[@Pyromania99] [hr] [hider=A demon does demon things] Vammy continued her obscene treatment of the interrogatee as she started to reply to the demon in her head. “Hmmm. Usually when you give me suggestions they turn out to be really violent and I’d rather not hurt her… Much, at least.” The demonic elf said, questioning her partner in thought crimes. [i]“Oh don’t worry, its not violent…and it won’t hurt her, much. Just need to…get a little artistic, but with my help you’ll do fine!”[/i] The demon laughed. [i]“Come on, I’ll even let you do it. I’ll just show you what to do, otherwise that weirdo over there is gonna pull one over on us and I don’t like being tricked, dumbass.”[/i] “Hey! Who’s a dumbass? Grr… Just tell me whatever it is already.” Vammy said, grumbling about being called a dumbass. [i]“You are, my cute little dumbass.”[/i] The demon laughed. [i]Fine. Its simple. Use your claws to draw this on her chest…or wherever you want to really.[/i] The demon said in her head, showing her a vision of a rather peculiar looking emblem. It looked similar to the one she had seen on the demon once. A burning droplet of some kind, surrounded by a circle and numerous other sigils. [i]If you’re uncertain, just start drawing…and let me do the rest.[/i] “If I could strangle you…” Vammy complained before looking down at their captive. She moved her finger to the woman’s chest as she contemplated the entire situation. “Hey, what the hell is this emblem gonna do huh?” [i]”Oh, this? Oh, its just…hmm, lets say its a truth sigil. Makes it so that whoever has it can’t tell a lie to the inscriber and is compelled to answer truthfully!”[/i] The demon proceeded to snarl. [i]“Don’t worry about it. Just know that if we lose this I’ll be taking your body for a ride myself so I can smack that weirdo.”[/i] Said weirdo was still eagerly waiting patiently for Vammy to do her thing. “Do you know how much I don’t trust your words?” Vammy asked as she turned her head fully turned her head towards the woman’s chest. “Just gonna open up your robe a bit here.” Vammy said as she tried to leave the cloth intact while getting access to where she needed to draw. “This is gonna hurt a small bit.” The demonic elf said as she started to draw the image lightly into the woman’s chest. “If only you’d just talk~” Vammy rather easily figured out the shape of the emblem as she drew it. “W-what…are you doing?” The woman hissed. “If you-ggrrr-think this pain is enough to make me talk you’re wrong!” She’d struggle in the ropes more, though ultimately it was futile as Vammy began to follow the demons instructions. Start with the teardrop. Follow with the flowing pattern of fire that it was made of. The name of her the house. The emblem of those of Fallen Blood, next. Arcane chains as the smell of burning flesh would meet Vammy’s nostrils. “W-wait…” The woman, seeming to realize something, widened her eyes. “No no no! You stop that! Don’t you-agh-dare! I refuse to serve anyone else!” She could stop now. It wasn’t finished. What was this woman going on about anyways? Lazhira seemed amused. “Gonna be honest? You lied to me again, eh, demon?” Vammy stated as she continued despite the woman’s struggling. “Why couldn’t you just tell me what it really does. Geez.” The elf didn’t seem really keen on stopping though. “That said, lady… Your previous master, I’m guessing, tried to make shish-kabobs out of me so, if you [i]have[/i] to follow someone, I’m probably a lot better. Unless you were free of them in the first place in which case… You should have just talked. Believe it or not, I’m seeming like the most reasonable one around here.” The elf mentioned, taking a small peek at how amused Lazhira seemed. [i]”I didn’t lie. You just didn’t ask for clarification.”[/i] The demon laughed. [i]“Don’t be such a spoilsport. With this we’ll have a servant that can’t refuse us, and I’m sure you’d like that. I know I would, ahahah!”[/i] “I follow none but the God of knowledge! Not that dumb slime monster!” She’d hiss as Vammy ignored her pleas. “Don’t-Don’t take his light from me! Don’t you-take his enlightenment!” She was visibly terrified now, body struggling out of fear and a desire to get free of her bonds as Vammy finished the sigil on her chest as her flesh burned, carved hotly with the demons sigil. [i]“Do it.”[/i] The demon whispered. [i]Pour my fire into her blood. She can’t resist. Her soul is ours.[/i] “Well, I can’t imagine I’m worse than your current master for you.” Vammy said as she finished the sigil and followed the demon’s suggestion. Between following a master that would rather kill you and your fellows to capture some lost sheep or the one that would feed and cherish you, would not the latter be preferable? “Pour fire into her blood, huh?” Vammy said as she did so, “You’ll thank me later. Probably.” “N-no…” The woman, made one final, weak protest as Vammy did just that. Placing her palm on the sigil, crimson fire heat up her palm as fire began seeping and being drawn into the womans body. She screamed, struggling more and more as her entire body heated up until after a few moments, it’d be done, and she’d hang limply where she was tied up, a bit dazed. [i]”There, ahaha! Now that weirdo can’t touch her. We win! And got ourselves a servant that would willingly die for us…or keep us company at night whether she wanted to or not!”[/i] “...ahaha, I didn’t think you’d do that, Vammy.” Lazhira laughed, completely not seeming to mind. “Well, its nice to see that process first hand. I’ll remember it for later.” “Yea, I didn’t think I’d do that either.” Vammy said, looking at her hand blankly. At one point, when she had no demon blood running through her veins, she thought this to be a horrid, terrible act… But now? No compunctions at all. She had still thought that she would feel… something. But no, nothing. “I figured you would be opposed to this, to be honest. Seems your not all there either.” Vammy said, pointing to her head. “Guess I should have known better.” The elf said, looking back down to the woman she was holding down. “Now, then. Hey you, wakey wakey.” She muttered, poking at places on the woman’s body. “Too much more of that dazed look and I’ll give you a kiss or something.” “Tee-hee~” Lazhira giggled before her mouth turned downward into a pout. “What can I say, living in this boring village for years makes new stuff like this far less objectionable. Everyone here is so boring…so seeing new stuff from travelers is fun, I don’t care what it is.” “Ow-ow-stop iiiiit.” The woman whined as she was poked, slowing regaining her senses as she’d lift her head up and, glaring at Vammy. “I’m awake! Just…urgh…hurt all over…” She wasn’t struggling any more at least, though she was glaring at the demon. “So, feeling better now? More yourself?” Vammy asked, cheekily, poking at her certain body parts some more. “What’s that glare for? Acting like I took away everything you ever owned.” The elf said, letting up on her poking. “I’m actually fairly nice, thank you.” “I was never not myself!” The woman hissed. [i]“Uh-uh, no shouting!”[/i] The demon echoed in Vammy’s head, the woman immediately recoiling slightly, wincing in seeming unseen pain. “You…argh…ah…just get this over with.” “So, first.. Your name?” Vammy asked, looking down. “...Yuisa…” The woman replied through gritted teeth, obviously not wanting to reply. “Yuisa? A pretty name.” Vammy replied, smiling. “So, who was your previous master? You said, the God of Knowledge or something? Tell me a bit about that.” “What is there to say?” Yuisa replied with a grunt. “I worshiped the god of knowledge. I still will once I kill you. Or do you not know about Lord Iva? The true ruler of this village? The one who illuminates the mind and enlightens one's senses? I am a devotee of his and no demonic control will shake my belief!” [i]”You’ll need to be more specific. Generalities won’t tell us anything.”[/i] “Lord Iva? Who’s that?” Vammy teased, she knew what happened some years ago with people that followed him being run out of town. “Hey, Lazhy, am I that out of touch with this town or are there still followers of “Lord Iva” in town? Last I checked there weren’t.” “No…” Lazhira replied with a frown. “Well, not in Dawn proper at least…when the incident happened all those years ago, I’m pretty sure the hunters and travelers at the time ran them out of the village. They didn’t follow up on them, though…maybe they’re still out there, somewhere?” “Probably so considered our little friend here.” Vammy said, slightly confused. “So, have you all been hiding out in the hills, plotting to take over town again?” The demon asked, curious. “Why did you all hunt our little hunter friend? “She stole something from us. Something that’s too powerful for you imbeciles to even imagine the proper use of!” Yuisa simply replied. “Oh? She stole something? Do tell. I want to hear more about such a powerful something.” Vammy said with a smile. “The key to all of yours comeuppance!” She’d shoot back, rather unhelpfully. [i]“Vammy your interrogating skills are worse than a childs.”[/i] the demon derisively stated. [i]”Ask her how she even stole it in the first place, or why they attacked her first.”[/i] “Hey, I was a scholar not a prison guard. Now I’m just a perpetually…” The elf cut herself off before saying the next part. “Anyway…” She collected herself. “Geeeh. How did our adorable terrible shot huntress even manage to steal it in the first place? You all seem pretty terrible at guarding things if so~” “Tch,” Yuisa clicked her tongue, looking away from the demon. “She was an easy target. Her cabin was out of the way, and we needed bodies for research. Wouldn’t be the first one we took during the blizzard.” She’d respond, realizing she was saying too much and quickly shut herself up. “Crafty bitch ended up getting free and taking it.” “Heh~ Did she now?” Vammy replied with a smile. “Now, how many did you take then? Couldn’t be a small number.” “Like I know.” Yuisa retorted. “Sometimes we took them live. Sometimes we found their bodies and took those. I collected at least twenty myself.” Considering how big of a village Dawn had been before the blizzard, upwards to at least a thousand people had been living here and it had been cut down to just a tenth of that, well. "Hmmm, you collected at least twenty? Then, it might be safe to assume others collected about as much." Vammy said thinking on it a small bit, "Speaking of, how many are in your cult of knowledge?" “At least fifty.” The woman replied with a noncommittal huff. "Slightly less now after what happened on the that hill." Vammy said aloud. "Hmm. So, you experimented on the bodies. What happened to the living ones? Used, abused and trashed?" “Living can provide useful tools in a number of experiments.” She’d respond. “Medical. Magical. Psychological…not that you’d know what any of those are.” [i]”Unless you ask for an exact number, dumbass, asking how many there are is annyong. ‘At least’ just means that its that number at a minimum.”[/i] The demon chided in Vammys head. [i]“I don’t think there’s any more useful information we’ll get out of her without some more information ourselves.”[/i] "I resent being called a dumbass so many times in a day." Vammy mentioned, wanting to slap the demon but lack of body to do it to. "There's time to get information… oh, one last question, how many of your cult at maximum?" [i]”I almost expected you to try and slap yourself, dumbass.”[/i] the demon cackled. “Tch,” Yuisa grunted. “I don’t know, I don’t keep count of everyone and we don’t know of everyone on purpose in case we do get caught…but there are at least ten groups of ten different people through the forest.” "At least 100? My how numbers change. Dont worry, I'll work more answers out of you later." Vammy said with a lewd movement of her hands over Yuisa's body, before getting up and looking toward Lazhira, "So that would be my victory right?" The elf said with a triumphant pose. “...I haven’t even gone yet.” lazhira pouted, giving the demon a petulant expression. “But I think i’ll have to forfeit.” Yuila hissed, struggling against the demons touch and trying to wiggle out of her grasp but not making it very far. “And I was gonna have fun with her head a bit…oh well…my loss.” Lazhira’s expression changed to a smirk. “Soooo, what am I gonna be made to do?” [i]”...you need to word this carefully or this brat is gonna wiggle her way out of it like some sort of demon herself.”[/i] "Honestly, I hadn't thought that far ahead." Vammy said, thinking about it for a minute. The only things that came to mind were perverse things she didn't dare say aloud, lest the chance of a certain moth being around. "Grrrr… I have nothing beside really fun ideas Lahzy is just gonna figure out ways around." The demon elf sighed and looked at her best friend, got close and gave her her the best puppy dog eyes a demon could muster. "Hey Lazhy~ Can I have a bit of time to think about it, pwease~?" “...pfft, really?” Lazhira rolled her eyes, not really minding the demons touch as she’d shake her head. “Alright, fine. You showed me something interesting so why not.” She’d turn to face the demon, an impish grin of her own being worn. “Remember. One request. Annnything you want. Your good old friend Lazhira will do it totally~” "Yay~ Totally the best friend a demon, elf or both at the same time could ask for!" Vammy said before jumping on Lazhira and giving a hug. "Maybe I'll get an idea… What did you have in mind for me, Lazhy?" The demon asked, curiously. “Hmm? Me? Idea?” Lazhira grinned, slightly evasively looking away from Vammy. “Weeeell…I’m something of a wizard myself, you know. I was…slightly curious if I could make someone do something without remembering I told them to do it, aha~” [i]”...that bitch was gonna use some sorta hypnosis on us and then mindwipe us wasn’t she!?”[/i] Before Vammy really got a moment to process that, though, there was a knock at the door. Lazhira turned her head curiously towards it, blinking in mild surprise that someone seemed to bother her at her house. “...Go away no ones home!” She’d shout. Despite the absurdity of the statement, Lazhira seemed perfectly serious. In fact, Vammy could detect just a hint of annoyance and, even a small bit of fear from Lazhira. [i]”...Vammy, listen, whatever is on the other side of that door is divine in nature. I don’t think its hostile, but it could probably kill the both of us with a flick of its wrist.”[/i] Vammy started to whisper, "Do you have any friends Divine in nature? Cause thats what I'm sensing and quivering in my non-existant boots right now." Vammy was a little bit frightened by whatever it was. A little more than a little. “Um, well, not friends really, more uh,” Lazhira stuttered out just as the door swung open. “Lazzy!” The door opened, a distinguished looking man with a short beard, short cut, but well groomed white hair wearing a simple burgundy colored shirt and a waistcloth with clearly the illuminators insignia inscribed into it. “Been a while, hasn’t it lass!” “...he’s uh, my dad.” [/hider] [hr] [@Guy0fV4lor] [i]tick[/i] [i]tick[/i] [i]tick[/i] As Finn began speaking, the ticking began. A clock, far away. The passage of time, beginning to slow, each tick further away than the last…until it pause for what seemed like an eternity, and then, would begin again, but it was as if he was hearing it in reverse. The heat in his hand grew worse.The gear ticking and seemingly turning within his flesh. Burning. Searing. Agonizingly twisting the flesh around his hand. His legs weakened, his body heaved. His breath left his lungs. His vision, clouded behind exertion and darkness as overexertion took him. He’d stumbled backwards through the door, falling over onto the floor in the room beyond. It was hard to tell whether the prayer worked. If he looked back at the body it did not seem to different, but…perhaps the child's breathing seemed a little more even. More importantly though, was the room he found himself in now. It seemed to be a large reflecting pool, windows being the only illumination in the chamber. It smelled of salt and fresh water. Against the wall was a statue of Delpithi, water flowing from her cistern into the pool below. And in the pool? [url=https://imgur.com/RwJUoiE]A woman, laying face down in the water.[/url] She was fully clothed, though unmoving. [hider=Current Happenings] [i]The Goddess pokes what seems to be the same woman who's laying face down with her brush, seeming to check if she still alive[/i] Current location: Dawn Time: Afternoon [hr] Potential Events: [list] [*] So many people with frostbite. Poor things. [*] I wonder whats behind that door. [/list] [/hider] [hr] [@ERode] [hr] “...I suppose. It was just convenient at the time.” Maira responded with a small smile at Atzi exciteableness. “I’ve been there a few times. Its a pretty place. Sometimes I end up falling asleep there on Tallen.” More small talk as the two traveled, the forest growing more dense and difficult to traverse for the unprepared as they did so. True to her nature though, Maira spared no effort in overly helping Atzi unless it was clear she couldn’t do something with her handicap. As the day wore on, though, and they neared their destination they were lucky to only run into wolves and a few number of mostly easily dispatched creatures…at least until the lake finally came into view. “...Shh.” Maira would abruptly stop, and the two women could hear the loud, guttural snoring of some beast close by. It was faint, but just close enough to cause concern. “...Careful. Quiet. I think it sounds like a Grove Bear. You know what those are?” A type of bear that lived deep in the forest, though none were quite sure where they came from. Big, angry, powerful, and could roar loud enough make the wind bend to their wills. Perhaps, a connection to the Kyrnith. Either way… “We’ll need to quietly take it out. We won’t be able to get the key if its attacking us.” It wasn’t hard to find. Apparently it had fallen asleep close to the lakes edge. [hider=Current Happenings] [i]The goddess adds more pictures to the screen for Atzi. She gets the feeling the goddess is pitying her.[/i] Current location: Kyr Forest Time: Morning [hr] Current Objective: Retrieve the Orb before the cultists do [hr] Potential Events: [list] [*] [*] [*] [/list] [/hider] [hr] [@Click This][@Crusader Lord] [hr] So, with three companions, Lissa would decide to simply go boldly where only a few Raam had gone before. Protests from Nylah aside, Eirhild seemed fine with this arrangement, walking along behind the Raam with a quick step. “Aye, we shall lass. More of a chance for us to make it out in case something happens, aye?” Eirhild responded to Nylah as she’d run after the two of them. Thankfully, they’d not be interrupted terribly much on their way inside the village. A few patrol of Krysa marksmen spotted them, but they didn’t seem too interested in a Human, Mothraki, and a dwarf, at least until they actually got into the village. “Halt.” A patrol of Krysa approached the three, flagging them down. If the six rat men weren’t so short, perhaps, they’d be intimidating clad in tough looking winter armor of metal and fur and bows and daggers. “What business do you have here?” They’d question the newcomers. “You do not appear to be part of that conniving foxes entourage.” [url=https://i.imgur.com/FGDJTsV.jpg]A particularly rough looking Yaga with many scars on her body[/url] wearing a simple white dress was watching them in a seeming half interested manner from some distance away. She seemed particularly fixated on Lissa, amber eyes staring at her curiously. [hider=Current Happenings] [i]The goddess is playing fetch with a dog[/i] Current location: Dawn Time: Morning [hr] Current Objective: Gain access to the village Or perhaps you’d like to avoid it entirely and go straight to Mie? [hr] [hr] Potential Events: [list] [*] [/list] [/hider] [hr] [@crimson Paladin] [hr] “Suit yourself.” Choehi replied with a dismissive tone, leaving Novak to his devices, walking towards where the perimeter was. It was dangerous to be a look out here - there was no telling where a Krysa archer might be. It wasn’t unusual for one to take potshots in their directions with deadly accuracy. Thankfully for Novak, he was heading to the interior. Ayumi trotted along behind him, yipping playfully at his heels as he’d travel through the interior of the old ruins, easily finding Mie inside a small command center she had set up out of the remains of her own rather luxurious wagon. She was smoking her usual pipe, a bowl of alcohol sitting not far away and on a table a small map of the surrounding area along with a box of coin and some half eaten fruit. “Ah, Novak, you’re here.” [url=https://i.imgur.com/jmjvlCe.jpg]She’d look up from counting some coins, the familiar face of the Merchant greeting him with her usual carefree expression as she’d place the kiseru on a tray.[/url] “I was worried I was going to have to come look for you. Good to see you're still as reliable as ever.” She’d sit at the low table, reaching for a teapot and pouring a drink for the both of them. Ayumi would soon hop onto the table, curling up next to Mie. “Have a seat.” Mie ordered, placing the cup at his end of the table. “I won’t waste time, nor will I sugarcoat anything. I’m going to be asking you to do something a bit unreasonable. I’m going to need you to somehow get to the nearby village. By yourself. We need to at least somehow find out if Haruno’s message made it to Dawn and whether or not we have potential help coming. If not…if you can get out, I need you to travel all the way back to Chagawa and bring the rest of the Oni here.” [hider=Current Happenings] [i]The moon goddess waves hello, a little dialogue box tells you good morning[/i] Current location: Caravan Encampment Time: Morning [hr] Potential Events: [list] [*] Lady Mie wishes to speak with you [*] Could take Chohei up on his offer of a sparring, though, you’d probably be late for whatever Mie wants you for. [/list] [/hider] [@Cu Chulainn] [hr] “Neat.” Raelzeth brightly replied, following along behind Gideon with a mischievous grin. “Now I can’t get in trouble for not helping dad!” Thankfully, it seemed like her sticky fingers were being kept to herself for now, in no small part thanks to Gideon keeping himself at arms length from her. Surveying the land would prove simple enough for the Sage. The vials didn’t show anything out of the ordinary for a coastal town. Sandy earth near the beaches, soil with oddly high salt deposits but otherwise it was mostly unremarkable. “So, what do you know about demons? The five clans? Anything about the Primarchs? You ever see a demon before?” Raelzeth was peppering him with questions, though, which was probably just a bit irritating and she was doing very little in regards to Naraheim. The mental map though, was coming easier. The village, at one point, had been much larger that was certain. Many of the buildings had seemingly been buried under snow, destroyed, and he could see a few waterlogged ruins that had fallen into the sea from the blizzard. It roughly extended along the coast to the old black obelisk that jutted out of the cliff some distance towards the south, to the Icewind river to the north. Enli’s longhouse was roughly on the northern edge of the village, with the church being a central fixture. A hunters lodge was near the eastern edge of the village, near the forest, with a number of workshops and fishery related buildings dotting the area near the sea. “...you ever mine stuff before?” Raelzeth ended up asking after a few other questions. She seemed nervous. [hider=Current Happenings] [i]The moon goddess punches an oddly shaped square tree that produces an oddly shaped square block of wood which she then somehow turns into a wooden pickaxe.[/i] Current location: Dawn Time: Morning [hr] Potential Events: [list] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [/list] [/hider]