Twelve large cages on wheels, a flatbed wagon covered in supplies, seven large tents easily large enough for three people each, eight large work horses and just over a dozen bandits that were easily visible. The camp had a large campfire in its center, with many torches lit and hanging from the various cages. That was what greeted Bell and Nyarlathotep when they crested a hill after about two hours of slows travel through the dark nighttime road. Slavers seemed to be sitting around and resting or on watch, and it was just luck that the moon was not behind Bell and Nyarlathotep when they came over the hill.
"That, is a lot," Bell said with a nervous gulp as he and Lady Lath went and crouched by a bunch of bushes.
"There are a fair number, but not so many it is impossible," Nyarlathotep stated as she squinted a bit and smiled. "Tell me, what else do you see?"
Bell squinted, trying to see through the darkness. "uh, a few of the cages are grouped together to one side, and two are separated from the rest."
"Good, what else?"
"Um, there's some light coming out of one tent?" Bell said, hoping it was what Lady Lath was hoping he'd notice.
"Yes, but you have missed one thing of importance," Nyarlathotep said as pointed at the center of the camp were the fire was brightly burning. "The fire is bright and many are awake. Can you hear them?"
Bell was about to say no, but stopped as he realized that in the nights quiet, he could actually hear them. Nothing specific, but he could hear shouting and laughing on the wind. "It . . .sounds like they are merrymaking."
"Exactly! They are partying! The think that they are safe, that the village they attacked can do nothing to them! When anything thinks itself safe, that is when they are weakest!" Lady Lath exclaimed with a mad grin. "You are small, you are nimble I would bet, and you are armed with a blade they could never understand!"
"But, there are lot, and if they see me-" Bell began to say, stopping when Lady Lath suddenly stood up.
"So do not let them see you then. The night is an ally to those who would stalk it. I will give you the opening you need to get in and release the girls, but if you are seen you must become a predator and strike as they do. Without fear, without mercy, with the intention to kill, go for the throat, heart or skull, and do not hesitate! Understand?"
"I, think so," Bell said nervously. "But what will you do to-"
"To gain their attention?" Lady Lath finished with a smirk. "Why it is simple. I shall garner their attention by strolling right into their camp and speaking to them of course!"
Bell stared at Lady Lath for a few seconds before nearly exploding. "You can't! They'll catch you and-"
"Please," she interrupted with a grin. "They could not hurt me if they tried, and by walking in, their attention will be set upon me. The real question however, is what you think should be done with them?"
"Huh?"
"They are slavers, bandits, and likely murderers. Do you wish to simply escape with the village girls, or end the threat of these slavers once and for all?"
Bell went silent as it dawned on him that he hadn't even considered that. He wanted to save the girls, and he had been worried about being found and having to fight them. But killing them? Adventurers fought monsters, not people. Could he kill another person, even ones so vile, if it came to it?
He wasn't sure.
"Well, if you are not sure, you have some time," Nyarlathotep said with a shrug. Then she pointed to the right of the slaver camp. "A minute or so after I head toward the camp, hide in the bushes and trees and make your way to the camp underneath them. Crawl if you must, but do not run or make unnecessary noise, and you should make it to the cages over there without being spotted. I will keep them preoccupied, but it will be up to you to get the village girls out!"
Bel swallowed and nodded anxiously.
"Good. Remember to be small, and go for the neck if you aim to kill silently," Lady Lath said as she began to walk away, by then stopped and turned back to Bell. "Ah, one last piece of advice for you. Do not let any other take up your dagger with the intention to do harm. It is yours, and will not allow others to use it!"
"Uh, okay? " Bell answered, unsure what Lady Lath meant. How could a dagger stop itself from being used?
"Good, then let us begin, and see where this leads!" she then declared as she began walking down the road as if on a light stroll.
A minute later Bell began his trek through the darkness towards the camp. A strange feeling of unease filling his heart.
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Nyarlathotep let out a content sigh as she waltzed down the road toward the slaver camp, using the time to think over her, admittedly ridiculous, situation.
She had been minding her own business after a fun stint of spreading chaos on a mortal world of little consequence when she was attacked by Nodens. The old hunter made it a common thing, trying to hunt her, or other outer gods like her and their ilk, down. It had been a relatively even fight for the most part, that was until an unknown attack had come and struck her from behind. Taking the chance, Nodens had done, something. The next thing Nyarlathotep knew, she had woken up in this unknown world of mortals with the majority of her power, easily over ninety eight percent of it, sealed and contained.
Her power being sealed to some extent was nothing new. To traverse mortal worlds in the guise of one as she often did, she needed to seal away her power herself or it would drive mortal to madness in mere seconds by her mere presence.
This was a little different though, as she had not been the one to seal away her excess energies, and could not seem to unseal them through sheer force of will. And then there was her form. She was used to taking many, and had thousands of different forms both male and female. But her current form that she appeared stuck in was that of her Black Pharaoh form, one that was supposed to be male. Being female was not a problem, heck it could be extremely useful as women were often treated better by mortal cultures, and could manipulate others more easily, but to have one of her forms shifted to female without her intentions, that was infuriating!
And then there was the world itself. A medieval world with a strange feeling to it, one she couldn't quite place at the moment due to her power being so sealed. The mortal that had found her strangely quickly named Bell Cranel, who may as well have been the physical form of naivety, innocence and Heroic desires, made it sound like Gods lived among the mortals on this world. An interesting idea for sure, but more interesting was that it seemed normal in his eyes. If the Gods of this place existed as more than power that mortals could normally not comprehend, then perhaps they were somehow responsible for her situation, or could be used to release herself of the situation and escape the seal somehow placed on her powers!
It was the only lead she currently had with her powers sealed as they were, and with the mortal Bell heading to the place that, from his description had many gods living there, it simply made sense to follow him.
Of course that was before his personality and ideals came into view, making him even more curious than she first thought. Yes, he was naïve and innocent, young and weak, but his drive was something of interest, as was his single minded focus on his hopes and dreams. Initially she had made the dagger for him to watch him fall to madness, maybe even to go so mad as to turn into a sociopathic killer. But she quickly dismissed that idea when it became clear he would not fall so easily. No, he would only fall if it was slow and methodical, and even then she could tell he might not fall, growing stronger instead of growing mad. He was one of the rare kinds of mortals whose will was so strong and unshakable, he could stand tall in front of an outer god and not be driven into a quivering puddle!
It made her want to do so much more than just drive him to madness and chaos!
Which directly led to providing him with some assistance in his desire to help other mortals. Otherwise she'd never get to this city of Orario that Bell had mentioned. On the upside it did mean she could have some fun with the little power she had access too, and it would be more than enough to devastate them if she needed to. It had been a while since she had cut loose against mortals after all, maybe they could show some sort of strength?
No, likely not.
"Who goes there? Name yourself or die!" came a rough voice from ahead, pulling Nyarlathotep out of her inner thoughts to see she had just about reached the edge of the slaver camp. It seems they did have the intelligence to put out guards, and her very direct advance had caught the attention she had hoped for. From one man at least. Now she just needed to get the rest of their attention and see what Bell would do!
"Greetings, I am Lady Lath, a Goddess who has heard of your business in this area. I'd like to see your wares," Nyarlathotep said, building a simple but believable story in mere seconds. She did not consider herself evil due to her very different morality, but she did know that her current looks would be easy to assume as such. Nothing said evil like solid black skin and solid black eyes after all.
The slaver who was on guard duty, who looked to be in his late twenties perhaps, looked her over for a few seconds before nodding slightly. "Alright, follow me, but keep your hands were I can see them, understand?"
"Yes, I understand, please, lead the way," Nyarlathotep responded with a small but dark smile. "I am eager to see what you have after all!"
The guard gave a grunt in response as he turned and began walking into the camp, leading Nyarlathotep within. There were simple wooden fences around the perimeter, clearly made to be transportable, and the cages that she could see appeared to have clasps on them so that multiple cages could be joined together. It was clear these slavers had their work down very well, and had either already made good money, or were being well supplied by another force.
As she and the guard came closer to the fire pit and the tents surrounding it, all of the merrymaking and noise died down as all eyes turned to Nyarlathotep. Some stared in confusion, others with interest, but all of them had one thing in common. Nervousness.
"Hey, what the hell is this?" One older slaver spoke up, clearly irate at the one leading Nyarlathotep within.
"This woman, she claims she's a Goddess who's interested in our business," the one replied quickly.
"Is that so? " came a new, commanding voice as one of the tents was flapped open and a large, barrel chested man wearing only a pair of pants walked out. He had a rough short beard and mustache, salt and pepper hair barely long enough to be called such, and enough muscle showing on his chest and belly he could probably cut vegetables on his abs. He seemed to know it too, as while he walked up to Nyarlathotep, his eyes were glancing all across her body, as if imagining what he could do. "So, a goddess huh?"
"Yes, I am Lady Lath, and when I heard of your presence here, I was intrigued. I could use some tools for my personal use, and some for less, survivable means as well," Nyarlathotep explained, knowing that the more in line with the slavers ideals she sounded, the more likely they would trust her.
"I see. Never heard of you before," the big slaver, likely the leader, said as he placed his wands on his waist.
"So you have heard the name of every God and Goddess that exists?" Nyarlathotep answered back in a knowing tone. After all, if this world had gods living among the mortals, there surely were both those well known, and lesser known or even barely known!
"No, that'd be a nightmare to memorize," the slaver leader said with a sigh. "Well, you look alright, and certainly hold yourself right, similar enough to one of our main employers. Pretty late at night though, so what really brought you here?"
"I spoke the truth. I was traveling and heard of your, claiming of new flesh, and figured I would come take a look as I am in the market you could say," Nyarlathotep said as she suddenly felt a twinge, a feeling of an energy not of the world she stood on. An energy she knew so well it made her giddy. "Such business is best done in the dark of night, so, may I see your wares?"
"But of course," the slaver said with a grin as he gave a hand signal, making his men calm down in an instant. "We have gotten many good young girls recently from the village you passed through, and have a handful of others as well. Even some that are versed in, other skills."
"Oh, such as what?" Nyarlathotep asked as the slaver leader began leading her casually over to the largest grouping of cages. Over to the same area where she could feel the will of the dagger she gave to Bell.
"There is one who I got off another slaver, he has taught her the basics of night service, and I have another who has some training in assassination. They both do need a bit of, tempering however."
Nyarlathotep stopped and acted as if considering his words. Truthfully she was focusing her sense, and after a second looked back at the slaver and then across the camp at the other side where alone cage sat part from the others. "They do sound interesting, but I'd like to compare my options. I thought I saw something in the other cage over there. Is there a reason it is separate from the others?"
"There is, yes. It holds a monster that we encountered by accident and managed to capture due to the, unfortunate sacrifice of some adventurers that were after it," he said with a chuckle. "We watched them fight it and die, but then it fell over, were not sure if it was from wounds or exhaustion, but we took the chance and caught it. Would you like to see? I have heard that some Gods can control monsters to some extent, no?"
"To some extent, yes. Please, lead the way," Nyarlathotep said, easily feeling Bells thankfulness as the slaver led her back towards the center of the camp, and then toward the lone cage. "Do you know what sort of creature it is?"
"I wish we did, it would make it easier to sell," the slaver said as he led Nyarlathotep over towards the cage. "We thought it was a wild mycanoid, but its shape is wrong and it's too, big, see?" he said as he stopped in front of the cage, and lit a torch hanging from it, illuminating the thing within.
It was large, easily two meters tall and four or five long. It had six large bulky legs with spiked ends that gleamed like metal, and four arm like limbs, two with claws like a crabs, and the other two like three fingered graspers in a triangle. Its head was shaped like a strange amalgamation of shapes and looked to be almost crystalline in nature, while the entire rest of its body looked like a cross between fungus and carapace.
"fascinating, I'm surprised you managed to get caught!" Nyarlathotep said, causing the creature in the cage to a stand up And look toward her, its head rapidly changing colors like a kaleidoscope.
"Oh grand and glorious one, for this one to have met your form on this forsaken rock is a piece of perfection. This one has been trapped here for many cycles, unable to return to the kin, and was taken simply because energy is best held in reserve for a chance to escape and return away from these pathetic mammals!"
"Enough attempting to fan my ego, it's large enough as is considering the situation," Nyarlathotep replied, clearly talking to the fungus thing and surprising the slaver. "Why are you here in the first place?"
"Plans undone and broken, a mistake; a broken shattered foil, and the actions of those in service to the king in yellow. My creation destroyed, my body sent away at force, random, and sudden!"
"Hastur's goons, that is fair. It is hardly your fault if they interrupted a machine beyond their comprehension," Nyarlathotep said, just as a sudden cry of pain echoed across the night.
"What the hell was that?!" the slaver leader yelled, as if demanding answers.
Nyarlathotep had no need to ask, she could feel adrenaline from Bells body, and the will of the blade he carried awakening to its use. He had spilled blood, and not quietly. She turned to the cage and smirked, grabbing ahold of its gate with both hands. "I shall release you to my service for a time, do well and I shall return you to Yuugoth, understand?"
"Of course grand and glorious one, all of the Mi-go live to serve!"
In that second Nyarlathotep ripped the gate off the cage and threw it at the shocked slaver leader, knocking him to the ground. "Good! Then here is your first order. Kill the mortals in this camp who are those who captured you and those allied with them. Women, those in cages, and a young human with white hair wielding a weapon of my make are to not be touched, understood?"
"Understood grand one!" The Mi-go replied soundlessly, its speech of color heard only by Nyarlathotep as it climbed out of the cage, it's hulking body sounding far heavier than it looked as it dropped to the grass.
"You bitch!" the slaver leader yelled as he pushed the cage door off of him and scrambled up, taking a knife out of his boot as he did. "Goddess or not I'll kill you for this! Kill her! Kill anyone not in a cage!" He roared at the top of his lungs before lunging towards Nyarlathotep. He barely made it halfway toward her when the Mi-go suddenly was between them, one hand grabbing and breaking his, while one of its crablike claws plunged into the depths of his stomach and forcefully yanked out his insides with one quick motion. "What?!" the slaver groaned out as fell to the ground as other salvers came over with weapons in hand.
"Now then," Nyarlathotep said out loud as a ball of chaotic refracting color formed in one of her hands, only to turn into what looked like a whip made out of bones and slick tentacles merged together. "Let's have some fun!"
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Bell waited a minute as he was told and then dashed into the trees and bushes, going as fast as he could without making too much noise. He had gone hunting with some of the villagers and his grandpa a few times, so he sort of knew the basics. That was hunting during the day though, and Bell found himself going slower than he hoped he could. It was just too dark out to make out what was far away from him, and with the foliage all around it made it even more difficult.
Still, he did make progress, if that was suddenly tripping on a root and falling on his face to find himself at the edge of the slaver camp. He quickly sat up and retreated back into the foliage before looking at the camp before him. A wooden fence held together by lashed rope circled the camp, and a large number of cages, in two groups, were close to him on the fences other side. A slaver leaned against an empty cage with a torch hanging beside him. And right across from him was a cage full of girls crying softly.
Bell gulped as he tried to think of what to do. If he tried to free the girls, the slaver would see him, but if he tried to take him, he'd make noise or alert the others. Bell glanced around to see if there was some other option, but he couldn't see one. The fence was in clear view of the slaver, and with his hair if he went into the light he'd be spotted instantly.
Around . . . side . . . . . Lure, strike . . . . . . kill.
Bell looked around, his eyes wide in surprise and worry as he tried to find the strange, almost animal like voice he had just heard. Only he couldn't see anyone, and the guard was still resting against the cage lazily. "Who's there?" Bell whispered nervously, hoping to be answered.
Only no answer came.
Bell sighed as looked over the fence again, recalling what the odd voice had said. "How can something round have a side though?" Bell mumbled, just before he noticed an area to his right were the fence was not lit, and nearly right behind the slaver. Around to the side, was that what the voice had meant? Was it trying to help him?
Deciding that was, hopefully, the case Bell crept out of the bush and began slowly crawling over to the darker area. Once he arrived he found the fence different than he thought. Instead of being lashed together with each post in the ground the posts simply had the top going through holes in them, and only every couple of posts were actually embedded in the dirt.
He quickly crawled underneath it and then crept up beside an empty cage, standing up a bit to see what was now around him now that he was inside. He was beside the cage the slaver was resting against, and across from the slaver was a cage full of girls, likely from the village. Beside their cage was one with a few more women, older and dressed in far more uncovering and explicit garb, while on the other side of the empty cage was one with just a single girl with pointed ears and black hair within it. Her green eyes were brilliant and, was she looking his way?
Bell Suddenly ducked down beside the carriage at the thought of being seen. Would she stay quiet? Would she make a ruckus? He didn't know how the people in the cages would react. He had to be careful.
After a few seconds of no screaming or yelling Bell calmed down a bit and looked back at the slaver near his position. He was still leaning there lazily, appearing to be smoking something. How would he deal with him though?
Lure….. Hunt….. bleed!
Bell rapidly looked around as he heard that voice again, far louder and more forceful in its wispy tone. He figured it would have alerted the slaver, but both he and the girls were still doing what they had been before. Was he the only one who could hear it? Was he going mad?
Bell shook such ideas out of his head. He couldn't let such thoughts get the better of him, not when he still had people to save. And the odd voice had made him recall how some hunters would catch game. Maybe he could do the same?
Looking around the grass he found a metal pin on the ground and picked it up. It was a good size and heavy, likely for one of the cages. Calming himself down as much as he could Bell threw the pin, not at the guard, but at the cage the village girls were within. The pin struck the metal cage on the corner furthest from the slaver, making a dull clang that both roused many of the girls, and the slaver.
"Hey! What did we tell you about trying to escape!?" the slaver said angrily as he walked up to the cage of girls, smacking a metal mace dully against the wooden wheel of the cage for effect.
Nearly all the girls, most of them just a bit younger than Bell, withdrew way from the slaver with cries and weeps. "We didn't do anything!" one of them, the only one who was older, said indignantly.
"Watch it, girl! Or did you want to start your training sooner than planned?" the slaver asked with a sick grin, not noticing Bell coming up behind him. The idea of attacking someone from behind didn't sit well, so Bell instead tapped the man on the shoulder, causing him to turn around as if expecting an ally. Instead all he got was Bell thrusting his dagger up into the taller mans throat.
He let out a cough and tried to swing his mace at Bell, only for him to jump back and pull the dagger out as he did. The slaver fell to his knees, trying to speak as he glared at Bell, but only making gurgling noises as blood flowed out all across his chest and the grass. He fell to the grass and in seconds he stopped moving.
"By the gods!" the oldest girl in the cage exclaimed in both shock and worry before she looked at Bell, uncertain of the reason for his presence, but hopeful considering what she had just witnessed.
"You are all from the nearby village, right?" Bell asked as he stepped around the dead slaver to the cage of girls, keeping his voice as low as he could.
"Yes! Are here to-" one girl exclaimed and loudly began to say, until another girl covered her mouth.
"You are too loud!" the eldest girl hissed at them before looking back at Bell. "You're not with them, right? Are you here to help us?"
"Yes, I'm going to get you out of there. Do you know where the keys for the cage are?" Bell asked as he noticed that the lock was very large and solid looking.
"The leader of these scum have the keys," the girl said quickly.
Bell looked down at the slaver he had killed. "He's not the leader?" he asked hopefully.
"No, their leader is a large man. Probably in a tent."
Bell paled a bit at the mention of the tents. He could hear the sounds of people talking over by the tent and fire, and knew he could not take all of them at once.
"Forget the keys, just break the lock and get us out of here!" another girl suddenly said impatiently. "It may look strong, but the lock is all rusted on this side!"
Bell looked at the lock, not totally sure it would break, and then looked at this dagger, eyes going wide in surprise. The blade of the dagger was as bright white as it had been originally, despite the fact he had just stabbed it into a slavers throat. Blood had gushed out if the wound profusely covering the blade and bells arms in spattering's, yet the blade, and his arms too, were now completely clear of blood. The question was were had the blood gone?
Bell shook his head when he noticed a couple of the girls staring at him, confusion plain on their faces. He didn't have time to question anything minor, not when getting them out took precedence. Looking over the lock again Bell realized one thing.
How did one break a lock?
He never had done it before, never had reason too. He had never even seen such a large Lock before even! It had a single keyhole on its face and was built into the cage without any sort of clasp to even break apart.
Deciding there was only one thing to try, Bell placed the tip of his dagger in the keyholes opening and thrust it forward. He expected resistance, a lot of it actually, so when the dagger went through the mechanisms and out the backside of the lock, he was just as surprised as some of the on looking girls.
"What? How did you do that? There's no way that-"
"Ignore it!" one girl hissed at the other, stopping her from finishing. "You broke it right? So get us out of here!"
"One second," Bell said as he pulled the dagger out of the keyhole and reefed on the gate, making it clatter dully, but not open. Stabbing the dagger into the lock again he felt some resistance, and pieces of metal fell away out of the keyhole. He had done it, now he could-
lifetaker . . . . unmaker of lives . . . comes.
Bell froze at the strange voices words. He still had no idea what was making it, but had realized it was seemingly trying to help him. He glanced around and instantly saw what it was warning. A large slaver walking toward the group of cages, with Lady lath following beside him. "Someone's coming, be quiet!" he warned as he ducked down to the edge of the wagon.
All the girls went quiet, some trying to act like they were sleeping, while others instead decided to stare at the approaching slaver and woman. As the two got closer some of the girls began to shake in fear, but then the two of them suddenly turned around, heading back to the center of the camp.
"I, think he's gone," the eldest girl said in a low tone towards Bell as he stood back up. "That was their leader. He killed three people in the village, including my elder brother."
"I . . I'm sorry," Bell said, unsure what else to say. If he ran in and tried to kill him, he'd get overwhelmed, but….. "I'm getting you out now!" he then declared as he reefed on the cage door. It opened up instantly with far more ease that he expected, making him fall backwards to the ground. Luckily the hinges seemed well oiled, and made little noise.
The girls promptly began climbing out with the older ones helping the younger down. As bell climbed up off the ground the eldest girl crouched down beside him, a worried look on her face. "Thank you for helping us, but how do we get out of here without being seen?"
There's a section of fence over there that can be crawled under. Go under it and head for the bushes, then back to the village," Bell explained quickly, pointing to the section of fence as he did.
"You're not coming with us?" the girl asked, nearly scandalized.
Bell shook his head. "There are other people in cages, right?"
"Y-yes, three," the girl replied with a worried look on her face. "Two of them, I think they don't care anymore though," She said as she glanced at the cage with the two older women in it asleep, their thin explicit clothing nearly slipping off them as they shifted. "The other one is about our age, but I did not hear her say a word since we were brought here, so I don't know if she's like the others."
"Alright, I'll get them out too," Bell said with a serious nod.
The girl looked at bell for a second before nodding. "Be careful, good luck,"
Bell simply nodded as the girl followed the others under the fence to freedom. As soon as he could see them entering the bush he began creeping over to the next cages the one with the lone girl in it. Before all he had been able to tell was her hair color, and the points of her ears, but as he got closer he could tell more. She looked about his own age, and as she was wearing little more than rags. He could see scars, bruises and cuts across her arms and belly. Her right ear had been cut, missing the usual point that her left ear still had. As he had seen before her hair was black, but rough and uncared for, and much to Bells surprise she was staring at him, a tired expression on her face, while her green eyes were filled with brilliant resistance that made Bell pause for a second.
"You are not with these slavers," She stated as she watched Bell just stand in front of her cage. "You let those new girls out."
"Yes," Bell said as he blinked and stepped right up to the cage and looked over the lock, finding it to be the same as the other. "I'll get you and the others out now," Bell added as he pulled out his dagger and lined it up with the lock.
"Don't bother with the other two, they're long gone," the elf girl said as she began getting up. Only for her eyes to go wide. "Look out!"
Bell turned to the side, only to receive a fist to the side of his face, knocking him to the ground while dropping his dagger to the dirt. He moved quickly to try to get up, but stopped when he was kicked in the side, causing him to cough and look up at the one responsible. A slaver in nothing but pants, boots and a vest, rubbing his knuckles with a grin.
"I thought it had gotten oddly quiet over here. Who would think it was some little kid with too much morality for his own good letting our products out!" The slaver declared, clearly angry, but also still grinning. "Oh well, I guess we'll just cage you, and then go get them back!"
Bell rolled to the side and tried to grab his dagger, but was stopped as the bandits boot slammed into his hand, mere inches from reaching the blade.
"Nope, not happening kid!" the slaver said with a chuckle as he picked up the dagger and held it in front of him, looking disgusted at its form. "By the gods this thing is ugly! You one of them cultists from old stories or something?"
"Let go of it, you can't use it!" Bell declared as he tried to get his hand out from under the man's boot, but found his weight too much.
"The hell I can't!" The slaver replied as he gripped it tight and held it above his head as if to plunge it down into Bells flesh. Then, much to Bell, the girls, and the slavers own surprise, he swung it down right into his own stomach. "Wha-?"
It was in that moment that all hell broke loose and reality was disregarded in its entirety. The daggers handle grew bone tipped strands of sinew and muscle that whipped around and stabbed into the slavers arms and torso, making him yelp in pain and rip the dagger out of his bowels and tossed it the ground. Unfortunately the tendrils of blood and muscle and bone did not leave his flesh, and instead simply broke free of the dagger as he threw it aside. The tendrils then began burrowing into his body like ravenous worms, writhing and roiling into his skin as his muscles began to spasm before they contorted and began fattening as if being filled with liquid.
"What the hell is going on, I . . .Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh," the slaver yelled as his entire one arm ripped open into pieces of visceral edged bone and muscle that immediately began bending and slicing into his own body with bloody results. In seconds all that remained were the whipcord like strange of muscle and bone digging into gore on the ground, and a second later they began to wither and burst into goop.
"By the gods, what, what just, how did you . . . what is that?!" The elf girl asked in horror and curiosity as Bell picked up his dagger with a dry delicate touch, worried it could suddenly do the same to him.
"A . . . . . . Gift, from Lady Lath," Bell said nervously as he stepped up to the cage and slashed the lock in two pieces, then four. Its pieces fell to the floor of the cage with light clatter's.
"Lady Lath?" the elf girl asked in confusion as she very carefully climbed out of the cage after Bell opened it, her eyes tracking Bells dagger with interest.
"She's a Goddess that recently came down to Gekai and-"
"Let me meet her!" the elf suddenly exclaimed, interrupting Bell with both her words, and the dangerous gleam in her bright green eyes.
Bell opened his mouth to reply, only for the sound of combat and violence to echo out from the center of the camp. Swords clashing and breaking, screams of rage and pain, strangely energetic sounding thumps and crashing sounds. It could only mean a couple things, and when the sound of a woman laughing maniacally resounded out, Bell knew that the slavers had to be attacking Lady Lath.
Bell ran toward the center of the camp, the elf girl following closely behind him, and when the two of them found the camps center their eyes went wide. The bodies of slavers were strewn about at random. Some had been crushed into pulpy masses, some cut into fillets, and some few others impaled into or through cages, tent poles, and even each other. In the center of the camp stood Lady Lath, covered in blood and viscera that seemed to refuse to stick to her skin, slowly sliding off her. Beside her stood a hulking mass of fungus, carapace, crystal and hatred, holding the last slaver in the air above the roaring fire by a large crablike claw that was punched through his stomach, blood dripping out into the fire.
The crab thing turned some kind of appendage toward Bell and the girl, its flat surface changing colors rapidly like some kind of badly mixed potion.
"Oh good you are fine, who's the young . . . elf?" Lady Lath asked, her tone curious as she looked at them. It was if the strange fungus thing was perfectly normal to her, even as it opened its claw and caused the slaver upon it to split in half.
"She was a captive, and she said-"
"You're the Goddess he mentioned, Lady Lath, right?" the elf girl suddenly said, interrupting Bell and taking a few steps forward, until the fungus thing raised a long, crystalline and metallic arm covered in strange shapes and objects in her way.
"It's fine Mi-Go, she is no danger," Lady Lath said dismissively, causing the Fungus thing to lower its appendage and step to the side. "I am Nyarlathotep, you wished to say something to me girl?"
"Yes! I saw that boy's dagger mutate and mutilate a slaver, turning him into a pile of gore and blood in seconds. There's someone I need to kill, but they are an adventurer, so I need strength. Please, allow me to join your Fami-" the elf was about to finish, when suddenly the dark tent behind Nyarlathotep burst open and a slaver holding a woodaxe came out with it hefted over his head in preparation.
Both Bell and the girl tried to speak up, and the Mi-go turned as well, but as they did the axe came down and buried itself in Nyarlathoteps backside with a crunch that pushed her to the ground. "You monster!" the slaver cried out in rage and madness as he pulled the axe out of her and hefted it above his head. As he swung the Mi-go threw an appendage upwards toward him, And a long thin blade flew through the air and embedded itself in the slavers belly. Causing him to let go of the axe mid swing.
The axe flew through the air with reckless abandon and crashed into the elf girls left shoulder, sending her spinning backwards to the ground from the force. Her scream was one of absolute pain and confusion as she hit the ground and grasped at her shoulder and arm, the two barely connected by more than sinew and blood.
"Oh gods, I, I need to stop the bleeding, I-" Bell said in a panic as he glanced around for anything to use to try to save the girls life, only to stop when he saw Lady Lath lift back up to her feet with a scowl on her face.
"Ow, that actually hurt. A bit worrisome actually," She grumbled as she rolled her shoulders a bit, then saw Bell staring at her. "Something wrong?"
"You just were, I mean, she's bleeding, we have to help her!" Bell said, deciding the elf's life more important than his confusion over how Lady Lath was so easily getting back up.
"Dammit, it hurts it; I can't die, not here. Not without killing him first!" the elf cried in pain as she gripped the gore that was her shoulder and arm, blood pooling under her shoulder and back on the dirt.
"Alright then, what were you going to ask me girl? " Lady lath asked as she walked over to her and knelt down beside her, seeming to not care about kneeling in her blood. "Speak fast, your answer will decide if I save you."
"I, need power, to kill someone, I want to join your Familia!" she said in pain.
"Is that so? Alright.. . . who is it you want to kill?" Nyarlathotep asked neutrally, as if the girls pain did not faze her in the slightest.
"A, a, man."
"Be specific,"
"Ah, my, my father!" the girl said with a heave, her breathing becoming labored and irregular.
Nyarlathotep grinned, her smile shifting wider than should have been possible, making Bell take a step back and grip his dagger in sudden worry. "Stop her bleeding and fix her!" Nyarlathotep said as she turned to the Mi-go.
"The frail beings arm will not be able to be reconnected, oh grand existence," it said quickly as it lumbered over to her form even as she seemed to pass out.
"Then rebuild her a new arm if you must. You have the materials, no?"
"Yes, but the only core for such a limb that this one has is the bone of one of they who stalk and shamble within the roils and folds of dimensions."
"Then do it. A limb made from them, it will be interesting! Also, I shall send you back to Yuggoth when you finish" Nyarlathotep said with a grin, causing the Mi-go to suddenly pull out a number of strange and deadly looking metal objects and tools.
"It, it talked!" Bell finally managed to say in surprise, making Nyarlathotep look at him and then walk over to him with a soft, yet demented, smile.
"Yes, he does. Mortals would not be able to hear him, but your dagger was made with my power, so you managed to hear him when gripping it," Nyarlathotep said as she placed a hand on Bells shoulder and turned him around. "Now then, he needs to work, and I could use your help with something!"
"She'll be alright, with that, thing?" Bell asked, clearly uncertain and worried.
"Yes she will,"
"Oh, okay I just, the dagger you gave to me it, did something when a slaver grabbed it and I just-"
"That is what will happen when someone unconnected to it attempts to use it to harm its master. Your blood was used in its creation. It carries life, and a will that has just recently formed. That dagger is alive, and considers you its only master aside from I," Nyarlathotep explained.
Hearing her explanation Bell Suddenly looked at the dagger, its eye blinking and staring right back at him. "So the eye, is an actual eye then?" he asked with a gulp of fear.
"Yes, though not in the squishy way yours are," Nyarlathotep said with a chuckle. "Now come, I need your help clearing some area to make a circle."
"A circle?" Bell asked in apparent confusion. "What for, if I may I ask I mean."
"Why, to transcend the material dimensions of course! With my power sealed as it is I would not be able to, but the Mi-go are already beings of other material, and very skilled in such things. With a proper circle of power to act as a focus, he can be returned to his rightful plane! Now come, there is much to do, and the Mi-go work fast. He will have the girl repaired sooner, rather than later."
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The Dungeon City of Orario was a place unlike others, full of life and energy that could not be copied by other cities. The dungeon lured adventurers into its depths seeking fortune. Adventurers seeking fortune lured both gods and merchants, and the rising population lured all other forms of entertainment, from simple drink, to more earthly desires.
The days were often filled with adventurers preparing for the dungeon or entering it, while the nights were filled with drinking, merrymaking, and the sound of money changing hands. This did not mean that people stayed up all night however; as energetic as many adventurers were, most were not nocturnal. As the night would shift into the early morning, the city would come to its only quiet moment of each day.
So when dozens of the cities gods were suddenly awakened by startling noise that only they could hear, and looked to find a pillar of baleful light coming from the mountains that only they could see, it set off warning bells in their minds immediately.
Groups were formed, ideas and worries shared, and decisions made. The light was clearly made from a gods Arkanum, from their divine power, and no god on Gekai should have that much available to be used. The one responsible had to found.
Immediately.