âLenses?â. Combining technology with magic was bad news. Somehow it made his skin crawl. It should not mingle, like throwing whale oil into fire. People would get hurt. And it just seemed like Delilahâs way to tread those paths. âIf she did not destroy them already it is indeed a lead. Convenient that Jindosh is helping you.â He raised an eyebrow. The Inventor did not strike him as a helpful individual. And prior to all this he was working with their enemies. âDo you trust his information? Are you sure it wonât harm us in the end?Â
I would like to meet him if possible. He let out a grunt as he checked his pouches. Fire was a sure way to deal with the damned insects. âTwo.â, he grunted. I should have taken that flash-smoke when I had the chance. âThe Duke was lazy about them. And his shit-pile of a guard keeps making more bodies for them to nest.â And their stings hurt like shit.
He was just about to add something when the other vanished, reappearing on a nearby roof. âSo this is how it feels like.â The witch groaned and he longed to make her silent for good. But he felt the Royal Protectorâs gaze burning his back. Have it your way then.
With a faint hiss he followed Corvo. âI did. And we need to be careful. They seem to possess powers passed down by Delilah.â Like I did with my men. âFrom what I have seen, they can blink like we do.â He scratched his neck as he remembered him wading towards Brigmore Manor fifteen years ago. âWatch out for hound skulls on the ground. They can summon dead hounds and command them as well as communicate with statues of Delilah. And conjure those strange vine plants. They smell like blood and the void. You will know them if you see one. They will lash out at you if you are too close.â
âThey also conjure a smaller vines sharp like razors. And beware of their scream.â Delilah was entirely different matter. But for now she was away in Dunwall. But for Corvo it was the first time fighting another marked apart from himself. And he was positive Delilah and her coven were unaware of his presence here with Corvo. âIs there anything I should know?â, he added with a dry huff. The great Daud reporting to Corvo Attano.
Carefully, he crouched down, his eyes seeming to light up for just a split second. But apart from the bluish shades down below, he could not spy witches patrolling the Conservatory. Not with the Guard and Overseers patrolling Cyria Gardens. âMaybe we can enter through the first floor. I bet there are guards watching the entrances.â A brief pause and he turned to watch Corvo with a curious gaze. âHow shall we proceed?â.
âI trust Jindosh about as much as I did Sokolov, fifteen years ago,â he says with a snort. âWhich means I trust him to act in his own self-interest. And right now, that means he wonât lie to me.â Heâs fairly sure heâd put the fear of the Void into the inventor when heâd threatened him -- an empty threat, but the man hadnât known that -- with his own electroshock device, but even if he hadnât heâs pretty sure Meaganâs done a good job of it. Jindosh wonât be tricking them if he knows whatâs good for him.
Besides, he must have realized by now that helping the Royal Protector rescue the Empress and get her throne back would earn him Imperial favor. And someone like him was more concerned with research than causes -- as long as they funded him, heâd side with whoever. In this case, imperial was more likely to pay off than ducal.
He rolls his eyes beneath the mask. âTheodanis would be turning in his grave,â he mutters bitterly. âThis place has gone to hell. Half the buildings are infested and Iâve never seen so many nest keepers and corpse nests.â He shakes his head. âDamn me for ignoring this until now.âÂ
Itâs no time for regrets right now, though, and he tilts his masked head to listen to Daudâs information. Itâs a bit strange, in a dark sort of way. The Knife of Dunwall reporting to the Royal Protector. (He makes a note once this is over to tell him how his former men were doing, the ones heâs taken in.)
âI know about your bond with them,â he says -- the other Whalers had told him, and heâd seen a twisted version of it with that Tyvian. âDelilah can do it too, then? Seems Iâm the only one who canât.â Not that heâd want to, as useful as it could be. Too big a risk in his position. So they can transverse -- not surprising, as it seems to be the simplest ability the mark can grant. The hounds and vines are a concern, but heâll keep an eye out -- he does remember the way the Void had looked when Delilah had dragged him there, strangled by roots. It wasnât a pleasant image even now, and it was strange to worry about the Outsider, but he didnât like that Delilah could do that.
He smiles faintly beneath his mask when he notes the familiar sheen glossing over Daudâs eyes. So thatâs what it looks like. He does the same, letting his Void-touched vision show him the street below -- guards, and a Wall of Light, and one or two other shapes prowling within the Conservatory walls. Guard hounds, most likely. He can possess them, but itâs still not something he wants to deal with. (He wonders if he can possess the dead hounds like living ones. Not something he wants to try if he has a choice.)
âNothing that I can think of,â he says dryly. âJust donât kill anyone, thatâs all I ask. We need to find out what this Ocularum is, deal with it, and take out Ashworth -- if we can kill two birds with one stone, all the better.âÂ
A pause, and he scans the visible front of the Conservatory. âThere,â He says, indicating an open window on the wing of the building to their right, near the cliff-side. âAn entry point.â People always leave their windows open in Serkonos thanks to the heat, and it just makes things that much easier. Next step heâd figure out once they got in and got their bearings.
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