The spiders, with their metallic claws, fold the liquid themselves, and seal it on the workbench. Waiting calmly for it to cool, you grasp the sphere as it takes on a milky white color. It seems to warm as you touch it, but not uncomfortably. Pushing your mind forth into it, you feel your way through the elf's throughts. They seems damaged, somehow, but you give it no mind. You have work to do. Plucking a thought from his mind like a fish from a barrel, you find yourself staring through his eyes. His eyesight seems different, somehow, but still close enough to your own to be comfortable to use. He is running, vase in hand, jumping with horrid grace over obstacles in his path. Moving towards the drop point. You can feel his desire to not disappoint you, motivated entirely by fear. Fear of the assassin, and your command of said assassin.

Switching orbs, you peer through the assassin's focused eyes. As she jumps from cover to cover, tree branch to tree branch, she never loses sight of the elf. It's like watching a hawk stalk its prey, but this prey she knows she cannot touch. You watch for what feels like hours, but you somehow know it is much less time. As the elf begins to slow, he turns left down an old dust trail, and enters a small break in the treeline. Placing the vase on the ground, he looks skyward, as does your favorite assassin. Through her well trained ears, you hear something begin to approach. A booming, sweeping wing-beat. The elf turning and running, he hides among the trees, as the red and yellow dragon lands near the vase. Sniffing it, the dragon seems to grin, and speaks in a low, lizard-like voice.
"Excellent."

>Previous Threads, for your consideration:
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14893882/
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14897507/
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14904666/
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14918470/

God damn dragons.

Fucking hate those guys.

>>14928381
Wait. Just watch and wait. If the dragon is gonna do what I think he's gonna do, there should be no witnesses other than you and the assassin. Meaning he's gonna kill/incinerate/eat the elf.

PS. You might wanna switch to the assassin's mind. Who knows what backlash you may take if the elf dies.

Continue watching.

Things just stepped up a notch. How is our power compared to a dragon's? Binding this thing would give us a substantial asset, of course, but even if we can, we should have contingencies in place.

Perhaps, with the proper delivery system, we could insert spiders into the dragon's own tissues. Not only could we then destroy it from the inside out, but we could alter its brain directly.

Begin developing syringe harpoons.

>>14928454
Ah yes, well patience is key I suppose.

Watching through the assassin's eyes, you feel her silently back away from the opening. The dragon, attempting to shake the rock out of the vase, seems to give up for a moment, before digging its claws into the side of the art piece. Its steely claws digging through the thin gold, it soon cuts all the way around the vase, and with a swift tug pulls it in half. The rock falls into the dragon's open claw. Examining it closely, the dragon scratches against its surface, and it begins to glow.

The dragon, sitting on its hind legs, looks to be hypnotized for a few moments. The light from the rock fading, it drops it to the ground and crushes it beneath its claws. Sniffing the air, the dragon grins yet again, all its massive white teeth showing to anyone that may be watching.
"Come out, little elf. I know you're there."
Your line of sight suddenly shifts, as the assassin looks towards the elf's hiding space. The elf, quivering in fear, refuses to budge. The ground shakes slightly as the dragon walks towards him.
"If you don't, I'll have to get you myself. And you don't want that."
The elf continues to stand still, crouching behind an old tree. The dragon, now directly behind the elf, moves in a flash of red and yellow. Pulling the elf from behind the tree, it throws it across the open field and laughs.
"You can't hide from me you fool. You mammals all smell something terrible."
The elf, shakily getting to his feet, backs against another tree.
"Please. Don't kill me. And if you do, make it quick."

AAAAAAAAAHHRGGG SCREW YOU Beginner's Guide to Evil !y15cQl1vv6, I WAS JUST GOING TO SLEEP!
>but seriously, I love this quest. Looking forward to read the archives.

>>14928599
"Oh, I'm not going to kill you, little elf. Not yet. I need you to do something for me. The mayor of this town intends to give the guilds proper status. When she does, you need to kill her. Understand?"
The elf nods.
"Good. Do this, and I promise, I won't kill you. In fact, you may benefit from my ownership of this pathetic speck of a town."
The dragon cutting into the elf's arm with his claw, ever so slightly, it leaps into the air and swoops its wings. Soaring away, the dragon seems to be heading to the side of the town opposite your tower. The elf pushes his hand against his arm, as the small amount of blood drips down to his hand.

>>14928477
Dragons are notoriously powerful Invokers. But therein lies their weakness. They do not take spells from books and tomes. Rather, they draw their power from their own souls, thus limiting their power's utility.

It is likely that in a straight fight, the dragon would defeat you. But you of course, won't fight a straight fight.

Dragons are also, regrettably, immune to mind control, save that of contracts.

>>14928599

Fucking dragons.

>>14928477

I wonder if the apple pie spell would still work if the dragon ate someone who had recently eaten some of the pie?

Fuck we need Spider-Dragons up in this shit.

>>14928621
>Dragons are also, regrettably, immune to mind control, save that of contracts.

Then we will first need to bind it, and then make the contract. As long as a regular human soul will still suffice for the cost, we're good.

How do dragons fare against paralytics?

>>14928621
What can a dragon normally do, in this setting? Can it shapeshift?

>>14928646
Both parties must give their consent to the contract.

>>14928621
>Dragons are also, regrettably, immune to mind control,
even pie-based ones?

>>14928621

We can use this. We don't want the elf killing our witch, but we can play along and have him pretend to kill her for the dragon's benefit.

>>14928646

Won't work, a dark contract still needs verbal agreement. If we're going to snare him through a contract we'll need to present him with something that reads very well but has legalese traps in the clauses. It's not beyond us but it will require some thinking.

And we'd need to convince him to listen in the first place.

We need a trap I suppose. A dragon-trap.


Since the dragon tracks by smell we're going to need a way to hide that too, for our assassins and ourselves.

The hybrids may or may not smell right, and the spiders certainly smell like mechanical stuff that the dragon won't care about.

>>14928664
I'm betting even a powerful dragon would consent to it if it was either that or being tortured to death. Even if it was willing to die rather than serve, we could just lobotomize it and replace its more willful brain bits with spiders.

Magic brings many solutions.

Of course you already know all this information? But if you wish to ask me questions anyways, I shall answer to the best of my ability.

>>14928653
More powerful dragons are capable of using polymorphic magic to alter their forms, yes. But such dragons are often already the rulers of entire nations. Why a dragon of that level of power would come to Mooncrown, I cannot say. Perhaps this dragon is of a younger variety, and therefore has no such holdings.

>>14928646
They are resistant to most, but not immune. A sufficiently large dose could paralyze them, or a smaller dose of one they are not resistant to.

>>14928664
Regrettably, yes, sire.

>>14928621
Ok. so we have successfully deflected the dragon from suspecting our shadow government. That leaves all the suspicion onto our witch-mayor. Can we check if our contract allows her self defense against our enemies. I think so, but we should double check.

Also, when the dragon cut the elf, what did he do? Could he have a variant of the mind orb spell, that uses blood instead of hair.

We need to plan how to take on the dragon. Of course, we will need to tire him out. Force him to use all his magic is a series of attacks so that he'll be tired and reeling from magical exhaustion for the coup de grace.

>>14928710
We only believe we have deceived the dragon. It is possible that he was as aware of the assassin's presence as he was of the elf's. We should not underestimate him. He may know much more than we think.

Ok, so if we can get the dragon to use enough magic in a short time span, it'll be too tired to fight back. And then we can kill it, or capture it, or whatever it is we're going to do.

>>14928731
Maybe we could use a spell to actively drain its magical power? Or we could set up an anti-magic field, and induce sleep through mundane means.

Guys. Guys.

Ok, wait, guys.

What if, ok, what if we captured the dragon.

And made it fight in our arena when it's done?

>>14928748
Then we'd have to explain where we got a dragon. I mean, we could totally come up with something completely believable, but it might draw a lot more attention than we want at the moment.

On the plus side, we could hide the dragon in plain sight, like we're doing with ourselves and much of our operations.

^Not far enough. Kill him, bind his soul to a Necroconstruct that submits him to our will. Nazgul all up in this bitch. Regrettably, I'm on a Wii and can't help planning this time. I'm sure you guys will work it out somehow!

>>14928710

Here is the contract I came up with:

The Bound Party (known also as the Bound, or Witch) shall adhere to the following terms for the Binding Party (known also as the Binder, or Dark One)

1) The Bound Witch shall carry out the orders the Binding Dark One issues to the best of her total ability, both mental and physical, as a minion of the Dark One. The Bound shall follow the intentions of the orders to the best of her ability, and will ask clarification on orders when possible.

2) The Bound Witch shall never tell a lie to the Binding Dark One when speaking in a secure and private manner, and must volunteer information she believes to be useful. She must volunteer said information at the first opportunity for secure and private conversation between the Bound and the Binder. The Bound Witch may tell lies to other people, and may lie to the Binding Dark One when third parties to the conversation are present if telling the lie would advance the Dark One's interests in her opinion. If there is no gain for the Dark One from her lie, she may not tell it.

3) The Bound Witch may never take action against the Binding Dark One unless given an explicit order to do so by the Binding Dark One, provided that at the time the explicit order is issued the Dark One is not under duress nor in a state of mind that is not legally competent (i.e. not mind controlled or brain damaged).

(continued)

>>14928785

4) The Bound Witch is obligated to continue to pursue methods of expanding her power which do not run counter to the Binder's interests, during periods of time when she is neither recuperating, carrying out the Binder's orders, nor furthering the Binder's agenda. The Bound may take breaks from pursuing expanding her power (rest and relaxation) when the Binder grants permission. The Bound may request such breaks when normal recuperation (sleep and healing) does not fully repair her injured mind and/or body and/or soul.

5) The Bound Witch shall keep up a course of maintenance of her person, eating healthy meals, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy sleep cycle, and engaging in periodic diversions so that her mind does not wither, such that she is rested and healthy when not on missions assigned by the Binder. She may deviate from her normal maintenance in emergencies, for as long as she can physically stand, or for the duration of the emergency.

6) The Bound Witch will seek permission from the Binding Dark One before engaging in any activity which requires the use of a soul or multiple souls to power it, and shall seek permission before engaging in any activity which could release energies sufficient to completely destroy a thorpe, village, or larger community.

7) The Bound Witch will give the Binding Dark One presents on his birthday, and on two major holidays to be named by the Binding Dark One. These gifts will be in good taste, and will be whatever the Bound Witch thinks the Binding Dark One would genuinely enjoy.

(continued)

>>14928792

In return, the Binding Dark One agrees to these conditions

1) The Binder shall see to the well being of the Bound by providing an allowance of at least equal value to one head of cattle a year (to be allotted on the Binder's birthday), medical care when required (up to the value of one percent of the Binder's net value, or beyond that at his discretion), and conversation when practical (at the sole discretion of the Binder).

2) The Binder shall not order the Bound to a certain death unless said death would result in a net doubling of the material wealth and assets the Binder has at his disposal.

3) The Binder shall provide the Bound with a present on the Bound's birthday, and one two holidays of her choice. The present will be chosen by the Binder and shall be useful in some way. Potential gifts include, but are not limited to: Property, land, slaves, cultural treasures, objects d'art, clothing, jewels, and fine wines.

And before you ask, the gifting stuff is there to give the contract a veneer of legitimacy if she ever has a chance to contest it.

>>14928781
>Dragon Death Knight Gladiator

Not sure if want.

>>14928785
>>14928792
>>14928800
Ok, I'll say yes she can defend herself from enemies due to Article 5 for the bound witch.

Why dont`t we finally put all those adventurers to use.
First we fake the witch`s death (she is mayor right unless I missed something).
Second we let the dragon ``take control``
Third we spread word of an evil dragon terrorizing a small village and offer some textiles in return for saving us from the evil monster.
Fourth we mix in with a promising group of adventurers using a new persona.

>>14928879

We would need to sequester or kill the elf for that to work, since the dragon intended to use him as the puppet ruler.

It's also risky because it would leave the town exposed to the wrath of the dragon, and this dragon seems pretty prone to getting his claws dirty. The only reason he's being at all subtle with us is because he's got a long game in mind (probably wants the magic nexus our tower is on, and maybe that gold mine).

the elf, getting to his feet, slowly begins to walk down the path out of the woods. Wrapping his arm with a piece of his shirt, he grimly marches, while the assassin silently follows, unseen. As they make their way back to the tower, you cut the feed to the orb. Putting it back, you look around your laboratory. There must be something here you can use to trap the dragon. Flipping through your alchemic recipe books, you come up with nothing over the course of several hours. Just some paralytics, and they need to be injected in far too much quantity to be practical.

Your spiders search through the books on their own as you leave your laboratory. Glancing at the large clock built into the wall, you find yourself with five hours until dusk.

Making your way to the library, you assume yourself with studying further Shadow magic. For the next three hours you learn about judicial practices and other such esoteric things, like jury duty. Reading through chapter after chapter, you read through a page regarding magic draining practices. Almost ignoring it, you realize its potential, and throw the book back open to the page. Mystical Disarmament Of Supernatural Creatures In No-Magic Zones. Examining diagrams and equations, along with thousands of phrases and depictions, you feel you can emulate such a thing, given time to prepare a trap, and prey to drain of their powers. Calling forth your spiders, you craft a flat circle on a piece of paper, and with the materials they bring you, enchant it. Bonding the circle to a set of command words, you place a small, useless magic item on it. Feeling the circle warp around the object, you utter the command words, and in a flash of energy, sense the object's power transfer to you.

>>14928960
Looking at the grandfather clock in the center of your study, you realize you're late for dinner with the assassin. Getting up from the table with a jolt, you hand the paper circle to a spider and leave for the dining hall. Entering it, you act completely calm and serene as the assassin glares at you. Smiling, you take your seat at the head of the table.
"So. I followed the elf to the drop point."
You nod.
"A dragon came and picked up the vase. He said he wanted the elf to kill the mayor, after the guilds get proper status."

>>14928960
So. . . What does it do? Having a Dragon as a slave would be awesome indeed, but failing that, we can just kill it.

>>14928960
Awesome we should test this on living beings though to see if there are other effects. lets grab a weak wizard or magical creature who can do a form of magic we can`t (if there are any) and see if this adds pure magic or also transports magical ability.

Ok, act cool. But surprised. Act, uh, super cool. Yeah. Wait, no. Act like you're cool, but surprised. Act like a surprised cool person. It'll be fine. Probably. Maybe.

>>14928959
There is an upside though since as you probably noticed we have a very low number of competent lackey`s that can act in public and if we force some adventurers in to pacts we can use them to build an organization.

Ok, so, if we act like we knew, she'll get suspicious. But if we act like we didn't even suspect, she'll think we're not as amazing as we appear to be.

So. What do?

>>14929051
Act like we expected something powerful but slightly surprised it was a dragon.

>>14928974

"There was a spy stone in the vase. I sabotaged it, of course, but that the dragon wanted that vase means it was spying on me. That it revealed itself to the elf means that circumstances have changed for it. It's obviously in the end-game of its plan to take over the town.

"Dragons are usually motivated by sheer greed, so the recent influx of wealth and the gold mine's new productivity likely attracted it. It will probably try to set the elf up as a puppet once there is a power vacuum, and will use confederates in the guilds (probably the second in commands who have just risen to leadership positions) to maintain control of the town. He'll likely want lots of tribute.

"There are some ways we can foil the dragon, and in fact I was working on a very interesting application of some magic just before dinner that may prove to be the solution. We will see. I was worried about the guilds throwing mages at us, so I came up with a good design for a magic-draining circle. It should work just as well on a dragon.

"Thank you for following after the elf. I was worried that whoever was picking up the drop would just kill him, so it was necessary for you to shadow him.

"Now, the question is, do we want to try to trap the dragon, or just kill it once we weaken it? Have you any practical experience with the beasts?"

>>14928974

"I was worried it was a dragon or trained wyvern, based on the reports of the condition of the bodies. Well, that's not good, but some of the anti-wizard defenses I was working on should be able to help."

>>14928974

Start off with an apology for being late. "I'm sorry I am late. I know it's very rude to be late when you're the host, but work held me up a little longer than I expected. Luckily, it sounds like what I was working on will be just the thing we need against a dragon. I finished the design for an anti-magic circle; I intended to use it as a trap against the mages if they were behind the spying, but I can scale it up and we can use it to drain the dragon.

"We just need to get it into the trap, and then we'll be able to pick between killing it, or trying to bind it to a contract of the same sort I used on the witch. You know how effective those are. Oh well, that's a concern for later. We should enjoy each others company tonight; it's so annoying that we don't get to spend more time together."

GUYS GUYS RED ALERT! Apologise for being late ASAP! Ladies ABSOLUTELY HAET guys arriving late!

>>14928974

Apologize for being late, present her with that gift we planned (we did get something from her homeland right? Flowers or delicacies are what I asked for).

Then get to business. The stuff where we show off "deducing" what the dragon is up to is fine I guess.

Then charm her like crazy.

>>14929076
>>14929168
You swiftly apologize for being late, and she sighs into her glass.
"Well, at least you showed up. Lotta guys have stood me up in the past."
Doing your best to look apologetic, you reassure her, stating that you enjoy her company far too much to stand her up, and move on to the matter of the dragon. As you explain your previous suspicious, as well as your ideas as to what the dragon is doing in Mooncrown, Shaiara drinks her wine nervously. As you ask her about her prior experience with dragons, she coughs into her glass.
"Oh, well, my experience with dragons is a bit, uh, personal. All you have to know is I would rather go back to working for the witch than work with a dragon. In fact, the latter led to the former."
You ask her to elaborate on her story, but she shakes her head.
"I'd really rather not."
Sighing, you reluctantly allow her to keep her secret, as your tower spiders begin to serve the first course.
"If you want my opinion on the whole trapping thing, I'd have to say you should trap it and then kill it. Otherwise it'll come back and bite you in the ass later."
She pushes her wine glass towards the tower spider, and it refills it. She continues to drink, seemingly with the goal of getting drunk.
"But if the dragon is trying to take over the town, I'd wager he's already got whoever's gonna run the guilds in his pocket."

>>14929320
You frown for a moment, seemingly disturbed by this turn of events, but as with all master manipulators, keep her guessing. Moving off the subject of the draconic incursion, you ask her about herself. How she's been, what she's been doing lately. The kind of things that most commoners like, the fools. She nervously explains about her experiences with the town, and her decoration of her home, which she appreciates very much, by the way, thank you Dark One. She moves on to her hobbies, namely gardening, and trimming some kind of very small tree that I've never even heard of... why would anyone want a small tree? Trees are supposed to be big!

Ah, but she asks about yourself. Which, in your faux-gentlemanly manner, you answer briefly and modestly. You have been busy with business of late, managing the town for the 'good of all'. She seems to buy it, despite your taste in fashion, or furniture, or the fact that you practically drip with EVIL.

The dinner goes by like a blur of talking and enjoying the kind of food most commoners never even get to smell. She savors every last bite, while you yourself do your best to seem more interested in her than your work. Finally, as the night grows long, and the tower begins to darken, you and her part ways. It is far too late for such things as 'small trees' and 'gardening' anyways, oh evil one. Reaching behind your back, you feel the gift you bought for her handed to you by one of your spiders. Moving it towards it slowly, she holds it in her hand and unwraps it. The imported gift, from her far homeland, makes her blush intensely. Thanking you, she quickly excuses herself and leaves the room with nary a word.

>>14929322
As she leaves the dining hall, you too make your exit, climbing your tower to your quarters. Several spiders leave your room as you approach, passing you on on the wall. Watching them leave, you glance into your room. The assassin seems to melt out of the darkness, and with a sudden movement is on you. Planting her lips on yours, she holds you close, and slowly guides you to the bed.

Opening your eyes slowly, you look around the room. It is early morning, and the sun, hidden behind the mountain, seems to glow red with blood. Looking down at your side, the assassin snuggled close to your chest, looks up at you, smiling. You scratch her head slightly and she nuzzles close to your face.
"Last night was wonderful."

Hmm. Not sure why that's in here... and I thought this was supposed to be for the children of your minions to read, that they might know of your evilness? Maybe I got the wrong copy...

Well, at least she didn't kill you, sire. So many evil beings have been slain by feminine wiles.

I think we've overlooked one possibility. There's a war on, so why not muster up a "town guard", aka an elite bunch of soldiers that are under our bidding? We could set them up in some sweet living quarters, and indoctrinate them in our favor, and voila, we've got a Black Guard!

>Got the wrong copy

...

So this happens a lot then?

The witch is gonna be MAD.

>>14929361
We're EVIL. Such things are expected of us.

>Drinking herself to stupor.
She wanted to get laid bro.
Contact Lliara and get her up to speed. Possible fake assassination plot? Lure the elf with promises of wealth and power, fake an assassination plot(possibly involving a dagger and our spidercloth), then sic the adventurers on that bsstard(dragon). After he makes short work of them move in for the kill. Continue governing by proxy through the elf.

>>14929361
Yes. Mad that the assassin got to us first.

>>14929320
>>14929322
>>14929328
Hmm, what do we know who has connections ti all the guilds? We should get a report from Lliara. Also, we should hold a strategy session between, us, our witch-mayor, and our assassin for the purpose of uncovering and neutralizing the subversion of Moonbrook. After all that's our job.

Sure is writing-similar-to-that-one-short-lived-bard-quest in here.

>>14929328
Put on the charm.

We're good at manipulation, this should be a piece of cake. The witch is going to be jealous if she finds out, if she doesn't already know. This is a good thing.

Sometime later, once the assassin's out doing her duty, we should use the orb to sort out the memories of her previous... employer.

WHOOPS REPLIED TOO FAST! Anyway, maybe save a random adventurer and make him our Sith Apprentice? Oh, and subtly hint of the accident to the Witch, we don't want to gloat but we MUST assure the assassin doesn't tell her!

>>14929421
What. Nobody on earth would buy that.
"Oh hey, don't get mad but I accidentally had passionate sex with your former assassin after eating dinner with her and drinking wine for three hours."

Maybe, but I *really* fear the Assassin telling her. Or maybe we can order her to not be jealous?

>>14929439
>drinking wine for three hours
>accidental sex

I dunno, I'd buy it.

>>14929470
Well, I'm pretty sure the witch still can't do anything against the assassin. So that's sort of ok.

>>14929421
It wasn't an accident. We wanted this. The witch isn't blind; she knows we're an intelligent, evil, apparently lecherous 18-year-old, and she has feelings for us. Probably mainly a result of the contract, but she does. She also knows the assassin has feelings for us, if she isn't a complete idiot.

We should just be frank about it. Tell her straight-up, and see how she reacts.

>>14929486
And then she turns the assassin inside out with her mind. Great idea.

>>14929507
She can't, unless we order her to. Which we will not.

The assassin tortured her for two hours, in front of us. We did nothing to stop it, and probably enjoyed it, given the fact that we're evil. We healed her up and she only got closer to us. This, we can use in the same way.

>>14929486

The witch has to do whatever we tell her. So tell her to not be jealous, and to be friendly to Shaiara and that's the end of it. No drama needed.

Courting Shaiara is as much about proving we could, as about wedding her loyalty to us. We're going to make her a proper consort, vested with the power to be able to be highly effective and evil on her own.

Think about it! Little trees! It's so perverse and such a show of the gardener's power over the plant that it must be evil!

>>14929486
> consensual sex
> ¿lecherous?

Naw, if he were lecherous he would be picking out the best looking women from the village and feeding them a regular diet of pie.

If anything the dude is a healthy 18 year old evil overlord.

>>14929592
>Naw, if he were lecherous he would be picking out the best looking women from the village and feeding them a regular diet of pie.
The pie only works once. He could just pick out the best-looking women in the village and force them to have sex with him. Dark lord, y'know.

>>14929592
Has it occurred to anyone that he's probably the youngest evil overlord ever?

The other overlords must be all like "Oh that young upstart, he's such a whippersnapper", and then they go and eat cucumber sandwiches and take two dozen pills, because otherwise their hearts stop.

>>14929536
>We're going to make her a proper consort

We don't really need a consort, considering that we should just build our heir out of spiders (that is, if we don't discover the key to immortality). But the assassin's devotion will be useful.

>>14929633
I don't know about that. There've been times in history where a monarch dies, leaving a very young heir to take the throne. This world has probably seen its fair share of young evil overlords.

>>14929642
really I think immortality should be one of our major objectives and heck we might be able to use the dragon for that.

>>14929717

There's more than one dragon in the world. We need experience killing them if we're going to be doing research on them.

So keeping the plan as simple as possible for this first dragon is important. Kill it and then re-animate the body. This is going to rock. Zombie dragon with mechanical spiderling pilots and paratroopers!

Laying in bed with the assassin for another several minutes, it occurs to you that the witch might be rather jealous of the assassin. As you and her, ahem, enjoy each other's company further, you consider your options. The witch, of course, still has orders to not harm the assassin. At least not physically. That should be good enough, you suppose. With the assassin laying back on the bed, completely satisfied, you roll to your feet out of the sheets and move to get dressed. Removing your normal robes from your wardrobe, you pull your suit on, and the red and black robes over it. Feeling around for a moment, you find the witch's orb, and with a quick thought in its direction, call her to your throne room. Leaving your quarters, you pass underneath a ceiling covered with spiders, all watching you leave your room. Some of the dropping down, they follow you cheerfully, as if curious as to what happened when they left you to the assassin.

Entering your throne room, and sitting upon your golden laced coal-black throne, you wave at Fat and Ugly as they pass through. They bow in your direction and continue on, flanked by a dozen tower guards. The tower guardian spider, a massive beast of steel and gold, moves across the ceiling close just ahead of them. The tower is busy, as with every morning. You never really stop to watch though, being far too busy for other less important people.

Finally, the witch arrives. Apologizing for her lateness, she looks upon you with a smile. You reach for the morning report, and she happily hands it to you. Flipping through it, you discuss what you have discovered regarding the dragon as you read about three new deaths, all burned to death. The witch, not asking questions but waiting for you to finish speaking, seems to take it all in, and expresses that she had believed it to be a dragon from the start. Nodding, you continue reading, and hand the report back to her.

>>14929783
Lliara takes it with a smile, but that smile soon fades. Confessing to her your fling with the assassin, she seems to look confused for a moment, then angry, then sad. Finally, she begins to cry, looking away from you for a moment to wipe tears from her face. As you go to apologize, she moves towards you and holds herself close to you. Crying, she squeezes herself against you, rather uncomfortably. Shifting in your throne, you stare at her as she apologizes for her outburst and moves to leave. You get up and stop her, and she ceases all movement. Holding her close, she continues to cry on your shoulder for some time.

Ugh, tears just make me so... angry. Like I just want to go and punch a puppy to death. Sadly, we are all at of puppies for the moment. I shall go purchase more later, sire.

Brushing her dress flat as she begins to calm down, she wipes the tears from her face and looks up at you. Caressing your face with her gloves hand, she expresses her love for you, and asks that you not abandon her for the assassin. Smiling, you reassure her that you would never do such as thing. You 'love' her, and would never abandon her for anyone. The witch, seemingly calmed, pulls herself yet closer to you, and turns to leave. She promises to find some way to make up for her sudden expression of emotions.

>Girl overcome with emotion and regret
>OP just wants to go and punch a puppy to death

You really are a psycho, you know that?

>>14929813
I would expect nothing less. He's roleplaying an evil minion, and he's doing a fine job of it.

>>14929828
No he isn't. He didn't go and get more puppies to kill as soon as we ran out. He waited until it was too late.

>>14929900
That was a joke. We have no use for puppies.

>>14929828
>>14929813

Punching puppies is too small time.

Instead, you should purchase puppies, then raise them to be perfectly loyal and vicious war dogs.

Warm and cuddly to their master, vicious and bloodthirsty to all others.

But it is now time to construct a trap! A perfect, evil trap, for the dragon! We must have him, dead or alive! For both will work either way.

Preferably alive, so we can break him, humiliate him, and later use him as a mount.

IF PAIN HAD A FLAVOR YOURS WOULD BE QUITE DELICIOUS.
Stare deeply into her eyes and ask her:
-What *is* Love? Is it to desire to hold that Other, passionately and desperately hold, against all odds, against society, rivals, the rusting march of time; to become unto other in a singular moment of History? To fullfill the narrative role of being each other's Perfect half and embrace, in a moment of passion, forgetting all else; enemies, hardships, annoying interruptions; but also friends, boons and the sweet frivolities of live? To embrace in an timeless kiss fully intending for each others Deaths; for, as long as we live in this Imperfect Present, never truly realized, we will always be doomed to be forever apart? Or...

>What *is* Love?

Oh baby, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me no more.

>>14929994
OR WHAT?

Also, yo, that bitch be messed the fuck up. Shit dog.

>>14929793
Call back to her, informing her that we will of course make up for your infidelity. (even though we will probably just go right around and do it again, after all we are building a harem.) We want her to WANT to be loyal to us, instead of hating us for our insincerity and only being bound by contract. (in the unlikely event that it becomes null, if shes still loyal shell still serve us, instead of a witch on a warpath for our blood.)

Draft up plans / orders to revamp the guards. They need to become much more competent. I mean, being hypnotized by mages? Unacceptable. (from the last thread) Their training needs to be twice as difficult, to weed out the weak, and if possible, they need to have their own battle mages / anti mage units. All Completely loyal to us of course. They may not be able to be of much use against a dragon now, but by the nine hells, they will in the future!!

ON TO THE TRAP!!
We want to make this thing as airtight as possible, maybe consult the spiders or the witch to see if there was anything we overlooked?

Also, and on to the elff, we may want to scare the shit out of him by speaking to him through his mind. You know, in case he has any second thoughts about whos REALLY in charge here.

>>14929994

Poetry. I like it.

While I simultaneously don't understand it.

Who says being classy and evil can't go together?

But yes, we need to say some nice things to her. Have her eating out of the palm of our hands. After all, would it not be preferable to have her working for us of her own volition? Perhaps a bit dangerous, but if only to make her more predictable?

But we need to construct a trap for this dragon.

We should order information regarding the attacks be leaked. Let the guards know of the attacks, and hint that the perpetrator may have been a dragon. When the rumors start flying, we put out a reward for conclusive evidence of the dragon's identity, or its head.

Let the adventurers become a thorn in his side.

>>14929793
Hmm, while Lliara's here, we should reveal what we found out. Mention that does she know or can do anything that we can use against the dragon or his plot. Mention that the elf the dragon used and wanted to use to murder her is in our custody, and if a few more scratches and bruises appear, what a shame, hopefully he's alive after all that.

>>14930050
>we will of course make up for your infidelity.
>we will probably just go right around and do it again
>We want her to WANT to be loyal to us, instead of hating us for our insincerity
These points, they do not go together at ALL.

Look, just tell her that she'll always have a special place in our bed even while we enjoy the charms of as many other women as we want. Say it like it's something that should make her happy. Fact is, this woman does not get to be even remotely jealous, and NONE of our women get to even pretend that they deserve monogamy.

>>14930059
>After all, would it not be preferable to have her working for us of her own volition?

She will never be working for us of her own volition, she is bound to us with an infernal contract and any feelings for us ultimately stem from that. If it were ever lifted she would probably try to kill us.

Torturing the witch like this is fine. Messing with her emotions and her dignity is fine. Implying she was at fault is great stuff. Don't make any promises about being faithful. After all, would you be faithful to a set of golf clubs? No? Well the witch is like a thinking set of golf clubs. A useful and valuable thing, but because she is our thrall, still a thing.

>>14930050

How about magic items that protect them from having their heads messed with? We should be able to manage that. Maybe special helmets.

Or is it to recognize each other as a fundamental part of ourselves, and never wish for separation of any kind for it means Doubly Death; death of ourselves and of the mirror, or abyss, that gazes unto us? Moreso, an imperfect Death that brings not Deliverance but a meek sense of futility, of ruin, bitter nostalgia of such a time when we were... when we were Complete, Blissful, Perfect, Otherwordly... That to wish to be with that significant Other /hold the mental orb and telepathically whisper her "Or Others"/ is naught but our desire to live our lifes to their FULLEST. You Are a Part of Me as much As I am of You. And, never forget, We Are in This Together, Glory or Death come. In this, Together, till the last drop of Blood. /Whisper till the Last/.

Sorry for the spelling mistakes, pretentious writefaggotry and snailriffic speed but damn, I'm on a Wii!

>>14930104
And if the contract breaks shell probably kill us, because you want to treat her like a thing.

If she loves us, she wont.

>>14930077
>>14930095

Hmmm... yes, these go together well.

We need to inform her of the plot to have her killed by the elf via the dragon.

Then we need to look enraged by the fact that someone would desire to hurt *her*. We need to tell her that while we may share our bed with other women, she will always have a special place in ours. Which would be reinforced by our efforts to ensure her safety from any form of harm from this assassination plot.

Perhaps we should summon the elf, only to have him captured and double-teamed by our assassin and witch.

I'm sorry, what was the assassin's name again?

>>14930126

The contract is about as fail-safe as it gets. Are we going to stay "Sort of evil. Like a dire badger" or are we going to be EVIL in big bright lights powered by slow-burning souls?

>>14930172

With little evil bonsai trees?

>>14930150

Shaiara.
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14928381

>>14930172

I don't know man, manipulating people through love? That sounds pretty fucking evil to me.

In any case, I say we use those dirty adventurers to throw a wrench into the dragon's plans. Get the rumor mill working, and make sure our most talkative guards learn of the dragon attacks.

The dragon obviously wants to control from the shadows - how can it if the rumor mill speaks of his existence?

>>14930172
>finds a first level soul contract spell
>Thinks it's foolproof
>My face when

>>14930150
>>14930095
You pull her back towards you as she goes to leave. Staring into her eyes, you continue to speak. Explaining her place in your heart, and your bed. She understands, as you discuss the matter with her further. Fat and Ugly walk in in the middle of your speech, but seeing you holding the witch, exit slowly and carefully. Thought Lliara seems apprehensive at first, your reassurances win her over. Women! As if as you, the Dark One, need to win anyone over. She seems to accept her fate as you fully explain, and you decide to inform her of the elf's orders. Sitting in your throne as if concerned for her fate by the dragon's plot, you unveil everything you know unto her, and with a voice filled with concern for her safety, unfold a plot of your own. To pin the murders on the dragon, and not only that, but to turn the adventurers of Mooncrown against it. First, she is to start a rumor, perhaps by telling one of her more talkative aides of the dragon's existence. She must do what she can to support this rumor, without seeming to do so directly. The town must become paranoid of any draconic subject, and in their paranoia, more, false rumors will emerge. These rumors will no doubt push the adventurers into action, and then, when they are at their most anxious, the elf will strike. This assassination attempt will fail, you assure her, and though you are loath to put her into such a situation, such things are necessary. She is supportive of your plan, and swears to not fail you, as you continue. The town guard will tell the public that the dragon was he who hired the would-be assassin, and with their beloved mayor in danger, the people will lash out. Concluding your plan, you have her tell it back to you to be perfectly sure, and she does so perfectly. With a kiss, she leaves you, satisfied with your explanation.

>>14930566
Sighing, you finally turn your attention back to your work. Exiting the throne room for your laboratory, you begin to plan your trap. Drawing up diagrams and blueprints, you piece together a cunning plan, a plan which you have no doubt the dragon will fall for. The adventurers were but one part of the whole thing. Once the dragon realizes its cover is blown, it will of course come after the mayor in desperation. The mayor will try and placate the beast, lulling it into a false sense of security, and then your trap will be put into motion. With assistance from your spiders, you begin to create the poison for the trap, and to plan out the magic-draining circle. Over the course of several hours, you build the trap, and prepare for the dragon to come. Then, sure of your work's completion, you pull the elf's orb from your pocket. Feeling your way into his mind, you shout at him with a booming, furious voice. The resulting ripples in the pond seemed panicked, as the elf struggles to understand what is happening. Shouting at him again, you demand to know what he is doing. The elf panics further, and you force the idea of your anger into his mind, expressing your knowledge of the dragon's existence and plot. Ordering the elf to come to your tower, with the threat to send the assassin to get him, you smile with evil intent and replace the orb.

>>14930580
The next week passes slowly. With your preparations for the dragon complete, you find yourself with a true lack of things to do. So, like any Dark Overlord would, you do the assassin. Many times, in fact. And you study. Study the magic-draining device, and its potential for evil. You practice with some small trinkets, draining their powers and trying to study their effects on your person. While you feel stronger, somehow, you find yourself unable to use what powers the trinkets had. But after draining dozens of weak magic items, your powers seem to grow. Only a little bit, but the fact that they grow at all is impressive, and quite fascinating for you.

While you experiment in your tower, outside, the town slowly goes crazy with paranoia. With the rumors of the dragon compounded by the murders, the townsfolk and adventurers cry out for blood. But whom could stand against the dragon, who has killed so many? The adventurers begin to search the countryside for its lair, while the townspeople try to convince the mayor to offer a reward. With your permission, she relents, and puts out a quite sizable sum, available for the taking for any who bring her the dragon. Alive or dead. With that done, the adventurers double their efforts, the promise of gold urging them on. And then, on the day of the planned assassination, one of the adventuring parties doesn't come back. Rumors fly every which way. The people are sure it's the assassin. The mayor tries to calm them with a speech, and is suddenly attacked from above. A deranged elf, no doubt working for the dragon, leaps upon her and attempts to end her life. And your assassin is there to save her. Tackling the elf, she and him fight across rooftops and through windows, until finally, the elf falls into the old, dried up well. The assassin is thanked by the mayor for saving her life, and the assassin responds that it is you that she should be thanking.

>>14930586
The people are furious, with the entire town yelling for the dragon's head on a platter. And you, with the disappeared adventurer's map, know where the dragon lives. Showtime.

It is morning. You, along with the mayor, are in your throne room. The assassin is still sleeping.

>Showtime
Alright lads, let's do this!

LEEEEEEEERRRRROOOOOYYYY JENKINS!

>>14930594
Fuck her in the throne room.

>>14930636
Dammit, I know that's the natural reaction, but we need to be a pro here! Save it for AFTER the plan goes off flawlessly!

>>14930594

Devious. Most devious.

We must prepare. A bit more. Sure, the dragon's magic may be drained, but it's still a freakin' dragon.

Send out a call - a call to the adventurers. They know us as the spider guy, with a small amount of magic - combined with the fact that we're probably seen as somewhat eccentric (we're 18 and and filthy fucking rich out of our own efforts) - us knowing a magic-draining circle won't trigger any flags.

We gather a group of adventurers, as well as some of the least competent of our regular guards, with some of our best spider-men guards. The plan is simple - with our small army, we march out to the dragon's lair. Most of them are going to die - it's a dragon. Those who survive, we quietly off (since we have the spider men to clean them up), if they become suspicious of us.

All in all, we're seen as a well-meaning noble, leading a group of strong individuals to defeat the menacing dragon.

Of course, the survivors could just be forced into a soul-binding pact. Hell, we can use them in one if we bind the dragon.

>>14930586
>>14930580
>>14930566
>Walls of text.
Woah man, did you really expect me to read all that

>>14930711

Yes, so read it.

>>14930711

Your loss, it's awesome stuff.

>>14930594
Illusion a spiderman, or chief guard Fat/Ugly to look like one of the missing adventurers, only this time very injured. Gashes, dried blood, an arm hanging limply. That kind of thing. He should stumble into town, give the map with the dragon's location to the first person he sees, and mumble about dragons, before falling into (fake) unconsciousness. Mayor comes in, gets him to an infirmary where he will be unconscious until the dragon is dead.
You then can distribute copies of the map showing where the dragon is, to the adventurers, so that they attack the dragon. Mayor is to organize the adventurers so that they force the dragon to use his magic wastefully.
Then, we shall spring the trap onto the dragon. Our spidermen, metal arachnids, the assassin, the witch mayor, and us as well, will battle and vanquish the reptile.

So, if we drain the dragon, we'll become even more powerful?

Awesome.

>>14930778

I like this one better. Let's go with this.

And if any adventurers manage to get the job done?

Awesome, we now have competent lackeys we can soul bind.

Ok, i came up with some things we should do, not now, but whenever we have time(just try to remember them, its very late here and i dont know if i could post it later.

We should, while talking with the assassin, talk about the dragon, dragons, or anything dragon-like, and try to do it at the end of the date, or the main topic of the conversation, unless she complains about it. Then, in the exact moment she leaves, in a casual way, whe will take hers orb, and read his mind, and try to see if she is thinking or remembering what happened to her with a dragon.

We could do the same, but talking, or being, with the witch. In fact, anytime we talk very close to the witch, even in private, we should use the assassin's orb, and see through it. She could be spying us. What i intend here is to detect jeausly toward the witch. she is not bounded, and those she could do something we could regret. We should scry her usually so we can control her.

Just being paranoid here.

Oh, and some extra dose of paranoid.

Archive this now. better safe than sorry.

Oh, it has being done. Vote here: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=dark+overlord

>>14930939

No, being paranoid is good. We're EVIL. Being suspicious is something that is good.

After all, if we had been at the start, then we'd have detected the bloody elf from the beginning?

Speaking of which, we need to troll him a bit. Just start yelling at him through the orb late at night at the worst possible moments.

Like when he's taking a dump.

We still need to drive him insane so that he smears the "good image" of elves to the locals.

Here is a thought, as much as i would loathe to do so, seeing as hes a foul elf, we could try and remake him into one of our dark apostles. Hes already afraid of us, and we have direct access to his mind, could we not 'rewrite' him so to speak? Fear is all well and good, in fact its glorious, but he could be just as useful as the witch and assassin if we do it right.

Or we could just turn him into a walking bomb and tell him to go hug his elf friends, you know, for kicks......

>>14931033
>elfs
>Jews

Oh god. We're the Nazis, people!

>>14931033

Ohh, I like that idea. Evil and economics go hand-in-hand. Along with brainwashing, dark apostles, and walking-bombs.

Hell, why not turn him into a walking bomb to use against the dragon?

>>14931033
This could work..

bump

So, any bright ideas on what we should do to the dragon?

Enslavement via soul-binding, outright slaughter then experimentation of his blood, skin, bones, etc?

I was thinking that if we try to soul-bind him, we have our witch be his representative. You know, kind of like a lawyer? Maybe knock him out first so he's not conscious. I mean, if you can be represented in the court of law, then you can be represented by someone in a contract, right?

Would be fun to use him as a mount of sorts. Maybe make it known that we captured and enslaved him. But if we do that, we need to make it look like he isn't very smart - something closer to an animal than something sentient.

Mainly since I don't know how we'd manage to sneak him back to the lair.

Also, we have any plans on dealing with those mages guilds?

>>14931390
I don't think we have the skill or the gear to enslave or otherwise subdue it. We are hitting the damn thing with everything we got to kill it. Kill it dead.

Taking your morning report, you eat in the throne room, far too excited by your plan to bother going to the dining hall. Your witch-mayor updating you on the status of the adventurers, you sit back in your throne and think. Running a few ideas past the witch, along with Fat and Ugly, they give you what feedback they can from what they understand. Ordering them to send out a call under your name to adventurers, you dismiss Fat and Ugly to put your sub-plan into action. The witch staying with you in the throne room, you call a spiderman into the room. The creature, heavily muscled and completely loyal, kneels before you, awaiting its orders. Discussing you plan with the witch, you and she bring the spiderman to your laboratory, with the other spidermen staying behind in the throne room, to come and get you if anything happens. With the witch and the spideman ready and waiting, you begin to form arcane magic around your servant. Assisting you with her own magic, the witch and you make swift progress in casting an illusion over the spiderman, with false wounds covering his body, and the image of an arm hanging on by a thread. The spiderman stands perfectly still, and upon completion of the spell, takes the next half of his orders. With a copy of the map in his possession, the 'adventurer' leaves the tower via the window, swinging down it on his way to Mooncrown. The witch, pleased with herself and her ability to help you craft such an illusion, leaves you as you keep working. Ordering forth your spiders, and having them prepare the trap, they carry the package along your side as you leave the tower for the village. Riding your spiders like a wave, in your normal fashion, you find your way to the village just as the mayor is helping get the fallen 'adventurer' indoors.

>>14931442
Greeting the mayor, accompanied by your spiders, you and her go indoors to discuss the dragon problem. The townsfolk outside, yelling for a hunting party to be organized, you and the mayor pretend to talk over a light salad. Finally exiting the mansion, the mayor yells for the people to be calm. Yelling for the people to be silent, she holds the map towards them. Shouting an inspiring speech out into the crowd, with you doing your best to look the part as her friend the businessman, she calls for a party to be gathered. You and her are going hunting!

With Fat, Ugly, and yourself at her side, the mayor leads the group of adventurers Fat and Ugly gathered to the edge of town. Many of them seem more than concerned for her safety, and yours. A few of them you recognize as part of another group that was hired in your name some weeks ago. They stand out among the others as the best equipped, with spider silk shirts to improve their survivability. These adventurers interrupt her many times over the course of her discussing the battle plan. And annoyingly enough, scoff at your own presence. Those ungrateful bastards!

But you and party are soon enough underway in your hunt. Yourself and the mayor lead the way, with your spiders surrounding you and she for protection. The party seems strangely fine with the spiders fighting with them. You army marching off to the dragon's lair, you pass through forest and field, and after many an hour, cross the final hill to the lair. With the adventurers following the battle plan, they take point at the head of the group, blocking off the dragon's exit out of its cave. The guards move up, and then you. Then the adventurers move ahead again, and the rest follow. In this way, do you and they move into the lair. Slowly, carefully, and... on fire?

>>14931448
The adventurers scream as a jet of fire and a yell of blind fury emanates from the darkness. What adventurers survive the initial blast rush at the dragon as it leaves the shadows, and move to attack it. But sword swings and crossbow bolts hit nothing but air, as the dragon rushes forward, impaling ever more adventurers. The guards, along with Fat and Ugly, block the beast's escape, and the escape of the adventurers. As the cave turns into a killing ground, they advance, assisting what few adventurers remain. The dragon continues to decimate their forces, and as you and your spiders prepare your trap, the last of the adventurers begin to fall.

Laying out a tarp, a wide black circle covering it, your spiders assist you in moving it to the front of the dragon's lair. Yelling at the guards and five adventurers to retreat, they obey, and turn running out through the front. The circle hidden under rocks and leaves, you smile as the dragon runs forward, spotting you. Leaping at you, talons extended, it freezes in mid air. The black circle glows, sensing the presence of the dragon, and with a grin, you speak the command word.

The circle glows even brighter as the dragon screams, trying to escape. Dark tendrils reach through the air, and grasp the dragon, pulling it to the ground. The circle seems to burn with raw power, and like thunder, a flash of red, hateful light blinds you for a moment. You can feel the energy, almost too much to handle, as you drain the dragon's life energy. The tarp begins to burn as the dragon tries desperately to destroy it, but it is far too late.

>>14931454
HAHAHAHAHA YES!!

>>14931454
With its magical energy drained, the dragon is helpless as your spiders begin to climb it, covering its exposed flesh. Injecting it over and over with poison, as you feel the power continue to course through your body, you raise your hands to the air as the stream of power becomes visible, the lightning flowing from the dragon to your open palms. The ground around you crackles with electricity, and laughing maniacally, you reach out with your mind. The dragon, now unconscious, is forced against the stone above the cave entrance as your hands rush forward, the sheer force of the impact cracking rock and sending dust into the air. Your spiders leaping off, they scurry around you as you lower your arms, the dragon falling to the ground, drained of magic.

Turning back to the others, your spiders slowly crawl over the two dozen unconscious bodies. The witch, Fat, and Ugly, advised before to shield their eyes, rise to their feet. The others are in what seems to be a deep sleep.

Testing your newfound abilities, you hold your hand out and point two of your fingers at a tree. Evoking the element of fire, you watch as a stream of flame envelopes the plant.

Amazing.

We. Are. Fucking. Awesome.

We deserve a celebratory blowjob!

rolled 50 = 50

>>14931498
indulge in evil laughter.

and then mount the dragons head on our new tower..and make a sweet-ass dragon scale suit, and the assassin some new dragon claw knives.
we gotta use this soon-to-be corpse to it's full potential.

>>14931498
Awesome.

Take the unconscious adventurers and turn them into more spider-elites; no one must know of what happened here except for our loyal servants. The witch and our guards can testify that the dragon was barely defeated, only by the noble efforts of everyone who came, brave sacrifices, etc. etc. and finally by her magic and ours. Thus the pair of us receive most of the popular acclaim.

Spend some time over the next few days testing out our newly increased power- is it oriented towards anything specific, or can we turn it to any purposes we wish? Just how awesome are we now, as compared to both before and to other big nasty magical types?

>>14931505
Yes, now that the dragon is defeated it would probably be time for celebratory activities.

>>14931545
Dragon armor all around! But only for our most trusted.

Fat and Ugly might get some to, they can show off, and revamp the guard now that the dragon is dead.

Indulge in evil laughter!!!

Gather up the remaining adventurers and have them deposited in the dungeons. We can always determine what to do with them later.

What about the elf idea?
>>14931033

Guys guys guys

This was the dragon's lair. That means this is where its hoard was! That means loot! Lots of loot!

>>14931454
>The tarp begins to burn as the dragon tries desperately to destroy it, but it is far too late.

If we're going to use this trick again (and we are) then we should research non-magical fireproofing techniques.

Uh... we're not going to just kill the dragon, are we? We went with the non-lethal approach for a reason, you know.

I mean, sure, if it won't agree to a contract no matter how much pain it's in, we can kill it. But not unless we are absolutely sure we can't use it alive.

>>14931597
THIS

rolled 30 = 30

>>14931605
the way I see it, this dragons worth more dead than alive.

it's a powerless shell of it's former self, and more importantly, it wanted to overthrow US. I say we rip open it's mind, dig around for any knowledge we need, and then slowly and painfully kill the fucker, and make some fancy boots.

>>14931498
You write rather well by the way, wanted to compliment you. Thank you.

>>14931605

There will be other dragons for us to experiment horribly on. We want them to be dragons we specifically hunt for the purpose.

This one was a direct threat. It needs to die.

>>14931584
I second this idea

>>14931605
Cannot be mind-controlled.
Is strong as a fucking dragon.
Probably cannot, or we should not, try to convince him to work for us(he will betray, and will take revenge).
Noisy as hell. We have a town calling for dragon blood, a lot of adventurers probably very angry because of their dead friends, and we are just going to keep him alive? Better turn him undead, keep him under our tower, and wait till we need him to use him. Better safe than sorry.

Guys, no. It can still breath fire! Why don't we put it in the arena on the opening day? Then when it gets killed, we can take its body and do stuff. Until then, let's have the people throw tomatoes at it or something.

>>14931597
This, and
>>14931605
This.

It also may be good to soul-bind it using an adventurer's soul. But not now.

We need to appear weak - as if the act of draining the dragon's magic nearly killed us. That way people won't be suspicious of the fact that we drained it's magical ability, or survived.

If the dragon isn't dead, we need to soul-bind it, or something. It may be necessary to kill it so as to avoid casting suspicion on us. And so that we have a body to present as evidence of our deed.

Think about it; although killing it (or falsifying it's death) may be bad in the short run, in the long run, it would only act to improve our reputation (Dragon-slayer!) among the social elite, thus improving our initial stance for world domination and the corruption of society in our favor.

>>14931631
No, no, no. It's exactly the opposite. It's worth far more alive than dead. Even if it is absolutely impossible for it to regain any magical power, it's still useful. For one, it's a fucking dragon. A living, flying siege machine that turns armies with a look. Even lobotomized, it would make an absurdly good mount.

Also, if all you want is boots, that's all the more reason to keep it alive, because as long as it's alive, it can heal. Which means an infinite supply of flesh and dragonscales.

>>14931656
In the past, we have dealt with direct threats by chaining them to our will. I see no reason for this to be different.

>>14931683
It's immune to the pie. But it can still be contracted, it just has to agree first. And we are very good at manipulation, of the physical kind as well as mental.

Also, we can make illusions. Now that we have the dragon's power, it should be all the more simple to disguise it.

>>14931656
That could also means another threat.

We need to get in this dragon memory. Dont know how dragons work here, but meaby someone could miss that dragon, hear about us killing him, and then try to kill us.

In fact, that dragon could have a trick or two left, even non magical one. We need him isolated right now. He could have used the elf for his bussiness, but can also have anothers minions nearby, more loyal to him, and more sneaky than that elf. Even if not, we should be very carefull. Even if we do it barely, it was too easy. That elf was ridiculous, and we tracked the dragon very easy.

Meaby just imaginations, but i dont like that fucking dragon.

We don't have to actually kill it to make it appear to be dead. Illusions, remember?

rolled 90 = 90

>>14931713
actually, it's worth more dead. the town is calling for the dragons death, if we bring that thing back as a pet, suddenly we're a menace, why should they like us when we keep the thing that terrorized them as a pet?

and no, a lobotomized dragon is a TERRIBLE thing to have..because it's just a flying lizard..we can make one..our..sel-HOLY SHIT GUYS, lets make a construct out of it's corpse!

We need to kill the dragon, right now its too dangerous, any contract we make he has to agree to since we cant mind control him. Better to kill him and have it serve us in undeath than live and screw us over in the long run.

>>14931713
We dont need to hurry. This is the first dragon we encounter, and more will come. We know how to kill them, we are stronger now, and we have his body(and mind, to read only if i understood OP well). That means information, and brute force, although weaker because of being undead. But we will be in better conditions the next time, and the next time, we will go for the great goal, a binded dragon.

Now i think we can barely hold him if he wakes up.

>>14931750
If the town wants a dead dragon, we'll give them a dead dragon. An illusion which turns to ash from the inside out as soon as it is touched, leaving only the scales. This way, we can still sell dragonscale armor without anyone suspecting we still have a live dragon chained up somewhere. Because if there's one thing we don't want, it's people noticing we kept it alive. That's why we will take steps to keep that a secret.

A lobotomized dragon is a regular dragon without the betrayal. It does whatever it is directed to do, mindlessly.

Actually, with our command of divine magic, we could probably just rip out its brain and give it a new one made of spiders.

>>14931750

Can dragons even fly without their magic? This one didn't seem able to.

>>14931750
Hum, flying-bone-firebreathed-lizard-SPIDER

Cool.

It shouldn't be this hard to convince people not to waste assets, especially after the events of the whole quest up to now.

>>14931802
He was paralyzed because our magic, not because of him not having it. In fact, he still have his magic till the end.

They can fly without magic, like a Wyvern do.

Voting on killing the dragon

>>14931817
Its not that we are wasting assets, is that we cannot use them properly without dying in the process.

rolled 2 = 2

>>14931800
>>14931713
you both assume the dragons scales will regrow..and very quickly.

dragons live of obscene amounts of time, and they heal at a rate that matches.

>>14931830
>Voting
>on 4chan

Wut.

>>14931835
You know very well that's not true.

>>14931835

Indeed. Maybe we should kill the dragon, then necro-tize him?

We can yank his soul back from the afterlife, no?

So we make a deal with him: soul-binding in exchange for a necrotic body.

Or we bind him now in a manner that makes him harmless, then make a deal with him.

Then again, it might just be easier to chop his head off and be done with him.

>>14931847
Tell me a wayto do it that cant end with us died.

>>14931840
Well, first, you're not OP, so you don't know if they do or not in this setting. Second, we. Are. A. Mage. If it doesn't heal fast enough, we can speed it up.

We should try to ensure that *nobody* knows about our newfound power. We're trying to keep ourselves on a small scale so that when anyone notices us trying to take over the world, it's too late. It'll be best to kill this dragon, there will be others.

>>14931855
That, for example, is a good idea, but only if we can do that kind of things now.

A dead and not un-dead dragon cannot kill us. And while we talk with his souls, he cannot kill us neither, because of being a ghost, and not having magic. And untill we bind him, he wont be able to kill us, and when he will, he wont, because of being binded.

And we are able to get some scales. And if he refuse, we just get a mindless undead dragon. Is a win-win.

>>14931856
Keep its body anesthetized, but wake its brain. Inform it that it is under our control, and the array beneath it will channel any magical power it gains to us, automatically. We can play nice, but if it doesn't agree to this lovingly-crafted contract, we're going to hurt it, and then we're going to kill it. If it refuses, we hurt it, as promised, until it does, or we decide it's not going to give up. Worst-case, we tear out everything in its head that even looks like it might be up to resisting, and replace it with a spider-brain.

How's that?

Kill him, and raise him into undeath as a servant.

>>14931899
This sounds like it is good for both parties.

>>14931880

Yeah, I agree. It's much simpler just to kill the dragon. Be easier to maintain our image that way.

Plus, it'd make us look more heroic that way - that we put our life and body on the line to weaken the dragon to a point that the survivors were able to stun/kill/maim the dragon.

So with a dead dragon, we get a nice corpse to showcase to the populace, a reinforcement of our valor (especially if we return looking severely weakened from our sacrifice), and a dragon corpse that we can later necrotize into a wholly loyal zombie servant.

If we leave him alive, we cast suspicion on ourselves unless we handle the situation properly, and have to deal with a dragon that may bite us in the ass if we don't contract him properly.

In any case, we need to loot his cave. Use the proceeds to order funerals for the slain, and to improve the guard. Can't be seen skimming any of it (of course, we can take some of the nicer enchants we might find).

>>14931899
Another good option, again, if we are able to do that kind of things.

In either way, we will kill him in the tower, because its always better to do it in a controlled place, and without anyone to see anything. So we should make an illusion of a almost dead dragon, or plain dead, and tell to the town that we are going to take it to the tower, use very fine tools, and try to...

Thats another problem. People will demand a trophy, a price, something from the dragon. Some will claim the head, others plain scalemail armors and things. Are we able to keep him alive, and deliver any of these things? Because we should deliver any of these things, or face a lot of troubles.

>>14931957
What? Fuck them! We killed the dragon, and ALL of the adventurers are 'dead'.

As in, in our dungeon. Being experimented on. By us.

>>14931931
Second the loot thing. Just send spiders to get whatever they find in here, and some guards and spider guards to watch nobody get in the cave.

>>14931967
Probably. Meaby say something about study the dragon, and train the guards to defend the town of other dragons. Then we will have plenty of time to find a way to give the town whatever they demand.

>>14931991
In fact, we can say we will also improve our spider silk armors so they can resist dragon fire. In fact, we should do it.

We need to radically revamp the gaurd untill its almost a millitary element / secret police completley dedicated to us and Incredibly competent.

So are we bringing the dragon to our tower secretly, and using an illusion to make the town think it's dead?

Or killing it here and now?

>>14932066
I'd go with "kill it". There will be other dragons, there are constructive uses for the corpse, and it's more important to conceal what we did (from other dragons, amongst others) than it is to try and get this dragon working for us.

And hey, zombie spider dragon plans sound pretty entertaining.

>>14932083

Agreed, zombie-spider-dragon-mount.

Plus, we can experiment with the corpse!

Dragon blood+magiwater+virgin blood (the witch's?) = MAGIC POTION OF IMMORTALITY?!?

Who knows, but it should be on our to-do list.

>>14932111
Don't know how much virgin she is. She has been binded a long time. But im sure there is a lot of virgins out there.

Well, i will say to kill it, if we decide to kill it, in our dungeon. We will say that we want to study it so guard can be prepared, and we need him alive, at least, to see him trowing fire and stuff. We can say that we have weakened him a lot, so he wont break while we study him. After that, we will say, the town will choose what to do with the dragon. Then we get him to the tower, we do whatever we want, and then say to the town whatever we want, that he died while testing, or something like that.

And we will make a big party for everybody RIGHT NOW.

Kill the fucker. Dragons are more trouble than they're worth, at least at this point. I want some fancy new dragonscale boots. And hey, Dragonscale armor with spidersilk lining would be completely badass.

The dragon, breathing heavily on the ground, struggles to get to its feet as you approach. Reaching out, you pull a sword from the side of one of the fallen adventurers. The dragon moves, as if to use its flame jet, but you throw the sword at it with magically-enhanced strength. The sword flies true, and with a crunch, impales itself in the dragon's neck. The dragon, unable to stand, and barely able to breath, tries to speak as you draw near. Asking it if it would like to beg for its life, it seems to bow its head.

Too bad it couldn't speak. High on your own power, and feeling like you've never felt before, you sense the energy pulse through your body as you lift the dragon into the air. Fueling you magic with the dragon's, you call forth the element of lightning, and it courses through your veins and out your hands. The electricity arcing from your hands to the dragon's body, you torture it with your newfound powers for what seems like hours. Finally allowing it to rest, with a cruel twist of your hand, you snap its neck. The now lifeless corpse falls to the ground, its mouth agape, and eyes wide with pain. Striding forward, you grasp the hilt of the blade and rip it from its next, the jagged edge pulling parts of its flesh out with it. Wiping it off on the dragon's twitching wing, you turn and shout at the guards beginning to awaken. Ordering them to seize the still unconscious adventurers, they glance at each other, as Fat and Ugly shout at them to comply. Grabbing the adventurers, the guards tie up the adventurers at your word, and your spiders take hold of them. Pulling them along the ground to your tower, half of your spiders leave, as the other half follow you into the dragon's lair.

>>14932335
As you move deeper into the lair, the shine of gold catches your eye. Rounding a corner into a dead end, you gaze upon the piles of gold and jewels with a grin. All yours for the taking, sire! Measuring it, you determine that it is far too much to take at once. But, perhaps over the course of several trips...

Yes, that will do nicely. Laughing evilly at your victory, your spiders begin to move the treasure from the cave, as you stand triumphant.

And that, oh Dark One, is where I must stop, for now. I will continue, as per to norm, tomorrow night. You may wish to describe what you do next, that the next chapter might occur after your completion of said actions.

1. Buttsecks with and blowjobs from the witch
2. Dragonscale Armor for Fat and Ugly
3. Receive Praise from the townsfolk, get a statue of us built

Improve our tower security, and TRAIN OUR GUARDS BETTER.

Seriously, they suck.

>>14932341
Revamp. The. Guard.

And since we just killed a DRAGON, time to celebrate!

With the witch. Using it as proof that we would never let anyone hurt those loyal to us.

Brilliant as always, minion. You serve us well. 'til tomorrow, then.

>>14932341
>>14932335

A shame that we could not keep the dragon.

Well, I suppose, with the help of Lliara, that we can find and bind the now-dead dragon's soul into a nice gem of sorts. Use it to necro-tize his body.

Of course, this can also send a powerful message to the dragon community - that we're gonna assrape anyone dumb enough to fuck with us. And turn their corpse into an eternally-loyal spider-servant.

In any case, we need to get the haul back to the city - throw some of the wealth along, as well as present the corpse of the dragon to the people. Maybe even use the gold to fund a feast for the people, as well as a funeral for all those adventurers and guards who died today.

Sure, we're evil, but we need to maintain our image, no?

Also, we'll take the corpse and stuff it into our dungeon later for experiments.

And we also need to search through the dragon's hoard - see if there are any good magical things amongst them for us to take.

But seriously, get a statue of us built. DO IT.

Let the townspeople be reminded of our greatness on a daily basis.

>>14932341
The next thing is to talk to the town. Say that we killed the dragon, that a lot of great and braves lifes were lost, and that us even almost die trying to kill the dragon, but, even with all that, they should rejoice, because the dire dragon is dead, and the town is free again. We will take the dragon to the tower, we will say, and here we will study it, train the guards so this terrible thing never happen again, and we will make fine dragon-skin stuff. Also, we will make a big party, of 2 days long, and will remember this day as the day of the dead dragon.

Elocuent speech, to make the town see us as an hero, and to see us as an ally, and a needed benefactor. If they ask why do we take it to the tower, we answer that because of the needed tools to inspect the dragons body, so we can fight them if anotherone dares to come.

In fact, the witch will say all this things, since she is the mayor. She will also talk about how brave we fight, and we will be modest about it, and say that it was something that we ought to the town for their hospitality.

We will command also to our spiders, to kill all the adventurers, to use fire and tools that seems like big claws or a big paw, like, dunno, some sharpen woods, or a very rusty and big sword, some wood smash, so when we retrieve their bodies, it would looks like they were killed by the dragon.

>>14932516


CONT

We should be sure about our guards loyalty, again. Not Ugly and Fat, of course, but the other who are still alive. They know that they were not killed by the dragon, so they could say it. We will ask Fat and Ugly, and ask them ourselves, something that we will do BEFORE we kill the adventurers. We dont want them to flee before we can react. Wer can ensure their loyalty by bribes, like telling them, all of them, that they will be better at our side, will be the first in get any fine gear we build, the first to be trained in the best arts, and the first to get any prize, and of course, they will be our elite. Those weaks will perish, because the world is arsh, and it doesnt allow the weaks to live.

After all that, we will take 1 hair of each of them, and we will take them to the castle, without letting them talk to anyone on the town when we do the speech thing, and the talk to all of them, with an orb for each, or by any means that we have to detect lies, to, again, be sure if they are loyal to us. After that, as they are our elite, we will treat them as such, so they keep loyal.

About the speech thing. If adventurers ask about treasure, we will say its for the town. Any attempt to steal it will be consider as a direct attack to the town. The money will be used to repay any destruction the dragon did, and to train the guard and make better gears to them. This, of course, is a lie, or at least part lie. It will be used to that porpuse, but not all the money, and, if needed to respond about the amount, we will say a lesser amount than the real one. And to ensure that we dont get stolen, we will get some smart spiders to count the amount that get out of the cave, and another group of the amount that get to the tower(like, 5 or 6 per group, and trying to act faster as they can, dont want to be there for a month).

That everything i came up with. Do as you please with it, OP.

>>14932341

The surviving adventurers should be split into two groups. Use the souls of the first group to bind the remainder of the second group to our service, using the same contract we used for the witch, except change the medical clause to not specify how much wealth we have to spend on them, change the "certain death" clause to be "some net profit" instead of a doubling of net worth, and change the gift exchange day to be the same day for all of them: the anniversary of their binding. Less trouble to keep the days straight then.

Lay in a stock of gifts for them all, too.

Pick the ones we bind based on their skills and apparent intelligence; we only want the best and brightest slaves.

We should give a couple of them over to the assassin and let her have her fun with them. Actually we should line them all up in front of her, witch included, and ask if she'd like any for her own use. That'd be callous, evil, and awesome.

>>14932395
Yeah, im ok with the witch part. More loyalty from her, more efficient(whatever) she will be.

In fact, i think we could make her more official patner, not to the town, but inside the tower. Dinner with her, make her a smaller throne near us, while we keep in high steem the assassin, and show her more private affection and give her fine gear, so she still thinks is "special", while we use the witch to show her, and everyone, that those loyal to us get rewarded.

>>14932523

Gear our tower guards need:

Some sort of protection against mind control.
Some sort of communication device that will let them coordinate their movements. Yells and bugles are good, but something that's more like a radio would be much better (magical or not).
Some sort of short to mid-range stunning weapon, to stop fast targets like that elf from escaping.

some of the adventurers could be used as new spider soldiers and i do believe that we should reward the witch for filling her role in the scheme so well. maybe a little romance, i know its not the most evil thing to do but in return we will get much more out of it.

>>14932525
We should first do more research about the effects of those contracts before we do like 20 contracts in 1 day, even if we only do 5. Better dont fuck up with shadow creatores for such a useless group of adventurer, since they can be easily turned to our side with plain talk.

>>14932563

We don't know how jealous the assassin is, we should probably get her to think of the witch as property instead of as competition before we do that.

Or we should enslave the assassin now, while we have a supply of deniable souls to burn on such things. She will probably be wary of being enslaved, though.

I suggest against enslaving her, and instead recommend getting her to think of the witch as property. Maybe we could lend the witch to her for a night or something, or bring her into the bedroom when we have the assassin over or whatever.

>>14932576
In fact, it is evil. We are just using her.

The Spider-adventurer things is cool too, meaby better than just kill them, but first we need some things. First, we need to "lobotomy" them. Since i dont like to do a lot of contracts, and given that they are adventurers, and so are smarter than the usual hobo we used for spider-mans earlier, they will be harder to convince, unless the process traumathize them and not mind control is needed, but just deforming their faces, and(if the transformation don do during the process), their voices and eyes. Some outsider could recognize them, and we dont want that.

>>14932593
We dont need to humilliate the witch to make the assassin think that she is special. We give her more private talk, private attention and fine gifts, meanwhile we give the witch public talk, attention and gift. We need the witch as a representative of the loyal servant rewarded, and we want her to be happy with us, which is an easy quest, since she just need a bit of attenttion and will believe every lie(not retarded, of course) we say to her. We can just say the assassin which is the witch use, and that she is a mere puppy, and she will think that she is the only one. And remember that we should be always watching over the assasssin's thought. she is not binded, so she can, without us doing anything to upset her, think about betray. If we usually scry her thought, when this happen, we will notice it soon enought to find a way to fix it. And when i say fix, i mean anything necesary to keep our asses safe.

>>14932613
the assassin could break some of the weak willed adventurers, although she is very good at it, it seems a little bit outside of her job as an assassin. could be my stereotype viewpoint though.

Dragon parts could be very usefull to make spiders from also, we should really disect the corpse and make use of everything, can't overlook our trusty constructs now can we?

I say we should dissect the fuck out of the dragon and find a way to use ALL OF IT for spiderparts/magic/armor/tools/food/research etc...

This probably isn't the last dragon we'll see but I think it'll probably be a while before we get a chance to kill another one.

>>14932979
For science

>>14932985
MAGIC!SCIENCE

Also, figure out what absorbing that dragon's power did to us, if it's temporary or permanent and if there are any bad side effects.
Find out what we can do with our new found power that we couldn't do before.