the Mosiac
EPISODE 6
When the young, half-naked wizard entered the abandoned mine shaft, a place of rotted wood and deep shadows, the creature first assumed it was some foolish treasure seeker, whose courage, greed and stupidity far outweighed any sense of self preservation.
It would have fed upon the fool and been done with it, but the creature had not survived this long by acting hastily. It was centuries old and in all that time, it had learned caution. In the shadows, it observed its prey carefully. There was something odd about the bare-chested young man that didn't sit well with the creature.
No reason to rush things.
It was no longer capable of anticipation, excitement, or dread. The necrotic energies that held it together made such base feelings impossible. The need, the craving for fresh blood was it's only passion. Still, it opened itself up to the stirrings of magic, a trick from it's past.
Once, it too had been a wizard.
Threads of magic, both strange and ancient, were woven throughout the young man's flesh. Odd runes slowly drifted across the mage's skin, only half of them visible to the naked eye, the rest shifting in and out of some never place.
The small globes of light slowly orbited the young man, lighting his way and following him down the broken and dusty tunnel. After the lightest of magical touches, it realized that each one of those orbs was loaded with defensive magics as well.
Years had become meaningless in its undead existence, but still, in the span of centuries, never had it encountered a being so wrapped in so many powerful and intricate protective spells.
It would have given much to understand the purpose of those magics, so complicated, so beautiful the pattern.
But it was then when the young man cleared his throat and spoke aloud into the darkness:
"Look, I know you're here. I'm not looking to start some shit, but if you try anything stupid, you are more than fucked. I came only for information, nothing else."
Unlike the undead creature, Gahnt knew exactly what was up. His own existence was owed to a volatile combination of paranoia and poor impulse control. He had no illusions about what lived in this dark place and had come prepared to fight, if necessary.
"What do you offer?" the creature rasped from the darkness. It had come to the conclusion that it wanted no part of this one, despite it's hunger.
"You were once Terenska of Olbrik?" Gahnt asked of the shadows.
"That name.... so long has it been... yes... that name still as meaning to this shell." the creature rasped, stunned that anyone would still know that particular relic of information. "But it is a memory and nothing more... try to conjure with it and you will find it has no hold over this collection of dark forces."
Gahnt reached into his pack and produced a scroll, bound in glowing silken thread.
"Nothing of the kind, though it is a shame if all you say is true. Terenska was mighty in his day and was known as a learned man. But if some whisper of his past is still to be told, I would hear it. In just that happenstance, I have prepared this:" he announced, "The Shield of Twilight's Falling. It is yours if you have the information I seek."
The undead thing laughed, a long, dusty cough.
"You think I'm a fool?" it spat. "That spell was lost millennium ago during the reign of the Skybreaker. It has become but memory in the minds of men. Trouble me not with lies and false promises mortal, lest we test to see if your confidence in your considerable protections is truly well placed."
Gahnt suddenly spoke a series of quick guttural sounds, punctuated with serpentine hisses and odd clicks. The globes of light surrounding him dimmed for a moment and a cold breeze entered the tunnel. A feeling of weight hung in the air.
"How can that be!?!" the creature hissed, alarmed. "I recognize the sounds, but those words... never in my long existence and before were they spoken. The lost designs of Tenck... all those spells... You must give me that scroll!" It rasped eagerly, it's pale, almost translucent clawed hands emerged from the shadows, reaching, grasping.
"Bide." said Gahnt with a certain amount of menace in his voice and tapping edge of the scroll to his temple. "The information first."
"What do you seek?" it asked quickly, wanting this transaction to be over and this strange being to be gone as quickly as possible.
"It is rumored that the Old Ones, the ones who are lessened with each passing..." Gahnt smiled wickedly, "it is rumored that a number have gone your route. Even further, it is whispered that they have gathered together to form a council of their own. I would know the truth of this."
"I have heard this as well..." the creature replied. "Occasionally one of my kind will run cross path with another. If our purposes are not in conflict, we've been known to exchange information. Even in my day when I lived under the sun and breathed the wind, we would hear rumor of an Old One falling purposefully to the Cold Path. Not so surprising, even for them. Their future, gone. Who would blame them?"
"And a gathering?"
"The Cult of Shadows. Only words, and even then, spoke quickly and quietly. I know not their purpose but can only imagine. Such beings of light and life fall hard into the black."
"Anything else you know, a location, anything?" Gahnt asked.
"Only that me and mine, created from the flesh of man, are pale comparisons to those creatures. Born in when the world was young, the rules were less defined. Each one was a force of nature then. Birthed in the brightness of creation, can you imagine what they might have become in darkness?" the undead thing rasped.
With a sigh, Gahnt tossed the scroll into the darkness.
"Good enough, thing that was once Terenska of Olbrik. Keep your prize."
"Curious, you know this spell and how it can be used. Why would you betray your own?"
"My own?" Gahnt asked.
"Humans." it croaked.
The young man laughed loudly in the still tunnel as he turned toward the exit and headed for the light.
For no reason, the undead thing seemed to shiver at the sound.
But why do I still like Ghant so much?!
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