Tulani's report on the Azed family was not very extensive. The family itself was notoriously private, such that nobody really knew how big it even was. They rarely interacted with anyone except through servants, which only led to a flowering of rumors. Some claimed the servants that actually worked directly with the family members were all blind (or blinded) so that they could not see any of them. Others were that the family had become so insular and inbred that they didn't dare show themselves due to monstrous deformities. A bit more reliable were hints that the Azeds were involved in abductions and performing 'disposal' services for other sketchy nobles when they needed someone to 'go away' for good.
Near the base of the tower, beneath a fallen buttress is a modest cave. The blackness of the undercity and the shadows is broken by the faint glowing green patterns covering the hide of a squat, dragonlike creature. The light also reflects off of the silver scales of a second creature.. which is more obviously draconic. "It's old, no telling if the lower levels are used or fortified," Tulani whispers to Scourge.
"Places like this always have an overwhelming sense of doom about them, do they not?" Scourge remarks as it peers about in the gloom. "But nothing is more doomy than us. As disturbing as I feel and look like this, though, I should get some warning if there are others down here with us. I should be able to feel their minds."
"Well.. are you feeling-up anything in there?" Tulani asks.
Scourge closes his eyes to block out other distractions and focuses on feeling for the presence of others.
There is a lot of life down in the undercity.. but nothing seems to be near the Azed tower. There are guards patrolling the fortified steps of the tower above, but the plazas are blank. And more disturbingly, so is the tower itself. That should be impossible - unless there's something actively blocking Scourge's sense - some sort of Mind or Spirit magic, maybe.
"It is a void," Scourge says as it opens its eyes. "Which tells us something; it is warded by magic. They worry about their safety, a lot. Paranoia. They likely have reason to be if rumors are to be believed. Shall we try to infiltrate?"
"Magic.. hmm," Tulani grumbles. "They probably have a mage in there then, or some sort of artifact. You're a bit more stealthy than I am, if you can turn down your glow. If they aren't guarding the base, it follows that they don't think there is a way in from there, right?"
"Well, I would say arrogance would also make them think that ... but given they are warding too, it is more likely your theory is correct. They likely do not think there is any access down there," Scourge agrees. As for his glow ... it isn't actually sure if it can. So ... it concentrates and tries to imagine itself without any glow.
The glow does fade. It leaves the odd creature a bit dull though. "I'm sure we could make our own entrances," Tulani suggests.
"Oh, probably .... but that could make a lot of noise," Scourge warns, then shrugs. "Still, we should search and try. No one said this would be easy." And with that, the odd creature trundles off towards the lower sections of the tower.
Like most of the towers in Babel, the bases (or at least the exposed parts - they usually reach a few floors below the 'ground' level of garbage) are damaged. Bricks have been pried free here and there, revealing deeper, older walls from before the tower was expanded.
"We ought to look for water pipes or old waste lines. Those, while nasty, are likely the simplest way in," Scourge remarks in a low whisper as it slinks through the debris. He also keeps an eye out for marks on the walls of the tower itself. It is a common practice by thieves and other people on the edge to mark warnings about a place on walls or waypoints, after all. The gypsies did it all the time back in Sylvania.
"You're a fungus, so I doubt a tunnel of crap would bother you," Tulani notes, trying to keep up. She's a bit bigger than Scourge, and less able to squeeze into spaces. There are a few marks here and there, which look like warnings - booby-traps are a popular hobby among building contractors here, after all.
"Note the warning marks," Scourge comments and nods towards one of the walls, "I do hope your cute little girl spy training included those common practices. And just because I couldn't smell it doesn't mean the idea wouldn't bother me."
"We didn't get to the sneaking-into-fortresses part," Tulani notes. As they move through the outer edges of the structure, Scourge is able to map out the extend of the ward by how it 'eclipses' signals from the tower step guards. It certainly doesn't seem to extend into the base level at all. There are also more and more bones the deeper they get. It may be that this was a dungeon at some point in the past.
"The wards do not reach down here," Scourge notes as it practically slithers about, "So this area is unoccupied. IF we can find a weak spot we can likely get in."
"Dungeons are usually sealed with very strong doors," Tulani points out. She's been looking at the ceilings more than the floors and walls - which also means she rattles bones more often. "If I were sealing things off.. I'd knock down the stairs. Look for suspicious piles of rubble."
"Mind your footsteps. You act like a rhian in a pile of leaves and twigs. I'll tell Barada on you," Scourge remarks and likely swats Tulani with its tail. "Stairs don't mean much to those who can fly, unless the passages are narrow. But ... I will look."
"Not everyone in Babel flies, and unless they hang their prisoners from suspended cages.." Tulani replies, then goes quiet. "I smell something," she whispers.
Scourge draws to a stop. "I cannot. What do you smell?" it asks.
The silver dragon flares her nostrils more. "Blood and.. something else. Sickness? It's close.. there's no airflow down here."
"Someone wounded?" Scourge inquires. It tries to extend its senses again and locate the source of the smell, if it still lives.
"I don't hear anything breathing," Tulani says, moving her head around. "This way.." she whispers, and heads down a narrow passage.
Scourge slinks its way after Tulani. "I spy with my little eye, a dragon butt," it mutters.
"At least we're seeing 'eye' to eye then, hmm?" Tulani teases, then stops. "It's on the other side of this wall," she claims, and starts trying to pry stones loose.
Scourge slinks around Tulani to try and help. He also tries to sense if there is anyone beyond that wall.
There isn't anything like a mind.. but there's life, of a more parasitic nature. Mold, rot.. possibly slime. Tulani pries away a stone and makes an opening in the wall, then recoils and covers her nose. "Ugh.. I envy you at this moment. That is the foulest thing I've ever smelled."
"And I once shared bunk space with a Skreek that had to 'drain' the puss out of his ass every night because he got gored by a Bromthen hog," she adds for emphasis.
"Well, at least he could literally be a pain in the ass," Scourge remarks a bit dryly as it moves forward to see if it can peer into the hole that Tulani just made to see what foulness she has uncovered.
The gap is big enough to fit Scourge's head.. but even without sticking it in the create can see. The slime glows to Scourge's senses, along with other fungi. It's enough to make out the spikes rising up from the floor, and the corpses impaled on them. One is fairly fresh. They've found the bottom of an oubliette it seems, a deep one if the top is somewhere within the ward.
"Ah, an oubliette, a place where you throw people to forget about them. Someone was recently killed," Scourge remarks grimly, "And there is a way up and into the warded area, perhaps." The strange dragon then tries to push in a bit further to see if he can identify the fresh corpse by his clothing.
There's no clothing.. or skin.. on the corpse. It's probably an Eeee, from the build, but the wings are missing. It might be an adolescent.
"Child. This is ... grim. Have you heard of any rumors of recently missing children of nobles?" Scourge asks.
"Disappearances are way down since the covens were broken," Tulani notes. "At least, from the areas that would report them. Out here on the fringe, who knows? These people supposedly hunt undercity residents for sport after all."
Scourge tries to push itself all the way in if it can ... and safely avoid being impaled. "This one was tortured if I had to guess. Brutally from the looks of it. Hardly 'sporting'. Depraved is a better description," it says, scowling.
"I can't see it," Tulani says from outside. "What are the walls like in there? From the smell I assume they're slick and damp."
"Slimy, yes," Scourge reports.
"Can you climb that?" the dragon asks. "My ribs don't collapse like yours, so there's no way I'm fitting through that hole without doing more damage."
"I'll have to try," Scourge says as it continues to try to push its way in. If it does manage to get in ... the next is trying to climb up those slimy walls. Maybe this body will allow it ... or perhaps with shadow help to make palm spines it will be able to climb it. In any event, no way to know until it tries.
Scourge's wings.. squish.. disturbingly as they get dragged through the small opening, but don't seem to suffer for it. And while the walls are literally slimy.. it's rather friendly slime, for Scourge. When its paw presses against it, Scourge can feel tiny filaments extending out and merging with the slime to give a firm hold.
"This is absolutely disgusting," Scourge notes back to Tulani. "The wall slime is going to help me climb it. So, do you wish me to go up and look around?"
"We haven't found a better way in," Tulani notes. "If you can get up and out, I'll need a signal to know you did."
"I expect you to give me a tongue bath after this," Scourge tells Tulani ... then starts a slow climb up the walls of this pit of rot and death.
It's tall. If Scourge's grip fails, the spikes are waiting since there's not enough room to open its wings. What's more, it's tapered inwards, like a cone. Even without the spikes, the fall would be fatal. Fifty feet up, Scourge bumps into a grate covering the top of the shaft.
"I'm an idiot for doing this," Pierce thinks. Now that he's inside, it tries to sense beyond the grate to see if anyone is there before it uses its head to push it open.
The ward is active.. until Scourge nudges up the unsecured grate. Then it can sense things again. Something is close by, and agitated. It can even hear faint sobbing.
"Someone in trouble? I have to help," Pierce decides. So, it takes a risk and tries to push he grate open and crawl out. If there is a guard out there, maybe it'll be too terrified by the appearance of a bog demon or ... something.
This level seems largely deserted, except for the upset presence. The ward also works both ways, since Scourge can't sense Tulani once its out into the chamber above. There are shackles on the walls, unused at the moment, and a single exit.
Scourge, grateful that no one else is immediately close, tries to locate the location of the sobbing.
It's definitely down the hall from the cell. This is just another dungeon, but one in better repair. The cells being passed are empty, but up ahead is a flickering like, as might be thrown by a candle, coming from one of them. The sobbing is also centered there.
Scourge keeps low to the floor, effectively slithering along it, as it makes its way towards the cell with the sobbing. It isn't going to announce itself until it gets a chance to see what it would be announcing itself to.
There's no sign that whoever is in the cell has sensed the intruder. When Scourge peeks around the edge, it sees that the cell is open, with a single candle providing light. It shines on what appears to be a young Eeee, except that the wings dangle down as if disconnected. The sobbing figure turns slightly, and it's clear that it isn't an Eeee at all, but something wearing the skin and wings of an Eeee. There's a glimpse of wrinkled, pale skin and large black claws holding the front of the skin-suit closed.
"What is this ... creature? And why is it wearing the skin of the dead Eeee below? Is this a trap?" Scourge thinks as it focuses its attention on this disturbing visage; focusing on its mental state. Is it really this sad ... or is it a trick? A lure?
The creature certainly seems despondent.. and afraid. Something tickles Scourge's senses then - another presence, somewhat blurry but definitely coming closer, and from the opposite direction that Scourge itself came from.
Scourge focuses on that presence next. Is it a guard? A threat? What is its mental state? As it does this, the dark dragon thing tries to slink into the shadows.
There are plenty of shadows.. but better still are the empty cells, since shadows don't do well against sonar. But whatever is coming is holding a light. And it's mood is.. angry? Hopeful? It isn't clear at all.
Scourge ducks into a nearby cell ... though it remains ready to pounce should this turn out to be a guard coming for yet another victim.
The arrival is an Eeee woman, wearing a stained apron and carrying a candle in a cup. "Stop crying," she hisses, a bit harshly as she stands in front of the other cell and glares inside. "Still.. still you do not walk the skin. If you do not soon, you will become food. Stop being useless, son. You must walk the skin. We mussssst continue on."
"I try, momma.. it does not happen," the creature wearing the dead Eeee's hide wails.
Scourge glowers, angry. Part of him wants to pounce this creature for suggesting to use the skin for ... something. But for now ... it waits. Waits to see what and why this is going on.
"You must, you must," the woman urges. "We are few. Too few. Our power wanes. If we cannot pass for Eeee, we must risk seeking new territory. Our blood is thinning, and so you must make up for that with strength. Or we will try again, and to do that I will have to eat you first. I do not want to do that, son. We will try the runes and the blood again. You will walk the skin. You must."
"What is this family? A family of demons?" Scourge thinks, eyes narrow. "Is this child sad because it cannot do what this mother thing wants .... or does it weep for the owner of that skin?"
"More blood, momma," the child-monster says. "More blood, and I will do it, I know. This one's blood was bad. Weak. That is all."
Scourge's eyes narrow to slits. "It wails for itself and for more blood, not for the person it killed," it thinks. "I cannot allow this to continue."
"Always the excuse," the mother complains. "It was a strong one. We will try the rituals again, no matter how much they hurt you, do you understand? We must show we are useful.. capable. A skinwalker that cannot walk the skin is just a waste of meat."
Scourge has to stop itself from growling. Children are not wastes of meat. The dragon thing is conflicted ... it wants to attack the mother, but it would also want to talk to the child. So it continues to wait. Patience, patience is key. It cannot risk exposing itself yet.
"Stop sobbing, stop feeling sorry for yourself," the mother hisses. "Think of the family. The Sabaoth is gone. We must show we are useful to the General. To Abednego.." The woman shudders as she mentions the name. "We will all be killed otherwise. Or left to fend for ourselves. I will not be gobbled up like those acolytes. I am your mother and you owe me your life - one way or another. Stay here and try harder." With that, the woman turns and stomps back up the corridor, until her candle light fades with distance.
"So, they serve out of fear. Perhaps I can change their allegiance then," Scourge thinks. While it could, Scourge does not welcome the idea of killing a child, even if it is a monster. The dragon slinks back out of the cell and over to the one with the sobbing child. "Why do you cry, child?" Scourge hisses outside the door to its cell.
"Who is there?" the child asks, pulling the skin more tightly around itself. Since the jaw of the skin is hanging down, Scourge can see the creature's mouth. It has a severe underbite, with sharp teeth jutting upwards. There's something almost fishlike about it, but the skin is paler than even Snow's and looks unhealthy and ill-fitting.
"/Someone curious,/" comes Scourge's reply. "Why do you cry? What exactly are you?/"
"I am son," the child says. "Curious in the dark. Curious. Why curious? Why can't I smell your blood?"
"Because I have none. I am shadow, waiting and watching. Listening. Judging," Scourge replies in kind. "You killed an Eeee for its skin," it says as a statement, not a question. "Now I have to decide what to do about it."
"It's blood was weak," the child complains defensively. "I could not wear the skin, because the blood was weak. I am not weak!" It seems on the verge of crying again.
"It was a person. Someone with hopes and dreams," Scourge counters, "It was more than skin. More than blood. What exactly are you?"
"I couldn't become him," the thing wails. "It's not my fault. I have to walk the skin, or I will not survive. Momma tells me so. We can't live without the skin. I don't want to die. Can you help, curious shadow? I need blood.. blood to know. To become. I have to become."
Scourge pushes the cell door open and enters now, drawing up to its full height instead of slithering. "Why do you have to become? Why is what you are not enough?" it inquires of the strange creature.
The creature cowers. "Big.. you are big shadow," it mewls. "Must become.. that is the way. Always. Become someone, then shed and become again, over and over. Become who our master tells us to become, momma says. Become to breed."
"To breed what?" Scourge asks next as it eyes the small creature. "And who is your master? And why?"
"No master now," the skinwalker wails. "Breed.. more. Sons and daughters. More. Family. Need master to protect us, bring us skin. Hide us. Must stay hidden. We are the hidden. Hide hide hide!" It crouches down and puts its hands over its head now.
"Hide from what? Of anyone, the General is who should be hidden from;; all she wants is dead flesh to serve her," Scourge notes grimly as it watches the small creature before it. "What is wrong with how you are like this?"
"Weak," the child whispers. "No defense. No protection. No more of us. No more of us without skin. Can't make more without skin."
"Aside from 'making more', what exactly is it that you do?" Scourge asks.
"Do?" the child asks. "We.. live? You know life?"
"I know life, death, and everything in between," Scourge claims as its head lowers down until it is mere inches from the child's own head. "How many are there of your kind?"
"Momma and poppa," the child says, still sounding scared. "But not me, not yet.."
"Who is your father and mother? Who do they pretend to be?" Scourge inquires.
"They.. momma and poppa.." the creature replies. "Be.. the be.. Momma and Poppa. Azed. We are Azed, yes. Others call us that. Myta. Momma called Myta. Poppa is Halded."
The names do match up with Tulani's report as the heads of the family.
"So this family is not even Eeee," Scourge says dryly. "Were you me, what would you do in this situation? I am the guardian of Eeee and I am here to help this city."
"Momma and Poppa are Eeee, now," the child claims. "Always they are Eeee, over and over again. I will become Eeee too. Then you protect me?"
"But you become Eeee by killing them. How can I condone that?" Scourge inquires next.
"I don't understand?" the child asks.
"Eeee have dreams and lives of their own. You have taken that away from one by collecting this," Scourge notes and flicks a stubby claw against the skin. "You put me in a difficult position."
"I'm sorry," the child pleads. "I will become next time! Become the Eeee."
"That does not make it right. What about the one who owned this?" Scourge inquires next and flicks the skin again.
"I tried to become him," the child says. "Not dead then. Eeee kill each other all the time. We become."
"You tried to merge with him? You did not kill him and skin him?" Scourge asks.
The child shivers in fear. "I.. don't understand?" it whines. "To become, must drink blood, take skin. Know them. Can't become without knowing."
"If you take a skin, how long does it last?" Scourge asks of the child.
"Adult.. last years. No more growing. Young.. must wear many skins. To grow. To learn. Skin doesn't grow," the child says. "Like the snake men. Shed old skin to grow."
"So even if I help you now, you will kill again to take another," Scourge says with a sigh.
"Become.." the child says. It's mood is more desperate now, sensing danger. "I want my mother now."
Scourge closes its eyes for a moment. "Pull the skin about yourself," it says, "I will buy you time if I can, this once. Perhaps there is another solution than the death of another for you to ... grow."
The child struggles more within the ill-fitting skin, trying to get it to.. stick? There's plenty of gore.. the process may require more than just drinking the victim's blood. "It won't walk.. it doesn't like me.." the child moans.
Scourge wraps its wings about the child. It cannot believe it is going to help this child ... but the other Eeee is already dead. Death upon death solves nothing and if they can help Scourge later, it may be beneficial. So ... Scourge tries to engulf the child in shadow and help this disturbing 'fusion' process along.
There's something familiar feeling about it. Becoming is like a more physical version of kenning. Even Rose noted how a full Dracul could get information from someone's blood, by assimilating their spirit, essentially. The changeling child is weak. Defective, inbred. But there's enough for Scourge to work with, from the blood and skin, to push the creature into integration.
In spite of everything that tells Scourge it should not be helping a monster ... he tries to push the integration forward with the shadow. There is innocence in the child; it does not understand what it had done is wrong. How could Scourge punish it for that? Perhaps it can be taught better, other ways to be found. Perhaps it is still a foolish hope that resides in the being that wears Scourge's body but ... acts of kindness perhaps still can change things.
The process isn't without strain on the child. When it's finished, an unconscious Eeee boy lies at the center of the cell.
And Scourge prods the child with its tail.
The child shivers and opens its eyes, blinking several times before focusing on Scourge. "Who are you?" he asks, sounding confused.
"You do not remember?" Scourge inquires.
"I.. remember.. lots of.." the child says, and holds his head in his hands. "I'm Telus. Telus.. Telus.. Azed? And not.. but am. Uh, you are.. the curious shadow. I live here in the tower. My parents are.. here. Both.. sets. I'm Telus."
"You are," Scourge says, "But you were almost not. In spite of everything I helped you to become." It leans in until its left eye is inches from the child's face, saying, "I can be many things; from a protector, to the Scourge of existence. I am here in Babel to bring it to a brighter future; rather one with a future. Not the one the General wishes for it; a tomb of dead flesh for her army. Do not join with the General, or with Abednego. If you side with them, if your parents side with them ... the next time we meet will not be as a protector or a friend."
"You protect Eeee," Telus says, wide-eyed. "You fixed me. You can fix momma and poppa. Fix them. As Eeee."
Scourge tilts its head. "What is wrong with them?" it inquires.
"Nothing," the boy says. "But you can fix them. Fix them in their skin, like you did to me."
"Likely, yes," Scourge has to concede. "Again, that puts me in a difficult position. They have been the cause of deaths of other Eeee. You ask me to look beyond that and help them."
"Yes," Telus says. "You protect Eeee. Make them Eeee. No masters. No hiding. Lots of Eeee. No more changing."
"And why would they trust me to do so?" Scourge asks simply.
"Trust?" the boy asks. "You're strong. Just.. fix them. What can they do to stop you? Why would they stop you? You fixed me. They have no choice now. There are no more to be made."
"Then you would have to bring them to me," Scourge points out. "Or, take me to them."
"Take you?" Telus asks. "I know the way." He gets shakily to his feet, and takes a moment to get his wings in order.
"I still cannot believe I am helping them," Scourge thinks. The image of that skinned corpse at the bottom of the oubliette is still quite vivid in its memory. Still, it will follow for now.
Taking the candle, Telus heads up the corridor and out of the dungeon. These areas are still barely populated - it may be that this section of the tower is completely dedicated to the strange family, since Scourge only senses two others - and they are blurry. Telus is sharp and clear, however.
"Tulani may be getting worried by now," Scourge thinks as it looks about, still sensing through the building as much as it is able. The softness of Scourge's build makes its footfalls practically silent too as it follows after the 'new' Eeee.
They travel through chambers engraved with strange symbols and clear signs of ritual magic, including the familiar tools. Telus guides Scourge through several of these chambers, until he comes to one with an actual door. "Here," he says, and then knocks on the door.
And of course Scourge looms behind the child, waiting quietly for now.
The door opens, and the mother looks out. She doesn't seem to notice Scourge at all, focusing fully on the young Eeee. She scoops him up and hugs him! "You've become!" she says happily. "You've.. become.." she says again, a bit uncertainly. "Something is.."
"I'm Telus!" the boy claims. "Always now! Forever! You can be forever too now! You and Poppa!"
"With something waiting behind him," Scourge rumbles softly from the shadows. It also releases its muting of its normally glowing parts so that it resumes its eerie green 'echo' of symbols.
The female hugs Telus protectively against her. "What are you?" she demands. "What.. what did you do to my child?"
The other entity in the room is moving quietly, but Scourge can assume the father has a weapon of some sort, and is waiting.
"The same child you threatened to eat earlier because it could not join with the skin of the dead child?" Scourge inquires simply. "I am the defender of Babel and Eeee, ally to those that wish to see both shine. What I am to you depends on what you are and what you choose. I am the Scourge that destroyed the other tower through ice, fire and disease," it says, "I am also the same creature that helped your son join with the skin of that dead child. I can be either rage or kindness. Which would you choose me to be?"
"You're a monster, like us?" the mother asks. "But I can't sense it anymore in Telus. You've made him.. what he became. Is that your kindness? To free us from our lineage?"
"The General and her puppet Abednego would keep you as servants and slaves while it suited them ... which would honestly not be that long; they want undead servants, not living ones. I ... gave Telus the chance to choose. He no longer need to have to hide and take others to exist, so where he chooses to go from here he can make with a clear mind," Scourge says. "My kindness is ... I am giving him a chance for a new and real life. I could have easily destroyed him ... but he is just a child and still had a child's innocence. He deserved the chance. He wishes me to give you the same opportunity."
"Innocent," the woman says, hugging the boy closer. "We do what we do to survive. We have that right, as much as anyone. You can make us.. Eeee? Permanently? No.. restrictions?"
"It seems so," Scourge says, "It was just a matter of helping your real body know the one it wears a bit more completely."
"We can have more children?" she asks. "Eeee children?"
Scourge has to think about that. "That ... I do not know," Scourge admits. "I deal more in death as the agent of the Barsunala and of Gorphat than I do in other aspects. But ... your physiology is different enough that the fusion may be complete enough."
"We won't need to eat the flesh of.." the mother starts to say, then stops. "Do we have time to decide? Or is there really no choice. Agree, or die?"
"If you choose to serve the General, then the next time we meet I will kill you," Scourge says simply. "Not something I wish to do, but I cannot allow the General to gain any further influence."
"If you cure us.. we will leave Babel anyway," the mother claims. "We don't want to be here."
"Why would you leave Babel?" Scourge inquires and tilts its head.
"If we are of no use to those in power, or seeking power, then we are a liability," the mother explains. "Our kind have served the Sabaoth. Replacing people that opposed him. The General would use us to infiltrate as well.. although only my mate and I are left."
"There is another working to pursue the path of the Sabbaoth, though he would not ask you to harm others or replace others. I imagine he would simply ask you to help people," Scourge notes.
"We are monsters," the mother says. "Or family has been reduced to just us, because of the requirements of our existence and the vulnerability of exposure. We wish only to leave, and live as anyone else. What could we do to help, as just other Eeee that would not put us at risk?"
"I would not try to stop you from leaving. I only ask to help others as payment for the help given to you. Share the act with others," Scourge says. "You have a tower, a home, here. You could offer shelter and food to others. But that is just an example. All actions will have some risk," Scourge says, then rolls his shoulders. "You wish to just be simple Eeee, then?"
"Is that so strange a dream?" the mother asks. "Is it not what many in this city wish for? Use this tower as you wish. We will name whoever you choose as our successors. The advantage of nobody knowing who you are, is that anybody can be you."
"That ... will require consultation with others," Scourge notes, "Will you be willing to remain here for a few days after the change for that to be decided?"
"Yes," the woman says. Maybe she's the one that makes the decisions in the family. "But not too long."
"I suggest you ask your mate to put down his weapon ... yes, I know about it. Then I will ... see if I can complete your becoming," Scourge offers.
The woman puts Telus down, and tells him, "Go to poppa." The boy goes into the darkened room, and meets up with the other changeling. The mother steps out from the doorway then. "What do I need to do?" she asks.
"Just relax," Scourge, a huge dark and glowing monster, suggests ... as it coils its wings around the woman.
The woman remains still as she's wrapped. She feels different than the child, since she's already 'bonded' with the skin. But it feels like two separate beings still - likely the cause for the 'blurry' sensation.
Out flows the shadow an its influence as it saturates the creature it holds. The goal ... remove the separation between the two 'sensations'. Two must become one. It is like ... mixing a cake. Except being a vampire means Scourge has little experience with mixing. So ... he focuses on how it felt with the child and tries to nudge the two parts to know the other completely.
It's slower, since the body is more experienced with changing skins. But it does eventually 'take' and the fusion becomes complete.. leaving just an Eeee.
And Scourge draws its wings back from the former monster. "It is done," it says.
The woman is wobbly from it, and there's a growl from within the room.. but she shakes it off and straightens up. "I'm fine," she says.
"You are complete," Scourge corrects. "That leaves your mate ... if he is willing to do the same."
"He will," the woman says, and goes into the room. The male comes out, looking nervous. He doesn't say anything at all to Scourge. He also looks.. worn. As if he's already nearing the limit for his current skin.
"Are you doing this of your own free will?" Scourge inquires as it leans in until it is nose to nose with the fake Eeee. "If you fight, I will be unable to do this."
The man nods. This reinforces the looseness of his skin, since it seems to slide slightly.
"Cannot speak?" Scourge inquires as it folds its wings about the man this time. It isn't quite like breathing, but the shadow flows out similar to an exhale. It oozes out and over the male this time. The age may make it more difficult, but that means just taking it slower and easier. Careful nudging, no forcing that might tear what remains.
It's much harder this time. The 'skin' feels nearly dead, while the body beneath is still fine. It's a delicate balance between strengthening the merger and not causing the man to age to match the skin. Scourge is vaguely aware of the woman becoming more agitated as it takes longer and longer.. but eventually things are 'fixed' into a single form.
Part of Scourge is oddly grateful the skin was that old; it means they kept them as long as possible. It still doesn't excuse the act ... but it makes it less horrible. Scourge isn't even sure how long it took by the time it finally withdraws the shadow ... and now it is Scourge's turn to look a bit worn.
It seems to have taken more out of the man than the others, but he was already having issues. "Thank you," he says, now able to talk. His mate comes out to steady him.
Scourge nods its head slightly. "You are welcome," it replies in kind. "Now I have a favor to ask of you ... I would prefer to leave through a door; the way I entered was not pleasant."
"There is a secret way," the mother says. Once the father and son are settled in the room, she leads Scourge down another passage. There's a blocked doorway that should lead out onto one of the collapsed plazas, but pushing on a particular piece of debris causes the whole thing to pivot open.
Scourge tilts its head and looks at the woman. "Please do not make me regret this," it asks, voice softer than it had been earlier.
"You'll return within a few days with our replacements?" the woman asks, as if to make certain.
"Yes. I have allies who will know who will work best as replacements," Scourge says and bobs its head. "Please make the best of this chance and remember to help others in their time of need should the opportunity arise."
"We will remember," the woman claims. "We are Eeee."
"I was once," Scourge admits, "And I gave it up so that I could help this city."
"Giving up what we were helped as well," the woman points out. "We can live, without stealing other lives now."
"I was a hair's breath away from killing you all," Scourge admits, "For the lives you destroyed."
"Monsters are monstrous by nature," the woman says. "Not by desire. Only the normal people can truly be monsters by choice."
"And that is why I spared you," Scourge says, "I wish you a happy life." With that, Scourge turns and heads through the passage to leave the tower.
The door closes behind the creature. There aren't any guards this low. Their presence on the upper tiers may be a form of misdirection. And now outside the warding, it isn't hard to pick out Tulani's aura. She's angry, and still waiting at the oubliette it seems.
"She's always angry. That cat needs a stiff drink or ten," Scourge thinks as it makes its way back through the rubble to find Tulani. "And she also gets to find replacements. Hah! That will keep her busy and not worrying about me so much, too. I just hope I did the right thing back there. It would have been within my rights to kill that child ... but I just could not. Even after everything I have been through ... I still want to give people a chance, no matter what. Good or bad, what is done is done."