((I'd like that but Li is bleeding and I'm pretty sure he'll bleed worse if he took it off and reused it. Li's shurikens are different. A sketch is coming soon so you'll know soon enough ))

I heard a croak from Mort, almost faintly. I heard his need for water. Of course as the worker who must put his hostaged clients in before himself I feel that it is my responsibility to care for my clients, and I can believe it is my duty even if I were wounded by my own weapon.
I use all of my weight to drag Mort out to the floor of the foyer and rest his head on a higher level-- the cage's door. I open his mouth by lightly gripping his jaw to slowly feed him the water from the skin. I must use it sparingly as I do not know whether or not there is any clean water in this manor, at least for now.

He drank the water that was fed to him with a great thirst, not caring who it was who gave him this water, it tasted so good, the best thing in the world as far as he was concerned. Slowly, he felt his strength come back to him and after a short while, he was able to push himself up and look at the face of who he thought was his saviour.

((Don't let him get too healthy; remember: you are just fit enough to break a nose with... a crowbar? Hint: look behind my feet, what is that impaled on the large, laid-down closet barricading the door with everything else?))

I watched him stand up to look at me. But, he could not see my face through my dark-blue mask, I think I appeared like a faceless set of cheap, rushed dark blue clothing with a katana and a shuriken. I wore the strap of my skin of water again and painfully walked up the stairs, not waiting for him but rather waiting to listen to any words that he might say. I stood by two doors as there was no other way. I waited for him for which door he'd choose, looking down to him.

((I know, the water was just enough to give him strength to move, that's all)

Paltala looked at the person with curiosity, taking in the mask and the clothes, "So...are you here to -coughs- kill me, or save me?" He asked while they walked up the stairs. While waiting for an answer, he spied a rust red crowbar wedged into what seemed like a closet, giving it a tug, he pulled it free and slowly made his way up the stairs to stand next to them.

((Looking from Li's perspective: Door left or door right? Hint: 1 leads to a room where you find out why Bartelé REALLY kidnapped you and a diary entry of his ultimate goal. The other leads you to the next 2 people trapped in individual contrapions. One way or another, by the way I've pre-set everything in this Chapter so rigging is impossible for me, we'll get to Tacilyn and Claude.))

I do not speak, but I look to the doors to gesture Mort to choose a door. Although I was a very suspscious looking man, it was evident that I wanted to save Mort from the clean water I fed him. I took out the last thing from a rigged shuriken pocket: the warrant of rescue, signed by the League's official(s) and Piltover's supreme authorities. Mort's full and nickname was on the list. I reach it out to him, with no exaggeration. The warrant is written to authorise anyone, and any force, to kill Bartelé and rescue the six, presumed alive, who were captured. I was the one chosen to execute the warrant.

Paltala took the warrant, read it over thoroughly, handed it back to the man and smiled. "Thank you." He said gratefully with a slight nod. He looked at the two doors, the one on the left was wooden and old, the one on the right had a metallic look to it. Giving the metallic one a shove, it swung open revealing another room.

((right door))

((Tacilyn and Claude are in the kitchen. No dice; that wasn't the diary door.))

I took the warrant and reached my hand to ask Mort to let me in first. I did not wait, rather I just squeezed in.

Kitchen - Finding Talicyn and Claude

I walk in an ironclad room. To a powerful surprise, I saw several bodies suspended over the counter by ropes tied to their ankles, on hooks, under the tall ceiling, half being disembodied and with 'additions', the other intact, most whose faces blued to his demise and a body ((Tacilyn)) of a woman hanging loose over a small, deep dugout pond into the counter, stitched together hands and parts of the mutilated victims swimming with their fingers inside the rotten-bloodied walls. I looked back to Mort, but as I did, there was sound of clanking and walking in an organised marching pace. The hooks were all impaled forcibly on a ceiling conveyor that connected to a crudely attached meat processing section. There was an oven, possibly with a body in it.

I dared not contemplate asking Mort to shut the door for that the last lights came from the foyer itself. I looked at the live but unconscious body and matched with with a photo- Talicyn. I open the oven to see another familiar figure--Claude--his body was chained into the walls of the ironclad oven. How could I free them? I wonder; Claude could die either way; the oven's gas tank, which was connected to a spark plug, was weak but its gas well concentrated to burn, but not kill, a man, and a slight spark could burn Claude with the tank and activate the conveyor to make Talicyn turn to human steak. I begin to think, but I need light, and carefully placed so that it can illuminate my working place but not burn Claude.

[[I forgot, but 2.0 litres left on the water.]]

Paltala followed in cautiously, clutching his crowbar as if it was the last thing in the world. The sight that met was was disgusting, bodies and blood, parts and guts everywhere, all where they shouldn't be...here.
He looked around, struggling to hold his stomach at the sight and looked at the two bodies that appeared to be alive, looking at the one in the oven, he made sure the door was wide open, "give the oven a few minutes to air out, reduce the gas concentration."
He then moved to the one by the counter, had a look at the chains, rusted yet strong enough to hold someone in place. He jammed his crowbar into one of the links and tried twisting it to try and break the chains. When he realised he didn't have the strength, he motioned over for the other person to try.

I suddenly caught sight of a quartet of living armours, ravaged by worms, maggots and flies, flesh of their past bearers decaying inside and giving a stench. They were about to enter, but I limped to the door, the wall supporting my motions, and used my katana and the scabbard to jam it shut on the knob as it had no brackets I kicked it in. My sword now supports as a temporary stopper. Conveniently, there was a tinderbox on the floor and above it was a glass lantern. I light it as my humanly vision adapted to see little. Finally, I saw the room in a yellowish tone. How I have missed Ionia and its beautiful yellow lights at night.
As Mort gestured for me to try to free the live girl, I pointed at the mechanism that would kill her, then I worm the point of my finger from the mechanism to the oven and closed my first to look at Mort, then I opened my hand as to gesture that we'd die from the explosion.
I sharply looked down as I felt a crawling sensation on the outside of my boot-- NO! Piece by piece the undead suits are entering! It was on! I kicked my shoe and successfully shook the worms off. I hold Tacilyn by the torso and gestured Mort to lift her with me.

Paltala nodded, removed the crowbar and jammed it into his belt to hold it, he grabbed Tacilyn's legs, grunted and lifted her up.