Hunting Death- Mischief
#16 of Hunting Death
Mischief
People watching is boring. It was interesting at first when I was trying to figure out what they were doing and the purpose of these acts but without context of what is being said since the pendent apparently has a maximum effective range and being more interested in finding someone that can help me in my quest the novelty of just watching them wears off fairly quickly. Of course there is also just how tiring it is mentally to have to keep bracing myself for my blood to begin burning and it never does. So I decide that while I'm searching I might as well have a bit of fun. Nothing harmful, of course. I would feel very guilty if I ruined someone's day. And it can't be anything very flashy either as that would ruin the hiding spot that the bat and I are sharing.
As I look through the crack trying to figure out what to do I notice one man seeming to have trouble with his balance. Though he's not tripping he does seem to be doing a lot of weaving and passing right by many people, brushing against them a little bit each time. I shift my weight as a sort of impulse comes across my mind and before I even realize it I've managed to scrawl out a sigil for a sap spell. My head tilts slightly at the choice. A sap spell is certainly harmless and easily performed without others knowing. All it does is that when cast the next thing their hands touch will stick to that for a bit, as if someone had placed a thin film of sap onto their home. It is such an odd spell to feel like using. The main purpose of that spell, or rather the reason I was taught it was to make it so that I or someone I could visibly see would be able to grip something better. If your paws are really sticky, you're far more able to recover from a slip on the ice or a steep hill than normal.
But as it is a harmless spell I don't see the harm in letting the spell take effect. Though when it does the man seems to struggle a bit in extracting one of his hands from the garment of some lady. She notices where his hands are and screams and rather quickly several armed men who I hadn't even realized were there are around the man and seem quite interested in several small bags and pouches that he has on the inside of his pocket.
"Oops," I comment, feeling bad now that I got this person into trouble and quickly release the spell.
Unfortunately the man doesn't seem to be able to get away as the armed men drag him off rather hurriedly. I look around and feel with my magic to see if anyone noticed that I did that. I don't think anyone did. I certainly don't feel a single person actively searching for the presence of individuals now that weren't before. There were a few before but they were fairly far away and didn't really seem so much as looking for me as just paying attention. I can tell that even the bat is using a bit of sensory magic but since it already knows where I am I hardly think it is that much of note. It does seem like it saw what I did. It is certainly staring at me like it did.
"Look, I didn't mean to get him into trouble," I comment, though I'm sure it can understand me no more now than it could before. "If it'll make you feel better I'll go and apologize to that guy next time I see him, okay?"
I sigh before going back to my search, intent on not causing any more trouble but not quite giving up on having some fun, I'll just have to try and think of a way to have my fun without getting armed men to drag the people away. After a moment of searching the square again the bat squeaks at me. Startled I look up and see that the bat is pointing off in some direction, apparently trying to attract my attention as far as I can tell. Looking through my crack as best I can I spot a sort of large individual walking through the square as if looking for something. Still not seeing any sign of anyone that I would need to check out I entertain the impulse of impeding this person's attempt to find whatever he's looking for.
Now I don't want to cause him any real trouble but I figure if I were to do something that would at most only delay him in his quest then that should be fine. The sap spell is certainly out since that will probably lead him to be as inclined to getting into trouble as that last person. Perhaps that spell might work. It is a lot harder to pull off and requires my constant concentration, meaning I'd be completely unable to see if anything is approaching me.
"Well if you want me to play with that person I'll need you to do me a favor and stand lookout for me. It would take me all I have to focus on this spell to make sure I can have fun without getting him into trouble. So I need you to try and get my attention if you see anything coming to us, okay?" I ask, though still not really knowing whether or not it can even understand the words coming out of my mouth. I can still guess that there is quite a bit of intelligence behind what this bat does.
I scrawl out the shape of a little runic symbol on the top of the roof. The fact that there is no impression being made isn't as important as the shape of the motion. Once the shape has been completed I place my foot back onto rune and hold it there. I begin to chant silently, knowing the spell well enough. It is a good defensive spell but is completely harmless. While I am chanting so long as I have uninterrupted line of sight his sense of direction will be way off. He starts to turn but ends up turning the wrong way. That is how this spell works. It's very hard to counter it since I can change how his sense of direction is being messed up. He tries moving only to feel dizzy and staggers a moment. So far it doesn't seem like I'm having any trouble the spell and he's certainly not getting into any trouble from this.
The bat chirps a bit of approval at me, apparently liking the trick. But this is an incredibly draining act and after a moment of trying to maintain this and keep him completely confused as to which way is which I let him go, panting heavily in the act. Apparently whatever thing the bat was waiting for has finished as it chirps once more at me then flies off. Deciding that I've probably wasted enough time here for now I turn around and start heading off as well before someone decides to try and figure out who was casting the spell against that guy. At least he doesn't seem to be getting into any trouble from my spell. Besides, it's probably time to go check up on Hashal again, see if he's at all done yet with whatever business he has inside that stuffy place.