>>2747486
>Wanted revenge

>>2747486
>>Got to packing the stuff of the two brothers

>Wanted revenge
I woke up just in time it seems.

Vengeance it is.

Any particular thing you want to do?
Or are you fine with just picking a fight with them?

>writing

>>2747551
I don;t know our relative strength compare to them so I would vote for something like letting a wild animal loose on their stuff.

>>2747553
Well there is 2 of them and they are twice your size.

So overall their relative strength is four times yours

>>2747560
Yeah, our revenge is gonna have to be something less direct then. Like having something destroy their stuff, which I count as something different to a prank

>>2747569
Yeah.
The prank was non-violent, non-destructive.
Only inconvenient.

Like throwing mud on them.

But in any case.
I'd like a dice roll then.
3d10 as usual and best of 3.
DC: 10 Crit: 16

Rolled 8, 5, 4 = 17 (3d10)

He wanted revenge.

It may not have been the smartest choice, especially after what happened to him yesterday.
But he'll be damned if he lets them leave this place with a smile on their face.

Quickly after dressing up he rushed outside to wash his face in the trough and began his morning ritual.
Upon entering the kitchen he took his seat and greeted his mother.
"Good morning!"

"Good morning sweetheart!
My you are eager today."

"I just want to finish work as soon as I can."

"Well you can't work on an empty stomach.
Eat up!"

His meal consisted of porridge with a generous serving of dried fruits in it.
Shoveling the food into his mouth at unprecedented speed he then handed the bowl back to his mom.
"Thanks for the food!"
Hopping up he kissed the cheek of his mother and then whispered something in her ears.
"And for the medicine!"
Indeed it was her mothers small knowledge of home made remedies is what saved his life is what served as the foundation of his sons future usage of natural medicines.

After finishing with his morning ritual the boy ran outside and got to work.
Grabbing a hoe he began by tilling the soil between the rows upon rows of vegetables.
Once he was done with that he searched the plants for any insects that might be plaguing them.
In the meantime he paid close attention to the produce and if anything has ripened already.
Luckily for him he found exactly what he wanted.

He harvested and hid away a few red tomatoes in his pockets.
Following his little theft he went on to complete the rest of his chores as fast as he humanly could.
Once there was no more work to be done and as such nobody paid any attention to him he finally got to setting his plan in motion.

Trying his hardest to avoid the gaze of his brothers he snuck out to the nearby woods.
Taking out the fruit from his pocket he tore it apart and left a small trail for the local beasts to pick up.
He smirked as he placed the lures for he knew these would be irresistible for the animals in the forest.
More accurately he hoped one in particular would be very interested in it.

next update might be a bit delayed

be right back

Oh, I'm late again

Hi spooks

>>2747646
Yo

Sorry about being afk.
Grabbed some food real quick.
But now I'm back for good

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Boars were not exactly a scarcity.
But ones that were this daring and tenacious were unusual.
Alexander suspected the thing must've been a mutant or at the very least aether corrupted.

It was smart enough to avoid the hunters specifically sent to kill it.
And it was particularly fond of raiding the cottages around Moons Harvest for garbage or fresh vegetables grown in the gardens.
The scent of the tomato juice was enough to lure it out though.

With its one eye it looked in the direction of the trail, perhaps suspicious of this obvious attempt at leading it.
Only after it looked around its surroundings and not finding any obvious signs of a trap did it decide to take the bait.
Xan had little time to finish with his plan.
He placed whatever he had left of the fruit on the ground and looked up at his prize.
The clothes of his brothers which were washed by his mother yesterday and left hanging to dry.
With a smirk he pulled them off and placed them conveniently at the tomatoes and hid away.
In the next few minutes chaos engulfed his home.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
The screams of his brothers were music to Alexanders ears.

They watched in horror as the wild pig tore their freshly laundered clothes to tatters.
But once it spotted the two humans the wild animal quickly turned around and fled without attempting to contest his meal.
Kazan and Jagar cursed loudly as they attempted to recover anything left intact of the clothes they prepared for the journey ahead.
Alexander could hardly contain his laughter.

Once the dust has settled and things calmed down a bit their father made his appearance and tried to console his children.
"Kazan, Jagar...
I'm so sorry my sons.
But it appears that you won't have much more than the clothes on your back to accompany you on your journey.
However I have no doubt in my mind that despite the hardships you two will achieve greatness."

The two calmed down a bit and made their thanks as they packed their stuff.
"Thank you father."
Kazan spoke up.

Of course the twins immediately suspected their younger brother but when they found you the only thing they saw was a young boy hard at work.
"The hell do you want?
Can't you see I'm busy?"
He spoke as he cleaned the windows of the house.

"We just came to say goodbye to our favorite sibling in the whole world Alexander!"
Jagar then approached you and hit you on the head not too gently.
"Just remember not to get too happy without us around!
Father will make sure to give you what you deserve!"

"Come on brother.
Little Xan doesn't need you tormenting him any further.
After all he is and always will be worthless!"

As the two left Alexander rubbed the top of his head while grinning ear to ear.

Then came the big event itself.
The great sendoff.

Xan quickly finished pretending he was hard at work to watch.
Gathering what little they still had the twins were now ready to leave.

"Father.
Thank you for everything!
As soon as we make any money we'll make sure to send some home to repay your kindness!"

"Yeah!
You can count on us!"

The father smothered a tear of joy as he spoke up.
"I am grateful that I raised two exceptional sons such as you!
But please... think of yourself first. We can manage.
So only give us coin once you have some to spare."

"Of course."
Then the two turned to the woman that gave them life.
"Mother..."
They spoke in unison.

"My dear children...
I will pray each and every night for your safety.
So that the Dead Gods embrace avoids you as long as possible.
But... please. Do be careful.
There is nothing a mother fears more than the safety of her children."

There was an awkward silence.
The relationship between the twins and their mother has soured over the last few years.
In fact they hoped she wouldn't have anything nice to say to them.
But to this... they simply couldn't react.

Much in the same way they did not say a word to their little sister nor to you.
As they turned a cold shoulder to you, the years of anger and hatred began boiling up.
As it rose to the surface you-

>Cursed them
>Swallowed it
>Wished them good luck

>>2747738
>Don't say anything.

We do have nothing to say to them because we have no care for them

>>2747769
I'll take this

>writing

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You glared daggers at the two as they left.
You remained silent during their whole march.
There was nothing to say to them. For you had no care for them.
At long last they were out of your life and that's that.

Your father went back into the house and your mom quickly pulled you aside.
"I'll make sure your father drinks away his sorrows."
She then slipped you a tiny pouch full of coin and whispered in your ears.
"You be a good boy and do as we agreed yesterday!
Once you get back we'll bake that cake!"

You nodded with a smile on your face.

The town was a fair distance away but not so far that you couldn't just hop over to do some shopping.
In fact if you really forced yourself you could run there and back AND get what you went there for in about an hour.
But upon entering the place something was clearly off.
Normally Moons Harvest was a quiet little town with not much going for it.
Now however the place was bustling with activity despite the harvest festival not happening for a few months.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znc1m36BYng

As you went for the local food store you tried knocking on the door but got no response.
Odd. You thought to yourself.
Normally the shops did not close until nighttime.

Before you could really start thinking about it however the door suddenly opened with the owner looking down at you in a fit of panic.
"Alexander?!
What are you doing here?!"

"Mom sent me shopping.
What's going on? Why is everybody so busy?"

"By the stars!"
The fat shopkeeper knelt down in front of you and grabbed your shoulder.
"Listen Alexander! Listen and do as I say!
You must run back home right now!
Tell your parents-"
The shopkeepers voice died out as he was choking on his own saliva and sweat.
"Tell them to pack up everything and run Eastward! You hear me?!"

"W-Why?
What's going on?"

"There was a scout here just a few minutes ago!
H-H-He said that-"
*gulp*
"The West is coming!"

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Your eyes widened.
You knew what that meant.

Not even caring about coin anymore you turned around and ran as fast as your legs could carry you.
Breathing frantically you dashed through the panicked crowd, not caring about who you might bump into.
Feeling your heart beating in your throat you ran to the edge of the town where you stopped and watched.
The blood froze in your veins.

Fire.

The once soothing orange light of the flames now felt like it was going to be burnt into your eyes forever.
There were no words to describe what you felt at that point.
You could clearly make out the remnants of your house being ravaged by the fire.
A black mass that was the unstoppable army of the West rolled over the plains, crawling ever closer to you.

From behind you could hear people screaming in response to seeing their imminent doom.
But their wailing was quickly drowned out as you could practically smell the ashes.
Not caring about the villagers at all you realized you had only one option: Run.
Not towards the East. But forward.

Immediately you went off the beaten path in the hopes of avoiding your doom.
The only thing you could rely on is your knowledge of the pains.
Upon reaching the woods you hid in a hollowed out tree trunk just in time to hear the savage hordes rush past you in their blood fueled frenzy.
Tales spoke of the wildness and ferocity of the West.

It was no army.
But a horde in which every individual did as they pleased.
And through sheer force and skill they not only matched but surpassed any and all opposition.
Even the highly organized army of the East was no match for them as their average soldier vastly outperformed even the more specialized units of the east.

But by the time it felt like it was safe to come out the sun has begun to set.
Crawling out of your hiding place you headed straight for home, luckily evading all opposition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm9CWguXl98

With a pulse still sky high you ran back home as fast as you could.
But nothing in this world could've prepared you for what you were about to see.

You barely even registered the acrid smell assaulting your nostrils as your eyes were drawn downward.
In that moment you didn't know what to think, to feel, to believe.
Reality however was not kind enough to let you wait as it settled in.

Falling to your knees you screamed at the skies for you dared not to look at the ground.
Their clothes torn from their body, their blood dried and stuck to their necks and the signs of tears on their face were forever etched into your mind.
You cried and cried. Screaming, begging, praying, hoping... all useless.
You howled like a wolf until your throat began to bleed.

By the time you realized that nothing was going to change the light well has settled beyond the horizon.
At that moment you only wished you could've spent at least another minute with your mother and sister so your last memory of them wouldn't be of them showing their backs to you while you ran to town.

But all your crying and screaming has finally achieved something as you heard debris falling behind you and a faint voice calling out.
"A-lex...ander..."

Standing up like the husk of a man that you were you shambled towards the source of the voice.
Stopping in front of it you stared down with eyes devoid of light.
"S-Son...
Please... help!"

Your father was pinned to the ground by a large piece of wood.
He was wounded and severely bleeding.

"I can't lift this Alexander...
Please! Help me!"
He attempted to lift the thing but it only budged ever so slightly.
"T-Those animals!
They made me watch as they-
AS THEY!"
But he couldn't finish.
"W-We got to get out of here!
Quick! Help me and we'll run to the East! Hopefully meet up with your brothers!
ALEXANDER! HELP ME ALREADY!"

But the man that you called your father did not realize his pleas fell on deaf ears.
The dark eyes of the boy shifted to the side.
Without a word he walked over there and grabbed the shiny object that caught his attention.
The cold filling his body now fully commanded his actions.

Now only his slow but heavy breathing could be heard.
"H-h-h-hey boy!
P-Put that thing down!"

Alexander felt nothing as he proceeded to stab his father repeatedly with a knife.
To this day he can barely even recall how it happened as that... was the first time he lost control.

The party sat there in silence, completely mortified by your tale.
Leaning back against a rock you concluded.

"And that... is how I became an adventurer.
By having all that I had stripped away from me.
Now...
I have nothing. But this."

Of course you decided to omit the second part of the story.
It wouldn't be wise to tell it to an Easterner.
But still that seemed to convey the message pretty well.

"I-I-I uh...
Don't know what to say.
I'm... so sorry."
Kibo said.

"Zsold..."

"Forget about it.
That was a long time ago.
Now..."

>How about you Szikra?
>What was your reason to join the army?
>Let's just get some sleep. We wasted enough time with pointless chit chat already
>Other? (write-in)

>>2747963
>How about you Szikra?
How grimdark is YOUR backstory, on a scale of 1-10?

>>2747963
>>How about you Szikra?

>>2747963
>>How about you Szikra?

Backstory is a go
But don't expect too much just yet

>writing

>>2747967
>Definitely a 1.
>Sorry to disappoint you

>>2748017
Pshh.

>>2748017
i mean, not everyone has to be an edgelord

"How about you Szikra?
Any tales to enlighten this boy with?"

She shrugged.
"Nothing as... dramatic as yours I'm afraid.
I may have lived through the same war as you but it was... different to me."
She laid back and looked at the dark sky.
"I remember my father fighting in the war."

You frowned at that.
To say her father "fought" in the war would be an understatement.
Lord Grimen...

A minor noble nobody even knew about before the war.
Supposedly he was a splendid fighter but that alone does not garner much attention these days.
No...
Where he became a near mythical figure was the last great war where he, with only a handful of soldiers managed to not only survive against the unstoppable tide that was the west...
But he managed to hold them back.

"I... can't remember a time when I was more scared."
She continued.
"Day after day I had to hear how he still hasn't returned from the fights.
My mother, my little brother and I were worried sick.
But thankfully he returned safe and sound.
And... I suppose that's when I first picked up a weapon.
I was never interested in fighting before that but... I don't know.
Me wanting to help father survive in his battles turned from a childish dream into reality.
I became a warrior the day I swung a sword for the first time and I... guess just never stopped being one."
She then stretched her arms as she finished.
"And I guess that's all you need to know for now.
But who knows? Maybe I'll tell you more if you survive for long enough!"

She winked at Kibo who then blushed nervously.
"I'll... certainly try my best!"

She then patted the boy on the head.
"Good lad!
Now go on and get back to yer mates!
Ol' grumpy over here will need quite a beauty sleep if he wants to get rid of that bug bite on his shoulder."

The kid then excused himself and left the two of you after wishing you a good night.
Szikra then turned to you.
"You sure you're okay?"

"I am.
It was almost 10 years ago now."

"You say that like it matters.
Opening up an old wound like that isn't exactly the most pleasant thing in the world."

"I'm more concerned about the actually wound on me, thank you.
Now go and get some sleep.
I'll have to rely on you until this thing heals. So I don't want you to be exhausted."

"Well gee... thanks."

The two of you then attempted to find a semi comfortable place to lay down and rest.
Sadly in the middle of the night you were awoken by something moving around you.
Nervously you sat up and attempted to draw your broken blade only to realize you exchanged it to an axe.
And it wasn't exactly as intimidating when pointed at someone.

"Shit..."
Luckily the hostility was unwarranted as the source of the noise revealed itself.
"Oh?"

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You looked at the tiny creature which managed to almost get the drop on you again.
This time you glared at it angrily.

"Why do you keep following me?!
What do you want from me?!"

But it just stood there surprised.
She looked from left to right, almost as if it tried to see if you were talking to it.
Silently it took a few steps back as it was practically shaking with fear.

"Can't speak huh?"

It took a step forward, carefully observing your reaction.
Once it was realized you won't make a move she took another one.
Inching ever closer it eventually got within arms reach and then extended its arms to you.

A variety of herbs and plants revealed themselves.
About half of them were unknown to you, the other were very well known for their medicinal property.
Gently she placed them down in front of you and took a step back.

You looked up at it and spoke.
"I have no food for you!"

It cocked its head to the side and you slapped your own forehead in frustration.
Waving with your hand dismissively you then gestured at your mouth with which you made a chewing motion.
Suddenly the kobold jolted up as if it just comprehended you.
She leaned forward and pushed the herbs closer to you.

Finally you comprehended something and smiled.
"Heh...
You aren't just some dumb animal...
Are you?"
No response.
"It'd be fucking great if you could talk though."
As you unraveled your bandages and applied the herbs you attempted to speak with it more.
"Why help?"

It looked at you in confusion.
You then gestured at the wound, at the herbs and then shrugged in confusion.
The kobold then did something you never would've believed.

She pointed at you, opened up her palm and held it out.
Forming a fist with her other hand she gently placed it on her palm then pointed at herself.

"Me... you.
I helped you?"
It once again looked confused.
You pointed at yourself.
"Me."
Then at her.
"You."
Then you repeated the motion she just did.
"Help."

"H-hhhh"
You could've sworn it just tried to mimic what you said.
Shaking her head in frustration she pointed at you.
Then she ran a finger across her neck and raised both her hands above her head, forming horns with her finger.

Once again this creature managed to shock you.

>Give it something as a token of your appreciation
>Attempt to touch it
>Other? (write-in)

>Give it something as a token of your appreciation

>>2748100
>>Give it something as a token of your appreciation

>>2748100
>>Give it something as a token of your appreciation
touching it seems like a bad idea

>writing

Deciding that this is not something to be ignored you opened up your backpack and started rummaging through it.
But try as you might you couldn't find something that'd be okay as a gift.
Until a glint caught your attention.

Slowly you took it out and upon seeing it the poor creature reeled back in defense.
You slowly looked at the knife and with one fluid motion allowed its handle to slide downward and grabbed the thing by the blade.
Handing it to the kobold with the handle facing her you looked her in the eye.

At first she didn't know what to make of this gesture.
But after a few nudges she finally realized what you wanted.
With a shaking hand it reached out nervously.

As she pinched the handle with two fingers you started to let go of it.
The knife fell to the ground and she took a step back once more.
Grabbing it by the blade once more you handed it over again, this time more sternly.
After breathing heavily for a bit she finally managed to grab it properly.

After parting with the thing you nodded.
"Thank you."
She nodded back and scampered off back into the wilderness.

Thankfully nothing else disturbed your sleep for the rest of the night.
And once the soldiers packed their belongings you were on the road once more.
As you marched you semi regularly made sure to apply some of the medicinal herbs onto your wound.
It stung like hell but that was just a sign that it was working.
You'd rather take this pain than have it get infected.

Thanks to your luck or perhaps to the bandits sharing information between one another you were left pretty much alone for the rest of your journey.
For a while you were suspicious about potential ambushes but after about the sixth hour of nothing happening in this supposedly bandit infested forest even you started letting down your guard.

The day has passed without anything significant happening.
Sadly you did not reach the tunnel just yet but that was due to the time you lost when you stopped after the last bandit attack.
Captain Braham however assured you that your destination was near.

File: emergence-from-long-dark.jpg (37 KB, 1188x645)

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The next day went pretty much the same way.
But you did start to notice something as you got closer and closer to the mountain.
Despite never being attacked since the last time you never felt like you were alone in the forest.
The song of birds, the rustling of leaves and the distant sounds of various other animals made you feel like you were in a place teeming with life.

Even as you approached the mountain and the foliage slowly faded away the place still felt alive.
Once near the tunnel however something has changed.
The complete absence of background noises made you realize just how much there was in the first place.
However now it felt like not even the winds dared to blow here.
Curse or no curse this place certainly had an eerie vibe to it.

"Alright men listen up!"
Captain Braham stopped at the caves entrance and turned around to address the soldiers.
"We'll be entering the tunnel now.
Normally I wouldn't pay much attention to superstitions but our adventurer friends convinced me otherwise."
Some soldier then snickered in the crowd and the captain snapped at him.
"WHO DID THAT?!
NO ANSWER? GOOD! NOW SHUT UP AND LISTEN!
I'll take point and watch out for any potential traps ahead of us.
The rest of you will have to make sure nobody can corner us from behind!
We'll move slowly and carefully! No breaking off of the formation!
Understood?"

"SIR YES SIR!"
The soldiers shouted at the same time and pounded their armors proudly.

"KIBO!"

"Y-Yes Captain?"

"I want you at our rear with the adventurers.
Make sure to keep a look out."

"YES SIR!"

The party then lit several torches or whatever was currently available and entered.
True to his word the captain went first and lead you with the aid of his superior eyesight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27dfqU_NyeE

At first glance there was nothing unusual about the cavern. Only that it was old and very clearly not used in a while.
But the longer you staid in there the more nervous everyone seemed to become.
Staring at the ceiling you saw row upon row of long stalactites. None of them were broken but all of them were quite long.
With each step you seemed to kick up several inches worth of dust which very well may have been older than you.

This place was completely and utterly deserted.
Nothing, not even the most resilient and daring of insects made this place their home.
There was nothing in there only time and dust.

And because of that this place felt so... alien.
It is odd how 'nothing' is the one thing that can make even the calmest person paranoid.
Slowly you felt the tension rise as the soldiers started seeing things move in the shadow when it was very clear that you were alone in this place.

"C-Captain!
Are you sure there is nothing in here?"

"I'm absolutely positive!
Now get a grip soldier!
I think we're getting close to the exit."

"B-But we don't see any light-"

"I do.
Now move it!"

>>2748232
>The complete absence of background noises

Well thats a bloody big warning sign.

Szikra hit you in the side with her elbow and tried to keep as quiet as possible.

"Hey...
Does this place make every strand of hair on your body stand up?"

"A bit."

"Good.
Then it's not just me."

"But it's strange.
This place feels... almost familiar.
And not in a good way."

The group then stopped as the captain raised his hand.
"HALT!"

Then there was silence.
Braham peered into the darkness and squinted as he tried to make out something in the dark.
One of the soldiers then spoke up.

"I felt something!
Something fell on my neck!"

"It's just some water from the spikes you idiot! I felt it too!
Now stop it, you're freaking me out!"

Feeling impatient while waiting for the captain to make up his mind you moved your leg around a bit, trying to occupy yourself.
As your leg shuffled around in the dirt you heard something cluttering as you kicked it.
Curious you knelt down to examine whatever it was that was hidden by all the dirt.
Blowing some dust off of them you shuddered as the human bones were revealed.
You suddenly started to remember.

A tunnel.
Bones.
A light at the end.

"Captain Braham..."
You spoke up.

"Not now adventurer."

"We must leave...
NOW!"

Suddenly the same soldier who spoke before started to loose his shit again.
"I FELT IT AGAIN!"
He looked up and raised his torch.
"OH MY GO-"

Your instincts kicked in and you sprung into action.

Pick one:
>SZIKRA! DODGE!
>GET DOWN KIBO!
>Other? (write-in)

Also apologies if I suddenly disappear.

It appears a summer storm is about to hit my area.
If it knocks out the internet I won't be able to post.
So wish me luck

>>2748261
>SZIKRA! DODGE!

Save the waifu!

>>2748264
Well shite.

>>2748261
>>SZIKRA! DODGE!
Gotta agree with >>2748270 save the waifu.

>>2748280
though hopefully kibo doesn't die, that would suck, he seems like a good kid

Rolled 8, 7, 3 = 18 (3d10)

Well that is a pretty one sided...

QM rolling.
DC: 24

>writing

>>2748311
ouch

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7JzX4CHJYg

The 'thing' that the soldier saw fell down from the ceiling.
Hidden by the rock formation it laid in wait for decades.
Once it fell on the soldier the tiny blob like thing burrowed into the skin of his forehead and the changes began almost instantaneously.

His ribs broke at once and pierced his skin, pointing at the outside world like so many spears.
His jaw was dislocated and it split in two while his tongue grew longer and an eyeball popped out of its tip.
Two additional pair of eyes sprouted at his temple and the top of his head.
One of his arms swollen up with muscle and bone, growing massive in size but horribly disfigured with shards of bone jutting out of it.
His other arm seemed to regress back into his body and in its place grew six blade tipped tentacles.
Much like his arms his legs were also distorted, his heels were raised off the ground and fresh new sinew grew to connect it to the upper half of his calves.
Where his toes were once now were four spikes that seemed to dig into the solid stone ground.

As his transformation was complete and the armor practically popped off of him the other soldiers screamed at the top of their lungs.
"DEEEEEEEEMON!"
And just like that they were casually cut in half from the waist up by one of the flailing tentacles.
In an instant six men died in a geyser of blood and gore.

Those that were lucky and were not butchered immediately either attempted to run away or raise their weapons in defense.
The cowardly soon found the mutilated corpses of their comrades hurled at them with monstrous strength, crushing another three to death.
Swinging their swords in retaliation the brave found themselves being unable to keep up with the six bladed tentacles which proceeded to parry each and every strike the warriors attempted to deliver, often resulting in a counter attack which claimed their lives.
All five of them died.

Including Szikra, Kibo, Braham and You only six remained.

>>2748351
oh fuck

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvt1NSBg-Ow

The creature then turned its attention towards you.
The two at your side were completely frozen by what they saw.
You needed to react so you jumped and screamed.
"SZIKRA! WATCH OUT!"

Tackling the girl you both managed to get on the ground before the blades could cut you in half.
But the sound of blood splattering and wetness seeping through the clothes on your back made you feel truly terrified.
With a loud thud Kibo fell and looked at you. He was still alive but his lower half was barely being held together by one strand of tissue.
Blood trickled from his mouth as he looked at you with life slowly leaving his eyes.

"Zs-Zsold..."

At this Captain simply broke down.
His eyes could not believe what they were seeing.
And he did not want to accept that he caused this.

"R-RETREAT!
RUN FOR THE EXIT!"
He ordered and the men at his side quickly turned around and ran towards the light.
The demon noticed this and without running for it jumped towards one of the walls.

Twirling around in the air it landed feet first and the claws on its legs dug deep into the stone, making it perfectly latch onto it.
From that point it jumped once more towards the fleeing soldiers and raised its oversized hand.
With one squeeze it managed to crush a soldiers head alongside his helmet.
The demon then proceeded to pummel the remaining easterners with the corpse of their comrade until there was nothing left but one bloody pile of meat.

Now....
There were only the two of you.

The foul creature looked at you and wheezed heavily as it let go of what remained of its 'weapon'.
It took one step after another towards you while you were busy watching Kibo die.
He looked like he wanted to say something before the last vestiges of his strength left him and he passed away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFH_sLohbRQ

You smashed the ground with your fist in anger as you tried to hold yourself together.
You wanted to curse, to wail, to break down and cry.
But now was not the time.
Instead you turned to the side and with righteous fury tried to shout Szikra back into reality.

"SZIKRA GET UP!
GET UP AND FIGHT!"

Leading by example you stood up and raised your axe with both hands, disregarding the immense pain in your shoulder.
Fuming with rage you continued.
"THIS THING DIES TODAY!"

>Stay defensive and try to draw its attention
>Start swinging as hard as you can
>You've got nothing to loose now. Attempt to use magick!
>Other? (write-in)

>>2748394
Well fuck, kubo's dead
>Stay defensive and try to draw its attention
I wanna use magic but i think we should be defensive first, get Szikra into the fight, she's generally a heavier hitter than we are

>>2748397
also i'm an ass, the kid dies and i can't even get his name right *Kibo

>>2748394
Dang, poor kid.

>Stay defensive and try to draw its attention.
I'll bet this thing doesn't like fire. Get the torches and throw some oil down, try to control it's path of approach, but for god's sake don't cut off our own escape route.

>>2748397
>>2748406
noted

Please roll3d10 once more.
DC: 14 Crit: 23
best of 3

>writing

Rolled 1, 2, 2 = 5 (3d10)

>>2748460

Rolled 9, 4, 6 = 19 (3d10)

>>2748460

>>2748463
Stop that

>>2748466
thanks for not dooming us all when i failed.

Rolled 1, 1, 10 = 12 (3d10)

Slow day it seems.
Real slow.

Whatever.
QM rolling instead

>>2748473
Also stop that

>>2748482
less of a failure than me. also it's always a bit fun if we don't immediately crit and defend the shit outta that necromorph

Had to go do shit and this is what I come back too, spooky I know you said this was gonna be a harder quest but this just seems out right fucking unfair.

File: soul-sacrifice_screenshot(...).jpg (101 KB, 640x382)

101 KB JPG

You had no time to remain idle anymore.
You needed to act now.

"SZIKRA!"

But she was practically frozen and you didn't blame her.
Demons are a rare occurrence.
And encountering one here is just the worst luck imaginable.
However now was not the time to be concerned with the dead, least you end up joining them.

Sadly Szikra did not move just yet.
But your opponent did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atc51MxhoAE

The demon sprung into action and unleashed its many arms against you.
Six blades began banging on your axe as you tried to parry them.
Such an overwhelming offense was hard to fight but you somehow managed to succeed.
Only the tips of the blades managed to scratch your face and your shoulders, completely missing any vital areas.

This however angered the beast as it shifted its approach.
Rather than sequentially attacking with the tentacles one at a time it took a greater risk by attacking with them simultaneously.
You noticed that the attacks got a bit slower but grew in intensity by quite a lot.
Eventually as it smashed its bladed appendages against your steel it managed to knock your axe aside with four blades and used the remaining two to deliver a deadly stab.

Instinctively you raised your left arm to block and the creatures eyes opened wide as it felt the hard pang of steel upon impact.
It seemed to growl with anger and began wildly slashing away at the cloth until it tore it apart mostly.
With one pull the thing wrestled away your sword breaker and raised it above its head.
Coiling one tentacle around the steel sheet the demon flexed its limb and your piece of metal got bent like a twig until it snapped.

This was bad.

Cursing silently you started running backwards to the cart of the soldiers.
At first the demon attempted to stop you but you managed to predict the incoming attack and rolled to the side.
When another blade comes with the intent of dicing you up you cut it off with a well timed parry and counter attack.
The demon screeched in pain as its bodypart fell lifelessly to the ground which gave you the opening you needed.

Upon reaching the cart of the imperials you cut off the ropes holding the barely of oil in place and proceeded to cut a nice big hole in it before giving the thing a good kick.
While the demon was preoccupied you did this once more on the other side, creating a narrow tunnel between the two oil trails.
Using one of the torches that were still burning you ignited the fluid and lit up the cavern.
At least now you could see properly and potentially cut off the sides of the cave from this hellspawn.

>>2748527
Snd with that, i will blueball myself by turning in for the night.

Try not to get us killed!

>>2748543
Noooooo promises

>>2748522
i mean, we aren't dead. sure everyone else is except Szikra, and it sucks the kid's dead but who gives a shit about the others?

>>2748555
It sets a very dangerous precedent. spooky fucks up one roll and kills some named NPCs and and entire squadron. I would have been fine if half of them died and the kid end up losing something like an arm but he decided no I wanna kill nearly everyone here.

File: Gotou-Transformed.jpg (25 KB, 750x410)

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Once the beast ceased with its unholy screeching it sprouted a new tentacle in the place of the old and started observing the newly lit cavern.
Meanwhile you started thinking to yourself.

"Demons can't regenerate.
To regrow something they have to use up flesh from somewhere else in their bodies!
Gotta keep this up!"

But what followed was something you did not expect.

"Was that your big idea?
Fire?
How simple... How disgustingly primitive.
How very... human."

You smirked.
"If it's so primitive then you might as well jump in!
I'm sure a mighty being such as you will be fine."

"Don't make me laugh.
But I will have to give you credit.
You lasted longer than these ones."
The demon lifted a corpse in the air for demonstration.
"I'll try not to mutilate you too much.
You'll do as a body."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKWtwJ38EjE

"Oh? You want my body do you?
Well my partner will have something to say about that!"

"Do you mean that useless mag-"
But as soon as the demons eyes shift it stops and begins to panic.
"WHERE IS THE WOMAN?!"

Using her spear as a pole Szikra sent herself into the air and above the flames.
Twirling her weapon in the air she aimed it downward and screamed at the top of her lungs.
"FUUUUUUCK YOU!"

Stabbing the creature through the back Szikra managed to impale so that her spear entered through the upper half of the demons back and left through the lower half of its stomach.
With an ungodly howl the beast screamed in pain and lashed out violently.
Swatting Szikra away it attempted to pull the spear out but found it nigh impossible.

"H-Heavy!"

Unable to free itself the creature moved to the side, causing the iron pole to tear a decent chunk out of its side.
A necessary sacrifice.

Szikra did not waste any time and grabbed her weapon.
But the creatures retaliation gave her a nasty cut on her forehead, causing blood to slowly blind her.
On the bright side however... you had the thing surrounded and wounded.

>Coordinate your attacks with Szikra
>She's dangerously close to it! Use blood magic to occupy the beast
>While it's not paying attention to you continue fanning the flames
>Other? (write-in)

What can we do exactly with magic as of right now anyways spooky? You never went into detail about what we can do.

>>2748589
How easy would it be to use our blood magic to stem the flow from Szkira's cut and prevent it from blinding her? And would we be able to do a one-time job of it, or would it require constant focus?

Can we use the blood from all the dead men to create a bunch of blood spears and attack it?

>>2748589
>>She's dangerously close to it! Use blood magic to occupy the beast
Now's time to bring out the big guns.

>>2748632
>>2748595

You can't heal her right now.
And she's too far away.

The blood magic option would be a projectile attack.
But you can't quite use blood magic just yet it's a gamble.

>>2748639
>>2748638
In that case, switching my vote to
>Coordinate your attacks with Szikra

>>2748589
>Coordinate your attacks with Szikra.

Actually hold on, do we have any oil? Because if so I vote we cover our axe in it and have a flaming axe.

>>2748589
>Coordinate your attacks with Szikra
Though I'm tempted to trail more oil and fan the flames in such a way that forms a ring around the demon and traps it. Then we'll see how immune it really is to fire.

Guess it's time for some jolly cooperation.

Roll the dice if you would.
DC: 12 Crit 20
best of 3

>writing

Rolled 1, 9, 2 = 12 (3d10)

>>2748661

Rolled 4, 8, 10 = 22 (3d10)

>>2748661
Parry porn incoming.

Rolled 8, 3, 8 = 19 (3d10)

>>2748661

Rolled 5, 7, 9 = 21 (3d10)

>>2748661

>>2748664
I said stop already christ

File: 80d.jpg (77 KB, 887x1097)

77 KB JPG

>>2748668

>>2748668
I guess we won't be dying today.

>>2748671
to be fair that was a success. barely a success but a success none the less

While the demon was fixing the hole in its side you went over to one of the unopened barrels of oil and smashed your axe into it, drenching the whole thing in oil.
After putting it into the fire you started by screaming at the top of your lung and Szikra joined you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v5jdAk7EKY

Dashing forward with your flaming weapon you tried to get the attention of the demon.
You feel a surge of power washing over you as your back was practically vibrating.
That was the moment when the beast finally involuntarily turned to you.

"This is-"

"DON'T YOU IGNORE ME YOU MONSTER!"

Twirling her spear around Szikra also challenged the creature.
Unable to decide which opponent to attack the demon hesitated for a moment, allowing both of you to make your attacks simultaneously.
Raising its over sized arm the demon hardened its skin to withstand the flames covering your axe.
All the while it used its six tentacles to spin around in an attempt to stop the flurries of Szikra.

But this defense of his was just not working.
Fueled by adrenaline, rage and hatred the two of you began decimating the creature.
With savage might you kept on slamming your axe into the demon while Szikra kept on poking it to death.

Finally having enough of this charade the demon swatted your axe aside and raised its powerful legs to kick you in the stomach.
Flying backwards you could do nothing but watch as Szikra now had to deal with the beast in its entirety.

"FOUL HUMANS!"
It screamed as its tentacles coiled together and formed an arm ending in six fingers.
Pulling its new limb back the upper arm of the demon has swollen to a ludicrous size in preparation to be used as a piston for extra force.
Luckily Szikra managed to block the strike but it had such power behind it that it sent her flying backwards.

Now both of you on the ground you looked up and panted as the smokes started to slowly choke you out.
You looked at each other and without saying a word you both knew what had to be done.
This... thing was more than human.
If you want to win... you'll have to surpass what one man can do.
To work together not only as two individuals but two halves of the same coin.

Panting you exchanged a nod and stood up.
Staring down the demon you saw what the beast didn't want you to see.
Its exhaustion. Its frustration.

How could two humans push me this far?

Its thoughts were pretty apparent.

Now... to end this.

File: Warriors_Knight_Dark_Soul(...).jpg (1.59 MB, 3840x2160)

1.59 MB JPG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJKGy-dEJO8

You ran forward at once.
Taking the lead you sprinted in front of Szikra and covered for her.
The demon did not take this lightly.

"DON'T YOU DARE MOCK ME YOU FILTHY HUMANS!"

The six tentacles came at once.
Clumped together they formed a powerful lance with which it meant to impale you.
Grabbing the axe' handle with both hands you swung with all your might, all your weight and as much aether as you could squeeze out of yourself.
The harder than steel bone shattered at your blow as the eldritch horror gasped in disbelief.
Raising its oversized hand to block you it prepared for the worst.

But you did not attack and instead ducked.
Using you as a stepping stone Szikra jumped high into the air and above the creatures guard.
She did not use her spear to attack as she feared she might get gored by the demon.
Instead she put her feet forward and kicked the beast in the face and jumped backwards from it.

Now dizzy the demon had no choice but to take what the two of you were about to serve it once Szikra landed next to you.
Clasping your hands together you spun around and tossed her straight at the demon.
Using her momentum she drove her spear into the creatures oversized arm and by bringing it down pinned it to the ground.

Meanwhile you dashed to the side and chopped off one of the creatures legs.
Falling helplessly the demon did not understand what was happening to it.

With the beast paralyzed Szikra pulled her spear free and stabbed the beast through the chest.
Unfortunately for you it appeared that the foul creature moved its internal organs around quite a bit so you didn't exactly finish it off just yet.
Before it could lash out against Szikra you took a step forward and raised your weapon above your head.
Your mighty swing was enough to decapitate the monster.

Life did not leave the creatures head instantly.
Instead it got to watch as his body would surely fail without the parasite in the head controlling it.
With its final strength it spoke up.

"Am I... to be defeated... by these lowly humans?
How... shameful."

As its heart beat its last the creature made its peace and closed its eyes, knowing what was coming.
You on the other hand watched as the horribly altered body suddenly began to glow.
Realizing what was happening you grabbed Szikra and her weapon and ran as far as you could out of there.

Being entirely aetherial creatures the demons command insane magical powers.
However it also has a price.
Should they die while inhabiting a host their massive power goes out of control and starts to collapse on itself, dragging everything in their surroundings with it.

Only in the nick of time did you manage to get out of the implosions range.
Blood, bone, flesh, skin, metal and even the nearby fire was dragged into this singularity until all matter in the immediate vicinity of the demon got compacted into a grape sized ball.

File: Screenshot_20180601-22181(...).jpg (18 KB, 640x299)

18 KB JPG

The tiny little ball was pitch black and appeared to be made out of small, broken bones.
This aether rich substance is known as demons blood which only forms upon the death of one such creature.
Very sought after... and very illegal due to how it's produced.

You looked down at the tiny thing and then at all the carnage around you.
Finally with the danger passed you could finally give in and fall to your knees.
This... this is your reward.
For all this death.
Against your better judgment you pocketed it.

Looking at the dying embers of your fire, all the body parts littering the area and of course... Kibo.
You let out a loud curse and finally wailed like you wanted to.

"DAMN IIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"

Aaand after all that I am beat.

Archive's up.
And as I said before I won't be able to write next week.

If you have any questions towards the characters, have an omake you'd like to be written etc. feel free to post it.

I can't guarantee I'll be able to do them immediately but if not I'll add them to my backlog.

Well I hope you enjoyed yourselves.
Until next time!

Well now what do we do guys? I think the guy was gonna pay us is dead.

>>2748869
no, the captain survived he just ran away like a bitch.

>>2748869
Yeah, that's kind of a downer.

Is there still a bounty for the bandit dude? If it was specifically an eastern thing then pursuing this would get us too muddled up in eastern business.

Hrrrm.

>>2748884
Oh, in that case, we can press him for extra gold since we killed a chucklefucking demon and in effect saved his life.

>>2748897
oh wait nevermind, i misread, yeah no i wouldn't be surprised if he's super dead right now.

>>2748906
so much for for that job, our employer dies the second time we run into trouble. oh well, we murdered a demon, which probably comes with some street cred, so at least there's that.

>>2748890
Even if there was I would rather turn back now then try and face an former eastern solider who is known for being somewhat good at his job and his group of bandits. Especially considering there may only be us and Szikra

Also how concerned should we be that a place with a demon living in it feels familiar to Zsold?

>>2749031
Because I feel we should be very concerned that our drug trip become a reality.

>>2749036
i'm sure it's totally fine and will never get brought up ever again.

>Szikra
How are you feeling after everything that has happened? learning about Zsold, the demon attacking and managing to just get away from the demon blood.

Is it wrong that I am against having a waifu in this quest because spooky would either A try to kill them or B have them raped?

>>2749273
I understand your fears but i don't think he's going THAT grimdark.

>>2749305
He didn't seem to spare our mother did he?

>>2749310
well sure, but that's because we have a tragic backstory, there are no survivors in tragic backstories

>>2749315
Until spooky comments on the matter I will not change my stance.

>>2749332
fair enough, though i think a waifu is inevitable because there are very few people who won't go for it.

>>2748868
>Zsold
What /are/ demons? And how did you learn about them?

>Kibo
Sorry we couldn't protect you, kid. Didn't even hear your last words properly. Mind repeating them?

>Lowan, Avana, Sonya and Griswald
So. Uh. How /you/ doin'?

>Female kobold
How's that knife treating you? Also, how the hell did you get caught out by that kobold way back when you met Zsold when you're quite clearly capable of being practically invisible?

>Demon
So, what's your story? Where'd you come from, and how long have you been hanging around this cave? Why'd you never decide to leave for elsewhere?

>>2749305
>>2749310
>>2749315
>>2749332
>>2749344
OP explicitly stated that only one or two out of Lowan, Avana and Sonya were intended to survive Zsold's initial adventure with them, so it's fairly clear that just having a name is no protection; he'll at least sometimes be introducing seemingly-important characters just to kill them off. Perhaps even the MC?

That said, he also said that our unconventional approach to clearing the cave was what let them all survive, so we can demonstrably make a difference in keeping NPCs alive if only we play things carefully and with consideration.

I can only imagine that if Zsold does properly become romantically attached to an NPC, OP will be more cautious about killing them off if only because it's the absolute most powerful means he would have of steering the narrative and motivating the players, but can only be done once.

>>2749375
Well sure, i know that this quest is gonna be dangerous, this session proved that with pretty much everyone dying except Zsold and Szrika, and there's certainly a chance that if we wife something they could die. But i don't think spooky is gonna go out of his way to specifically target someone if we wife them.

also this reminds me, totally forgot to ask a question:
>Captain Braham
So uh, you alive there buddy?

>>2749398
Even if he doesn't kill who ever we decide to wife this quest seems to some inspiration from shit like beserk and we all know what happened to the romantic partner of guts don;t we. My point is even if he doesn't kill them I ain't gonna vote for it because there might be a chance of rape.

>>2748869
>>2748884
>>2748890
>>2748897
>>2748906
>>2748970
The job is not technically finished.
Braham is dead as shit but he did say he had scouts following the deserters.
And not even the Empire would be dumb enough to attempt to weasel out of a contract with the Adventurers Guild.

>>2748985
Julian was roughly the equal of Braham.
Do with that information what you will

And that whole "familiar" thing was just the drug induced visions.

>>2749273
I did explicitly say that NTR won't be a thing.
At all.

>>2749083
>No... just no...
>Fuck this day!

>>2749375

>Zsold
I'm no historian... I only know what people share in legends and myths... and old tales to scare children with.

But a long time ago, at the birth of magic, humanity cried out when the horrors of the cosmos first attacked them.

Their pleas were answered by a race of aetherial beings, the angels.
They constructed a shell around the planet and built a magnificent city on it.
From there they defended humanity and offered them an afterlife.

But something happened that angered them.
And the once unified celestials waged war amongst themselves.
One half wanted to destroy humanity, while another wanted nothing to do with them anymore.

The ones who wanted to remain passive won and banished their violent brethren to the planets core where they were horribly disfigured.
Full of hatred for both the angels and the humans they renamed themselves "demons" and now hate all that is life.

>Kibo
So... cold...
M-Mother...

>The trio
So... tired...
No more!

>Griswald
Come on this is nothing!
Just two more reps and then we can move onto survivalism!

>Kobold
[So shiny! Much better than stone.
Can cut meat and fruit well!
...
Tribe hungry. Had to go look for food far away.
Hunter felt smell.
Hunter not alpha. Not allowed to mate.
Thought it get away with it.
Happy it didn't. Happy pink skin save me.]

>Demon
These foul humans ran rampant in the area.
After managing to free myself from my infernal prison I found a host.
But these vermin... their numbers were too great.

They destroyed the body I found and left the tunnel for good.

I managed to leave it in time and hide in the shadows.
But here in this accursed material world bodies are weak and frail.

I had to enter cryptobiosis and wait for some dumb animal to enter the cave.
Admittedly it took over a century! But I couldn't risk being caught.
Had to remain hidden. Conserve strength

>>2749398
>Please... bury my bones!

>>2750076
>Zsold what did you think the demon was trying to tell you?
>Demon What is it that you tried to tell Zsold?
>Valen Morr do you think you'd win in a fight against a demon?

>>2750153
Okay I'm literally retarded right now. Exhaustion is a bitch
Which lines do you mean regarding the demon?

Also

>Morr
Depends.
If I knew I was going up against one and had enough time to prepare, sure.
Otherwise?
*hiss*
Probably?

>>2750157
>To Zsolds brothers
Did you hear about what happened after you left? Do you care?

>>2750157
here
>>2748767
>"This is-"

Also quick question, have you read Zion multiverse quest?

>>2750267
>Kazan
I did.
It's a sad thing.
But not much I can do about it.
I pray that someone at least buries father and even mother. I don't care about the bastards though.

>Jagar
Don't know. Don't care!
In the west if you get killed you probably deserved it!

>>2750268

Can't say I have. Why?

>Zsold

I don't care.
It couldn't have said anything that'd have made me not want to kill it!

>Demon (when it was still alive)

That amount of magick!
Yes... his gland with the girls body....
Hmmm... that'd make an excellent host

>>2750279
Spookyng I have one question....
If we produce a child, with someone. Hypothetically will our powerful gland pass down as a trait?

>>2750282
Not a guarantee but possible.
Szikra did not inherit a powerful gland but an inherent ability to use magick in some small capacity and grew from that.
Zsold had next to nothing but through "beating his meat" as it were he managed to push himself quite far.

But reproduction and biology don't mix too well with magick.

For example:
Humans and Nex or even Nex and Nex can interbreed freely.
Usually if the parents are both purebreed then the child will be born with 50-50 blood but that has no bearing on their race.
Typically if you are a halfie you'll get the race of your mother.

If your ancestors got freaky at some point and let's say your elf dad and your human mom who had 1% elf blood diluted in her system banged then you'd be automatically an elf because you are 51% elf.

So to guarantee the production of an ubermensch both parents would need an exceptional gland from birth

>>2750289
So your telling me, that we need to try more than one time. Got it.

>>2750299
Yes

>>2749375
[Joker Quest PTSD intensifies]

>>2750317
Which part was it exactly that triggered your flashbacks?
Haven't read it myself

What was it even about?
I thought from the title that it was about playing as the Joker in the DC universe.
But apparently that's not the case

Question, how do staffs and wands work in this setting and can every mage type benefit from using them or only certain ones?

>>2750048
>Julian was roughly the equal of Braham.
so this isn't how that works but considering that we murdered the fuck out of the demon who murdered the fuck out of Braham, 1v1 we should be fine, it's the other bandits we gotta worry about.

>>2750915
or well, 1v2 we should be fine, 1v1 might be a bit of a pickle.

>>2750620
>>2750317
Haven't read it either but i have a feeling the MC of it dies at the end (or in the middle, i dunno.)

>>2750915
Who's this Julian fella?

>>2750947
the guy we're supposed to hunt down, he used to be an imperial, he mutinied and became a bandit.

>>2750956
Ohh, forgot about that. Yeah we don't need to face him head first. Sneak attack should do the job.

>>2750834
Wands don't exist.
Staves are used more as clubs rather than magical catalysts.
Mages don't benefit from them what so ever.
But it's obviously easier to swing a stick than learn proper fencing methods.

>>2750915
Yeap that's pretty much what you have to worry about

>>2750915
But keep in mind, you are more than a bit wounded.
Szikra is in an okay condition but she is a bit tired from this

>>2750982
well yeah, we sure as hell can't take him now, but i mean, assuming we fight him at (mostly) peak condition.

>>2750620
JQOP killed the waifu relatively early on in the quest and it fueled a lot of very stupid, very angry decisions which fucked everything up for everyone and paved the way for further fuckups down the line until the entire thing was fucked beyond any hope of repair.

Joker Quest is a story about super fighting robots and Consequences typed in size 60 font, bolded, and underlined several times.

>>2750926
The MC died before it even started.

>>2751215
huh. well, that works too. or i guess it doesn't, considering how the quest went.