Holding the small orb closer to my face I stared into the deep rippling transcendent beauty which lay deep within the glassy sphere.
The slow undulating amethyst-like colours reacted to my touch squirreling themselves away at the opposing side of the ball.
I had seen orbs like this before in Loraths tent. A characteristic. The very same item I had used before in my fight against the mad goblin prince.
Without any way of knowing for sure what characteristic was in the orb, it could be dangerous to use without proper care. But to me, it was all too obvious. The only characteristic other than devour itself that I had major contact with.
The characteristic of the trickster.
Before I could properly inspect the orb the slow thudding and rustling of legs moving through the forest entered my ears.
Slipping the orb into one of my bags I looked towards the other rats.
"The fight was too loud, we need to move"
The five rats reacted quickly grabbing up their bags.
The pure amount of footsteps must mean goblins. It's unlikely any other creature would move in such large packs.
Shifting into a sprint I barrelled deeper into the forest and away from the footsteps.
Our best option was to try and leave the scene. Upon discovering the monster's body the goblins should not chase us further. After all, they had no idea were a group of rats rather than just any old predator.
Hopefully, upon finding the dead creature they would chalk it up to just predators fighting rather than anything else.
Our small ragtag group barrelled deeper into the trees. Eventually, the soft thudding gave way to the natural cawing of birds and the slow buzz of bugs. It seems the goblins had stopped at the carcass, unwilling to discover what had caused such horrendous damage.
Sticking my clawed hand in the air I made the signal to slow down and came to a stop. Running would just attract more attention.
"Is everyone alright"
"Whats was that's boss"
Sniffer spoke in a somewhat nervous voice.
It's not surprising they would be nervous. That creature would have been the scariest beast they would have faced in combat. The Horologium while large was still a natural beast. That however was something different. A creature formed from a characteristic itself.
Why or how it had formed was still up for debate however now was very much not the time.
"I will tell you all later, Come we need to keep moving, Gather your stamina and let's go. We must leave the goblin's sphere of influence by morning"
Although clearly still anxious the rats took no more than a few minutes rest before the march began again.
Several hours passed with little to no interest.
While tedious, there was some comfort in the endless walk. Better than life-threatening fights.
We had long since left the surrounding area when the first rays of amber sunshine appeared above the horizon. The cold chills of the night were replaced by the refreshingly warm glow.
We had made it out unspotted and unsuspected.
As the sun rose we found a small clearing to rest for a while.
While most of us were experienced in long marches with just the five of us it made attacks far more likely. Predators would be scared of hordes of rat men hundreds strong but just the five of us made for a light snack.
Our strength would have to be conserved and replenished at every opportunity.
Sitting myself down on the large oak log, which thassius had ungracefully ripped from a tree, I pulled back out the small orb. Gently rotating it and passing it between my fingers.
Whispering gently under my breath the word devour I allowed the prism to reactivate sending small fibrous shoots of red light towards the orb.
As they neared the orb I felt the weak opposing force of the orb pushing against the tendrils.
Devoting small amounts more of the light towards the orb I watched carefully as the force slowly became overpowered as the tendrils pushed closer and closer.
Finally, the first one caresses the glassy surface of the sphere.
My mind rang out in pain as I flinched back. The tendril which now lay on the surface of the orb distorted as the colour drained from the orb.
Closing my eyes I focused my brain as pain continued to shoot through it. I could feel the vague power in the orb slowly seep through the red tendrils quickly approaching my soul.
I let the power surge deeper and deeper before finally reaching a deep crimson orb deep within my very soul. The two characteristics interacted only briefly. The deep blood-red crimson swallowed up the purple essence like it was nothing.
Finally, the pain that was swelling deep within my cranium subsided as I let out a final gasp.
Thassius turned worriedly towards me.
"What's wrong"
"Nothing, just a small headache. Think nothing of it"
Recovering from the brief yet intense pain I examined my soul once again. Where before just the red orb sat now sat another far smaller orb. This one filled only partially with a purple glow.
It seems I have devoured the very characteristic and stored it deep within me.
In response to this new discovery, I whispered under my breath a different word.
"Trick"
Nothing happened.
With a slight surprise, I examined the new orb to find that it had changed none so ever after the command word was spoken.
Thinking for a while I instead released a small amount of the blue light out from the prism. I guided It slowly over to a small acorn which lay near my feet.
Smothering the acorn with the blue light I willed the purple essence out of my soul. Watching carefully as a small amount drained from the orb and flowed down the blue string.
Before long I looked at the now pinecone which stood where the acorn had previously sat.
An illusion.
Withdrawing the blue strings I watched as the pinecone illusion fell apart revealing the acorn. Small shreds of amethyst-like speckles evaporated into the air.
The second orb now sat a small part emptier as well.
So when I use the absorbed characteristic unlike my own it does not return to me. Instead evaporating into the air.
Furthermore, the second orb is far smaller than my own characteristic and is already around a third full. The amount of characteristics I can store at once is limited.
I allowed a wicked smile to appear across my face as I admired my new discovery.
What a great gift the shape shifter has bestowed upon me.