Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Eighteenth Session, 25 February (part one, aftermath, an advanced lock)

Spoiler

DM62: WHEN LAST WE LEFT OUR HEROES... Thrae was searching for Braxis in the Temple of the Sun. Jenna and Vel wandered off for a private conversation. Raz'Qui and Arturus were wandering the grounds, stabbing the not-quite-dead members of the Order. And Zyanya and Hel had just finished fighting a hard battle atop the temple with the Order's knights.

Zyanya, a little disheartened oer the recent events was siting at the bottom step of the temple. She'd put down her weapons and was deep in though. Had she really wiped out a religion, even if it was full of corrupt assholes?

Thrae had split from the others as soon as the situation seemed at hand. She wasn't going to leave a member of the party behind, especially when she had resulted in them getting left behind before. She wasn't above using a bit of force to try to get some sort of directions out of the minions around here, and then a bit more to ensure they didn't stab her in the back when she walked by.

DM62: Thrae finds Braxis chained by the neck, wrists, and ankles in a cell. The minotaur is bruised, and appears to have been roughly shaved. He looks up at the drider. "Thrae? That you?" The minotaur grunts. "Bastards were getting ready to kill me. Zyanya can see the smuggler plopping down next to her on the bottom step. "You alright there, darlin?"

Thrae: “Ya, pretty much every one of these guys is dead at this point. So don't have to worry about them coming back for more." Thrae moves to start breaking Braxi's bindings.

Zyanya: “Was..was this all worth it? I mean I know we were dealing with fanatics and crazy loons here, but don't you think we went a bit overboard? I mean, we were only trying to save our friends that were unjustly imprisoned. Not wipe out the entire cult in the process."

DM62: Braxis nods. "Good riddance. Still surprised you guys managed to break through." The smuggler chuckles. "Wipe them out? These people... they're like weeds. Hell, probably more than half of them fled into these canyons and caves. We killed their prophet and the knights and a bunch of idiots, but there are plenty of idiots." Arturus is walking over to Hel, his blade and mace covered in blood. "Hel... I think our work is done here. We've probably made some enemies today, but we've got the Masters on our side... in theory. I just hope it's worth it."

Zyanya: “Well I hope i was worth it...still dosen't feel right to me, all things considered."

DM62: The smuggler shrugs. "Worth it or not, they ambushed us. If you'll recall, they were gonna kill us. All of us. Never feel bad for insisting upon your own survival. Especially when you're attacked by zealots and fools."

Thrae: “Ya, turns out throwing chain lightning and fireballs into packed crowds really thins out the numbers fast." Thrae said, before freezing the chain around Braxis' neck and smashing it with one of her feet. "There, now we should go meet up with the others, watch out though, their might be some stragglers still around that I missed."

Zyanya: “Feh." She waved off his words, trying not to think too hard on it as she went and checked on the others. Specifically, her knight.

DM62: Fiske is walking down the stairs as Zyanya looks around, looking a bit worse for wear. Braxis gives a grunt as the chain freezes and then breaks around his neck. "Well... yeah, I guess it would." The poorly-shaved minotaur gives a bit of a chuckle. The smuggler rises. "Well... guess we'd best go finish negotiations with our latest ally?" He smiles, shakes his head, and wanders off to retrieve Vel and Jenna. He returns with them quickly.

Zyanya: “Fiske, you feeling all right?" She'd approach the young knight and join up with him, doing her best to comfort him. "You feeling ok? Need to sit down?"

Thrae: “Admittedly, I don't actually know where the rest are..." Thrae admitted as they walked. "I can only guess they are up on the surface or something."

Hel gives a shrug and a grunt, cleaning his blade. "Hopefully it was worth it," he grumbles. "Whether it'll help or harm in the long run remains to be seen."

Vel nods. "Get this over with. And you, I wanna talk to you. Later though.," she says, pointing to the smuggler. "Shall we, Jenna?"

DM62: Arturus nods, cleaning his weapons off. "Indeed. But our people are under siege. If nothing else, this is a worthwhile risk to take, especially if it ends with our people free." Jenna smiles, giving Vel's fur one last stroke before walking back toward the group with the chimera. The smuggler just chuckles, ruffling the chimera's fur just a little. "Plenty of time for us to talk. That wasn't exactly a short tunnel." Fiske gives Zyanya a tired smile, pausing to wipe the blood from his axe before strapping it on his back again. "I'm alright. Another battle, and I haven't broken the axe from Sir Malius yet. I'm starting to think maybe it wasn't some old wives' tale about this axe."

Vel: She nods then sighs. "Fine... I want to learn more. For reasons I don;t understand and probably will never know the truth of you seem to be... grooming me to do certain roles. I'm still managing your locks and traps but it;s going well but I need to learn more. I'm sick of being... Of questionable ability during this."

Hel: “Perhaps... if we didn't delay too long for our enemies to recover from the last setback we caused her. Still, was worth a shot..." the dwarf replies, a bit grumpy but still keeping pace.

Zyanya: “Seems so. Good to have a tool you know will never break. I mean look at my spear." She holds up the weapon in question before slinging it over her shoulder. "You just looked very tired is all and I was a little worried." She'd close the distance and gave him a quick hug. "Just let me know if you need anything. We're in this together after all."

DM62: The smuggler folds her arms. "Well... that's a fair request. As for why I'm training you... at first it was because I had to leave the party. But I also enjoy teaching new things. Tell you what. Next lock we come across should be a doozy. A great chance for an advanced lesson." DM62: Arturus shrugs. "We cost the enemy a few thousand troops, and we did it in an area that was supposed to fall rather easily. I doubt she's recovered those losses just yet... but she might be making another move as we speak. So best we hurry." Fiske blushes but returns the hug for a bit, then gruffly clears his throat as he notices the rest of the party. No one seems ready to interfere with the party's movement, although the party can tell that there are some remaining cultists watching from the distant surroundings, no doubt waiting to emerge until the dangerous group had left.

Vel: “I was hoping for more than lock work but I'll take what I can get.," says Vel wryly, "Good thing I like learning, even if I was never really allowed to." She shrugs and moves along, watching around and frowning. Much to do still. Time to see how these... Masters played out. She wasn;t so sure they;d be quite willing if they were as... Politically maneuvering and chess types as they were protrayed to be. She trusted Jenna to try her best though.

Hel moves along with the others, glaring into the dark to ensure anyone else wasn't going to take the mick at them and delay them farther.

Zyanya: “Agreed. Guess we need to see these people before they lose interest. Something tells me a group like this would be quite fickle with their interests."

DM62: After a few hour's walk, the party enters the clean, dark tunnel. It's deathly quiet as the party moves along. Arturus is frowning. "Damned tunnels... wish we could find more allies above ground." He shakes his head, then looks at Vel and Thrae. "No offense." A few more hours of walking, and the party is not too far from the hidden entrance to the tunnel from the sewers. Jenna stops the party, and Vel's ability to see in the dark pays off--she sees a single finger bone sitting in the middle of the tunnel.

Vel: “No, that;s fine Arcturus. We do need more bodies who are willing to fight orcs like orcs long enough for the poisons to work into their systems.," smirks Vel. She paused when Jenna did later, tilting her head. "A bone? Is it a trap, Jenna?"

DM62: Jenna shakes her head. "It's a sign. There's another hidden door here. We need to find it."

Vel salutes and starts snuffling the ground, smelling for signs of passage. After all, dead people tended to have a distinct odor of one kind or another.

DM62: There does seem to be a decayed scent trail. It somehow smells... cleaner than the usual undead, as though care had been taken in its preservation. Still dead... and the trail seems to lead straight into the wall of the tunnel.

Zyanya: “Any luck Vel? Can't really see all that well and I never was good at finding hidden things"

Vel: “Right here. Checking if it;s trapped.," says Vel, "Smells like formaldehyde. Clearly they care about appearences." She began searching the wall, "Here's hoping I learned my lessons good heh..."

DM62: "A moment, Vel. I've got something in my left hand that should help you." Vel can hear the smuggler's smile in the darkness, and sees him holding something long and thin... a straw. "Likely have to carefully clear dust around the outline... and in the lock. This... is likely to be an advanced lock. Probably trapped. If you need help... let me know."

Vel nods, taking it with a curious look, "So I jsut brush with this then?"

DM62: "Or you put your lips on one end, and gently blow away the dust. Just be careful not to inhale. The dust might just be laced with poison, depending on how paranoid our hosts are. And... it might be a good idea for everyone else to back away while you work." Fiske gently takes Zyanya by the arm, pulling both of them away from the chimera.

Vel: “Heh...," smirks Vel wryly, "They really should make spells for this sorta thing..." She nods and starts to gently blow the dust away best she could, scaling up the wall if needed, though careful not to touch the door itself. You never knew after all... Once that was done she began inspecting the lock carefully.

DM62: It's an odd shape for a lock... looking much like "Y" but also perhaps a little deep for a lock. The smuggler speaks softly. "Can you describe the lock for me, Vel?"

Vel: “...It;s y shaped. And deep. I think I saw locks like this before, the matron;s chambers. You needed a special key so you couldn;t just pick it. Not without having extra arms anyways... What do you think?"

DM62: "Tricky... there are picks that can turn it in the set I gave you... but the question is where the shaft is located for rotation. It could be anywhere along that shape... and turning it in the wrong direction could set off a trap. Look to see if you can tell how the inside of the lock is worn... where the wear begins, pressure from the key is felt. At the end of that wear is the location for the shaft of the key."

Vel: She nods and peers closely, trying to get a good look.

DM62: Sure enough, the wear suggests that the lock is normally turned counter-clockwise, and the shaft is located halfway up the upper-right branch of the lock.

Zyanya: A little surprised that this much fuss was being made over a lock, Zyanya would step back with Fiske, wondering what the big deal was. Maybe it was a good thing she never was the sneaky type as it may have driven her mad with paranoia.

DM62: "Please wait." A voice speaks from above the party.

Vel: She nods with a frown, trying to position the picks in as she had practiced, taking it slow and carefully. Suddenly she stopped and looked up. "Uh...."

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Eighteenth Session, 25 February (part two, skeleton and servant, seneschal)

Spoiler

DM62: A skeletal figure is spread out along the ceiling, using the upper portions of the tunnel walls to hang on. "As fun as it would be to watch you all die, the Masters ARE expecting a group. And yes, you would all have died... we never use the keyhole." The smuggler frowns. "Damned dishonorable way to kill off perfectly good rogues..."

Vel removed the picks. "Oh. One of those locks. Well just as well. Odds were the trap was magical anyways and fuck could I o about that?" She shrugs and steps away from em, "Well, guess the lesson is actually don;t take anything for granted. Silly me for forgetting it."

DM62: The skeleton shakes its head, climbing down. "No... it's mechanical. The wall behind you slams you into the wall with the door. HILARIOUS." It laughs. "But I'd probably get torn apart. You ARE the group that fucked up the Order's little vampire roast today, yes?"

Vel: “Huh. Yup. To... a certain degree anyways..."

DM62: Jenna snaps at the skeleton. "I am Guinevere Dvolyr, student of Lady Fedalles... and you will mind your tongue, servant. We have fulfilled a boon for the Masters. You will escort us there, safely. ALL of us." The skeleton bows. "I have no tongue, My Lady. But the reputation of your Teacher is indeed known to me... and I will guide you as swiftly as I can, and as safely as may be managed, My Lady." The change in its tone is quite notable, though there still seems to be a slightly humorous bent in its voice. It kneels in front of the fingerbone, attaching a stump of a finger to it, and turning... and the door opens for the party. It detaches the finger, rising and leading the group. "Follow me, quickly. The door will close soon."

Vel blinks at the authority in Jenna's voice, before following the skeleton through before sidling up to her, whispering, "You should tell me about your teacher sometime. You weren't kidding about having some clout."

Thrae raised an eyebrow at Jenna's sudden change. Guess Jenna was a bit higher on the rankings of necromancers compared to what she thought. Still, the spider wasn't going to get herself crushed by the door, and walked through. "I feel like I missed some important conversations over the last few days."

Hel: “Ye ain't the only one lass," Hel remarks back to the vampiress. "But hey, trying to play by ear, just part of the fun."

DM62: Jenna smirks, ruffling Vel's fur. "Told ya so, dear. But I'm not sure if you'd want to hear about... my teacher. You might not sleep for a week." There's a bit of nervousness behind her voice... the teacher clearly made a powerful impression on the student. Arturus moves closer to Hel. "What... have we gotten ourselves into, I wonder..." The skeleton plods on ahead, either not hearing or pretending not to hear, guiding the party through a clean, torch-lit tunnel. Finally, they enter a great hall, in which a number of skeletons are standing sentry in polished armor, carrying halberds that look quite well-maintained. An impressively-dressed human is standing at the entrance to the hall, and he gives a bow... Vel can smell the scent of death upon him. "Lady Dvolyr, you honor us with your presence. I am Edmund, representative of the Masters... and I understand that the Masters owe you and your companions a debt. The Masters will wish to consult with the Lady Dvolyr first. If the rest of you could wait here for a moment?" He offers Jenna his hand, with a courtly bow and a flourish.

Vel smirks, "We can swap horror stories about our growing up sometime. Or not. Whatever you;re comfortable with. You can share what you want to." She winks then follows along. She watches as the new strange undead masquerading as human arrived, her whispering to Jenna, "He's dead. Case you didn;t know. Have fun?" Vel obviously didn;t like Jenna being out of her sight, but if it was needed...

Hel's grimacing but shrugs to the elf. "Play it by ear, best one can do," he remarks again, staying silent for now as well as Jenna's called for a private meeting first. The king figits with his belt occasionally, shield still resting on arm, but he's not giving any aggressive movements- these Masters did at least seem somewhat trustworthy, even if most sentient abhorred the thought of the undead being a ruling cast. Still, at this rate help was help, and he'd rather trustworthy undead than loony humans with a false goddess.

Zyanya: “I sorta took that as a fact at this point. Lots of things here seem dead or undead to some degree and honestly, I'm fine with that." Course she was really pleased with the lack of further hoops to jump through. Sure they had to deal with a cult, but that was a straight forward affair. No walking on a bed of nails and subtle alliances. The dead were honest. From the looks of it."

DM62: "Yes. I am undead. As Seneschal, I am the First and Last of the Immortals. A great honor and a great disgrace, doomed to never face combat until the bitter end." The undead human remains bowing, and Jenna turns. "The Immortals are chosen from the finest of the warriors who die young. Painstakingly restored and even enhanced by the Masters, then re-animated as needed. They are... the prettiest and deadliest of undead, apart from the Masters themselves. I have only heard of one being defeated... and that was after killing ten mortals before being pushed off a cliff. The Immortal was not killed... merely delayed and damaged." She frowns... then reaches out, taking Edmund's hand. "Lead on, Seneschal Edmund." "As you will, Lady Dvolyr." He leads the gnome female off into the darkness, leaving the party alone for the moment in the otherwise silent great hall.

Hel: “Credit where it's due, that is admittedly rather badass for a honored warrior," the dwarf points out, taking a swig from a hip flask as he settles to await the next setback or verdict.

Vel: “Huh...," muses Vel, studying the entity then watches after them.

Zyanya: “Honored or no, it's still a little...iffy. I don't know if I'd want to be brought back. Sure immortality is nice, but seeing friends and loved ones pass isn't so nice."

Vel: “That'll happen anyways. It’s called making friends with other species. Lot of us don’t live as long or live a lot longer than humans," comments Vel.

Hel: “Alas, true. I suppose it'd really depend on the person in general..."

Thrae: “You know, the longer I am here the more I wonder if a Vampire actually counts as a full undead. No one had to rebuild me from the ground up or anything." Thrae commented half-jokingly as she settled down to wait. "And I don't know, immortality is handy." The drider said as she felt along where she had been hit by that magic before.

Vel hisses and hurries over to Thrae and scales up, "Thrae, the Masters are very discriminatory towards vampires. Do not voice things like that here. Might be the less attention you garner the better... Because here you either serve them or are... A renegade element that needs to be put down..."

Zyanya: “We seem to have a habit of gravitating towards rather authoritarian factions. Strange how a common enemy can bring people together"

Thrae: “....Yes, I missed some important conversations." Thrae said confusedly. Wasn't there a seemingly rather free and happy vampire working for the masters that came to rescue her? At the very least she had seemed much to confident of herself to be a slave brought to heel. "But okay then."

Vel: “That’s because authoritarian factions get things done."

Hel: “Aye, minding the peas and ques in general may be smart, but either way our goal is still focused on Malgra at the end," the dwarf points out. "Still best not to step on too many toes about it in the end of the day."

Vel: “It’s pretty much natural. Why do you think we have kings and queens and all that. Central immutable authority is natural.," shrugs Vel, "I mean, you have your chieftess yourself, Zyanya. And authority cares about perpetuating itself. Thus it works to keep down rogue elements and to ensure its populaces safety, cus you can’t have authority with no one to author over."

Hel: “The rogue elements tend to be lesser though if the people at the top don't act like closed-minded jerks, or go the opposite way and make sure the populace don't act out of line," Hel adds. "Our kin prefers the former, but hey, many different cultures are forged in different governing styles."

DM62: Finally, there are footsteps again. The Seneschal, Edmund. He walks toward the party, out of the darkness, carrying a glass bowl in one hand. He smiles at the group. "The Masters have agreed to grant you an audience... but there are two things I must tell you. First, there is a... required gift of blood." He holds the bowl out. "Only a few drops from each of you... and none from you, Lady Vampire. It is... an old tradition that I'm afraid must be indulged." He gives the drider a small smile. "Second, and perhaps just as important, I must warn you to keep a civil and respectful tone toward the Masters. They are... not known to tolerate the disrespectful. Even an honored guest may become a disgraced prisoner. Or worse."

Vel: “Well yeah. Or you have a system where you can work your way to the top through skill and ambition. No one really complains when everyone accepts the deck is stacked and the only way to win is stack it back. If you are happy where you are then you stay there of course. Some folks are happy in their spot." Vel shrugs. When the Sneschel returns, Vel looks a little suspicious but has no choice she supposed, shedding a bit of blood from biting her lips. She’d rather give false blood or someone else’s but she didn’t have any with her.

DM62: Arturus scowls, but pulls a sharp elven dagger, spilling a few drops of his blood into the bowl. The smuggler and Fiske do likewise, though neither look too pleased at the proposition.

Thrae: Well, guess the cat was out of the bag anyways. Thrae nodded to the undead guy, though she did notice that Jenna hadn't come back. She could only guess the girl was probably still with the Masters. Either way though she could keep civil, even if it meant just staying silent the whole time and keeping Zaynya. Hel and herself from putting to many foots in too many mouths

Hel shrugs a little, tugging the gauntlet from his normal hand and gripping the head of his axe on the point, using it to draw the blood required before wrapping a bandage on the new wound. He's quiet, but otherwise watchful of everything else.

Zyanya: Curious. What reasons would they need for their blood? Why was this a tradition in the first place? She wasn't about to raise a fuss though and she delivered as well, using a small hunting knife to draw out a few drops of blood into the bowl.

DM62: "Thank you, honored guests. If you will please follow me." The seneschal bows, then turns, guiding the party into the darkness. The group enters a large spiral staircase, with the walls made of some form of marble... and yet the members of the group get the impression of faces occasionally forming in the smooth white stone, staring at them. Or perhaps silently screaming at them. "Do not be concerned. Guardians of the Sanctuary. Harmless to those invited." Finally, the seneschal leads the group into a vast, two-tiered hall. In great thrones, lined around the top level, skeletal corpses are silently sitting, facing the center of the room, quite still. The skeletons are naked, but immaculately cleaned and polished. An impressive ebony-and-sapphire throne is in the back and center of the lower level, with a skeletal figure sitting on the throne's cushions, also quite skill. The seneschal motions to the party, to wait in the center of the chamber. Then he moves before the ebony throne, kneeling and quietly reciting an inaudible prayer.

Vel frowns a bit as she moves over there. Hm. Were the masters inanimate except when animated by the Seneschel's magic? Or was he the real power here? And where was Jenna? Hmm... Guess it was time to see how this played out...

Zyanya: Wait...were these things supposed to be the people they were talking to? Given the amount of undead they've run into on this trip so far she figured that a group calling themselves "The Masters" Would be at least some form of advanced undead. Not simple skeletons needing to be woken up every so often. But an ally was an ally regardless of their form

Hel: While Hel himself is silent, his eyebrows grow ever higher as they reach the central chamber. A part of him was curious about who had constructed such things--if his schooling had been right, Braxil was supposed to be a young country, and he would have thought his kin would have ran into this sort of thing prior if the undead masters were really as long-lasting as they had said they were. He held his tongue in respect though, quiet and vigilant. Still, for undead that claimed dominion, they showed a lot of bling but didn't seem too interested in adorning themselves like other royals of other cultures. Must be a thing to them, purity of the base elements or some rot like that, he thought with a mental shrug.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Eighteenth Session, 25 February (part three, the Masters of Underfell)

Spoiler

DM62: The seneschal rises, dipping a finger lightly into the bowl of blood, then tracing it gently over the teeth of the skeleton upon the ebony throne. He bows, as lips begin to form, seemingly materializing over the teeth, spreading and forming flesh. Then he rises again, placing the bowl at the lips and easing the back upwards, tilting the bowl to pour the blood into the mouth. The body continues to flesh out, as muscle and sinew and flesh form... organs and eyes and hair and fingernails, until at last a beautiful dark haired woman is sitting upon the throne, gazing upon the party with a crooked smile. "Greetings, allies. Prince Helvoque Magmahammer, of Grand Forge. Lady Zyanya, of the Shiriti. Thraexyra of House Audaxia, with servant, Vel. Sir Arturus, of the Forest's Heart. Sir Fiske, of the Broken Axe. And... is it Clark Gable? Or some other name, these days?"

Vel: Well. There was half her answer anyways. She curtsied, or best one could without clothes anyways

Thrae was curious like Vel, where had Jenna gotten off to now. She hadn't seemed worried when she was taking away so she could only hope she hadn't been like, a criminal on the run or something. Still, best not to get attacked by the screaming ghost monsters, so Thrae did her own spider bow to the assembled masters and materialized person.

Hel: The dwarf gives a bit of a amused and surprised jerk at the sudden appearance of flesh coating the body. Nice trick. "And a greetings back at ye, m'lady..." Hel remarks, part of him thinking of the implications of what had just transpired. Clearly she got some form of rote memory or identification of the blood, considering she could name all of them and the place of birth. The question would be just how much of it would be used against them.

DM62: "You are curious why we wished to taste your blood. We are not vampires... it does not sustain us. But it does permit us to assume a mortal form, for a time, as you see. Ugh... flesh." She shakes her head and wrinkles her nose a little... it would be tantalizing if she hadn't been a skeleton two minutes ago. "But it also gives us knowledge. Knowledge of your true motivations, your true intentions. Not everything... it is only blood, after all. But you would be amazed how much of the truth is carried in the blood. Still... you have come a long way and committed bloody acts to reach us, so you may give voice to your requests. You stand among our bodies, as they are, so you may be assured that we are at least taking you seriously."

Zyanya: “An honor, my lady. I greet you in the name of my mother and all the peoples of my land." The Shiriti again remembered her position as a diplomat here and would do her best to remain polite.

Vel nudged Hel with her tail, not wanting to have to take the lead here. She would if she had to, but...

Hel nods to the woman, seemingly less fazed by her nudity and the previous state she had been in, instead focusing on the task at hand. "I assume at the least that it brought some fragments of our mission, but allow me to fill in some gaps. Upon the surface above, a war is embroiled, one that threatens all free peoples. The orcs are crusading and pressing the lands east of here to the brink, and just a scant few days ago struck at your own people and holdings. At last we knew, they held positions at Grand Forge before that attack on your shores, that we helped route. We seek aid and support in ending the orc's crusade in as timely a matter as possible."

Zyanya: “Their commander has reat focus and devotion to her mission and forces that pose quite a threat. We fear that once they succeed on one shore, they will continue to push until all lands are theirs. Even my people are hardly safe from their threat."

DM62: The beautiful woman nods. "Lady Dvolyr told us as much. Very well... we shall assist you in your war. We will help you crush Lady Malgra's crusade utterly, and to bring peace and order back to your world. After all, she has already threatened our villagers from Axe-town. And that makes her an enemy by default, even if she could never hope to harm us here in Underfell. We will send you back... with an army. But there is one condition. Lady Dvolyr will stay among us, at least while the war rages. I'm afraid we must insist on this point as a political safeguard... for your own sake as well as to protect our interests." She glances at Vel and then at Hel, and her eyes almost seem to sparkle with some secret, her smirk curling a little more.

Vel: “...I imagine you don't care to elaborate on that then?," asks Vel as she eyes the woman, not liking that. At all.

Hel: The slight kindness to the dwarf's face fades a little, looking concerned. "...For what reason? As we did save her from a grizzly fate, I would hope she did not suffer some trouble here....?" he asked simply, not in a threatening way but clearly curious for the reasoning.

Zyanya had seen things like this before. Tribal alliances where two factions would agree to work together if the party requesting help offered up a hostage. Hell, she almost was one herself had her mother not insisted on renegotiating. And this was no different. If losing Jenna was the cost, than they may have to pay it for the safety of the lands future.

DM62: "Well... yes. She is the expectant mother to the last heir of the Great House Magmahammer. I think the news surprised her as well, but there it is. Surely you would not wish to bring a pregnant mother of Royalty into battle with you against the orcs and their allies."

Vel blinks, then shrugs a bit. While it had been a long shot either way, she was a little disappointed to not have sired her kittens with Jenna. The dwarf had way longer shots, and there was a pretty high chance she was infertile. Heh. A infertile beastkin, there was an oxymoron but so it went. "Ah... Well... Can we at least say our goodbyes and... congratulate her?," asks Vel, "I'm sure Hel wishes to see her."

Hel: Indeed, Hel blinked at this, blushing slightly. "...oh..." he mumbles, gulping for a second before nodding before looking to the ground. "I... Of course, there is no problem with that..." Kind of an odd time to learn of such words, but...

Zyanya: And now the true reason came out. She had value to them. She was the carrier of a royal heir and they could use that to their advantage. Zyanya would keep herself out of the conversation for now.

DM62: The woman upon the throne gives a nod. "Of course. We have taken her to the grand mustering chamber, to see the assembled forces that you will lead into battle. They are to be led by Asraugh, one of our Immortals, but he is to act according to your commands, so long as you do not act against our interests. Was there further business to discuss, then? Or would you prefer to go see the expectant mother, as well as your new forces?"

Hel: Still trying to put together his dignity, Hel nods shortly in response to the bone queen. "Unless one of you wish to add to this arrangement, it may be best for us to prepare for our leave and muster the troops," he remarks, bowing to the Master and glancing between Thrae, Vel, and the others.

Vel nodded, nothing immediately jumping to mind.

Thrae bows again, and then nods to the dwarf. She didn't have anything to say that she hadn't already said, so they might as well get going. Ontop of that she half wanted to tease Hel a bit as well, but not infront of the masters and all that.

Zyanya: “I have nothing to add ma'am. We thank you for h contribution to our cause. Hopefully we can deliver a swift end to this crisis."

Vel: “Oh wait. You wanted the sword?"

DM62: "Very well. I bid you all the best of luck in retaking Grand Forge... and a piece of advice." She fixes eyes upon the half-elf, seeming to stare for a moment. "No half-measures. Slay everything that stands before you. Create such a rift in your enemy's races that they never dare raise a blade to your people again. And... yes, I believe that was the price for our meeting." She gestures, and blue flames light about a stone altar with skull adornments. "Place the accursed blade upon that altar, and let its light be extinguished forever. We shall allow them to find it, in time... but it will curse them, curse the wielder, curse their efforts, and take them far from our lands. Thrice-cursed shall the Order ever be, wherever they crawl upon the face of the world. And then follow Edmund, my lovely allies. He shall lead you to your new army." Edmund turns, rising and bowing to the party.

Vel staggers with the sword, but pushes it up onto the altar, before walking away. She certainly would agree with the advice given to them.

Thrae would follow as well, not terribly interested in whatever was going on with the sword. The last few days had been rather busy, and honestly she was just looking forward to some downtime after they started marching this army along.

Hel nods slowly, even as his mind swells full of his thoughts. This was starting to get far more than what he had expected. At this rate, the remaining strength of the Magmahammers was falling to him... his kin needed him, and now so did Jenna... And yet so did the rest of the kingdom, they needed the able-bodied warriors to end the crusade against them... The various thoughts clashed with each other as he walked, brow furrowed in thought. Truly thus far there had been too much rash action and not enough thought, what would his father say about the state his son was in...

Zyanya: She could hardly imagine being in a position like Hel's. Being basically the highest ranking member on the team, he was shouldering more budens than the tribal could understand. But they all shared a common mission and they were getting ever closer to it's completion now that they had greater forces on their side. At the very least things were looking up now and th Shiriti could relax. Not be so high strung.

DM62: As the blade touches the altar, its light glow begins to flicker... then a blackness spreads along the blade, with a quiet crackling sound, until the blade is entirely blackened. The woman on the throne gives a nod to the party. "We will not forget your part in this, Vel. Should you ever be free of your obligations to your Mistress... you will always be welcome to live among us, as a mortal or as an immortal, in Underfell. I'm sure that would make Guinevere very happy." Edmund leads the group away, heading through a long corridor lit with blue flames. Faces seem to dance among the flames... and then the party sees a figure ahead, at the end of the corridor, which comes out onto a large balcony. Jenna is looking out into the darkness, quietly, with a sad smile upon her face.

Vel: “Thank you for your offer your... Majesty?," says Vel with a curtsy, "I will keep that in mind." She wasn;t sure Jenna woulkd want to stay here in perpetuaty but well... Time would tell. And if Vel had a place in her life after all. Vel saw Jenna as she approached and hurried over and nussled under her arm with a smile. "Regretting getting what you wanted already?"

DM62: Vel and Thrae can also sense... figures, below the balcony, in the darkness. Many, many, many figures, standing perfectly still.

Thrae's mental conversation with the Masters (upon entering the chamber):

Spoiler

DM62: A voice whispers into Thrae's head as the party enters the great chamber of the Masters. {Greetings, Thraexyra of the House Audaxia. We have been waiting for your arrival... and the arrival of your companions.} She can sense the minds of the still skeletons, quietly watching and listening.

Thrae: If they were listening to her feelings somehow, the voice in her head might notice momentary confusion as to the mental intrusion, mostly at why she was specifically the target, but also some wariness as she worried about like a mind control attack. Though it would pass quickly. {Greetings Masters of Underfell. If I may ask, why is my arrival singled out from my companions?}

DM62: A number of voices respond, but Thrae can hear them all perfectly. {Because you are a vampire.} {Not truly undead. Not truly mortal.} {Not to be trusted.} {But all the same, you have proven yourself an ally thus far.} {We take precautions with members of your... category.}

Thrae: Guess that confirmed what she expected. Still they weren't trying to mind control, even if that last line was ominous. {Well, I wish no qualms with Underfell. Indeed once this whole adventure is done it is likely I will not come within fifty miles of this place again. So I do hope you will not find a need to put those precautions into use against me for the duration of your potential co-operation with our group should you agree to such.} Thrae tried to be as polite as possible in her thoughts, she really didn't want to have them do something to her just because she stopped by, and she honestly just wanted to go back to the Spiderbloom and her House after this was all done.

DM62: {Your circumstances are... special.} {We will help you.} {You do not seem to wish us harm.} {Outrageous, that we allow a vampire to walk freely without swearing fealty.} {Do not worry, some of us are old and set in our ways.} {We trust that you have come here with purpose, and that you will not tarry beyond the confines of your quest.}

Thrae: {Yes, once our need to be here is passed, I shall ensure I do not encroach your lands with my presence again.}

DM62: {All for the best then.} {Indeed.} {We hope your friends do not take too much umbrage.} {Everyone's best interests, really.}

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Eighteenth Session, 25 February (part four, the Third Division)

Spoiler

Hel: Having faced down monstrous Snurflers, hordes of greenskin warriors, and so many beasts and monsters they had stood against in this war, Hel seemed most lessened as he stood before Jenna, shifting uncomfortably. "I... really don't know what to say...." he admits, still flustered from just learning it. It doesn't take long before he wraps an arm around the gnome in a gentle hug, still as warm and comforting as it ever had been with the stranger he met randomly on the road.

DM62: Jenna sighs, stroking Vel's fur and hugging Hel. "Um... say that you're happy that you're going to be a father? I know... it's within your rights to declare our union's issue... well... our child to be a bastard, if you wish, my prince." She releases Hel. "But more importantly, I think Malgra's going to be in for an... unpleasant surprise."

Thrae looked at the faces in the wall, which probably were actually there all considered. Wouldn't put it past this place to make walls out of the dead. Still, walking along she saw Jenna, and then she turned her attention to the many perfectly still figures. "Yes, I sense she might indeed be unpleasantly suprised judging by what I think I'm 'seeing'."

Vel: “Yeah, tell her or maybe I'll do your job for you.," grins Vel at Hel as she nussles against Jenna's tummy, "If anything, you should be thanking her."

Hel: “I am, I truly am... but I feel that this is a burden that has been unjustly, well, thrusted upon you..." he admits as well, despite the wordplay. "Make no mistake, when there is a Grand Forge safe to return to, you will have a home to call your own at my side, my lady." He smiles, giving a hand to reach over to Vel and scruffing her hair. "With plenty of room for visitors if they so wish." He sighs, resting for a moment. "It just... took me by surprise. When I started this journey, I hadn't expected such things..."

Zyanya: Well at least the couple didn't seem too shaken or upset. Save for the legitimizing of the heir, they had quite a happy situation on their hands. "It's about time we turned the tables on them for a change. Put them on the back step and force them to deal with s on the attack for a change instead of us always being on the defensive. "

Vel: “We're not ahead yet, Zyanya. At best this puts us at even ground but we ned everything we can get. Even is way too swingy."

Thrae: “I'm sure it was some a hard thrust that gave this burden to you Jenna." Thrae jokingly added as she listened. "That was terrible, and I'm sorry but I couldn't resist."

DM62: The smuggler smirks. "Aye, but Hel's a bright enough prince to keep his options open, 'Lady Dvolyr.' Doubt he'll be legitimizing any half-breeds today." Sir Fiske scowls, clenching a fist and glaring at the smuggler. "You will mind yourself, rogue." "Oh, so sorry to offend the noble folk."

Zyanya: “Be that as it may, I'd rather be on even footing with a foe then at a massive disadvantage. At least now we can punch back and really do some damage."

Vel: “Well obviously, but we should get more forces before then. Evens nice but if we can tip the balance in our favor, why protest against it?," smirks Vel, as she nussles into Jenna and Hel, "Oh finally, appreciation from someone asides Jenna and Thrae. Months on the road and not a touch form anyone. Oh, well I guess Mr. Gable has petted me some, so he is exempt from my chastisement."

Hel: “There will be plenty of time for making those that wish tradition be sated when there is a court to complain about it," Hel points out. "Remember, in several days the imposter is supposed to pass the buck to a new clan still, something that I'll have to rectify once we've pinned our foes down again." He focuses on Jenna again though, holding her close. "I just wish I could do more to ensure you were safe and cared for beyond leaving you here, but the Master has a point, this is a safe point until home is returned..." Vel's response was met with even more petting behind her ears. She asked for it.

Zyanya: “I never said we should stop to gether allies, just that we’re in a better position. You aren't very perceptive, are you chimera? I figured you would be given your choice of profession." The shiriti sipped from her waterskin.

Vel: “No, you said we’re in position to put them on the back step. Not really. We're evenly matched at best. If we gamble that now we could lose it. What happened at the shore could happen to use too if we’re not careful. I woulda thought you’d understand war, given your profession."

DM62: "Ah. I keep forgetting that not all of you mortals can see in darkness." The seneschal pulls one of the blue-burning torches from the corridor, and motions. A lightly-armored female elf (Vel and Thrae can tell she is also undead) climbs the stairs to the balcony, taking the torch from the seneschal. She moves down the stairs, placing the torch to the floor, fifty feet below the party. The flame seems to catch something ablaze, and a line of blue flame spreads outward, past the balcony, perfectly straight. It hits a certain point, then it splits in three more directions at right angles... and each of those hits a further intersection, blue flames spreading and lighting a massive grid. Within the first grid stand what looks to be a hundred lightly-armored vampires, standing at attention. Then there are zombies, wearing chainmail and carrying spears and asymmetric shields, each beside an undead horse. Beyond that... skeletons with thick iron armor, shields, helms, and sturdy hacking blades. Skeletons beyond easy counting, in a massive underground field. Above most of the squares flies harpies with gray skin, dressed lightly, with bows clenched in their bottom talons. A massive army of the dead, all standing or flying in place.

Zyanya: “Guess I can expect a slave to take words far too literally. You are good at following orders. Though with a nasty independence streak."

Vel: “Everyone is a slave to something, Zyanya. Some of us are just wise enough to realize it. On a different note, that’s a lot of dead people... How do you ride an undead horse? Lotta spine there..."

Hel glances at the troops and lets out a soft whistle, though focuses on Jenna more, cradling and giving her the soft attentions she needed at this point. He knew that she usually did not care for it, but for some reason, it still felt like the right thing to do for her now, so he went with his gut.

Thrae: “Wonder how well they move." Thrae said as she looked out over the army. "And they might just make the orcs break and run before the fight even starts."

Vel: “Nah, orcs are too blinded by honor to run away. Double edged sword though. They won;t poison our supplies before the fight or take hostages."

Zyanya: “If you call that wisdom, then I would hate to see what ignorance is in your definition." The shiriti was getting quite frustrated with the words of the chimera. Then again, she always had some measure of frustration speaking to her. It was like yelling at a brick wall. The army before them however was quite the sight to behold. Diverse forces with different armor types, weapon diversity and the like. A good balanced force. "You assume the orcs are cowards Thrae. We've seen they are capable of courage in many cases." Of course, she couldn't expect her pet to say anything more.

DM62: Jenna leans against Hel for the moment. "Yes, well... there were also the thrull, as I recall." The female smiles. "The horses wear those specialized saddles, literally clamped to their bones. Their riders do not fall easily. Would you like to see your advance host?" She gestures, and fifteen unearthly figures appear before the party. "Spectral warriors. Impossible to kill without special materials, or magical power. Impossible to detect except by a few."

Vel: “Given you have yet to refute it...," says Vel with a smirk. She blinks and stares at the spectral warriors. "I’d be jealous if it didn’t mean I couldn’t interact with the world anymore. No more pettings..." She shakes her head, "I wasn’t there for that conversation. What's a thrull?"

Hel frowns a little, but nods, turning to the elf. "If we wish to fully overtake the orcs now, it may indeed be time to take Ashur's advice about the thrull, yes," he admits. "Especially if we wish to truly catch them by surprise..."

Thrae: “Those bugs we could wake up for support." Thrae said offhand, the ghosts though, they were interesting. Wonder if they could find a way to use them to assassinate the orc leadership, just cut it all off at the head.

Zyanya: “I must admit, the thrull and the spectral warriors fill me with curiosity. Can only imagine the orcs will have trouble dealing the latter at first. But how much the thrull will contribute I can't say. I have only heard stories. "

Vel: “Bugs? That shouldn;t be that hard, the dark elves did it with spiders. Let's ask them for advice?," offers Vel, "Or we can do it the simple way. Load em in cages and then open them up towards the enemy, wave fire to egg em on. Not the most elegant solution, but it could work."

DM62: The smuggler shrugs. "Very large bugs. Dangerous. But if they could be placed under our control... they could help us with those scorpionmen and their orc riders."

Hel: “Our kind has run into some of them before, though none near where I grew up. Tunneling insectoids of some kind, the reports are always vague. Mostly a problem on the roads to Northfort, if I recall the notes correctly."

Vel: “So yeah. If we weren’t short on time I’d say let’s grab a few of the spider-herders from the dark elves."

Zyanya: “I'd imagine that we'd have to dance through some overly complicated web of dark elf spider-herder politics. The Thrull offer a much simpler solution without all the potential bloat and procrastination."

Vel: “First of all, there's a diffrence between politics of the noble houses and hiring people to do jobs. Second, we'd get them because they know how to work bugs and such and get them to do things. Spiders are just big bugs too right?"

Thrae: “We already have that scroll that will let us control them remember?"

Vel: “No? I wasn;t there for this conversation. I was outside with Nisali cus the mage was allergic to me."

Thrae: “Ahh right"

Zyanya: “Guess you don't know everything, do you." The tribal mumbled under her breath.

DM62: The female elf bows. "I am General Asraugh, Knight-Commander of the Third Division of the Army of Underfell. The Masters have instructed me to place our troops alongside you and yours, as close allies, so long as your will does not counter the interests of Underfell. Behold. The First Brigade, three regiments of mounted medium cavalry. The Second, Third, and Fourth Brigade, ten regiments of foot, in total. And the Crimson Company... one hundred vampires prepared to act as light flanking troops, as needed. There is also the Winged Company, which is spread out among the various forces as scouts and ranged support."

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Eighteenth Session, 25 February (part five, planning ahead)

Spoiler

DM62: "Yes, the scroll will actually... well, Ashur said it would awaken them to sentience. Full consciousness. They would become an intelligent force, that would serve our will against Malgra." Arturus frowns at the General's introduction. "Quite the formidable force. Not sure if it's enough to retake Grand Forge, but it's at least enough for a solid siege."

Vel: “Cat ears, Zyanya.," says Vel simply as she looks to the scroll, frowning. "Full intelligence... That;s dangerous. Giving them intellect doesn;t guaruntee control. Making an entire new species to be your war slaves carries risks you know."

Hel thinks for a bit. "Grand Forge by itself has many subentries and sealable areas, so a siege may be the start we need before we find an alternate inlet for us to seek passage... All depends on how much time the orcs have had to lay the lie of the crown's falling and focus on breaking the sealed quarters.

Zyanya: “Nothing wrong with that. Siege would buy us plenty of time, especially when we have an arm that may or may not require a huge amount of dedicated supplies. Do they in fact need supplies? I imagine the vampires need blood but what about the rest? We could essentially make the siege last for years. But that's time we don't have."

Thrae: “It is a very impressive army. With the vampires and the ghosts we may be able to cause havoc even as we lay siege. Though I do believe the Thrull would be useful, even if they become sentient in the process. If we give them the option then maybe they would repay us for their new intellegence without us having to force them.

Vel: “What kinda bugs are thrull?"

DM62: The general grins, then points to a far-distant lit square of the grid. "Those two-hundred. Cattle companies for the vampires... humans, mostly, though there's some variety." The smuggler frowns at Vel's question. "Big ones?"

Vel: “Well do they fly? Dig? Climb? Suck blood? Poisonous? If we know what we can do we can plan around it. If they’re big and dig we may not even need a siege. We can come up under em and assault from within. If they fly, we ride them and assault from above. Plus, we need to get to the sections not under orc control, and convince them you’re the real Hel, and they can attack from their sectors same time."

DM62: "As I understand it, they're much like big ants. Tunneling and eating what food they can find, though I'm not sure of what they eat. I know that in large numbers, they can consume unwary travelers."

Vel: “Good enough. We take a couple, dig us up into the sealed sectors, convince them to rebel with us, then we strike from below while they;re distracted with the rebellion."

Hel: “This is also of course assuming the orcs are all still at Grand Forge and haven't moved on. I'd assume they'd have stood still until they had usurped the kingship, then move against the humans. Open terrain that'd usually serve the human's perchance for horseman would be just as efficient for the forces we've seen the orcs use, unlike those woods the elfkin call home..."

Vel: “They need an occupying force still. Without an immediate threat, nothings stopping them from just throwing their shackles off at first convenience."

DM62: "Unless they've broken into the stores at Grand Forge, they'll need food. And once they learn of their failure at Axetan," the half-elf speaks in a concerned tone, "they'll more than likely come west again, by land. To try to take that farmland that we briefly passed through. Tillshire... perhaps even finish the job at Axetan. We may wish to sweep south with the army first, then break off north to deal with the thrull. If more of Malgra's forces are on the march, we might just whittle her army down some more."

Hel nods, frowning at the remarks. "Indeed. Would be a smart way to move."

Vel: “Might be a decent idea. The dark elves should be harrassing their supply convoys. Unless Malgras an idiot and making her men forage day to day, then they exist and they should be hitting them.," muses Vel.

DM62: Jenna smiles. "So... Vel, what did you think of Lady Fedalles? I did not expect her to take the Ebony Throne so soon... but she always was an ambitious one."

Vel: “She's... Interesting?," says Vel, smiling wryly, "I'm not used to giving honest opinions. I'm especially not used to doing so where they can reach me easily. I like you better. Why though?"

DM62: "Just curious, really. Never underestimate the Masters. They don't do anything randomly. They don't act from emotion, not sentiment, not love, not hate, not fear, not pride. They abandon their bodies upon their... ascension. Their skeletons are preserved by their servants, as a familiar place... but make no mistake, the corpses they sometimes return to are but empty husks. At any rate... you have an army to lead, and some orcs to devastate." She smiles, nuzzling Vel.

Zyanya: “Never underestimate the value of living off the land. Hunting, trapping, even looting and stealing food. All viable means to survive should you lose your key supply lines. Malgra's not stupid. She seems the type to plan for any eventuality, so we need to keep surprising her to force her to make rash decisions."

Vel giggles and nuzzles back, "I don't trust anyone, don't worry. I'm sure she's playing a game with us as pawns and you too. So you stay safe okay? After all, everyone’s slaves to something, but that doesn't mean one can't rearrange the chains." Vel looks over, "Not saying it's bad as an idea. But have you tried to feed a thousand people day to day on the same land? How about ten thousand? Without having any production of your own? It's impossible. An army rides on its stomach. So convoys are needed."

Thrae: “Our army at least won't need to worry about that. Other than the Vampires. Technically we could probably get the serious drop on the orcs with our ability to move pretty much without resting."

Hel: “In a way, assisting and gaining allies some would call taboo or unusual is a good step in that direction, no?" Hel remarks on the comments of war. He again focuses on Jenna, giving her one more hug. "Indeed, keep your eyes open, even now. I will do what I can to help at this bitter endeavor, and then we can move on to happier things..."

DM62: "If she can get into the food stores at Grand Forge, Malgra might have enough. But if she can't... she has to find food elsewhere, if she's going to march east and take Ritzerite and Forest's Heart. She's so close to winning this war... but she's too smart to go without preparations and a secondary plan." Arturus scratches his chin. "She's also quick to improvise. A brilliant tactician. She's won fights that she was supposed to lose. So when we attack her... we should use as much overwhelming force as possible."

Vel: “and as much advantageous maneuvers as possible.," nods Vel, "Though even if she got in those stores she still has to move all the food as she goes. you're lucky I was owned by a guard captain at one point and played a lot of Spiders, Slaves and Soldiers."

Hel: “A land travel's only risk would be if weather extremes hit, with our current force on command, it would cause havoc to those that decay," the dwarf remarks. "But with use of recon and attempting to predict her path, we may be able to at least spot what move she's going for and try to counter if she is going to take a second shot for Tillshire..."

Zyanya: “A game is one thing. Actual war is quite different. Though my scale of conflict is much much smaller as tribal squabbles never tend to lead to great pitched battles. But back to the point at hand. Tillshire would be an excellent foraging point for her and even if she didn't capture the region, looting it of all its food and supplies could very well make or break this war. We're not dealing with your average warlord, we've know this for a while."

Vel: “Well yes, it is. But the concepts remain the same. While I couldn't tell you how to fight in combat ever, I really wouldn't know, I know the basics of tactics and moving armies around. But yes, losing Tilshire would be awful. IT's why I proposed that sacking it first may be a better move. Relocating the civllians and food to a stronghold and leaving them nothing could utterly devastate her. If she loses Grand Forge same time... Starving her army is a real possibility, and stressing their morale will do wonders… but I'm not the general here. That's just my observation."

DM62: The smuggler shrugs. "That might be true... but it's also the food supply for most of Braxil. There would be hard times ahead for the citizenry here. Many starving mouths... and the word would spread that it was not Malgra who lit fire to their crops."

Vel: “Yup. I wouldn't be surprised in the least. They'll bitch if they have hard times, they'll bitch if we lose cus we were soft, and they'll find something to bitch about if we win without it.," smirks Vel, "That's just the nature of it. People are never perfectly happy. In any case, it's your guys’ decision. If you're going to fight her forces head on to protect the planes, which may get wrecked in the process by destructive magics and what not, then we better hit them at night where we all can see better than the desert dwellers."

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Nineteenth Session, 10 March (part one, setting out with the troops, discussion)

Spoiler

DM62: When last we left our heroes, they were looking over a massive army of undead, both skeletal and zombified, led by a small cadre of vampire knights and an immortal, with undead harpies and spectres to act as scouts. The group was debating how best to fight Malgra next, but the next likely step was to find their way to a thrull broodqueen and use the scroll from Ashur to make the creatures sentient.

Vel: "So... Who knows where the bug thingies are then?"

DM62: ((Mountains east of Stillwater has the largest thrull population.))

Vel: "The magic head voice says Mountains east of Stillwater. None of these words mean anything to me really, but I assume that works for one of you?"

Hel: "If I remember the conversation, somewhere in Stillwater would be our best bet," pipes up the dwarf prince, shrugging as the chimera does the ceremonial wall-break.

Vel: "Well, let's get going...," says Vel, a little reluctantly, looking back to Jenna.

DM62: Jenna smiles, blinking for a moment. "Well... guess this is good-bye for a bit." She reaches out to smoothe Vel's fur.

Vel nussles into her, sighing a bit sadly, "Hopefully a really short bit... S'not fair that it got cut off soon as it started but... I'll MAKE time. Stupid orcs not going to survive their throats torn out..."

Zyanya: "Have no worries Jenna. We'll finish this war as quickly as we're able and then you'll be back with us in no time. The forces at our disposal, it should only be a matter of time."

Hel nods a little in agreement, giving Jenna one last hug before letting go. "Indeed, it won't take long to finish this... I hope."

DM62: "Yeah, well." She clears her throat. "Just don't go dying without me. If anyone's going to reanimate you all into undead servants, it should be me." The blond Immortal, General Asraugh, nods to the group. "I'll start the army heading for the surface along the large tunnel. There's a smaller one you can take to meet us. We'll come out near the Gibbering Marshes."

Vel: "Well then make me a pretty undead, I'd make an awful skeleton or zombie.," pouts Vel

Hel chuckles a little, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I think we'll survive."

Zyanya: "We've handle most of what the orcs could throw at us. I think we'll be fine. Plus, I have business at home I'd like to take care of before I croak anyway. But for now, we have another army to wake up."

DM62: The smuggler grins. "Don't worry, 'Lady Dvolyr.' I'm sure your undead allies will be happy to bring back some preserved bodies." Fiske scowls at the smuggler, but then shakes his head quietly, moving with the group to a small tunnel that heads upward.

Vel: "Long as I keep my fur and aren't rotting everywhere I'm okay with the idea...," mumbles Vel as she moves with them, before musing then sliding up beside Hel. "So...What do you do exactly? I mean before all this."

Hel blinks a bit at Vel's question. "Well, mostly learning, really. Father was quite strict about hammering in a good education and all that. Though I did assist in some minor skirmishes with the underground beasts..."

Vel: "Learning to do what? You're a noble right?"

Zyanya: "I figure any good noble is suppose to be a good statesman, administrator, soldier and other things. It's how a family gains strength and prestige. Unless I'm way of base"

DM62: The smuggler nods. "Diplomacy... curtseying... and how to avoid poison." He chuckles as he walks through the tunnel.

Hel: "Well, just knowledge in general, but yeah, that stuff too," the dwarf remarks, following the rest out. "Diplomacy admittedly isn't my best suit, but I did try..."

Vel: "So you're gonna rule a noble house at some point that is important in your city?," asks Vel as she walks along.

DM62: The tunnel is long... miles long. It's some time before the party reaches the surface, emerging through thick foliage that seems to give way rather readily, springing back into shape and concealing the tunnel. The army is already assembled outside, with the general riding upon a black stallion with bloody hooves. "We will ride out front, if you are ready. There are horses for you, as well." He indicates several mounts, behind held steady for the party by vampires. "You have probably been marching for some distance, now."

Vel: "I thought you were a girl before.," blinks Vel as she looks at the general, "Hm. Oh well. Uh... Someone carry me?"

Zyanya: "Guess a horse would be nice. Been walking for god knows how long and I could stand to get off my feet before."

Hel shrugs. "You could say that..." he mumbles, before the subject on horses are brought up. He nods his thanks to the commander. "That would be best, yes. We have several places to be and not a lot of time to get there."

Vel: "Can you even reach the feety things?"

Hel: "...A valid, if unfortunate, point..."

Vel: "It's why I am asking to be carried or I'd go with you. Maybe we should both be carried!"

DM62: "I might have been... but certain powers couldn't make up their minds, and they might have found a cooler work of concept art. At any rate, that's not important now. We won't be moving very fast, since most of our forces are on foot." The general shrugs. "We could go through the Gibbering Marshes, but I'd advise taking a southerly route along the small forest's edge and the northern portion of the Great Plains of Braxil. Thoughts?"

Vel: "I like the idea of avoiding water as much as possible.," says Vel with a nod, "Especially since some of us are too short for your horse animal things, and Hel's too big to ride me like Jenna could."

Zyanya: "Agreed. Marshes are...lets just say they're on my short list of places to go and I wouldn't mind taking another route if the option is available

DM62: The general frowns. "We do have a few wagons carrying supplies for the vampire cattle. You could probably ride atop one of them."

Hel hums. "If we do accidentally run into an interception force it'd probably not be all the way into the marshes..."

Vel: "A wagon might be good to carry me and mistress and Hel then.," nods Vel, "It's why we did it that way to begin with."

Zyanya: "Fine, you guys get the wagon then. I'll be fine on a horse."

Vel: "Also works cus Our minitaur has hooves and can't fit in the feety things either. Wagons! Wagons for everyone!," grins Vel, heading for one, "Short and Weird feet People for Transportation Now!"

DM62: Braxis chuckles. "Indeed. It's almost as if I only exist when someone remembers me!" He clambers into a wagon, making the axle creak slightly. The general signals, and the spectres materialize, awaiting orders. He turns back to the group. "So... we are to head by the southerly route, then?"

Vel: "Yush.," she nods, then looks to Braxis, "I think it's cus you sound like you were named after the country we're in so people get confused why there's a country in our wagon."

Hel: "If noone else has any objections, it would be wise," Hel remarks.

Vel smirks and climbs up Hel's front do she can look him in the face, "None. Now tell me more about your home since we're going there next after this."

DM62: The army starts, the spectres soaring forward and dissipating as they scout. Within a few hours, the massive force is traveling through the great plains, skirting the edge of a swamp and a forest. The smuggler's looking over a map. "Right... should be a few day's travel, and we'll be at Stillwater. Damned shame, what them orcs under Baltrigh did to Stillwater."

Vel: "Oh was that the place?," asks Vel, "So it's held by the orcs right now? Guess we could shove em out maybe..."

Zyanya: "We will once we get there, but for now we actually have to make it there. Of course, that's barring any interruptions"

DM62: Arturus nods, scowling. "Stillwater. Elves that refused to fight against their kin, during the kinslayer wars, while surface and under elves were warring among ourselves. I've no idea what we'll find upon our arrival... but there's likely to be some manner of orc presence."

Vel: "And maybe the vengeful dead we can ask to help out?," hums Vel, remaining latched to Hel's side for now.

DM62: Fiske shakes his head. "My old master... he told me once that the problem with peaceful people is how often and how quickly they are slaughtered in battle. He said it was a surprise that any peaceful people still existed."

Hel: "If not vengeful, than at least deserving rest and vengeance. Even if Malgra disciplined her men, it didn't mean others wouldn't try to do those atrocities afterwards..."

Hel: "Also, if you want to be peaceful, learn to build better walls. Lasted us a good few centuries," he points out, with a bit of a wry smile.

Vel: "Yeah, Peace is something you achieve and maintain through violence. anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional.," grunts Vel, "Only through the control and threat of violence can peace be held. And yeah, but then you guys got distracted and lazy and then the orcs ran over you, jsut like the dark elves. This is what happens when peace is allowed too long, people forget." she huffs, and then muses. "so do Dwarves have slaves?"

Zyanya: "Or learn to hide better like my people have. Save for scuffles among tribes we try not to get too involved with the mainland. Our only real internal threat is...well less I say about them the better. They don't deserve mention right now...the cowards "

Vel: "Are you sure it's not cus nobody has found something they want from your people yet?"

Hel: "Fair enough, I suppose. The problem when a ruler is old enough to remember the dawn of civilization with our race," Hel remarks back. "As for the slaves comment, no, not since the line of Forgekings began. While there wasn't any other major sentience down there until the Under Elves showed up it was an edict where other sentient wouldn't be pushed into labor without being treated as another worker. Just a common sense thing we discussed at the start."

Zyanya: "I think people are scared of us. See us as uncivilized savages or something along those lines and thus don't bother with us."

Zyanya: "Again, I don't know. I haven't been on the mainland for long and haven't had time to ask people what they think of mine."

Vel: "Funny thing about common sense, it's a mass delusion too. It assumes everyone knows what you know.," smirks Vel, before shrugging, "Okay... So how do dwarves relate to each other, like in noble houses? How many assassins do you have to weed out each week?" She looks over, "Gonna be honest, I don't think any dark elves even heard of your people Zyanya. I think it's more barely anyone knows about you as anything."

Hel: "The few books I've read of those islands speak of giant lizards and human-shaped plants, so admittedly I'm not too surprised," Hel points out to Zyn. "I'm sure if someone went out of the way and dug around for gemstone veins you'd have a reason to fret, but otherwise the wildlife seems like more of a danger and inconvenience to bother."

DM62: The smuggler looks at Hel, riding alongside the wagon. "I did hear tales of an ancient dwarven ruler, one that predated the Magmahammer Ascension. They had slaves... built mighty works. But they built their civilization far too deep, or so the legend goes. That civilization fell into the deep hollow of the earth."

Hel shrugs to the smuggler. "There's a few records over the various clans of that time, and we currently got a piece of living proof of that right now, if I'm right," he points out, hefting the nullmetal shield they found. "After the closing of the forts the Magmahammer staged though, the clans more or less formed a council and let my kin take all the litigation and defense control. After that the rest focused on other major tasks or works of importance. House Mordin for example, early on they used to know a lot for siege technology, now mostly they focus on mining and excavation." He shrugs. "I only ever heard of one clan going to the Deeper Dark, and that was because they didn't wish to join in the ruling council. No one's heard of em since, they're assumed gone.

Vel: "Wait so your clans like, the Grand Matriarch's house? Are you the grand matriarch to be when you murder your parents?," asks Vel curiously

Zyanya: "Well, we've been able to deal with the wildlife for a good while and it hasn't stopped us. I wouldn't say we're thriving but we're far from simply surviving. Maybe if we went out into the world at large, people might learn more about us, but frankly I think people might find some of our customs less then ideal. Hopefully we won't have to worry about anyone finding a reason to harass us. I rather like my home the way it is."

Zyanya: "And not every noble family uses murder to decide succession. I'm not planning to kill my mother for leadership of my tribe and I doubt Hel would kill his father either."

DM62: Fiske nods, riding near Zyanya. "I think I would very much like to visit your home. It sounds like a much more pleasant place than most of Kalifer. Less murder, anyway."

Vel: "That'd explain why everyone’s constantly getting overthrown up here by those less qualified."

Hel: "Pretty much. Though a few houses are still a bit disgruntled- if the information on current goings-on is anything to go by- no one’s left out of the council and the houses keep to themselves. Most my family's in either an administration role in one of the forts or an overseer for new construction, if not putting the stones and chisels in place themselves. Hell the entire reason I'm here was cus I wanted some hands-on military knowledge so stuck with a platoon for a bit."

Hel: "Dunno, something about us where we keep ourselves too busy or too drunk to cause too much fighting," he remarks with a shrug.

Zyanya: "Hope you don't plan on staying Fiske. My people are...well lets just say men are not on the top of the pecking order in my lands."

Vel: "That seems weird. So you're a bunch of... accountants?"

Vel: "I mean, accounting is important, or so I was told, but that stuffs left to the slaves cus the job makes people commit suicide..."

Zyanya: "See, if I brought you to visit, people might see you as my property. Or at the worst case, fair game for capture."

Hel: "Well, accountants, overseers to major projects... Pretty much between us and a lot of the clans we keep the kingdom running..."

DM62: "Property?" Sir Fiske blushes for a moment. "Well... maybe we don't need to visit... right way..." he mumbles. The smuggler laughs.

Vel: "Oh I get it. You're the middle managers! Huh. You know, it;d be REALLY easy to take over the whole kingdom for you, you know that? You could make all the other houses look inept!"

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Nineteenth Session, 10 March (part two, more discussion, arrival at Stillwater, planning)

Spoiler

Zyanya: "I wish it were different, but that's just how things are. We're a very female dominate society. So similar to the matriarchs of the dark elf houses, just without all the backstabbing and double crossing."

Hel: "Bah. Not a lot of people in the kingdom are that ambitious. There's a point for many a person where they feel like they find a position or a task they like and just stick with it. Twas why even at the start the first Forgeking still went out and helped repair the damage from the clan war, he was a builder at heart and while he tried to do the administration tasks he was always better putting the hammer to use." He shrugs a little bit. "Probably why I'm more comfortable beating heads than the thought of getting stuck in a throne room all day every day."

Vel tilts her head a little in confusion. "But... The Ruler builds things, it;s what they do. When you have a war, you gotta fix the damage after cus your luxury is supported by the kingdom. So if you don;t take care of it, you lsoe all your money and then your job and your life. So course he did. I mean the orcs made it easy now. You kill the imposter, beat the orcs, everyone cheers for you, then anyone who doesn;t support you for grand mtriarch, you then quietly have your support pulled and then all their work falls apart til they support you!"

Hel: "Well, not many kings would be right at the front pushing stone next to the workers. Try to explain it to the Rashirahs of the humans that it's what happened and they'll look at you like the thought of a king working on the front was madness. Except for a war, then it's apparently fine."

Vel: "No, I think both of those are weird, thats why you have slaves. And workers. I mean unless they’re so inept you gotta do it yourself but that strikes me as unlikely.," muses Vel, "But why don;t you want to rule?"

Hel: "Well, you've seen me in attempts at diplomacy prior, and how much I've bungled. I'm just not sure I'm ready yet, though at this rate I do not think I got much of a choice in the matter ahead...

Vel: "Eh? Name the bungling, I mighta been asleep or in a mushroom patch at the time?"

Hel shrugs. "Well, just look at the confrontation with Malgra for a start... Should have stuffed my pride and kept my trap shut..."

DM62: Arturus shakes his head. "Fighting her was the right thing to do. Even Malgra respected you for it."

Vel: "Yes, but thats not diplomacy. Not in and of itself. You decided you were an orc and fought her like an orc instead of a dwarf. And I imagine you'll bring up when Jenna was held hostage, to which I remind you they were zealots, and you had me. Look. Diplomacy is conflict. You gotta remember this. Diplomacy is the act of maneuvering others will through intimidation, lies, subterfuge, and misdirection. The goal is to get what you want, and you get there by maneuvering. Politics. Forexample, the best politician in our groups right there." She points at the smuggler.

DM62: The smuggler looks at Vel, blinking. "Hey... I'm not sure whether to be insulted or not!"

Hel: The dwarf shrugs, but he gives a bit of a chuckle at Vel's words. "And people seem to also think that the slaves shouldn't be smarter than they look as well?" he teases the chimera back. "Nothing wrong with having a low profile, on the move or not. Harder to do on the top, but I suppose that being to tell people one's name and being ushered around helps too as well.... Though it's not helped a lot lately," he adds to the jest.

Vel grins at him, before looking back to Hel. "I gave up on hiding when Braxis can see through me entirely after just meeting me. That's pretty sad on my part, but I haven't been doing a good job anyways... I've the advantage of having gone through many households and paying attention. Having a low profile is only one way. When everyone’s attention is on you, that makes scrutiny cnstant but it means two things. One, you can use it to your advantage, and two, you are harder to punish. Like, just an example. When you say something, everyone’s going to be combing through for hidden motivations and stuff. And cus that, you can then do something completely unrelated without notice while they're so busy focused on this thing you've outright! Or you can do the opposite, have people find a clandestine thing that goes nowhere while you push what you really want through!"

Vel: "Power is hard to lose at the top. Unless you get shanked, you probably won't go anywhere unless you do some really bad stuff that gives enough ammo to take away all your support."

Thrae: "Vel's inability to maintain a low profile these days is mostly my fault. I admit I have been...faltering on my half of the task." Thrae added into the conversation.

Vel: "Mistress, don't apologize for my failures, it shows weakness.," sighs Vel, "Any apology has to be done as a political maneuver. Showing weakness is inviting aggression, so you need to do it only when you can use it to your advantage."

Thrae: "Still apologizing this time." Thrae said a bit indignantly. "But in the future I will try to plan my apologies better."

Vel: "It’s fine, mistress. They're friends. but I don't want you picking up bad habits. Because, well. I'm retiring when this is over."

Thrae's shoulders sagged. "I figured you'd say something like that eventually." The drider gave a not really grin. "Though can a slave really retire?"

Zyanya: "One as smart as Vel, she'll find a way."

Hel: "Well, perhaps at least released," he remarks to the conversation.

Vel: "I just don't come home. Thrae, I love you dearly, and I'm not going away forever or something, but... Well I can't just devote to you alone anymore and I'm taking what's left of my years in my own paws. You're going to be busy with the Grand Matriarch and your other duties anyways, and I want to just relax and do what I want without having to put up a front for awhile.," sighs Vel a bit, flopping back, before looking up at Hel. "Incidently, I'm following you home, so hope you like company." She smirks a bit

DM62: The smuggler smirks. "Keeping a slave like Vel past when she decides to retire... might be dangerous for the Mistress, lass."

Vel: "Thrae knows I'd never hurt her, but she can't stop me either.," says Vel with a smirk, "she won't try anyways, I don't think. Or maybe she will? I'll be happy either way I guess..."

Hel blinks a bit but chuckles, giving Vel a gentle stroke over her head. "I'm sure they'll be somewhere for you to hang out and get confused about the courtly sorts of things," he teases. "Least, long as we can fix the current issues at the moment..."

Vel: "Oh I'm sure I'll have to fix them for you, especially if you're bringing a necromancer home. I'm sure there'll be more than a few assassins I have to murder."

Thrae: "I know I know," Thrae said with a sigh at everyone elses chime ins, it wasn't like she'd actually keep Vel from retiring now anyways. The drider chuckled a little bit, still rather sad but trying to cheer herself up. "Though guess I'm going to have to start a blood rivalry with the dwarves over taking my slave when all's said and done just to save face."

Vel: "Thpt, like the under elves know one chimera slave from another.," smirks Vel, "Besides, I'm sure you'll be sent to Hel on diplomatic missions many times."

DM62: Time passes. It’s morning, a few days after leaving Underfell. The army just started moving again, as the party's finally finished eating their breakfast from the vampire cattle chuckwagon. A spectre materializes near the general. He nods, slowing his horse and moving to join the party members. "We're nearing the outskirts of Stillwater. The elven inhabitants seem to be little more than willing slaves, at this point. The orcs seem to be using them for breeding purposes. Probably... two thousand orcs, in all. Completely unprepared for combat, except for scouting parties and sentries."

Zyanya: "So would our attempt at liberation simply be met with resistance or would they simply not care? I figure you'd want to not be breeders for an orc army. Seems like something you want to avoid, not enter into willingly."

Vel: "Delightful.," grunts Vel, "Willing or not makes little diffrence. We eliminate the orcish force. What they decide to do after that is on them, but the threat is neutralised til their kids grow up. The conflict will be long over by then." She had spent most of her time probing Hel about dwarvish society, or cuddling Thrae to comfort her daughter and remind her her mother still loved her.

Hel frowns a little, rubbing his temple. "This doesn't surprise. Between death and servitude, a lot can happen. Still, not the best outcome for one..." He growls a little but nods with the consensus to try and attack. "Liberating them would be a wise thing, as this is still fallout from the whole ears to the elves thing if they kept the captives of the sack anyway..."

Zyanya: "So we might be better off operating with a smaller force to push out the enemy. At least, smaller when compared to our total host. We roll up with everything it might cause them to panic. Or it could cause them to turn tail all together. Honestly, I don't know at this point. Plus, the matter of the civilians still bothers me."

Vel: "Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll just surrender. I doubt it mind, orcish pride is a wonderful, dumb thing.," yawns Vel, "The good news is that honor means they won't use the civillians as shields. Give them our terms, and if they fight, we fight, and if they don't, we roll in, offer the elves their freedom if they want it and so on. Simple as that."

Thrae had had a rather depressing ride over, though Vel's actions had helped a bit, and by the time they finally reached Stillwater she was coming out of her funk. Seeing the city being used for breeding purposes was...wierd to say the least, even for a girl that used eromagic. "Or we just rush in there and gut them all while they are still fucking. Not give them any time to get ready."

DM62: Arturus frowns, his hand on his sword hilt. "Bastards. It's tempting to charge in there, kill them all. But they might damage the elves."

Hel: "While the humans and elves may be unnerved if a group of captives walk up with undead escort to the capitol, if we do get ahold of the captives it may be wise to transport them there if they wish," Hel advises. "Nothing can really stop Malgra from trying to take Stillwater again after we take it back.

Vel: "Take emotions out of the equation. What's our priority here? Saving the civilians, if they want saving, or annihilating the orc presence? If it is the latter, you may as well not worry about the former. Send the wraiths to pick off spellcasters then wipe out the orcs wholesale. Problem solved. If it's the former, give them our terms, show of force. They leave, leave the elves. We send a couple wraiths to follow them to make sure they don't double back, our army waits here, while we go get our bug catching nets."

Vel: "IF the elves wanna go with them, that's their business. Or we can kill them too. Depends on your priorities."

Zyanya: "Honestly, I'm more in favor of getting them out. The less things we have bother us while we're in the area the better. Let them run back to Malgra so she can learn of our new numbers. Might cause her to reconsider her next few moves"

Vel: "Or counter them.," shrugs Vel, "But we'll never kill them all anyways."

Thrae: "They are going to know about our new army here regardless after this battle, unless we are extremely thorough, or we scare them off without revealing it, but that would require some serious firepower."

DM62: The smuggler looks thoughtful. "We could always... slip in, assess the situation. Could be a little tricky, but we might be able to better assess how the hostages are being compelled."

Zyanya: "Fair enough. Information gathering would be useful."

Vel: "On it.," nods Vel, stretching, "Least it gives me some relevance in your guys war games. But the question is, how convincing a pregnant elf girl do you make, Gable?"

DM62: The general clears his throat. "The elf women aren't all pregnant."

Vel: "...Pregnant elf boys then?"

Hel pauses. "As in they haven't had time yet, or...?" he asks.

DM62: "The orc females are using the males for copulation. The elven females... some of them are pregnant, but not all. It would seem that they're relatively free from the breeding. And... there don't seem to be any orc males."

Vel: "Oh. Right. Whoops, so used to everyone not doing as under elves do that guess just never considered it.," says Vel sheepishly, "Right! Well then, guess we can sneak in as is, since I'm tiny and he's... him."

Zyanya: "Well that’s...different I suppose. Usually it's the other way around. Breed out the existing males and ensure they become the minority. But this is something entirely different."

Hel: "...This seems calculated for long-term. Malgra, or someone in her ranks, is up to something..." he remarks back. "Considering what we've seen, maybe she's trying to bring back that elf-taught spear-fighting for the orcs with half-orc half-elves?

Zyanya: "That...I almost forgot about that. It would be dangerous but unless orcs become fully mature in a few months, we wouldn't worry about it now. More in the long term or if the war lasted years or decades."

DM62: Sir Fiske looks at Zyanya, then the rest of the group, frowning. "Not sure how I feel about killing off a bunch of pregnant orc women."

Zyanya: "I'm honestly none too keen to do that either. But it also means a portion of their fighting strength is gone. The orcs I'm sure would rather ensure the lives of their children over some petty conquest. unless they're that devoted to keeping this region under control."

Vel shrugs. "We don't gotta unless they choose to fight. Right now recon then we figure it out."

Hel: "Aye, I think the best bet would be to see if we can take the place without bloodshed at the end of this. I doubt those females will be doing a lot of fighting if they're close to term. Recon so we can get some sort of lead, than terms."

DM62: Arturus shrugs. "Suppose it makes sense. Who's... sneaking in there?"

Vel raises her hand and tail.

DM62: The smuggler produces a pair of prosthetic elf ears. "Well... I could always play the part. And Arturus is already part-elf. He'd probably fit right in."

Zyanya: "I doubt I would pass for an elf all that well given my outfit and everything. Not sure how many elves out there dress like I do."

Vel: "You two are totally gonna end up fathers," smirks Vel.

Thrae: "Obviously I'd get spotted out in an instant too."

Hel frowns a little. "Pretty sure elves are exactly the type of people they wish for... Either way, I'm crap at stealth however."

DM62: "Or we can try some of that diplomacy stuff you were trained in," snorts Braxis. "We've got overwhelming power. There's no reason for them to resist, and if they do we merely swell our ranks."

Zyanya: "We do have the bigger stick in this situation. Might as well swing it around a little and show them we mean business."

Hel: "True as well."

DM62: The general nods. "So... what shall it be? Infiltrate? Negotiate? Destroy?"

Vel: "I say all the above. In that order. But ehhh, I'm happy either way really."

Zyanya: "i say negotiate. Demonstrate our superior numbers and give them time to decide if they want to fight or fly. But only those capable of fighting. Again, in no mood to fight expectant mothers, even if they are orcs."

Hel: "I agree with Vel, check it out, then we give them terms."

((end of session))

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Interlude, 14 March (Stillwater reconnaissance, the smuggler gets caught)

Spoiler

DM62: The undead general turns to Vel. "Right... so you'll be sneaking in? I will send some of our spectre scouts along. They will be invisible and non-corporeal... but they will keep you safe. If you find yourself in trouble, simply give them a command and they will follow it. For now, the three of them will kill anyone who threatens to alert the orcs to your presence... unless you order them otherwise." The smuggler raises an eyebrow. "Sounds like a decent protection detail."

Vel: "Where have you guys been all my life?," grins Vel, "Well then, you coming, Clark? Or you want to avoid being bowled over by a green girl?"

DM62: The smuggler grins. "I suppose I could tag along... though it doubles our chances of being spotted. Still, I can help assess the situation." A pair of disembodied eyes appear next to the general, and he cocks his head, listening to a voice only he can hear. "Interesting. It would seem that there only one male orc within the town... an old man, at that. Approximately a thousand female orcs... five hundred elves, one female goblin... and two beings that the spectres dared not approach, as magical creatures have an easier time detecting a spectre. Also... a delegation of ten orcs have just arrived, and are being escorted to the largest of the homes. One of them seems to be a fairly powerful shaman." He folds his arms. "Look for the largest of the homes... a wooden structure, painted white. Some manner of governor's house. I suspect that the details of this meeting will prove useful, and our spectres dare not enter the building for fear of detection."

Vel: "Oh yay. Well if they can detect spectres they probably can detect me, but what do I gotta lose?," says Vel wryly, "Alright, get dressed up Clark, you're looking a little humany still. good thing orcs don't got as good a sense of smell as me."

DM62: When Vel turns back to look at the smuggler, she notices that he's pulled his hair over his ears. "Actually, these elves got their ears lopped off, if I recall the stories you guys told me correctly. Best to cover them up. Should make me blend right in." General Asraug looks at the disembodied eyes for a moment... then shakes his head. "All of the elves in the town still have their ears." The smuggler tilts his head, then shrugs, producing a pair of prosthetic elf ears that accomplish the transformation admirably. "Odd. Shall we, Vel?"

Vel: "Either they regrew them, the ears are from a diffrent group of elves or something weirder is happening. Let's get going.," nods Vel, dropping to all fours and moving carefully up ahead, sticking to taller foliage and the darkness.

DM62: The smuggler nods. "Just a moment." He turns his clothing inside-out, adopting a ragged-clothes appearance, and pulling a hood over his head. "Do you have a cloak, Vel? You might be able to pass for a child, if you can keep your tail hidden and a hood over your features."

Vel: "No, I literally only have the things you’ve given me to practice with. Was a slave remember? Are there still children there, general?"

DM62: The general nods. "About fifty, yes." Hel shrugs, rummaging through his pack... and producing a worn cloak. "Should be a bit broad in the shoulders, lass... but it should help." He hands the hooded cloak over to Vel. The smuggler nods. "Right... it's cold and it looks like snow soon. Once we get into town, we shouldn't look out of place with cloaks on. Then we just have to worry about sneaking into the big house."

Vel: "I dunno what snow is but if you say so.," nods Vel, putting it on and coiling her tail around herself, "Just gotta sneak in then."

DM62: The town is surrounded by a sturdy wooden stockade, with make-shift towers manned by female orcs. The new stockade seems to have been built over the ruins of an older one, as evidenced by the splintered and scorched pieces that are laying outside in the mud. Here and there, elves gather the wood from the old stockade, bringing the pieces into town. A female orcs is walking among the foragers, supervising their work. One of the tower guards is relieved by another orc, and the relieved guard points to one of the male elves gathering wood. "You. Now." The elf nods dutifully, handing his haul to another laborer before running in to meet the guard.

Vel: Hm. They weren’t lax guards and walls that were manned weren't easy to cross. And while Clark could just mix in with the workers, they wouldn’t have children laborer's would they? She studied the situation a bit before looking to Clark, whispering, "I ah, I'm not used to this sort of infiltration in plain sight stuff. I’d have just waited til dark then scaled the tower. How we getting in?"

DM62: Clark looks thoughtful. "Well, we've got two options. Wait til nightfall, or grab some wood and see if they say anything about child labor. I don't see any children out here... but that doesn't mean a child couldn't necessarily be working out here. I'm not sure if waiting's an option, though... especially if we want to witness this meeting. And it's a brand-new stockade, so I doubt there are any apparent weaknesses in the wall."

Vel: "It's fungus material, and I am used to climbing stonework. I could scale it easy but it;s too bright. Guess we've no choice but to try mixing in.," grimaces Vel, "Blugh, stupid bright lands, hows anyone supposed to sneak out here. I'll follow your lead then."

DM62: The smuggler nods. "Pull the hood low over your face, as best you can. Stay close to me, and pick up some small pieces of wood. I'll do the same. Then we try to slip in through the front." As the pair move forward, a bell sounds three times in the town. The orc supervisor speaks up. "Right, you lot! Drop off the wood at the pile for tonight's bonfire... then get some dinner and get cleaned up. Let's move!" The smuggler quickly grabs a few medium-sized chunks of wood, handing Vel some large sticks to carry.

Vel nods and takes the wood handed and follows after Clark, eyes watching about best she can with her hood low and half her eyes blinded by the cloak. So far so good. Drop the stuff off and hopefully slip away. Hopefully nobody decided to have a go at Clark, she didn't want him to get too caught up in this.

DM62: The pair are nearly at the gate, when an authoritative voice speaks up. "You. With the child. Stop." Clark sighs, stopping and pulling back his hood. "Yes, ma'am?" The muscular female supervisor walks up, glaring at the pair.

Vel stopped too, concentrating. So far so good... But now this would put it to the test. Fortunatly they were still in a good position to flee if it went wrong here. Once they were inside, well...

DM62: "I don't recognize you from my shift. And children don't do the wood-foraging." She folds her arms. "What's the meaning of this? Who are you?" The smuggler stutters a bit, nervously stammering, "M-ma'am, my n-name is Legolas. Legolas Bloom. I was... was re-assigned from another shift... they let my child stay close by. Sh-she lost her mother... in the battle." The orc woman scowls. "Your supervisor? Was that... Lieutenant Grina?" The smuggler shakes his head. "Not... not sure. I was always terrible with names." A long moment passes, as the orc woman studies the smuggler's face.

Vel watched the display a bit, and then to try and add to it, she huddled close to his leg and buried her face into it as though scared and didn't want to leave him.

DM62: The orc raises an eyebrow at the shy child... then she leans in, openly groping and fondling the smuggler's crotch. "My name is Lieutenant Sorcha. And you'd better clean up before tonight's bonfire... I expect to... see you there." Her hand slips inside the front of the smuggler's trousers, stroking his length. "Children generally stick to mending... but maybe if you're good tonight, we can talk about an exception." She strokes him a little more. "Nice, juicy cock... I'll see you tonight. Now go. Both of you." The smuggler bows, practically falling over himself to get inside the stockade with Vel in tow.

Vel hurries with him, waiting til they were away from anyone to whisper, "Don't go thinking about changing sides now," she teases quietly.

DM62: The smuggler blends in with the other laborers, dropping the foraged wood in a massive pile. He smirks at Vel's comment. "I think I'd have a hard time explaining your appearance, if we stayed very long. Not to mention the fact that no one in this town knows me." The governor's home is easy to spot: the largest building in the complex, though still rather modest, and composed entirely of perfectly-carved wood painted in a pristine white. "Right... now comes the sneaking part. This would be your field of expertise." He discretely moves to circle the home, on the lookout for ways in besides the front door.

Vel: "Yup, though doing this in the lights new. You’ve got the first step down clearly.," whispers Vel as she does the same, going around the perimeter to get a good look at the building, looking for all entrances, windows, weak points, or even chimneys which seemed odd to her.

DM62: "Well... you're smaller. I'll discretely stand lookout, while you slip inside. I'll try to be around when you come out... though it's always possible that one of the orc women decides to take advantage of me." There does appear to be an open window... and based on the smell, it's a dumping ground for excrement. A large metal pot is sitting outside, half-full of bodily waste. As Vel watches, an orc woman appears at the window, pouring a smaller bucket of urine into the larger one, then moving back inside.

Vel: Gross. Vel grimaces a bit, before looking about to make sure she's not observed, before scaling up the wall to the side of the window, not wanting to be just below it for a lot of reasons. She used her tail to pull the cloak over her face, the scent so much worse for her. Thank god for goggles. Either way she listened carefully for movement at the window once she maneuvered above it to be sure she wouldn;t benoticed, making sure her cloaks bundled tight as to not flutter about.

DM62: The room seems to be empty, for the moment. A small room, with the window open, generally used for... well, pissing and shitting. Two sweet-smelling candles are burning on the inside, partly masking the thick odor of orc shits. There's a slightly-ajar door leading in from the small room.

Vel: Ugh. Wish she had a map, but since she didn't hear anyone approaching, she scaled along the walls inside and peeked out the door, needing to see if she could proceed to the next location.

DM62: It would seem that the small room is adjoined to the second floor balcony of the central hall of the house, where the delegation of ten orcs are entering from another room on the bottom floor. Standing to meet them are two impressive-looking orc females, an elderly orc male (who looks familiar to Vel), and... two odd humanoids, one male and one female. The male has purple skin, six impressive horns on his head, batlike wings, and a long spaded tail. The female is pale, with only two small horns, a small pair of wings, and a very similar tail to the male. The odd-looking male speaks. "Greetings. I presume you are the delegation from Warlord Malgra?"

Vel: What the hell were those things? Vel frowned and kept quiet and still, observing. What on earth was going on around here? Clearly Malgra hadn't been idle finding new friends...

DM62: A muscular orc female in leather armor nods, scowling. "I am Chief Motrigh, of the Rockfist Tribe. This is Relvor, our shaman." A hooded figure gives the odd-looking humanoid a small bow. "Warlord Malgra was surprised to receive your message... I assume that you are the same Dontus who seized control of Stillwater? By what powers are you keeping our troops ensorcelled?" The six-horned humanoid looks amused at the question.

Vel: So... The orcs weren't in charge? What were they up to then? Clearly some sort of matriarchal bent but to what end?

DM62: "Yes. I am Dontus. And this is Daria, my daughter." The pale female gives a slight courtsey. "We did not come here by choice, but we have control. Still... we intend to help Malgra achieve her own ends, so long as she does not interfere with our own goals." Chief Motrigh's scowl deepens. "Warlord Malgra sent me to listen... so speak, Dontus. Tell me everything." "As you like. As I said... we are not here by choice. The High Priestess of Lilorious in this town... she was rather desperate for aid in defending her people from the savage orcs that were maiming the elves. She called upon the Goddesses. Her pleas fell upon deaf ears... goddesses rarely help the pitiful. So the priestess grew more desperate, even as Chief Baltrigh ravaged the elves... and she made a deal with someone else."

Vel: Fuckin wizards. This is where relying on others power got you. Enslaved to some... thing that you conjured yourself into. Hmph. Still, the obvious question hung. What is their goals?

DM62: Motrigh glares at Daria and Dontus. "Go on. Tell me more of this... tale." Dontus chuckles. "You people really think your world is the only one. There is an entirely separate world, existing in tandem with this one... nevermind. Suffice it to say that there are Great Powers besides the Goddesses, and that one of them made a deal with the priestess. I am bound to Stillwater. My one mission is to ensure the safety and lineage of the elves of Stillwater. Preserving their bloodlines, at all costs. As for Malgra... did she tell you why she took Stillwater? It wasn't just for the value of the land, I'll tell you that." He chuckles again.

Vel: Protecting the lineage of the elves. By breeding them to the orcs? She could see the twisted logic that lay in that sort of thinking for such entities. But she waited and listened further. What was Malgra getting out of this? Obviously there was something arcane about this region.

DM62: Motrigh's eyes narrow. "Because the elves presented a threat..." Dontus shakes his head, and then the hooded shaman speaks up. "This knowledge is secret, foul demon, and you will not spill for-" "SILENCE." The shaman recoils as the six-horned humanoid's voice echoes in the roomy chamber. "I did not travel through the dimensional veil to be lectured by secretive half-wits. Malgra took Stillwater... because she wanted to crossbreed aggressive orcs with pacifist elves. To create a calmer, more disciplined orc nation. One that was more skilled in diplomacy, that would not tear itself apart through internal strife at the death of each leader."

Vel: Or it was that. Made some sense in a manner she supposed. But what would one call them? Eorcs? Elorcs? Elcs? Orfs? No, wait, wait, focus. So they shared the same goal. The dimensional... Things were bound to safeguard the elves lineage and probably saw binding them to the more powerful orc bloodline as safeguarding it. Meanwhile Malgra wanted to do the same to get the elves softer abilities. Evolution through mixed breeding. Assuming it bore fruit the way they wanted it too. She grimaces a little as she looked down at herself, before looking up again. Time to see where this went. Still, she shouldn't linger too much longer...

DM62: Motrigh shrugs. "So we have the same goal. Not sure why you even need to be here, then." Dontus shakes his head. "No. I am preserving the pure bloodline of the elves, while creating a hybrid orc race. Did you notice that there are no males left among the orcs?" Motrigh indicates the elderly male, who shakes his head. "I am Master Shasha. I am an outsider, merely accompanying Lorelei as she tries to help heal the wounded and train midwives. Besides, I am a great-grandfather, past the age for siring new children." Dontus nods. "The first thing I did was establish control over the females... and then had the male orcs murdered, and the male elves enslaved. The elf men serve double-duty. They are creating the new generation of Stillwater elves with their women... but they are also creating Malgra's hybrid with the orcs. I knew we didn't have the power to resist Malgra's forces... so I'm keeping her dream alive. So long as she doesn't threaten us here, I'm going to deliver what she wants... while keeping the pact with the late priestess.”

Vel: Interesting. So Lorelai and the orc had left their homes and came here. Ugh this had just become a huge mess indeed. It all made logical sense. The problem was not everyone would see it that way. Some of them had this issue about slavery still and others might want the orcs wiped out on principle. But it seemed unlikely they'd move out of here as a combatant group... The creatures seemed to be neutral, and would likely not get involved as long as they made it clear they are not going to harm the elves. And the orcs may well just leave outright, having primarily gotten what they wished...

DM62: Chief Motrigh sighs. "Shaman Relvor, we're going to have a little chat about sharing information with your chieftain, after this." She looks at the six-horned male. "Very well, Dontus. I will bear your message back to Warlord Malgra... but first I must have a tour of this town. I must see all of this first-hand. Then I can tell the Warlord not only what I have been told, but what I have seen." Dontus smiles and nods. "Daria will accompany you. Shasha, I assume you'll want to rejoin Lorelei. Convey my complements to the healer, please." The elderly orc nods, giving Dontus a formal bow. Dontus pauses. "Chief Motrigh... you may wish to remind Malgra that, in a way, my plan is safer than hers. After all, we are now helping both elves and orcs to survive. Even if Malgra loses her war, this project of hers may bear good fruit." Chief Motrigh grunts, then nods as the female leads the ten orcs out of the main chamber.

Vel: Time to go it seems and report back. The creature had a point. whether they had ulterior motives, who knew? But the basic goal held. She'd support it, but then she noticed that she didn't share all these weird beliefs that the surface seemed to breed. She turned and quietly moved back up the wall and to out the window again to reunite with Clark, or track him down hopefully.

DM62: The ten orcs and Master Shasha leave rather quickly, and before she departs Vel hears a female's voice. "Lord Dontus... we have caught a human spy, disguised as one of the elves." "Really? Intriguing... very well, bring him to me."

DM62: A disembodied set of eyes appears before Vel, silently waiting.

Vel: Ah crap... She sighs and whispers, "stand by for now. We'll see how this plays out." She returns to her position to observe. She might need to get involved, and by her, she meant the spectres but she wanted to see if the creatures let something slip. Hell, they might well be... Receptive if Clark played it right. Time to see...

DM62: The orc female bows and moves into a side chamber, then re-enters with the smuggler, his hands bound behind him, naked apart from the iron manacles around his wrists. Two guards flank him as they escort him before Dontus. One of them tosses the pair of prosthetic ears down at the smuggler's feet. "Lieutenant Sorcha was going to have a little fun with this one. I don't think he figured she'd be quite so into ear-play." The guards chuckle, and Dontus smirks. "Well... a visit from Malgra's delegation, and now there's a human spy in our midst. That's... very interesting. Because somehow I doubt a spy comes here without reason... or alone." The smuggler's sporting a swollen black eye. He grins. "I was just here to visit my fiancee, m'lord. Her parents think I'm an elf nobleman," he quips.

Vel: She paused patiently, waiting, the words that would start the skirmish on her lips but she watched around warily. She wouldn't be flushed out by his words. That would just reveal her. No she observed to see just what this Dontus would do in the end.

DM62: Dontus moves close, wrapping his hand around the smuggler's still semi-erect cock, stroking the human to hardness. "Oooh... into both genders, I see." The smuggler shrugs. "To be fair, m'lord..." he grunts as he's jerked by the horned male, "my fiancee's a sheep. I didn't even need the ears to fool the parents... and male or female, you're... a vast improvement over her." Dontus laughs aloud, releasing the cock and walking a few paces away from the smuggler. "Bold, brave... and loyal. But I can't have you reporting any of this... hmm."

Vel: Heh, that was interesting, or he was pretty skilled at sexual control of himself. She got ready, staring. She doubted the spectres could handle him to be honest. Hopefully he had him imprisoned or relocated than murdered. Or she'd act now. Ball was in his court.

DM62: "So you're not going to risk telling me anything... and I can't have you reporting what's going on here to anyone. I suppose I'll let Lieutenant Sorcha keep you, for now." He moves closer, tracing an intricate symbol on the smuggler's chest. "This should keep you nice and subservient to her. I can't make you betray your cause... but sexuality is a big part of your nature. And your sexuality... is the property of Lieutenant Sorcha." The symbol on the smuggler's chest glows, and he grunts for a moment... then nods, bowing. "I will service... Lieutenant Sorcha, my Lord Dontus." Dontus smiles and waves dismissively.

Vel: Damn. Okay so that's how it worked. Good to know. She grimaced mentally. She trusted he'll be okay, for now. Time to retreat and get the others. They'll need to know about all this. Clark would be in an awkward wake up, but she'd get him loose soon enough.

((end of session))

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twentieth Session, 17 March (part one, rendezvous outside Stillwater, waiting)

Spoiler

DM62: The party is staying back at camp, with the army about a mile behind them, beyond the standard patrols of the female orcs that occasionally go ranging out from Stillwater. It's been about four hours since Vel and the smuggler headed into Stillwater for reconnaissance, and Zyanya is the first to spot Vel returning... alone.

Vel is hurrying back, dressed in Hel's cloak still, darting over on all fours. A litany of cursing can be heard ahead of her.

Zyanya: "Well this doesn’t seem right." The tribal spotted Vel from a distance and waved her over. "There a reason you're coming back alone? How did recon mission only have one of you returning?"

Hel grunts a bit, waking from a quiet sleep and shifting to his boots.

Vel slips over, panting lightly. "Ooooh boy, you guys are gonna love this one."

DM62: Arturus frowns, rising and waiting for Vel to reach the group. Sir Fiske is already standing, having been keeping an eye out with Zyanya. "Let me guess. The smuggler found some new venue of crime. And we won't be seeing him again."

Zyanya: "Get talking, furball. I'm not too eager to hear about how another of our companions is missing or captured or something. We've performed enough rescue missions."

Hel: "By the looks of it, get used to 'em lass," Hel quips, moving to stand near the others.

Vel: "Stuff it, Zyanya, let me catch my breath.," hisses Vel, catching her breath a moment, before coughing. "Ugh, I'm getting too old for this. Okay. Yes, he got captured. He's under some sort of mind control. It can't make him betray us, but it does enslave him to the orcs and who's enslaving them sort of... This city is a joint project between Malgra and some sort of summoned beings with a bunch of wings and mind control magic. The elven priestess summoned the wing thing up to protect the elves from the orcs cus the gods told her to get stuffed. She didn't make it but the wing guy and his daughter have interpreted their orders by playing nice with the orcs. They murdered all the boy orcs, and enslaved the males minds, and are basically breeding them to the orcs and elf ladies in equal measure. Malgra wants to crossbreed the elfs to the orcs to make, well, a less violent orc species, or a more powerful elf species, depending how you look at it, to ensure what she's building will stay put. Anyways, they've got a shaman and those two wing mages. If we don't threaten the elves directly I don't think wing guy and gal will get too feisty and they definetly won't put the elves in the line of fire. I think the orcs might walk if they can keep their offspring in them, but there's no guaruntee they won't fight alongside the chieftian that arrived as Malgra's envoy."

Vel takes a deep breath, "So here's where we stand. We can go all warefare, give em an ultimatum, or try to eliminate the shaman and the two weird things. Either way, I wanna get Clark loose, but he's gonna be a daddy probably."

DM62: Thrae moves forward, nodding and stroking Vel's fur. "Not sure what to do, really." Sir Fiske shakes his head. "He's a dishonorable man who's met a dishonorable fate. The man's a criminal. I can think of harsher sentences than being a randy orc woman's sex toy." The half-elf folds his arms. "A criminal who's been a great help to us, though. I think we owe him a save."

Hel grunts and shrugs. "We've saved others who to some have done more damning things," he points out, giving a finger jerk to the massive undead army and Thrae. "It's only fair, now. Still... Winged woman with mind magic? What new spore of madness is this? I've never head of such a thing, even in our most archaic of records... Truly those are the bigger threats, if we remove them the orcs no longer have a massive edge."

Vel: "Oh I should point out, whatever you decide, I'm not leaving him behind.," says Vel with a shrug. "Honor... Heh. How selfish. Winged man, and his winged daughter, Hel. I don't think they're the real threat here. They seem determined to obey their interpretation of their orders. If we don't threaten the elves I don't believe they will interfere. If we can prove better able to protect them, I think they will change sides willingly."

DM62: Braxis is scratching his head. "So... wait. Who's breeding with what, here?"

Vel: "Elf men are breeding orc women. And elf women, but that's not new. Far as the wingies are concerned, as long as the elven lineage is protected and continued, they are fulfilling their end of their bargain. What they're getting out of this is the question. Maybe she paid with her life. Hard to say. I'm no mage."

Zyanya "Well...this is an unusual turn of events. Can't say I'm surprised Malgra would be performing a sort of breeding experiment along the way. Though if she wanted to make her race more peaceful, I don't know if elves were the best choice. I mean, if our half elf friend is any indication, it's difficult to breed out certain traits from the parent races. If anything, they'll take the best elements from both races and mix it into one package. But the feather people make this quite tricky. I say try to just get the orcs out should be our focus. Either through talks or strong arming."

Vel: "Their wings were more batlike I think. And they had more than two I think...," muses Vel, shrugging a bit, "But I agree. I think we should negotiate first on neutral ground. Thrae and Hel, cus Thrae can tell if they try to magic Hel, and Hel's got null metal which I bet the wingies don't know anything about. And Hel's tough in a fight if they try something."

DM62: Arturus looks thoughtful for a moment. "We should be cautious about how much information we give them. I don't think Malgra's even imagined that a massive undead army is coming to aid our alliance against her. I'd as soon hide this fact until we're ready to strike a crippling or killing stroke."

Hel nods a bit. "Indeed, trying to do some form of diplomacy to start with would possibly be smart... But being cautious about it. Depending on how loyalties lie they could still pass it on."

Vel: "Sure. I'm betting they'll know anyways though. They must have scouts all over, and hiding an army isn't easy. And we know she has a spy network.," says Vel, "Oh, I should mention Lorelai the goblin healer and that weird orc dude is in there too."
lurker: "Wait, thought that goblin was some sort of hermit, what's she doing here?"

DM62: "Master Shasha?" Arturus has the ghost of a smile. "He's one of the few greenskin's that I'd trust, based on his reputation alone. And we've seen his passion for non-violence."

Vel: "Training midwifes I gather."

DM62: Fiske folds his arms. "There's a war on, and a skilled healer is out training midwives? Surely there are better uses for a healer's skills."

Vel: "He's also the only boy orc in the whole place. Fiske, you're welcome to complain at her for her choice of helping people in need, but I think I can tell you where your foot will end up."
l
Hel: "To be fair, she wasn't healing many orcs prior when we ran into her last," Hel points out. "If she's here I don't think it's because Malgra said so."

DM62: Thrae nods. "If they're doing lots of breeding with no midwives... yes, that could be disastrous without at least a few dozen trained midwives on hand. That part makes sense, I guess. So... how do we arrange to meet with these winged mages?"

Zyanya: "Fiske, children are still going to be born even in a turbulent world. You lack the people to deliver them it could only lead to more tragedy. Best not argue about what our goblin friend is doing."

Vel: "Now THAT'S a good question, but they know there's a spy. We tell them we're an envoy from the... whomever we represent, does it even have a name? Anyways, and we wanna talk to Lord Dontus. That's the male wingies nam."

Zyanya: "If we're just honest with them in that regard, I fail t see them being suspicious. I mean that is what we are after all. Envoys. We've just have a very loose definition for the title up till now."

Zyanya: "Uhm, guys. It seems we may be being watched. Just spotted something moving between clouds. Seems like it's coming from Stillwater

Vel: "Probably one of the two wingies. Can't fly, can't tell. but we may as well get going now rather than let them start an alarm."

DM62: The rest of the party can see the winged figure now, flitting among the clouds, circling the party's approximate location. Then they spot something descending rapidly... and an arrow thunks down near the party, with a scroll attached.

Vel: "Orrr she can do that.," says Vel, hopping over and retrieving the scroll before bringing it back over. "I wasn't lying when I said I can't read."

Zyanya: "Let me see if Vel." The shiriti holds out her hand towards Vel, waiting for the scroll

Vel hands it over. "Read it outloud!"

Zyanya reads the scroll repeating what she sees

DM62: The note reads, "Dear Friends, I spoke with the captive, Bradley Pitt, and recognized his descriptions of you. I remember meeting you at Lady Lorelai's cave. I believe we should meet so that we can release Bradley into your custody. Send four people south for a half-mile, out-of-sight of your army and the town. I will bring Lord Dontus, his daughter Daria, and the smuggler to meet you. One hour should be sufficient. Your friend, Master Shasha."

Vel: "...Well there you go.," shrugs Vel, "you said you trust him, Arturus. time we put the money where your mouth is heh. So... Hel, Thrae, Arturus, Zyanya I figure?"

Hel: "Unless you want to go with Vel?" Hel asks, tilting his head.

Zyanya: "I have no problem with that arrangement. Quite surprised they approached us first instead of the other way around."

Hel: "Problem is, if one of them went flying out already, they now know of the army. So already they got a pretty big chip to bargain with," Hel points out.

DM62: Arturus nods. "Vel, maybe you can sneak somewhere nearby... let the army know if we get into trouble. Heading down there with no communication seems foolish. I trust Master Shasha's intentions... I don't know this Lord Dontus, though."

Vel: "Eh, I'm not surprised really. I told you, far as I can tell Dontus is jsut holding his part of the deal as best as he can see it. And I think it's better if you bring our magic elf in this case. They're his people, and assuming he keeps his head on straight I'm sure he's got a bundle of questions to ask them. So, you know, don't let your emotions get the better of you Arturus. You're smart when you don't. As for the rest, already explained Thrae and Hel, and Zyanya is at least observant. Mmm, suppose I could do that. Shame this cloak isn't camouflaged. Guess I'm getting all mucky then." She hands Hel his cloak back, then starts rolling in the dirt.

Zyanya: Just observant. Feh. Vel was lucky Zyanya wasn't looking to argue right now or she'd contest that. "Think if we do that, we'll have our bases covered should things go south."

DM62: Fiske scowls. "I don't like it. We have an army. They conquered and enslaved a town. We should be knee-deep in orcs right now, liberating the elves." He folds his arms, but Arturus shakes his head. "You've a good idea of the honorable thing to do, Sir, but that honorable attack won't help the hostages if their captors panic and decide to slaughter them. Put honor aside for the moment and think about the greater good. These people have suffered enough."

Hel: "Sometimes, boy, the honorable thing isn't always the smartest. Trust me, learn that meself."

Vel: "Like I said. Selfish. I've been thinking about it, and that's what I've gathered. Honor is about making you feel good and superior. Doesn't matter who get's hurt or who dies because of it, long as your honor is unsullied. If your code matters more than others, well... Least you can claim you played by the rules you made up and wrap yourself in a nice warm cloak of moral superiority even as everyone else get's the shaft cus of it."

DM62: "It's usually the honorable who die for their honor, Vel. Not always... but usually." Arturus points at Hel's gauntlet. "That wasn't selfishness. But we can argue later. We've got negotiations to make. Or winged creatures to behead. We won't get bored, either way."

Vel grunts and pulls a bunch of grass off and covers her muddy back with it. "There. I should be hard to see from above if I don't move too much. And yeah, that's what I thought of it first, but the more I'm around it the more I've discovered that is very much not true at all. And we have an hour but yeah you guys should get moving. I'll give you five minutes then follow after."

DM62: Arturus nods, double-checking his weapons, then starting off south, on foot.

Hel shrugs, quickly moving to the south as well, with his shield still on his back. "Note to self, move the shield to the arm when I get there, not sure if it'll help too much but worth a shot...

Zyanya: Again, Vel was just trying to push her buttons when she was speaking to Fiske. Can't blame the boy for sticking to his word. It's just what knights do. Least that's what she gathered from her time with them. But even they could be flexible from time to time and he was living proof of that. He should understand more than any the merit of flexibility. "If all goes well, we won't need to behad anything Arturus. I'd rather like that after the whole mess with the cultists."

DM62: Arturus chuckles. "If all went well, I'd be enjoying fine elven wine in Forest's Taproot, rather than slogging it south to negotiate with winged creatures because of some half-crazed prophet's mad dream."

Hel: "And there wouldn't be a massive coup in my hometown either," Hel points out.

DM62: "But I do see your point, Zyanya. And I've no intention of spilling blood, if I don't need to."

Zyanya: "If only things were so perfect, boys. If only."

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twentieth Session (part two, negotiations with cubites, Malgra's motives discussed)

Spoiler

DM62: The four reach the rendezvous point. Then they wait. And wait. An hour later, there's still no sign of anyone coming to meet them.

Zyanya: "I don't like this. Not one bit. They should have been here by now." The tribal looked around, peering at anything she felt was suspicious or out of place.

DM62: Arturus nods, scanning the horizon as well. "Indeed. But we haven't seen anything suspicious yet, either."

Vel was a fair distance away, lying on the ground motionless as a living person could be. Had they seen her and took her as a sign of betrayal? Or had it been a trap all along to cut them off from the army? Was the army the target? Or had there been a coup at the town... One way to find out. "You still here, spectre?," she whispers.

DM62: A pair of disembodied, glowing eyes flicker open in front of Vel.

Hel glances towards the east, frowning. "We got movement... Not that I caught what it was..." he mumbles.

Vel: "Go look at the town, see if there's any sign of disturbance, then report back. You move way faster than me. There's three of you so send your other friend towards the army to check there too. Last one of you check the perimeter for me..."

DM62: A spectral hand reaches down, drawing in the dirt in front of Vel. Drawing an arrow, pointing east. At this point Vel, Hel, Zyanya, Thrae, and Arturus can see a blur, rapidly approaching the party from the east, skimming along the ground. Arturus unstraps his weapons, drawing them.

Zyanya has her spear at the ready, going from walking stance to combat stance as quickly as she could. "Damnit. Stop playing games with us"

Vel looks over, frowning and peering at it, trying to make out what was to the east

Hel grumbles and readies his hammer and shield as well, just in case

DM62: In the dying sunlight, the party can make out two winged shapes, flying in close to the ground at the party, wings beating powerfully. They soar close, slowing... then pull a tight circle, reducing their speed rapidly. At this point they land close to the party, dropping two figures to the ground: the smuggler and Master Shasha. The smuggler and Shasha both look a bit dazed. The two figures land in front of the smuggler and the old warrior. One of them is a beautiful, pale-skinned female, scantily-clad, with small horns, like wings, and a spaded tail. The other is a purple-skinned male with six horns and much larger wings. He smiles. "Apologies for keeping you waiting, warriors. Sneaking out of our own town without alerting the orcs is no small task." At this point Master Shasha crouches, clutches his knees, and vomits uncontrollably for a moment.

Zyanya: "I think you may have gone a little too fast for our friend here." Zyanya comments as she relaxes her stance significantly. "And no, I can't imagine it would be. I doubt the orcs would be too keen on meeting us out here as you have.

Vel sighs a bit in relief. Hm. "...Mmm... Still want the other areas checked too but still..."

Hel lowers the hammer as the two companions appear with them. "Well then..." he mumbles. He raises an eyebrow a little at the creatures but holds his tongue a little bit."

DM62: The pale woman grins, shaking her head. "You DID go a bit fast, father. And you haven't even told them your name yet! I'm Daria, and this is my father Dontus!" The six-horned male raises an eyebrow. "Oh, right. Sorry. *Lord* Dontus, *Protector of Stillwater.*" She comedically lowers her voice for the titles. Arturus raises an eyebrow as well, now. Daria continues. "We're cubites. Not exactly from around here. At all." The six-horned male has his head in his right hand, shaking it and clearing his throat. The spectral eyes vanish, as the incorporeal beings move to carry out Vel's commands.

Aust: "I figured as much based on your appearance. Though protectors? How does one earn those titles? If I may be so bold to ask."

lurker: "Certainly a strange creature... But why you call yourself protectors and lords? I am unaware of the situation around here is all."

Lord Dontus sighs. "Please pardon my daughter's eccentricities. Younger cubites have no respect for their elders. But yes, I am the Protector of Stillwater, as appointed by High Priestess Fariah of Lilorious. That was part of the bargain she struck with... a very influential entity in my realm. And I have been assigned the task of ensuring that the lineage of the elves of Stillwater survive. Though it's a contract with no end date, of which I'm aware, besides my own demise."

Arturus' eyes narrow. "Struck a bargain... with whom, exactly?" Lord Dontus lowers his voice in reverence. "With the great Nether Lady, Athullia herself. It was Athullia who placed this geas upon me, who set me to task. She even sent my daughter along, to ensure I would not try to countermand her desires."

lurker: Hel frowns a little, much of this going over his head but not necessarily liking the tone that was getting sent over this discussion.

"So... your answer was to transform a city into a breeding farm?" the half-elf has lowered his weapons. Dontus replies, "My geas is to defend the lineage of the elves of Stillwater. The best way to do that is to keep as many pure elves growing as possible, until Stillwater's back to its optimum population. Twenty years should do the trick. But Malgra would crush us easily, if she were so inclined, so I enslaved the males to participate in her project, as well. Her envoys arrived here, around midday. They've agreed to leave the town alone, so long as we preserve Malgra's work."

Aust: "But you don't suspect she might be attempting, by leaving a sizable female garrison, to out breed the elven population in the region. I mean, I may be wrong but it's quite suspicious given what I've heard about the population of your city. Other than the threat of destruction, what sway does she hold over you?"

lurker: "Hrm. Between a rock and a rock..." Hel mumbles to himself, musing a little bit."

"The sizeable female garrison is... mostly under my sway." He smiles. "My eromancy, as they call it here, is able to keep the females under my thumb to an extent. There are eleven orcs not under my control, in Stillwater. The ten orcs who came as Malgra's envoys, who are all either drunk or being fucked right now, and Master Shasha, who is neutral. And then there's Lady Lorelai, the goblin, who's not under anyone's control. I doubt I could even do much to control one like her."

lurker: "So the big issue's those remaining orcs that aren't, er, under your control then? What's stopping you from controlling them like the others?"

The cubite shakes his head. "There's a shaman among them. He'd be a tough nut to crack. But what's the point in controlling them? Right now, I've got a deal with Malgra. So long as her envoy returns, with no word of you and with news of my continuing her little project, she has no reason to come up here. And, frankly... no matter what the outcome of this war is, and regardless of the blood she shed to achieve it, this breeding project of hers might be the best thing to happen to this continent in several centuries."

Aust: "Maybe it's just me...but I still fel like there's some other motive behind Malgra's plan. We've seen what sh's capable of in other regions and it just seems so far flung that something like this would be beneficial. Dosen't help that he strong female population very much reminds me of home..."

The six-horned male nods. "Her goal is quite clear. She's in a major war right now. Soldiers dying by the hundreds, thousands. The survivors will be the strongest and bravest warriors, and the skilled non-combatants. And then she'll have a hybrid population. One that combines the more... diplomatic, thoughtful elf blood with the violence of the orcs. It will change her race, forever. If she succeeds, her race will be the dominant one... and with a strong sense of internal diplomacy and politics, it would be the dawn of an empire that could last for centuries."

Aust: "At the cost of all the other races, perhaps. Lot good all that diplomacy and politics will do when the other races are so depleted they'll hardly be able to stand befor ethe new empire in any capacity."

"Aye. But that's part of the game. You do realize that the orcs are perhaps the most brutal and powerful fighters, collectively, in the world, yes? Oh, there are exceptions," the cubite quickly adds, as Arturus scowls, "but the only thing that REALLY has held them back is the fact that they're too busy killing each other most of the time to unite against anyone else. An orcish hybrid empire that could control its internal conflict? This is something the world has never seen." He pauses. "Of course, if Malgra fails... then the hybrid orcs could be sent to live with the defeated orcs, in their traditional lands. They'd still interbreed, creating a race that could meaningfully interact with the rest of the world, after a few decades to smooth relations."

Aust: "Then perhaps that might be for the best, considering the only grasp this woman has on her mission is a prophecy that may very well be little more than words. Forgive me for sounding rude but conquering an entire continent is not the best way to get people to listen. Very much a brute force approach to a simple problem. "

Master Shasha frowns, recovering from his nausea. "Not sure if I'd call it a... 'simple problem.' The Prophet's words... his predictions... they have never proven false. Astronomical events, earthquakes, other signs... he knew the future. And he described an elf from the free elven lands, who could put an end to the world as we know it. The exact description and wording is a well-kept secret to prevent anyone from attempting to falsely fulfill the prophecy. I do not approve of Malgra's crusade. I think better to die and keep one's principles than to force suffering upon the world, even to safe it. But as strong as I may be, even if I renounced my vow of peace, I could not stop Malgra's forces."

Aust: "Of course it's a secret. Maybe he's been accurate on some thins but if they have to hide the facts then it's clear there may be some gaps in his logic. Least that's how I see it, sir. No one person can know that much of the future. "

Master Shasha folds his arms. "Perhaps you are correct... but the Prophet's words seem to be infallible to the orcs. They will never stop this crusade, so long as they believe that Malgra is leading them to prevent the Great Catastrophe." Dontus looks at the orc, then back to Zyanya. "Either way, though... this particular portion of Malgra's plan does not pose a threat to anyone. I see no reason to interfere with it... and it guarantees that Malgra won't interfere with my task."

((end of session))

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twenty-first Session, 19 March (concluding negotiations, a new companion, travel to the thrull hives, Nicodemus of Braxil)

Spoiler

DM62: When we paused, you guys were talking to Lord Dontus and his daughter Daria (cubites), as well as Master Shasha. They had just brought the smuggler back, to release to the party, and Lord Dontus was suggesting that you guys simply ignore what was happening at Stillwater and move along. He's proposing to keep the town neutral, while continuing his work to populate pureblood elves using the female elves, and elf-orc hybrids using the female orcs.

Vel: Yup. Vel is a mudpie maybe 50 feet to the south on the ground and observing everything and Thrae and Zyanya are up there.

Thrae thought over everything that had been said, and tried to come to a conclusion. The big problem was tried. Honestly what the cubites said made sense, a potential for a less aggressive orc down the line would be useful, and unless shit really went wrong the plan here wouldn't bare fruit before they beat Malgra, but at the same time...cubites. Though they did give them the smuggler back. "I must admit, I don't see much reason to waste resources interfering with this."

Zyanya: "In all honesty...I can't either. Much as I have a problem with breeding with the enemy as it were, it is towards what could be a much more passive orc. Win or lose, their race gains alot by calming down a little. But it's of my opinion it's done without the empire or that dang prophecy. If anyone else has any suggestions, say them now. Because it seems Stillwater isn't going to be a bother."

DM62: Arturus frowns. "Tell me about this... mental control you are using on the male elves." The cubite nods. "It is no mental control. I'm taking the sexual desire of the inhabitants of Stillwater... and I'm amplifying it. Channeling it. The elves and orcs, they WANT to breed. And it's for a limited time. In about ten years, we'll have orcs nearing the age for puberty. At that point, I'll send the orcs on their way, regardless of the war's outcome. Otherwise I'd have to kill a generation of hybrid orc males, and that would be... bad. Not to mention those orcs would be innocents. Their mothers will bring them back to their civilization, and I'll be releasing the elves, as well. Though I'll have to stay in Stillwater, as my contract will not have expired, even then."

Zyanya: "So it's similar in essence to Thrae's lust magic or whatever she calls it. I swear, before I left home, I never thought I'd be seeing magic related to just humping things like animals."

Thrae: "Eromagic, but ya pretty much." Thrae said with a chuckle. "Not like you'll likely encounter it ever again, never thought I'd actually run into anyone else that could use it either. I don't think I could effect this many people at once though even if I put my all into it."

DM62: Lord Dontus chuckles. "It takes a lot of energy... but cubites also feed off of sexual energy. I've got... something of a magical energy loop in practice right now. The fucking fuels my power which fuels the fucking." Arturus ponders this for a moment. "I suppose if it's for a limited time period... this does save Stillwater. And it was the choice... the dying wish, indeed, of their High Priestess. Very well... I agree with not interfering, for now." Daria nods. "Father... maybe I could go with them?"

Thrae: "Well, we've been picking up people left and right. I don't think another would be out of place on our team."

DM62: "I'm not sure if that's wise, Daria. We do have a pact of neutrality with Lady Malgra, in addition to these fine people." Daria smirks. "Yes... but if Lady Malgra wins, she might decide to take her little project back from us. You don't trust either side... but the Alliance doesn't even know that we exist. And they won't, will they?" The female cubite bats her eyes at the party.

Thrae: "I'm not going to tell anyone." Thrae gave a half grin.

Zyanya: "On my peoples honor, I won't say a thing"

DM62: Lord Dontus nods. "The less people know about what's happening at Stillwater... the better for Stillwater. And for the world." Daria chuckles. "That sounds like a 'yes,' Father." The male grumbles, "Fine, fine. Be careful out there. I know you'd do what you want, anyway."

Zyanya: "She has a fire in her, I won't deny that. She'll be a god addition to our little pack of misfits."

DM62: Now the male is smirking. "A fire? Heh. Well that's one way of putting it. Good luck to you. I must return with Master Shasha, before we are missed." He gives the party a regal bow, scooping up Master Shasha who gives a yelp as he's hurtled back east along the ground. Daria giggles. "So. Where are we off to now?"

Vel yawns and get's up and walks over, a big mobile pile of mud. "Now we go get the thrull. We should take a long way around Stillwater to avoid notice."

DM62: "There's the cute little kitty! You need a bath, though." The cubite smiles. The smuggler shakes his head. "Vel's not exactly into baths." He looks at the chimera, reaching down to stroke one of the few somewhat clean areas, under Vel's chin. "But thanks for the rescue. Now I owe you guys one."

Thrae: "She's still going to need a bit of a washoff, otherwise she's going to end up stuck to everything." Thrae said as she looked at the mudball. "And yes, we are off to find the Thrull."

Vel: "Eh, you've bailed me out enough, so I figured. And I have a tongue for bathing thank you very much. Now then, excuse me." She walked a bit away before shaking her self vigorously to get as much mud off as she could.

Zyanya: "Think the mud will take more than that to get off you, Vel. But do what you have to do. I won't stop you. We have bigger fish to fry as it were."

DM62: The smuggler grins. "I also had the opportunity to work out a little side deal with Lord Dontus. Stillwater will be receiving regular shipments of food, as well as some supplies, in exchange for... other things." The cubite folds her arms. "Yes, yes, Bradley, you're very clever. But what are thrull, exactly?"

Vel: "Bugs."

Thrae: "Big bugs"

DM62: Daria looks confused. "And... why are we going to go see these... big bugs?"

Vel: "Gonna make em into big brain bugs and throw them at orcs."

Thrae: "Honestly that's about as much of the conversation we had about it I caught way back when." Thrae said with a sigh, "And that, we are hoping to rally them to use against the orcs."

Vel started grooming herself clean with her tongue while she waited for movement

Zyanya: "We're basically seeking out every option we can in this conflict and these thrull over a very good bit of assistance. And they're in this neck of the woods, which is why we were passing through Stillwater. But we're not gonna summon anything if we don't get moving"

DM62: Arturus nods. "Fair enough. We may wish to send the army away for now, however. I don't think bringing them into thrull territory is... practical. Especially if the thrull perceive the walking dead as a threat."

Vel: "What stops them from perceiving us as a threat? IF they're an army in their own right...," grunts Vel as she glances up

DM62: "No idea." Arturus shakes his head. "I rather assumed we'd have to sneak or fight our way to a queen before using the scroll."

Zyanya: "Joy of joys. Because the only way to make friends around here is the slaughter of many others."

Vel: "Sneaking past bugs in what I can only assume will be cramped tunnels full of em? Fighting it is!," smirks Vel, as she returns to her cleaning, shaking her snake tail clear.

Thrae: "Seems about right."

DM62: Arturus looks thoughtful for a moment. "There might be an expert who can help us. There's a sage who lives out here. Studies the thrull. But I know he probably would disapprove of our mission."

Vel: "So we don't tell him about it. Or let Daria do her dad's mojo on the matter or something.," grunts Vel, "We're already playing god to win a war, so what's free will matter?"

DM62: Daria shakes her head. "I... don't have the same magic as my father. Totally different skills, really."

Vel: "Thrae then."

Thrae: "Ya I could play with him a bit, though I hope he's not some wrinkly old fart, it might just kill him if he is."

Zyanya: "Or we could explain whats going on and convince him of the cause? Better to go into it knowing he'll help us willingly. Not because he was seduced."

Vel: "Don't matter to me, long as we get the job done.," shrugs Vel, "We're already enslaving a whole species into being war machines."

DM62: The elf shrugs. "Better to lie than to enslave him, I think. Though I don't feel right about this."

Vel: "We could not, and risk the whole war. Morality left the cart awhile ago, Arcturus. Right now we just need to win. If we hold back where she hasn't, we're going to regret it.," grunts Vel, "History will decide if you guys are monsters or not."

Thrae: "Indeed, though we are only taking them under our control till the war is done, if we do not maltreat them we may be able to release them after without serious issues."

DM62: "Alright... let's get a move on, then. His hut's to the east... should be a few day's travel. I think I remember the way." Arturus starts leading the group back to the rest of the party. "We should send the army along... maybe have them rendezvous with us once we've got the thrull under our control."

DM62: Arturus recommends sending the undead army to await further orders at Huron's Rest, south of the dwarven citadel of North Fort. The party heads east, moving into the Northspire Mountains, towards the great peak known as Death's Plummet. They walk through valleys and mountain passes, making their way through the cold of winter, until they reach a small cave that shows sign of human life. There's a small stream with clothes hanging nearby, and clay pots are resting near the cave entrance... along with a few spears.

Vel, quite clean now, or as clean as any cat would be, moves along with the rest. "I guess this is the place then?"

DM62: Arturus nods. "This is the home of Nicodemus of Ritzerite. He's... a little odd. But a pleasant enough fellow, once you get to know him."

Zyanya: "Pots? Spears...clothing? Hmm. Signs of life. Maybe check inside the cave? Or the stream?"

Vel: "Nicdemus of.. Thing.. Gotcha.," nods Vel, "So... After you of course. I don;t fancy the possibility of being punted if I go first. I experienced that once already, no thanks for a round 2."

DM62: "The stream is my water supply... and I'd rather you left it alone." There's a silhouette perched on a cliff overlooking the cave, holding a bow and arrow. "May I ask what exactly you're considering doing to my home?"

Vel: "Visiting it. To find the person who lives in it. To ask his advice. Preferably without arrows in us. Though if you do need to shoot arrows while talking, please direct them at those with the largest bodymass, they can carry more of them than me."

Thrae: "Yes, we are here to visit you presumably given your use of possessive terms." Thrae said with a shrug and pointed at Arturus "He's the one that pointed us this way."

DM62: The bow and arrow point at Arturus... then lower. "Well, well, well. If it isn't my buddy Art." Arturus folds his arms, frowning, and the silhouette makes his way down to the party with a considerable level of agility. It's a handsome human male, with a full black beard and thick, long hair. Arturus gives him a little bow. "A pleasure to see you again, Nicodemus." "Always so formal." The man chuckles, pulling the stoic elf into a crushing hug.

Vel: "Please do not squish the Arturus. We need him for things."

Thrae: "Ehh, I'm sure he'll be fine."

DM62: Nicodemus laughs, releasing the elf. "So... what brings you people into these parts? I'm sure Arturus is aware of the dangers up here, even if none of the rest of you are. I'd be rather surprised if you didn't encounter any of the ant-folk on your way here."

Vel sniffs, her getting a little closer and tries to pick it out. "Antfolk? ...You smell diffrent. Musky."

DM62: "The noble thrull." He grins as the chimera sniffs at him. "That would be their scent upon me. They use scents and sounds to pick out their own, and even to communicate. Though I also suspect they have other means of communication. Senses that we're not privy to."

Vel: "Thrull look like people? I thought they were just big bugs?"

DM62: "No, thrull look like massive ants. But they don't rely upon their sight, so much as the scents and sounds that one makes. They can smell another thrull... which is why they don't attack me."

Vel: "Oh... Then why are they antfolk and not... big ants?"

Thrae: "Darn, and here I was hoping I might have found something I could relate to." Thrae joked

DM62: "I believe that they're more complex and intelligent than ants. Hence the term, 'antfolk.' They're capable of learning on as high a level as mammals, really, and that's individually. Not to mention the hives they build seem to be more complex than many of our own structures."

Vel: "Oh. So you just... Live in a cave out here and study em?"

DM62: Nicodemus nods. "Indeed. Which brings me back to my original question." He folds his arms. "Why are you here?"

((end of session))

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twenty-second Session, 1 April (part one, speaking with Nicodemus, controlling the sage, traveling through thrull territory)

Spoiler

Thrae: "We want to exchange them gaining sapience in exchange for helping us defeat the orc forces." Thrae said bluntly before continuing. "More specifically, we are here to gauge if such a possibility would be worth the risks or not."

Vel: Vel looks over at Thrae blankly then back to the situation at hand. That just happened.

DM62: The man's eyes narrow, and he takes a step back, his hands twitching around the bow and arrow. "You... want to... what?" Arturus shoots Thrae a quick but venomous look.

Vel... Really wasn't sure how to spin this one in a way that it could be convincing. She doubted this guy gave a damn about the orcs, they had little reason to bother the bugs either…

Hel glances between them all, frowning, trying to think best how to speak about this.

Thrae just glares back. "Probably nothing, but the world is at war outside of these mountains, and every possible route must be atleast considered. There is no reason to resort to your weapon, you are knowledgeable about these Ant-Folk, so your opinion by words alone can just as easily keep us from going through with a plan as it is to convince us to do so."

DM62: Nicodemus continues to slowly move backwards, establishing distance. "Your... idea... could be disastrous! I haven't even begun to fully understand the thrull, but springing sapience upon a race that isn't ready for it... it could make them mad, it could make them killers... you might be sealing their fates. What gives you the right to inflict such harm?" Arturus shakes his head. "It's a great war, Nicodemus. You think the orcs will give a damn about the thrull once they conquer all of the humans AND elves?" "NO! I don't! And they won't come messing about with the thrull and giving them sapience!"

Zyanya: "Everyone seems to always think in the worst possible scenarios for everything around her. Who are you to say that they aren't ready for sapience? Are you their creator? Their god? You may be studying them, but that dosen't give you authority. Especially not when the very land is at risk of being subjugated. "

Thrae: "Necessity of preservation is a right." Thrae said calmly. "And what the orcs are more likely to do is come here and turn them into slave labour. As it is though you have already said they exhibit intelligence. Do you truly think that the jump to full sapience would be that drastic to them?" Thrae's words weren't accusing, they were honestly questioning.

Vel sighs and leans back. Nicodemus wasn't wrong. They were playing god here, and it definitely was risky as all hell. Not to mention the general slavery and what not. Really these justifications were flimsy as it were. This was probably going to involve a fight. Fact was they were changing and enslaving another species for their own protection. Just like the dark elves had done to the chimerae.

DM62: "They exhibit intelligence, but your strange magicks could have literally ANY effect upon them. You're playing as Gods with them, and it's definitely risky as all hell. Not to mention the general slavery and whatnot. Your justifications are flimsy, and if I have to, I'll fight you." He takes a few more steps back, nocking his arrow. Arturus shakes his head. "He's got information we need. No killing if we can avoid it."

Vel shrugs. "You're not wrong. Tell me. Do you have a better plan to counter an army of scorpion folk cavalry? Give us a better option and we can drop this."

Thrae: "I'm still not entirely sure why you're trying to fight us." Thrae said with a sigh. "As I've already said we are very much on the fence ourselves about this plan. We realize the potential dangers but we are in need enough to not just throw it away out of hand."

DM62: Nicodemus shakes his head. "Using unpredictable magicks on the thrull won't necessarily bring you victory. I don't have a great plan for defeating the scorpion-folk cavalry, but this might not accomplish that either. But no... necessity of preservation does not justify using untested powers that might just cause genocide. Or worse, make the thrull rampage and destroy other people, as well." Arturus folds his arms. "It's magic from Ashur the Sage. I'm quite confident in her knowledge and research."

Vel: "It worked before on my species once already.," shrugs Vel, "Without it there'd be no chimerakin like myself. So there is precedence. And we're far from rampaging destroyers. Either way fact is the orc side is already doing unpredictable things and using every advantage. They're using tainted plants to cause berzerkness, they're bringing native species outside their habitats. They are crossbreeding entirely seperate species for future goals. They are playing god already. And only a god can face another god. Is there risk? Certainly. And if you help, you can help us mitigate it, because you know them better than we do. But if we don't have another option to face their power, then we don't have much choice here. I'm just waiitng for a half orc scorpionkin berzerker to stomp out after us. Or worse."

DM62: Daria moves forward, nodding. "The cute kitty is correct, my dear... this Malgra is bad news, and she's not afraid to mess about, herself." Her voice is melodious, flirtatious... and the party can feel the effects of her voice, manufacturing sexual desires within each of them, but mostly having an effect on Nicodemus, who moves his hands away from his bow. "I... I don't... alright. Maybe... Maybe you're right. I've still got... a bad feeling about this..." the human tries to fight the enchantment one more time, but fails. "I've got scent glands... that you can bring. It should bring you through them safely."

Vel shivers at the voice, grumbling internally at stupid sexy voice, before nodding. "thank you. I am sure your knowledge will mitigate any poor effects that may occur if any." Note to self. Invest in magic earguards...

Zyanya: "Anything that might help us will be greatly appreciated, sir. You'll have to forgive my words earlier. I was just hoping we'd have one mission be a relatively simple affair after all the nonsense we've dealt with up until this point. I know you mean well, but our need since the beginning has been dire. "

DM62: The man enters his cave. Several minutes later, he emerges, carrying an armload of small, dripping pouches. "These contain harvested thrull scent glands from worker drones. You can't use them as proficiently as the thrull, to communicate... but they'll probably assume you to be slightly damaged in some way, and won't interfere with your passage."

Vel: "Oh, thanks. Uh... so we roll in em?"

DM62: "No, no. You just carry these with you."

Vel: "Oh." Vel takes it and just carries it then. "...I need pockets..."

DM62: "Evie, you'll need one of these too," Daria says sweetly, to no-one in particular. "You might as well reveal yourself to the group."

Vel frowns and glares about, not appreciating that she had been out sneaked.

Evie: Shadows on the rock face shifted, and a succubus wrapped in leather and flowing cloth dropped to a careful crouch. Drawing back a hood with intricate patterns sewn along the trim to reveal a head of thick white hair, the woman frowned at Daria. "I'd have preferred the shadows," she said through a mask of black silk as she reached out with a hand in fingerless leather gloves, frowning again as the dripping pouch smeared across her palm, before slipping it into a pouch at her waist.

DM62: "I know, dear... but these thrull seem to rely mostly on scent. I'm sorry." Daria gives the woman a nod.

Vel frowns. Shadow magic was hardly something unknown to under elves, but that she hadn't even smelt or heard her the whole way, or tasted her scent? That was... She wasn't sure who she was mad at right now, but she was not happy.

Zyanya: Wonderful. More sneaky shifty people. Well, at least she didn't look like she had the same nasty attitude as Vel. "They'll be a time and a place to make use of the shadows, friend. For now we're making use of more practical means. And I'm sure we can find a way to secure the gland on you Vel. Maybe tie it around your neck."

Hel: The dwarf shrugs a bit at this newest strangeness, staying quiet as he grabs a bag and adds it to his belt as well, next to the hammer.

Zyanya would take her pouch and secured it to her hip

DM62: The bearded human smuggler raises an eyebrow at the new arrival, glancing once as Vel as if to say, "I didn't see her, either." Then he smiles at the new cubite. "Hello. I'm Chuck. Chuck Norris. Pleased to meet you."

Vel: "Maybe, but I doubt I need to pick any locks in a bug house.," says Vel simply, handing the thieves tools and scrolls to the smuggler and holding the gland instead. She felt a little better knowing chuck Testa hadn't seen her either, but his sense weren't nearly as accute as hers. Also blegh, the musk scent had gotten voerpowering round ehre now that everyone had one.

Evie: The new succubus rose an eyebrow at Zyanya's comment, but said nothing as she turned her attention to Chuck. "I'd rather you hadn't. But, cat's out of the bag," she said, as she moved around the man, as if inspecting her, her footsteps silent, her scent closer to that of a patch of dirt than a woman. Especially a succubus.

DM62: The smuggler nods, tucking Vel's other gear into his pack. There's also a half-elf, dressed in ornate chainmail and carrying a sword and a mace, who nods. "I'm Arturus. That's Sir Fiske Broken-Axe." A rather young male human gives the new arrival a nervous nod. The smuggler chuckles at Evie's comment. "I know precisely what you mean... Evie, she called you?"

Vel snuffled. Dirt huh? Guess she had done the same thing as she had before. That it clung without her being covered in mud was odd but whatever. Nice to have a third person she could count on to be sneaky. Now whose side she was on was a matter of debate, but time would tell.

Evie just nodded in response, the only patch of skin seen her eyes, her fingers, and the cleavage offered by her corset.

DM62: The smuggler is dressed in a traveling robe... but it looks a little thick, and Evie can see a glimmer of red silk on the inside... a reversible coat, then. The smuggler could change his appearance and social status quickly, it seemed.

Vel was about 3 feet tall, feline seeming with a fluffy dark red and black coat and a green snake tail with a snake head on the end. She had sharp little claws and fangs and horns on her head. when she shifts sometimes the fur near her neck parts revealing deep scars of a sliced throat, and she always spoke in a whispery and slightly gravelly voice, and often winced when talking. she was compeltly naked.

Zyanya meanwhile was wearing tribal attire, a mixture of fur and leathers. This was accompanied by armlets and ankle bands decorated with bright feathers along with primitive jewelry. She was carrying a pair of spears as her weapons, the woman rather tall and confident as befitting her shiriti origns.

DM62: Daria wears almost nothing, carrying a blade in one hand.

Thrae took one of the scent glands and put it in the pouch attached to her large spider half. The girl not letting how she was phased at the sudden appearance of the succubus. It was a good thing the woman hadn't been planning to kill them, or they would have been caught rather badly by surprise. Once the gland was stored she turned to Evie, looking the girl over with her arms crossed over her chest, her green hair to bobbing a bit before she said. "Nice to meet you, I'm Thrae."

Hel clearly is resigned by the fact they have all sorts of strange creatures now, the dwarf shrugging a bit and keeping an eye around for any other unexpected surprises

DM62: Arturus nods, looking to Nicodemus again. "Right... we need to get a move on. Where might we find one of the more influential thrull broodqueens? Someone... who commands a large hive?" Nicodemus keeps his lips sealed tight, but then Daria touches his arm, her voice turning to silk again. "Come on, my dear. You've told us this much." He grunts. "North by Northwest. There's a large set of caves going into a hill hive. In the depths of that hive... is a thrull broodqueen with a massive horde."

Vel: "Well, off we go then I guess...?," she muses, glancing at Evie, then drops to all fours and starts walking that way.

Evie: After nodding to each introduction, but saying nothing else, Evie moved closer to Daria, her eyes upon Nicodemus, even as her mistress used her wiles upon him. She was no stranger to such tactics herself, and her expression, what could be seen of it anyway, was a blank slate. She waited for the noble cubite to move, before following after the party, the leather skirts on the bottom of her corset flowing gently around her legs.

Zyanya: "That's a start. Hopefully they'll be cooperative...I don't know to be honest. These things are a mystery to me."

Thrae: "Indeed," Thrae said with a nod.

DM62: Daria moves with the group, her gait regal as she gracefully follows. Her heels are thin, yet somehow don't slip into the dusty path in the canyon ahead. The party doesn't get more and a half-mile down the trail, before they hear a chittering from above them, on the right.

Vel looks up at the bug sounds, a chill running up her spine. It reminded her of the spiders back home, the ones she had been fed to and healed and fed to again and again...

Hel tenses a little, hammer quickly in his hand while frowning at the noise. "Just bloody great... All the way down to the queen at this rate..."

Evie: Beside Daria, Evie slowly drew her blade, the steel blackened, and not making a sound as it slid out from the silk lined scabbard. She said nothing as she looked about, following the sounds with her ears, aware of how the others moved to not get in their way.

DM62: There's answering chitters above the party and to the left... then chittering ahead of the party, as an ant-like creature with sharp-looking mandibles cautiously approaches. It pauses, seeming to take a moment to examine the newcomers.

Zyanya: Spear at the ready, the tribal warrior was not quite ready to lash out at her opponent. She prefered a defensive posture, waiting to see what they did first. "Might want to let them know we mean them no harm. Would be a good start."

Vel: Big ants. At least they were gi-ants. Why did she think that jsut now? "They're jsut checking us out. Stop seeming hostile."

Thrae: "I'd say don't start attacking first. This is what those scent pods are for last I checked." Thrae said as she looked at the ant creature.

Hel: "Sure, who here speaks insect?" the dwarf points out, though he too keeps in a relax but ready pose, holding his hammer ready.

Zyanya: "It's a reflex action. I can't help it." Zyanya stood down, taking a deep breath. "I could do it. If no one else wants to."

DM62: The ant chitters for a moment... then seems satisfied, backing away and moving off. The chittering above the party stops as well.

Vel: "See?"

Evie: "If the scent glands work, then that is your language," Evie said, though she kept an easy hold on her blade, her muscles coiled and ready to spring. Glancing at the others, she started to move forward carefully, keeping the sword back, until the creature simply turned away. Raising an eyebrow, she glanced back at the others.

Vel: "I was a slave on a spider ranch for awhile. Not good times... But this isn't anything new. If you smell right and don't act hostile or trip their instincts it's fine.," grimaces Vel, "Like if these were spiders, everyone should rub up against Thrae, but they aren't. Let's keep going."

Thrae frowns a bit at Vel bringing up her past again. The more it was told the more she still felt terrible about what her parents did to her. Still she starts walking forward again as soon as the ants back off. "Yes, let us not delay further."

Hel: "At least for now, these were just the workers I assume. The guards of the queen may not be as cordial about it," Hel remarks. "Least if they're anything like other hive insects..."

Zyanya would step forward after Evie and the others, both her spears slung behind her back and out of arms reach. "Hopefully they'll listen though. Not like we're trying to hurt them."

Evie: Noting the frown on Thrae's face, Evie stashed the piece of information away for later investigation. "They may not see it that way," Evie said with a shrug, starting forward again, already missing the shadows.

Vel: "I think they're all guards. I've only seen four kinds of ants before. Little ones, big head ones, flappy ones, and the ones the flappy ones turn into.," says Vel as she walks, "The big head ones will only come at us if the alarm is sounded, and the rest seem fine. Flappies won't care either way. Assuming they still work like ants anyways."

DM62: It's nearing dusk as the party approaches a massive hill, with regular holes leading inside spread over its bare, dusty surface.

Thrae: "Well, it very much looks like a giant ant hill."

Hel shrugs a little bit. "Considering all the other strange things we've run into during this trek, entering a massive anthill surely will only end in good things. Let's get this over with."

Vel: "Well, wish we brought that guy along. Well. In we go."

Evie: "I agree with the Dwarf. The sooner we're in, the sooner we're out." Evie said, glancing back at Daria. She didn't want the cubite to even go in, but she was here to make sure the woman got back to her father alive. Not to tell her what to do.

DM62: Daria bites her lip for a moment, a small thing that only Evie notices, but shakes her head. "Let's do this." The smuggler chuckles and nods. "Good news is, with how sharp those mandibles look? If they decide to kill us, it'll be a very clean set of deaths."

Hel: "...I'm not sure that's comforting..."

Evie: "That depends Chuck, and where they decide to bite," Evie said, looking back at the smuggler.

Zyanya: "I'm no stranger to large animals looking to kill me or eat me from my neck of the woods. Hel, it was a good day when something didn't try to hunt you."

DM62: Sir Fiske scowls at the smuggler. "If death alarms you, rogue, you're welcome to stay out here where it's... safe." The smuggler raises an eyebrow. "Wouldn't miss it for the world, boy. Not every day I get a chance to see a knight crap his armor."

Vel: "Boys, boys, you're both pretty. Let's do our job and leave so I can stop having flashbacks to ACTUALLY having been eaten alive.," says Vel dryly as she walks in.

Thrae: "I almost feel at home with all this chitin around I must say." Thrae added lightly, still trying to dispel Vel's mood as the girl heading in right beside the Chimera.

Evie gives Chuck a look then, before glancing to Daria, and following the other two into the hole, into the depths.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Interlude (Nicodemus and child)

Spoiler

Small green eyes watched the bearded man as he neared the massive thrull hive. The man sighs, a large pouch clutched in his hands, looking about him in the canyon. Then a pebble is dislodged, and the bearded man lifts his head… and spots the interloper, grabbing the small person by the back of the collar.

“I thought I told you to stay back at the cave! To stay hidden, until I’ve dealt with these dangerous people!”

The small green eyes continue to stare at Nicodemus. The child, covered in dirt, offers no explanation for the act of disobedience, quietly watching the parent. The black-bearded man sighs, kneeling.

“Look… it’s dangerous in here. Those people, they… they’re going to do something terrible if I don’t stop them. I have to try.” He sighs, wiping a little of the dirt away from the child’s forehead. “You’ve gotten better at sneaking about, I’ll grant you that. And look, you remembered to bring the thrull gland!”

The man tries to smile, hoping to raise the spirits of the child… but children are often more perceptive than adults, and the child knows something is amiss. The man sighs. “It’s not safe here. I need you to go away and wait for me. Okay?” The child nods. “Do you remember the temple? The old, abandoned temple of the goddess of knowledge?”

The child nods again.

“I want you to wait there for me. The power of the goddess still defends her temple. You’ll be safe there. Go there and wait for me. If I don’t come to see you within a day… then you need to grab the hard supplies from the offering basket. The goddess doesn’t take our offerings away, and she’ll understand your need for survival. Then travel southwest, to Tillshire. You know the way to Old Man Dinvor’s house, right?”

The child stares at the man. The man shakes his head. “Just do it. You’ll be fine. With any luck, so will I.” He rises, carefully carrying the large pouch. “Go, dammit!” The child seems to consider further rebellion… but finally nods, carefully moving to the south-east in the direction of the forgotten temple.

Nicodemus sighs, watching the child depart… then takes a deep breath, gritting his teeth and moving into the massive thrull hive to confront these foolish adventurers.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twenty-second Session, 1 April (part two, the hive, Nicodemus interferes, casting the spell)

Spoiler

DM62: The tunnels are clean and dry. Every fifty feet or so, another of the large ants chitters at them, stopping to examine the party before moving on. The tunnels are labyrinthine, but Thrae is able to keep the party moving downhill at least... until finally the group emerges into a massive chamber, where even larger ants are standing guard around what looks to be the queen, a matron ant of enormous size resting near a huge pile of eggs.

Vel: "There, see? Big heads and big one that used to be a flappy one.," says Vel simply, "So... Scroll em, whoever has it."

Evie: "About that language you mentioned," Evie said as she looked up at the queen, blinking as she steadied her breathing.

Zyanya: Keeping on point, Zyanya would follow Thrae as she led the way. Course, when she saw the queen the tribal couldn't help but be impressed by the size of the creature. "Guess the queen thing isn't just a formality. Such size and majesty."

Vel: "It's all baby weight."

DM62: Arturus produces the scroll from Ashur. "Thrae, my focus is on force magic. I suspect you'd be better-suited to using this."

Thrae: "I probably would. Though wonder if we should try to communicate with it first." Thrae said as she took the scroll. "Unfortunately I do not really know bug..."

Hel grimaces and frowns, looking at the creatures. "Well this will clearly go well, but still, worth a shot... Maybe."

DM62: "Maybe you should stop." The bearded man is at the other end of the chamber, with a large dry pouch clutched in one hand. "Your charm magic worked back there, but not anymore. I've got my ears temporarily plugged. Now back out of the chamber, or we all die."

Vel: "Knew it."

Hel: "Oh bloody hell..." the dwarf mumbles, shaking his head.

Zyanya: "What now?!"

DM62: Arturus puts a hand on his sword, and Nicodemus shakes his head. "You draw weapons in here, you die. The workers outside can't tell. These guards... they can tell. So back off." Arturus curses. "Dammit, Nicodemus!"

Vel sighs. Well there was no way to reason with a deaf man. "Well, they're jsut big bugs. Arcturus, throw up a barrier of force they can't cross around us and we jsut scroll em then. And then what happens happens."

Hel: "Wouldn't that technically also count for you? If anything, we're at a standstill on both sides," Hel points out, holding his arms crossed.

Vel: "You're trying to negotiate with a man who can't hear, Hel."

Evie: "Why did we all trust this one?" Evie asks, eyebrow raised as she looks at the others, sliding her sword away now just in case. "Can we kill him?"

DM62: "I can read lips." Nicodemus grins.

Vel: "Well perfect. Then you know this is dumb, and even if you do this you can't stop it from happening and will only get yourself killed."

Hel: "It's a fair question either way," the dwarf points out. "He tries something, the guards will turn on him as well. It's a lose-lose."

Vel: "You're better off trying to mitigate any harm that may happen and using your knowledge to help them adapt."

DM62: Nicodemus shakes his head. "What you’re doing could be genocide against an evolving and glorious race. I won't allow it. I'd rather everyone in this hive was dead, myself included."

Zyanya: "Why would you even bring us this far if you wanted to stop us? I can't understand your logic. You seem to be letting yourself get irrational."

Vel: "So you'd rather kill everyone than let things change? Life is change, Nicodemus. He was charmed, Zyanya. You didn't recognize that?"

Evie: "Won't let that happen. Daria? May I kill him?" Evie asked her mistress through her mask, the succubus's response hopefully unable to tip off the man. Especially with a simple yes or no.

Thrae: "We were planning to let them go after the war anyways." Thrae said with a sigh. "Not like we were just going to use them forever. So not sure how we'd be committing genocide considering we have no plans to actually kill them."

DM62: Daria purses her lips, looking at Evie with a slight shake of her head. Then she looks at the sage. "What's in that big pouch?" Nicodemus shrugs. "A concoction of my own making. Turns the thrull temporarily unable to detect scents. The queen will likely die... but you all will definitely die. As will I."

Evie: "Damn. He'd sound much better without that throat," Evie said, her eyes narrowing as she rolled her shoulders, eyes flicking about to pick out the nearest guards around them all.

Zyanya: "SO now you're willing to kill the things you love so much in order to prevent us from completing our mission? Aren't you doing exactly the thing you're accusing us of? Killing them before they can realize their full potential? You'd commit genocide?"

Hel: "And you're calling us the murderous slavers. If you care so much for them why the hell did you even concoct that? That'd be like some sort of virus that turned humans into ravenous flesh-tearers."

DM62: "Kill one hive to save the rest from your spell. I think I know the magicks Ashur is prepared to use... and it would be a species-wide change. This is one of a hundred thrull hives that would be affected." Nicodemus is growing more agitated. Arturus turns back to face Thrae, looking away from Nicodemus. "Start casting, now. Do it right... doing quickly, but do it right the first time. I might be able to stop his throw." Nicodemus yells, "What are you doing?!"

Vel: Seemed Arcturus was already thinking the same thing Vel was. Saved her having to hide her mouth for a moment.

Thrae looks down and began to read the scroll. Letting her power flow through her as she tried to cast the spell contained within the parchment. Hoping that Arturus and the others could handle Nicodemus.

Zyanya: "You're still killing hundreds of thousands and being the biggest hypocrite I've ever seen! Seriously, event he under elves weren't this flip-floppy. "

Evie reached up and drew down her mask. Her lower lip was split in a jagged scar that ran all the way down to her chin. "Hear me now little man. Your plan will not kill me. I will find everything you love, and make it suffer for your actions here tonight. Any friends, children, lovers," her voice was empty as she spoke, making sure that the man could see her lips moving. Whether she meant it or not, she certainly aimed to keep his attention on her, on the far side of the party.

Hel tenses, ready and shield locked on his arm still, hand unarmed but ready in case the beasts begin.

DM62: Nicodemus shouts, "Hundreds for Millions!" He hurls the bag at the party, lobbing it over the wide chamber. Even as he's yelling, guard ants are moving to investigate with agitated chittering. A dozen are starting to encircle the party, but twice as many are heading for Nicodemus, moving quickly. Arturus uses a force spell, slowing the bag's fall and managing to catch it about fifteen feet above the party.

Evie: As soon as Nicdemus threw the bag, a knife was in Evie's hand, and flying across the room towards him, so quick and gone from her hand that it scarcely seemed there at all.

Hel: "Good grab lad!" Hel remarks, holding himself ready but not making the first move himself yet, though his prostetic fist is glowing slightly as he readies it's trick.

Vel takes a seat and watches how things fall out.

Thrae continues her casting of the scroll, her pace picking up just a bit as she desperately hoped that they'd get the spell cast before the Ants decided to murder them all.

DM62: The floor begins to hum in response to Thrae's use of the scroll, which is glowing slightly... as is the queen. Daria flies up, blade in hand, soaring toward the human sage with her vocal cords vibrating in preparation for a damaging sonic shout. Evie's dagger strikes the human in the gut, and he gives a yelp... then he grits his teeth, pulling out and nocking an arrow to his bow, firing it in a fluid motion at the party. The arrow soars true, striking the bag, which bursts in a foul odor that spreads throughout the lair.

Vel: "Welp. Good catch, bad landing," groans Vel as she clenches her nose, eyes tearing up

Hel: "Oh by the ForgeMistress!" the dwarf growls, before doing the weirdest thing yet- smacking through a few of the guard creatures and rushing towards the queen, the idea is he'll gladly try to keep the guards off the queen as the transformation takes place.

Vel: "Right. Defend the giant spider, boys and girls, or we're dead.," groans Vel

Zyanya: "You fucking bastard! I hope you rot!" Much as she wanted to, Zyanya wasn't about to throw her spear and risk hitting one of the creatures. It was a risk she wasn't willing to take. She would however move with Hel to assist in the defense of the queen. It was the least she could do at this point

Evie: "Remember my words," Evie shouts, lifting her hand and twisting her fingers, the dagger yanking from the man's innards and appeared back in her hand as she threw it skillfully towards him once more and drew her sword, ready to keep the guards off her mistress, moving beneath her to strike the insects down as she needed.

Thrae does not let the commotion going on around her stop her casting. Using all the concentration she could to keep casting she really hoped the rest of the party would help defend her as well as the queen still...

Vel: "Evie, he's bug food, focus on protecting the queen adn Thrae. Guh, ah cab eben... glug...," groans Vel, slurring badly.

DM62: Unfortunately for Nicodemus, the massive guard ants do not care about his motives, and Evie's dagger is a sweet mercy as they've already begun to dismember him. Hel's hammer strikes true, injuring one guard and putting another out of commission, as he moves to defend the queen. Fiske and Arturus move to intercept guards before they can get to Thrae, and the smuggler grabs Vel, hauling her back out of harm's way behind the two warriors. "Not a place for cats anymore, my darling Vel," he chuckles. Daria lands near Hel and Zyanya, unleashing a vocal blast that knocks one of the guards backwards. Zyanya is forced to impale a guard... but her spear is stuck as another draws closer.

Vel: "Ahm awergh.," comments Vel dryly, "Hae everythug..."

Evie: Moving to Daria's back, not about to let something sneak up on her mistress, Evie noted the guard coming upon Zyanya, twisting her fingers to regain her dagger, and sent the vicious weapon swirling towards the ant creeping up upon her.

Zyanya: "Damnit. This is not what I wanted!" She hollered as the guard was impaled on her spear. Beast was stuck now and she couldn't make use of this weapon unless she removed it. Putting all her weight forward, she'd try to shove the creature off. If not, she'd quickly abandon that spear to draw her back up, ready to defend herself against the approaching guard

Hel: The dwarf moves quickly, doing his best for crippling blows on the strange, alien anatomy of his foes to keep them out of the fight, though if one is too stubborn a blow to the noggin quickly ends it and lets him focus on another. He was sure this was probably more long-term damage, but hey, if they became sentient because of them, maybe he could try to do something once his own home affairs were settled.

DM62: Evie's dagger buries itself in the guard's carapace, leaving it twitching awkwardly on the ground of the chamber. Another guard chops at Evie with mandibles, but the skilled cubite is able to dodge the attack. Daria uses her blade to block a pair of mandibles, preparing for another vocal strike. Hel's blows manage to keep the rest of the closing guards at bay for the moment, and Zyanya is shocked as the magically-enhanced force spear in her hands glows for a moment... then thrusts the dead guard's body backwards hard enough to free the weapon. Arturus and Fiske manage to hold their own for the moment against advancing guards, but with Nicodemus dead the larger group is starting to swarm toward the party... and there are scuttling sounds and angry chittering from the tunnels above...

Hel: "Remind me again why we didn't just knock the idiot out to begin with?!?" Hel calls out over the din, even as he keeps smacking around the insect guards as if they were a group of belligerent, sugar-high gnomes.

DM62: "Needed to know about the scent glands," responds the smuggler.

Vel: "Ah wan no whi we didbn't brig hi with uz whil churmed..."

DM62: "Because non-player characters can't read minds!" shouts Deadpool from the back of the chamber before getting torn apart.

Zyanya: "Fucking finally" She sighed as she had the beast pushed off her weapon by the magic contained within the weapon. "Bout damn time this thing did something different. Now come on! Who wants some more!?" She kept her stance defensive and would only wound any further guards that would assault her.

Evie: "Should have killed him," Evie said as she twisted out of the way of the mandibles, plunging her sword down just behind the vicious teeth and pulled it free as she flicked her gaze towards Daria. A quick flick of her hand, and the mask was back in place, her feet never still.

Vel: "Obvily bu mos dis lot r sqmish."

DM62: Daria shakes her head. "Didn't seem right, Evie... I'm sorry." Then she unleashes another vocal blast, knocking two more of the guards back... though one gets back up.

DM62: Suddenly the guards stop, and the chittering ceases around the party. The queen begins to... shift in appearance, shrinking somewhat, but also taking on a slightly more humanoid form. She looks at the group, her eyes wide, then turns to Thrae. "What... what did..." she pauses, uttering words aloud, the first thrull in existence to do so. "What did you do?"

DM62: None too soon, as one of the guards had just managed to clamp down around Hel's wrist. Harmless but potentially disabling.

Hel stops the pummeling, but frowns as the guard clenches over his arm. He loosely shakes it free, letting the beast pause before letting the rest speak.

Evie: As it got back up, Evie's dagger was back in her hand, and out again into this threat to her mistress. She said nothing in response to her mistress. She was about to strike another guard when suddenly it stopped. She watched it curiously for a moment, before hearing something off. Looking back she saw the queen shifting, and she let out a breath, standing straight again and calling back her trusty dagger, flicking it to the side to let blood and ichor spatter on the ground before letting it vanish against amidst her flowing garbs.

Vel: "...Huh anb grl. Wuzn't zpectin dat. Howz thiz coner scupintaurs?"

Thrae lets out a sigh as her spell finally finishes. Feeling tired after casting the changing spell. "A-Ahh, gave you sapience..." Thrae said before stopping to get some more breath, then a small grin came to her face. "I hope you're grateful. That took alot of effort."

DM62: The ant guards begin forming around the queen, who pauses, tilting her head at Thrae curiously.

Evie: As the guards formed, so did Evie move beside Daria, wiping some ichor off her skirts and glancing over to Nicodemus, if only to ensure he was dead.

Zyanya: "We don't mean you any harm, your majesty. We have our reasons for doing what we did."

DM62: Nicodemus is a pile of random pieces of bloody meat.

Evie cracked her neck, satisfied with the sight before turning her attention to the guards. Just in case the queen didn't appreciate sentience.

Hel backs up himself, wincing a little and being slightly winded as he moves to the others.

Evie: "How's your wrist dwarf?" Evie asked him as he came up with the others.

Hel: "Jus a wee scratch, lass," Hel mumbles, holding up the augmented limb and the fresh marks on the metal.

DM62: The queen gives Thrae: a small nod. "You seem to prefer verbal communication, so as your... hive-mates... are your equals?" The queen looks around at the party. "Then we go to war... my consciousness is spreading through the hive as we speak. Faster and faster."

Thrae: "Yes, they are equals." Thrae said, her eyelids drooping a bit as she fought to suppress her tiredness. "That's good, I do not think I'd have it in me to cast that multiple times with any speed."

DM62: Braxis, the minotaur that Evie surely noticed but that the DM forgot about cos he was derpy, moves to support Thrae.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twenty-third Session, 9 April (part one, thrull awakening, leaving the nest)

Spoiler

DM62: The newly awakened Thrull queen is speaking with the party, dealing with the effects of her new sapience, even as the enchantment spreads quickly through the hive, and even from hive to hive, bringing the effects to an entire race. She pauses for a moment, staring straight ahead, seeming to lose focus for a moment.

Vel sits, watching the fallout curiously.

Zyanya: "Is something the matter?"

Thrae is still tired from casing the spell and gives Braxis a small thanks for helping her stay upright as she too watched the Thrull queen go through the process of converting her entire species.

Hel is silent as well, keeping his weapons loose but ready, just in case.

Evie: Swirling her dagger over her fingers, before catching it, Evie carefully examined the blade, running a nail along its edge to feel for burrs and nicks, before letting the weapon vanish somewhere within her garments. She slowly and patiently repeated the ritual with her sword, before carefully taking a silk cloth and some oil to run along the edges, seemingly ignoring the others for now.

DM62: "It's..." the queen winces. "It's spreading faster... I... I can't keep control much longer, at this rate." She shudders. "Are there... are there limits to the spread of the spell?" She looks at Thrae, shivering in pain.

Zyanya: "Thrae, or well any of the magic users really would know more than myself, queen. I honestly am not sure what to tell you"

Thrae: "I don't actually know." Thrae said as she looked down at the scroll. She hoped there was because otherwise it looked like this plan might backfire significantly...

Evie remained quiet, staying near Daria, wiping her blade clean of ichor, checking each inch of the edge, the firmness of the point.

Vel: "Well, we started the bugpocalypse. I for one welcome our latest chitinous overlords."

DM62: Arturus has a concerned look. "I don't know... I'm betting your telepathic link has a limit on its range, even if the spell spreads further. But that's... not a sure thing." The smuggler shakes his head. "Fucking wizards." Sir Fiske looks over at the smuggler sourly. "For once I agree with you."

Vel: "Well now that we've cursed out the next closest things to gods, I figure we bring everything she can handle and if this become bugpocalypse we'll have something to unite the orcs against. Alternatively we solve it via more wizards. Honestly, is there a problem in life that can't be solved by just throwing more wizards at it?"

DM62: The smuggler chuckles. "Well, wizards, for one thing..." Arturus gives him a dirty look. The spell scroll was consumed in the casting, unfortunately.

Vel: "No, I'm pretty sure you can only solve wizards with more wizards."

Thrae: "U-Ummm, shit." Thrae said as she pondered. Trying to think if there was anyway she could help with her magic, though that could go....very badly if she tried to like make her pain turn into pleasure....

Vel: "There doesn't seem like there's a good solution."

Evie: "Wizards are solved the same way as most people," Evie said quietly, her eyes flicking up a moment, before she glanced back to her sword, giving it a satisfied nod and sliding it into her scabard.

Vel: "Yeah unless they magicked away their vulnerability to knives.," she shrugs

Zyanya: "Much as I'm not a fan of magics and the like, we're going to need it right now gentleman to find a solution to this problem. Maybe there's a way to strengthen your abilities, queen? I know we're putting alot on you but having rogue elements might be a problem."

DM62: The smuggler raises an eyebrow at Evie. "A bit straightforward. I've always found that wizards rarely check their food before eating. But we need a solution to THIS problem." The queen is looking at Thrae, quivering. "I... I... I don't know what to do... so many minds..."

Evie: "If you can magic away vulnerability to knives, you are no longer mortal," the assassin said to Vel, before raising her eye at the smuggler, and then finally turning towards the queen. "Concentrate. Block them all out, focus on one. Then two, and spread out from there."

Vel: "Well never said mortal, simply said wizard.," shrugs Vel, "Well, I dunno what we're doing here buuut I think we just bit off more than we can chew."

Thrae looked like she was midway through a panic attack. "C-Crap, I have no idea what to do. U-Umm is there any way you can like share the load with other queens or anything?!"

DM62: The Queen staggers, and her guards move in to support her body. "I... I can't block them out. They... they keep appearing in my head. Purposeless... without a... task... looking to me. If I lose control now... they're going to panic."

Vel: "So give them one? You're a queen. Tell the workers ot work, the guards to guard and whatever else to do what they're designed to do.," sighs Vel, "You're a leader, so lead."

Evie: "Start giving tasks then. You are their queen. Their mind. Use them to fulfill your will, like an extension of your limbs," Evie continued frowning behind her mask. This had been a terrible idea.

Zyanya: "Leaders gotta learn how to take charge. As their queen, they look to you for that guidance. That fulfillment. Give them direction and they'll go to the ends of the earth for you."

DM62: "There are... thousands of minds! Thousands of thousands!" She gives a shriek, clearly overwhelmed. The smuggler folds his arms. "If her telepathy's got a set range, maybe we should get her out of Thrull central, yes?" Arturus frowns. "It makes sense. The other queens are probably subordinated to her will."

Thrae: "Okay let's try to get her out of here then!" Thrae said as she pulled herself back up and tried to shake away her own tiredness.

Vel: "...Yeeeeah, this has officially been a bust. Well let's do damage control before we cause bugpocalypse after all."

Hel: "Aye, she needs to learn how to be a person before a queen. Quickly!"

Zyanya: "We're not giving up on this yet. We need to get moving like the smuggler said. There's only so much we can do from here and reaching the other queens might save us from a serious issue."

Evie: "How do you plan on moving her. She can't even command her guards right now." Evie shoot out.

DM62: The Queen nods, and her guards quickly pick her up, moving with considerable alacrity. They quickly begin burrowing a direct route out of the hive. Arturus moves next to Thrae. "If she doesn't make it... we should have her give her subordinates a directive. A purpose, so they can channel their sapience as they learn to deal with it."

Vel: "...Well don't look at me, I'm a slave, this is waaaaay out of my league.," groans Vel, "Let's go."

Evie's eye twitched, and she shook her head. Damned plan. "Tell her that then. Not us."

DM62: Arturus shakes his head. "Thrae has control over the Queen. Her suggestions are orders for the Queen, and the thrull by proxy."

Evie: "My lady, I suggest we leave here now. This has the potential to go very badly, and there's very little your presence can influence the outcome," Evie said, moving closer to Daria to speak, just a whisper through her mask.

Thrae follows along. "If it looks like she is about to falter completely then I will, but for now I will hope that she makes it." She really did hope that she'd make it, as having the ability to give more then one order over their entire time would be rather very useful. Ontop of that she did not want to see the newly sapient queen die already.

Vel: "Well I'm just gonna wander after her and see if this all explodes or not."

DM62: Daria shakes her head. "We can fly... and most of these thrull cannot. If things truly begin to go horribly, we'll take to the skies... but we haven't quite reached that point yet." She touches Evie's arm reassuringly, moving along with the group. There are echoes throughout the hive... movement. Lots and lots of movement.

Thrae also goes through her spell list in her head, wondering if there is anything she could do to help make things easier for the queen. "Maybe I could dull her sense...that might help, or just knock her out till we get out of here, but then that would leave all the thrull leaderless till she wakes up"

Evie: "As you wish mistress," Evie said, bowing her head to the woman, and moving along beside her. She did not budge from the noble cubite's side, and the sounds of movement only had her more nervous. Each muscle coiled, ready to spring.

Zyanya: "That much noise and movement is never a good sound. Thrae think really hard on what you're about to do because really, this is all on you since you cast the damn spell."

DM62: Arturus shakes his head. "If she goes unconscious or loses control now... the newly-awakened thrull will likely panic and slaughter each other. The sudden awakening to consciousness has never worked without direction." The smuggler quips, "Has it ever worked WITH direction?" Arturus does not answer.

Vel: "I think we shoulda used the scroll on cows. Lot more cows. Cows can kill. Make em stampede in one direction. Probably lot less this chaos here..."

Zyanya: "And then people lose supplies of food and milk while the numbers get replenished. Cows aren't what I would call war beasts based on what I've seen from them. But that's not important"

Thrae: "But we had direction. We need the thrull to prepare for war with the orcs." Thrae said as she continued to go through her list. She didn't want to put further mental influences on the Thrull queen because that would likely only stress her mind even worse so she was somewhat tied, unless they could take her mind off from the other thrull for a bit...

DM62: As the party follows the Queen through the new tunnel to the surface, the hive behind them practically erupts. Thrull as far as the eye can see are rapidly following their Queen (and the party), barreling ahead through the new tunnel. And the party can hear digging alongside them, through the tunnel walls.

Vel: "Well... They happily follow along. That might be enough really..."

DM62: Sir Fiske is running close to Zyanya, axe in hand. Braxis snorts, helping Thrae to move along with the group. "Always... hated... bugs..." he mutters, snorting.

Evie: "Or drive the queen mad. We're trying to get her away. Thrae... get the queen to have them all stay. Stay and be calm. She needs to calm them to get herself calm." Evie said firmly, hating this more and more, her wings twitching, considering just grabbing Daria and taking off into flight.

Thrae: "Can you handle the thrull that are following us?" Thrae asks the Queen, "If not try to order them back into the tunnels, tell the workers to dig deeper and the warriors to watch them to by time for you to adjust."

Vel: "Thrae's a bug technically. You don't hate her right?," smirks Vel, shrugging, "Honestly I'm along for the ride this point. There's nothing I can do here."

DM62: The Queen grunts with effort. "This is... all I can do, to tell them to follow. You... you don't want to know what's happening to the ones I'm not controlling. The outlying hives have already started fighting each other."

Zyanya: "Fiske, we'll be fine. We've got this under control. You just need to trust the others like I do." She tried to keep him calm, knowing that trouble could come at any moment in situations this tense. "We need to figure out how to calm those hives down."

Vel: "We can't. All we can do is let what happens happens and bring her and the thrull along to the fray."

Evie's hand slid gently, almost sensually across Daria's lower back, until their hips touched, rubbing together as they walked. "We need to calm the queen down. Else, we've lost the very weapon you came here to get."

Thrae: "Dammit!" Thrae says as she hears what is happening to the other hives. "I don't know if we can without putting the Queen at more risk. Though at the very least once the transition is over they should be able to regrow..." Thrae didn't sound all that happy about everything that was going on

Zyanya: "Fine! Whatever works! I don't know a damn thing about any of this. Figure you magic types would but we're getting no where just guess."

DM62: Daria nods. "Yes... but I think the smuggler is right about establishing distance. Let her get out of range of the rest of the hives. Less voices in her head. Then we'll do our best to help her reach calm." Fiske looks at Zynaya as he runs. "You... really think this qualifies as under control?"

Vel: "This qualifies as we do what we can and the chips fall where they may. This is our fault, now we live with it."

Zyanya: "Close as we're gonna get all things considered. Just...I don't know what else. I've never woken up an entire race before, so there's bound to be a few hiccups."

Vel: "Well when the dark elves did it on my ancestor, they just did it on one and bred more from there, avoiding this whole mess. That and chimera don't have a hivemind, jsut two minds."

Evie: "Then why don't we have the dark elves to help us?" Evie asked, an eyebrow raised.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twenty-third Session, 9 April (part two, daylight, an incredibly brief and easy battle)

Spoiler

DM62: The lead thrull burst through into the surface, opening a wide path for the party to follow and bathing them in moonlight. There's a chill in the air, as the insectoid creatures emerge, carrying the Queen along. She seems to be looking a little more in control, and gestures to some of the guards following the party, who scoop them up and carry them along. "You... might... get trampled." She seems to still be straining, but not as badly. "Which direction?"

Hel: The dwarf gives a yelp as he's grabbed by one of the insects, before finding a more comfortable position for himself. "The eventual goal is towards the south, ma'am..."

Vel meows as she's picked up.

Evie: Seeing the thrull starting to scoop up the others, Evie tightened her hold on Daria, and spread her wings, pushing off from the ground and lifting them both upwards, into the air, away from the trampling thrull, not trusting guards barely under control to keep them safe.

Thrae: "We need to go to the south, toward the formerly dwarven stronghold" Thrae said to the queen. "Also thank's for the ride...Sorry about this again..."

DM62: Daria chuckles, flapping her wings as well, but holding close to her bodyguard, tracing a finger down her back. The Queen nods. "We've... left behind the rest of the thrull. Though the magic is spreading sentience among them. I... I think I've got basic control, for now..." The hive begins moving south. Behind the party, new tunnels open up, and thrull begin swarming behind the procession. From what the party can see, the thrull behind them number in the thousands. Probably tens of thousands.

Vel: "...Well... all we gotta worry about now is wizards and catapults."

Evie: Despite the pleasant sensation of a finger trailing down the bare patch of skin between her wings, she looked to her mistress. "You bring me into the worst situations," she said, trying not to show her pleasure, before glancing back and shaking her head. With both their wings working, it was easy to keep them afloat.

DM62: "And yet, I get the impression we'll both be feeding well tonight. So many delicious people down there." Daria chuckles, as Evie is all too familiar with her preference for experimenting with new sexual partners, which also fueled her magical power. "Pretend all you like, but you've probably got a few picked out, too."

Evie: "Of course. I'm still a succubus," Evie said, thankful that her mask hid the smirk she wore, her smokey eyes flicking downwards.

Zyanya: "Well...all things considered, this went about as good as I expected. See Fiske? I told you things were under control. No need to stress yourself out. Just need to calm down a little, hun."

Thrae: "Hopefully you're control will improve quickly, it would be no good if after all this is done you'd end up still struggling to control your kind."

DM62: The Queen shudders a little, but gives a small nod. "I just... hope this is worth it. Thousands are dying behind us, slaughtering each other." Behind them are at least a dozen flying thrull, as many more swarm out of the tunnels. There are thrull beyond counting behind the group.

Thrae: "I'm really sorry about this again..." Thrae really did mean it, she didn't think it would be this...cataclysmic for the Thrull.

Evie: Her hand running over Daria's form as they flew above the group, Evie looked for any of the mentioned flying thrull, not wanting to crash into them. "I don't think they've even told you the best bit yet," the assassin said with some sarcasm.

Vel: "Well least I don't have to walk for awhile."

DM62: Daria raises an eyebrow. "The best bit? This should be good." The Queen shakes her head at Thrae's statement. "Done is done... we have to push on. For now, they have a purpose. To move south with me. Now I can start figuring out who does what, and set them to their own tasks once we stop. Need to gather food and the like."

Evie: "It will be, won't it. When they tell her why they caused all this. I don't envy Thrae that particular task." Evie said, gripping her lady's rear in a rare moment of public teasing, keeping closer to her.

DM62: Daria gives a little smirks at the comment. "Easy now, dear. You keep groping me and they're going to assume we're off-limits. And none of them will want to make YOU jealous." She leans in to whisper, "You get first pick. Who are you going to be feeding on tonight?"

Evie: "In this group, I might have preferred it. But, good luck convincing you of that mistress. And me?" Evie raised an eyebrow again, hanging upside down for a moment as she looked over the group. She never got to choose really. Not in her position, and having hid for so long in the shadows, she had been picking what she could.

Thrae: "Yes, there should be alot of time for you to figure out what you're doing. I think Grand Forge is still many days away." Thrae said though she still looked a bit down about the whole thing.

Vel: "Not at the rate we're moving it’s not."

Zyanya: The tribal did her best to relax now, given the circumstances. She hated days like this where everything could go wrong aat the drop of a feather.

"Well, you'll need to get their consent, of course. You know how I feel about rape, dear." Daria chuckles. The Queen, meanwhile, seems to be taking more and more control, sending scouts out ahead of the group to scan for potential threats. Even now, the party is nearing the southern end of the mountain range, approaching the outskirts of the Grut'rok Desert where the orcs and scorpionfolk made their home.

Vel: "Cutting a bit close near the super fine rock stuff the orcs like."

Fiske looks over at Zyanya nervously. "I still don't feel like we have this under control. I feel like we're standing on a tall cliff, waiting for a gust of wind." The Queen frowns. "What are orcs?"

Vel: "Cus we are! But the other option is to just jump willingly. Green colored humanoids with high aggressive tendencies that seek to conquer all known species. Ride something like Thrae there but with long poisonous tails and big crushing claws."

Evie: "I'll wait to see who shows an interest mistress. These are not cubites, with cubite sensibilities," the assassin said, before paying attention to the conversation. "Savour that moment Fiske. It's when you feel the most alive."

Zyanya: "Fiske, hun, it's far from ideal but nothing in life is ever easy. Nothing in this mission has come without some measure of difficulty or loss and honestly we just have to take the good with the bad."

Vel: "I personally, am enjoying being carried by a very large creature that could kill anything that gets in my way. It’s like having a personal Hel, but with less personality."

Hel, having been mostly silent processing this all, gives a shrug and a reply to the younger knight. "Sometimes, lad, it's best if one learns to work on the fly. Things have not been the most orderly when this little band stated..."

Vel: "See? My mount doesn’t say stuff like that, but otherwise identical. They even have the same sticky out of their face parts, just Hel's can’t kill people. In theory anyways."

DM62: The young knight gives a nod. "I suppose." At this point the Queen stops, and the entire hive of Thrull stop behind and around her. The silence is so sudden and profound that it echoes in the party's ears. The Queen looks to Thrae. "Orcs ahead, riding... those odd insect mounts. About twenty. Scouts... spotted by our scouts. They have not seen us yet."

Evie: "Handy, that," Evie admitted, glancing to her mistress as they stopped moving forward, Daria and her bodyguard clinging to each other as one looked ahead, trying to spot the riding Orcs. "Kill them, or pass them by?"

Vel: "No way they;d miss ten thousand bugs. Eliminate them.," says Vel simply. "Besides, we can see if the thrull can handle the scriders like we hope they can. I’ve named them scriders. Cus they’re like driders but scorpions."

DM62: The Queen looks at Evie, then Vel, and finally to Thrae, silently waiting for her to give the word.

Zyanya: "Much as I wish we could move away, we're simply too massive a host. Silencing them might be for the best."

Hel: "Aye, too many to try to sneak around, sadly... And well, if they spot a massive host of insects traveling in a great wave... That'd be kinda weird even for the surface."

Vel: "Though.. Driders are called that cus it;s a derivative of dark elf and spider... So I guess to follow the same vein they'd be... Humorpions?"

DM62: The smuggler smirks. "Nothing Humorous about them, really."

Vel: "I dunno, they look pretty funny."

Evie: "Scriders sounds better. Or hupions," Evie said with a shrug, lowering herself and Daria just enough to be heard clearly.

Vel: "Though, gonna be honest, you all look pretty weird having no tails and only two heads. Ooo, oo, Hupions, that’s a good one too. Er one head. Meant one head."

Zyanya: "I don't care what we call them. They're an annoyance all the same regardless of how stupid their name is."

Thrae: "Yes we should kill them, if there is only twenty it should prove little challenge even for our group without your thrull. It will keep them from reporting back just what we are doing as well." Thrae grips onto her staff a bit harder. "We'll help too, going to have to see if we can all work together afterall."

DM62: Arturus glances over. "Wouldn't scriders be scorpion heads on human bodies?"

Vel: "No they’d be scorpion heads on spider bodies."

DM62: The Queen looks at Thrae. "You... want to help? You might be trampled."

Evie raised an eyebrow, flicking her tail before wrapping it around Daria's thigh slowly in response to Vel, but said no more. Not until Thrae spoke. "I'd rather stay out of the way, until the queen can control her horde enough to not risk us."

Vel: "History has shown that if it;s a fair fight I can;t participate. I'll stay right here. Evie, you should fly above and watch the fight so you can tell us how well they do against the hupions."

Zyanya: "Untill they're more battle tested and learn not to harm us, I'd much rather stay up here too. Where it's safe"

Thrae: "Well, I can help from here. I don't need to get close to be helpful afterall." Thrae said as she moved her staff around a bit. "So I'd like to help atleast. We can't just use you guys to do all our work right?"

Vel: "Yes we can."

Evie: "For this instance we can," Evie said, slowly letting her hands slide off Daria as she started to move towards the Orcs and their hupion mounts, letting her powerful wings carry her that she might witness the clash of insect and orc.

DM62: The Queen concentrates for a moment... and Evie can see a relatively small portion of the thrull behind them charging around and moving forward on either side of the main group, advancing silently and swiftly on a small band of orc riders on scorpionkin. It's then that Evie realizes the scale of the thrull force... the small portion numbers at least five-thousand strong, and it's not even a tenth of the massive force behind the party.

Thrae: "Well, I'm going to help at the very least. I can just put them into a daze to make it even easier." Thrae said with something of a pout, though she was still a bit tired as she pulled up her magic to try to make it even harder for the orcs to notice the coming Thrull, mostly by making them much more interested in starting longingly at eachother.

Vel: "Well the good news is if she does get trampled, she won’t die.," sighs Vel as she watches

DM62: Distracted and hopelessly outnumbered, the battle is over almost before it begins. Only a few of the scorpionfolk even manage to defend themselves at all, lashing out at a few thrull guards who die, but the rest are quickly slain by the swarming thrull, the pincer closing around the orcs in a single decisive battle.

Thrae: "See, I didn't get trampled."

Vel: "Yeah cus the battle was won before you took six steps."

Thrae: "You're just jealous that I don't have to take more then six steps to cast my magic."

Evie: "Holy shit..." Evie muttered, watching it all from above, at the massive numbers that swarmed over the scorpion kin and their riders. When the area cleared, there were not left but messy and snapped bones laying in piles. Curving down and twisting, she flew back to the party.

Vel: "No, I'm concerned for your welfare."

Evie: "Not much to report on their effectiveness. With that many it doesn't matter how good they are." the assassin reported, shaking her head softly.

Zyanya: "Also, you magic was entirely unnecessary in that fight. If anything it was distracting to the real fight. Honestly, if they could do this to a force that small, imagine what the larger host can do when given the right instructions?"

Vel: "Good enough for me. So the only counter is wizards."

DM62: The Queen sighs. "The battle is won. May I ask why we are heading south, Mistress?" She looks to Thrae. Arturus raises an eyebrow at Evie. "And how many are there, exactly?"

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twenty-third Session, 9 April (part three, planning ahead, setting up camp)

Spoiler

Vel: "No idea, but quite a lot. And south because they took the dwarves hive away and we want it back."

Hel nods. "Hopefully to catch most of the Orcs by surprised, but yes, loosening the hold on Grand Forge as well, if we can."

Thrae: "That, we are hoping to cut the orcs off from Grande Forge which should make their crusade a fair bit more difficult. As for there numbers, we aren't really sure but between the Thrull, and the rest of the forces we gathered we should be able to beat them."

Vel: "Undead, bugs, possibly undead bugs, and then I get to nap finally. In his house."

Evie: "Well. The small group that attacked the Orcs was about... five thousand. We just sent five thousand to kill twenty." Evie said, moving closer to Daria again.

Vel points at Hel. “No kill like overkill."

Zyanya: "Either way. With the host we've gathered, we've certainly given the orcs something to think about."

Hel: "Aye. After I can get inside, then I got a few things of my own to do before we leave..." he grumbles, looking slightly more angry for a moment.

Vel: "What? why are you mad? Is someone bad in there? Do you want me to murder them for you?"

DM62: The thrull Queen concentrates for a moment. "There are... one-hundred and seventy-four thousand, two-hundred fifty-seven thrull under my authority. So... our directive will be to kill the orcs in Grand Forge?"

Vel: "Well overall it;s to help us force the orcs back into their desert and help us eliminate their... queen equivalent. After that we're pretty much set. But in the short term yeah. We overthrow the orcs at the dwarf hive."

Hel: "Well, if my info was right, there's a potential imposter of me that's trying to take over in the chaos, but hey, I was a bit busy trying to make sure Braxis didn't get invaded at the time," he replies with a shrug.

DM62: The minotaur huffs. "Nobody invades me."

Vel: "You say that now, but wait until Thrae get's backed up on eggs."

Evie almost snorted at the comment, but held it in, her masking hiding the smile.

Vel: "Okay, so you want me to murder everyone who looks like you. I can do that."

DM62: The Queen nods. "And you wish this... Orc Queen to be dead?"

Vel: "Subdued or dead. Long as she;s no longer a threat."

Thrae: "I'd rather put these eggs in someone that can handle it, though yes you should probably watch yourself Braxis." Thrae chuckled a bit. "And yes, we want her either dead or subdued. Without her her army will likely break itself apart on its own."

Hel: "Aye. If she falls, we can either force them into terms, or they will retreat and return to the feuds they started in before..."

DM62: "Kill the orcs at Grand Forge, subdue or kill their queen. Who is their queen, then?" The smuggler chuckles. "I guess you're feeling better now, Queen, if you've got all these questions."

Vel: "Her name is Malgra. She’s very very strong. She sliced off Hel's hand, so he replaced it with a rock, see?" She points at Hel's hand with her tail.

Evie: "Hel... just a question. What happens when the Dwarves think they're under attack by Thrull, start defending themselves, die... and the survivors then find out your partially responsible for leading the attack on them?" Evie asked, folding her arms under her bust as she hovered just in front of the dwarf.

Vel: "I get a new vocation as leader of the secret police?"

Zyanya: "That is true. The remaining dwarves in the city might not have any idea what these thrull are and might be hostile towards them. We need to be careful to make sure things don't go south when we're retaking the city."

DM62: The smuggler nods, sitting back and reclining atop his own thrull guard. "Better watch out, Vel. This one might take your job as lead strategist."

Vel: "Good! It means I can take a break on frusteration when nobody listens!"

Hel pauses. "Er... that is a fair point... Will be a bit odd when a horde of undead and insects rush for the gate..." He hums. "I can't think of a good way into the place that'd be faster than overland either..."

Vel: "Dig a hole?"

Hel: "...Well true, these things ARE good diggers, we could do a underground tunnel near one of the lower entries and I could sneak in and solve the whole usurper problem first..."

Vel: "Fly on the back of a flutterbug or have Evie and Daria carry you?"

Evie: "You do have two masters of shadow," Evie suggests, using her tail to gesture towards Vel. "We just need to get you back in there. And have your loyalists hide through the fighting."

Vel: "Oh. Er, thanks for the praise but I;m no shadow mage. I'm just little ol mundane me. You're way better than I am."

DM62: "Maybe I can help." The smuggler leans forward again. "We're at the northern part of the Grut'rok Desert, right?"

Vel: "...Maybe? I can;t read, so how would I know how a map works?"

Hel: "According to what I heard last, a week or two after the Braxil invasion they were going to put an imposter in charge, and then they'd start to press the dwarven population under Malgra's control somehow."

Evie: "A shadow mage we don't need. Three of us then. Smuggler, assassin, and Vel. Sneaking, death... and some more death. The imposter will be easy to reveal without his head." Evie said, looking around at the teeming horde of Thrull. "The less of your people that die, the better the end state."

DM62: "There are a couple of folks I know... friends of friends, if you get my meaning. I can get a message to Ritzerite and Forest's Heart. Just take me a day or two."

Hel: "Aye, by now the royals should be informed of the situation. Maybe they can pull the cliche' of riding up as the dawn shows the battle or something," the dwarf quips.

Vel: "...You’re a shadow mage. You had shadows clinging to you and stuff. Under elf assassins do stuff like that too.," blinks Vel, "Also slave, the title is slave. Sort of. Great, a plan! And I didn;t even need to think about it. More warmth for me. The bright death ball sucks for my eyes but it does feel nice on my fur..."

DM62: "I don't think the powers that be would permit such a cliche in this... adventure." Arturus shakes his head. "Whether you call it Fate or the Goddesses or the Dungeon Master..."

Vel: "I want to call it Fizzleface."

Evie: "I was trained by the Darkrazors, which might explain things for you," Evie said, her tail gently running under Vel's chin, along her cheek, before snapping away. "Many of their tricks however, are not magic." she said, glancing to the smuggler. "And the attack should come at dusk. When shadow and light war with each other. When no one's eyes can adjust. Masking numbers... and what exactly marches for them. So long as your loyalists hide Hel."

Zyanya: "That's honestly my biggest concern is when. So long as we're going in this with some measure of organization and a clear head we should be fine

Vel leans into the tail, blinking. "It does. I... Wait, I thought you guys just arrived, when did you serve with the Darkrazors?"

DM62: The smuggler nods. "Alright... I'll go visit the humans and the elves, to bring them to the party. Of course... that's only if they didn't already get crushed." Daria chuckles at Vel's question. "My father and I were dragged here. Evie had already been working here, dealing with certain folk in secret. It was my father that brought her to Stillwater, to protect his daughter."

Evie: "Now now mistress. Vel will have to find my secrets out on her own," Evie said, pressing the tip of her tail to Vel's lips with a mask hidden smile, before lifting away gently. "It'll take our smuggler some days to complete his own mission. We're a few away from the objective ourselves, but that'll make it longer for Clark to catch up with us. Best we stay here, and find somewhere to hide as much as we can. That scout party is dead, it could give us hours, or days, depending on their range, to realize something is wrong."

Vel smirks a bit at the tail on her lips, resissting the urge to nip it. "Clearly I do since you;ve been working in my homeland..."

Thrae: "Hiding should not be too much of an issue, we can just go underground afterall. Really I think it would be the only way to hide all these thrull."

DM62: "Well... my organization can get the message there pretty fast. I might be a little late to the party, but the elves and humans should be right on time." Clark pauses. "Malgra will see us coming. She'll have more than just scouts. Spies hidden in small caves and crevices. She'll know within hours, if that long. But we're bringing a massive army of undead, and an even larger army of thrull, along with the humans and the elves. Possibly dwarves from other realms, too, if I can get word to Northfort."

Hel: "That's not even counting if the Under Elves have actively been trying to resist as well..."

Vel: "Who knows. But if you give em a direct order to come help, they will."

Evie: Playfully swirling her tail, letting it seemingly vanish when it entered the very shadow Evie herself cast, before reappearing again in its circle, the succubus assing looked to Clark. "True. But I still think it best waiting then besieging the Grand Forge. This is a game of minds, and loyalty, as much as a battle of steel and flesh."

Vel: "I;m inclined to agree with Evie. Better to weaken the enemies position first, damage the morale of the less zealous and sabotage all we can to make the coming assault easier. Ideally the dark elves would be best at this but if they haven;t gotten off their fat asses to do something, then us three are it."

DM62: Arturus frowns. "So... you and Evie are going to sneak in with Hel, take out the impostor, and then help the resistance hide during the thrull invasion?"

Evie nodded, glancing to Daria. "Yes. Though. If any harm comes to mistress while I'm gone. I will avenge it," she said, letting her fingers dance before her. The next moment she was playing with her knife, as if it'd always been there.

Vel: "Us. And maybe the smuggler.," shrugs Vel, "Unless you;ve a plan to get everyone through quietly?"

Thrae: "Don't worry, we'll keep anything from happening to her. Though you better make sure Vel comes back fully intact or I'll be coming after you." Thrae says with a small laugh.

Vel: "I mean, we trim Hel's face fur, and put a hat on him, no one will know. As for me and Evie, she can fly, and I can climb. You surface people look up surprisingly rarely."

DM62: Arturus shakes his head. "No, but... not sure what good killing the impostor would do. As I understand it... the imposter Hel stepped down, passing on authority to the Ironbreakers. Lucatt Ironbreaker, according to that wounded dwarf captain and Selas."

Vel: "Well it prevents us having an annoying shout out between two Hel's before the council. But regardless, if we bring proof of the plan, then we probably can rile something up. And even if we can’t, we can damage the gate chains that let them hold the gates closed and stuff."

Hel: "In general, we need to figure out the state of things and see if we can't deal with this insurrection properly or not."

Vel: "Ooo, yeah that;s something we should do. Find Selas."

DM62: The smuggler chuckles. "Proof? Who needs proof? If you can convince the dwarf clans that they've got a fighting chance against the Ironbreakers and Malgra, I'm sure they'd be happy to support Hel. Heck, they'd probably put Sir Fiske in charge if they thought it would help them defeat Malgra."

Vel: "Oh. Well. Still, we can take the imposter out so he doesn’t pull any shenanigans in the iterim like false orders and stuff. He doesn’t stop being a threat just cus he did his job. Unless it was you? Cus that’d be a hell of a twist."

Evie: "A slit throat silences the foe rather effectively," Evie said, nodding to Vel, before looking to the smuggler. "And proof that they were sold out, would help rally the dwarves. Perhaps a few dead Ironbreakers, as traitors, will help seal the deal."

DM62: "So... how many days do you need to complete your mission? When should the armies arrive?"

Vel: "I dunno. When should they arrive? Like, how fast can they be here?," asks Vel, "and uh... No idea. We don;t even know where he is or if he;s still impersonating Hel, hm..."

Thrae: "Does a week and a half sound reasonable? That should give more time for everything to get done I would think."

Vel: "I'd personally like to give them the least time possible to counteract the thrull."

Evie: "Us getting there. Two days, to be safe. And then a day to go through and find the targets. If the impersonator is no longer in the grand forge, then we put his priority down for the moment. A week and a half. Well, that's plenty of time, and will give Malgra the time needed to mount a proper defense."

DM62: "Bear in mind that if we delay too much, they have time to react, to mobilize. Possibly to go ahead and make their move on Forest's Heart, since Malgra might be desperate upon seeing her approaching doom. Don't forget, her true objective is not conquest... not really. Only to prevent this... prophecy that a surface elf from the free elven lands would bring the world's ruin."

Vel: "Was that what it was? Meh. Makes no diffrence. Tell them to come ASAP and we'll improvise."

DM62: The smuggler grins. "Why don't we take an extra day, then? We arrange for the alliance to arrive in three days, including the thrull. That should give you guys a little time to accomplish your mission." Arturus nods. "And the thrull can figure out control a little better. We might also consider sending humans or elves or dwarves with each team of thrull, to reassure dwarves and prevent unnecessary casualties."

Vel: "Sounds good," nods Vel, "I'm sure Evie and Hel can solve this on their own but I can probably find something to occupy myself with."

Evie: That tailed flicked again over Vel's lips. "I'm sure you can." Evie's words were cool and calm, but there was mirth and sensuality in her gaze. "Four days should be plenty."

DM62: The smuggler nods. "Alright. Four days is a deal."

((end of session))

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twenty-third Session, 9 April (post-session smuttery, the cubite and the chimera, the drider vampire and the minotaur)

Spoiler

Vel: "You realize you're dangling a string in front of a cat right?," smirks Vel, giving the tail a light bat, "I'm all good for four days."

Evie: "I do." Evie replied, letting her tail sway back.

Vel stares at the tail, before trying to grab it up, her serpent headed tail swaying as well in time with it

Evie: Letting Vel grasp her tail, Evie gave Daria a wink, watching the chimera play with her limb.

Daria chuckles lightly, watching the flirtation between her bodyguard and the chimera.

Vel swats and bats at it instinctually, before she moves to gnaw lightly on it, before she shakes her head. "Er, wait, no, right, tail not string, ehe... Might not appreciate poison nibbles..."

Evie: "Perhaps I might. Some nibbles might build some immunity," Evie said her tail shaking with each light bat to it, soon returning to its taunting sway.

Vel: "Suit yourself, won;t kill you.," she smirks, batting before nipping at it with her paralysing venomous fangs as she gets into playing with the tail more.

Evie: There was a slight shift in the mask around Evie's face as she bit her lower lip, feeling the venom spreading through her tail, losing sensation and control over the thin limb. But she didn't pull away, not quite yet. Watching the chimera play instead.

Vel keeps batting at itm rolling onto her back to get her hind claws into it as she gnaws at it a bit with both her mouths, simply enjoying the simple pleasures of assaulting a thin wiggly thing.

Evie: Teeth pressing harder into her lips, Evie had to grasp her tail, using her hands to tease at the chimera, losing all control over it with the venom pulsing into its length. And then her back. "I may need some help," she finally admitted out loud.

Vel giggles a bit, grinning. "Lemme guess, bit too much for you? I warned you. I'll give you a break though befiore I over do it. While it might be cute to have a wiggle tail statue I think I prefer you able to protect your mistress."

Evie: "As would I," Evie said, watching Vel play, looking at that grin. "Perhaps more, later," she suggested.

Vel: "If you're up for it, sure.," she shrugs with a smile, "If you need vneom to make an antidote I'll be game to gnaw some paper for a bit. I have to say you;re a lot more trusting than I would be around apoisonous creature I;ve known for a day or two."

Evie: Her eyes flicking to Daria, Evie shrugged. "Perhaps I'm not. But Mistress trusts you," she admitted, taking her tail back.

Vel nods, "I;d massage your tail and back but that;d just speed up the spread of the venom. Based on what I know from my peers, your best bet is to lie down for a bit and don;t do anything strenuous. It'll slow the spread. Anyways, well, same to her really. I mean I;d be worried in such a situation too. But I'm used to a culture where everyone does want to kill me."

Vel: "Well, not me per say but someone I care about. I'm a slave, sort of. I'm kinda a pointless target if I;m not in the way."

DM62: Daria smiles. "And we're used to a culture where everyone wants to fuck us. But we don't mind that quite so much."

Evie: "It is generally more pleasant," Evie said, sitting, and then slowly stretching herself out on the ground.

Vel: "That's not that unknown, you;re just in the wrong group is all. Sort of. You want those two.," she points to Thrae and Braxis, "they;re monsterkin, like me. They can barely resist nailing an offered hole or a few not offered. I'm kinda real screwed up for my species though so I'm a lot less... Active than my kin."

Vel: "Some monsterkin have a better handle than others naturally but on average minotaurs and whatnot will be all over you. And you over them. Drug musk."

Vel: "I don’t recommend it unless you got a thing for it. I experienced it once and it was... Something."

Evie: "I've heard. It's been useful in the past," Evie admitted, and glanced over to where Braxis loomed. "But, like any drug. A tolerance can be built. And refined."

DM62: Braxis snorts. "A tolerance... or an addiction." The display has the minotaur huffing a little, and his minotaur musk is starting to spread out in the area, having an effect on the females nearby.

Vel: "Historically speaking, the time taking to build a tolerance to minospunk is longer than most lifetimes.," grunts Vel, "Stuff will ruin you. I stay waaaaay over here cus I don;t wanna risk it getting worse. No offense, Braxis." She alsready has wrapped her tail around her face, "On that note, I;m going for a walk."

Evie: Grunting, and rising to her feet, Evie moved towards him, drawing down her mask, breathing in his musk, fingers drifting over his hip, along his lower back, and all the way around to his cock, before sliding along his length. Then she walked away, drawing her mask back upwards. "Doesn't matter," she teased him coyle, following after Vel, her walk a bit stiffer than usual.

Vel: "Playing with fire, girl...," mutters Vel, shaking her head as she get's some distance, "All yours, Thrae!"

DM62: The minotaur grunts at the tease, shaking his head and walking off.

Evie: "I've been here for some time. Succubi can get old, and determination can carry one a long way. And discipline. Fire's a tool like anything else." Evie said carefully, and glanced to her.

Thrae scuttles a bit left to right as she's affected by the scent too. Her eyes tracing after the walking away minotaur "Hmm...."

Vel shrugs, getting clear of the musk and shivering. "Last time I got a dose I blacked out sort of and ended up... Well anyways, I wouldn;t joke too much about that. He's an alright guy, he can;t help his biology. It;s a pity that aspect of him makes me avoid him before I do something... Awkward again."

Evie: "Apologies then. But I did want to show you... and perhaps more importantly, him." Evie said, glancing back to where Thrae was scuttling. "He might think twice about acting against my mistress, knowing that not all can be stopped by his musk."

Thrae: "He's been following us for a while now, so I really doubt you need to worry about him suddenly turning on us." Thrae said a bit harshly to Evie, she didn't mind the woman's loyalty to her mistress, but causing problems with the party was not going to help anything. Unless she was stopped she'd walk off as well, it just so happened that she walked off in the direction Braxis went.

Vel: "You don’t have to worry about that. He helped us stop his family from enslaving all the women in a region. I respect him for that. He wouldn’t force that. He’s better,” says Vel, looking over, "I wouldn’t hurt his feelings for no reason, he could have easily gotten us just as hopped up."

Evie: "We're all one bad day from becoming the villain. And who knows. Perhaps it'll make him feel better knowing there's someone around he can be himself around without concern for harm," Evie said, shrugging, watching the drider wander off to the tent. She didn't stop the woman. Let her have her fun.

DM62: Braxis seems to have found a quiet corner, away from the group and the thrull, where he looks to be attempting to... manually relieve his tensions.

Vel: "He has one actually. Thrae is immune to addiction.," says Vel, "Among other things. And that;s not true. Everyone is already the villain and the hero. It's a matter of perspective. I'm a hero to Thrae, a villain to Zyanya, and who knows for the rest. But at the end of the day I did what I had to do. Now, I'm gonna finish the job we started off on then find a nice fireplace to nap in front of and sort out where I stand in everyones relationships."

Evie: A soft snort from behind the mask. "We all do. Just remember. Find one. Just one. And where you stand there is all that matters," Evie said, gingerly reaching out to set a hand on Vel's shoulder.

Thrae took a moment to peak in on Braxis, and notices his attempts at self relief. The sight made her mutter to herself. "Well, that's just a waste." Stepping into the corner she turned on her charms as much as she could and asked "You look like you need some help there."

Vel smirks over. "Yeah well, I'd like to think there's a few. But in that sense, I already know where I stand with one. It's the other two that matter to me that I need to find out."

DM62: His scent is even stronger now, halfway through the act. He turns, revealing a massive erection. "I could certainly use a hand, I suppose. If you're not scared of addiction, of course." His cock twitches, and he huffs, catching Thrae's scent now.

Evie: Squeezing the chimera's shoulder, Evie nodded. "Then find out. Just, ask." She wasn't sure how else to proceed here, and sighed. "Should I apologize to Braxis then?"

Thrae: "Heh, I don't worry about addiction don't worry." Thrae said, as she stripped off her rather minimal clothing. It wasn't like she hadn't already gone through a minotaur orgy once before anyways and it never really had much of an effect on her in the days after. Breathing in deep she took in as much of Braxis' scent as she could, and her smile became much more feral looking as she got closer, wrapping a hand around the minotaur's large shaft as she gave him a few teasing strokes.

Vel: "Mmm, yes. But not yet. At best, he wasn't that offended, at worst he's still hurt and is standoffish, but you have nothing to lose by apologising, sincere or not.," says Vel, "Assuming you care to keep the peace of course. Me and Zyanya have made a career out of being at each others throats this point." She smirks, "As for why not yet, Thrae is probably riding that cock. Though I guess you can put your self to the test and apologize with your body, but me, I wouldn't go that far. Not after the first time. It's scary to have no control of your own thoughts. And I did ask. I got a rather confusing answer. So I'm gonna ask again."

Evie: "It is a typical succubus apology. But, ask what?" Evie said, turning slightly, regarding the other woman, an eyebrow raised.

Vel: "How she feels about me I guess. If she wants this to be anything. She said she wanted to take it slow and I can get that. But she's already with someone and I don't want to be a point of contention either. If she rather jsut be with him I'd rather she said so but instead I'm jsut sorta waiting. Course til the war is over I can't ask again..."

Evie: "Who is she," Evie asked, sitting down on a nearby rock, bringing her much closer to Vel's level.

Vel: "A companion we had to leave behind for her saety. And probably politics, but that's not my business, that's between the bones and the dwarves.," shrugs Vel, "You'll have to understand my hesitation, we've just met and I'm still deciding about you. You still know more about it than I've told most the others."

Evie: "I understand. I know secrets well. And lack of trust. Keep this one then," Evie said, and leaned back, looking towards the sky. "So, we win the war. It's what we all want, for whatever reasons we hold inside."

DM62: The young minotaur's cock throbs in Thrae's fingers, twitching under her grasp, and he huffs, clearly excited. He reaches out, gently caressing Thrae's chest, and softly rubbing his muzzle against her neck.

Vel: "Eh, I trust you more than I logically should.," grunts Vel, "My time out here has made me soft clearly. That and I'm getting pretty old. But yeah. Winning the war is pretty much a given to get anywhere. Me, I'll jsut be happy to settle down somewhere and enjoy time as not a slave and nap a lot. I imagine you're one of those super long lived immortal types like elves huh? Just back to the town for your girls project?"

Evie: At that, Evie tilted her head up, looking towards the camp proper. To where Daria was standing, talking. "Not up to me." The words came out after a few moments of quiet.

Vel: "Mmm. You a slave too then?," asks Vel, glancing over, "I was too. Til I stopped. I'd have died for Thrae. But well... I started having other things to live for, my loyalties got confusing. I love her dearly but I stopped being so sure I was willing to put my life on the line so easily, to be so easily cast aside. I mean, as it is, there's so very little that can hurt her it's more a laughable thought... And I killed the only real promiannt threat to her already."

Thrae gave a small purr as her breasts were played with, and she felt the twitching of Braxis' shaft. Though she didn't let that go on for too long, mostly because she couldn't help but pull back a little bit and bow her legs. Soon enough dropping herself in level with the minotaur's erect member. With a grin again, she reached out and licked the tip a few times, before sliding the head into her mouth and teasing it more.

Evie: "In a way. Yes I am. But, it's my choice, more than my fate. Daria is my mistress, and I have no desire to change that. Slave is a term you could use for it," Evie said, shrugging and sitting back up.

Vel: "Fair enough. I can respect that. It was both for me til I chose otherwise. I was the real mistress in that relationship.," smirks Vel, "It was complicated. In any case she's lucky to have your skills and loyalty."

DM62: Braxis growls in pleasure, softly caressing the drider's hair and enjoying her ministrations. The pre-cum is stronger than normal, driving the drider deeper into her need, and Braxis can't help himself any longer, helping his cock into her throat... then starting to hump her face harder.

Evie: "She knows." Evie said, looking over at Vel, before taking a hold of her own tail, flicking it, still feeling a little numb. "The real mistress hmm? Certainly interesting."

Vel: "Less than it sounds, and she doesn't need me anymore. IT was a fun game but selfish of me ultimately, and she needs to stand on her own. I get to groan over her mistakes but they're hers to make now. I'll always be here for her but she has to move on her own two feet."

Vel: "...Figuratively."

Evie: A small sound a laughter. Almost a bark, muffled by the mask, and Evie shook her head. "We all do." she said, swaying her tail again, starting to feel sensation returning.

Thrae certainly didn't mind as Braxis started to thrust into her throat. In fact it was exactly what she wanted to happen when she started to do this, get herself and Braxis all primed up for some more fun after she got her first dose of cum. The musk being sent straight to her nose driving her arousal higher as she started to go deeper even as the minotaur thrusted, trying to see how deep she could get before Braxis climaxed.

Vel: "Heh see it's starting to wear off hm? Good. Funnily enough I didn't even know I was poisonous until recently. I've always killed too quickly to find out. I prefer a clean kill. Waiting around for a poison to maybe work isn't to my taste, too many varying biologies."

DM62: Braxis is grabbing her hair now, thrusting deeper and deeper as his cock seems to grow even thicker. "Fuck... I... I won't last long..." He begins ramming into Thrae's throat, choking her, huffing and consumed with the need to climax.

Evie: "It is," Evie said, standing, shifting the leather of her corset upwards to pinch at her lower back, nodding. "Back too," she said, before looking to the other. "Poison, is something effective."

Vel: "Can be, but with so many diffrent species and evidently creatures from another dimension like you, who knows if it'll work the same on everyone? Plus I have to get it in their blood, and if I'm close enough to bite I may as well bite out their throats heh.," smirks Vel, "I'm too small and weak for a straight fight anyways."

Thrae: 'As long as there is another round coming after.' Thrae thought to herself as she ducked further down against Braxis' thrusts. The girl continuing her effort to see if she could somehow reach the base of the minotaur's massive shaft before he filled her with white. Her hands though didn't stay idle, instead they acted to help him finish, her hand's teasing at his balls and what shaft she hadn't reached with her lips yet.

Evie: "All true. All very true my vicious friend. But have you considered bottling your poison?" Evie asked, raising an eyebrow in her question.

Vel: "I'm naked. Where would I keep a bottle?," blinks Vel, "They don't make chimera clothes."

Evie: "You might be. I'm not," Evie said, letting her tail drift along the chimera's back, pulling back on one of her thick leather skirts to show the belt beneath, topping her drider silk pants.

Vel: "Well if you want a bottle of it, give me something to bite through and a bottle.," shrugs Vel, "I've never really bothered cus it has to get in the blood. Drinking it does no good and I just bite to fight."

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Twenty-third Session, 9 April (post-session smuttery, continued)

Spoiler

Evie: Reaching into one of her pouches, Evie withdrew a small bottle, with a layer of silk across the top. Holding it up she cocked her head. "I might find use for it though."

DM62: The minotaur doesn't answer verbally, but simply nods... then his cock throbs once more, and a blast of backed-up minotaur spunk launches down Thrae's throat, cutting off any possibility of communication.

Vel nods, and sinks her snake fangs with her tail in, working her jaws to drip the clear fluid into the bottle in spurts. "Heh, well... Girl I mentioned got a bottle of it too. Course she used it for bedroom recreation."

Evie: Unseen, the corner of Evie's lips curled as she reached forward, gently massaging the base of Vel's snake fangs, gently, even pleasantly milking her venom. "Truly? A kinky girl then."

Thrae wasn't going to let any of the spunk pouring into her escape if she could. Mostly because she was fairly sure if Braxis pulled back she'd end up splattered head to toe in cum, and also because she very much wanted more of the great taste she remembered from before. Sucking on the shaft she'd stay attached until Braxis' climax ended, and then she'd pull back with the grin still on her face, now very much in the throws of the minotaur seed. "Hmmm, I hope you are not done yet."

Vel: "I wouldn't know, but I heard as much.," she says, shivering at the feeling of the hands there, "Hehe that feels weird. Well just as well, I'm used to being around women who tie things up. I imagine she could find other uses for it. She's a necromancer. Infamous one evidently."

DM62: Braxis is in rut now, his cock still stiff as a rod. He wordlessly pulls back, lining himself up with the drider's feminine folds, and thrusting himself in to the hilt with a satisfied growl. "I hope that... answers your question..." He begins fucking Thrae hard now, taking his pleasure brutally.

Thrae couldn't help herself, and a moan rang out from the corner they were in as Braxis hilted inside her. "It..." Another, this time suppressed, moan. "Does." The girl did not mind at all at the brutal pace and strength of Braxis' thrusts, indeed they only seemed to be driving her more, as she wrapped her arms and predilaps around Braxis and used them to help pull her intime with his thrusts, making them even more rough then before.

Evie: Tail gently running over Vel's sides, fingers working at the muscles of her snake jaws, leting more venom drip into the bottle, Evie nodded, looking up into the Chimera's eyes. "You'll find her again. Then you can find out for yourself," she said, as the clear fluid started to slowly rise. "Tell me if it's too much."

Vel: "Oh it jsut tickles, it;s okay. And well I know where she is. Or supposed to be anyways.," nods Vel, chuckling a bit as she's tail petted, "Tails are great. I dunno how all those other guys live without em."

Evie: "Enviously," Evie said, letting her tail swirl around, and caress the underside of the chimera's breast as she continued to fill her small glass bottle. Nearly finished.

DM62: The minotaur grabs Thrae roughly, no longer in control of his own actions, rutting into this fertile woman furiously. He grunts, his strong arms wrapping around the drider. The scent of his spunk is overpowering now... and some of the thrull workers are moving closer, curiously watching the two copulate, their antennae twitching curiously.

Vel gives a squeak as her under boob is brushed, though doesn't comment, "Ehe, yeah, you'd think that but it seems more like they just aren't aware of what they are missing..."

Thrae sees the thrull coming a bit closer, but can't bring herself to care. Indeed the drider was so caught up in the rutting that she couldn't stop even if she wanted, and all she did was try to drive Braxis even further. Her moans now coming out uncovered as her mouth hung open and her breath came in quick pants.

Evie: "It is the more likely chance indeed," letting the tip of her tail flick upwards, grazing one of Vel's nipples. Movement caught her attention and the assassin glanced over. "Would Thrull be immune to that musk like Thrae?"

Vel squeaks again, biting her lip as she looks at Evie. "Umm...?" With the distraction though she looks to Thrae worriedly, "I don't know. I'd never heard of Thrull, nevermind seen one until recently. Thrae's immune for other reasons but it should only work on girls. So uh... If it does work on Thrull... That's gonna be... Interesting."

Evie: "It is. Do we do something?" she asked with some concern, gently pulling the bottle away from the snake fangs, her tail slowly caressing Vel's other breast.

Vel squirms a bit, "I don't think so. Thrae can't die and if she feels threatened instinct will take over. She could probably kill all the thrull by herself if she had some distance. Two or three up close aren't a big deal."

Evie nodded. "Best to stay away then. Less casualties if it comes to that," she said, as her tail flicked up, striking gently at Vel's nipple as she had the other. The assassin seemed to not even notice, with her mask in place hiding half her expressions, instead focusing on resealing the bottle carefully.

Vel gives a meow before batting the tail again, biting her lip a bit at the teasing flicks combined with the earlier exposure to the musk.

DM62: The thrull move closer, examining the two odd creatures. Braxis pays them no need, working himself deeper into the drider in his utter need. The thrull are momentarily satisfied, moving back to watch the two closely. The rest of the party can hear the Queen chuckling. "Of course, dears. That's how mammals... and driders... mate." Braxis reaches one climax, his cock spurting another massive load into the drider's gash, but then he immediately begins thrusting into Thrae again.

Evie slide the bottle slowly back into the pouch she'd retrieved it from, letting her tail slowly slither along Vel's midriff. "No?" she teasingly purred.

Vel: "Ah no, we should keep away... They backed off, see.," she stammers a bit as she looks over to the thrull, "I see you're quite... tailsy... Is all."

Evie: "I am. It can reach, so many places, as well you know," Evie said, letting her tail drift lower, over Vel's hip.

Vel: "Ah yes...," she bites her lips, "I've never been... Casual about this is all... So... you know... I'm not sure how I should react..."

Thrae cried out as her own orgasm ripped through her body as she got another blast of seed from the minotaur, this time directly into her womb. Thrae didn't even remember if she needed to care about kids or not at this point, but she didn't really care, the musk and rutting just driving her to want more. Letting go of the minotaur she shifted without breaking the contact, until her human half was pressed against the ground and Braxis would be holding onto her now elevated spider side, launching a small string of web against a nearby tree to help her hold the position as she let Braxis fuck her in the closest equivalent to doggy style a drider could really get.

Evie: "Kiss me. Bite me. Push me away. Mount me," Evie suggested, her tail sliding downwards, wrapping around Vel's shaft, caressing it, stroking it as the tip of the tail curved backwards, finding the chimera's folds, gently teasing. "Whatever you want right now. No string attached."

Vel gasps as she starts to get hard, swallowing deeply, clearly unused to being seduced, before seeming to push forwards, going for the former as she kisses the bigger succubus, while her snake head starts to squirm under Evie's corset to try and get close to her own breasts. "Ah... geez... Not sur eI can do no strings but... fuck can't bring myself to turn away either..."

Evie: "I can help," the succubus purred, letting Vel's paws pull down her mask for the kiss, as the succubus's graceful fingers pulled at the knots and strings of her corset, opening the thick leather. Letting the snake tail slither upwards, earning a moan from the assassin, who peeled the long garment off herself, letting it fall over the rock behind her, leaving her in just the pants, her feet already kicked off her boots.

Vel makes out, her tongue a bit longer than average and rougher as she makes out lustily, one paw on the succubus' breast, and the other occupied with her tail as the serpent runs it's long tongue around a nipple, teasing and flicking it, the Chimera's hard feline cock pressed against the assassin's stomach.

Evie: Groaning, her long tongue dancing with Vel's the rough sensation erotic in her mouth. The paw a strange new sensation for the succubus, she grinds, the hard muscles of her stomach rubbing the chimera's cock between them, the tail unceasing in its teasing. It's caressing, as Evie let her tail push upwards, deeper into Vel's folds.

DM62: The thrull are still curious. One of them leans in, its antennae moving close to the union between the two. Braxis is hopelessly lost in his lust barely noticing the shift in position, but adjusting readily, grabbing the drider's abdomen as he ruts deeper and harder. His cock seems even thicker than before, and puddles of minotaur spunk begin pooling beneath the pair.

Vel gasps, grinding eagerly against her as she squeezes on the tail, before deciding to respond in kind, trading her tail for her other paw, running the pads over the succubus' pleasent body, her snake instead did what it did best, worming into the succubus' pants it's long tongue questing ahead to run down along to taste the alien woman.

Thrae on the otherhand, did notice the thrull getting closer, even as she was still getting fucked hard by her minotaur. Between pants and moans caused by the now even thicker shaft driving into her without mercy, she reached out and lightly held onto one of the encroaching thrull's antenna. If it let her she'd end up rubbing her hand over it for a moment before bringing it even closer toward her and by extension the rutting.

DM62: The worker thrull seems to panic as its antenna is grasped, and it shakes, trying to move back from the drider's clutches. Braxis, meanwhile, gives a groan, hilting himself in Thrae to once again fill her with another load of his thick cum. He continues, relentless, eager to breed the female he was inside.

Thrae: Another moan from Thrae, and another blast of spunk to drive her toward wanting another round, and a few more after that, but she wasn't about to let the Worker go. Keeping her hand gentle, she'd try to keep it from running away, though if it tried hard enough she'd let go before she caused it any pain since she honestly didn't know if it was falling back out of discomfort or confusion.

Evie: Moaning into their kiss, her gloves hands running over Vel's back to her breasts, the leather a startling contrast to the soft skin of the succubus. Deeper her tail plunged, curving in the chimera's depths, gliding against the inner walls of the woman as Evie started swaying her hips. Back and forth, dragging her slick folds over the snake tongue, grinding her pressed cock side to side.

Vel gasps, groaning in pleasure as her walls fluttered in delight, her smaller body accepting a tail that felt so big to her, bucking back against the tail then grinding forward against the demoness' tummy. The serpents long tongue ground in, before favoring the succubi's clit a few laps before extending and working it's way inside, the long thin appendage questing ahead, finding the succubus quite palatable.

DM62: Confused and in pain, the thrull finally gives the drider a gentle bite on the arm... not enough to cause damage, but the clench of the mandibles is a clear warning to let the thrull's antenna go. Braxis, meanwhile, is ignorant of any such shenanigans, rutting the drider once more as more minospunk is flooding the sand around the lovers.

Evie: Grinding together. Fur, flesh and leather rubbing and caressing, the succubus moaned hungrily, starting to feed off the lust that filled the air around them, letting it infuse her as she curled a drider silk clad leg around the chimera, rubbing it up her furry legs, her thighs alive with the sensations of scales pressing against her, tenting the tight fabric of her pants.

Thrae wouldn't hesitate to let the worker thrull go as soon as she realized it was in pain. Letting it back away without doing anything further, and soon she drops back to just letting Braxis fuck her, her human half sinking further and further toward the ground and the growing pile of spunk that was collected there.

Vel finally broke the kiss to get a gasp of air, leaning down to kiss and nibble along the succubus' neck, though careful not to break the skin, not wanting to get her partner too stiff for reciprocation. She wriggled her thick snake before it slides down more and pushes a bit of it;s snout into the succubus to stretch her more throughly, and to lick deeper, seeking out new spots to make the succubus gasp like she was doing to Vel with her own tail.

Evie: "Oh, fuck," Evie belts out, her hands grasping at the breasts in her palms tightly, leather dragging over the chimera's stiff nipples as the snake head buried in. A strange living sensation, her juices running down the length of scales as she tilted her head back, exposing more of her neck to Vel.

Vel grinned a bit as she ran her rough tongue along her partners neck, kissing and nibbling as she had her tail run deeper, wriggling the thick appendage into her, as she cooed at the feel of the silk over her breasts, not unfamiliar from her time with Thrae but very welcome. She leaked pre along the muscular stomach as she kept grinding, continuing the rocking feeling as she delighted in pressing as tight against the source of her pleasure as she could.

DM62: The minotaur is helpless against his urges... and finally he plunges in once more, blasting her insides with a final load of his cum. He snarls, pressing in even deeper, determined to mate his lover. He slumps against her, softly caressing the drider's abdomen as he huffs down from his rut, spent at last. One of the thrull nervously moves close, dipping an antenna in the spunk, then taking a tentative taste.

Evie: As pre smeared across Evie's abs, her hips continueing their slow sway back and forth, it ran over the succubus's tail, over the shaft pressed between them. The succubus moaned hungrily, reaching up to pull her mask off entirely, tossing it to her corset to keep feeling more of that tongue. She snapped her palm back to the chimera's breast with a light slap, squeezing firmly again as the bit of tail at her entrance curved out, rotating and gliding over her folds as she thrust faster, harder, bare foot running along Vel's calf.

Vel gasps as she get's a light Swat, her giving a low growl as she gives a rougher nibble, before giving a long lick up her neck and along her cheek before dipping into her mouth to make out again for a bit. Her cock throbbed eagerly, as she used their entanglement for leverage to wriggle the serpentine tail and glide her scales back and forth, picking up the pace a bit, watching the succubus' movements to see where to focus even more attentions

Thrae let out a contented sigh and slumped to the ground and the puddle of cum that was there. Her voice was slurred as she said. "Sooo goood. Sooo full." Then she sees the thrull starting to dip its antenna into the spunk and then taste it. "Ohh, wonder what that is going to do."

DM62: The Queen, meanwhile, is licking her lips... then speaking to no-one in particular. "Oh... oh now that's interesting. Well... we have a few extra days. Alright... let's go ahead and set up a small hive here. Burrow as best you can in the desert, and build a reasonably solid hive. Then we breed." The thrull worker seems excited, turning away from the pairing to start burrowing through the sand.

Evie: WRapping both legs around the chimera's own, Evie twisted her hips forward, letting the serpentine tail squirm ever deeper, its tongue flickering along her walls and depths and sending shivering pleasure up her spine. She returned the kiss hungrily, one hand sliding upwards, gliding over Vel's neck, nails firm against her skin before fingers slid into hair, leaving leaving the chimera's cock unattended. Feeling her own lusts rising, close to climax.

Vel makes out hungrily, working her tail faster and faster as she gropes and hodls close, not minding being trapped by the much larger woman in the least, squirming eagerly as she tries to drive the succubus to climax, her own folds fluttering from the tail playing with it, her claws running gently along the succubi's flesh as she wriggles in excitement.

Evie: Both wings folded shut, coccooning the two women, pressed against each other, their tails a writhing dance of pleasure between their slick thighs. But it was Evie who came first, her moan spilling into the kiss they shared, tongue wrapping around the rougher one of Vel's, dragging a hand down the chimera's back, along the smooth skin, to the fur starting at her waist, over her ass, along the base of her serpentine tail.

Vel delighted in the feeling of her partners climax, gasping as she's held close before trembling as her inner self followed suit shortly after, trembling, and giving the succubus' tummy a fairly large white coating, her hips rocking as she tenses up, before relaxing as she melts into her kiss, paws moving along the demons sides as she cuddles happily and enjoys the after glow with her.

Evie: Sliding slowly off the rock she'd been leaning against to lay against the softer ground, holding Vel closer, the assassin broke the kiss and smiled at her. She could feel the cum smearing against them both with each movement, could feel the sticky heat on the underside of her breasts. But she didn't care, instead stroking the chimera's hair, not saying a word.

Vel sighs pleasedly, not seeming to mind either as she leans in, purring as she's petted, favoring Evie with a parting lick as the kiss is broken, and simply enjoying the closeness of the moment and the satisfaction she had felt.

Thrae is starting to fade off into a well fucked rest but still manages to notice the workers starting to burrow and mutters. "Huh, wonder what they are off to do. Probably sex, it's always sex."

DM62: Braxis huffs. "Probably. With you, yes. It's always sex." He moves in close, cuddling the drider's upper half as his cock pops out. "Pretty much always."

Thrae: "Heh, comes with the territory of an Eromancer." Thrae says with a chuckle and wiggles deeper into the cuddle. Still rather addled, the drider girl lowers her hand down to her cum filled abdomen. "Mmmm, wonder if that's going to take."

Evie smiled, her tail still inside her new lover, their skin sticky. With a soft kiss to the chimera's forehead, the assassin leaned back, and rested her eyes.

DM62: "Well... I'm a minotaur. Our cum almost always takes. So... you can expect a few horned children in several months." He smirks.

Vel was just as burrowed into her partner and seemed inclined to budge out of her cozy slick burrow and decided to take a nap herself in the winged caress of her inter dimensional lover. She wasn't sure what to think still but for now she didn't feel pressed to do much thinking anyways.

Thrae: "Heh, as long as this war's over by then I won't mind." Thrae said with a grin. "Though hopefully they are more like you. It'd be hard to raise them if they'd be jumping everyone without restraint."

DM62: The minotaur has an amused look. "You... you think I have restraint?"

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: Blackshard Prequel Transcripts (edited)

Interlude (temple and child)

Spoiler

The child waits in the crumbling temple for the father. There is rumbling to the east, where the child last saw the father, and the child looks to the east with considerable apprehension; but the father said to wait… so the child waits. There is stale bread in the offering basket… a few days old, where the man left it along with a prayer. The child looks at the bread for but a moment, realizing that hunger is not really an issue yet. As a matter of fact, there is nothing the child feels less like doing, than eating.

Instead, small hands grip the broom that the father keeps in a corner of the entryway, and the broom is used to whisk dust out of the temple. The father performed this very task a few days prior, but a crumbling temple near a sandy desert is practically an invitation for dust. The child starts from the back of the temple, avoiding the forbidden areas (“where mortals dare not tread,” the father had said), steadily clearing the dust, and patiently dealing the occasional gust of wind. It is sunset when the broom reaches the threshold of the temple. The child begins to realize that the father is not coming, looking east once more as a tear patters onto the last step of the entryway. The steps next to the offering basket are hard, but the exhausted child eventually sits, drifting into a fitful slumber.

As the child rests, disembodied eyes flicker, gazing out the temple’s depths. Tendrils flow out from carvings and statues, beginning to wriggle toward the eyes… surrounding the eyes and spreading outward. A shape begins to coalesce… a humanoid form, watching the child sleep with an unreadable expression.