-Use what you learnt from her journal to tempt her into darkness, and thence into your service.
This sounds excellent but also offer her power and a world where she will not be looked down on for what is between her legs.
A skilled magic user could be a great boon
The wizard walks across town. She feels a brief tingling sensation in her mind, and immediately throws up her psychic defences- but nothing else happens, so she cautiously lowers them again and continues walking.
She stands at the foot of a mountain. Great and powerful wizards line the slopes above her, taunting her for her lowly position. She tries to climb the mountain, but whenever she manages to climb up any real distance, one of the other wizards trips her up and sends her falling back down. Frustrated, she walks around the mountain- and spies a hidden pathway, in the shadows, unattended by the mocking mages. Confidently, she starts climbing the path. She pauses briefly at this unusual daydream, smirking at the idea, then shakes her head and moves on.
An open tome lies before her, the secrets to unlimited power inscribed on its forbidden pages. The words swim in her vision, just barely illegible, the occasional hint of a word tantalising her, as she struggles ever harder to read the unsanctioned texts.She shudders, as thoughts of forbidden knowledge flash unbidden through her mind. Looking around nervously, lest the townsfolk could somehow read her thoughts, she makes her way into the temple square.
Legions of servants kneel before her, offering their undying loyalty to her, the grand Archmage of the six colleges. She thinks back on the road that led her here, of the great power she attained by ignoring the so-called 'rules', set in place by jealous old men to prevent younger generations from usurping them. But now she is in charge, and they must follow her
rules. As if that could ever happen. No woman in the history of the colleges has ever even attained the rank of Archmage. No, even if she wielded the power of the gods themselves, the musty old men in charge would give her some bollocks about needing more 'experience'.
She stands atop a mountain of corpses, the fallen forms of everyone who ever slighted her. She effortlessly commands the heavens themselves to rain down fire on her enemies, laughing maniacally.She stops in her tracks, now somewhat worried about the course of her imagination. Sure, she might resent the hundreds of utter
bastards who seem to delight in getting in her way, but she doesn't want to kill them... does she?
The delight of watching life fade from someone's eyes fills her up, causing her to giggle in pleasure as the Duke's dead body drops to the floor before her. His servants now bow and scrape for her, and his lands and titles are hers to do with as she sees fit.Wait. Technically, if the Duke died, there would be an election to replace him. His ducal lands would then go to his successor, and his family lands to his sons. This fantasy makes no sense, she muses, as she approaches the temple's imposing doors.
Her journal sits open on her desk, defying anyone to read it, but none dare, for they fear her wrath far more than they desire her secrets. In the end, ultimate power has bought her that which she craves the most- confidence and security, an end to a life of paranoid delusions. All this, at what cost? A little 'forbidden' knowledge? A few betrayals, of people who betrayed her first? A handful of corpses, most of whom deserved to die anyway? What does she have to fear?
Her hand rests on the door handle, as dark thoughts flit across her consciousness. Where do these thoughts come from, she wonders, and why do they make such good points? Who forbade the forbidden knowledge in the first place? What dark power could be worse than the greedy, discriminatory men who she already deals with? Why should she live in fear, when she is a WIZARD, who ought to command fear, not be controlled by it?
She muses thus as she pushes open the door to the temple, and is immediately overwhelmed by the dark presence within- it barely seems to be hiding itself now. Yet rather than recoiling in horror at the evil emanating from the temple's core, she is drawn inwards by sinister curiosity, tempted by the power contained within that malevolent aura.
The main hall of the temple is empty, and her journal lies unattended on the altar. She rushes forwards and picks it up, rifling through the pages until she reaches the most recent-
"-so thank the gods that that boisterous buffoon will be out of my hair for the next few days. If I have to stay in this hellhole of a town investigating some bogus rumours, I don't want to have to listen to that damned preaching all day as well. Well, tomorrow I will have to start 'scrying for evil portents', so I better get some sleep.
...
HELLO, WIZARD. HAVE YOUR DIARY BACK"
, is written in twisting runes with what looks like blood,
"THOUGH I CAN GIVE YOU SO MUCH MORE THAN THIS. DON'T YOU DESIRE... KNOWLEDGE? RESPECT? POWER? ALL THIS AND MORE CAN BE YOURS- SIMPLY ENTER THE INNER SANCTUM. OR LEAVE THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR, AND NEVER KNOW WHAT SECRETS I HOLD. THE CHOICE IS YOURS"
She looks up. The door to the back room of the temple is slightly ajar, and black smoke is spilling out from within. She looks back at the doors- still open, with daylight shining through them. She looks from one to the other, considering, then pockets the journal and sidles towards the inner sanctum.
As soon as she steps through the small door she is hit by a wave of
power. Just floating in the air, free for the taking. Unable to help herself, she conjures a small light to illuminate the dark room- and nearly blinds herself as the spell is amplified by the ambient energy. She looks around, taking in the crudely carved statues of hideous beasts, the braziers belching out unnatural amounts of smoke, and finally the man seated in what could best be described as a throne at the back of the room. He wears a hood, shadowing his face- but not his eyes, which blaze like burning coals.
"So you are a demon, I take it?"
"MOST OBSERVANT", the man replies, his voice sending shivers down her spine, whilst a small part of her mind begins to shout that they should leave immediately.
"And you wish to make some sort of deal with me?"
"CORRECT. I OFFER YOU POWER BEYOND YOUR WILDEST DREAMS.""And I expect you want my soul in return"
"NO. I DESIRE ONLY A MODICUM OF SERVICE, FOR AS LONG AS YOU DRAW UPON MY POWER""What you speak of is Necromancy. If I was discovered, I would be locked away for life, or even executed."
"I CAN PROTECT YOU. SIMPLY KNEEL BEFORE ME AND I SHALL GRANT YOUR EVERY WISH"
The voice has a hypnotic quality to it, and she finds herself wanting to obey it, to please it. But she resists, saying "If I do this, I want it clear that I can leave at any time, that you shall never attempt to forcefully bind me into servitude, or treat me with anything less than the respect I deserve"
The demon appears amused by this.
"VERY WELL. I SWEAR IT ON MY LIFE, AND MAY A HOST OF ANGELS CARRY ME AWAY SHOULD I BREAK MY VOW. NOW KNEEL, AND RECEIVE WHAT YOU DESERVE" Still sceptical, she hesitantly kneels down, shuddering as the demon lifts up an emaciated hand and places it on her head. Then suddenly a tidal wave of knowledge sweeps through her brain, overwhelming her completely. Once she recovers, she finds that she can
see the power that flows through the room, and
knows how to draw upon and manipulate it as she sees fit.
She tries her light cantrip again, this time successfully conjuring a whole host of floating lights that dance through the air, with the same ease as when she conjured a single light before. She cannot help but laugh at the spinning constellation, at the power she now wields, at the absurdity of the whole situation.
You sit in the inner sanctum of the temple. The wizard, having summoned a bunch of floating lights, is now laughing maniacally before you. Your promise not to force her into service is irrelevant, as no mortal could resist the allure of evil after having experienced its power firsthand- she will never leave your side.
The high priest is a broken puppet. The wizard has fallen to the allure of Necromancy. The knights are shaken, and weak to mental assault. The Duke is vulnerable. It is time to
-Do something
And also name the wizard, as calling her 'the wizard' all the time would get confusing.
Name: Nokluvgn
Age: 4 months
Physical might: 27 (-1: granted to the wizard)
Mental might: 27 (-1: granted to the wizard)
Followers:97 (74 villagers, 4 Wordbearers, 11 criminals, 7 rich men, 1 ex-priest)
Slaves: 13 (4 priests, 1 high priest, 8 guards (armed))
Servants: 7 (4 Brutewolves, two Smokewraiths, one devil-horse)
Cults: The New Way (Fellshore): Low organization. 76 members in Fellshore (74 villagers, 2 Wordbearers)
Power level: 13
Of which: 6 spent gathering resources, 5 spent expanding the labyrinth
Resources: 6
Other:
The New Way (Nuulyd): 21 members in Nuulyd. (11 criminals, 2 Wordbearers, 7 rich men, 1 ex-priest)
Power level: 6
Resources: 0
Other: As they cannot exchange resources freely (yet), the two branches of The New Way will temporarily be tracked separately
Champions: The Wizard (name tbd): The Duke's 'loyal' companion, now corrupted by the allure of evil.
Physical Might: 1
Mental Might: 6
Knowledge: Magic, very basic Necromancy.
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. Being upgraded (10/50)
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 143805 times)