Chapter 20
The corpse of the gaseous creature falls to the ground, allowing the barrghest to approach and unleash another cone of frost to be sure that it was in fact dead. With that made sure of, he turns to Aurelius and the restrained other.
"What shall we be doing with that one? Can I hunt it, I would like to see what additional abilities I can amass from that one as well." He says before starting in and devouring what physical remains of the gaseous one there was. Aurelius opens his mouth to stop him, but the barrghests evolution is far more important to Aurelius than ensuring physical evidence for the case, so it is a sacrifice he is willing to deal with.
"You can't eat all of it, I'll need at least its head as evidence that the creature performing the murders has been stopped." Aurelius explains as the barrghest finishes up his meal.
"That one was disgusting, and ... sad." The barrghest comments, experiencing the life-force of the creature flowing into him and causing his already itchy skin to pulse even more. "I'll need to hibernate soon, otherwise I'll want to start scratching my own skin off."
"I'll let you hunt this one and then once that is finished we will be able to report to Zoah. It may take a little while for the portals to be reinstated after the creature is presented, so I'll be able to look over you while you hibernate." Aurelius explains before resting the sphere of force on the ground.
"Talk. After." The barrghest growls at the threat that is currently slinking back from his presence from within the cage.
Aurelius opens the hand like a flower, using the full range of the effect to coat the ground beneath the creature in force as a means to prevent it from submerging itself in the earth and stone. The barrghest leaps forward with a significant amount of force and tackles the creature, rolling over with it. It struggles, biting at him and flailing with its claws, but between the size difference and the inability for it to pierce his skin, the struggle is short lived.
The Barrghest charges up both the frost and electricity from within his body and combines it with the fire of the bracelet around his ankle, then unleashes an elemental mix of fire, frost, and lightning. The frost saps the life out of it, while the electricity short circuits the majority of its function. Finally, the flames burn away what resistance to death that the creature had, leaving it parting this realm as agonizingly as all of its previous victims. No sooner does the creature breathe its last does the barrghest begin devouring the corpse, leaving only the head as remains.
Aurelius moves over and bends down to collect the proof that the threat had been dealt with and notices that the barrghest looks incredibly uncomfortable. "Let's get you somewhere you can rest and hibernate. You are looking significantly worse than when the day began." He says before leading his friend, companion, or what equated to his son away to safety.
---
Aurelius and the Barrghest make their way back to the town hall building only to find it closed for the evening. A few night employees stationed within to handle emergency situations, though they were quickly turned away and told to return in the morning during business hours.
Aurelius produced the sack with the severed head of the reptilian monster and placed it on the counter for the young lady behind the counter. The stench caused her to recoil, long strands of her silver hair following the natural revulsion her body showed.
"If you would be so kind as to contact Zoah Phlemming, we need to have this matter settled sooner rather than later." Aurelius explained with a smile across his face.
A few feet behind him the barrghest itches patches on his back and growls ever so lightly at the level of uncomfortable he finds himself dealing with. None of his past moltings have been this intense, and he can tell that if he does not find shelter soon, he might just pass out in the middle of the street.
"The sooner the better." He says loud enough for both Aurelius and the female to hear. The sound of his voice was the last straw for the young lady, and she promptly disappears from behind the counter into a back room. Shortly thereafter her voice can be heard reporting the story. Another moment passes before she returns to the front with a very stressed demeanor.
"Miss Phlemming is on her way now, so you may wait over there for her arrival." She says, pointing to the waiting room that is empty at this time of night.
Aurelius and the barrghest occupy the waiting area for a little over five minutes before a familiar face appears out of the darkness. The lithe, beautiful face of Zoah greets them.
"Good evening my friends. I heard a bit from the night clerk, but I am more than happy to hear the full story once we reach my office upstairs and away from prying ears." Zoah explains, then motions for them to follow her.
Before she can move to lead them upstairs, Aurelius interrupts. "My friend here needs a place to rest. Somewhere that nobody will bother him for quite some time. Do you think we can take this back to your place instead?"
"For you? Absolutely." Zoah replies, and then heads outside, leading the pair of them through the noble district to her mansion.
Zoah's estate is walled off and sectioned into three buildings. The smallest of which is essentially a large barn used for housing animals and equipment. Next, is a structure built for hired hands and split into a workshop, which caused the building to be clearly structured differently on one side when compared to the other. The largest building is the main estate, housing all of the rooms that Zoah herself used on a regular basis.
"Inhumans are not treated unfairly here, are they?" Aurelius asks as they pass through the main gate to her estate.
"Not all of us. Myself even more so, given my public station and importance to the Baron. Your friend can rest in the barn if that suits him." Zoah says leading them to the structure and propping open the main doors with one hand, revealing some of her undead strength.
"I'll be in the back if you cannot spot me. I do not know exactly how many of my defenses will be active through this, but I trust that you will watch over me while I sleep." The Barrghest says directly to Aurelius before bounding off a short distance and disappearing from sight. He finds a spot a few rooms into the structure and rolls into a corner, activating a few of his innate abilities before allowing himself to float off to sleep.
---
Zoah escorts Aurelius inside her manor and to her study. Being a vampire she has no need for rest, so it is the place she spends the majority of her time. The room is fairly large and littered with bookshelves containing all sorts of books. At a glance, none of them were magical, as Zoah didn't seem like one to keep her valuables out somewhere that guests could easily access them.
"So ... what's the story?" Zoah asks.
"It turns out that there was a pair of creatures killing civilians." Aurelius begins, producing the sack with the reptilian head for Zoah to see. "Between my compatriot and myself, we made short work of the creatures. The other creature was something partially insubstantial, though Barrghest managed to defeat it with elemental magic."
Aurelius then motions to the severed head inside the sack, "This one proved to be quickly overpowered by Barrghests physical might and elemental proficiency." Aurelius went on to explain some of the finer details pertinent to the case.
"I see. So what's with the personal request. If your friend going to be alright?" Zoah asks, moving to sack into a locker on the wall which seemed to use some form of stasis magic, as the moment she placed the head inside the smell disappeared.
"He should be fine, though we will be here for the next month. I'll need to keep an eye on him while he hibernates. I would advise your staff to stay far away from the barn. I'd prefer to keep information about him as restricted as possible, as both he and I are being hunted by my old organization. I'll explain what I can without divulging too much..." Aurelius says, taking a deep breath and starting on the story for his old companion.