Calvartem seemed satisfied with Conquest's response. "Then we are in accord." He turned to the artefact. "I accept your offer, Ripper." Then he raised his staff and commanded, "Breaker, put this artefact into my Heart." The shadowy orb on his staff dissipated, and a few moments later bodies which had been lying around slid along the ground until they met together and merged. Flesh and sinew twisted and morphed until the hulking form of the Breaker stood in the road. Its gargantuan hand closed around the Catalyst, lifted it from the ground with ease, passed through the hole in the Heart and dropped it to the floor. The palm of Breaker's hand appeared as though it had suffered major burns, but being undead this did not concern it and being so massive the short exposure did nothing more than surface damage. The aura of the Catalyst flared slightly as it was placed in the crypt, where it was able to tap into the Heart's energy.

The job done, Calvartem tapped his staff on the ground and Breaker's frankesteinian form unravelled into a pile of flesh and bone as its spirit returned to the Necromancer's staff. Calvartem mounted Shadowmane once more in preparation to go. Before departing, he ordered his imps, "I need the Heart repaired and reinforced, somewhere proper to store the Ripper's artefact, and defensive ditches around the town." He then nodded to Conquest before galloping off at full speed towards the east. It did not concern him if Conquest could not keep up, for he would need time to gather the undead from the surrounds of the town. If he could keep up with Shadowmane, though, then he'd be able to make a more aggressive start.

----

Zadok had little time to orient himself if he wanted to track the falling red meteors. He made a brief mental note of the general directions of the other meteors and picked one at random, following it to the southern end of the continent. As he approached the landing site he was able to see that it had landed within a large port city. A little closer and he could see that it had landed in the courtyard of a temple of some kind. Some people, probably servants, who had been nearby came to inspect it, but they moved aside when a man garbed in flamboyant robes and trailed by 6 attendants emerged from the temple. With his keen vision, Zadok could see the scene clearly before he was close enough to become conspicuous. The meteorite, which was in this case smaller than a basketball, lay on the ground glowing with its conspicuous red aura. The robed man leaned in to inspect the curious object, then reached down to pick it up but withdrew his hand in pain the moment he touched it. Then Zadok could see a shift in the body language of the audience. Some looked around, trying to see something that wasn't there. Others peered closer to the stone. All of them had a moment of surprise. As Zadok drew closer, he found that the cause of this was a presence speaking aloud telepathically, and he immediately recognised it as the Ripper. Zadok descended faster.

The disjointed voices of the Ripper gradually became clearer to hear in Zadok's head as he neared the Catalyst. [i]...there are many enemies to your city emerging. Powerful beings leading monstrous armies. Grant me a share of this city's magic, and I shall grant you the power to obliterate anyone who dares to challenge the might of your grand city.[/i]

The robed man appeared intrigued by the offer. The high priest seemed ready to reply when Zadok gently touched down behind him and his entourage and interjected, [b]I would not deal with that being.[/b]

On hearing the commanding voice from behind him, the high priest, surprised, turned around. He was even more surprised on seeing the dazzling angel standing on the ground where there had before been none. "And who are you?"

[b]I am Zadok, and my purpose is to protect you and the rest of Elysium from the destruction that will be wrought if that being gets its way.[/b]

The Ripper hurled curses at the Anti-Keeper, but Zadok ignored them. [b]This being, the Ripper, is the cause of the Source's corruption. The Ripper does not want you safe. It only wants the destruction of this entire world, and is willing to manipulate and deceive to gain the power to achieve such ends.[/b]

[i]He lies! He just wants all the power for himself, to leave you vulnerable.[/i]

Zadok stretched out a hand to the Catalyst and a beam of pure white light struck the stone. It appeared unaffected. [b]Silence! When you touched this meteorite it dealt harm to you, and harm is all it can give. I, on the other hand, can heal, protect, care.[/b] Zadok stepped forwards and, before the high priest could pull back, he touched his hand, covering it in holy light for a moment and the injury sustained from touching the Catalyst was healed. Surprised, the high priest inspected his hand and seemed pleased. [b]Allow me to rid you of this disgusting artefact before it can cause any more harm.[/b]

The high priest was still rather lost for words, somewhat overwhelmed by the encounter. Eventually, he regained enough composure to respond. "Yes, it is wrong to make deals with malevolent spirits."

Zadok nodded. [b]I shall do my best to keep this land safe.[/b] The Ripper cursed at him further as he approached the Catalyst, but they were too distant for the Ripper to force his way into Zadok's mind so Zadok blocked out the Ripper's voice completely. He sheathed his hand and forearm in a coat of brilliant white light before he picked up the stone. Its aura grew more fierce as it attempted to fight Zadok's interference, but the glove of light shielded him from its effects. In the blink of an eye he took off, bolting upwards over the bay, and in the arc of his flight he threw the Catalyst with all his might. He came to a stop mid-air and watched the diminishing speck of red fly out into the ocean until it splashed down in the distance. He considered that Catalyst, for most purposes at least, disposed of. Now to report to the Carver.

[b]The Ripper has hatched some sort of plan with its corrupted meteorites. From what I've observed, they act as a conduit for the Ripper. He claims to be able to absorb power through them and, in turn, grant power to anyone who allows him to have such power to absorb. A lot of those meteorites fell to Elysium, which likely means just as many opportunities for the Ripper to siphon off extra power.[/b] At the same time Zadok also allowed the Carver access to his memories of the encounter with the Destruction Catalyst, in case the Carver could make further interpretations.