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[kahn1234]

((Hello Boys and Toys! I'm back from a break (and a very busy time in my life). I am hoping to get back on both Starfire and the Royal Ordnance Factory threads, but first I want to try something in a somewhat similar style to Starfire, which is probably my best work to date.

I was thinking of maybe starting a game set in the same universe as Starfire. There was a lot that has not yet been explored in that story, but I will get back around to that side of things once I have my notes for that story straightened out (I wasnt very good as logging my ideas when I started that).

However I decided against that. I really want to do something fantasy based, and the two games/stories I tried starting in the universe/world of my own creation failed miserably (mainly due to muddled writing on my part and a far to quick pace).

Thats why I will be starting a fantasy story in a loose, malleable fantasy world.

Other than gender and race (female and human respectively (which may be subject to change later one, by the way)), the charater has not been set up or created in any way. Very similar to the start of Starfire.

Decisions you make will have a hidden success role, like a roll-do-dodge. I will continue the story in a way that reflects the dice roll. As a warning, don't always expect 'complex' ideas to go the way you planned. I will decide whether simple somes will be rolled or have auto-success. (like getting out a plane/helicopter/vehicle, or walking somewhere etc).

Now, without further ado, lets get to it!))

Act 1: Beware, Beware the Crones of Ael...

Beware, beware the crones of Ael,

Skin of leather and deathly pale.

Deceit and cunning are their tools,

Of all and sunder they make fools.

Trust not their words, only their actions,

they live their un-lives without compassion.

- Old wives hymn.

You find yourself in unfamiliar ground. The last thing you remember is the forest path, and suddenly being chased off it by a highwayman out for your belongings.

You look around frantically, trying to look for a local landmark you could use to find your way home. Unfortunately, in your mad dash, you ran into deeper, denser foliage and cant see anything more than a dozen meters or so in any direction.

Suddenly, you hear soft chuckling from your left. You spin to face it, hoping that it isnt the Highwayman.

You see nothing.

You continue walking through the forest, unsure of there you are going but reasoning that you wont find your way out sitting still.

After what seems like an hour or so, you come to a suspiciously well tended clearing in the middle of nowhere. The trees here seem taller, thicker and more ancient. You feel a tingling behind your ears and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up on end. Something isnt right here.

Whilst you look on into the clearing, two voices chuckle just right behind you. Jumping in fright, you spin around again, lashing out with your open palm. You are not at a trained fighter and, perhaps naively, do not carry a weapon.

Again, you see nothing behind you. You hear rustling to both your left and right.

You are scared.

You back into the clearing, your feeling of unease growing ever stronger with every step. Satisfied nothing is going to jump out at you, you turn around and look at the entire clearing again.

You stop in confusion. Somehow, in the centre of the clearing, which must be 100m across, there is now a massive tree with a three floor townhouse built into its trunk right in the centre.

It wasnt there when you arrived.

As you look at the house, your feeling of unease transforms into an outright feeling of terror. Your mind is telling you to leave, but something is keeping you here. Curiosity, maybe? You do not know.

You feel hands grab you on your shoulders.

"YOU BETTER RUN LITTLE GIRL!"

A voice shouts in your right ear.

You scream in fright and terror, and with a whimper on your lips, bolt for the door of the townhouse. You hear at least three sets of feet right on your tail. You are too terrified to even attempt a glance back.

The door gets closer and closer, until you can almost reach it, but it was not meant to be. You are stopped dead in your tracks as, at once, three pairs of hands grab you. One pair grabs your ankles and stops you dead, a second pair grabs you around the waist and a third pair grabs you by the neck and around the mouth. Your scream is muffled as you are enveloped in darkness, the door -  your chance of safety - fades from view.

~ Some Time Later ~

You awake, groggy. You find yourself in a somewhat dark room. Dark enough that you cannot see clearly, but not dark enough for you to not be able to see anything at all. You are strapped to a stone slab at a 45 degree angle, padded iron shakles around your ankles and thick rope everywhere else holding you to your prison. You are cold, and you realise why when you look down. Your once pristine freewomans dress, leggings and shoes are now tattered and torn. Your undergarments are showing through, and even they are damaged. You whimper in fear. You want to go home, to where your husband and family await.

You hear another chuckle. You freeze in your movements to try and escape. You hear movement as a robed stranger walks slowly from your left until they are standing right in front of you. The person in front of you is soon joined by two more. You hear more shuffling behind you, likely more of these robed people.

"W..What do you want?" You ask, frightned. Your voice, once that of a self assured woman in her mid twenties, now a meek mew. You do not get an answer.

No more strangers more to stand in from of you. However, the three already there slowly lower their hoods. The one that first arrived, the one that chuckled, steps forward slightly, and raises her left hand. With a quick whisper, she clicks her finger and summons smallfire in her hand, illuminating her face (

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

and that of her two companions (

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

.

Their faces were beautiful and angelic, but their look was turned frightening by the demented smiles on their faces and the cruel glint in their eyes.

The lead one leans in, so that her face is just infront of yours. "Oh, such a sweet young thing. Do not worry, your trials will be over soon, sweetpea" She giggles as she says that, caressing your cheek with her hand. She nods to someone behind you. A robed figure approaches your right, and in the light you can see leathery skin and baleful eyes.

Your eyes widen in terror.

"You...you cant be! You're a myth! A legend told to unruly little girls!" You struggle franticly against the old crones grip as she reaches towards your head. "NO! Please! Let me go! Have mercy!" Crying, you try to resist.

The seeming leaders of the crones, the three beautiful young women in front of you laugh heartily at you. Their leader smiles. "Dear little youngling, dont resist. It only makes the process more painful. But if you insist, just know it will only lead to our further enjoyment."

You struggle. You struggle with all your might but the old crones grip is like iron. She draws a gleaming blacksteel knife, glowing green with unearthly sigils, and slowly traces two small patterns into your skin on top of your collar bones. You scream in pain as the knife cuts you, its sting like a thousand hornets.

Once finished, the crone withdrawns the dagger, licking your blood from its blade and retreating behind your slab again. You feel your consiousness fading, the black abyss of unconsciousness approaching.

The crone leader once again leans in towards you, caressing your new marks, smiling at the winces she receives. "You will make a fine one. I'll make sure of it." With tat, she gently kisses you on the cheek, then the lips, as you slowly fall asleep.

~ Sometime Later ~

You awake in a dark cell, your left ankle shackled to the floor. Your collar bones hurt, and you have an uncomfortable, crawling feeling all over your skin. You whimper, and tug on the shackle. It does not give. An uncharacteristic burst of anger comes over you as you frantically try again. You growl in rage. Just as quickly as it came, your sudden anger outburst ends, leaving you feeling even more scared than before. What are the crones doing to you?

What do you do? Do you have a plan for escape?

[NRDL]

Examine contents of room.

[kahn1234]

Examine contents of room.

You look around the room, hoping to see something that could aide your escape.

The room seems to be underground, as there is no window and it is oppressively cold. As such, the ceiling, floor and three walls are solid stone. There are no obvious openings.

Hanging from the ceiling are various shackles. There is a mostly decomposed corpse hanging by some of the shackles above you. You shudder, hoping you dont become the next dead resident.

You are facing the barred wall, there the door is. The bars are about an inch and a half thick and make of good quality steel, as is the door. You examine the hinges of the door. They look like there is nothing holding the door onto the hinges, so if you could lever the door upwards, you may be able to lift it off, leading to an escape route.

Near the solid wall to your right, there is a thin metal bar and 5 small rocks.

To your left, near the left soild wall, there is a small but well made bed, with a couple of sheets on it and a chamberpot underneath it. It is within reach of where you are chained.

Behind you, there is a wall with empty shackles dangling from it. On the floor is yet another metal pole. This one longer and thicker than the one to your right, but one that is currently out of reach of where you are.

[NRDL]

How much slack does the chain give us?  Reach all available items that we can grab, especially the rocks and the thin bar.  Examine if rocks can be sharpened on each other.

[kahn1234]

How much slack does the chain give us?  Reach all available items that we can grab, especially the rocks and the thin bar.  Examine if rocks can be sharpened on each other.

You look at the chain. You do have a decent amount of slack. Not enough to reach the back wall of your rather large cell, but enough to reach both sides and, if you stretch, you can reach the bars and barred door in front of you.

You reach all reachable objects. You now have a thin metal bar, 5 small rocks and a chamberpot. (Roll=5) You are in luck. The thin metal bar is actually made of blacksteel, a type of very durable steel used all over the Kingdom for high quality goods, weapons and armour. It is correded somewhat, so you arent sure how much of its integrity has been compromised.

You try to see if the stones can be sharpened on each other. You (Roll=6) manage to sharpen a stone so that it has a somewhat decent cutting edge without compromising its integrity.



INVENTORY

1 Thin Blacksteel Bar
4 Rocks
1 Sharpened Rock
1 Chamberpot.

[NRDL]

Are we wearing clothes right now?

[Maegil]

Escape plan:
Use the thin bar to pull the thicker one within reach.
Put the thin bar's tip under the foot of the bed, sit on it, and pull the bar upwards to bend it into an L shape; in a pinch it may be swung as a piercing weapon.

If the foot shackle has a padlock, give a sharp whack to the edge in hope of making the latch jump back on its spring, that might open it. Otherwise, put the chain under the foot of the bed, stick the thicker bar inside a chain link, and try to twist it open.

Jam the bar under the door and use it as a lever to lift the door on its hinges, and try not to let it fall  down noisily. Tear a strip of cloth of about 1m, tie it to two places on the thicker bar, and use it to shoulder the bar; a long bar may be good on an open space but not in narrow corridors.
Hold the smaller bar as a short spear in front of you (with the bent side towards you), and proceed onward ready to jam the tip into the stomach and swing the bent side on the head of anyone that shows up.

[NRDL]

I was thinking more along the lines of amputation, but yeah, see if the chain has a lock first.

[S34N1C]

Are we wearing clothes right now?

If we aren't, fashion makeshift clothes from the sheets on the bed.
If we are take, sheets anyway. Could come in handy later on

[_DivideByZero_]

A possibly less noisy option to try: Find the bolt/whatever's holding the shackle to the wall, see if we can put the bar through the loop, and use it as a lever to try and unscrew it. Do not keep trying if the bar seems like it's in danger of breaking.

[kahn1234]

Are we wearing clothes right now?

You are wearing the ragged remains of a dress and your undergarments, as well as tattered leather knee high boots.

Are we wearing clothes right now?

If we aren't, fashion makeshift clothes from the sheets on the bed.
If we are take, sheets anyway. Could come in handy later on

You take the two sheets from the bed.

Escape plan:
Use the thin bar to pull the thicker one within reach.
Put the thin bar's tip under the foot of the bed, sit on it, and pull the bar upwards to bend it into an L shape; in a pinch it may be swung as a piercing weapon.

You use the smaller bar to pull the thicker bar towards you. it is slow going, and you make a fair bit of scraping noise whilst doing so, but you succeed in getting the thicker bar. You find that it is a good quality steel bar, however it is not blacksteel. It is surprisingly not corroded.

You move over to your bed, but find that the chain didnt have as much reach as you thought. You can sit and lay on the bed, but part of you will always be off it, meaning you cannot put your entire weight on the bed. Not that you had much weight to begin with, you are, after all, only a moderately sized, slender woman.

However, you enact a plan to at least arm yourself. You (Rol=5) do manage to bend the tip of the thinner bar into a bill-like hook. This should help you against any attackers. It could even be used as a lever or a crowbar.....

If the foot shackle has a padlock, give a sharp whack to the edge in hope of making the latch jump back on its spring, that might open it. Otherwise, put the chain under the foot of the bed, stick the thicker bar inside a chain link, and try to twist it open.

A possibly less noisy option to try: Find the bolt/whatever's holding the shackle to the wall, see if we can put the bar through the loop, and use it as a lever to try and unscrew it. Do not keep trying if the bar seems like it's in danger of breaking.

You examine the chain and the floor attachment point. The chain is made of forge-welded steel links all along its length. Your shackle seems to be permenantly attached to the chain with no way of levering the shackle out of its attaching link. The floor attachment point is screwed, bolted and cemented into the ground. You arent unscrewing or otherwise removing that any time soon. You examine the part where your chain is attached to the floor more closely. You see that the chain is looped through the attachment loop back on itself and secured by a single loop that could be levered open and also a large padlock. Whoever built these shackles certainly liked redundancy.

You have an idea.

You grab the larger bar and whack the side of the padlock with it. (Roll=4) You hear a small click, however the padlock still holds. You hit it again (Roll=1) and nothing happens. You try a third time (Roll=1) again, nothing happens. One final time, you hit the padlock (Roll=6) and the thick bar dents the padlock, breaking the internal mechanism. The padlock opens. You set to work on the chain loop that is holding the chain together now. Using the smaller bar, you fit it into the small hole in the centre of the chain link. (Roll=4) You secure the chain under your feet so it cannot move, and you begin wiggling and working the chain and bar until the once tiny hole where the link doesnt quite join up starts getting larger and larger.

Once it is large enough, you maneuvre the bar until it is in the hole, and with a great push you wrench the link apart. You withdraw your chain. You are now free to move about as you please.

However, you dont celebrate just yet. You can hear something in the dungeon corridor. It is distant at the moment, but slowly getting louder.

Jam the bar under the door and use it as a lever to lift the door on its hinges, and try not to let it fall  down noisily. Tear a strip of cloth of about 1m, tie it to two places on the thicker bar, and use it to shoulder the bar; a long bar may be good on an open space but not in narrow corridors.
Hold the smaller bar as a short spear in front of you (with the bent side towards you), and proceed onward ready to jam the tip into the stomach and swing the bent side on the head of anyone that shows up.

You quickly tie the chain around your waist so it is out of your way, leaving just enough slack for you to be able to run. The chain is heavy and will weigh you down. As you are doing that, however, you notice that even in the dark room, your skin is now noticeably whiter and paler. And, now that you think about it, it has been getting easier and easier to see in the room, despite no new light source aiding you. Also, you have stopped feeling the cold; the only thing you now feel is the slight breeze of natural air circulation in the dungeon. You fear for what that may mean.

Grabbing the sheets, you fashion a makeshift knapsack to put your things in. You hold both of the bars. Rushing to the door, you use the larger, thicker bar to try and lever the door off its hinges. You jam the bar under the edge of the door, and heave upwards, putting all strength your petite frame can muster. (Roll=1) The door doesnt budge upwards. It rattles in its frame. You try again (Roll=4). After working the bar a bit further under the door, you manage to heft the door upwards, your arms screaming at you in exertion. The door is now sat on the steel dowls it was once attached to. It wont fall yet. Youpush the door forward, content in the fact that it is no longer secure on its hinges. You try to make it a soft landing for the door (Roll=4) and succeed somewhat. The door clatters to the group on its edge, but you manage to lower the heavy door to the ground.

Impressed by your strength, you quickly fashion a sling for your thick bar out of some spare cloth from the sheets. Your life as a housewife coming in handy, after all working with cloth is something you ned to do on a regular basis.

You grab the thinner bar, and hold it like you have seen the men of your town hold their spears. You heep the bent end towards you so you can use it to hook an enemies feet if needed and the pointed end you keep facing out in front. With your makeshift spear you wander out into the corridor. You look both ways, and see no one, however the sound you heard earlier is now noticeably louder. It seems to be coming from your left. You decide to head right in order to avoid whatever is walking through the corridors. You notice that there are no light sources anywhere in the dungeon, but you can see as if it was daylight. Odd, considering you are human and therefore shouldnt have natural night vision like the elder races or dwarves.

You hurry down the corridor, trying ot make as little noise as possible. The corridor slightly angles to the left as you go. After about ten minutes, you hear an unearthly scream from behind you. The voice screams in what you believe to be one of the old tongues, but to your amazement you can understand what the screaming person is saying.

"SHE HAS ESCAPED! FIND HER! BRING THE LITTLE MOUSE TO ME!

Your shudder. You dont like the sound of that. As the scream fades, you start to hear steadily growing sounds of movement from all around you. From where you are, you can see several wooden doors further down the corridor. You can also see what seems to be a junction a bit further on still, with three options: straight on, left or right.

What do you do?


Inventory:

1 Roughly made bedsheet knapsack.
1 Thin Blacksteel Bar; One end bent into a weapon/tool/crowbar shape
1 Thick Good Quality Steel bar, with rough cloth sling.
4 Rocks
1 Sharpened Rock
1 Chamberpot.

[Maegil]

Put any mercy and empathy you may have into the knapsack (don't throw them away, you should need them later), and be prepared to ruthlessly kill whatever tries to attack you.
Since you're no warrior, you must go all out and hope that surprise and pure wolverine-like savagery can make up for the lack of strength and skill. Psych yourself up with a few sharp breaths and a couple of slaps to the face; clench your teeth and grimace.

You're not afraid, you're not afraid, you're not afraid at all... You're furious!
You're a killer, you're a killer, you're a rabid killer, you're a rabid and vicious killer, you're a rabid, vicious and furious killer.
"Little mouse", is it? That would make them the cats?... I just want to see the look on those little pussies' pretty faces when they find out that I'm not a little mouse at all, but a... Rabid! Vicious! and Furious! Killer! Wolf! Bitch!!!

Snarl a bit, and lick your lips to wipe the imaginary sprayed blood from biting their pretty noses off their pretty faces.
If you felt the hairs in the back of your head hackling up, you're good to go.

Investigate the doors. Go silently, and before opening them listen and peek through the keyholes. Food and clothes would be nice, proper weapons would come in handy, and so would a nice hiding place from which you could ambush a passing witch.

[kahn1234]

Writers Note:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

((I thought I might enact on the event I was making hints at fromm the first encounter with the crones. Hopefully this will lead into the main event, as this is still technically the prologue! If some see similarities between this and Starfire, it is becuase I am trying to get back into the writing style of Starfire in order to continue it, as well as continue this story which, dont you worry, will turn out much differently to Starfire. Not least because they arent in the same setting!. So, have fun!))

Put any mercy and empathy you may have into the knapsack (don't throw them away, you should need them later), and be prepared to ruthlessly kill whatever tries to attack you.
Since you're no warrior, you must go all out and hope that surprise and pure wolverine-like savagery can make up for the lack of strength and skill. Psych yourself up with a few sharp breaths and a couple of slaps to the face; clench your teeth and grimace.

You're not afraid, you're not afraid, you're not afraid at all... You're furious!
You're a killer, you're a killer, you're a rabid killer, you're a rabid and vicious killer, you're a rabid, vicious and furious killer.
"Little mouse", is it? That would make them the cats?... I just want to see the look on those little pussies' pretty faces when they find out that I'm not a little mouse at all, but a... Rabid! Vicious! and Furious! Killer! Wolf! Bitch!!!

Snarl a bit, and lick your lips to wipe the imaginary sprayed blood from biting their pretty noses off their pretty faces.
If you felt the hairs in the back of your head hackling up, you're good to go.

Investigate the doors. Go silently, and before opening them listen and peek through the keyholes. Food and clothes would be nice, proper weapons would come in handy, and so would a nice hiding place from which you could ambush a passing witch.

You steel yourself for what you now know is ahead. You are going to have to, eventually, fight your way out of this place. You try to psyke yourself up (Roll=5). You succeed. Repeating the phrase 'I am a killer' over and over, you manage to get your adrenaline pumping. What you dont notice, however, is the very faint green glow now coming from the sigils inscribed into your torso. You also fail to notice a faint ethereal laugh.

You creep forward, trying to be a silent as possible. (Roll=3) You are somewhat quiet. The hard soles of your boots clacking quietly against the smooth stone floor. Whats left of your dress is also dragging on the floor, leaving a slight trail and making a soft swooshing sound. Cursing your luck, tou come to the first door on your left. You lean in trying to listen to whats on the other side. You dont hear anything. You peek through the keyhole, and see a small storage room full of sturdy crates and boxes. You open the door, which is not locked, and start quickly searching through the boxes, using your thinner bar to lever open the tops of the crates and boxes.

You find quite a bit of womens clothing. Not surprising as you have only seen women in this place. You grab some undergarments and replace your tattered ones with the new ones. They are very comfortable and are even padded like a gambeson used under armour. They seem to be made of fine silk. You also find a crate full of grey and dark blue padded full body suits, similar to what you believe an assassin would wear. You tear off the last of your tattered garments and put on the catsuit. It is also very comfortable and is also made of fine materials, with strong yet nearly invisible stitching. Finally, you find several pairs of fine black leather knee high boots, one pair of which you find fits you well. You take them to replace your damaged boots. You also grab one of the nearby pairs of gloves.

Lastly, you find a small rucksack, which you decant your few belongings into, quickly shouldering it once done. You find that your new clothes make you virtually silent when walking. You do not know if they are enchanted to do so or if it is just a testament to their fine craftsmanship.

Leaving the store room, you sneak quickly to the next door, on the other side of the corridor. You listen again at the door, and hear, again, nothing. You peek through the keyhole. You just see an empty room. Sighing, you move to the next room, back accross the corridor.

Behind this door you hear two voices. They sound old and creaky. You look through the keyhole and see two of the old hunched women, two old crones, talking to one another, seemingly guarding a chest behind them. The room has a series of other boxes and a weapons stand with what looks like a short sword on it.

You take several deep breaths. This is it, your first fight. You were a very girly girl when you were younger, and as such never got into scuffles other than the very rare occurence you got into a little cat fight with another girl. These will be the first lives you take.

You burst through the door, whilst still trying to make as little noise as possible. You take the crones by surprise. (Roll=3) One of the crones is surprised long enough for you to get an attack off. (Roll=3) You manage to stab her in the stomach with your thin blacksteel bar, its thin end going right in. The crone screams at you in the old tongue.

"Uppity BITCH, we will punish you for this!"

As your weapon is stuck in one of the crones, the other charges you, knocking you to the side towards the weapon rack. In desperation, you reach about for a weapon, your (Roll=5) hand grabs the hilt of the short sword, ripping it free of its scabbard. You are suddenly taken over by a vicious bloodlust, you notice a slight green glow coming from under your collar, a smile makes its way onto your face which makes the crone that attacked you take a step back. As if on its own, your body enters an advanced fighting stance and your body starts speaking in the old tongue.

"This one is almost ready. These trials will be good for her....me....us!"

Your feel fear as your body charges forward, swinging the short sword is a dizzying flurry of blows.(Roll=6) Your, or rather your bodies, attack eviscerated the old crone, carving her into a pile of bloody pieces. You dont know what has come over you, but you do not feel at all correct in body or mind. You are starting to hear whispers and laughing. Its as if something is trying to merge with you. You try to resist. (Roll=2) You manage to wrest partial control of your body back. You stumble, almost getting cut by a long knife from the other, wounded crone. In the back of your mind, you hear an almost feral and certainly inhuman scream, and your mind is assaulted once more.

This time, you cannot tell the different between your thoughts and that of this other entity. You feel fear, pleasure, glee, hatred, anger, uncertainty, resistance and ecstasy all at the same time.

((Note: Below, italics shows the main character and the italics and bold script is the other entity))

I must not KILL!

YOU MUST! WE MUST!

I am NOT like them!

YOU ARE ONE OF THEM!

I will never be....!

HA! THEIR SPELL IS ALREADY IN ACTION! THAT IS WHY I AM HERE! BEND TO YOUR GODDESS's WISH!

NO! MY MIND IS MINE ALONE!

WE WILL SEE ABOUT THAT! EVERY KILL MAKES ME STRONGER!

You scream, with an otherworldy wraith-like voice, in pain as every nerve ending in your body fires at once. The crone across from you steps back in confusion. You body jerks as you fight for control. (Roll=2) You lose control of your body, and the entity charges you forward. Your attack takes the crone by surprise. Your body kicks in the bar in the crones stomach, forcing in through and severing her spine. She collapses, losing control of everything below her waist. She screams in pain and with a vicious snarl impotently attacks you (Roll=4) which you dodge. You kick the knife out of the crones hand and end her with a downward stab through the crones left eye. She goes limp, and you feel a feeling of empowerment and ecstacy as you absorb something from the two bodies of the crones.

NO!

YEEEES! WE WILL SOON BE ONE, YOU AND I. WE WILL SERVE OUR GODDESS LIKE OUR SISTERS DO!

I'LL FIGHT YOU WITH EVERY FIBRE OF MY BEING!

HAHA! AS YOU ARE, YOU ARE NOTHING BUT AN IMPOTENT WHELP!

We will kill!

"I will kill" Your body repeats out loud. You can feel something inside of you changing. You resist (Roll=2) but you can only slow the onslaught. You grab your head as you are assaulted by a massive migraine. Its as if your very perspective of the world is being changed. Your mind flashes back to your life as a townswoman....

Pathetic, impotent life. Insects, vermin. YOU are MORE, superior.

You find yourself agreeing.

NO! They are my family! Friends! People I love!

Somehow those statements feel hollow, empty. You even feel disgust at calling those apes 'friend' and 'family'. You are not like them. Not anymore.

What is left of the old you musters one last attempt at breaking control, or at least regaining control. (Roll=4) You manage to regain some composure, but it seems your perspective has been permenantly changed.

"I....I need to leave...." Your voice scares you. It has become wraith-like. Ethereal yet lilting and song-like. Your skin is very pale, as pale as that of the young leaders of the crones. The entity was right, you are becoming one of them. Shaking, you clean the sword on the crones clothes and put it back in its scabbard. which is attached to a thick belt. You put the belt around your waist. Now suitably armed, you take your thin blacksteel bar, clean it and add it to your backpack.

You leave the room, and set off down the corridor, leaving the last two rooms you saw. You are in a panic, runnind towards the junction. Just before you reach it, two groups of the crones, both of the young and old, emerge, blocking your way. You turn around to try and run the way you came, but see three females blocking your passage, all three wearing knee length hooded cloaks. They also seem to be wearing the same type of catsuits, gloves and boots as you are wearing.

"Oh, how delightful!" A voice behind you utters.

You freeze in fear. Thats the leader. You turn around, and see that only a couple meters away stands the crones leader. My Leader!

NOT my leader!

You shake your head, trying to maintain control. You will not be like them. Cold killers and torturers.

"If we hadnt heard your screaming, or that of our poor sisters, we may not have found you this quickly. But no matter, it seems you are almost ready regardless. Adanna's week long sleep spell gave our gift the time it needed to work on you."

Week long sleep spell? What?

"I was asleep for a week?

With a grin the leader approaches, seemingly unconcerned by the fact you are armed. "Yes, you were. And in that time you have become a fine servant to our goddess."

"I wont serve you or your bitch of a goddess".

The smile on the leaders face disappeared. Like lightning she appears in front of you, smacking you across the cheek. Again, she move quicker than you can see and she is on you, holding you against the wall, her grip like iron against your throat and right wrist.

"Do not insult my, our, goddess, whelp! I see you will need some discipline instilling into you!"

She leans in, whispering an incantation in a tongue you dont know, before pressing her forehead against yours. You are assaulted mentally by overwhelming power. Whatever resistance you could muster was stripped away. All you can do is be in awe of the image of your goddess, Ael Drenai, as it was forced into your mind by your leader. The images shown to you reinforces the brainwashing and personality rewriting spells being used on you. You cannot resist, even if you try as hard as you can. You struggle against her grip as you do, but she is far stronger than you, augmented by her supernatural body and magical skills.

But even throughout this assault, there is a part of you that resists, that goes into hiding in the recesses of your mind.

After what seems like eternity, the leader of the crones, your leader, stops her assault. You cannot see why you resisted, but you instantly fall to your knees, begging forgiveness.

With a smile, your leader looks down at you. "Now, you are ready for your ascension".

You are picked up by two of the cloaked crones. Two of your sisters. They drag you through the hallways, you being too tired to walk. They take you to a barracks like room where there are more of these women lounging and working on their equipment.

They take you to an empty and unmade bed. Unceremoniously, they strap you to it with some rope.

"Stay here, fledgling. Do not make us manage you like our leader did". A rather rough sounding woman said to you.

----

You are again strapped to something, this time a wooden bed. Your mind is reeling, a bit of you still resists your mental re-programming. But thanks to your incounter with the leading crone, you will find it very hard to break free. You can feel the corruption, the influence of the goddess and the leading crone getting a stronger foothold the more time passes.

What do you do?

STATUS:

Strapped to a bed
Conflicted mentally; still resisting the Crones spells.


INVENTORY:

1 Thin Blacksteel Bar; One end bent into a weapon/tool/crowbar shape
1 Thick Good Quality Steel bar, with rough cloth sling.
4 Rocks
1 Sharpened Rock
1 Chamberpot.
1 full bedsheet
1 torn bedsheet
1 Pair Great Quality black lether boots
1 Very High Quality full body assassins catsuit.
1 Pair High Quality black leather gloves.
1 Small Rucksack.
1 Good Steel Short Sword.

[Maegil]

((I didn't know about your Starfire, but the hints were pretty clear to this troper...
Since it seemed obvious that she was going to change and be forced into the coven, I gave it a little push along to what I thought would help you. BTW, I made a little rewrite on the psych-up to make it even more bloodlusty, as if the influence was gaining hold on her without her even noticing; you might want to edit it in.))

BTW, what happened to the chain?

[S34N1C]

Test our control over the body(as I'm not sure we can call it ours anymore)