A Good Drink.

"Ugh."

A groan escaped Aldric's lips, his eyes flickering open and a grimace holding his whole face, as he swiftly adjusted to the darkness, he tried to make out his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was the chair beneath him; he was sitting. That was a good start, way better than lying on a dungeon floor as he had expected.

Then he looked around, and he saw all the other five candidates who seemed to have regained consciousness a while ago, sitting around a table just like him. For someone who had been knocked out and captured, this was the last scene he expected to see.

"You took your sweet time, but you joined us in the end."

Aldric turned to the voice from his side, smooth and dripping with contempt.

"Like the rest of your friends, I'd like to also advise you not to stand from the chair you're seated in, or you will activate a rune, causing an explosion that kills you all."

Al gazed at the man a moment who stood a reasonable distance away. He assumed him to be Sinus the arcane, a man with long dark hair and a considerably attractive face. Then, shifting his eyes to the rest of the candidates, they were indeed not bound by any chains or ropes, yet they stayed put. It looked like they believed the man's words about the rune, and most likely with reason.

'What of her?'

He glanced at Asari. It seemed she also was unable to move. At first thought, Aldric assumed her ability would just turn the explosion on Sinus, but according to her explanation, only active intent can be reflected. Thus meaning since the rune has been set and not Sinus actively trying to harm Asari, her marking won't save her.

"As you've probably noticed," Sinus began, pulling Aldric from his thoughts, "before you are cups, and in those cups are the finest of wine to show my hospitality. Rest assured, you can relax, I simply was to ask a few questions."

Aldric glanced down at the cup before him, then looked back up at sinus with a frown.

'He's not the brightest, is he? Even a monkey will know this is some kind of poison.'

Aldric although, still questioned the attempt. If he wanted them dead, he could just end their lives. Why would he want to kill them by making them willingly drink poison?

However, it did not matter.

"Nobody is drinking that, we aren't foo—"

The Elf's words died in her throat as the echoing thud of Aldric's cup slamming on the table sounded. He rubbed his mouth with his arm, having downed the entirety of the cups contents.

"That's good poi-, I mean, that's good wine."

Among the others, even Sinus had a face of disbelief. The rest of the candidates already knew—Aldric was no fool, and yet he drank a cup full of what could most likely be poison, and that fact made them feel unease. As for Sinus, he heard Aldric acknowledge it as poison, so it made no sense that he still drank it.

Even then, the absurdity was not over.

Aldric reached towards the front of Muscles, who sat to his left, took the cup before him, and drank the contents as well. They all watched in disbelief as he then reached to his right, took the cup of Robes, and drank from it also. However, he didn't consume all the cup's contents; he paused halfway, looked into the cup, and then took another sip before dropping the half-empty cup back on the table with a resounding thud.

'Hopefully, I got the amount right.'

"Why are you all looking at me? It's just a bit of poison, no?"

Aldric addressed the room with a smile of unchallengeable confidence. While they all looked at him with a mix of shock and intrigue, quite interested to see what he had up his sleeves.

'Maybe the additional I drank canceled it out or something? I can't know until the next repetition.'

Then, a hearty laugh shot through the room. Sinus's head shot backward as he cackled hysterically, as if hearing the best joke of his life.

"I get it now, you must have some kind of immunity to poison."

At Sinus's words, nods could almost be seen on the faces of the others, as if in agreement of his realization, perhaps assuming that was an ability of Aldric's marking: Poison immunity.

'It's not.'

"Well, you see, it's quite unfortunate, because that is no poison," The voice of Sinus lowered and darkened, as if he were about to speak secrets even the gods mustn't hear.

"What you just drank... Is the secretion of the Agradeian Reaper."

Upon Sinus's words, tension, thick and suffocating, seemed to settle in the room, and just the name he uttered alone made the candidates' eyes widen in fear.

"My brother Hariga had collected some over many years, and when we were informed spies of the First's temple shall come, I had kept some just for you all. You see, when ingested, the secretion of the Agradeian reaper makes its way to the blood and eventually the brain, causing one to enter a state where they are compelled to answer any question truthfully. Of course, that is when given the right dose like I had given each of you. If taken just a couple of drops more than supposed to, then it will lead to unbearable pain, the most any can ever feel in their life... And eventually death."

Aldric's throat actively became drier with each word that came out of Sinus's mouth, and with each tingle, he slowly began to feel in his body, his heart dropped.

"Oh fuc—Aghhhhhhh!"

Aldric screamed in pain as sweat formed on his face and his veins popped all over his skin. The pain began and immediately became utterly unbearable. He felt as if his flesh was being scraped upon by a hot blade and his bones crushed.

Aldric's screaming continued as saliva began to drip from his mouth, and he lost control of himself, eventually shuddering and falling off the chair.

And in that moment, Blindfold saw his chance. An explosion had not happened; that meant Sinus, knowing Aldric would eventually fall off the chair, must have deactivated the rune.

Then, with only a flicker, Blindfold was beside Sinus with a cocked blade.