Tabog, seeing Anophth's surge of power and remembering that night at Imedren's, began singing on old rally song he knew. He wanted to help Anophth further, wishing the Goblin became even more invigorated.
Hearing Uruuna's voice snapped Imedren out of the pulling void and back into his own body. The world spun and he hurt all over but he was alive. He looked at his wife with a renewed surge of love and then at Joy who had apparently pulled him to safety.
"Thank you, Joy." he said hoarsely to the young girl.
Then he looked back to Uruuna and through the pain he pulled at the the strange flowing visions he now had. His eyes began to glow with a lavender hue. He could somehow see different visions of her. Several different afterimages which played out in front of him.
"Uruuna, that thing intends to leap at you and strike from it's left claw first after it's third step!"
"I'll give you the warnings you need."
Uruuna gives Imedren a fierce grin. "Right, love! Hi-yah!" She charges the monster attacking Anophth and Dramm. It leaps at her exactly as Imedren predicted, and the halfling ducks under its claws and smashes her club into its bony midsection!
Seeing the creature sprinting away, Dramm follows it with a homing bolt of energy.
Dramm's dart slams into the fleeing creature's back. It staggers but doesn't slow its stride!
The near monster whines and weeps piteously as its long, tangled claws tear at Anophth and Uruuna. They flense the flesh from the pair, leaving each one barely clinging to consciousness!
The other creature clears the undergrowth and races away at top speed, disappearing into the Sentinel Wood.
Uruuna screams in pain as blood drips from her myriad injuries. Refusing to fall, she smashes the bloody skeleton again, cracking bones and causing it to waver!
GhyaAaaaaaaa! Anophth screams, as a pained cried turns into a primal yell.
He spins off the blow and returns with a strike.
The monster is barely holding itself together, but the claws are deadly. "Last shot... it'll kill at least one of us if this isn't enough."
Dramm carves the sigil into the air and quickly dashes it apart with his blade. The energies batter his body.
The creature shrieks as Dramm's spell tears its body apart. It collapses into a gruesome puddle of steaming blood, melted flesh, and powdered bones!
Dramm rushes to Anophth and begins a spell to stabilize him.
"We need to get inside, we don't know if there are more of them." Dramm is more than a little green at the prospect of how dangerous the creatures were. "We need a plan, and quickly."
He hands Anophth the healing potion from inside his pack.
Uruuna takes a few moments to catch her breath, gasping in pain at her extensive injuries. She kneels by Imedren's side and throws her arms around him. "I thought I'd lost you! Don't scare me like that! I'd punch you if you weren't so beat up already!"
No! Anophth retorts, a bit more harsh than he intends. We need to clear them out! We need to hunt them all down! His body still surges with the enhanced power.
He looks around the field, looking for more skeletons.
Save yourself, the voice in his head says, You are useless if you die. Listen to him, and keep yourself alive. You are no use to me dead.
Anophth visibly relaxes, and then accepts the potion. No. You're right. Thank you, Dramm.
Anophth doesn't find any more monsters lurking in the field.
Dramm says nothing and his eyes are cold. Instead, he turns to Imedren. Another small burst of light healing energy helps to steady his wounds.
"I am sorry, Uruuna, my spell was weak. I was too slow again."
"I'm tapped, anything else will need to wait, and I don't have much more to work with. We aren't in any condition to hunt that thing right now."
As the demonic influence leaves Anophth's body, his muscles deflate, leaving behind stretch marks on arms and pecs. His mind clears, and once again the voice in his head becomes silent.
As the skeleton fell the air filled with a loud silence. Tabog stood in a slight state of shock, realizing that they could have easily fallen today.
I should have asked for more damn money...
"I don't know if we'll be able to make it back to the village, but at the very least we need to talk about strategy... My strong suit has never really been fighting, is there anything more we could be doing?"
Bog seems a little sheepish, but due to the severity of the situation he holds back his ego and opens himself up to the learning opportunity and discussion.
Imedren holds on to her and seems to catch his breath.
"I got a little carried away that time. I'll be more careful from now on."
"Can't believe those things were so close. Fomor aside, I agree with Dramm, we should not go anywhere else right now.
Before all this happened I was going to say that I thought Ham may have been lying to us about what was in his shed but right now I don't want to antagonize him anymore than we have already. Perhaps we can convince him to let us stay the night. We can say that we'll be able to watch his hogs better that way."
"Honestly, I can be extremely effective against multiple enemies at once but I'd need them to be grouped together. It didn't work because those skeletons came from different angles but it might work if we can retreat and group them up forcibly. Other than that, I can deal with them at short range one at a time with magic."
Tabog perks up with realization.
"Ah the barn! That's right, perhaps if we do stay in the area we can stake out the pen and after Ham gets to bed I can... Patrol this area a little.
Leading them around like a kite on a string, I could move and sling stones at them like that for a while at least. That sounds like a good idea Imedren, I should see about getting a bow after we're through with this. I could be a bit more effective that way."
Tabog helps his friends up and get situated, carrying anything if needed.
Ham refuses to open the door to the farmhouse untill he is assured the monsters are gone. "Them's the ones who been taking me hogs? You let one get away! You don't get the gold crown until they're all dead."
It takes some sweet-talking, but he begrudgingly allows you to stay the night on the farm. "It will be cramped, but you can crash in the sitting room. And no going in the spare bedroom! It were me boys' room afore they passed, gods rest their souls. I ain't touched nothing in there since, and I intend to keep it that way!"
Well, we don't actually know if the skeletons were taking your hogs. We haven't found any hogs or their remains yet. We just found some skeletons, and they attacked us. And we found some evidence they were in your farm. We still need to find these Fomor you said you've seen. And then get some confirmation of the actual hogs somewhere. If we're lucky, they're still alive and we can return them to you.
Whispering to Anophth;
"Those bad boys were definitely wrapped in bacon, friend. One-hundred percent with you on the fomor thing though."
Tabog holds his hand up for a high-five and winks and the Goblin.
I umm.. I stand corrected. They definitely killed your pigs.
Anophth pauses for a moment. Thinking about this some more, I think I know what those things were. They were creatures beyond the hidden veil. I remember pa talking about them when I was young. Bloody Bones, he called them. Creatures cursed to live without skin, their nerves forever exposed to the elements, experiencing eternal pain and torment. Their only solace is to cover themselves with the skin stolen from other creatures. That's why they were taking your hogs. They just wanted the hurt to go away.
Anophth stops there, seeming to ponder to himself. As if remembering his childhood.
After a few moments, he speaks again, If they're Fae like I think they are, then they'd have nothing to do with the Fomor. They be creatures of the void, twisted by demons. Completely different motives.
Ham seems unmoved by the explanation. "Don't care why they're taking me hogs, I was just want 'em gone! This is me livelihood at stake!"
"Well that begs the question then, why was there a Fomor supposedly walking around here the other night? That and why didn't it get attacked by the Bloody Bones?" Imedren asked with a contemplative thought, as he gingerly sat down.
"We'll need to set a watch tonight and be extra vigilant when we can."
Tabog notes that bit of info from Anophth, Good to know.
"I agree, I'll head off now then and take the later watch. Don't hesitate if ya need anything. If you end up doing any sort of patrolling, make sure you have someone at least spotting you from the house. Otherwise, I wouldn't go further then you can shout.
What do you guys think about that?"
You set up a watch schedule to keep an eye on the farm before settling down to rest in the sitting room. Farmer Ham tries his best to avoid you, eating dinner in the kitchen and offering you none. The stench of hogs is mitigated only somewhat by the house's walls and mixes unpleasantly with the smell of the grease Ham constantly slathers on his feet. Eventually, the fat farmer retires to his bedroom.
Most of the night passes uneventfully. Soon, it is time for Tabog's shift.
Imedren waited for the end of his shift well into the night after Ham had retired to bed. The temptation to leave earlier in the evening had been hard to resist but he needed to make sure things were okay on the farm at least. It was getting near to when Tabog would need to be awake. He decided to wake the man before trying. "TaBog. TaBog. Wake up." he whispered, nudging the man.
Anophth wakes up at the whispering. Hey. What's going on?
Imedren seemed puzzled that TaBog didn't respond to him at all and was surprised when Anophth awoke instead. "Oh, Anophth. Sorry I didn't mean to wake you up. But this'll work too. I... I can't wait anymore. I'm going to see what's inside the shed. Come with me. I'll need an extra set of eyes and ears."
He's probably exhausted. Yeah, I'm curious as all hell about that barn. Let's go.
As they walk outside, Anophth looks up to the sky. Only seven more days...
Imedren stopped his approach to the Barn to look back at the Goblin and in a quiet but slightly louder voice he spoke "Something wrong, Anophth? Did you see anything move?" The man was suddenly paranoid of their surroundings both from Farmer Ham and anything else that might come their way.
No, Nothing yet. But keep quiet the best you can, Anophth replies.
After that, he takes a look around the facility. The hogs slumber in their pen. The night is quiet save for their soft grunts and snores. Anophth sneaks over to the barn as quietly as he can, and presses his ear against the walls, hoping he can hear something inside, but there are no sounds coming from within.
Imedren took a deep breath, looking at the Goblin and glanced one more time around at the night and pulled out a lantern. "I'm going inside the barn. It's... I'm not sure how I can explain it but I can alter reality around myself for a brief instant. If I can I'm going to unlock it from the inside. I just need you to keep watch out here for a moment."
Woah. You can do that? Anophth says in amazement. Yeah, I'll keep an eye out. Although, it may be better if you just get a look around and then come out and report. We can decide on a course with everyone. This should just be an initial reconnoitering.
Neither Anophth nor Imedren notice as a small cat follows them out and climbs up the side of the shed...
"Guess that'll depend on what I find" Imedren says as he inhales deeply and speaks in a low voice. "Ost oram." As he does so his perception of the world begins to slow, everything growing hazy and outlined in a dull red. The shed, Anophth, and the surrounding becoming intermittently insubstantial. Then he vanished.
He reappears inside the shed! There is the usual assortment of farming tools and supplies. There is also a large tub full of blood, inside of which floats the body of a dead halfling man...
The sight is what got to Imedren first. The blood. His breath caught. The literal blood bath right in front of him was almost too much for the man to handle. He began to breathe shallow and fast. Then the smell, the powerful stench of copper and rot. He turned for the door and tried to see if the door could be opened.
"Anophth! Anophth! " Imedren said loudly from inside the shed, not shouting but louder than he meant to. "Ham, he killed someone! A halfling, he's a cultist, I'm almost sure of it!"
Anophth's single eye widens. "What should we do?"
"I just... I just need a minute before I think about going back in there. Go wake everyone up, quietly. Ham is at least a murderer if not a cultist.
Anophth nods and hustles back to the farmhouse. He gently shakes Dramm awake. "Bad news, guys...""
"Hmmph wha-?" Dramm is slow to rouse, still nursing some freshly regown muscles. He sits up quickly as the Goblin reveals the horrors in the shed. He simply nods to Anophth when the Goblin finishes. He begins to move to Uruuna, shaking her gently and putting his finger to his lips. He moves onto Joy to rouse her as well. Dramm motions very gently upward, then to his left in an outward motion. He puts his fingers to his lips again and motions for the others to go ahead of him out of the house.
They no sooner leave the house and Dramm is already carving a sign into the air. Magical energy forms weightless armor around him.
"To Imedren and Tabog, quickly. We need to know why these goats are..." He trails off for a moment as he thinks, then speaks lowly again, "I think we were hired by the cult to clear a ritual site. They needed someone to kill the Fey. It's possible, but we need to know more."
Uruuna hugs Imedren when she sees him staring at the dead halfling. "We can't allow Ham to hurt anybody else."
Dramm stands outside with Joy, waiting for Imedren and Uruuna to return with Tabog. "Where does that man get to?" He mutters.
medren seems to have finally caught his breath again as the others come out. He grips Uruuna tightly back. "I thought there had to be something bad given how he tried to keep us out but I didn't think it was this! We won't let him hurt anyone else, Uruuna. But we need to be sure we can get information from him.
So far we've gained nothing about the cult because we keep killing all of the cultists without learning anything more. If Dramm is right then it's no surprise they wanted us out of town. We were a thorn in their side but one that was ineffective and if given prompting, one that could be used for their own ends. Moving us out here got us away from the city, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was something big that happened while we were gone. But that's a problem for later. "
"Is there anyone who could see why this Halfling might have been out here. I don't think I can stomach getting close to that again. Maybe check the shed more carefully? Also there's his boys rooms. He might have been saying the truth but now I'm not willing to believe anything he's told us. Should we search there first. Or just tie him up?"
Dramm takes a look inside, checking the body of the halfling and the area. When he comes back out, he rubs his nose trying to force the smell away.
"May not be Ham at all. Don't like this situation. Things are lining up too well. The Moore House was sheer luck. But then delivering Phineas right to his target? And now this. We should resolve this quickly. We need someone to keep watch, and we need to subdue the farmer."
"Joy, you know where the horses are?" Though he asks the question, his tone doesn't leave any doubts. He doensn't look up from his spell either. "Remember what I said. If things turn bad, get to the horses and bolt back to town. Stick to the roads, the woods could be crawling with dangers. The horse can survive a hard drive. Push it nonstop until dawn." Joy swallows but nods solemnly.
Tabog arrives on the scene. "Sorry about the wait, I heard about what happened and set to keep watch until I thought everything was clear. Imedren, if you can't do your, frankly what the hell? Awesome!, thing you just did. I can try to open up the boy's room."
Imedren blinked as he tried to feel for the strange spatial magic and could not grasp it any longer. "No, sorry. I was wrong. I can't do that again but I can... wait how did you know what I did? You were sleeping and I only brought Anophth with me."
You know, you folk are pretty loud and I'm a light sleeper." Tobog winks at Imedren. hoping that would be enough to move on. Changing the subject, quickly. "Anyway, I know how to pick a lock or two but I don't have any tools with me. I can probably manage something but it'll be a little tough."
Imedren shook his head at the strange man. "Okay, that's fair, I guess. Anyway, I can't get inside anymore but I think I can help you unlock that window with the greatest chance of success. It was something that happened when I... I nearly died. I can somehow see things I couldn't before. But I think I can do that again."
Tabog shrugs. "Okay, weird, we'll talk about that later. For now, let's do it. We have a while until dawn but the quick the better."
Despite his lack of tools, Tabog somehow manages to jimmy the locked window open, with Imedren offering divinatory advice.. Inside the spare bedroom, a battered halfling man lies on the bed. He sports numerous fresh bruises, as well as a large welt on his head. He groans feebly, slipping in and out of consciousness.
Tabog curses in a panicked whisper. "S@!!, s%#%. Umm. Dramm, someone, there is a halfing in here nearly dead. We need him to remain quiet until he is well enough away. If he wakes up fully now, he might shout...."
Dramm stands below the window and shrugs. He holds his arms out as if to catch someone, motioning to Imedren to do the same.
The halfling gasps and groans as Tabog lifts him, but the rogue manages to make minimal noise as he passes him out the window. Tabog then pushes the bed against the door to block it from opening.
Imedren nodded and gently helped to remove the Halfling from the house. "Dramm, let's get him away from here and heal him."
The pair take the halfling a safe distance away from the farmhouse. Dramm invokes a minor spell of healing, and his eyelids flutter open. "Ugh... My head..."
"Hey, are you alright there, friend?" Imedren asks. "Don't worry, we got you away from danger for the moment."
The halfling groans. "That fat farmer is insane! You gotta get me out of this place!"
"We will. But first, what's your name? I'm Imedren."
"I'm Theodore... I was just minding my own business in Hamlet a few days ago when Farmer Ham knocked me over the head and dragged me back here. He keeps calling me Hugh... Treats me like I'm his godsdamned son! He keeps me locked up in that room and won't let me leave. Every time I try to escape, he beats the s@%& outta me"
Imedren frowns. "Theodore, I... now that's starting to make more sense. Was there anyone else? Another Halfling by chance?"
Theodore shakes his head. "I haven't seen anybody else. Just me and the fat f#*$."
"Don't worry, we don't need anything in return for saving you. But first we've got to deal with Farmer Ham. He's too dangerous to let go. It might be best if you stayed out of sight but near the house. There's some sort of dangerous Fey running around."
Dramm stands up. "I see two options. You can run through the woods at night with the Goat Men, or you can hide until we manage to deal with this... if we manage to deal with it. Risky either way. Are you fast or are you quiet?"
"Quiet," Theodore says. "I'll hide in the shed."
"Theodore, I'm sorry to keep asking you strange things. But did Ham ever say anything about a cult?" Imedren asks.
Theodore shakes his head. "Nope, never mentioned anything like that. I don't think he's a cultist. He's just a crazy old codger!" The halfling moves to take refuge in the shed.
***
Meanwhile, Tabog climbs out of the wind and shuts it. He turns to Uruuna. "Uruuna, should we look at detaining Ham?"
Uruuna nods, knuckles white around her club. "Yes. And if that sick bastard gives me any excuse..."'
Tabog nods. "I'll check his window to make sure he's still asleep then we can look at binding him up. Do you have anything....?"
Uruuna gestures to her pack. "I've got a coil of rope. Let's do this..."
Tabog and Uruuna slip in through Farmer Ham's window. They quickly leap on him, holding him down and tying him up with the halfling's rope! He wakes up and tries feebly to fight back, but the gout-stricken old man is no match for them.
He rants and raves. "What the hell do ye think ye're doin'?!? Let me go at once, you crazy a@!!@#*!s!"
Anophth stays with the halfling, hiding in the barn.
Tell me your story, friend, Anophth says as they're hiding.
"I'm a traveling cobbler. I go town to town making shoes for those who need them." Theodore says. "It's a simple life, but a good one. I had no complaints until I was kidnapped by this loonie."
"We should patrol the hog pens. It's clear the beasts have an interest in them, and we need someone to keep watch while the others handle this." Dramm says to Joy.
Imedren looked down at Ham. He had conflicting emotions at the moment but anger was winning out and played clearly across his face.
"Stow it, Ham! We know what's going on. You've lost your mind. Kidnapping a halfling from Hamlet and keeping him prisoner as your son, and calling him Hugh? Killing another Halfling and leaving him in the Shed?!
What, did he not want to be your other son so much you just beat him, and beat him, until you had to kill him?! He's literally in a blood-bath, Ham?!"
Imedren paced for a moment before looking back at the tied up man.
"Don't even think of patronizing us for going inside the places you wanted to keep us out, you've literally gone insane!"
Ham's angry facade cracks and he begins to weep. "I lost me boys twenty years ago. Ham the Lesser, and little Hugh... I still miss them something fierce. The halflings... They remind me so much of 'em. I just wanted to feel like I had me family again... It would all be fine if they didn't try to run away..."
"This man is a disgusting monster! He deserves to be locked up in jail, or worse! How many halflings has he hurt over the years?" Uruuna fumes.
Imedren stares at the older man with wide eyes for a moment but then his dubious gaze returns as his words turn to self-pity and blame. "Ham. You taking them against their will to satisfy your own selfish desires, you just can't do that! It's not right. You... you need help. I think maybe we could... maybe we could..."
His anger warred with the sadness and compassion Imedren was suddenly feeling for the man. His earlier words of the man being a member of the cult were washing away and perhaps they could get him the help he needed. Perhaps...
"No." Imedren's voice turned ice cold. The image of the body hung in his mind. "We can't just ignore this." The smell assaulted his nostrils like he was back in the room. "You killed someone, Ham. The wave of nausea hit him. "You killed someone is cold blood." The man seemed pitiful, defeated, but underneath it all he was still dangerous. "Someone you saw as your son." He thought of Theodore asking for help. "You are not getting away with this. He looked over at Uruuna. "Does he have a cart?"
That's odd, people don't normally go off their rockers like that. They need a push. Something has to happen to them. Like Father Gregory and the Patchwork Man. Or... Or like me.
That's nonsense. There's absolutely nothing wrong with you. The problem is everyone else. They just don't understand.
What do you mean they don't understand? Anophth says.
They don't get you. They're envious of you. Jealous of your power and might. They want to steal it.
No! No they don't! They're not like that at all!
Of course they are. They're all staring at you right now. See that look in their eyes? Envy. Malice. Hated.
It was then that Anophth realized that the person he was talking to wasn't, strictly speaking, standing next to him.
Dramm... Anophth said in a soft voice. I need help.
Dramm had frozen still as Anophth spoke aloud to no one. His suspicions were becoming more and more confirmed. When he turns to Anophth, his face is not cold as the Goblin likely expected. Instead there's regret and sadness. He is slow to speak.
"You... you hear things, don't you?" The question is filled with worry, but he doesn't wait for a reply. "You don't have to answer. I know you do. I've seen it. You look around at things that aren't there, and you're... afraid."
Dramm pauses, then motions to Theodore and Joy to begin making their way towards the shed. "I'm sorry, Joy. I need to talk with Anophth for a moment. Take Theodore ahead. Don't worry, Theodore. The girl is far more capable than her age may lead you to believe."
As the others give the two some distance, Dramm kneels down next to Anophth.
"Tell me." he states. "What happened to you, Anophth? Ignore the voice, and focus on me alone. You've been changing. Tell me what you hear."
Uruuna meets Imedren's gaze, her expression hard. "There's a cart by the pens. Let's truss him up like one of his precious pigs and drive him off in the morning to face justice for his crimes." She looks back to Ham. "By the authority of the Brown Cloaks, you are under arrest for murder and kidnapping. You will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Don't resist and we won't have to kick your sorry ass."
"Let's get everyone together. We'll take Ham back to Hamlet with us and leave him there for now. We still have that last Bloody Bones to deal with plus whatever is happening with the Fomor he saw." Even as he spoke Imedren felt like he was oddly removed from the situation. He hoped that they made it to Hamlet they might be able to rest properly.
Maybe with Ham out of the way we can finally get to the bottom of this.
You continue patrolling through the early morning hours, but no monsters attack the farm. Once the sun rises, you haul Farmer Ham in the cart to Hamlet, a two and a half hour ride. You remand the farmer into the custody of the small town's sheriff for the time being.
"Thanks again for the rescue, friends," Theodore says. "I'm ready to leave this town far behind. Perhaps I'll see you around. If you ever need anything, I'll be happy to help!"
Imedren nodded to the Halfling. "Seems like a good idea, Theodore. Well if you ever find yourself near the Crossings and need help, or even just a friendly face, you should be able to find us there."
At first, it was just my own thoughts. But over time it became distinct, it had its own opinions. I talked with it the entire trip here. I thought I was talking to someone sitting next to me.
But now it's trying to tell me that you hate me. And of all things, that's one thing I know for certain is not true. And that's when I realized it wasn't real.
"Voices. Dangerous ones." His brow furrows as he thinks, "Something is happening here. The changes have been more than just your body." Dramm recognizes the worry in Anophth's face and he lets out a long sigh.
"I don't hate you, Anophth. I'm very concerned about this thing though. It's warped your body with power that isn't yours. I've... seen that happen before. It's dark magic, Anophth. Too far and it will devour you. Painfully."
He stops as a thought comes to him. "Who's Cack?"
And Dramm will abandon you, too. End him now, before he has the chance to.
No! No, he won't! Anophth yelled out. Dramm would never abandon me!
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Dramm starts at the outburst, followed by the slow realization that he had pushed Anophth to this point. There is a silence for a while until Dramm finally seems to make a decision.
"Your friend. I see. You think I'd abandon you because you killed him?" Dramm steadies himself, "I... I will share something with you Anophth. I told Ezekia it was a keepsake of my brother's. Between this and the book, it's all I had left of him."
Dramm reaches into his pocket and produces the amber again. He holds it up to the moonlight.
"Did you know that the Forbidden Magics are wild energy? Born of the void, chaotic and mad." He doesn't look at Anophth. "It will warp and twist you if you can't control it. Promise you things, then take it away. Like the creature that took my brother from me." Dramm's eyes glaze a little as he reminisces.
"He was talented, and it promised a lot of things. He even wanted to do good with the power it offered." Dramm hands the rock to Anophth to inspect. "And as far as I can tell, he did everything right. And he still died."
"That stone... it speaks to me, Anophth. Sometimes late at night, when I'm writing my formulas, I can hear insects buzzing. On the darkest nights, I hear a voice, far away and inhuman. It whispers to me about my brother's ritual and the instructions he gave to everyone in the village for their part." Dramm's voice tightens, and it becomes harder for him to speak around the lump in his throat.
"Do you know what my job was, Anophth? I was his older brother, so it had to be me. I was the one who had to drive the knife into his chest. He had to die in order to become what the thing promised." Shame consumes Dramm's face. "So I did it, just like I was supposed to. The magic went wild, and it tore him to pieces. Warped his flesh into unspeakable things while he screamed and changed. Then it violently ripped his body asunder."
"When that stone talks to me, it whispers how it was my fault. My hands didn't move just right. The words or cadence must have been off by some minuscule degree. I was just out of time with the others. That's what it tells me." Finally, Dramm turns to face Anophth.
"I killed my own brother, Anophth. He was the better of us both, and I cut his heart to pieces in blind devotion. That thing is literally all that's left of Ezra, and it's my fault." His face is determined and he looks at Anophth with a burning intensity. "This thing twisted my brother, twisted me, and it poisons my mind. So I decided to take what was left of him, and I would make it my own. I would use it to kill the thing that devoured my brother, body and soul."
Dramm reaches out to Anophth in a rare display of comfort, clasping his shoulder. "No, I don't hate you Anophth. I won't betray you, and I won't hurt you. I am worried for you, friend. I will listen when you need me, and I will ask one thing: What do you want to do now, Anophth? You must decide if this thing will control you, or if you will control it."
I want to control it. I never want to lose control again.