Chapter 195 Locked Up

......

Able to think? Yes

Four limbs and a head? Check.

Lying on a comfortable bed? No.

Restricted body part? Yes.

Pain on any part of the body? Yes.

Likelihood of death? 40%

The likelihood that I have been captured? 98%

With these questions asked and answered, the long since closed eyes of Evary Seth flickered open.

Darkness, Seth's eyes opened up to darkness, but then from the edge of his eyes, to his right, he could catch a sliver of light, and so he turned his head to stare at the dull light coming from the lantern hanging on a wall not too far away from him.

Seth's eyes flickered as they took in the sights before them, and though wasn't one he could say he appreciated, considering that his head had not been chopped off, he was grateful for the current situation.

Slightly moving his body, but not making any sound, Seth's back rubbed against the hard object that made up his bed, and then pushing himself up, he discovered that what he was lying on was just a thick board that separated him from the floor.

Now sitting up, Seth was at a better vantage point to observe his surroundings, his eyes finally able to register the iron bars that surrounded him on the front, his left and right, and then a wall behind.

The lantern Seth had first seen stood hanging on a wall was some distance from the bars at his front, serving to light up his prison and the Path in front of it.

Seth looked to the floor and registered its bare brown surface, it looked like it had been layered with concrete, but when Seth moved his hands to check out its makeup, he came across one of his very not-good discoveries.

His right hand which should have been raised without hassle, now felt like he was lifting 50 tons of weight, and when his eyes moved to his hands, he had to blink his eyes as finally understood the reason for his positive answer on pain on any part of his body.

Seth didn't know what it was, but the contraption that was placed on each of his arms did not bode well with him.

His palms were left uncovered, but on his arm were 7 iron bracelets which were connected on each arm by two iron bars on the left and right, reaching to his elbow, in a way, t could be called an ugly armguard

There wasn't any indication of how it had been strapped and held in place on his arms, but the sharp pain he felt as he lifted his arms gave him a brutal clue.

Hammered or perhaps nailed into his arms, Seth deduced that there were spikes bean the iron bracelets and that these spikes had been pierced into him, to keep the device in place.

As for its function, Seth was currently unable to move or use the qi within himself, and worst of all, he found it impossible to use his strength.

The amount of power one could output depended on the strength of their skeletal frame, and most importantly their spinal cord.

At the moment, Seth could feel any source of strength he tried to generate in any part of his body be dispersed when it passed through the spinal cord, leaving him powerless.

That sealing had a hand in the creation of this device was a fact, Seth had been locked in a cell and deprived of his ability to use qi or his strength, and now he was basically a lamb for the slaughter.

Deciding to see if there were any other problems with his body, Seth marched through the stinging pain coming from his arms and lifted himself to his feet, carrying the weighty contraption which had been added to his arm as he stood.

"At least I can walk," Seth thought as he lifted his legs, one by one, stretching and rotating his ankles, and then he moved forward till he was standing in front of the bar, where the lighting was better

He put his palms together, entwining his fingers and then lifting his arms, bringing them closer to his eyes and inspecting them, wanting to see what he could learn from these annoying add-ons.

"It's good to see that you're awake," an almost parched voice said, drifting out from Seth's right and having the man turn to look into the darkness that blanketed the right of his cell.

"He, he, he, while they saw it fit to light up your cell, their thoughtfulness didn't extend to me"

"It's interesting how you're still being given special treatment despite the chaos you caused," the voice said, the question in its words recognized by Seth, but he chose to ignore it.

"Do you have any idea what this is?" Seth asked instead, his eyes shifting back to studying the device.

"No, I have never come across such a thing" the voice answered, going silent.

Seconds and minutes passed with no one talking the voice keeping to itself and Seth staring at the troublesome armguards, but in the end, one of them was a lot more needful and once again broke the silence.

"What is your escape plan," the voice asked Seth.

"I don't have any".

"Do you plan on just bending over and dying, because I assure you that they won't spare your life".

"Well this city has seen what I am capable of, and unless, they are totally useless, then escaping in my current state should be impossible"

With his words, Seth expected some more questions, but none came, silence once again permeating the surroundings.

Seth stayed up checking out his bindings for perhaps up to an hour before he decided to call it quits, he had learned a lot about it, but so far hadn't learned anything that saw him breaking free from them.

It wasn't that he couldn't decipher the seal that empowered the armguards, but that he couldn't access them.

From what Seth had picked up, the seal wasn't placed on the armguards, but within like they had been forged with it.

Deciding to take a rest, Seth moved back to the board and sat on it, thinking about whether he should sleep or wait for an attendant to come, but then the voice spoke once more.

"Will you let them kill you?"

"No" Seth simply said, the confidence in his words very apparent.

"Will you let them kill me?" the voice asked once more, the question drawing Seth's interest.

"Should I be worried if you're killed?" Seth asked.

"Considering it was you who took me out of my much more comfortable previous prison, I'll say yes".

"Considering you haven't performed any of your due services, I am entitled to do nothing for you," Seth said, his words bringing a few seconds of silence, but it didn't last long as he spoke once more.

"Don't worry, I won't let anyone kill you".

"Thanks" the voice replied.

"Do you have any idea when the steward or anyone will be coming around?" Seth asked some seconds later.

"No, why?"

"I'm starving".