A Little Imagination

Picture this, if you will.

A  candle-lit  basement, filled with multiple cages. Hooks and chains hang from the ceiling and lay on the floor, but more ominously, the very floor has patterns which confuse the common man; patterns, which one might recognise as the basic platform for demonology. A few racks are also revealed, with straps, chains and various experimentation devices.

Within each of the cages are various peoples and creatures - humans, troggs, elves, Dark Irons - all carefully selected for their  worthlessness to society. Each of them will not have their disappearance accounted for, or considered; not to anyone who matters, at any rate. One of them is unlocked, its occupant dragged, unconscious, to a runic circle.

There, the occupant awakes. A former Defias bandit, he struggles to escape the circle, but it is impossible. Barriers are in place such that there is no true way to escape, but his actions are his own within its locale. Desperately, he seeks to rub out the runes - but to no avail.

A smaller figure comes to him, a gnome, in retrospect. A gnome man, wearing dark protective goggles and a black robe. The man snarls and hurls threats at the gnome, but he smiles at his captive. The abuse continues, but the gnome takes no heed; he simply points to the top of his head.

The occupant is at first confused, but then touches his own head. To his surprise, there is now hair where he had bald spots before. Confused, he looks at his hands, his arms, and pulls out some of his hair to check. He realises that his body is stronger, more vibrant; more lively. His hair is now brown instead of grey, his skin smooth and not calloused. He is a youth again.

Yet, the time for celebration does not occur to him. The initial surprise and small elation he retains turns to confusion, and then dread as he recalls that he is unable to escape. He yells for the man to release him, but is informed he will not be. Instead, the gnome asks questions. Upon being refused, the gnome chants, and the man is inflicted with increasing agony. Multiple refusals cause him to faint, and the man is taken to his cage.

When he awakes , he finds himself in the same situation. He is asked questions; he is hurt when they are not answered in a manner far deeper than physical injury.  Upon finally relinquishing his answers, he is finally allowed respite, and allowed to return to his cage, then fed for the next day.

Day after day, this is repeated. At some point the gnome chants, forcing a ritual that ages the man ; this causes him consequences which he had not foreseen, but nevertheless he answers the questions for the cost is unbearable. And at some days he finds himself healed of the aging and injuries, only for it to be inflicted once again, and repeated.

Finally, at the end of a month, the man is released for his purpose has been served. Worn but vengeful, he swears to kill the gnome, but upon the first attempt to do so, the gnome whispers - his body is forced to stay awake as untold mental agony is inflicted upon him for hours on end, until at last, his tormentor allows him the luxury of killing himself - via the means of ripping his own heart out.

Now, you must be wondering why I am telling you this. You must also be thinking, well, the man in the story seems to fit my situation so well! That's because you are the man in the story. Now, the good news is you do not have to make the decisions that man makes. I will promise you that if you are obedient, you will have a far easier fate than that man. But if you do not, I will inform you I can extend that suffering as long as I please.

Choose quickly. The tests  have already begun.