The Old Rulers Return Home - Serpentine (19/09 + 26/09)
Sept 27, 2019 12:28:29 GMT
Varis/G'Lorth/Sundilar, Igrainne (RETIRED), and 2 more like this
Post by Serpentine/Morganna on Sept 27, 2019 12:28:29 GMT
Mother Night Serpent… what do you want from me?
I tried to find you. I tried to find your people, your followers. I listened to the one, Ixcel. I listened to that outcast and followed her words and gathered a team and went out to seek a temple. I allied myself with the tall Blue unpredictable one, the dumb sneaky one, the bird boy, the holy warrior and the fake moral orc brute. All for you...
Most of them were already on a mission so I travelled with the Firbolg to the mountain to meet them. We saw a star, we heard the thunder and explosions and we carried on. We kept coming for you. I kept coming for you, Mother. Then the dreams happened.
I don’t know what the others dreamt or saw. I just know that after one of our nights sleeping the party all seemed… fazed. Was it you mother? Was it your nightmares? Did you not devour the nightmares? Why did you not devour them? I saw you. Some… version of you. Some avatar or projection of you. I saw a serpent. I saw you attacked by the winged one. By the Sibilant death. By Sseth. I saw fires and I felt you calling me. I think. Mother. I need to hear you! I need to know! Tell me!!!
I just… felt we were close. To your temple, at least. So we kept going. Around this mountain and into a sandstorm. We heard more thunder, more explosions till we found prisoners. Serpents trapped in cages. They spoke like I do. I could hear them in my mind. Called themselves priests and princess’. Yuan-Ti royalty or hierarchy maybe? I do not trust them. Do not like them and they do not like you, Mother. They do not worship you. They insulted you so I defended you and your name. That’s what you’d have wanted? Right? Tell me what you want, Mother!
I blasted one. The priest, I believe. I do not care. They are not worthy of much of my memory. They have power, granted, but nothing spectacular. Unsurprisingly, they were not just serpents in cages. They were shapechangers. The blue one freed one of them from their cages who proceeded to free the rest. That’s when they all changed into humanoid snake abominations. Sights to behold that I assume many are meant to fear. I was ready to show them who they really should fear when in the midst of our confrontation a devil appeared. I could smell the stench of Glasya over him.
He took away the holy warrior, promising to have fun with us later. As quickly as he appeared the devil vanished, leaving us to deal with the snakes, now a member down. That’s when the idiotic orc brute took over the fight in a way I did not expect from him. He asked us to stop fighting. Insisted on it. Threatened us that if we continued this fight he’d not be our ally in the current conflict. He directed this threat towards me and in that moment I could feel all the power rising up inside me. I could take him. I have powers he hasn’t seen… but this was not the moment for a fight. No. The Yuan-Ti had stopped attacking. There was no immediate danger. This time we would not begin a conflict.
The bird one seemed to believe that our idiot orc ally Baine was under some magical influence. A spell of some kind which he dispelled. Of course this brute wasn’t going to stop a fight for their own personal reasons. They’d been influenced. No matter. The Yuan-Ti seemed shaken up by this devil’s appearance too. Implored our help. Mentioned their temples not too far from here where that damn fool Ixcel had marked on her map she gave to me. These Yuan-Ti, too, wanted a map recovered from this temple. They warned us of the dangers of entering through some of the entrances to their temple. Told us the ‘correct’ way to go.
Aligning with these people? Is that what we had to do, Mother? They worship the ‘one’ serpent. They do not worship you. I… I do not trust them. I do not like them but, Mother, you must speak to me. You must let me know what next to do!
Still, these Yuan-Ti did not seem to lie. So we followed their instructions and entered the temple to the left whilst I sent Monty to scout the main entrance. A wise choice it would appear as the main entrance was trapped. Filled with smoke and poison. Monty could take it. He’s built for that. I do not think our party would have been able to survive the trap. He did notice the statues. Snake statues. Gods. Of Serpents. Of the Cobra. Not of you. Merrshaulk perhaps? These Yuan-Ti do not worship you and do not have answers for you here. Maybe the rest of them know more. This priestess or princess or whatever was going to free her compatriots and then seemingly regroup with the rest of her people. Maybe the rest of them know more? Enough of a motivation to keep moving and see out this godforsaken mission.
The temple itself was filled with sand and dead bodies and ash and we kept hearing explosions throughout. We quickly encountered some kind of a Yuan-Ti guard upon entering the temple. He was antagonistic at first but through the combined efforts of myself and, surprisingly, Baine, we were able to talk them down from a fight and let them tell us how to travel through the rest of the temple. We kept hearing the sounds of explosions and fights rumbling through this temple with the walls shaking and rocks falling and hallways blocked off. Is this what your temple used to be like, Mother? Do you have one out there? Or are these pitiful excuses for Yuan-Ti not representative of you?
We passed more statues, Mother. More Serpent Gods. More Cobra’s. Still no sign of you but we kept pushing on. Going further and further into this temple when we could hear the sound of fighting further ahead. I sent Monty on to look ahead whilst the Blue one sent her familiar in a like minded attempt. Her familiar was no match for what was ahead as a devil swiftly swung for it and destroyed it as quickly as it appeared. Monty had managed to scout the room unseen and then, drawing on your powers mother, I brought aid through to help us. Behind this devil, using Monty as my eyes, I summoned a giant insect demon to deal with our foe. This devil was strong... but it was tired. It was no match for my Chasme as it pierced through the devil. The bird quickly dispelled my summoning once the devil was destroyed and we ventured forward to what was seemingly one of the main chambers of this temple.
In the main room, guarded by a wall of fire I sent Monty in to see what was causing all the noise and destruction and he saw a massive devil. Grotesque in nature. Repeatedly attacking and destroying a statue of a serpent. Their fault for following and worshipping the wrong God. Our mission did not need us to go through this devil and with the Orc, distressed about his missing comrade, he urged us to finish out our current mission; getting maps for this Yuan-Ti princess. Turning down the chance for a fight again? Who is he fooling? What game is he playing? How much of a connection does he have with this holy one? A potential weakness in this oh so strong fighter?
We proceeded on, through more statues and even through complete darkness when we came to a stairway leading us up. The party behind me, we started to travel up the stairs only to be met by a devil halfway up. A familiar devil. The one we had seen before that had taken the holy warrior. Glasya’s stench still all over him. But he didn’t attack us. Not physically. Mocked us, yes. But no attack came. He seemed to pity us and our lack of understanding. He let us know that these Yuan-Ti had made a deal with Glasya. Made a deal with devils and then… the Yuan-Ti no longer liked the deal? They tried to back out of it? Fools. All the devils were doing was punishing these Yuan-Ti for breaking a deal that the Yuan-Ti made with them. The Yuan-Ti, so quick to make themselves the victims. This revenge was justified. Maybe it’s good that these Yuan-Ti don’t follow you, Mother. Yeah. I believe that is good. Your followers wouldn’t be so foolish. If you make a deal, you must honour it. I am honouring my pact with you, mother. I have learnt about devils and know about their deals. I can feel that blood within me. Deals must be honoured.
This devil went on to offer us a deal. He wanted to deal with these Yuan-Ti. He wanted help. He wanted our help. Someone to find the rest of them and gain their trust. Then hand them over to the devils. The party seemed somewhat stunned and conflicted by this, but if there’s a deal to be made then that’s what I shall do. I negotiated the deal. We’d have the holy warrior returned to us and I, alone, would deal with getting to know and infiltrating these Yuan-Ti. The devil accepted and left us. I could see the conflict in Baine’s head. In Baine’s mind. He’s confused. He thinks I aided him. I helped return his companion. I stand to face the potential backlash of this alone, leaving him free. This could be a useful tool in the future, this confusion of alliances. We stressed that to make this deal work and infiltration to be successful, we must finish off the mission that the Yuan-Ti Princess thing assigned to us. Let us earn their trust and show them we’re on their side. And then I can make my move from there.I can do it better. The devil agreed and left us to finish off the mission.
We found the map and some trinkets which we’ve left the Blue one to identify. We were also led to believe one of these trinkets will help explain the nightmares we had. I am keen to understand that, Mother. With our treasures found and this temple in ruins we left to find the Yuan-Ti princess and give her what she’d asked for. As we concluded this deal I reached out to her mind to let her know that the devil’s are searching for them. She seemed to appreciate my warning and will be in contact with me in the future. I will see what these weak Yuan-Ti have on offer. But I will do this whilst honouring my deal to the Devil.
Mother, these Yuan-Ti do not worship you and have continued to not lead me closer to you. And whilst you do not speak directly to me I shall keep finding ways to find you. Keep finding ways to grow my power. Whilst I appreciate the continued power you give me and how much it is growing… I can also feel the devil inside me. Calling more. Wanting more from me. I could smell Glasya’s stench even after this devil disappeared again and returned our ally… and I liked it. I liked the smell. I liked the deal. I… look forward to seeing what could be gained from knowing Glasya’s lieutenant and finding out more about them.
My thoughts to the party I travelled with...
I thank you for following and aiding me. I am… sorry. Sorry for some of the outcomes of this mission. I will never tell any of you this out loud but I am grateful for you. You are the closet I have to friends in this area though that word continues to lose meaning to me by the day I am afraid.
To Baine...
We are not finished. Yet. You intrigue me. Wether we are an ally or an enemy we shall see each other soon.
To Ixcel…
I heard them calling you an outcast. I am… conflicted. I do not trust this mission you sent us on but these Yuan-Ti are weak and foolish dealbreakers. Maybe being an outcast from them is not a bad thing.
To you, Mother Serpent, know this...
I am thankful for your power. When I first found out of your existence and help with nightmares I praised you and you granted me wonders. I have seen that the more I adventure, the more I travel, the more power you give me. I am thankful Mother. Believe me, I am thankful. But Mother, I need to know you. I need to hear you. Mother Night Serpent…
I am coming for you.
I tried to find you. I tried to find your people, your followers. I listened to the one, Ixcel. I listened to that outcast and followed her words and gathered a team and went out to seek a temple. I allied myself with the tall Blue unpredictable one, the dumb sneaky one, the bird boy, the holy warrior and the fake moral orc brute. All for you...
Most of them were already on a mission so I travelled with the Firbolg to the mountain to meet them. We saw a star, we heard the thunder and explosions and we carried on. We kept coming for you. I kept coming for you, Mother. Then the dreams happened.
I don’t know what the others dreamt or saw. I just know that after one of our nights sleeping the party all seemed… fazed. Was it you mother? Was it your nightmares? Did you not devour the nightmares? Why did you not devour them? I saw you. Some… version of you. Some avatar or projection of you. I saw a serpent. I saw you attacked by the winged one. By the Sibilant death. By Sseth. I saw fires and I felt you calling me. I think. Mother. I need to hear you! I need to know! Tell me!!!
I just… felt we were close. To your temple, at least. So we kept going. Around this mountain and into a sandstorm. We heard more thunder, more explosions till we found prisoners. Serpents trapped in cages. They spoke like I do. I could hear them in my mind. Called themselves priests and princess’. Yuan-Ti royalty or hierarchy maybe? I do not trust them. Do not like them and they do not like you, Mother. They do not worship you. They insulted you so I defended you and your name. That’s what you’d have wanted? Right? Tell me what you want, Mother!
I blasted one. The priest, I believe. I do not care. They are not worthy of much of my memory. They have power, granted, but nothing spectacular. Unsurprisingly, they were not just serpents in cages. They were shapechangers. The blue one freed one of them from their cages who proceeded to free the rest. That’s when they all changed into humanoid snake abominations. Sights to behold that I assume many are meant to fear. I was ready to show them who they really should fear when in the midst of our confrontation a devil appeared. I could smell the stench of Glasya over him.
He took away the holy warrior, promising to have fun with us later. As quickly as he appeared the devil vanished, leaving us to deal with the snakes, now a member down. That’s when the idiotic orc brute took over the fight in a way I did not expect from him. He asked us to stop fighting. Insisted on it. Threatened us that if we continued this fight he’d not be our ally in the current conflict. He directed this threat towards me and in that moment I could feel all the power rising up inside me. I could take him. I have powers he hasn’t seen… but this was not the moment for a fight. No. The Yuan-Ti had stopped attacking. There was no immediate danger. This time we would not begin a conflict.
The bird one seemed to believe that our idiot orc ally Baine was under some magical influence. A spell of some kind which he dispelled. Of course this brute wasn’t going to stop a fight for their own personal reasons. They’d been influenced. No matter. The Yuan-Ti seemed shaken up by this devil’s appearance too. Implored our help. Mentioned their temples not too far from here where that damn fool Ixcel had marked on her map she gave to me. These Yuan-Ti, too, wanted a map recovered from this temple. They warned us of the dangers of entering through some of the entrances to their temple. Told us the ‘correct’ way to go.
Aligning with these people? Is that what we had to do, Mother? They worship the ‘one’ serpent. They do not worship you. I… I do not trust them. I do not like them but, Mother, you must speak to me. You must let me know what next to do!
Still, these Yuan-Ti did not seem to lie. So we followed their instructions and entered the temple to the left whilst I sent Monty to scout the main entrance. A wise choice it would appear as the main entrance was trapped. Filled with smoke and poison. Monty could take it. He’s built for that. I do not think our party would have been able to survive the trap. He did notice the statues. Snake statues. Gods. Of Serpents. Of the Cobra. Not of you. Merrshaulk perhaps? These Yuan-Ti do not worship you and do not have answers for you here. Maybe the rest of them know more. This priestess or princess or whatever was going to free her compatriots and then seemingly regroup with the rest of her people. Maybe the rest of them know more? Enough of a motivation to keep moving and see out this godforsaken mission.
The temple itself was filled with sand and dead bodies and ash and we kept hearing explosions throughout. We quickly encountered some kind of a Yuan-Ti guard upon entering the temple. He was antagonistic at first but through the combined efforts of myself and, surprisingly, Baine, we were able to talk them down from a fight and let them tell us how to travel through the rest of the temple. We kept hearing the sounds of explosions and fights rumbling through this temple with the walls shaking and rocks falling and hallways blocked off. Is this what your temple used to be like, Mother? Do you have one out there? Or are these pitiful excuses for Yuan-Ti not representative of you?
We passed more statues, Mother. More Serpent Gods. More Cobra’s. Still no sign of you but we kept pushing on. Going further and further into this temple when we could hear the sound of fighting further ahead. I sent Monty on to look ahead whilst the Blue one sent her familiar in a like minded attempt. Her familiar was no match for what was ahead as a devil swiftly swung for it and destroyed it as quickly as it appeared. Monty had managed to scout the room unseen and then, drawing on your powers mother, I brought aid through to help us. Behind this devil, using Monty as my eyes, I summoned a giant insect demon to deal with our foe. This devil was strong... but it was tired. It was no match for my Chasme as it pierced through the devil. The bird quickly dispelled my summoning once the devil was destroyed and we ventured forward to what was seemingly one of the main chambers of this temple.
In the main room, guarded by a wall of fire I sent Monty in to see what was causing all the noise and destruction and he saw a massive devil. Grotesque in nature. Repeatedly attacking and destroying a statue of a serpent. Their fault for following and worshipping the wrong God. Our mission did not need us to go through this devil and with the Orc, distressed about his missing comrade, he urged us to finish out our current mission; getting maps for this Yuan-Ti princess. Turning down the chance for a fight again? Who is he fooling? What game is he playing? How much of a connection does he have with this holy one? A potential weakness in this oh so strong fighter?
We proceeded on, through more statues and even through complete darkness when we came to a stairway leading us up. The party behind me, we started to travel up the stairs only to be met by a devil halfway up. A familiar devil. The one we had seen before that had taken the holy warrior. Glasya’s stench still all over him. But he didn’t attack us. Not physically. Mocked us, yes. But no attack came. He seemed to pity us and our lack of understanding. He let us know that these Yuan-Ti had made a deal with Glasya. Made a deal with devils and then… the Yuan-Ti no longer liked the deal? They tried to back out of it? Fools. All the devils were doing was punishing these Yuan-Ti for breaking a deal that the Yuan-Ti made with them. The Yuan-Ti, so quick to make themselves the victims. This revenge was justified. Maybe it’s good that these Yuan-Ti don’t follow you, Mother. Yeah. I believe that is good. Your followers wouldn’t be so foolish. If you make a deal, you must honour it. I am honouring my pact with you, mother. I have learnt about devils and know about their deals. I can feel that blood within me. Deals must be honoured.
This devil went on to offer us a deal. He wanted to deal with these Yuan-Ti. He wanted help. He wanted our help. Someone to find the rest of them and gain their trust. Then hand them over to the devils. The party seemed somewhat stunned and conflicted by this, but if there’s a deal to be made then that’s what I shall do. I negotiated the deal. We’d have the holy warrior returned to us and I, alone, would deal with getting to know and infiltrating these Yuan-Ti. The devil accepted and left us. I could see the conflict in Baine’s head. In Baine’s mind. He’s confused. He thinks I aided him. I helped return his companion. I stand to face the potential backlash of this alone, leaving him free. This could be a useful tool in the future, this confusion of alliances. We stressed that to make this deal work and infiltration to be successful, we must finish off the mission that the Yuan-Ti Princess thing assigned to us. Let us earn their trust and show them we’re on their side. And then I can make my move from there.I can do it better. The devil agreed and left us to finish off the mission.
We found the map and some trinkets which we’ve left the Blue one to identify. We were also led to believe one of these trinkets will help explain the nightmares we had. I am keen to understand that, Mother. With our treasures found and this temple in ruins we left to find the Yuan-Ti princess and give her what she’d asked for. As we concluded this deal I reached out to her mind to let her know that the devil’s are searching for them. She seemed to appreciate my warning and will be in contact with me in the future. I will see what these weak Yuan-Ti have on offer. But I will do this whilst honouring my deal to the Devil.
Mother, these Yuan-Ti do not worship you and have continued to not lead me closer to you. And whilst you do not speak directly to me I shall keep finding ways to find you. Keep finding ways to grow my power. Whilst I appreciate the continued power you give me and how much it is growing… I can also feel the devil inside me. Calling more. Wanting more from me. I could smell Glasya’s stench even after this devil disappeared again and returned our ally… and I liked it. I liked the smell. I liked the deal. I… look forward to seeing what could be gained from knowing Glasya’s lieutenant and finding out more about them.
My thoughts to the party I travelled with...
I thank you for following and aiding me. I am… sorry. Sorry for some of the outcomes of this mission. I will never tell any of you this out loud but I am grateful for you. You are the closet I have to friends in this area though that word continues to lose meaning to me by the day I am afraid.
To Baine...
We are not finished. Yet. You intrigue me. Wether we are an ally or an enemy we shall see each other soon.
To Ixcel…
I heard them calling you an outcast. I am… conflicted. I do not trust this mission you sent us on but these Yuan-Ti are weak and foolish dealbreakers. Maybe being an outcast from them is not a bad thing.
To you, Mother Serpent, know this...
I am thankful for your power. When I first found out of your existence and help with nightmares I praised you and you granted me wonders. I have seen that the more I adventure, the more I travel, the more power you give me. I am thankful Mother. Believe me, I am thankful. But Mother, I need to know you. I need to hear you. Mother Night Serpent…
I am coming for you.