Sebastian : The Kidnapping
Mud was on his black leather boots, which he always hated. His jacket was ruffled and they had sat him on a dead tree stump which was soiling his fine pants. His silk shirt was torn slightly and there was blood on it from his own lip. Sebastian, his temper rising slightly as he watched the two coming toward him, felt his lip swell as he lay on the stump, his hands tied behind him. They had ambushed him in the alley just a few feet before his office and he hadn’t seen it coming. He was impressed that they got the better of him, it wasn’t often that anyone could sneak up on such as he, but it was not impressive enough for him to allow them to live through this ordeal. When all was said and done, they were both going to die.
The fools didn’t know how to tie a knot, but it would not have mattered anyway as he could have removed the rope with just a shot of energy. As it was, though, he removed them with a simply untying that took less than a second. He lay the ropes on the trunk and straightened his shirt and jacket.
His long black hair was matted on the right side as he ran his fingers through it to remove the mud and leaves. The trees here were Birch, meaning they were not sentient. He could smell eucalyptus in the distance, but it was far enough away to ensure their safety for now. His deep brown eyes pierced the darkness of the forest for a second as he charged them to search the area with night vision, but found nothing extra from his search. His eyes had sparked green for a moment and caught the attention of one of the two guards, but it happened so fast that the short man simply waved it off as seeing things. Sebastian then forced the same energy into his ears, altering them to hear everything within a given mile. He could hear that there was a pack of Shenorian WolfHounds which had caught their scent and were slowly making their way toward the three.
The forest had opened slightly where they had stopped and the carriage they intended on putting him in was just to the West of him. Up until now, it would seem that they had used two horses to get them to this place and tied them to the carriage. The horses were Domanial horses which were not made for long distance travel and as such he knew that they were not going very far from Propell. He could tell that they were still within the confines of the Dofy Valley, which housed The Temple of the Nine, The City of Towers and Propell. Which way, however, he wasn’t certain and wasn’t good enough with direction to be able to discern his direction. That would have to wait, however, as the two men were starting back toward him.
“So, that was much easier than I thought, Gerald.” The red head stated, his face was slightly mangled as if he had been beaten one too many times when he was younger. His left eye was slightly bigger than his right, but not as if he were born with it, but rather as if it had swollen so many times that it simply stayed that way. His lips were slightly too large and his nose had been broken at least three times from the healing bends. He was medium height, lanky and had much more strength than Sebastian thought, but still wasn’t even close to a weight class that resembled fair.
“I agree, thought he would put up more of a struggle, but he went down like a sack of potatoes. At least he could have fought back a bit. But I guess we’ll just have to get our kicks with him later.” The short fat one apparently named Gerald stated as he lifted the electric barb he had used to slap Sebastian in the face. It was a cursed rod with intricate runes on it, though neither of these idiots knew what they had. Its curse would send electricity through any shielding it encountered. Thus his own shield would not defend against it. It was actually quite interesting and he would have to investigate the item further after he killed these two. But first, he had to figure out who they were working for. No one even knew of his power other than his brother and Roger would never stoop to something so vile as kidnapping or the cursed items thing. He was a goodie-two-shoes and Sebastian hated him for that. They were brother’s, however, and as such they were still family.
Sebastian sat up and took a long look at the rod as Gerald came closer then stopped. He noticed that Sebastian was looking at him and seemed to get spooked somehow. The rod in his hand had no glow to it and Sebastian’s Divine eye could see no energy or magic flowing from its core, but there was a small void near its edges which made it seem to ripple through reality as it moved. The rod itself was only about a foot long and was rounded at both ends, but was not adorned with any protrusions like a witch doctor or a shaman might have used so he knew it wasn’t a tribal item. It did not have any glow to it at all, so he knew it wasn’t an item made in one of the capitals since their mages always try to put their signature on their items with a glow or a pulsation or some other crude way of acknowledgment. That left otherworldly, Divine, Chaotine or one of the Assassin tribes. He couldn’t tell from here, but he thought it might have an inscription on the shaft, but Gerald’s thick fingers kept him from seeing further. Gerald put the rod in his pocket and looked Sebastian dead in the eyes. Sebastian didn’t give an inch.
“The boss said we couldn’t harm him until he was delivered. What if we just accidentally drop him down some stairs?” The red-head stated as he started to reach for Sebastian’s left shoulder. The two of them were strolling as if they hadn’t just abducted one of the most powerful people in the civilized world. If he wanted, he could gain access to either of their entire lives and have everyone they know put to death in under forty eight hours, only with the information he currently had to go on. However, he was intrigued to find out who these two idiots report to and why they were fool enough to try and take him.
“Get up.” The short one barked and Sebastion looked at him with hollow eyes before slowly rising to his feet. He didn’t want to fight them yet, it was prudent that they get comfortable and possibly give away some information. Gerald took a step back and Sebastian could feel a twinge of fear. It was intoxicating, but neither of them addressed it. Gerald continued with hollow bravado. “Now, get in the carriage and pray that we don’t decide to throw you down some stairs like Dale suggested.”
Sebastian made a mental note of Dale’s name and then turned to see the carriage. It was a small, warped carriage that had seen better days. It smelled of rotting wood and mud and was covered in bird shit. He stepped toward it and noticed that there was feces on the step stool as well, but it wasn’t from birds. He stopped and turned back to Gerald, he could feel his eyes burning hot.
“I refuse to enter that carriage. It is not up to my standards and though I wish I had more time to get more information, I will not be dragged around in such a coach as this.” Sebastian stated as he dropped the ropes from his wrist and felt his shield come back over his skin. He knew his eyes were glowing as his temper rose and their glow would unsettle both these men. It was time to fight, though he wanted to wait, he had just had this suite cleaned and the stump he’d been sitting on had soiled him all he was willing to be soiled in one day. “Now, point me in the direction of town and I will be on my way.”
“What the…” Gerald bellowed as he drew his weapon. A small knife made of the worst metal Sebastian had ever seen. He had sold better letter openers than this knife and was certain they had a better chance to kill. Dale, on the other hand, drew a small Appleton blade that was as sharp as it was beautiful. It was dirty and worn on some of its edges, but it was a thing of beauty. Gerald was shaking and Sebastian figured he would drop that putrid knife at any moment, or wet himself, but he steadied himself and forced his eyes to gaze into Sebastians. Looking up, he waved the inferior blade at him and Sebastian was becoming insulted. “Sit back down and let me retire those ropes or…”
“Where did you get that blade?” Sebastian asked Dale as Gerald pulled the cursed rod back out of his pocket and pointed it at Sebastian. The rod sparked slightly but was too far away to do any real damage. Sebastian decided he no longer needed Gerald and as such would dispatch him before he got in the way.
With a twist of his left foot and a spring of his body slightly into the air, Sebastian whirled around and slammed the back of his heel into Gerald’s face as he loosed all the potential and kinetic energy he had stored up while tied. The energy he absorbed simply from gravity itself could be dispersed once an hour as a single strike that would equivalent to that of a heavyweight boxer striking someone with all their force three times. What he loosed, however, was enough energy to knock Gerald’s head off. And that is exactly what happened as Sebastian’s foot tore through the back of the man’s neck and his head dropped to the ground with a thump. His bottom jaw flung through the air, spewing blood across the trees to their left. The smell would arouse any woodland creatures and Sebastian did not want to get into a fight with any creatures out here. He would have to end this quickly and be on his way.
Sebastian landed squarely with Dale and looked him straight in the eyes as Dale watched his friend’s body fall to its knees, and then forward to the ground, the whole while spewing copious amounts of blood all over the carriage and the ground around it. Sebastian simply pulled his fine shirt down to ensure it was in place, then smoothed his hair as he waited for emphasis. The blood continued to flow from the body and Dale’s face grew to horror as he looked upon Sebastian’s glowing eyes.
“Now.” Sebastian started after a moment of allowing Dale’s mouth to hang open. “Where did you get the knife?”
“I…stole it a few years back and ke…keep it hidden from the master.” Dale stuttered as he dropped the knife on the ground and put his hands in the air. He was surrendering after only one kick, Sebastian was disappointed. He knew he could be intimidating when he wanted and the glowing eyes thing was a bit of a pain as he had no control over that, but he didn’t think he was scary enough to have a hardened criminal surrender after just one kick. Not to mention, have that same criminal drop such a delicate knife on the ground. Sebastian would make Dale pay for that atrocity.
“Where did you get the rod that you originally struck me with?” Sebastian asked as he reached down and picked up the rod, no longer looking at Dale. Gerald’s dead hand had clasped round it tightly when his head was knocked off and that was probably the only reason he still held it now. Sebastian could feel power flowing into and out of the cursed thing, but couldn’t tell where to or where from. It was as if it had no pools to draw from and was powered only by the energies around it. If that were the case, then this weapon was made specifically for someone like himself as it would ensure that the victim could not overpower it with any energy, magic, etc. and that its power could not be syphoned to keep it from working. An ingenious creation. Sebastian had stood there for a long moment, looking at the item until even he realized that he had taken a long moment. He then looked up at Dale who was patiently waiting, his mouth still open and his face contorted in fear. “Please, go on.”
“M..M..Master gave it to us and said that…that you would be susceptible to it. All beings are susceptible to it.” Dale fumbled to answer.
“Interesting. Susceptible, not your word, is it?”
“No. The Ma..Master said it.”
“Aw. Then your master is a student of the arts and educated at least high enough to make this interesting. What is his name?”
“His…name?” Dale seemed confused.
“The name of your master? What is his name?” Sebastian pressed, now holding the rod up in a proper stance to show Dale he meant business.
“I…I….” Dale stammered a few more times and then his eyes simply rolled to the back of his head and he screamed loudly as his brain exploded within his skull. Grey matter oozed out of his nose as blood seemed to flow from everywhere. His eyes filled with blood and his ears began flowing with it. He continued to hold his head for a few seconds longer and then fell to his knees, forcing his hands to his sides and then fell forward onto the ground. The mud mixed with the blood and made a fine mess of it all.
“Very interesting. Wish you could have told me the name, but you have given me enough. Thanks for the knife and the cursed rod. Too bad about your carriage, though.” Sebastian stated as he rubbed his foot on a nearby rock. Using the friction created to store as energy, Sebastian then turned that energy into a single spark that lit the carriage on fire. He then pulled the energy from his pool into his right leg and kicked the headless one’s body into the side of the carriage. He then repeated the process with Dale’s body after retrieving the Appleton Blade and pocketing it and finding a small black teddy bear hanging from the back of the man’s belt.. The two bodies were engulfed in flames in a matter of seconds as the carriage went up like a tender box. The surrounding area was lit up and Sebastian could feel nearly twenty eyes on him. He was going to have to fight his way out of this stupid forest and back to the city.
“This rod is nice.” Sebastian stated as he held it to his outer field and the field simply dispersed slightly. “NO! Damn. I didn’t get directions. Now I don’t know which way the city is. I know that we were heading west when I opened my eyes, but when did we start that direction, or was that just a ploy to confuse me. Wait, there is no way these two idiots were using any type of ploy. They were too dumb. So, East it is. And off to find out who made this rod. Then to find out who was stupid enough to try and kidnap me.”
He set off toward the east with a smirk on his face as the fire behind him began to gain momentum. Soon, the entire forest on this side would be ablaze and there would be nothing left of the carriage, or anyone that knew of it. Only himself and the idiot dumb enough to come after him would know of it. And that would be their undoing, as he would simply need to get them to slip up about the carriage or either of the idiots and he would have them.
As he walked, he looked down at the bear. It was a small stuffed bear made of Bagget skin with tiny holes poked into it for the hair, which were all Rattilian. It’s eyes were emerald green and its nose was some sort of black crystal that Sebastian didn’t recognize, but would research at a later time. The bear was expensive to say the least as selling it to an unwitting buyer would net enough for a small fortune, which was very out of place with these idiots. He placed it in his left pouch, which neither of the two morons had even searched, and continued on his way. “I know now that my brother had nothing to do with this, for certain. The bear sinches the deal. Someone was marking me and was going to leave the bear on my body when I died. That is far too dramatic for Roger. Sounds like David, but I can’t be certain yet.”
The forest was alive with howls and Sebastian realized that the eyes he had felt were from Shenorian WolfHounds. They traveled in packs of up to twenty and were quite viscous when cornered. They would probably follow him back to the city, but would not attack unless he gave them a true opening, which he was not intending to do. He sparked up the outer field and watched it glow into a wreath of fire. As its flow sparked the night, the hounds decided that he wasn’t an easy mark and moved away from him. That sphere would stay ablaze as long as he had energy to burn and he always had copious amounts of energy to burn. He had to open a small hole in the field, however, so that he could see forward and if he was out there after dark, then this venture would become more of a rescue, so he kicked up to double time his march.
He could keep this pace for an hour without running low of stamina. He was fit enough to take on anything that was within the forest, and powerful enough to take on anyone that might come from any of the cities. He wanted to ensure that whomever attacked poor Dale wasn’t able to attack him as well. With that in mind, he forced half of his energy into mental defense and started absorbing energy and power from each stride. If he ran into anyone out here, they would be formidable and he was certain he didn’t want a prolonged fight that would lead into the night. As the type of being that he was, he could take almost anything on, but his defense was nowhere near as potent as Roger’s and as such he was much more susceptible to the night creatures that could appear. He wasn’t certain he would make it through without taking a great deal of injuries.
“When I get back to the city, I am going to employ Battle Ax. Pricy, sure, but worth every penny as I have never seen him not find his man. However, I will have to figure a way to get him to find the person without implementing myself in the venture. Who shall I choose to hire him? Well, a problem for tomorrow.” Sebastian hurried on his way as he saw the city only a couple miles in the distance. He was curious who would be dumb enough to live outside the city gates but then he had done the same a few times in the past. He focused on getting to the city first and would think on the rest after he got there. Behind him he could hear the crackle of the trees as fire engulfed everything. Anyone traveling this direction in the near future were going to run into a barren waste on their road to the City of Towers.