'Oh crap..'
Vlad had already found him. The only thing that separated them was the wall of burning corpses casting an immolating wall of flame. The flames stretched high, licking the roof of the tunnel marking it with ash and soot. The heat was so intense that Gwin was forced to back away from it, not that he needed a reason to get as far as he could from him as possible, but he wanted to see something. Vlad was a cunning nightmare creature who did not strike Gwin as the self destructive type. Sure he had no proof for that feeling but that's why how Vlad would react to the flames would matter so much. He waited with baited breath ready to bolt at a moment's notice.
'Why hasn't he moved yet?'
Black smoke filled the top of the tunnel making it hard to breath in the already claustrophobic passageway. Just then the ground rumbled as an abomination lunged from the darkness behind him. He was hesitant to take his eyes off of Vlad however he was forced to deal with the abomination. After tearing its throat out with a clawed kick he spun his head to face Vlad. He was still postured in the same place. His eyes had followed him the entire time and bore into him with demented intensity. The pyre of corpses was beginning to wane. As it did Vlad finally moved and slowly stuck his wing talon forwards and through the fire as if to test it. Gwin rushed into action by immediately spinning around and taking off. He smiled darkly as he and toothpaste navigated through the labyrinth of corridors.
Gwin had been playing cat and mouse with Vlad long enough to know the layouts of the tunnels pretty well. He had left several traces here and there in the form of grooves cut in the walls so that he could always get his bearings after an especially disorienting run. These waypoints guided him through the tunnels letting him avoid the nests of other abominations although…he could try and lead Vlad through them for another bounty of soul shards…NO! That was a stupid idea! All it would take is one mistake and he would be swarmed and ripped apart by dozens of abominations.
Gwin dismissed toothpaste to save on essence since keeping him constantly summoned was putting some strain on his reserves of essence. The extended use of his aspect had already emptied half of his essence which wasn't too bad considering how much he had already done without resting. The smoke from the pyre should throw Vlad off of his scent and mark Vlad with the ash and smoke's scent. That was unless Vlad could hide that too.
After a while of navigating through tunnels and avoiding the more dangerous areas Gwin finally came to a stop feeling satisfied with his efforts to throw him off. As of now his scent should be thoroughly spread around and suffused with smoke. He doubted even Vlad could find him from that especially considering [Elusive Presence]. Crawling into a small alcove that had been bored into the wall previously by some unknown creature Gwin began to plot.
He was going to kill Vlad.
It was not going to be easy, in fact it was a borderline suicidal plan but what he saw earlier told him all he needed to know to make it happen. Vlad was wary of the flames. If the flames would have been ineffective against him he would have just walked through them but he didn't. A plan began to form into Gwin's head, a real one this time and not an unnecessary gambit. The idea of killing an awakened demon, or that's what he assumed Vlad was since if he were a fallen creature flames like that would not have even tickled him, would have made him laugh a few months ago. He would have said it's an insane plan and that only a lunatic would try to kill an awakened demon as a mere sleeper. Perhaps he was a lunatic. These tunnels were not kind to one's sanity.
Gwin began making a mental map in his head of every similar alcove like this around the sewers. He needed to find a lot of them near each other. He knew just the spot but he'd need to remove the nightmare creatures inhabiting it first.
'Maybe I'll finally complete the wolf's statue.'
He got some rest first to let his essence recover before he set out on his plan. After recovering a substantial amount he left his little den and began navigating through the ancient and decrepit sewer system until he found where he was looking and began strategizing on how to deal with the abominations dwelling inside the tunnel. There were about twenty of them with most of them being monsters. This itself was already scary but there was also the risk of drawing the attention from a fallen abomination that lurked nearby. The abominations resembled featherless crows with mouths full of needle-like teeth.
It might have been impossible alone, luckily he wasn't alone. Gwin's features shifted, becoming more wolfish and his mouth turned into a powerful bony snout. A heavy mangy tail sprouted from his rear giving him the advantages of a tail. He resummoned [Lord's Fondness] as well feeling the familiar enhancement of his senses and durability.
'Tails are great. I don't know how I ever went without before.'
His fingers turned into bony claws as he and toothpaste began approaching the first of the horrid birds. This part of the plan was mostly improv as planning out a combat scenario was borderline impossible with how crazed nightmare creatures were. He pounced towards them silently before biting deep into one's throat until he heard the crunch of its neck.
[You have slain an awakened monster: Failed Messenger]
[You have taken your claim of blood]
While he still had the element of surprise he kicked low on the joint of another's leg popping it out of place with a wet snap. He snapped his jaws shut on its throat reaping another life in the process. Toothpaste was not falling behind either already having his jaws and claws covered in viscera.
After that Gwin began a chaotic dance of evading their attacks while simultaneously retreating in order to not be overwhelmed. Toothpaste faithfully followed the mental commands Gwin gave him and did the same. Each attack made while retreating was precise and brutal with not an ounce of hesitation or mercy. His spear-like strikes cut into their pale skin with savage accuracy. His strikes were inhuman and bestial in nature making use of his tail as a counterweight to keep him balanced even in the most awkward of situations. The entirety of the small tribe was already upon them threatening to overwhelm Gwin and his echo. Several abominations attacked at once, catching him with their attacks. Gwin reacted quickly, throwing up arm in a defensive stance. Their beaks and talons tore into his armor yet failed to draw blood. He counterattacked by tearing the throat out of the one that pecked him and moving to attack the other. He evaded its deadly beak and snapped his jaws shut, reaping another life.
Using his jaws to fight went against all of his human instincts. Human jaws were not meant for fighting since things like the nose were in the way. He forced himself through this mental block in the most efficient way…by just doing it. Crimson covered his maw as the chaotic battle ensued. By remaining side by side in their retreat they managed to avoid being surrounded and after not too much longer and several bruises and cuts it was over.
He shifted to the perforated hunters mouth and claws to harvest his reward and clean himself…he had learned before that toothpaste had not had a tongue so the panther was the most convenient way for him to make the blood edible.
'My jaw hurts…now is the hard part…if I mess this up I'm dead for sure.'
He made sure to dispose of the bodies since he didn't need them drawing attention to him, well at least Toothpaste made sure to. Gwin approached their nest and was met with a rancid odor. These things stunk horribly! The smell of their dwelling alone almost made him empty his stomach! Gwin scanned the darkness with enhanced vision and found what he was looking for. There on the walls were dozens of alcoves carved into the walls by some creature. They reminded him of that god-awful obelisk… Some of them were close to the ground, however most were above his head and closer to the beginning of the arc of the tunnel. Gwin shifted, his neck became pale orange and scaled and his teeth became like small daggers as his face grew scaly and reptilian.
'Time to get to work.'