Around the rotting foundations of a building, soaked in mire, he jumped from tussock to tussock, not doing much but looking it over in order to relieve his boredom. While doing so, a snake suddenly struck out at him, fangs sinking into his back leg.

He yowled in pain and twisted around to claw it- but as he did so, it grew in size and length, suddenly becoming much larger and stronger than any common adder. It tried to wrap around him, and began laughing harshly in a serpentine voice.

" Ha! Curse your luck, little cat! I have feasted on many of your ilk, and will feast on many more!" it gloated at him, voice hoarse and thin. It had human eyes, set forward in its face; Sif had no voice to reply, so he clawed at them, hissing.

It reared back, a strange noise escaping its throat, waggling its head in pain. It had not expected that Sif would be able to fight so hard, and he used the opportunity to grab it by the neck and thrash it around. He recalled both Helna and Nelmar- Helna telling him these things only ate so they could feel fear, and Nelmar telling him that to speak, animals must steal tongues. He felt completely justified in killing it.

" Have mercy-!" the snake tried to call at him, throat burbling with blood. " I did not know we were fellow spirits- Have mercy-!"

Sif thwacked it against a lone pillar a good couple times, until he was certain it could not escape him, and then killed it.

He felt, on doing so, a strange rush, like he had eaten- like its blood had filled him. He could vaguely recall experiencing something similar upon killing Nelmar, and upon stealing the priest's tongue.

Was it a transfer of power?

He disliked it. He didn't need any more; he didn't even want the power he already had. He wanted to be able to die, so that he could pass to the land of Mû and be with the people who loved him.

<- .....->