The lower chamber breathes damp stone and iron. Four days of neglect cling to Faelwen and Nadron as Delfarius enters, the tower’s warm glow sliding over their chained forms.
He undoes the diamond-cut ball gags first, then the chains, one link at a time. Metal rings softly to the floor as the room relaxes around the break in restraint.
Faelwen sucks in a careful breath, jaw aching, eyes fixed on Delfarius’s face. Nadron rolls his wrists once, then twice, testing the freedom like a man afraid it might vanish.
Delfarius
Four days is long enough for them to remember the rules.
Delfarius’s smirk sharpens as he watches them hop the worst of the lesions and keep silent. The sight is almost domestic, in a grim, ruined sort of way.
Faelwen
Water first, please.
Nadron
And food, if you are feeling merciful.
The chamber falls into a quieter rhythm, waiting on his next command as both pets sit looser on their feet than before, wary but no longer fighting the room.
✓ Quest Accepted
Break Faelwen and Nadron into obedient compliance
“I walk slowly over to the water dish and relive myself in it. I shake then brush back my pants and robes back into perfect place. I produce some very tenderized 'meat' gathered from small dropped bodies of the gnomes and place it down on the ground in between them both. "Share." I all I say as I step back, watching.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Strength, rolled +2)
Delfarius crosses to the water dish at an unhurried pace, the chamber watching in near silence. He relieves himself into the basin without ceremony, then stands there a breath longer as the ripples settle.
He shakes off the last of it, smooths his robes and trousers back into place, and steps away with the same measured poise he entered with.
Between Faelwen and Nadron, he lowers the tenderized meat to the stone. The smell reaches them before he speaks.
Delfarius
Share.
Faelwen’s eyes flick to the offering, then to Nadron, then back to Delfarius. Her throat works once, careful and dry.
Faelwen
Yes. As you command.
Nadron
We share it.
Nadron lowers his head first, not reaching for the meat yet, but waiting for the shape of the order to finish settling over both of them.
“I laugh coldly and think to myself 'They are well trained. Delightful' I look over them both, "You may eat and drink." I cross my arms over my chest and watch delighted.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
A low laugh slips out of Delfarius, cold as the stone beneath him. He studies them over folded arms, a dark little verdict hanging in the lamplight.
Delfarius
They are well trained. Delightful.
Delfarius
You may eat and drink.
The permission lands. Faelwen’s shoulders loosen by a fraction, and Nadron’s gaze drops to the food like he is measuring whether he has earned it.
Faelwen
Thank you... my lord.
Nadron
We will share it carefully.
Neither rushes. Faelwen reaches first, tentative but willing, while Nadron waits his turn with his head still bowed, as if the choice itself is part of the lesson.
“I watch with delight as they eat the 'meat' and drink the water. They are so polite in their eating, it is like they are having a feast and are at a grand table, not on their hands and knees in my dungeon.”
Delfarius lets the quiet breathe while they eat. Faelwen tears off a careful bite, Nadron sips water like it has ceremonial weight, and the little, obedient grace of it amuses him more than it should.
On the stone between them, the meal looks almost fit for a noble table, if a noble table were laid in a dungeon and watched by a smirking god.