The strange magick still clung to the spider like wisps of silk, even as she trekked non-stop across the caverns and into the fierce mouth of Canis. She felt as if it became a part of her, like she could harness it. Thothaga still had yet to test it out, but the creature's spell of consuming shadows, the dreamscape it used, this Thothaga did not know. She did not remember falling asleep in the Tunnel, and certainly not next to strangers.
Canis was her least favortite place in the whole cave. It was far from the Spire's embrace, the magick here was thin and she could not help but feel something awful had transpired, but the Collector was here. She knew Giggle could not answer her question, and the Fungal Stag might not want too, but the robed creature might have come across it and would be willing to share.
Thothaga approached the West Wall, where they broke the Collector free, its carvings no longer a mystery to her. Thothaga stared at the carvings for a moment, then called out.
But when the Collector appeared, and spoke, it sounded only as though he were smiling. He strode out from behind a boulder, hooves clattering away the stones as he moved to meet Thothaga. "Ahhh, the bearer of Fate's Throw. I trust my gift has been serving you well..?"
@Thothaga
Ah, there he was.
The spider turned around and tilted her body upwards in attention. She shuffled her fangs as he greeted her.
Thothaga retold the events of their battle with Kra'raum, of the eerie darkened tunnel, the gift that trapped two gembounds in an unbreakable cage, impervious to spell. She told of him of the beast's icy tendrils of shadow, and how they consumed, and when they finally defeated the creature, they woke up in the tunnel as if from a dream--or rather a nightmare.
His demeanor, when Thothaga had finished, was not one of concern--but of annoyance. "Oh, it's him again, isn't it? He's back for another go. Bah!"
His visits were always so terribly disruptive. And while at times they aided the Collector, it always threw his carefully-laid plans into--well, chaos. The Collector paused to consider whether this should even bother him, then shoved away the thought. Of course it should! These were his plans, after all. He'd put effort into them!
Crimson eyes flicked to Thothaga. His voice became more measured. "You are wise to sense this, and to come to me for answers, for most would refuse you. It is a twist of magic, something darker, and foreign to most of you. You will soon have a visitor--if you have not already--and he aims to throw the caves into chaos." Inspiration struck. Oh, glee! "He may take many forms--even several forms at once. He may already be among you, in another's guise. He will aim to overthrow you all from within."
A black-clawed hand waved in a vaguely mystical fashion through the air. His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Be on your guard... once it tampers with your mind, only time can mend it--usually, not even that."
Then, abruptly in his normal tone once more--"But! You didn't hear that from me. Anything else..?"
There, that ought to kick up a little fun.
@Thothaga
She stretched out a leg toward him, as if to gesture "wait.".
Tee hee.
"It is not a magic you would want to learn, nor have I known of any who could use it, aside from him. I would avoid it. I think it may have been what drove him to become what he is. Now--was there anything else? I am a very busy Collector."
There was a flash of white within the hood, as the Collector smiled at Thothaga. The shape of his teeth could not quite be made out.
@Thothaga
Thothaga had a sneaking suspicion that the Collector was withholding something from her, much like the Stag. Yes, it was either that, or the mere thought of this being reeeaaally annoyed him. Call it a hunch, but Thothaga guessed it was the former.
Despite Giggle's warnings, Thothaga fully mean what she had offered, regardless of the end goal. In the end, it did not matter if she persuaded him to share the identity of this being or the magick he possessed. To have someone with as much magickal prowess as the Collector as an ally, she found that to be... quite delicious. It was something for him to think about, should he choose too.
Now, all she had to do was not lose her mind.
-Exit Thothaga, unless she is stopped.-
"Ahh, but I have given you aid--and more than you realize. The answer I have given you is the best I can do, for he never takes the same shape, and name, twice. Often enough it takes even I some time to recognize him for what he is. Keep your many eyes open, spider. It is the best any of us can do."
He turned, a grin playing beneath the hood as he walked the other way.
exit Collector, & just so you can read--
@Thothaga