Atisha looked towards Anora when she volunteered to help. She honestly had hoped for the stranger to step up just to gauge him, but Atisha couldn't be picky.<span style="color: goldenrod">"Alright than, let's go.,"</span>The Alftar lead the girl towards the cellar. So far neither of the prisoners had awoken yet, which would allow Atisha to tell Anora what she needed to do.<span style="color: goldenrod">"Normally I don't resort to this unless it's our last choice, but we shouldn't hold onto these two ruffians for long. Anora, I want you to beat down or... Torture... This one."</span>Atisha pointed towards the last prisoner, the one that she and Magnus spoke to before. Despite being fairly cordial with the two and providing them useful information, Atisha had no more use for him but as the means to make the other one talk. The other prisoner was tied to a chair, so Anora wouldn't have to chase him around.<span style="color: goldenrod">"When the other prisoner awakes, I'm sure that your demonstration should be more than enough to convince our guest to tell us what we want to know. If not... Then I'll let you have a try at convincing him."</span><br/><br/>Atisha than went on to get the next prisoner ready. She tied his arms up with some rope in the cellar and hung him by the wrists on a beam, so that his feet were off the ground. It wouldn't be long before the poor bastard woke up, and hopefully by than Anora would have already begun her "talk" with the other prisoner.<br/><br/>Anora listened to everything that Atisha had to say about the upcoming torture.  As she paid close attention to the words that she spoke a thought sprung into Anora's mind.  Her head tilted slightly as she eyed up the Atisha girl, she was speaking something about how if she failed to convince the first then she could have a swing at the second.  But Anora paid close attention to the tone of her voice, her ears were not as well trained as her eyes but at least they could tell if someone was unsure of what they were about to do.  Across her mind danced the thought that this girl had never seen nor taken apart of torture before.  She knew that Atisha would be in for a rude awakening when the blood started to flow, so taking the time before the prisoners woke up Anora asked a quick question.<br/><br/>"Have you ever witnessed what is to come?" Anora stood with a firm stance,feet spread apart and hands clenched into loose fists as she turned her attention back to the prisoner.  Knowing she knew very little of how to torture a person herself she knew that what was to come would not be pretty.<br/><br/>As Atisha was getting her medicine ready to keep the prisoners stable for their inevitable injuries, Anora popped a question.<span style="color: goldenrod">"Oh whatever do you mean?"</span>She said with a hint of sarcasm. She suspected Anora meant torture.<span style="color: goldenrod">"I am not an innocent wallflower who is unfamiliar with brutality... That being said, I don't particularly like what we're going to have to do. It is... Ineffective, from my experience. It's messy as well. If there were other ways, I'd chose them first. But we cannot waste more time and resources just to do what I would like. Besides, you're the one who's getting her hands dirty. I'll just be the one talking."</span>Atisha filled another needle with a dose from her mixtures. It would wake up the hanging prisoner, or at least make him wake up faster.<span style="color: goldenrod">Now get ready, I'm about to wake up our guest speaker here."</span>Atisha reached up and injected the fluids into the prisoner's leg. It would take a few minutes before it circulated throughout the body, more for him to actually wake up, but it shouldn't be long now.<br/><br/>"I never thought you to be one"  Anora replied as she began to walk a slow walk away from Atisha.  Her voice was filled with a serious tone as she continued "A flower never see's the blood pouring out of a deep wound"  Pausing for a second, she continued "A flower never see's the effects of what it asks others to do, never see's the images in it's mind when it can't sleep.  A flower never regrets the choices it has made."  Anora paused as she turned her head once more to face Atisha, who was standing near the hanging prisoner now.  "Are you sure you'd rather be here and not that flower upstairs?"   Pausing for a long moment as her movement slowed to a stop.  Anora continued with "Torture is always effective.  If pain is not enough the threat of more pain will make any man talk.  If i could remember a tenth of what i have seen on my travels this man would tell us all we need to know."  Pausing again as she crooked her head "In a matter of seconds."<br/><br/>"When we get started, i might be tempted into saying things to ease his journey."  She paused as she pointed her free hand towards the prisoner. "Don't take anything by it's face value"<br/><br/>Atisha narrowed her eyes at Anora. Perhaps she should have picked someone else... Well, too late for regrets now.<span style="color: goldenrod">"It is a good thing I'm an Alfatar, and not a flower than. And torture... If we wanted this man to confess to being involved in the attack today, than torture would work. But enough pain would make a man tell us anything. I'm sure we could make this man tell us that he cheats on his wife for his own daughter, or that his dog is a slow cooked bird, but that doesn't make it true. No, what we need from them is the truth, not just a confession. Too often has something like this merely resulted in false information and misleads... But that's why I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen."</span>Soon the hanging prisoner began to groan, and Atisha walked around to stand a bit behind him, as well as point his body towards the bound prisoner and Anora.<span style="color: goldenrod">"Get ready now. He's waking up."</span><br/><br/>Anora smirked as Atisha explained why she felt torture was not the answer.  Anora responded in a cold tone "You're right.  He will tell us every last answer we want to know, be it true or not."  She paused as she pointed to the second prisoner "But once he see's what happened to the first, he will tell us the truth less he wishes to share the same fate."  As she spoke the final three words her tone grew colder and colder.  She walked just in front of the first prisoner and spoke again, this time without the cold tone as she spoke "When this one is more awake, i will make him feel every life he has taken.  And through his pain will the second will know what is to come." She paused as she looked Atisha in the eyes, something that made Anora ill at ease.  She spoke again in a quiet tone   "You can trust me on that."   Anora knew that making one assassin pay for his misdeeds in life was not enough, the process of torture and what else was necessary was below even her.  But if it led to information that could stop their order, than any means was justified by the end.<br/><br/>The prisoner began to wake up from his drug induced sleep.  His eyes were barley open yet he managed to speak a pair of coherent sentence.  "Where did you guys go?  Why did i sleep again? Where am i?"  His voice was heavily slurred by the effects of whatever drug was in his system still. Anora moved until she was an inch in front of his face and clasped her hands around his head and spoke in the most cold voice she has ever spoken in "You're in the underworld now, and your friends cant save you now."  She knew it would take a second for his mind to process what she had just said.  It wasn't until he muttered a hesitant "Wha-" did she begin her torture.<br/><br/>As she pulled back her arm to ready her first blow, she reiterated one point "Welcome to the underworld."  as she unleashed a semi power full blow with her pull arm.  Aiming it for the side of the face, she felt a solid connection as the short spikes dug a shallow wound around the impact marks.<br/><br/>Pain from both the initial impact and following scrapes took a moment to register, but were soon flowing through the prisoner's body. He tensed up entirely, letting out a scream of pain when he felt the spikes dig deeper into his flesh. It had alerted someone upstairs, if the sudden thud was of any indication. When the initial burn wore down, what was left was a searing, lasting pain that wouldn't go away so long as the spikes were still there. Through grit teeth, the main spat out a string of curses, tears welling up in his eyes.<br/><br/>Anora left the spiked gauntlet rest in the face of the man.  She knew that if she released it the pain provided from the added pressure would quickly subside and he would be more resistant for what she followed up with.  Truth be told she had no idea what exactly what she was doing, and if he could see through the searing pain he might have noticed this.  But it seems the strike had managed to do its job.  The man began to speak a number of curses through his teeth as Anora watched on.  It had been many, many jobs since she had to use her gauntlets in this fashion.  His face began to bring up memories she had buried, so she cocked her free hand back.  She released a weaker, yet still noticeable punch to the mid section of the man.  The nature of his set up allowed him to rock backwards, removing the spikes from his cheeks, fashion.  He swung back and forth for a few seconds.  Anora moved closer still and placed both her hands on the mans shoulders.  She asked him a question "You know what i want, yes?"  Her tone was as cold as before yet her face was filled with a questioning look.<br/>As the spikes were ripped from his face, the wounds caused by the gauntlet began to bleed freely. Just flesh wounds, but even a flesh wound hurt. The side of the man's face, and soon his chest and shoulder, were stained a bright crimson within seconds. The punch to his gut had almost been merciful in comparison to the pain that had preceded. After a few moments of pained, struggled inhalation, he spoke up. "What the hell is this? You ain't with the order, are you?" He spat the question out angrily, focusing more on Atisha when it was asked. His attention quickly went back to Anora, whom he gave a hateful glare. "And no, I don't know what the hell you want. You're lucky I'm tied up, you bitch, or I swear you'd both be dead by now." His voice was a near growl, but right as he finished speaking, he winced as the motions caused by it opened one of the many small wounds on his face even more.<br/><br/>As the man called her a bitch, Anora delivered a swift backhand with the gauntlet of her right forearm.  The spikes on her gauntlet were much more numerous than those on her fists.  Even though the strike produced much longer, and numerous, gashes they were not quite as deep as her first strike.  She backed up for a second, she paid no attention to whatever the prisoner did.  Drawing her with her left hand sword she returned the distance between the two and began to speak in a mocking tone "Be careful how you speak, i am nobility."  She paused as she let the joke set in.  She placed her sword in a position just between the mans knees and placed her right hand on the shoulder of the prisoner.  "Where we come from, insults such as that are met with..." She paused as she tapped her sword into the man's family jewels "swift retribution."<br/>More blood came from his face on the second strike, less than before. But the pain was fresh, burning, and proved enough to shut him up for a moment. After enough clarity returned to him, he attempted to force his arms free of the chair's armrests, wriggling futilely. He stopped moving once Anora's blade came out, and sneered at her joke. Nobility, peasantry, those titles held no meaning to him. Targets were targets, and anyone who got in the way were nothing more than obstacles. He almost said something to spite her, but was swiftly silenced as he felt the weapon touch his groin. Not a word nor a movement came from him, aside from the slight sway his breathing caused. It had proven an effective threat display, at least when it came to shutting him up.<br/><br/>Anora noticed that her display of "command" had silenced the man, he refrained from any movement and his breathing went to a more normal pace.  She tilted her head and smiled at the man with the most menacing smile she could manage.  Men and their weaknesses she thought to her self.  "To be honest"  she changed her tone from cold to playful "you have given us all the information we can get from you."  She removed the sword from his precious area and moved it swiftly up to his chest. The blade was pressed firmly against his chest, not enough to cut yet but more than enough to prove her next point.  She grabbed his head with a strong hold and forced it towards the second prisoner.  "You see, i have never tortured anyone before" She spoke with an even more playful tone.  "I don't know where the important areas are, i might accidentally cut something important"  she paused her speech as she provided a cutting motion with her sword as she applied the required force to cut a gash across the mans chest.  She moved the blade slowly and with purpose, holding his head from any motion while she kept his focus on the second prisoner. As the blade finished it's cut, she flung her arm off to the side.  Blood dripped from her sword as she moved her head to get a more clear look on the mans face.<br/><br/>"You are mistaken if you think you are the only source of information we have.  If you tell us a lie, if you resist, we have him."   Pausing as she gripped his head even tighter "We have options, you don't."<br/><br/>The prisoner watched Anora silently, his head moving ever-so-slightly back when she flashed a smile at him. He wriggled slightly when the cold steel of her blade moved up his torso, and when he felt it begin to cut, he drew in a sharp breath and tightly shut his eyes. His jaw clenched and his muscles all tensed up, and as the blade sliced cleanly across him, even more blood flowed from the wound it left behind. Anora's rather disturbing threats and tone of voice only added to the sense of dread that began to well in the man's stomach, and when he reopened his eyes, he was met with the sight of the other man. He was, for a few more moments, silent. "You think you'll get away with this?" He asked, eyes moving between the other prisoner and Anora. "You think that you can just keep us here, cut us up, and dispose of us when you're done? It doesn't work like that, dearie. You're messing with something that's so far above you, you won't be able to comprehend a single fuckin' aspect of it. You made a mistake. Are those people worth throwing your life away for? Do you even<span style="font-style: italic">know</span>them?"<br/>Truth be told, the man was quite thoroughly frightened. The facade he put on, trying to save face before the torturer, was a form of attempted self-reassurance. Though the points he raised were valid, if still vague and unknown. "What more do you expect to learn? Think you'll just be able to find a trail, follow it, and play hero? You're in way over your goddamned head."<br/><br/>"Are they worth my life, is<span style="font-style: italic">she</span>worth my life?"  Anora spoke in a quick tone, her sword was now pointing at Atisha.  "I will let you in on a secret."  She paused as she moved the sword close to the mans neck.  She let it rest against his skin for a brief second before she began to wipe the man's own blood off her sword on his left collar.  She flipped the blade and moved it slowly in front of his neck.  She proceeded to wipe what blood she could on his other collar.  The entire time her head was slightly bent and an innocent expression took hold on her face.  It was merely an act, one she was learning through Ardur's teaching, but she knew this expression well enough.  "I will let you in on a secret."  She paused the wiping of blood as she made direct eye contact with the man.  She stared for a second before continuing "No, only one person in this group is."  As she finished she continued to wipe his blood on himself.  "But, i have been the victim of fate long enough" as she spoke the anger in her began to take control. "Fate has seen me torn from the life i once knew and made me into the person i am today."  She paused as she removed her eyes from the prisoner as they gave a quick glance towards Atisha.  In the corner of her mind she knew that she rather did not wasn't to say what was to come, but she was not in control any more.  Anger began to take control.<br/><br/>"I have seen my home town burnt to a crisp by greed"  Her eyes darted back to the prisoners, if he looked closely he could see the anger beginning to build within.  "I've seen my adoptive father die due to the ignorance of the lords."  She paused her speech and the motion of the blade "I have seen honest men cut down by those too selfish to try and make a life for themselves."  She used her free hand to grab the back of the prisoners hair and pulled him closer.  She was managing to get her emotions back under control, she tried a lie to throw the prisoner off "I think it's time i bring some good back into my life."  She paused as she released her free hands grip on the prisoner.  Quickly, she delivered a moderate power punch to the nose of the prisoner. The force of which felt the breaking of the nose under it's power.  Her tone shifted back to normal as she continued "Don't you think as much?"<br/><br/>Anora's revelation had little effect on the prisoner. He cared not for her sob story, nor for the holier-than-thou question. He hadn't realized it wasn't quite true, so that intended effect did carry on. He was about to speak again, but the punch to the face cut him off. Cartilage crunched and bones cracked beneath it, and as if the gods themselves had decided his face wasn't quite bloody enough, more of the crimson liquid leaked from his now-shattered nose. A loud grunt of pain and some resounding growls followed it, and after a few sputtered, messy breaths, he stabilized himself enough to speak again.<br/>"You don't get it. We<span style="font-style: italic">are</span>doing good," He began. "All this, all the lives taken, you don't honestly think it's just for fun, do you? We have a purpose. There is a reason. And it's not something you'd be able to understand." He turned his face slightly and spat out the blood that leaked into his mouth, retching slightly at the taste. "Do yourself a favor. Give up, go home. Pretend none of this ever happened. Live your life. It'll be easier."<br/><br/>Like Anora had said, it was unlikely she'd be getting any new information out of this prisoner. At least not while the only threats were normal cuts and punches. He was beginning to grow defiant again, and only giving vague threats.<br/>Anora only had a simple question to ask this time.  Her tone was genuine,for she was curios herself.  "Then help me understand, what makes me safe versus those who are dead or are going to die?"   She paused as she placed her free hand on the mans shoulders "At least give me that."<br/><br/>"A new dawn is coming," The man said. Still not quite an answer, but it was followed up. "And all those who live to see it will prosper. Doesn't that sound better than toying around with some doomed sods and dying?" Whatever he was talking about, he seemed to confidently believe in it.<br/><br/>Anora was taken by surprise by the mans confidence.  Even though the wounds she gave the man were nothing compared to the torture used in the caravans and the far flung towns, she thought he had roughed him up enough to make him loose faith.  But he remained strong to whatever cause he belonged, and his reasoning played a chord in the heart of Anora.  Even though she knew that she could never betray the group after she signed on, she was taught by her adoptive father that survival was the most important aspect of life.  The strong survive while the weak provided their foundation.  Her eyes darted back to Atisha with a "what now?" look in them.  She was confused, a state which was not natural to her.<br/><br/>Atisha stood in the foreground silently watching Anora interrogate the prisoner. Much as she suspected, the prisoner didn't tell them anything worth while. Lots of obscenity, some vague philosophical nonsense, nothing concrete, not like before. As Anora continued to beat the man she began to tell a bit more about herself, or maybe it was just some lie she was making up. Either she was good at improving, or it wasn't just a lie. Maybe it was a bit of both. Still, when it seemed that beating him wasn't going to get them anywhere, which Anora knew from the quick look she shot at Atisha, the Alftar girl moved in and gagged the man's mouth with a dirty wad. Aside from a muffled yelling, the man won't be speaking.<br/><br/><span style="color: goldenrod">"That's quite a dream you have there. Tis a shame you won't live to see it become a reality. Feel free to... Unleash yourself on this pathetic man. I have some words for our new guest."</span>Atisha walked towards the hanging prisoner. He had been awake for some time now, but the drugs in his body made it difficult for him to discern his surroundings. Best he could figure was that there was some voices and it was very dark. But Atisha would fix that soon. She stabbed another needle of medicine through his leg, and he would be fully awake, if numb.<span style="color: goldenrod">"Rise and shine... The new dawn has come, but your future looks quite dark now, doesn't it?"</span>Atisha nodded towards Anora, expecting the girl to go ahead and begin beating the gagged prisoner.<br/><br/>Anora began to start her beat down on Atisha's signal.  She did so hard as to kill him, but she hit hard enough to make the second prisoner think twice about failing them.<br/><br/><span style="color: Goldenrod">"As you can see, your associate there has... Failed to meet our expectations. I'm sure you can understand this mentality. But perhaps you are more intelligent than he is. I will be asking you a series of questions, and you will answer honestly. If not, you will share his fate soon enough. We have plenty more others to ask."</span>That was a lie, but currently it's not as though the man had any way of knowing otherwise. Atisha stayed behind the hanging prisoner, and began asking questions.<span style="color: goldenrod">"Who is this organization that you work for? What is their name and what is their purpose?"</span><br/><br/>His vision a haze, the hanging prisoner was only partially aware of what was going on at first. The second injection sent a surge of sudden energy through his body, at the expense of most of his sense of touch. He quickly scanned the room, and when he noticed the other prisoner, bound and bloodied, his breathing quickened and he tried to move. He only managed to make himself sway around. The bindings proved quite effective.<br/><br/>In the initial state of panic, Atisha's questions didn't quite register. "What?" He asked, trying to look behind himself to see where her voice was coming from. As the energy surge began to subside, he blinked rapidly, vision blurring once more for a moment as he came down from the very temporary high the injection had caused. "Where are we? What did you do to him?" He was already quite obviously frightened. The sight of an ally in such a pitiful state would do that to anybody.<br/>Atisha sighed. Seemed like she was too hasty. Still, she let the man hang there for a few more seconds to gather his wits before she spoke again. And when she did, she took one of her knives and cut the back of the man's calf. It was a light cut, enough to draw blood but nothing that would kill him. Quickly, that is.<span style="color: goldenrod">"I will be asking the questions here. What is the organization you work for and what purpose do they serve?"</span><br/><br/>The wound, while relatively small, was still a sudden shock. The hanging prisoner's breathing quickened again, and after a moment of hesitation, he spoke. "We work for a religious sect, it doesn't really have an 'official' name, but..." He gulped nervously, as if afraid to say anymore. Recalling events from earlier in the day, when one of his allies had been stricken dead when he attempted to tell of the organization he was in, he didn't say any names. "Can you dispel magic?" He requested. The man was obviously not a mage, and couldn't actively 'feel' whether there was some form of spell active on his person. If he'd be made more willing to speak, removing any latent magics on him might have been worth it. There was some sort of active effect placed onto him, but it was hard to tell exactly what it might have been. A quick dispel would take care of it.<br/>Atisha pondered if she should dispel whatever magic is on the person. Not that she could anyways; she did not know any form of anti-magic. But she could bluff.<span style="color: goldenrod">"I could. If I would depends on if you have anything worth telling me."</span>Atisha had no intentions of dispelling whatever magic was on the man, but if he gave her some information she would be willing to put on a small lightshow and make him think she dispelled the magic.<span style="color: goldenrod">"A trade than. You answer my question and I'll show you if I can dispel magic. Earlier today you attacked another Alftar. Why did you do it?"</span><br/><br/>The man took a deep breath. He wondered whether speaking first was an option. If he did have a spell like the one that killed another assassin earlier, then it was unlikely he could get out enough words to piece together before he expired. But, his options were to die by spell or be tortured to death, if what Anora had done to the other man was of any indication. He closed his eyes and appeared to brace himself, at least as much as he could while hanging helplessly, and diverged some information. "He matched the description of another target, some Alftari nobles from Eridis. I figured if we could get two of our marks in one city, we may as well go for a third," He explained. "But things didn't go as planned, obviously. It would've been better if they didn't always keep those bloody dragons around."<br/><br/>Quietly listening over the sound of Anora pummeling the other prisoner, Atisha picked up on something the man said.<span style="color: goldenrod">"Who were the other two targets?"</span>She knew that Magnus was one. But who was the other? If Larteis was the third, than there was a missing victim. Another lead they could follow and try to piece together what was going on.<span style="color: goldenrod">"And who are these Alftari Nobles that your group is looking for, exactly?"</span>To make sure the man didn't try to counter with any demands of his own, Atisha had her knives poking the tip of the previous cut she made in his calf. She could make it deeper, or maybe cut a new line, if the man tried to play games with her.<br/><br/>"Some girl from House Vidar, I don't know why she was on the list," The prisoner explained. "And the Alftar were...Ilu-something. I can hardly pronounce their names half the time." He tried to move his leg away a little, but couldn't do much other than limply sway. "This was supposed to go smoothly, and everything went to hell as soon as they started. If they hadn't put that pompous prick in charge of the operation, we might have made it out of here."<br/><br/>Atsha kept a note on that name, "Ilu". She'd have to research more on it later. For now, another question.<span style="color: goldenrod">"They? Who are 'they'? And this.... Pompous prick... Who is he? I want his name, and everything else you know about him."</span>Atisha removed the dagger from his leg, but was getting ready to throw it into his back instead. He couldn't see it of course, but it's been a while since she's used it, and was afraid her aim was getting rusty.<br/>"Soren Vasaar. He's an Alftar, one of the higher-ranking members of the assassination guild of our sect. Overconfident, flamboyant, generally a knob. Real cold-hearted bastard, too. His dragon died after he joined us, killed in a crossfire he tried using it as a tool for. He had the thing skinned and turned into armor. Didn't even blink when he saw it go down," The prisoner explained. "And 'they' are our sect, the apostles that give us the orders. And above them is the Father."<br/>At the mention of that last word, he felt an odd warmth pulse through him. The spell that had been readied and was lying in wait activated. It was not a killing curse, however. It was a signal. He shook uncomfortably, letting out a quiet mumble of confusion. "T'hell was that?"<br/><br/>Something was off. Atisha couldn't place her finger on it. But something just happened to the man that made her think that their time was up. Quickly, Atisha took another chemical soaked rag and threw her knife so that it cuts the rope hanging the man. When he crashed to the ground Atisha was already on him, pressing ti against his mouth. Try as he might he couldn't buck the girl off of him, and soon couldn't when he too succumbed to the effects of the chemical rag. When Anora wasn't beating the other prisoner Atisha removed his gag and ragged him as well, knocking him out in about a minute.<span style="color: goldenrod">"I hope you had fun, but we need to move now. Something just happened with that last prisoner and I don't want to be around when to figure out what."</span><br/><br/>"Few people actually enjoy what i just did."  Anora paused with the same confused look on her face as before.  The man had managed to make her think more in detail about these assassins.  Though her mind tried to, it could not piece together any common theme in the stories except for death.  She would make sure once they were on the move to mention what the assassin had said to Ardur and Magnus, see if they could finish this puzzle.<br/><br/>Atisha bound the prisoner's arms and feet together and brought them back up. They were too heavy for her to carry on her own, so hopefully she could put them on one of the drakes.<span style="color: goldenrod">"We got everything we needed from them. Let's turn them into the guards for trying to kill us."</span>Than Atisha walked towards the main room were the others were to inform them of what their next plan of action would be.<span style="color: goldenrod">"Larteis? Larteis, would you mind if your drake carries the two prisoners? We're going to need to turn them into the guards just so we don't have them running back to their superiors. I'd like it if someone could go with him too, but there is some information from the prisoners you all should know as well."</span>