Over the last several days you have transmuted the forest around the shrine into a maze-like tangle of passageways filled with shadowy fingerknives and other cruel implements of demonic origin, able to be easily traversed nonetheless by yourself and your servants. The priests will tremble in fear as they enter the passageways and become hopelessly lost, separated from their fellows, isolated for you to corrupt - or devour should your power reserves begin to run low. Your various servants will aid in this endeavour, harrying the groups of holy men and guards as they become hopelessly lost.
"See here, captain- sure signs of Evil activity."
"Uh huh"
"These runes must certainly be in aid of some foul ceremony performed in these very woods. Keep an eye open, captain. You never know what horrors might lurk in the undergrowth"
The priests and their guards have a relatively easy time moving through the woods, a clear path leading them onwards into the darkness. They do not think to leave the path, for on either side the undergrowth is a tangled mess of thorns, and the trees stand so close together as to all but resemble a wall.
Eventually they come across a fork in the path. Neither path seems more well-trod than the other, so they decide to pick a path at random. There is some disagreement as to which path to follow, with things becoming slightly heated before a priest (the head priest?) knocks his staff into a tree and demands that everyone shut up and go left.
The canopy grows ever thicker as they proceed, with dangling vines obscuring the view and treacherous roots underfoot, leading to no shortage of stumbling and cursing. Soon they reach another intersection, this time a cross, where again, none of the paths seem obviously more travelled than the others- and every path possessed of the same thickening foliage that has already caused them consternation. This time a fierce argument breaks out, as some of the party want to head back and try the other fork, whilst the others insist that the right-hand path is clearly slightly more worn than the others. Eventually cooler heads prevail, stating the obvious- that splitting up in these potentially haunted woods would be most foolish- and deciding to return to the fork and try the other path. Amidst open grumbling about wasting time, they turn round and head back.
Whilst walking back, one of the guards trips over a root and twists an ankle, leaving him temporarily crippled, if not seriously injured. When they reach the fork it is decided that it would be better for the injured guard to return to the roadside, so as not to slow the rest down. Once he is out of sight on the path back to the road, they move on, this time taking the right hand path.
Is the canopy less dense on this path? Some seem to think so, though the difference, if there is one, is extremely slight. Apparently learning nothing from the injured guard's experience, one of the priest trips over a root, badly injuring his ankle- perhaps even breaking something. His cries of pain echo hauntingly through the woods before one of his comrades can bind the injury in some cloth. We need all the priests to exercise the evil in this forest, they decide, even if we have to move more slowly. Eventually, with the injured priest using a branch as a crutch, they reach a small clearing with a bubbling brook running through it. Other than the way they came, there are two exits, one following the brook upstream, the other downstream. The injured priest decides to have a drink and bathe his foot- only to discover that the water tastes like ash and burns his skin. Shaken, the party decides to follow the brook upstream, to discover the source of its corruption.
The stream and the path wind slowly through the forest, but as it goes, the path grows subtly narrower. They hardly notice as they are forced first to walk shoulder to shoulder, then single file- and barely have time to react when a dark shape explodes out of the undergrowth, knocking one of the priests down and then dragging him into the bushes. The priest's cries for help are cut short with a horrifying gurgle, and the guards who wade in after him find nothing but a trail of blood leading deeper into the forest. Deeply shaken, they decide to nevertheless move on, now with the guards walking in between the priests, eyeing every shadow with suspicion.
All of a sudden one of the guards starts yelling about knives and fingers, flailing his sword around wildly, only barely missing his comrades. The priests try to calm him down, but to no avail- his mind is broken, and he stabs himself in the stomach- "The fingers, the fingers", he whispers with his dying breath. The priests quickly perform his last rites, then leave him behind as they
still decide to carry on.
The path grows narrower still, until it is a struggle to move even in single file, leaving them vulnerable to the sudden attack by twisted fingers that emerge from the shadows. Moving in a most unsettling manner, the fingers grasp and claw at the entire party, attempting to drag them into the bushes or pluck out their eyes. The startled guards hack at them, barely able to maneuver, but somehow manage to drive them away. This is the last straw, and they unanimously decide to turn back.
Though the path does eventually widen out again, this brings them no relief- as the path, which previously followed the stream all the way from the clearing, begins to diverge and move away from the water. "Witchcraft!", cry the priests, and begin chanting something- but even as they chant they feel a dark presence intrude upon them, causing their voices to catch in their throat, their shaken minds unable to properly defend themselves against this mental attack.
Now thoroughly unsettled, the party hurries down the path, batting away at the vines that seem to have grown even thicker, and seem intent on getting in their way, barely avoiding tripping over more roots- though one of the guards is not so lucky, and finds himself left behind as his friends prioritise getting away over helping him. The guards feel themselves attacked constantly by an unseen presence, whispering madness in their minds and calling for them to turn on the priests so that they may survive. Brutewolves emerge from the undergrowth, seizing two of the priests before the guards can stop them, their screams ringing in the survivors ears as they finally reach-
A fork in the path. Taking a moment to collect themselves, the priests decide to try dispelling whatever foul magics empower this maze again. Again they find themselves unsuccessful, and can only manage to get out a few short prayers. As if emboldened by their failure, the dark presence chooses this time to make an all-out assault on the guards' minds- they scream, clutching their heads, averting their gaze from things only they can see. Eventually three of them manage to regain their composure, and make to help their colleagues- who spring up and attack them, madness in their eyes. It is six versus three, the priests being mostly ineffective, and they soon find themselves losing the battle, and decide that discretion is the better part of valour and beat feet. Not all of them manage to escape, however, with a guard and a priest falling before the crazed converts.
Tired, deeply disturbed, and chased by brutewolves, their own comrades, and other -worse- things, the survivors finally emerge into a large clearing with an overgrown shrine in the center. Dozens of paths lead into the clearing, but before their eyes they close up, as branches lean across the entrances and vines form an impenetrable weave before them. Terrified, they approach the shrine.
"Good afternoon", says the woman seated within. "Would you care for some lunch?"
"It's the witch! Kill her, and end this madness!", cry the priests, and the guards move forwards.
"Oh, but I am neither a witch, nor the source of this Evil", she explains, pointing behind the party "He is"
Slowly, to a man, they turn around. Looming before them is an eight-foot apparition, its pale wings outstretched, wriggling its emaciated fingers in their direction.
"LISTEN", it says, and they find themselves unable to move.
"KNEEL", it says, and they find themselves unable to disobey the order.
"NOKLUVGN", it says, and they clutch their heads in agony, eyes rolling backwards.
"SERVE", it says, and they rise as one, blank looks in their eyes, their former selves trapped within an endless labyrinth.
You have enslaved four priests and eight guards. One guard managed to limp his way back to the road, but was met by your smokewraiths, who tore him to pieces. The rest died, leaving a few corpses behind for you to eat, which you do. These second-hand kills do not taste as good as one slain by your hand or sacrificed in your name, but they fill you up. What does taste good- and fills you up far more- is the terror you inflicted today.
Now that you have these new slaves, it is time to
-Return to Fellshore, and build up your fortress there.
-Return to Nuulyd, to try to drive the town to madness somehow.
-Visit a new village, to either destroy or corrupt it.
I'm not really happy with the writing in this update, but whatever, here you go.
Name: Nokluvgn
Age: 3 months
Physical might: 25 (-3: spent corrupting the woods)(+1: OMNOMNOMNOM)(+2: Terror)
Mental might: 24 (-3: spent corrupting the woods)(+4: Terror)
Followers:78 (76 villagers, 2 Wordbearers)
Slaves: 12 (4 priests, 8 guards (armed))
Servants: 7 (4 Brutewolves, two Smokewraiths, one devil-horse)
Cults: The New Way: Low organization. 77 members in Fellshore (76 villagers, 1 Wordbearers)
Power level: 13
Of which: 5 spent worshipping you, 5 spent finding and performing sacrifices.
Resources: 0
Other:
Fortresses: Fellshore: A small fishing village nestled between a small lake and a forest (with mountains not so far in the distance), now undermined with tunnels and chambers forming a twisted maze, lit with smoky torches, where the shadows form strange shapes in the corner of your eyes.
Small tunnel network: increases secrecy of local cult.
Small (hidden) altar: A suitable place to sacrifice to you and praise your dark name.
Author
Topic: Demonhood 2 -Number of giant minions lost: between 0 and 3- (Read 143746 times)