Ray and Talem walked together down the hall. As they thought, the fact that they had switched had thrown the system off and though they could practically feel the magic around them readjusting as if attempting to make sense of what it was missing since the figure it was hunting was clearly not gone from it.
"It was a good idea," Ray hummed, feeling particularly warm to have someone walking beside him to praise that was equally looking out for his best interest. The idea was astounding to him. He couldn't shake his guilt about what happened with Rosana, but the contrast made it sting less and less each day, and he was sure one day that it would simply be a memory. He didn't intend to see Telago ever again as well.
"It wouldn't have been possible without your potion," Talem told him with a smile, feeling along the wall in case they might have missed something, and so nothing could phase through and surprise them.
"It's nothing too special," he answered, listening intently for any physical enemy. "I technically stole it from someone, though it did take a bit of tinkering to figure out how to make it myself. Are you familiar with the makeover mage over by Falador?"
"The what? An interesting sort, I imagine," Talem answered, "but what does a makeover have to do with this?"
"He—or she—can change a lot of things about a person. They're constantly changing themselves. I would say they're a useful person to know, though my memory of what it was like to meet them and what it was like to take the potion from them is blurry. I can't imagine I would want to cross their path again anytime soon," he replied.
"Can they change hair?" Talem asked curiously.
"I don't think so, but isn't that what barbers are for? There's a barber in Falador as well, but you can imagine I wasn't there long enough for anything like that," he answered with a grin. He had already told him about how Lyalltine rarely cut their hair unless it was to show great disgrace.
"Yes, that's fair enough," Talem hummed, "but I like the red hair myself. I was thinking of trying it out. I just might after we finish this."
"I personally like your blonde hair, but if it's what you want, I can get behind it," he answered. He froze for a moment and looked around, catching sight of something behind them. The incorporeal, purple creatures appeared clearly even to his poor eyesight, and so it wasn't hard for him to make the growing forms out. Talem, Ray and the creatures all stood still and seemed to study each other, the beings seeming to study Ray before deciding that this was who they were looking for.
Ray turned to his wolf form and Talem put on the rabbit mask at nearly the same time, and they sprinted the rest of the way towards the door, struggling not to skid into walls as the purplish smoky forms of the creatures chased at their heels like snapping hounds. The creatures were moving so quickly that they were nearly only blurring on either side of Ray's vision. Ray was almost relieved that he was indeed at least as fast as Talem's mask, but he also had to admit that if this were a proper race, he would be hard pressed to keep a lead.
He also felt a strange joy in the thrill of loping alongside Talem like this, even if it was being hunted rather than hunting, and he was eager for all the things they would and could do after this was all over. There were no wizards in the hall at this point. There were none who would bear witness to their speed and wise creation. He looked forward to asking Talem all sorts of questions and learning all kinds of new things about both him and himself in whatever form he may take.
And then they reached the door. Talem was already reaching for it, expecting his companion to struggle, but the moment Ray reached it he changed back to his human form and seized the door's handle. He knew that whether or not he was meant to cross this threshold, he could put it behind him once it was over and done with. Talem, watching through the mask, grinned widely and clapped for him in absolute delight and pride. She had to step back, however, as the purple figures caught up as well. They weren't interested in her, but in Ray, and she had sorely forgotten this.
The magic seemed to crash into Ray before he was properly through the door, and he gasped sharply. It hurt badly for a moment before he was able to roll clear of it. It wasn't quite gaseous—if it had been, he was certain it would have killed him by now by entering his lungs—but it was fragmented enough that it could straighten itself out into tendrils that sought to be sharp-edged and dig into his skin. Already he was bleeding in many places from small cuts that he barely avoided turning into deeper and more fatal cuts.
It came towards him like water, waves, taking the form of hounds when it was still before dashing towards him again and turning into a wave that threatened to crash over him, slamming into the stone each time he rolled out of the way. He growled lowly, finding that nothing he did was quite good enough to plan a proper counterattack, and he knew he couldn't simply keep dodging out of the way without attacking back forever.
"Delarn, are you okay?" Talem called, having trouble seeing him through the eyes of the mask as it did make it harder for her to see in exchange for the speed and sense of hearing and smell it offered. When he told Ray this sometime during the night, he joked that it was much like how he was. Talem hadn't quite realized just how blind Ray was until they discussed it the night before but was grateful for his years of experience in navigating without perfect sight. Following Ray had made navigating this far so much easier.
"I'm fine," Ray answered, even as he dodged another slamming wave that tried to drive him against the wall, though he managed to roll out of the way and around it, backing away, so there was much less wall behind him. "Just a bit scratched up, but fine."
"I can't stop the guardian, but if you can manage to keep staying out of its way until you're over here, we can slip out of the room. I found the door," Talem called, desperate for Ray to get away the longer she watched him, though she admired how Ray seemed to dance out of the way every time.
"I think I can manage that," he replied, already navigating towards her voice.
"Watch out!" Talem called soon after, seeing something that Ray had missed, but too late and he stumbled over it. It was Reffalk's body. No one had come back for him after Ray had escaped and Oztraz retreated, and Ray had to imagine that he died sometime during the night. He wanted to believe that it was gently in his sleep, but he couldn't get the idea out of his head that he had suffered.
This was lying on his back after falling. The being, sensing Ray faltering, flew forward as if to spring on him, jaws forming full of sharp and pointed teeth. Ray resisted the urge to kick out or to immediately rise, simply flattening himself on his back against the stone. He watched in wonder as the guardian went over him, trying to seize onto a being that was no longer there. It occurred to Ray that it couldn't see as well, but it was a poor time to form a kinship with it. Instead, he didn't move, and he barely breathed, slowing down his heart. He felt as if he was submerged under water again, watching the surface grow further and further away, looking at its underbelly. He was completely aware that with it over him like this if it decided to drop down on him he would be smothered and likely cut to pieces, but all he could do was wait it out.
Talem watched as well, uncertain of what to do and finding it incredibly frustrating, imagining briefly that perhaps this was why Ray preferred to be left alone if he was going to be in situations like this in which no one could help him. After a moment, however, the being moved past him. It seemed to dissipate a bit as if it didn't think that Ray was close enough to be on the offense anymore. Ray slowly turned around so that he was on his belly for a moment before changing into a wolf. He slithered on his belly, pulling himself towards Talem slowly by his paws, his ears back as if waiting for the being to realize that he was once more in the room, but like when he initially left the room as a man, it didn't seem to register that he was the same person. He realized that the thing didn't actually strike him when he was a wolf running either, though it was clearly fast enough to have caught up and attacked him as he could remember seeing it in the sides of his vision.
Talem was relieved, opening the door for them, and closing it softly and quietly once they were through, though the being didn't seem to notice or stir towards them anymore.
This tower felt almost too claustrophobic, stairs spiraling upward. Ray looked up them and then back at Talem before his tail wagged quickly, and he made a humming noise. Talem couldn't help but grin as well when she realized that they were clear of the guardian and were ever closer to Oztraz. They could both feel it—that terrible and murderous energy that the man was giving off from casting his terrible spells at the top. It was like fresh air and flowers to feel it so strongly, knowing they were so close to the end and being done with the tower and its obligations. Talem took a moment to wrap her arms around Ray and scratch behind his ears, and his tail only wagged harder as he buried his head against her happily.
He didn't stay like this for long, though he wanted to. He pulled back and looked up at the stairs again, rubbing on Talem just a moment longer before taking a few steps up them and looking back at her.
"Yes, I agree. We should definitely get going even if you do have soft, beautiful fur," Talem commented, and Ray's tail continued to swish. He wasn't sure how he felt about being complimented as a wolf, but he found that he appreciated it all the same. He then started the trek up the stairs. It was understood that he was staying as he was because he didn't want the guardian picking up his scent again while they were on these precarious stairs with no proper rails on the sides. Even so, he found that he enjoyed the climb as a wolf. It felt easier, though he figured if he needed to go back down the stairs it would be easier as a human.
"I imagine the old man had a specific spell he used to get up there in his old age," Talem commented, trying not to fall behind—though Ray was definitely waiting for her even when he seemed to be drawing ahead. "Because I can't imagine him walking up stairs like these every single day with his room at the top, though I doubt we would have figured it out in time for it to be worth it."
"I agree," Ray answered, changing back to his human form when they were near to the top, reaching down to take Talem's hand which she accepted gratefully. They arrived at a door that was inscribed with intricate runes. Ray's eyes seemed to widen in horror as he looked at it. Talem gently but firmly took his arm when she noticed his reaction.
"Delarn?" She asked gently, even as he stumbled back from it, eager to get away.