The RazenHeir dungeons.
Thud! Hikari's heavy boots against the stone ground.
To either side of her, cages stacked in two levels. Each holding a cultist chained down to the lower surface. They each had a rag to their name to cover as much as the tattered cloth could bear, the exposed skin filled with eerie tattoos of cryptic symbols.
Full wyvern skin suit. Black. She was covered from the middle of her neck down.The fair skin on her cheeks contrasted with the pitch black wyvern gloves as it swiped over her shoulders, pushing her silver side back behind her head.
Thud! Thud! Deep boot prints left behind where she stepped. The clankering of her fingers clad in wyvern skin brushing against the bars of the cage. Groans and rattles followed her as the blindfolded captives felt her warmth, her breath and the coldness of her suit.
She turned a corner. At the end of the hallway, an abbot knelt in his cell alone. His brown robes were rugged but not torn, remaining the same as the day the giantess knight captured him.
The torches along the hall flickered as the giantess's stride displaced whole volumes of air.
Thud! Thud! It took only a few seconds to cover the distance.
Hikari stood behind the bars. The steel was thick enough to contain the strength of a normal man but was no impediment to her.
A ray of sunlight made its way in from an opening on the top corner of the cell, illuminating a patch of moss in front of the abbot.
As he sensed the overbearing presence of the giantess knight, he lifted his head slightly. His eyes opened and saw the smooth wyvern skin illuminated by sunlight on the other side of the bars.
The jailor approached the game, keys clinkering on his belt as he walked. After rounds of groaning, the rusty lock finally gave out, the creaking of the steel gate followed.
Thud. Thud. The massive pair of boots which could crush him to paste with their weight alone circled him. He was cast in shadow as the giantess's body blocked the sunlight behind him.
"True of flesh… pure of flesh… true of flesh… pure of flesh… " The abbot chanted quietly.
Hikari circled him, studying him intently.
"A normal man. No ability to generate mana. But he has volunteered himself to be a flesh conduit. Must have been extremely painful."
The man's back was covered in sear marks, overwriting all of the rune carvings he had. The RazenHeir brand, a conduit for the dark flames directly into the flesh.
Hikari channeled a small amount of flames onto her fingers and directed it at the brand.
"Ahh… Ahhh!" The abbot screamed in pain, his voice cracking.
The knight's flames were many times the strength of what the jailors could channel. The portion of flesh around the brand was completely burnt, ruining the brand.
Thud. Thud. The boots circled him again.
"True of flesh… pure of flesh… true of flesh… pure of flesh… " Despite the excruciating pain, the abbot continued his chant.
Thud. Hikari faced the rack of torture equipment hanging from a rack on the way.
They were mostly brandmarkers of various sizes. The forge used to heat them stood at the corner of the cell quietly in a doused state.
There was a whip hanging at the right most slot which Hikari pinched with her fingers. She tried to hold it in her hand, curling her fingers around it but the handle could only reach the end of her middle finger.
Whip! She gently swung it against the wall without any strength, knocking off a cloud of dust.
Then, she straightened her arm, allowing the whip to extend down vertically.
It was too short, the tip of the whip could not touch the floor as it hung from Hikari's arm. She slotted it back onto the rack.
Thud. Thud. Thud! Her boot slammed down in front of the abbot.
"True of flesh… pure of flesh… true of flesh… pure of flesh… "
Thud. Thud. Hikari tapped her boot.
"True of flesh… pure of flesh… true of flesh… pure of flesh… "
Thud. Thud.
"pure of flesh… " The chanting stopped.
At an excruciatingly slow pace, the abbot lifted his head. The sunlight shining on his bare forehead, revealing the runes etched into his skull.
He could see a tower of wyvern skin before him, the top of which hidden in the darkness. A pair of ruby red eyes glaring down on him.
His eyes lowered. The chains holding him clanked as he attempted to crawl forward at a snail's pace with his body weakened from torture and starvation.
Slowly, he approached the rounded surface of Hikari's boot tip. He leaned his head in.
Clink! The chains straightened, stopping him dead several inches away from the wyvern skin.
"Answer me."
Hikari could feel the abbot's breathing stop as she gave her command.
"Where is the stronghold?"
He paused, completely frozen in place, not even breathing.
Thud. Hikari tapped her boot, jolting the abbot back to life.
He began hyperventilating, choking as his old lungs strained to bring air back into his frail body.
"Car…" It was barely audible, even softer than the dripping water. But Hikari could hear it.
"Port… Carla… "