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He scaled another wall up to row five, then six, had to pause in between some more befuddled guards, then kept pressing. Seven, eight.

And then he found himself stuck. Completely.

No matter how hard he flexed his muscles or tried to move, he couldn't. He just trembled ever so slightly in place.

"Tsk, tsk, so close." It was Vanderberk's voice, only a meter or so away by the sound of it. Raul couldn't even turn his head to be sure. Not that it would've mattered much, because a few moments later, Vanderberk melted into view right in front of him. "Neat little trick back there. Quite the annoying power you've got. Mind telling me your name?"

Even if he could have, Raul had no intention of answering that.

And at this point, he knew he should inform Arumoro that he'd been caught. Operationally speaking, it was the standard procedure.

But if he did that, he knew that his kin would come storming in here like a whirlwind, and utter chaos would ensure. He didn't know if they could take down Vanderberk. A part of him thought, yeah, maybe they could.

However, he wasn't worth taking that risk. He wasn't worth much of anything, really. Just a nameless fool who could barely ever do anything right.

Vanderberk blinked and snapped his fingers. "Ah, right, sorry. Here."

And Raul felt the pressure surrounding his jaw slacken. The rest of his body was still stuck fast, though.

He elected not to make use of his newfound freedom.

"Mm, the silent treatment, eh? That won't do. I like to play with my food, you know. I'm a bit famous for it, in fact. So come on. Play with me, and maybe you'll get to live a little longer. Not a bad trade, right?"

Well. Raul did like to talk. "Shouldn't you be over in Ridgemark or Czacoa, right now?"

The man smiled. "Oh? What makes you say that? Been listening to some misinformed little birdies, have we? Good to know my efforts weren't wasted, then."

Hmm. Maybe a bit of goading would prove useful here. "The Jailer of Ridgemark is going to tear your forces apart without you there to help them."

"Tsk. Y'know, I was kinda hoping he would be HERE, actually. Would only make sense, right? The Jailer? In a jail? Guess that would've been TOO fitting, huh? Hehe. Unless you're just trying to trick me, and he actually IS here. That'd be a real treat."