Chapter 2: Time to Talk

"Where did your parents go wrong with you?" Clavidicus asked Nadia as the two walked towards Windy Tree.

"Where did they go right I think is the better question" Nadia responded. "They felt all of their children should grow up with a strong education. Education is not the sort of thing nobles really need to survive but it makes us more cultured. Believe me, some of the families in Talisman could use a little more culture. Culture is more then just how expensive your clothing is, it's also how you act."

Clavidicus laughed. "Yes I've seen my fair share of people, some more cultured then others."

"Exactly. But anyways my childhood was filled with lesson after lesson on how to be elegant and proper. Mixed in was self defense and weapon training. I really took to magic the most. My teachers could not keep up with my thirst for knowledge in both divine and arcane magics. I think my parents were amused at first with my special interests in magic. They figured I'd grow out of it eventually and take a more active part in the interest of the house, but it was not to be so. I told them just a couple days ago that what I really need right now is to get out and do my own thing. I think they realized I wouldn't take no for an answer."

Clavidicus added "From what I've seen, you're pretty capable of taking care of yourself."

Nadia grinned. "Thanks! I don't have a very commanding physical presence. I'm not all big and scary like you or anything."

Clavidicus dropped his hands to his sides. "That has come from my less then pleasant life so far. I've seen my fair share of death and hard times."

Nadia clapped excitedly. "Oh do tell...."

"I don't even know how to react to your fascination with suffering and death. If you're interested in my story, I'll tell you the details..." Clavidicus cleared his voice before continuing. "I was born into a life as a human slave and put to work at the earliest age possible. We were sent to work in a mine collecting ore."

"Did you kill anyone?" Nadia interrupted.

"I'll get to that part, be patient." Clavidicus continued. "There were many other slaves of various backgrounds and races put to work with me, and over time I was able to learn their various languages just by being around them and talking day in and day out as we worked. It was all any of us could do to keep ourselves together. Eventually a couple of us managed to hatch a plan to break free from our captors. And yes it involved killing."

Nadia clapped excitedly again. "Yay! The best part! Go on, go on...."

"Well to properly guard a set of slaves, you need at least as many guards, which is more then the mines we worked in had. Their whole operations were apparently held together precariously based on the hope that the slaves would not rally together. I'll just say once we finally did act, the balance was tipped so far in our favor, we managed to kill every single one of the guards. Not one was able to report back to their leaders what had transpired. By the time they even realized anything was wrong at the mines, the whole slave army was long gone, dispersed in every direction to start life anew."

"What did you do with the bodies?" Nadia asked.

"There was fear that the owners of the mines would return sooner then they did, so none of us stuck around long enough to do anything with the bodies." Nadia frowned as she heard this.

Clavidicus continued, "After that, I wandered around on my own for a couple weeks in the area till I caught word that the slavers were out with hunting teams trying to track down all of us that had escaped the mines. Now that I was better nourished and better prepared, I thought I would have a little fun with these hunters, namely hunting down and ambushing them as fast as I could find them. Each one I found, I grew more and more creative in how I would kill them. I'd leave the bodies strung up in trees or dismantled on the ground, each attempt even more bloody. Eventually I think the rumors surrounding these attacks got exaggerated out of proportions."

Clavidicus paused for a moment to think. "Some of my favorite rumors included armies of were-creatures that were punishing the slavers for their wrong doing. This rumor worked to my benefit for a time but eventually they realized it wasn't worth the loss of their men to recover some slaves, since they could just as easily get more elsewhere. After my prey stopped coming, I wander around for some time till I happened upon Talisman. Of course there I had the pleasure to meet you and here we are."

"Thanks for sharing your tale, Clavidicus, though next time make sure to include more detail on how you killed them." Nadia laughed. "Night is approaching fast, but luckily Windy Tree should be just over these hills. Lets speed up a little so we can make it there before the sun disappears. From what I've heard, in this town, nightfall is when the real fun starts."