Of all the fate's the god's could have dealt him, never in his wildest dreams would Xarius have imagined he'd be labeled a heretic, a summoner of demons, exiled from the temple of his faith, cast from the land he'd protected and loved, stripped of his title and sent to a distant mine of all places to toil miserably until his dying day. Things had been going pretty well for the young catfolk up until recently, he'd made a name for himself among the Paladin's of Sarenrae's temple, had proven his preference for ranged combat and stealth as an effective alternative to meeting the enemy head on with shield and scimitar. Many where the enemy's of the temple that'd been dealt a swift death from the tip of his arrows. From heretics, to demons, and even a few encounters with the undead, Xarius had played a crucial role in putting an end to many of the temple's, and civilization's problems as a whole...the light of the sun had shown favorably upon him for many years.<br/><br/>He'd even made a name for himself outside the temple walls, having outshown all comers in every local archery competition, the feline was also known for his charm and good looks. Many where the hearts of local barmaids that where stolen in his presence, even married housewives eyed the proud young catboy with lustful envy, each time he rode by. He was well known for lending a hand to those in need, and knew how to have a good time each time he dipped into the local tavern after his shift patrolling was over. Known to have a lighter side to him than most who served the temple, having a knack for getting into mischief and trouble, yet it was always in good fun. Many drunkards had learned their lesson not to accept or challenge the quick witted feline to a game of darts, horse shoes, or anything of the sort, for their coin purses had always ended up lightened, with the catboy leaving with a smile at the end of the day...of course that all changed the day he'd met Delia.<br/><br/>Over the past few days, locked away in the darkness of his cell, Xarius had all the time in the world to think, and reflect upon the events that led him to this stage. Even after going over the details a thousand times he cannot make sense of what went wrong. Why when he'd done the ritual perfectly...had it summoned Delia, summoned a demon? None of it made sense to him, and while he could sit and speculate all he wanted, nothing was going to change the fact that he had been exiled and was likely never again to see the light of day. While this didn't bother him too much, being able to see quite perfectly in the dark, a trait that had served him well many a time in the past. The fact he'd never again see the people he'd grown to know and protect again, never see his friends, and even if he did, what would they think of him now? He'd never aspire to greater feats within the paladin order.... and never even get the option to settle down and have a family,  never well much of anything. He sighs slinking low against the wall, hanging from his chained arms as his tail curls inward against his legs, his ears drooping in the darkness. He knew he was innocent, or at least that the goddess had not forsaken him...and yet he also knew that his exile was the cleanest way the priesthood could of dealt with him. At the very least they'd not executed him then and there, likely due to his previous record and the many friends he had in the order, and populous at large....and at least he'd went out with his head held high, well as high as it could be at any rate. He'd not groveled or begged, or cursed the temple or his goddess, having taken his sentence with a manner of dignity...at least the people would remember that...<br/><br/>The only silver lining in his Exile is that the succubus that'd caused this whole ordeal was being shipped along with him... not the usual dealing of a demon by the temple. But at least it would allow him a chance to possibly talk with her, to discover what she knew, and maybe shed some more light on the situation. He did feel bad for her though, the mines where not a place for a fragile beauty like her.... succubus where not known for their strength, and being forced to perform grueling amounts of physical labor was quite possibly the worst fate he could possibly think to befall such a creature, where she a mortal, they may as well have sent off a princess to work in the mines, they being as equally unfamiliar with the slave labor that awaited them.<br/><br/>How long had they been out to sea, Xarius had no idea. Several times he'd heard Delia's voice call out, yet the cell walls muffled her words, to the point that even his keen cat ears could not discern their meaning. Likewise he figured his own voice was lost to the walls around him, that after a time he simply stopped responding. Deciding to conserve as much of his energy as he could for the hardships to come. The only contact he received, the only thing signaling the passage of time, was when the guards would come by with food and water. It wasn't much, and it tasted awful, but at least it broke up the monotony of being stuck in silence, rocked to and fro by the motion of an unseen ocean. That is at least until after waking from several hours of uneasy rest, to a sensation he thought he'd never feel again, a tender, warm caress against his cheek. The catfolk's eyes darting open, pupils wide and dilated as they take in the darkness around him, scanning the room he sees not a soul. Yet he feels a gentle tingle of warmth on his skin, his nostrils flaring at the sweet smell of a woman's breath. "who...who's there?" he quietly asks, wondering if he was dreaming, wondering if perhaps an apparition was haunting his cell... yet he hears words, a promise of freedom, and a wetness against his sensitive ears, that reminds him of the touch of a tongue. A sensation that even now causes his ear to flick, and his skin to bristle with goosebumps. What happened next, he can only describe as the work of Sarenrae, his chains miraculously coming undone, the lock to his cell clicking as if magically being undone!<br/><br/>His heart pounds with excitement, black furred tail swishing eagerly behind him as he silently makes his way to the cell door. He'd always been lucky throughout his life, and he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, be this an act of his goddess or otherwise, he wasn't about to stay put in his cell a moment longer. He needed to escape, to get out and find a means to defend himself, at least that way he could avoid being re-captured. Finding a place to hide until he was able to slink away once the ship hit land was a reasonable idea as well. Regardless, all chance of escaping involved him leaving this cell behind him. Sure the guard's may be alarmed when they discover it to be empty, they may search for him, they may even find him... but he'd just have to cross that bridge when he came to it. Besides, a few prison guards should be of little match to a highly trained warrior of the temple of Sarenrae!..exile or otherwise. With his excitement on high, feline ears perked and alert, the catfolk pushes the door open and slinks ever so cautiously out into the hallway.<br/><br/>The area outside his cell was at least familiar to him, he'd seen it in being transported inside after all. His eyes scan the various doorways, wondering how many of them were filled and by what. His eyes tune in on the guard sitting alone at the far end of the hall, head darting the other way to see if he was left with other options. If nothing else, he could brandish one of the torches lining the wall to defend himself.... perhaps he could even lie in wait and ambush the guard as they where busy feeding the other prisoners?.... While entertaining such thoughts his feline eyes would take note that his was not the only cell that seemed to have been open, why the cell right next to his was cracked just a hair...and as he looks closely, he makes out a slender feminine face peeking from within. Cocking his head, he mouths the word 'Delia?' it had to be her after all, what other beautiful maiden would be stuck in a cell on this gods forsaken vessel?<br/><br/>Xarius<div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;"><a class="postlink" href="http://orokos.com/roll/382970">sneak cat</a>: <span style="text-decoration: underline">1d20+15</span> <span style="font-weight: bold">30</span><br/><br/>prepaired spells:<br/>lvl 1:<br/>Divine Favor<br/>Hero's Defiance<br/><br/>lvl 2:<br/>Litany of Entanglement</div></div></div>