Vvulf's Mark
You shake your head. You turn to the leader, holding your head high. It hurts to say what follows, but you keep your composure.
We need to make a deal. You don't touch this village or my family, and I'll join you.Done. I'll gladly take a soldier over the drek this village has to offer. No problem. He laughs to himself as the crowd around you goes wild. They hoot and holler. You're not exactly sharing in their feeling, however. You turn to your father, who still stands there with his hand outstretched. His face is frozen in shock. You walk closer to him. He seems to wake up from his stupor as you come closer. Tears roll over his face as he looks at you in fear. You shakily draw in air as you fight back your own tears
I... I lost you. Didn't I?No! Please. I just want you to be safe.Safe? What does my safety matter. We could have lived in the city! We could have survived, as we always have. He cries in earnest. He begins to sob as he falls to his knees.
I don't want to live this life. What did I do to deserve this?You shake him by the shoulders. Nothing seem to snap him out of it, he just keeps muttering things like that. You eventually just draw him close and hug him. You say in his ear:
This isn't a goodbye. I'll get out as soon as possible, alright? Please. But you're just a little girl. Who knows what these bastards might do... just... keep the fire warm for me, alright? Take care of yourself. For me.You notice that the crowd around went silent a while ago. You push your father away, and walk towards the bandit leader. Alibert turns around, and leaves. He looks back one more time, and then runs along the road. You fail at holding back your tears, but you wipe them on your sleeve. The bandit leader drops his shield, nearly crushing the closest bandit under it's weight, and puts his rough, calloused hands on your shoulder.
That will be the last show of weakness I'll allow. You can't show yourself as soft, or you'll quickly find that my men aren't picky in their meat. Now come, An apostle must look the part.The bandit army leaves everything untouched. Some even throw some valuables on the porches of some houses. Some houses were reduced to rubble during the actual skirmish, but it's nothing that can't be solved.
You saved the town.
Let's hope that idea will soften what follows.
The trek back to the bandit's camp is long, and you are kept close to the leader. He calls himself the Carnivore Of The North, or just Vvulf among friends. He points out that nobody has gained the right to call him Vvulf in a long time. The pecking order is made clear. You are not to call him anything other than "boss", "leader" or "Carnivore".
When you arrive to his camp, you realize that it will be almost impossible to find by just searching. The deep forest is a rough place to move through, and multiple climbs must be made. Vvulf does so with trained ease, hauling his entire body weight up with just one hand. Others have more difficulty in climbing the rocks, but you obviously have little trouble. You briefly consider helping some of them, but decide against it. No weakness, he said.
And these bastards will all pay in due time.
Vvulf takes you to his own tent in the middle when you finally arrive. most of the livings here are squalid, with simple green tents dotting the massive camplace. There is a huge bonfire before Vvulf's tent, which is big enough to house a giant. It looks just as big on the inside as on the outside, to the point that your mouth falls open. There are actually different rooms in this things! The main room, which holds a massive wooden beam to keep the structure steady, has three connections to places with a lower "ceiling". Vvulf wordlessly brings you to a smallest one. There is a steaming pot here that smells horrid. looking inside, you see a dark-red mass, with swirling stripes of black moving around. It looks unbelievable thick. It must be paint, you realise.
It's not hard to think of where he got the colour from.
As I promised, you are to be one of my lieutenants. The boy you slaughtered was next in line through nepotism and anger. he was so filled with rage... I expected far more from such a type of anger, but fortunately you proved much more interesting.His way of talking feels grim. Nothing seems to remain of the sadistic, hearty laughter he seemed so full of just a few hours ago.
Now strip. You'll bear the marks of the red moon.You take a step back(or steps, considering your body). You feel scared.
https://youtu.be/1F96clRenx4I said. STRIP! Or I'll tear it off myself!You try to keep yourself from shaking as you undress yourself. The apron first, then your tunic. You shiver a little, though it's hardly cold, when you also remove your binder. You keep looking to the floor as you attempt to cover yourself with your hands. Vulf grabs your hand and pulls you closer. You can't even shake it away. He is so much stronger than anything you've ever seen or felt before. You feel as if a stone has lodged itself in your throat as he puts his hand inside the cauldron, seemingly unaffected by the heat, and he begins to draw marks on you. He begins at your belly, and makes a strange insignia. The paint burns as he puts it on making you grimace. He continues moving his fingers across your body, making more of the same insignia's and connecting them with a curved line. by the time he's finished, you have marks on your shoulders, one on your belly and one on your upper back, all connected with thick lines. He then grabs a brush, and adds small branches to the thick lines. By the end of it, you look like a painting.
He finishes it off by drawing two lines from the shoulder insignia to your eyes, trailing over your neck and cheeks.
There. You'll sleep here for tonight. Tomorrow, you'll have to show you belong here to the men. Keep that sword sharp, and your sleep light. And no, you don't get to wear your clothing. The paint needs to bind.Shakily, you lie down on the furs in the other room, fortunately not in the same room as Vvulf himself. You wish you could cry. But you just feel numb.
Eventually, sleep comes. It will be a needed mercy
Level up.Perks:
Hardened carapace: Your spider body has gained tougher carapace. This can reflect minor blows, but it won't stop a basic sword.
Growing shell: Your spider body begins to creep up your human half. Over the next weeks, you will grow a tough carapace over select parts of your skin. This will cover your lower arm up to the elbow, and your ribs.
Toughness: the recent happenings leave you toughened. You are harder to affect through pain.
Acid: Your poison gains an acidic component, doing far more pain to your opponents. This makes it less lethal, however
Lethality: You poison grows more dangerous. You only need one sting to bring someone in a life-threatening state.
Incapacitating: your poison becomes less lethal, but becomes a narcotic, slowing down opponents.
Screech: you have the ability to screech. this may unnerve some enemies and allows you limited communication with giant spiders(mostly limited to "I'm the boss")
Mana eye: the upper two of your eight eyes can peer into the realm of magic. There's nothing of interest there, most of the time.
Insight: Something seemed to have "clicked" in your mind. You don't know what it is, but it can't be anything good.
PICK ONE
Level: 2
HP: 9/15
Mana: 10/10
Equipment: Nothing...
Steel sword
Wooden shield(Well-made)
Skills:
Poison Stinger (Potentially lethal)
Major experience in blocking and swords.
Climber
Crafty: Bolas
This will update properly after your rest.
You didn't think this would be fun, did you?
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Topic: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure (Ended) (Read 189704 times)