[center][h1]Plot Point[/h1][/center] [hr] [hider][color=bc8dbf]“I must say, Lord Ru’Tev, this tour of your prison has ended up being far less exciting than what I imagined it to be as child.”[/color] Princess Lys dully said, as she and the pactmakers made their way through the prison. The lord, whose foot had now been healed by a touch healer, eyed the princess nonchalantly before setting his gaze back to the door ahead. [color=gray]“Not unsurprising. When you tell a child that they can’t see or do something, its not uncommon for that child to imagine an experience to be much more exciting than it actually is.”[/color] He said while opening the door ahead of him. [color=gray]“This batch of prison cells you might find more interesting, however.”[/color] [color=bc8dbf]“Oh?”[/color] Lys asked curiously as she craned her head to sneak a peek of what lay beyond the door. [color=gray]“But first,”[/color] Lord Ru’Tev said as he passed through the doorway. [color=gray]“We must take another climb upwards.”[/color] [color=bc8dbf]“Oh.”[/color] Lys stated in dismay as she looked at the winding rampway. The princess was starting to miss the flat footing provided by a stairwell. Tayla, audibly groaned at this which earned her a frown from both the Princess and the Lord. [color=gray]“If you want,”[/color] Lord Ru’Tev said coolly, [color=gray]“you could stay behind. I still owe you and your… love bug… an empty cell for the assault on my foot this morning.”[/color] Tayla raised her hands innocently. [b][color=c4df9b]“Don’t mind me.”[/color][/b] She said with a sly smile. [b][color=c4df9b]“I was just groaning about something else.”[/color][/b] Lord Ru’Tev arched his eyebrow, unconvinced. [b][color=c4df9b]“You’re more than welcome to lock up the fat one though.”[/color][/b] Tayla continued, her smile deepening. [b][color=c4df9b]“Afterall he was the one responsible for your assault.”[/color][/b] Lord Ru’Tev’s frown deepened. He quickly eyed the giant before beginning his climb up the ramp. It was an arduous climb. To save space, they had constructed the prison rampways to be steeper than the other ramps throughout the city. However, that also made the rampways more dangerous. To compensate for this, multiple flat landings were constructed throughout the climb. That way, if someone did stumble down the ramp, then at least they wouldn’t fall far. [color=bc8dbf]“You know,”[/color] The princess began as the group began the climb upward, [color=bc8dbf]“I could have sworn I saw lifts at the entrance of your prison, while waiting for you to assign and attach the metal bracelets. Why is it that we aren’t taking them?”[/color] The metal bracelets that Lys had been referring to were a pair of tight fitting bracelets that the group had been forced to put on before entering the prison. Apparently, it was prison protocol to fit all staff, visitors, guests and prisoners with such bracelets. The bracelets were color coded to signify your purpose in the prison. In addition they were specially designed to be tight fitting and fashioned with a lock. The bracelets were designed to be difficult to be removed without a key so as to help identify escaped prisoners and to prevent them from stealing bracelets of a different color. According to Lord Ru’Tev, a good number of their prisoners were able to change their appearances at will. Hence the need for a bracelet to differentiate them from the staff. Lord Ru’Tev smiled softly at Lys’s comment. [color=gray]“It wouldn’t be much of a tour if we just took the lifts all the way through, would it?”[/color] [color=bc8dbf]“It still could be a tour.”[/color] Lys retorted. [color=bc8dbf]“Just one with much less climbing.”[/color] [color=gray]“One could also call it pay back.”[/color] Lord Ru’Tev said slyly. [color=gray]“Pay back for my own… discomfort… this morning.”[/color] This time it was Lys’s turn to smile. [color=bc8dbf]“Fair enough.”[/color] she said. After Lord Ru’Tev’s foot had been healed up, the man had finally granted the Pactmakers the audience they had long been seeking. Lord Ru’Tev had been unnerved by the news of Crazed organizing. The last time that had happened, war and uprisings occurred all over the land. Of further concern to the Lord was the fact that these Crazed somehow seemed to not be leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake. Angry Crazed who did not appear to be going insane was a dangerous thing to have. [color=gray]“Do you have proof of this?”[/color] Lord Ru’Tev had asked. [color=gray]“Proof that these attacks were indeed carried out by Crazed?”[/color] Unfortunately the Pactmakers did not have any concrete proof. Only the accounts of high ranking soldiers that had reported seeing known Crazed magics being wielded during the attacks. However, it was noted that this was the reason for why they were here. For if their investigation revealed that evidence that Crazed were gathering in numbers, then this was a threat to more than anyone nation. Lord Ru’Tev nodded at that. There was logic in those words. [color=gray]“I will send out the letters you are requesting to the other Prison Wardens.”[/color] He told the Princess and Pactmakers. [color=gray]“I will admit, I had already heard similar reports from the other prison towns of Empire soldiers requesting access to investigate the prisons. I can’t guarantee that they will all listen to me, but I suspect at least one or two of them will. As far as what I can do for you here… at the very least I can offer room and board in my guest suites, as well as a tour of the Prison and permission to interrogate any staff or the prisoners that you wish on the morrow.”[/color] [color=bc8dbf]“Why not allow my friends to interrogate them today?”[/color] The Princess had asked. [color=gray]“Preparation is required for these things.”[/color] Lord Ru’Tev stated. [color=gray]“Proper protocol is to be followed in this building to ensure its continued security.”[/color] After the Pactmakers were treated to lunch, Lord Ru’Tev had begun his tour. He started at the bottom floor and slowly worked his way up, showcasing the magic negating ruins of old which the prison was built on top of. The ruins themselves were nothing special, just strange dull blue stones that had been enshrined and sectioned off. What was more curious were the strange lines extruding from the stones. Wyres, Lord Ru’Tev had called them. A magical technology that the Nation of Hearing were known to be experimenting with. Apparently, using these ‘wyres’, The Nation of Hearing had long ago discovered that they could transport effects from magical objects to other locations. He noted that this was the place that had been sabotaged during the prison break. With several wyres having been cut. Since then, the wyres had been repaired, and locks had been added to prevent access to the room. [color=gray]“When my ancestors learned of this technology, they immediately saw its potential.”[/color] Lord Ru’Tev explained as they left the room behind. [color=gray]“They built this prison using this magic, and it forever changed our Nation. Not only making it safer, but also giving us a slightly more humane way to handle the Crazed. My family has always been the innovators in the field of Craze capture. Even to this day we innovate.”[/color] The Lord then took the packmakers to an open balcony and waved his hand to a tower at the perimeter of the prison. Similar towers lined the entire perimeter of the prison. [color=gray]“These towers, The Nation of Hearing call them transmitters. A very new magical technology which builds upon the wyres I showed you. Using these towers we have created a perimeter along the prison in which they will transmit a signal to special objects within a perimeter. Receiving objects will create the magical effect being carried over by the wyres connecting to the towers. Or at least that is what they are supposed to do…”[/color] Lord Ru’Tev frowned. [color=gray]“Kinks are still being worked out.”[/color] He said. [color=gray]“But with this technology we hope to further better the conditions for imprisonment. Right now prisoners are restricted to a cell including the prisoners that haven’t fully gone insane, but with this technology. But with this innovation, we could change the way family visitation works. Perhaps even allow the more sane prisoners to move about or assist with the more menial chores, such as cleaning and cooking.”[/color] The Lord turned to the Pactmakers proudly. [color=gray]“Of course, this only can happen after we are able to work out the kinks.”[/color] He said. From there much of the touring had been trivial. He showed them prison cells. Introduced them to staff who worked in the prison. Showed them where the prison food was prepared. Things like that. At length the group reached the top of the rampway and entered another section of the prison full of prison cells. [color=gray]“This-”[/color] Lord Ru’Tev began. Somehow the man was not out of breath despite the climb. [color=gray]“-is the Top Sector. The sector of the prison where we house cells without a magic nullifying effect.”[/color] Chres frowned as he heard this. His guard immediately going up. Eyes glancing left and right as he stared at the prisoners in the cells. [color=gray]“Not all Crazed have abilities that require immediate negation.”[/color] Ru’Tev said. An amused smile crossed his face as he caught Chres’s obvious unease. [color=gray]“Besides, at this height the ruins magic nullifying ability starts to weaken.”[/color] Chres relaxed only just a little. He looked at the cells and frowned. Many of the prisoners looked exactly like Lord Ru’Tev. One of the Ru’Tev’s rushed to the cell bars frantically and reached his hand out to Karina. “Princess El’lysael! Princess El’lysael! This man’s a fraud! Do you remember me? I’m the real Ru’Tev! Please! You have to help me! You have to release me!” Many of the other prisoners looked up. Several of them turning into Lord Ru’Tev. “Princess!” Some cried. “Help me!” Others cried. “I’m the real Ru’Tev! No, I’m the real Ru’Tev!” “You bastard!” Another cried. “You damned bastard!” Some of them reached out to Karina like the first. Others reached out to Tayla. Still others reached out to the actual Princess. Lys took a step back. Unnerved by the scene. The actual Lord Ru’Tev frowned. A concerned look on his face. [color=gray]“Come on…”[/color] He said hesitantly. He seemed almost as unnerved as the princess. They left the area full of mimics and turned a corner. [color=bc8dbf]“What in the senses was that?!”[/color] Princess Lys asked, her heart racing. [color=gray]“Chameleons.”[/color] Lord Ru’Tev stated. His hand to his mouth as if in thought. [color=gray]“They are common amongst Crazed. They can mimic other people using light, or even make themselves look like people who don’t even exist… The first one… the one who approached Karina… That one was… my brother…”[/color] There was a moment of silence after that. [color=bc8dbf]“Do they always act like that?”[/color] [color=gray]“Yes... but not like that...”[/color] He said. [color=gray]“He shouldn't have known that you were here, Princess. None of the prisoners should have. Letting loose such information is dangerous... The only people who should have know that you were here, princess, was me and… my staff…”[/color] Lord Ru’Tev frowned. [color=gray]“Something feels wrong about this... My staff are normally good at being discrete. For whatever reason, someone on my staff let it slip to my brother that the princess was here."[/color] He eyed Karina, a grave look on his face. [color=gray]“Perhaps, Lieutenant, there's a clue here for you after all...”[/color][/hider]