By the time the party reached [Floor] 90, Merijest had already managed to corral 15 or 20 monsters into being her [Familiars]. Tooth after tooth, she crafted sigils.
“I’m like a shark,” she said, looming over Thesa with a sharp, pockmarked grin. “They’ll be back before you know it.”
There hadn't even been a chance for Thesa to train her [Fighter] Class into existence. It was still 0. She was starting to wonder if the demoness even really needed her for help.
Most of the newly-allied monsters remained on their [Floor] near their brooding nests, social groups, or important choke points for incoming adventurers. Still, they had been joined by a small Three-Eyed Grackle and, to Thesa's utter dismay, a Hundred-Legged Snake.
“I'm not afraid of it,” Thesa said (lying). “I just…don't see what we are gaining by letting this…new ally follow us.”
“Do you only think of other living beings in terms of their value to you?” Merijest said, maintaining a calm tone with just the slightest touch of condescending judgment. Her subtext had the precision of a head chef’s cooking. Just a hint of spice, but enough to make Thesa’s cheeks burn. Nonetheless, Thesa led the group (keeping her distance from the Hundred-Legged Snake at the back).
***
image [https://alicepow.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/threeeyedgrackle.jpg]
Three-Eyed Grackle
Rank: C
Attacks: Peck, Talons, Grim Stare
Notes: Highly intelligent. The Three-Eyed Grackle can solve basic math problems.
***
As they rounded a corner on [Floor] 89, they ran into something different, a party of adventurers. A bird-kin [Fighter] with golden feathers, an igniad [Wizard] whose flame-body flickered against the darkness, and a beardless half-dwarf [Cleric], from the looks of it. Accompanying the trio were four manne-kin, however their stiff demeanor implied the manne-kin were [Puppet Constructs] rather than sapient individuals. All were seated around a small fire. None had noticed the approaching entourage of a [High Devil] and her [Familiars].
Merijest exhaled a silent hex and Thesa immediately heard the word “Wait,” appear in her head. It was not a magically authoritative command. More akin to the [Message] cantrip. Still, Thesa had not been expecting the mental intrusion and although it lacked the holy gravitas of Beautuk's communications, Thesa's hair stood on end like every cell of her body was trying to escape her in that moment. Realizing her misstep, Merijest placed a kind hand on Thesa's shoulder and a pragmatic hand over Thesa's mouth.
Merijest spoke directly into her ear now in a low but clear whisper. “I'm sorry for shocking you, but we need to back up and remain undetected for a moment.” Removing the hand from Thesa's mouth, Merijest led Thesa out of sight along with the other creatures in their party.
Thesa's heart was still beating fairly rapidly as she began to wonder for the first time if Beautuk could simply smite her down again. As if somehow reading her mind, Merijest looked Thesa in the eyes with her pearl-white pupils and said calmly, “Beautuk is not able to kill me or my [familiars] the same way he killed you before. As long as you are with me, you are safe.”
Thesa sat staring back at the demoness as her heart rate lowered. Somewhere under the panic she wondered how Merijest could be so in tune with her emotions.
“Are you going to be ok?” Merijest asked, raising an eyebrow as she pushed some hair out of her own face.
“I think so,” Thesa said.
“Good, because I need you to go in there by yourself and talk to those people for me.”
This made Thesa laugh, cutting through her panic. She stifled the sound. “Why were you so afraid?” She whispered.
“It's like I said before,” Merijest explained. “You will need to help me refill my ranks. And I was thinking that since you’re my only sapient [Familiar], you could try to, you know, talk some other sapients into joining our cause.”
“Why don't you do it?” Thesa asked.
“I'm not exactly the people's demoness, ok? When I approach humanoids, they usually treat me as hostile on sight.”
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Thesa looked at Merijest wings and naked, monstrous skin and sighed. Supposedly, this was part of her ‘debt’ and even if the adventures were unconvinced, Merijest couldn't hold that against her, right? Then her thoughts turned to the horrible deeds of the [High Devil] and she started to worry the results would be held against her. She had to make this good.
She tried to think about how she had talked up Beautuk in the past, however most of her time with the Knights was pretty isolated from outsiders. She had managed 0 converts in the ten years since reaching adulthood. The Archknight Superior said Thesa’s constant discussion of Beautuk might have been off-putting to some.
With a deep breath and some careful thought, Thesa approached the trio of adventurers and, with as much gusto as she could manage, said, “hello, I’m Thesa, are any of you afraid of dying? Well the good news is that if you pledge yourself to my patron, you don’t have to worry about that!”
The conversation did not go well. Something about Thesa’s words had immediately ruined the vibe.
“Death cultist!” shouted the bird-kin [Fighter] as they grabbed their sword, the igniad [Wizard]’s flame-body cycled through a variety of hues as they started chanting, and the half-dwarf [Cleric] immediately came barreling toward Thesa with the four [Puppet Constructs] charging after.
Thesa raised her unarmed fists, and prepared to fight off the attacking party on her own. Internally, she felt an attempt by the [Cleric] to use [Repel Undead] on her, and she just barely resisted the [Fleeing] condition. Certain she was about to die again, she wondered if Merijest would even be able to revive her a second time.
However, Merijest immediately appeared at Thesa’s side and began casting her own spells. Bolts of feathery, dark magic gutted the half-dwarf [Cleric] and a shadowy aura overtook the room, swallowing the light from the enemy party’s fire and from the body of the igniad.
Thesa’s eyes quickly adjusted as a film akin to a lizard’s brille slid into place and allowed her to see with half-elf [Infravision]. The edges of the room were dark blue with each of their opponents’ bodies lit up brighter colors indicating higher temperatures. All four of the manne-kin displayed a slightly higher temperature than a plain object but no obvious core temperature that might indicate sapience. Thesa quickly scanned the room for any hidden opponents but found nothing.
At the same time that Merijest had arrived, the Chimerblin pounced one of the [Puppet Constructs] and began tearing the plastic with claws and teeth. Its lower legs clung to its target while its wings were expanded to maintain balance. Meanwhile the Three-Eyed Grackle took to pecking and scratching at the [Wizard]’s eyes. Its glare attacks wouldn’t function well in the dark.
The bird-kin [Fighter] acted faster than Thesa, leaping toward her with sword outstretched. The [Fighter]’s form with the sword was good, but because the attacker had started from further away, Thesa was able to sidestep the blade without much trouble. Unfortunately, the [Fighter] had something else up their sleeve, pulling a dagger with their off-hand and stabbing Thesa’s shoulder through a gap in her armor. Thesa winced and the [Fighter] hit her with a swing of their sword which bounced off of her breastplate but sent her tumbling prone.
Thesa instinctively tried to cast [Minor Heal] before remembering her predicament. All her [Paladin] spells were gone. As warm blood wet her dominant shoulder, she froze in panic.
In Thesa’s peripheral vision, the igniad [Wizard] gestured three [Magic Missiles] into existence before flicking one bolt at the Three-Eyed Grackle above their head and the other two at Merijest, who took the hits and stumbled momentarily. The [Wizard] followed it up with [Cone of Ice] which impaled Merijest through the stomach.
Merijest’s breathing slowed but she did not seem terribly concerned. However, when she glanced at Thesa’s bleeding arm, she swore in a language Thesa couldn't understand.
Momentarily jolted out of panic, Thesa needed to act. She pushed herself up and threw her bodyweight at the [Fighter] who had knocked her prone. Although her [Strength] had not been decreased by the loss of her [Paladin] Levels, it wasn’t exactly incredible compared to someone who had been actively training a more [Strength] focused Class like [Fighter] and she quickly found herself pinned under her opponent, rather than the other way around.
To one side, she watched the Chimerblin’s tail flicking low to the ground before it jumped on another manne-kin, implying it had finished with its previous kill. The Grackle appeared to have retreated after being hit with the [Magic Missile], but Thesa could hear it squawking somewhere nearby.
Thesa continued to wrestle the [Fighter], trying to either reverse the situation or get ahold of one of their weapons. Unfortunately, she was not in a good position for either action to be successful against her opponent’s superior [Strength].
Thesa thought back to what Merijest had said about granting her [Familiars] certain abilities, but she had never clarified what that might look like. In desperation, Thesa searched within herself for a well of power she would not recognize. Finding a vague notion, she pulled from down deep and watched her hand take on a hazy form with claws akin to Merijest’s. The [Fighter] looked surprised by the development and Thesa seized the chance to grab the bird-kin’s feathered neck and begin forcing the point of her temporarily-clawed thumb into the soft underside of her enemies head. With the added shock of the pain, she was able to reposition her legs and arms to quickly reverse positions with her opponent.
Merijest seemed to take this as inspiration. In a burst of feathers, she disappeared before reappearing directly in front of the [Wizard], slitting their throat, and breaking their neck with a twist of the head. The remaining two manne-kin who had been contending with the Chimerblin clattered to the ground. With another gesture, Merijest cast [Aura of Fear] onto Thesa whose pinned opponent suddenly became even more disoriented by the force of intimidation.
Thesa looked at the [Fighter] and hesitated again. Before, killing a violent opponent would have been uncomplicated and she could easily wipe her hands clean by delivering the corpse to [Beautuk]. Even if she had been misled about their final destination, killing the bird-kin beneath her would mean really killing them. The [Fighter] took another swing with their dagger and Thesa instinctively finished the job before she could take more damage. Then she fell to the floor exhausted and, for the third time in the past couple minutes, panicking.