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... now they must watch their abundance of luxuries fall away, making room for the tools of survival, and witness this time of relative peace wither into the same fears that harper's ballads had warned them about for generations.
 
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 A Living Death

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Attica




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PostSubject: A Living Death   A Living Death I_icon32Fri Aug 08, 2014 7:44 pm

It had been three days only. It felt like an eternity. Radkaen's face was bruised and the kick to his face had made the side of it swell up and color terribly. It was a little better three days later though but not much. The more time that passed the more colorful the bruising on him had grown. His knee had also swollen and gotten extremely painful. The slice across his throat had stung for a bit but it faded in the face of other more painful wounds. The stab wound to his shoulder being the most intense.

The day he had been first questioned, Radkaen had been cocky and full of strong confidence. Three days later, with only a few bites of bread and a few sips of water he was much more subdued than he had been.
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Eloaene

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PostSubject: Re: A Living Death   A Living Death I_icon32Fri Aug 08, 2014 8:56 pm

The day before the Dragon's Reach had set sail again, headed back to Keroon to deliver goods in trade for the Runners that had been brought with them on the last venture, Changhui and Lady Sienne, the Head Mistress of the Dragon's Venture, had made a decision on what they would do with their prisoner. 

Radkaen didn't seem to be of any use, and he was a thief who'd attacked their own men without being provoked. The man would not reveal anything about himself to them, and thus, it could just as well be suspected that he was a spy from Keroon. Unwilling to take that chance that he might escape to go home to his masters, who would only put him to better use later, the Dragon's Venture would simply eliminate him. Of all things, the Dragon's Venture did not take chances on their security or secrecy. Nor did they tolerate attacks on them. 


Opening the door to the guest room where Radkaen had been conveniently housed over those three days, Changhui entered with an entourage of Guardsmen. Motioning to them, the men took Radkaen by the arms, hauling him to his feet until he limped beside them on one, his other knee still busted. Of course, Radkaen was still gagged and hands bound behind his back, as well as his ankles tied beneath him, which was as he had been for nearly the entire duration of his time here, so there was little fight he could put up.

The Guards nor Changhui spoke anything of their purpose for him when they dragged him from the room, taking him outside and around toward the back of the property. There, he was thrown back to the ground in front of where a large hand-cart had been placed in order to haul off any refuse. A broad tarp of sorts had been folded over the side of it so that they could make use of it to keep things contained within it, while carrying the trash away.



"Take him out with the trash." Changhui spoke, knowing that his singular order would bring about the man's death. 

Before motioning any of the guards to slay him though, Changhui let his gaze settle with apparent indifference on Radkaen, addressing him, "You had your chance to save yourself. There's no blaming it on us, what will happen next."

Thus, absolving the Dragon's Venture of any foul play or unfair verdict over him, the young head of the trade group stood to watch him depart from this life. Though Changhui did not raise his sword, he motioned for another guardsman's participation in the act. 

Shortly thereafter, the sword cut into his side.




It would take only a few minutes for Radkaen to bleed to death, so it would be a lucky thing for him to make it through the night alive. It was evening now though, and there was no one to help him, so after Changhui had them load his body onto the cart and covered with other refuse material, then with the tarp, he returned to prepare for the departure of the Dragon's Reach Tradeship the next morning. There was no need to worry about what would happen to Radkaen from there. 

The workmen that hauled the cart off, taking it to a site for refuse to be burned; but first, they dropped the body off near the sea-side, along a rocky landscape that was too difficult to navigate for people to frequent for recreation. So, tossing the body over the ledge, they left Radkaen hidden amoungst the large rocks, thinking him as good as dead.

Continuing on to the dump site, everything else was burned.
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Attica




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PostSubject: Re: A Living Death   A Living Death I_icon32Sat Aug 09, 2014 6:07 pm

Radkaen heard the man footsteps coming closer to his room. His gut told him that they were coming for him. His gut was rarely wrong. In they all came a few moments later. The Young Master along with his guards entered the room and he was taken roughly by two of them. To be moved caused him to groan terribly through his gag. The yanking on his shoulder and the jarring of his knee nearly sent him into darkness.

He tried to speak through the gag but gave up when one of the guards ordered him silent. The tone of their voice caused him to give up. Where he was taken caused his heart to sink into his belly. He saw the cart, he knew he was behind the estate instead of inside it for one reason. He was not going to be left alive. Had he the courage to face his death with pride as he had been on that first day? Not as much. Yes he had pride but what did it matter anymore? He did not cry or try to beg through the cloth in his mouth. Instead he bit the gag in his mouth to quiet his pain-filled cry when he was roughly thrown to the ground.

Resting his head upon the ground he rolled onto his back a bit and looked up at Changhui. Not a moment later the order from the young man was given, just as Radkaen knew it would. He would have a lifetime of preparing himself for this moment and still not be ready.

The sword from one of the guards plunging into his side made him jerk terribly with a choking sob muffled by his gag they never removed. Curling up as best he could was not an option. He tried but he was too slow and before he could move too much he was picked up by several hands like a dead dog and dumped into the cart. The disgusting refuse that was shoveled on him made breathing nearly impossible.

He felt his eyes water as the cart began to move. His life's blood was slowly seeping. It would have left his body quicker but some of the refuse he lay upon somehow managed to push itself into his death's wound. The hole was not plugged completely but it lessened his bleeding a little. He was still going to die but unfortunately for him, it would not take longer for it to take place. Plugged with refuse or not, Radkaen would not live to see the morning.

He did not move, nor could he, when he was dragged by his bound feet out of the cart. He hit the ground hard but that wasn't the end of it. To the ledge he was brought and he felt himself being pushed over. The sound of his body landing upon the boulders was sickening. It felt sickening too. He did not move though. He just lay there and wished he would die soon.


Last edited by Attica on Sun Aug 10, 2014 3:49 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Caoimhe

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PostSubject: Re: A Living Death   A Living Death I_icon32Sun Aug 10, 2014 11:49 am

A Living Death 241144f9-486d-4e88-bf62-00c0468e8e72_zps8b7e0270

Zerjna was busy, as usual. She might say it was to afford her rent but she knew that was only the partial truth. She kept busy so she wouldn't feel quite so alone in this sea-hold. While she generally made friends easily, having to keep her past from people tended to make them less trusting of her but she couldn't go around telling everyone she had run away from her husband and was in essence hiding.

She was walking along the docks, the twilight of dusk was upon the sea-hold now. The most peculiar thing was a swarm of sea-birds gathering along the rocky coast. At first they were all she could see but her keen eyes soon revealed there was something else there. Her heart pounded in her chest, was that? No it couldn't be? A person?

The bag she carried she slung over her shoulder as she ran, her lithe body giving way to a natural affinity for running in itself. She was soon approaching and in doing so scaring off the gathering birds. In the name of Faranth's Golden Egg, what was going on around here! She was quick to search the young man for injuries and found them in abundance. Then she unbound his hands and legs and untied the gag. She'd give him fresh water if she had any.

"You poor thing." She said as if he were an injured animal. She reached into her small bag and found a small cloth, which she went to dip into the cold water, she used it to clean the smudges from his face so she could see better what his complexion was. He was losing blood from somewhere, she determined. Zerjna was no healer but she knew that the man was dying and if she sewed whatever wound was leaking without using clean water to flush it out first he would likely die from infection.

Biting her lower lip, she thought maybe she could carry him but then knew there was no way and he could die or whoever did this to him could be back to finish him off before she got help. For now she was going to put pressure on the most severe of his injuries to stop the bleeding.

If he regained full consciousness then she would maybe be able to have him lean on her and walk him to her place. Even that plan sounded impossible to her right now. "Hang in there. I might be able to get some help..." She looked up toward the dock to see it mostly empty and it was also a very bad idea for her to be out here alone as darkness fell around her.
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Eloaene

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PostSubject: Re: A Living Death   A Living Death I_icon32Sat Aug 16, 2014 8:30 am

A Living Death 0881cd63-7164-493c-8096-e0292a01feb6_zps2ae3755c



There'd been little rumour recently of fraudulence bringing trouble to the people of the greater Fort Sea Hold area, and thus, there'd been little for Takei to do to keep himself busy. He'd enjoyed his free time of recent, allowing himself to sleep late into the day, pretending to have little concern for what went on outside of the small business he managed renting rooms to individuals and small families. 

That day in particular, Takei had been working to maintain some repairs around the apartments, but to be honest, he didn't feel like much of a handy man in that regard. So, after a day of frustrations working with his hands in a way he was little accustomed to, Takei decided that after he'd cleaned up a bit, it was time to hunt down more interesting work. And for that, he needed to visit his fixer.

Along the road there however, walking a road that paralleled the seaside, Takei took notice of the woman Zerjna, who'd not long ago taken up residence in one of the rooms he was renting, climbing along the rocky beachfront. Though he usually didn't involve himself over-much with the tenants who rented from him, Takei couldn't help but find the behaviour a little odd. She seemed to be huddled near something.. It wasn't until he'd neared her position, that he realized there was someone else there. Only, it looked like the form of a sprawled body. 

Running then to meet the woman, he managed to make his way over the rocks without misstep, not calling to her until he was nearly beside her. "Zerjna! What happened?"  Takei's eyes inspected the man who was there, beginning to realize shortly after, just how injured he was. "Do you think we can move him? Here.. Help me get him on my back. I can carry him."
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Attica




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PostSubject: Re: A Living Death   A Living Death I_icon32Sat Aug 16, 2014 2:56 pm

Radkaen was delirious and not much in the way of alertness. Vague sounds came to his ears. Painful pinches and tugs on his skin and clothing was there for a time. With it came the screeching of seabirds around him. He paid them no mind. He did not move. He merely cringed slightly and continued to lay there waiting for death. He could feel it coming soon.

A woman's voice? Was he hallucinating now? Was it a siren of the sea come to call him home? Was it time to die now?

His body was moved without his control as his wrists and ankles were released from their bindings. A slight movement as he pulled one arm over slightly was made but it didn't get far before he was fazing out of consciousness again. Everything seemed to be fading. But a great increase of pain brought him back enough for him to release a whispered groan. Someone was putting pressure on his death's wound. It hurt... a lot. He wished they would go away and let him die in peace.

A man's voice came next. How much time had passed since his pain spiked until he heard the man, he did not know. He did not really care either. Perhaps they would be merciful and end him now?

A slight movement of his eyelids was made and lips as he tried to open them and speak. He could not do either. Continuing to lay there, he began to fade again. He was no longer aware.
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Eloaene

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PostSubject: Re: A Living Death   A Living Death I_icon32Sat Aug 30, 2014 8:40 pm

With Zerjna's help, Takei was able to manage to wrap a makeshift bandage around Radkaen's middle, where he was bleeding heavily still. That was just in hopes of being able to stem the blood flow, but Takei had no idea if it would actually help, and eventually, they were able to get him onto Takei's back so that he could start for home and weaver woman could run to fetch a healer.

When Takei had seen the stab wound at first, he recognized the injury immediately for what it was, and what pain had been the cause of it -and likewise, what pain it had caused. Takei felt weak at first, his muscles starting to shake because as soon as there was blood he started remembering his own past experience with what could have been a very similar situation.

Steeling his resolve for long enough to get the man situated into place and get himself back on his feet, Takei tried thinking of anything else but what Radkaen was going through. He knew the situation was urgent at this point -he knew all too well- but at the same time, he couldn't let his thoughts over it run too far, or he might not make it back home in time to save the man. And then he began to wonder, why him? Why did he have to be the one to run across a man dying on the street?



Making their way back to the apartments as quickly as they were able, Zerjna split ways with them at a cross roads, while Takei went on ahead, needing to collect a proper healer. Takei on the other hand, barely made it back to the apartments by himself, having been appreciative of the distraction that Zerjna was able to cause so that he didn't have to think about Radkaen's injuries. It was difficult then, climbing the stairs with a full grown man on his back, but he managed to make it to Zerjna's apartment, lowering Radkaen onto a sleeping mat where he could be attended by Zerjna and the healer. Takei knew that he certainly didn't know a thing about healing, so it would do them no good to put the injured stranger in his own apartment.

Though Takei had considered leaving the man there unattended until Zerjna returned, he decided against it, even if it brought back terrible memories for him. So, in wait, he sat on the floor nearby, leaned up against the wall, not having realized that he himself had started up a bit of a cold sweat. Laying his head back against the roughly stuccoed wall, Takei closed his eyes trying to breathe deeply through his nose to calm his nerves.


Lucky for him, it was only a few short minutes later, that Zerjna rushed into the apartment with a healer in tow, relieving Takei of any watch duty. He excused himself rather abruptly, as he was generally fairly curt anyway, so it probably didn't seem irregular that he did so. But he didn't leave without demanding that when the healer had done his services, he be notified of the stranger's condition, and if they heard anything out of him as far as identity, he'd have that information as well.

So, Takei was out the door, closing it behind him so that he could return to his own room to wash up, and get the blood out of his shirt and off his hands. The mere thought of it caused a chill through his spine.



[sorry, tried to carry it forward a bit since Kate's not going to be posting for this one. Feel free to post for the healer, Attica, and forward time a bit, or whatever strikes your muse.]
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Attica




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PostSubject: Re: A Living Death   A Living Death I_icon32Sun Sep 07, 2014 7:08 pm

The healer that came was called Adun. It was a good thing that he was an older man with a lifetime of experience because as it was, even with his expertise, things did not look very favorable for Radkaen's survival. His one wound alone was deadly. Add to it the obvious signs of torture and neglect and the fact that he was covered in refuse, a prime ground for breeding infection and he knew he was looking at a dead man. If he could manage to keep this young man living and see him to better health it would be the work of his life.

Kneeling down by Radkaen's side, he set his bag down, opened it up and got to work. He was glad he had help and he used it without question.

A good five hours later, Radkaen had been washed thoroughly from head to toe and in between like an infant. It was essential to fight off infection. Flushing the wounds were done after Radkaen was put into a drug-induced sedation (coma). The additional pain of the efforts to save his life would probably have killed him in themselves. But now he was clean, stitched, bandaged and resting with a blanket over his naked form and a folded up blanket under his head as a pillow.

This is when Adun, the healer, straightened, sealed his bag, thanked the one that had helped him and left strict instructions about his patient. He would be back in a few hours and would stay with Radkaen until he was out of danger. Then he headed out to inform the man (Takei) that had brought him here as to his welfare.

He went to where he was told Takei was and knocked upon the door.


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Eloaene

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PostSubject: Re: A Living Death   A Living Death I_icon32Thu Sep 11, 2014 12:08 pm

Takei had slept lightly after leaving the Healer, Zerjna and the wounded stranger together, so it took little to rouse him from his sleep. By then, it was the wee hours of the morning and the sun would be coming back up soon, through the trees on the distant horizon.

Wearily, with hair in a disarray and naught but some baggy trousers on, Takei went to the door to open it. Seeing the healer there, his eyes seemed to shine with more alertness, remembering what had happened the evening before.

"Yes? How is he?"



[we need to come up with some way for him to get Searched if you want him at the Weyr soon. Maybe we can fast forward the thread to his recovery and then bring out some search riders for last minute collections for the clutch that's on the sands and about ready for touching. Smile ]
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Attica




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PostSubject: Re: A Living Death   A Living Death I_icon32Thu Sep 18, 2014 5:21 pm

"There is a small chance he could live. But only if he keeps fighting." The doctor replied to Takei's inquiry. "If he manages to live he has a long road of recovery. Will you be taking care of his burial or recovery as the case may be?"




TIME JUMP




Whatever arrangements were agreed to on that pre-dawn day, Radkaen did not know. What he did know was that he was still alive. It had been awhile since his near death and just like the doctor said, his recovery had not been easy. But he was a fighter. And so even though he was still hurting he was forcing himself to exercise and gain his strength back. Currently he was doing push-ups with his shirt tied around his waist. The scars on him were still red and harsh-looking but they were healing. It was good. What this day would bring for him, he had no idea. But perhaps the first evidence that something odd was happening might be the subtle noises of excitement outside.


[ooc: dragons could be here. I don't know how long the time jump is for so you can determine that if you like.]

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Sixth Gun

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PostSubject: Re: A Living Death   A Living Death I_icon32Mon Sep 22, 2014 10:27 am

It had been som weeks later that Takei and the Weaver Zerjna kept an eye on Radkaen, continuing to help in the healing process and periodically inviting a healer over to make sure that there was no infection. They never seemed to learn where the man was from, or if he had any family, though Takei had a fixer that was able to inform him of some possibilities of the man's origins. Still, there was non completely hard evidence.

Regardless, Radkaen had stayed with them as long as he was willing to help around the place to earn his keep as soon as he was up and about again. Takei honestly didn't have the heart to kick him out being as injured as he had been, and also hadn't had the heart quite yet to ask him to start paying full rent if he was going to be living in one of the empty rooms available in the small complex of apartments.



Takei had left early that morning to go about his usual errands, leaving Radkaen with a broom and a few tools to take on another few handy-man tasks not knowing that Search riders were going to be visiting Fort Sea Hold that day, so Radkaen was inadvertently left alone at the apartments rooms to greet them at the point they arrived.


[sorry just wanted to close up this thread. Imma start a new thread t'night for his search Smile ]
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