Kaius stood up from the cold stone floor of the hunting compound, wincing as his leg protested at the movement. After nearly an hour and a half of waiting, it had mostly healed, and hopefully it wouldn''t take more than another quarter hour or so until it was done.

    Still, he didn''t exactly plan on sitting on his ass if he could walk around fine now. He would just have to be a little gentle with it in the meantime. The offending limb still itched terribly, no matter the incredible benefits of the natural healing, it was a decidedly uncomfortable process. Especially when you could feel each individual shard of bone realigning and fusing.

    Shaking off the memories, he walked over to the cold corpse of the Butcher and nudged it with his foot, nodding in satisfaction as the limp meat stayed dead. Just in case. Wiping his sword on its ratty clothes, he sheathed it at his hip.

    Turning to face the store room that sat by the wall of the cave, he looked at its lock, wondering where the key would be. Probably the lodge proper, seeing as that had been where the Butcher had been enthroned. He''d heard stories of treasure being guarded by particularly strong denizens of the Depths, and if a classed up Champion didn''t count, he didn''t know what would.

    He limped towards the large stone and wood building where he had first encountered the massive undead, the torches inside filling its hall with an orange flickering light.

    As he crossed the threshold, he inspected the seat where the Butcher had sat. Up close it was even worse than the quick glance he had gotten earlier. Nearly as tall as he was, it was perhaps more accurately described as a throne than a chair. Though if it was to be a throne, its monarch had been a gruesome one indeed.

    Rotting uncured furs coated the seat, damp secretions leaving an imprint where the Butcher had lounged. The sight, and the images it brought to mind, made Kaius wince. Turning his attention away from the nauseating sight, Kaius explored the massive hearth behind the seat that stretched across the head of the hall.

    It was dusty, with low glimmering coals slumbering inside. He''d missed it entirely on his first look, captivated by the threat the Champion had presented to him. Above its mantle a great deer skull was mounted, larger than any of the many thousands he had seen in his years living in the forest. He looked at its rack in awe, it must have been a truly impressive specimen in life, if it had ever truly lived.

    Finally tearing his gaze away from the ornament, he scoured the mantle top, where a glint of firelight on metal caught his attention. A key. Overly large and crudely wrought. Hopefully it would be what he was looking for.

    Kaius snatched it up and hurried his way outside of the building as fast as he was able. Returning to the chained storehouse he grabbed at the thick padlock that held the door shut fast, interesting the key with a slight tremble. He jiggled it briefly as it got stuck.

    The lock clicked, the joyous sound sparking a short laugh of success as he popped it open. Chains rattled as he hurried to weave them out from the doors latch. He cast them aside, the links clattering as they hit the stone floor of the cave.

    Barely containing his excitement, Kaius worked the latch and threw open the door to reveal a dark room. The only light entered through the open doorway, drenching the interior in shadow. He took a furtive step forward. Hidden sconces burst into flame as he crossed the threshold.

    Their flickering light revealed a lone plinth at the back of the room, topped by what looked to be some sort of strange rectangular belt bag. Kaius approached quickly, snatching it up and turning it over in his hands to inspect it closely.

    Perhaps two handspans wide and half that deep, it was an interesting thing. Made of some sort of hardened leather that held firm in his hand. He wrapped it with one knuckle, a soft knock resonating through its interior. It was a dark burnt umber in colour, a lighter trim capping its edges. The bottom four corners were capped off in brass, while it was held closed by a sturdy buckle of the same material. Kaius turned it over, revealing a back with three loops along its top edge to thread it on to his belt.

    He furrowed his brow quizzically. All in all, Kaius was a little disappointed. A bag wasn''t exactly what you expected when you risked life and limb for a reward. He shrugged. In the end, at least it was something.

    He fumbled with the buckle for a moment, before pulling it open. A glitter of yellow and silver metal immediately caught his attention. There, to the left of the bag was five pieces of silver and a single yellow disk sat in a jumbled pile. Impossibly round, each face was embossed with an incredibly complex swirling pattern. He pulled them out, feeling the cold metal as he rolled them around his hands.

    He looked down to his pants, sighing as he saw the great rents where the beasts had latched on to his leg. The same one that the Butcher had shattered in its grip.

    "Had some bad luck today, haven''t you friend?" He sighed, shaking the offending limb.

    The tear in his clothes annoyed him, even if the leather reinforcement had helped to prevent worse wounds, having stray material flap around in the breeze was distracting and uncomfortable. Luckily both the tear on his trousers, and the cuts on his tunic should repair themselves by morning.

    Watching as the fire roared back to life Kaius took a seat in front of the hearth. He felt the radiating heat warm him, sinking into his bones. Slow, steady breaths resonated through him, his heart slowing to match the rate of his respiration. Slow inhale. Hold. Slow exhale. Hold.

    The meditative repetition of it continued as he lost himself in the reaches of his mind, his eyes closing as he dove into his soul-space. He was ready. Ready for his next step.

    His mind drifted to Tracking, its nodule in his centre emanating a thousand sights, uncountable impulses. Disturbed earth, a stray fibre, a scratched trunk. A million million ways to see a forgotten passing, to see trails left in time, waiting to be unearthed. Most were still inaccessible to him, the skill needing to grow further, but they were ready and waiting.

    He moved to the next nodule that orbited the fire of his soul. Sneak. Shadowed nights and hidden scents. Eyes passing by unawares. Of hiding. Of Stalking. Half foreign instincts washed over him as he tasted its depths.

    He reached out with his will, feeling both centres of power. They were easy to link, threading a thin line of comprehension and personal understanding between them. A glowing wire that he spun from the burning conflagration of his soul. The two shards seemed to resonate, a growing attraction trying to pull their energies together.

    He clamped down on the motion with the full weight of his mind, halting the merge in its tracks. He knew if he allowed it to continue they would create Stalking, a lesser and relatively well known merge. If that happened his goal would be permanently out of reach, his plans ruined.

    Kaius''s focus wavered for a moment, unused to flexing his mind in such a fashion. The two skills wavered, fighting back against him in an effort to move together. He grabbed at them like a vice, forcibly stabilising them again. It was the first time having to do such a thing, his first two mergers not having another valid outcome to contend with.

    He wasn''t worried. He''d spent months of practice in guided meditation with his father, as much as they could squeeze into their usual fireside rituals. Not just on the mental skill needed to hold the merge stable, but the understanding of the ultimate result. The mindset and comprehension needed to link so many disparate parts. This, at least, he''d had practice with.

    Once he threaded in another, he wouldn''t need to worry. He just had to get over this next hurdle.

    His metered breaths continued as he settled into the measured tension of holding the skills in place. Once he felt ready, he reached for the next one.

    As soon as he split his focus, Tracking and Sneak wavered again. Sweat beaded on his now furrowed brow. The third thin thread of power reaching out from his soul slowed, undirected without his focus to push it forward.

    He gritted his teeth, inching it forward as he tried his best to hold the first two skills steady.

    They rattled precipitously, screaming against his hold on them, professing their desire to merge into a new form.

    His soul touched the third skill.