Chapter Text
It had always been told that the Underdark was a treacherous place; full of hidden dangers and populated by only two types of inhabitants: those, who were lesser, simple minded beings and only fit for either enthrallment or consumption; and those who wanted to kill them.
So, it wasn’t all that surprising that Omeluum's tentacles twitched anxiously while the cold claw of fear crawled down its back when its mentor opened the door and beckoned it to step outside.
Omeluum’s heartbeat speed up and its throat grew dry and tight. This is it, it thought with fiddling fingers while the tips of its tentacles knotted and tangled into each other. The day it would leave the comfortable and familiar safety of their colony with its master to meet and negotiate with a potentially new trade partner to expand the reach of their communities businesses.
There had been no need for Vlassk to ask it if it wanted to accompany him, for Omeluum was still young and not yet fully in control of its slowly – but steadily – growing psionic powers and thus not fit to live by itself and make its own decisions. It was expected of a student to obediently follow its mentors orders and steps alike without questioning them.
Yet still Vlassk had given Omeluum a choice; asked it if it wanted to accompany him or would rather stay behind to take care of their shared home and the archive while he was gone; to tend and see to the numerous books and scrolls in the library and help visitors like it usually did.
Omeluum had considered staying behind, but only for a very brief moment. The thought of being alone for a longer period of time; to be on its own and without the company of Vlassk’s presence within its own mind – mingling and talking and touching – had its stomach twisting and turning uncomfortably. And before it knew it, Omeluum had been nodding along and accepting its mentor’s offer to accompany him.
Because what else was there to do anyway? It was but an adolescent and inexperienced mind flayer that hadn’t yet reached its tenth birthday, a mere child for illithid standards; clumsily following its caretaker with stumbling steps and hoping to gather and learn as much lessons as possible before it would eventually be released to live its own life and become a full and independent member of their colony.
A small shiver ran through Omeluum’s tentacles at that thought and had them curling against the safe space just beneath its chin. It was a rather intimidating prospect to one day live in its very own home – lonely and empty; without someone near to hear or touch or feel for the rest of its days.
Omeluum shuddered again and its tentacles tightly nestled around its thin neck. That wasn’t a future it was looking forward to.
Suddenly, there was a nudge – both mental and physical – and Omeluum twitched. “You’re thinking too loud”, Vlassk scowled, his voice clear and sharp but not uncomfortably so and Omeluum welcomed the feeling of his mind breaching into its own without much effort. It had never felt the need to deny its mentor entrance to its thoughts. It knew it was safe with him inside its head. “And you worry too much. Having your very own home isn’t so bad. There won’t be anyone to disturb your neatly arranged rocks and fossils or interrupt you while reading. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
Omeluum frowned. It was true that those things annoyed it but it had learned to live with them and appreciated those small moments that reminded it of Vlassk’s presence even if he was nowhere to be seen or heard. There was a strange comfort to that, Omeluum thought and felt Vlassk chuckling; a sensation like the little droplets of a soothing summer rain that gently dripped into a lake, causing the surface to stir and ripple.
“Living alone isn’t something to be scared about”, he said with a gentle mental brush to Omeluum’s hardening thoughts of worry and concern. “And if you’re doing well you won’t be on your own for long. I bet you could get your first thrall within a single year if you put that clever brain of yours to good use.”
That sparked Omeluum’s interest. Lifting an eye ridge, it inclined its head to the side and blinked up towards its mentor with bright, hopefully glowing eyes. “A thrall?”, it asked with a narrow streak of hesitance twining into its thoughts. “Me?”
Omeluum was a slow learner, it knew this much about itself; and its psionics and other mental abilities had yet to properly develop. It still struggled with telekinesis and the subduing of other people’s – or, how most other illithids referred to them: lesser beings – minds via mental domination. Which couldn’t solely be blamed on its meek capabilities, if Omeluum was being honest. It simply disliked the idea of forcing its will upon someone else; to break and bend their mind to make them bow to and accept its every wish.
Since the awakening of its consciousness, it had been taught that illithids were supreme beings; superior to any other race thanks to their mental and physical abilities, as well as their technological advances. The only flaw they would ever accept on having was their lacking skill in the field of magic, but then again what use could and illithid possibly have for the arcane arts when their psionics were so much more refined and powerful.
Omeluum had been taught all this and more. What it truly meant to be an illithid, how glorious their existence was, their grand – yet distant – past, where they once had ruled not only over the physical realms but also the vast astral sea; how they had roamed the skies with their proud nautiloid fleets and inflicted fear and awe upon everyone who got lucky enough to catch a glimpse of their imposing forms. How it was their destiny and duty to work tirelessly to bring back the golden days of their grand design.
Omeluum had been taught all this, and yet …
Yet it still felt wrong to it to violate someone else’s mind; to intrude and disturb another person’s most private and sacred place like an unannounced and most unwelcome guest who had the audacity to roam wherever they pleased and take whatever they desired in whichever way they wanted.
It had voiced its concerns about the matter to Vlassk once and gotten a slap across the face as an answer. It hadn’t hurt much, for there was no real force behind it and the act had lacked the malicious intent to truly inflict pain but it had been effective in cutting Omeluum’s words short. It had been followed by a lengthy and very private lecture as to why such thoughts were highly unbecoming and downright dangerous if the wrong illithids were to hear them.
“It would be best for you to keep such nonsensical thoughts inside your head”, Vlassk had said back then; with a pointed stare and firm tap to its forehead while its words were laced with a barely concealed warning. “Buried deep between your brain folds and very, very quiet. Lest someone get the wrong idea about you and see to it that your head gets put into its proper place.”
Omeluum had understood Vlassk’s words back then and hadn’t brought up that topic again, but that didn’t mean that its opinion on the matter had changed. It got better at hiding its true thoughts and feelings outside of their secluded tower, though.
A push – not unlike the one inside its memory – pulled Omeluum back out of its wandering mind and had it blinking its eyes to bring back their focus to the present moment. “Stop dreaming”, Vlassk said with narrowed eyes and its tentacles crossed over each other. The frills adorning the sides and back of his head bristled tensely. “And start moving. I don’t want to be late for this meeting.”
Omeluum instantly stood to attention at that, remembering the importance of their trip and how it could not mess this up, for not only itself but its mentor would get punished as well if anything would interfere with the colony’s plans. “Yes!”, it said with a quick nod and straightened its shoulders.
Vlassk regarded it with one of his unfathomable stares and Omeluum thought it felt the barest quiver of uncertainty tingling across their mingling minds. It narrowed its eyes but Vlassk beat it to voicing its question by saying: “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”
Omeluum’s tentacles twitched and it was quick to shake its head. “No”, it said and felt a pulse of fond warmth seeping from Vlassk’s consciousness into its own.
“Good”, he said with his mismatching eyes – the right one white and blind and the left glowing in a deep, rich red – softening and another small mental nudge against Omeluum before turning and leaving their home; expecting Omeluum to follow without needing to be prompted by either words or mental command.
And Omeluum – like the good, devoted student it was – did just that.
They made their way through the busy tunnels and bustling plazas of the colony; hearing and feeling a myriad of sensations and thoughts that soon had Omeluum’s head throbbing and aching. It kept close to Vlassk’s side and tried its best to ward those foreign minds out of its own but struggled more than it would like to admit. There were just so many of them; and they all were so loud and demanding and - …
Omeluum heard a soft tune, quiet and gently rising among the cacophony of mental impressions; like a whispering morning breeze but steadily growing in volume and presence until it forced everything else out of its head and soothed it with a comfortable and very familiar calmness.
When Omeluum raised its gaze up to Vlassk, it saw its mentor’s eyes already waiting and smiling at it. “Better?”, he asked with a small pat to its head with one of its tentacles, which had Omeluum’s twitch and curl happily. “Very!”, it said and freely let its gratitude flow over and against the edges of Vlassk’s mind while it subtly craned its neck to lean into the chaste touch.
Vlassk chuckled and then urged Omeluum to pick up the pace with a carefully placed yet firm hand on its back. “Now, let’s get out of here, yes?”, he said and Omeluum knew it wasn’t much of a real question but it enthusiastically nodded nonetheless.
It didn’t take them long to reach the outer ring of the colony afterwards and soon enough, Omeluum found itself nearing the exit; with its heart hammering and its throat tightening once more.
There was a small huff of annoyance from Vlassk, yet his mind remained calm and open to Omeluum’s emotional state – as watchful and attentive as always – as it gave it another small, mental push; more of a reminder to keep its simmering feelings from growing out of control than an actual punishment for its reaction.
“One could assume we’re on our way to storm an arch devil’s fortress from the way your mind is shaking”, he said with a brush of barely hidden amusement and a quick side glance. After a moment, his eyes softened once more and he lifted a tentacle to reassuringly pat Omeluum’s head.
“It’s fine”, he said and send a soothing wave of calmness through its restless mind, assisting the young mind flayer with relaxing its tense muscles and easing the strain in its neck and shoulders. “No matter how many scary stories you’ve heard about the Underdark from your former teachers, it isn’t such a bad place. Dangerous, yes – but nothing two illithids and their thralls wouldn’t be able to handle.”
Omeluum’s heart did a funny little jump when it heard those words and pride flooded over its thoughts and washed away its concerns and worries. Two illithids, Vlassk had said and not an illithid and his apprentice.
Omeluum wasn’t yet and adult by illithid standards and it wasn’t uncommon for other mind flayers to call him youngling, young one or just kid – and sometimes even more rude variations of said terms – so, hearing Vlassk referring to him as an equal had its heart and mind soaring with joy.
“Ready?”, Vlassk asked and subtly nodded towards the exit; a large, concealed gap at the end of the tunnel that appeared like a solid wall to everyone on the outside. It was guarded by two huge troglodytes and a group of duergar that observed everything and everyone with their watchful, searching eyes. Additionally, there were several warding and veiling spells and runes woven into the surrounding rock that repelled intruders by leading their eyes elsewhere and tricking their minds into believing that there was nothing of interest to be found in this area.
Behind them, on the inside was the safety of their colony but on the other side …
Omeluum’s tentacles twitched and snapped uselessly at the empty air and its jaw tensed. It hesitated for but a moment, feeling the gentle touch of Vlassk’s mind against its own – calm and soothing and waiting – and then took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes”, it said and felt a small nudge of both encouragement and pride brushing against its thoughts as Vlassk gave it another smile and then turned and floated through the hidden gate.
Two of their thralls quickly followed him before Omeluum itself moved. It took another deep breath and then braced itself as it went through the illusory wall as well; its chest involuntarily tightening and its hands and tentacles curling and then …
… then its face was hit by a cool breeze.
The next breath Omeluum took was sucked in with a sharp hiss and it instinctively grabbed for its cloak and tightly pulled it around its shoulders; feeling Vlassk’s chuckle dancing across its mind while it shivered and pulled its tentacles beneath the warm fabric of its clothes.
It made a small disgruntled noise in the far back of its throat but didn’t comment on its mentor’s inappropriate amusement. It would’ve been nice of Vlassk to mention the harsh temperature before dragging Omeluum along, it thought without bothering to hide its disapproval but only got another – louder – laugh in return.
“And where would be the fun with that?”, Vlassk asked with an audible, wet chuckle before turning and beckoning Omeluum and their thralls to follow him.
Omeluum huffed and pointedly stayed where it was; its head defiantly tilting upwards and off to the side while their duergar obediently began to march down the narrow pathway Vlassk had chosen for them.
It was well aware that Vlassk knew that it was disrespecting his orders on purpose, yet didn’t see the need to force his will onto it. They both knew Omeluum’s anger was small and short-lived and would soon enough dissipate as if it hadn’t existed in the first place. But for the moment, Omeluum indulged and let it burn bright and hot through its veins and thoughts as it turned its head this way and that just to avoid looking at its mentor.
Omeluum felt Vlassk’s mind lingering at the outer edges of its own consciousness; making sure to stay in touch while it took the time to take in the surrounding area and make itself familiar with it as its mentor slowly descended down from the hill that housed the hidden entrance to their colony.
It had attended many lessons about the Underdark, heard about the numerous dangers that lurked in the shadows and the various ways in which a young, naive illithid could find a quick and gruesome end out there. It had listened hours and days to its elders droning on about what was to be expected if one should ever find themselves outside the safety of their colony and what to do upon finding themselves in such a situation; yet every single one of them had failed to mention the utter beauty that waited just beyond their doorstep.
Omeluum was stuck in a haze of pure awe as it gazed upon the colors and shapes of the Underdark; rooted to the spot and looking around with its eyes wide and its tentacles twitching and tingling excitedly.
Everything seemed so alien and organic; glowing and glimmering in the dim light of the caves and casting long, imposing shadows over the dark rock surrounding them; painting an eerily fascinating landscape before its eyes that quite literally stole its breath.
There were pillars and hills growing out of the floor like arms and shoulders, grasping for the distant roof with long, slender fingers; deep ravines, whispering rivers and smooth, silent lakes; plants and mushrooms Omeluum had never seen before and sounds that evoked both curiosity and caution.
The tips of its tentacles were itching and knotting into each other while its mind hungered for knowledge. There were so many things it didn’t know on the small hill it stood on alone, and it wanted to explore them all!
Urged on by the all consuming itch inside its head, Omeluum moved; turning and floating off to the side with its mind caught and tangled inside the thickly sweet haze of curiosity. It made a beeline for a huge mushroom – bright orange and glowing in a soft, yellow light – and lifted its hand to touch and feel and investigate.
But it didn’t get to touch the strange mushroom, for before it could make contact, its arm was grabbed and tightly held in place by a slender yet surprisingly strong hand with long, pale claws.
Omeluum blinked and the fog inside its head cleared off and the next thing it new was that it got slapped across the head by a damp, mighty tentacle.
“-you think you’re doing?”, Vlassk’s sharp voice cut through its mind and left it stinging in the wake of his intense displeasure, but beneath that, Omeluum still could clearly sense a twinge of worry; cold and tight just like the hand around its arm. “That mushroom is coated in a highly toxic slime. One touch could be lethal.”
Omeluum tilted its head to be able to meet its mentor’s gaze and blinked up at him; it’s mind still struggling to sort itself out and make sense of his words, which had Vlassk groaning and rolling his remaining eye at it.
“Do not touch it”, he instructed with an insistent squeeze to Omeluum’s wrist and a few empty snaps of its tentacles at its general direction before letting go. “It would me get into quite some trouble if you got hurt on our trip. Or wandered off and got lost because your curiosity got the better of you once again.”
Omeluum flinched and dropped its eyes to the ground as guild washed over its thoughts and finally cleared them. It knew very well what Vlassk was hinting at with his words: an almost accident many years in the past, when Omeluum had gotten preoccupied with a strange critter and had followed it through the long tunnels of the colony and almost made it all the way out and into the Underdark. All by itself and completely unsupervised.
Thankfully enough, it had been found and stopped by another elderly illithid and nothing bad had come of it besides a long and loud berating talk for Vlassk; who in turn had punished Omeluum by confining it to its room for a whole month.
They both had learned their lesson back then but Omeluum never lost its inclination for being curious about everything new it set it eyes upon.
“My apologies”, Omeluum said with a small voice; guilt and shame woven into every syllable and freely flowing over to Vlassk’s mind, carefully soothing over the sharp, ragged edges of worry and annoyance. “It won’t happen again.”
Omeluum felt Vlassk’s stare lingering on the back of its bowed head for another moment; itching and burning but also oddly comforting until it heard a long, suffering sigh and the touch to its mind retreated.
“That would be better for both our sake’s”, he said with a small but firm pat to Omeluum’s head, making the young mind flayer lift its head and peek up at him again. It was met with Vlassk’s eyes softening and its three unoccupied tentacles slightly curling upwards. “And now, let’s move!”
The weight atop Omeluum’s heart fell off and it nodded. Vlassk’s smile grew the tiniest bit before he gave it a mental nudge and then turned and floated towards their loyal thralls waiting by the road. And this time, Omeluum was quick to follow him.
Omeluum stayed true to its promise and stayed close to Vlassk; never straying from his side yet its head swiveled and turned as they traveled in comfortable silence, both of them lost to their minds and tending to their own thoughts.
Sometimes, however, it couldn’t hold onto itself and asked Vlassk questions about the unfamiliar plants and animals it saw; and – most of the time- even got an answer. Vlassk usually was all too happy to share his knowledge, but when Omeluum kept asking more and more and more questions still, it eventually found itself getting slapped across the face once more and told to move on, already!
The thralls were quiet as well; obediently carrying their luggage and keeping watch for their masters to not have any enemy creeping up and ambushing them. They were well trained and behaved, without a single trace of rebellion or freedom sneaking into their calm, subdued minds now that they were outside the walls of the illithid colony and only had two of them keeping an eye on them.
After a good few hours, Vlassk decided that they had covered enough ground for one day and send out two of their duergar to find them a suitable place to rest. It didn’t take them long to return with positive news and soon after, Omeluum and Vlassk settled down for the night while their thralls guarded their small camp.
The second day wasn’t much different until they came across fresh boulette tracks and Vlassk reluctantly decided that they would turn back and take another route. It would minimize the chance of running into said monster but also add another day to their already long journey; yet that was a small and acceptable price to pay for their bodies to stay unharmed and intact.
That evening, they send out their scouts once more to find shelter and again, they were successful and returned quickly. And just like the day before, Vlassk and Omeluum unfurled their bedrolls and got comfortable in a small, secluded cave before succumbing to sleep.
Only this time, something unexpected and rather unfortunate happened.
They weren’t as alone and undetected as they thought they were.
Omeluum felt as if it had barely fallen asleep when its mind was suddenly pierced by a high, wailing scream. It jolted awake and sat up; its heart racing and its head pounding under the unexpected assault.
It instinctively grasped for its head with both hands while its tentacles curled around its neck as it tried to shield its mind off against the onslaught of feelings and sounds; one louder and more urgent that the last, growing and mingling and knotting into a huge, writhing mass that angrily punched against the inside of its skull and made it nearly impossible for Omeluum to tell them apart from its own thoughts and feelings.
This is bad, it struggled to think through the haze of sensations that weren’t its own and had its head throbbing painfully. This isn’t right. Something’s wrong. This isn’t good. This is- …
“Omeluum!”, it heard Vlassk’s voice; his mental presence breaching and forcing its way into Omeluum’s mind and shoving everything else aside and away. And for a moment, Omeluum’s head was blissfully calm and quiet. But then, it was harshly grabbed by its shoulders and pulled onto its feet without a single warning.
Stumbling and gasping, it blindly grasped for anything to hold onto and steady itself as it blinked its eyes open and into focus and stared right into Vlassk’s face as its hand grabbed at his arms. But what it saw had it tensing and freezing up.
The sight before it was something it had never seen before and never thought to behold. Vlassk’s face was contorted with fear; his good eye burning wild and brighter than ever while its tentacles snapped and jerked and its claws dug through Omeluum’s robes and into its soft, damp skin.
Something’s wrong, Omeluum thought again with sudden certainty and felt dread coiling in the pit of its belly. Very wrong. Yet before it could inquire what was happening – or why or how, on that matter – Vlassk gave it a hard shove and commanded: “Run!”
Omeluum frowned as it stumbled back a bit. “Why?”, it asked and saw Vlassk’s tentacles quivering before feeling angry annoyance stabbing through its thoughts. It flinched, yet couldn’t stop itself from pressing on: “What is-”
Omeluum was cut off by another hard shove – mental this time – that had it gasping and stumbling back some more. “I told you to run, didn’t I?”, Vlassk all but spat at it and pushed it back further; both his voice and movements tainted over by desperation.
Omeluum tensed and felt the fear in its stomach rising and spreading into its chest. Vlassk usually wasn’t someone that practiced violence to other people – lest of all his student – so, for him resorting to such means must mean that something truly bad was going on. Yet, Omeluum still couldn’t quell that small but insistent voice that demanded answers and said: “Yes, but-”
It didn’t get to finish its question.
There was a scream; loud and filled with agony and fear and very, very close. Vlassk and Omeluum both went rigid for a moment, listening quietly and unmoving until that sound was cut off abruptly and Vlassk flinched as Omeluum felt one of their thrall’s minds withering away.
It tried to crane its neck over Vlassk’s shoulder to see what was happening on the outside of the cave but Vlassk approached it and forced it further back once more.
“There is another exit on the other side. It is quite a distance but don’t worry, Varla is keeping an eye on it. You should be safe with her”, he explained as he took hold of Omeluum’s arm and forced it to turn alongside him and guided it to the back of the cave, away from the other screams and cries and …
Omeluum tilted its head and frowned. Were those battle sounds? Where they under attack? But by whom and why. And why hadn’t their duergar noticed them and- …
“Stop that!”, Vlassk hissed into its mind. “There’s neither use nor time for such thoughts now. There’s too many of them. The thralls are currently keeping them busy but they don’t stand a chance.”
There was another scream, followed by laughter and Omeluum shuddered. That voice was foreign and sounded cold and cruel and far too excited for its taste.
“Not for long, anyway”, Vlassk added with a subtle sigh of regret to his words as he let go of Omeluum. “You have to flee.”
Omeluum’s mind stalled. It turned to face Vlassk and frowned more. “Don’t you mean we?”, it asked.
A strange emotion appeared on Vlassk’s face and fell over his mind. It was both warm and cold at the same time and so awfully quiet. “No”, he said with a small shake of his head and sounded exhausted.
Omeluum’s eyes narrowed down further; not understanding why its mentor was saying such strange things. His words made no sense. If he intended to fight those attackers on his own, then wouldn’t it be more logical for him to be out there among their thralls instead of being in here and telling Omeluum to escape? Which, in that retrospect didn’t make any sense either. If Vlassk was to fight the attackers off by himself, then why should Omeluum flee?
There was a small movement; subtle and slow and Omeluum almost missed it.
Yet its eyes were trained to pick up on its mentors faint motions and when its eyes latched onto it and reflexively followed it, it saw one of Vlassk’s hands clutching onto his side where the fabric of his robes was torn and soaked through by a wet, silvery stain.
Omeluum’s heart skipped a few beats. “Vlassk, you-”, it blurted out and reached for him but Vlassk floated backwards; denying Omeluum to touch and aid him.
“It’s too late”, he simply said and allowed his thoughts to mingle and mix with Omeluum’s; caressing them with the soft, warm care of his physical hugs and a firm sense of finality. Omeluum got the sinking, deafening feeling that its mentor knew what his fate would be and that he had already accepted it but couldn’t find it within itself to do the same so easily.
“There has to be a way”, it began with a hoarse, burning throat and blurry eyes; refusing to acknowledge the current situation and the inevitable outcome; hoping against hope that there still was some way to get out of this. Alive and together.
It heard Vlassk’s chuckle ringing though its head and its racing thoughts and flinched at how fragile and hollow it sounded. “As admirable as your determination is, there is nothing you can do for me”, he said with a shake of his head. His tentacles curled weakly.
His words hit Omeluum like a mental backlash; hard and without mercy, wiping its thoughts blank and leaving its limbs and mind numb and tingling with an unpleasant, biting chill. Its tentacles twitched and its hands curled into quivering fists.
It felt that its master was right.
“I am sorry”, it said because it couldn’t stay silent after this reveal and everything else seemed inappropriate. It wanted to help him so dearly; to just reach out and wrap its arms around Vlassk and drag him away and towards safety but …
Omeluum’s fists tightened and it felt its claws digging into the skin of its palms. It knew that doing so would only lead to both their demises and Vlassk clearly didn’t want that. He didn’t want Omeluum to die. Not here, not like this. It could feel it in his mind; the way he still lingered barely out of reach; a quiet but unrelenting support for his student even when faced with his own impending end.
Vlassk’s eyes grew soft and his tentacles curled upwards ever so slightly. “There is something you can do for yourself, however”, he said and hearing each word growing weaker and quieter was more painful than any punch or cut Omeluum had ever experienced. “Flee. Escape. Live.”
Omeluum swallowed – hard and wet – and nodded. “I understand”, it said and hated it.
“Good”, Vlassk answered with a warm, final brush against Omeluum’s consciousness and then retreated fully; cutting their mental connection and leaving the young, inexperienced illithid alone within its own mind for the very first time since it had met Vlassk seven years ago. It felt utterly wrong and frightening.
“Go”, Vlassk ordered, his eyes hardening and his voice sharp and commandeering; sounding more like a mind flayer than he had ever before. “Now!”
And Omeluum obeyed. With a heavy heart and a weeping, bleeding mind it turned and ran away. Away from the screams and the clash of metal. Away from its dying mentor
Omeluum didn’t know how long it had been rushing through the narrow tunnel at the back of the cave. Its lungs were burning and the tangy taste of copper clung to the inside of its mouth, yet it didn’t stop. It ran and ran and ran; until its vision grew dark and every breath was a more of a painful punch against its insides than a relief.
It slowed down, then and eventually came to a halt; bringing its feet down to the floor and reached onto the wall for support.
Omeluum was exhausted – both from the physical and mental strain of the situation and heaved in heavy gasps of air. It’s hands and legs were shaking, its tentacles limp and its thoughts a mess of raging emotions. There was chilling sadness warring with hot anger; the biting kiss of guilt mocking it from the far back of its mind and the dull claws of uncertainty scraping over the folds of its brain.
Had the attackers fought off their thralls already, Omeluum wondered. Had they left any of them alive? And what would they do once they found Vlassk? Would they make him suffer or grant him a quick end, if he hadn’t died already – alone and abandoned.
Omeluum nearly choked on its next breath but dearly hoped that Vlassk didn’t have to endure any form of torment. Yet, he couldn’t be sure and never would be, it realized with dread rising and hitting it hard and cold right against its wildly beating heart. I will never know what truly happened to Vlassk.
At that thought, Omeluum’s world stopped and its knees buckled and gave in and it tumbled to the floor; scuffing and bruising its legs and arms on the way down but not caring about it in the slightest. It keened and squeezed its burning eyes shut; curling its hands into fists and punching them against the floor. Again and again until it couldn’t feel them anymore and the dark stone beneath was wet and covered with pale blood. This wasn’t right. Vlassk hadn’t deserved this. If only there had been something it could’ve done to help – to save him.
It wished to hear its mentor’s voice again; to feel its mind brushing and hugging its own but knew that wouldn’t happen. Never again.
Omeluum cried out, hot tears streaming down its face and gurgling screams and sobs escaped its throat as it was unable to hold back the feelings growing inside its head and chest any longer and was finally washed away by their sheer force.
They were overwhelmingly strong and all consuming; raging and spiraling out of control and not allowing Omeluum to take notice of anything else. For nothing beside the grief and despair and fear gnawing and tearing at its heart mattered right now.
What was it supposed to do now – all by itself and alone and without someone to guide it or soothe its troubled mind. How was it supposed to know what was right and wrong; what was appropriate and acceptable without Vlassk in the back of its head giving it a nudge in the right direction; steadying and catching it whenever it was uncertain and frightened.
Omeluum felt as helpless and frightened as a newborn and was so absorbed with the struggle of how to proceed and to figure out what to do next that it missed the quiet whispering of approaching minds and the footsteps rumbling through the floor that drew closer and closer until it was far too late.
There was a whistling sound cutting through the air, that had Omeluum’s mind stopping and its body tensing as it recognized the noise and realized the mistake it had made. But there was no time to react. Not anymore.
Something blunt and heavy hit its head and knocked it fully down to the floor.
Omeluum groaned and tried to get back onto its feet; to clear its head from the haze of emotions and stun its attackers with a mind blast, but before it could do so much as move a single tentacle, something cold and tight was snapped around its neck.
And Omeluum felt something inside its mind getting trapped and caged away; a whole section of its brain grew cold and numb and unresponsive and left it dazed by that unexpected and most uncomfortable sensation.
… what?, it thought absently and was hit once more; hard and brutal across the soft back of its head and Omeluum felt its mind slipping and waning as the dark, velvety embrace of unconsciousness grasped for it. Before it succumbed to the vast, thoughtless blackness however, it moved its head and got a glimpse of yellow eyes glowing brightly in the dark above it and a sharp, toothy grin.
It distantly heard the cruel, cold laughter from before again and then everything faded away.