Part CXIV: Layers of Deceit
Date: Kapton 18th, 114 A.U.
Ranvier, the ambassador of the auggers, knew that he had failed. He had started off with such a glorious purpose—such an important mantle to take hold of. And he had fallen captive to the first enemies that he met.
“I should have been more ready…” he murmured. But it was all too late now. They had come unto him twice already looking for info and intel on who and what he was, but he had refused it. He supposed that it would only be a short time until they began to torture him and he’d have to see how much he could withstand before he caved.
Ranvier pursed his lips. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way! But it had. And he had failed as an ambassador.
“The augger has been quite stubborn to release his information on what he is and why he is here,” Unyihi Garum said. “I was planning on torturing him tomorrow in order to gain intel.”
Jaigran narrowed his eyes, thinking. “He’s our first specimen,” he said. “You do realize, Unyihi, that this is the first augger we’ve been able to meet? The only other one that we know of in existence is the one with the Xavier Team. We can’t be too quick to harm him.”
“Then what do you suggest, zar?”
Jaigran paused, and then a smile flooded across his face. “A trick,” he finally said. “A masquerade and a play put in front of him, and with him as an actor. We will take a group of elves and stage a breakout to free him. And after he thinks he’s freed, we’ll see what information we can coax out of him then.”
Ranvier nervously looked from side to side as the sleek ship moved quickly through the sky. Just minutes before he had been whisked away from the giant elven ship which his rescuers had termed ‘the Mothership.’ His rescuers had managed to break into his prison and free him most expediently, quickly killing the guards in their way before rushing him out just as the elves started to wake up to what was going on.
Ranvier watched as the ship dodged the bullets, but the elven response from the Mothership seemed sub-par to what he would have expected and they kept going as Ranvier gradually relaxed. Two elves, an orc, and a dwarf manned the ship.
“Wow…” Ranvier said, finally getting a chance to talk. “I don’t know who you are… But I owe you a lot.”
“We’re part of the Elven Resistance,” the dwarf said. “A group of us banding together to resist the Imperial Elves and their plan to dominate Arquenia. Our spies discovered your presence, and we couldn’t let you be captured by them. Although, to be honest, I’ve never seen your kind before.”
“My kind… my kind is isolated from most of the world,” Ranvier said slowly as he exhaled. “I guess we have a lot to discuss.”
“Greetings,” Jaigran said, shaking Ranvier’s hand even while he sweated. “I am Nordheim, the leader of our resistance group.”
“Another elf?” Ranvier asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Unfortunately, many of the other races have been driven into hiding due to Emperor Jaigran’s horrific policies,” Jaigran/Nordheim replied as he masked his true emotions. “There are not many of them to be found. And so us elves have had to rise up against the murderous intentions of the rest of our kind.”
“Well, that’s understood,” Ranvier said wearily as he sat down.
“Well,” Jaigran/Nordheim said. “I must confess that although I commissioned the party to rescue you, I don’t know much anything at all about you or your kind.”
“My name… My name is Ranvier,” Ranvier replied. “I’m an augger, the seventh race of Arquenia.”
“The seventh race?” Jaigran/Nordheim asked, feigning astonishment.
“We were almost exterminated centuries ago,” Ranvier said. “Most of us who lived escaped to an island out in the middle of the ocean where the Council of Arquenia used to meet. We dwell there now.”
“The Council of Arquenia…” Jaigran/Nordheim mused. “Strange—I’ve never heard of it.”
“Most likely wiped out of the history books like everything else that the Augger-slayers did,” Ranvier said. “I could go into it more now, but it used to be where representatives of all the races of Arquenia would come to meet and discuss politics and world affairs.”
“I see,” Jaigran/Nordheim said, nodding. “We can delve into that later. I must confess though, that it’s somewhat hard to adjust to this new sight. To think that there was a seventh race all this time and that we’ve just been missing it!”
Ranvier nodded solemnly. “It’s been a tragedy to the augger people to be driven out,” he replied. “We would have come back… But before we could, we heard of the elven Upheaval and the tumult that has caused.”
“Yes,” Jaigran/Nordheim replied. “However, that raises another question… Why are you back?”
“I have come to seek an answer to the fluctuation of the Noon-Beam,” Ranvier replied. “Since I see from your face that you’ve never heard of it, let me explain…”
“You catching it?”
“Every word of it,” Unyihi Garum replied as he looked at the stream of video coming in from the secret cameras placed all around the room that Jaigran and Ranvier were in. “We’ll have everything to decipher.”
“Excellent,” the Watcher replied, nodding. “The augger has fallen completely into our trap. We will take all the information that we need from him, and then… Then—well—we will have plans for our captive augger.”
Date: Kapton 18th, 114 A.U.
Ranvier, the ambassador of the auggers, knew that he had failed. He had started off with such a glorious purpose—such an important mantle to take hold of. And he had fallen captive to the first enemies that he met.
“I should have been more ready…” he murmured. But it was all too late now. They had come unto him twice already looking for info and intel on who and what he was, but he had refused it. He supposed that it would only be a short time until they began to torture him and he’d have to see how much he could withstand before he caved.
Ranvier pursed his lips. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way! But it had. And he had failed as an ambassador.
“The augger has been quite stubborn to release his information on what he is and why he is here,” Unyihi Garum said. “I was planning on torturing him tomorrow in order to gain intel.”
Jaigran narrowed his eyes, thinking. “He’s our first specimen,” he said. “You do realize, Unyihi, that this is the first augger we’ve been able to meet? The only other one that we know of in existence is the one with the Xavier Team. We can’t be too quick to harm him.”
“Then what do you suggest, zar?”
Jaigran paused, and then a smile flooded across his face. “A trick,” he finally said. “A masquerade and a play put in front of him, and with him as an actor. We will take a group of elves and stage a breakout to free him. And after he thinks he’s freed, we’ll see what information we can coax out of him then.”
Ranvier nervously looked from side to side as the sleek ship moved quickly through the sky. Just minutes before he had been whisked away from the giant elven ship which his rescuers had termed ‘the Mothership.’ His rescuers had managed to break into his prison and free him most expediently, quickly killing the guards in their way before rushing him out just as the elves started to wake up to what was going on.
Ranvier watched as the ship dodged the bullets, but the elven response from the Mothership seemed sub-par to what he would have expected and they kept going as Ranvier gradually relaxed. Two elves, an orc, and a dwarf manned the ship.
“Wow…” Ranvier said, finally getting a chance to talk. “I don’t know who you are… But I owe you a lot.”
“We’re part of the Elven Resistance,” the dwarf said. “A group of us banding together to resist the Imperial Elves and their plan to dominate Arquenia. Our spies discovered your presence, and we couldn’t let you be captured by them. Although, to be honest, I’ve never seen your kind before.”
“My kind… my kind is isolated from most of the world,” Ranvier said slowly as he exhaled. “I guess we have a lot to discuss.”
“Greetings,” Jaigran said, shaking Ranvier’s hand even while he sweated. “I am Nordheim, the leader of our resistance group.”
“Another elf?” Ranvier asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Unfortunately, many of the other races have been driven into hiding due to Emperor Jaigran’s horrific policies,” Jaigran/Nordheim replied as he masked his true emotions. “There are not many of them to be found. And so us elves have had to rise up against the murderous intentions of the rest of our kind.”
“Well, that’s understood,” Ranvier said wearily as he sat down.
“Well,” Jaigran/Nordheim said. “I must confess that although I commissioned the party to rescue you, I don’t know much anything at all about you or your kind.”
“My name… My name is Ranvier,” Ranvier replied. “I’m an augger, the seventh race of Arquenia.”
“The seventh race?” Jaigran/Nordheim asked, feigning astonishment.
“We were almost exterminated centuries ago,” Ranvier said. “Most of us who lived escaped to an island out in the middle of the ocean where the Council of Arquenia used to meet. We dwell there now.”
“The Council of Arquenia…” Jaigran/Nordheim mused. “Strange—I’ve never heard of it.”
“Most likely wiped out of the history books like everything else that the Augger-slayers did,” Ranvier said. “I could go into it more now, but it used to be where representatives of all the races of Arquenia would come to meet and discuss politics and world affairs.”
“I see,” Jaigran/Nordheim said, nodding. “We can delve into that later. I must confess though, that it’s somewhat hard to adjust to this new sight. To think that there was a seventh race all this time and that we’ve just been missing it!”
Ranvier nodded solemnly. “It’s been a tragedy to the augger people to be driven out,” he replied. “We would have come back… But before we could, we heard of the elven Upheaval and the tumult that has caused.”
“Yes,” Jaigran/Nordheim replied. “However, that raises another question… Why are you back?”
“I have come to seek an answer to the fluctuation of the Noon-Beam,” Ranvier replied. “Since I see from your face that you’ve never heard of it, let me explain…”
“You catching it?”
“Every word of it,” Unyihi Garum replied as he looked at the stream of video coming in from the secret cameras placed all around the room that Jaigran and Ranvier were in. “We’ll have everything to decipher.”
“Excellent,” the Watcher replied, nodding. “The augger has fallen completely into our trap. We will take all the information that we need from him, and then… Then—well—we will have plans for our captive augger.”
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