A slit appears down the center of the Half-Elf’s face. It was pretty disgusting when those tentacles started coming out of his mouth, but now his face is splitting open with more tentacles coming out of it.

It’s always fucking tentacles…

I can safely assume that he wasn’t a Half-Elf originally and that the bundle of tentacles isn’t a race from the game either.

He lets go of his spear which remains floating in the air, a shadow washes over it and the image of a makeshift weapon is gone. In its place is a black staff that has a giant eyeball at the top, probably its core. The iris of the eye manifests and it looks directly at me striking me with fear. I can’t move my feet….

The…well, not Half-Elf spreads its arms, the black veins on its body moving and spreading around him. Its body implodes and its arms are replaced by a group of tentacles that imitate arms.

With my eyes stuck on the thing I didn’t notice my summons fending off the others. My wolves are getting impaled and killed by those fuckers. Where the fuck is my golem? I…Is it gone? Defeated already?

I look for Talos only to see him get impaled with a pitchfork.

What the fuck is happening?! These people shouldn’t be able to take down a stone golem!

I raise my arm to cast the new spell I got from Azura, but before I can even start the concentration something stabs my injured arm. I glance down to see something akin to a stinger in my forearm. It pumps something into my arm and like the other wound I have my veins start getting dark and an infection starts appearing.

I can’t move my body…

The fear effect let’s call it did more than make me unable to run, I’m completely paralyzed….

The infection starts spreading around my arm but quickly stops. It looks it ran into the same thing that my other wound did. The stinger removes itself from my arm and basically launches back to abomination of a caster in the back. The stinger recedes into the chest of the thing.

Everything falls silent.

The villagers aren’t getting close to me, but the looks in their eyes tell me that they have some kind of plan for me. They spread, carving a path for the caster to move forward.

I didn’t even notice the feet of it change, now its crawling towards me like a slug. I can feel nothing but cold right about now. I can’t cast anything, I can’t move. I can’t even turn my head to look away from that bundle of fucking tentacles.

It’s got no eyes and that fucking staff is just moving in the air with it. Maybe that’s how it sees? I mean I’ve got a shitload of other questions ranging from “What the fuck?” to “How did it get inside a Half-Elf?” and more.

It reaches me, the staff floating close to me, the eye darting around my body until it settles on the new wound. The eye glows for a brief second, but nothing happens. It looks back to me and just stares. The caster bends forward and from the jumble of tentacles a new one shoots out directly into my mouth and goes down my throat. I try to resist but the tendril further locks down my entire body.

The slippery thing pulses inside me as it goes further down. A moment later my vision darkens, and I go limp.

My body falls against a wet surface, and I quickly get up to see nothing but darkness. My eyes dart everywhere but there’s no source of light.

I do begin to hear sounds, sounds I can’t for the love of Azura put into words.

A thousand eyes in different sizes appear around me, all staring at me with intent. I can hear a faint heartbeat as well.

A light from my chest begins to emit and whatever is lurking in the darkness around me doesn’t like it in the slightest. It begins screeching before this visage disappears and I’m back to the real world.

The caster slowly starts taking his tendril out of my body, I feel the slimy thing move up my throat back into my mouth and finally out of it. I start coughing the second I can breathe, some fluids come out of me as I do so. I hang my head for a moment before I feel it being lifted by something. I’m staring right back at the thing once more.

The same tendril moves to my face and places itself against my cheek, it moves back and forth then begins to move down to my neck. Another tendril from the opening in the head of appendages sprouts out and moves around my waist, slightly squeezing it. The tendril at my neck moves down into my damaged robe and wraps itself around one of my breasts while the other moves between my legs and brushes against my underside. It stops and doesn’t move more, or maybe I just can’t feel anything anymore…

Whatever it did when it pushed itself into my body is making me dizzy and numb. I can barely feel it gripping my breast. After what feels like hours it removes itself from my body. I’m still somehow standing, but I can’t feel much.

The caster turns to the closest villager and the two tendrils launch towards him and crawl into his ears making his head shake violently back and forth, the villager screaming in pain all the while it happens. The others aren’t even reacting to that, they’re only focused on me. The tentacle’d villager’s eyes go blank, and he turns to the others. He’s like a puppet..

“This is one is not yet fit to be given the cosmic seed. Take her to the Well with the others. She will be purified.” The caster removes both tendrils from the man

The villager just drops to the ground lifeless. The staff glows and I feel like I was forced to let my body go, I start to fall forward. I hit the ground and the last thing I see is the villagers moving towards me.

I enter darkness, but I’m not out cold. I can feel my body being lifted with care. What did that thing mean about being purified? I can’t even think of something dumb to say to brighten my hopeless situation right now.

I just have questions and I still don’t know how to process what just happened. What I saw felt familiar, that dark place, it felt like back then at the prison. Is it connected to the Seraphim?

I can at least be sure that I have some kind of divine protection. The thing mentioned a well. And other people? So there’s more than one person with divine protection here. Is Bob among the others? He’d be a relieving sight to see, I need some close quarters damage dealers with me hehe…

Even though I can’t feel much, I barely grasp the existence of my left arm right now. What did it inject into me? I already have two wounds on that thing, at this rate I might end losing my arm..

Dammit…

What this….what that….what these….

I only have questions and nothing else….

My golem was destroyed along with my other summons. There’s nothing I can do about that. That one thing was on a different level than me. Hell, I can’t even think of this as a game right now. It’s not even because I was a coward or afraid, I was simply too weak.

I was ready to fight, and I could barely do anything.

I escaped death once and I’m not eager to meet it again.

I’ll figure it out. I’m not going to let my patron down. I can’t. I won’t…

But there might be some things that I won’t be able to stop….

I’m dealing with something that goes into the territory of eldritch and cosmic, it might even go further. There’s only vague lore about anything cosmic so I don’t have much to go on, I’m out of my depth right now. I’m lucky at the fact that I haven’t gone instantly insane from looking at that caster.

I’ve read a little Lovecraft, but I grasp the concepts enough. Let’s just hope that this doesn’t end in a depressing way. Makes me wonder if any of the cultists are racists.

I just have to let this happen right now. Being taken to some well where I’ll be purified. Once I get the chance, I’ll try using my new spell. That might be my best weapon right now. My necromancy spells might be of use as well.

I should’ve used Hands of Hunger on him before his face split…

There’s no point in blaming myself right now…

Maybe I should just try and rest up. Being carried by a bunch of brainwashed cultists isn’t exactly the best bed I had in mind for myself, but I’ve got nothing else right now…

The slight movements up and down tell me we’re moving fast, but I’ve got no idea where naturally, I just hope that isn’t the tower. I don’t think I’ll be able to retrace the steps from my destination, maybe if I manage to escape with those others before whatever purification might happen.

When he mentioned cosmic seed, it got me thinking that they’re breeding an army, but it might be something else I don’t know. I might just end up like that, a breeding machine. That would be disappointing hehe..

Even laughing in my head doesn’t lighten this decrepit mood. Maybe that infection is getting to my mind? Maybe whatever that thing did with his tendril inside me affected my mental state?

I wonder if my arm is turning gray, hell, am I turning gray? I might lose myself like these other guys. They didn’t even flinch when the one guy got his brain jacked and just dropped dead. I’m guessing females don’t get turned into common cultists much. Not in this ‘religion’ at least.

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I can’t hear anything either, I’m in nothingness, but I can hold out a little longer. I’m not breaking this easily and I swear on Azura once, no, when I get more powerful, I will tear that goddam caster tentacle from tentacle until he’s nothing but a fucking blob of eldritch shit.

As I’m just drifting in my thoughts and this sea of nothing, I feel the movement of the men gradually slow down until they completely stop. My body gets moved back and forth until I feel like I’m thrown and the feeling of nothing grabs me.

I know for sure I’m falling. I didn’t think they’d reach this well that fast. I guess henchmen do have their uses. Nothing is breaking my fall and I’ve been in the air for a few seconds now, but the impact is imminent. If that wakes me then I’ll quickly cast Heal so I don’t die. Best case scenario I either get knocked out or manage to wake up.

But right then I feel the grasp of two very human hands grab my shoulders.

“Fuck me! You’re heavier than you look!” the voice is male, but dare I say normal sounding

And I’m not heavy by the way.

My fall is stopped by this mystery man, and I feel him pull me aside into something that rocks side to side from the impact of the both of us. I hear his tired breaths and creaking of what sounds like wood.

“Arm not looking that good, looks disgusting as well, yeesh. Can you hear me, blondie?” he asks, I’d answer if I could “Maybe I should use that mix I brought.”

I hear him dig around in what sounds like pockets until he sighs with relief. He reaches behind my head and lifts me up slowly.

“Right, so, let’s just say that you can hear me for the moment so that I can’t feel guilty about this when you wake up. This thing is probably the worst thing you’re about to smell, I hope at least, if not then I’m going to be deeply disturbed, but anyways it should do the trick.” He says

I hear the popping sound of a cap right then.

“Worse than the saggy nutsack of a giant.” He coughs “And that’s coming from me.” I hear him gag for a second

The smell that he spoke of right then and there hit my nose and he wasn’t wrong. It only lasted a second, but it shook me to the core. He let my head down and I started feeling sensation return to my body, the smell giving my body a sudden wake up call.

The numbness disappeared in an instant and I managed to open my eyes to see the gray skies from before. I look to my left to see another Half-Elf, but vastly different from the fake I encountered not too long ago.

Probably the most important thing was that he had color in him, he was another with divine protection, but he doesn’t strike me as a cleric or paladin though. But I recognize the sub-species, that dark yellowish skin and hair with the purple eyes tell me that he’s a Half-Elf of the Storm, like me they don’t have the largest population, so this is a one in a million encounter as they say.

He placed away the small container just as I opened my eyes. He looks to with an expression of relief.

“Huh, you’re an Elf, normal kind, didn’t expect that. Glad you’re here though, I was getting lonely.” He says with a chuckle then his eyes go wide for a second “Not that kind of lonely.” He reassures me “Can you sit up?” he asks me

I slowly move my arms and do manage to push myself up with my right arm. Left arm is still in bad condition. As I look at my arm, I notice my close surroundings.

Am I in a rowboat?

“Where..?” I start to speak then the realization hits me “The wel-!” I went to yell but he covers my mouth and looks past me then back to me

“Let’s uh, keep the loud voices quiet for a bit, my own manly yell might have been enough to give that thing down there the waking call.” He says

I just look at him confused and sit up. God, everything feels sore.

“You’re a Half-Elf..” I say without thinking

“Don’t tell me you’re the racist type of Elf?” he asks, leaning back in the rowboat

I just glance to him. I don’t blame him in the slightest for asking me that, half of the Elven variants hate Half-Elves.

“I don’t really judge people…um…” I wanted to say his name, but I realized I don’t know it

“Well, that’s relieving.” He chuckles “I’m Kade.” He introduces himself

“Kade…” wait, that name “You’re the renegade sorcerer.” I say

He just looks at me with a flabbergasted face. Now that I look at him, I can see his features more clearly. He’s got a beard that’s pretty unkept, his hair reaches down to his chin, he’s a bit thin, he’s also not a heavy hitter like me then. He’s wearing a torn coat and some travelers clothing.

He just raises a finger.

“Just uh, one question.” He slowly raises a few other fingers “Maybe a few questions. One. I don’t even know your name yet, blondie, but how in the Stormlords balls do you know that title?” he asks

Stormlord? He gets his power from the Stormlord? You need to understand that he’s considered a background character in the game. Just a mention in the Covenant codices, he’s labeled an escaped prisoners whose extremely dangerous. The Covenant is one of the many organizations that are based around magic and its secrets.

“I saw him…” I just say without thinking

His flabbergasted look expands into an even more flabbergasted look, and he raises another few fingers.

“You….saw…..the Stormlord?” he slowly asks “His physical form? Lightning running around his body and about the size of one of those towers?” he adds additional questions

I just give him a nod.

“I’m sorry, but who the fuck are you?”

“Ynnessa.” I reply

His brows furrow and he lowers all except one finger. I think he’s come to some realization.

“I..” he pauses “Have no idea who you are.” He says

That was….pretty anticlimactic honestly.

“Wait, what kind of Elf are you? I’m not exactly smart about some of this stuff.”

“Saint Elf. You’re a Storm Born, but you’re also a sorcerer and your power source is the Stormlord.” I say

“Well…I mean…it’s a bit more complicated than that, but yes.” He replies and just rubs his face

That’s when I notice the intricate tattoos around his body. It looks like they go over his arms and chest, can’t say about the rest of his body.

“Are you like, a bard or something?” he asks jokingly

“Do I look like a bard?” I ask him with an annoyed tone

“You certainly dress like one.” He points out “And well, you aren’t exactly ugly.”

“You think I want to wear a damn miniskirt? Wait a second you called me heavy.”

“Yeah, those damn things make you top heavy, how aren’t having back problems?”

I just glare at him.

“My matter of clothing and body are currently things I can’t control.” I say with a deep sigh

“I mean to each their own. I was wearing nothing a few weeks ago. So, are you just the normal kind of Saint Elf or do you have a little spice to you?”

“Spice?”

“Yeah, like do you fight, sneak around, that stuff. Your occupation let’s say. I don’t to say template, sounds snobby.”

“I’m a mage. A great many Saint Elves are.”

“Right, right. I’d never have known that. So, Ynnessa, pleasure to meet you, wish it could be, well, not here, in the palm of death. Looks like our fates are linked.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you’ve encountered the Stormlord, I’m kind of his herald, I think at least, he isn’t a straightforward kind of god.”

Great…

“I wonder if Azura likes him…” I grumble

“Azura? Your patron is Azura? I have no idea who that is.” He chuckles

“Can I just ask how are you this positive?”

“We’re currently safe, so there’s that.”

“How long have you been here?”

“I don’t know, about a day or two.”

I just look at him with disbelief.

“What?” he asks

“Are you not hungry?”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve been isolated without food, water and other people before.”

“That…sounds incredibly depressing, Jesus..”

“Gee-Zus? Is that some kind of Elvish word?”

“No..It’s just a-“ I stop “Wait, you don’t know Elvish?”

“I think the fact that I’m speaking common to you should answer that.”

“Didn’t your mother teach you?” that’s a part of their lore…

“Nope.” He puts his hands behind his head “My mother was not a lucky woman.” He says

I just rub my forehead.

“We’re dead. We’re going to get purified by whatever lurks here.”

“Purified? Oh, you met that thing with the floating eye?”

I just nod.

“He also tickle your well not pickle, but your cunt?”

“My God, you are vulgar, but yes, it brushed against it.”

“Tentacle between the cheeks?”

“Yes…”

“Tentacle on your chest?”

“Yes….”

“Tendril down your throat into your stomach that made you appear in a void world where a bunch of eyes started looking at you then you started to glow and woke back up?”

I just stare at him in silence for a second before I slowly nod.

“Hey, me too.” He rubs his nose “Was absolutely terrifying.”

“I can agree with that.” I reply “Do you know what this well is?” I ask

He just points past me. I turn around to look where he points to and see the full scale of where we are right now.

It’s like a perfectly circular crater, a deep one, I can’t tell how deep, but I can say that it would be pretty much impossible to climb out. The rowboat itself is not on water as well, it’s on a thin layer of fog which I can’t see past.

“What is this?” I ask

I hear Kade move around and sit next to me.

“Well, I wasn’t the only one here, there were other boats like this, but some people couldn’t handle the isolation, and some even started hearing things. One of them was a cleric I think, and she cast this spell. The only thing keeping us safe is this fog. Cleric jumped a few hours ago.” he says

“What’s below?”

“A giant cocoon that’s sleeping right now, but when it does wake it sprouts out about twenty tentacles. Oh, and a sea of worms.”

I just slowly turn to him.

“What?” I ask

“Yeah, it doesn’t sound good.” He says with a laugh

“You sound unhinged.” I tell him

“I have been told that, but that’s because of other things.”

“Do…Do you have anything else you could tell me about our situation.”

“I can actually. You know about the Elven creation story?” he asks

“That’s a very specific question, but yes. A single undefined Elf of both sexes impregnated themselves to then give birth to the three sexes that we know of today. Why?”

“I’m glad you’re the knowledgeable one here, but. The reason I’m asking you is because turns out that cosmic seed those cultists were preaching about can impregnate all Elven sexes and well, they’re apparently more potent within Elven bodies.”

“So most of the purified ones are…”

“Elves. Isn’t that just fun?” He shakes his hands with sarcasm in his voice

“What about the ones that were here?”

“There were a few humans, but uh, they ended up in that thing down there, worms turn your body into a husk with a consciousness and the cocoon thing just has its way with the body after. Turns out humans are more prone to going insane. You learn new things every day. There were a few Elven paladins here as well, they didn’t get lucky enough to be dropped in a boat though. I remember that that blob already had a number of prisoners.”

“You….were at the village?”

“Yeah, it’s the type of place that draws the special of us to it, so that’s how you probably found it. You thought it just happened to be there.”

“Shit…”

“Yeah. Before I got knocked out I saw into one of the houses, about ten Elves, more brighter skin than me, but they had that weird gray tint to them.”

“Then they’re probably still sane to some degree.” I guess

“You think? I mean, they did look pretty scared. We can talk about pretty Elven ladies and men all day if you want, but I’d rather try and get out of here.” Kade says

“High Elves, how you described them, brighter skin than you and I’m guessing they had yellow eyes.” I say

“You sound like a wizard.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I raise a brow since the word wizard is commonly used to mock mages

“Know it all kind of deal. Wait, are you like five thousand years old or something? Because than I can understand how you know all of this.”

“I..no…I’m….sixty..”

Kade whistles in surprise.

“Fuck me, I’m older than you. Seventy five myself. So, back to an escape plan, we can get to know each other later when not in the well of death.”

“Do you have any ideas then?”

“Nope.”

I just sigh.

“Yeah…thought as much…” I pause “Wait a second, you’re a Storm Sorcerer, you can fly.”

“Yup.”

“Then why haven’t you tried that?”

“I sort of have before the fog got put up. Well, first I tried to distract it and the worms with a Storm Elemental summon, but that didn’t end well.”

“What do you mean?”

“It destroyed my spell. It’s gone from my menu.”

“What…?” I say with a horrified look

“Now I’m not the smartest Elf there is, but from what I just said I think even you can guess that if we try to escape, we might only have one chance.”

“And the other option is being purified and turned into involuntary concubines…”

“As much as I like taking it up the ass, I’d rather do it with mutual consent. How about you? I know some people that have weird kinks.”

“I…um…haven’t done butt stuff..”

“Completely understandable.” Kade turns around and lays down on his back “What about other stuff?”

“What? Why do you want to know?”

“I might have been going slightly insane before you arrived and you know, asking weird stuff is always a special kind of fun and it deepens bonds.”

“O-Okay? I’ll indulge you I guess?” I say with a short pause “Uh…no, not with a man.”

“Ohh, so you like women. Nice.”

“It’s…complicated…”

“Self-discovery usually is.” Kade says crossing one leg over the other

“No..not…ugh..sure….fine….” I pinch the bridge of my nose with a deep sigh “Just….start brainstorming about an escape plan.”

“A daunting task.”

“Yes…yes it is…”

Azura help me….