As she walks deeper and deeper into the catacombs, Sarah feels the miasma thicken around her. Her lungs burn even as they develop some tolerance for the substance, seeing becomes difficult as she has a hard time telling what's real from what isn't. The only thing keeping her fevered mind going is the growing certainty that the sword is nearby, that there's an end to this maze. She pauses to cough, her coughing dry and chest-wracking, her lungs protesting the foul mist filling the cave. She has to find it soon, she thinks.
It doesn't take her long to realize the growing gut feeling inside her, the sense that's she's arrived somehow. If she hadn't been following said sense to lead her to the sword, she would say she's hallucinating. Instead, she lifts her head, and looks around.
Sure enough, there on a dais, is a sword embedded hilt-deep. She's almost tempted to call this a hallucination too, if she isn't so glad to finally get here after all the trouble in the cave. She takes a moment to check her surroundings, to be sure that this is indeed where she needs to be. She can feel the stone dais, the strangely warm metal of the sword, and the pulls her finger when she feels a spark of its Thunder affinity. She looks at Pip, and realizes he's curiously sniffing the stone dais, then barks at her as to confirm it. She takes a deep breath before casting aside the used and broken claw she was carrying around as a makeshift weapon.
"Here goes," she says, grasping the hilt with both hands and pulls as hard as she can, trying to gather all her strength to try and get the sword out. She grunts and hisses at the effort. "Come on..."
Suddenly, she jolts backwards as the sword seems to free itself from its prison, and she feels a surge of electricity surge through her body. This sensation is strangely warm and good, filling her being with confidence and calm amidst her weariness. It feels as if the very sword itself was reaching into her with its power, filling her with newfound resolve. She feels its power washing over her, reaching deep into her mind and heart, as though to awaken something sleeping within.
When she opens her eyes again, the hallucination seem to have receded. She still sees things vibrating, the shadows shifting and twitching, and faint echos that aren't there, but her mind is no longer trap in feverish visions and fearsome illusions. She could see and feel more clearly, and the miasma isn't affecting her as strongly. Is this the power of the sword, or did it merely heal her of the worst of the effects. Either way, she's going to need her wits to get out of this place.
She takes a couple of practice swings with the sword, feeling it in her hands. It feels balanced, the grip natural, as though it had been forged just for her. She grips it tightly to reassure herself, feeling as though she could take on the world.
"Come on, Pip," she calls to the dog, "we need to get out of here and back to Master Thunderfist."
Pip barks eagerly, pleased to see New Master snapping out of whatever fear had been controlling her.
"Oh, yeah, I know that one," Penny says with a chuckle. "Liznliz watched the whole series, though you ask me, it really went downhill after the fifth. The second, though, that's a classic.
"So Nichole, you're from Hasta right?" she continues, pressing the conversation. "I hear some still call it by its old name, Paris. It's kind of interesting, because most Sanctum Cities generally just go by their official names these days. Is it really the City of Lights? I've seen a few pics on the 'Web whenever the connection gets through, and I'd have to say it's beautiful. I'm surprised you still have a building that's centuries old in the middle of your city, I think it's pretty cool!"
"See, that's it, isn't it?" Penny says with an air of academic discussion. "Altea's more... well, I suppose there's no better for it without sounding condescending, so let's say 'dark' and 'grounded'. The setting is everyday, she's more relateable as an everyday person, and while it does have more fantasy elements it still has a darker tone to it regarding loss and sacrifice. Alexis is, well, bubbly and energetic, and it takes almost halfway into season two to really start the character development going. I'd say the episode when they bring in Pretty Soldier Glenda, but she's a red herring at first to properly set up the rivalry with Alex..."
She pauses, then turns to face Dana.
"Okay, fine, I watch Gunslinger Alexis whenever I could," she admits, "but I'll take Altea over it anyday. Not saying it's bad, just saying I prefer mine.
"As for my sisters, well, we got the twins Liz'n'Liz - that's Elizabeth and Melissa - as the oldest, older than me by almost two years, I'm the one they had after, and then there's Nessa, she's ten and the youngest daughter, but David's the youngest and he's eight. Liznliz - yeah, we just put the two together most of the time - they're tomboys, and they can be a pain sometimes, but they're pretty cool and helpful most of the times. They're couriers, so they taught me how to rollerblade; they're really good at it. And Nessa's just a daddy's girl and a real sweetheart. I'm the one stuck being the responsible kid in the family most of the time..."
Penny feels the airship tremble again. She's never ridden an airship before, so she's not entirely sure if this is normal or not, but the other girls seem to notice it with unease. It makes Penny nervous as a result.
'Somehow, I get the feeling I've been insulted,' she thinks, trying to read Vanna's expression. It's just the tone of the answer, aloof yet somehow condescending. It annoys Penny - but somehow, she shouldn't really be upset. She at least should have read up on the Academy for the two years she's been waiting to get transferred, so she wouldn't look like some clueless hick from the boonies, but it's a bit late for that now. She resolves to study hard once they get there, and prove her worth.
"I'll say you have," Penny answers Vanna in resignation.
Dana's response earns an odd response from Penny. She assumes an expression of mock annoyance, and looks at the cheerful girl.
"Oh really?" she asks in mock challenge. "Mind telling me why you think Gunslinger Alexa is better? I mean, Altea has the more meaningful character arcs, if you ask me.
"Also, how many sisters do you have? I've got three - and three brothers too."
The further she goes down the caverns, the more Sarah finds it harder to breathe. The shadows, which only just flickered and shifted, now seem to form malevolent faces, gaining demonic forms and always seeming to reach out for her, clutching with long, spindly claws. She would startle, only to stop and realize Pip was looking at her funny, as though wondering if she's alright. She realizes that Pip isn't affected by the miasma, meaning she could at least trust his senses if not her own.
She coughs into the crook of her arm as the bitter, pungent miasma fills her nose and mouth, her eyes watering. She's certain this miasma is the source of these hallucinations; get rid of it, and she'll be able to trust her senses again - for that matter, she'll just settle for being able to breathe clean air again!
Pausing for breath, she notes the spiderling claw resting in one hand. She realizes that the claw is much smaller than she thought it was, and the things that had harried her earlier were much smaller than she imagined. It must be the miasma's work too. The sooner she's done here, the better. Fortunately, the deeper she goes, the closer she can sense the sword. It's as though this particular sense, this feeling, is uncorrupted by whatever hallucinations inflicted upon her, allowing her to at least navigate the tight, winding corridors with some reliability. The sooner she finds that sword, the sooner she can begin to understand her past, and the thought drives her onwards, battling her thick, palpable terror.
Pip, for his part, is worried about the path they're taking. The miasma is thicker here, and it's hurting his nose and eyes, causing him to whimper in protest. He could still smell the fear on New Master, even as she continues to walk forwards. The paths here are new and uncertain to him, and he can smell the spider-things more and more; this is their territory. And yet, New Master seems persistent in the path they're taking.
Then he smells something... close. More Spider-things. He stops and growls threateningly, and New Master takes a few moments to realize the threat too.
"W-what is it, Pip...?" Sarah asks anxiously, only too aware that her skin is clammy with sweat and she's breaking out in goosebumps. "Is... is it more of those things...?"
She hears something skitter closeby, and prays it's only another hallucination. However, the sound comes closer, and she she grips her makeshift weapon, she realizes the sound is undeniably real. Before she realizes it, there's another patrol of spiderlings here, one bigger than the previous one.
It takes a considerable effort of will to not bolt; there's more of them this time, and she's still suffering from shakes and nausea. However, she reminds herself that these things, while still dangerous, aren't as big as she thought, and that this time, she's armed. If they want to kill her, she'll put up a better fight this time. And she knows she can at least heal Pip if he gets hurt...
The spiderlings emerge from the winding tunnel, not sure what to expect, but ready to fight. They see a human girl and a strange, furred creature, the human girl holding what seems to be a claw from one of their brothers. They collectively hiss in anger, the combined hissing echoing in the caves menacingly. Apparently, those two managed to overcome the previous patrol, and for some reason this particular human is immune to the miasma. They skitter forwards quickly, intending to put these foes down quickly.
Pip strikes first, the crest on his back lighting up again before filling the cave with a bright light, striking one of the spiderlings in front with a powerful bolt of lightning. The sudden blast and the surprised screeching of their ally surprises the spiderlings, causing them to panic and try to split up, backing away from another possible attack.
Sarah, finding her chance, swings with the claw, only to realize she attacked a hallucination. In retaliation, the closest spiderling cuts her arm with an opportunistic strike, wounding her. Despite the pain, she doesn't let go of the claw. She tries to kick in revenge, but misses as she stumbles, barely managing to keep her balance. The spiderlings try to capitalize on her weakness, trying to swarm the duo with superior numbers. They swing their razor-sharp claws, slashing and stabbing, but Pip dodges deftly using his surprisingly strong legs to dodge and weave their strikes. He'd felt their sting once, he's in no hurry to get hit again. Sarah dodges a swipe by stepping back out of harm's way, but knows that they need to end this quickly. She sidesteps another attack, then sends one flying with a swift kick, smacking it against the cave walls.
Pip avoids another slash, and finds an opening as the spiderling had overcommitted, leaving its flank open. He lunges forwards, snarling, before clamping on the thing's throat with sharp teeth. The spiderling panics and tries to throw him off, managing to inflict a slash while one of its brothers assisted by managing to stab Pip in the flank. Pip yips in pain but doesn't let go, not dropping the spiderling until it flops lifelessly to the ground. It whirls with a snarl and a snap at the spiderling that wounded it. Its brother moves to flank, forcing Pip to hobble around to avoid getting attacked from two sides at once.
Sarah, meanwhile tries to cut down the last spiderling still standing, but it uses its smaller stature and great agility to dodge attacks. However, it miscalculates and finds itself cornered right in the path of a frenzied swing, and blocks by raising its claws to block. It manages, but Sarah's greater strength shakes it, and it would have gotten stabbed had not its dazed comrade recovered, and moved forwards to jump onto Sarah's back. It starts clawing and slashing, causing Sarah to cry out in pain and reach for the thing. Unable to reach the blind spot on her back, she resorts to slamming herself, back-first, into the nearby wall several times. The spiderling ultimately lets go after one too many hits, allowing Sarah to crush it under her boot. Its enraged brother jumps at her leg and stabs her in the calf, causing her to grunt in pain and drop to one knee, but she manages to bring the claw down sharply, impaling it in the back and twisting the blade to ensure it stays down this time. She clutches her wounded leg in pain.
Pip snarls and barks at the surviving spiderlings, trying to keep them back while he charges another lightning attack. The spiderlings sense it too, and try to at least finish this furry threat before the human recovers from her injuries enough to help. One of them skitters sideways, claws raised, but it's a feint to draw Pip's attention while its partner attacks Pip's exposed and injured flank. However, it barely manages to get close before Sarah's boot comes down, crushing it with brutal intent. Sarah had managed to heal herself so she could move sufficiently to help Pip. Surprised by this turn of events, the surviving Spiderling turns and tries to run away, but Pip catches with a strong jolt of lightning, frying it and putting it down for good.
For a moment, the noise in the hall quiets down, as Sarah pants heavily trying to recover her breath and the spiderling's scorched corpse sizzles audibly. Pip limps over to the corpses, sniffs them to make sure, then barks at them tauntingly, as though to gloat about winning. Limping, Pip turns to Sarah, panting happily as he's glad to see she's alright. Sarah returns his grin by kneeling down, petting him gently, and healing his wounds.
"There," she says. "Let's hurry, we're almost at the sword now. Let's find it and get out already."
She stumbles along, trying to heal her wounds, Pip walking along, lighting the way. This time, Sarah's stumble is a bit rushed; even as dizzy as she is from the fight and the miasma, she can feel the sword close. If she finds it, maybe she'll have an easier time in here.
'Just fifty?' Penny thinks. 'That's... that's pretty low. Fifty to a hundred out of a few hundred million. Or over a hundred million, if you're counting girls only; there never seems to be magic boys around, at least not officially.'
With Victoria busy with something, she turns to her new friends.
"So... how does everyone feel about being chosen to hopefully become an Ars Magi?" she asks. "Me, I'm getting nervous all over - but also excited. It's... well, I'm a big nerd who grew up watching Divine Magical Maid Altea, so that might have been a factor. Anyone else watched that?"
Part II: Pip, however, was merely stunned, and is very much alive and still ready for a fight. He rolls back to his feet, shakes off the lethargy, and sees the spider-things trying to hurt or kill New Master. He could feel his anger boiling within him. Even a dog like Pip, genetically engineered and modified in a thousand ways, could still trace his ancestry to the original wolves that prowled the plains when mankind still lived in caves. Each noble beast had a strong drive to fight, hunt, and survive, and every wolf had an ironclad loyalty to the pack. Nobody hurts the Pack. And in that, Pip was very much one with his wolf ancestors.
Snarling, he curls up into a ball, and spins in place, electricity sparking all around him, before he launched himself like a cannonball at the spider-thing in the back, catching it by surprise as he slammed into it with great force, only to uncurl and latch onto the nape of neck with sharp, pointy teeth. The thing squealed and hissed in pain, surprise and anger, and flailed its claws in an attempt to get the monstrous little furball off its back. It manages to get a couple of close swipes, shaving a bit of fur off the tips of his long ears, and Pip retaliates by summoning his inner power - and channeling his electricity through sharp canine teeth into the thing's neck. The thing squeals in agony and fear as it's electrocuted, much to the shock and surprise of its brothers as they try to fend off its frenzied flailings. This gives Sarah the chance to crawl away, giving her some breathing space.
The spider-things try and pry Pip off their screeching brother, but their long claws and their brother's flailing makes it difficult. One of them manages to land a hit on Pip, managing not so much to wound him as knock him off, giving the wounded one a respite. Angry, they turn to face a snarling Pip, ready to defend Sarah with everything he has. Hissing and screeching, the spiderlings move forwards with frightening speed, trying to eliminate both the girl and her dog, brandishing their sharp curved blades with wicked intent.
Pip, his back hunching and fur standing on end, keeps growling, his snarl increasing in intensity as arcs of electricity shoot around him, surprising Sarah and forcing her to stagger back and onto her shaky legs. The spiderlings braced for a possible charge, but Pip surprises them as he lets a grunting growl, a powerful bolt of lighting shooting out from the crest on his back and striking the lead spiderling, causing it to screech in agony as sparks flew and the acrid smell of burning flesh fills the room. The other two spiderlings back off in terror, while the roasted one, alive but badly mauled, staggers back blindly.
The small dog seizes his chance. He hurls himself at the weakened enemy once again, biting and gnawing at a joint and forcing the beast to sway and move, weakly trying to throw him off and end this torment. However, this gives the other spiderlings a chance to recover, and charge in to help their wounded ally. They both try to flank the snarling, biting creature, put it down before it gets out of hand. However, by then, Sarah had recovered enough of her senses and manages to balance herself on two feet. She still feels the room is swimming and dancing around her, and it feels like the shadows of the room themselves are reaching out to drag her into darkness, but Pip's glow gave her enough of a clear shot at one of the spiderlings. She throws herself at it in a body block throwing it off balance as it tumbles backwards, trying to get back on its legs. The other two, trying to recover and compensate for the supposedly weakened prey recovering, leaving themselves open as Pip starts biting savagely at whatever he can reach, trying to maul them for the audacity of trying to hurt New Master.
However, Sarah is still dizzy and disoriented by the hallucinogenic mist, and she feels like the world is spinning around her. She startles at something to her left, only to realize it was not only a shadow, but that she just left herself open. The angry spiderling slashes at her, and she barely gets her forearms up in time to block the attack, resulting in a sharp, bleeding gash across her arms as she cries out in pain. Her yell distracts Pip, who turns around to punish the offending spiderling, only for one of the other two to get a good hit in and land a strong slash across his exposed back. Pip yelps in pain and is flung across the floor of the cave corridor, his light fading as his injury seems strong.
Sarah is terrified, realizing she's unable to defend herself, and that the only source of light is fading. But above all else, she realizes her only friend and companion is wounded, possibly dying. Even with the shadows reaching out to grab her, even with the monstrous, shifting visages of the spiderlings coming for her, she does the only thing she can, and jumps to reach Pip. One claw manages to catch her leg, causing a sharp pain in her thigh as it cuts a new gash in her skin. She almost fails to reach Pip, and her condition won't allow for a second attempt. But catch him she does, and rolls around him to protect him with her body. In the fading light, feeling as though they're about to get killed, Sarah cries for herself and her companion. Pip, whimpering softly, licks her face and tears, trying to apologize in return for being unable to protect her.
"I'm sorry, P-pip," she sobs. "I g=got us here, and I couldn't help you when you needed it. I j-just wish I-I could have b-b-been more h-helpful... I'm so useless..."
In that moment, a soft glow emanates from her hands and envelopes Pip. The wounded dog feels his injury disappear, and finds renewed strength and vigor flowing into him once again. Is New Master giving him strength? Yes... he can feel himself grow strong again. New Master is giving him her strength, he will not let New Master down again!
He turns to see the spiderlings try and move in for the kill, trying to put an end to this fight. He preserves his strength... just one good strike...
He then lunges with a snarl at the nearest one, his fur suddenly glowing brightly, blinding the spiderlings. In their hesitation, he aims for the one he had mauled first with an electric bite to the back of the neck. This time, he fastens his jaws around the throat and fires another electrical jolt through his jaws, not letting go of the agonized thing until it stops moving. Once it drops dead, he turns his attention to its recovering brothers.
Sarah is just as surprised as the spiderlings by Pip's sudden recovery, but she felt the warm glow in her hands.
'What did I do?' she wonders in surprise. However, she realizes she doesn't have time to gawk; she's still in danger, and there are still two spiderlings. Ignoring the pain the best she can, she launches herself at one of the two remaining spiderlings, knocking it to the ground in a bundle of flailing legs and claws, and getting another gash for her troubles, this one fortunately rather superficial. This allows Pip to focus on the other - and unleash a devastating final bolt of lightning that utterly fries the thing. It gives off one last screeching death cry, before collapsing to the floor in a smoking heap. Pip, exhausted by the fight slumps to the ground with a whimper, his light growing fainter but not going out.
The sole survivor, noting that the odds had now gone sharply against it, attempted to scramble back to its legs and run for safety, but by now, Sarah is running on a rush of adrenaline and anger, and isn't going to just let it go away. She manages to kick out two legs from under it just as it got up, sending it sprawling on the floor, and losing her own balance in the process. She lands on her ass with a grunt, but finds the dazed spiderling right in front of her and in leg's range. Before it could get up, Sarah landed a vicious kick to the side of its skull smashing it against the cave wall.
"You! Ugly! Monster!" she calls out angrily, pounding the thing's head into a wall with her heel. "How! Dare you! Hurt my! Friend!"
She keeps smashing the thing with her foot, not stopping until the thing slumps lifelessly to the floor. It takes her a couple seconds to realize that, resulting in her kicking the wall. Overcome with the effort, she collapses, sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath. She feels a wave of nausea overcome her, barely managing to roll to her side to puke up whatever's left of her lunch onto the dirt floor. She takes several deep breaths, trying to regain her strength, before sitting up, sliding up to Pip, and cradling him in her arms, panting hard against the cave wall.
Pip whimpers as he licks her, but then barks triumphantly.
"Thanks, Pip," Sarah sighs tiredly. "You're a good dog..."
Pip can smell there's more of these things in the cave. They're probably coming here to check in on the scouts. But for now, he likes being called a good dog.
Sarah catches her breath for a second, gets up, and starts limping to get deeper into the cave. However, Pip walks over to one of the dead spiderlings, and tries gnawing off one of its bladelike arms.
"What are you doing, Pip?" Sarah asks cautiously, and notices what the dog's trying to do. She hobbles over, grabs the arm, and it takes her a few attempts to wrench the thing out of its wrecked socket, granting her a crude makeshift weapon. Maybe now she'll be able to help Pip more in a fight.
Pip barks triumphantly, and leads the way, the two going deeper into the caverns...
Sarah walks down the corridors of the cavern, staying close to the light Pip provides. While she spent some time exploring the cave, uncertain of where to go, she gradually feels a "pull" from something deep within, something calling to her. Maybe it's the sword? Kensu mentioned that perhaps she'd have better luck finding it.
For his part, Pip seems to have quickly gotten accustomed to his new companion. He seems to stay near her, panting at her cheerfully whenever she stops to investigate something. Or maybe he's just a good dog who likes people. Either way, Sarah likes her new companion back and pets him from time to time.
The time spent in the cave, however, makes her appreciate the sunlight outside even more. She's not sure how long has it been in here, and the place is getting rather claustrophobic, what with its tight corridors, lack of light, and strangely stuffy air. Even Pip is whining in concern; this is deeper than he's ever been before, and he keeps occasionally turning back to her as though to say 'are you sure?' It almost feels like it's hard to breathe in here. She pauses to take a breath, struggling against the suddenly heavier air. It's as though the air itself is resisting being drawn in. Suddenly, she feels the world beginning to swim around her, causing her to stumble and struggle to stay on her two feet. She hesitates, taking a couple of stumbling steps - and then her foot hita a soft spot in the ground that caused it to collapse and swallow her up. She screams as she falls into the abyss.
She looks up and tries to grasp the ledge, but it's too late, and she's already fallen in. She's falling down both at high speed and incredibly slowly, as though she'd been thrown down a hole but stuck in water or sand on the way down. Nothing around her but darkness and terrifying flickers. Then she feels herself hit something hard.
She wakes up to find herself back in the capsule, only now it's full of liquid. She tries to call out but all that comes out of her mouth are strangled gurgles. Beyond the glass, she can see people - no, not people; monsters. Misshapen caricatures of men with mismatched features and empty black pools for eyes, burbling some black tongue that sounds like it's coming from the depths of a bottomless lake. One of them reaches out and rubs against the glass with monstrously long, slender fingers, as though to torment her with her helplessness. She feels like she's going to suffocate, to drown. She bangs against the glass of the capsule, trying to scream through lungs full of vile fluid.
Oh please, open, please open, please open it won't open it won't open itwon'topenitwon'topenitwon'topenitwon'topenITWON'TOPENITWON'TOPENITWON'T-
Then she realizes something is in the capsule with her as it grabs her face from behind with a long, slimy tendril. She vainly struggles to knock it away-
Suddenly the horrid vision is gone, and above her is Pip, barking at her for some reason before he resumes licking her face. She stirs, weak and sick, feeling like she's about to throw up, while the air around her is thrumming and heavy with malicious intent, her vision hazy...
Pip isn't sure what happened with New Master. She started out well, giving pets and rubs which he appreciated, but after a while she started going in deeper into the cave than Old Master did, as though driven by something. Old Master never acted like she did either; first she was calm and focused, like she was hunting or something, but then she started to tremble, breathe hard, and smell funny. He could smell fear, it was instinctive to dogs. But this fear is different; the longer she stayed here, the more New Master seemed to be going crazy, reacting wildly and shiver before she eventually collapsed and started screaming. He tried to revive her, bring her to her senses by licking her face, but she slapped him away in her thrashing. If she didn't just smell full of fear, he'd have chalked it up to being moody, but he can smell something in the air, bad and sick, like it was making New Master sick just by her being in it. As it were, he just barks at her in mild reprimand before trying to revive her again.
Her eyes open, and he sees she can see him again. He'd be happy, but her shivers indicate she's still under the influence of the Bad Smell, even if she can't smell it. He can, but it's not affecting him for some reason. He'll have to be her eyes and ears for now.
And that's when he hears - and smells - something else. Something bad. He smelled traces of it in the village when Old Master took him back and found all the other people gone.
Out of the shadows come three things - bad, tall, gangly bug-things, with legs like spiders and long claws like a mantis. Pip realizes these spider-things were there at the village. They took Old Master's friends, the neighbors who'd say hello every morning, the little children who'd play with him every day, who'd feed him tasty scraps when they thought Old Master wasn't looking, the nice skinner who'd toss him some spare rawhide to chew whenever he came begging. These spider-things had the villagers' smell on them. They took the villagers.
Pip growled, his fur standing on edge as he turns to face the bug-things. The spider-things will not take New Master. Not if he had anything to say about it.
What Sarah sees is three long, spidery horrors crawling out from a wall and skitter towards her, their terrifying presence filling the world as the air is now positively groaning and shuddering, her vision blurred and her breath short and uneven. All she could do is scramble to sit upright, her mind feeling like it's trapped and drowning in water, her reactions slow and ponderous even as the monsters sped up to attack her.
And then she sees Pip, glowing alight, growling and barking bravely at the monsters, trying to scare them off. He manages to get them to back off briefly with his loud barking and snarling. But the spell is broken as the spiders smack him aside and reach for her. Pip hits a wall with a loud whimper and crumples to the floor.
With the annoying yapping thing dealt with, the leading spider-thing turns its attention to the newcomer. This new human isn't like the others in town; she looks and smells... different somehow. It's puzzled to see her still conscious, but finds her sufficiently weakened by the miasma to be taken. Its mandibles open, looking like a nightmarish maw full of teeth to the still-stricken Sarah, hissing in anticipation. She struggles to throw off its grasp, managing to smack its arm aside with surprising strength. The spider-thing hisses in surprise, then anger. This one is still strong, it realizes even through the miasma she's proving resilient. Best to weaken it some more before bringing her in. Or better yet, it realizes, it's been a while since they ate. It's always delightful to enjoy a fresh kill, it decides, as it calls up its brethren to finish this strange human off. They raise their claws into the air to strike...
Human: In his human form as 'Brother Völlerei', Whowie is 6'4" (1.93m) and weighs around 370 lbs (168kg). He is a fat man with dark green eyes and grey hair shaved in a tonsure, a jovial expression usually on his face with an odd twinkle in his eyes. He dresses in a friar's clothing, basically robes and sandals, and carries around a walking stick. He's always seen carrying something to eat with him. Monster: In his monstrous form, the Whowie is giant, six-legged lizard with the head of a toad. He is seven feet tall (2.1m) at the shoulder, and is 21' (seven meters) from snout to the base of his tail, with his mighty tail about the same length. He is estimated to weigh several tons
Personality: Whowie comes off as a jovial, friendly person in the form of Brother Völlerei, often with a wise proverb for every occasion. He does seem a bit lazy, preferring not to do too much work. He does enjoy small talk, and sometimes even gets involved in games for amusement. However, Whowie's true self is that of a gluttonous sociopath, having no empathy for those he regards as cattle, even when he engages in friendly small talk to passing acquaintances or foes alike. He prefers to get food quickly and easily, without too much effort, as he doesn't want to waste too much energy when he is hungry (and he is almost always hungry). He's also rather selfish and thinks mainly of himself and his appetite, seeking delicious morsels and bountiful food.
However, should he get really hungry, his hunger overcomes his reason and he becomes brash and short-tempered, losing all niceness and going for a quick win so he could eat his opponent as quickly as possible. He could be made to expend more energy or make more mistakes by starving him out, though trying to make it a game of endurance is risky given Whowie's considerable stamina. He remains lucid and talkative even in severe hunger, but is nastier about it and generally annoyed that his food is giving him such a hard time.
Class: Lieutenant (Lt.) of Draygon
History: Whowie was once a human, raised in an orphanage before going on to be a friar. However, he is neither a kind man, nor a good one; he was a greedy, jealous boy growing up, all his life he watched enviously as other people with better homes and better lifestyles feasted on food he could only dream of. Unable to get an apprenticeship, he settled for the vows of a friar, but then realizing what his vows had trapped him into. Frustrated, jealous, and bitter, he once went on a hunt to get some venison or meat during a meatless fast, and on his hunt he came across a man who promised him great power - and all he could eat. He could not say 'yes' fast enough - and was made a monster.
In revenge for his denial, he turned on the convent his order was in, and devoured his former companions. In his rampage, he discovered he quite liked the taste of human flesh, and went on to devour a village. However, he realized he could 'double-dip'; as a human, he wormed his way into the courts of the well-to-do, using his skills as a friar to bless and carry out rites in order to get plenty of free food, before shifting into his monster form at night and eating everyone. From then on, he has been a jovial servant of Draygon, leaving deserted villages in his wake.
Recently, Whowie's concerned his master's agenda wouldn't leave any humans for him to eat, so he's trying to set up a remote farm where humans would raise cattle for him to eat and offer sacrifices to appease his hunger. He's trying to build this project in secret, lest his master and the other lieutenants try to crush it and wipe out all humans for good. He uses his silvered tongue and priestly disguise to convince people to move there to protect them from monsters, all so he could rule them as a god and get his fill of food.
Abilities:
Human: In his human form, Whowie is a formidable opponent, deceptively strong and possessing great stamina. He also has several abilities to make him more dangerous.
Superior Strength and Toughness: Whowie is incredibly strong and tough even in his human form, capable of crushing a grown man to death with a hug. He can also take considerable punishment before going down.
Super-persistent Predator: His biggest threat is his stamina. While the Whowie is not a fast runner, he is incredibly persistent and enduring, allowing him to tail or hunt down prey and outlast them, following them until they're exhausted before picking them off at ease, or waiting till they're asleep to finish them off.
Silent Hunter: Whowie is incredibly light on his feet, and can choose not to make a noise as he approaches, allowing him to surprise enemies. He can move so silently he can sneak into towns and villages at night, eat everyone there, and leave only his tracks behind.
I Can Smell You! Whowie has a strong sense of smell matching a bloodhound, and can smell people from a ways off. He can use this ability to track them down.
Long, Sticky Tongue: Even in human form, Whowie's tongue is as long as he is. He can strength his tongue to a length of several feet, and grab or ensnare an opponent. He can use it to lift smaller targets with ease, and even pull strong men with it.
Big Eater: Whowie can unhinge his jaw like a snake, the grotesque feat allowing him to swallow a human whole. He can even 'store' someone in his gullet, usually as a blackmail tactic, but he repeatedly says that someone wriggling in there causes him to salivate and tempt him to just swallow the person and digest them.
Beast: As a beast, Whowie becomes a bigger and much more menacing opponent, especially against individuals or even small groups of people.
Big, Green, and Mean: In beast form, the Whowie is a massive foe, and has the strength to match his massive size. He can crush people under his weight or smack them around with any of his six great paws.
Big Whompin'Tail: His tail is big and muscular, capable of swatting aside teams of soldiers with ease, and smashing through stone walls.
Big, Long Tongue: Whowie's tongue is longer than the rest of him, and can reach about a couple dozen feet when stretched. It can grab or stick to anything and pull them to Whowie, or crush them in its grasp. He prefers to use it to grab prey, though, so just uses it to grab people and pull them to him.
Slow But Steady: While he's faster in his Beast form than his human form, he can still be outrun by healthy humans (even young children), but his biggest strength lies in his boundless stamina and fiendish persistence, following prey for days or even weeks.
Enhanced Senses: Whowie's senses are much stronger in beast form, licking the air with his tongue to pick up any scents, and using his bigger eyes to see targets even at a distance. He can spot the scents of individual people even in a crowd this way, and can see quite well in the dark.
I'm a Humanitarian! Whowie's appetite is much bigger in beast form, and his much bigger mouth allows him to swallow several people at once, or even bigger prey like cows and horses whole. He swallows them and digests them in his massive stomach. He can eat whole villages at a time, people and cattle alike, though that would take him a week to digest and he'd need to sleep it off, remaining in his humungous beast form all the time. Once he's done digesting, he can return to human form to move about freely.
Equipment: Whowie carries around only a few items in a bindle and backpack, generally maps, spare food (plenty of it!), and a few tools for the road, such as a flint and steel for fire and a butcher's knife for cutting food and meat. He also carries around a holy book and rosary to keep up his charade of being a holy man, as well as a small purse for coins and other valuables.
RP Notes: Whowie's main aspect is being somewhat friendly and talkative even to enemies, but retaining an arrogance and sense of superiority; I mean, since when did you treat your sandwich as an equal? He's meant to be a slow horror threat; moving at plodding speeds, but with enough patience and persistence that he could outlast his prey and slowly run them down. When fighting, he's meant to be a tank; slow but steady, and crazy strong, both in human and beast form, with a long tongue and tail that gives him a bit of reach.
Human: As a human, Jaakiv is a tall, blond, muscular man of the wilderness, standing at 6'2" (1.88m) and built rather muscularly, weighing at a healthy 210 lbs (15 stone/95 kg), looking much like what one would call an ancient Viking. He has piercing blue eyes, usually has a strong, focused expression on his face, and long, unkempt hair and beard. His body sports elaborate tattoos all over his body. Monster: In Beast form, Grendel is a fearsome giant werewolf covered in white fur, standing nine feet tall at full height and weighing about a half-ton. He is incredibly beefy and tough, and has a terrifying presence, capable of striking fear with his massive size, feral form, and icy cold eyes.
Class: Lieutenant (Lt.) of Draygon
Personality: Grendel is gruff, moody, and sullen, having no patience to deal with humans and preferring to work with beasts of the wilderness. He is a man of few words, and dislikes conversations. Nonetheless, he tends to be rather snarky, commenting snidely on events and conversations. He deals with merchants and such people only when he needs something, and tends to be less than diplomatic in bartering and dealing. This attitude extends even to other Lieutenants of Draygon, as he dislikes the whole lot of them and finds them unlikeable monsters. He remains polite and loyal to Draygon because of the hold his master has over him. He is also a determined foe and a focused hunter, single-mindedly following a hunt to its conclusion.
However, despite his gruff attitude, he is an honorable man, rarely making oaths and vows but following them faithfully when he does. His word is his bond, and he never acts in bad faith. Should someone save him, he will make a point of sparing their life once, or giving them a large head start if they ever meet again. He also has a soft spot for young girls, since they stir whatever embers of humanity still lurk in his despairing heart by reminding him of his kind, beautiful daughter.
Grendel is also full of self-loathing and despair; he had a wonderful family life, but it was all torn away from him, mostly by his own hands, leaving him as nothing but a monster serving an even greater monster. His contempt for the other Lieutenants extends also to himself, as he considers himself nothing but a monster, an assassin working for a vile being, too cowardly to take his own life and end his misery. This sometimes leads to drunken binges in human form, resulting in entire kegs of particularly strong liquor being consumed to drown his sorrows. From time to time, he will try to atone for his actions by helping random travelers survive the wilderness by clandestinely dropping off food and supplies, trying to keep it secret from his master. However, he knows he has gone too far in the service of evil, and accepts his damnation bitterly.
History: The man known as Jaakiv Wilhelmsen was a skilled hunter living in a remote village with his wife and daughter. While the villagers treated him with suspicion for his hermetic lifestyle, his beautiful wife Hilde and lovely daughter Gretchen remained his anchor to society, and a calming effect to his temper. He hunted wild beasts for food and furs, and collected herbs to sell to the villagers, and was a skilled trapper and wilderness expert.
One day, his daughter caught severely ill, and the only medication was a rare herb in the mountains. A fierce blizzard was blowing, and the nearest apothecary was miles away, so Jaakiv set out to save his daughter. Despite his skill in surviving and his determination to return with his daughter's salvation, he was soon overcome by the blizzard. Finding himself about to perish, and knowing his daughter would follow soon without the proper medicine, he called out to the gods, anyone who could help him, pleading for help so he can save his daughter. Just when all hope was lost, a strange man found him, and offered him the strength to survive the storm so he can return home and save his daughter. Desperate, Jaakiv accepted the deal, and found himself imbued with inhuman strength and durability, allowing him to complete his quest and return home with the much-needed herb. His daughter's recovery was quick, and Jaakiv was overjoyed.
However, not long afterwards, Jaakiv became more distant, more brooding and temperamental as a result of his new powers. He was harder to reach, and his wife often had problems calming him down. His neighbors accused him of harming their cattle, either directly or by setting up traps. He vehemently denied it, but his short temper made his denials hard to believe. Indeed, Jaakiv was surprised by these accusations; he would never hurt his neighbors or their property, and made sure to hunt in wilderness. He was sure these were all fabrications or bigotry at work, all of which made him even more foul-tempered towards his neighbors. Even his daughter was afraid of what was happening to him.
One night, his neighbors came forwards with proof of his misdeeds, all the while Jaakiv insisted he was innocent. The arguments got out of hand, finger-pointing turned to shoving, and the villagers' anger got out of hand, and they assault Jaakiv. While he was a skilled fighter, he was unarmed and initially tried to avoid hurting others, but soon they had dogpiled him and were beating him with sticks, knocking Hilde to the ground when she begged them to leave him alone. In that moment, he lost control, gave in to his beast side, and let loose.
It was a village of a few dozen people against a rampaging monster; none of them had a chance. He tore through his tormentors, tearing flesh, shattering bone, and smashing in doors, walls, and windows with contemptuous ease. Only when the village was silent did he stop. And in that moment, he realized the depths of his deeds.
Not only had he slew his neighbors, but their families as well. His own wife was the first to fall, trying to hold him back as she desperately pleaded with him to return to his senses, only to be cut down by a stray swipe of his claws in his berserk rage. He had torn down the small wooden houses the villagers lived in, burying any survivors under stone and wood. Only his daughter Gretchen still lived, her life hanging by a thread after her father dropped a wall on top of her in a blind rage. Unable to help her, he howled his sorrow, grief and folly to the skies, wailing at his folly and the harm his hands have wrought.
And that's when the mysterious man reappeared to Jaakiv. He could not bring back his wife, or the villagers, for it was too late for that. However, he can save his daughter, help Gretchen recover, give her the chance of a life. All Jaakiv had to do was serve him obediently. Jaakiv, knowing he had damned himself with his own hands, accepted.
Now he serves Draygon as the fearsome Grendel, a hunter and assassin, seeking out targets and slaying them to appease his cruel master. He rarely lives among humans anymore, preferring a solitary life in the wilderness, only coming to civilization if he needs something he can't make on his own, posing as a strange hunter traversing the wilds. Sometimes, a lost traveler can expect to find food and drink when they wake up, a seeming gift from the heavens. But for the most part, Grendel is known as a monster hunting the wilds, ambushing convoys and travelers at his master's command.
Abilities: Grendel is a skilled hunter in both human and beast forms, and is a highly skilled warrior and assassin.
Human While Grendel is a self-taught man with little formal education, he can read decently enough, while his writing is a rough scrawl. His main skills, however, are in hunting, survival, and fighting.
Strong Warrior: Grendel is a fierce and accomplished warrior, capable of fighting with weapons or barehanded, killing beasts many times his size in human form and equally skilled against human foes. He is also very strong, even for a healthy grown man and skilled hunter, and can best most men in a wrestling match easily.
Silent Hunter: Similarly, he is incredibly skilled in stealth and hunting in the wilderness, ambushing prey before they even know he's there. He can also set up cunning traps to capture, wound or kill humans or beasts, and skills at 'steering' a hunting target into an ambush or trap.
Sharp senses: Grendel has sharper senses than the average human, and an especially strong sense of smell he can use to track people's scents.
Persistent Predator: Grendel possess great stamina and determination, and can follow his target for weeks on end, relying on his skill at foraging to obtain food and tools before quickly resuming the hunt, never giving his prey a moment's rest.
Master of Beasts I: Grendel has a power to control vicious beasts and communicate with them, but it is rather limited in his human form. He can communicate with ravens and use them as his scouts to track his foes, and has limited control over small rats.
Beast: In Beast form, Grendel becomes a terrifying, werewolf-like creature with incredible strength, stamina, and skill, with strongly enhanced senses that allow him to track prey relentlessly.
Beastly Strength: Grendel is much stronger in Beast form, and can tear a man limb from limb just using pure strength. He's also a very agile fighter, deceptively fast for his size, and incredibly tough to boot, making him a much more dangerous foe to fight. To top it off, he retains his fighting skill and experience even in beast form, adding to it his prodigious strength.
Teeth and Claws: Grendel long sharp teeth and claws, capable of tearing through flesh with ease and ripping apart targets. These claws make it harder to use tools and weapons, but he can still make a decent trap or two in beast form.
Superior Senses: Grendel's senses are boosted to insane degrees, allowing him to be a very skilled hunter and tracker. Try as they might, his foes cannot cover their tracks for long, and he will find them.
Silent Hunter: Grendel continues to be a dangerously skilled assassin, and while he is a powerful fighter he is also incredibly quiet when he goes on a hunt, allowing him to take his prey by surprise. He also possess incredible stamina, and will tail his prey for weeks on end.
Master of Beasts II: In his Beast form, Grendel has greater power over the beasts. Not only does he have complete control over crows, allowing him to use them as swarm attackers in reckless attacks, but he can summon hordes of rats of all sizes or even packs of wolves and/or dire wolves as companions. This allows him to set up ambushes and cover a wider area when on a hunt.
Equipment: While he is an accomplished warrior and hunter in beast form, Grendel is an experienced hunter, and prefers to come prepared. As such, he has a considerable equipment list with him at all times:
Heavy Axe (for combat)
Throwing Axes/daggers
Hunting Knife (footlong)
Rope and stakes for traps
Composite bow and quiver of arrows, made by himself.
Herbology kit for poisons and medicines
Necklace of teeth from wild animals he's hunted
A locket with a sketch of his wife and daughter in it
RP Notes: Jaakiv is meant to be a tragic villain, one forced by circumstances to serve a cruel taskmaster. His only concern is to serve Draygon so that Draygon can heal Gretchen. He has lost so much, he cannot lose his daughter and the only good thing remaining in his life. He tries to do small acts of good to atone, but knows that given his master, he is surely damned, and grudgingly serves as a hunter and assassin. Two things he seeks above all else; saving his daughter, and redemption. Given the proper motivation, he might even join the heroes, but they have to convince him they can save his daughter.
Grendel refers to himself as Grendel, a recognition of the monster he's become. However, assuming you meet him in his human form and manage to win him over, he'll give his name as Jaakiv, as though out of a desperate attempt to remind himself of the better person he once was.
Oddly enough, Grendel is based on a heroic PC of mine from another forum, Sgt. Jake Wilson, a WW2 US Army Ranger with survival skills and a nasty side that comes out in desperation. He wasn't a werewolf, but fought them instead.
BEOWULF
Verse III: Grendel the Murderer
When the sun was sunken, he set out to visit The lofty hall-building, how the Ring-Danes had used it For beds and benches when the banquet was over. Then he found there reposing many a noble Asleep after supper; sorrow the heroes, Misery knew not. The monster of evil Greedy and cruel tarried but little, Fell and frantic, and forced from their slumbers Thirty of thanemen; thence he departed Leaping and laughing, his lair to return to, With surfeit of slaughter sallying homeward.
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