to speak to the man, I need to know what kind of man he is before I decide on what to do with him. I won't necessarily be torturing him, yet." This also pleased Cryptly, who seemed to have a fondness for torture as he openly laughed at the mention of possible torture. The old Nuit mulled for a short while over how much he'd charge Yato and ended up with a, undoubtedly rounded up, amount. " You pay 10 Gold Miza for every Bell you spend with the rat, in one of the Interrogation Rooms. Additionally you'll pay 5 GM for the restraining chair and table I'll provide you with, in total. I'll come collect once you ring the bell inside the room, I advise you not to shortstack me, sonny. Now go up to the 1st floor and wait in the room labeled A-1-56!" Yato nodded along to Cryptly's words in an icy cold tone, devoid of any feeling, and when he finished Yato mumbled a 'thank you, sir' which resulted in a stern look from Cryptly. Who clearly did not like to be called anything but Cryptly, and who seemed to muzzle over the fact if 2 strikes were enough to imprison this 'boy' or if he'd give him a last chance. The long stare was ended with a grmpfh as he turned away briskly and walked away from Yato, most likely to get the slave requested. Once he was out of sight, the moans and screams from the cells became louder again and Yato hurried to the 1st floor above the main one, in search of the room A-1-56.

[Yato]

Just to make sure, after arriving at Yato's assigned room with the code A-1-56 carved neatly into it, he knocked on the solid wooden door in the hopes there weren't any unsavoury types already inside. No response, letting out a sigh of relief he opened the door and stepped inside the quite brightly lit room, especially compared to the rest of the underground network of corridors and cells. After a quick inspection, there didn't seem anything noteworthy about the room other than the many lit candles and few cornertorches ablaze, illuminating the small room much too intensely. The room consisted of little more than the restraining chair and table Cryptly had loaned him for this peculiar Meet & Greet. Other than those items the cold brick walls and concrete floor hosted a few other items. A chair for the interrogator, a filled jug with mugs so dirty next to it that not even the rats would drink from it and lastly a small rectangular cabinet with quite a few lit candles on top of it. So much light...It almost made Yato worried that this particular 'subject' is of the more dangerous kind that needed constant and uninhibited supervision. 'Damn it all, what's taking that 'Gravekeeper' so long!?' He had barely let out an annoyed groan when the door creaked open from behind him, turning on the spot, Yato's jaw dropped open as he stared at those who entered. A much too amused Cryptly, which was worrying in itself, dragged along a man bound by hands and feet with a thick bag covering his head. As if that wasn't cause enough to get out of here at lightningspeed, the man seemed to have the time of his life...Judging by his delighted monologue. "Oooooooohhh, I can feel it. I can feel warmth. Where do you reckon it be taking me, Mrs Larthy?! No clue my good sir, but you sure got lucky didn't ya!? I know! They must be rewarding you! Oh yes, that has got to be it, they're giving me a trip to Sahova's finest saunas, yes yes, best make the most of it, don'cha say Mrs Larthy? Absolutely, time is all and all is time, as I always say!" After Cryptly finished making sure all restraints were secure and as tight as they could be, Yato took him apart to confirm this was in fact the correct prisoner. He hoped by everything good and bad in this world that there was some sort of error made. Cryptly just smiled wide and assured Yato this was the person he had asked for. "Now, I'll let you two get acquainted...Have fun!"

[Yato]

As he watched Cryptly close the door behind him, almost able to see his rotten teeth-grin from the back of his head, Yato cursed and turned to face his next hurdle to overcome on the road he chose. The man's eyes were drifting all over the place as he mumbled to himself, his head barely sustained by the neck as it swayed from up to down & left to right. Trying to calm himself and see the silver lining in this twistedly black scenario, he thought it was best to be confronted by the demented man before the actual Judgment. At least this way he had time to come up with a battleplan. Mulling over the best possible way to approach this issue, he took a seat and stared at the broken man. At first he tried, foolishly, to approach the man like any other and strike up a conversation but of course the insane man had no ears to Yato's feeble attempts. Either completely ignoring Yato, suddenly bursting out in a gigglefit or starting a conversation with this 'Mrs Larthy' that seemed to be everpresent in his mind. "Why do you say that, Mrs Larthy?! I don't agree at all, hell is not a bad place! Warm, bright and colourful people all around, does it get any better than that? No no, you can ship me to hell any time, y'zurry! Now, where did I leave my matchsticks? That orphanage over there looks so cold, I'm sure the children would love some warm fire...Here or in hell...Hihihihihihi!" With a sigh, Yato turned to Hypnotism to try and get through to the man. But again he made the mistake to believe he could use 'normal means' to try and influence the psychotic man's psyche. Gloriously unsuccesful, except for the resulting desire to start torturing this lunatic to cinders. It wasn't until a good hour into the session that Yato noticed something. As Yato had stood up and walked around from one end of the room to the other, glaring at the crazed man, he started to notice a small pattern in the way the man's eyes as they drifted and swirled from one point to the next, but always following the same route. 'So that's the key...' He wanted to make sure this was the right path to place his hopes on, before losing any more time with this fool. Turning, Yato moved to the cabinet and started to move the candles to the corners of the furniture before taking one of them and placing it directly between them on the table. And as it turned out, the man's eyes started to swirl from one candle to the other, even after being moved, the man did not lose sight of them. With a wicked grin, Yato proceeded on this path as he took in all that he could from the man's behaviour regarding the flickering flames. At one point, Yato dipped his fingers in the jug's water and just as the man looked at the candle, he made it sizzle out with his fingers. The man's face almost instantly contorted into a deep state of fear and sorrow, much to Yato's satisfaction as now he had gained leverage over this loon. Yato gathered all the candles and placed them on the table between them, before moving the torch in the man's sight to a place behind him. Again the man's face turned to his normal selfwhen he's all alone, in the darkness, holed up in his cell...With nobody but Mrs Larthy... Now, with 4 remaining candles left, the man cheerfully continued to stare at them. But Yato saw, when he moved his hand to the jug with water, the man followed his hand, not with his normal deranged amusement but with mindwarping fear in his eyes. Yato, sadistic and manipulative as he was, stared right in the man's fearful eyes that were locked on Yato's wet hand, with gleeful content. Slowly he moved his hand to the candles, pauzing midway for just a second, before forcing another candle out. " "S....Stop....Tell him to stop, Mrs Larthy, tell the nice man to stop! Please, Mrs Larthy, tell the man to stop!" And, surprisingly enough, Mrs Larthy appeared... "Why hello there, kind sir, could I ask you to stop putting out these candles?" Mrs Larthy's part of the man's psyche had taken over and spoke directly to Yato, looking at him directly and without the slightest oddity in 'her' manner of speech or attitude. Yato smiled wide, he was getting there, he was going to get there! "Well, Mrs Larthy, is it? I could stop putting out these candles, without a doubt. But in a few moments they will come to take you both away and seal you back away into the darkness...Without any candles, flames or light to ever come back to either of you...I can help you see the light again, if you help me.." "Oh my, that sounds like a delightful deal. What is it you want, mister? In exchange for me and my son to see this beautiful shine again.." "Nothing difficult, I will come back for you two in the near future. When I do, I want to talk to you again and I want you to let me hypnotize you nice and easy....Allow me this, and I will shine endless light upon you and your son!" "...Hypnotism, must say, never tried it but I don't see the harm in it. You have got yourself a deal kind sir...." "Yato, please call me Yato, dear Mrs Larthy. Now, unfortunately our time together for today is all up, but I'm sure the darkness will be more bearable from now on, with the knowledge soon you will both see light again!" "I understand and it is indeed so, Mr Yato, we are looking forward to it, ta ta!" A few moments of silence and the 'normal' attitude of the man reappeared and started to converse with Mrs Larthy as his eyes moved from one candle to the other. Yato waited until his 'conversation' finished with both of his personas agreeing on the deal struck with Yato, before ringing the bell. Once Cryptly had taken the man back into the darkness, oblivious to what just happened in this room, Yato paid the Dungeonkeeper's fee with delight and walked out from the Catacombs, licking his lips as he was more than content with the final result of his visit.

[Ink]

Let me see what you have done with your ink. Yato Skills Observation 3 Investigation 1 Negotiation 2 Deduction 1 Tactics 1 Lores That is Not a Cat Cryptly: The Dungeon Master of Sahova Mr. Larthy’s Gentleman’s Agreement Notes Note: Need to see more description for using Hypnotism. You can’t just turn it on, need to see some effort in working a magic. Between Black and White If there are any concerns or problems with my grading please feel free to toss me a PM. I am more than happy to explain my reasons or reevaluate them if you feel I've been unfair. Also please remember to edit your grade request as graded or delete it if possible. Thank you, Ink