The Chained Watcher

Backstory: Faustian Bargain

~~~

The quiet mumbling of the people in the room greeted him as he returned to consciousness. Again. Great.

Perhaps he should introduce himself, and no he's not going crazy, he just needs something to focus on that's not his summoners. Hi, he's Collin, and he has the dubious honor of having been summoned to another world! And it sucks! Massively!

The sting of a needle, followed by a draining feeling, tells him that they're draining his blood. Again. He hates it. If he could move, he'd gladly rip that out, then break everything in the room so they would never be able to do this to him again, but he can't. The leather straps holding him to whatever table/bed thing they keep him strapped down on are more than his atrophied muscles can break, and the spots they cover are definitely going to scar.

Another sharp sting of pain distracts him from his internal monologuing, and his breathing quickens, fear growing again. He wants out. He wants out! Please! Someone, anyone!

His mounting panic freezes when he feels something like an itch in his brain, a distant feeling of surprise approaching, melting into curiosity as it examines him. He'd called out into the abyss, and something had responded. Whatever it is, it noticed him, and he's not sure if that's a good thing.

With a previously unnoticed emptiness now eclipsed by the weight of the being's attention, he shivers, a sliver of thought slipping into his mind to convey words in another language he somehow comprehends. Well, well, well, what have we here? A little Hero, calling out for help?

He shivers. Some instinct tells him that this was a bad idea. To cry for help from one such as myself... Tell me, what drove you to such desperation, that you would call for any who could hear?

Without him calling them forth, memories flash through his mind, flickering through everything that had happened to him up until now. This thing that's speaking to him, there's no way it has his best interests in mind... but he has no choice. Whatever Faustian bargain he has to make, he can't stay here any longer, he'll go insane!

An interesting term, and an unfortunate situation. Is it reading his mind? Only the surface, Hero. That which lies in the depths remains hidden.

Another stinging pain distracts him, this time from his wrist. Just like all the other times he started thrashing against the binds, they're knocking him out. He can't even see past the blindfold to glare at them as numbness spreads up his arm, scattering his thoughts and making him extremely sleepy...

His thoughts slam back into full wakefulness as the thing speaking in his head does something, preventing him from losing consciousness even as his limbs go limp. Its voice sounds in his head again, weaving between his own thoughts.

You seek to make a deal, yes? Does he have a choice? There is always a choice, even if there is only one answer. How does that make sense? If there's only one answer, then how can there be a choice? I can grant you what you seek, the freedom you desire, and even revenge if you so wish it. But to accept my offer is your choice to make, and should you reject I shall leave you be.

There's no way he'd be willing to be alone here, not now, not ever. If making a deal with a devil is what it takes, then so be it. I am no devil, though many would consider my kind to be akin to one. To make a deal with me would not be something you would want public. Knowing this, do you still accept my assistance?

...Yes. There's no future awaiting him if he doesn't get out, only madness and torture. A thought crosses his mind. Will this... mark him, in any way? Like a tattoo, or a brand, he knows lots of warlocks in books have things like that. Hmm, no, watching you be hunted down for bearing a mark from my kind would not be interesting. You do not care what happens to your captors, do you?