MISERY

Caged like an animal, he found Cassim at the end of the tunnel.

"Oh, thank God! I knew someone would come for me!" the imprisoned man exclaimed as he rose to his feet and clutched the iron bars. "I promise, you won't regret this! We have coin, and much of it!'

MISERY remained silent as he strode past the cell and to a ring of keys hanging on an adjacent wall, a bony appendage protruding from beyond his bloody veil and scooping them up before retracting back and out of sight.

"What is your name?" Cassim beckoned. "Please, I must know who it is that has saved me."

There was no response. MISERY approached the cage, unlocked it, and allowed the crooked door of the cell to slowly roll open of its own accord. Cassim started to move to exit his cell, but stopped and issued a perplexed look to MISERY as he stood in the way, unmoving. His eyes widened as the reality of the situation dawned on him and, in a swift gleam, found a talon of pure bone. It sank deep into his stomach, and in a flash, his health was depleted. Before his body disintegrated, a real hand, pale and sickly, extended from beyond the cloak of blood, snatching the ring that rode Cassim's finger. Then, he scattered as the verdant of MISERY's cursor shifted to a deep tangerine.

It was a few minutes longer before Cordelia arrived. It was plenty of time for the azure fractals of Cassim's body to fully evaporate, MISERY to hide the ring, and use a unique consumable that hid the fresh orange of his new cursor. To the trained eye, one might see the occasion flicker of orange beyond the green mask, but they would be none the wiser if they weren't looking for it.

Finally, she arrived.

"Either he escaped, or they killed him already," MISERY explained, lying through his teeth. "I won't lie, I would have loved the opportunity to slay him myself. But it seems as though that opportunity, too, has slipped through my fingers." A pause. "Do you think Ali will still pay us?"