The base of the Sabre

[Aeric Ecrai]

Night had already fallen, casting shadows over the already dimly lit Bravil, and concealing many of the shadowy hideaways that criminal rings had taken up in the city.
After a few days of trudging along through the wilderness following the guiding figure of Daex, Venn and his "friend", had made it to Bravil, where Daex's headquarters of sorts was located.

Venn wasn't really sure what to think of Daex. He certainly didn't know him enough to call him a friend, but he had saved his life. Then again, the General had proved a staunch foe, and would have probably won if he hadn't had to disappear off to somewhere. Well, Venn figured, he might have won. No telling what Daex had up his sleeves.

Holding the wrapped-up bow to his side and walking in his odd, swagger like walk, Daex turned to look back at Venn.
"The headquarters is close now, boy. Try not to appear strange to the other occupants."
The "base", as Daex described it, was just a small, discreet house on the near outskirts of Bravil, so close to the city wall that it seemed like it was scraping against it.

Upon entering, Venn noticed two things:

One, the interior of the building was just about as run down as the exterior. The walls were shabby, and two poorly built chairs sat around a table that looked like it was about to collapse. The majority of the floor was coved in a meager rug, but the dirt of the ground showed through in some places.

Two, there was no one there. Daex had said 'occupants', but Venn was awfully sure he hadn't meant the beetle that was crawling across the floor, or the termites that were more than likely in the wooden walls.

The house didn't even have a second floor. Then again, it was Bravil. Some houses didn't have any floors, they were just sleeping mats on the ground. Still, Venn wasn't impressed.

"So...nice, ah, base." Venn mildly commented, attempting to hide the sarcasm from his voice.
"Shut up. This isn't the base. That is." Daex pointed to a corner of the rug. Actually, when Venn looked at the closer, it was a trapdoor covered by the rug.

"Oh. I see..."
"Yes, you do see. Now stop making fun of me. It might get you killed sometime."
Daex walked over to the end of the room, kicked the rug and revealed a trapdoor that resembled the rest of the room: shabby, run down, and seemingly useless.
Looking at Venn's disbelief, Daex chuckled. As if he had read his mind, he said,
"Of course it's sturdy. Try kicking it in or breaking it. Heck, even try opening it. It won't work."
After attempting all of the things Daex had suggested and a few more, such as hitting it with both chairs (the first broke after hitting it, to the annoyance of Daex), Venn found that indeed, it wasn't going to budge.

[Aeric Ecrai]

Daex sighed, walked over to where Venn was standing and shoved him out of the way. Bending over the trapdoor, he placed his finger on the surface. Muttering something about having to buy a new chair and Venn's recklessness, he moved his finger in what seemed to be a sideways eight, slashing downwards on two of the curves and putting two dots. The symbol lit up, and Venn heard a the hiss-click that he was accustomed to hearing when pressure plates went off, but instead, the door swung downward, reavealing a dark corridor.

"You'll meet the other residents down there. Welcome to the base, Venn. I trust you'll be an asset to our small team?"

"Y-yes sir," Venn replied, somewhat taken aback by his sudden admission to a 'team' he didn't even know about yet.

"Come on, then."
Daex motioned down the corridor to the darkness below.
"I hope you aren't scared of the dark, boy. We have a ways to walk before we get to the actual headquarters."

Without waiting for a reply, Venn's cocky superior walked down the steps and into the darkness. Seeing no other choice, Venn stepped down as well and began to follow him.

* * *

A ways to go turned out to be more like two hours and at least twenty turns through the darkness, the only thing keeping him from being lost was the dim light cast by an illumination spell Daex had active. Venn was glad to know that Daex was skilled in at least one form of Magii, if not more.

"Well, here we are. I would say that this is quite an improvement over the house we came from." Daex commented over their shoulder as Venn entered the room right behind him.

Venn's eyes widened as he took in what lay out in front of him. Massive, slate gray brick walls rose up around him for about twenty feet. Toches lay in rings around the entire room, casting their light on the other surroundings. Plush, exotic couches, no doubt picked out by Daex himself. Tables of every wood, some most likely imported from other countries. Exotic rugs adorned the floor, giving a nice, nostalgic feeling to the otherwise cold area. And that was just the beginning. Two more hardwood doors were on either side of the room, no doubt leading to other areas as plush and comfortable as this one looked. Or not. Venn had no way of knowing.
And it was all underground.

"Like it? It took me quite some time to find an area that would suit our purposes..." Daex commented as Venn walked around the room in awe.

"It looks like...a castle," Venn commented, sitting down on one of the couches and sinking in about half an inch.

"It is, actually. Completely buried, and brought back to life by yours truly and my partner in the operation, L'cen. You'll meet him later. Be careful though, he's not very social. Or kind. But he picked out most of the furniture and other oddities we have him. This room, however, is all me," Daex replied with a half grin.

"It's very comfortable. I take it that this is some sort of... living area?" Venn asked as he further 'tested' the softness of the rest of the furniture.

"That and an interrogation room, yes," Daex said, laughing.
"Some people don't really take my interrogation skills seriously. The last person to be interrogated here was Dameus Exavior himself. Of course, L'cen did that one. He has something either for or against Exavior, but which I can't say."

"D-D-Dameus Exavior?! The greatest theif and rogue ever to live?? He was here, in this room???" Venn gasped, his eyes growing as wide as saucers, which only sent Daex into a fit of gruff laughter.

"Yes, he was here. We attempted to hold him against his will in our prison area, but foolishly did not watch him. Five minutes after we left the room he somehow escaped back the way we came. L'cen and I still have no idea how he got out. But that's not important at all. Here, let me show you around the rest of the place." Daex said after he had regained his composure.

[Aeric Ecrai]

((I'm going to make this short because this little storyline has quickly deteriorated into nothing in my brain))
As if from nowhere, two men walked into the room. One was clad in all black, complete with an ominous cowl that covered his face. The other was in a bright white duster jacket and had fiery red hair. Where Venn had seen him before, he could not place.
"Ah, Venn, why don't you go out and free up a little time? There's not much for you to do, and I have to, ah, discuss things with my guests." Daex commented over his shoulder, eyebrows raised at the hooded man.

"Sure thing, Daex. That is to say, not like I have a choice."
Venn left the room back the way he came. It seemed easier to find your way out than it was to find your way in.