rp: side story Side Story: A Quest for Kraerhil

[Neptune]

Daedrin glanced up at Izanagi when the man spoke before he returned his attention back to his thigh, tightening the bandage slightly but not enough to completely cut off circulation. He then tied off the ends before looking back up and seeing my friend hold out a hand, the corner of his lip twitching a little in amusement at the derisiveness of Izanagi’s gone. He couldn’t blame the man. He reached up, but instead of grabbing Izanagi’s hand, he gripped the mans arm. With his free hand, he grabbed his sword and allowed the other to pull him up. He winced a little as pain laced through his leg, and wished he could use more reliable healing methods. But he was limited to his natural healing which, while much faster than humans, it was still going to take a few days to sort itself out. With a sigh, he pushed the sword into its sheath, before he glanced around at the corpses with a slight wince. He was glad that Izanagi didn’t seem to be questioning the fact that they appeared to be mutilated by a giant beast. While he wasn’t going to offer up information about himself, he wasn’t sure if he had the heart to lie to Izanagi if the man asked directly.

Instead, he directed attention away from the corpses themselves by saying, “Yes. Extremely stupid. It’s a complicated situation. They believe that a man called Torak is a God, but he isn’t. He has a long life span, because he’s a certain type of Sorcerer. But he is no Divine. He is long gone, taken by the Daedra. They believe that I am in league with the Daedra that took their God, which is why they think that my blood would return him. It doesn’t work like that.” He didn’t really confirm whether or not he worked with this Daedra, since he technically did. The man in question was his own father, after all. But that was getting into unnecessary details. He then added, “We killed many of them. Hopefully they won’t be too much of a bother anymore and we can breathe easy. Anyway…” He pushed himself away from the wall with a slight huff before he limped over to the fallen cultist and bent over to pick up to pick up the lit torch. As he straightened, he looked down at the cultists face, seeing the eyes still bulging from his sockets with an expression of horror contorting his features as a trail of blood dripped from both nostrils

[Akira]

I once again paid close attention to what my friend was saying. While I was fairly familiar with the part in which Deadrin spoke about the sorcerer named Torak, I was absolutely clueless about these 'Daedra' he mentioned. I had no memories whatsoever about them, but what what cought my attention the most was when Deadrin mentioned that cultists think that he is somehow involved with the Daedra. At that point I was reminded of when we were separated by the falling boulders and when I was about to cut my way through them, Deadrin's voice simply popped in my head and told me to don't do it, since it would likely cause the whole cavern to fall on our heads. I already knew that was far more to my friend than meets the eye, but that was the first time I actually began to question myself about the possibility of him being something else besides human. However, I pushed those thoughts asside for now "I hope you are right. Fighting inside this cave in pretty hard since there isn't much space and hitting the walls or ceiling can cause it to collapse" I replied in a serious and calm tone "Came on now, let's go back to looking for kraerhil. I don't want to stay here for any longer than necessary" I made sure to stay close to Deadrin since that wound on his leg was clearly making hard for him to move and, if at any point he needed some support, staying close to him would allow me to help as soon as possible. Plus I didn't want to get separated from again, given his current situation. "Let me know if the wound is hurting too much, we can always take a little break if necessary".

As we spent some time walking around and looking for the mineral, the memories and questions about how was Deadrin capable of 'talking' to me the way he did back when we were first separated *Something on your mind? you seem to be very intrigued by something* asked Odium. At that point he knew better than anyone when I had too many thoughts in my head *Yeah, do you remember when those boulders fell and Deadrin talked to me in that weird way? It was almost like he was directly inside my mind. The firt thing that came to my mind was telepathy but, even thought, we had faced a few telepactic beings before, the feeling was completely different* *Well, you know that there is only one way to get a definitive answer, right?* I mentally sighed and began to carefully think on the best way to ask my friend about it, since I knew he was a men of many secrets. After a few more moments I finally decided to break the silence "Hey Deadrin... do you remember back when we got separated by the rocks falling from the ceiling?" I began to speak in a somewhat careful tone "Back then you were somehow able to talk me in a weird way. I felt as if you voice was inside my very own mind... if you don't mind me asking, how did you do that?" 

[Neptune]

Daedrin turned away from the corpse to look back at Izanagi as the man asked if he was alright. He gave a nod, a small sharp movement before he looked over to where there was an opening in the cavern that lead deeper into the cave. While it might have been a good idea to turn back, considering his wound, he knew he wasn’t in any danger. The bandage would stop the bleeding, and he was at relatively low risk of getting an infection. He looked down, seeing a hardened piece of what appeared to be resin clinging to his leg just below the bandage where his blood had been. He reached down, and picked it off and allowed it to drop to the floor. 

“I will.” Daedrin assured Izanagi when the man instructed him to inform his friend if the wound was hurting too much. He then moved towards the gap in the cavern and lead the way deeper into the cave, which sloped its way downwards. The deeper into the ground they moved, the warmer it started to become. It felt rather pleasant, and was quite a welcome relief from the more frigid mountain air. Keeping the torch away from him slightly, he kept his gaze fixed on the walls of the cave as he looked for the telling sparkle of the Kraerhil ore.

He observations were broken when Izanagi spoke, asking him about the incident back at the cave-in. He breathed out of his nose in a silent sigh before he replied, “Telepathy. I can reach out with my mind to others. But I don’t do it often. It takes a great deal of concentration to do it properly without harming you…” He paused for a moment before adding, “That is what happened to the cultist. He attempted to attack me telepathically, so I responded in kind.” His tone was a little flat, as he felt rather annoyed that the cultist had attempted something so 
foolish, “I felt justified in doing so, because his goal was to suppress my own mind, to control me.” He then stopped as he noticed something in the rock face to his side. He brought the torch closer, where it became clear that the light was reflecting off something metallic, “I think we’ve found it.” He commented, although he doubted that Izanagi’s questions had run dry. But they could talk, while mining. He glanced around before he turned and shoved the torch into some loose rocks that were piled close by. It allowed them to use the light to pinpoint where the ore was. 

He reached behind him and tugged his backpack off of his back, putting it down close to the torch. He tugged his pickaxe from the bag, before he glanced up at the rock face again as he adjusted his grip on the axe, with one hand closer towards the actual metallic tool end, while the other hand was closer to the end of the handle. It allowed him a great amount of control over the pickaxe. He shifted, ignoring the flare of pain that shot up his thigh before he swung at the rock, the metal tip of the axe digging into the ore. A metallic tinging echoed around them as some of the ore broke free from the rockface and tumbled to the floor. Daedrin shifted the pickaxe to one hand before bending as he picked up the ore with a sense of satisfaction, “Ah. There we are.” He then gave Izanagi a slight grin before he tossed it closer to his bags so that he could continue mining.

[Akira]

I could almost feel my brain going on a short circuit-like state when Deadrin said that he has telepatic powers. Not only because that was a huge indication that he might not be human - or at least not completely human, but also because of the 'It takes a great deal of concentration to do it properly without harming you' part. Which heavily implied that he would be able to badly hurt or even kill me while using said power. The worse part of all, is that I actually believe him. Deadrin surely isn't the kind of person who would simply babble something like that to look tough or anything of the sort. "I... see..." those were the only words I was able to say in my dumbfounded state. While I was still processing the shocking piece of information that I just heard from my friend, he then began to explain how and why he used said power to kill the cultist he had faced not long ago. While I was already sure that Deadrin would never kill an innocent person, I was a bit surprised when he said that the cultist also tryed to attack his mind and overpower it, since none of the cultist I had faced during our 'little adventure' in the mansion had that power. That was probably for the best though, since I am not really used to deal with telepatic abilities. "That is understandable" I simply replied, now in a more calm and collected tone.

My attention was taken once again when Deadrin announced that he might had found just what we were looking for. After a few brief moments moments of analysis, my friend picked up a pickaxe and began the process of extracting the mineral. Taking the hint, I also picked up a pickaxe from the bag and, after a second observing the way Deadrin was holding his tool and using it, began to do the same. Not only because the wound in my friend's leg would surely make his job harder, but also because I would feel bad if I left he do all the hard work. Plus, two miners are much better than just one. In the mean time, I also began to think on how to proceed regarding my curiosity about my friend's powers and new found secrets. As much as I wanted to simply ask 'hey are you human or not?' I knew that doing that would be a bad idea for many many reasons. After a few moments thinking and choosing my words carefully, the best I could came up with was: "So uhm... were you born with those powers? or did you acquire them at some point in your life?" I did my best to keep my voice tone as neutral as possible, hopefully Deadrin would know that I wouldn't judge him regardless of his answer. Hell, even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to do so. Due to who I am and all...

[Neptune]

Daedrin noted that silence hung between them as Izanagi seemed to be thinking, and he wondered if the man would just come out and ask him. However when the question came, he seemed to be tip-toeing around the subject. Daedrin hefted the pickaxe, swinging it at the rock face and separating more of the ore from the rock before using the pickaxe to essentially kick it back so that it was out of their way. He would have kicked it, but his thigh was extremely painful and it would be best to keep it as still as possible right now. By now, the wound would have a layer of solidified inchor over it underneath the bandage, sealing the wound and preventing any bleeding. It didn’t stop the nerves from flaring up, especially with each pulse of his hearts. He took several moments to rest as he reached up and flicked some of his dark hair from his face,

“Mm, born with it. Definitely born.” Daedrin replied, hefting the axe again to continue mining. He wondered how many questions Izanagi was going to ask before finally giving into curiosity. While Daedrin shouldn’t be open about who he was, he knew his companion well enough by now to know that he would keep a secret. After all, the man had been keeping his own secret. Granted, it might make things more complicated when events started moving but Daedrin figured he might be able to rely on Izanagi’s help. When things started moving, things were bound to get chaotic and quickly. Izanagi had already proven that he could handle himself in stressful situations such as the one in Torak’s Mansion.

[Akira]

Deadrin's answer made think a bit more about the subject while we kept on mining. Once again, I spent some time trying to come up with the correct combination of words since my friend clearly had been holding the truth about who and what he really is a secret. Which was something that I could relate and understand better than anyone. Still, asking so directly about a something like that isn't really something I would normally do. *Hey, how long will you keep this little game going huh? We both know he isn't telling you something* commented Odium in a very impatient tone *I know, but if he is hiding it then he surely has a good reason for it don't you think?* I responded the demon while strinking the rocks once again a separating some of the mineral's shards on the ground with my feet *Maybe, but he knows your secret, right? Don't you think is only fair for him to tell us his secret as well?* I mentally sighed at Odium's questions *Okay, first of all, that is not how this works. It isn't just that simple. And second of all, you are just curious to know who he really is, aren't you?* *...maybe...* I shook my head a bit in response to Odium's curiosity, then again, I guess I can't really expect him to know about how friendships really work. Demons don't have much use for that in hell anyway.

After a few more brief moments thinking and mining, my curiosity finally got the best of me and I decided to ask Deadrin directly about it. I stopped mining and shot my friend a direct look, but not in a agressive way. I didn't want him to feel under pressure to give me a honest reply or to feel like I was being passive agressive towards him. "Deadrin, tell me something... who really are you?" I made extra sure to speak to him in a calm and neutral voice tone "At this point I am having serious doubts that you simply another person with very particular abilities. You are more than that, aren't you? That little... 'case' with your telepatic powers only solidified that. Can you tell me that?" I emphasized the 'can' part to make crystal clear that he didn't have to tell me anything if he didn't want to do so. Still, I was mentally prepared for a big revelation.

[Neptune]

Daedrin felt the direct stare aimed at him, but he ignored it as he continued mining. However when the question finally came, he stopped his efforts and allowed the head of his pickaxe to clink against the cave floor as he used it to help him upright as he turned his head to look at Izanagi, the corner of his lip twitching a little in amusement as he listened to his friends reasoning. He shifted himself a little so that he was standing sideways against the cave wall, allowing him to lean his weight against it as his long, thin fingers drummed against the handle of his pickaxe,

“Normally, I would say no, but… I know you can keep a secret although if you were to go around telling everyone, I would have no choice but to take steps to stop you.” He said, giving the warning in a low, calm tone. While he doubted he would need to do anything of the sort, he still wanted to make it clear that he couldn’t have this secret out about about. He held his gaze with Izanagi’s for a moment before he said, “But you’re right; I’m not simply another person with peculiar abilities. I mean, for a start, you would never find a human with telepathic abilities the strength of mine. But then, I’m not human. Sure, I look like one, but that’s because I’m hiding as one.” He reached up, brushing his hand against his ear and pulling back. When he pulled his hand away, Izanagi could see that his ear was longer, going up to the top of his head while keeping close to his skull. It had several bony protrusions along the rim of his ear. He rubbed it again and it returned to a normal human ear as he said, “I’m an Eldyrannth. My name is a big of a giveaway to those familiar with Eldyrannth but most people merely assume my parents liked the way Eldyrannth names were and named their son after one.” He grinned a little before adding, “That’s a little more common than one might think. Either way, I was born Eldyrannth…” He then averted his gaze as he picked up his axe again,

“At least… partly.” He admitted, before shifting as he swung at the ore deposit again. After a moment he said, “I even hide myself away from any other Eldyrannth in the Kingdom these days, except for my wife. I can’t let them know who I am, either, because I’m an impossibility. A freak, to use a human expression. Because I’m not a pure-Eldyrannth. I’m a hybrid, between an Eldyrannth and Daedra. Mortal enemies at war right now…” He swung his axe again, breaking off more ore before he continued, “The chances of a child being conceived between the two is extremely unlikely and it is even rarer to have one survive the pregnancy without killing the mother. But I defied the odds. The Priests of Torak were right that I am somewhat in league with the Daedra that brought down their Master… because I’m his son.” 

[Akira]

Izanagi made sure to pay close attention to every word coming out of his friend's mouth. He could tell that Deadrin was indeed very serious about what he was saying, not that Izanagi would think otherwise. After all, Deadrin wasn't really the kind of guy who would make jokes all the time, especially when it come to something so serious as this. "Don't worry, I promisse you that I won't tell anyone" Izanagi replied to his friend's warning in a equally calm yet firm voice tone. He wanted Deadrin to be absolutelly sure that he wouldn't have to worry about him spreading rumors about his real identity. That simply wasn't something that he would do to a friend since, as Izanagi himself had said before, he doesn't have many friends, so values the few one he actually has immensely. Plus, he also has his fair share of secrets to keep.

After so many years travelling around the world and fighting against all sorts of creatures, Izanagi thought he had already seen a little bit of everything, but not even he was ready for what came next. Deadrin explained that his human for was nothing but a simple disguise to keep undesired looks away from him. He then gave a slight display of what he was talking about by momentarily changing the form of one of his ears and explained that he was actually an Eldyrannth, which was a race that Izanagi had never heard about. As if all of that wasn't enough, his friend finished off by explaining why those damn cultists were so certain that killing him would bring their false god back. Deadrin was the son of whoever maneged to take down Torak. 

It was a lot to take all at once, so much so in fact that Izanagi actually stopped mining for a few moments and took at a seat on the ground, hoping that it would somehow help him to process all of that "Wow... that... sure is a hell of a secret..." Izanagi replied as he tried to absorb all that info. He stood in silence for a few brief moments, rocolecting his thoughts on the matter. Soon, he got up again and shot Deadrin a firm and reasuring look "Well, I wasn't really expecting all of that..." he began to talk again with slight and playful chuckle at first "... but that doesn't change anything between us. Even if you are a El... Elderan- whatever. Even if you are not human, you are still my friend. And hey, I guess that means we are both outcasts right? I mean, I am also a freak and a impossibility for most people, so... heh I can't judge you" He joked a bit, trying to lighten up the conversation a bit. 

[Neptune]

“No, no you can’t.” Daedrin said with a soft chuckle when Izanagi said that he couldn’t judge him. With what Daedrin already knew about the man, Daedrin himself was pretty unjudgeable by most peoples standards. He then commented in a small joke, “Freaks of a feather, stick together.” He chuckled softly to himself, although he knew it was very lame. He swung his pickaxe again to break off more of the ore. He knew that Izanagi had completely butchered the name of his species, but he decided not to correct it. Of course, that wasn’t the last of Daedrin’s secrets, but the others he certainly couldn’t tell Izanagi. Not only because Izanagi had no need to know, but he sincerely doubted his friend would even believe him. But that was fine. It wasn’t as if it was anything that would affect Izanagi. 

He turned his attention back towards mining the ore. By now, they had at least one full sack. He knew that Daegrin could carry at least ten, due to the fact that he was a large, strong stallion. Lucky, Izanagi’s horse however, could likely only six, eight at a push. It would also mean slower going on the return trip. Something that Daedrin sincerely hoped was a lot less adventurous than their trip here. But then it seemed that the two seemed as much of a magnet for trouble as his two fathers. That was not a good sign. 

He paused in his mining, pressing a hand against the rock face to get a sense of the depth of the ore pocket. It was a fairly large one, certainly more than what they could carry back. It meant that Daedrin could return at a later date and mine some more. He hefted his pickaxe and continued mining next to his friend, as they slowly but surely filled up the sacks that they had brought with them.

[Akira]

Izanagi laughed a bit and facepalmed at Deadrin's waek attempt of a joke "Geez Deadrin, that was just terrible" he replied while laughing some more and shaking his head slightly. "But I agree with you. We should stick together. As far as I know, you and I get along pretty damn well. After we get back to the kingdom, maybe I could go for more jobs like this. Looking for valuable stuff in the forest, I mean." Izanagi admited while the kept on mining some more. It didn't seem to matter how much time passed, there was just no end to how much Kraerhil the found, which was good in the sense that Deadrin would have a generous supply at his disposal once they were back, but that also meant that they would have quite a lot to carry on their way back. On top of all that, they were already getting themselfs in enough trouble without the cargo. Going back would very likely be even harder than reaching the cave. 

After some more time mining, Izanagi took a second to stretch his back, which was still hurting a bit from the blow he took during his recent fight, and take a look at how much they had mined so far. He counted about fifteen sacks of the precious mineral. "Phew... I think we have enough. If we bring too many the travel back to the kingdom will be way harder than it has to". The demon commented in a calm tone. 

[Neptune]

Daedrin looked down at the pile of sacks that they had, before nodding his head in agreement. He leaned against the wall, taking a breath as he reached up and wiped the sweat away with the sleeve of his top. He let out a soft grunt before saying, “It’s a good number of sacks. That should produce roughly…” He eyed the sacks for a few moments, “Perhaps a bar of pure Kraerhil a sack? Fifteen bars is a good haul. Daegrin can carry ten on his own and still move with little trouble. Lucky can carry the other five. Now we just need to get them back up to the surface…” He trailed off, pushing himself off of the wall. He winced at the sharp stab of pain that shot through him from the bite wound. He looked down, but from what he could see the material wasn’t completely soaked with blood. It would have been bad if it was, because then the inchor wouldn’t be doing the job it was supposed to do. This was going to make taking the sacks up to the horses awkward, especially in his tarunoid form. If they took several at the same time, it would still mean two or three trips. And with his leg so painful, he couldn’t risk putting too much weight on it, or it would fail him.

He turned his head towards Izanagi and said, “I can’t carry too much weight. Not with my leg the way it is. So how would you propose we do this?” He asked, tilting his head a little. He was curious to know what solution his friend was going to come up with. As they had a part where they needed to climb a sheer cliff, they could move the sacks to the bottom of it, then take them up, before then moving them to the horses. Doing it in stages rather than doing the entire journey each time. He slipped his pickaxe back into its place on his back so that it was out of the way.

[Akira]

Izanagi was a bit surprised at first when his friend mentioned they would only get about a bar of pure kraerhil per sack, which was a bit dissapointing for him. He was expecting to get a bit more out of their efforts. Then again, he couldn't really complain since he didn't understand much about mining and forging. Plus, Deadrin said that kraerhil was a very valuable material, so it made sense for it to be so hard to get. At his friend's question, Izanagi placed a hand on his chin and began to think on how to deal with that situation. "Yeah, I agree. With your leg on that state, you should probably avoid putting too much stress on it. Carrying too many of these sacks at the same time is not a good idea" the demon replied while humming softly and trying to find a solution. In a few seconds, he had an idea. "Oh! I think I got it!" he said in slightly animated tone while he began to place all the sacks together in one place. After they were all stacked up, Izanagi openned a small portal and summoned a single one of his Hell Chains from it. He calmy began to envelop the black chain around the sacks, making sure they were tightly and firmly attached to avoid the risk of the sacks slipping out. Once he was done, he moved the portal and positioned it just above his right forearm before grabbing the chain with his right hand. "Alright... now I should be able to drag our cargo without any problems" He then gave the chain a few firm pulls to make sure everything was set. Satisfied with the result, he turned to Deadrin again. "I think we are set. Shall we get going?" Izanagi asked with a slight smile. It sure was a good thing that he was way stronger than a normal human. Otherwise hr wouldn't be able to pull all that weight by himself. Not to mention he had already dealt with way worse stuff than that. He probably wouldn't have any troubles simply dragging some heavy sacks around.

Edited July 30, 2019 by Akira

[Neptune]

Daedrin watched quietly as Izanagi used his Hell Chains to wrap around the sacks, lifting them effortlessly into the air. He grinned slightly at his friend, “Effective.” He said approvingly. This would make it significantly easier for them to get back to the surface, and without weight dragging him down it would be a lot quicker as well. He stepped forwards and although he wasn’t one for much physical touch or affectionate displays, he clapped Izanagi on the shoulder on a comradery fashion, “C’mon. I hate being in stuffy caves.” He said, patting the mans shoulder again before he lead to way through the winding caves although they had to follow Izanagi’s route to avoid the rockfall. When they passed through where Izanagi had fought, he glanced around at the carnage and said, “Looks like an epic fight went down here… you’re going to have to tell me about this around the campfire tonight.” 

As they went further towards where they had come into the mine, they came across the sheer cliff where they had climbed down. Here, Daedrin came to a stop, looking up and then down at the floor with a look of annoyance. He bent down and picked up a length of rope, holding it up to Izanagi, “They cut it. Clearly thinking that they could block any escape for us.” He said, shaking his head at the sheer fooly of their ignorance. He had no doubt that Izanagi could simply use his Hell Chains to get himself back up, and Daedrin did rock climbing as a hobby and had climbed some of the most treacherous mountain ranges in his homeland. He carefully tugged at the fingers of his gloves before pulling them off and tucking them into his belt. 

He then placed one hand on the wall, tugging at it and showing to Izanagi that it was well and truly stuck to the rock surface. He then raised his hand, putting it above the other before he used the foot of his good leg to give himself a push up, allowing his injured one to hang limpy. Despite his injured leg, he easily climbed up the cliff face, using his hands to stick to the rock surface to pull himself up. He was faster climbing up, than he had been going down. When he reached the top, he pulled himself up and sat on the edge before scooting back and pressing himself against the edge of the cliff to get his breath back. His injured leg was throbbing painfully, and he needed a few minutes to sit down to give it some rest. He pulled his gloves back out and pulled them back on his hands once again so that he didn’t accidentally stick to anything.

[Akira]

Izanagi couldn't help but to smile a bit back at Deadrin after his slight demontration of affection. Even though Izanagi himself wasn't really used to recieving these, he certainly could appreciate the gesture. "That mekes two of us my friend" the demon replied with a slight chuckle before giving the chains a firm pull as they began to make their way out of the cave. Despite the fact that they had only spent a couple of hours in there, Izanagi felt as if days had passed. Mainly due to how boring mining was. Exploring the cave and fighting a few idiots wasn't really bad or anything he had never done before, but mining? that was just straight up boring. He was really glad it was finally over. However, they would still have to deal with climbing over that enormous wall near the entrance of the cave. Going up would vertainly be more complicated, not only because of the sacks, but also because Deadrin's leg wound could be a very real problem. "Let me know if you want to make a quick pause because of your leg" Izanagi told his friend since he didn't want him to push himself too much.

When they passed by the area in which the battle against the monsters had happened, the demon was taken away from his thoughts on how to possibly solve the problem they would soon have to deal with by his friend mentioning how curious he was about the fight that took place there earlier. Izanagi smiled a bit before replying "Heh worry not. I can tell you all about it after we set up a camp" that caused him to begin remembering how it all happened. The memories of the ones he had defeated on that battle took over his mind for a few moments as thought on which details he should bring up.

Soon enough, they had reached the wall at the entrance. Deadrin showed the rope they had placed there back when they had first arrived in the place. It had been cut. Most likely by the cultists who had attacked them. Displaying a reaction similar to his friend's, the demon facepalmed and groaned in annoyence "Ugh... it seems these guys just love to make our lives harder. Even after being killed" Much to Izanagi's surprise, Deadrin was able to simply climb up the wall with his bare hands. It was like he had some sort of glue on the palm of his hands that allowed him to climb up without much trouble, despite the wounded leg. Now it was his turn to go up and Izanagi had to think on how to proceed. The first thing that he did was to move the chains holding the sacks with the mineral up. "Make way. I am moving the sacks of kraerhil first" he announced so that Deadrin was aware of what he was doing and could avoid getting hit by the heavy cargo. Since it was a bit hard to see correctly from his position, Izanagi didn't want to his wounded friend with a heavy load of minerals. The chains began to move upwards at a slow speed and, after reaching the desired hight, moved a bit forwards so all the sacks wouldn't be at risk of falling down the wall again. The chains then immediatly dissipated leaving the cargo there. Izanagi knew that the easiest thing to do would be fire a bladed chain at the roof and use it to climb, but causing another collapse wasn't a risk he was willing to take. Thankfully, the demon had an idea. He once again opened a small portal and wrapped the set of chanins around his right arm. Just like he did with the kraerhil, the portal and chains slowly moved upwards, pulling him as well. Izanagi was eventually able to safely reach his destination. "Alright... that's that"

[Neptune]

At Izanagi’s warning, Daedrin scooted along the wall to give the man enough room to bring up the sacks of ore and deposited them nearby. He then waited several moments for Izanagi to make the climb up to join him. He tilted his head to look up at Izanagi before saying, “Those chains are pretty damn useful.” He sighed a little before adding, “Just give me a moment to rest. My leg is pretty painful.” If he was mentioning that it was painful, then he certainly feeling it. He had a rather high tolerance for pain, thus if it was painful enough for him to need a break, it was quite bad. His leg certainly felt as if it was on fire, the pain making him feel a little nauseous and a little sweat to bead his brow. It made him worry about a potential infection from the bite itself from the saliva of the wolf man. Something that the solidified inchor wouldn’t be able to prevent. Ultimately, as soon as they had left the cave, the best thing for him was to set up a camp and rest his leg. It would be much better tomorrow, but for today, he needed to rest it.

Finally, he pressed his hands against the wall behind him and gingerly pushed himself up so that he was once again standing, “I’m good to go.” He said before he pushed himself away from the wall and limped through the caves towards where their horses were waiting for them. When they emerged into the larger cavern, Daegrin nickered in greeted, turning his head towards Daedrin and sticking his muzzle out in a silent plea. Daedrin gave in, stroking the animals nose before patting his shoulder with a rough affection.

He then looked over at Izanagi and said, “Let’s split up the sacks. Ten on Daegrin and the rest on Lucky.” He helped secure the sacks onto both horses, allowing Izanagi to do most of the heavy lifting. He made sure that the sacks were secure and weren’t in danger of dropping off. Once the task was done, he took Daedgrin’s reigns and lead him out of the cave and into the sunlight. He narrowed his eyes for the moment it took for his eyes to adjust from the dark cave interior to the harsh sunlight. He then looked up and saw that at least a good amount of the day had passed already. He turned and mounted Daedgrin, his movement a little awkward due to his leg, but he was relieved that he no longer had to walk. He relied on Daegrin to move them forwards and to guide them back towards the campsite that they had used the night before. It was close, and they knew it was safe from the creatures of the mountains, Cloaked Harvester notwithstanding. When they reached it, he slipped from Daegrin and limped over to a rock before sitting himself down with a groan. He knew he needed to unsaddle Daegrin but he didn’t have the will to do it right now.

[Akira]

Izanagi nodded in agreement to Deadrin's suggestion and began to secure the sacks on the horses. He was glad that his friend was self-aware enough of the situation to let him do most of the heavy lifting. Once they were sure the cargo was secure, both mounted their respectie horses and began to make way back to the same area in which they had set up camp last night. Izanagi couldn't help but to feel somewhat relieved once his friend was riding Deagrin again, since that meant his leg wouldn't have to deal with much stress now. 

It wasn't long before they had reached the camping area. Izanagi was quick to get off Lucky's back and unsaddle her before giving her a few affectionate pats on the neck. "You should rest while you can girl, things might get a bit harder to deal with from now on" the demon said to his horse in a somewhat playful tone before turning to Deadrin who seemed to be resting a bit on a rock nearby. "The same goes for you Deadrin. With your leg on that state you should focus on resting and recovering" he said in clear and direct tone. He didn't want his injured friend to do anything he didn't have to. Izanagi then gathered a few rocks and sticks from the ground and used them to make a new campfire. As tempting as it was to simply lit the thing with his Wrathful Flames, using a cursed demonic fire for cooking would probably be a bad idea. Intead, Izanagi used two other rocks to create a few embers. He wanted to go out and hunt something for them to cook, but leaving his wounded friend behind was something he didn't want to do.

[Neptune]

Daedrin tilted his head up a little to look at Izanagi when the man gave his suggestion. He observed the demon silently for a few moments before a slight smile curved at the corners of his lips, “There’s no need to be worried, Izanagi. It will be a lot better by tomorrow, I assure you. It’s not a serious wound. A few inches deep, with a little tearing of the muscle. It’s missed the bone, and artery.” He said, reaching down and taking hold of the bandage as he unwound it to reveal the wound. There were several deep bite marks in his thigh, and the material of his trousers was slightly marked by blood but the wounds themselves were not bleeding. In fact, they appeared sealed by a translucent material that looked hard to the touch. He lightly brushed his fingers along the slightly swollen and red skin that surrounded the wounds, “It will take a few days to heal, but it will be as good as new.” He said, tucking away the old blood-soaked bandage and wrapping a new one around his thigh. While he didn’t need it to soak up blood, or to prevent infection, it would stop curious eyes from seeing the hardened Inchor.

He pushed himself up from the rock and limped over to Daegrin, who had been waiting patiently nearby, and unsaddled him and the sacks he was carrying. While it wasn’t obvious, he was using telekinesis to lighten the weight of the saddle and sacks. Once the horse was free, he gave the animal an affectionate slap on the hindquarters before he limped over to the fire and sat down, resting his weight on the hip of his uninjured leg before he asked, “So what are we going to do about food? We should have enough in the packs, but if you want to hunt something, go ahead. I’m more than able to look after myself, injured or not.” 

[Akira]

Izanagi sighed slightly and stared at the lit campfire as he considered if he should or not go hunting. With his skills and powers it likely wouldn't take him very long to do so. Plus, now that he knew for certain that Deadrin has a few tricks up his sleeve, he was certain that he would be fine by himself. Still, he was reluctant to do so. Leaving an injured person that he cares about behind, despite said person's capabilities, was simply against his nature and something the demon wouldn't even consider doing under different circunstances. After a few brief moments, Izanagi got up and activated his Soul Eye so he could immediatly begin looking for any potential preys in the area. "Very well... in that case, I'll go hunt us something for dinner. It probably won't take me long." he replied in his usual calm tone before venturing forth into the woods.

Just like he suspected, it only took Izanagi a couple of minutes to find traces of a bunny. With both his hunting experience and Soul Eye, he was able to efficiently track the small rodent and kill it with quick and precise strike using his Hell Chains, piercing straight through the animal's head and killing it instantly. Izanagi, felt a mix of relief and satisfaction upon confirming that had taken his target down in a humane way. He didn't like the idea of making innocent animals suffer. "Sorry little guy. Nothing personal, but at least I didn't cause you much pain" The demon then proceeded to gut and remove the animal using the bladed tip from the chain he summoned before. Once he was done, he dispersed the chain and made his way back to the camp. "Hey Deadrin, we'll be having bunny for dinner again" he announced as he displayed the dead bunny carcass in his hand after he arrived.

[Neptune]

“Good hunting.” Daedrin said when Izanagi finally came to the decision to go and hunt for something to eat, instead of delving into their supply of food. He watched his friend walk off away from the camp before he shifted and sat up straighter as he looked over to his saddlebags. Using telekinesis, he undid his bags and pulled out their cooking bowl which he made fly over to him and settle on the ground next to the fire. He also gathered several other items, such as a stirring spoon, dried vegetables, and flour to thicken the stew sauce. He placed them down closeby while he waited for Izanagi to return. He allowed himself to settle down again, sighing as he lay on his back with his head resting on a stone. He closed his eyes, but his mind was alert for anything and anyone approaching the camp so that no one could sneak up on him. Thus he was able to sense Izanagi’s return and opened his eyes again.

He turned his head towards his friend, watching as he stepped up to the camp before brandishing the dead rabbit. He noticed that it appeared to have a head wound, and judging from its shape, one of his Hell Chains had done the job. It had clearly been a quick and painless kill, a fact that Daedrin quite approved of. Stifling a groan, Daedrin pushed himself so that he was now sitting up. He folded his good leg so that it was slightly under him while the injured one was kept straight, “Rabbit stew, then. Just cut the meat off and throw it in when you’re done.” He said, picking up the waterskin and filling their stewpot with the right amount of water, along with the dried vegetables and a good amount of flour that would thicken it nicely, without making it taste like flour. Once done, he moved it so that it was sitting close to the fire before he sat back once again with a soft sigh.

When Izanagi had dropped the cut rabbit meat into the pot, Daedrin gave it a firm stir before he put the lid on the top to keep the steam in before laying the spoon on top. He then leaned back, resting his weight on one hand and looked at Izanagi, “I suppose, while that’s cooking, you can tell me what happened in your little scuffle?” He then grinned, “The Priest thought he could easily overwhelm you. I tried to tell him that it was a stupid idea, but he didn’t listen." 

Edited August 16, 2019 by Neptune
Forgot to close off a speech

[Akira]

"Got it" Izanagi simply replied in his usual direct and calm tone. He took a quick look around and found a big rock nearby. He approached said rock and cleaned it a bit so he could use it as a improvised chopping board. Once it was clean, he placed the rabbit over it and summoned another bladded chain tip using a smal portal. The sharp blade easily cut through the meat, separating it from the bones. It didn't take Izanagi very long to finish his job, he was very good at chopping stuff after all. Once he was done, he did as Deadrin had asked him to and dropped the meat into the pot so it would cook along the other ingredients. Izanagi also dropped the bones into the fire so it could be used as fuel. It was faster then burring them into a hole and betten than simple leaving them into open air to attract hostile animals. 

"Oh right, my battle against the bandit monsters. Heh, the Priest wasn't the only one underestimating me. The monsters did the same." the demon replied with a slight chuckle as he also took a seat near the campfire. He then placed a hand on his chin and began to hum softly as he began to navegate his memories of the fight, trying to remember as many details as possible. "Well, after were got separeted I began to explore the area trying to find you again. Once we I had reached that chamber were you saw all the bodies, the bandits tried to ambush me. Needless to say, it didn't work." He began to tell as his recolections progressed through his mind "There were five of them in total. One was a scorpion-man, there was also a spider-lady, a rock like creature that could dive into the stone walls of the cave as if they were water, a spikey guy who had sharp... well... spikes covering his body, and last but not least, a woman named Igna who could manipulate fire and was still rational. Which brings me to the funniest part of the story." Izanagi let out a slight chuckle as he remembered Igna trying to seduce him "Believe it or not, Igna actually tried to seduce me into betraying you and joining them. She said that with their powers and your weapons combined, they would be able to take over the entire kingdom." the demon shook his head sideways a bit after telling that part to his friend. Those monsters were crazy if not delusional. "Well, I pretended to be interested at first, but as soon as I noticed an opening I kicked Igna in the gut and sent her flying towards the cave's wall. The battle then began. Every single one of the monsters tried to attack me in a different way. The scorpion was trying to hit me with his claws and poisoned sting. The spider was firing sticky silk at me from the roof in a attempt to immobilyze me. Igna was trying to hit me with fire balls. The rock person and the spikey guy were simply rushing at me with all they had. The first thing I did was to cut off the scorpion's poison sting. While I do heal fast than a human would, poison would still be a big problem. Once that was done, the spider maneged to get my foot stuck to the ground. I was able to kill the spikey monster despite being stuck, but at the cost of being hit in the back by the rock creature. It still hurts a bit depending on how I move. Eventually, I was able to kill the living rock, followed by the scorpion. I also made a very interesting discovery. Do you remeber the rune I absorbed at Torak's mansion?" Izanagi then removed the glove on his right hand and channeled some energy through his arm so Deadrin could clearly see the gray rune glowing on the back of his hand "Turns out this thing really can manipulate time. I used it's effect on the spider lady and she almost completely frozen in place. She was moving so slow it was almost as if she wasn't moving at all" He then put his glove back on "In a last ditch effort to kill me, Igna began to attack me with as much fire as possible. Little did she know that trying to kill me with fire is like trying to drown a fish. I quickly killed her and then the spider lady. After that, I continued exploring until I finally found you."

[Neptune]

As Izanagi spoke, Daedrin listened carefully although he did shift again so that he was once again lying on his back, with his head resting against the rock. After his friend had finished his tale, Daedrin couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him. He shook his head from side to side slightly before he said, “Well, little Igna was duped. The cultist that I came across boasting that he was using their greed against them. He had no intention of letting them keeping me. Because they were so blinded by their greed, they allowed him to mould and manipulate them into the creatures that they were as well as to manipulate them into obedience towards him. I think the Priest must have followed us from the Mansion, intent on sacrificing me to bring back his God.” He couldn’t help but to roll his eyes, before he turned his head towards Izanagi,

“He seemed to think that his minions could actually harm you.” Now Daedrin sounded amused as he continued, “He threatened that if I didn’t surrender myself, they would hurt you. I tried to warn him that it was pointless, but he didn’t listen to me. That’s one of their biggest weaknesses. Their arrogance. It seems to know no bounds.” He shrugged his shoulders slightly before he sat himself up, shifting a little to get comfortable before he stirred the contents of the stew pot as he checked up on it, seeing that it was pretty much done by now. He then said, “Still. Even though I know you can take of yourself, I’m glad you came out unscathed.” He smiled a little at his friend as he picked up one of the bowls and filled it before handing it over to Izanagi with one of the spoons before he filled up a bowl for himself where he proceeded to eat in silence. 

[Akira]

Izanagi also laughed a little bit and shook his head slightly at his friends comment. Now that he was sure that the cultist was using the mutated bandits, the demon almost felt bad for them. Emphasis on 'almost', since the bandits were clearly blinded by their thirst for more power. Not to mention they were cleaarly planning on using those powers for their own selfsh purposes. It was probably for the best that he was there to stop them before they had any chances to actually hurt someone, or worst. Izanagi also wasn't really surprised when Deadrin said that the cultist was planning on using him as a way to blackmail his friend into giving up. Dirty and dishonest tactics like those were depressingly common and effective outside a regulated human society. Still, they both alive and, mostly, well. So he couldn't really complain. "Well, it looks like we both cleaned the world a little bit today huh?" he said in a joking tone.

When their dinner got ready and Deadrin poured some for both of them, Izanagi happily picked up his bowl and spoon from his friend's hands. "Thank you" he simply replied with a nod before taking a spoon full into his mouth. Deadrin's skills as a cook naver failed to impress him. Despite having considerably limited resources, his food always tasted great. Which was something Izanagi approved very much. "Say, you also had to fight against that cultist and a few other monsters while we were separated right? I am curious about how it all happened. Can you tell me how it was?" The demon said before taking another spoon full.

[Neptune]

Daedrin’s movements stilled for a few moments at the question levelled at him. He stared into the thick liquid of his stew before he then looked back up at Izanagi, “I kind of lost control.” He then admitted quite candidly. Before Izanagi could question him, he continued to speak, “As I told you, I encountered the Cultist, as well as three of the bandits. All of them had been magically modified… The first was a wolf man, another a bear man and the last a troll man. He made his threats, and I told him that his threats were meaningless, as his people couldn’t hurt you. I warned him to leave, but he refused, intent on trying to bring me down. Then, he had his minions attack.”

Daedrin’s gaze slid to his sword before he looked back at his friend across the flickering flames of the fire, “My sword isn’t like the other blades that I make and sell for people. It’s an Eldyrannth sword, and its particular quality is that it can create a pulse of force that knocks things back. When they charge me, I used the sword thusly on them and made them crash into the wall before I then gave him a last warning. It didn’t take them long to recover and they came at me again. I cut off the arm of the wolf man, before the bear man attacked with his claws. The troll took advantage and punched me in the side against the wall. It was then that I noticed that the cultist was enchanting them so I attempted to reach the cultist to kill him. The bear man blocked by route, and as I lifted my sword to strike, he grabbed it and prevented me from being able to move it.” Daedrin’s blood red eyes narrowed, and the colour seemed to darken almost to black, “The wolf man decided to bite my thigh. He almost snapped my thigh bone; no easy trick, I can assure you of that. It was at that point, I grew angry. I shifted into my Eldyr form and grabbed the wolf man with my jaw, where I shook him until his spine snapped. I used my tail to throw the troll man into the wall hard enough to crush him. I then pinned the bear man under my claws and crushed him to death. That’s when the cultist made the mistake of attempting to probe my mind. I lashed back at him and instead crushed his mind with my own.” He shook his head and sighed softly, “I shouldn’t have allowed myself to get that angry. I know better than that.” He said with an almost soft regret. He knew it was too dangerous for him to lose control of himself like that, as not even Izanagi would be safe if he succumb to his anger. To distract himself from any mournful thoughts, he scooped up a spoonful of his stew and continued eating.

[Akira]

Izanagi fell in complete silence, only occasinally breaking his silence by taking some spoon fulls of his dinner, allowing his friend to tell how his fight went down and playing close attention while the story was being told. As expected, that cultist had modified even more people than the guys Izanagi himself had to fight. All of them had been modified in wild creatures of sorts, according to what Deadrin was saying. Izanagi's eyes briefly turned towards his friend's sword as the details about it's special properties were shared. It made sense for Deadrin to keep himself from making more of such powerful weapons and selling them. A lot of people would do wrong stuff if they had such power in their hands. "I see... well, I figured that sword of yours was something special. I simply didn't know what exactly. Until now, that is." Izanagi said with a slight nod and smile. That smile didn't last long however, as he soon noticed that re-living those events were not something Deadrin was enjoying. His voice tone seemed slightly bitter and his eyes changed color. The half-demon regretted asking about that fight to his friend. Deadrin was obviously unhappy about losing control like that, and that was something Izanagi surely could relate to and understand, maybe even better than anyone else. While he was also very interested and curious about how far his friend's mind capabilities could go, he wasn't going to ask about it now. "Hey, everyone loses control every now and then. I mean, look me. I am the vessel for the literal embodiment of wrath and, as such, I spent years and years learning how to keep myself in line. Even then, I also lost control not very long ago. Besides, your were fighting for your life there. I am just glad se both got out of there alive" 

Izanagi the set his empty bowl near the campfire and stretched his arms a bit, letting out a slight groan as he did so. "Alright, so... who will take care of the first watch turn?"

[Neptune]

Daedrin glanced up at Izanagi attempted to reassure him. He didn’t respond, though and allowed Izanagi to think that the words had comforted him. They had not, as Daedrin was more than old enough to know better. He had been doing this for so long, it was incomprehensible to most people. Not only that, but he had been taught from a very young age to control himself, due to the nature of his very being. It was a control that his fathers had to be taught, and their fathers before them. They couldn’t afford to have such flimsy control. The consequences were quite dire. He had been lucky this time around, and he hoped that he didn’t lose such control again. It made him wonder if he had spent too much time in this form. Maybe when they got back to Selil, he would spend some time in his Eldyr form as well as see his wife about balancing him. It was clear that he needed it. 

He was brought out of his thoughts when Izanagi spoke, asking who would take care of the first watch. He thought for a moment before saying, “You. I need some sleep, to help my wound heal a little.” He ate the last piece of his stew before setting his bowl aside. He then shifted, putting an arm beneath him before displaying a strength that seemed unusual for his body-build as he easily pushed himself up with the one hand before using his good leg to help him up the rest of the way. He then limped over to his bedroll and settled within in. He had to shift a few times to get comfortable, but he finally managed to settle himself down, lying on his side of the good leg, with his back to the fire and Izanagi. He closed himself, willing himself into a deep sleep so that he could rest until Izanagi gave up on his turn for the watch.