Farkas Grey Is Dead

<Familiar's Binding - Lesser> Has Been Broken

User Nameless Voidspawn Is Now Level 4

The elf staggers back a few steps, its eyes locked on the bone protruding from Farkas' eye. The sharpened bone worked better than expected, I had worried it would chip and splinter if it hit one of the stronger areas of the skull, but it had no trouble piercing such a weak area. I lift Farkas' limp arm, wrapping my tendrils around it and digging into the flesh until it tears. Good, the Binding really is broken, otherwise it would have stopped me. So many things to do now that I'm free... But first, I have a meal prepared.

As I begin ripping apart the arm that I'm holding I hear a small noise behind me. What was... The elf? It has collapsed in the corner of the room, staring at me. Ah, right. What to do with it? I could eat it, but I already have Farkas' corpse. I don't need to gain any more mass at the moment. I also don't know what to do next, what this world is like beyond the lair, and where I should go. If I can convince the elf to work with me it would be a good source of information that I can't get from Understanding, and I suppose I can just kill it later if things don't work out. I dip one of my tendrils into some of the blood that had begun to well up around Farkas' eye, pause a moment to have Understanding supply the words, the begin writing on the wall.

Will not harm you. Without reason. Continue working together.

The elf seems surprised by the writing, staring at it for quite some time before turning her attention back to me. She struggles a moment before looking directly at my "head," making eye contact with me.

"W-working together?"

I wipe away the blood, then begin writing again. You are weak. Need help. I need knowledge. Work together.

The elf takes a deep breath, steadying itself, and mutters under its breath, "If it's smart enough to talk," before looking back up at me. In a louder voice it says, "What about... This!" It gestures wildly at Farkas' corpse. "How do I know you won't do that to me?"

I glance down at the corpse. A large portion of the arm had been stripped of skin and flesh, and without realizing it I had already begun ripping into the chest. My robe has been drenched in blood, and I  can taste where it's soaked all the way through to my tendrils. I suppose I should get a new one before leaving the lair.

Bound me. Did not like, wanted free. You help, will not harm.

For some reason the elf seems outraged by that answer, flailing its arms around and shouting. "You- Wha- You're fucking ripping him apart! Eating him! Whatever! How am I supposed to trust you after that!"

Yes? Farkas is already dead, I might as well eat it, right? Why would that prevent the elf from trusting me? It didn't seem like it was planning on eating the corpse, it seems... disgusted by my actions. I'm starting to wonder if it's mentally stable enough to work with if it expects me to let perfectly good food go to waste. Besides...

You killed him.

At that the elf suddenly stops. It looks as if its going to speak a few times, opening its mouth then silently closing it. After some time it says in a small voice, "I need some time to think."

I gesture towards the door and the elf slowly makes its way out, seeming somewhat lost. I'm sure it can find its way through the lair on its own, there's only a few rooms that have anything in them. I turn my attention back towards Farkas' corpse, glancing towards the words Understanding had provided for me to write. "Him"? What the fuck does "him" mean?

The elf wandered for a long time through the halls of the dungeon, thinking. Was that truly the same creature that had accompanied the dark mage when he fed her and the humans? It had grown so large, and stood on two legs! But the tentacles were the same, as was that blank, emotionless eye. It had to be the same. It was smarter than expected, she had thought it would have an animal's intelligence at most, not enough to communicate... And it wanted to work together with her.

The creature was aggressive, violent, there was nothing to stop it from brutalizing her in the same way it had the dark mage. On the other hand, it was right. She wouldn't survive if she tried to make her way home alone. She didn't know exactly where the dungeon was, but it must be deep into the human territory where other races were viewed as inferior. As an elf, at best she'd be sold back into slavery within the month. At worst... She didn't want to think about the worst.

She didn't know exactly how strong the creature was, but it had easily rent the dark mage's flesh, stripping his arm in a matter of seconds. It likely wouldn't be able to deal with large numbers or armored knights, but if it were two to three unarmored opponents, the creature might be able to win. It would make her travels a lot easier if it were to work with her...

She shook her head to clear her thoughts as she arrived at a kitchen and suddenly realizes just how hungry she is. Having searched the few cupboards and a small pantry she found a few hunks of dried meat, some stale bread, a few casks of ale, and a pile of something too putrid to recognize. The meat... No, she still hasn't thrown the old ways aside altogether, she pushed it off to one side in favour of the bread and a mug of ale.

Her choices... She could come up with three options.

One: stay here. Depending on what the environment was like outside she could probably live here. It would be a lonely life, but a life none the less. Unless someone came to check on the dark mage, and she would be captured again. It would just be a matter of time, he likely had someone come by to deliver food to him.

Two: leave alone. She could try to make her way back to Sylva from wherever she was on her own, traveling through the woods and avoiding human cities. Maybe she could make it? She had no clue where she was, what direction she would need to travel, or where she was going. And she didn't know how to fight, so if she ever ran into a human she'd probably be hunted down and captured, and any wild animal or monster could easily kill her.

Three: go with the creature. Either it would kill and eat her, which it could do without pretending to help her, or it would keep its word and aid her. The humans hated creatures of the Void even more than they did other species, but that just meant she'd be killed instead of enslaved if found. There was no guarantee she'd have another chance to escape if enslaved, being taken alive would just mean she spent a few years being worked to death. Having the creature around would make avoiding capture easier, and most animals were scared of the Void's energy so it would be safer to travel through the forest.

She took a swig of ale and slammed her mug down on the counter, realizing she only had one option

She would have to work with the creature.