33. Auvry and Szin (RD) by Thayne

thayne

Auvryilph was still in the degrading process of gathering bodies, using his superior strength to carry 5 or 6 at a time, and then dumping them together in the sludge pits in the cog level. These were bodies of the house, of course, their remains recycled for food and supplies. He didn’t care how they were used, only that it was beneath the House Gift to do this task, but there was such a shortage of able bodies, it fell upon Auvry anyway. About to pick up another group from the Observatory, he happened to spy the Szin scavenging through numerous items on the ground. Taroos, Intayus’ whelp was tearing through the bodies, leaping off the sculptures and basically making a nuisance of himself.

Knowing better, he none the less thundered over to the necro-artificer and asked belligerently, “What are you two up to?”

Taroos snarled and leapt up onto Szin’s shoulder, putting on a little show despite the fact that Auvry could beat the child into next week.

Aurvyilph glared in disbelief at the tiny spitting thing while Szin replied calmly, “Do these seem familiar to you, Auvryilph?”

The demon glanced at the two armbands and recognized them instantly. “Those were Vynne’s!”

Szin nodded and tucked them under his arm, “Indeed.” Petting the demonling on the top of his head he says, “Good job, Taroos.” To which the demon child beamed under the praise.

Auvryilph snarled, “What are they doing off her? And where is she?”

Szin started toward the exit, “Both very good questions. It is advantageous we should meet here. Come with me, I have a feeling you can assist me. Let the goblin workers deal with the clean up. I believe they enjoy sucking out the eyeballs.”

The two walked in silence back to the temple, which was still in a state of disarray. Many of the Priestesses had gathered in the far corner, setting up a makeshift altar while the new one was being created. A few of them glared at Szin, who’s associate with the House was not well established. But he paid them no mind, hardly giving them any acknowledgement whatsoever save for a chase bow and the priestesses seem to lose interest.

Gathering one of the ornate copper braziers, Szin led Auvryilph to the wall with the painting on it. Straightening out his arm, he let Taroos climb down the length of it and over to a sconce. Auvrilph noted how the two seemed to be getting along as if Szin was a foster parent. Finally Szin spoke in hushed tones, “It is like this, Auvryilph: The Woodwitch has been taken from us, it seems. After interrogating the corpses, I’ve discovered that it was Izzirahc that took her, though I am uncertain as to why.” As he spoke, he opened up a small pouch on his hip. Three items he took out of it, the first one looked like a tiny beetle, with wings of bright green that glistened like mother-of-pearl, and its underside was gold. He placed it on the second item, which was the spider that used to be fashioned into Vynne’s breast.

Seeing the spider made Auvryilph’s skin crawl, if it was out of her, she could very well be dead. He knew how it worked and how the creature wiggled its way into the very heart of the beautiful succubus. One thing was for certain, it was impossible to remove.

Szin continued after seeing the way Auvryilph’s smaller hands balled into tight fists of rage. He had suspected the two had connected on some level, after all they had spent time together and it appeared any male that spent time with the mysterious creature became enthralled. Just like the Ilharess had with the Runic. “This is not the same creation that was put into Vynne, it is just a very cleaver replica. Obviously it was created to make us THINK Vynne was dead when the replica was put on another body that looked just like her. The question is why.”

Once the green scarab had finished its inspection, Szin placed it into the brazier. Then he handed the third object to Auvryilph. “Here hold this.” It was a small rod, created from clay and painted with a vibrant blue and copper patina. Auvry wrapped a massive claw around it, engulfing it with his whole hand.

“Now close your eyes and think of Vynne for me. You knew her for a brief time, and hopefully you can get a clear enough picture of her that I can use your memories to create a scrying connection.”

Auvry’s eyes dotted with copper before he closed his eyes and complied.

…. Vynne. Everything about her was completely opposed to life in the Underdark. Her hair and skin were kissed by the sunlight, her sparkling eyes contained the depth of the night sky. She spoke with the magical charm of the fae, and smiled with the playfulness of a mountain brook. Emotionally she could rage like a hurricane or be as tender as a summer afternoon. Down here they called her a Succubus, but that was because his unschooled brethren had never experienced life on the surface. She was much more than a minor demon, she was the embodiment of a forest, a Goddess to be feared and worshiped. Her true name was correct, every inch of her was passion, and she would not be contained.

After a few moments in contemplation, he offered the rod to Szin. Rather than taking it, the necro-artificer nodded toward the brazier. Auvry dropped it inside the oil, Szin then dropped the glistening scarab inside as well then he got to work.

During the hour that passed, Szin cast numerous spells and used devices so foreign Auvry could not fathom to guess what he was doing. The demon paced, watched the priestesses prepare for a ritual involving his mother. At some point, the house artist, Vonagh Noluonin entered. Vonagh was obviously distressed at first, but he loosened up after it was obvious the new priestesses were truly obeying his orders.

A soft curse came from Szin as he threw another spent, blank parchment to the ground. Leaning into the brazier, his shoulders slumped and a single lock of hair fell out of his braid, creating a line from his forehead to his ear. It was the first time Auvry had witnessed anything out of order with the wizard. He spoke, “They have hidden her well. Very well indeed.”

Auvry approached, “Who?”

Szin shook his head before looking up at the demon’s gigantic appearance. “Whoever has Vynne is very very good at concealing a person’s location. In fact, they are so good at it I am starting to suspect who might have her. After all, another house’s clerics would not care to hide her so thoroughly from the time frame. A not so powerful spellcaster would not think to hide not only her belongings, but memories of those belongings. Even when I try to find the most mundane traces of her like the removal of her offal, I find nothing. Only someone experienced in removing every trace of a person would be so detailed.”

He continued, “There is no one in Olath Xal with that kind of experience. My “neutrality” means I would know. That leaves the rest of the world. I seriously doubt Izzirahc would dare do anything on the surface, so that narrows it down to the Underdark. Also from what I know of Izzirahc, it is a safe bet to assume he would return to Vvrock’uvin and seek out a former contact there.”

Fishing through the oil, Szin retrieved the memory rod and scarab, cleaned them off, and returned them to his pouch. He would reset them later. Meanwhile, Auvry had grown quiet with the assessment. It made sense. The Runic was gone, given back to his family, and now the Woodwitch was gone too. It was for the best, even though a part of himself enjoyed spending time with her. She was gone, and now the House could get back to normal. HE could get back to normal. Glancing across the room, he noticed that the priestesses appeared to be getting ready for whatever ceremony they were going to perform, which meant their time was up. Gruffly he replied, “She is someone else’s problem now. Call off your search.”

Szin nodded and tucked his hands together behind his back. “Very good. I concur.” For a moment, the necro-artificer stood in place as if sizing up the House Gift, as if he gained some insight in the demon’s heart simply by touching the blue memory wand.

Then, without another word, the two returned to the chores of destroying their rival house and cleansing their own.

Mon, Apr 4th – 11:27AM