That evening, after the sun has gone down, Sigil sneaks out of the house without so much as a whisper goodbye. In truth, there is no reason to say anything to anyone, since the boy had been the one to suggest Sigil go on this errand in the first place.
“He worries too much about being in control..” Sigil sighs to themself, dropping from the windowsill and out into the night. “That latent obsession is what drew me to him in the first place, so I have no room to complain” Sigil laments silently, padding softly along the shadowy paths of the village.
At least the snooping will provide a chance to talk to the idiot pig. It has been ages since Sigil met another spirit outside their own elemental axis. Cinder is endlessly entertaining, straightforward and earnest, full of energy and vigor, and easily manipulated. Cinder makes a good ally since he never second-guesses Sigil’s motivations and never seems to have a doubt in his mind.
It only takes a few moments for Sigil to make it well across the village to the little dwarf girl’s workshop. In the darkness of dusk, they are not only unseen but aided in swiftness by the depths of the shadows, it was part of the benefit of Sigil’s new [Shade Step] skill. Sigil likes the Kisgrick girl, she seems to motivate Telmire well beyond what this quaint little village would stir out of him on its own. When Sigil arrives at the building, the lights are still glowing from the inside even though the forge holds barely a smolder. No smoke rises from the chimney, but Sigil can feel light and heat emanating from within. “Just how advanced has this child gotten her [Mana Crafting] skill? Mage lights? Heating Stones?” they pondered gently while approaching the house.
None of the doors or windows of the workshop are open, and there are no obvious signs of a way in, but that certainly has never stopped Sigil before. With a thought, Sigil activates their [Shadow Meld] skill at the door to the workshop and practically melts into the darkness of the dusky night surrounding them. Once their form is fully fluid, it’s trivially easy to slide between the gaps of the door and the surrounding planks to enter inside. Sigil rematerializes in the long shadows of a small table, flickering in the unsteady light of enchanted candle flame.
“I should probably go talk to the pig first. He’s still a spirit after all, it’s only respectful.”
Sigil jumps up onto the table itself, stretching their long legs and stifling a yawn. Ever since they evolved to [Missing Lynx] Sigil had been steadily growing larger to accommodate the new form. Long gone are the days of being a tiny kitten anyone could just scoop up in a single hand. If Sigil stands at their full height, they would easily reach Telmire’s hips. Cinder still likely weighs much more, but Sigil is lithe and the size difference is quickly shrinking.
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A quick glance around the kitchen area gives no sign of Cinder or Leigh, though Sigil does notice a glimmering light coming from the main workshop space. Jumping down, they prowl through the shadows to get a glimpse of what’s going on.
Clearing the shadow of the doorway, the muffled sounds of hurried activity quickly become clear. Leigh is running through the space at a dead sprint, tossing through tool bins, overturning boxes, and making an entire impromptu inventory of her workshop. All the while stuffing objects somewhat haphazardly into a large leather backpack. She’s packing for something.
“Interesting…” Sigil chuckled, half purring to themselves as they watched with full attention. Nearby, the burly [Forgefire Boar] Cinder was sitting in a pile of discarded charcoal lumps. Breathing rhythmically in the ash and dust.
“Good evening Cinder” Sigil purred softly, reaching out through the mana to gently alert the other Spirit to their presence. Cinder snorted awake and slowly resonated his own mana to match Sigil.
“Hello dark one. Why are you here?” The pig asked, raising a questioning eye but not deigning to lift the rest of his body. Sigil smirked and feigned an air of casual curiosity. “Oh, I was just checking in on how Leigh is doing. Telmire says we will be leaving soon and I absolutely hate the idea that this will be my last time to see the girl.”
Cinder snorts again, this time drawing Leigh's attention over to the two spirits. “Hi Sigil…” She stammers awkwardly, fumbling to put her bulging travel pack out of sight. It’s difficult for a spirit to communicate directly to a mortal they don’t share a pact with, but Leigh knows full well how intelligent familiars can be despite their strange forms.
“I was just, uh, doing some cleaning up” Leigh continues to stutter nervously. It’s as clear as day that she’s hiding something, and her obvious preparations give Sigil more than enough evidence to guess exactly what is going on. The jet black cat would roll their eyes if their form was capable of such a thing.
“Tell your master I won’t say a thing to Telmire. He just wanted me to confirm she was alright, I have no reason to give away her little charade” Sigil explains gently, slowly padding further out of the room with each word, clearly not waiting for a response. Cinder responded anyway, but not in a relevant way. “Not master. Partner. Work together.”
Sigil lets off another sigh while [Shadow Meld] slips them out of the workshop. “Is he really that stupid or just too lazy to speak properly?”.
Regardless, the whole situation is about as expected, and Telmire has nothing to worry about, at least for now. The inevitable confrontation when he realizes he has a tag along for his journey is another matter. He hadn’t asked Sigil about that though, so it wasn’t their business. Telmire’s not in any danger, and the little smith is good for his growth. If he wants a minion to mindlessly fawn over him and play yes-man to his every paranoid fear, well, Telmire knows how to raise the dead.
He’s better off not isolating himself too much, it will force him to adapt more. He might actually live to make it to the haven in the north. Though knowing him, he won’t love the competition.