Sovereign Host: Legion -- Chp 3*

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[Take a beat]

The stranger went quiet, standing motionless as a statue while Asriel unbandaged himself. After a long moment in utter silence, the halberdier pulled a flask out, hanging it by its leather strap over the tip of his weapon before extending it over to the yordle.

"Here," he said. "Soak the liquid in some cloth, then dab it across the area where it hurts most. It'll sting for a moment, but should alleviate the pain."

Despite how spent he was, Asriel forced a warm smile to Kennen's lips as he waved with his hand, declining the stranger's offer.

 "Thank you... really. But the pain isn't the problem."

Coming from his hypersensitive body, while still great, the pain he was feeling through Kennen's body was bearable. Besides, what if the stranger needed it himself in the future?

"I know it's a bit much to ask, especially since I'd be but a hindrance to you, but could I keep you company for a while..? At least until my wounds are mostly healed. The great majority of people here in Teufelheim are more focused on themselves, rather considering exploiting someone instead of reaching out a helping hand. So I am deeply grateful for you being the one to come along. Please, I have to survive... there is someone I need to help..."

The yordle was looking where he suspected the man's eyes to be beneath the helmet, eyes pleading, yet determined.

[Take a beat]

"...You're delirious," said the stranger, his deadpan voice almost comical in the face of Asriel's heartwarming speech. "No doubt from blood loss and whatever adrenaline that cannibal spurred now wearing off."

Once more, the figure pulled something from his person, this time from behind his back. A brown candle with a tiny wooden cup to keep it upright.

"This area is compromised," he said, propping the candle on a nearby surface. From out of nowhere, he procured a match and lit the wick, causing the hideaway to smell faintly of incense. Asriel could sense a faintest flicker of magic at work. "Stay here, and you'll likely find thieves or worse waiting for you to come out. I can guide you to safety, but only if you can walk."

The brown-furred yordle looked down at the ground for a moment before his vision shifted back up to the stranger with a smile.

"Thank you so much!"

With tiny steps, the shinobi stepped closer to the rain, raising his hand as a swirl of arcane energy coiled around it. Gently, he moved his hand down as the falling water followed the silent incantation. Drops of water near his hand stopped falling, gathering in a small bubble that Asriel used to clean the makeshift bandages before he carefully placed them on Kennen's deep wounds again. As he did so, he couldn't help but have his expression shift to one of guilt and concern, which was mostly concealed by Kennen's purple cloth mask that tightly, yet comfortably hugged his headshape from below his eyes. He then slipped into the shinobi's hooded top, equally purple with subtle, lightning-like gold-trim on the sleeves' front and back that traversed all the way to the hood, before following it up with the wrap, which reached down a little bit over his knees and only had a front and back, both adorned with the same gold-trimmed lightning patterning. Its sides were unjoined and open while the padded shoulders came to a slight point. Lastly, he finished it with a purple cloth waistbelt that held the purple wrap in place, subconsciously knotting it like a well-known routine that Asriel found natural, not even considering questioning it. He picked up his backpack, waiting for the stranger to lead the way.

"Oh by the way, my name is..." The ninja hesitated for a moment as he pondered. "...Asriel. How can I call you?"

[Take a beat]

"Faryn," said the halberdier, watching the display of magic unfurl. "You're a magician, then?"

It was not the entire truth. Kennen was more than just a magician. The yordle briefly glanced at Kennen's small pouch that contained shuriken and kunai, thinking back on the shinobi's lightning fast rush of attacks. They were unrelenting, ranged and close combat, weaving physical weapon attacks with lethal precision and potent magic, rotating and in conjunction. A powerful display of a master who has pushed beyond his limits. And then there was him. Asriel. Who was thrown out of the academy before graduating, barely qualifying as a mage. Anything remotely impressive he had done was due to the demons or Veigar. The ninja's gaze turned to his back where he'd normally expect a serpentine tail before shifting his blue eyes back towards Faryn.

"Yeah, you could say that."

It was a bit of an odd display to see this tiny figure with such refined garment wearing this well-traveled, worn backpack that Asriel first set out with when he was still his albino self.

The halberdier nodded, though whether the pause in his stance betrayed hesitation or reflection upon Asriel's words proved impossible to tell. Turning, Faryn gestured the yordle to follow, and the two took their leave of the campsite. True were his words of dangers in the dark, for through Kennen's eyes, Asriel could see the tell-tale signs of creatures stirring. The hollow shells of the damned and diseased shuffling, haunting, hungering behind ruined doorways and barricades. Yet so was the pair's good fortune that these aberrant horrors were few and far between compared to other places Asriel had seen since coming to cursed Teufelheim. No mob of mindless corpse-men, no raging specter nor colossal spiders. Just the shadows of carrion feeders and lurking stalkers, too cowardly to strike unprepared. Or was it something else that held them at bay? Something unseen, heard, or felt by mundane sense. Wherever they went, Faryn and Asriel found candles lit within alcoves or sheltered corners. A strange pattern of actions followed. Faryn would always detour whenever the two came across a white candle atop a mantelpiece. If a candle was blue and inside a room, he would light it to reveal an emblem on a nearby wall. But most of all, he would never venture where a red candle burned atop a broken skull, even if the path beyond was visible and clear of obstacles.

"How are you holding up?" he asked the yordle, the two stopping as they walked along a skybridge between houses.

Asriel followed with quickened, yet utterly deafened steps, taking note of the wordless communication through wax and light. His mind clear, senses sharpened. Focused. Not a single thought was wasted on anything else but what was happening right around him. Just like he has been practicing. Every footfall was deliberate, his tiny frame pressing against and behind broken walls and furniture. The mage was unaware of the fact that he was expertly utilizing a skillset he had never been good at. To such extend, that Faryn could not tell if the ninja was actually following him or not if he didn't throw a glance behind every now and then. When they briefly stopped on the skybrdige, the yordle only gave a quick, intentful nod as answer to Faryn's question, the shinobi seeming like a different person compared to before.

Faryn nodded, motioning to turn away. The helmed figure would pause, however, as his gaze fell upon the scenery beneath the bridge. Little at all could be seen through the gloom, yet still came the sounds of hurried shuffling, rasping, hissing down below.

"You're far limber than I gave you credit," said Faryn. "How able would you be if I asked you to squeeze through a tight space in the adjoining building?"

"Very. What you want me to do on the other side?"

The yordle's ears perk up, moving about while his eyes scanned the surroundings.

[Roll Wits + Composure with a -1 from difficulty.]

Raising his halberd, Faryn pointed the blade towards the aforementioned house. "There is a lever inside that opens up a path towards our destination," he said. "While not critical, it would hasten our progress, as the detour would require more time to access safely, given your condition."

[Spending one Willpower - 3 Wits, 3 Composure, 3 from Willpower, -1
4, 1, 9, 5, 10, 3, 10, 5  -  extra roll 1, 2]

With Kennen's keen senses, Asriel could tell that he and Faryn were being followed. It wouldn't have surprised anyone if some of the stalking evils of the night were clinging to the underside of the skybridge, following the sound of the halberdier's footsteps against wooden planks...

The shinobi's eyes narrowed, his eye color subtly changing from saphire blue to an electric purple, blue sparks faintly crackling between his clawed fingers.

"Careful, Faryn. They follow your footsteps, clinging to the bridge below, waiting for their moment to strike."

The halberdier turned to fully face the possessed yordle. "Impressive," he said. "You've noticed them just as I have." Faryn then gestured towards the door, keeping an eye on the way the two had come as Asriel resumed moving forward. Without looking away, Faryn began following with his back to the yordle. Both of them noticed the glint of glassy-eyes slowly climbing up from beneath the bridge and up the walls on either side of the previous door. The creatures were almost feline in how they clung close to the floor as they motioned onto the skybridge. Still the maintained their distance, only slinking forward an inch at a time, growling alongside their distended stomachs.