Topic: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure (Ended) (Read 170859 times)

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #600 on:** April 29, 2017, 08:04:41 am »

We need to split up. We can't afford a full-on fight with this number of guards. You say. Danica quickly follows up and begins a long talk. She's been thinking about this, that's clear.
Good plan. Heavy armor over there can go, she clangs like a damned kitchen. Based on how you people were doing, it's not too hard to see who's good at stealth. The kobolt's perfect, padded feet and careful gait. Same with the Ratling... Alibert's not that great, and you, Sydney... I'll be honest, you're the worst by far. You tick against the stones, and you take up a LOT of space. No offence, but you're just not built for stealth when it comes to cramped stone places like this.
Hm. Well, I'm still coming along. I can see people through walls, after all. Not to mention I can crawl on the walls.
Danica looks at you with some clear doubts. Eventually, she seems to give up on her internal debate. Fine. You're the boss here, I guess. But if it goes tits-up, I'm not going to help.
You need somebody to actually KILL my double, you know. And you're not the most lethal person here, and neither is Eveline.
Danica looks insulted, but doesn't react outright. She chews her tongue for a bit, clearly stopping herself from lashing out at you. She doesn't want to start an argument now, apparently.
...Fine. She hisses through her teeth.
Ra'at will not be left. Must take care of clan, make sure promises are kept.
You can sit on my back. We'll be leaving my father, Yunikki and Eveline here. Eveline, I want you o make some potions you figure we might need.
I don't want to put you in any unneeded danger.
Eveline chuckles a little. A little late for that, I think. Anyway, I'll make you some fire-bottles. I can give you two. I'd give you transfusion potions, but if you misuse those you're likely to explode. I can't give that with you in good conscience. Not that I don't trust you, I just don't think your medical knowledge is up to snuff.
That's fine. I suppose we should get ready.
One more thing. I can't let you bring the hounds. They stick out like a sore thumb, and these things can probably smell them. We're used to them, but I guarantee you these things were pretty rank before you even resurrected them. They have to stay.
Including the rats?
...I figure they can stay. Fine. Whatever. Just get ready, I guess.

Eveline's fire-bottles were quickly made. Although "bottles" is a bit of a generous word for them. They look more like pouches filled to the brim with what feels like wet sand. It'd be a great stress-ball if it wasn't a high-explosive. You also leave all the supplies with the people that stay behind, to make sure you don't make much more noise. You still keep the bags around, though. If there's any place to find loot, an old temple should be it. Then, the stealth mission begins. After making several careful checks, Danica tells you to follow. You do your best to reduce the amount of noise, and mostly succeed. You still make distinct scratchy noises when your legs strike a stone, but it's not too loud, at least. Danica most likely fears the distinctiveness of your footsteps more than the noise. Ra'at moves without a sound, clearly used to sneaking around in the sewers. The first snag comes with a group of guards coming closer. The many, many door to the sides allow you to dodge most of them. These places have a massive amount of closets, from the look of things. Sometimes, you find the ruins of a bed, but having such a small block for sleeping is ridiculous. Then again, if this IS a dwarf fortress, these might be actual sleeping quarters. Still, it doesn't make sense for a dwarf fortress ruin to be under a city. Perhaps these were prayer cottages?
Your mind is still racing about why there are so many small spaces to the side when Danica gestures for you to follow again. The guards seemed to be hybridized homeless people, so it's not JUST ratlings she has around here... The hybrids look even more haggard than the ratlings, one of them was dragging itself along with just it's spidery legs from their back.

Eventually, you come upon something that can't just be ducked away from. Guards at a DOOR. Ratlings with spears look to be guarding the place. They don't look to healthy, one of them is drooling on the floor at a consistent rate, and the other looks as if he's trying to drill a hole in the ceiling with his mind. So it's not a matter on if you could take them down or not, but more the fact that you can't harm them.
...Right. If my hunch is right, your double's in that direction. We need to get past those guards. Any ideas?

You need a way to get past these ratling guards. Ra'at will not accept their death, so unless you choose to betray her, you need to find a way to do it nonlethally. The current lay-out of your conundrum is below

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Ratlings |
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| YOU |
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Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Apologies for the short and late update. I couldn't quite figure out how I was going to do the next bit for a while.
I will update again today, provided there is a command.

RAM · « **Reply #601 on:** April 29, 2017, 06:22:35 pm »

Well, we could impersonate our double... Really wish the mage tower had told us more about mind-control... Impersonation is just all sorts of risky but having the mind-mage be so closely related to us is probably not something that mind-magic typically has to deal with...

*Note to self, Ra'at probably plans to take control of the entire ratling population here, not just her own brood, and will likely become an instant megalomaniac...

Converting an undead rat into a ratling is too much for our alteration spell, and this is not a good time for experimentation, and it would still be undead and thus extremely suspicious.

We could send a rat down the corridor to lure them passed us, though they may not care, or decide that it is suspicious for some reason. On the other hand they might run after it and eat it before they notice how ripe it is and we could slip past with little issue, they are probably hungry enough. Or they could just get to us then we ambush them, try to tie them to the roof in a darker passage or see if Ra'at can indoctrinate them into her brood instead of our double's... Breaking a spell is probably easier than making one, so we might be able to mess up the mind-control magically...

They look a little hardier than Eveline, but in much worse condition, but we could try to hold back, but they are still small, poison is probably out as a method of disabling.

The guards can probably recognise a shaman from a mile away, and Yendys probably didn't capture many shamans, so sending Ra'at out would probably give the game away.

Danica can probably act, and may be able to pass for an underling, IF she had spider-legs growing out of her back... We are too big to hide behind her in that pose. Spontanous moulting of nice spider-legs carapace seems unlikely, and noisy, and messy, and would probably mess us up somehow, and ripping off our legs to strap to someone's back for a disguise that may not work when we are about to enter battle is a bad thing...

I am inclined to spin out some gags and bindings and then send a rat into the corridor, away from the guards, and have it scratch at the walls. If they come over to see what its deal is, then we ambush them with restraints and see if Ra'at can commandeer them, then try to hide them. If they don't care, then we pull the rat back, hide it, put on our best "Imma eat you little chocolates" face and walk right up to them, companions in tow, and look insulted if they don't open for us and fail to be all worshippy. But we should probably ask for opinions, someone else may know more about mind control or ratling ambushing/confinement than we do...

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #602 on:** April 30, 2017, 04:31:09 pm »

You chew your tongue as you try to think of a way to get past this little problem. Danica and Ra'at seem to be thinking themselves, but you can tell they're waiting for you to think of something. Being a leader is a hefty burden... Eventually, you come up with two ideas, with varying degrees of halfbaked-ness. The first one makes sense, mostly. Spinning up some way to stop them from moving isn't much harder than just getting some rope together. And you have a lot of rope available! You rapidly make enough of a length to incapacitate them, and then start your master plan. You send your mice forward, and have it make all manner of noise. The guards... don't audibly react. You hear the rats continue for a while, but eventually you have to realize that it's just not working. Who would have thought mice aren't really worthy of attention in a sewer? Even if this sewer has some mysterious fortress in the middle of it, vermin is still fairly common. Regardless, you can probably find an alternative way to make noise. Danica is the first one to come up with an alternative. She removes one of her many small knives from her vest, and throws it down the hallway at a speed you didn't expect possible from her. The small blade tinks off the wall, and even makes a small spark before falling down and making more clattering noises. That DOES seem to grab their attention, and you hear the slow shuffling footsteps of two very malnourished ratlings coming closer. You and Danica get read to grab them, both of you holding a strand of webbing. When they come into view, it all happens VERY quickly. You take the one farther away, and Danica grabs the other one. They only barely make a grunt before they are overpowered and bound. Their ratty muzzles make it easy to stop them from making any further noise, and you can just bind a rope over that, which is fortunate. You don't have any socks to place in the mouth.

They were exceedingly easy to take care of, ultimately. Apparently, warrior needs food badly. If it wasn't for the fact that you have the watchful eye of a shaman looming over you, they wouldn't even count as a threat! Still, you're happy to diminish the amount of life lost. After you put them in one of the many, many ~~communist bloks~~ mysterious closets, you move through the guarded door. You enter a massive chamber, with a very high ceiling. An ancient dining hall, based on the tables and old barrels filled with cobwebs and liberal applications of dust. The room appears to be MOSTLY empty, but there are a lot of bloodstains spread around. Like some sort of big fight took place? The blood is still somewhat fresh. It's still red, is what you mean. Danica complains about the smell, which you assume must be pretty terrible. You can't smell anything, of course, other than Danica and Ra'at's soul. Which, co-incidentally, also means there is nothing here. On a hunch, Danica goes to the left for a bit, and takes a look behind a counter. After a few seconds, you hear an "aha", followed by the twinkling of lockpicks. She mutters for a bit, and then manages to open whatever it is she just found. By then, you have reached the counter and look over, leaning on the old, tough wood. When Danica looks up, she's a little startled at your presence, but quickly regains her composure.
We got loot! Look at these gems! We got rubies and emeralds!
Wow! I don't know the value of this!
Shiny... You can see the sparkle in Ra'at's eyes as she stares at it. Ratlings really like shiny things...

Well, that was a nice little gain on the loot department! Perhaps, as you come closer to the center of the dungeon, the amount of loot will go up? Makes sense, probably. At any rate, things should move along quite nicely. You get the feeling that following the blood would lead you to your target. But before you can continue, you smell something... unnatural. You actually recoil from the stench, and then it hits you that this is some kind of soul coming closer! It's from the far end of the hall, and you don't have much time left! You tell it to your companions, and they quickly hide behind the counter, considering there isn't enough time to properly run, most likely! You can't focus enough to see how much time you have, so you need to find some way of escape!

You're too large to be completely hidden by the counter, but it might just barely work. You could try fleeing back into the hallway you came from, but there is no guarantee that you'll make it in time. Or, of course, you could stand ready and attack the intruder as soon as he steps through the door.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

EDIT: removed the hounds, they are not present.
I felt like i needed to pay more attention to your undead minions, because I felt like they were more of an inventory item, and I'd make mistakes.
The irony here is so thick it's insulating my house.

RAM · « **Reply #603 on:** April 30, 2017, 08:17:25 pm »

I thought we left the hounds behind, are those the rats behind the counter?

The counter is near a wall, right? Can we go vertical? It might be noisy to move quickly and we would want to be right up there and it might be difficult to get back, and we would be in the open if anyone thinks to look up, unless there are chandeliers or balconies or something...

Are any of the nearby tables flipped over in such a way that we could hide behind them?

Failing that I would try to get as far away from the counter as possible. We can either lure them away and hope the others can finish without us or confront with the others till, hopefully, able to ambush... I hope that the undead will cooperate with the others, and hope the others are not treasonously-inclined.

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #604 on:** May 01, 2017, 04:12:40 pm »

You place yourself on the wall, and start climbing. You've never climbed so fast in your life, mainly because you never had to do so before. Fortunately, it comes quite naturally for you. You reach the ceiling just as the door creaks open. A massively lanky figure in a robe has to duck under the doorpost to go through properly. He is talking to somebody already, and his voice just seems to radiate "wrong". It feels more like a monster making scratching and roaring noises that happen to sound the same like human language. If a voice was an instrument, the robed figure's voice would be tuned wrong. You are not spotted while you are on the ceiling, and you move above them to keep it that way. As long as they don't look straight up, he won't see you. The conversational partner also enters the room, and it makes your blood run cold.
So if I keep eating these things, it will solve my problem? Your dobbleganger says. She is wearing bloodstained, expensive-looking clothing and a massive amount of jewelry. She jingles as she moves from the sheer amount rings she has around her arms. You even see a few piercings shining in her flesh. Her spider parts are positively covered in all manner of precious metals, in a haphazard manner. Gold, bronze and silver looks to be indiscriminately placed on her. You can guarantee that isn't a good look for you.
Close. You must serve our benefactor as well. The tall, thin figure says. The voice makes you uncomfortable to the extreme. He seems to walk a bit weird, as well. It looks more like a hobble, as if two legs are a mystery to him.
And how will I do that? I'm grateful for all these donations, but I don't know how to please your god.
Benefactor. She is a benefactor. He seems to place more intensity on that. It's hard to tell with this voice.
Oh, fine... I don't know how to please your "benefactor". She makes quotes with her hands as she does so, making an exaggerated movement as she does so. Looks like she inherited some sass. The figure doesn't seem to care about that, however.
Your new assets will pray to her, and as you serve her interests she will fulfill you.
Alright. But first, i need to finish my main meal. How will we get to my "sister"? I never leave my meals unfinished.
In due time. She will come here of her own accord. She should still be wandering through the sewers. Without a guide, the place is an almost impenetrable maze.

You almost have to stop yourself from chuckling. You allow yourself to have a large grin, at least. Looks like they didn't account for the help from a Ratling shaman. They won't expect you in the slightest. Of course, the question still stands... Who is this robed figure? Everything about him feels wrong. His voice, his gait, what he talks about... Even his cloak seems to give off an aura of creepiness. You're too high up to get a proper look.
As they talk, they move through the room, fortunately away from the counter. You would be in trouble if they came close, they can easily look over it.
Until they arrive, you must increase your strength. I have brought a few supplies, one of them a wizard. I suspect he will grant you some greater control than the others did.
Excellent! And their valuables?
A circlet, and an emerald ring.
Your double doesn't say anything to that, but she certainly looks happy about it. She even shakes her hands like an excited child trying to hold it in. She seems to have a liking for jewelry and the like. Or perhaps "fetish" would be the better word for it. It's honestly so gaudy you found a new reason to kill her.
If only that remained the only extra reason.

The robed figure raises his arms, and two new people enter the room. They look dazed. Their clothes are torn, and they're barely walking straight. Your double is stretching her arms a little, as if preparing for something. Looking at all the blood in the room, you have a very bad feeling about this. They are at the other end of the room, compared to the counter, but you're dangling five meters above them. The robed figure takes some distance, and your double has pulled out a small knife with a tiny hooked end. You're getting close to outright panicking! After Anatoli and everything else, this is making your heart beat up a storm. There is a drone in your ears as she steps closer and closer to the two dazed people. You need to do something. Right? You can't just LET somebody die!

Shout and attack!
You HAVE to save these people. Consequences be damned, you need to try something

Drop down and distract them!
Just drop down and distract them. During the confusion, Ra'at and Danica can save these people. You probably want some kind of plan, however.

Drop the bomb.
Eveline has given you fire-bottles... There's not telling how large the radius is, however, and it's VERY likely the victims will be caught in the blast. Perhaps it's a chance worth taking.

Let it happen.
There's nothing you can do. You should just let it happen. This is going to be VERY stressful to you, of course. Will you even be able to hold on?

Other?

You're too large to be completely hidden by the counter, but it might just barely work. You could try fleeing back into the hallway you came from, but there is no guarantee that you'll make it in time. Or, of course, you could stand ready and attack the intruder as soon as he steps through the door.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Just as a small warning in the future: This story may go on hiatus for a little while after the dungeon is complete so I can properly prepare for what comes next. I've been working too much with a vague, general idea of everything and the quality is suffering dramatically. So i'll write up the unimportant NPC's, potential loot, and make a proper map for the next hub you visit. I have a lot of backstory, but very little active story. I hope to improve this soon.

crazyabe · « **Reply #605 on:** May 01, 2017, 04:44:58 pm »

Sneak attack our Double! Hack off her head and Make her Dead

RAM · « **Reply #606 on:** May 01, 2017, 05:24:04 pm »

I like firebombs, we could aim at the villains' backs and hopefully their bodies would shield the prisoners. I am more worried about this new figure than yendyS(Sydney's double) as they sort of remind me of Vvulf...

That is a long way to fall, we should at least try to slow ourselves with a silk-line. We know it doesn't work but it is a natural motion for spiders so shouldn't take noticeable time and it is better than nothing, maybe...

I am kind of torn between bisecting the thing with a sword (at an angle of course, you never know when it is two abominations side-by-side under a robe...) and hoping our legs can take the slightly-broken fall or dropping shield-first on their head and trying to deflect ourselves sideways while crushing whatever they see with. Ra'at and Danic should have little trouble with Yendys while she is distracted, and our appearance should be distracting... Along with any helpful tips about her condition that we might want to share...

I have a terrible feeling that might know these people, we spend most of our time with wizards and lots of them wear masks... And Meandra was probably in no state to defend herself...

On the other hand, Yendys WILL chase us if she sees us, we know she doesn't have a full set of smarts to work with, especially when it comes to her diet. We could just run away, didn't work great the last time we fought her but... Also remember that our rats can explode.

It'd also be nice to see what everyone's souls look like.

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #607 on:** May 02, 2017, 04:37:13 pm »

Time seems to have stopped for just a few seconds, and you make your choice. You open the bag Eveline gave you, and pull out the balls filled with fire-stuff. You inhale sharply before throwing both down at your adversaries, aimed to hopefully minimize the blast against the victims. The orbs fall down in an agonizingly slow way, as you make your move to get down as fast as possible. You hear the explosion, and soon FEEL it right after. The heat is horrible, even at the height you're at. The two figures below seem to agree, and a horrible screaming fills the room as your double catches fire. Her new clothing is exceptionally flammable, and soon she is running around in agony. The cloaked figure seems less hurt by the flames, not even flinching over his cloak being on fire. You drop down the last three meters, and land somewhat roughly but alright. Your legs shake from the force, and you do your best to try and slash the figure in the cloak. Just as you swing your sword, the figure turns around far faster than you expected and looks at you with red, piercing eyes. The shadows from his cloak are too thick to allow you to even see him, but the stare makes you slow down just a bit. Then, the figure raises his arms, and a cold blast explodes from him. Your sword is nearly blown out of your hands, and all the remaining heat disappears. The flames die out in an instant, leaving the figure under the cloak with nothing more than a damaged cloak. The other drider still screaming, a horrid, pained screech that turns into a roar as she turns to you. She rushes towards you as you miss your second sword strike at the figure. He is floating backwards with a billowing cloak.

The drider throws a table aside to get to you. She's unarmed, but you only barely manage to stop her charge with her shield. She flails her arms, and manages to claw your upper arms with her carapaced fingers. You scream in pain, and bash her away with your shield. This only barely stops her, and she grabs for your shield arm in a fury. She's just making animalistic growls and roars and she tries to get a hold on you. You can barely swing your sword properly, but eventually you manage to get enough of a swing going to cut her side. She flinches, but it doesn't stop her onslaught. She barely dodges a stab, and then punches you in the stomach. You buckle forward a bit, and she takes a bite from your back. Now you're screaming in pain, but you just barely have enough sense to stab with your sword. You manage to get her straight on, piercing her belly! She releases her teeth from your back, and you finally get some breathing room. She didn't tear away, so the wound isn't that bad... She, on the other hand, has a lethal wound now! Just a little longer, and she'll bleed out. You even allow yourself a grin at your foregone victory. IT doesn't last, of course. because why would anything nice ever happen!? The cloaked figure fires a beam from the middle of the room, into the back of your doppleganger. Her wound stops bleeding, and you feel a headache coming on. Where the hell are Danica and Ra'at!?
Your answer to that question comes when you see a collection of sharp objects embedded into the cloaked figure. You even hear Ra'at shout a battle-cry, but you have no time to pay attention to the fight. Your double starts hissing at you, hatred clear in her voice.
HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. COME TO ME, MAKE ME WHOLE, MAKE ME COMPLETE YOU PUTRID BI-

Your fist punctuates that sentence. You regret it instantly as she bites your arm, but the small amount of carapace you have there blocks the worst of it. She manages to tear it up a little bit, but it doesn't hurt. You hear an un-earthly shouting from the robed figure as you aim another sword strike at the drider in front of you. You slash her arm this time, but her many armbands block the blow. The precious metal bends and chips from your strike, but her flesh is unharmed. Because she has the advantage in close quarters, you do everything in your power to stay away from her. You throw a stool at her, bash her away when she rushes you... Ultimately, you are at a stalemate. You can't quite get in a proper strike with how fast and furious she is, and the successful hits don't even faze her! You can keep her away, though, just a little longer and...
Enough. Use your resources! I am done with this vermin. The cloaked figure says, nearly shaking the room. Your doppelganger turns to him, even through her rage she still seems to listen to that thing. Speaking of said thing, it looks like a veritable pin-cushion at this point. The cloak is nearly torn to ribbons, and you can see parts of his body. It looks humanoid, but everything looks segmented and brown. It's as if he's made from beetle husks. Danica looks quite panicked, and Ra'at is covered in wounds and blood. It's a mystery how she's still even standing! Then, a thunderclap happens, and the cloak billows down. The owner having disappeared in the flash. You are blinded, but you hear the scream of a young woman turn to gurgling.
You are too late.

You give a yell of your own, and charge in the direction of the noise. When you find carapaced flesh, you swing your sword in a fury! As you sight returns, you see that she is tearing into you as well, and her teeth are into your shield arm. You can't even feel the pain at this point, and you keep hacking into her flesh! Suddenly, however, shudders, twitches, and goes limp. She falls to the ground, and reveals an ugly blade embedded where her skull and neck meet. Ra'at, looking absolutely ragged, is standing on top of her. She faints just after that. She's covered in wounds, top to bottom...
She won't last long like this. Looking around you, you also see the remaining dazed victim still standing there. You see tears in his eyes, but he's still staring ahead, unmoving. The woman next to him has a massive bite taken out of her throat. Your blood runs cold at the sight, but then you see something very important. She's still twitching. She's still alive! Of course, how "alive" one can be called is questionable when the throat is torn open and there's blood everywhere. You're not feeling too hot yourself, you're covered in blood.

Run back to the group with Ra'at and the woman!
You need to get both of them medical attention. The guards may still be a problem, but you'll just handle that when you get to it. You can carry the woman, while Danica can handle Ra'at.

Carry just Ra'at back.
It's a tough choice, but it's unlikely that you'll be able to save the woman with a torn throat...

Send Danica to get the rest.
It's a risk to send her out alone, but you can try to keep Ra'at and the woman alive in the meantime. Key-word being TRY.

Go after the group yourself
Danica will have to try and keep them alive while you go get the others.

Other.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

RAM · « **Reply #608 on:** May 02, 2017, 05:18:54 pm »

I... don't think the woman will last to the others, and Ra'at is probably worse, though less urgent due o the spread-out nature of the wounds.

I am tempted to try to combine Animate Piece with Stich and try to seal the worst of it all with hairs or something. But, ultimately, we have done a lot to help the girl already, and Ra'at is almost part of our group, and has helped us greatly, and, for that matter, may end up being important to getting the ratlings to not murder everyone here and then run off to die meaninglessly, so once we have done what we can for emergency care, we can put her on our shield for stability, if that makes any sort of sense, and then get her to Eveline. But anything that is spewing out blood should probably be treated now...

I rather suspect that I never got around to voiding the idea of keeping a needle and thread in our hair...

I wonder if we can use Animate Piece on our silk...

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #609 on:** May 03, 2017, 03:59:31 pm »

Damn it, damn it, damn it! You can't do anything for this woman... Even IF it was possible to stitch her wound, you don't have any mana to stop the bleeding! Looks like you just have to accept that you can't save her... You bury your head in your hands, and blink away some tears. Danica is the first one to knock you out of it.
Hey, come on! We need to get the rat to safety! You can carry her, right? I'll take care of the kid here.
She slaps the other guy that came in here. He comes to his senses instantly, and looks around in pure terror. Danica has enough sense to stop him from screaming, at least. She continues trying to calm him as you do you best to help out Ra'at. Her wounds are varied, to say the least. Icy spikes, burn wounds, lacerations... Whatever this lanky guy was, he must have a lot of things to his disposal. You tie your handkerchief around a wound on her arm, but you've got nothing else to work with. You're just going to have to hope you get back on time. You put her on your back, making sure that she won't get jostled too much. Danica has managed to calm the boy down enough to follow the two of you, although she holds him by the hand to make sure he doesn't run off. You take one last look at the woman bleeding out on the floor. If nothing else, she isn't aware that she's dying. Shock is one of the few bits of kindness nature grants everyone. You briefly consider finishing her, but you already know you don't have the guts for it. You spit on your double's corpse before running out the door you came in from. No guards seem to have come towards the commotion, which you find downright odd. Then again, there weren't that many guards around this place to begin with. The door guards must have been deemed enough.

It's not that easy the whole way, of course. You find two hybrids on the way there, stalking through the hallways. You don't have any time to deal with this, so instead of waiting for them to go somewhere more advantageous, you sneak up to them and stab the first one in the back. Pulling out the blade, you perform a vertical slash to the other one before he can properly react. He falls to the ground, and you finish him off with a stab. Or ten. Danica stops you from making more holes and noise, and the both of you continue to where you left the group. Soon, however, it becomes clear things have gone wrong. You find the first charred corpse after the next turn. There are corpses of all types, hybrids and ratlings alike. You're quite glad Ra'at is unconscious right now. The sounds of fighting can be heard, and you make a run for it. You hear a shout from your father, and turn the corner to see him remove his axe from the skull of the last guard. They seem mostly unharmed, strangely.
Sydney! Thank god... Everything around us just went crazy! You father yells. He's covered in blood, most of it isn't his. You see Yunikki is in the same boat, and Eveline is shakily making things. You'd ask what just went down but you've got pressing matters.
L-look, Ra'at's dying, and we managed to save s-somebody. G-gods damn it... You feel exhausted. Your fingers are twitching, but you shake your head a bit and place rat on the floor next to Eveline, who is still shakily making something with her kit. When she turns to you, wild-eyed and scared, she screams and jumps back instantly. She soon collects herself again, and looks at Ra'at's condition. She doesn't even say a word before she starts treating the ratling. She slathers all kinds of things on the wounds, and in the meantime, you have some time to collect yourself. You see that one of your hounds has died permanently, and that the other looks like it's barely holding together...

It would be more accurate to say that you use this moment to collapse a bit. You just let an innocent woman die, and there's something worse than your double running around the city! God this is all way, WAY too much right now... nearly losing your uncle, losing a man, your guide nearly dying because of you... It's all too much. Way too much. And your wounds sting. you decide to just have a good cry for a while. Still, your double's dead... That's one good thing, at least. You can relax.
I'll take over.

AFFLICTED

A little laugh escapes from Sydney's mouth. That's much better, isn't it? No need to concern yourself with anything that isn't important to you. So, of course, you only need to care about Eveline and Father, now... The first because she has proven to be useful, and the other because he has proven himself quite dedicated to his Godess. He has taken care of you the longest, after all. The others, however...
Why is the group wasting supplies on literal vermin? Hm. Too late to stop now, of course, and the creature HAS proven to be useful.
But would you really let her take over an easily mold-able collection of minions? Perhaps an accident lies in her future...

You have lost direct control over Sydney. Now you need to perform some mental gymnastics to make sure she does what you want.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

crazyabe · « **Reply #610 on:** May 03, 2017, 05:09:19 pm »

But if the Vermin Dies, we lose a Necessary and Willing Guide, who at the vary least made the trek here a lot shorter and less lethal to the Willing Servants (Father, Eveline, and Yunikki) we already have... Beyond that how likely is it that the other ratlings will Know even half of this place? we may end up in here for multiple months, and Though the ratlings would eat anything we Found, our more willing Servants would likely Starve to death. now Considering how Useful and Dedecated they have been and how hard they would be to replace, Killing our Temporary Guide is Definitely a bad Idea, at this point. Perhaps when we are at the exit she could have an "Accident" but at this point in time it would be entirely detrimental to Leaving.

RAM · « **Reply #611 on:** May 03, 2017, 05:55:25 pm »

Well, Danica should be easy to recruit. Seems to like money, and she should be seeing a profit from this little venture. It is a small step from that to having faith in our ability to gain more, and blind devotion is just a little ways beyond that... Might take an irritating amount of subtlety though, but there is a lack of coherent followers around here and it does seem like it has potential as a temple.

I wonder... No, it is a stupid thought... Utterly ridiculous really... But, well, Yendys was so obsessed with eating us and becoming whole. The ridiculous insult was insane, no chance that such an inferior copy could gain our power, but what would happen in reverse? Yendys wasn't a whole being, but it existed enough to gather its little army together, and its essence should be compatible, perhaps there is something to be gained from that. Of course Death would say that such things are impossible but-

What of Death? Supposedly kills gods, but the one time it could be useful and keep a god from interfering with your path apparently not all gods are equal. Maybe this Death is not so powerful as it claims? Why, death is our element! If some failed god of nonsense can ignore Death than surely so can we! Perhaps we can bring a reckoning to this Death and secure our own freedom from the ridiculous notion of our glorious being coming to an end. But how, it exists in that space composed of its own authority. We need more power, perhaps the cultists, and the ratlings? They worshipped once and could do so again, perhaps with enough of their authority, or failing that, enough of their souls? Or perhaps Death can just be made to submit, we have yet to see it perform any feats of permanence. It's unnatural foods and the affront to our body were just perception, can it truly wield any force that a strong will cannot overcome?

Still, for now, we should secure our prizes. The Ratlings can be made to submit, our double did it and it should be easy enough to bend the shaman to our cause, at least for long enough to bring the ratlings to heel before we claim them for our own. It does seem rather blinded by things that sparkle... We should get someone to polish our carapace, it doesn't do to be outdazzled by gemstones...
For now though there is a pile of sparkly things on our double and a pile of ratlings that would dare to take them from us...

Perhaps we need a plan...
1: recover loot
2: bring the hybrids under our power
5/2: Get our appearance restored. And work on our poses, really, people seem to always get the wrong impression. When we want to be feared, they should collapse at our mere presence, not just become hostile. When we invoke our beauty they should devote themselves to us, not... whatever Jack was... Or that forgettable man that thought to claim our mother... Ugh, a good presentation should make all the difference. It feels ill to lower ourselves to their perception, but they have such difficulty seeing our greatness, and we would fit a majestic presence so well!
3: secure the shaman's obedience, preferably through deception.
4: forget about Yunikki, she is just an obedient suit of armour, she'll just be loitering around being useful, no attention needed...
5: have our party pay us lip-service. It will become devotion in time as they realise our true glory.
6: fortify our temple. That creature was gathering prisoners in some way, who knows what forces it possesses.
7: Get these corpses useful again, there have been armies of the undead in stories, we can manage a few lousy bipeds...
8: figure out the "Death" problem...

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #612 on:** May 04, 2017, 04:35:51 pm »

Giving the plan some more thought, you realize you actually have need of the vermin. How embarrassing. You can't find your way out of this maze without her, so you still need her. For now, at least. First, of course, you need to do the important parts. A goddess needs to look the part, after all! And if your pretender was anything to go by, there's no lack of pretty things around... Doing your own looting is a little unbecoming, but everybody starts somewhere. You start with the hybrids, you figure they're more likely to have valuables than literal vermin.
Sydney? You alright? I didn't take you for the looting type. Your father asks, cleaning his axe with some cloth he took with him.
Hush. I'm working.
Hey now, mind your tone, I-... Ah, forget it. He slumps down on the ground with a sigh. He must be tired, the poor wretch. He deserves a rest, you figure. He's getting a bit older, and he just got done killing your enemies with the suit of armor and the small minion. You smile warmly as you think of this.
You should look into stopping that aging process for him, someday...

...Alright. She'll live. Eveline says suddenly. Most of these wounds weren't too deep. I figure it was magic? I suppose she must have kept some of them under mind-control, somehow...
Hm. It was another party. You say, coolly. You despise something is still running around after aiding the enemy AND damaging one of your assets. You'll deal with him, as well. He will be a feast, indeed.
Some kind of lanky bug-man, i think. He didn't seem to care much about my knives. I don't know if it was the cloak or his skin blocking it. Maybe it's just magic. Ra'at could do some work with her spear, I guess.
Is he the only thing you fought? You all look pretty done-in. Yunikki adds, having come a bit closer. Her armor has some fresh scratches, but she seems unharmed. In fact, she hardly seems winded.
What are you implying? Pft, nevermind. We also found my double. She's dead now, thanks to the rat.
It's pronounced Raa-at. I figure the name was a joke that stuck?
Don't patronize me. I am NOT in the mood for it.
You don't sound in the mood for anything, right now? Bad fight? Yunikki cocks her head to the side, questioningly. She looks like a dog when she does that. How fitting.
Claws have rent me, teeth have marked me... So yes, you could say the fight didn't go well. I don't look nearly as good as I should. Well, regardless. We should move. I have business with my pretender's corpse.
Good plan. I figure we don't have much time before they regroup, anyhow. Stealth is pretty much out the window at this point.

The journey back goes smoothly, although Danica did grumble about having to carry the rat back. There's nothing on the way, though you stop to check the corpses you left. Like the earlier corpses, they have nothing of value on them. You crash a foot down on one of them, making the corpse jerk a little. You almost feel insulted that none of these things have anything on them! Although, it would make more sense that your double would have taken it all. What a bitch! Still you can fix that when you reach her corpse. You finally get back to the room you fought in, and enter with a sense of purpose. When you enter, however, something is horribly, horribly wrong.
Your double's corpse is gone! And so is the body of the woman that got her throat bitten off!
You scream in a rage, knocking over tables and stools. This can't be real. You finally saw her die, and she just up and vanishes on you! This isn't fucking fair, this stupid god-damn-S-ssssiisssteeeerrrr...

You hear her voice. It's faint, it sounds pained, but it's most certainly there. You can finish this right now...
Faint groaning and coughing is coming from a corner. You actually find a blood trail to follow to get to her. She seems to have made a little fort out of a table, using a (now dead) hybrid as the craftsman. The hybrid has had his throat torn open and partially eaten. Your double is in the corner, desperately switching between eating the woman you left, and gurgling out something resembling pleas for mercy. You're not exceedingly interested in that.
I-it all hurts... I just... I'm scared. W-why is this happening. She mumbles, before tearing out another piece from the woman in a frenzy. Your stomach turns at something so vile carrying your look. The rest of your party is keeping their distance, all of them bearing a look of either disgust or hatred. They know it when a goddess is defiled, it seems.

How should we finish this creature?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

RAM · « **Reply #613 on:** May 04, 2017, 05:24:03 pm »

Slowly, and with detailed study. It is in our power now so we should make use of it. Perhaps we can tease apart its soul to figure out exactly what is going on there. We were told that it is somehow surviving due to our soul, and we cannot have that being repeated. Best to figure out how it is happening while we have the chance... Maybe its soul can be twisted to make it more obedient to its source, this mind-control business is very useful if it can be made to serve. This hunger business is a curiosity too, the thing seems to have no limit to what it can ingest, it would be rather nice if we never had to restrain ourselves... Really, this is a wonderful opportunity to learn about our body with no risk of marking ourselves. Let's just tease the thing apart until every detail is exposed, and then, maybe, build something useful from the pieces.

Then again, it does have a habit of biting our shoulder, it would be rude not to return the compliment... But then again, people have a terrible habit of dying around us, and it would be terrible if we lost the chance to find out how our soul got involved with this thing...

(Sorry Yendys, it is the best I can manage!)

Liquefied Spleens · « **Reply #614 on:** May 05, 2017, 04:44:51 pm »

Due to homework and some health troubles with my dog (he's fine now), the update will be delayed.
I apologize.

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Author Topic: Web of Life: A Drider's Adventure (Ended) (Read 170859 times)

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