The miners go about their work, toiling through another day at the ore face and filling crates with hematite. However, a series of distant, echoing crashes disturbs them.
Going to investigate, a miner finds that one of the ore crates has somehow fallen down the main shaft and shattered at the bottom. Picking up an empty crate and heading down the deeply sloping tunnel, the gravel under his feet shifts and he is pitched facefirst onto the crate. The edge of the container crushes his larynx and drives a splinter of wood into his throat as it is smashed.
Gasping for air and spitting out mouthfuls of blood as he helplessly slides down the tunnel, his life energy quickly fades into oblivion.
After an hour passes without his return, two more men are sent to search for him. While descending the treacherous slope, they find a trail of blood but no sign of the corpse, though they do find the broken and blood-spattered crate about halfway down the tunnel. While they search the deepest reaches of the mine for their colleague, you enjoy your snack.
Upon the unfortunate miner's death, a chill wind blows through the passages of the mine from the outside, carrying the unearthly howls of some great beast. The miners are left with a general sense of unease and fear, and several refuse to leave for their lunch break, instead consuming some of the beetle-ridden hardtack and stagnant water kept inside in case of emergencies.
As the day wears on, the sense of fear increases to the point of causing one man to suffer a nervous breakdown, shouting about the beast and how everyone is going to die. You delight in whispering inside his head and increasing his terror.
The beast is coming
The beast is here
The beast will kill your brother
And your only heir
Everyone will know pain
And die a horrid death
Crushed by rocks
Mauled by claws
Burned in a fire
Or fallen down a shaft
Perhaps driven insane,
Consumed by fear
Strength: 11 (+2 from Chaos, +3 from a good meal)
Mind: 10 (+3 from Chaos, +1 from a good meal)
You feel another change coming over you, though more significant than the last. For an instant your body disappears, only to be replaced by something more horrifying than any mortal could imagine. Glowing blue eyes of flame pierce the gloom at the roof of the tunnel while four long, spindly arms span the width of your hiding place. Your torso is little more than a whirling maelstrom of flame and shadow, while your head is much the same.
You are born, properly this time.
Captured souls: 1
(Captured souls can be eaten or used in the creation of minions)