Apocalypse XVII Rahaas

Rahaas told us, "Welcome to the Lair of Liars!"

He was wearing a black scarf around his face and was covering his eyes with red goggles. He had trimmed hair which was almost shaved in the sides and long and standing on the top with perhaps a length of hair flowing back. He was wearing a black suit of armor with silver gauntlets. His armor wasn't originally black. Rahaas in fact had gotten his armor dyed black when he started working completely in the shadows. His armor was the same bright silver as his gauntlets once upon a time. He left his gauntlets silver as they had the ability to change color according to his wishes. The part of his hands that weren't covered by his armor or gauntlets were covered by a black full arm shirt. He was sitting with his legs spread out and his right leg above his left thigh. His left foot on an unlucky man. This way of being seated is basically him proclaiming that he basically owns this place now. He probably owns it legally as well. He did make a lot of money back when I was level 300 or so. Thousands of people came to him for info. Somehow, he had it all. Some proclaimed that he was a seer. Others claimed that he was a fraud. I believe that he just has wonderful observational skills.

Rahaas looks up at us and tells one of his henchmen, "Give the other guy the antidote"

All his henchmen are dressed like the traditional and typical bodyguards. Dharmendra wakes up with a jerk as he comes to his senses. I tell him, "Here we are, Dharmendra. Rahaas is right in front of you. You think someone who likes to stay in the shadows would let himself be found? You don't find Rahaas. He finds you"

I hear Rahaas snickering in the background. It is true that I knew where to find Rahaas and it was I who found Rahaas but, you gotta give me some credit. Dharmendra is clearly buying it. He looks at his surroundings. He asks where we are. Rahaas tells him in a strong accent, "You are in my private suite, Dharmendra, if I am not wrong, and you were all brought here doesn't under a powerful concoction that puts in deep sleep. There is an antidote to that which we had you inhale to make you three wake up. No one enters this place without me knowing." He stretched his arms and pops his bones in his knuckles and finger joints. Looking at Dharmendra's bewildered face, he continues, "Are you thinking of running off of here, then think again. This room is fifty feet under water. Basically, we are in a form of submarine. That is also why this place doesn't have that great ventilation or any open doors and windows. You can only get out from above. If you want to risk your life, do so at your own caution. I do not want to take your corpse and drink it on this water."

I struggle to keep myself from snickering. Rahaas' guards on the other hand busy out laughing. Rahaas himself chuckles at this. Dharmendra's Dave though, is priceless. Rahaas' ability to make up stuff within a few seconds is amazing. He must have been a wonderful speaker back in real life. Rahaas cheerfully tells me, "Take a seat. I would love to hear what you are here for"

I take a seat on a couch beside the one on which Rahaas is sitting. Dharmendra and Adi sit opposite to me. I open my mouth but I am cut off by Rahaas. He says, "You left the Gods?!! You left the gods for real? Huh... Hahh, I never pegged you for such a braveheart. No offense, but your route is something that even the bravest of the people would cower from. Respect, man... Respect, Hehhe. To both of you. Choosing the third side. Takes a lot!" He put his hand on my thigh so as to say that he respected us. But this really spooks me out. How the hell did he figure it out? Is he psychic? I all, "How'd you know?"

He smiles and says, "Now that would be telling. A brilliant magician never reveals his tricks." He chuckles to himself and says, "If you are here with him," pointing at Dharmendra, "then you must be here to ask about that incident with the Persians in the Indo-Afghan border eh? Those were cranky times. I'll tell you this much: I was not wrong. I have never been wrong and I shall never be wrong."

Dharmendra says, "SHUT UP! Those Persians were players on a quest to bring back fugitives. You sent us after innocents who were after criminals"

He says, "That is where you are wrong. I just told you that there might be trouble on the Indo-Afghan border. All three of you jumped to conclusions too quickly. Those Persians fugitives were people kidnapped from India and enslaved in Persia. Those players were working those space owners. The players didn't know what they were doing. The perspective of all three of you is correct. Aditya was the only one who wanted to go deeper into my words. Karthik and Dharmendra, the two of you jumped to your own conclusions. I am never wrong and I shall never be. Your reputations are your faults, not mine."

That's news. I trusted Rahaas completely! I ask him, "So basically, all the info you've given me were vague incomplete truths? You know, no info is better than incomplete info! I would have trusted you with my life! And you've only been giving me incomplete into? How could you?!!"

Rahaas sighs, "I have told you everything I knew before meeting you everytime. If I knew something you needed when I met you I told you all of it. If you have a problem with that, you can jump out into the water!"

I hear some snickers from the bodyguards.

"Why should we trust you?" comes the voice of Adi.

Rahaas answers, "Because I too would trust you with my life if it came down to it. Hell, you are the only ones I would do that with. And I know that you have no way of trusting me, but I ask that you take a leap of faith!"

Adi says, "There is something that you can do to prove what you have said to is. Reveal your face to us. We will trust you only if you do so. Also, make your character window open and public to those in this room for one minute."

"What do I gain from your trust?" asks Rahaas.

Adi tells him, "Something tells me, that you want us to trust in you because you finally have someone who chose the same path as you did. You renounced your allegiance to the gods but didn't sleep with the demons. You were all alone, until we came. There is finally someone who may share the same path as you do. That is why you want our trust. It's either that, or always stick to the shadows. But you can't do that can you. You can't do that as you are right now. You are a shadow assassin. Your element, if you could call it so, is darkness. You don't need to become one with your element. You can just travel through it. But it takes a toll on you to travel long distances in the shadows. The same things happens when you start within a shadow for too long. Besides, you'll be forced it of a shadow, come light. That is why you want it trust. You want someone to back you up. Why else would the King of Liars all for someone's trust?"

Rahaas says, "You're right. I do need you to back me up"

He removes his goggles first and then his scarf and makes his identity public in the room as all of his bodyguards vanish into darkness.

[Mythological Titbits: Today, we shall be seeing the story is Drona and Drupada, the price of Panchala. If you can recall, Drona and Drupada learnt together under Drona's father, sage Bharadwaja. During this time period, Drona was very helpful to Drupada and the two of them were fast friends and were as thick as blood. Drona used to teach Drupada what he didn't understand. One day, when they were alone, Drupada promised Drona that when he became the King of Panchala, he would give Drona half of his kingdom. Drona agreed to it. The two of them separated their ways after their schooling. Drupada became the King of Panchala and conveniently forgot that he even had a friend named Drona who helped him out. Drona on the other hand married Kripi, sister of Kripa who was the total teacher of the princess in Hastinapura. Drona and Kripi had a son who they named Ashwathama. While Drupada grew richer by the day, Drona grew poorer by the day. He was so poor that he couldn't even afford milk for his son. The first time Ashwathama drank milk, it was just rice flour with water. It wasn't milk. On the insistence if his wife, he went to Drupada to ask him to honor his childhood promise. Drupada thought that Drona was a common Brahmin who had come to beg and told his ministers to give him a vow or two. Drona then asked Drupada if he didn't remember him. Drupada claimed that he did not have any friend named Drona. When Drona told him about the childhood promise, Drupada had Drona kicked out of his kingdom as he was angry that someone was pretending to be his friend who according to him, he never had. Drona swore revenge against Drupada for insulting him and forgetting that Drona was Drupada's friend. When the Pandavas and Kauravas went to Drona to learn under him, the only thing Drona asked for was that upon completion of their studied, they would win Drupada's kingdom for him, to get back at him for insulting and forgetting Drona. After the completion of their studies, Drona asked the Princes to conquer Panchala for him, as Gurudakahina, fees for studying under him. The Kauravas first tried to do so but Drupada defeated them all. Then the Pandavas, led by Arjuna conquered Panchala and brought Drupada to Drive in ropes.

This much is enough for today. Let's meet again tomorrow 👍.]