Great, she thought as the little monster pranced around her like a dog with a new ball, now he’s gloating even more. Talking nonsense on top of that.



“I’m not… an animal. Maids have… contract with me. No need… to bite.” She wheezed out. It was true, she had never had the need to extract magical essence through direct contact. normally she just hovered a hand over a willing subjects heart and absorbed it that way.



“And yes… I’d rather die” She hissed, squinting her eyes in the pale blue light of the glen. She was incredibly stubborn, no amount of torture could get her to acquiesce to one she hated this much. She could drain one of the maids again… but it would almost certainly kill them at this low of arcana. It was alot of work getting new people willing to sign the contract. Hell, Millicent and Mori were born into it. Literal years of training and magic dedicated to their service. Too much, he wasn’t worth it. There had to be a way out of this. Gwen closed her eyes, and thought.



Out of magic, Connection with Patron temporarily severed, maids too close to use the mercurial censer or bombs without killing them. Enchantments were down, she sold most of her poisonous potions for trinkets in town… fuck, fuck fuck fuck. She did have few more potions she could drink if the little bastard turned his back at all. Smoke grenades, but she could barely stand let alone run. Would be useless anyway since he can see my magics. Quite the pickle she thought as the gremlin continued yammering away. He certainly did enjoy talking... she might be able to use that to her advantage somehow. If only to buy time.


Her forehead hit the dirt in defeat, the dirt matted hair covering her face hiding her shame. She grumbled, low and sullenly “Fine… What… do you want.”

No need to bite? She just stole their magic without needing to bite? Well, he could probably do that too if he wanted. Sinking his teeth into his meal just felt more satisfying. He wasn't an animal either. Was she mocking him for biting? He gave her a glare.

"Hmmm, what do I want...?" Hylltywyll repeated back, in a mock thinking tone. That was a good question. Maybe she'd actually learned a little something after all this. Not to make a deal without specifying the price. Or maybe she hadn't learned anything. Really, he wouldn't be surprised. She was so hard headed it was a miracle she had any freedom at all considering her megalomaniacal patron. Oh, thinking of that patron...

"Your cat annoyed me. I don't like her. I want you to help me punish her, take her down a peg, humble her, etcetera. You don't seem like you're very fond of her anyways. Maybe you'd even enjoy keeping your end of this deal." He said with a grin. "How about it? I get you something to feed on, and you help me do what I want to your patron. Is it a deal?"

Her relationship with Siathriah was convoluted to say the least. The Exiled fae queen was the patron of the Mystwud Family, and had been for at least 4 generations. She gifted them magic, as well as elevated their status to nobility. There was alot to be grateful for. On the other hand, the fae was also responsible for destroying her vision at her empowerment ceremony. Not to mention tricking her into becoming a monster for the sake of power. There was alot at stake to piss her off… but maybe she could come out on top… this little gremlin seemed more than eager, and she might even be able to trick that little bastard too.



“Fine, I will agree to your terms. But first, I want to know if it’s possible. Tell me, what is the best way to fuck over a fae? (1)” She asked, complete seriousness on her face. Gods above don’t let him see through this. She had been careful with her wording, not even technically agreeing to his deal yet. Could she fuck this little monster over without going deeper into debt.



It was a long shot, but her rebelling against Siathriah could strip her of magic altogether, on top of killing her family. At the very least she would be punished harshly, starved of magic in some dungeon for a month or so. Was there even a road out from under her? Gremlin man might be her best chance… oh fuck it. We ball. “It’s a deal.”

Hylltywyll couldn't hold back his laughter. He didn't know what was funnier, that she really thought he would be willing to tell her something that she could so obviously use against him too, or that she even had to ask in the first place. After what they just went through with each other and those Fae hunters, how could she not know? Did those eyes of hers not work?

"Ha! You really are stupid! Isn't it obvious? You should have figured that out by now. What, did that cat take part of your brain in a deal?" He asked between chuckles before laughing loudly again. It took him a few moments to regain enough composure to continue. "Fine, but if you get to add a condition, so do I. You have to tell me that Fae's name and everything you know about her truthfully."

Knowing more about who he was dealing with would be beneficial. It was a good deal for her.

"It's not like you're smart enough to even use this information. The best way to fuck over a Fae is to trick them into making a bad deal. That's not going to be easy, especially for someone as braindead as you. But, there is a second best way that you might actually be able to do. I don't have to tell you that though. It's too bad you didn't ask for the two best ways to fuck over a Fae." Hylltywyll said with a mock sorrowful tone and an exaggerated shrug.

With their deal agreed on, Hylltywyll scurried off into the trees for a few minutes, leaving Gwen alone. Soon enough, he returned, along with a figure chasing after him. He had found someone for Gwen to feed on alright, someone who followed him back to the clearing more than willingly.

"Get back here ya little fuck!" Dietrich shouted as he ran behind Hylltywyll, toward Gwen. It didn't take him long to notice the figure lying on the ground. "Well well, I get to finish both of you!" He called out excitedly as he changed course for Gwen, a dagger in his hand. He had lost so much to these freaks and even been hypnotized by some fucking cat. He was going to get his revenge, and with this one looking as powerless as she did, he could at least pay her back if not the little gremlin.

Just as Dietrich was just a few feet away from Gwen, chains of darkness shot out of the ground around him and wrapped him tightly. He shouted as he tripped from the momentum and fell flat on his face, right in front of Gwen. The dagger fell from his hand and he struggled, trying to escape the chains which began to burn with a purple flame.

Hylltywyll watched with a satisfied smile. He fulfilled his end of the deal, bringing Gwen something to feed on, and he was getting his payback on the Fae hunter that had chained him up, giving him a taste of his own medicine. Maybe being wrapped in burning chains would make him think twice about wrapping a Fae in cold iron. If he survived this, that is. And if Gwen's feeding didn't end him, Hylltywyll would.

---

Scern's God Killer

Son of a bitch. She wasn’t a lawyer, and she was beginning to suspect there actually wasn’t a way to win this. Her head ached as the gremlin scurried back off into the trees for a short while, returning with the captain of the fae hunters. Must not have gotten very far. As he was brought low before her, Gwen crawled along the ground towards the chained prey. Her arm stretched out, grasping Dietrich across the mouth, and staring deep into his eyes. His fearful moans of pain and agony barely escaped her grasp as she began to absorb the very essence of his life.



Magic not touched since his conception drained out, a whispy bluish purple vapor that escaped his lips and wove into her arm. His eyes rolled back, and short convulsions rippled his body. It wasn’t enough, she thought as she pulled herself up to a weak standing position. Regaining strength to be sure, but this might be the only victory she’d get all night. Gwen increased the absorption, stripping the man of everything he had come to love and cherish. The magic in his memories, the magic in his thoughts, the magics the cradled the very core of his ego sapped into pure energy for the noblewoman. Little remained of the husk that used to be Dietrich. A hollow shell wrapped in burning chains fell to the ground as Gwen rose in his stead.



That’s better. She felt nimble and spry once more, her weariness and war wounds a distant memory. Even her spiteful demeanor changed significantly for the better once she was not on the very verge of death and starvation. “Fine. Of all things to be sure of now, I am sure your trickery will continue whether I fight or not. Her name is Siathriah, The Haar Gossamaar, and she is the patroness of the Mystwud Family. I know she gives us her magic in exchange for service, but to what ends I am not aware. Her latest desire is that I marry another noble, and that is largely the extent of my knowledge. Even glimpsing her true form in childhood left my vision in tatters, and only through her grace am I able to see.”

What a long-winded name. Very suitable for someone so full of hot air. Knowing she had gotten it from being a member of the Court of Wonders, it was funny how self aggrandizing a title it was, bequeathed to her based on her position. That she still called herself by it after obviously no longer being in the court was even more hilarious. She really was clinging to her past "glory", as little as it was. He really didn't see being elected into the court as such a big deal as she must have. He wasn't lying when he said inanimate objects had been elected before. He remembered one chair that had been surprisingly effective in office.

"Heh. The Haar Gossamaar? Did she really tell you to call her that?" Hylltywyll chuckled, shaking his head.

So, the stuck-up Fae had become the patron of a whole family. To what end, Hylltywyll couldn't be sure either without more information, but he doubted Gwen would be able to provide that. There could be any number of reasons for a Fae to do something like that. She had to be getting something out of it. The push for marriage to a noble specifically was also something to keep in mind. He usually didn't bother himself with actual work, but for the sake of pettiness, Hylltywyll was willing to dig into some research on this.

"Hm, interesting. Is that everything? The deal was that you would tell me everything, you know. Where does she live, what kind of magic does she give you, have you ever seen her lick herself." Hylltywyll questioned as he stalked around the area, picking up whatever shiny trinkets littered the ground that used to belong to Bettie and had survived the acidic insides of the shadowy leviathan he had conjured.

Whenever he came across one of her cold iron crossbow bolts, he quietly used his magic to open and close a hole in the ground, burying it. When he found something he liked, he dropped it into his shadow where it vanished into his hoard of shiny trinkets.

---

Create Door
Hylltywyll's Shady Shelter

The noblewoman grimaced as she knelt down beside her maidens, only idly paying attention to the fae creature who cleaned up the scene. He was distracted… could she make any moves? Probably, but alot of her options were exhausted. Any wound would require another person to recover, and her weapons were still unresponsive since Siathriah left. Not worth it. Her logical reasoning was functioning significantly better now that she had fed a bit, and the burning hatred for this gremlin had subsided into a boiling distaste. The long game would do, she had gain a significant amount of knowledge in dealing with fae creatures from this encounter.



She shook her head, and adjusted the three’s bodies so they wouldn’t wake up in uncomfortable positions. Digging around in their packs, she retrieved a tablecloth and covered them with it. Hopefully they would forgive her… and even more hopefully they would all just forget this encounter ever happened.



Gwen was reluctant to continue talking, having said what she thought was important, but a magical force almost tugged at her lips to continue. “Sh-Sh-She liv-ves i-in” What. Why was it this hard to talk? It was as if another magical force was tugging at her lips to keep them closed. Her contract had stated to never speak information that could harm her master, could it actually be taking an effect here? Caught between a rock and a hard place it would seem. it would also seem whatever else she had said might not be harmful to her, but where she actually lived was?


“Mmmmm. Mmmaaah fuck. Mmaaaahhhh. It’s not working? How in the hells.”

Hylltywyll looked toward Gwen with an eyebrow raised, watching her with mild confusion as she struggled to get some words out. He looked her up and down and quickly his confusion changed to amusement as he realized what was going on here.

"Ooh, you've gone and gotten yourself into trouble! You made two conflicting deals, didn't you? If you fulfill one, you break the other. I'm guessing you promised not to tell anyone where that cat lives or something along those lines, huh? You should really learn to be more careful of that kind of thing." Hylltywyll mused idly as he turned a shiny gold ring over between his fingers, examining the pretty white gem on in. He threw it into his shadow like all the other trinkets he collected, uncaring.

"What a conundrum... For you, I mean. I can help with that though. You just need to get one of the deals you made changed to not conflict with the other. I can agree to adjust the terms of our deal, but you'd have to give me something else since I fulfilled my part while you couldn't fulfill yours. So, what can you offer?"

Hylltywyll had plenty of things he could ask for in exchange for dropping his condition to their deal, but he decided it would be more fun to see just what she though was worth the price of no longer being trapped in two conflicting Fae deals. If she was even smart enough to realize that was the value he was offering her right now. Breaking a pact with a Fae, even one as relatively small as an agreement like theirs, wasn't something anyone would want to feel the repercussions of.

What could she offer indeed… It would be a pain to give any of her servants away. They were enthralled to Siathriah regardless so she doubted it would work. What did fae want… Weird shit to be certain. Gwen couldn’t offer her magic, weapons, status, or her wealth since it was all Siathriahs. This was really the first time she had considered how much of a stranglehold her patron had around her. Something personal? She couldn’t give away her service since that was also her patrons.



What about something else, that was wholly her own. “My…sight? I’ll give you my eyes if that’s possible. It’s not much, but the only thing I really own is myself. She S….s….ssshit, I can’t say that, but they’d probably be useful. Something to bargain her with.” The thought of loosing her sight was detestable, but it wasn’t wholly without merit. Gwen was already half blind, Siathriah having taken the other half, so it wouldn’t be that much of a loss. Her patron uses her servants eyes to see the world outside of the Coldwood, so it would be relatively valuable to her. Hopefully since their connection was severed at the moment, she wouldn’t be able to see this deal happening either.



Every sentence pulled her further into this pit lined with debts and obligations, and she only prayed that there was a bottom at which she could sink no further.



“Take them and be done with it. I’ll make no more deals, and you will end this mockery of my pride.”

Hylltywyll was even more amused. What an unexpected offer. He thought she was going to offer something petty, like some piece of jewelry or something, seeing as he did like shiny things. It was actually surprising that she was willing to offer something that was actually as valuable as her eyes. The five senses were very often objects of trade for Fae, especially one's sight. He wouldn't have said no if she offered her voice, but oh well.

He could also see there was an ulterior motive to making such an offer. If Siathriah had the other half of her sight, she would probably be quite upset to hear the rest of it was in Hylltywyll's hands. There was also the possibility she could see through Gwen's eyes. Hylltywyll was familiar with linking his own senses to someone else, though he could only do so temporarily, but without needing to make a deal. A more permanent version through a deal wasn't unheard of.

"Hmm, unexpected, but I can see the value. Alright, eye agree. I will release you of your debt of everything you know about Siathriah in exchange for your eyes. It's a deal." Hylltywyll stated the terms of the deal clearly, and agreed to them.

With both of them in agreement, he pulled a small silver cigar box from his shadow, a little something he had stolen from some prissy mage's office, and opened it. The inside was lined with velvet and smelled slightly sweet and smokey, but was empty of any of the cigars that had once been inside.

Hylltywyll gave Gwen a sly smile and all of a sudden her vision went from seeing the gremlin through her veil, to seeing the insides of the velvet-lined box for just a moment before the lid shut, leaving her seeing nothing but darkness.

Hylltywyll shut the box and latched it shut before dropping the box into his shadow for safe keeping.

"There. That wasn't so bad, was it? You didn't even feel a thing, did you?" He chatted as he finished up looting the area for anything he fancied, including walking over to the shriveled remains of Dietrich and rummaging through his pockets. He couldn't feel a single speck of magic from the corpse anymore, but he did have a coin purse on him.

"I hope you have some plan to replace those eyes you know. You'd be a lot more useful if you could see when I come calling for that favor you owe me. But, I guess I can still think of something for you to do if not. I'll see you around. Bye-bye."

With their business done and a sense Gwen wouldn't be willing to make any more deals, he leapt into the shadow of a tree and vanished, leaving Gwen alone in the clearing, blind, with her three unconscious maids, a looted corpse, and a root-bound suit of armor rambling incoherently.

---

Hylltywyll's Shady Shelter

That was it… She couldn’t sense him anymore. The world was black, and she was alone. If she was capable of crying now would certainly be the time, but no. There were things she needed to do. Gwendolyn took a deep breath, before calling out loud for help. The sounds of the camp stirring was relief like no other, but the lingering pain of failure would not soon fade.



This was a loss, plain and simple, she thought, hanging her head as she could feel small drops of blood dripping down her face. Siathriah would surely punish her severely, The gremlin whose name she still did not remember had his favour still. And here she was, a useless, blind, betrayer. Deep in a pit there was no climbing out of. The only way through was down.



The sentries shouts grew louder as the light of torches began to illuminate the forest. She could smell the magic of life approaching, and Gwen collected herself. She always could. And then she began to wail. A performance enacted to play upon the biases of those below her. The damsel in distress, assaulted by an assassin, maimed before killing him. They wouldn’t understand the truth.

Hylltywyll was extremely pleased with how this day had ended. It had rough beginnings, being ambushed by those Fae hunters and having to talk to that annoying noblewoman who didn't even remember his name, but he considered this an absolute win.

The Fae hunters were dead, and he got all the nice shiny things they'd been carrying. He drank all of Gwen's magic, though she had managed to recover from that using the magic of others. He'd learned some interesting information thanks to that though, so even that was a win.

Best of all, he had made some great deals and was now owed an unspecified favor from that annoying noblewoman along with her assistance in punishing the Fae patron he had also met today. As a bonus part of that, he even took Gwen's eyes.

He held his ear to the cigar box and shook it slightly, listening as the two spherical objects inside bounced around lightly. He was careful not to damage them. That's why he bothered to put them in a nice container that would cushion them along with making sure they were in the dark so that bratty cat wouldn't be able to see anything through them if she really did have that ability.

Oh, when he was ready to take her on, she wouldn't see it coming.