1:Recruitment:
Cultists I
Slaves
Undead I
Mutants
Imps IIIIIII + Special Forces (Haunted Armour, more Sintaurs)
2:Consort:
Reverse
Grant IIIIIIII + Have Alyshtr watch, and perform as much of the 'fixing' as possible.
Tell I
Letfix III
3:Titaneghoul:
Cage IIII = Cage wins barely.
Canyon III
Rampage II
Sedate II
4:Followers:
Infiltrate III
Acquire
Misinform IIIII = King Malcolm is mad, possibly uses necromancy, fighting anarchists, etc
5:CFM:
Combat
Support III
Corrupt IIIII + With a side of Support Magic.
6:Recruits:
Mountains II
Cemeteries IIII
Ruins I
Men
7:Other:
Eat lesser demons: III
Alternate Faith: Incite War between Barrtal and Nagaron: II
Create bastardized Demontongue for teaching to mortals: IIII
One could always tell what Alice (technically Alyshtr, but I called her Alice) was thinking. Even though she still had the form of a baby- albeit a baby with bright red skin, unnatural blue eyes, six toes, a forked tongue, and a small crop of hair which varied in colour so as to resemble a burning fire-, even without the... biological capacity to express emotions other than 'crying' 'laughing' or 'sleeping', you could always tell. That was on account of the troupe of imps who followed her everywhere. They were loyal to the girl; bonded to her. Whenever Alice was feeling some complex emotion, you would notice it on the imps. The imps, usually rowdy and chaotic, were now all silent, perched upon shelves so that they could see the figure in the bed with greater clarity.
The figure struggled and moaned beneath the bindings, trying to break free and- what? Who knew. Babble mindlessly. She had been taken by the same insanity that took the poor souls of Akataki to whom Crinkle had spoken. Only difference was that she had asked for it. Crinkle had told her to take lessons in Demontongue, as that she might serve him on a higher level. She accepted gladly; whenever she returned from the lessons she would speak to me for hours about how wonderful it was to be with him, speak with him, learn more about him- but every time I could tell that her mind was getting worse. Yet she continued to go; I know not whether out of duty or love; and she broke down. She was once again bothering me at the brothel which I had been tasked with managing, when I noticed that her speech- which had in the last weeks become ever more chaotic and hard to understand- was no longer by any measure human, but that she blithered wildly in a manner which I recognised. Too late I realised where I had heard it before; the girl leapt upon me and shrieked in my face, scratched me with uncut nails, and leapt out the window- the second floor window.
I had rushed down to get her, but she was gone already. Attacking a band of slaves carrying ore down from the mines. It took five strong men to restrain her, and she had to be tied to the bed to stop her from escaping.
Alice soon came to visit. She spoke with her mother on occasion- or rather, her mother spoke with her, as Alice had yet to grasp the human language. Her slave set her down on top of her mother, who writhed beneath the bindings, and removed the gag from her mouth. Whereupon she immediately began blithering in that tongue of madness. Alice sat upright, and all her imps- even her slave- looked shocked. With some difficulty, Alice spoke to me via one of the imps, who translated her words into human. Why mother broken, the imp spoke. I explained as best I could to the imp what had happened, who then explained it to Alice. She was clearly confused; it took several more back-and-forths before she seemed to understand. The imp announced her intentions to me: Get daddy, make daddy fix her.
It was now two weeks later; daddy had yet to fix mother. The baby, the imps, the slave, myself; we all gazed forlornly at the bound girl.
I should probably feed her soon, I said, Alice may not want to stay for that.
The red imp nodded, did the speaking-in-heads-thing with Alice. Alice cried a little, but had the slave pick her up, wipe away the tears, and make to leave. But it was at this point that the door opened from without, and who should enter but Krinkle himself, exuding an air of corruption that made me gag and stumble.
He picked up the baby in two hands, sat next to the bed, and placed the other hands upon the girl's head. He spoke with his daughter. The imp, perhaps out of habit, or perhaps just to annoy him, translated for me.
If your mother is broken, and you want her fixed, fix her yourself.
She could not fix her, she did not know how.
Then we shall fix her together, and you shall learn; for if you want something fixed again, you shall have to do so yourself.
Alice seemed happy; delighted, even. Her imps did little dances; even the sullen green imp made a contented croak, and the vicious yellow imp made the closest thing to a laugh it had, a sarcastic 'heh', with a slight nod of approval. Then Krinkle spoke to me, in human tongue.
Why are you here, Nameless, he asked me. I did not bother to answer out loud, but just thought 'looking after your consort, you slimy bastard'. This seemed to amuse him. And why am I looking after her, he asked. I thought, as loudly and clearly as I could: Because one good turn deserves another. She helped me when my leg was broken, I help her when her mind is broken. This seemed to amuse him even more. Keep telling yourself that, he told me. I snarled. Now run along, he said, this is going to be difficult, and I can't have you gagging in the corner. Don't you have some whores to take care of?
I snarled again, thought the names of the twelve gods as hard as I could, then left the building. "And what happened then, Nameless?"
"And then, Consort, I watched as the smiths I had once called friends forged hellish armour for beasts of war. They had finished that great steel skeleton by that point; the one that they were working on when you... collapsed; they had begun creating more distressing things entirely. Armour for those undead horses which snatch prisoners and use them for arms,"
"Sintaurs!"
"Of course. Sintaurs. Well, they made armour for those. And at another forge, they were taking ancient rusting blades and fixing them up, along with entire sets of moth-eaten armour. These were collected by their owners; human skeletons which walked by themselves, a glow to their frames which reminded me of Spectres."
"The skeletal warriors for which Krlnkir called!"
"Indeed. Although I noticed amongst them also a group of skeletal horses, and their riders- armed in the remains of what was once no doubt shining armour, but was tainted by age to be as black as what remained of their souls."
She gasped, and clapped her hands. "Skeletal Knights! The risen corpses of outlawed knights who fell to evil during their lifetime, and who arise to slaughter the living!"
"So it would seem. That even a pure-hearted knight could fall to evil concerned me, but that they now serve in Krlnkle's evil host concerns me even more. They also came accompanied by spectres, but not spectres as I had seen before; these ghostly fiends held their heads high and did not let their spectral forms degrade into the vague shadows of regular spectres; their faces were clear, and the robes they were buried in were recreated down to the smallest detail; though oft covered in chains and blood. They spoke, as well, in archaic tongues, and with the air of nobility. They took great pleasure in commanding the skeletal warriors around, or in speaking with the knights whom they had known in life."
"And what of the invention, from Dolnar, did you see it?"
"I did, though it sickened me greatly. Like some great crossbow forged of hell-cursed steel, but in places merged with bone or flesh. Living tendons wrapped around the metal beams, gently twitching, just waiting for the order to fire. Steel cartridges loaded with bolts of steel slotted into the mass of flesh and metal, and by merely pulling a trigger, the living muscles pulled back the hook, loaded a bolt, and sent it flying into a target slave wearing a suit of armour with such force that it pierced the steel and would have sent the slave tumbling had he not been tied to the wall. As much as I would wish to say that that was all, it was not; for no sooner had one bolt gone flying, another was loaded and shot, without the wielder having to do anything but keep the trigger pressed; and it did all this with such speed that within a half a minute the cartridge was empty, and sixteen steel bolts had struck the slave; causing such damage to the armour that it all but fell apart, with the slave so torn to pieces that not even the ghouls would eat it."
She clapped her hands and laughed with glee to hear me tell it. Though it disturbed me to think of one thinking this an enjoyable tale, I could not help but smile to see her glad; her condition had left her depressed and moody. The only manner in which I had previously made her laugh was by agreeing to eat some of her soup; it delighted her to see me overcome my revulsion and consume the broth of human flesh- delighted her even more when I conceded it had a certain flair not found in other meats.
"Anyway", I continued,"I should leave now, and you should sleep. The moon will not be full forever, and time passes quicker when you sleep."
"No! One more story, Nameless, please!"
I sighed. "Of what would you like to hear, Consort?"
"Tell me how my beloved fares right now, down in the valley. How shall he defeat the king's men come to fight him?"
I sighed again. "Very well. But this is only what I hear from Acolytes and messengers- I haven't been there myself."
The forces of the great beast were arrayed at Grantown; recently captured, but already defiled in the name of its new demonic overlord. The temple was bloodied from human sacrifice, the homes of good people were now slept in by cultists and monsters, and skeletal warriors escaped the rain by sheltering in abandoned shops and storerooms. Dozens of imps roamed the city- green imps, mostly, who enjoyed the rain, which kept their tormentors- the yellow imps- at bay. Outside the city, in a cage of enchanted steel, slumbered the Titaneghoul, a beast whose nature I do not care to describe. Suffice to say the cage was stronger than anything any mortal could ever forge, with bars thick as an old pine, and that it barely contained the savage beast. In what had once been the town hall, but had now been desecrated and turned into a command center for the demonic legions, Krlnkle Yrlvent sat upon a throne of corpses, watching disinterestedly as Dal'Kahh explained the layout of the enemy forces.
Here, he said, as he pointed at the map on the table, is the old keep of Hugh's Shade. The enemy has made some minor repairs where necessary, and have taken residence both within the keep, and in a camp of tents between it and the walls. They receive supplies by guarded convoys that come from Boat-of-Garten downriver, and mounted scouts patrol the immediate vicinity of the keep heavily.
Krlnkle Yrlvent nods. And what of our forces, he asked.
Our forces garrison the walls of Grantown, receiving supplies by barge from upriver, and patrol the borders of your demonic realm.
And now, the beast spoke, now they grow bolder?
Dal'Kahh nodded. In groups of twenty they enter your lands; testing your defences. They avoid combat with larger patrols, but sometimes exchange a few arrows or curses.
And their intention?
We believe they seek to lure us out, to a pitched battle before Hugh's Shade. The open plain will give them room to use their knights; and make it hard for us to surprise them; no matter from which direction we come, they will see us coming.
Dal'Kahh leans on the table, staring at the map with vicious eyes. It would be foolish to go, he said, but perhaps we should anyway. To show no fear would inspire greater fear in them, and make the victory all the sweeter.
However, he continued, we could probably get them to face us here; just north west of Hugh's Shade, where the terrain is somewhat rougher. Their cavalry would still have the advantage, but with proper manoeuvring, we could make that advantage negligible. I suspect that this is where the enemy plans to fight us; the expect us to tire of their raids, yet not be so bold as to face them on the open field. If we made to fight there, they would muster their forces and march to meet us, no doubt.
A sergeant- eager and bright-eyed- interrupted. It would be best though, he said, ignoring Dal'Kahh's glare, if we could lure them out here. Hemmed in between the swollen river and the thick forest, their cavalry would be all but useless, and it would be simple for the skeletal warriors to spring from the forest or the river and strike at the enemy flanks, whilst cavalry and aerial attacks from the rear, causing the entire army to rout, and be subsequently massacred, letting the Barr run red with their blood!
Dal'Kahh picked up Barrsdoom and smacked the sergeant on the head with it, knocking him unconscious and making the steel shriek in agony. The enemy will not come here, he said, unless they are led by an idiot. We would need an exceptionally clever and risky plan if we wanted to drive them here. Perhaps if you spoke to them in person, my lord, they would be mad enough to try fighting here- but otherwise, I fear we must plan for either the fields or the hillocks.
Lazily the demon nodded, and asked; What of the forces we face. What are their numbers?
Dal'Kahh was quick to respond; We cannot be sure, he said apologetically, but we have rough estimates. One thousand swordsmen, of which two-hundred and fifty are lightly armoured for extra mobility. Seven-hundred and fifty archers, of which two-hundred and fifty trained with longbows. Two-hundred and fifty light horsemen- scouts now, but armed with spears and shields at battle. One-hundred priests; though not all proper priests, they have been taught the holy chants and given staves of office; they are armoured lightly and bear swords, but will probably remain far from battle, and raise morale of their companions. One-hundred knights, prancing proudly about on well-bred warhorses. Two hundred mercenary horsemen- as well armed and trained as knights, if not better, but they serve no liege, only coin. Fifty wielders of magic; mostly, I suspect, novices with little talent, taught simple spells and wards in an effort to keep us at bay- though a few are more capable, serving to guide the rest. The King himself and his twenty-five guards of honour. And finally, some two dozen assorted individuals of a mysterious nature. Travellers from other kingdoms- probably monster-hunters and wizards who chose to investigate your actions.
Dal'Kahh paused.
As for our forces, he began.
I know our forces, interrupted Krlnkle.
Yes, my Lord. If I may summarize: We have some one-thousand infantry of varying quality. We have sixty-five cavalry, one-hundred and fifty imps of various sorts, and various other forces adding up to something along the lines of two-hundred heads. And we have the Titaneghoul, which, unleashed alone on the enemy army, could probably take out a hundred men before being incapacitated by magical attack. Counted generously, we have enough forces to face two-thousand enemy soldiers on favourable terrain.
In order, then, to be victorious, I fear my efforts alone may not be enough. Your dark majesty must sway the battle in our favour- be it by lowering their morale before the battle begins, granting demonic strength to our warriors, or deploying our forces in such a way as that the enemy will be lured into a trap."...and then what happened?"
"I don't know, Consort. It hasn't happened yet. At this very moment your 'beloved' is deploying his forces and preparing for the battle ahead. Now go to sleep."
"Oh, but tell me, tell me, what do you think he'll do?"
"I think, milady, that he shall
-Do something very evil and very clever"
-Die horribly at the hands of the forces of righteousness, freeing you from his evil grasp"
Ayup. Make your preparations. Pick a place to have the battle (if you choose riverside, you will also need to explain why the enemy would ever meet you there). Pick what sort of troop deployment you want. Make up a brilliant plan to send the enemy loopy. Or just godzilla them away with a single DEATH LAZOR.
Warning: Will almost certainly not work.Note: Living-Polyboli-Wielders are armoured in full plate, seeing as lugging the massive things around would slow them down anyway, and this way they don't have to worry about return fire, or that guy running towards them with an axe.
PS: WHY IS CONSORT ALLERGIC TO MOONLIGHT? Read all about it in the Status below! (The Other section for your champions/cults)
EDIT: WHOOPS TOTALLY FORGOT:
Having heard of your previous demon-eating, and not anxious to become snacks themselves, the lesser demons tried to flee when you announced your intention to eat them. You still caught five of them, but the rest ran off back to their mountain ruins to plot REVENGE.
EDIT 2: THE WHOOPSENING:
Living-Polybolos (still looking for a good snappy name for these things) can be loaded with two kinds of ammunition. The steel bolts, which do crazy damage, or bone bolts, which have a longer range and are coated by the Polybolos itself in a noxious poison, but do less damage.
Name: Krlnkir Yrlvnt
Physical might: 150 (+14: Sacrifice)(-10:Leakage)(-1: Brute-force heal Consort)(+45: Omnomnomnom)
Mental might: 160 (+14: Worship)(-10:Leakage)(-2: Brute-force heal Consort)(+45: Omnomnomnom)
Other: Corrupter.
Demonic Realm: Akataki, Barrspring, and Grantown. 3400 Peons (-100: Joining the Army) . Provides 100 Resources per week. +7 Physical Might/week +7 Mental Might/week
Resources: 98 (-10/Week: Sent to CFM)(-40: Armouring Living-Polybolos-Wielders)(-24 Arming Sintaurs)(-10: Arming Sintaurs with Living Polyboli)(-40: Making Haunted Armour)(-200: Building an Army)
Defences: Considerable.
Notable features: The Forge-Temple at Barrspring provides weaponry of darkbarr steel- high quality corrupted metal.
The forests and rivers of your land have been hunted and fished excessively. Packs of wolves roam, grown large and vicious from easy eating. Your peons must work harder to find meals- although for now, the stocks of food provide.
Demonic Armies: 250 Armed Cultists, 25 Sergeants, 20 Living-Polybolos-Wielders, 250 Armed Zombies, 400 Skeletal Warriors, 25 Skeletal Knights, 20 Amberärsh Packs, 25 Giant Rat Packs, 100 Spectres, 10 Greater Spectres, 20 Haunted Armours, 100 Beastmen, 30 Armoured Sintaurs, 10 Living-Polybolos-Wielding-Sintaurs, 100 Ghouls, 4 Armoured Baneghouls, 10 Black Dragons, 6 Water Elementals, 50 Red Imps, 25 Yellow Imps, 25 Green Imps, 25 Black Imps, 25 Blue Imps, 5 Catapults)
Cults:
The Mad Flames: Low organisation. 35 Cultists in the Church of the Flames of Madness. Led by Balthanor the Necromancer
Power Level: 15 -1 Amberärsh Furnace -6 Living-Polyboli Construction -6 Research
Resources: 120 (+3/week: Workshops)(+9/week: Received from Barrspring)(-24: Living-Polyboli Construction)
Cultists: 12 Cultists, 20 Acolytes, 3 Invocators
Servants: 10 Amberärsh Packs
Other: Your Acolytes manage to develop a series of simple spells that can be used to increase the effectiveness of a Cult's activities; brainwashing spells which allow them to temporarily enslave mortals as well as you can; pleasurable spells which give a taste of the rewards of serving you; and rituals which make pyres burn blue and brighter, and give off a faint sense of the Tall Man's presence. Having an Acolyte or Invocator to oversee a cults activities will increase their effectiveness.
Followers of the Tall Man. Very high organisation. 72 cultists in six locations; Dragonsnest, Greywinde, Port Hope, Goldhall, Easthall and Narsis.
Power Level: 14 -6 Espionage
Resources: 0
Cultists: 66 Cultists, 6 Acolytes
Locations: Dragonsnest, Greywinde, Port Hope, Goldhall, Easthall and Narsis: 11 Cultists, 1 Acolyte each.
Other: Whispered words, reports misplaced, edited, or forged outright- with little things, your cultists slowly build up an image of King Malcolm that sets his recent call for help against a demonic threat in a new light: that it may have been some sort of trap; that whilst the anarchist uprising was real, the demonic influence was not- but Malcolm would wait until Confederate forces came to crush the rebellion, then test his dark powers of necromancy on them- a perfect plan; getting rid of the anarchists, weakening his opponents armies, testing his dark powers, whilst his own forces survive unscathed, and no one would suspect a thing, as he had warned of demonic influence. This rumour is carefully nourished and spread throughout the courts, and leaves many wondering what Malcolm is up to...
Missionaries of the Alternate Faith. High organisation. 27 members in five locations.
Power Level: 9 -6 Espionage
Locations: Noragan (9 cultists), Sal'Sarrin (9 Cultists), Barrsmouth (3 Cultists), Cleomenople (3 Cultists), [Major City] (3 Cultists),
Other: The Alternate Faith organizes a few parties in Noragan, which are- anonymously- attended by some of the most influential people in the city. They bring Barrtal into the conversation. Unfortunately, it would appear that whilst publically many political figures spit at Barrtal, in private, when they can speak freely, they don't really care about the place- a war would just be more ugliness. Your cultists drop a few lines into the conversation trying to steer things the other way, to some sucess; mentioning that Barrtal itself has been mobilizing recently, and that apparently all is not well in the realm. Many nod thoughtfully- it would be an ideal time to invade, and they have always said they should...
Champions:
Alyshtr Yrlvnt: Half-demon. 5.5 months old.
Physical Might: 2 (+1: Imp bodyguard Squad)
Mental Might: 3 (+1: Imp bodyguard Squad)
Equipment: Red Imp pet (fire magic and demonic tales), pet slave, Black Imp pet (metal working and demonic ales), Green Imp pet (illusion magic and demonic wails), Yellow Imp pet (shapeshifting and demonic grails)
Knowledge: Demontongue, mind-corruption, basic fire magic, granting demonic power to mortals.
Personality: Chaotic. Cruel, with a twisted sense of humour. Cares about her mother.
Other: Learnt well from your lessons, and promised that in future she would fix her own things.
Consort: Mother of Alyshtr.
Physical Might: 3 (+1: Beneficial Mutation)
Mental Might: 2
Knowledge: Faint ken of Demontongue, sort-of-half-forgotten basics of Necromancy.
Mutations: Refined Cannibal. Increased Strength. Slight Resistance to disease/poison. Excessive moonlight causes fits of rage and insanity; during this state she is capable of performing advanced necromancy, which she does- killing and consuming all around her, shrieking in Demontongue at the top of her voice.
Other: You brute-force her back to health, with Alyshtr by your side. The influx of demonic energy empowers her mind and body, alowing her to shake off the insanity- though the scars will always remain. More importantly, the evil coursing through her veins causes her to mutate randomly. Her strength increases, and she acquires a resistance to disease and poison- not as much as her daughter or a ghoul has, though. She also receives a slight lunar-activated mutation. One which only manifests after she first walks the streets at night again; when the moonlight struck her brow, she began to glow with a dark red light, and leapt at her companion- fortunately only a minor cultist-, and ripped his throat out. Afterwards she floated through the village, throwing blasts of dark magic all around her and scrieching in Demontongue, sending many citizens mad. In the morning, she was found lying in bed, with no memory of the night before.
Dal'Kahh the Avaricious: Warrior with demonic strength, armed with Darkbarr armour and Barrsdoom.
Physical Might: 10 (+3 Axe)
Mental Might: 4 (+1 Axe)
Equipment: Barrsdoom (Axe; +3 to physical might, +1 to mental might. Inspires friendly troops, causes fear in enemy troops)
Knowledge: Tactics, Leadership.
Nameless: Former Akataki Guard. Being corrupted. He will fight for you... but only in defence of your consort.
Physical Might: 2
Mental Might: 1
Other: Decided he would guard your consort, to make sure she had recovered completely, and to keep her out of the moonlight. Seems to enjoy the 'corrupt' life; attends ritual of worshipping you- not to worship, you understand, but for the afterparty.
Balthanor the Necromancer: Travelled to Akataki to join your cause. Has considerable knowledge of magic and necromancy.
Physical Might: 4 (+2: Living Polybolos)
Mental Might: 13 (+5: Dark Crystal)
Equipment: Dark Crystal which emanates evil energy (+5 Mental might. Requires basic knowledge of necromancy to use). Living Polybolos (+2 Physical Might, Ranged)
Knowledge: Magic, Necromancy.
The Titaneghoul: A massive monster made of steel and flesh.
Physical Might: 58 (Note: Almost impossible to actually kill- even collapsing a building on it won't kill it)
Mental Might: 5 (Note: Almost entirely immune to hypnosis and illusions (or other magics affecting the mind/senses))
Other: Indescribably tormented minds: Requires considerable effort to control; almost entirely immune to hypnosis and illusions. Omnivore: Will eat anything. Friend, foe, or scenery. Unstable Biology: Physical might will rise and fall at random. Terror-inducing-shriek: May randomly shriek, causing terror in all around it. Only entities which are entirely incapable of feeling fear (greater demons, greater angels, elementals, entirely mindless undead) are immune.
Fortresses:
The Church of the Flames of Madness. Formerly Dolnar Asylum, HQ of Barrtal monster hunters.
Mighty Walls (50). Moat (5, slows attackers). Dark Wards (30). Evil Stones (cause illusions and madness to attackers, also act as a second set of Weak Wards(10)). Rampant Spectres (cause madness to attackers. May randomly attack enemies)
Sacrificial Chamber: An excellent location for worship and sacrifice.
Workshops: A large forge and a series of workshops allow cultists to refine resources much more efficiently. With the resources sent from Barrspring, the Cultists can use the workshops far more effectively than before.
Library: A library and series of studies allow cultists to learn the arts of magic. Contains a host of information on both Magic and Necromancy, enabling Acolytes to be upgraded to Experienced Cultists, and for a wide variety of spells and rituals to be learnt.
Sending Circles: A pair of raised daises, linked to a similar pair in Barrspring, which can send and receive objects given a source of power. Balthanor's Dark Crystal powers the circles.
Amberärsh Furnace: A horrific device which industrializes the summoning of Amberärshs. Animals go in, Amberärshs come out.
Author
Topic: Demonhood. -Slumbering for an indeterminate number of Strange Aeons- (Read 237292 times)