"Are you sure about this?" Olian hesitated. "I mean, the pig was one thing, but-"
"Ah, you're worrying too much," Kalinsk mumbled, his teeth gritted around a glass tube as he carefully copied the symbol onto his arm. Pyrian ink flowed freely through his mechanism, coming up in rough spurts with each turn of the hand crank and flowing through specially treated leather tubes into the visible glass section in his maw. From there, it oozed through more tubing and out through the needle-sharp pen that scraped across his scales, and as Kalinsk worked, the primal, runic symbol slowly formed on his arm.
"You're not worrying enough," Olian scoffed. "How long did you wait before deciding to do this?"
"I-" Kalinsk began, but on attempting to talk, the tube rattled threateningly between his teeth. Carefully, he jerked his head, and Olian reached over him to take the glass from his mouth. "I thought about a while," he spoke clearly, "if that's what you're getting at."
"And you didn't see anything wrong with this?" Olian waved. "With blindly subjecting yourself to some cult ritual?"
"I'm not going in blind!" Kalinsk recoiled. "You saw my research, I know a little about what happens,"
"Oh really?" Olian scoffed. "Go on then, what caused that pig to seize up, vomit its guts all over the floor and die?"
"One of the avian-like ones, I think..." Kalinsk trailed, his eyes fixed on the work on his forearm.
"And do you know how to stop it from doing that to you?" Olian pressed.
"I've got a theory," he shrugged.
"Oh, for Tyba's sake, Kal!" Olian stood. "This is far too dangerous even for you! Why the hell would you put yourself through this when you barely know what you're doing?"
"That's precisely why I'm doing it," Kalinsk smirked. "So I can learn what I'm doing."
"Of course," Olian sighed. "Learning by throwing yourself in the lion's den. And the consequences of wading neck deep into it?"
"What's it going to do? Cover the other half in crystal?" Kalinsk scoffed.
"Maybe!" Olian scoffed right back. "You don't know!"
"So I'm going to find out!" Kalinsk glanced at Olian over his shoulder before focusing back on his arm. "And don't panic," he said. "I know you're a worrier, but I've prepared, alright?"
"I wouldn't worry so much if you weren't such a bloody magical masochist." Olian sighed. "You promise you've prepared for this?"
"I have, Ol," Kalinsk nodded slowly. "I promise."
"Alright..." Olian took a deep breath. "I guess that's all I can ask."
"Thanks, Ol," Kalinsk smiled. "You know I wouldn't dare die on you right?"
"Yeah?" Olian smiled back. "Strange way of showing it."
Kalinsk chuckled. "You know what I'm- ah, hold on," he focused. "This part is very... complex...."
With that, the pair of them fell silent as he leaned in close, carefully tracing the twisting, knot-like shape on his forearm. He'd practised drawing the symbol before and he was at least eighty percent confident he could get it right, but if he was going to fail it was here.
And when the line finally connected back to its start, completing a long and complex loop, the transfer began.
Lanterns rattled on the walls as a ghostly wind blew through the room, blowing away papers and making him drop the pen in surprise. A cold chill crept down his spine as a deep blue fog began to blow into the room, and he stood up to prepare for whatever happened next.
"Kal?" Olian hesitated. "What is it?"
"It worked..." Kalinsk slowly backed himself away from the door. "I'm guessing you're not seeing anything unusual?"
"Unusual like what?" Olian asked, and all Kalinsk could do was scoff. His world was engulfed in hazy blue fog, the floor beneath him was covered in an inch-deep puddle of water, and all around, a cacophony of cries and shrieks assaulted his ears.
"Kal..." Olian gripped his shoulder, "tell me you haven't gotten in over your head."
"All good, Ol," Kalinsk took a deep breath. "Just need a little line of sight..."
He'd backed himself into the wall, but in this strange world, it could only be felt and not seen, so he slowly began to spin and survey all around him.
Until he caught a glimpse of the creature.
It was tall, easily towering over their home and forcing him to crane his neck up to the roof to see its long, dark, pointed beak. Three beady black eyes rested in its skull, and a grim swath of feathers coated it and its tremendously long legs. Its beak opened and a distinctly humanoid scream came out, causing Kalinsk to shudder and Olian to panic, and in a split second, it lunged.
That was when Kalinsk's theory proved true, and the nightmarishly sharp beak bounced harmlessly from a newly translucent shield that surrounded him.
A smile spread on Kalinsk's face as the creature screamed and tried unsuccessfully to peck through.
"Alright..." He grinned. "That's enough for one day,"
With that, he grabbed his arm and ripped the tight, translucent film that he'd actually drawn the tattoo onto, and in an instant, he was back in his normal room again, with everything untouched.
"It worked," He snickered. "My theory worked!" He glanced back at Olian, who was staring at him with extreme concern. "I mean- I knew it would." He brushed his head. "Totally."
"Kal," Olian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "If you do something like that and don't tell me you have an escape plan again, I'm going to rip off your crystal arm and slap you with it."
With a grin, there was only one reply Kalinsk had to that.
"Fair enough."
