Azaroth searched for the man. But before that, he let the energy of the goblin settle on him, then he took off. The shadow had run down the tunnel.
How had that person known the tunnel he would take? How had they planted the goblin in advance? Why? Azaroth growled. What he hated most was unanswered questions.
He sped through the tunnel at high speed, and in no time, he got to the places where he had killed the monsters, passed them, and continued.
The entrance came into view, and he slowed. "Where could he have come from? Kael didn't mention anything about any Hound in the crypt. It must be a spy."
Azaroth paused. "Did that man know who I am? That would make a lot of sense."
"But why hadn't he told the Hounds?"
Azaroth saw no one when he got to the corridor close to the crypt entrance. He felt no hint too. "He must be gone. Why did he wear a Hound mask though?"
Then Azaroth thought it through. The man must be a spy, and he must be pretending to be a Hound. "It makes sense. Other powers on the continent must want to keep eyes on each other."
"But why East Haven? While it was close to the capital of the Inferno Legion, it was nowhere near being that politically important," Azaroth thought. Then it hit him. "It must be about what Kael said they wanted to do. An important project that made them clear the Eastern outposts."
Azaroth checked the goblin essence around him. "I have to harvest it before it dissolves."
He chose a random entrance and sat cross-legged just inside it. Azaroth started harvesting, entering semi-consciousness, and losing track of time.
Azaroth had no idea how much time had passed, but when something shifted in the air, Azaroth sprang up smoothly, his sword flashing. A pink leaf floating above him was cut in two as his sword passed through. The pink leaf dissolved into pink energy and disappeared.
Was that a giggle Azaroth heard? What were leaves doing down here in a crypt? It must be that man's doing.
Azaroth checked his normal core. It was half full. The goblin essence had made it half full. "If only I could see one more to trigger advancement to Initiate, like my chaos core that is on its way to becoming the Initiate Chaos Core."
Azaroth hadn't taken more than three steps when a ball of black rags launched itself at him. He flickered his sword in a downward stroke, and his weapon passed through nothing but smoke.
The rag had disappeared. Azaroth tensed. He was sure his sword had touched the rag, then it disappeared. Another weird monster. A monster he was sure didn't belong in this crypt rank.
"It is you, isn't it? You brought this monster here," Azaroth said loudly.
There was silence, then a light voice sounded all around him at once. "Yes. You needed the essence, didn't you? It's better than killing numerous of those giggling goblins."
Azaroth narrowed his eyes. He was sure of one thing now: this man was testing him, and he didn't know why. He didn't like it either.
But he wouldn't refuse something like an essence shoved in front of him. "Why? You look like a Hound."
"I am a Hound," the voice said calmly.
A shadow flickered, and the rag shot at Azaroth again. The monster lifted its ragged hand, and a sharpened bone came for Azaroth's head. He parried it to the left and chopped at the creature. He met nothing but smoke. Again.
"You look like a Hound, but you are not a Hound," Azaroth replied, slowly twirling his sword, waiting for the creature to pop up again.
"Of course I'm not, but who will know? They are ridiculous for putting their pet dogs on masks, but then again, they are dogs, useful only for obedience. Their mask is a flaw I will exploit," the voice said.
"Why are you telling me this?" Azaroth asked. "You are not here to kill me."
The voice paused, then said, "You would be dead otherwise. I'm only here to see the type of dog you will become."
"Yet you wore a dog's collar yourself," Azaroth said, referring to the mask, all the while keeping an eye on the surrounding shadows.
"Decorations only! Decorations, I say!" The voice floated down. "You know you should be finishing with your crypt hunting now. Kael Hound will be waiting."
Azaroth noticed the way the voice tightened at the end. So, a history there? Azaroth filed that away.
"No thanks to you that killed all my essence," Azaroth said flatly. He was getting tired of being toyed with, especially by this rag monster.
The monster flickered into being and attacked with hands of sharpened bones before disappearing when Azaroth's sword came close.
"Well, you killed it, and it benefited you. I have to go now. We will meet again very soon. Also, the monster you are fighting now cannot be killed with physical weapons. It's high but low in offensive strength. Your test is ending." The voice stopped.
Azaroth knew he was gone. He couldn't feel any presence.
He rolled his shoulder and sheathed his sword. Since it couldn't be killed physically, his sword would only get in the way.
The monster came at him again, and Azaroth dodged, weaving between sharp, pointed bones.
Azaroth checked his chaos core, activated energy to his left hand, and parried with it.
The sharpened bones veered sideways, and Azaroth jumped, pumped almost all the essence into his right hand, and punched the rag monster.
Azaroth's punch ripped through the rag monster, and it jerked as essence tore through it. His red and black essence latched onto it, not burning it. It looked more like eating to Azaroth.
The rags collapsed, and the bones clattered. Essence lifted off it and settled on Azaroth, as strong as the goblin's own.
Azaroth smiled his wolf smile. "At least that rude spy dog had been useful for something."
Azaroth had just settled to start harvesting when energy blasted through the crypt. It pricked Azaroth's neck as it scanned the crypt.
Minutes later, Kael Hound found him, and he was furious.