The Baron's Story

Aaron started walking. He didn't know what to think. He didn't know where he was going. Why would he had received a letter from some mystery man claiming to be the Baron? Was this a joke? It must be considering he didn't have enough value to be approached by someone like this. Aaron kept walking. He found himself staring at this small clearing outside of the city facing a stream of water. The night was peaceful. No clouds in the sky with an almost perfect crescent moon. With a soft breeze in the air, Aaron could feel himself becoming one with his surroundings as he took deep calming breaths.

Aaron then started back towards the inn he was staying at. Aaron wasn't too far away, and other than the letter it was a normal night. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. As Aaron got back to his room he felt rather different. Maybe this letter was a blessing. The sliver lining to his rather difficult upbringing. Suddenly Aaron felt a small sharp prick on his arm. What the hell!? He thought as he was faced with a dart on his skin. He turned to look around his room and shot up straight to see if anyone was in the room with him. Big mistake. His vision went blurry, and his head began to spin. Sitting back down on his bed, he saw what he could make a shadow in the corner by the door. As if it was waiting for him to get back. It wasn't long until he was out. Not knowing what was going to happen.

*****

Head throbbing. Body aching. Stiff everything. Aaron opened his eyes. Carefully analyzing his surroundings. His gaze met with what seemed like a wood plank. Naturally Aaron's first thought was that he was being buried alive. It didn't take long though to debunk that idea as he shifted a bit to look at his sides, he could see wooded feet from chairs. Lining all the way down. He'd come to the conclusion that he was under a table. Aaron prompted himself up into a sitting position. Being careful not to make too much noise as he noticed there where other people in the room. In the background he could tell there was feint music. A rather odd detail seeing as it was calming. Too eerie considering his current situation. Where am ? He though as he tried to listen to the people on the other side of the room. He could make out four voices. Two where definitely male and One was female. The fourth voice could go either way. Are they the ones responsible for this? he continued as he could barely make out what was being said. They spoke of food, and the probability of it being poisoned. Not really helping the situation. I think I better have a look to see if I can find a way out of here. Aaron made attempts to crawl to the other side of the table. He had managed to make it there until he heard a brazen noise coming from behind him. Shit Aaron thought as he turned around thinking he may have got caught. To his surprise, the noise wasn't about him. From what he could tell, the noise came from a different part of the room. Perhaps a different one at that. With his body still aching from his capture, he knew agility wasn't his friend right now. The other four figures didn't seem to notice him though. As if they themselves where preoccupied with the noise. Perhaps they weren't responsible for this. Perhaps they were in the same situation as him. So many questions. None of them being answered. I better find a way out of here. Staying here for much longer isn't helping me any. Aaron took a deep breath and prompted himself upwards onto the last chair at the end of the table. Slowly pulling himself up, he noticed three people in the room. None of them seem to notice Aaron at first. It wasn't until the fourth person came in the room. "Whoever we're dealing with is quite fond in children books." A strong looking man said as he came in. Naturally the man noticed Aaron right away.

It didn't take long for Aaron to become a target. Instantly, the blonde hair boy rushed towards Aaron and to his surprise, the boy managed to pick him up without much straight. He was definitely stronger than he appeared. His messy hair covering parts of his face. Noting the sudden anger in his voice. As he was held, the boy conjured fire out of his hand making a fist with it. So that's how it's going to be. Soon after his Aaron processed his question. "Who in the seven hells are you, and why are you under the table?!" It would appear the boy didn't know who he was. Eliminating the chances of them, or at least him, being his captures. Perhaps this is some sort of test Aaron had to figure out. Not realizing that Aaron hasn't answered the boys question, the boy further angered grabbed his sword and pinned it on Aaron's neck. Noticing the small details in his armor making noises as he moved. Now with an even more serious look, the boy spoke. "I asked you a question". At this point Aaron could tell that this boy wouldn't go down easy if there were to be a fight. However it was very obvious that this boy was rather brash. Rushing into a situation without much thought. Admirable. But very irresponsible. Aaron had to defend himself. Free himself from his grasp.

Aaron noticed a big window with some greenery on the other side. It appears Aaron may have a way out of this. Looking back at the boy, meeting his hard look Aaron answered. "You know kid, it's quite rude to attack someone without having a motive." After his words left his lips, Aaron channeled his ability. Having been in similar situations in the past, he wasn't a stranger to his current position. He used the plant life outside of the window bringing it forth, shattering the window into pieces. Aaron released a flurry of sharp, fast moving branches towards him and the boy. Avoiding both of them of course, as he only needs to free himself. Seeing an opportunity, Aaron was able to free himself from the boys grasp and get away. Aaron stood underneath a doorway now looking at the mess he'd been provoked to make. Taking a moment, Aaron didn't notice his surroundings fully. He was standing in a beautifully decorated dining area. The wood panels complemented the decor perfectly. Going back to the commotion, Aaron stared back at the strange group of people. "Now, as for who I am. All you need to know is I'm not here to harm any of you. In fact I was captured and brought here" He spoke eloquently. He saw some of the looks on a few of them and could tell that they shared a similar fate. Aaron shifted his focus to the boy that had threatened him moments ago. "I will say, my intentions weren't to hurt you. I hope you understand. I was simply defending myself. Aaron could tell this wasn't going to be easy. The current group standing in this room all shared something. Otherwise why would they be here. Having everyone cooperate will probably prove to be a challenge.

Aaron continued to stare at the mess that had gone on. Noting the people among him. The blonde boy sat back down crossed armed with his head down. As he sat down, he retorted Simply defending himself? Don't make me laugh, those weeds could have killed me. Throwing Aaron off at how casual he was with it. Aaron's intentions where purely to free himself from his fiery grasp. Aaron didn't know them. He didn't know his intentions. Did I over react? Over analyze the situation? He trailed off. Later to be interrupted by the robed guy who just kept eating while all this went on. There was something off going on with him. He was way too calm for this. He didn't trust that.

Aaron's attention shifted to the only girl in the room. She looked pale. Almost as if she was the one affected by the little tiff earlier. She was shaken as if she'd seen something so out of this world. Perhaps this was the first time she's seen magic being used. Following her gaze, Aaron say that she was looking at the blonde boy in horror. Aaron say that he actually drew some blood from their interaction earlier. It noticeably looked as if it didn't settle with her well. Further adding to her shaken behavior. Aaron felt for her. It may seems as if the person responsible for this brought in innocent people in this game. Of course it's too soon to get an accurate reading from this. After all, this was their first impression of Aaron and looking around it didn't seem like it started off well. Aaron felt uncomfortable. There was still a dark presence looming around the area. Much to his surprise, it wasn't coming from the robed fellow with a rather odd affinity towards children's books. Action needed to be made, and just sitting here staring at each other like idiots wasn't going to help our current situation.

With a deep breath in, Aaron spoke out. "I will repeat myself and say I do apologize for my recent behavior. It appears as if I over reacted," he began eyeing everyone in the room. "It's becoming clear that most of you aren't any threat to me. After all, judging by your behavior it seems like we are all in very similar circumstances." He walked over to the table again, clearing some of the debris and plopped down on the chair. Aaron reached for his back pack. He rummaged through a few things and grabbed out a small vile holding a cream. Facing the blonde hair boy he began to say "Look, I our first impression of each other didn't go very well, but I did mean it when I said I wasn't here to hurt you. He tossed the vile within reach of the blond boy. "The cream in that vile will fix the wounds I have done to you. I would understand if you choose to not trust the substance in the vial." Aaron spoke as he shifted his attention to the female across from him. Judging from her body language she seemed slightly less tense than before. Aaron could still tell a slight hesitant nature. He smiled at her reassuring her that Aaron wasn't there to harm anyone. At least, without reason.

Aaron shifted his attention to the robed man and burly man in the room. The robed man still looked indifferent to his environment. Making Aaron very uncomfortable by his nature. He's never quite encountered someone like him. It almost intrigued Aaron a bit. Perhaps learning more from him wouldn't be such a bad idea. Aaron still didn't have the slightest of idea of what was going on. He spoke up saying "We should get moving. We should explore this place for more information as to why we are here in the first place," He began as he got up from the table. "I'd like to start moving forward if everyone is okay with it. It's probably best we don't stay here for too long. I'm sure I'm not the only one that can smell the lingering smell of blood." Aaron reached the doorway he had been standing under before.

Aaron starts to eye the blonde boy as he dismisses the cream he tossed at him. A slight arrogance in his motion as he spoke about the type of shrubbery Aaron had threatened him with. Damn Brat. Is he serious? Aaron rolled his eyes as the blond kid made his way passed him. As he shifted his way towards Aaron, he was pleased to hear that the boy agreed with his previous statement. " But, I do agree with you, outside, to the far left, just past the ajar window, is a hedge maze, that seems to lead somewhere." Aaron listened, bout to follow behind him until he noticed shifting behind him.

His eyes followed the girl that was sitting down earlier. The color seemed to return to her already pale face. It was subtle, but she seemed to be doing better. Aaron stared as she messed with the food in front of her. Being careful of any glass or branch debris. As she stood up, Aaron noted how thin the girl was. Her robe looked heavily over sized, but as she moved it didn't seem to bug her any. As soon as the girl finished picking up extra food, she moved her self towards the doorway as well. As she made her way over, shortly stopping in front of Aaron, she spoke "If you're all hell bent on going somewhere- seems like the best idea is to go together." Aaron noticed the way her robbed moved as she talked. Her body language expressed a reserved tone. The girl spoke up again, making Aaron leave his thoughts. "And it seems like the role of the Nameless Pauper is to follow. So lead on." Aaron nodded in agreement.

Aaron began to shift to exit the room, stopping midway as we almost ran into the blond boy. He didn't seem to bothered as he didn't even bother to move. Instead, giving Aaron an impatient look, he spoke up [/b]"Are you coming or not?"[/b] Aaron looked back at the boy with furrowed brows. Instead of speaking out loud, it was in Aaron's best interest to keep quiet and nod. Aaron made his way outside, breathing the air for the first time since he was brought here. Based on the sun's location, it appeared to be mid morning. Perhaps 11 am. The temperature felt nice against Aaron's skin as he continued to walk. The cool breeze combined with the sun's rays really made for a beautiful day. It almost made Aaron forget where he was. Still, Aaron couldn't shake off the presence of darkness. Even with such a gorgeous day. Shaking his head, he looked back up to see that the group was at the entrance of the maze. Looking up at it, the walls went up a considerable length. "So, what's our plan? Do we want to talk one through?" Aaron spoke out not really asking any one person in particular. He just hope that what ever this was or whatever brought him here, wouldn't lead to his death.

As the blond boy spoke, Aaron couldn't help but take in all his surroundings. It was apparent that this hedge maze was older. Not necessarily dead, but the plant life gave it a rustic look. As if it was a chaotic version of what a normal hedge maze. Aaron noticed the other member of the group approach them. The children book collector. Aaron was pleased that he had a change of heart, or at least it would seem, as he didn't look too interested in joining them earlier. Perhaps he's a careful thinker. Weighing his options. Perhaps he's smarter than he lets on. I should probably still keep my eye out for him. There's still no telling what he's capable of. Aaron thought as he redirected his attention back to the blond boy.

Aaron was able to catch the very last few bits of his speech. Noting that the guy in charge would most likely want us to head to the right. So traveling to the left would either throw off the guy's plan, or it would lead the group right where he wanted them to be. Either way, both options seemed sketchy. Aaron walked up closer to get a feel for the place. He could tell the plant life around him were trying to grab at him, but they seemed rather calm too. As if they were either struggling or holding back. Noticing the giant cocoon shell was jarring to say the least."Aye, check this thing out. What do you suppose came out of that?" Aaron asked as he took careful steps towards it. Whatever the thing was, it was big. Looking closer though, it didn't look like it was a recent event. Almost as if the creature had been forced out? Aaron couldn't quite tell from the ripples in the opening. But they didn't look natural. Almost as if it was cut. Aaron knows this based on his travels. He had an idea of what a normal opening of a cocoon shell looked like. "When I was under the table back in the house, I remember one of you saying that this game has happened before. What if this is the remnants of the old game?" Aaron trailed off not necessarily asking any one in specific. More of a general question. There more Aaron thought about the possibility of this being part of the previous game, if you can call it that, gave him chills.

Snapping himself out of thought, Aaron noticed something else. Looking back at the fork where the trails split, he could hear something. Buzzing? He thought as he stared a bit longer trying to make what that noise was. "Hey guys, any of you hear that buzzing?"