Private Tales Missing Shipment

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
When the bounty hunter agreed to the mage’s terms, Teodron sighed in relief and nodded. At least they’d been able to compromise that much. The half-dwarf remained mostly silent through Jaken’s explanation of his behavior. Honestly, the half-dwarf wasn’t impressed. All Teodron heard were excuses: what the bounty hunter had done back there went far beyond letting some anger out and straight into the territory of the insane. Still, the mage knew better than to say that to the other man. Still, when the bounty hunter clapped the student on the back, he flinched; it was all he could do not to snarl ‘don’t touch me,’ but somehow the half-dwarf managed. Instead, after taking a few calming breaths, all Teodron said was, “No, I’ve never heard or experienced that,” his words clipped and short. That was all the mage trusted himself to say at the moment.

Thankfully, the rest of the day passed without incident. After the harrowing events earlier in the day—and the harrowing events the night before—it was all the half-dwarf could do to put one foot in front of the other and continue muttering his healing chant. His magic was mostly spent, but a low level spell like the chant wasn’t going to drain him much, especially since he was sinking the barest amount of energy into it.

Too tired to set more wards, Teodron passed out immediately. It helped that Jaken didn’t go furry. When the half-dwarf awoke the next morning, he simply cleared the camp and resumed hiking behind the bounty hunter without a word. Thankfully, his efforts yesterday had paid off: though he wasn’t feeling one hundred perfect better, the worst of his injuries had healed and he could mostly ignore the remaining aches and pains. In addition, his hand, while stiff, was in much better shape.

Best of all, though, was the fact that it seemed his magical reserves had been restored by a full night’s sleep. While he wouldn’t know that for sure until he had to cast spells again—and sleeping on the ground for the second night in a row hadn’t exactly been restful—it was encouraging. Of course, the best outcome would be that they could retrieve the shipment without further incidents, but Teodron found it unlikely. He sent up a silent prayer to Metisa that he’d get through the rest of this ordeal and come out the other side stronger. That was about the best he could hope for at this point.

When Jaken asked if Teodron had heard anything the half-dwarf was startled out of his thoughts. Immediately, he started paying closer attention to their surroundings—which he should’ve been doing anyway, but he wasn’t good at this whole hiking while being in hostile territory thing—but nothing struck him as out of the ordinary. Shaking his head, the mage wondered if the werewolf’s senses were enhanced even as a human. It wasn’t something the half-dwarf was going to ask the bounty hunter, though, who’d already crept ahead.

It didn’t take long before Jaken asked the mage to join him; Teodron did his best to stay silent as he passed through the trees. Soon enough, he could hear the sounds that had alerted the werewolf that something was ahead. Not long after, the mage could see the construction going on around the ruins.

The half-dwarf frowned, surveying the scene. Glancing at his traveling companion, Teodron bit his lip. “No idea. But whatever they’re doing, it looks like a ritual. And a powerful one at that, given the construction.” Indeed, the structures were being built around—or even incorporated into—the ruins, and geometric shapes had been carved into them in numerous locations. Try as the half-dwarf might, though, he couldn’t determine what the ritual might be. “Let me try something.”

Swinging his pack to the ground, the mage pulled a blank rock from the pouch at his belt (he’d been replacing them during the hike, given all the runes he’d had to make already on this trip). Taking out the chisel, he carved a detection rune onto it followed by the symbol for magic and the symbol for evil. Holding it up, he inspected his handiwork, then nodded decisively before imbuing the stone with a small portion of his magic. Holding out the stone to Jaken, the half-dwarf explained it what he’d done. “This should detect any hostile spells in the area. It’ll glow in the presence of magical traps or defenses. Brighter the glow, the closer or more powerful the effect.” It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best the mage could do under the circumstances. The student didn't want to enter into the camp without some sort of warning system; hopefully the werewolf could spot more mundane traps.

However, infiltrating the camp seemed to lie squarely in Jaken’s area of expertise. “What should we do?” Teodron had been speaking quietly this whole time, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself.
 
"Well, don't let it get to you." the werewolf expressed after Teodorn confessed he had never experienced a powerfull outburst "Believe me kid. Makes you a monster... in your own way." the pair had stopped the conversation and kept hiking to where the man had told them. Knowing that the situation between the two was rather fragile, Jaken decided not to say anything. Besides, he didn't feel like it was the best time to say something, given the little fight they had over his actions. The best thing to do was to settle things up, let time calm their nerves and find the target.

(At the ruins)

Jaken nodded to let Teo do his thing. After all, he promised to take Teo's skills into consideration for a better planning. That was part of the deal. Teo explained what he had just made. It seemed promising. A stone that can detect evil spells. Jaken knew that, since this had something to do with magic, it would be guarded not only by guards or magical creatures, but by heavy magic as well. "Got it. Evil spells will be detected, we got that covered up. Physical hostilities should be covered too, just keep your eyes peeled when we go down there. Let's see what I can scout from here." Jaken took out his scoped crossbow and aimed at the construction site. Looking for any chances of entering, type of weapons the hostiles possesed, and anything they could use for hiding "Ok, this is what I can see."

"I can see that the entrance of the ruins go down, so we are dealing with something like a catacomb or a dungeon. But, well, since it is in the middle of nowhere, maybe it's a catacomb. They had to break in by force, see all the rocks near the entrance? Which means that they must have powerfull tools: mazes, pickaxes, so, if we ever get stuck in combat, you might want to watch those type of tools. I can also see sharp weapons: daggers, swords, saws.Range attack weapons: bows, crossbows, throwing knives, spears. And we are WAY outnumbered. From this sight I can see, around 35 men on the area, plus the ones that should be down there. But here's where the fun part comes in." he took his eyes out of the scope "This where the fun part starts. This is a big camp with a big task right? A task that would take several days. So this means that there a lot of tents, hence, a lot of places where we could hide behind. The worse thing to do is walk in like we run the place, we'd have to creep in..." he looked at Teo's dark clothes, then at his own subtle clothes "Nightime." he concluded "We'll do it at nightime. The shadows plus our dark clothes will help us slide through, if not, we could always borrow someone's clothes to blend in." he planned "But let me hear your plan? Any ideas with the information I just said?"
 
It was rich getting lectured on ethics and behavior by an unhinged individual, but Teodron wisely stayed silent about that. Best just to get this over with and avoid further incidents.

-----

The detect magic spell was a fairly standard one (albeit not usually done with runes), so even Jaken understood it. Maybe that was an uncharitable thought to have, but Teodron wasn’t in a forgiving or understanding mood. As far as the half-dwarf was concerned, the werewolf had forfeited all rights to anything but the mage’s help retrieving the shipment as soon as he’d made the first cut earlier. So that’s all Jaken was going to get from Teodron.

Unfortunately, the plan that the bounty hunter came up with relied on stealth; seeing as the mage had no skills in that particular arena, he didn’t have much to add. However, if he got out of this unscathed—between the werewolf, the bandits, and the cultists, the half-dwarf found it unlikely—Teodron resolved to learn a few spells to allow him to move unseen. True invisibility was possible, but incredibly difficult to maintain for a long period of time. However, spells to make him less likely to draw attention to himself were easier to manage, both from a complexity and power standpoint. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the information he needed. So when Jaken asked for the half-dwarf’s input on the plan, the mage shook his head. “Nothing. But we should try to disrupt the ritual, if we can.” Teodron didn’t know what the magic’s intended purpose was, but he had a very bad feeling about it. He figured that the bounty hunter wouldn't like to hear that, though, given that it was outside the parameters of their assignment.
 
"Well. I guess, since this ritual doesn't seem that it wants to create peace. And well, since you have nothing to add to this strategy. I think it is our best shot. Stealth. Don't worry kid. Your size, no offense, should let you hide well. Just stay close to me and take advantage of any hiding spot you can find. We should go around the edge. Circle the area until reaching the entrance. Going straight forward while using objects to hide would be stupid. It increases the probability of being discovered."

Jaken had his plan checked twice by the enemy patterns, the plan would rely on timing, speed, and most importantly staying on the ground. Whatever was going on down there, it gave him the chills, he knew something was wrong about it. Something seemed off, even though he knew there was something dark about this ritual. "For now, let's wait for nightime. That would be the best option to move in. Don't you have anything that could make you hard to see? An invisible spell or something like that?"

The pair waited for the sun to hide behind the mountains. They never chatted throughout the day,Jaken didn't really feel like they needed to. Sure, time had passed and it would have already calmed the nerves of the werewolf and the half-dwarf, but still, he let any sign of conversation slide. Besides, he really wasn't in the mood of talking. He kept thinking about if he had loose it already or still could get the chance of redemption with Teo. Whatever it was, that made him keep his mouth shut for the entire day.

The camp below them was still active, though, not as much as it was in daylight. It was the time to move. Jaken had remained in his human form so they could not be exposed since the werewolf was 2 meters tall and had a big fluffy tail. He never used the werewolf as a means of stealth, only in combat, hunting or in fast chases. "You ready to creep in?"
 
“No, I don’t have anything to make it harder to notice me.” That was a subset of illusion magic, or maybe hypnotism, or both, and neither was a discipine he had much (or any) experience in.

Teodron nodded in assent to the plan, though the half-dwarf bit his lip. As he’d already mentioned to the werewolf, just because the half-dwarf was smaller than most didn’t make him at all stealthy; indeed, while he wasn’t clumsy, moving quietly and remaining undetected was not exactly his strong suit. As they waited for night to fall, however, he grew more and more worried. Even meditating to restore his magic and calm his mind failed to prevent him from running through the worst case scenarios. It was all too easy to imagine getting caught and dying out here, in ruins where no one would ever find him.

Eventually night fell, far too soon. Trying to dry his sweaty palms, the half-dwarf nodded again when the bounty hunter asked if the mage was ready. He wasn’t, but he was as ready as he’d ever be. This was a mistake, he couldn’t help but thinking even as he prepared to follow in the werewolf’s footsteps. Teodron was a student, barely able to cast even the most basic spells, and certainly not up to something like this.

It went well, at first, as the two of them snuck their way around the outskirts of the camp, drawing ever closer to the entrance to the catacombs below.

Then, as they were wiggling their way through a set of bushes, the end of Teodron’s staff smacked against one of the rocks behind him with a sickening sound. The noise echoed through the nearby forest, not sounding particularly natural, and likely attracting the attention of anyone within earshot. The half-dwarf froze, not daring to even breathe. He had told Jaken at the outset that he wasn’t stealthy, and yet the mage had let the bounty hunter talk the mage into this. Now, they’d both probably die because of Jaken’s ego and Teodron’s inability to acknowledge that he was way out of his depth.
 
"Well then, you better stick to me. Don't worry, I'll go slow so that no one gets behind." Jaken said to Teodron, putting his bandana and hoody on. Once the camp seemed ready to be crossed, the pair went for it. Nice and easy.

The camp was a bit less active now, people were sleeping on their tents, but others were still working at the ruins, breaking walls, hammering to discover more space they could exploit. This should be an easy task, at least for Jaken. As the werewolf promised, he went slow, checking that Teodron could keep up with him. They used every object to hide: boxes, tents, bushes, logs, even the men themselves, hiding in their shadows as they moved. Jaken had been in stealthy missions, which he loved, being a shadow to everyone else, striking without anyone ever noticing until they found their corpses. That was how Jaken liked it. But all that broke down when he heard a thud behind him. He turned around and saw Teo accidentally knock down a rock nearby. Jaken's eyes widened. The sound from the rock falling was enormous compared to the night. After the thud faded, all sound stopped. The hammering, the men conversating, singing, whistling. Everything had stopped. Jaken instinctivly stuck his body and Teo (by force with his arm) to a crate nearby.
"You heard that mate?" said one man.
"Yeah, what was that?" responded another. They were alerted.

Jaken took out a small dagger and gave it to Teodron, then he got close to his ear and whispered in a way that no one could hear him "You don't have to kill." he suggested "Just make them slower, a quick stab to the leg should buy us some time. That is, if they discover us, for now,keep quiet and stay calm." Jaken made the 'stay quiet' sign with his finger and lips. Then, from his jacket, he took out a combat knife, and got ready for an attack.
"Should we check it out?"
"Whatever."
Both men approached the pair's location with a lantern. The shine from it slowly got stronger as the men were drawing closer. Jaken stuck his body to the crate as hard as he could. He controlled his breathing and desire to kill the men. However, he wouldn't. He knew that would create major noise, thus, drawing more attention that certainly would kill them, and that it would upset Teo.
"<<Hold it wolfy.>>"
The man's lantern was literally on top of the crate Jaken was hiding. He could see the blinding yellow light from it, if he dared moved, they would be discovered.
"What are you two doing?" said a third man.
"We thought we heard something."
"It's the forest you idiot. Probably a squirrel or a bug. Now stop wasting time and get back to work."
"Yes sir! God, I hate this job."
"Stop whinning and let's get paid."
"<<That makes two of us.>>" the men had left. Taking that oportunity, Jaken took Teo by the arm and dragged him to the next hiding spot. The entrance was a few feet away. "Be carefull next time." he whispered to Teo. He saw the entrance, it was a free ticket to the cargo. No guards, no spells (since Teo's rune had not glowed), it was free. He took a rock nearby and throwed it to where they had started their infiltration. The noise alerted some goons that were guarding the fornt gate, making them go away. "Now." he commanded to Teodron, sneaking inside the ruins. There were stairs going down. It was the only way to go deeper. "Down we go." he commented "C'mon, let's get this done."
 
It all happened very quickly: the werewolf shoved the half-dwarf into a crate as voices and footsteps approached. It wasn’t looking good for the two travelers and Teodron had no one to blame but himself. This was it. This was the end of the road.

When Jaken gave the mage the dagger, Teodron stared at it with horror. There was no way he was using that: not only did he want to avoid further violence, but he knew the folly of attempting to use a weapon he was unfamiliar with. He shook his head and attempted to return it to the bounty hunter. If the other man wouldn’t take it, then the student would just slip it into his belt. His spells and his staff would have to suffice, and he could do a lot more damage with them than he ever could with a bladed weapon. Honestly, the other man should’ve realized that.

Teodron almost wept with relief when the two men decided not to investigate the noise, but he was too afraid to do so. Instead, he just nodded numbly at Jaken’s orders. Still, the mage was pale and trembling when they finally decided it was safe to emerge into the open again. Despite this, they managed to reach the entrance without further incident.

The rock throwing to distract the guards was risky, but the bounty hunter probably knew best. At the very least, Teodron wasn’t going to question the decision. He hurried forward, descending the steps, glad the group had left torches to see by. Although his dwarven heritage meant he should be comfortable seeing in the dark and underground, there was something comforting about the light as he descended into an ancient hole in the ground while hostiles were all around, with Metisa knew what lurking at the bottom.

Of course, it also left them terribly exposed. With that thought, the half-dwarf picked up his pace. Best to get this done quickly and get out. He had a hunch he’d already used up all his luck with that narrow escape earlier.

Unfortunately, the best laid plans never worked—it was an old adage for a reason, after all—and in this case, when he eventually reached the bottom of the stairs, he stumbled upon a horrifying tableau. The stairs ended in a rough-hewn chamber, with coffins lining the walls. At its center was an altar, and upon that altar a halfling was bound and gagged, her golden locks spilling out and over the side of the stone she was splayed upon. Around her, figures robed in black, cowls up, stood, with reptilian claws poking out of the ends of their sleeves. The tallest figure held a wicked looking knife in one hand, and all of them were chanting ominously.

Immediately, the half-dwarf threw himself towards a rock around the edges of the chamber, hiding himself from the sight of the cultists (he assumed they were cultists, what with the ritual sacrifice and all). Scanning the room, he saw a pile of objects, including a few chests, most of them occult looking. Guess he’d found the missing shipment. However, as he scanned the room, there was absolutely no way to get to it without crossing the eyeline of one of the creatures and therefore alerting them to their presence. Teodron frantically turned to Jaken for advice. This wasn’t something the mage knew how to deal with. Even if he wanted to sneak by, he knew they needed to stop whatever this was.
 
Jaken did not took the dagger back, instead, he forced into Teo's belt "I know that you don't want to kill." he whispered "But what happens if we need to cut something. At least, keep it for that purpose. Now breathe, stay quiet."

The stairs were long, almost feeling like an eternity to reach the deepest part of the ruins. After running down the stairs, they both enountered a ritual-like scene. Another dwarf, laying on a stone, gagged up, with no place to move. Her hair spread over her stone bed, she seemed horrified. In fact, tears were running through her cheeks. Whatever was happening here, she was in trouble. But that was not the objective of his mission. His orders were simple: take care of the student, find the cargo, take it, give it back to the college, get paid, bon voyage. That's it. No science about it. The woman was surrounded by figures with black robes, maybe reptilian, that would explain the reptile-like claws that were coming out from their sleeves. He had seen and fought reptilians before, so this was nothing knew to him. It appeared that they were in the middle of a ritual. The tallest figure, who was in the center, held a sacrificial dagger, while the others were chanting something the werewolf did not recognized or heard before. He knew it was a sacrifice, but to who? And why?

Before he knew it,Teo had got cover from rocks nearby their location. Jaken joined him. He also saw what they were looking for, some crates, tied up and being on the other side of the room. "I'd say we get these and get out of here." he whispered to Teo "But I know you... you won't leave her behind... how do you want to rescue her? Got any plans?"

Jaken peeked to see the scene. The chant was still going, however, everything had an end, and didn't know when was this end he was afraid of. The wolf knew that when the chant ended, the figure would stab the halfling, killing her eventually. He did not see any weak spots for an attack or to hide. Not even the coffins made for an excellent hiding spot. Not even for Teo. "I can't figure nothing out." he commented to Teo "They are far away, so a direct attack might alert them, thus, killing the woman, I'm sure. The coffins won't make a hiding spot. My abilities here are not the best option. It's all on you buddy. What should we do captain?"
 
Teodron swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. Despite Jaken’s brutal methods, the half-dwarf had been hoping the bounty hunter had some brilliant idea to get them through this. No such luck, and the mage was hardly a strategist. It was all he could do to prevent himself from hyperventilating: they were going to die in this hole.

No. No they weren’t. Something stirred deep within Teodron, and he felt himself grow, if not calmer, more in control. There had to be something they could do, some advantage they could exploit. Right now, they were hidden, but they couldn’t rely on that. Still, they had some time before they had to make their move; until the knife fell, the ritual would be complete. Still, at the energies built in the air, the mage knew they couldn’t wait too long. After all, the longer they delayed, the more powerful the spell grew, and the more dangerous it would be to intervene.

Then he straightened up as a plan occurred to him. It was stupid, reckless, and crazy, and would probably get them killed, but it also just might work.

Risking a peek around the rock, Teodron quickly analyzed the scene. There were five of the hooded figures, spaced equally, in a pentagram formation. It was a classic shape for group spell-casting, but it also meant that this was a highly delicate ritual. Returning to their hiding spot, the half-dwarf scrabbled in his belt pouch, before dumping the runes there out onto the ground. He placed three of the protection runes in a triangle around himself and Jaken and activated them with a mere fraction of his power, and then picked up a fourth rune, one for disruption, before returning the rest to his pouch. Whispering as quietly as he could manage, Teodron explained what he was about to do. “Stay inside the triangle. I’m going to stop them. It’s going to get crazy in here, and I can’t guarantee we’ll survive it, but when the dust settles we should have a fighting chance.”

Then, before the werewolf could argue—and before the mage could think too hard about what he was doing—the half-dwarf sank as much power as he dared into the disruption rune in his hand, stood up, and chucked it at the chanting figures.

It sailed through the air. One of the creatures saw it, and Teodron; its head jerked towards them even as it stopped chanting. But it was too late. The rune passed through one of the invisible edges of the pentagram.

And then pandemonium reigned.

Wild, uncontrolled, volatile magic burst from the disrupted ritual spell. A shrieking chorus sprang up as the air popped. One of the figures was consumed by a pillar of blinding light, and when it faded, there were only bleached bones left. Another screamed as its body contorted wildly, an unwelcome polymorph being thrust upon it. The robes on a third burst into flames that were quickly put out by a brief and localized, but torrential rainstorm.

Then, a bolt of pure arcane force slammed into the rock before Teodron and Jaken. It shattered, sending shards pelting towards them, along with the remainder of the bolt. The mage’s wards blunted the worst of the onslaught, but it failed eventually, and the rest slammed into the half-dwarf, who was tossed aside and cut in a million different spots so quickly he couldn’t keep track of what happened to the bounty hunter. Slamming into a wall, Teodron slid along it before skidding to a halt, dazed.

Then a lightning bolt struck, stealing his senses, leaving him blind and deaf. When he could move again—though his eyesight was woozy and his body unhappy with him for trying—he groaned but pushed himself to his hands and knees and then stood, swaying. The last pings of the spell died away, leaving a shocked silence behind in its wake.

Four of the creatures remained, although one had been transformed into some weird and giant catlike creature. One was drenched from the rain, though smoke still rose from its robe; a second was missing an eye; meanwhile, the third, the leader, had robes that were tattered, but seemed otherwise unharmed. Teodron couldn’t spot the werewolf from where the magic had thrown the half-dwarf. He sent up a silent prayer that Jaken was alright, but he had other things to worry about.

Remarkably, both the halfling and the cargo seemed untouched. The light of a powerful protection spell was fading from the cargo, so at least that made sense, but the girl was a mystery. Perhaps, because she’d been the center of the ritual, the magic had radiated outwards from her; it made sense, or at least as much sense as any other explanation the mage could think of.

He wasn’t going to get the chance to analyze it, however, as the leader of the cultists lowered its hood, revealing a lizard like (or draconic, Teodron didn’t know) held. “Foolsss. You know not what you’ve wrought here today.” The creature’s voice was deep and sibilant, and light flickered among its teeth.

Then it opened its mouth wide and spewed fire at the half-dwarf.

Teodron dove out of the way of the blast, but he couldn’t escape it entirely. His right foot was momentarily consumed by the inferno, and he screamed in pain as the scent of burnt flesh filled the air. Slamming to the ground—rattling his already fragile head—the mage nevertheless rolled to his feet, ignoring the pain, and from some depth he didn’t know he had, he hurled an arcane bolt, which flickered a brilliant purple, at the dragonkin.

It clipped the thing in its shoulder, knocking it down and causing it to drop the knife. However, the effort also caused Teodron’s vision to go spotty. The mage didn’t know how much he had left in him.
 
Jaken's abilities were useless in this situation: to keep the girl alive that is. The distance between them and the figures would most likely get them discovered. And that was not his objective right now. He asked the half-dwarf for any advice, any trick he could se to mmake the situation easier. And so he did. Teodron took out three runes and made a triangle shpae around the pair them. Jaken listened to Teo's oredrs, he knew that the student had something up his sleeve. Something that could give them some time to take out the figures and rescue the woman. "You better know what you're about to do."

But before he could reassure what was going to happen, Teo had already thrown a fourth rune. Jaken peeked to see what was going to happen. He should have looked away. The rune turned into an explosive chaos, sending bolts all over the place. Jaken went back into cover out of pure instinct "FUCK!" he exclaimed. He peeked back to see if Teo and the lady were ok. However, he only saw one of the figures turn into bones and falling to the ground, the four figures (including the leader) were recovering from the explosive. Jaken had the idea to start shooting with his crossbow, but before he could do that, one bolt striked the wall besides they were hiding, making it fall. Jaken jumped to safety the last second before the wall could crush him. However, some rocks struck his body, making it sore. But that won't make the werewolf throw the towel. Almost getting up, a giant rock knocked him in the head, stunning him to the ground. He couldn't hear anything but faint objects falling and speech from one of the figures, he saw blurry due to the smoke and his blinded sight. His body was slowly recovering from the pain, groaning as he stood up.

His vision still blurry, he could see one of the figures (not the leader) approaching him. Jaken saw it's feet, indeed, they were from a lizard: green, with scales, sharp black claws at the end of the fingers. He looked up to see the reptilian preparing for an attack with a non-ritualistic dagger. The man reacted fast, grabbing the reptilian's arm, avoiding the knife strike. His body was still recovering from the knock down and the reptilian was strong. He wouldn't be able to win if he contiinued like this.

He had to.
He transformed.

Gaining strength and altitude, the werewolf grabbed the lizard by the neck, leifting it from the ground. The werewolf squezzed the lizard's arm until breaking it, making the assailant knife go. He had it. Jaken slammed the hostile to the ground, making it groan in pain. He was dead. Jaken dug his fangs onto the creature, splattering blood everywhere as the reptilian shrieked when the wolf shook it sround like a bone. For the last touch, Jaken forced the lizard down with his paws, ripping its throat, killing it once and for all.

Two down, three to go. He saw Teodron down, apparently he had been knocked down from all the chaos that was happening. He sprinted to help the half-dwarf back to his feet. "You owe me a pair of clothes." he joked "Let's finish these scale brains."
He howled.
 
Jaken’s voice blessedly came from another part of the chamber, but Teodron was too busy not dying to feel too relieved. The bounty hunter would have to fend for himself; the half-dwarf had a ritualist fire-breathing reptile to fight.

And the fight was not going well for the mage. While the creature didn’t breath fire again, it did stalk forward, knife gripped assuredly in its scaled and claw-tipped hand. Teodron, by contrast, was injured, weaponless (he’d dropped his staff at some point and he didn’t know how to use the knife), and nearly out of magic. Even worse, as the lizard came forward, an unnerving green light started appearing in its free hand. Apparently the ritual wasn’t the only spell it was capable of casting.

Out of the corner of his eye, the half-dwarf saw that one of the lizards was down. The other was tossing some nasty looking spell at Jaken while the former-lizard-now-cat sped towards the other man, who’d turned into a werewolf. Ah. That’s what the clothes comment meant. Seeing his companion under assault worried the mage, but he needed to worry about his own.

Besides the bounty hunter could take care of himself.

The half-dwarf backed up slowly, hobbling on his injured foot, but the lizard was running now, closing fast. Teodron had maybe one spell left in him, and he scrabbled in his rune pouch, feeling at the symbols within, before snatching one out. Glancing at it, he barely had time to confirm what it did before the lizard thrust its hand forward. The greenish bolt streaked toward the mage at an alarming rate.

Unfortunately for the ritualist, the rune that Teodron had pulled was linked to a very, very specific type of ward. Namely, it reflected as many attacks as it could while the magic lasted. A violet light flared in front of the half-dwarf as the bolt struck it, before it reversed direction. It struck the lizard, whose features looked shocked before the green light started licking up its arms, eating away at the creature. It screamed in agony, and fell to the ground writhing. Apparently, it might wasn’t magic proof, or at least not immune to whatever this effect was.

Teodron felt bile rise in his throat. Under any other circumstances, he’d have vomited, and he still might, but first he cast his gaze to see how Jaken was faring.
 
The half-dwarf seemed stunned due to the explosion he had created. Before, he could react, the leader cultist had already engaged in combat with Teo. Before the werewolf could help him, another lizard attacked him, launching at the wolf, pinning him down to the ground. Jaken saw how the lizard wiggled his tail around, he could see that the tail had spikes on it, so the lizard could use it against him, more reason to be carefull. Both lizard and wolf battled on the ground, each one struggling to get the upper hand. They were balanced in force. The lizard DID use his tail to strike at the werewolf, sometimes scratching him while other times, it went for the head, but since Jaken cared more about his head (the one thing keeping him alive) than his legs, he would dodge the brutal attacks. Jaken managed to take the upper hand by slashing the reptile's abdomen.

Once again they fought. Jaken used his hands to restrain the lizard's hands, one paw to control the tail and the other paw to keep balance. Both growled and roared. But Jaken had enough. Without realizing the violet light nearby him, Jaken bit the lizard in the neck like he did with its compannion, ripping it apart to end the second assailant.

Three down, two to go. The blood of the reptiles in his mouth was not his favorite, he prefered deer or cow blood. Lizard-people? Never. It tasted like rancid meat. Jaken was exhausted, but it wasn't enough to use Wolf Strength, after all, they'd still have to get out of there ALIVE, he couldn't afford to pass out and let Teo do the rest. He saw the leader fighting with Teo, he could take care of at least one. The reamining member, however, was back up and ready to finish the werewolf's life. Jaken did not reacted fast enough to avoid the lizard's spiked tail to penetrate into his chest. He roared in pain. Somehow, the lizard was able to lift the werewolf from the ground. Blood dripping form his wound, the tail still in his chest, elevating the weakened beast. "Alright." he groaned "Let's do this." with strength, he struggled to get of the lizard's tail grip. Falling to the ground next to the corpse of the first lizard he had killed. "I'm insane." he whispered to himslef.

He crawled to the dead lizard's tail and ripped it off, sending blood all over the place. He used the ripped tail as a swinging weapon. Even though the grip of the tail hurt his hands, digging the spikes into it, Jaken used it against his enemy. "Alright you scally fuck." he grunted "LET'S FIGHT!!!"
 
With the leader incapacitated—and maybe dying, Teodron didn’t know—the half-dwarf was free to help Jaken. Not that the mage would be much use in the state he was in. Reflecting that corrosive spell back at the lizard had temporarily drained him. While he didn’t feel quite as bad as when the plant people had attacked (maybe his mana pool was growing, or maybe they’d been more magically powerful than he’d realized, not the time to think on this), he had only a few spells left in him. Better to preserve those for emergencies

It was laughable to think this wasn’t an emergency, as he was barely standing and he could barely prevent himself from vomiting. But they weren’t out of danger yet; so, dredging up strength he didn’t know how, Teodron stumbled over to where his staff was. He was sure to give the fallen ritualist a wide berth. The lizard had stopped moving and making sounds, but the half-dwarf wasn’t going to risk it. Bending down with a groan, the mage shuffled over towards where Jaken—bleeding heavily, Teodron was horrified to see—was battling the last of the monsters.

The two combatants were so focused on one another that neither saw Teodron approach, barely avoiding the lizard’s tail swings. Never saw the half-dwarf swing his staff with as much force as he could muster. Never saw it coming as the end of the staff smashed into the lizard’s skull with a sickening thump.

Guess Teodron was pretty stealthy after all.

Then the half-dwarf actually was sick, retching, the entire contents of his stomach coming up until there was nothing left. It burned worse than the flames that had scorched his foot.
 
Jaken fought fiercely with the tail he had ripped from the lizard. Swinging it like a whip, though he was in disadvantage since the tail he had had no one to control it. On the other hand, his opponent did. it controlled the tail at will, it controlled its force, direction, it could even control to retract for an attack or not. All Jaken had was a dead limb. Using his strength and agility, Jaken used any chance to strike and harm the lizard, but it did return the favor, stabbing and scratching Jaken. He could tell he was running out of blood, he felt dizzy, one of the earliest symptoms of blood loss. And his muscles were weak too. With a final stab on his back from the lizard, Jaken gave up. Going down, almost dead. He saw the lizard walking up to him, then he knew he would die right there.
It was fun while it lasted...

Closing his eyes and accepting his fate, the weakened werewolf gave his last breath before the lizard ended the job. He could feel the tail's trajectory, and how brutal it would be. But then.... nothing. Nothing happened. Was he dead? Had the lizard killed him with a swift strike to the brain? He opened his eyes.

He saw the lizard on the ground, apparently, it had been knocked out. "What the-?" he groaned. He looked up and saw Teodron panting, grabbing his staff with force like a baseball bat. The werewolf knew what this was about. Teodron had manned up and taken down the lizard for him "Guess..." he grunted "... you DO have some fighting on you." he tried to get up, but he was too weak, giving up to the ground "Just... urgh... just cut the girl loose already." he struggled to take the ripped lizard's tail and swung it right into the eyes of the one Teo had knocked down "just to be sure..." he rested his body on the ground, then looked back at Teo "GO!!" he roared "I'll be fine... just.... give me a minute." he gruntes
 
It took a few moments for Teodron to recover. Actually, recover was probably the wrong word: stopped throwing up and regained enough functionality to straightened up, wipe his mouth on the back of his sleeve (which was covered with all sorts of debris and viscera, so finding a clean spot was tough), and attempt to begin to formulate thoughts. His mind felt detached from his body. Oh, sure he could feel every ache and pain for his attention. But it felt like it was happening to someone else, someone who wasn’t the battered half-dwarf.

Finding his voice took a few moments longer. When he finally spoke, it came out raspy and exhausted. “I told you I could fucking take care of myself.” After the horror he’d just experienced, the mage really didn’t need the werewolf praising Teodron for this disaster or acting like they’d accomplished anything but destruction here.

Still, the half-dwarf didn’t protest when the werewolf clubbed the fallen lizard person. “You should check the leader too. And then grab that chest with the runes and let’s get the fuck out of here.” While Teodron would’ve loved to have studied the rest of the occult materials on display here, he knew that it was only a matter of time before someone came to investigate this place. They needed to move.

Stumbling over to the bound halfing, the half-dwarf tried to pull the knife from his belt. It took a few tries, but he managed to grip it firmly. Then, he sawed on the surprisingly thick ropes. The girl looked oddly calm, unblemished by the magical storm that had been unleashed or the battle that had taken place immediately after. Finally, he freed her hands. While he went to work on her feet, she removed the gag from her mouth.


“Thank you, for freeing me.” Her voice was surprisingly deep and resonant. She rubbed her wrists, which were marked with red marks where she’d presumably struggled against her bonds. It was the only sign of her captivity on her.

“You’re welcome.” His words were clipped and short: it was all he could muster as he finally managed to free her from the last of her restraints.

She jumped down from the altar and surveyed the room, her gaze cool and collected. For someone who’d been bound and restrained just moments ago—and who’d had a battle take place around her while she could do nothing to alter the outcome—she was remarkably calm. Certainly calmer than Teodron, who was barely preventing himself from whimpering. She stepped forward, and rubbed out a symbol he hadn’t noticed before.

“And thank you for killing them. Their deaths released me from this cage, and their energies will be delicious to consume. I might even make your own deaths painless.” And with that chilling line, she threw back her head and cackled. The half-dwarf felt his heart drop as a shadowy aura surrounded her and frost began to spread out from the halfling. Immediately, the air started to freeze; his breath puffed out in a cloud and he shivered uncontrollably. “Rise. Obey your mistress.” Her hands came up, twisted into claws.

And with that, the corpses of the creatures they’d just slain twitched, stirred, and finally rose, a cold blue light radiating off of them. That included the pile of bones, which was now a skeleton clattering about. Even worse, hands thrust out from the coffins, and the earth itself began to shake as the restless dead stirred. Apparently, Teodron had been all wrong (or at least partially). While the lizards had been practising dark magic, their victim had been anything but innocent.

Quite the opposite: she was a necromancer, and while some simply sent spirits on their way, she seemed to be the most foul kind. Already, the mage could feel his life energy being sapped by her very presence. Even worse, he could see her undead minions charging towards Jaken. The half-dwarf had to do something. But he was just so tired. It would be so nice to lay down, and let the sleep and darkness claim him…

That was the necromancer’s doing. Yes, he was exhausted, and felt close to death. But he wasn’t ready to die yet. Clinging to that thought, he seized it, and every fiber of his being, even his soul, and poured it into a shield to block the effects of her magic. A violet light flickered around him, beating back the darkness, which started to eat away at it immediately. Holes appeared, and Teodron knew he had only moments to act.

The necromancer saw his pathetic shield and laughed again, the sound chilling him to his very bones. “You think you can challenge me? With your paltry magics and your weak minds? You have no idea who you are de—”

Teodron stabbed her in the heart.

He acted without thinking, on instinct. The knife had still been in his hand, and he knew both that his shield wouldn’t last and that she was an evil that needed to be destroyed. So, almost without bidding, he had thrust the small blade into her chest, piercing the muscle there.

It had been the right thing to do. The only thing to do.

But that did nothing to lessen the fact that she died at his hand. She stared at him, shocked, not at all expecting the attack to come from such a mundane quarter. As with many mages, she was not prepared for a physical assault, and it had been her undoing. That and her pride. A trickle of blood fell from her open lips. Then the light faded from her eyes and her magic left the room. Her creatures collapsed with her, and Teodron lost the knife as her dead weight crashed to the ground.

He’d been wrong, earlier, when he thought he’d been done with the vomiting. There was more in his stomach, somehow, and it burned worse this time around.

It was nothing compared to the tears running down his cheeks.
 
Turns out, the combat brought the worst attitude from the half-dwarf, making him swear. Jaken wasn't sure if Teo had already cursed, but this was a surprise for him. And he ordered him too, with frustration and eager to end this madness once and for all. His rage had finally blown up and he was exposing what he had kept inside. He did not answered back due to his tireness. However, it would only take few minutes for his wounds to close by themselves and be back on his two back paws. As Teo freed the woman, Jaken felt his wounds closing slowly, it felt good, and uncomfortable at the same time. He needed some rest. He heard the conversation between the woman and Teodron. He thought that Teo would be somewhat happy that they freed the woman from the sacrificial ritual. They would grab the crates, go back to the college, deleiver it, inform about what happen here and be recognized as heroes from a kidnapping situation. How all of that fell apart when the woman started saying about making their deaths painless...

Out of the blue, the woman they had just saved and thought was the victim of some fucked-up ritual started to transform into a creature of some kind. She had conserved her form, except for some claws. Hands were coming out of her and it seemed to have sumoned some type of dark magic around the area. All the dead started twitching and roaring. The lizards whose throats had been torn out and the one that was killed by the tail of its own compannion started to rise, now zombies to the woman. Not only that, but Jaken could also see the coffins in the walls shaking and broke with hands coming out of them. The hands were in an advanced state of decomposition. Everything dead was coming back to life and probably becoming hostile to them. "You gotta be FUCKING KIDDING ME!!" he roared. He could use Wolf Strength to kill everything in the room, but he knew that would be useless. Energy would drain out, making him pass out due to exhuastion, letting the zombies either kill him and bringing him back to life as another zombie through the halfling's spell or just let the woman 'consume his energy'. Whatever was the case, Jaken knew this was the end.
Again...

Jaken could not beleive the amount of zombies surrounding them. "Oh fuck..." he whispered. He saw the zombies approaching him and then... they collapsed. Something from behind him shrieked. The werewolf looked back and was surprise at the sight of Teo stabbing the lady in the heart. With the dagger he had given to him, nontheless. He had used it, but not to cut or stun. But to kill. Teodron had killed someone. Teodron had done something he would never do. "Holy shit." he whispered. After the corpses had collapse and the woman died, Jaken could only see Teodron, kneeled before the lady's corpse. The wolf saw his compannion sob, then crying. Weakly, but it was still a cry.

Jaken stood up, limping towards Teo. His wounds had already closed and the pain was bareable enough. He got close to the half-dwarf almost touching him in the shoulder. Then, he stopped dead. His hand halfway to Teodron's shoulder. Jaken understood that Teodron might be upset, maybe this was not the best times. Maybe he needed some time to think and be on his own.

Jaken retracted his hand, turning it into a fist, and walked away to take care of the leader of the cult. Should he leave it alive for interrogation or kill it right away? The lizard slowly regained consciousness, growling.
"What issssss happeniiiinnnggg...?" it asked weakely. Jaken gently placed his hand on the lizard's mouth and the other on his nape. With a fast movement, he broke his neck, ending the leader's life.

He looked back up at Teo, who was still where he had last seen him: kneeling to the corpse he had claimed. He still wanted to do it: talk to him, telling him that everything was ok. But, he still figured that he needed to be alone with his thoughts.

He walked to the cargo, took it and walked to the beggining of the stairs, waiting for Teo to come back...
 
Teodron was lost. He didn’t know what was worse, the physical pain or the damage he’d done to his soul.

He’d taken a life. It was necessary, had to be done, had saved not only his life, but probably countless more.

He’d destroyed evil. Good had triumphed. But as he stared down at the sightless eyes of the halfling, it didn’t feel that way. She’d been a necromancer, a monster in her own right. But he’d plunged his blade into her heart without a second thought. Ruthlessly. As ruthless as Jaken had been with the injured bandit earlier.

But in this case, the half-dwarf hadn’t really had a choice. Not if he wanted to survive. And again, the necromancer had been planning to kill them all, then presumably march out of here with a horde. Whatever this place was, it was the home to ancient darkness, which must be what attracted all these monsters. They sensed something here, something to be mastered, something that could add to their power. And then it consumed them.

A little piece of that would always be lodged in his heart.

He didn’t know how long he stayed there, like this. A moment. An eternity. All the seconds in between. Eventually, though, the movement of the werewolf roused the mage. Shuddering, he reached down and closed the halfling’s eyes. He couldn’t bear her accusatory and sightless stare for a moment longer.

“Wait,” he croaked, his voice sounding tinny and far away in his ears. Limping forward—now that the danger had passed, he was acutely aware of every injury he’d sustained—he came to the pile of magical items. It had occurred to him that if they’d been stockpiling supplies here, they might have a healing potion. At least they might stumble upon a medical kit. Unfortunalely, he needed something, as he was in no state to travel. Rummaging through the goods (not caring what might happen if he uncovered something nasty, because the only unclean thing here was him), his despair was growing with each passing second.

Then he struck gold, metaphorically speaking: among a pile of other random books and writings he discovered a healing scroll. Thankfully, it was non-targeted, and there was still power left in the parchment. Reading the words, Teodron pictured both himself and Jaken whole.

It wasn’t quite that strong, but strength rushed back into the mage’s limbs and his foot felt immediately better, as if the major burns had become minor. It was the best the half-dwarf could hope for; while it would be good if the werewolf had been healed as well, the mage didn’t know if the spell had that far a reach. Besides, the bounty hunter had handled the cargo without much signs of strain. Although the mage wouldn’t be casting spells any time soon—healing only affected the body, so the only way to restore Teodron’s reserves was rest—he could at least walk with only a minor limp.

Now that he felt less numb (his body, at least, his mind still wasn’t all there), he shoved the most promising looking books in his bag, then scanned the pile for anything else that seemed important. He should also probably check the body’s but he felt himself shying away from that.Getting close to those corpses was beyond him at the moment. There was a bracelet with runes carved into it that he slid onto his wrist. Next was a gold chain necklace with energy practically coursing through it. The mage didn’t know what either piece of jewelry did, but he’d find out.

He hurried to follow the werewolf, not wanting to be left alone in that pit for a moment longer.
 
Teodron had reacted 3 minutes after the werewolf waited for him on the stairs. Jaken could probably understand what was going through Teo's mind. Apparently, it was the first kill Teodron had done, he knew that feeling. The first kill Jaken had to do willingly left him confused, scared, weak. But he grew out of it, he learned that sometimes, killing is the only way to protect others. It is not the most sacred thing to do, in fact, it was seen as a free ticket to hell, but it was the only thing to do. Sometimes, it's kill or be killed alongside with the ones you call friends and family. And Teodron seemed like he was just beggining to understand that.

The half-dwarf read a pergaming with a spell on it. At first, Jaken was scared that it would unleash another undead army like the one the woman used, but then he realized it was not that. It actually was a spell that made him feel stronger, made him feel new. With energy flowing through his veins. He felt the need of sprinting in his 4 legs, jump fromm branch to branch, from rooftop to rooftop, hunting the fastest prey in the lands. But he could unload that energy later, right now, he needed to get out with the cargo and Teo. He saw the student go with him, both making eye contact. Jaken opened his mouth, he was about to say something, but stopped. It still was not the time to talk. "<<Leave him alone with his thoughts. He need to meditate. He needs to...>>" he closed his mouth. Before leaving the ruins, Jaken took the equipment from his teared clothes and placed them on the crate, he'd lost his clothes, but he wouldn't lose his trusty crossbow and knives..

Both climbed the stairs back up. When they reached the surface, there was no one there. Just an abandoned camp, maybe the men fleed in terror when the ground started shaking due to the halfling's spell. Whatever it was, he was glad tha no one was there. In fact, they had left a carriage nearby. How convenient.

The werewolf had already placed the cargo on the back. Teo would sit beside him in the front. However, the big werewolf would be too heavy for the horses to ride, he'd needed to go back to his human form, there was an inconvenience, he would be naked. And a man walking naked all the way to a college didn't seemed like a good idea. Before leaving, the wolf looted the camo for something to wear. And he did: a shirt, and some black pants. It was not his favorite election of clothing, but still, better than being naked. He transformed back and dressed up. Then, climbed to the pilot's seat and made the horse go. Slowly. There was no rush.

Both were far away from the camp, they now knew what path to take back to Elbion. Jaken consulted Teo, who had been silent.
"You should get some sleep." he whispered "You need your physical and mental strength back. Get some sleep, I don't need it this night. I'll keep guard."
 
Jaken didn’t say anything as Teodron followed the bounty hunter up to the surface. It was still dark, which surprised the half-dwarf. Surely more time had passed, surely everything would be different now.

But no. It remained the same. Oh sure, the camp was abandoned now, but the moons still shone above, the stars still winked down at them, the insects chirped as the wind rustled the leaves. It was all so...normal. Too normal for the mage, who felt empty inside. He ignored it all, unwilling, unable to cope with anything but following the werewolf to a ...carriage?

A carriage. What in the world was a carriage doing out here so far from any road? It seemed like a terrible idea to actually ride that thing over the rough terrain of the mountain and the woods, but he didn’t argue as Jaken started loading it up. If they died because of an accident, so be it. Instead, while the werewolf scoured the camp, the mage dumped his bag out into the carriage, before he steeled himself, then walked back down into the pit. If they had all that space, they should use it.

It was worse going down the second time. The mage lost track of the number of times he almost turned back. There was no avoiding what he’d done—the carnage, the death, the destruction he’d wrought—as he emerged back into the chamber. Picking his way through the debris, he reached the pile of goods, and shoved as much as he could into the pack before picking up the rest in his arms. Thankfully, he managed to get the rest of it in this trip: he didn’t know that he could face coming down here for a third time.

Pausing beside the halfling’s corpse, he stood there, then shut his eyes for a moment. He sent up a prayer to Metisa, though honestly, he didn’t know for what, before continuing on.

This time, he didn’t look back.

Loading up the rest of the carriage, Teodron noted that Jaken had shifted back, but the half-dwarf didn’t comment on it. The bounty hunter sat in the driver’s seat, so the mage sat in the carriage. Though it was selfish, he didn’t want to risk a conversation. Besides, he felt that he’d already done quite enough today. He just stared down at his hands as the carriage rocked and bumped, unable or unwilling to do anything more.

Then they stopped, and he got out of the carriage. He didn’t protest when Jaken offered to keep watch, nor did the mage respond when the other man instructed the half-dwarf to get some rest. Instead, Teodron just lay down and turned his back to the werewolf.

The mage stared unseeingly ahead, until finally sleep claimed him. But it wasn’t true rest. He didn’t think he’d even have that again.
 
Jaken did not attempted to make a conversation with the student. He could get that. He was tired, and had done something that went against his beleifs. Killing is harsh. The first blood was always hard to get through, and given the student's pure soul and heart, he'd have some difficult times ahead of him. For a moment, the werewolf thought on singing another tuune to help Teo fall asleep. But that would just make things even more awkward and weird. So he let the half-dwarf fall asleep, though he didn't knew if his compannion would have a nice sleep. It is said that the subconscious always manifestates events on dreams. He would be on lookout on the outside and on Teo, In case he has a nightmare, he would be there to calm him down, maybe some words of encouragement and then back to sleep.

He could hear the half-dwarf breathing weakly, a sign that he was asleep. Jaken did not need any rest throughout the journey due to the energy from the scroll Teodron read before leaving. He could go on the whole night riding the carriage.

Dawn came, at this point, if Jaken had remained in his werewolf form, he'd transform back already. He looked over his shoulder, at Teodron, who was still asleep, though, Jaken would have to wake him up soon. The journey was relaxed, quiet, with no hostiles on the way. This was good, it meant that THAT creature on the first night was long gone. Where? He didn't know, and didn't cared. All that matters is that they succeeded in their little quest. Though this was a job that could be cataloged as hard for Jaken, he didn't know what it could have been for Teodron. After all, the mage was way off his comfort zone and had killed. They were far away from the safety of the city and the security of a school. They have been deep isolated in the dangerous woods, where danger was always creeping around the corner, for 2 days, or 3.

They were already inside Elbion, about to enter the college. Jaken stopped, jumped out of the carriage to wake up Teo. The werewolf shook gently the half-dwarf, making sure not to scare him.
"Hey." he whispered "We're here. Wake up."
 
Teodron had nightmares, that much was true, though he hadn’t tossed and turned. That was because the real nightmare came upon waking up that morning, getting into the carriage, and letting Jaken drive them inexorably back to Elbion. It was...not normal, exactly, because this was so far outside anything the half-dwarf had known that normal was the last thing on his mind. But it seemed to him that after everything he’d been through—and everything he’d done—the world should feel different.

But the sun still shone, the colors of the forest gleamed, and the road wound on, uncaring that Teodron was being left behind. Oh sure, his physical body was moving, but his mind was still back in the pit, trapped there. Putting distance between himself and it wasn’t helping; if anything, he felt drawn back to that spot, as if by returning he could somehow fix his mistakes, wash away his sins.

There was no going back, though.

Eventually, the stasis had to break. The mind and the body demanded action, and so Teodron found himself looking over the materials they’d recovered. He wanted to know what this was all about, what he’d sacrificed everything for. So, turning to the cargo, he rifled through it.

What he found was shocking: while most of it was regular magical implements and reagents (as regular as those always got), some of it was clearly the domain of dark magic. He’d heard rumors, been told that people still practiced it. But that wasn’t the same as seeing it with his own two eyes.

Quickly, he pulled out his back, shuffled around the items, so he could shove the items he wanted to keep from the college. A book on necromancy and one on the dark arts, and then one with runes and an unfamiliar script; a wicked looking athame that bore a reddish stain he was terribly afraid was blood; finally, a mirror with unknown writing on it as a smoky swirl where the glass should be. He rearranged it until nothing was visible from glancing inside the pack. While he didn’t expect to be searched, better safe than sorry.

He didn’t know what he was doing, who he was anymore. Keeping secrets wasn’t like him. But the fact that he’d been sent out, unprepared, thrown to the wolves made him worried that something more was going on here. Perhaps the college had wanted him to fail. Perhaps someone had gotten word of his investigation and attempted to dispose of him in a way that would not arouse too much suspicion. Perhaps this was part of a deeper plot, something he couldn’t see.

Whatever was going on, Teodron wasn’t going to be naive or blind to it anymore. If lying and blackmailing and hurting others was necessary, well, he was proving himself capable of all of it. Even if it made his heart and his stomach sick.

Eventually, they rolled to a stop, and the werewolf retrieved the mage from the inside of the carriage. Elbion looked like the half-dwarf remembered, which he resented. Surely something had to acknowledge his trials, his actions, his mistakes. But that wasn’t how life worked; just because he was fundamentally different after going into the woods (literally and metaphorically) didn’t mean everything else was. Not quite able to meet the bounty hunter’s eyes, the mage stood silently, waiting for the bounty hunter to collect his money and go.

Maybe then Teodron could find, if not peace, at least some quiet. Even if the voices were all in his head.
 
Jaken saw the half-dwarf waking up, and apparently investigating the objects from the crates they had retreived the night prior. He did not gave it much thought, he would expect that. He knew that Teodron would want to know what he sacrificed his morals for. Was it worth it? The kill? Was it worth the pain and injuries they had to go through for the last days? However, the wolf did not see Teodron retreive some items for himself.

The werewolf saw Teodron's face, it had not changed expression since the kill: blank. Not even a smile or a frustrated face. It remain blank. "The college is closed. Should open any minute now." he commented "Oh and while you were asleep, I grabbed some food on the market nearby." he handed a piece of bread and a drink, the pair sat at the edge of the box "Thought we could have breakfast after everything that has happened." he said as he took a bite out of his bread. He was still thinking on Teodron, maybe it was the right time? Teodron had gotten sleep and it's been hours since the killing. Maybe he had time to meditate about it. Should he do it? "Do you wanna... talk about it? Let it out of your system? If you don't want to, it's ok. I'm just.... askning?" he did not know how to make the question any smoother, he wasn't that kind of person.
 
Jaken finally spoke, but Teodron just regarded the bounty hunter with a dull expression on the half-dwarf’s face. The college wasn’t closed. It was never closed. Oh sure, certain offices were only open during the day, but someone was always on duty. Teodron should know: mages and academics both kept irregular hours, and some spells needed to be constantly maintained or monitored, so someone was always available. One just had to know where to look.

Plus the last thing the student wanted to do was have breakfast, sit down, and chat with the werewolf of all people.

So instead of responding, or even acknowledging the other man’s words, the half-dwarf simply pulled out his identification from his bag, spun on his heel, marched to the nearest guard, and presented himself to the orc on duty. He was waved through immediately, but Jaken wouldn’t be allowed to pass. If the bounty hunter tried, he’d be detained with magic and more mundane means. It wasn’t something one man, no matter how skilled, could resist.

Marching through the halls, the half-dwarf came to the bursar’s office. Only a secretary was there, a female halfling; Teodron’s vision wavered for a second. But this wasn’t the necromancer he had killed. No, this was a kindly older looking woman who was peering at him with some concern. The mage didn’t have time for that. “There’s a bounty out front who completed a job for the college and is demanding to be paid. I can confirm he performed his task.” His words were sharp, and she flinched. Or maybe that was the expression on his face: hard, cold, and unforgiving.

“I’ll take care of that right away.” With that, she bustled into the back.

Teodron closed his eyes, praying he wouldn’t completely lose it in public. He just needed to keep it together until he could get back to his room. When he opened them, she was emerging from the back office, a bag of coins in hand. “Here’s the payment, plus a bonus for your safe return and a speedy delivery. I’ve already requested for porters to be sent to retrieve the cargo. Do you need anything else?”

Though the half-dwarf wanted to march away without another word, he forced himself to respond. “No. Thank you.” It was clipped and harsh, but that was the best he could muster at the moment, so it would have to do.

With that, he made his way back to the entrance. Approaching Jaken, Teodron tossed the sack at the other man. “There’s your payment. The college will take it from here.” With that, the half-dwarf turned to go back inside, needing to get away from everything. Urgently. Still, he’d only moved a few steps away before he stopped.

Without looking back, Teodron spoke. “Thank you.” His voice was rough, and the half-dwarf didn’t know that he meant the words. But he needed to do something to acknowledge what they’d been through. The mage wouldn’t, couldn’t forgive the werewolf for torturing that bandit. But Teodron wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Jaken, so as with everything else right now, the half-dwarf didn’t know how to feel.
 
Teodron did not even acknowledge the food he was offered, instead, he sighed and walked away from it. Jaken did not tried to stop him. It was over. The half-dwarf was going back to his comfort zone, but he knew the student would come back differently. The thought of the kill still bothered him. The only thing that the werewolf did was sigh and let the student go to the entrance gate.

Moments later, Teodron reappeared with a sack that seemed full of coins. He tossed it at the bounty hunter. Jaken for a moment thought at growling at Teodron for being disrespectfull. Ok, he killed, sucks, now grow up and move on. That was something that Jaken wanted to tell him, but he just stayed quiet. "Ok." he said when Teodron explained that the college was going to take care of things now. He stood up, grabbed his equipment and before he continued with his path, he stopped at Teo's position. Joining shoulders, but not looking at each other directly. "Good luck." he whispered then walked away.

He had walked far from the college entrance, maybe Teo was already inside the college, returning to a somewhat normal life. In that moment, something flashed in Jaken's mind.

Stopping dead at Elbion's plaza, he looked back at the college and remembered that first night he had with Teodron. How they shared their backstories, and what sufferment they had to take on. And then... Teodron's mother. Jaken knew for sure that the college knew something about that magical experiment that left Teo without a mother. He also remember Teo explaining that it was impossible to break in and reveal their secrets. But deep down, the werewolf knew that no secret could be kept forever, the truth would eventually come out, and he would be the one to discover it and expose it to the world. But for now, he needed rest, and new clothes. He knew who to contact to infiltrate the college and unravel the secrets that have been buried deep down.
"Alright..." he whispered to the college "You are next..."

TO BE CONTINUED....?​
 
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