Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros stumbled over his words before either could finish, but only managed something coherent when they had. "That's...all well and good, Hal-Neesa," he said with a hand raised, "but we only found this place by tracking a missing body dug up from the clan graveyard."

"He is right, we are not spying." Sabine revealed herself shortly after Fendros alluded that he was not here alone. "We thought there was a necromancer operating here." She hesitated. "Someone other than either of you," she quickly added.

Fendros took the moment to take a deep breath, trying to ignore the rotten stench. "Right...so, if you would not mind telling us what's going on here? What do you mean by 'your end of a deal'?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros' heart sunk when Hal-Neesa entered through the door. His preconceptions were immediately thrown away, but he did not have time to think of a plan before Ahnasha's appearance left him stunned. His invisible eyes grew in shock and a wave of fear ran back over his head. His lack of action was less of an active decision and more the simple result of his mind being left at a blank loss.

Meanwhile, Sabine had to resist the reflex to gasp in her own surprise and confusion. She had always known Ahnasha's necromancy to have boundaries. She helplessly waited for Fendros actions first.

It took several more moments before Fendros could even shake his mind free enough to think. He immediately reminded himself that he was no match for Hal-Neesa. None of them were. His next thought was the absurdity of any arrest with Ahnasha complicit. He needed answers.

"Ahna?" He spoke as he stepped into view, moving fast enough to break the invisibility spell upon him early. His voice came out lower and more airy -- and betrayed -- than he had anticipated. His face was just as shocked and confused as his thoughts. He remembered to breath and tried to force his voice back to normal. "What are you two doing here?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

While Fendros held his chin to think about the plan, Sabine pulled out a small waterskin from her shoulder bag. "This will keep you invisible for a few minutes when you drink it," she said, before handing the skin to Fendros. "The necromancer may try to detect our lifeforces as well. I could hide and watch from the outside when we lay the ambush in case of that."

"I was just thinking on that," Fendros responded. "Is there any way we can hide ourselves from such detection?"

Sabine's brow twinged with a little regret. She shook her head. "Only by being far away," she said. "I know how to hide it with alchemy, but it takes too much time to prepare."

Fendros exhaled. "We'll have to rely on our quarrel's complacency then, and a bit of luck. Let's set up and wait for a few hours."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros gave Saras a nod and motioned for Sabine to quietly follow him inside. They both had to breathe slowly enough that they would not gag. While there were no immediate threats, there was always the chance of someone or somthing hiding, waiting to leap out.

Thankfully, they treaded each room with nothing accosting them. Sabine and Fendros both eyed various details as they went, before doubling back to the main room.

"Nothing?" Fendros asked.

Sabine nodded.

"Let's take a quick look around."

A closer look at the details of the makeshift home were only held more curiosities in store. Fendros winced at the black soul gems, leaving them in their place. He took out one of the books and brought it back to the main room, opening to a page in the middle to confirm what it was.

"Any idea why there are Falmer totems in here, Sabine?"

Sabine poked her head around the corner from the kitchen. Her eyes went immediately to the book in Fendros' hands. "Left over from before whoever lived here. They would not keep books."

Fendros peered up from the book. "Hm. What's in there?"

"Food. Water. Fire and frost salts."

"Right then," Fendros clapped the book shut. "This can't be Falmer and it would be too much misdirection to be Hal-Neesa's style." He glanced at the unfinished undead creature. "Let's step outside. That thing is wretched."

When they walked outside, they both took a deep breath of the relatively fresher cavern air.

Fendros spoke up to Saras. "It's definitely a necromancer. Someone operating here for long periods of time. There's no other folk in this cavern with books like these except in the clan." He looked over his shoulder. "They are also very well stocked with filled black soul gems. How they were filled, I wish I would not speculate."

"They might know we are here," Sabine added. "We took time to reach this place. Whoever lives here, they might have spotted us on the way if they are good at hiding."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine and Fendros stared at the building uneasily. Fendros at least slightly more relieved that the trail had not lead to Ahnasha's hidden laboratory, but he did not want to relax yet. She could have moved her operations. However, even if she had not, that meant they did not know who they were dealing with.

Fendros drew his sword and prepared a ward. "Be ready for anything," he said calmly. "It could be trapped."

Sabine brought a spell to each hand as well. "There may be undead," she added. "I did not learn the spell to detect them."

"Right." Fendros crept up to the door, pressed an ear against its surface to listen for anything behind it, and then moved to stand behind the doorframe. Once Sabine was positioned on the opposite side, Fendros eased the door open and leaned to look inside.

Divinus: The God RP, Mk. III. Finished in Record Time™!

Li'Kalla had not lied to Kirron. The belly of the Beast was not digesting anything. It was merely a warm, dark, enclosed bath with water lapping at the rough walls of the stomach lining. It was putrid, to be sure, and had Kirron needed to see or breathe, he would have plenty of reason to struggle. Though, for now he relaxed, closed his eyes, and reached out with his senses for any errant traces of that partial soul Li'Kalla was missing. Somehow, the lack of any need to use his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, or touch only helped him take in every last detail.

And yet, even within the frame of the Beast's body, Kirron had trouble finding much more than he perceived from the outside. Let alone anything he was looking for.

He asked himself silently what this beastly part was. How could it have come to be except by Li'Kalla's own actions? And what actions would have annihilated -- or at the very least, stolen away -- the rest of her?

The beast was a creature of anger and determination. Hunger. To mention ambition might have had a shred of truth if it had the smarts to be capable of it. Yet it had a common sense, else Kirron's friendly advances would have simply been repaid with an attack. It only attacked threats? Maybe that was it.

Such were Kirron's continuing thoughts, out from between the short break to speak with the selka chieftain, Anhaf. The blood god's search for the soul pieces resumed to double-check any niches and corners of Li's psyche he might have missed. Perhaps Anhaf would pray again, crying that his plan did not work. Kirron hoped Anhaf would not shriek incoherently in pain towards him if he simply was not strong enough. He imagined the high pitch would put a damper on his focus.

Even the thought of it make him scowl. He could not get it out of his head. It persisted for such a time that his finger twitched involuntarily.

"Eh?" Kirron did not remember having trouble clearing his head or keeping his fingers still. He reached around to hold his twitching hand only to feel something bony and scaly wrapped around it. The speculative shriek sounded weakly again, only to bubble and gurgle. It was not in his head at all.

"Oh...Didn't think Anhaf would sound like that anyway," he thought out loud, pulling his hand up closer to his head and dragging whatever was holding it up onto his chest.

The shape was easy for a god to perceive.

"A baby of those beasts Li was fighting, huh?" Kirron asked the suffocating whelp. "Aw, she must have eaten you right up. Hey, Li! Don't go eating babies! That's just mean spirited!"

He swung the side of his fist onto the wall of the Beast's stomach to chastise her. He made sure not to hit too hard, lest he induce a regurgitation too early. The advice came too late, however, as Kirron felt the limp bodies of the whelp's siblings, drowned and prodding up against his sides. He frowned.

But it was not too late for the one biting his finger. Kirron ran his other hand down the dragon whelp's spine, and with it enriched the creature's blood. "There-there, little guy. Stay with me and I'll give you a second chance. The least I can do for not paying attention earlier, huh? I'll call you...Stixis"

The shivering whelp flattened itself against Kirron's front, no longer feeling the reflex of asphyxiation. The god of blood pondered, as he resumed the soul search, the ways he could make use of a little creature like the one in his arms.

He let a little leak of his blood seep from his bitten finger, and the hungry whelp swallowed drip after drip.

Sensory Deprivation

Kirron chills in the Beast's stomach, looking for soul shards and having no luck. He has to take his time because it's not his forte.

He thinks about how the Beast might have come to be. He answers Anhaf's prayers and chuckles that now Kalmar is going to get loads of inane prayers now.

Without Kirron noticing, the Beast ends up eating the dragon hatchlings from the previous post. They're all drowned in the stomach around Kirron except for one that is desperately mewling and biting Kirron's finger.

"Oops," he says, pretty much, and then keeps the sole survivor alive, feeding it a little bit of god blood so it'll grow up big and strong.

He calls the baby dragon Stixis.

Might Summary

Before: Kirron - Blood, Strength - 10 MP - 12 FP

-2 FP to create the dragon Stixis, a beast of phenomenal power. (Exact Powers TBA, but likely a physically strong dragon at the very least).

After: Kirron - Blood, Strength - 10 MP - 10 FP

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Quick question just to make sure. Is this the same hideout that Ahnasha took Fendros to when she performed her soul strengthening ritual?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros stared at the footprints as Saras spoke, nodding along with a growing lament pressing his lips together.

When attention turned to her again, Sabine looked up at Saras and Fendros and then stood up straight again. She paused to think, resting a finger on her chin. "Maybe. It will depend how long since the magic was cast. And more powerful magic can make traces noisy."

"Short of interviewing witnesses," Fendros said, "of which I assume there were few if any, it is the best lead we have. If time is of the essence, we should follow it." He tilted his head. "Do you need anything to prepare, Sabine?"

Sabine shook her head softly. "Not unless we want to try and know what the spell was, exactly."

Holding out a hand towards the trail, Sabine closed her eyes and concentrated. A dull, wispy, indigo spell lit up from her palm to better see the charges in the air. With careful footsteps, she turned and followed the trail of residual magic away from the grave. Fendros followed along, keeping an eye out.

Fendros looked to the farmer while they walked. "Ghanir, did anyone see any trace of this act? Do you know anyone who might-"

"Shh!" Sabine interrupted.

Fendros lowered his voice. "...Do you know anyone who might have seen anything?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Fendros listened and looked conflicted. "That may be the case," he said, "but she had already proven that the Dwemer things obey her commands out of nowhere. I hope there is more to go on when we arrive, or else she is still our primary suspect."

"Um..." Sabine was reluctant to speak up at first, but by drawing Fendros' attention, she brought herself to add her piece. "I do not interact with Hal-Neesa for long periods, but I have spoken to her likely...more often than most in the clan. She does not care about us. I mean to say...she would not try to hide if she wanted the bodies. She would probably say it was for her Dwemer project but they do not usually need bodies."

"That's a good point as well," Fendros admitted. A trace of worry cast over his face as they walked the rest of the way to the cemetery.

Fendros and Sabine took their time around the exhumed coffin and the area around it. They searched for any traces or scents they could make use of, but luck was not on their side.

"Well, you were right, Ghanir," Fendros said down at the coffin, scratching his head. "This certainly wasn't the work of a chaurus, and the Falmer haven't been this close to the city for years. Let's see..." He peered around. "It would have to be someone living amongst us, with a need for corpses, discreet, quick to get out of the way and hide...and one that the sphere would not accost. Saras, was the sphere that kept watch told to only allow certain people into the graveyard or is it like the ones in the streets that will not attack any of us?"

Sabine squat down close to the tracks. "It might not be someone in the city. We can see where these tracks lead. We might get lucky."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

That is terrifyingly adorable