Well, Aran was here, with the bird he'd chosen to bring with him. All he had to do now was call for the collector and get this over with, and deal with the lasting guilt of it all later. He would ignore the looming guilt of him even trying to kill that gator that got him into this situation in the first place. Especially after that argument he had with James over the Collector - Aran really had defended him didn't he?

It didn't matter at this point, he supposed he took the deal and he would be finishing it, especially now that he had the bird with him, sick, in the bag swinging from his antlers.

"Collector, I have your lesser!" He called out.

The Collector was there in a heartbeat, stepping from behind a wall of bones, black cloak sweeping the dust along the floor as he came. His hooves clicked, crimson pinprick eyes regarding Aran with unblinking, silent attention.

"Ahhh, Mister Alabaster. How very good to see you again. You have the Lesser? Good. And as to the price you were to pay-? Tell me of it," he crooned.

@Aran

Aran waited as the familiar glob of shapes appeared in front of him, speaking of the 'price' he had to pay. It didn't feel like much of a price, going around and showing other gembound the things he apparently obtained from the Collector. The idea of that was still surprising, but it didn't seem like anyone else could have been the culprit - especially not with the knowledge the Collector had. He wondered about how easy his 'price' was, and wondered if the Collector initially had different plans, though he wouldn't know of them now.

"I've shown the items to some others, and most of them were interested with particular information, not all of them. I gave one something to experiment with since she was bored, one looked particularly interested in crafting up the almond-y shaped thing. Tahi seemed distinctly disgusted at using something from gembound to make food. Everyone was... pretty interested in the information I had to offer, from you, of course." He replied with an ear flick.

Aran didn't know how long his magic would keep the sparrow in the bag mostly subdued, but he did know it wouldn't last all day. Though the thing was pretty hidden and could easily be captured with a quick hand (or claw) - even then the thing was painfully friendly.

"The-... 'almondy-shaped' thing?" asked the Collector, with the delicate tone of one trying to still sound polite. "May I ask with whom you shared this knowledge, then--for my own records, of course."

Spindly fingers dipped in and out of his robe, the swish of cloth undoubtedly audible for each item he began to withdraw from the woolen folds with each pinch of black claws. He was pulling forth twists of cord, and bits of gilded golden metal; small clasps and larger, carefully shaped triangular pieces. Even if Aran could see, it wasn't clear what he was preparing.

"And then, presuming I deem your end of the contract fulfilled, you may tell me about this Lesser you have chosen. And we can get to work."

@Aran

Aran had no idea how to explain what he meant - either way, he couldn't entirely see the scroll to show the Collector which one it was. So he simply ignored the topic, for now anyway. If it was somehow brought back up then he would have to figure out some way to answer, but knowing the answer wasn't part of their deal. The topic was quickly changed instead to the topic of who he shared the information with. Well, that was easy enough for him to remember, though he wondered if it had been enough.

"The gembound I shared the information with were named Kimera, Tahi-shei, Talys, Dip, and James in the past." he replied to that - a good sum of names if he did say so himself. Though, if he had to get more than so be it. He just hoped this was enough.

Aran could hear the Collector fiddling around with various things, but could only see the vague blob of his shape moving around as he did it. Nothing really stood out to him, and Aran was about done with not being able to see correctly. At the mention of the lesser, Aran dropped the bag on his antler - the feather of Jame's still hanging on the other one, and the bird let out a noise. Though it was still sickly at this point.

"I brought a bird - it's in the bag there." He needed to make a new one... but he'd do that another time. He would have wondered if the bird having four eyes changed things, but Aran didn't know it had that many.

[The bird he brought is a mountain sparrow]

"I take it you do not know what the knowledge shared was. I am surprised that you do not care to ask," the Collector added, and this surprise was evident in his tone. "I had thought you--and the company you keep--knowledge-seekers, that you would ask for such things to be explained. I admit it's disappointing," he added. But as he spoke he was stepping forward, long claws lowering to delicately pluck the bag up from the ground. "But I would be a hypocrite not to allow that ignorance is its own sort of reward. Now, onto the task at hand."

He paused, then one hand delved into the bag. The bird was, it seemed, awake: sickly, but aware, quiet frantic chirps escaping it as the Collector, apparently, caught it in his grip. The bag dropped away, and his tall, cloaked figure was left clasping the struggling Mountain Sparrow in one hand. A couple tiny white feathers fell away, the black eyes--previously so bright and chipper--now squinted in illness, and filled with sickly terror. And if Aran could not see this, the terrified nature of its weakened twittering was sign enough of its fear. "Tell me, then, Aran Alabaster--" the Collector's voice was crooning. "-Are you ready to see again?"

@Aran

"I can't entirely see to show you what I mean. Though trying to make it and figure out on our own would be more fun, would it not? Though, if you wish to answer I can show you after this." he mentioned. Aran did wonder if he could find anyone to help him make one, or all, of the things shown on the scrolls. How interesting would it be, to see the Collector's reaction to it. Well, if he could even spot the collector. He had to be somewhat curious about the information he gave out to the gembounds correct? Aran wondered how much of an eye he kept on those he made deals with, or if he was going to approach any of those Aran shared the scrolls with to speak with them. James would be infinitely upset with him, though he supposed that would be normal.

The collector grabbed the bird, Aran could hear it making noises in fear of what was to come. But what was the Collector even going to do? Somehow he wasn't afraid of much. The bird might, but he wasn't. The deer had already had so many near-death experiences that it didn't entirely matter much, as long as he came back. This, though, didn't make him feel like he was going to die. It was a simple deal, with a simple solution.

"I am." He responded.

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

Animal cruelty, gore. This text will be in gray and can be skipped.

The Collector turned to do his work. He spoke idly as he did so. "Well; here we go, then. Do give Dip my regards, should you see her again, hm? She is a wonderful blacksmith. Very-... helpful."

He turned back, a few paces from Aran, now. For a moment, he regarded the mountain sparrow where it lay helpless, clutched in his powerful clawed hand.

He then reached down, and--with delicate, precise movements--began to pluck each eye neatly from the bird's sockets. The little creature struggled suddenly, terrified and frantic twittering filling the air--sounds which turned quickly to long, high-pitched, squealing cheeps. It fought to free itself, to escape its fate but it could not; after a few moments of careful maneuvering, the Collector had all four eyes in his palm. He knelt, and laid these down on the ground: and then, the frantic, eyeless bird bleeding little droplets over his fur, he began to murmur. Magic passed over the bird, and over his hand; there was a quiet snap as he broke the little thing's neck, and then his work truly began.

Mercifully, the bird's pained, fearful cries had stopped, but now came the quiet sounds of dismembering as the Collector neatly pulled head from body, magic pluming in brief violet sparks. Feathers and flesh melted away into oil, leaving the bird's skull in his hand. He worked quickly, now, and in focused silence, slotting each eye neatly back where it had once been--still whole, still glistening and gleaming as if with fear. And then came long murmurs, the passing of clawed hands over the finished product. A soft pink-violet glow encapsulated the skull, and its four eyes; and then the Collector withdrew from his cloak, with bloodied hand, a slender golden chain.

A moment's work with a small tool and a matching hook, and he'd affixed the top of the little skull to the chain, to serve as a little pendant.

He was left, then, with a small bird's skull dangling from a golden chain: and four dark eyes, near black until the light struck them, that still moved and rolled in the sockets. As with the eyes of most birds, the eyes couldn't move far to and fro, but the movement that was there was rapid and seemingly desperate. "Here we are, then," the Collector said, at last, cheerfully. He pushed back up again, hooves clicking on the stone as he approached Aran, attempting to clasp the pendant around the deer's neck. "Do tell me if it works. I will adjust it, if it does not. Mind you, there may be some... remnant, of the previous owner--but being as familiar with violence as you are, Aran Alabaster, I doubt it will affect you much."

Should Aran allow the necklace to be hung around his neck, he would at once find the magic linking to his mind: an arcane tendril of power, granting him sight through the Mountain Sparrow's preserved eyes. It was vision that would sway with the necklace's movements, and with the random movements of the eyes themselves--perhaps dizzying, at times--but it was vision nonetheless.

But... a fear lingered, the sense that another still remained, now linked to him, and still in the last moments of its death. At times that low-grade fear would spike, becoming memories of helpless terror, but thankfully this would not happen all that much.

Identified Item!

Aran has received an identified item from The Collector!

2★ Bird's Eye View The skull of a Mountain Sparrow strung on a golden chain. Its dark eyes are still intact, and moving.

☆☆☆☆★★ Bird's Eye View A pendant formed by a Mountain Sparrow's skull hung on a slender golden chain. Four dark eyes remain in the sockets, their black depths illuminated a deep, unsaturated blue-green when struck by bright light. These eyes constantly turn, looking around as though in fear; the wearer may see through them, but the eyes' movement can be dizzying. ELEMENT: MAGIC LEVEL: 80 DURABILITY: 10 SPECIAL: none MATERIAL: Bone, Flesh ATTACK: N/A ADDED: Cursed: The wearer feels a constant, low-grade fear that feels as though it belongs to someone, or something, else. At random times this may spike into helpless terror for several minutes. DEFENSE: 0 WEIGHT: 1 EQUIP: Pendant Currently owned by: Aran

@Aran

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

Gore
"I will." He replied to the mention of Pip.

It went quiet for a few moments, and Aran wondered what the Collector was going to do with the bird. He hadn't even gotten a good look at the thing before (mainly because he couldn't see it) - but after this maybe he would have to go back and see if he could find one like it. To just - look. He was going to look at a lot of things. The idea of being able to see completely again made the deer almost giddy, but with James' warnings of the collector before he wondered if this was a good idea. It would be terrible to back out of a deal now that he'd completed his side of it, so he wasn't going to change his mind now.

He was almost curious of what the collector was doing now, with the bird. Though that sentiment was cleared from his head when he heard the CRUNCH of bones under the gembound's grasp. He couldn't make out what the Collector was saying before that, though. Tahi mentioned the collector enchanting things before - something told him that this was different than what he could do himself. He wondered if the bird was still alive - something told him it wasn't. Checking was... still a good idea.

The only heartbeats he could hear were two - the Collector and Aran himself. He figured something like this would happen, so the death of the lesser wasn't something that bothered him. He could hear the collector move forward, hooves tapping on the ground below. He didn't move when the Collector clasped the chain around his neck, and suddenly the world around him became.... visible. At an awkward angle but visible. The constant moving of the eyes felt weird in his head - wait was it in his head? How did this work?

He caught the Collector's words, and nodded. "It works, thank you." Him being used to violence... well it was true. He had seen a lot of violence whether it was made by himself or someone else.

Something else hit him then - it was. Different. Strange. Afraid This wasn't how he felt about the collector though. What was going on? His ears pulled back, and he stepped back a few paces despite himself. Something was wrong. So very very wrong. He nearly bolted - what was this?