Peccatum Pack

It's been almost two quarter-moons since Jindra had awoken from her coma, but whatever force was haunting her had caught up once more with the poor jill. After she had returned to the world of the living, she had felt fine for a few days, but after a while she'd gotten weaker and more tired with every passing hour. She had told Valerian about everything she had seen in her dreams, but the occult Saliko was still unable to make heads nor tails of her visions. All he knew was that there was powerful magic at work on this island and that it was his duty to cleanse the curse that was haunting this place. Eventually, the tabby had layed down to rest one final time, and never gotten up again, trapped once more in this strange, endless sleep that seemed almost like a disease. Cisco was very worried about his friend and stayed besides her all day, hardly even eating anything. Mulorkes did his best to catch enough food for everyone, but had to hunt almost all day to find enough prey in this desolation. Meanwhile, Valerian had been working on a plan and it was time to move. He knew the longer she'd stay in this coma, the less chance there was to ever get her back unharmed. «Mind and soul are fragile – they can break or get lost when seperated from the body for too long. We need to act now.»

«Anything, tell me what to do!»

Cisco was clearly exhausted and weakened, but still willing to do whatever needed to be done. Val knew that, but it was not helpful to him in any way, so he had to distract the young hob somehow. He had already talked to Mul about this and the other hob was in the know.

«Mulorkes and I have found some rocks close to the lava streams that I need to make into a power which in turn will become a paste that I need to bring her back.»

«Good, then you two go and grab those rocks while I watch over her as always.»

The purple eyed Saliko shook his head.

«No, I need to get started with an incantation. There is not much time left and it will take me a couple hours to prepare her for the ritual, so you two need to get the rocks.»

Cisco was clearly uneasy about leaving his friend alone – or rather the love of his life.

«Are you sure I can't stay? Maybe Mulorkes can fetch them on his own?»

Now the dark stone spoke with his deep voice.

«No, I cannot do it on my own, it's too far to bring them here myself. If you want to help her, Cisco, you need to leave her here. Valerian will take care of her, you know that.»

A tear rolled down his face as Cisco buried his face in the sleeping jills pelt. He absorbed her scent, trying to remember everything about her and praying to the gods that she would be alright again soon and that the could be together again.

The two hobs left the groups den as soon as the dense blanket of ashen clouds in the sky turned a bit brighter – a sign that the sun was rising, even though they could not see it. Valerian waited until they were too far away to see, then entered the den and lifted the limp body of the jill on his back, just as planned. She was a lot lighter than he had expected, after all she hadn't been able to eat at all lately, and the others had only been able to put drops of water from moss in her mouth to keep her alive for so long. Time was of the essence now, so with the jill on his back, he ran towards the oasis, right into the storm of ghosts.

Valerian knew he had to be careful now and slowed his pace, watching every step he took and ignoring the voices screaming at him from all around. They may be able to distract weaker minds, but not him. He was used to the supernatural after all.

When he finally reached the edge of the oasis, he followed its edge for a while, trying to find any vines to climb down or some ledges to stop his fall, but the cliff was just too steep. He knew they would not be able to survive this, he had to find another way. He remembered the cave system that had brought him and Mulorkes to the island and hoped there may be an opening somewhere that would lead down in a safer way.

–

In the meantime, two pairs of eyes were watching his every movement as he trotted along the border of the crater. It's been many, many seasons since Spectre and Mari Lwyd had agreed on their challenge and this hob walking up and down was the first living Saliko that had come close enough to the oasis in a long time. Spectre was getting excited, knowing the release from this trap was so close now! She followed the hob and called out to him, as she had practiced many times before. A few other Salikos had appeared, before him, but the ghost-storm had taken its toll on them and when they reached the crater, they'd already been out of their mind and would not have been able to be of any use to her. But THIS one, this hob seemed to be alert and longing to receive any message from her that would guide him down. But there was no guide, that's not how this would work.

«It is time, demon.»

With slow steps, the beast appeared besides her and followed her gaze, looking up at the edge of the crater.

«What do you need me to do?»

«Easy. Catch!»

And with that she used the ghastly powers she had practiced and improved on for so long. Her mind shot towards the stranger and clawed into its mind, pulling at it with vicious strength to drag him down into the pit.

Valerian felt a presence trying to take over his body, but prepared for something like this, he resisited with all his might. His blackened teeth snarled as he tried to force the presence out of his mind, and for a while it seemed to work. But suddenly, Spectre realized the weak point of this male was not himself, but the lifeless Saliko he was carrying. She turned towards the jill and with very little effort managed to draw her in closer. Valerian felt how Jindra was sliding off his back, like someone was pulling her away and tried to fight it, but suddenly the ground around his paws crumbled and he felt himself sliding down.

That was it. He had tried his best to defend against the spirits of this place, but it seems they were just too strong and vengeful. His last thoughts rushing through his brain as he was falling fom the cliff, the ground getting closer fast, was resentment for dragging Jindra into this.

But just as he expected his hit the ground and his bones shattering into a million pieces, he suddenly felt another power, different than the one from before. It was even stronger and more controlled. He landed ungently in the oasis, but...yes, he was alive!

Valerian jumped to his paws and looked around, ready to take on anything and anyone, but he was all alone. Then he noticed Jindra lying a bit farther away in the grass and ran towards her.

«Jindra, no!»

She was turned away from him, so as he finally reached her, he carefully tried to turn her towards him so he could see if she was alright, but when the head of the body twisted towards him, the grin of a skull with empty sockets welcomed him instead.

Valerian jumped back in surprise. What was going on?!

Then he finally realized that this was not Jindras body at all, but something else...strangely, this thing had only partly decomposed, some bones sticking out of the fur while other parts were still covered in its former skin.

«What the...»

He turned around, trying to find jindra, and saw her lying close to the rock wall. He ran over and, with tears forming in his eyes, had to see that she had hit a couple rocks on her way down, her legs broken and pointing in different directions. He tried to listen for a pulse, but alas, she was dead.

«BY KYDOS, WHY??! WHY HAVE YOU TAKEN HER, PHANTOM, SHE DID NOTHING WRONG!! I'M THE ONE WHO TRESPASSED, NOT HER!!»

He called out into the nothingness, but got no reply. Why did they spare him, but not her? He just could not understand...

Valerian stayed close to Jindras mangled corpse for a while, unable to let go. If it wasn't for him, she'd still be alive. Sleeping, yes, but alive nonetheless. He should've tried to find another way...

But then he remembered how skinny she'd been. Valerian raised his head and looked at the Jill, who was so thin she had probably been on the verge of death either way. Still, she had deserved better.

Valerian had been too exhausted and sorrowful to move on and after a while of laying there, he had slipped into a restless sleep. When he awoke, it was already night, but somehow it was not completely dark as he had expected. A strange, eerie light dipped his surroundings in a green glow and the hob slowly made his way towards the source.

A wide grin appeared on Spectres face as she watched the stranger looking for the amulet. He used his claws to cut the grass, yet made sure not to touch the object itself, only studying it from a distance.

«So» the demon spoke «you have dragged another innocent soul into this trap. What did you expect would happen, you fool? Why did you want me to save him?»

«Be patient, you will see.»

Mari Lwyd walked over to the female that hadn't survived the fall and stared at her with glowing red eyes. Wanting to snatch her soul and offer her the trial it gave everyone, the demon searched for a while but could not find it. With a slightly puzzled tone in his many voices, it turned towards Spectre.

«It cannot be, her soul is gone. It was not there to begin with.»

But before it could ask the jill if she knew anything about this, Spectre shouted loudly and started to laugh hysterically.

«IT'S TIME!»

Valerian had grabbed a rock from the shore of the lake and walked back to the amulet. He knew this was the source for all this mysery and destroying the amulet was the only way to stop the curse. He reached back and WHAMMM smashed the rock onto the 'eye' of the amulet, shattering it into pieces. A wind started to rise up and as Val glanced into the empty hole of the amulet, he realized the pitch black void inside was endless. This magic was immense!

The wind became stronger and whirled around like a tornado, yet it did not push the hob around at all. Suddenly he heard screams and yells from all around him, becoming louder until he had to cover his ears to protect them from the noise. The birdcatcher stared at the amulet and from the corner of his eyes, outside his field of view he noticed strange movement. Whenever he turned towards it, it seemed to disappear, but it was clearly there! The ghost from the sandstorm were being pulled into the vortex, sucked into the amulet and got trapped inside! It was working!

But how would he be able to close this thing up once they were all inside?

He didn't get much time to think about that as suddenly the last couple spritis disappeared and an unnatural silence spread. Valerian waited, unsure of what to do. After many moments of silence, he realized he had held his breath and finally began breathing normally again, hoping it would all be over now. But then a deep grumbling sound, similar to thunder arose from the endless depths of the jewelry and suddenly, he thought he saw a paw reach out! It clawed into the ground around the amulet and then a distorted body followed that began to take shape as it stepped out of the hole and onto the plane of reality, but it was still translucent and swirled like smoke. It moved towards him fast, reaching out to him, but then – it stopped. The smoke turned and rushed towards Jindra, seeping into her.

Spectre felt fresh air enter her lungs and the grass being pressed down under her new body, but she was in horrible pain. This body might not have been what she had expected, but she needed to save the hob for later. The jill used her power and felt her legs crack and snap into place, back how they belonged. She sat up and CRACK the neck if this broken body was mended as well. She felt a warmth from the top of her head to the bottom of her paws and suddenly, all of Jindras fur was shedding. Every single hair fell to the ground and built up in piles around her, yet her strangely naked skin was not for long. Soon after it regrew, but now with Spectres pale, molten pelt showing. She turned her head towards the stranger who had broken the seal and helped her escape.

«Thank you, kind soul» her voice was charming and friendly.

«You have rescued me from a life of endless torment. How could I ever repay you?»

But Valerian crawled backwards, unable to believe what he had seen just now. This creature had taken over Jindras body, just like that!

«STAY AWAY!»

«My my, so rude. Well, I can change that. This will teach you a lesson worth remembering.»

Spectre walked over to the amulet and stuck one of her paws inside. She reached around for something in the vast inside, then proceeded to drag something out with her. Another clawed paw dug into the ground, fighting to get out.

«I told you I would be able to do it. I'm Spectre, the most powerful necromancer on Ibea after all! The amulet saved me from eternal death. Now BEHOLD for I have raised MYSELF back to new life!! Reborn in a new body, death cannot hold me! I am the one who has power over life and death now!!»

She laughed maniacally again and while Valerian had seen a lot of supernatural things in his past, this made even HIS blood run cold with fear.

Finally, the other creature had completely lifted itself out of the void and slowly lifted its head. This one already managed to become more corporeal than the smoke from before, and Val saw something that looked like a skeleton, with flames shooting out of its ribs in front of him. The birdcatcher was frozen in place, he could not move. And why would he fight anymore, it was all for nothing. Jindra was gone! The beast growled and raised its skull-jaw wide, fire shooting out and immediately searing the flesh on his face as he screamed in agony. Then it swallowed him whole.

Spectre watched the mess of flesh and bones as the reaper took over the body of the stranger, shifting its anatomy to fit its needs and dropping the fur again, only to replace it with a new pelt. Then the female shot forward and grabbed something from the twisted pile, her ice cold bite dragging something towards the amulet and pushing it in without remorse.

«Sorry boy, this deal requires some sacrifices. Pity it had to be you, I appreciate what you've done for me. Now then. Let's close this up, shall we?»

Spectre said as the thing was inside and ripped out a piece of her own flesh, mashed it into the hole and watched as the pulsating mass turned shiny and froze over green, the amulet now looking as good as new. The jill looked at her wound and mumbled something, then suddenly it closed up and didn't even leave a scar.

«It appears I have kept some of my spiritual powers. I could get used to that.»

Mari Lywd talked up to her, his new body looked exactly like a Saliko now, but it showed features of his former appearance as well. The ribs on his torso, as well as the skull on his face, had been so prominent that they had burned themselves into his skin it seemed like. Only one thing about him was quite unusuayl, as the part between the rib-like marking was actually...still holes! A fiery glow eminated from them and Spectre could feel the warmth on her face as she looked at it.

«Nice, you're like my own, personal furnace.»

She picked up the amulet and put it around her neck, then whispered at it.

«Don't worry, stranger, you will become useful again someday. Don't fret, you will not perish quite yet.»

–

Valerian found himself inside the endless void. Around him was nothing but pitch blackness. It felt as if he was swimming through water, but he did not need to move a muscle to stay floating. Then, he heard a voice call out to him. A familiar voice...

«Valerian! You came!»

Suddenly, by the sound of this voice, he felt ground below his paws once more. It helped him regain his bearing and he looked around in confusion. A Saliko came running towards him from the empty darkness and suddenly threw him off his feet.

«I'm so happy to see you, I thought I'd be alone here forever!»

Jindra excited licked his face, not caring if she went too far with this. She was just too happy to hold it in!

But Valerian, while happy to see Jindra was still here, her soul apparently already trapped in the spiritrealm for a long time it seemed, he was worried what the jill meant when he heard her say she still had plans with him. Now the two of them were in her grip and subject to the necromancers whims.

–

Spectre and Mari Lwyd had meanwhile managed to get out of the crater and left the oasis behind them by melting and freezing the ground to create steps – their personal staircase to the outside world. As they reached the top, Spectre stopped and looked around. The storm was gone, but the island was still dreary looking. After all, the volcanos erupting had not been her fault. Still, this place was perfect.

«This island will be the origin of our new order.»

She said and the reaper just stayed in silent consent. Spectre took a deep breath, as long as she could and let out a blood curdling scream that carried all over Ibea, though only few could actually hear it. She called out for her subjects, to gather them around. And they answered her.