Time. Never before had he given so much consideration to the nature of time. It was maddening. The translation of thought to action had slowed....not just slowed but practically halted. His stone prison was a torture so devious that at moments his thoughts strayed to suicide. The fact that the implementation of such thoughts would take a millennium was even more insidious. He was trapped…able to see, able to hear, able to feel and yet powerless to act. For weeks he had focused all of his strength on simply raising his arm. Trying to measure the results, which may have been slightly more movement than the width of a hair, had nearly driven him to the brink of madness. He would scream, but it would be the children of his companions who would witness it. For all of his power, arcane and political he was now helpless and alone.
He was encased in a prison of living stone, standing in the castle courtyard like a monument to some long departed king. And yet he was still very much alive. He could see everything and everyone around him. He could hear their words. They spoke to him. They vented to him. They confessed to him. He could tell that no one was sure if he could actually understand them, but he heard every word. The visitors kept the intense loneliness at bay for fleeting moments. There were times where he could feel his heart breaking, as he looked upon his friends consumed with despair. There were rare moments of mirth where he overheard conversations and confessions not meant for the ears of the Baron. He saw the sun rise every morning and set every evening. He saw the summer flowers in the courtyard bloom and felt the birds perch upon his shoulders.
But mostly there was silence and loneliness.…and anger. Plotting, fighting, and scheming for a way to break free of this fey curse. How many times he wished he had never made a deal with the foul fey. Their trickery and eons of infighting had resulted in this. They were devious animals without honor.
He was once proud. He was once strong and now he would crawl on his hands and knees begging if only someone would end this misery. The thought of a thousand years trapped in this living stone was too much. If only they would have had the decency to strike him down in battle. This was a torture devised from a sick and twisted mind. The only thing that kept his thoughts from lurking in the dark place was revenge…revenge against the one who did this to him. He imagined burning the foul fey witch in an eldritch fire so hot that it would melt the stone she stood upon. He would not pass from this world without seeing that done.
He no longer slept as he once did. He would think and think and think until his mind collapsed into a trance-like unconsciousness from the strain and exhaustion. It was in such a moment one summer evening where the last thing he could remember was seeing the changing of the watch in front of him before his mind fell once again into such a state.
*******
“Open your eyes child.”
The great, booming voice snapped Raam from his trance. He strained to come to consciousness. This moment felt familiar and Raam was filled with terror. He did not see the courtyard of the castle or the watchmen who guarded his stone prison. Raam sat alone in blackness surrounded by a thick grey fog that smelled faintly of burning timbers.
As he tried to center himself a horrifying vision began to come into focus.
A giant yellow eye rimmed with bright red scaly flesh pushed through the fog. The yellow of the iris was cut by a deep ebony pupil, which focused upon him. If Raam had been able to move, a shudder of fear would have coursed through his body.
“Look at you now child” said the dark voice and a cavernous laugh resonated through his mind.
“I smell the foul Fey stink through the stone, you fool. This is what you deserve for bargaining with that lot.
You had it all laid out for you my child. Power, advantage, magic…..and what did you do?
YOU THREW IT ALL AWAY!” the voice had risen to a rumbling and terrifying scream, followed by a long bestial roar. The yellow eye focused and burned with hate.
“You bargained with the foul fey and now you have their taint upon you. You fool. You had only to wait a bit longer. Have I wasted my time with you? I should leave you trapped like this for an eon as punishment. To be used as a perch for birds until your mind is consumed by madness.”
“Some foul, half-cricket vermin offers you a deal and you take it? Look at that disgusting armor you wear. I could rend that like a dagger through warm butter. You were on the path to true power. Magic is true power and you bargained it away like a fool. Such a petulant child you are Raam. Your stupidity disgusts me.
Perhaps I will help you and perhaps I will not. There are others. You are not the only one. I am not so foolish as you. But you are dear to me. You have a certain charm to you which I find lacking in the others….
Regardless I will leave you now to your prison. Dwell upon my words and agonize over them.
Goodbye child.”
The yellow eye and smoke vanished and once again Raam was alone, trapped in his stone prison in the castle courtyard.
*********
That night an unnatural darkness fell over the courtyard of Castle Redemption. Within a moment the two watchmen posted to guard the Baron fell into a deep slumber. No sound was made as they collapsed into a heap on the cobblestones. A cloaked figured walked through the darkness with purpose. It approached the stone figure. A scaly, clawed hand pulled an amulet from the cloak and placed it around the neck of the Baron. The amulet smelled faintly of wood smoke as it affixed itself to Raam’s stone neck. The red jewel in the center of the amulet began to glow faintly as if a burning ember was trapped inside. With each passing hour the glow of the ember grew just a bit brighter.
Inside of his stone prison, Raam's mind screamed in agony. It felt as if every inch of his body was consumed in burning hot flame. The pain never ceased. With each second the burning grew hotter and the agony became more intense.
