- Moar Deeps

"So, what were you guys searching for in this house? As a matter of fact, whose house is this anyway?" I prodded my newly caught prisoner.

I had asked him to remove his dead friend's pants and tore them to act as makeshift rag handcuffs. Which probably wasn't too effective but might buy me some time if he tried something funny. Also to remind him that I won and now he's a captive.

Then I started interrogating him because why not? Maybe he will cough out some useful information.

Before he started to say anything, I puffed out some black smoke into his face. After a while of holding his breath, his instincts kicked in and he was forced to breathe in the poisonous fumes.

He started to sweat and shiver.

Eh? What happened to the cough? Is the poison random?

Anyway, acting as if it was as if I had planned it all, I threatened him, "Better tell the truth or I won't give you the antidote..."

Of course, I don't really have the antidote. But he doesn't know that, does he?

Shivering some more, he weakly begged, "Mercy! I'll tell you everything! We were told to look for a limestone idol in this warrior's home. It's supposed to be an artifact that houses a monster. Its shaped like a circle but the top half is painted in blood. The beast inside can be released to attack one's enemies."

Hmmm. My intuition tells me something is off. Let's try to make him forget something; maybe I'll get some useful information.

I focused, and after feeling my spirituality decrease to a very low amount, witnessed a memory.

*

On the beachside, a man was skipping alongside a fat woman happily. In a romantic gesture, he held both her hands and started spinning around and swinging her along. Not long after, either due to his weak grip or heavy burden, he accidentally let the woman go and she fell backwards, hitting her head on a coral on the sands. Blood seeped out and she lost consciousness...

*

...

Much wow.

Super useful information.

NOT!

The tied up prisoner's eye glazed over for a while, before his shoulders relaxed. He looked at me and spoke, "That's all I know about this house. So far, our search has not yielded any results besides some weapon. Bows and machetes. That's all!"

I tilted my head, "Eh. That sounds useful. Where are the weapons?"

He nudged his head towards the ransacked house, "It's in the living area, we were collecting all the loot in a central spot and had planned on dividing them later on."

I prodded him with my spear, "Go on then, lead the way..."

***

After a while, I had equipped myself with a bow, machete and slung over my shoulders, a long rope.

Not bad. Moar dps for me. And the rope will always be useful.

I picked up a quiver of arrows and counted.

Not bad, twenty five arrows. And all are well maintained. Not a ruffle in the feathers used for fletching, properly aligned and well stuck, with a light, thin, sap adhesive. Straight with sharp point.

...

What's that smell though?

I sniffed. And following the smell, found an outdoor kitchen. I sniffed again and the smell was strongest in the wooden piles used for fuel in cooking. Rummaging around, I found a fist sized, spherical stone.

Hmm. Why does this look so familiar?

I showed my newfound item at my prisoner and his eyebrows raised all the way to his hairline. "You found it! The sphere of fear!"

Eh. That's such a lame name.

Then, my prisoner grasped his chest, and fell to the floor shivering. "Please... the antidote..." Before giving a final gasp for air and falling dead.

Wow. Poison is still poison I guess. Better be careful not to breathe in what I conjure. Although my spirituality is telling me I'd be fine. Better safe than sorry.

I studied the sphere and my teeth turned sharp. I bit into the stone as if it were an apple and started chewing. I continued enjoying the snack until I felt scratches on my leg.

I looked down and saw Pillar standing on his hind legs, tongue out and front paws touching each other, like he was begging for a treat.

Looking at the pebble sized remainder of the artifact, I fed it to Pillar. He happily chewed on it before swallowing and even gave out a tiny burp.

Heh. You greedy little cute thing~~

I felt a large portion of my spirituality regain to almost full and whispers were heard in my ears.

Oh. That's interesting. Good to know. Too bad I can't use it yet...

***

I exited the house and discovered that some of the corpses I had killed produced beyonder characteristics. I decided to collect them and store them in a pouch as emergency mana potion.

Useful stuff.

Taking the pinkie from the left hand of each corpse, I dropped them into the pouch with the characteristics. With a bit of blood procured easily enough from the nearby corpses, I drew using my fingers several runic inscriptions on the pouch. Then whispered to the pouch: "f#t@§ñ..."

I felt the pouch gain weight, almost triple even with the contents. The blood inscriptions turned from a dull red to a more striking crimson.

There. Should prevent them from combining for a while... Rituals ftw!