Melmet's squeals of terror rose higher in pitch as the hand stretched towards him.
"Get away! Get away!" In fear, the Shoggoth's mouth gaped open and he sprayed slime at the hand.
The spray coated the reaching arm, which twitched as foul liquid coated it up to the elbow.
Then a head slowly emerged from the portal.
A round head.
With, as Melmet had said, a mirror for a face.
Or, as Waggenrook divers would recognise, a helmet.
I pursed my lips.
"Taran save Melmet!"
"It's alright," I said calmly, pulling a spell from my memory and gently tapping the reaching arm just above the elbow. Away from the dripping slime.
A shock of electricity zapped the arm, and whoever was inside the suit gave a sharp cry before flinching back into the portal.
Which snapped shut with a crunch.
"Huh," I said, staring at where the portal had been.
"It!" Melmet sobbed. "It come for Melmet."
I crouched by the shaking Shoggoth and tapped his shoulder to get his attention. He was wired with horror. His fur was standing up like a cat's. His tentacles clutched tightly to his back.
I'd never seen such fear in a Shoggoth before.
"Melmet," I said softly as his eyes stared past me. He was delirious. The Old Twit brushed against my awareness, and I could feel his concern. "Melmet. Listen to me. Are you listening?"
"Taran," he whimpered. "It take slime."
"It did," I said. "But only because you gave it to him."
"If Melmet doesn't give, It take."
"How?"
"It take."
"Hmm," I struggled to think how to ask the question in another way. "Do you know what It is, Melmet?"
"It!"
"No. It is a he," I said.
Well.
It could be a she, too. But I didn't want to confuse him right now.
"What?"
"It is a he," I said firmly. "It is just a man."
"It has no face," Melmet protested. "It have Melmet face."
"No. It has a helmet on."
"Helmet?"
"Yes. You've seen helmets. I've shown them before," I said. "Like masks?"
"Masks?" The Shoggoth struggled with this information. "It have fake face?"
"That's right."
"It trick Melmet?"
"It seems so."
The Shoggoth looked like he wanted to cry. "Why trick Melmet? Melmet not bad."
"No, you're not," I said, narrowing my eyes. "But they are bad."
"What bad It want with Melmet slime?"
I patted his shoulder. "That's what I will go and find out."
"Taran go see It?"
"I will indeed."
"What do to It?"
I stared into the fading terror of my brother's eyes. "I will make sure you never see them again."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Taran good," Melmet said, sniffling loudly. Then he wrapped his wet arms around me, filling my nostrils with the smell of wet Shoggoth. "Taran best ever."
"It's alright," I said, feeling the Old Twit smile. "I'll fix everything. Then I'll come back and let you know, okay?"
"Okay."
Patting his arm, I pulled myself out of his embrace and started drawing a small circle on the ground. The circle would let me track the man in the diving suit.
It was an innovative idea by the mage, I thought.
To try shielding themselves from the effects of the void.
It might have even provided a small amount of protection. And maybe it's why the Old Twit hadn't felt them before.
But I knew where he was now.
I could find him.
As I sketched the circle, I could feel the Old Twit looking over my shoulder. He always liked magic circles. I don't know why. I feel he just enjoyed anything with runes and squiggling lines.
"No," I murmured to him. "I haven't missed the El rune. I will place it in the northern quadrant so it connects better with the Inktrust rune. Yes, I know what I'm doing…"
I felt another nudge.
"No, this is Heeson's," I said patiently "I know it's not as powerful as Barton's. But his circle uses too much mana. It would overload the mark I put on the mook. I'd only have one chance to find him. With this, I can find him again if he runs away. I don't expect to let him go, of course. But one can never underestimate the slipperiness of mages. Especially an unknown one with mooky tendencies."
I could feel the Old Twit think about that.
Then shrug.
And finally pat me on the head before leaning away.
After a few minutes, I felt comfortable that the circle would do its job. Melmet had climbed out of the spring and was drying himself in the relatively warm sun. Sprawled on his back. Arms out.
He looked relaxed, but I knew he was still worried.
"I won't be long," I told him.
"Taran be careful," the Shoggoth said.
"I will." I brushed some sand off my pants as I got to my feet and stepped into the circle. "Father says you should go see him. He'll keep the mooks away from you while I deal with them."
"Taran best," Melmet said with a happy sigh. "I go see Papa soon as hair dry."
"Alright. And don't forget to call me if anything happens."
"Melmet promise."
With that resolved, I lifted a hand and let my mana leak out to fill the air around me. Then I nudged it into the circle to activate it. The runes flickered to life, glowing brightly as I murmured the words which would trigger their search function.
There was nowhere the mage could hide.
No world too far away.
No plane of existence too remote.
"Hmm," I said as the spell revealed my prey's location. I cut a hole through space and time before stepping through. The warm wash of the void slithered through me, teasing the edges of my mind with more insanity. I looked around, scowling as I stepped into where the mage had come. "Waggenrook."
And not just Waggenrook.
It was an alley.
An alley directly behind my tower.
Where Inspector Telly was standing, his lollipop swirling between his cheek and teeth as he stared at me with a look that tried desperately to hide his shock.
I forgave him because I was now standing in a puddle of blood.
And, at my feet, the crumpled remains of a man wearing an odd suit. The helmet had been smashed open and the face obliterated.
"Taran," Telly said, forcing amiability into his voice. "Funny meeting you here."
"I'm not laughing," I said, wanting to give the body a kick. "Did you kill him?"
"Even funnier," he said, swirling that lollipop. "That's what I was going to ask you."
"I thought you were supposed to be a good Inspector," I said, a little churlishly, I admit. But I had been looking forward to some good old fashioned gentlemanly vengeance.
"I am."
"Then you'd know if I killed him, there wouldn't be this much left of him."
The Inspector cocked his head and winced. "Alright. I'll give you that." He stepped closer. Behind him, the three guards relaxed a little more. "So. Who did kill him?"
"I don't know." I crouched beside the corpse and began rummaging through the suit. "But I'm certainly going to find out."