Into Darkness

It's easy enough for you to decide that it is best to avoid the Raghik if possible, from the sound of it that one should be much larger than the one you fought before. It's not the size that is the most problematic however, the true problem is of course the effect that the Raghik would have on your Riastrad. If you maintained your Riastrad in close proximity to the Raghik, you would most likely lose control of it and end up either getting yourself killed or slaughtering an untold number of your own kin in the process. If you had to fight the hellboar without your Riastrad, you would still most likely emerge victorious, but you were quite doubtful that you would be able to kill it before it tore through your ranks a time or two. You ultimately discern that it would be best to end your Riastrad soon, lest you lose control of it, and so you try to end it the only way it can be ended. With all of the will you can muster, you try to focus on your own being again by eliminating the senses of sight, smell, and hearing, to focus only on your physical feeling and your own existence. Doing this is counterproductive to the Riastrad as that state keeps one from having any true consideration for, or sense of, oneself. Your Riastrad struggles to keep its grasp on you by focusing on thoughts of battle and a glorious ****. Soon you counter these thoughts with thoughts of your own future and the possibilities it contains. Your Riastrad slowly ebbs away leaving behind a sort of emptiness, not just in power but in spirit. You cannot help but feel a little bit less like yourself without it, even though you know you are better off that way for now.

Now that you are back to your senses you do not feel very different than you had before you fought Gidul, although perhaps you do feel a little lighter now. You look to your markings and see that they still bear the greenish glow of Gidul's energy, clearly her power still burns bright within you. Karnak did say that it's effects would last permanently. You stride lightly amongst your numbers until you find Rigga, who is currently talking with Zeitsya about what sounds like a battle plan. The moment she sees you her eyes light up. It is unclear as to whether or not she was overwhelmed with joy or simply didn't bother trying to contain it, either way it is an immense comfort to see such a beautiful smile cross that blood-spattered face. "My mate!" She exclaims, "I'm proud to see you've returned in a timely fashion, and fine condition as well!" She appears as though she is going to continue talking right up until the point when she charges you, leaping into your arms like a bird leaps into flight. Her small and slender frame is effortlessly supported by your immense physique, her warm and milky white skin clinging to your own tough hide. Her kiss is aggressive and forceful. She presses her lips to yours with such ferocity that you cannot possibly resist, as if you even wanted to. She had never kissed you like this before and that's not to say she was not passionate, but this kiss had much more to it than that. It would've been all too easy to become lost entirely in that kiss, it was truly a herculean feat to overcome that temptation. It was with no small amount of effort that you manage to break the kiss and speak. "We haven't got the time for this now." You say, allowing the potential gravity of the situation to sink in for a moment. "Right." She said with a somewhat crestfallen tone. "Do you plan to kill it too then? By yourself? I was just readying a few of us to fight it at once. We might have a chance after all, at least slow it down a bit, if you could do it why couldn't I?"

"Too many questions Rigga. I don't want to fight it if I can avoid it. Just because I killed one once doesn't mean I could do it again without any chance of failure. Besides I want as many of us to make it to the old lands as possible, we can hardly expect to liberate all of mankind with only a handful of people. Gidul is dead and so the forest ahead should be safe from her menace. You should lead our group southward, the others will likely follow behind you shortly..." Before you can finish she cuts you off. "So you intend to leave me on my own yet again? This had better not become a habit. I don't like it, I will do as you ask for now, but I simply don’t like it." There is a bitterness in her voice which almost pains you with its presence. "I swear it is an exception, I would never permit such a habit!" You say in mock astonishment, "I enjoy your company far too much!" Your words appear to renew some of that earlier passion within her, though this time she attempts to hide it. "Be sure to keep it that way then." She responds coolly as she is walking away. You would try harder to appease her but time is of the essence for the moment.

Zeitsya, who had until now remained merely a spectator to your brief conversation with your mate, finally steps forward with a seductive sway in her hips, to speak with you. "Honestly she had far more faith in you than I had. I thought you'd at least lose a hand or an eye or something, yet here you are without a scratch. I find that odd, but then again this entire situation qualifies as being odd in a way I think." As she speaks she cleans the grayish spider blood off of her weapon. " I noticed you watching me earlier, with less than superb stealth. I hope you saw something you liked." As she says this she puts the weapon away at her side, tilting her hips a little and letting her tartan slide down a bit around her waist to show them off. You can't help but admire her long, sylphlike legs for a moment when the husky sound of her voice brings you back to reality, "I had better go get everyone together. This should be an interesting evening..." she continues speaking as she is walking away but is interrupted quickly by Inslod.

"You've actually done it?! You killed a wild god? I can see it in your markings, so it must be true. Tell me what happened, I need to know everything!" A number of questions followed in rapid succession, as Inslod pried for whatever information you could give him. He no longer doubted your words as he might have when you had first told him you were touched by a dragons magic, but the consequence to this is that he had numerous inquiries to make that only you had answers for. You tried as best as you could to hurry the process along, but to no avail. By the time Inslod seemed almost satisfied, Hjalund and his third group where already gathered and had begun following behind Zeitsyas group. Hjalund had resumed his solemn appearance and looked to be entirely unaffected by the wounds he had received during the spider attack. After recounting your meetings with Gidul and Karnak respectively, Inslod seems satisfied at least in part. "My apologies I seem to have lost myself. In any event, I had predicted that you would decide to avoid the Raghik so I already gave my followers instructions to mobilize before I approached you. We will leave immediately." With those words he left just as suddenly as he had arrived, leaving only Garran remaining to talk to.

Garran was quite easy to locate. He was busily dissecting choice spider carcasses and harvesting them for various useful things when you found him. With his bare hands he was dexterously dividing up a spider, first tearing through its carapace and extracting both venom glands, then pulling apart its abdomen with a squelch in order retrieve its silk sac, lastly he stripped the spine-clustered legs off of the beast presumably for consumption. "How much of that filth can you possibly eat in the next two days? Even spider flesh can putrefy you know." You say to him, as if spider meat weren't already repulsive enough when fresh. "Aye, and that's why I do this." He says as he peels a thin membrane lining from the inside of the chitin carapace of the creatures cephalothorax. He then divides the membrane into eight parts with his obsidian knife and stretches a piece of it over the open end of each spider leg to effectively seal it, and lastly he ties it off with a bit of spider silk. "It keeps for days like this! That fella Inslod wanted some venom too so I thought I'd indulge him since I was gonna be knee deep in spider innards anyhow. Did he already leave?" He asks you while casually seating himself on another spider corpse. "Yes brother, he did. You should leave too and it would be prudent to do so sooner rather than later." As you speak Garran begins to wipe the mixture of fluids off of his hands and onto the shell of the spider he is currently resting upon. "That Raghik has the whole lot of us runnin scared eh? Is that it?" He says. "You ought not to think only with your stomach Garran." You respond, "Even the spiders evidently know as much."

"Perhaps yer right Ogma, but ye should always consider the possibility that ye might be wrong. I'll rally the rabble and we'll be right behind ye, so ye'd best get back ta yer mate before one of your men makes a pass at her and gets himself killed. She's a scary one, but with looks like that a man might get brave." "Very well then," You say, "but stay close. The forest ahead is... unusual." After those words you left him sitting there and made your way back to Riggas side through the gloom of the withered forest.