Oyed sat in his cell for three days, allowed only the minimum of exercise and the most essential of food and drink. Reb brought in his midday meal. He gave a lecherous smile. \u201cHave I been that good a boy?\u201d he asked. He was handed the tray with his meal, and he began eating and drinking. Reb\u2019s slime then pulled up a chair and she sat down, facing Oyed and pulling out a data pad. Oyed arched an eyebrow. \u201cOkay, in all seriousness, what\u2019s so important that the former Admiral of the now-defunct Scarlet Stream pirates needs to look at me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot look at, talk to,\u201d corrected Reb. \u201cI\u2019ve been looking over these INTERESTING reports that I acquired when I retook my RIGHTFUL home of Plunder Island Stronghold. I\u2019ve noticed some VERY interesting patterns on your front lines, note the PLURAL form. Was there ANYONE you wouldn\u2019t fight against?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need the room to AGGRESSIVELY expand,\u201d replied Oyed. Reb rolled her eyes at his mockery of her verbal tic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOnly an IDIOT fights a war on two fronts. You, sir, are the KING of idiots by fighting a war on forty-five fronts!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Realm Trinity Empire can still handle it. Their resources AND yours are greater than you think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, my father\u2019s crew was supplying BOTH sides, hm?\u201d Oyed arched an eyebrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d Reb clicked her tongue in disappointment. She then pulled out a crystal ball and an image formed in it. It was one of Oyed talking to a bearded man with the same color hair as her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLord Oyed, this has been VERY profitable,\u201d praised the man. \u201cBoth sides are paying through the nose for weapons, as you CORRECTLY said! I tell you, war or peace, it matters not to ME!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow did you-?!\u201d spluttered the present-day Oyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy father\u2019s the DREADFUL source of my own paranoia,\u201d explained Reb. \u201cWhen he trained me to take command of the Scarlet Stream pirates, I became FRIGHTFULLY fearful that he might sell me out to the highest bidder, so I took the liberty of bugging his cabin during his meetings with other people. One never knows whether an INCONVENIENT truth will either fall between the cracks and vanish or be revealed to other parties, particularly parties that are enemies. That conversation worried me. After my husband and I were captured, we took steps to make sure we were in a STAUNCHLY protected position. Oyed, I have the feeling that your former associates are going to keep the Realms in a state of stagnation. When they go down, the Realms will fall.\u201d Oyed rolled his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey won\u2019t have that kind of power, even as gods. You don\u2019t appreciate how flawed they are.\u201d He resumed eating his meal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI appreciate their flaws alright! And that is why your UNWARRANTED reluctance to help Arsha worries me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd there it is! That magic word \u2018Arsha\u2019! The name that means \u2018peace-seeker\u2019 in the Mid-realm language!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, I intend to help her fulfill that in terms of this unfocused war! By drawing all forces into many smaller wars, you have effectively weakened their means of recovery, should the Council decide to do as you wanted!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe only way that they\u2019ll destroy the Realms is through their incompetence! I may hate my children, but they were NOT incompetent as gods. Dr. Borg and her friends, however, they are, and they\u2019ll be destroying the Realms because of it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy point EXACTLY! And you are going to help us take the NECESSARY steps to prevent that! And you will start by disarming the Crypt\u2019s VILE traps for Arsha!\u201d Oyed laughed at Reb\u2019s demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRebarisal Rojam, you are a fool!\u201d he finally said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if Arsha told you this, but she correctly guessed that my title of Destroyer tells anyone what I do for funsies! If they\u2019re gonna destroy the Realms, why would I help?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause I asked you. Because you DO care about the Realms in some small capacity. Because you want to be the ONLY Destroyer.\u201d Oyed chuckled to himself. Reb sighed. \u201cAll right, I didn\u2019t want to panic you, but the real reason is because I made sure your food and drink were laced with my supply of tarsaline.\u201d Oyed arched an eyebrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2026You\u2019re gonna lie about my meal being poisoned?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cScanner, please,\u201d Reb requested of the guard. He pulled the scanner out and her slime suit extended a tendril, grabbed it, then handed it to Oyed. Oyed set the scanner to look for poison and waved the wand over his meal. It flashed red and reported that the meal was laced with tarsaline. He goggled in fear at Reb and the guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been updated and tested,\u201d said the guard. \u201cYou wolfed down a poisoned meal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTarsaline\u2019s a VERY interesting poison,\u201d chuckled Reb. \u201cIt kills a human within twenty days, and you ARE human, according to all medical scans. During the first ten days, the MAGIC timeframe where you can just take the antidote with no other medical attention, it enters the bloodstream and settles for just a bit. During the remaining ten days, it makes its way to the cardiovascular system. By then, you\u2019ll need the antidote AND medical attention. On the twentieth day, the poison permanently alters all nerve signals to the heart so that it quivers, and no amount of defibrillation, antidote, or medical attention will help reset your quivering heart. To those who won\u2019t know how to look, it will look like you had died of an extreme heart attack.\u201d Oyed rushed to the energy shield in fear and anger, snarling at Reb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou give me the antidote! NOW!\u201d he demanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cArsha gave me the authorization to poison you, oh GREAT Oyed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you want proof,\u201d called Arsha\u2019s voice as she entered the brig, \u201cI can provide it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat won\u2019t be necessary!\u201d growled Oyed. \u201cJust\u2026why?! Why would you do something so desperate?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo guarantee your cooperation,\u201d explained Arsha. \u201cAnd because, if our positions were reversed, you would have done the same to me. If I recall, you had a particular fondness for the Under-realm during the Savage Age and the Under-realm was the poison capital up until the middle of the First Age of Unity. It was always the instrument of choice back then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGiven my criminal connections,\u201d continued Reb, \u201cI always had a phial of tarsaline on standby. I only told Arsha about it a day before we got to Frigandor.\u201d Oyed sighed in defeat. The only way he would be cured was by doing what Arsha said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do you want me to do?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve told me that you saw Crelima set the traps in the Crypt before he committed suicide\u201d said Arsha. \u201cYou will disarm the traps and tell me how to use the Talkwen Stone. You will then lead me out of the Crypt with the Talkwen Stone in my hand. Once that\u2019s done, you will be given the antidote. Oh, and just so we\u2019re clear; no compliance, no cure.\u201d She then took his drink of water, then made sure she was out of the cell before adding a drop of a neon-green liquid to it. The instant the drop made contact, it spewed smoke before stopping and returning to its clear state. She then raised the glass. \u201cTo your health, Lord Oyed.\u201d She then drank the water after her mocking toast. Oyed snarled as he thought about what to do next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Oyed sat in his cell for three days, allowed only the minimum of exercise and the most essential of food and drink. Reb brought in his midday meal. He gave a lecherous smile. \u201cHave I been that good a boy?\u201d he asked. He was handed the tray with his meal, and he began eating and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,238],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-5293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-three-realms","category-the-three-realms-book-5-the-final-fight","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5293"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5294,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5293\/revisions\/5294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}