I was glad to see Tidal instead of Yuri later on, but it wasn’t like anything changed. He kept handing me items, and I kept handing him coppers.

The next day Yuri returned to his morning activities as usual and this time I didn’t bother even speaking to him. I’d just prefer it was over with as fast as possible at this point. My mind was firmly decided on that much.

I instead tried to focus my thoughts towards more productive means. Initially my effort was spent trying to work out my own logic of trying to understand why I wanted to leave, besides Yuri, which was an entirely new reason.

I wanted to be able to explain my thoughts to Tidal in a way that he would accept and release me. I was still convinced this could happen. Finally I started to come to terms with something.

Even though I wanted to help people, I also wanted to do what I wanted to do. There were times I wanted to help others, but there were times where I would rather talk to people. Or times I’d rather just stand outside and enjoy the breeze. I realized that I wanted to experience more of what the world had to offer, and much like the adventures that decided which quests they wanted, or which items they sold and kept. I too wanted that, I wanted the choice to be at the guildhall, or to go on a quest. I had initially chosen to go with Tidal and he had brought me here. I had wanted to help him at that moment.

But since then I’d come to understand that they had removed my choices, which I had cherished dearly. Perhaps wanting to make choices for myself was on some level selfish, I believe that when I was just starting to think for myself I might think that way. However as the hours ticked by and days flickered past me without any say so on my part, my frustration grew and I even began to resent Tidal for bringing me here. In the end Tidal clearly didn’t disagree with Yuri’s actions, if he had Tidal could have done something to remove my handcuffs.

Gradually I grew to accept that Tidal was working with Yuri, and that in that sense they shared responsibility for each other's actions in some limited capacity. For instance I accepted that Tidal wasn’t going to simply let me go anymore, it had been a small hope earlier on. I fully believed that Yuri might even have discussed his idea with Tidal beforehand, though I couldn’t be certain. But seeing as how Tidal didn’t raise any questions, or show any uncertainty upon seeing me handcuffed. That was how I decided to see it.

On the other hand I decided that my growing hatred for Yuri was his alone.

Having processed this, and come to terms with, and accepting my understanding of what was happening I came up with a new way to turn my thoughts.

I decided I wanted freedom. 

With that decision I started to reevaluate my own actions, choices I’d made up until this point. What I might have done differently. What I could do differently from here on. Whereas I found some introspection on my past interesting from this new perspective, it was also not very helpful.

So it was that one morning while I was being used as Yuri’s morning toy that something occurred to me that made me laugh briefly.

It caught Yuri so off guard that he paused his actions for a time, I simply smiled to myself so he couldn’t until he finished his morning routine.

So the day continued like any other. Until I was handed something that interested me, specifically a rusted knife.

When they handed me the knife rather than selling the item as I would normally, I put it into my inventory, and instead dropped a few of the coppers that I still had on me. To Yuri it wasn’t any different.

For the first time in my life I truly lied. It wouldn’t be my last either, as the day continued and Tidal joined eventually my rusted knife became a knife. Later I was given a broken dagger, finally a worn dagger. Each time I was given something better I’d sell what I had and drop its value instead.

What amazed me was the trust that these two placed in my willingness to do what they wanted. Had I instead wanted to keep some of their coppers I imagined I could quite easily use the same trick to take one or two coins here or there. But for me the money itself had no value, rather I was only interested in something that I could use to change my situation.

Though I had made my choice, I found myself delaying it. At first I told myself I was just trying to get the best weapon I could. But by the end of the day I knew I was avoiding implementing my idea.

As for why, I found myself considering how this course of action was the antithesis to what I wanted to do, at least originally. And on a different but equally serious thought, I couldn’t help but feel like what I was planning was wrong.

So it was that I continued to delay for another cycle. Oddly enough my delay left me with no better weapon past my first day. While I did get more worn daggers, that seemed to be the limit of where they were finding these things they were selling. Either that or they were keeping them for some other purpose. Based on other more valuable items that they sold me however I found that unlikely.

As Yuri was handing me things to sell during the next day I couldn’t help but question my own course of action. Was my ability to make choices worth taking this action? Did I really hate Yuri as much as I had convinced myself I did? Was any of what I was thinking rational or logical? Or in the end was each moment I continued to think just one more moment I was delaying a choice I had made much earlier.

In the end I knew it for what it was, if I went through with this things would change. Yuri and Tidal were working together at the least. I had read enough quest descriptions to understand that when people died, those that were affiliated with them regularly responded with vengeance.

So I had firmly understood on some level that attacking Yuri would likely mean having to confront Tidal. Beyond Tidal that way lay Terrance, Kervick and Mira. Yes, this wasn’t so small of a decision as I had initially thought when I had made an emotional choice a day prior.

Yet I had made that choice, and even as I tried to wrestle with the possible outcomes I couldn’t convince myself not to make that choice.

As I considered each possibility, it became certain that If I choose to not take this action, I would never leave, I would remain Yuri’s plaything, and continue to do what he and Tidal wished forever.

With that assertion made, I’d never see Terrance, Kervick, or Mira again. I wasn’t sure if I’d see Kovin, I had seen him twice, but I didn’t understand the means of our meetings, so it was possible I’d see him again, though he had no connection I could deduce to the others.

So I weighed an uncertain future where I could potentially keep my connection to three people, versus a future where I’d never see them again. Where I’d never be free to see them again.

Perhaps the decision I’d made had been rash and in the moment, yet even with far too much effort analyzing it the outcome was the same.

When Yuri left I knew when I would implement my plan, and so I waited for the next cycle to begin.

Like each cycle prior Yuri arrived in the morning, today like most days he seemed to be angry about something. So he came in and started loosening his pants, “You know the drill.” He said as he released his belt.

“Are you sure you don’t want my mouth instead?” I tried to keep my smile pleasant as I asked.

Yuri paused his approach, “It has been a few days since that… hell you weren't half bad at it… Maybe that would be a nice change of pace.” he chuckled to himself as he dropped his pants to the floor.

I lowered myself down as I had before, smiling up at him as he approached faking my eagerness.

I ran my free hand along his leg, working it up along his side, gently letting it roam over his chest as I had done with the courtesan. I allowed myself to think back on that pleasant experience as though pretending I was only reliving that as I smiled and slowly stood up, reaching my free hand up and behind his neck, gently pulling him towards me as I leaned in to kiss him.

While he hadn’t asked me to do this, he seemed to not mind in the slightest as I reached my hand around his neck caressing him. He Leaned down slightly as I pushed my tongue into his mouth, with just enough distance, I pulled my hand back slightly, placing my weapon into my hand from my inventory so that it appeared in my grip.

With my eyes closed, our kiss lasting some thirty seconds, I gripped the knife in my hand, and I pulled back just enough to look up at the angle and smile at him. Just as he was about to pull back from me I pulled down on the knife with every ounce of strength I could, pulling him down to me in the same motion, the knife slipping into the back of his neck.

I could hear as he gagged, then began to gurgle whatever response he wanted to make, I could feel as his body went strangely limp against me.

Blood spattered from his lips across my face and I laughed at the way his eyes stared at me in shock. I couldn’t support him, and so his weight folded onto his knees against me, before he fell awkwardly to the side.

He continued trying to speak, even as I shifted my legs around to sit on top of him in a position that might have been enjoyable with a creature that wasn’t Yuri. I used my legs to grip him, and pulled him back slightly with what leverage I could gain from the handcuffs. Then retrieving the worn dagger from the back of his neck I plunged it into his chest though the leather armor, I did it again. Then again. I enjoyed each and every time I saw his body tense at it, red blood bubbling to the surface in the holes I produced.

Then finally he was completely still, and his eyes unfocused looking away into the distance, still and silent. I admit I added a few more holes, one for each time he had used me as nothing but a hole. Then shivering at the feeling of it all I opened his inventory, much like anything else and I began to empty his belongings into my inventory.

That done I stood up to find that even his pants, which he had taken off were now in my inventory. That was a bit strange, but all the same it wasn’t critical to what came next.

Then Tidal walked into the room, and I saw the moment his expression slackened, “What?” He asked, confused.

I had made a mistake, I had assumed that time would continue to pass for me normally as long as Yuri remained in the room, dead or alive. However, several moments after he had died, literal moments before I went to free myself from the handcuffs my time had stopped, and Tidal had arrived to find me sitting on his associate’s corpse.

I wasn’t sure what else to do, so I just tried to continue my plan, I pulled the handcuff keys from… Wait, There were no handcuff keys. Why were there no keys?

“Yuri… what the hell happened?” Tidal asked, shocked, but not exactly in the torrent or rage and anger that I might have expected him to be in at seeing me.

My plan was a complete failure, so I looked at Tidal and pleaded tears welling up in my eyes as I spoke, “Please… Let me go?”

Tidal looked at me, “You killed him?” He seemed more surprised at this point, “How the hell did you do that?” He asked.

I just stared at him with pleading eyes, not wanting to explain anything, not wanting to tip the scale in a way that would end my escape attempt. I simply didn’t know how he would react, and the almost simple confusion he was showing now was already so far outside of my expectations I wasn’t sure what else would be.

Tidal walked towards me, and noticed that I still had my arm held to the bed.

“Haven't I helped you enough?” I asked him with a clear panic in my voice.

Tidal didn’t get any closer, rather he just watched me some that small distance.

Then the door opened and Yuri walked in and my mouth dropped open as I stared on in horror as the man walked back into the cabin, though he was now wearing a simple cotton pair of clothing his eyes fixed on me in object fury.

“Give my back my shit you little bitch!” Yuri yelled at me, stepping up alongside Tidal.

Tidal winced at Yuri’s tone, but there was understanding in his poster.

I was struck by an idea, “If you come any closer I’ll sell it.”

Yuri paused, about to lunge at me, “What?”

“If you get any closer to me I’ll sell everything you had on you.” I said, it was the only leverage I had in this situation, for some reason he had come back to life, yet I had all the equipment he had been wearing, which he apparently wanted.

“You bitch…” He sneered at me.

“If you give me the key, and let me go, I’ll return everything I took.” I explained.

Tidal’s expression was complicated, but Yuri seemed to latch onto the idea, “Alright… I’ll give you the key, and you'll drop my shit.”

“I’ll give you your things once I’ve left.” I explained.

Yuri’s eyes narrowed on me, “And how can I be sure you’ll give it back?”

“You’ll have to trust me.” I noted.

“Yeah, as if I’d trust the bitch that stabbed me in the back. Quite literally.” He noted.

“But you're still here, alive…” I observed, “So it's not that bad right?”

He didn’t seem to agree, he only seemed to grow more angry at me with those words.

Tidal sighed, “I don’t have any idea what is going on here, but you want to leave right?”

I nodded with enthusiasm.

“Right, well I’ll let you go and I’ll take you back to the guildhall, then you can give me Yuri’s stuff? Does that sound like a plan?” Tidal asked.

 

DM: Terrance & Mira

Terrance: Mira? [ Unblocked ]

Mira: Hi.

Terrance: Look, I’ve looked over our last conversation a few times, and after thinking about it a bit more. I’m just convinced that we both took everything in the worst way.

Mira: Oh…

Terrance: Rather than doing this in DMs would you mind if we just sat down at the guildhall and talked?

Terrance: The alpha isn’t that much longer and it honestly bugs me what happened between us.

Terrance: Bare that in mind that all I’m after is mending what we had in the beginning.

Terrance: I plan on coming back in the RP Alpha, and If you were going to as well, well I think it might be fun if we did it as friends, instead of having what I felt was a good thing end because of one awkward and heated conversation.

Mira: I guess we could talk… We kinda were a good team while it lasted.

Terrance: Are you available now? Or a bit later? I’ve been kinda swamped for time, but if you could just let me know when we can talk I can probably take a break or something.

Mira: Sure, I’ll probably be free to login in 30m or so… But, if you don’t mind can we meet in town instead?

Terrance: Hmm? What’s wrong with the guild hall?

Mira: It's awkward…

Terrance: I mean that's fine, just pick a spot and message me I guess?

Terrance: Also, you haven't seen Milly have you?

Mira: Wha? Why would I haVe seen herr?

Terrance: Hmm? I was just curious, shes been missing and Kervick was also looking for her. I think we all share the same instance for some reason, and well… I’ve been kinda partying with her.

Mira: Partying?

Terrance: I mean I’ve been helping her do quests.

Mira: …

Terrance: What do you think I meant?

Mira: Uh…

Terrance: Wait.. what do you know?

Mira: Nothing.

Terrance: Mira do you know where she is?

Mira: No, really. I saw her in town a week or so ago, then I haven't seen her again since.

Terrance: Oh, alright well I guess if you do see her let me know? Message me when we can talk

Mira: Sure.