Infab
The Demon Fanatic
1
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Fantasy Terrorchild: Awakening
- Thread starter K0mori
- Start date
dikdik
colossal leaf and prince of the universe
1
Breadman
Big loaf supreme
1
joshuadim
the writer
2
turtwigwins
Junior Member
2
Damian0358
Roleplaying Procrastinator From Elsewhere
1
Test Her
New
K0mori
Servant Supreme
Option 1: 6 Votes (75% - Range: 1-75)
Option 2: 2 Votes (25% - Range: 76-100)
Fae Roll: 47
At your demand, she twists to look up at you resentfully, knowing that her cold, shivering flesh would be forced to comply regardless of her ability to breathe without shaking. "I- I spoke f-f-for hours and n-no answer until just before d-dawn as she fell from the s-sky and dripping sh-shadows like r-rain and p-pu-put my fire out," she stammers, pitifully. "Sh-she said n-nothing and her touch was like a b-blade through my h-heart and I- I- didn't wake until after s-sunrise."
Sister. Do not run. Do not forget.
You feel an unwelcome chill race down your spine as you release her from the compulsion, almost a bit disappointed that she passed your little examination. You sense that Syrith is watching your actions carefully, whispering warnings against abandoning the Grand Design or harming Silanae. Or maybe this silent voice is simply the thread of your soul which came from the Eldest; at this point you feel the difference is irrelevant.
She wants you to remember that, one way or another, her eternal shadow will fall upon the throne of Turadal - and that resisting it can only spell misfortune for you.
"Fine. Let's get you inside, sister," you reply, bitterly as you pick her up with telekinesis and bring her along. "Once you're warm and your leg is set, you can ride back to your husband and wait for the storm to blow over."
Silanae nods, listlessly - the trauma of the night and the pain you've inflicted weighing heavily upon her. You wonder whether the fear you've inspired within her will make her any better of a queen than she had intended to be. And while you're reluctant to follow through with your end of the bargain thanks to Syrith's keen interest in seeing it be so, given that you had proclaimed your indifference to her Design just hours ago, you also feel no real desire to kill the Princess either. You might as well honor the deal; since Syrith will simply task Veralt or one of the others if you fail.
Do not run. Do not forget.
The same chill caresses you as you silently glide toward the temple, where Silanae can be tended to. Syrith is nervous. Her Design is nearly at its fruition, and your journey in Turadal is almost at its end. You can only imagine that your distrust of the Goddess is equaled by her distrust of you, and that your threats to unmake everything you've built together would be met by an equal measure of spite.
You grit your teeth; a reckoning is on the way. You just need your alliance to hold together long enough that you get what you need: the safety of Embryx, and the resurrection of Rigatte.
Lythrefang is everywhere.
Due to the wind and bitter cold, you decide you'd rather not float through the air where your coat would flap and flutter. Instead, you take your place upon the back of Embryx's horse and ride with her on the road to the royal city. Elsewhere, you know that Veralt is working with the pact sisters to get the rest of your army downriver, while Kulka works from within to throw the entire city into chaos. You send out a crow to each of them informing them of the Princess's induction, which will doubtlessly come as a shock, but nonetheless reinforce the notion that you all have been chosen by fate and cannot possibly lose. All of your decisions, those hundreds of ugly little choices, have led to this moment wherein the witches of Lythrefang Coven will be set loose on a city that has nowhere to retreat to. The innocent souls within will look to their King and his lords and ladies, those parasites who take their coin in exchange for "protection," to guide them in this fateful hour.
And you, the Terrorchild, will show your face again after supposedly dying for the second time, wearing the mantle of an unstoppable, unkillable demigod - no matter how far from the truth these notions actually lie.
As you clop along the roadway, there's little to talk about, as the tension of the coming moment weighs heavily on everyone. Stalna rides up beside you, her dark hair whipping in the wind behind her as she strains to keep her eyes open against it. Apparently, she had taken her hair out of its bun the prior night to wash it and hadn't bothered to fix it this morning - probably due to the lack of any mirror nearby. "...Sister, when this is over," she says, her quiet voice taut like a wire and full of unease, "where will you go next?"
"Zuklanar," you reply. "There's a ritual there that I want to take part in."
Embryx looks back at the two of you. "...This is the first I've heard of it," she says. "What's the ritual?"
"It's where I've got to go to get Rigatte back," you answer. "I spoke to her again," you explain.
"Another dream?" Embryx asks, cautiously.
You shake your head. "No, not this time. You didn't ask why I was awake last night when Corrinth came to kill you; I was conducting a bit of an experiment, and I found a way to peek beyond the veil."
"What!?" she snaps.
Stalna, having seen the intense reaction, now begins to understand the issue. "Rigatte... Is that your lost blood sister, Agranne?"
You nod. "Last night, I gave myself an out-of-body experience, one I've been meaning to try for a long time, but wasn't possible until I had the Pandemonium Door, enough skill manipulating anima, and a little peace and quiet. I sat on the edge between life and death, and I asked the Eldest to put me in touch with her. Rigatte told me that any souls brought back from the world beyond death have to be retrieved from the site of Lythrefang's original circle in Zuklanar, and that the opportunity only comes every once in a century. If I'm not there to complete the ritual when the next opportunity comes, I'll never see her again unless I go and, uh, visit again."
"And you didn't warn me you were going to try it?" Embryx accosts you, still angry at the risk you took to gather this information.
You sigh. "It wouldn't have made a difference either way; either it was going to work or I was going to die; you being aware of it just would have worried you sick for nothing. Now that it's done, I don't need to do it again. But... I'm sorry, either way. I'm not trying to be reckless; it's just really important to me."
Embryx lets out a groan. Stalna, however, seems utterly fascinated. "...I never knew it could be so simple to commune with the dead like that," she remarks. "Since my family is in Zuklanar, that's where I'm going as well. Sister Jannava is going home to Estfang, and Fiola is... I don't know, but I doubt she'll come west with me. But I would be honored to travel with you again, once we're done with Thandan."
1. Accept Stalna's Company - After everything you've learned and all the help you've received as a result of accepting Jannava's company on the road to Thandan, you're hesitant to dismiss Stalna's offer.
2. Reject Stalna's Company - "...No," you say gently, "as much as I've enjoyed our escapades together, I intend to bid the circle farewell and travel lightly."
3. Check with Embryx - You weigh the benefits of welcoming Stalna on the next stage of your journey against the friction it might cause with Embryx, who's long sought to be alone with you. This time, you'll check to see what she wants.
Option 2: 2 Votes (25% - Range: 76-100)
Fae Roll: 47
At your demand, she twists to look up at you resentfully, knowing that her cold, shivering flesh would be forced to comply regardless of her ability to breathe without shaking. "I- I spoke f-f-for hours and n-no answer until just before d-dawn as she fell from the s-sky and dripping sh-shadows like r-rain and p-pu-put my fire out," she stammers, pitifully. "Sh-she said n-nothing and her touch was like a b-blade through my h-heart and I- I- didn't wake until after s-sunrise."
Sister. Do not run. Do not forget.
You feel an unwelcome chill race down your spine as you release her from the compulsion, almost a bit disappointed that she passed your little examination. You sense that Syrith is watching your actions carefully, whispering warnings against abandoning the Grand Design or harming Silanae. Or maybe this silent voice is simply the thread of your soul which came from the Eldest; at this point you feel the difference is irrelevant.
She wants you to remember that, one way or another, her eternal shadow will fall upon the throne of Turadal - and that resisting it can only spell misfortune for you.
"Fine. Let's get you inside, sister," you reply, bitterly as you pick her up with telekinesis and bring her along. "Once you're warm and your leg is set, you can ride back to your husband and wait for the storm to blow over."
Silanae nods, listlessly - the trauma of the night and the pain you've inflicted weighing heavily upon her. You wonder whether the fear you've inspired within her will make her any better of a queen than she had intended to be. And while you're reluctant to follow through with your end of the bargain thanks to Syrith's keen interest in seeing it be so, given that you had proclaimed your indifference to her Design just hours ago, you also feel no real desire to kill the Princess either. You might as well honor the deal; since Syrith will simply task Veralt or one of the others if you fail.
Do not run. Do not forget.
The same chill caresses you as you silently glide toward the temple, where Silanae can be tended to. Syrith is nervous. Her Design is nearly at its fruition, and your journey in Turadal is almost at its end. You can only imagine that your distrust of the Goddess is equaled by her distrust of you, and that your threats to unmake everything you've built together would be met by an equal measure of spite.
You grit your teeth; a reckoning is on the way. You just need your alliance to hold together long enough that you get what you need: the safety of Embryx, and the resurrection of Rigatte.
Lythrefang is everywhere.
---
Having remained quiet all night, the necromancers at Goldenrod Hill emerge to gather supplies. While they aren't a large group - just fifteen in all - they easily ransack several houses and take food and clothing for warmth in the harsh weather, and money just for the hell of it. A cleric, cowering in his home down the road from the temple, is brought out to provide healing for Silanae, who immediately departs to be with her husband and far from incrimination, but Corrinth is forced to lay in agony as she is; you'll deal with her once the day is won.
Due to the wind and bitter cold, you decide you'd rather not float through the air where your coat would flap and flutter. Instead, you take your place upon the back of Embryx's horse and ride with her on the road to the royal city. Elsewhere, you know that Veralt is working with the pact sisters to get the rest of your army downriver, while Kulka works from within to throw the entire city into chaos. You send out a crow to each of them informing them of the Princess's induction, which will doubtlessly come as a shock, but nonetheless reinforce the notion that you all have been chosen by fate and cannot possibly lose. All of your decisions, those hundreds of ugly little choices, have led to this moment wherein the witches of Lythrefang Coven will be set loose on a city that has nowhere to retreat to. The innocent souls within will look to their King and his lords and ladies, those parasites who take their coin in exchange for "protection," to guide them in this fateful hour.
And you, the Terrorchild, will show your face again after supposedly dying for the second time, wearing the mantle of an unstoppable, unkillable demigod - no matter how far from the truth these notions actually lie.
As you clop along the roadway, there's little to talk about, as the tension of the coming moment weighs heavily on everyone. Stalna rides up beside you, her dark hair whipping in the wind behind her as she strains to keep her eyes open against it. Apparently, she had taken her hair out of its bun the prior night to wash it and hadn't bothered to fix it this morning - probably due to the lack of any mirror nearby. "...Sister, when this is over," she says, her quiet voice taut like a wire and full of unease, "where will you go next?"
"Zuklanar," you reply. "There's a ritual there that I want to take part in."
Embryx looks back at the two of you. "...This is the first I've heard of it," she says. "What's the ritual?"
"It's where I've got to go to get Rigatte back," you answer. "I spoke to her again," you explain.
"Another dream?" Embryx asks, cautiously.
You shake your head. "No, not this time. You didn't ask why I was awake last night when Corrinth came to kill you; I was conducting a bit of an experiment, and I found a way to peek beyond the veil."
"What!?" she snaps.
Stalna, having seen the intense reaction, now begins to understand the issue. "Rigatte... Is that your lost blood sister, Agranne?"
You nod. "Last night, I gave myself an out-of-body experience, one I've been meaning to try for a long time, but wasn't possible until I had the Pandemonium Door, enough skill manipulating anima, and a little peace and quiet. I sat on the edge between life and death, and I asked the Eldest to put me in touch with her. Rigatte told me that any souls brought back from the world beyond death have to be retrieved from the site of Lythrefang's original circle in Zuklanar, and that the opportunity only comes every once in a century. If I'm not there to complete the ritual when the next opportunity comes, I'll never see her again unless I go and, uh, visit again."
"And you didn't warn me you were going to try it?" Embryx accosts you, still angry at the risk you took to gather this information.
You sigh. "It wouldn't have made a difference either way; either it was going to work or I was going to die; you being aware of it just would have worried you sick for nothing. Now that it's done, I don't need to do it again. But... I'm sorry, either way. I'm not trying to be reckless; it's just really important to me."
Embryx lets out a groan. Stalna, however, seems utterly fascinated. "...I never knew it could be so simple to commune with the dead like that," she remarks. "Since my family is in Zuklanar, that's where I'm going as well. Sister Jannava is going home to Estfang, and Fiola is... I don't know, but I doubt she'll come west with me. But I would be honored to travel with you again, once we're done with Thandan."
1. Accept Stalna's Company - After everything you've learned and all the help you've received as a result of accepting Jannava's company on the road to Thandan, you're hesitant to dismiss Stalna's offer.
2. Reject Stalna's Company - "...No," you say gently, "as much as I've enjoyed our escapades together, I intend to bid the circle farewell and travel lightly."
3. Check with Embryx - You weigh the benefits of welcoming Stalna on the next stage of your journey against the friction it might cause with Embryx, who's long sought to be alone with you. This time, you'll check to see what she wants.
Infab
The Demon Fanatic
3
Damian0358
Roleplaying Procrastinator From Elsewhere
3
joshuadim
the writer
3
bat_hacker
Junior Member
3
Breadman
Big loaf supreme
3
turtwigwins
Junior Member
3
hardcore.munchkin
Professional hater
3
dikdik
colossal leaf and prince of the universe
3333333
Check with Embryx
New
K0mori
Servant Supreme
"Hey Embryx, how did we plan on traveling after Thandan was taken? Did we want to travel light, or...?"
Sensing your intent but nonetheless uncertain, Embryx shrugs. "Oh, um... I guess we need to see how things shake out, first. We don't even know if this is going to work, and if something bad happens, we'll want to stick with our sisters..." You can tell she wants to deny Stalna's request, but something seems to occur to her just in the nick of time. "...But assuming it goes well, we don't have to travel alone, either. But I insist we stay at inns on the way - and get ourselves a private room. I haven't slept in a real bed since we left the Sanitarium..."
You smile, feeling a hint of excitement for a more liberated future for the first time since Corrinth stole the Pandemonium Door and set all of this into motion. Yes, you still have a task that's time-sensitive, but once you shed the responsibility for keeping hundreds of witches from betraying you or killing each other, you assume things will get easier. "Sounds good to me," you reply. "We'll have plenty of money, and a country where we won't need to disguise our nature. No more pseudonyms," you add with a chuckle.
Stalna offers you a gentle smile as you glance back to her. "Thank you both. It'll be much safer for me to not travel alone. The country will soon be better to us witches, but it'll take time before the Grand Design can be imposed by Princess Silanae. I would expect a fair amount of resistance from the smaller polities."
---
Hours pass, and you eventually reach a ridge of hills, beyond which you suspect you might be able to see the coastline. The air is getting even colder and heavier with water, and while you can't yet smell the sea, you sense the subtle changes in the plant life which indicate that you aren't far away. You wouldn't even smell it if you were right there, you realize, since the stench of death wafting from the hundreds of corpses you've brought along is overpowering. After a slow and laborious climb up the icy hills, the road crests and you find yourself peaking through a gap in the terrain at the edge of the continent.
And of course, in the center of your field of view is...
"Oh, fucking hells...!" Embryx blurts as she takes in the full view of Thandan below.
"...Gods," Stalna sputters.
You're speechless, dismounting your horse for a moment so you can walk up and get a better view alongside the necromancers in your midst. Jannava alone hangs back, having passed through Thandan in her earlier travels. This entire time, she's known exactly what you've been up against as very few others in the pact can. You've just been too busy, and perhaps too overconfident, to ask her for guidance on the metropolis. You wish that Fiola were here; she grew up in this area and would be an indispensable planner, but at least she could help assist the bulk of the force under Veralt's leadership.
Speaking of which, it begins to dawn on everyone that a number of columns of smoke rising from the city aren't the product of intentionally-lit fires, but are actually signs of the attack in progress. "...Veralt beat us there!" you rage, realizing that your rival failed to wait for your arrival and the undead backup you were bringing. This must also mean that Kulka has sprung into action, rallying her circle within the city to raise hell. "We have to get down there, now!"
The next half hour passes by in a blur, as your force moves downhill at an uncomfortable pace into the frost-covered farmlands and villas outside the city walls. It isn't hard to tell that because of the ongoing attack within, the gates have been closed and the guards are on high-alert. People are sheltering in their homes, hiding from the sudden arrival of the undead, but this does little to spare them as the hundreds of zombies and skeletons beat their way through doors and windows and attack without discretion or mercy. A moderate-sized force of the King's men, maybe fifty in all, find themselves beset by the ghouls when they had expected to regroup outside the walls in peace ahead of an assault on the invades within.
As they fight, you have a critical decision to make.
1. Throw Open the Gates - Walls can't keep you out. You're going to blast the gates open with telekinesis and announce to the entire city that you've arrived, in case they're under the impression that Veralt is the worst they'll face today.
2. Enter Through the Riverfront - You can recognize the path of the river that Veralt and the rest of your circle followed on its way into the city; the walls stop well-short of the water, which apparently has tides that rise and fall. The river is at low tide right now, and you think you can even see the footprints in the silt where the coven made its sudden entrance roughly an hour ago.
3. Bewitch the Defenses - With teleportation, compulsion, and manipulation, anything is possible. You instruct your sisters to wait a moment before disappearing, only to reappear within the enemy battlements. With a few well-placed hexes, you'll not only get the gates open, but have the defenders switching sides to join the battle on the side of Syrith.
Infab
The Demon Fanatic
3
Breadman
Big loaf supreme
1
joshuadim
the writer
2
hardcore.munchkin
Professional hater
3
Damian0358
Roleplaying Procrastinator From Elsewhere
3
turtwigwins
Junior Member
3
Crowley
drama queen yes yes
1. I'm chaotic evil.
bat_hacker
Junior Member
3
Bewitch the Defenses
New
K0mori
Servant Supreme
Option 1: 2 Votes (25% - Range: 1-25)
Option 2: 1 Vote (13% - Range: 26-38)
Option 3: 5 Votes (63% - Range: 39-100)
Fae Roll: 64
From the moment you appear within the dimly-lit and winding passages within the stone wall, you're noticed, but you set to work immediately on your plans. The first man to see you finds himself frozen in place, his jaw locked shut and unable to even make a sound - before a foreign sensation caresses his mind, and a soothing sense of trust and familiarity washes over him. Your compulsion makes him obedient, but your manipulation keeps him that way. The next guardsman you see is made the same way, and soon, you and your escorts are heading toward the gatehouse.
One after another, you add to your thralls, having realized that you could hex much of the city into loving and admiring you, if you so wanted, as your bottomless supply of magic has erased most of the rules a witch is normally bound by. Had you only had the Pandemonium Door in Tashlaan, you could have tamed the instincts of the entire town - no need to fear exposure or the hunters ever again. You wonder if, someday, you might create a safe place for you, Embryx, and Rigatte by doing just that. Your only fear, both now and for the future, is encountering a mage who can break the spell and leave you surrounded. There's no time to consider that possibility in depth; you break into the gatehouse and find a group of young men and women guarding the winch wheels which would retract the locks and open the gates outward towards the world.
They look you with shock and begin to raise the alarm, but there's no one else to call out to, all of them are under your spell. With a smile, you raise the Door and issue your command: "let us in," you coo. "Syrith calls to Thandan - will you insult a goddess?"
They scramble to obey, jabbering apologies and whispering errant prayers under their breaths for mercy. As they turn the wheels, a great mechanism churns behind the walls and beneath the floors as the doors begin to part. Once they've opened wide enough to allow your followers and the undead to enter, the guardsmen and women fall to their knees in apology, awaiting their next instruction. "Come down to the streets and walk in Her eternal shadow with me, just this once. You are not brothers and sisters, but you are allies nonetheless of the Eldest and her Design," you declare.
They nod in acceptance of their holy mission and climb to their feet, helping each other up before jogging out of the room and into the passages and stairwells to the ground level. You, however, simply blink through the air and reappear in a shadowy cloud below the gateway's arch, appearing right in front of Embryx, Jannava, and Stalna. "Ta-da!" you announce as you give a theatrical bow. "Come on, I found us some more help!"
"You hexed the guards instead of killing them, I take it?" Jannava replies, cautiously. You nod, proudly, and a hint of a smile appears at the corner of her mouth.
Embryx salutes the guards as they pour out of the battlement doors with a shout of "hail Syrith!" and grins wide as a number of shouts reply:
"HAIL!"
"Agranne, you're a genius," Embryx raves as she hops along. The necromancers begin rounding up their ghoulish creations so that they can storm the city streets at the rear of your group, pulling the monsters away from the remaining guardsmen who had just been overwhelmed before reanimating the corpses of the freshly-dead. You give them each a turn touching the Pandemonium Door before you glide through the gates into Thandan, feeling invincible.
Unlike Mardenaal, which is a city built mostly of wooden buildings with thatched roofs, Thandan is far more upscale, with strong and old buildings of masonry and wooden upper-floors, three to five stories a piece. Terraced quarters make the city feel less like a single unit and more like a large collection of cellular fortresses, as each of the market squares and gardens are protected by towers and other defensive measures. You can't even see the castle from your current vantage, but you did see it from the top of the hill before your charge in, and you know that it's massive, with a keep the size of the entire castle protecting Mardenaal.
Undaunted by any of it, you savor the genuine panic your arrival has caused, as the few bystanders which hadn't sheltered in their homes or businesses upon Veralt's arrival earlier are now scrambling to secure their shutters and doors. You look into an upper-floor window, and see a tiefling girl, no more than fourteen or fifteen, staring at you with rapt fascination. She must sense her calling, you think as you briefly meet her gaze, but she shies away, ducking back slightly. You wonder just how many witches live in this city, unaware that their mysterious dreams are omens, or else aware of their awakening but unwilling to explore it.
The next moment, an archer on the rooftop of that same building leans over to line up a shot, and you grab him with telekinesis and throw him forcefully from the edge. He tumbles, screaming, through the air and into the wall of the building across the street, banging violently into the furnishings before falling backwards to the stone-lined road below - dead on impact. Grasping the air with your hand, you draw in anima and create a construct, and within a moment, the girl in the window above witnesses the dead archer rise to his feet, obediently. Her eyes go wide and she flees from view.
"Any idea where we are?" Embryx asks, and you turn to find that she's asking Jannava.
The latter shakes her head. "Not yet. I wasn't here for very long, and this isn't a quarter that I visited. We'll need to get closer to the harbor before I recognize anything," Jannava replies. "Where do you think Veralt went?" she asks you.
You shake your head. "No idea. He probably decided to seek out Kulka when he realized he was early," you answer.
"We should probably watch for crows, or send a few of our own," Stalna suggests. It's a good idea, and you make sure to keep an eye out for any birds as you make your way deeper into the city. With the necromancers' help, you manage to funnel the entire undead army through the narrow passages toward the larger forums and markets, where those without shelter cry out in terror at their arrival. Overwhelmed and disorganized city guards call out to your thralls, but you simply sway their minds as well, including one very unlucky cleric who decided that he had a chance to do some good against an apparently isolated cell of witches at the edge of town.
It's then that a few crows come flapping down into the square, landing haphazardly and almost seeming to fight each other for the opportunity to speak first:
"Sister Agranne! Attack has begun! Meet at Mage College! Kulka!"
"Agranne! Bring Corrinth and the Door to the keep. Veralt!"
"Sister Stalna! Kulka means to betray us! Come quick to meet with pact! Fiola!"
"Embryx! You were right! Wag!"
You stand, dumbfounded at the mixed messages you've just received. You look to the pact sisters for guidance, but all of them seem as lost as you.
1. Go to the Keep - Kulka's request that you meet her at the Mage College, where you're most likely to meet strong magical resistance to your hexes, combined with Fiola's insistence that she means to betray the circle tells you that it would be a trap to meet with her. Instead, you'll link up with Veralt as quickly as possible and inform him of Corrinth's situation - and perhaps threaten her safety if Veralt means to turn on you, as Wag seems to be suggesting.
2. Go to the Mage College - You realize that Fiola's message is strange to have addressed Stalna instead of you, given that the information given seems extremely important. You wonder if "us" means the entire circle or if the two of them have some sort of ulterior motive that's just been exposed accidentally. Whatever the case, you decide to meet with Kulka first, as she must have a good reason to pick such a dangerous place. Moreover, Wag's message raises serious questions about Veralt's loyalty as well.
Option 2: 1 Vote (13% - Range: 26-38)
Option 3: 5 Votes (63% - Range: 39-100)
Fae Roll: 64
From the moment you appear within the dimly-lit and winding passages within the stone wall, you're noticed, but you set to work immediately on your plans. The first man to see you finds himself frozen in place, his jaw locked shut and unable to even make a sound - before a foreign sensation caresses his mind, and a soothing sense of trust and familiarity washes over him. Your compulsion makes him obedient, but your manipulation keeps him that way. The next guardsman you see is made the same way, and soon, you and your escorts are heading toward the gatehouse.
One after another, you add to your thralls, having realized that you could hex much of the city into loving and admiring you, if you so wanted, as your bottomless supply of magic has erased most of the rules a witch is normally bound by. Had you only had the Pandemonium Door in Tashlaan, you could have tamed the instincts of the entire town - no need to fear exposure or the hunters ever again. You wonder if, someday, you might create a safe place for you, Embryx, and Rigatte by doing just that. Your only fear, both now and for the future, is encountering a mage who can break the spell and leave you surrounded. There's no time to consider that possibility in depth; you break into the gatehouse and find a group of young men and women guarding the winch wheels which would retract the locks and open the gates outward towards the world.
They look you with shock and begin to raise the alarm, but there's no one else to call out to, all of them are under your spell. With a smile, you raise the Door and issue your command: "let us in," you coo. "Syrith calls to Thandan - will you insult a goddess?"
They scramble to obey, jabbering apologies and whispering errant prayers under their breaths for mercy. As they turn the wheels, a great mechanism churns behind the walls and beneath the floors as the doors begin to part. Once they've opened wide enough to allow your followers and the undead to enter, the guardsmen and women fall to their knees in apology, awaiting their next instruction. "Come down to the streets and walk in Her eternal shadow with me, just this once. You are not brothers and sisters, but you are allies nonetheless of the Eldest and her Design," you declare.
They nod in acceptance of their holy mission and climb to their feet, helping each other up before jogging out of the room and into the passages and stairwells to the ground level. You, however, simply blink through the air and reappear in a shadowy cloud below the gateway's arch, appearing right in front of Embryx, Jannava, and Stalna. "Ta-da!" you announce as you give a theatrical bow. "Come on, I found us some more help!"
"You hexed the guards instead of killing them, I take it?" Jannava replies, cautiously. You nod, proudly, and a hint of a smile appears at the corner of her mouth.
Embryx salutes the guards as they pour out of the battlement doors with a shout of "hail Syrith!" and grins wide as a number of shouts reply:
"HAIL!"
"Agranne, you're a genius," Embryx raves as she hops along. The necromancers begin rounding up their ghoulish creations so that they can storm the city streets at the rear of your group, pulling the monsters away from the remaining guardsmen who had just been overwhelmed before reanimating the corpses of the freshly-dead. You give them each a turn touching the Pandemonium Door before you glide through the gates into Thandan, feeling invincible.
Unlike Mardenaal, which is a city built mostly of wooden buildings with thatched roofs, Thandan is far more upscale, with strong and old buildings of masonry and wooden upper-floors, three to five stories a piece. Terraced quarters make the city feel less like a single unit and more like a large collection of cellular fortresses, as each of the market squares and gardens are protected by towers and other defensive measures. You can't even see the castle from your current vantage, but you did see it from the top of the hill before your charge in, and you know that it's massive, with a keep the size of the entire castle protecting Mardenaal.
Undaunted by any of it, you savor the genuine panic your arrival has caused, as the few bystanders which hadn't sheltered in their homes or businesses upon Veralt's arrival earlier are now scrambling to secure their shutters and doors. You look into an upper-floor window, and see a tiefling girl, no more than fourteen or fifteen, staring at you with rapt fascination. She must sense her calling, you think as you briefly meet her gaze, but she shies away, ducking back slightly. You wonder just how many witches live in this city, unaware that their mysterious dreams are omens, or else aware of their awakening but unwilling to explore it.
The next moment, an archer on the rooftop of that same building leans over to line up a shot, and you grab him with telekinesis and throw him forcefully from the edge. He tumbles, screaming, through the air and into the wall of the building across the street, banging violently into the furnishings before falling backwards to the stone-lined road below - dead on impact. Grasping the air with your hand, you draw in anima and create a construct, and within a moment, the girl in the window above witnesses the dead archer rise to his feet, obediently. Her eyes go wide and she flees from view.
"Any idea where we are?" Embryx asks, and you turn to find that she's asking Jannava.
The latter shakes her head. "Not yet. I wasn't here for very long, and this isn't a quarter that I visited. We'll need to get closer to the harbor before I recognize anything," Jannava replies. "Where do you think Veralt went?" she asks you.
You shake your head. "No idea. He probably decided to seek out Kulka when he realized he was early," you answer.
"We should probably watch for crows, or send a few of our own," Stalna suggests. It's a good idea, and you make sure to keep an eye out for any birds as you make your way deeper into the city. With the necromancers' help, you manage to funnel the entire undead army through the narrow passages toward the larger forums and markets, where those without shelter cry out in terror at their arrival. Overwhelmed and disorganized city guards call out to your thralls, but you simply sway their minds as well, including one very unlucky cleric who decided that he had a chance to do some good against an apparently isolated cell of witches at the edge of town.
It's then that a few crows come flapping down into the square, landing haphazardly and almost seeming to fight each other for the opportunity to speak first:
"Sister Agranne! Attack has begun! Meet at Mage College! Kulka!"
"Agranne! Bring Corrinth and the Door to the keep. Veralt!"
"Sister Stalna! Kulka means to betray us! Come quick to meet with pact! Fiola!"
"Embryx! You were right! Wag!"
You stand, dumbfounded at the mixed messages you've just received. You look to the pact sisters for guidance, but all of them seem as lost as you.
1. Go to the Keep - Kulka's request that you meet her at the Mage College, where you're most likely to meet strong magical resistance to your hexes, combined with Fiola's insistence that she means to betray the circle tells you that it would be a trap to meet with her. Instead, you'll link up with Veralt as quickly as possible and inform him of Corrinth's situation - and perhaps threaten her safety if Veralt means to turn on you, as Wag seems to be suggesting.
2. Go to the Mage College - You realize that Fiola's message is strange to have addressed Stalna instead of you, given that the information given seems extremely important. You wonder if "us" means the entire circle or if the two of them have some sort of ulterior motive that's just been exposed accidentally. Whatever the case, you decide to meet with Kulka first, as she must have a good reason to pick such a dangerous place. Moreover, Wag's message raises serious questions about Veralt's loyalty as well.
