Chapter 2.29: The Enochian Tower

(Deception 10 versus Insight 19)
“Why did mommy kill you?”
As he progresses through the maze with Lyssa’s instructions, the voice of the Enochian Crystal gets louder, almost cancelling out every other sound he hears. He doesn’t hear the metal of his boots and the guiding words of the siren are almost inaudible.
“She was very confused, my dear, struck by a curse of an evil being, someone more powerful than we were.” He makes large steps, impatient to get to his goal. He deserves his prize. Putting up with these maggots has been a pain for most of the time.
“But why did he hurt mommy? She never did someone wrong. Never!”
The anger in her voice makes her sound more mature than her previous grievous words did. It not only lights up the gemstone, but also increases the crimson light all around him. He slows down, holding his weapon in front of him to fight off whatever might come towards him.
“I don’t know, honey. She was probably at the wrong place at the wrong time. No need to worry about her anymore. Daddy’s here.”
He speaks these words of comfort with a friendly voice, one that the other members of the group don’t recognize.
“I guess it really is the daughter of Alexander”, Lyssa says as she reads her name again. Vanessa. She picks up the speaking stone, wipes away a pearl of sweat and folds her hands tightly around it. Hopefully Dargothoth can’t hear her now.
“It kind of sickens me if I’m honest. I know he has done some goods things for us, but I couldn’t live with it if this would happen again with us around.” The others nod in agreement.
“It is unforgivable.” The disgust in Oslando’s voice is audible. “I would never work with a monster like this, but since the fate of all planes is at stake, I try to focus on the greater good.”
They are interrupted by the stern voice of Alexander. “Lyssa, tell me the direction. I’m waiting.”
She quickly looks at the map to see where she stopped talking to him. “Sorry. Go forward twice. From there on there’s only one way to go. Tell us when you’re near the crystal.”
He continues walking while he can do nothing to stop the voice in his head. “It was the dragon, wasn’t it?” Her voice sounds small again and that she has some knowledge about his true self troubles him slightly. “I saw him fly away after you died, daddy.”
He hastens his pace, stretching out his arms to prevent hitting any walls headfirst.
“But I am here now, honey. I’ll take your cares and troubles away. I am almost there. Can you hear me? Can you see me?”
Just a few more tiles and he will be standing in front of the object he longs for the most. He still doesn’t trust how easy this all goes, but his desire overrules his common sense.
“I can’t see or hear you. He took my eyes and ears after you died, but I can feel you. I feel the beating of your black heart, the vibrations of your blood flow. And I can assure you, it feels good to finally have you this close to me, Dargothoth. Now take me. Claim my soul for yourself as you claimed those of my parents!”
He stands in front of the crystal when the last two sentences are spoken to him. The whole maze lights up with the crimson light, making it impossible to see anything else but the redness and the gemstone.
(Perception 14)
“I guess I have no need for this disguise any longer”, he speaks casually. He waits to see if the crystal speaks again, but it remains silent, resting between the blood red rocky formations. As he inspects it further, he can see how the surface of the placeholders moves. It swirls calmly, looking a bit like lava does.
“I am going to take the crystal, everyone. I don’t think any good will come from it, so prepare for the worst.”
Before they can say anything to him, he quickly grabs it and takes a step back. The room lights with the colour of natural sunlight. The redness dividing the tiles disappears and other things appear. His other companions are warped into the room, standing on the place they were struck by the vile tendrils the last time. Lyssa, who lost not even a single drop of blood, is teleported to the starting point of the room.
“Blinded by hunger.” Vanessa’s distorted voice echoes in his head. “Not seeing what is in front of him. The dark magics he craves so badly turned against him.” The stalagmite trembles and partially solidified pieces of it drip down on the stalactite.
“Take a few steps back”, he hisses to the others and he sheds his skin again. As he grows in size, dark scales push out of his flesh and two big wings and a tail sprout from his backside, but whatever is going on in front of him is growing is size as well. The squishy sound of the lumps falling down is disgusting and a small puddle of a crimson liquid with cloths in it forms at the base.
“You feasted on the children of Mill’s Hollow”, the voice continues. “You ate their meat to still your hunger and drank their blood to quench your thirst. You are a monster and it will take a monster to kill you.”
The puddle begins to take form and starts to look like Dargothoth as a ten foot blood golem appears and lets out a deep, trembling howl.