It was thus that the Prince of Demons set out to reorder his list of priorities.
Fortunately, the in-system ‘Journal’ tab provided ample means for one to collect their thoughts, and in a most concise fashion too. Yes, His Dark Eminence was going to exploit the ‘Notes’ section for all its worth; his foolproof plan for demonic conquest depended on it!
*************
Notes
1. Interrogate prisoner
2. Find healer, force conscription
3. Acquire adventuring supplies, acquire rations (sandwiches preferable)
4. Journey to the Glimmering Caves
5. Kill everything - take experience - take loot
6. Conquer demons…
7. ?
*************
“…Is my prisoner awake yet?” Orcus asked belatedly, glancing down from his system overlay just in-time to catch Terminus inspecting the young man.
Human, Unaligned (DR 1/4)
Health: 8/8
Condition Status: Charmed, Exhausted, Frightened
“He’s coming to, Your Highness.” Terminus squawked, “But you should really let the poor guy collect his bearings. There are external factors of which I simply can’t account for at this time. I mean, just look at those status effects!”
“Ugh…” The young man groaned, holding his sides in discomfort as he sat upright, “...It hurts.”
“Most excellent, that means we’re getting somewhere.” Orcus replied, a softer tone of voice than perhaps was his usual method. He was in a good mood today, and he wanted to ride it out as long as possible, “Your soul is in a wretched state, or so the bird tells me. If I were to break it any further, would it do me any good at all? I wonder.”
From the floor, the young man glanced up at Orcus with a meager, disheartened expression. He was sweating profusely, and his blonde hair clung to the sides of his face, as he murmured, “…I don’t know.”
“I’m sure you don’t.” Orcus chuckled, but regarded his prisoner with a contemplative expression, “Should I simply kill you then? Turn your corpse into a breeding ground for future minions? The townspeople wouldn’t mind, I'll only assume. And if you're of no use to anyone, then it doesn’t really matter what happens to you, does it? This is a very grave predicament for you, it seems. What ever am I to do?”
The man hung his head low, sobbing, “I don’t want to die. But… maybe that’s what I deserve? I never wanted any of this. I’m so sorry—”
The Prince of Demons stared perplexedly for a moment, before rolling his eyes with a groan.
This fool had given up already.
His spirit was shattered beyond the point of intimidation, and there seemed to be no reason to try to frighten him with threats any longer. Such frailty was unsightly in the eyes of Orcus, but it was understandable for a soul that possessed nothing of inherent value. His life was a waste of time, and his death would be equally as meaningless.
“You seem to be in pain.” Terminus shuffled closer, “But as far as I understand, you weren’t involved in any kind of combat last night, were you?”
“I—well, you see, it's not like that…” The young man murmured, but his voice fell to silence as he looked away ashamedly.
However, Orcus didn’t notice. His attention was pulled away suddenly by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted Seku approaching with a tray of food in her hands. Carefully, she placed it down before the young man, saying, “You should eat. I brought you water too. Drink, or you’ll definitely feel a lot worse.”
“Uhm… thank you. This is all very kind.” He nodded gratefully with something of a smile, but glanced at Orcus warily, as if looking for permission to eat.
Orcus grumbled under his breath, though closed his eyes and nodded approvingly. There wasn’t much point to treating him like something other than what he was: a scared brat.
“Let me talk to him, mister Orcus.” Seku said telepathically, “I... think you frighten him.”
“That was the entire point, yes…” Orcus grumbled back, “He should be afraid of me, Seku. Although, as the bird has already pointed out, he’s under a great deal of pressure. Be wary, he appears to be under some kind of charm effect.”
“Understood. I’m going to try speaking with him now. Okay?”
“…Very well. But don’t you dare coddle this fool. I doubt he’s as innocent as he claims to be. He's your problem now.”
“What’s your name?” Seku asked aloud softly, stepping back up a pace to where Orcus stood, “Can you start with that? Where are you from?”
“It’s Darrien. My name is Darrien. I—I grew up in a village not too far from here.” He replied through slow mouthfuls of food, but stopped to think. Shaking his head, he added, “My… my father was killed in a demon attack while he was out on patrol last autumn. I’ve been on my own ever since.”
“You stayed in your village all this time?” Seku replied.
Darrien nodded, “I did odd work here and there just to scrape by, mostly at the local inn. But—ugh, I wanted to do more! I wanted to be involved somehow. iIt seemed like adventuring parties were coming through our village every week, and I’d listen to their stories as I wiped down the tables. It was… amazing. But you see, they never stayed around long enough to help us out. We couldn’t protect ourselves from demons. So, I—I tried to join after that, but the Guild wouldn’t take me. I guess I didn’t have what it took to be someone like them.”
“You must have met Garimor after that?” Seku continued to prod, “Recently, considering you’re lack of ability and experience. Why did you follow him?”
“Yeah, it was a few months ago…” Darrien murmured wistfully, as if only just remembering himself, “He came through our village one week, and I… he inspired me, and I was so desperate to get out of there I would have done anything to go with him. Everyone said he was no-good, that he’d been kicked out of Endsmeet for saying crazy things and all that. But when he spoke about the Kingsnake... I couldn’t help but to listen. This world is so cruel, you know? And I thought maybe I could finally do something about it, like my father did.”
Darrien paused.
Smiling, but not in a cheerful way, he added, "He told us we would make a difference. Not like the guilds, or the church… nobody did anything while we we’re attacked by demons all the time. I just wanted to do something for once in my life. We were going to make the world safe again.”
“A promise of peace.” Seku nodded, “That’s what Kingsnake Astlir envisions in his future for this world. But he never said anything about the survival of humanity, did he?”
“I—no…” Darrien shook his head, “Garimor said we were all going to be reborn. But I—I didn’t want that! I just wanted to do my part, and to fight for something. I was willing to give myself up to be a part of it too. I didn’t know what that meant at the time, but I do now. If only I knew, I wouldn’t have gone through with the—ah!”
“Wouldn’t have gone through with what? What’s wrong?” Seku pressed, but to no avail, “Darrien?”
The young man lurched momentarily, wincing hard and clutching his abdomen as if something was excruciatingly painful in that area.
“What’s the matter with you?” Orcus inquired irritably, “Feigning pain to garner our pity? Do you take me a fool as well? I won’t suffer this theatrical defiance.”
“No—I—please, it hurts!” Darrien panted, beads of sweat running down his forehead, as he gasped, “Just kill me already. Please!”
“Uh… Your Highness, his record is being overwritten!” Terminus shouted, leaping up into the air as he backed away, “That’s definitely not supposed to happen!”
“This isn’t any fun at all…” The Prince of Demons murmured, who then took several steps forward and kicked the young man down onto his back, saying as he pressed into him with his boot, “Seku, remove his robes from that area he keeps scratching at. I’ll hold him in place.”
With a brandishing of daggers, Seku dropped to the floor and ripped the dark fabrics away from Darrien. His pale, upper body was exposed as the remnants of robe fell to the wayside. But curiously, a blackened, blotchy patch on the upper-right side of his abdomen became visible, which seemed to spread out across the surrounding skin like an infected wound.
Darrien writhed in agony as they inspected him.
“What is that?” Seku asked worriedly, her eyes growing wide.
Orcus shrugged, somewhat apathetic, “It could be anything. How should I know? What did you feed him, anyway—”
Convulsing and twisting, Darrien’s body jerked around in a violent manner, which caused Orcus to stumble backward. A foam-like substance began to froth from the young man's mouth, as the black patch on his body pulsed. His skin grayed and produced a foul-smelling odor, as his eyes turned to darkened pits in his skull.
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“Noooo!” He shouted in a deeper tone of voice, primal and furious sounding, “Go away! I don’t want to hurt you too!”
“Fool.” Orcus hissed, “How dare you interrupt me. Now cease this disobedience at once!”
Opening his palm, Orcus reeled back and proceeded to slap the abomination before him as hard as he could.
--- Remedial Reservoir: -1 ---
--- Remedial Reservoir: 4/5 remaining until next Rest ---
As potent as it was, the Prince of Demons scowled, suddenly realizing that his meager ability to heal was not going to revert whatever the hell was going on here.
Suddenly, Darrien’s limns cracked and became elongated, both his feet and hands sprouting claws like flowers in bloom. His height was doubled as he stood over Orcus with a hunch. The gray-green skin along his body was now scaly and moist, and his forked tongue dangled over rows of jagged teeth as he hissed, long strands of saliva falling to his feet. What once constituted a young man, now swayed some hideous, gangly, snake-like creature.
“Mister Orcus, look out!” Seku shouted, but it was far too late.
“Damn it—!”
Boosh!
[Orcus] --- Takes 1 point of bludgeoning damage ---
“Scum…” Orcus groaned from the ground. He avoided the brunt of the attack, but was slammed into the stonework of the far wall some fifteen feet away.
Darrien, or rather the monstrosity that was Darrien, produced a hideous screech. Its grating noise pummeled the air around it, attempting to wreak havoc on anyone within earshot.
[Orcus] --- save versus Screech ability ---
--- Takes 0 points of psychic damage ---
--- Status: not deafened ---
Onto his feet again, Orcus also noticed that his weapons and shield were still downstairs. Furthermore, the creature was standing in his way. Seku stood firm, seemingly unaffected by the Screech herself, and she held her daggers aloft.
“You are a miserable sight!” Orcus relented angrily. He was somewhat conflicted though. Orcus knew that this creature was beyond saving, a worthless soul deserving of death, and yet he was still willing to gamble somewhat that the person inside had some semblance of life left to cling on to. He hadn’t spared him simply to kill him without gaining any insights. He thus added, “Look at you. A pathetic carapace, subservient to some power you could never hope to overcome. Yield now, and I may yet show you leniency. I do not want to kill you… yet.”
*************
--- Fate Roll initiated; Persuasion initiated; ---
*************
“Huh?” Orcus resounded, completely caught off-guard by the sudden sounds from his in-system overlay.
“Skill check, Your Highness!” Terminus shouted, and everything happened in a matter of seconds, “The threads of fate are pulling in your favor!”
*************
--- Difficulty Class set to Medium (15); chance of success odds = 65% ---
--- Initialize Persuasion bonus; Charisma Score + Proficiency Bonus = +5 to fate roll ---
--- The die of fate is cast… d20(5) + 5 = 10 ---
--- Persuasion attempt failed ---
*************
Orcus scowled, “…What the hell was the point of that!”
"The threads of fate are not pulling in your favor, Your Highness!" Terminus cawed, "We need to get out of here!"
--- Enemy Status: Threatened ---
The creature lurched!
----------------------------------------
Pit Stalker, Mutated Variant (DR 2)
Health: 51/51
Whoosh!
Seku narrowly avoided the monstrosity as it rushed forward, stretching its prolonged neck with a snap of its jaw. On a light foot, Seku dipped her shoulder and jutted left out of the way.
“Necrotic Bolt!”
[Orcus's Target] --- Takes 4 points of necrotic damage ---
The creature produced a guttural bark, reeling back up into its hunched over position as the dark mana burst across its body.
“Your Highness!” Terminus exclaimed, “Its difficulty rating is too high for the party’s current composition, especially without Oriax here. It's got a multiattack combination and a sixteen percent chance proc on that Screech ability. One hit could take both of you out completely!”
Orcus growled, shouting, “Seku, get out of there! We need to regroup elsewhere.”
Seku nodded, but offered two quick attacks with her daggers in response.
[Seku's Target] --- Takes 4 points of slashing damage from main hand, 2 points of piercing damage from offhand, bonus to damage not applied ---
Her blades sliced and punctured the creature’s torso, spilling blood as she maneuvered gingerly around to its back side. However, she stepped away too far, and the monstrosity reacted in kind, snapping back and striking with its teeth across her collarbone.
[Seku] --- Takes 10 points of piercing damage ---
With a high-pitched whimper, Seku was hoisted into the air and slammed back down onto the hard floor of the outpost, unmoving.
--- Party Member Status: Incapacitated ---
“Vermin!” Orcus shouted, they were blindsided by the creature’s immense speed and ruthlessness.
He was in a tough spot here.
This creature needed to be subdued, but equally his party member was suddenly bleeding out on the ground. Did that matter to him? He was the Prince of Demons; overcoming this creature pursued his goals far more than saving one mortal life ever could. Surely? Even though he needed his weapons and his shield, there was still a chance that he could bring this creature down himself at the cost of losing Seku. Or was there?
Craning its long neck down to where Seku lie dying, the writhing creature dug its claws even deeper into her open wound, tasting of her blood as it snarled.
[Seku] --- Takes 4 points of slashing damage ---
--- Death Saves: 1 failure, 0 successes ---
“Inspire Dread.” Orcus commanded loudly.
--- fail versus Spell Inspire Dread ---
The monstrosity reeled back and skittered toward the stairs, barking meagerly as it stared at Orcus.
--- Death Saves: 2 failures, 0 successes ---
The Prince of Demons hardly noticed the text in his overlay as he stepped forward, his dark aura growing around him. Light dimmed in all directions, spare but the burning red in his eyes, as he said in his natural voice, “How dare you force my hand… wretch!”
Skittering along the floor, the creature scrambled up onto its feet and bolted. As if unaware to its own mortality, it crashed through the window near the top of the stairs and plummeted down into the town square below.
[Orcus's Target] --- Takes 7 points of falling damage ---
“Your Highness, it's Seku!” Terminus cawed frantically.
“Not now!” Orcus said in a fluster, as he rushed over to the broken window and peered down into the plaza, seemingly unable to pull himself from his own fury.
Limping back up onto its feet, the creature shook its head and peered back up to where it had just fallen out of. And with a hissing bark, it bounded off through the square.
“Necrotic Bolt!” Orcus shouted desperately.
The ray of dark energy beamed towards the monstrosity, but to no avail, instead dispersing along the stonework. In a matter of seconds, the gangly form of what was once Darrien slipped down a side street and was out of sight.
--- Death Saves: 2 failures, 1 success ---
“Your Highness!”
“What!” The Prince of Demons whirled around, seething to the brim. His heart raced, and his maddened gaze settled on the fallen body of his companion. For a split second, his temper was stifled.
Orcus’s gaze softened.
For all their amusement, mortals were inexcusably weak. Weren't they? So why? Why did they desperately cling to life, if all that awaited them was an inevitable death? And why now, of all times, did Orcus feel the need to spare this one?
[Orcus's Target] --- Remedial Reservoir: -4 ---
--- Remedial Reservoir: 0/5 remaining until next Rest ---
The Prince of Demons slowly removed his hand from Seku’s wounded neck, depleting the rest of his healing abilities for the day. Blood clotted, skin closed, and the wound was temporarily mended.
“Uh…” Seku groaned haggardly, her eyes fluttering open to meet Orcus’s, as she murmured, “...Did you kill him?”
“No.” Orcus responded quietly, “The creature… it escaped.”
“I’m—glad to hear that.” Seku smiled, “Very glad.”
Orcus furrowed his brow, “That abomination nearly killed you. And you’re relived that it’s still alive?”
“Yes.” Seku nodded, saying faintly, “No matter who or what they’ve become, death is only for those who deserve it. A spark of good lies in everyone, and I believe Darrien wants to remember his.”
The Prince of Demons scowled, picking himself up off the floor as he moved back to the window.
What a foolish thing to say.
What did good and evil matter in a world full of chaos? Goodness was not a measure of one’s ability to survive—to endure against all odds—and neither was wickedness. And yet both were inextricable measurements by which mortals strove to lead their lives. What was the point?
Across the plaza, Orcus spotted the stout form of Chauncey and the taller silhouette of Oriax drawing closer to the outpost with some haste.
“Hands?” Oriax called up to the window, “The hell was that thing?”
“Where have you been? Stay down there!” Orcus called out to him, “We have to find that creature. Quickly!”
Oriax scratched his beard confusedly, but shrugged in understanding.
“Eh—” Seku winced as she stood to her feet, picking up her daggers from the floor and sheathing them quickly.
“What are you doing?” Orcus shook his head, “You’re not thinking of coming with us?”
“I want to save him…” Seku murmured, a deadpan look in her eyes, “Are you going to stop me, Prince of Demons?”
“What…” Orcus stammered, putting his arm up to prevent her from moving past him down the stairs momentarily, “You can’t be serious? You'll only get in the way.”
“Do you know how to track a pit stalker?” Seku’s yellow eyes darted up at his. He didn't have an answer, so she said, “I didn't think so. Now let's get going, mister Orcus. It’ll be dark outside soon, and the trail will be cold before long.”
In the span of a few minutes, the Prince of Demons was left both completely agape and without a prisoner.