-Torturing the trapped villagers with spectres/demonicly-inspired madness.
-Construction of a temple in your dark name.
-Worship from remaining power in Barrspring.
-UR's plan for the Flames of Madness
It seems pretty much everyone agrees on this much. This still leaves you the demon with something to do, though. Can we get a consensus on what? Currently we have the following suggestions:
-Aid in construction of the temple
-Start a process of corruption on the river Barr
-Develop new monsters of some sort (specify)
You send the spectres into the mines, to report on the condition of the villagers and hasten their demise. The spectres report that almost as soon as you sealed the mines, some of the villagers went mad, and started killing the others. The mad ones were driven off into the depths of the mines, whilst the sane ones stayed near the surface. So far they have remained fairly hopeful; praying, licking small amounts of water off of rocks; but already hunger is setting in, and the smell of rotting corpses is filling the air, sapping their morale. The mad villagers returned from the depths once or twice, but were driven off- not before grabbing the corpses and taking them with them. The sound of crunching bone echoes through the mines, further demoralizing the villagers.
The spectres act subtly; whispering madness into the ears of sleeping villagers; mimicking the sounds of running water deep in the mines, causing the villagers to move away from the surface in search of water; extinguishing torches, leaving the villagers in darkness; hastening the corruption of the maddened villagers, baiting them into inhuman roaring which chill the souls of all who hear it. As the week goes on, hunger effects more and more of the villagers, and eventually, when one of them 'accidentally' hits his head on a rock, the villagers agree that it would only be sensible to eat his corpse to keep their strength up.
You command your followers begin the construction of a temple in your dark name. The blacksmith's shop is raided, the smelters from the mines are taken, stone and lumber are acquired from ruined houses and the village forests. You aid them in their work, using your strength to bend stone and metal into shape, infusing it with dark energy, casting dark spells to draw power from death and suffering into the molten metal of the furnace. With your power infusing them, your cultists work hard and soon the temple nears completion- only the finishing touches and some ancillary buildings remain to be done.
(34/40)Your temple is a mass of dark stone, assembled by the villagers, and fused into a single whole by your twisted will. Within the central chamber, a vast furnace occupies the center; the stone carved to depict all manner of unspeakable things. The furnace takes fuel from both regular sources, and an influx of living sacrifices, whose dying screams infuse the melting ores with an evil energy. From the furnace, four channels run, bearing molten metal to four forges, whose every surface has been inscribed with dark runes, to further corrupt the metal they work. Between two of the forges sits a throne of stone and iron, scaled and designed for yours truly to rest upon, and witness the dark deeds performed in the chamber. Three smaller fire-pits are set into the floor, where pyres can be built in your name; by dark magics these feed their heat into the furnace and the forges, as that no fire is wasted. Altars abound, whereon sacrifices can be prepared for the furnace, or your ravenous maw. A paraphernalia of spikes, chains, runes and icons abound, covering every available surface and hanging from the ceiling. This forge-temple will allow you to create vast amounts of weapons and armour for your dark hordes: weapons infused with dark enhancements, armour which deflects blows by its magical aura.
The burning fires
Of the human soul
Feed the fell pyres
Of the Tall Man's home ((-FlyingDice))Of course, it will require a steady supply of ore, fuel, and sacrifices to work. The woods around the village should supply fuel, and once the mines have been corrupted by the villager's slow death, ore will be plentiful- but you will still need sacrifices to keep the fires burning bright. And you will need smiths to work the forges, slaves to work the mines, the lumberyards, and the furnaces. The mines will need 40 slaves and 10 overseers (cultists) to operate at their previous capacity. Twenty slaves and five overseers will be able to provide lumber for the furnace. Fourty slaves and twenty overseers will maintain the furnace and the forges. For maximum efficiency, a sacrifice should be offered every day to the fires of the furnace. And up to eight smiths will do the actual work of forging.
You have the village smith, and his son, who served as his apprentice. Both could work as smiths, though they are not the best.
Meanwhile, the children organise evermore celebrations of your dark name, though their worship seems insignifcant given your heightened power. Nevertheless, you return what little power you receive to the villagers as malevolent ecstasy, inciting them into an orgy of sex and violence, where human restraint is lost, to be replaced by bestial hedonism. You need fear no rebellion from these followers any time soon- in truth, once a man has offered you his loyalty, there is very little that could sway him back onto the path of righteousness. Even angels would be hard pressed to redeem a follower of yours.
Spies from the Flames of Madness infiltrate both Akataki and Dolnar with ease. They listen for news and relay it to you when interesting, but little is. Some worry about the growing number of arsonist bandits- some propose that it is a single band of anarchists, roaming the land causing chaos. The government increases military patrols slightly, and offers a small reward for information, but otherwise does nothing.
A caravan bearing food for the village is stopped at the wall. The villager manning it tells them to leave the food there.
They repaired the wall, he says. It was falling to pieces, before.
And tell the merchants in Akataki that the next shipment of iron will be late. There's been a minor accident in the mines, nothing to worry about.
The caravanneer shrugs and does as he is told. He thinks it a bit odd, but doesn't worry too much.
Name: Krlnkir Yrlvnt
Physical might: 40
Mental might: 41 (+1 Worship)
Other: Feeling pretty pumped.
Followers: 75 (+35 villagers, and the mother of your child)
Slaves: 17 | 6 (captives at CFM)
Servants: 68 (44 Amberärshs, 10 Spectres, 14 Ghouls) | 12 (12 Amberärshs at CFM)
Cults:
The cult of the Tall Man. Low organisation. 42 (of which 6 are 12 kids) members in Barrspring.
Power level: 17 -7 Construction -7 Resources -3 Worship
Resources: 0 (+14)(-14)
Cultists: 1 Acolyte (control magic)
Slaves: 17 slaves
Branch-Cult: Flames of Madness. 35 members in The Church of The Flames of Madness (Dolnar Asylum)
Power level: 12 -2 Worship -2 Espionage -3 Construction -1 Resources -4 Ward-improving
Resources: 2 (+1 Workshops)(+1 Gathering Resources)(-3 Construction)
Cultists: 6 Acolytes, 12 Armed Cultists
Slaves: 6 captives, Woman from Ylm.
Servants: 12 Amberärshs
Champions:
Unborn Half Demon: estimated 1.25 months till birth.
Female, considerable demonic half.
Fortresses:
The Church of the Flames of Madness. Formerly Dolnar Asylum, HQ of Barrtal monster hunters.
Mighty Walls (50). Moat Under Construction: (6/10). Weak Wards (12). Evil Stones (cause illusions and madness to attackers, also act as a second set of Weak Wards). Rampant Spectres (cause madness to attackers. May randomly attack occupants (friend or foe))
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. Would be more useful with a steady supply of raw materials, but lets the cultists repurpose, recycle, and repair enough to generate a small amount of resources.
Library: A (slightly empty) library and series of studies allow cultists to learn the arts of magic. Contains scrolls on the creation of Amberärshs.
Source of Evil: This place has a long history, and much of it unpleasant. The reserves of evil seem nearly bottomless. It has built up to such a level that it seems to generate evil on its own (in small amounts). This makes it an excellent place for summoning or necromancy.
Barrspring. Iron mining village in the eastern mountains.
Hard to get to. Stone Wall (20). Treacherous Terrain (defensive bonuses)
Iron mines: currently occupied by slowly dying villagers. Once dead, should provide a good source of iron, provided you have workers to mine it.
Forge-Temple: An unholy place for worship and forging. A great furnace which takes live sacrifices as fuel, feeding liquid metal to four dark forges. Would produce vast amount of resources (especially weaponry), but requires ore, sacrifices, and workers. Requires construction to be completed (34/40)