Fantasy Terrorchild: Awakening

[joshuadim]

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[bat_hacker]

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[Damian0358]

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[K0mori]

2. Follow - Ika leans over with a crooked smile and whispers to you, "he doezn't own hiz land. I think we zhould follow him and zee what happenz when he triez to tell them they can't hunt." A little mischief sounds fun right now.

You nod, and the two of you wait until the elf has rested his legs long enough that he's ready to get a move on. "Well," he says with a sigh, "good luck to you, Agranne."

"Same to you," you answer, and watch as Lachlaen departs.

Iona stops by to collect the empty cup and copper piece he left behind. She shoots you both a look which says that was close. "Do you want another, Ika?" she asks.

"I've had enough, zo no thank you," the goblin answers. "I think I'll take Agranne to the market. Zhe finally haz zome money to zpend."

You nod in agreement. Even if Lachlaen doesn't cause a scene, you'd like to get out of this tavern and see what the local merchants are peddling.

---​

Strolling along the beaten path through town, you get some odd glances from the townsfolk who aren't used to seeing you during the daytime. You've been so busy at the stables, frequenting the tavern, or practicing magic at night by candlelight, that you've almost never walked these roads at a time of day that people are out and about. A tabaxi in a wide, pointed hat and a goblin make an odd pair.

You also have money, for the first time in your life. Jakom has been generous with you, allowing you enough that after feeding yourself and paying for your bed at the inn, you still have a few copper coins left over at the end of the week. After three weeks of saving, you're quite excited to see what you can afford with seven pieces.

Ika, your companion since Corrinth's departure, is more agreeable than the circle's "eldest sister." She drinks a lot, loves to play cards, and has a garden full of odd herbs, flowers, and mushrooms that she spends a lot of time in. As for a job, Ika is a fisherwoman. Whatever she catches out on the Turus, she brings back, and whatever she can't sell, she uses to fertilize the garden.

She says it's a simple life. You figure she doesn't make enough to live on and Corrinth pays her bills for her. In fact, the way she's spent so much time with you, you figure she was probably paid a good sum. You don't care; she's nice.

You spot Lachlaen on the path ahead and slow to a stop in the shade of a willow tree. Next to him, a distant, dilapidated house with a half-replaced roof sags depressingly. Outside it, a smaller building has a tiny stream of smoke rising from it, and you know that Lachlaen must have found what he was looking for. He moves up and knocks rather forcefully on the door.

The door opens and obscures part of your view. Some words are exchanged, quiet at first, and then, very loud. "...the balance of nature! I'm talking about life itself, you marauder! Are farm animals not-"

And a second voice: "-can you show me your title then, little lordling!? Aren't you just full of hot air!?"

You and Ika stifle your laughter. She looks to you, grinning. "Thiz iz really good. Really good drama."

A few other onlookers gather as the commotion continues. More shouting, crows cawing, laughter. Whoever's inside the old house has a sharp sense of humor, and with each mockery, Lachlaen's anger grows more impotent. "My, my," the unseen man cries out, "I'm quaking in my boots! Maybe it's my life that ought to be protected!"

"I want to zee if Lachlaen can fight," Ika says, and at first you nod in agreement, until you notice her reach for her wand. With everyone distracted like this, no one would notice her trickery, but knowing that Lachlaen doesn't make idle threats with his bow, you wonder if this is such a good idea.

1. Just Watch - On second thought, you are having a lot of fun. Perhaps this might lead to Lachlaen getting himself arrested, or at least humiliated by whoever's on the other side of that door.

2. Stop Her - If Ika puts a hex on Lachlaen and his anger flies out of control, he could kill someone, and the fun would stop pretty quickly. You grab the wand to wrestle it away from her.

3. Join her - You've never tried to influence the behavior of another with your magic. If Ika can trick Lachlaen into growing a punch, perhaps you could force him to cry, which you think would be a lot funnier.

 

[Infab]

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[Breadman]

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[Damian0358]

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[joshuadim]

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[dikdik]

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[hardcore.munchkin]

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[bat_hacker]

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[K0mori]

2. Stop Her - If Ika puts a hex on Lachlaen and his anger flies out of control, he could kill someone, and the fun would stop pretty quickly. You grab the wand to wrestle it away from her.

Although you try to quickly rip it away, Ika has a surprisingly strong grip for someone so small. "Wha- hey!" she shouts as you nearly pull her off her feet. At the same time, she yanks it back and you lose your balance, so that the two of you knock heads as you fall to the dirty ground. You turn over, rubbing your head where you collided, and realize that a human onlooker that had joined you in watching Lachlaen's struggle is now focused on you and your goblin companion. Ika quickly moves to stuff her wand back into a pocket of her loose-fitting coat, but by this point it's too late.

"What the hell?" the witness blurts out. "That goblin has a wand...!"

A woman nearby looks over in confusion. "The fishmonger?" she says.

"Yeah, those two were fighting over it," he says, accusingly.

Up the road, the door to the cabin slams, and Lachlaen walks away, red in the face with embarrassment after the fruitless confrontation. He walks around the corner from where you are now, and you lose sight of him. Ika, meanwhile, has already crawled to her feet, and seems to be at a loss for words for how to explain the situation.

1. Lie - "W- We weren't... We were just playing around!" you sputter, although the alarm on your face suggests the accusation is a dire one. A dark pit forms in your mind that quickly pulls you in; they'll never believe you.

2. Blame - "...Ika's a witch!" you cry out before gesturing at the dilapidated house. "Help me - she was trying to hex those men into fighting and killing each other!"

3. Protect - You have only moments to act. Right now there are two witnesses, but perhaps, you can intimidate them into silence by using your magic. You've gotten more familiar with the creeping sensation of sorcery beneath your skin, and your frightened heart is pushing it forth almost as rapidly as the icy blood in your veins. You just hope this won't kill them.

4. Silence - You have no idea what to do, so you let Ika take the lead on this.

5. RUN - You know a good horse is waiting for you at the stable.

 

[hardcore.munchkin]

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[Infab]

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[asphodelus]

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[Breadman]

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[Damian0358]

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[joshuadim]

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[K0mori]

3. Protect - You have only moments to act. Right now there are two witnesses, but perhaps, you can intimidate them into silence by using your magic. You've gotten more familiar with the creeping sensation of sorcery beneath your skin, and your frightened heart is pushing it forth almost as rapidly as the icy blood in your veins. You just hope this won't kill them.

You recall the way you ended the merchant's life, three weeks ago, and that first, murderous impulse that drove it. You felt as if you could reach out beyond yourself and take their heart in your hands, and crush it with every ounce of pent-up fury you've suppressed over your lifetime. That desire to seize onto the very life thread is what allowed you to, as Corrinth put it, "rip his soul out of his body."

That is not what you feel now. You're deeply, deeply afraid of what's about to happen, and you're not sure how to access your magic, even as it lurks at your fingertips, without that anger and evil in your heart - but you have to try.

The two witnesses are standing in front of a narrow passage between two buildings: an alleyway. If you can somehow push them back, you can keep them out of sight of anyone else who happens to walk on this road. You remember Ika's advice: attack only an aspect of your enemy, and not their whole being. You hate their knowledge and their ability to share it, and while you can't attack the former, you can definitely attack the latter.

At once, your body snaps into motion, your hands outstretching and engulfing in a cloak of black smoke. "Get back!" you hiss.

You have to make them afraid - too afraid to speak.

With a blast, your magic erupts in an advancing ripple, as if you had expanded your prior ability to strike your goes into a wall which could push them away instead. The two witnesses are knocked from their feet and land on their backs in the muck-filled alley. For a moment, you're afraid that you did too little, and that they would soon scream or run away to spread the word of the danger you pose, when Ika arrives at your side with her wand at the ready.

A wisp of black haze rises from the tip as she directs her malice at the hapless man and woman. Instantly, they go pale, gasping quietly as some unseen horror of horrors settles into their imaginations. Just as Ika sought to fill Lachlaen's mind with rage, minutes earlier, she empties a potent fear into them that stretches the very real and present terror of your witchcraft into the realm of nightmares. "Tell no one," she warns them as they stare upward, paralyzed with fear.

They each give a silent nod, tears streaming down their cheeks.

"Let's go," you say to Ika, and she gives a fierce nod before the two of you walk away, trying not to draw attention as you move between the houses. You keep going until you emerge at the forest's edge, and Ika, balling her fists and and snarling, turns to you and snaps:

"Ztupid, ztupid, ztupid! We better hope they either keep their word or move out of Tashlaan. What were you thinking!?"

You glare back at her, and to your surprise, she backs up. You decide not to focus on that and instead keep your mind on your prior actions. "Lachlaen almost killed me a few weeks ago over a simple misunderstanding. He's too hotheaded for his own good, and I didn't have time to explain-"

"Zo what? A perzon getz hurt? A perzon diez?" she argues. "We aren't their motherz, Agranne. People do what they do, and they die how they die. I waz juzt going to make him mad; what he doez with it iz on him. ...Next you'll be wanting to cazt hexez to make them happy, and ztop fightz you didn't even ztart!"

1. Apologize - You hadn't considered the fine line between taking responsibility for your actions and taking responsibility for the actions of others. That doesn't just include Lachlaen, but Ika as well. You swallow your pride and try to diffuse the situation. "...You're right. I shouldn't have gone for your wand like that," you say. "But what should we do now?"

2. Interrogate - Ika seems to be compensating for something with this devil-may-care attitude toward the safety of others. Maybe she feels like she needs to prove something to you? You decide to rest her: "Why did you leave them alive, if you're so certain you don't care about whether people die or not?"

3. Threaten - "It's not up to you to decide what I do, Ika," you reply, hotly. The next words seem to slip out of you with a shiver of glee: "Do you want to find out what I'll do when I'm mad?"

 

[Infab]

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[joshuadim]

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[asphodelus]

3

 

[Breadman]

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[dikdik]

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[hardcore.munchkin]

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