A new twilight, a new mark; the hooded Spellwarden made his way through the Blackfern Square, to a small and undisclosed household; scouting his surroundings for any obstacles, he noticed three guards occupying the front of the property. Slithering in the dark of the night, he closed in on the men; hiding behind a pile of crates, he listened in.
"Why do we have to stay out in the cold, freezing our asses when there's nothing here to guard." One of them whined.
"Just shut up!" A second one barked. "We're getting paid good for this, so do what you're told and quit complaining."
"Gotta say though, we could be the ones stationed inside-" A third one replied. "Don't know why he picked that scrawny rugrat instead."
"Don't you go siding with whiney Wilbur here!" The second one retorted. "Our job's to make sure no one snoops around or tries to get in."
"Unless someone wants to get their hands on a bunch of moldy books, the place is completely empty." The first one clarified. "There's nothing worth of value in there, and we all know that." The second one groaned; as annoyed as he was with the man's objection, he couldn't help but agree with how illogical their mandate seemed.
"Nothing we can do about it now." He gave in. "Let's just wait for morning to come, so we can go and drink away this shitty night."
So three guards outside, and one kid inside. Tevell concluded. His eyes trailed across the building; it was confirmed by Acamor, that the entirety of the house had been infused with a Nekrosis Glyph. Deadly to the touch for any and all shadowborns, it made it impossible for him to sneak in through conventional ways. Determined to get inside however, he had crafted a spellgap; an experimental item he had yet to trial.
"I only have one try at this..." Hesitancy flashed on his face, his body shivering under the growing pressure, his heart hammering against his chest. The item in hand, he conjured a barrier before transmuting into a blackened mist; his mind focused, he spiraled through the foundation, and haltered time around him. He could feel the power of the glyph, clashing against his spellforce; its lethal touch scorching his attire, rapidly diminishing the spellgap's counteracting, as he pushed through the thick limestone wall. "Al... most... there..." His skin was burning, small blood lines formed on his face and hands, but he pressed on; fighting the pain that consumed him, he eventually made his way through. He took a few moments to rest, feeling both his spellforce and lifeforce severely out of balance.
Nekrosis... A thought jolted, as he held onto the spellgap with a quivering hand. I barely made it through... will I be able to get back out..? His expression creased, for he knew he could not go back on his actions. He took in a deep breathe, recollected his strength, and refocused on the task at hand, with a quick scouting. A dismantled interior swarmed with rats, empty rooms and hallways ravaged by time and mold; a soundless atmosphere filled his surroundings, yet a discernible hum pulsed in his head. Something's in the air... His amethyst eye glistered. Something close...
He proceeded further in, nimble but watchful, as he sensed a disturbance drawing near. The layout was simple in design; the dilapidated interior obstructed only by debris and dry foliage, it made navigation straightforward and fairly easy. Not a soul in sight however, as he ambled across the household. The rubble of a once set of stairs made way to the lower level; a large circular room, its stone walls damp and mossy, a plinth at its center and piles of books siding the chamber. His mark was to acquire a collection of mythical Essences, and a phial of Immortalis Sap, said to be kept hidden somewhere in the basement of the fabled House of Thecarius.
Something goes here. He brushed the top of the podium; a thick layer of grime concealed peculiar markings, carved around a triangular indentation. His eyes scouted the pedestal, but found no mechanism or indication of its purpose. He continued onward; his hands feeling the walls, in search of a hidden door or secret passage.
"This is no dead end- there's more to this room than meets the eye." He persistently cast about, guided by his strong sense of intuition.
"Words of Old to lay bare Spellwardens." A voice suddenly echoed. A gust of wind waved through, stifled and chilling, as the air around him became heavier. With nowhere to hide, he stood still; his hearing acute and eyes peeled, he waited. "Words of Old to sunder Light from Shadows." A robed figure slithered down the crumbled stairs, and appeared before him. "Your fate shall mirror his, child." Tevell's expression creased, his heartbeat increasing, as he noticed a body behind the cloaked man; youthful in appearance, a distorted look of his face. A sudden gale blustered across the chamber; a force Tevell had never encountered before, unable to dodge its power, as it sent him back first against the wall. The figure prowled towards him as he motioned his hands; Tevell's vision wavered, a flash of light fading to complete darkness. Cold and straining, he could feel it; the Void of Mors neared. And then, nothing but a sudden ray of Light.
