D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Chapter 1777 Bad Guard

--- Nixilei ---

After Lily had gone to check in with Gareth, that's when Nixilei found herself in the presence of another guard. She could hear him approaching the edge of her cell. She was situated in one of those really disrespectful cubes set into the ground. There was barely enough room to stand and she tied and bound to a chair that had been lowered down via a series of chains. In theory it would be impossible to escape… in practice it wouldn't even be that hard.

Nixilei heard a loud clunk as a bag of tools was put down beside the opening and after a few jerky movements the chair she was in began to move upwards back into the light. Nixilei kept her head held high and soon she was hovering above the dark hole they'd trapped her in face to face with a guard and his set of torture implements. Nixilei sniffed at the air.

*No smell. No smell of dried blood and no smell of cleaning solutions. They also don't appear to be enchanted and I can only see the faintest bits of wear and tear on them. I'd bet my left kneecap that they've never once been used. Looks like they're going for a bit of intimidation.* "Nixilei no-name, you are accused of spying on our great city. I have been tasked with ferreting out what information you already know, and any other secrets you hold," stated the guard who was trying to be as gruff as possible. The poor elven pansy had a light airy voice that he was desperately trying to ensure sounded rough and table.

Nixilei laughed in his face. "You think this is a joke?" growled the guard, and to Nixilei it was basically like hearing a puppy try and growl at its owner. All back and no bite. She could practically smell the freshness on this one. He'd been brought in recently. Not even six months on the force and they thought he could play torturer? Probably had a theatre background before going into law enforcement.

"Yes," admitted Nixilei easily. "I do indeed think this is a joke,"

The guard picked up a tenderising mallet. "I've got authorisation to be thorough with this you know? I might not be allowed to kill you, but maiming is on the table," insisted the guard.

Nixilei grinned, even going so far as to bite her cheek and let a little bit of madness show in her gaze. Best to start trying to freak them out early after all. A dash of blood on the gums would help sell it. "Oh? Do be sure to be extra rough with me. I've had plenty of anti-torture training sessions you know, but none of them could ever make me SCREAM. I'm looking forward to what you've got in store for me,"

He flinched. Of course he did. Nixilei wasn't disappointed, and the poor guy hid it well… but they clearly just found someone willing to play the role and went forward. Not only was Thyme going to be here in a few days, but Kat would be here tomorrow. She was quite sure that Lily could convince her girlfriend to bull her way through the city to rescue her. Thyme would heal her because this is DEFINITELY interference and well… sure it was a bit of a risk but Nixilei had been practicing a few spells… spells that let her fake her death by putting herself into stasis.

It wasn't a proper Rank 2 spell. It was a Rank 3 she'd broken down and forced to work. It had several problems, and unlike the proper version which was actually for medical stasis, a way to keep someone alive when you didn't have enough mana, time, or skill to heal them… this Rank 2 one basically just kept the brain intact and made it so someone really skilled could still save you. Nixilei wasn't looking forward to testing it out on herself but the rodent tests had all been quite successful… and well. Needs must when the devils drives and all that.

Besides, the man had flinched already. They wouldn't take it that far. At least, this guy wouldn't. Still… just to be sure Nixilei cast a different spell, hiding the spell circle behind her back. It was one that temporarily removed pain. A great resource for someone who might be about to get tortured.

The guard raised tenderiser with a shaky hand and held it over my own. It was tied down so I could move it out of the way… much. Plus he was doing it wrong. The idea was to go for one finger at the time to ramp up the attention but the idea was going for my palm. My upturned palm. If he didn't put much force into it he wasn't even going to break anything. "Do it! Well boy? You think you can torture me? Try it?"

"Maybe this will shut you up!" countered the guard who made it seem like he was slamming the hammer down on my hand. I just kept my palm right there and let my muscles flex along with it.

When the hammer bounced up off my hand a slowly looked down to my hand, then back up to him and said, in the most deadpan voice possible. "Ow. Truly, I am in great pain. I feel such a need to heal my broken and beaten hand from the truly terrible damage you have inflicted on me,"

"You think this is funny?" hissed the guard.

"I feel like we went over that part of the conversation already right?" smiled Nixilei. "We established that this IS a joke,"

"We could kill you, you know?" mused the guard. "Sure we're not authorised for it but accidents happen when torture is in progress,"

"Well sure, I guess it does… do let me know when I need to start getting worried. I haven't seen a torturer around yet," returned Nixilei.

"ME! I am the one interrogating you!" growled the guard. He actually sounded, perhaps, the tiniest bit threatening. If you were a small child. The looming really helped sell it, plus the slightly red cheeks and tight muscles. Poor guy is angry at me. Probably himself to. What a joke. Besides, you don't need to REMIND someone they're in an interrogation. If it's a real one they'll fucking know.

Nixilei was about to sneer out something else when she noticed that the shadows in the room had gotten darker and were starting to shift a bit at the edges. Ah shit. Lily heard I was getting tortured and seems to have run over to interfere. Now I need to say something 'in character' while also clearly signalling to Lily that I'm fine. Hmm… guess I can just mock him more? "Yes, yes you've said that before but you've yet to do any damage to me. I mean, I AM a healer I can take it. A bit of pain is nothing. Did I not already say I trained for this? You're just a pansy trying to pretend to be scary… or are you making use of those drama lessons your parents forced on you as a child?!"

The guard backhanded Nixilei across the face. It was easy to just roll with it and ensure it didn't hurt. Her cheek would certainly brighten up a bit, but that was nothing… and the fact that the shadows weren't moving anymore probably meant Lily understood the message? They still seemed darker then they should. Hmm… is there a way for me to tell her to leave me? Like I get she's watching because she's worried but she really shouldn't be. I have trained for this, even took the optional classes for it. I'm not worried about a bit of pain. Though I AM annoyed that they're using the spying angle considering I haven't even gotten into the city. I mean, what are they expecting me to confess too? It's not like I was going to investigate and even if I was, we JUST GOT HERE!

"I feel like you're not taking this seriously," insisted the guard.

"I feel like you're not listening," Nixilei fired right back. "Like, we've been over this. I am not taking this seriously. At all,"

"What if I go straight for the face then?" asked the guard, almost pleading. Nixilei felt a little bad for a second, then she remembered the guards were causing a lot more problems then a poor attempt at torture. "Think you'd still be laughing then?"

"Well depending on the amount of damage to the lungs… yeah probably?" offered Nixilei as she noticed the shadows receding. *Good. Seems like Lily got the message. She's probably not happy with me but I don't NEED the help.* "I'll do it," insisted the guard.

"Try it then!" insisted Nixilei with a lopsided grin. "Just test it a little bit," Nixilei leaned back to expose her throat. "Maybe if you crush my windpipe the laughter will be harder to here. Go on… just a good strike, or maybe two. You are a little weak,"

The elf shivered, dropping the hammer and bolting from the room. Nixilei scoffed and shouted at his retreating form. "FORGOT YOUR TOOLS!"

Glancing around a bit more Nixilei was pretty sure she was alone so she whispered. "Lily, I really am fine. Got plenty of spells to keep my healthy and out of pain. Worst happens and Thyme will heal me, go watch the others," A hand formed a thumbs up out of the darkness before vanishing and Nixilei smiled. Hopefully the next guard would be harder to break.