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A few days had passed since Sire had left Luke alone in his prison. He wouldn’t have been brought any food or water. There would be no way of telling the passage of time. No natural light or schedule of workers.
When the door again an automaton came in with some buckets of water. It dumped them onto the ground to wash away his waste. The prison was sloped so that it would go to a drain in the corner but it needed help. Making prisoners sit in their own filth was part of the punishment.
It didn’t talk. It couldn’t talk. It stayed outside of the distance that Luke could move with the chains but since Luke could still cast with fulgur it would be destructible if Luke wanted to destroy it at any point. If it was allowed to leave the circle it would come back in with water and food. It set a basket and jug in front of Luke.
Sire came in shortly after to talk some more.
“The topic for today is discussing what it will take for you to ally with me. I see the resolve in your eyes to be against me.”
Luke didn’t have any words for his father. He had never been in jail before so he wasn’t used to being so removed from society. He’d also never been made to endure these kinds of fasting or sanitary conditions. He was nearly dehydrated to death so he downed the water quickly, though he made sure to save some for later in case he needed it.
He ate while listening to what his father had to say, but he wasn’t going to talk to him, at least until he was done with the food. He eyed the automaton, wondering if he should blow it up. Then again, it had brought him food and water… if he did that then would he even get food next time? He thought it was better if he didn’t cross that line.
“Why the change in tone? Just a while ago you were assuming that I would do whatever you wanted.”
“I’ve left you alone, yes ~ but I was never truly gone. I have come to check on you. I have scried your face. I can tell you are not going to easily submit. Call it a hunch.”
He looked at the finished food. Luke had a large body and so he needed a lot of food. He could have laced it with a drug to make Luke more agreeable. A voice in his head had told him to do so but he felt strongly that it was better to attract flies with honey. If Luke was anywhere near as strong as he suspected, a simple drug wouldn’t work on him.
“I would prefer to make allies rather than enemies so we can have a mutually beneficial relationship. If you cannot be swayed with a loyalty to your father then I am open to negotiation. I could offer you claim to the throne, a leadership role, money, even power and knowledge that you wouldn’t have access to even as a paragon.”
Luke considered his words. Over the last couple days he had tried to maintain his resolve but he had tried to escape and he had failed. He had thought about ways to weasel his way out with honeyed words, but if he knew anything about his father it was that social interaction was his domain. He wasn’t going to win a game of wits who’s entire life was built upon keeping order as a king.
So, he thought his choices to be to rot here or comply. At least with complicity he could get out of here and reevaluate his options. If he died, that was it. He could at least try to fake it… but he wasn’t that desperate yet.
“I can’t be bought. I told you,” he said stubbornly. Though he did look visually interested when there was mention of more power. Power would always be something that interested him.
“Can’t be bought? My boy, your profession is a mercanry, a hired hand. You are by definition a person who can be bought. If we parted ways today I could manipulate you from the shadows for the rest of your life with enticing jobs. It would be a roundabout way of having you do what I need done, but it’s so much more simple if we can work together.”
Sire looked thoughtfully at him.
“You are interested in power~ that I can tell. The trouble is keeping your loyalty. I’m sure you are thinking of tricking me in the end. You ought to know that if you betray me I can and will ruin you. You will not be able to find safety if I ruin you with bad reputation and rumors.”
“There is always the option of having you transported to my doorstep every time you run off. Even a paragon would not be able to escape my influence forever.”
Luke felt hurt. Mostly because he realized that there was some truth to the man’s words. He could be bought. He didn’t always require a lot of money to do work, hell he’d done jobs as simple as cleaning out someone’s store without using magic. But he was motivated by money to some degree. Maybe he should have chosen his words more carefully…
When he was told that he could be brought in over and over again, that made him angry again. That was also something that was true. Even the most powerful mages could be taken out by a sleep dart if they were surprised.
“You would really waste all that time and energy just to keep trying to make me your dog?” Luke held out his hands, one placed over the other with his palms facing outwards. He shouted as he spoke, sending a column of flames at his father which he assumed would just get absorbed by the barrier as usual.
Sire didn’t so much as wince when the flames came at him. The barrier sucked up the flames without any issues.
“These tantrums must stop. It is fruitless for you to try and above all else it is expensive. You will end up paying for every gram of dust that has gone into handling your temper. At the moment I believe you to be worth the costs. If you keep misbehaving my attitude may change. There is more at play than you can ever understand in your current state.”
He pointed to a meter that showed the strength of the barrier which was still very full. It would not be hard to imagine how much it cost to keep master level spells from working.
“Before I leave again~ I have always wondered, why fire? You show a special interest in it alone above your other arcana.” He had a good guess but it was going to interest him to hear the response.
Luke wasn’t surprised when his attack didn’t work, but it did wonders to let off steam. He kept the flames going for a while before finally letting the spell end. Was it a tantrum? He supposed it was. A justified tantrum, if such a thing existed.
“Leaving again so soon? And here I thought I was a priority to you. As for why fire, it’s just what I’m most comfortable with using. It solves the problem of wanting to kill something so matter of factly that it leaves nothing but ash behind. It’s the embodiment of power. The other elements don’t give me the same feeling that I get when I use fire… And then there’s electricity. I’m guessing you don’t have any galdr so you wouldn’t understand.”
There he went again, trying to provoke his father. Why did he feel like doing this all the time? Why couldn’t he just shut up and behave?
Sire smirked. “I prefer other elements personally. I’ve always seen fire for stubborn people that want to brute force their way through problems without consideration for the damage they cause. I prefer more subtle ones like Aqua. I may or may not have galdr~ that is something I do not wish to disclose with you at this time.”
“Yes I have much to do. You are a priority for me right now but I cannot help with your ascension until all the pieces are in place. You will not have to wait much longer. I am investing so much money into you I hope you know this. Keep thinking about what you would like in exchange for your loyalty. I will expect you to have an answer by the time the ascension is done.”
Sire left him again with what ever food and water he had not finished. There was enough for several days of meals.
“If you have a galdr why aren’t you ascending yourself? Why force me to do it? Are you too scared to risk your own skin? Hey, I’m still talking to you!” he shouted as Sire left him all alone again. Luke sighed and wondered if his father even had a single ounce of arcane power in his bones. He couldn’t divine anything with his non-mystic eyes.
“This sucks,” he said to himself, sitting down and taking another bite of food. “But he seems more sincere than I first thought. And he does seem to want me to ascend. It sounds dangerous, whatever he’s plotting but I think I can survive. And when I do I’ll burn him to a crisp,” he thought that last part in his head in case his father was spying on him again. He just had to survive, just like he’d done six times already. How bad could it possibly be?
