The Nameless Necromancer (Part 4)

I take to the trees again, jumping from limb to limb, figuring it has to be quicker than running. I would use the Dagger of Heaven and fly up above the tree tops, but I think that would probably end up with me being spotted. After a few minutes I stop as the tree line comes to an end, forming a ragged line that opens up to gently sloping land. I perch in the trees and look around, seeing the five guards that Solar apparently found earlier. But how to get rid of them, if there are only three of us? I draw Tribunal and float it up in front of me, grinning. Maybe we count as four. I watch as one of the Lycanthropes lopes over to talk with another guard. Discounting those two, I notice one is standing ahead of me, one is ahead and to the right, and the last is higher up, on a small cliff overlooking the area. I float Tribunal to my hand, to be thrown at one of them. I suddenly notice a brief flash of movement over by the two guards, and when I look over, they're both gone. I note that Solar went that direction, and figure he has them under control.

         The other guards haves not noticed, so I hurl Tribunal at the one up on the cliff, taking control of it in midair and guiding it into the Lycanthrope's heart with all the mental strength I have. He looks down at the dagger before pitching off the cliff. The other two turn to face their fallen comrade, and I slingshot myself out of the tree at the one in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Malkovich charging at the one to the right. The Lycanthrope turns just as I use my two blades like a pair of scissors to take his head off. The energy of his death flows through me as his blood flows onto the ground, and I turn to see Malkovich standing over his own dead foe, the guard's head caved in. Malkovich walks over to me, and we sit and wait for Solar, who shows up a few seconds later, cleaning his talons again. He nods to us, and we walk up the hill, up to the entrance of the cave.

         Solar starts to look uneasy at the though of going underground, and lags back for a minute, but catches up. I speak up, saying “I'll go ahead. Wait a few minutes and come after me.” Solar cocks his head slightly, and Malkovich nods, which I suppose is all the farewell I am going to get. I walk down into the cave, and start creeping forward, alert for any signs of the Lycanthropes. I continue on for a few minutes before the smell hits me. The cave smells of blood, meat, and something like dog. I continue onward, wondering why I have not found any of the inhabitants yet. Suddenly I turn a corner, and almost run directly into a Lycanthrope. He gapes at me, apparently more surprised to see me than I am him, and lunges at me. I twist to the side and throw Tribunal into his back, aiming for the heart. I miss, but he falls, and I immediately dash forward to finish the job. I feed on his death, as well, before continuing onward.

         While it bothers me that I cannot control this, I will admit I have never felt more alive. I suddenly notice what I am thinking, realizing why this power has created so many problems in the past. I truly believe it could become addictive, and I resolve to control it, and not allow it to control me. Shaking my head, I continue down into the belly of the beast, cloaking myself in shadow. Eventually I come to a two way split in the cave, and I sit and wait for Malkovich and Solar. They arrive a moment later, and hurry over to stand by me. I point out the paths to them and shrug. Solar speaks up, although it takes him more time to do so than seems in character for him. “I'll take the right, if the two of you will take the left.” I shoot a glance at Malkovich, who shrugs. I look back at Solar and say, “Fine. I suppose that is what we will do.” Solar nods, and stalks down the rightwards tunnel. Malkovich and I take the left, my humble self leading.

         We walk for a few minutes, encountering nothing.  Then, we hear movement down the tunnel, and I motion to Malkovich to move back some. He looks at me questioningly, but then he seems to understand, and starts walking. I walk up the side of the tunnel and sit on the ceiling next to a stalagmite. I draw Heaven and Hell and crouch, waiting for my prey. The Lycanthrope walks around a turn and sees Malkovich. He immediately charges, and Malkovich swings his mace up and rushes forward. The Lycanthrope goes past me, and I drop down, stabbing him in the back with both daggers. He almost trips, but retains his balance, and turns to me, taking my daggers with him as I let go. Malkovich's mace comes from above to smash the idiot's head in, and the corpse hits the ground like felled tree. I flick my hand at the daggers and they return to their sheaths, and Malkovich shakes his head at my clearly pathetic trick. I grin, and motion onward.

         We keep walking, but encounter nothing for a while, and I totally lose track of time. Eventually we hear a loud noise up ahead, and stop for a minute. But we realize it's a bit further ahead, and keep moving. The sound gets more and more loud as we go on, and eventually I hold up a hand to tell Malkovich to stop. I hold up three fingers and point at my wrist as if I were wearing a watch. He nods, and I cloak myself in shadow before moving on. A few minutes later, the tunnel open out to a generally open area. This area actually deserves the title of cavern, as the ceiling has to be twenty feet tall, at least. Of course, it's also crowded with Lycanthropes, which removes from the scenery a bit. I freeze, and start to count when I notice two figures standing in front of this crowd.



         One is a Lycanthrope who would make the Hulk run, a massive figure with grayish hair who has to be about seven feet tall, and covered all over with muscle and scars. His muscles have muscles, and even those muscles have muscles. He looks like a Bowflex commercial gone wrong. I estimate he may even be at least a century old, or an incredible warrior, as large as he is. I gape for a second before noticing the other figure. Solar. But he has wings coming out of his back now. Coal black, feathery wings.  The pack leader, so I assume he is, holds Solar with one massive hand. I look closer, and Solar appears only about half conscious. I turn around and run until I find Malkovich, not wasting time for stealth now. As soon as I find him, I say, “They caught Solar. He is up ahead, with the pack leader and about a million Lycanthropes.” Malkovich's eyes glow red briefly. “A million, hmm? I guess they should have brought more.” I grin, and hold up a clenched fist in affirmation.

         We sprint down the tunnel, and come to the end to see the Lycanthropes cheering again. The leader, who is holding Solar up above his head, suddenly changes form, sprouting the largest pair of fangs and claws I have ever seen. His ears extend out to the side, and his eyes begin to glow yellow. I can practically feel the blood lust in the air as it radiates off the Lycanthropes. I look at Malkovich, and he thrusts his hands out, and a massive burst of flame roars forth into the pack of Lycanthropes. His eyes glow red again as his targets are tossed around like bowling pins, bursting into flame. The leader looks down at us and bares his teeth, before pointing at us and letting loose a war scream.

         He picks up Solar in both hands and squeezes. I can't hear it, but I can imagine Solar's bones snapping like twigs under so much pressure. The pack leader tosses Solar to the ground and jumping forward into the massive wave coming towards us. Malkovich's eyes burn brighter, and flame surrounds his body. Massive maces form in both of his hands, and he dashes at the Lycanthropic horde. I send a quick burst of energy into my belt and take Heaven and Hell into my hands, bringing up Tribunal to float around me. I rush forward, and the first Lycanthrope that closes in on me I smash aside with one hand. I ignore him as he flies back into his allies, knocking several down. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Malkovich swinging like a madman, and I slice at any hands that come close to me.

         Eventually I am too hard pressed, and I grow wings and jump up into the air to hover above my enemies. I note that I am bleeding from one arm, and watch as Malkovich is covered in bodies. I start to fly down with hopes of saving him when the air seems to be sucked into the pile, and flame explodes outwards, flinging Lycanthropes everywhere. Malkovich stands in the center, maces held at the ready, fire raging around him. I grin, and dart down to slice into the arm of a Lycanthrope that tries to jump for me. The arm comes off, and the Lycanthrope squeals as he hits the ground. I watch Malkovich batting aside enemies, and then I see the pack leader, about to spring on Malkovich from behind.

         I take a deep breath, and as soon as the pack leader jumps, I dive downwards, my shoulder out like a linebacker trying to take down a small truck. I slam into the leader and we both hit the ground,  and I roll to the side and flip back as he slams his claws into the ground where my head had been. I raise my daggers, and flip him an idle salute. He roars at my clear impertinence, and charges me. I set myself, and then do the last thing he expects, I rush back. I smash into him, trying to shoulder him aside, and I can't. I mutter “Azrael...” before he grabs my head with one hand and smashes me into the ground. I swear I hear my backbone and ribs snap into pieces as pain flares into my body like the Apocalypse. I go limp, and the leader turns, ignoring me for still living prey. Fortunately, three other Lycanthropes come over to my body. I have no clue what they plan, and I definitely don't want to know. Regardless, it is the last mistake they make.


         I bring the Dagger of Tribunal up with my will as one of them leans over me, and flip the dagger straight across, taking his head clean off. Blood gushes onto my face, and I cough and gag, but sudden energy flows into me from the Lycanthrope's death, and I let out a yell as I feel my backbone slam back together. I pull myself up by sheer willpower, like a corpse arisen from the dead. I muse idly that it seems appropriate for a Necromancer as I whip my other two daggers out and finish off the other two with quick thrusts to their hearts and lungs. I finally have an idea as to how we are going to get out of here alive. I may not like it, but also have to admit it has its temptations.

         I sprint towards the melee going on ahead of me, and begin cutting down Lycanthropes from behind as they struggle to get into the crown attacking Malkovich. I spare him a glance, and he is still fighting, but I notice he has taken several scratches that look pretty bad, and his blood covers the ground, so I am not sure how much longer he can hold out. I keep hacking into the Lycanthropes, and feel the power of their deaths build up in my body. I take a quick head count, and guess there are only a few dozen left. Their bodies litter the ground, and the whole cavern smells of death. Dark lightning rages around my body, my own personal storm of fury and death. I draw as much as possibly into myself, trying to augment my body to allow me to pull off my final attack. Finally, I cannot hold any more, and I feel like the energy is going to burn my body up.

         I will all the energy into my being, and time slows down.  I don't know what it would look to someone who actually sees me, but to me it seems fairly normal.  I dash forward, twisting, spinning, and slashing like a madman. Seconds later, time starts again, and I fall to my knees on the ground, groaning. Malkovich comes to stand over me, and mutters something I don't catch. I groan again, and look behind me, to see Lycanthrope bodies scattered everywhere, with a bloody path leading from where I started off to my current position. I gape, and try to stand up too quickly, and my knees buckle. Malkovich catches my arm, and helps me stand up. He says something else, but all I hear is, “Necromancer....power....you....that.” I shrug, pretending to hear him.

         I suddenly remember Solar, and throw Malkovich's arm off me. I sprint to where Solar's body is, although I am rather wobbly while I do so. I almost fall twice, but manage to keep my balance. I stand over Solar, and cannot see any signs that he is still alive. Malkovich comes and stand next to me, looking down sadly at Solar. Suddenly, I become enraged. We went through all that to have Solar die anyway. Oh no. I become convinced it's not happening. I grab Solar's arm and whisper, “By the Outer Darkness, I am a Necromancer, and I swear you are not done with yet.” Malkovich says something else I cannot catch, but it sounds comforting. I ignore him, and focus on Solar. I summon all the power I can feel left within my body, and can feel it swirling around me. The same dark lightning as seen on my belt crackles out from my body, and I concentrate on my goal. I yell out “Not yet!” and the lightning explodes, blinding me. I stagger back, and don't remember anything else for a while. 
         
         I wake up in the infirmary, to find a short, blond Healer I vaguely recognize as being named Marlee standing over me. I groan, and she notices I am awake.  She immediately runs out of the room, and I sit up and look around. Everything is blurred, but I rub at my eyes and that problem goes away. I start to stretch, and something that most resembles a strawberry-blond missile slams into me, hugging me tightly enough to crack my ribs again. I groan “Liz...” as I try to get air into my lungs, which makes her squeeze me all the more tightly. I gurgle and try to pry her arms off me. Eventually she lets go, and takes a step back to look at me. I manage to say “Liz..” again before she reaches out and slaps me in the face. My head flips back, and she yells out something I can only barely make out. Something about “Idiot...should have asked...help...idiot... Lycanthropes..idiot.” I groan again, and she steps closer to look at me again and make sure I'm okay. She's all heart.
         
         I sit straight again, and say, “You were gone. I didn't know where you were, and I had to do it. Besides, I got help.” She glares at me, but immediately softens. “You're probably right. Even if it hurts me to admit it. Tell you what, next time you decide to do something stupid, I promise to go along, okay?” I try for a smile, and nod. My head still pounds, and I vaguely can see the Healer coming back in and moving Liz out before I lose consciousness again.

         The next time I wake up it is for good. I get out of bed and leave the infirmary, ignoring Marlee running alongside me and trying to convince me I need to stay until she is certain I am better. I wave my hand and say, “I am better. Trust me.” She says something about me being out three days, and I comment “Jedi mind tricks no longer work, hmm?” as I walk out, leaving her looking confused behind me.

         I head to Malkovich's room to find him sleeping again, and this time I use my belt and flip the bed over. He staggers to his feet with a glare, but as soon as he sees it is me he brightens. “We were not sure you were going to make it. I admit, you pulled off some pretty crazy stunts there.” I frown and ask, “We? So Solar made it? That actually worked?” He nods, and replies “Well, it was pretty rough getting back down and into town, with you unconscious and Solar still half dead, but we managed somehow.”

         I look at him questioningly. “So, what is Solar's story anyway?” Malkovich looks down, and sighs before saying “Solar and I are both Elemental Kin. I'm Fire Kin, and he's Air. We went to the same school. He wanted to join the Navy, become a fighter pilot. He had his whole life pretty much mapped out. Not like me. Regardless, our school burned when it was attacked to find Elemental Kin. Solar, I , and a few others were saved, and taken to be taught what we were. But, we ended up discovering Solar and I also have the powers of a Magi, so we were brought here. Of course, I think Solar is happier now than he would have been as a pilot. He can still fly.”

         Elemental Kin. I have heard of them before. Children of the elements, they are called, each born to a specific element, they are affected by it, and control it to a degree. However, they do not have quite the power of a Magi. They develop their powers far more quickly, born to the elements as they are, but have difficulty reaching quite the same heights of power as a truly mighty Elementalist. They can do it, but it takes considerably more time. Of course, they have that time, being born of the elements as they are. As far as I know, they are as immortal as the elements themselves, unless killed in some way.

         I look back up to Malkovich and nod my acceptance. “So, where is Solar?” I ask. Malkovich shrugs, and says, “I'm not sure. We found something...interesting, and took it to a Sorceror named William to look at after we got you in the infirmary. Come on, we can go find Solar, then go talk to William about it.” I nod, suddenly realizing something important I had meant to ask. “Malkovich,” I say, “Where are my daggers? They were not in the infirmary, so I assumed you had them.” He shakes his head and says “No, we left them in the hills. They were in the body of the pack leader, and we wanted to get out as soon as possible. Sorry.” I think about this. How could I have lost the daggers I forged myself and Azrael empowered? I suddenly laugh at myself, and hold out my hand. The Dagger of Hell flashes into existence in it, and I replace it in its sheath. I focus on the other two, and they move into their own sheaths. I grin at Malkovich and say “Okay. Let's get moving.”

         We find Solar in the cafeteria stuffing his face, and I make sure that I salute him with a brief flourish. He looks solemn, and says “Thanks. I'm not really certain how you thank someone for saving your life. So, that is the best I can do.” I grin, and say “Tell you what, you can thank me by going along next time I try something stupid.” He laughs, and bows, extending his wings. He shrugs, and says “ I assume you have already figured out what I am, so no point in hiding it any more.” I think about Malkovich telling me what Solar is, and say, “Well, I'm pretty clever. You know me.”

         We leave the cafeteria and head for the Workshop to find this William. We find him examining a sword. I look at him first, seeing a fairly short guy who has a bit of bulk. Upon closer examination, however, it seems that a good bit of it is muscle, possibly even more than half. He has a a buzz cut, and various symbols are inscribed all over his robes.

         Then I glance at the sword he is looking at, at which point I notice it has no hilt. It is simply a straight blade hanging in midair, apparently unsupported. The blade is black, and when I look closer I can see red scrawling on it. Various symbols and runes have apparently been etched into the blade. It pulses with a reddish energy the same color as blood, and runes seem to move, almost like it is alive. I lean even closer, and am suddenly hit with an overpowering sense of death. I step back quickly to get away from it. I look at the blade in a new light, seeing it as a weapon which has butchered untold numbers. I cannot get a sense of how many, but with that much death wrapped in it, its victims must number at least in the tens of thousands.

         William, looking at the sword the entire time, says “I've been looking over it, but I can't get much from it. I try reading it, but its history seems to be confused and muddled. I can tell it was probably forged millenia ago, but I can't tell where or give even an estimate of a time period. Another thing about it is...” he finally looks up and notices me. “Oh,” he says, “A Necromancer. Good. You are just what I needed. I'm getting something pretty interesting from it. Maybe your senses could detect it better. Is there a cloud of death around it, or am I wrong?” Still shocked by the sheer power of the said cloud, I manage only to nod.

         He looks thrilled, however, and says, “This is much more powerful than anything I can forge right now. I have figured out some of its powers. It is, of course, incredibly sharp, and will never lose its edge. It's resistant to time and weathering, and seems to have some other abilities I can only vaguely make out. I thought about releasing it from the binding it is in, but that might be a bad idea.” I look at Malkovich and Solar for opinions. Solar shrugs, and Malkovich looks back at me blankly. Sighing, I reply, “Go ahead and release it. What can go wrong?” William motions us back before focusing on the blade. After a moment, he looks back at us, and says “Nothing..” Suddenly, the blade shoots forth and plunges directly into William's chest. We freeze, unsure what to do.

         A wave of the same reddish power I saw on the blade bursts out around his body into rings that fly outward, knocking us back into the walls and pinning us there. “What's happening? No one bothered to tell me it was dangerous! I don't want to die again!” yells Solar as the energy builds and proceeds to tear the room apart. I yell back, “I don't know, but trust me, we're not going to die here. I'm a Necromancer. I know things like that.” Solar yells again, saying, “Yeah, a Necromancer that got me killed the other day, and almost finished us all off!”

         Suddenly, we hear a voice that resounds in our minds and brings us to our knees. “MORTALS!” it roars, “FOOLISH MORTALS HAVE FREED ME FROM MY CAPTIVITY ONCE MORE!” I struggle to raise my head and yell “Malkovich! Are you a Gatekeeper or not? Bind something!” He begins some type of enchantment, but has the presence of mind to yell back “And you're a Necromancer! Kill someone!” The voice roars again “I HAVE BEEN CAGED FOR FAR TOO LONG BY PATHETIC MAGI! NEVER AGAIN!” Malkovich finishes his binding, and nothing happens. He looks surprised, and yells “It didn't work! We have to figure out something else!” I almost yell back asking for suggestions, when the voice howls “NEVER AGAIN! I SWEAR IT BY THE DARKNESS!” Cool bluish light surrounds William, and it battles with the red energy for supremacy. The voice screams out into my mind, and I'm blinded by a massive explosion of energies.

         When I open my eyes again, William and the blade are both gone. I go over to Malkovich and offer him a hand up, which he takes. Solar uses his wings to flip him up on his feet, and walks over to us. We both look at Malkovich, and Solar asks, “Did your binding work or not? It sure looked to me like something worked.” Malkovich frowns, and looks thoughtful for a second, before answering. “I took longer than I expected it to work, but it did something. I tried to bind it to this point, but whatever was inside the blade was far too powerful for me to bind completely. It managed to teleport itself and William away, but with my binding on it, it cannot have gone too far. Within a hundred miles, at least. And it still can't go anywhere. Not for a while, at least.” “Well, that's good news” I say, “So how long do we have until it can leave the hundred miles?” Malkovich blinks a bit. “Well, it can leave the boundaries of its binding....err...once I'm dead. I expect it will figure that out soon and come back for me.” I yell “Dead! That's not what we were looking for!”

         A sudden thought strikes me, and I ask, “Wait, what happened to William?” Malkovich waits a moment before replying. Eventually, he says “ From what I can guess, whatever is in the blade planned to shatter the blade and regain the body it had before being sealed away. However, with my binding in effect on it, it is still attached to the blade itself. So, what I think it is going to do is bind with William, and use him as a host body. What it will do is modify his body to make it resemble its own as closely as possible, then it will attempt to recover as much of its power as possible, before it comes looking for me so that it can kill me and free itself of William and the blade.”

         Solar stares at him, before finally replying “Well, we can be sure of one thing then. It will come to us.” I look at Solar, then back to Malkovich, and say “And we'll be waiting for it, to destroy it.” “Alright then,” I ask Malkovich, “About how much time do we have before it comes back?” Malkovich looks uncertain, but replies, “At least two days after this one. It will take that time to strengthen itself and modify William's body to its needs. After that, it will come hunting me. It will probably not press William's body too hard, however, until it finds me. Once it does, however, he dies.” I am struck by a sudden thought, and I ask, “What about the wards around the Academy? They won't stop it?” Malkovich brightens, and replies, “They probably will, unless its far more powerful than I suspect.” Solar cuts in, saying, “In that case, we have plenty of time. We can choose when to fight it, if it cannot get to us.” I look back and him and say, “No, I was wrong about the wards helping. What about the humans in the city? They have no defense against it. So, we actually need to take the fight to it outside the city.” Solar frowns, apparently not having thought of that. I turn back to Malkovich and ask “Are you certain about those two days?” He thinks for a second before nodding decisively, and I say “Well then, I think we have a plan. Whatever it is, it will be busy tomorrow and the day after. The third day, though, it will come here. So, the best thing to do is probably prepare for it today and tomorrow, heading out sometime the third day to find it.” Malkovich and Solar both nod, and I say, “Well then, I'm off. See you at the gates in three days.” I turn around and start to walk out when Solar asks “Where are you going?” I turn around and look at him like he's crazy. “Where else? I'm going to get something to eat. I'm starving.”

         I head to the cafeteria and chow down, before back to my room in the graveyard. I find a note from Grave informing me I have a lesson with him in a few hours. I sit in meditation for the few hours I have, attempting to center myself, and contact the dead in the area, asking them if they have encountered the blade we found. I can't find a single Magi who has encountered it, however, and eventually I give up and go to my lesson with Grave. He teaches me new methods of binding darkness and shadow, including the power to create semi-sentient creatures called Shadowcraft. When I get back to my room I'm exhausted, but retain the energy to bind shadows to a skull I found in the graveyard, creating a Shadowcraft skull, which swoops around the room. I amuse myself watching it for a bit, when I remember Grave saying they were semi-sentient. I stand up, and call out “Hey, you.” The skull stops in midair and faces me. It floats over to me, and stops in front of my face. I take a step back and say “I want you to take a message to someone. Can you do that?” The Shadowcraft's eyes glow briefly, and I nod. “Okay. I want you to take a message to someone named Liz. Tell her that I plan something crazy, and she needs to meet me at the Academy gates in three days. Have you got that?” The Shadowcraft nods, and flies out of my door and into the halls. I sit back down on the bed, hoping Liz gets my message. I wait a bit, but the skull never returns, so I simply decide to get some sleep.

         I get up the next morning and meditate again, seeking contact with the dead once more, still hoping to find a Magi that encountered the blade in life. After a few hours, however, I get up and head to the cafeteria for breakfast, noting that the skull I used as a messenger last night is sitting on my desk. I return to my room, and find Azrael waiting for me. I stalk up to the angel and say “You have some explaining to do. First off, how is it that I can absorb energy from death? Also, why tell me to kill the Lycanthropes?” The angel looks at me and responds “You consume death because it is your nature. The Lycanthropes had to die. They were in possession of something far too dangerous to be left in their hands.” I snort and answer, “Well, it's obvious we've done such a better job with it than they did. We even managed to active the cursed thing!” Azrael nods, and responds, “You are quite correct. But things are this way, because they must be this way.” I'm annoyed now, and I say, “So, things have to be this way, hmm? Let me guess, this is my destiny, right?” The angel nods again, and says “Truth. And this gift will allow you to fulfill it.” He stretches out his hand, and I take a step back, leery of his 'gifts' by now. He waves his hand, and my own hands explode into pain. I fall to my knees, all reasoning and thinking ability wiped completely away by this all consuming tidal wave of pain.

         After a minute, I open my eyes, and see blood all over the ground in front of me. I look down at my hands, and realize my hands are not holding me off the ground. I life one hand, then the other, and see that the skin has been shredded off my fingers, leaving...claws of bone. I hold them up in front of me, and mutter “By Azrael...” I suddenly realize what I am saying, and throw my hands back down. After a moment, I lift them back up, and concentrate on my fingers, willing the flesh to regrow. It takes a moment, but it works, and my hands look as normal as they ever did. I wriggle my fingers to make sure they work properly, and am pleased to see they do. I wonder why Azrael would have done such a thing, and as my thoughts turn back to these bone claws, suddenly they rip out of my fingers again, scattering more blood everywhere, and once again I almost lose consciousness to the pain. Even so, its not as bad this time, and I manage to pick myself back up without quite as much effort as last time.

         Finally, I start wondering what these can do, and I flip the Dagger of Heaven up into my hand. I place my other hand on the floor, and brace myself. I bring the dagger down on my hand, half expecting the claws to shatter like glass. Instead, the dagger rebounds off the claws and is torn out of my hand. It flips up and lodges itself in the ceiling. I glance back down to my hand, then up to my dagger. I stand back up, and jump for the dagger. I grasp the hilt with one hand, and find that it is lodged fairly firmly in the ceiling. I hold on, and my weight slowly drags it free. I land on the ground, and replace the dagger in its sheath, before I examine my rebuilt... fingers, I suppose, once more. I draw the skin back over them, but remember how to release them, knowing that while Azrael's gift is painful, it can also be useful. I take stock of my body, and notice that I also feel slightly stronger than before all over. A side effect of Azrael's work, perhaps. Although it is possible what he did was strengthen my skeletal structure in general. I shudder at the thought of my arms ripping the skin over them. I clean up the blood and skin, then I head to the Astral Halls in search of Malkovich, but cannot find him. So instead, I head to the training grounds in the eastern woods.