>What do you do?

We don't feel any magic wards or anything, right?

If not, cautiously enter the pyramid. This could be the treasure that Chroi talked about.

>>17871944

seconding that, seems to be the most logical thing to do.

You reach out with your mind, like invisible hands you feel around the sand, searching for some magical property. Then, as if you had grabbed a knife blade, you feel a cruel laceration in your brain, and open your eyes. Your nose is bleeding. For some reason, despite the recent 'attack', you feel compelled to enter the building... alone.

“Set up camp here... I will venture in here. Expect me to return in the morning,” you inform your group. You don't even remember trying to say these words, you've just been... seized, by... something.

The others look to each other inquisitively. But, never new to the strange requests and demands you make, they shrug, agree, dismount, and begin gathering the things for a camp. You leave your sword on your mount, and tromp through the soft sand to the gate of this towering building. How old could it be? Who built it? Why here?

The pillars are solid obsidian. You drag your hand across them as you walk by, and into the wide entryway. When you enter, you are in small tunnel, with a stairway going upwards. You follow it, and it opens into a large, hall, with many tall statue figures along the walls staring down at you. The ceiling appears to be some sort of, map, or chart of the stars. Other than this, the room is entirely empty. You pause to take in all the wonder of this strange building. The same, instinct? That told you to enter, now demands you sleep here. But your better judge finds the idea ridiculous. But... why? What is this place?

What do you do?

Hey other anon, want to risk it?

>>17872071
>What do you do?

Study the statues and the star chart. Maybe we will find some clues.

>>17872098
risk what? Sleeping here?

Sure, why not?

>>17872107

Yeah i was talking about sleeping in there. Lets do it then.

You study the statues, and the look something like the gods you are familiar with. But not the common pantheon, instead the make up the gods that people only invoke in a swear, not mention at all. Nothnir, the lord of passion and revenge, Taurbonas, the god of hate... Kurrald, the blue stag of the wilderness. Who would build a temple to these black deities, that are indifferent to men? The star chart, is strange, it is not the same starscape that you gaze upon in the night of this world. It is wholly unfamiliar. You lay down underneath it, and rest. Your thoughts dance across many memories, the wild hunt, Sayrala's kiss, the slaying of the guards, your days on the streets of Lija... Nal.

Sometime later, you awake, but you are not in the temple. You sit up in the fens of a long reaching swamp night. Strange. When you stand up, you look up at the sky, and see the star chart alive. Whitish blue wisps circle around your ankle, and carry around like visible breaths on a lazy wind. Ahead of you, you see a great blue stag, which turns, and takes off bounding into the distance. You take off running after it, through the tall, black ferns. It carries on, into a thin grove of twisted alder trees.

When it stops, it turns and faces you directly. You approach the beast cautiously.

It seems, in your neck, an awful whisper shakes inside you, “What is it, that you desire man-thing?”

What do you say?

>>17872266
"You are Kurrald, the blue stag of the wilderness, are you not?
I had hunted with you in the past. Maybe you do not remember... or do not care.

I was called to this place by... instinct. I'm not sure why I am here. But if I can ask for something, there is a question that has been burning my mind for so long: why are the gods indifferent to mortals who worship them and devote their lives to them. Do they even need our faith?"

"You are Kurrald, the blue stag of the wilderness, are you not?” you venture. “I had hunted with you in the past. Maybe you do not remember... or do not care.” You put your fists at your hips and gaze upon this magnificent red eyed monster, which snorts a foul crimson breath from its black nose.

“I was called to this place by... instinct,” you continue. “I'm not sure why I am here. But if I can ask for something, there is a question that has been burning my mind for so long: why are the gods indifferent to mortals who worship them and devote their lives to them. Do they even need our faith?"

“No,” you feel reverberate in the back of your neck, echoing with a dull ache down your spine.

What do you say?

>>17872413
>What do you say?

>“No”
".... I thought so. Then it is the mortals who made useless, organized religions and are basically revering the structure?"....

"What about you? Why do hunt with mortals?"

>>17872413
>>17872477

>Bah, it is hard to write a response to a thing that refuses to speak more eloquently and of which we know next to nothing about.

After a long, quiet moment you reply, ".... I thought so. Then it is the mortals who made useless, organized religions and are basically revering the structure? What about you?” You almost demand, “Why do hunt with mortals?"

Another echo, which sounds as if the stars are shaking from an earthquake, “What... is... it... that... you... desire...?”

You look around, and see, in the distance, towering figments of inky, human like shape, somewhere near a hundred yards off or more. Just black spots, against a deep blue velvet skyline.

How do you reply?

>>17872481
>Agreed, and dully noted.

>>17872501
>>17872501
>“What... is... it... that... you... desire...?”
[You know this is kind of a hard question for me to answer. What DO we desire actually? One of the driving forces was to bring back our lovers. So to achieve that we went to study the arcane, knowing that we would need a lot of time and power to achieve this.
... So, I guess we desire power?... Power and knowledge, maybe ancient forgotten secrets. This is the only thing I can think of]

Power and knowledge.

>>17872501
To unite all men under one banner , and to bring back those that I lost.

>>17872556

seconded.

After a long, quiet moment you reply, ".... I thought so. Then it is the mortals who made useless, organized religions and are basically revering the structure? What about you?” You almost demand, “Why do hunt with mortals?"

Another echo, which sounds as if the stars are shaking from an earthquake, “What... is... it... that... you... desire...?”

You look around, and see, in the distance, towering figments of inky, human like shape, somewhere near a hundred yards off or more. Just black spots, against a deep blue velvet skyline.

How do you reply?

>>17872656
>disregard that.

“Power,” you answer. “And knowledge.”

The beast before you nods its head. “And you shall have these things,” the sonorous ache in your neck replies. “You must merely summon the will to take it. But how much power can you tolerate? Your ambition tells you: all. And how much knowledge can you tolerate? Your vanity tells you: all. But you will reach, but you will not grasp man thing.”

“He is a greedy petty fool, like all other men,” a voice shouts, shaking the stars. “He dreams like the one without faith, and he would follow in his blasphemous foot steps.”

“Do you know what has become, of your man-god?” Another, shriller voice echos. “The one who thought he conquered creation?”

A burst of blue flame appears in the sky before you, and the imagine of a knight, clad in black armor, perpetually descending, and being stabbed at and lacerated by wide arcing knifes and rotten black hands as he falls. He screams, and agonizes. The figure twists, and you look at the face. The hair is not red like Atreal's though, it is blonde.

A chuckle erupts from the echoing. It then breaks into a terrible laughter, shaking in your temples. You fall to one knee, as the voice laughs, and laughs. “YOU ARE A NOTHING!”

The stag before you rears up and then slams its might hooves on the ground, silencing the laughter.

“Power,” the voice from the stars utters. “What do you dream of for power?”

“I seek to unite all men under one banner,” you announce confidently. “and bring back those that I lost.”

“To what end?” it replies.

“So that the world may know peace... and a brilliant future.”

The laughter erupts again. “JUST LIKE THE OTHER!” it continues laughing, in a shrill and heinous twist, which gnaws at your insides. “IT IS PITIFUL!” HAHAHAHHAH.

“Do not waste our precious time with lies,” the voice from the stars utters again.

You look up from your knee.

“I seek power for its own sake,” you say through your grinding teeth. “So that no hand will ever be laid upon me again, and the world can be shaped to my whim. That every passing desire I fancy will be made law, and that men will fear to think of me, let alone gaze upon me. That every wrong that has been visited upon me, will be repaid a thousand fold. That those I have slain, will That zbe brought back, to understand new sufferings, and they will beg for a release back to your nether realm, and cry for the peace of death. I seek the power to make the world shake, and forever know I existed. If the world shall know peace, it is because I wanted peace. If the world will experience a plentiful future, it is because I wanted it so. And it will forever live in the shadow of terror, that, the mightiest tyrant, I greater than Atreal, defied you, you petty gods, and took from the world what I wanted... and no one, not men, not beasts, not gods... could do anything to stop me.”

Is this even you saying this? In this strange, life like dream... It is not any part of the conscience you. You did not mull these thoughts over, as you ride silently through the desert, or when you trekked alone in the mighty northern forests, or when you slept in your tiny third story hole in Lija. You did not make these black plots, or promises. But yet, in a way you did. When you were a boy, you willed against everything you knew, to one day have the power to be free of the Baron. You lived in the deep woods, with the witches, freely living in spite of what society thought was right. In Lija, you wanted coin, and women, and you took it. The thing you have always sought, freedom- freedom from judgment, freedom from want, freedom from suffering... is not freedom at all: it is the power to form your will into the world. Not the freedom to do whatever you want, but the power to do so.

Knowledge? Yes. Knowledge is a part of this. You want to know every secret the cosmos dare hide. You want to know why “to be a god, is to be chained”, you want to know why the world was born of fire. You want to know what was the fate of Atreal. But you will not beg before these things, these gods, for the information. Instead, you will demonstrate your will to power, and demand it. You, no slave to man, or two gods, though real they be, here before, will not let them be your master. No lord has a master, no tyrant has a god. You, Jamithan. You, the tyrant in waiting, are greater than Atreal ever dreamed of being. You will not abandon the glorious quest. The hints of what the demon queen said to you, about your name. It is not Jamithan, as you have been called. It is the Tyrant, the man who makes the world bend to his will, and is beholden to no one. Tyrus. That is your name.

After gazing at the stars, you look to the shadowy figures to your left and right, and settle your gaze upon the beast before you. “If you seek me to worship you, I will not. If you wish to beat me, and punish me: I will not cry aloud. Even if you tear the flesh from my bone and and make misery my lot. You may blood me, but my head will remain unbowed.”

You take a wide stance, preparing for whatever may come. You notice one of the figures turn, and a yellow flame lick up around the shoulders, then fade away, as it walks into the distance.

The stars quake, and turn crimson.

“Tyrus, you will make this world shake with the terror of your name alone. But one day, you too shall find, despite all the trappings of the world you have forged, you are chained by greater powers than-” The figure from the left steps forward, and as he does, the bloated, fat crimson stars begin to shed their red tears. A blood rain falls upon you, Kurrald and the approaching shape. He is massive, twelve feet tall, with a square head, blue skin, white eyes, and gold designs that line the corners of his mouth. He stands on great cloven hooves, and wields a massive staff. “And despite all the butcheries you have committed, and despite how you have changed the very composition of history, and your race. All of the future history may gaze upon your works, and despair. They may forever judge you, for your means,” His smoking featureless white eyes seem to look down upon you. He is Taurbonas, lord of hate. “But they will reap the benefit of your ends for the next age. You will find, as the other did, that we are all chained... but perhaps, you may break them.” As he turns, his cape sweeps broadly behind him, and a gust of ashy smoke billows out. In his wake, is a set of armor. You are covered entirely, from the sanguinary rain. Examining the armor, you find it to be some sort of magically imbued black full plate. You don't take too long to look it over, but instead pick it up. Kurrald turns and runs off into the further distance. Alone, you stand, as if fate were weeping on you, until a figure returns from your right side.

It screams in a horrible, ear splitting terror: “YOU WILL FAIL! YOU AMBITIOUS, VAIN, INSECT! LIKE THE WAVES AGAINST THE ETERNAL SHORE, YOUR HOPES WILL BE DASHED. HAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA.” Again, you fall to your knees, and cover your ears. “Try though! TRY! HOW WE LOVE TO WATCH YOU TRY! HAHAHAHA!”

The world fades to black, and the stars wink out. You awake, kneeling alone in the strange chamber, clutching the armor, and covered in blood.

What do you do?

>>17873075
>What do you do?

First. Examine the armor.

>>17873075
>and covered in blood.

We're not wounded or anything are we?
Check the statues and the star chart again. Are there more paths in the pyramid that leas to other places or is this the only one?

>sure took a long time to type that up.

>>17873167
Not really, actually.

I was afraid you got autobanned again but considering the amount of text it was pretty damn fast.

>>17873167
>will describe the armor in a sec
>no, the temple goes nowhere else. But you do have a bag to hide the armor, if you keep it a secret for now. Maybe decide what to do with it later.

>>17873167
>>17873209

These drawing are great. I think they are better then the ones you posted before, which I assume you drew on computer. But I do not know how much time you invested in either, maybe the ones you made before were just quick doodles and these took more time and effort.
Anyway, they are awesome. Have you been drawing for a long time?

>>17873235

Thanks anon, that means a lot. Sure, those doodles I did, that are mostly black and white, were really quick sketches. The drawings, with markers, that I just posted, were done several years ago, in a notebook i put together for this world. lolhomebrewbullshit,jpg

But yes, I've been drawing for a long time.

You hold out the armor suit before you. It is an extremely weightless, and detailed full plate, black as the darkness of your dream. The shoulder pauldrons are large. The left one is a grinning demon's face, complete with foot long horns. The right pauldron is a goat head, with a ring through the nose. Around the neck is a wide raven feather collar. You feel that it is very magical in its nature. You bag up the armor, and examine the statues, the ceiling and the chamber. It remains unchanged. The still strange starscape hangs overhead, and the hall is absolutely silent.

What do you do?

>I hope that wall of text wasn't too railroady. I hope it comes across, as something that accentuates the running themes of our hero's life, and puts a different light on his thusfar ambitions and actions, which ultimately gives a view of his dark future.

>>17873379

Naw man it's ok. I really enjoy those walls of text.

>>17873379
I want to put on the armor and check it out, even if we decide to not leave the pyramid wearing it.
It would be good to know what kind of magic it has and how it feels before hand.

>>17873379
>I hope that wall of text wasn't too railroady...
Nah, I love Quests for their story-telling value mostly, Quests which have a lot of text and flavor are my favorite ones. You could ask why I just don't read a book, but I also love the amount of openness and freedom that Quests provide. The fact that you know that this wasn't a story planned from beginning to the end but that the author has to deal with unexpected suggestions and reactions and must find a way to include them without breaking the consistency is awesome.
If that means that sometimes the character will do what we did not mean him to do, then so be it. I can live with that.

>>17873287
that pic is Atreal, btw.

pic unrelated. Its just a nice butt i drew once.

>>17873515
>pic unrelated. Its just a nice butt i drew once.
It's very nice.

>>17873379
What kind of armor is it anyway?
A heavy-plate like armor? Would something like that even fit in our backpack?

You turn to leave, but something compels you try further examine this armor. What a strange gift, from a god? Gods? You remove the armor from the bag, and try it on. After ten minutes, of figuring out how one wears and fastens armor, it is complete. In it, you feel more alive than you ever have. The blood that covered you, which you didn't even bother to wipe off, is slowly consumed by the armor, which in turn, strangely grants you a sort of adrenaline infusion. You walk around in it, awkwardly at first, but then, and fairly rapidly, it becomes very natural. You run back in forth, almost silently, no clank clank clank, of even common chain mail. You try jumping, and vertically, you go farther by half than you could normally. Its almost as if some faint whisper of that demonic spell you used in the Palace has invigorated your bones. You pick up your bed roll, and personnel affects, and they feel half as heavy. Being that you're already stronger than most men, you figure that you must have the strength of three men right now. The saddle sore, and ache in your lower back, which you gained from a week of riding, are gone. As the blood was consumed, your constitution has been restored. This is truly a powerful dark gift.

What do you do?

>>17873717
>As the blood was consumed, your constitution has been restored. This is truly a powerful dark gift.

Interesting. Seems like it was designed specifically to be showered in blood of freshly killed opponents.

Take it off and put it into the backpack for now. Don't know how our companions would react to it.
Exit the pyramid. Inform your companions that it seems to be some sort of a shrine, there is nothing but one room with statues of dark gods and a star0chart.

>BTW
I imagine, you guys have figured out that this takes place in a fairly large world I've been building on. Maybe not though, lol. maybe it all seems very adhoc. But, if you enjoy the world, and my storytelling, and have the time/inclination, I'd be happy to GM something sometime in the future.

>>17873793
I enjoy your story-telling the most. I don't have much experience to judge the world though, but I do not see anything wrong with it.

>I'd be happy to GM something sometime in the future.
Personally, I enjoy /tg/-based Quests more but that's just me.

You take the armor off, and feel, a little... less excited, a little less alive. You bag it back up, throw it over your shoulder and head outside. It is the early dawn, and the sky is turning purple with the promise of a rising sun. Chroi sits awake, acting as guard to the camp. He looks over to you, regards you, then looks back at the fire. You tie the bag to your horse, and take a seat next to him. You can feel, that he wants to ask if you slept well, but he doesn't.

“It's an old temple,” you offer. “Some statues of dark gods, and a star chart on the ceiling.”

He nods. It should be about an hour before your friends get up. You decide to make them breakfast.

What do you do?

>>17874038
>What do you do?
At this point we should see what our party wants to do. Maybe they want to explore the temple too? If so, let them do it, we did ride in the desert for long time to get here, it would be pretty dickish to not allow them to enter.

Then ask them if they still want to continue to search for the treasure. Maybe it's just a story and hold no truth?
Ashazi knows desert better than us, maybe she knows of a place where we can find treasure or adventure?

>>17874038

cook them the best. breakfast. ever.

When your friends wake up, they are delighted that you have prepared the greatest road breakfast, of your journey. They sit around and enjoy it, wondering how you obtained, and preserved the eggs, meat and fruit they're enjoying. Sayrala knows.... magic. Over breakfast, you describe the temple. Ashazi is the only one who seems to care, and goes and pokes her head in. The others, jaded, or lazy, take no interest. The group agrees though, that if nothing is found after another day of riding, that they should head to the west, to the highlands, where Chroi's people are from.

An hour later, you set off, and wander. Somewhere near darkness, you see a rocky outcropping. A small hill, with what looks to be a stone fortress built in the side of it. You look to Ashazi, who gives you a shrug. As you get closer to it, you see more obelisks. You look over to Chroi, who looks back at you and nods. Nothing about this place feels right. Sayral rides up beside you, “Do you feel that?”

“Yes, unfortunately.” you reply.

“There is something, very wrong with this place.”

As you near it, death hangs in the air. An ancient stillness, as if the wind had never blown anywhere across the whole world. You feel, as if there is a silent screaming bellowing out at you from within this tomb.

What do you do?

>>17874346
>What do you do?

Hmm. On one hand, common sense would dictate that we avoid this place entirely, but on the other hand this could turn out interesting.
I say we explore the place and try to discern the cause of the dark atmosphere around the place.

First try some magic sensors before approaching though.

>it must be 2:40 where you are OP. You sure you want to continue? I remember that you don't get free days and must wake up early.

>>17874413
I think you're right. I will archive this. Start up again tomorrow.

Thank you very much for playing along. I greatly appreciate your time and attention.

>>17874509
Alright, see you tomorrow.

I appreciate that you continue the game. Too many Quests just disappear without a warning and that makes me sad.

At what time are you planning to make the thread, btw?

>>17874538
Not sure. sometime in the morning. around 9 or 10.

>>17874601
I see.
I have studies tomorrow though, so I'll join after 4pm or so.
Well, good night! I have to go to sleep too, actually.