Recovering from your injuries, you turn your attention to furthering the corruption within Avar. Summoning hordes of creeping vermin to you, you then proceed to mutate them together. Chitin stretches, legs retract, and heads and stomachs merge as the thousands of insects turn into seven worms, each as thick as a rope and as long as a man. They are weak physically, and simply enough to kill – their only defenses are stealth and evasion. But the brains of the insects run up and down their bodies, all not directly concerned with movement dedicated to producing an aura that will generate and amplify envy and malice. You also modify the creatures to feed off those sensations, in much the way you do, although they are less dependent on it. You release them, setting them to circulate throughout town.
The initial flood of recruitment has slowed somewhat in Avar, even with the best efforts of you, the High Seducer, and the Worms of Avarice. The rumors of the Spears of Cavana arriving has prevented most from wishing to show their allegiance to any group which defies the establishment. Many still attend her meetings, but now they propose delay instead of action. However, you can sense the growing tensions in town, and an undercurrent of resentment begins to grow. No one is angry enough to do anything radical…yet. You are certain that if not for those damnable rumors, half the town would be in your cult and the other half would be at war.
So to attempt to prevent the Spears from making trouble for you, you send whispers up and down the river. People discuss the claim that a necromancer has arisen, that the Angelhide Banner has been found, and a thousand other dread rumors, which begin to feed off each other. You are uncertain how effective this will prove however.
Of course, if there is any truth to the rumors, they will be stronger. And so you send distant dreams to the rebels. Snow blankets their land, and thousands freeze or starve, as the defiant warriors are besieged in their strongholds. They whisper of the suffering every delay inflicts, of the coming reinforcements, and of how they are sure there is some way to level the playing field…the dwarves held the empire for centuries, our ancestors for decades…”Surely,” they murmur, “there must be a way.” And some begin seeking this way, opening forbidden tomes and speaking with vile spirits.
Outside Avar, the Ceaseless Consumption continues their labors. But not a single one makes an impression – the fear of the Spears is even stronger further north, closer to their stronghold – and few join them. One Seducer, eager for a boon and apparently spurred on by a rivalry with several others, gets too reckless, and is slaughtered in a lynch mob. Her followers escape however, and flee southwards.
Working to corrupt the peasants outside Avar goes little better. Torn between two sets of terrifying rumors, they are like frightened rabbits, and simply huddle down and hope that no one will notice them. The Hunters try to help them make a decision, but the soldiers march to protect the peasants, and they are forced to withdraw. So they attack the temple instead, slaughtering a dozen priests before withdrawing.
In Canord, things are proceeding much better. Duthrax notes that he cannot train many more without further recruits, but he will do what he can to gain more soldiers for you. He makes several careful raids with picked men, surrounding villages picked at random and fairly distant from Canord, and returns with a few dozen captives each time, who soon succumb to the aura of domination and swear to you, joining in the twisted feasts without a second thought, often eating the butchered flesh of people they grew up with without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Lurrothel the Nightmare Weaver makes steady progress. She picks up the basic principle of necromancy fairly easy, though your Doom-Seers and Seekers have a harder time comprehending wards. They can make basic ones, but nothing particularly impressive. Still, she sets them to establishing wards along the walls of Canord, while she turns her attention to the thorn wall, carefully coaxing it to expand towards Canord and beginning to form a magical maze out of it. She also comes up with a spell based off the basic fireball most mages know, but fueled by evil. This spell, instead of making a brief burst of flame which vanishes in seconds, creates a lingering purple hell-flame. She accepts your boon with shuddering ecstasy, as her spell casting capability grows greater still.
Kreth does not perform as well. Actively infusing Evil into something is difficult work, and he is not a particularly skilled teacher. After he bites the head off of one artisan and smears his blood into a demonic sigil all over the floor of the temple, the others collectively realize the Nightmare Weaver needs supplies for her magic, and find elsewhere to be.
However, the news about the Spears grows worse and worse as you learn more about them. They are a powerful military force: A full four hundred are marching southwards. Two hundred knights, one hundred archers, fifty war priests and fifty regular swordsmen are all heading directly to you, and they will be at Canord in a month. There weapons are blessed, and they chant holy prayers as they march to war. They will be a difficult foe to fight on the field of battle, and if you hunker down in Canord, they will not be able to enter, but you will soon find yourself facing an army. You must prepare…but how?
Full status
Current Status
Name: Klx-Dryklfx
Time: 5.75 months
Physical Might: 66+6 (-4 corruption, -3 dreams, -2 worms, +14 worship, + 1 slaughter)
Mental Might: ] 61+6 (-3 corruption, -3 dreams, -2 worms, +16 worship, + 1 slaughter)
Followers
13 Boneys, 39 thralls, 403 soldiers, 8 seducers, 69 peasants, 2 guards, 10 Hunters, 1 High Seducer, 14 Doom-Seekers, 2 Doom-Seers
Slaves
94 slaves
Servants
17 wisp wights, 2 brutes, 372 zombies, 79 skeletons, 50 wisp wretches, 9 weeping sores, 18 specters, 7 worms of avarice
Cults
The Broken
Members: 13 Boneys, 15 thralls, 403 soldiers, 14 Doom-Seekers, 2 Doom-Seers
Slaves: 94
Resources: 47(-10 helping the mage,- 20 outfitting soldiers +5/week demonic crops, +5/week iron mines )
Power: 22 (5 spent worshipping you, 6 spent on training, 6 spent on construction, 5 spent gathering resources)
The Ceaseless Consumption
Members: 8 seducers and 24 thralls, and 37 peasants split among 8 locations, 1 high seducer, 32 peasants, and 2 soldiers
Resources: 0
Power: 10 (3 spent worshipping you, 4 spent recruiting)
Fortresses
Canord
Strong walls (45), Deep moat (25), Thorn Wall (20), Weak wards(10), Demonic crops, plentiful mines, Strong aura of domination
Champions
Kreth Woemaker
Physical might: 14
Mental might: 14
Other: Magic cloak
Duthrax Soul-Render, First of the Thrall-Herds
Physical might: 5 + 1
Mental might: 3 + 1
Other: Duelist, skilled commander, Herald
Lurrothel, Weaver of Nightmares
Physical might: 1
Mental might: 6
Other: Necromancer, skilled at wards and dream magicMan, the dice did not like you this update.
Author
Topic: The Rise of a Demon (Number of ritual wedding duels: 1) (Read 52411 times)