[center][h2]Lord Chompy Bits[/h2][/center] [hr] Lotti awoke to the light of the moon pouring in through the tree tops. She felt the cold, wet earth clinging to her face as she rose, and slowly regained her senses. Black, gnarled limbs arched overhead, grappling viciously as if each tree sought to wrench its adversary from their roots. Even the smaller trees, growing beneath these giants, squelched the light. Weak rays of moonlight penetrated the gloom in a few places and faded midway to the ground, snuffed by cruel shrubs dressed in gray leaves and thorny vines. As she looked around her heart sank lower and lower. A seeping cold crawled through the air and stole her breath. The pale glow of incandescent lamps stretched into the gloomy night, marking the path through the misty forest. The last thing she remembered, she was petting a wild cat in the woods with her brother. She brushed the dirt from her face and skirts as she rose to her feet. [i]"Where is Rollo?"[/i] she worried. Her eyes darted around in a panic. "Rollo!" she called out. Nothing. She called again, but this time her voice didn't carry far. Something muffled her cries. A small, white cat sauntered out from the bushes. It spared one look at Lotti and promptly began grooming itself. Lotti recognized it as the same cat from the forest. She walked over and bent down beside it. "Aww, did you get lost in here too?" She reached out to pet it, and the cat nuzzled its head against her hand. The cat meowed encouragingly and walked away at a brisk pace, following a trail that lead away from the lamp-lit road and deeper into the mist. Lotti followed behind awkwardly. "Wait, don't go!" Lotti spare one last look at the beaten path before following the cat into the mist. [hr] The Tyrant of Nightmares sat quietly on a tree branch as the dark spawn of the Kingsmouth forest prepared for the coming ritual. Gangling creatures they were. A mottled cross of goat and man, they had long, spindly limbs, gnarled hands, and sharp claws that dripped with filth. There strange emotionless eyes gleamed with sinister intelligence. The twisted limbs and black, mossy trunks surrounded a clearing, and bore an unnatural resemblance to a gabled temple. A menacing darkness acts as a curtain to the outside. In the center of the nearby clearing, there was an wide circular slab fashioned from petrified wood. Strange letters and lurid scenes of perversion and violence had intricately carved into its base. Subtle grooves criss-crossed the pale, dark wood of its dias, forming mind-bending geometries. Warm blood and fresh gore coursed through grooves and seemed to absorb the moonlight. Bits of flesh and bloody ichor coated the chains and littered ground. They were the remains of a young boy who wandered too far from the road. The beating of drums and sinister chanting filled the air, primal and raw in rhythms like a beating heart. Loud sobbing and pleas for mercy drew closer and closer. At last, one of the dark spawn dragged in a weeping girl, Lotti. Thick vines bound her hands and waist, and numerous tears had cut through the grime on her face. She wailed and retched upon entering the room, the stench alone was foul. Her voice sounded hoarse and hollow as she pleaded. A dark spawn stood before the dias. Deep crimson robes draped across his wiry frame, and talismans dangle from his horns. White paint coated his face giving the appearance of a clean skull. These were the trappings of a high priest. He and the other dark spawn stretched the girl across the dias and bound her in chains. Lotti resisted at first, but her strength couldn't compare and she was easily overwhelmed. Another dark spawn stepped forward with a grisly pail and gingerly pour fresh blood over Lotti, covering her from head to toe. A blood-speckled tail flicked in time with the beat, and merciless feline eyes watched silently as the girl sobbed and wailed. At the height of the chanting, the high priest thrust his hand into the earth, and pulled our two black seeds that wriggled and writhed with dark tendrils and dripped with filth. He stood by Lotti's chained feet and looked long into the girl's eyes, drinking in her terrified expression as his gnarled hand and the throbbing alien seeds reached ever closer. [hr] Having gotten bored of watching the dark spawn's rituals, Lord Chompy Bits left the Dreamlands to go for a walk. In a rather typical fashion, he had no destination and merely went wherever his feet carried him. The bone butlers were careful not to obstruct his path, as he meandered through the corridors with lithe grace. After hunting a stray moth for a few minutes, he caught a familiar scent wafting through the air. Correction, [i]several[/i] familiar scents and they all led in one direction. [i]"Oh yes... I remember now. There was some trifle about a meeting."[/i] He plucked the moth from the air with his teeth and promptly tore off one of its wings. As he watched it struggle helplessly for the last few minutes of its miserable life, he mused upon making the attendance. Ultimately, his curiosity won out. He stepped into the corner where the floor met the wall and arrived in the Sable Lord's throne room. The Hungering Darkness, The Great Defiler, Tyrant of Nightmares, High Lord of the Dreamlands, Minister of Fluff listened quietly, his tail flicking back and forth with interest. Rather than kidnapping a few natives to placate his monstrous subordinates, the Sable Lord's plans seemed like an excellent opportunity to see how much amusement this new world could offer him. His attention waxed and waned as the meeting drew on, but so far the [i]fun[/i] assignments had been dealt to Mamoru, Ashara, and Gromgard. He interpreted the lack of direct orders for him to mean that he was free to do as he pleased, and weighed his options. [i]"Choices. Choices."[/i] After a moment of consideration, he leaped onto the Lord's table and announced his decision. "Ashara, Gromgard, you'll be pleased to know that I've decided to join you. Mamoru or Vicarious can play house for some sniveling worm in human skin, and Kath can eavesdrop on everyone's dirty little secrets. None of that interests me. I prefer a task that I can sink my claws into. Doubtless my talents would be a welcome addition to your little troupe. No need to thank me, however. I find myself in a charitable mood." His tail swished with satisfaction.