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Rage laughed. He laughed, and laughed, and then laughed some more.
Such an innocent, naive little girl.
"My dear child," he said through tears, "it isn't about good or bad. It's about what's in my best interest, and the best interest of my organization. If that means helping you and your group, that's what I'm going to try to do. Kidnapping you wasn't my initial intention, stealing the Duke was. But alas, that didn't work out and you were the easier grab. I believe I've outlined my logic to you several times, I won't repeat myself again. Everyone in the city is one edge, either from actually having visions associated with this guy, hearing from someone who has had the visions and becoming scared at the description, or hearing from hacks who have latched onto the real Seers to try and keep their credibility. At any rate, everyone is one edge. No one is gambling, ordering women, or even going out and drinking. This spells awful business for me, and I wager I'm losing more money because everyone is afraid than I would earn from a ransom, from the Duke, or from selling you. It's simple numbers, my dear. As far as killing you goes, that's the ugly side of business. If your party tries to do anything that puts me in jeopardy of losing you, I'd just as soon see you dead as see you free with none of my demands met. I didn't go through kidnapping you to see you escape, I WILL at least get the satisfaction of killing you if such events conspire against me."
***
Caston took the scrap of paper from Delon and read it. It was apparent instructions on kidnapping the Duke, and at the bottom there was a black bird crest or something of the sort, maybe a seal? He recognized it from a book he had read.
"This is the seal of the Dark Phoenix gang, one of the oldest and most connected groups in Rurm. Some say that they're so old and evil that they had ties with the Dark Lord when he appeared on Earth for a short time. From the little that I know, they are most certainly not to be underestimated. It's no wonder they made off with Kyrina so easily...they have a history of incredible heists and scams throughout the centuries of known history." Caston sighed, the situation became more and more hopeless the more information they received. "The only question is, do we have enough money to get someone to talk? Do we wait and consider their boss' offer? Will the people who have the right information be more afraid of us than of him?" He becoming more angry by the second. He stopped for a moment, and concentrated his excess energy on the river. He lifted one section of it, and brought it down in a whip-like motion, sending a large wave downriver. It was sloppy, of course; he wasn't concentrating at all. But more importantly, he had sacrificed precision for raw power. Similar to a Red Wizard, you might say.
"I'm so tired...tired of this journey. Tired of bad things befalling us at every turn. Tired of all the questions without answers. Tired of chasing a man more elusive than a wisp of smoke, yet with the power to possibly end the world, not to mention all of us at once, without any trouble."
__________________  Awesome Squall sprite courtesy of Goten! Check here if you'd like a runescape or game-themed sprite!
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