Hullo! Thanks for all your reviews! Much hearts
Infodump rip. I feel like I should Add a summary chapter, but I feel bad doing it at 75 instead of 100. My last summary chapter was for ch 1-49. What do you guys think? should I summarize every 25 or should I do 50. (50 appeals to my sense of balance, cuz the previous was 50 but aaaa lots of stuff happened lmao)
Armour: Victide Armour (Ranger)
Weapon: [UNUSABLE]Mandible Bow (Jester Arrows); Arkhalis
Acc(11/11): Band of Regeneration, Amidas Spark, Sailfish Boots, Luxor's Gift, Ocean Crest, Counter Scarf, Crown Jewel, Tsunami in a Bottle, Frog Leg, Aero Stone, Shield of the ocean
"Wait, Wait! I'm not an enemy!"
She wasn't sure if it understood. She wasn't even sure if it was human. All she was certain of was that there was neither pity nor compassion in those flat, dead eyes. The Guide hadn't spoken much about his 'Experiment', but when he did - there was a certain fondness in his demeanor. The Spy had reasoned that if The Guide - who wasn't of particularly powerful constitution - treated The Experiment like a child, then surely it would be no threat to her.
How wrong she was.
"S-stop! Please! I'm here to help!"
"..."
She should have heeded The Arms Dealer's warning. That man, who had since earned her respect as a powerful and resourceful fighter, was so afraid of 'The Monster Knight' that he'd rather let her live than to risk drawing its attention with the sound of gunfire. His actions had confused her greatly, but ultimately she wasn't in the right state of mind to carefully consider all the clues she had been given about this mysterious entity. Now that she saw it with her own eyes, there was no longer any doubt in her mind.
This thing was dangerous.
"...Aa-"
She gasped and hissed as the tip of a sharp blade was pressed against her windpipe. She was once again laid out in this hateful grass, propped up by her elbows and terrified of even breathing. The Experiment was standing over her, and although it had the form of a man, was very clearly inhuman. It wasn't just the ominous, oppressive presence that it gave off, no, it... it moved strangely. Despite its clear limp, its missing arm, and the myriad of bloody, self inflicted wounds - it moved with an ghostly, otherworldly grace as if it were underwater.
"T-the Guide, I want to h-hel..."
It looked down at her, but she couldn't read its rigid expression. Why was she so terrified? She might be badly injured now, but it was too. She... could she take it on? Something inside her rejected the idea. She was utterly convinced that even at her prime, she wouldn't be able to best this creature in a confrontation. It was of an entirely different class. She trembled as she raised her eyes to meet that dead gaze; she could see the whites of its eyes bright against the dark blood caked thick over its skin. In fact, it was splattered in blood from head to toe, and it smelled just as awful as it looked. Besides from the tattered blue cloak draped about its shoulders and a strange fleshlike scarf about its throat, it was completely nude - and The Party Girl was able to ascertain that 'it' was most definitely a 'he'.
He opened his mouth. The Party Girl half expected tentacles or worms to stream forth, or perhaps for him to lunge and tear her with his teeth...
Instead, he spoke. His voice was... utterly plain, lacking intonation entirely. Although he was standing over her and she saw his lips moving, his voice seemed to originate from inside her ear canals. Was he speaking directly into her brain? The very notion made her shudder.
He didn't yell, but his voice was far from gentle. He stated his question like a demand.
"Did you do this."
She burst forth in stutters.
"No, No! Of course not! The Guide is my friend. T-the one who did this was..." The Spy hesitated. Technically, she was the one who broke The Rune, but saying something like that was akin to suicide. The Party Girl put on her most innocent expression and lied.
"The Arms Dealer. He did this."
The Experiment blinked, but didn't withdraw his blade. He held it there as if expecting her to say something else. The Party Girl opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water. After a moment, she blurted out whatever she felt would help her stay alive.
"A-And! And he took your arm! I saw him! I can help you get it back!"
"...!"
His expression didn't change. He just tilted his head slightly to examine her. There was a long moment of silence. The stagnant air grew colder. The stinking mists grew darker and more pungent. The tall trees leered at them. She held her breath. Had she said the right thing?!
"... fine."
The blade vanished and The Experiment motioned her to her feet. She gasped and struggled to stand, but was offered no help. He simply watched her coldly before kneeling to the ground and effortlessly hoisting The Guide's body over his good shoulder. Then, he turned his back and began to walk towards one of the intact houses, his bare feet leaving a bloody trail in his wake.
The Party Girl tentatively followed. As she picked her way across the diseased field, she observed The Guide's limp form swaying, hanging almost weightlessly from The Experiment's shoulder. Was The Guide really dead? He wasn't breathing - her thermal vision wasn't picking up heated air moving within him. Neither was his heart beating... but his blood was still warm and didn't seem to be cooling. That... that was a bit strange. What was the nature of 'The Healing Rune'? She pondered for a moment, then shook her head clear.
Don't get distracted.
Why did she even care!? The Guide clearly wasn't Yharim's Lab Director. He had lied to her. He might have even betrayed her. His moment of intervention may saved her life, yes - but it could just as easily have been an accident or mere coincidence. He had died and she had lived. These two events had nothing to do with each other. She didn't owe him anything.
... tch. I've wasted enough time here.
Soon enough, The Experiment was going to escort her out of The Barrier to supposedly search for his missing arm. In reality, she had no idea where it might be. She hadn't been equipped with enhanced smell, nor was she particularly good as following tracks (she was primarily a combat and assassination unit), but that didn't matter. She had no intention of actually following through with The Experiment's limb search. When she passed The Barrier, her plan was to flee and return to her former post in Yharim's ranks.
I might get reprimanded, but it's better than staying here... I need time to recover though... I don't know if I'll be able to outrun The Experiment as I am.
The Party Girl winced as her foot struck a particularly spiny weed. The shock jostled her swollen ankle and nearly caused tears to leak from her eyes. Shit! Everything hurt. Each step she took made her nerves scream at her. She gritted her teeth and glared at The Guide - not in rage, but rather in jealously. He was barely injured, but he was getting carried around!? Whatever. She needed to chug a healing potion, then lay down somewhere and sleep for a week.
The Experiment, despite his own frightful condition, had different ideas.
He didn't bother turning to look at her as he spoke. His voice was utterly flat, but carried a certain, inscrutable authority. The Party Girl had a difficult time believing he had been the one weeping in the mists.
"I will provide you with whatever provisions you require. I must first bury The Guide, after which we will depart immediately."
She stuttered, finding she sounded disgustingly pitiful.
"I need to rest! Aren't you also hurt?"
He turned to look at her, those hard flat eyes like sheets of unfeeling flint. The itch in the back of her head grew ever more severe as he pinned her with that alien gaze, and she was suddenly beset with an involuntarily trembling. She shuddered there, frozen like a deer facing down a predator, and dearly wishing she had kept her mouth shut.
His voice was flat and emotionless. Somehow, that made it worse.
"If you prove to be useless, I-..."
He stopped short, then fell silent to rethink.
After a moment, his expression tightened. He shook his head and released an audible sigh.
"... let me know when you're fit for travel."
"The Dungeon?"
He clicked his inner eyelid shut and rattled his spines. The very name 'The Dungeon' brought to mind a myriad of unpleasant images. That place was akin to Hell for The Resistance. For nearly a hundred years, The Tyrant built that horrid place, deepened it, widened it, and filled it. He filled it with the corpses of innocent men, women, dwarves, R'lyehians... all types of entities and from all walks of life. How many thousands of souls screamed silently from within those walls? The last he'd heard, the population of raging spirits was so incredibly dense that ectoplasm seeped from between those dreadful black bricks. The Sea King propped his elbow on the old throne Braelor had submerged for his comfort and lifted his scaly lips into a snarl. He fixed his eyes on The Cultist Leader and motioned with his tail for him to elaborate.
The Cultist - or, The Lunatic Cultist as he'd introduced himself, was quite happy to oblige. He had approached The Sea King with something akin to reverence, but his great pride prevented him from simpering in an overtly disgusting manner (unlike The Dwarf Officer). Still, Amidas was well aware The Cultist worshipped the same god he did. In this, they shared a goal. Their lord made them brethren.
"Yes sir, The Dungeon has been under my jurisdiction for perhaps ten years now. The King dares not enter, for the souls which infest those halls become enraged at his very presence. He is indeed strong enough to withstand the assault of spirits, yet - naturally - finds the experience exceedingly unpleasant."
The Sea King snorted and nodded slowly. Was it possible that The Tyrant felt some inkling of guilt for the innocents he had slaughtered? Possibly. How incredible. Amidas knew much would have changed during his past fifty years of slumber, but never would he had imagined The Tyrant would express anything other than rabid rage.
The Cultist continued, his voice echoing eerily off the surface of the water and the high marble ceilings of the mountain fortress. The candelabras surrounding Amidas's pool seemed to flicker in rhythm with The Mage's speech.
"Naturally, I left my projects in The Dungeon upon fleeing, as even now it's the safest place for such an operation. My Agreement with The Resistance included the... indentured servitude of a particular captured apprentice of Draedon's. Over the past several months, she has been working on mechanical replacements for The Moon Lord's missing parts. We will eventually prepare a teleportation spell to move the entire operation ... but first, we are waiting for the conflict to die down."
The Sea King gazed calmly at the pompous mage and, deciding to test him, leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. His bared his teeth and caused his voice to echo and boom in a frightfully loud manner.
"Cultist, the reason our god is now incomplete is due to The Dryads assault upon him. Why do you presume it is now safe to raise The Moon Lord? If you are doing this simply to satisfy your own curiosity, I will not tolerate it. The Dreaming god will not be mocked!"
The Cultist reacted quickly to placate his 'rage'.
"Ah! No, no. Sea King, I assure you, I have thought carefully of this. Please, calm yourself and allow me to explain."
Of course, Amidas was merely feigning anger. Still, he allowed his spines to rattle and his lips to curl in an outward display of displeasure. The Cultist, despite his show of servitude, wasn't intimidated in the least. Instead, the man seemed exceedingly proud of himself. His porcelain plague-doctor's mask bobbed up and down in excitement as he gesticulated.
"We have already taken care of this issue. We have made the way straight for our lord's return. Silva, The Dryad - you are familiar with her, yes?"
The Sea King scowled again. What 'The Dungeon' was to The Resistance, 'Silva' was to R'lyehians. She was the most powerful Dryad in the land and regularly carried out murderous campaigns against his people. Of all the entities Amidas hated, Silva was perhaps the... third. The Tyrant and The Witch of Massacre drawing the bulk of his ire. The Sea King leaned forward, eager to hear what had become of his longtime enemy.
The Lunatic Cultist delivered the news quite pompously.
"With my prompting, Yharim cut her down and drowned her in the sulfurous sea. Although her presence still exists in the deepest abysses, she is all but dead. Over the past decade, we have likewise hunted down the less powerful dryads until none remain. For daring to lay hand on our god, we have driven their entire race to extinction!"
A long silence. The wind echoed off the high pillars and water lapped gently at the borders of his marble pool.
"...oh?"
But perhaps all that pomp had substance backing it. Clearly, The Cultist was a tremendously capable mage, skilled manipulation and magic. It would be beneficial for The Sea King to cement him as an ally. As such, he didn't suppress his surprised reaction and opened his eyes wide (as the land-dwellers were prone to do) to mimic shock.
"... Is that so, Cultist? How pleasantly unexpected. On behalf of all those who revere The Dreaming god, I applaud you."
The Cultist couldn't look more proud if he tried, yet before he could further elaborate the difficulties and trials he endured to accomplish this end, The Sea King changed topics.
"And so, upon using The Tyrant to eradicate The Dryads, you changed your allegiance to The Resistance. Pray tell, why did you bother betraying Yharim? Surely his resources far exceed ours. You are using Draedon's captured apprentice to repair our lord, but Draedon himself would do the job far more quickly."
The porcelain bird mask bobbed as the man beneath sighed and explained.
"Yharim refused to cooperate, naturally. He wished to subjugate and process our god to bolter his own power - Blasphemous, I know, but such a thing is expected of The Tyrant. The Resistance is more desperate. They don't ask these sorts of prying questions. All they asked for was 'A Terrarian', and I provided them one. Have you met him, Sea King?"
Amidas chuckled.
"The Hero, yes. I have... Quite a character he is... I've also met his brother, who vanquished The Desert Scourge and drew me out from the depths."
The Cultist froze. Clearly, this was the first time he'd heard of The Slayer. It must be true then, The Slayer really was an accident. No wonder his healing was incomplete - it was already miraculous he was alive to begin with. What a shock this must be to The Cultist. Amidas couldn't see his face, but he was certain it must be twisted in panic.
"W-what?! What in the world do you mean, Sea King! I have calculated very carefully, and the population at The Crimson Bordertown was precisely the number of souls I required. Do you mean to say there was an error?"
The Sea King gazed calmly at the man until he stopped fretting and silence once again echoed in the room.
"I know not, but such a thing no longer matters. I have already permanently dealt with the issue. If he isn't dead, he will be soon. Now that The Dryads are gone, there should be no way to lift the rotting spell I cast upon hi-"
*Knock-knock*
He was interrupted by a gentle rapping as an attendant called from outside the door. Did Braelor wish to conduct another one of his endless meetings. That man, even after fifty years, was exactly the same. The Sea King sighed and slithered his bulk out of the water to slap wetly against the cold marble floors. It was a mess every time, and was - perhaps - Amidas's grumpy way of showing his displeasure. He cast his gaze towards The Lunatic Cultist and indicated he lead the way.
"But enough of this - Come, our leader beckons."
Guide: *sends Terrarian a meme*
Slayer: I received your message.
G: oh, Good, was it funny?
S: *can't fking read* ...
G:...
S:... yes.
Info dumpy. ehhhh sorry lmao. i was thinking of making it super dramatic, But figured you guys probably figured it out already. i mean, It would probably be annoying for me to have Loony go over everything in detail, because yall already put the bits and pieces together. just decided to elaborate on his motivations instead.
But for those who didn't catch it, in chapter one of this story, the lunatic cultist after defecting from the empire summoned a Terrarian "The Hero" using the souls of The Guide's village as fuel. He then brings The Hero to the resistance, and (supposedly) train him until he's battle ready. once he is, the resistance spreads the news that They have an invincible soldier, and that all the resistance factions around the country should unite and fight against the king. This is the cause for the tremendous conflict in the North.
The Slayer is about half a Terrarian. he's leftover parts. interestingly enough, the lunatic cultist says he calculated very precisely - yet the leftover energy was enough to make an entire functioning person. i wonder what this mysterious "other fuel" might be?? *wink wink*
also rip dryad all her friends are dead.
love kisses and F in the chat for guidey.