A peculiar, terrible ritual

It took a moment or two to get to the proper place, but Marius had stumbled upon something worth looking into. The first sign of it was the fact of walking skeletons with rusty equipment were shambling about. Necromancy would explain the smell, and the dark aura...it was indeed, incredibly foul magic.

“Blood magic and necromancy? Guess this is a Vampire, after all.”

The realization of that did annoy Marius somewhat. This wasn’t going to be easy. However, the chanting that was growing louder didn’t sound like necrotic rituals...something else was at play.

Dodging the skeletons, Marius went further in to where the chants could be clearly heard. However, they were spoken in a language that Marius was not familiar with.

Ducking behind some rock formation for cover, Marius peered out to see what was going on. And what he saw...he wished he didn’t see, and will wish this for the rest of his days.

A corner of the cave, painted in runic scriptures, thrumming with power, made of blood. The sickly sight captivating as one would with seeing something of power. The designs were intricate, purposeful, and elegant...written in a language that Marius did not understand. But he could infer what they could be as he took in the rest of the scene.

On an altar fashioned of cave rock, there it was. The murderer he was looking for. A creature of beauty and grace, perfection and allure incarnate...but to his knowing and seeing gaze, it was a foul monster that insulted the natural world with every fiber of its beings.

It leaned delicately over the bloody altar, its work already done. A little girl, her chest ripped wide open. The state she had conveyed pain, confusion, fear...betrayal. Laying with her were putrid creatures that looked like vile abominations aborted from the realm of decency. And dangling above her head...was a glowing pendant.

A voice, soft and warm like a lover...yet harsh and cold like the winter’s chill, fluttered into his mind.

“And so, the fly that thought itself a spider crawls into the web...I don’t host guests these days...nor do I entertain, mortal.”