As Mossie finally walks into Canis once more, her paws shake with the weight of everything that's changed since she first dared walk in the city of bones--and yet, everything's stayed the same. It's still eerily silent, the horrid webbing of Order is still perverting the cave, and the Collector is still here.

A deep growl bubbles in her throat at the thought of him, all that he made her sacrifice. But he also gave her Purpose, a destiny she is now heartbeats away from finally fulfilling, pawsteps away from greatness.


She reaches within her fluff and pulls out the stone of a Greater Gembound, her son.

She thinks. She doesn't quite remember what it looked like. But it sits heavy against her chest, so heavy that it has to be the weight of her transgressions dragging her down.

"Collector," she yowls into the emptiness. "I have completed my half of the deal. Hold up your end of the bargain."

The Collector appeared in a puff of smoke, hands steepled before him, crimson eyes gleaming.

"Ahh, Mossie, you're here. It's good I happen to be visiting," he crooned, before gesturing around with disdain. "As you can see, this place is not quite the welcome, cozy home it used to be. Playing host here has lost much of its charm--in the future, I might be found in Monoceros. But--ahh... tell me; you have procured a stone, at last..?"

He stepped forward, head tilting, sounding hopeful.

@Mossie

Mossie's ears flatten so tightly against her head it almost looks like they're trying to rejoin her head, and she barely stops a growl from bubbling out of her throat.

"It is indeed quite gross in here," she says, voice strained with forced politeness. "I hope you find Monoceros to be pleasing. And I have, indeed, procured a stone." She stares at him, waving around the golden stone. "I'm literally holding it right now."

The Collector stepped forward and knelt, uncurling his left hand, claws and palm upward. He paused with his fingers beneath her jaw, ready to take the stone the moment she dropped it.

"Let us get a better look at what we have here."

@Mossie

Mossie dips her head, gingerly placing it in his palm.

"I hope you appreciate it," she says stiffly. "Much hardship was taken to acquire it."

He lifted the stone--a shimmering golden-yellow Topaz--and stood tall, turning it in his hand, clasped carefully between two fingers. Then he passed his other palm over it, murmuring.

"Ahh... yes. This will do quite nicely," he said, likely sensing its magic. "A shame, to utilize it so, but such a sacrifice is necessary to contact the reignite the Conduit. But..." he paused, turning the stone a little more, "let us see what we are working with."

A pass of his other palm across the stone, again, and a shimmering image appeared: that of a creature not unlike a newt, large-eyed and with beautifully-patterned skin somewhere between scaled and slimy--yet with the leaf-shaped nose of a bat and broad bat's wings folded across its back. Its eyes seemed full of intelligence, knowledge even, and the Collector tutted softly. "A shame it will not know life again. An interesting design," he mused, then closed his palm around it. "Just a moment."

The Collector then vanished completely from sight--and Mossie might have been forgiven for thinking herself, just for a beat, betrayed. But a moment later he'd reappeared, holding something large and wrapped--draped--in soft black cloth. "Now-... Where might we find the Altar?" he crooned, peering down at her.

gm note: stone from this post

@Mossie

Mossie stared blankly.

And stared again.

And stared more.

That was...not her son.

Before she has fully processed the implications of this fact, the Collector disappears, and her fur bushes out with alarm.

After all that, was he really going to--

Oh.

"Orion," she manages after a moment.

The Collector waited for a beat, and upon being given the location, swept the cloth from his prize with a flourish.

Beneath lay...



...a grotesque gargoyle, some ten inches tall, carved from black-violet crystal. It had a strong, heavy base with a flat bottom; broad, blade-feathered wings that were sharp to the touch; a grinning, fanged face with horns and a strangely thin neck; taloned claws below, and bared breasts above. A collar around its neck was held fast by a thick chain linked to a ring between its wings. "Your new god," the Collector informed Mossie cheerfully, holding it high for her to look upon. "Now--would you like to carry it there, somehow, or shall I-?" He glanced over her body, the implication left unsaid--that unless she had some other way to maneuver it, he'd need to carry it for her.

At the very least... he didn't seem to mind. Perhaps he'd enjoy watching it find its new home.

Identified Item!

Mossie has received an identified item from The Collector!

4★ The Conduit of Shadow A grotesque gargoyle ten inches tall made of dark crystal.

OWNER: Mossie The Conduit of Shadow A grotesque, ten-inch-tall gargoyle of deep violet-black crystal. It sits on a firm, flat base, a chain firmly connecting its collar to a ring that goes between blade-sharp wings. Its grinning, horned face sits atop a thin, curved neck, with bared breasts and curved talons below. In the dark, it pulses with dim violet light. It is always bitterly cold to the touch, and is very difficult to scratch, chip or break. ELEMENT: MAGIC LEVEL: 100 DURABILITY: 80 SPECIAL: Enchanted with unknown magic. When placed on a suitable altar--(flat-topped, six to seven feet long, two and a half feet wide, and two feet tall, all formed of the same stone or crystal and dark in color)--and granted a sacrificial offering of a life bled out atop it, summons a link to the being known as The Shadow. MATERIAL: Unknown Crystal ATTACK: 0 ADDED: N/A DEFENSE: 0 WEIGHT: 15 EQUIP: Carry Currently owned by: Mossie

@Mossie

Mossie's 'holy shit I did Not kill my son apparently???' freakout is momentarily postponed as she gazes upon her Purpose, the thing she's fought so hard for. For a moment, she thinks it's worth it.


"I'd appreciate the help carrying it, Collector," she said, though privately she wished to be out of his presence as soon as possible. "I was born with Chronic Small Bitch Syndrome."

The brief smile behind the hood showed in a flash of glinting teeth, and then the Collector swept into a bow.

"On the contrary, I have found you to be nothing more than the perfect guest." He swept into another, briefer bow, and then gestured forward.

"Please--lead on. And do take your time."

The Collector will follow Mossie to Orion.

@Mossie