Journey into the Inferno (Laties)

[Lord Nikanoru]

Some would say that there are far worse things than death, and they would be right: for one would most likely rather throw himself to a pack of wild wolves than face the horrors of the hellish Blood Chamber. It was a place of no return for criminals and members of The Order; a place where people would pray to whatever higher existence they believed in for some kind of sweet release, yet it would not come. Within the confines of this frightening place, unimaginable, disgusting acts of cruelty were committed daily with absolutely no remorse. Many rumors surrounded the enigmatic chamber, only adding to the terrifying image it projected. Even castle officials wouldn't dare head into the Blood Chamber, and many would cringe in fright if they were summoned there. In the minds of the people, this place was truly Hell itself.

Lord Nikanoru, the director of this awful place, was standing silently in one of the many dark passageways that lead from the castle to the chamber itself; while the others lead to places such as offices and the lobby, this one went directly to the chamber's bowels, where the actual torturing and interrogating was done. Why was he loitering about when there was work to be done? He was patiently awaiting the arrival of General Laties, whose presence he had requested under the pretense of needing the physical assistance of a strong soldier. Nikanoru had made the request as a post-script on his report; it was approved by one of the higher-ups and a notice was sent to the general several hours later. Of course, the actual reason was one of vengeance: he had not forgotten Laties' disrespectful words from the other day, and intended to give him an experience he wouldn't be forgetting any time soon.

[Laties]

Click, click, click.

Just the sound of his boots hitting on the stone floor gave the general the shivers as he slowly walked towards the Blood Chamber. Dressed in the full armored suit (expect his helmet), Laties's shoulders felt heavier then normal. Mainly because added to the weight was dread, a terror that grew with every single step he took closer to the room starting at the moment he recieaved the notice. Why? Why did Laties have to open his big mouth at the training courts? Why did he always find the need to defend those under him?

Laties turned the corner and kept his expression emotionless as his eyes focused on the frail man. He picked up his pace so he approached the man at a normal speed. His hands were clenched tightly at his sides as he slowed to a stop and bowed mockingly. He knew of the game Nikanoru wanted to play, he would play that game and not be broken. "Lord Nikanoru, you requested for me to help you?" he asked looking at him with a smirk.

[Lord Nikanoru]

"That is correct, general: you will be assisting me with various tasks today, such as preparing torturing devices and cleaning up after an interrogation session is completed," stated the advisor matter-of-factly, casting a casual glance at the pesky muscle head. Upon seeing the man's arrogant smirk, he couldn't help but imagine it fading into an expression of horror and disgust later on. Nikanoru knew very well that General Laties wouldn't be broken so easily: even though he wasn't as experienced with the horrors of war as some of the older generals were, the youthful general did have a very strong will. Most generals did, anyway; it's part with the job.

Without waiting for a response, Nikanoru began walking down the long hallway; his pace was slow and steady, for he wanted to give his guest ample time to take notice of the changing atmosphere: the awful stench that filled the Blood Chamber--that of burnt flesh, human excrement, dried blood, and sulfur; with every step they took, it seemed to be getting stronger and stronger. Every now and then, the skeletal remains of those lucky enough to finally pass on could be seen lining the blood-stained walls. An eerie silence filled the air, a silence that Nikanoru knew would be shattered soon enough.

"I hope I am not interrupting something important, General Laties; after all, you are a very busy man," said Nikanoru in a dull and uninterested tone as his dark pupils remained fixed on the darkness before him.

[Laties]

Laties smiled at him as he shook his head, "For you, milord, there is nothing more important than this."

'Look forward. Don't look anywhere else.' he thought to himself as he followed the other, smirking as he decided to focus on the advisor's hat. Was it the same one he had knocked to the floor? No, knowing the type of man Nikanoru was, the poor thing was probably burned in the fireplace. 'I wonder if he shaved his head since I touched it...' Laties' hand went to his mouth to muffle snort of laughter before the smell reached him.

Laties gagged slightly taking a step back as if to step away from the smell that already wrapped itself around him. A moment passed before he forced himself to move forward as he grunted out, "I should've wore something that would allow me to move."

[Lord Nikanoru]

Those thin lips of his curved into an amused smirk as he noticed the general step back upon getting a good whiff of the horrible odor. Was he already starting to break so easily? Nikanoru hoped not: he wanted him to break slowly, painfully; he wanted him to be logical enough to think about what was going on behind the scenes of the kingdom he was so devoted to. "Wearing a full suit of armor to the Blood Chamber wasn't a good choice, I must say: our main session today will be involving quite a bit of heat."

After about three more minutes of walking, they came upon their first stop for the day--the expansive holding chamber: it was circular in build, and iron cages were built into the stone walls. Within these cages were tattered, diseased captives; either members of the Order of Lumens, bothersome rebels, or simple criminals. Nikanoru, noticing that several chamber guards were crowded around in an cell, headed over to see what was going on. Several bodies were scattered around the cell; three were of adults, while one was rather undeveloped--probably belonging to an adolescent. The genders of these deceased people were impossible to tell by sight, for their flesh was browned and rotted by disease and so horribly mutilated that it was hard to tell that they were even human beings.

His dark, lifeless orbs rested on burlap sacks that would soon be used to store the bodies, then moved back to Laties. "Well! Time for you first assignment, it seems: you are to help the guards bag the remains of our recently-deceased captives." As he gave this command, the guards had already begun to chop the carcasses into smaller pieces with large, sharp axes.

[Laties]

A frown formed on the general's face as he watched the guards chop the bodies up as though they were butchers. Slowly, Laties moved from behind Nikanoru as he took the offered bag from a guard and held it out so it would be easier for the limbs to be tossed in. ‘This is barbaric, even those who are executed are given a proper burial.’ he thought before he tied the bag up once it was full and dragged it to the corner where other filled bags were placed.

The sound of the swooshing made his stomach rebel against him and force some of his last meal up his throat. Forcing himself to swallow his vomit, Laties tossed the bag into the pile and made his way back towards the guards before shooting the advisor a cheerful smile. He went back to helping the guards before pausing and began pulling off the metal armor and shoving them into the arms of a guard. “Bring these to the Knight’s Hollow, I’ll take over for you.”

With that said, Laties took the ace from the man and went to the task of chopping limbs. Occasionally, he tilted his head back to grin at Nikanoru. This wouldn’t break him, no it wouldn’t.

[Lord Nikanoru]

His head tilted to the side slightly as he watched the general chop up the bodies; not only had he volunteered to take over the more gruesome part of the job, but he also seemed to be enjoying it! Had he not witnessed the genuine frown staining Laties' face moments before and his reaction to the scent in the hallway, Nikanoru probably would have been fooled by the general's cheerful smiles. Laties hadn't severely wavered at disposing the bodies, but Nikanoru knew the worst was yet to come.

As the guard departed with the general's armor, his peers stood before the chamber's overseer and awaited further instruction. "You three! go and prepare the instruments for our upcoming session," commanded Nikanoru as his gaze fell on three guards, who nodded in understanding and departed to fulfill their duty. "And you! Has the order of pig slop arrived yet?" he inquired, his attention moving to another assistant; the aide nodded in response, resulting in a smile forming on Nikanoru's pale visage. "Excellent! We can't have the prisoners dying on us, can we?"

Nikanoru turned his attention back to Laties, waiting for him to finish disposing of the bodies so they could move on to the main event.

[Laties]

"Pig slop? I wouldn't consider that the best meal in the world," Laties grunted as he tossed the last bag into the pile and walked over to Nikanoru with a smile on his face. He held out his dirty hands out to the advisor, "Would you like the shake hands?" He asked in a joking tone as water began to spill from the palms of his hands. Quickly, he rinsed off his hands with the clean water before shaking his hands to dry them, purposely splashing the now foul water onto the advisor.

"Shall we?" He asked giving him another mock bow as he fought to keep his stomach still.

[Lord Nikanoru]

As the dirty water splashed from the general's hands onto the expensive silk of his own aoi dai, the advisor couldn't contain his displeasure: a frown formed on his face, and his eyes narrowed in anger. The impudent fool just wouldn't break; defiant little twit! Nikanoru quickly put his blank, controlled expression back on, reminding himself to be patient with the twit. He would break soon enough, anyway. "Yes, let's move on," said Nikanoru as he turned and headed toward an exit at the other end of the room.

The two walked down another narrow hallway for some time, the scene turning far more disturbing and morbid as they pressed on: not only was the scent far stronger than before, but it was also almost intoxicating; decayed limbs and assorted body parts were pushed to the side of the hallway, rotted flesh still clinging to the bone. Droppings and other disgusting things were visible every now and then, standing as testament to Lord Nikanoru's complete disregard for humanity and the rights of prisoners of war.

All of a sudden, the eerie silence was broken by what sounded like screaming; it was a faint noise, so it was hard to tell. But as time moved on, it became more and more evident that they were, in fact, very pained and agonizing screams: screams of men, women, and children alike. As Nikanoru said before, it was starting to get hotter. Eventually, they arrived at a pair of massive double doors at the end of the hallway: bright flames were visible through the cracks, and the screams were louder and more heart-wrenching than ever before.

"They started the ceremony without us, it seems. Are you prepared, general?" asked Nikanoru with a sinister smirk, glancing over at Laties.

[Laties]

"Please understand that I have the right to report anything disregarding the king's law." Laties coughed as he covered his mouth in attempt to block the foul smells from reaching him. He felt sick, every few steps he felt the contents of his stomach rise to his throat before he forced it back down. "Women and children aren't allowed in this chamber." he choked slightly.

'Keep your eyes on him. Don't look at anything else.' He nearly shouted in his mind as he stared into Nikanoru's back. Amazed at how the scenery did not affect the older man. "You should keep this place clean..." He mumbled as he stepped over a fallen corpse of what appeared to be a child. Laties turned his head to the side as he spat out 'salvia' and frowned as the sound of it hitting the floor was much heavier. He shrugged as he concluded Nikanoru would figure out that he had vomited slightly.

[Lord Nikanoru]

"The king's law doesn't apply here; if you won't take my word for it, feel free to request an audience with him--that is, if he would even bother conversing with you," he began, a smug grin forming on his lips as he placed those bony hands of his on the large double doors; "also, it would be for the best if you remember that what you are about to see is not actually happening beneath the lands of Du Aurella."

And, as the general suspected, Nikanoru had noticed him vomit slightly and couldn't help but chuckle as the arrogant twit was finally beginning to break. As he suspected, it was only a matter of time before he cracked. If there was one thing Nikanoru loved, it was being right: he felt absolutely giddy inside, yet restrained himself and kept his expression relatively calm and controlled.

With that, he pushed open the doors to reveal a scene straight from the bowels of Hell.

The main interrogation chamber, the heart of the infamous Blood Chamber, was revealed to the advisor and general: like the holding chamber, it was circular, but far greater in size. Several balconies lined the chamber's walls, each above another. The main level's floor was stained with blood and the remains of those fortunate enough to meet their ends. There were no candles to light this massive room, for the fire at the center was enough to bathe the entire chamber in light: a massive pit of charcoal and tinder, massive flames sprouting out of it with great blazing fury.

The flames paled in comparison to what was sticking out of the center: a large metal, rotating stake, upon which were fastened the marred bodies of people of all sizes, shapes, ages, and races: of course, all they appeared to be were heaps of burnt, disfigured flesh and charred innards. If that wasn't appalling enough, they were sewn, yes, sewn together, forming what could best be described as a large mass of pain and suffering. Guards lined the balconies, whipping the poor prisoners and stabbing them with partisans to add to their already unimaginable suffering.

The rumors about the horrible workings within the Blood Chamber were mostly believed to be horribly exaggerated; little did the common people know that these seemingly frivolous rumors were, in fact, true.

"A squad of soldiers belonging to The Order captured by our liege's vast army not too long ago. We are torturing them daily and keeping them alive with medicines to keep them from dying, all in order to persuade their stubborn captain to talk," explained Nikanoru as he motioned to a hulking pile of wood to their right.

[Laties]

Laties froze the moment he stepped into the room, his eyes glued to the moving mass of flesh. For several minutes, he stood there staring, the image forever being burned into his mind before he turned his head away from the scene. His ears rang with the screams of agony as he quickly placed his hands over his ears in attempt the block out the sound. More minutes passed before he slowly let his arms fall back to his side.

This was war, the true nature behind it's powerful front. Laties knew it well but still, he lied to himself, never imagining this could happen to his men. No, not his men, even the Order would never be able to bring themselves to do something as sickening and inhumane as this. Only the king's most feared advisor could do something like this. Only him. Only Lord Nikanoru Magrace.

Moments passed before he cleared his throat and forced himself to speak, "I give my utmost respects and admiration to the captain. I dare say, I wouldn't know how long I'd last in a situation like this. Though all I can say is that you're a disgusting man." He crossed his arms in forced his eyes to look at the group, his fingers digging into his arm to distract himself. "Is there anything you require? Or do you wish to try and break me some more?"

[Lord Nikanoru]

"Break you? Why, whatever are you talking about? My profession is very demanding, so I requested your aide to make it a tad easier for me," he said with a deranged grin, his gaze taking in the expression of shock and disgust on the general's face with sadistic pleasure before he finally did his best to hide it. Despite Laties' best efforts, the advisor definitely wouldn't forget the expression as he saw what went on behind the scenes of his beloved kingdom. Nikanoru believed he had already won the battle, but he wasn't ready to dismiss Laties from his duties just yet.

"And yes, I still have need of your services: in your state of shock, you mustn't have heard my request for you to throw some more timber in the pit," said Nikanoru as he motioned once again to the pile of wood resting next to the pit of flame. "In the mean time, I will begin the interrogation. Let's hope that the captain will talk so I can put his underlings out of their misery, mmm?"

Nikanoru chuckled softly as he walked toward the disturbing torture device, his pace slow and hands clasped behind his back. He glanced at the guard operating the medieval machine, who stopped turning it in response. The other guards positioned on the balconies stopped attacking the poor Order soldiers and lowered their weapons, as well. "So," began the insidious royal official as he raised his eyes to the barely-charred man positioned at the top of the flesh; while his flesh was intact, he seemed to be horribly starved and diseased; "are you going to co-operate with us today, captain?"

The captain's eyes opened and fixed themselves directly on his captor's face; those dark orbs of his were not full of anger and malice, but pain and sorrow. "Release my soldiers, and I might just reveal the location of our leader. But, then again, how can you be sure that I'm telling the truth or not?"

"Good point, captain. Please excuse me for a moment," he said as he glanced over at the general. "Do your job and keep the fire going, boy."

[Laties]

"That's General to you, secretary." Laties spat as he strolled over to pile of wood and began chucking one after another into the fire. Several minutes passed before Laties let out a frustrated growl as he suddenly pulled out his sword and pointing it at a sobbing child that was tangled up in the mess. "Will you shut up? My job is hard enough with babysitting a old man who enjoys playing games."

When the child refused to silence himself, Laties slammed the blade deep into his skull and left it there as he finished the pile of wood. "If you say that the King's law really don't apply here." Laties said as he yanked the sword out and wipped it off on his pants. "Please forgive me if I don't follow them, Lord Nikanoru." He said with a smile as he shoved a near by guard into the pit of flames. "Forgive me, I ran out of wood so he should be able to keep the fire burning."

His smile changed into a smirk and his expression turned into one of a mad man's slightly. "Is there anything else you'd like me to do, oh mighty one? Shall I go sthingy with one of those lovely rottng corspes over there? Or shall I go ahead and help you with your lovely tatics?"

[Lord Nikanoru]

Not surprisingly, the general's strange and considerably mad behavior caught the attention of just about everyone in the room; not only did he just shove a blade into the skull of an innocent, but he also intentionally caused the unnecessary death of an ally! The numerous guards positioned on the balconies had all fixed their attention on their superior, their faces either pale with shock or red with fury and their eyes blazing with malice and contempt. Even the tortured captives managed to muster the strength to move their eyes down to the military man below them--if they had eyes to move, that is. The tension and general uncertainty filling the air was indeed tangible.

Needless to say, the interrogation process had come to a quick and screeching halt as soon as Laties began to act out: the captain of the captured squad had stopped conversing with the sinister official, and had turned his attention to the general. In normal circumstances, he would have attempted to take Laties' life without asking a single question--but these circumstances, as the entire pillar of flesh knew, were far from normal. An innocent child had been spared another "interrogation session", another night sleeping in a dirty, germ-infested cell; he had been delivered from the bowels of Hell to the eternal bliss of Heaven, forever free of the devil's reach. The captain would have thanked Laties, but he couldn't bring himself to speak again; instead, he flashed a small smile of gratitude to him.

Nikanoru, strangely, had not turned away from the stake of burnt flesh and pained souls, nor did he seem to even acknowledge the general's frightening behavior. All he did was just stand before the pillar, his gaze unwavering from the general's pale and sickly visage. Laties, he thought, was merely acting out to emphasize how uncomfortable and flustered he was: he was an egotistical, self-absorbed little git who had traveled through the depths of the Inferno with his guide, witnessing the travesties and horrors of the nightmarish hellhole known as the Blood Chamber. He was thrown from his paradise of self-indulgence into a dark and twisted realm representing the worst in humanity, a place where people could express their natural instincts. This entire scenario was just a bad dream to him, he theorized, and he was acting out like a scared, confused little child. And how does an adult properly deal with a troublesome child? Not by lashing out at him, but by simply ignoring his tantrum.

Unfortunately, knowing that the unstable git was going to indefinitely cause more trouble, he couldn't do that.

The extremely uncomfortable silence was finally broken by the unscrupulous lord's shrill voice: "Because the Blood Chamber is my personal realm, I am exempt from the king's laws; on the other hand, you are not. You are disappointing, general: someone in such a high position of power as you should know that callously murdering someone on your own side is neither wise nor overlooked. Being the kind and merciful lord that I am, I will attribute this unfortunate guard's demise to an accidental fall from the balcony into the fire pit."

Nikanoru stared at Laties for a few moments before turning his attention to the large man whom had been the one pushing the handle that spun the stake not too long ago. "I have the feeling that our captain won't be co-operating with us; therefore he, his subordinates, and his peasant accomplices are doing nothing but taking up space. Cremate them. When I return in the morning, I want to see nothing but ash where they once were. Do I make myself clear?" The hulking man nodded in understanding.

"General Laties Luhma, you are dismissed. And remember: what took place within the confines of this chamber never happened, and you spent your day doing simple paperwork. Makes sense, no? You were helping a mere secretary, after all."