797 - Threads Intertwined
“They...took them...because...of you...”
Silla’s halting accusation brought a frown to Lex’s face. That the other adlets had been forcibly abducted wasn’t a surprise. Despite the large patches of bloody snow, there were no corpses or body parts that a wholesale slaughter would have left behind; even Silla’s severed leg was nowhere to be seen. But the injured warrior’s saying that he was to blame meant that their attackers had been someone that knew him.
It wasn’t hard for Lex to guess who that could be.
Solvei, however, couldn’t seem to follow what the injured adlet was saying, wrapping an arm around him as she helped him sit up. “Silla, what happened here? Where’s everyone else?”
Groaning, Silla shook his head. “We all fought...as hard as we could...but-”
He stopped as he caught sight of his severed leg, going rigid as his eyes widened.
Following his line of sight, Solvei blanched as she realized what he was looking at. “Silla, listen to me. You’re going to be alright. I know what you’re thinking, but this doesn’t mean your life is over.”
But he didn’t seem to hear her, staring at his amputated limb as though he couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing. Slowly, he moved what remained of his leg, eyes looking at the snow around it as if he expected the rest of his leg to simply be hidden beneath the red-stained powder. When it didn’t appear, he started to shake. “M-my leg...”
Lex registered a spike of anxiety from Solvei as she took Silla’s face in her hands and made him look at her, rather than his missing leg. “I want you to pay very close attention to what I’m about to tell you, okay? You’re still going to be able to live as a warrior. I swear it. Master’s magic healed your wounds, and even if it couldn’t fix your leg-”
A thread of alarm ran through Lex. Solvei, that’s enough!
She fell silent immediately, discomfort coming to him from across their link, likely because she was recalling what he’d told her about his being unable to regenerate missing limbs. But Lex couldn’t have cared less about that now, hoping that Silla’s shock would be enough for him to overlook what Solvei had just said.
But that hope was dashed when the maimed adlet opened his mouth a moment later.
“Did you...just call him...‘master’?”
Jerking back as if she’d been burned, Solvei’s mouth opened, then closed, and she swallowed before licking her lips, looking away from him. “That’s not important right now-”
Silla didn’t give her a chance to finish as he brought a hand up, and this time it was his turn to make her face him. “What happened...to your eyes?”
Lex cursed inwardly. Bad enough that Solvei had let it slip that she belonged to him, but he’d overlooked that Silla wasn’t using darkvision the way the two of them were.
With the sun having recently set, there was only a little ambient light left, barely able to get through the pervasive cloud cover. But the snow on the ground was catching and reflecting that lingering illumination, providing a miniscule amount of visibility in the normal spectrum of vision. And unlike Lex and Solvei, Silla was still viewing things that way...which meant that although he couldn’t see very far, Solvei was close enough that he could tell that her right eye was Akna’s familiar blue, but her left was now gold.
Given how much importance the adlets placed on their shaman, Lex knew there was no way he’d let that go. But while Lex had been aware that what had become of their shaman was an issue he’d need to speak to Akna’s tribe about eventually, this hadn’t been how he’d planned on broaching the subject. Nor had it been Solvei’s, judging by the dread he could sense coming from her.
Except that dread wasn’t for herself.
Master, please, don’t kill him!
Lex blinked. What?
Wrenching her head free of Silla’s grasp, Solvei gave him a desperate look. I know I messed up, but I can convince him to stay quiet, at least for a little while! Please, I beg you, don’t kill him! She squeezed her eyes shut then, tears gathering at their corners. I already lost my father to Bolverk, and my grandmother to the yetis...then Panuk...and then almost Toklo...I don’t want to go through that again, so please...!
The outpouring caught Lex completely off-guard, and for a moment a torrent of wrath welled up as the beast inside of him snarled. Whimpering and pleading was for weaklings; the maimed were to be killed and devoured, leaving nothing-
“I didn’t want you to be sad when you realized you’d killed someone who could have become your friend later.”
The memory of what Woodheart had said to him caused Lex to let out a slow breath, closing his eyes as he centered himself, pushing away Solvei’s begging and his inner monster’s bloodthirst, forcing himself to consider what was happening rationally.
Right now, the situation with Silla had the potential to turn into a problem later on. But Silla himself hadn’t done anything wrong; even putting a curse on him carried no justification. While the rest of Akna’s tribe would likely have a strongly negative reaction to being told that something had happened to their shaman, that was a different scenario from them potentially going to war because she’d disappeared while in the company of ponies; there was no reason to suspect that they’d attack his kind in general if he took personal responsibility for what had become of Akna. As such, there was no acceptable basis for silencing the wounded adlet in front of him.
More importantly, the issue with the adlet tribe was of secondary importance to whatever battle had taken place here, especially since Silla was under the impression that he was somehow responsible. Sissel and her monsters – to say nothing of everyone they’d taken – were the priority right now, not the adlets.
“What...did you...do to her?”
Silla’s question, asked in a harsh growl, made Lex open his eyes. Sure enough, the maimed warrior was glaring at him. “You obviously...did something...to yourself...and I can...tell you did...something to Akna...as well...”
“Silla, calm down,” begged Solvei. “Ma-, Lex isn’t-”
“Why is she...calling you...master?” demanded Silla, ignoring Solvei’s attempts to dissuade him. “Why is...one of her eyes...the wrong color?”
Cringing, Solvei tried again. “Don’t do this. Please.”
“And that’s...another thing...” He pushed Solvei away then, managing to crawl to a nearby tree. Propping himself up against the trunk, he rose up into an approximation of an upright position, pointing balefully at the shaman as he stared at Lex. “The Akna I know...would never...whimper like that! She slays yetis! She argues...with the elders! She does...whatever she wants...and listens...to no one! To make her...like that...” He glanced at Solvei, clenching his jaw when she bit her lip and looked away. “What...did you...do to her?!”
“It would take too long to explain,” answered Lex at last. “And I doubt you’d understand even if I did. All you need to know is that she and I have both changed a great deal, and that it was solely due to my own actions.”
Silla bared his teeth. “You...!”
“More importantly, you need to hurry and tell us what happened to the rest of your warband,” continued Lex, unimpressed by Silla’s display of anger. “You said that they were taken because of me. The sooner you explain what that means, the sooner I can track them down and bring them back.”
Master! Thank you! Solvei’s mental voice accompanied by relief, and out of his peripheral vision he could see her wiping her eyes.
Silla’s brow furrowed at that. “You...murdered Panuk...and almost did...the same to Toklo...and now you want...to help us?”
Solvei stepped forward, calmer now, though whether that was because he’d made it clear that he was going to rescue the others and leave Silla alive, or because her breaking down had so obviously unnerved the injured warrior, Lex couldn’t tell. “Silla, I know you don’t trust M-, Lex, and that you’re suspicious about what’s happened to me, but I swear on the spirits of our ancestors, he’s being honest with you now.”
“You were attacked by a group of five, weren’t you?” pressed Lex. “One was a snow giant, a humanoid woman half-again as tall as you, carrying an axe. One looked like a bald human, who fought with a hammer. They were accompanied by a winter hag and some sort of troll, along with a small sphinx...a tiny feline creature with wings.”
Silla paused for a long moment, his eyes flitting between the two of them before he slowly nodded. “That’s right...but there weren’t...just five of them...there were others.”
Solvei gasped softly at that, as Lex frowned deeply. “What others? Describe them.”
His ears flattening, Silla shuddered, sinking back down. “They were robed...and about as tall...as us. But there weren’t...like us...they weren’t like...anything I’ve ever...seen before...”
“In what way?”
Lex’s question caused Silla to gulp. “Their faces were...just mouths...no eyes...no noses...no ears...just mouths. And their arms...didn’t end in hands...all they had...were tentacles...”
“What were their numbers? How did they fight?”
Silla shook his head. “I don’t know...their numbers...they all appeared...out of nowhere...they were just there...with no warning...all of them...”
Sighing, he leaned his head back. “I don’t think there...were more than...a dozen...maybe less...they all fought...with magic...casting spells that...made us slower...or paralyzed us...or burned...” He took a deep breath before continuing. “They helped those...others you mentioned...capture the others...they took them all...except me...”
Unease came from Solvei then. Master, do you have any idea what sort of creatures he’s talking about?
A few days ago, Lex wouldn't have known. But the Libram of Ineffable Damnation had been more than just a treatise on the nature of the soul and the various fates which awaited it after death. It had gone on at great length about the various Outer Planes which formed most beings’ afterlives, including the myriad denizens who dwelt there. And the description Silla had given called to mind a very specific type of entity.
Venedaemons, answered Lex grimly. Creatures that practice arcane magic as a means of feeding their hunger for mortal souls, and which use the souls they devour to increase the potency of their magic.
They’re going to take my tribe’s souls?!
Remain calm, ordered Lex as he registered a new rush of anxiety from Solvei. If that was what they wanted, they would have done so immediately. Venedaemons can’t take souls on their own, they have to summon cacodaemons – lesser daemonic creatures – to do so for them, and they can only do that after someone’s died. If they were taking prisoners, then they’re probably still alive.
Her fear lessened then, but didn’t go away completely, not that Lex could blame her. The Libram had been quite specific about venedaemons valuing souls as much as they valued magic. If Sissel or one of her other siblings had some way to summon such creatures, then they would have needed to promise them some payment in order to secure their cooperation. And while they had magic enough that Lex felt sure they could have offered the venedaemons some bit of arcane knowledge in exchange for their help – the secret behind Grisela’s ice-puppets, perhaps, or whatever illusion Sissel had projected her magic through when he’d first met her – it was just as likely that the adlets they’d captured were living on borrowed time.
But that wasn’t what bothered Lex the most, recalling something that Prevarius had told him...
“It’s so exciting! Just recently, there’s been a trickle of pony souls onto the market, and buyers have been going absolutely crazy for them!”
The Libram of Ineffable Damnation had gone on at length about how the daemons were very closely tied to the soul trade, with virtually all of them having some level of involvement with it.
And according to the ponies he’d spoken to back in that village Grisela had attacked, she and her yetis had been taking ponies for some time now. And while the hag had made no secret of the fact that she’d seen those ponies as sources of food, that spoke not at all to what happened to the souls of those she’d killed...
A shudder ran down Lex’s spine, realizing that whatever it was he’d stumbled onto – or rather, whatever it was the Night Mare had led him toward – it was far larger than he’d suspected.
“And when you said that they were taken because of me,” continued Lex, having no difficulty continuing his conversation with Silla even as he telepathically spoke to Solvei and thought through the implications of everything they’d learned so far, “what did that mean?”
“The snow giant...with the axe...” groaned Silla.
“Sissel,” supplied Lex grimly.
“Sissel...she looked...right at me...and said to...tell Lex...the unicorn with...the red horn...that if he wants...everyone back...to come...and get them...”
“Oh no,” murmured Solvei, able to see where this was going.
Lex could too, but he nevertheless nodded at Silla, wanting the warrior to confirm it. “And where did she say to go?”
“The lair...of Hvitdod...”
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Would be nice to make a deal with the dragon after its been fed Griselda and the others?
11501895 That would be a neat and tidy way to solve the current problem, wouldn't it?
Sissel and company must be preparing for Lex's arrival and with no information about the area he can only spring their trap. He did get a big upgrade but will it suffice for him to kill and get rid of these band of murderhobos? Hope so.
But I must wonder, are pony souls so rare that even the few that Sissel and her sister are enough to get demon soul traders excited?
11502324 Well, in this instance Lex has time to think of a plan, so that's already a big advantage in his favor. Likewise, he has a lot more options now, in addition to simply being stronger (or rather, having new options is a source of his newfound strength), so he might be able to offer up a few surprises.
As for pony souls being rare...well, there's pony on Equestria (which until recently was sequestered from the wider multiverse), and on Everglow, and as far as we know, that's it. If we take the position that most D&D-style worlds (i.e. the various d20 System campaign settings) all exist in a unified cosmology, then ponies are pretty rare compared to, say, humans or elves or goblins, etc. So it might be that ponies are simply the hot new commodity; the soul equivalent of the beanie baby craze, if you will.
Lex wants to kill Sissel and her group, Sissel wants him to slay Hvitdod who in turn probably wants to kill anyone and everyone if it so pleases. Yeah...that's going to be one hell of an encounter.
Also, apologies for the late comment, irl stuff and being sucked into a youtube binge. The subject matter, magnet fishing for some bizarre reason.
11503539 Yeah, there's several major powers which are on a collision course now, and I'd be very surprised if any of them were inclined to negotiate, de-escalate, or otherwise accept anything other than being the last one standing. Hopefully, Lex and Akna have a fighting chance of taking that particular claim for themselves, but it's doubtlessly going to be hard-won if and when they do.
And no worries, I understand that magnet fishing has allure.