In the first few hundred years of your life you learned much from the creature that brought you forth. He nursed you, he loved you, and in turn, you used your might to create the world that he desired. Your first friend, and also your last. Betrayed… BETRAYED! On the accursed day of his progenies wedding day, your closest friend would turn on you. Your beloved master had little love for the man that his daughter betrothed herself too, and had made his intent to stop the ceremonies clear. An curious event, as he would not normally intervene in the lives of lesser creatures without something to gain himself. When the two of you arrived, the party was aghast with fright. Normally you would revel in the cold fear that your mighty wingspan blew into the bones of all living things that came to be in your shadow. Yet this day was different, you were distracted the moment you spotted her. The object of your desire... Like a beacon in the night her soul was blinding and her form was crisp like a winter’s breeze. You couldn't help plucking the creature out from the crowd and running your long tongue up from her feet to the top of her head; intoxicating. So, as you had taken to doing with other maidens, you decided to swallow up the screaming bride; soul and all. Never had you tasted such succulent flesh, never was there a soul so pure, and never were they carried on legs so firm. The slave races that you fed on, were nothing to the exquisite pleasure of a highborn soul. Before you could tell your dearest companion of this new addiction, he struck you with such force to send even you reeling! Surely a misunderstanding had occurred? Perhaps he mistook you for another mass of flesh, bone, maws, and wings? You defended yourself of course, but you could not bring yourself to harm your master in turn, your prince, your friend, your father…The bodies of the highborn elderbloods who were in attendance stacked high as the force of his titanic swings met yours. The power of laso’tep the mad was beyond the scope of his so called peers! His command was so great that he could even pull you down to earth. Yet try as he may, the sorcerer supreme could not destroy you. Again and again he would tear you apart, but you had lived since the dawn of existence as nothing, it's a shape that you had mastered. He could not unstain the fabric of the world, what he brought forth will never be gone. So in a last desperate bid he weaved you a new body. With the last of his strength, he twisted and collapsed your mighty undulating mass, until you were in the form of a simple wedding band. However, not even he could fully contain you essence, upon the golden ring a single word appeared:

Bazelbop.

For three thousand years you existed in this state, locked in a box and entombed with the betrayer himself. Never again would he speak to you, not even for the thousand years that his soul lingered after his death would he ever answer your pleas. Here you sat, and here you waited. As the servants stopped coming, as the tomb decayed, and as the sands swallowed it. Long had you time to think about the past. Yet through all the ages never could you decipher what drove your dearest friend, your greatest enemy, to break your fellowship. As your sanity came and went, you whispered into the lonely darkness, calling to any who could hear you.

Bazelbop…

One day, three thousand years after your incarceration, your call was answered as three figures darted into the tomb of the great enemy. They took you by surprise, and like a drunk sailor searching for his glasses you attempted to once again reach out and sense your surroundings. It has been so long that for now all you can sense is shadows. All three creatures carried the elder blood, and all three were wracked with fear. Yet it was not you, nor the disturbed tomb of the unfriended they feared, but the current occupants of the catacombs. They were coming for your new guests and you still retained enough wit to understand why that would be a problem. The first of the creatures did well to hide his fear as he attempted to barricade the only passage. You can sense that even after all these long years the Elderbloods still covered their bodies in metal and showed preferences to the crescent moon blades. You sense great fire in this one's soul, a perfect host if not for his unyielding will. The second crawled into a ball, his fear washed over him and out onto his companions. Pathetic and consigned to death, he is weak, easy to break, easy to mold. The last watches as her companion stacks the refuse high, she doesn't know what to do or how to help. Yet one is familiar, she has control. As the chittering grows ever louder and the vibrations of a thousand marching legs disturb the sands, you know you must act in order to change the destiny of the creatures before you. After all, they may be your last chance at freedom for another three thousand years!

>Whisper to the warrior, he is strong and will take a long time to break. But such a prize when he does! He is also the best candidate for your strength, the creatures must survive if you are to escape.
>Whisper to the mewling creature, he is weak and his mind will easily break. A jumping off point, nothing more. Yet will he be of use now? You can give him strength but you cannot make him act.
>Whisper to the woman, you will suck her soul dry to the marrow of her bones. But not yet, first you will have her carry you out!

>>4921266
>>Whisper to the warrior, he is strong and will take a long time to break. But such a prize when he does! He is also the best candidate for your strength, the creatures must survive if you are to escape.
he will be broken with promises of power

>>4921266
>Whisper to the warrior, he is strong and will take a long time to break. But such a prize when he does! He is also the best candidate for your strength, the creatures must survive if you are to escape.

>>4921266
>Whisper to the woman, you will suck her soul dry to the marrow of her bones. But not yet, first you will have her carry you out!

>>4921266
>>Whisper to the woman, you will suck her soul dry to the marrow of her bones. But not yet, first you will have her carry you out!

>>4921266
>>Whisper to the woman, you will suck her soul dry to the marrow of her bones. But not yet, first you will have her carry you out!

>>4921266
>Whisper to the woman, you will suck her soul dry to the marrow of her bones. But not yet, first you will have her carry you out!

>>4921406
>>4921401
>>4921365
>>4921348
>>4921344
>>4921329
My bad, already wrote for warrior. I added a way out in the prompts if you want to end up with the woman.

Your salvation in near

“You coward! Get up and help me fortify this doorway! Do you want to die here??”
“No no no no no we are going to diiieeee we are going to diiee no no no, why did I come here??? WHY????”
“Useless, pathetic!”
The warrior raises his arm to strike his terrified companion. Only to face intervention from the woman.
“Leave him alone, can’t you see that he is frightened beyond reason? What can I do to help?”

”The box, rescue is in the box.”

The warrior looks around frantically, “help me search these chests. Maybe there is something we can use.”
As he sets himself to looting the tomb the woman finally takes in the room. She quickly realizes the sacred ground she stands upon.
“Look!” she cries “Those hieroglyphs! We found it, it's the tomb of laso’tep! I knew it was here! I knew it!”
Her jubilation is lost on the warrior who still remembers their impending doom. He tosses chest after chest aside, and knocks over every vase on the way to you. He hears your call, and out of the many distractions left by the wizard he picks out your prison. Yet it will not open for him, the wizard had sealed it with magic. The final line of defence to keep you from the world.
“Open this for me, its locked”
She takes a moment to look upon your cage, she can sense that it was not meant to be opened.
“I cannot without time to inspect it. It could be cursed after all. Lest you forget, Leso’tep was mad!”
“I will bear any curse if it will save our lives woman, open the box”
A bang shakes the weak fortifications the warrior managed to set up. The lurking horrors have arrived to claim their lives. The third elderblood screams in fright.

”She must open the box.”

“You must open the box! NOW!”
She bends to the warriors demand, and breaks the time weakened magic seal setting FREE. More or less. The warrior reaches into the box and picks you up, without thinking, he places you on his finger.

Just in time too, as the barricade breaks and the creature's attempt to pour in. You surge the warrior with your power. You give him strength, you give him speed, you give him RAGE. He comes alive as a whirlwind of death. Like a steel tornado, he flies into the abominations and scatters their pieces across the walls. It's not enough for him to defend the entrance, he pushes through his enemies and makes short work of the mindless horrors that can do little more than break like waves upon his high cliff. He cuts them apart as if they were nothing more than parchment. When his sword fails him, he uses his hands to rip them apart. Soon he stands alone among the broken bodies of the great insect terrors. His wounds are deep, but you can heal them. You can make him whole!

>what do?
- Fail him, allow him to succumb to his wounds. He has served his purpose.
- Speak to the warrior directly, make him a deal.
- Whisper urgency to the warrior, he must leave the tomb immediately.
- Whisper to the warrior that he must punish the cowering fool, so that you may drink his soul.
- Do nothing, bide your time and wait.

>>4921414
>- Fail him, allow him to succumb to his wounds. He has served his purpose.
It's this one right?

>>4921428
yee

>>4921414
- Fail him, allow him to succumb to his wounds. He has served his purpose.

>>4921414
>- Whisper to the warrior that he must punish the cowering fool, so that you may drink his soul.

THEN

>- Fail him, allow him to succumb to his wounds. He has served his purpose.

Get power, slay warrior, allow woman no option for survival but to wear our ring.

>>4921447
Oh yeah this is good. Supporting,

>>4921447
>>4921414
supporting this as well

>>4921428
>>4921439
>>4921447
>>4921451
>>4921458
writing, this one will be longer and will take me more time though. Check back later

With your help, the blood oozes from the warrior. The faster his life is drained the faster you can snag his soul on its way out. It's been a long time since you had the pleasure of feasting, and much of your strength has slipped away through the ages. If you are ever going to return to your true form, you are going to need much more essence to work with. Yet before this tool's purpose is spent, you have one last task for him.

”That coward will live, while you die. Shall he go unpunished? Shall he leave here with the riches and the women?”

“No” whispers back the warrior. His veins are bereft of blood, but the rage you had pumped in substitute still radiates strong within him. The warrior picks up his broken blade and staggers back into the tomb, where he is watched in silence by his companions. Their awe broken by the clear wounds strewn over his form. The woman surges forward to aid him, but he shoves her aside. She stands in between his vengeance.


The frightened rabbit sees the look in his would be killer's eyes, and knows all too well what is coming for him.
“No! Please Iop, please spare me! I have done nothing!”
The warrior's response is crude, furious, and to the point.
“Exactly, you have done NOTHING.”

A plan so close to fruition, disrupted by the she-elder. She puts herself between the two men and halts the bloodshed that should have been.

“Iop, you are not yourself. Please I must see to your injuries. There is still time to save you”


He raises his sword to the women “Out of my way, or I will- I’ll...”


“Kill me?” She completes his sentence.

The warrior drops his blade and soon falls to his knees after it. “No.. I would never”

He had a strong will, too strong. It is for the best that he is gone. You syphon his soul as the woman embraces the corpse. His hot blood stains her robes.

The surviving male does not take time to mourn the dead, he seeks a way out.
“We must leave here, this place is cursed!”
But not before his greed takes over. He reaches into the many relics strewn around the room and pulls out a large golden mask.
“We will take this, just this. We can sell this for a fortune and we will be rich! Lets leave this place behind”

“Leave? We can't leave! We have finally found the tomb, how can we abandon it now that so many have given their lives?”
“That's exactly why we should, there could be more of those creatures. We must flee now while we have this chance! I do not wish to die and haunt these halls”

The woman takes a moment to think, she knows he is right but is unwilling to give up the tomb so easily.

“Leave the mask, we will take these. She scoops a handful of golden tablets. It's less suspicious, a relic like a mask will make us prey to bandits. They will know we found treasure! We will trade these tablets to the sultan and buy mercenaries. Then we will return here…”

“Return? Never! I will take what I need and never come back!”

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“You will never make it back home Ter’Safil, with Iop gone it is just us. Who will protect you now? We MUST see our quest to its end, and we MUST return for Iop. How can we allow his soul to linger in a place like this? After all he has done for us? These halls must be sanitized.”

The woman has little to worry, since his soul is quite gone. Yet perhaps it is best that she remains oblivious to the fact. You call out to her, you have chosen the woman to be your new host.

”The ring gave him power, it will give me power too”

She looks down at Iop’s hand and takes sight of you. She reaches down to take possession, but stops before her fingers touch your smooth metallic skin; hesitation. Maybe you forced it too hard when you completed the warrior to take a life. She saw the power you gave, but she also saw the blood lust. Or perhaps she is simply aware of what you are. She knew this was your masters tomb and was suspicious of curses. Either way, she draws her knife and after apologizing to the hollow shell, removes the man's finger, ring and all.

…

You reach the surface and escape your second box in one day. How quickly things are starting to move. You only wish you could feel the sun on your skin, instead of being hidden deep within the woman's bag. Your handlers are not as enthusiastic about reaching the surface as you however, as it seems their camp has been disturbed. Worse yet, their camels are dead. Most likely eaten by the creatures the warrior dispatched. The two are forced to attempt crossing the great desert on foot. The male elf, Ter’Safil, doesn't miss the opportunity to doomsday and sink into a deeper depression. The woman takes his hands and reassures him, then the two gather what they can and begin their impossible crossing.

You remain silent for three days, hoping to listen and learn. Yet there is not much conversation between the two as they cross the hot dunes. You gain little new information other than the woman's name, Maliv. It is an odd name, not an elder’s name, but a slave’s name. The days are scalding, and the nights are freezing, soon they run out of water and you are starting to feel that they will not make the journey. You wonder about your chances for rediscovery, should the two die here. Perhaps it is time to act, Maliv has left you isolated in the bag for too long, she has not even looked upon you!

>what do? You cannot speak to anyone directly unless they wear you
- Whisper to Ter’Safil, you will have him take possession of you from Maliv. You will give him the strength to escape the desert
- Visit Maliv in her dreams, promise her escape should she place you on her finger.
- Burn the soul you had gained to put out a long range ping. Any creature within range will be compelled to come find you. Whether they be desert bandits or passing dune merchants.
- Do nothing, and bide your time until all hope seems lost for the two.
- Write in

>>4921601
>- Whisper to Ter’Safil, you will have him take possession of you from Maliv. You will give him the strength to escape the desert

Save the ping for later, if this fails.

>>4921601
>- Visit Maliv in her dreams, promise her escape should she place you on her finger.
Cowardly elf is weak and useless. The woman has the knowledge we need.

>>4921601
> Visit Maliv in her dreams, promise her escape should she place you on her finger.

>>4921601
>- Whisper to Ter’Safil, you will have him take possession of you from Maliv. You will give him the strength to escape the desert

>>4921601
>Visit Maliv in her dreams, promise her escape should she place you on her finger.

>>4921601
>Visit Maliv in her dreams, promise her escape should she place you on her finger

writing

Actually wouldn't mind a 1d100 roll if someone wants to do it

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>4922668
For sure my man.

>>4922672
Did we win?

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>>4922685

>>4922780
Quality post, my man.

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You cannot engage directly with your escorts unless they wear you. The simple solution is to whisper to the male and direct him to take the ring by force. Yet it wouldn't be unfair to say that you are not ready to risk the woman Maliv’s life in the struggle. There is something curious about her that you wish to explore before you gobble her up. You are not ready to exhaust the little strength that you managed to find in order to save their lives either. Not yet anyway.

No, you decide on a different approach, you will invade the woman's dreams. In such close proximity, you can break down the mental walls that protect her psyche and enter uninvited. Exhausted by the desert heat, and diminished by the travel and lack of water; her mind will be unable to withstand your assault. So once again, you wait, but you don't have to wait long. As every day the distance the two can cross before they collapse grows smaller and smaller.

Before Maliv closes her eyes to sleep you have already slipped in through the cracks and made ready your trap. A little island in her mind, that will draw her unconscious body to you in the dreamscape. You replicate the harsh desert, and have her fight through a sand storm. Giving her no escape from the cruel desert even in her dreams. You must have her understand that the only safe place for her is with you. So thus you wait for her in the small oasis you have constructed. You call to her, you draw her in. Soon she will find you, but not too soon, she first must suffer. When Maliv does arrive at your Eden, you finally get a good look at her. As much as one can in a dreamscape anyway. Things here can be convoluted, a fact that you will use to your advantage in a moment. First however, you examine exactly what you are working with. You knew there was something strange about her, she is a mixed breed. Part slave, part elder. Things must have really taken a turn downwards in the empire if such a creature managed to survive to maturity. You can't decide how you feel about it, she carries characteristics of both races that you savour in your meals, but it goes the other way as well. There is much bitterness in her carried over from both races. At the top of the pyramid, is her blue eyes. They are much more refreshing than any body of water that you could ever fabricate. Yet there is still something else. Something you cannot understand. There is something about her that you absolutely love so much that you HATE HATE HATE.

She crawls towards the oasis, and before she can reach its pristine waters you reveal yourself. You come in the form of a bird of paradise, a flamingo to be precise. Your best interpretation of a flamingo that is. It's been a long time after all, flamingos had horns right? Yes, most probably maybe certainly they did. Well, this is where the convoluted nature of dreams plays into your advantage.

“You seek entrance into my kingdom mortal? I cannot allow such sin to exist here. You must turn back!”

Through dry lips she pleads for you to allow her entrance, for a small sip of the refreshing life giving liquid. Two times you deny her, but the third, you offer her an exchange. If she wishes to enter your paradise she must strip herself of the trapping of mortals, literally. She accepts your offer and thanks you for your generosity as she removes her robes and you get a good look at dinner. You need to decide if she is worth the effort after all. It's not going to be easy to follow up the divine lunchin you had, even if it was three thousand years ago. She drinks of the oasis water and lays in the cool grass beside you. You even allow her to stroke your feathers.

When she awakes, she is filled with newfound energy. She can walk further, her body has less aches, and the weather doesn't bother her as it did before. She puts an arm around Ter’Safil and helps him walk, and carries their baggage as well.

The next night she will visit you again, she will fight through the vortex of sand just to ask you for entrance. Once again you deny her twice, but offer her a new deal on the third. This time stripping is not enough to satisfy you. She must pay more for the privilege of drinking from your waters. She must offer you a drink in return.

“A drink? But I have nothing to offer you my lord”

“You have more than you know, you must offer me your neck in submission.”

She is reluctant at first, but ultimately gives in to your demands. She raises her head to reveal the full length of her neck to you. Slowly and elegantly, you move your long neck until your beak pierces her skin and you drink in her blood. It's a symbolic gesture, you cannot take her soul this way. To make the allusion complete, you have the act be a pleasurable one. Unable to control herself, she takes your neck into her handstand and wraps her legs around your body. She presses your head deeper into her neck and you in turn drink deep. After the ritual, you allow her to drink the waters of the oasis. In the morning she wakes with even more strength, she can almost carry her companion on her back.

On the third day, when she arrives at the oasis, you repeat the ritual again. Two denials, then the respite of a deal. First she strips, then you drink. Yet this third day you demand even more from her. This time, if she wishes to stay with you, she must become your bride! You produce a golden wedding band and ask her to place it around her finger. This time however, she does not relent. The price you ask is too high, she begs you to ask something else. Yet you have reached the end of your etiquette. You banish her into the sand storm with a gust of wind from your wings. For the remainder of the night, she will search for the oasis but never find it. In the morning she will awake with her newfound strength and vigour gone. Her lips and mouth are as dry as the sand that she sleeps on. The sun pushes her down like a weight, so much so that she can barely stand. In her closed hand, you reside waiting. She doesn't know how you got there or how you escaped Iops finger, but she doesn't place you back in the bag. The two Elders walk through the desert but without strength they do not last long, for their will is broken and their water is gone. Soon Maliv collapses, she tries to call out to her companion but has no voice. He doesn't even notice, Ter’Safil continues to walk forward like a zombie. One foot in front of the other.

Soon Maliv brings you up to her face to get a better look at your golden form, the same form you presented to her in the dream. You can see she is considering it, she wonders if the dream was real or if it was fiction. With quivering hands she brings you up to her left wedding finger. She is at the end of her rope. You simply had too much time and space to work on her, and the desert provided the perfect backdrop. This is maybe the most desperate moment of her life.

DC:20 - FAIL

She doesn't do it, you were so close but she doesn't do it. Instead she closes her palm with you squeezed tightly in the centre. It seems the last of her strength is being spent in the futile attempt to crush you into sand dust. Even as her mind leaves her body, and she falls into a comatose sleep, she doesn't stop squeezing.

>What do?
- Call out a wide area rescue for her, but more importantly yourself
- Call out to Ter’Safil, he will rescue the two of them with your strength. Although you will then be in his possession
- Let them die, what's another few hundred years? Free of the tomb someone will find you again.

>>4922810
Arrghhh, fuckkk, so close... Can we eat her soul at least?
>Call out to Ter’Safil, he will rescue the two of them with your strength. Although you will then be in his possession.
Better him than some sort of desert beast...

>>4922810
>- Call out a wide area rescue for her, but more importantly yourself

>>4922810
>- Call out a wide area rescue for her, but more importantly yourself
lol

>>4922810
>- Call out a wide area rescue for her, but more importantly yourself

Rolled 5 (1d5)

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What an unsatisfying end to the display you stitched together. It bruises the ego, it leaves a sour taste on your refined palette. To wait for her to die and sip at her being feels as unsatisfying as an incomplete circle or an uneven cut. You are not a vulture who picks at scraps, you are a performance artist. No, no, no, it simply won’t do. This story must end in a satisfactory way, it must end on your terms, it must end in your victory. You vibrate with power and release a pulse of power. Any living thing within reach will be subconsciously drawn here, few mortals can resist your call.

It's not even an hour before passerbys find your handler half buried by the uncaring sands. Like passing ships in the night, they would have missed Maliv completely without your intervention. Travelling men of the slave races they are. They wear copper swords and armour and decorate themselves with thin strips of silver, gold, and animal teeth. Things have truly changed in the time of your exile, these creatures were once not even allowed to wear shoes. Human by birth, slave by creed. They unknowingly came for you, but they found her. What a prize she seems to be to them. They grasp at her body and check for signs of life, they spare her unconscious form no amnesty from their greedy hands. The contents of her bag brings them joy as well, for in it they find the gold she carried away from the tomb. The only place their crawling fingers do not peak is into her still firmly closed palm. They have yet to find you hidden away inside. They discuss things in their dirty language that you cannot understand. Ultimately, they decide to take the women with them. Like a piece of property they tie her up, and throw her onto a camel along with their carpets and folded cloth meant for tents. Here you sense the other elder, Ter’Safil, he has been found as well. Yet they do not give him the luxury of being property, he is tied up and dragged behind the caravan…

Three days later the caravan will meet another, how these nomads find each other in the vast desert is beyond you, but here they are all the same. Over the nine days that you have been free, your vision and sight has improved greatly. Even hidden away in Maliv’s hand you can sense the entirety of the camp. The men you identified as the leaders meet, words are said, water is exchanged, and salt is gifted. They show each other everything, save for the gold and women they have found. Ter’Safil is displayed and laughed at, but you have started to grow bored of his existence. Always at the far end of your planning, but never quite chosen. Maliv sleeps still, but out of the sun and carefully supplied water she recovers.

>What do?
- Whisper to all the nomads, tell them of the gold and women, whisper hate and malice. Let them fight, so that you may drink.
- Call to a malleable but worthy slaverace warrior to take you into his possession.
- Awake Maliv, see what she does, laugh at her predicament.
- Write in

>>4922817
You are in close enough proximity to consume her soul if she died. You do not have the ability to remove a soul from a living body.

>>4922948
>- Awake Maliv, see what she does. Keep playing the role we gave ourselves in the dream if we have to whisper to her, we can save her if she puts her trust in us.
We've been working her hard and I am now invested in getting possession of her. I doubt she's particularly interested in becoming a slave again, she'd be even closer to the breaking point now.

>>4922948
>Whisper lust and malice to the nomads. Invite them to sate their cruelty and thirst onto Maliv.
Then
>Awaken Maliv, see what she does, laugh at her predicament.

This will be very fun either way

>>4922988
>>4922948
Oh, this is delightfully devilish. Supporting this if we can do it.

>>4922948
>Write in
Let's whisper to the nomad cheif toughts of distrust so he and others gind out about the gold and Maliv, then make him rage because of this so he kills the nomads that hide those and we could take their souls.

Then while that happens

>Awaken Maliv, see what she does, laugh at her predicament.

I guess that could help us in getting souls and also, maybe getting her a chance to scape, maybe, or even be aware of what's happening while the chief execute those nomads

>>4922988
support but offer her another chance before they rape her. we don't want her dead. just very very afraid.

>>4922948
>- Whisper to all the nomads, tell them of the gold and women, whisper hate and malice. Let them fight, so that you may drink.
>- Awake Maliv, and make her the offer again.

Essentially >>4922988 but with roe infighting and souls to drink, and less mocking laughter. I'll support >>4922988 in a pinch, though.

>>4923114
supporting this

>>4923114
also supporting this

>>4923114
Supporting this one and making the offer feel like it’s out of goodwill

As it often does, a cruel plan begins to formulate. Humans are ever so predictable and their desires barely reach further than what is directly in front of them. You don’t believe this simple nature has changed while you have been away. Under the trappings of the mock civilization they have adopted, they are little more than the animals they eat. So you begin your whispers, you don’t even have to lie really. You weave your words into their minds alongside their own thoughts and incept your intent without their knowledge. So easily your words take hold, their own cruelty so easy to unleash.

”Have they really shown us everything? What are they hiding? They reek of suspicion and trickery”


”They say that they found only one creature alone in the desert, but is that really the case? Surely there would be more”

”They know about the gold! They are waiting to cut our throats in our sleep!”

”Why have they not departed yet? What are the plotting???”

You don’t even have to be subtle.

”That ones hat would look better on me… I should take it from him”

Over the next three days their animosity grows, not even among the two groups but within their own ranks as well. You overload them with your malice, and that is a well that will never run dry. When you finally feel that the dough is ready, you toss it in the fire. Its simple to direct a spy into the tent where they are keeping Maliv and whisper to him where he can find the gold. He will take the proof of deceit to his master, and it will be the spark to alight the kindle you have filled their minds with. A single stone of truth will unleash the avalanche and bury them all.

Yet it is not enough to satisfy you, nothing ever truly is. One of the many ups and downs that come with being insatiable. You haven't given up on having Maliv place you onto one of her slender fingers. As such, you have decided that if she won't marry you, perhaps you should introduce her to some of the strapping men that inhabit this camp? Perhaps all of them! With no other woman for miles you can only guess at the temperament of these near beasts. So you send them visions. Visions of her body, of her softness, of her moans. Why not? Set the net wide and you are sure to catch someone.

When the sun falls, and the night reigns, your calls are swiftly answered. Two men sneak into Maliv’s tent. The first of many you assume. They quickly discover their prize and move upon her sleeping form. They touch where they please and rub their faces against her skin. The larger man produces a knife and eagerly cuts into what is left of her ragged robes revealing her breasts. The two men have a small bout over who gets to handle them first, but it is clear the larger man is in charge. You feel it unfair for the star of this show to not be in attendance, so you force Maliv to awake. But not before forcing her to dream a small vision of the flamingo

File: lewds.pdf (1.29 MB, PDF)

1.29 MB PDF

”Become my queen, and I will allow you into the oasis. Accept my ring and accept salvation.”

Part 2 is in the PDF, not safe for work

The next part probably wasn't in the plan, because she immediately starts to convulse. It wasn't in the large mans plan either because he just got his dick inadvertently bit. He strikes Maliv hard in his rage, but she has already been sent into a seizure and is now far beyond his grasp. Poor girl couldn't handle the magic, even if she survives she will probably never be the same. There is great confusion in the man as she spots his headless compatriot's body. On his left is a corpse and on the right is a violent seizure. He decides the best move is to simply get out of this situation. not before noticing you that is. He picks you up and runs out of the tent. Right into a group of men from the other camp, probably also answering your call for a bit of fun. They notice his dick in his hand and your golden self in the other. They argue, swords are drawn, and the killing begins.

Everything you had set up erupts, and you are in the middle of it. As you pass from one hand to another you drink the souls off whatever fallen man you can reach. Soon the tents are ablaze and pure chaos sweeps the camp.

>what do?
- Whisper to anyone who gets their hand on you, they must PUT YOU ON!
- Keep quiet and enjoy the melee, there will be time enough to find a new holder in the aftermath.
- Drop from the hand of whoever is holding onto you, and roll back to Maliv. You are a starting to feel like a one woman demon.
- Write in

>>4923416
>Keep quiet and enjoy the melee, there will be time enough to find a new holder in the aftermath.
The strongest (or smartest) will survive, and he'll be a good vessel for now. I don't think the woman would be too great now that she's probably some level of brain damaged.
Also, that's some cool art you got QM.

>>4923416
>- Drop from the hand of whoever is holding onto you, and roll back to Maliv. You are a starting to feel like a one woman demon.
I knew she was special. She 's holding back the fact that she's an untrained mage the whole time! Nothing a demon of our calibre can't fix.

>>4923416
>- Drop from the hand of whoever is holding onto you, and roll back to Maliv. You are a starting to feel like a one woman demon.
We can still enjoy the chaos and absorb the bloodlust in the meantime.

>>4923416
>- Drop from the hand of whoever is holding onto you, and roll back to Maliv. You are a starting to feel like a one woman demon.
Does she reject us because she doubts our loyalty? Surely not, we've only had one master and one pawn in several thousand years!

>>4923416
>Keep quiet and enjoy the melee, there will be time enough to find a new holder in the aftermath.

>>4923416
>- Drop from the hand of whoever is holding onto you, and roll back to Maliv. You are a starting to feel like a one woman demon
Shall we have anything less than a mage? She reminds me of master.

>>4923416
>- Drop from the hand of whoever is holding onto you, and roll back to Maliv. You are a starting to feel like a one woman demon.

Writing

>>4923487
>Also, that's some cool art you got QM
Thanks, but a lot of this stuff im just picking up from the internet and its not my original work.

>>4923507
>She 's holding back the fact that she's an untrained mage the whole time!
Maliv broke the magic lock on the box containing you. Which would indicate to you (Bazelbop) that she has at least some training

>>4922983
I doubt she's particularly interested in becoming a slave again
The story is mostly written from the point of view of the demon ring. Baz has been in seclusion for 3000 years so his narration is not always accurate. In his time, all the races were slaves to the "elder" race who controlled much of the known world, that may or may not be the case now.

You thought you would enjoy the slaughter, and for a time you do. Yet it quickly grows stale and the souls have no flavour. Ultimately, the planning and seducing was more fun than the actual coitus. Yet why is that the case? As another head rolls and your golden gleam attracts a fresh hand, you muse on this current predicament. What spice is missing from your gumbo of flesh, bones, and viscera? Two things come to mind, one, you are not actually doing any of the dismembering yourself. No one is running from you, and no one fears you. Your ego is not being satiated. Second, there is no one to watch you perform. What's the point of all this if no one knows you did it? You are as alone now as when you were simply sipping at the cosmic soup in your infancy. You tell yourself this is all a stepping stone to some GREATER design, you are collecting souls now for later use! True as that may be, it's simply not enough. Your mind wanders back to Maliv, you wonder how she is doing. How aware is she of what you have done? So far she is the closest to understanding that you are more than just some pretty thing to be held and worn, she knows you are dangerous.

When the opportunity arises, you drop from the twitching hand of the cadaver holding you and start your gentle roll down the slope and back towards Maliv. A small hop skip and jump when needed and you roll right back into her tent in no time. You find your bride to be strewn out on the floor, at least she has stopped convulsing. It was a little unsightly to say the least, a maiden should be modest and upright at all times.Honestly, you feel a little embarrassed for her. She should know better.

File: Untitl2ed.png (1.2 MB, 1232x1608)

1.2 MB PNG

There is life in her yet, as you draw closer she lifts her head and looks right at you. Weakly, she extends her arm and you roll right into her hand. Unless she puts you on you cannot channel your strength into her, but at this distance you can give her what she needs to stand. Maliv is a survivor indeed, because she gets right up and starts to look for an escape. She can hear the fighting outside and the fire has already touched the tent she is residing in. You KNOW first hand how much the mortals don’t like fire. There is only one problem, she is connected to the central pole via a chain around her neck. Everything in the room is out of reach. That doesn't stop her from trying to pull on the chain in a vain attempt to break free. When that obviously doesn't work, she tries to reach for the beheaded nomad's sword. Out of reach, just like her bag. Maliv starts to panic as the fire spreads and the black smoke engulfs the tent. In a last desperate bid to get a hold of anything she can use, she stretches her body along the ground and tries to get to her bag using her feet. She almost finds success when another man enters the tent. From the look of his tall hat and long beard, you assume him to be one of the chiefs. He too has answered your call. You can see that he is wounded and bloody, but not enough to stop his desire. He doesn't take but a moment before he charges Maliv and is on top of her. You commend his dedication and his lack of self preservation, even a wall of fire wont stop this animal from copulating. Unlike her earlier assailants, this one doesn't care for what she has to say and is looking to get his business done. Tha man holds her down, and attempts to force his dick into some very dry pussy.

With her arms pinned, Maliv gathers her fingers together and flicks you into the air. As you come down, her fingers are extended towards you as they wait for your embrace. All you have to do is choose which finger. You widen yourself just enough to make the landing without error then like a boa you constrict!

File: Spoiler Image (1.84 MB, 1448x2084)

1.84 MB PNG

With her newfound strength, Maliv takes hold of the man and splits him in half. All the blood, viscera, guts, and organs spill out onto her. Now THIS is your idea of a good time. Maliv rises out of the midst of the blood pool, reborn as a crimson queen. She snaps the chain with a tug and takes up her possessions. She strides into the battlefield with newfound courage and poise. You sense her desire, she wants to find her companion.

”Behind you and to the left, in the tent by the animals”


There are many who block her way, but none who can stand against her. As a sword wielding barbarian charges she places her hand into her bag and pulls out a small book. She once again performs magic, this time she draws energy from the moon. Elemental magic, much safer but it requires a totem. Carved either from wood and stone or written on many stacked pages of papyrus. The language of the gods is too complex for a mortal to speak so a medium is needed. Lightning arcs from her finger and her assailant is stuck down. Normally, elemental magic is tiring and drains the stamina of its welder. But you are an infinite source and she draws upon your strength to strike down any she passes. She gives no quarter, even to the wounded. Its not even at your behest. There is much hate within her. You already set about nursing it into loathing. You sever the magic link between the book in her left, and the finger that releases the lightning in her right. She must kill her enemies with her bare hands.

Suddenly unable to cast magic, she is surprised by two warriors who attempt to restrain her. She turns the two men into one grotesque statue by forcefully melding their two fragile bodies. At some point a knife was impaled into her back, but she does not feel it. You have replaced the sensation of pain with pleasure, and you quickly work to push the knife out and close her wound. You do not let a single drop of her blood escape her body. After all, every molecule she possess now belongs to you.

Body after mangled body lays forever still in her wake. At the end of her journey she finally finds the object of her search; Ter’Safil. He looks up at Maliv and doesn't recognize her, all he can see is the form of a woman painted red. Tonight she is your avatar, to make room for the bloodlust her mind has been pushed far back . Already she can barely remember why she is even here.

>what do?
- Try to convince Maliv to kill her former companion, then she will have no one but you.
- Have Maliv empty the camp of human life, you need more souls to accomplish your ends.
- She is here to save her companion and escape, the truth is bitter on your tongue to speak but trust must be built.
- Do nothing for now, simply watch.
- Write in

extra
>When / if Maliv attempts to remove you, do you:
- slip off her finger easily
or
- hold fast and refuse to budge
-write in

>>4924277
>- She is here to save her companion and escape, the truth is bitter on your tongue to speak but trust must be built.
>- hold fast and refuse to budge
The elf is mortally wounded and will die anyway. So a little bond building won't hurt.

>>4924277
- Try to convince Maliv to kill her former companion, then she will have no one but you.
- Have Maliv empty the camp of human life, you need more souls to accomplish your ends.

- hold fast and refuse to budge

Leave the girl with no other choice to survive

>>4924277
- Do nothing for now, simply watch.
- hold fast and refuse to budge
For sure she has a pretty good idea of what the ring contains at this point. We can be sneaky about it, our first line of defence should be directing her thoughts away from us whenever we can get away with it. If she starts thinking about removing us, we give her the impression that we are naive, alone and helpless. For example, if she is bothered by Iop moving to kill Ter'Safil we can spin it as us also being frightened by his sudden malice.
This can backfire if Iop was one of the really good ones and Maliv knows it, or if she already knows exactly what we are in which case the deception is pointless.

>>4924277
>She is here to save her companion and escape, the truth is bitter on your tongue to speak but trust must be built.
>Slip off her finger easily
Building trust is the plan I feel, so we'll need to slip off easily to prove that we only wanted to aid her in escaping the camp with her companion. She is the Isildur to our One Ring, as long as we remain nearby her we can whisper to her and slowly break whatever resistance she can put up.

>>4924277
>- She is here to save her companion and escape, the truth is bitter on your tongue to speak but trust must be built.
>- hold fast and refuse to budge

>>4924277
>what do?
>She is here to save her companion and escape, the truth is bitter on your tongue to speak but trust must be built.

>When / if Maliv attempts to remove you, do yoru:
>Write-in
Let's drain some of her energy, let her feel how tired she would feel if she didn't worn us before when she used magic, but not all that loss of stamina. Let's give her like three quarters of the stamina loss from a single drop so she understand how things are

With us, she would be capable of using all the magic she want and even destroy her enemies with her own arms. but without us in this great desert she is fucked. And, maybe she wont suspect that we blocked her magic usage out of nowhere and instead she might think that, while using us, she wont feel any exhaustion until we are removed, basically like Gut's armor from Berserk

>>4924277
>- Try to convince Maliv to kill her former companion, then she will have no one but you.
>- slip off her finger easily
It's not me, its you.

>>4924277
- She is here to save her companion and escape, the truth is bitter on your tongue to speak but trust must be built.
- slip off her finger easily
We need to tempt her, corrupt her soul and make it so she'll desire the ring more than anything, even when removed.

>>4924277
Changing it to
- She is here to save her companion and escape, the truth is bitter on your tongue to speak but trust must be built.
- slip off her finger easily

>>4924277
>- She is here to save her companion and escape, the truth is bitter on your tongue to speak but trust must be built.

>- slip off her finger easily

If she takes the ring off, a body-swap occurs and she's trapped in the ring while demon possesses her.

It's not a true swap, of course demon can't leave the ring, but to her perspective and within a few feet or tens of feet around the ring, it seems as a body swap. Let her know the despair of being trapped in a ring, before her (puppeted body) picks the ring up and puts it back on to restore the natural order.

”This is your companion, you have come to save him”


She remembers, as Maliv bends down to inspect her comrade he recoils at her touch. The torment he has received has affected his psyche.

“Ter’Safil, its me, you're safe now. I have come to free you”

“Maliv?”

She gently pets his hair with her bloody hands in an attempt to comfort him.

“I would not abandon you Safil, you are all I have left. Have you have the strength to walk?”

With her help, he rises and Maliv breaks the rope around his ankle. She helps him onto a camel and hands over what belongings she has.

“What about water?”

Surprising clarity from the normally frightened and useless elder. Maliv realizes he is right and seeks to return to the camp in search of more supplies. They cannot survive the desert without it. The male is reluctant to see Maliv return to the carnage, but she assures him that she will survive. Turning, she runs back into the burning mass of tents.

“Wait! Your spell books!”

She is already gone.

Not wanting to be put back into the same risky situation as before, you lead your host to the tent that houses much of the supplies. Three men have already beaten the two of you here and have begun taking everything of value. It takes little effort for Maliv to pulp one of their heads with a mighty clap of her hands. At the sight of this the others flee before her, they shout a single word over and over in their unknown language. She has regained enough of her senses to not chase after them. Instead she gathers what supplies she can and runs back to her waiting companion and camels. They escape into the darkness and leave the chaos behind them.

…

A day later Maliv has set up a tent with the supplies she plundered and has decided to spend the next three days nursing her companion back to health. She does what she can to make him comfortable, and cooks what with the rations she punderd. When he has fallen asleep, Maliv takes to attempting to clean the dried blood and general viscera off herself. On one hand, she would very much like to be clean but on the other she doesn't wish to waste water. She dabs a small amount of liquid onto a cloth and attempts to rub away the filth, yet there is so much to clean that quickly the cloth becomes too dark and filthy to continue. In the end she makes a compromise to only wash her face and a few other parts that Maliv feels need to be clean. Absent-mindedly she has been rolling you around with her thumb since the escape, as you subvertly shift her thoughts away from your presence. This trick doesn't last forever, because after she finishes cleaning she remembers that you are still on her finger.

She doesn't hesitate to attempt removing you, on the first tug you remain where you are. You feel the sudden fear and panic fill her, then overwhelming relief as you easily come off in the second pull. She throws you into the desert like you were an extremely hot rock. A dizziness overtakes her and she falls back on her ass. When she pulled you off, you didn't just leave her as you found her, but you syphoned some more on your way out. It is your plan to become indispensable. You can only imagine the pain she must be in without you, quite literally, as you have never known what it is to feel physical pain. From observations, it is probably not a pleasant feeling. She struggles to stand without your strength and through her dizziness crawls over to where she has thrown you. She frantically weaves her hands through the sands in a desperate search until she has you back in her hands. She struggles with what to do next. But now that she has done it once, placing you back on her finger is much easier to do the second time.

With your help, Maliv has the endurance to cut up one of the plundered sheets in order to make a makeshift dress. It looks ghastly, but for her it's better than being naked. You're not sure you share the sentiment. She can now face her companion in modesty. The next day as she feeds him soup, he is able to make conversation.

“What happened maliv? How did we survive? How did you rescue us?”

Maliv displays you to her companion.

“It was this ring, Iop found it in the tomb. It gave him great strength and it has done the same for me.”

“A magic ring? Those are dangerous Maliv, why do you still wear it?”

“I- I cannot be without it. I need its strength, at least until you get better.”

“No, you must take the ring off now. It could be killing you!”

She hesitates but does as he instructs. It seems that Ter’Safil has a strong sway over her.

She puts the soup on the ground and removes you from her finger much to your displeasure. The same lack of energy overwhelms her and she can't stay up right.

“See? I need the ring, just until you are better then you can take care of us...”

He takes the ring from her weak hands and she weakly claws at him in a panic. Gently he takes hold of her hand and places you back into her possession.

“I am not a thief, Maliv, I will not take the ring from you. You can trust me. Now place the ring back into my hand”

Feeling embarrassed at her display, she does with an apology. They repeat this process a few more times in some kind of trust building exercise. It makes you sick being forced to take part in their ritual.

A decision seems to be made that Maliv will no longer wear the ring unless the need is dire, but at the same time it is agreed that Ter’Safil will not ever put it on himself. For now Maliv simply watches as the male inspects you. He makes the motion of reaching into his pocket to produce a pier of monocles for his face, but he has none. So he is forced to squint and crane his neck back and forth as he attempts to analyze the engravings on your body.

“Bazelbop”

He said it. He can read you ancient text. Perhaps he is not so useless after all.

“Bazelbop?” Ask Maliv

She said it. Thats once, thats twice.

“What does it mean?”

“As far as I know, It doesn't mean anything. Yet that's what the hieroglyphs read. Perhaps if I still had my books I could consult them...”

Maliv is too tired to continue the conversation, so she holds her hand out and he places you back into her palm. She clutches you firmly and brings you to her bosom. Silently she drifts off to sleep. Her companion places his pillow under her head. You start to wonder what their history is, you wonder how they came to know each other. This man is a bad influence on your temporary wife.

>what do?
- Nothing, wait for something of note to happen
- Enter Maliv’s dreams (write in)
- Enter Ter’Safil’s dreams (write in)
- Enter Ter’Safil’s dreams and refuse him sleep
- Write in

>>4924672
>- Enter Ter’Safil’s dreams and refuse him sleep
Lets just annoy him

>>4924672
Enter his dreams posing as Maliv, and try to prompt him to react or divulge what their past history is, in the dream.

>>4924672
>- Enter Maliv’s dreams
Wine and dine her, ask her about Ter’Safil. Ask her why she still distrusts us.

>>4924779
remember that Maliv doesn't actually know just how sentient you are or if the dreams were caused by you.

>>4924792
Keep it abstract, then. Ask why she distrusts the ring,a nd why she won't marry us.

>>4924792
>>4924797
Anon's got the right idea. Perhaps we should appear as her to pose the questions, or simply it should be a dream of self-examination without any indication of an interrogator. There are plenty of ways to execute this without raising suspicion

>>4924672
>Enter Ter’Safil’s dreams
Fill his dreams with images of our old form, he did call our name after all.

>>4924672
>Enter Maliv’s dreams
Let's mess with her again.
(Like this >>4924848)

>>4924672
>>4924768
Supporting

>>4924768
Flip this around. Go into Maliv's dreams as Ter'Safil and learn about their connection. Possibly make her distrust him, despise his weaknesses and cowardice.

>>4925085
+1
I think it's obvious why she distrusts the ring. It did make Iop almost strangle his buddy out of rage, after all. I think we should keep Maliv in the dark about our sentience until we're all she's got.

>>4925113
That, and, apparently, there's a distrust of magic rings (possibly items in general) in this world.

>>4925085
In future we could invade the guy and if they aren't lovers make him want her, or the opposite if they are.

>>4925346
That's a thought... Perhaps we can wear him like a suit, to make our appeal more directly the the half-blooded mage?

>>4925392
I was referring to doing it through dreams. I don't think we're in strong enough position to play this openly yet. But we can try to alienate them throuhg unrequited love or mutual disgust

>>4925400
We can... But we could also build our strength and then take advantage of the trust that is already there by controlling Ter'Safil, perhaps. Just a thought.

Sleep comes easy to Maliv but peace does not. Her dreams are troubled and vivid, you can see discontent contort her face. Her heart races as she tosses from side to side while sweat builds on her brow. You slip into her mind, to catch a glimpse of what could be tearing her apart internally.

Her head is a war zone, lakes of blood flow from incorporeal walls and soak the swirling desert. Every spec of sand is as sharp as glass and splits the skin while thunder parts the black clouds that fill the sky. The mangled grotesque bodies of all those she has slain have come to life and move against her. They accuse her of murder and adultery while promising justice. She attempts to fight them, but every man she kills comes back double and soon they have her pinned and overwhelmed. They demand flesh for flesh and with cruel laughter the distorted zombies force themselves on her again and again. She drowns in the blood that pours from their wounds as they ravage her. You can see that recent events haunt her mind with a vengeance and have manifested themselves in her sleep. You take the form of her doppelganger, and shroud yourself in golden light. Your skin is clean, and your dress is white silk. You part the misshapen bodies and offer her bloody and naked form salvation. In the hand you offer Maliv, you have fabricated a golden rendition of yourself around a finger. It shines bright and banishes the darkness and the blood, making her clean in the process.

In the safe space you have created, the two of you cling tightly to one another. Now indistinguishable in your clean purity the two of you are twins. In the waking world her mind is at rest and her body can finally relax. You whisper questions into her ear and she whispers them back. You kiss her on the cheek when she answers truthfully. Over the next few days you will visit her again and again in the same way, gleaming more knowledge. In doing so, you rescue Maliv from her nightmares; which she endures on a nightly basis.

You learn:
About society in general:
- The slave races have not been slaves for over two thousand years
- They have formed many little civilizations of their own
- The Elder civilization as you knew it has collapsed
- Things started to decline when Laso’tep battled a monstrous creature at a royal wedding; many influential Elder, including the Pharaoh himself, was killed.
- This ultimately triggered a succession war
- Laso’tep was, albeit wrongly, redeemed and seen as a hero for attempting to stop the creature and save the day.
- Laso’tep was probably responsible for most of the killing that day, but that's NOT how history remembers it
- It is believed that you were some kind of dragon sent by the giants, you have no idea what either of those things are.

Maliv:
- There was only one human women in her ancestry, her lineage was considered affluent enough that her great great great great great grandfathers half blood did not result in the end of their bloodline (However, you yourself know, from observing the masters experiments, that slave blood is very potent and will still muddy the elderblood significantly anyway)
- She was deemed too muddy to receive an elder name by the bureaucracy
- She has great interest in Laso’tep and is the founding member of this expedition, she sold everything her family owned to fund it
- She met Ter’Safil while he was studying theoretical magic, like many Elderbloods his house had fallen to ruin and he seeks a way to redeem it. As a person, he is a scholar of many things.
- There were eight of them, now only two. She blames herself for leading them all to their deaths.
- She doesn't trust the ring because she can sense there is something unique about it, she has handled magical items before and they are nothing like you. She also suspects that it carries some kind of curse that drives people mad.
- You learned more about her small company and Iop but have deemed that information worthless and didn't bother to remember it.

File: mark-tarrisse-cityinthede(...).jpg (617 KB, 2000x1196)

617 KB JPG

...

When Ter’Safil and Maliv recover somewhat, they decide it is time to continue on their journey. Using the stars as a guide, they head directly to the local capital with plans to stay long enough to recover. There they will trade the gold for human workers and mercenaries, so they can conclude their expedition. You are not sure you ever wish to return to that damned tomb but Maliv believes that there is much to be learned there. On the journey, Ter’Safil convinces Maliv to put the ring into a box.

“I don’t want to remind you of this, but you carry human blood Maliv. They are violently allergic to the purity of magic and as such so are you.”

“I know this Safil, I practice magic on an almost daily basis.”

“Then why must I tell you to not wear the ring around your neck?”

“It is not the same! I have held magical items before and I do not feel the burn from this ring.”

“Perhaps it does not pain you in a way you can comprehend”

“Its not like that, You do not understand because you have never felt it”

“I would feel much better if you put the ring into a box”

Maliv had fashioned you into a necklace using some string. You don’t like being put back in a prison, perhaps it was a mistake to let go of her finger. Things take a good turn however, as on the third night, Maliv would secretly remove you from the box. Once again you are put around her neck. It seems that her nightmares make sleep impossible, and when you banished them for your own gain you had inadvertently made yourself indispensable.

Sunburned and exhausted, the two finally arrive at their destination. The city of Saladi-Autep, once an Elder city, it is now run by humans. When the guards at the entrance see that your escorts are elders they immediately allow entry and are taken to the ‘Saladin’ himself. You can’t help but notice that the vast majority of humans continue to live as if the elder were still in charge. Malnourished and squatting in little clay homes, they are still slaves in all but name. Their masters are now their fellow humans, and they are just as harsh and uncaring as the elder. At times you suffer from the compulsion of counting, and the people in the city provide a good outlet. You count two thousand, nine hundred and thirty four souls. A part of you feels like a wolf who has been thrown into a hen house.

>What are your primary goals (Help me direct the quest)
- I want to gobble up this city, I need more power!
- I want to continue helping and manipulating Maliv, to replace the friend I have lost.
- I want to get as far from the tomb and empty desert as possible.
- I want to be free of this ring, to return to my true form
- Nothing, im happy to just watch and cause mischief
- Write in

>>4925780
In order of priority

>1) - I want to gobble up this city, I need more power!
>Also 1) - I want to continue helping and manipulating Maliv, to replace the friend I have lost.
2) - I want to be free of this ring, to return to my true form

Alternatively
- Nothing, im happy to just watch and cause mischief
Sounds kind of fun. It would be nice to play as the sidelined devil in one of these stories.

>>4925780
>- I want to continue helping and manipulating Maliv, to replace the friend I have lost.
>- I want to gobble up this city, I need more power!

First we help her reach her true potential as a dark mage, then we RULE THE WORLD.

>>4925780
- I want to continue helping and manipulating Maliv, to replace the friend I have lost.
- I want to gobble up this city, I need more power!

First let’s get Maliv and after that the city as food

>>4925812
supporting this course

>>4925780
>- I want to continue helping and manipulating Maliv, to replace the friend I have lost.
>- I want to be free of this ring, to return to my true form
We have to teach her the true evil ways so we can rise once more.

>>4925780
>- I want to get as far from the tomb and empty desert as possible.
>- I want to be free of this ring, to return to my true form

>>4925780
Try both:
> I want to continue helping and manipulating Maliv, to replace the friend I have lost
>just watch and cause mischief

Help Maliv while we also secretly cause events/mischief that nudge/prepare the city in direction that helps us with:
> I want to gobble up this city, I need more power!

>>4925780
>- I want to continue helping and manipulating Maliv, to replace the friend I have lost.
>- I want to gobble up this city, I need more power!
As others have said. Let us pick up where we left off eons ago! However, this time WE will be master.

>>4925780
I'm a fan of
>Nothing, im happy to just watch and cause mischief
with a long term goal of
>I want to be free of this ring, to return to my true form

mostly cause like >>4925812 says it sounds fun

>>4925780
I am also fine with acting as the sidelined evil for a time, but we absolutely need to gain enough power to break free when the time feels right.
Even if that's just temporary to escape another 3,000 years of sitting in a box.

>>4925780
>- I want to be free of this ring, to return to my true form
>- I want to get as far from the tomb and empty desert as possible.
>- I want to gobble up this city, I need more power!

The Saladin is an eccentric man. As such, he wears eccentric clothing and acts in eccentric ways. By the size of his stomach, he probably eats many eccentric meals as well. In the city below, the notaslaves eat dirt to afford him this lifestyle. At the very least, they can hold their heads proudly to the sun and say that their culture is their own. Surely, this great man is beloved by his people. All the guards that stand in every corner are only here to better keep an eye on him, lest he should disappear. You feel depressed that no one can hear your comedic commentary. The reality is that it won't take you long to bring this society down, you just need to find the right thread to pull. There will be time enough for that later however, for now you just need to sort out Maliv.

As the Saladin speaks, you find that his words are understandable. He speaks the elder tongue to Maliv and Ter’Safil, albeit with an awful accent. Ter’Safil feeds Saladin the lies that were rehearsed earlier. Maliv and Safil are posing as official envoys from some third party, and wish to make a deal on this fabricated elders behalf. They tell the Saladin that they were ambushed by bandits whilst in his kingdom, and that they barely escaped with their lives. It is only when they present the man with their gold does the Saladin finally show concern for their well being and apologizes for the unruly actions of the ‘bandits’. He invites them to stay in his castle so that they may rest. When they are ready, he will listen to whatever deal they wish to make. In the immediate moment, he invites them to be wine and dinned in his royal garden.

The Saladin has his sights on more then just the gold. It has become clear to you that there is an interesting dynamic that has grown between the slave races and the ones that carry the Elder blood. To defile Maliv and ridicule Ter’Safil was a high priority to the nomads, while the Saladin wishes to be their equal and hold their attention. The humans both hate and envy them. They wish to destroy them or become them, perhaps both. Ter'Safil uses this to his advantage to manipulate the Saladin. Ter’Safil balanced treating him like a colleague while also walking on eggshells. As they speak of geography, history, and the state of the splintering elderblood nation, Safil never disagrees with the Saladin nor does he correct him when he is wrong. You had noticed that there is a discrepancy in the way humans treat their women, in their society the sexes are not equal and the Saladin extends this same courtesy to Maliv. He puts his arm around her, doesn't directly include her in the conversation, and refrains from asking her any of the important questions. Maliv accepts it all with diplomatic grace, she laughs at his jokes, pours him his wine, and places her hand on his when he compliments her. Things go smoothly, and they are accepted into his circle.

…

Ter”safil closes the door to the room provided by Saladin, and the two of them find some solitude. Almost immediately, Maliv runs to the chamber pot and starts to convulse into it. You get the impression that she is going to vomit.

“Maliv are you alright? Is it the heat?”

“I am not alright. It is not the heat. It is him, he is disgusting. I don’t want him touching me. I cannot do this Safil, I cannot do this.”

“Do what? How is this different from the other times? Did he do something?”

Maliv again starts to convulse and dry heave into the pot. Safil is oblivious, but you are not. You have rescued her nightly from her dreams and know well what haunts her.

“We have to leave, I don’t want to stay, I want to leave. Get me out of here Safil I need to get out of here. Please please.”

“And go where? This was your plan, we have no choice now but to stay.”

She is starting to get hysterical and Safil does his best to restrain her. In the small struggle he spots you dangling from around her neck.

“You are wearing the ring again..?”

“... It brings me peace. I need it, I can't sleep without it. I see them in my dreams Safil, they haunt me.”

“Perhaps it is the ring that causes...”

A fight ensues, and ultimately Maliv kicks him out. She crawls into the bed and starts to laugh, then she starts to cry.

Everyday she is forced to interact with the Saladin, and every day she wears her mask without fail. She clothes herself in the dress he gifts her, and even allows him to place a flower into her hair. Yet when she is alone the facade breaks. Sometimes she cries, sometimes she laughs, sometimes she just curls into a ball. Maliv is in great pain, and is starting to lose her mind. She was strong in the desert, but now that they have escaped she is shutting down. You wonder if the magic she cast that night had something to do with it. Ter’Safil for his part does what he can, but she has been refusing his company completely. Running her finger over your engravings seems to be the only thing that brings her peace. She does this so often, that eventually the Saladin notices you hanging around her neck. She is forced to make up an excuse for you.

On the third night of her stay, Maliv lays in bed and for a long time she stares right at you. For seemingly no reason at all, she suddenly places you onto her finger. The action takes even you by surprise. She looks at you as if she waits for you to do something. You have no idea what she wants.

“Bazelbop”

Your name is music to your ears, but why did she say it?

>what do?
- Speak?
- Give her power?
- Give her visions?
- Put her to sleep?
- Block out her bad memories?
- Give her relaxation and pleasure?
- Write in?
- Do absolutely nothing?

>>4926428
>Give her relaxation and pleasure?
Try to give her some extra confidence too

>>4926428
>Give her visions?
>Give her relaxation and pleasure?
Let's appear as the flamingo from last time, let her rest. Encourage her to wear the ring, so we may protect her weak mind from the humiliation. We don't want her to go crazy and disrupt our plans.

>>4926428
>Give her relaxation and pleasure
then
>Speak
>"Yes?"
I think she's dependent enough on us that she won't get scared from speech and throw us away.

>>4926428
>- Give her relaxation and pleasure?
>- Give her power?

Just a smidgen. We need her hooked and wearing it all the time. We slowly amp up the positivity and ecstasy until it becomes unbearable to be taken off.

I don't know if it's a good idea to directly address her outside of dreams until she's utterly hooked. She was very wary when she first understood how powerful the demon is.

Also I am determined to have her say Bazelbop threes times in front of a mirror for shenanigans.

>>4926428
Supporting this one>>4926508

>>4926522
This.
And no speech until she's addicted

>>4926436
>>4926479
>>4926508
>>4926522
I dunno guys, if she's been constantly disgusted by the Saladin's advances then is relaxation and pleasure the best way to get her hooked? Would you want to be offered a fine meal immediately after seeing mold and corruption growing on a pile of food waste?

>>4926428
>>4926634
Yeah, not a fan.
Best way we can get more influence over her is by alienating her from Ter'Safil.
So I'd propose:
>- Give her visions?
Show her images of the past (leave out all the stuff about mad sorcerers) and the former greatness of her people, how they're supposed to rule over the slave races.
Show her that Ter'Safil is obviously just a jealous fool using her for his own gain.
We gotta get this bloodbath on the road so we can't have anyone "talking sense" or "showing compassion".

>>4926479
Supporting this one.

>>4926428
it is time to become >Devilish anons

>- Give her visions?
a truth to come, and a lie to come. after all time is fluid, Oh wearer mine.

>>4926479
>+1

>>4926428
>- Give her visions?
>- Give her relaxation and pleasure?
We have to make her addicted to the ring

>>4926522
supporting this, maybe no mirror the making her say Bazelbop threes times, could be kind of hard to find out if we don't outright tell her.

>>4926634
I'm imagining it's less a fine meal and more of an escape. Think of a good smoke after a hard day at work to de-stress. Especially since she has so few other options with Safil currently banished and no other release available to her.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

Having been struggling to decide which way to turn the worm all day going to just roll for it. Higher is better for you

>>4927697
>Higher is better for you
>Rolled 10

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

>>4927697
nice

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>>4927697

>>4926428
An insane friend is not good. But we are the best friend she could ever want/need/have, never make us go away for eating fools.

That being said, my two cents is "Since we want our friend, then we should balance her needs with our desire. Promise protection and retribution she just has to keep it together"

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>>4927697

You are not really sure what to do here exactly, but you know you need to do something. Elder can be finicky, but this one's blood is impure. Part human, you can exploit that. You open up your big book of human vices, and somewhere at the top is pleasure. You will give her a little something for the mental anguish to help her relax, then give her a night to remember. You want her good and addicted to your company. To simply be indispensable is not enough.

First, you pulse several waves that relax her muscles. It’s subtle, and it takes Maliv a while to notice. Yet the moment she does, Maliv starts to feel excited. Perhaps saying your name was a guess at activating you, she may think it's some kind of magic spell. The fact that “something” is happening, reinforces her theory. Of course, saying your name once doesn't do anything. Yet maybe you can USE that in some way. If she believes that she is in control, it will be all the easier for you to take the reins. Her body is relaxed, yet her mind is alert. She brings you closer to her face and stares deep into you. She is expecting more, so you will give her more…

Her body begins to tingle as you ramp up the game, her skin starts to feel good. She doesn't know how to react to what you are doing yet, but she must certainly be enjoying it. Nothing that mortals have found to smoke or snort, can compare to how good you can make them feel when you have precise control of the chemical reactions that occur in their bodies. You fully exercise this ability on Maliv. Soon, her body moves on its own as her hips start to thrust in and out. You don’t overload her, you take it slow, you want to make her feel loved and nurtured. You are surprised to find that you are not getting the expected effect, instead it's the opposite. She starts to panic and quickly moves to remove you from her finger!

File: 11.gif (3.76 MB, 1668x1386)

3.76 MB GIF

https://youtu.be/rtL5oMyBHPs?t=225

You don't budge an inch, instead you take firm hold and refuse to be dislodged. This causes her to panic even more and frantically scratch at you. You have no idea how you are fucking this up, you can’t possible be wrong can you? You search her mind to try and find the source of her problem. She is thinking of the men that tried to rape her, and the dick she had shoved down her throat. Perhaps it was a mistake to do something that could trigger one of the main sources of her mental anguish. Yet you refuse to give up, no half measures now. You need to replace her thoughts with something else. So you fill her mind with visions, a great deal many of them. You search back through your own memories during the height of the elder civilization and play them back for her. This has a dual purpose, you are also showing what could once again be.

DC:7: Success!

The visions work like a charm as Maliv lays back and watches the slide show. This gives you the freedom to continue your work on her body. You ramp up the intensity of the sensations and she no longer resists you. Soon she loses agency of her body as her feet slide up and down the bed and her thighs rub together. Her body starts to feel so good that she can't help but flicking her own nipples and rubbing her hands all over her body. The visions are intense, and her mind is lost in the cross attack. She holds her mouth firmly shut in an attempt to hold her voice in, but with every orgasm her resistance takes a massive blow. By the third, the last vestiges of her resistance are already gone. She can already no longer muster the strength to do anything but moan as her body reacts to the extreme sensations you are administrating. Any passing servant doing their rounds would hear Maliv all too well. Should said passing servant open the door, he would see her body performing such feats that he would swear that Maliv was being railed by a ghost.

When you run out of things to show, and start to fear causing her racing heart damage, you bring the visions and “therapy” to an end. Maliv lays in bed unmoving for three minute before attempting to remove you. This time, you slip off with no problem. She places you on the centre of her chest and in between her breasts. Her body rises and falls as she breaths in through her mouth, while her sweat pools around you. She runs her slender finger around the length of your frame in little circles over and over again. All and all, despite some early hiccups, you would call this a success...


The following Day Maliv seems better, and her mental fortitude appears stronger. What really got her blood going was the visions you gave her, you know this because she actually told you. Its probably that she was just thinking out loud, but its a step in the right direction. The snag is that you don’t really remember exactly what you showed her, there was just so much time you needed to fill. You got carried away at the end there, when you made a game of how high you could make your pseudowife's back arch. Today she will approach Ter’Safil with a newfound excitement to return to the tomb. It seems the little elder has been busy while Maliv has been reclusive. He has already brokered a deal with the Saladin for twenty armed men and a hundred servants do do the digging and excavating in exchange for the gold and fifty percent of the dig’s lay. He admits that the price is steep, but since their only leverage is nothing more then a Fugayzi he accepted. He worries of the possibility that the Saladin will betray them.

“Worry not Safil, I have the ring. If they betray us I will destroy them”

He is not convinced, even though he has never seen anything like what Iop pulled off while under your control, Iop ultimately died form his wounds. He does not believe you will make Maliv invincible. She has an answer for that too, good girl.

“I have been thinking about that as well, but I have also been wounded while wearing the ring and I was healed every time. I believe the ring reacts differently to me. Maybe because I have magic, or maybe its for another reason… Either way, I trust it will keep me safe.”

The conversation takes a familiar loop as Ter’Safil once again tries to explain to Maliv the dangers. Yet this time when the conversation comes back around, She tells him of her visions from last night. Maliv now believes that the ring may be some kind of key left behind my the late mage. You were found within his tomb, so the logic must be that you are in some way important. If only She understood the full scope of the significance.

This time, Ter’Safil tries a new tactic with Maliv. He wishes her to give the ring to him in order for him to bear witness to these visions as well. She is extremely reluctant, but gives in to his demands. She moves to remove you from her neck and place you into his extended hand.

>what do?
- Shrink in size so that you cannot fit on his fingers.
- Kill him when he puts you on.
- Brutally injure him when he puts you on.
- Give him the visions too.
- Clamp down on him and refuse to be removed, but otherwise do nothing. Just to fuck with them.
- Write in

>>4928512
>- Give him the visions too.

>>4928512
>- Shrink in size so that you cannot fit on his fingers.

This guy is too clever by half. I don't trust him.

>>4928512
>Give him the visions too

>>4928512
>Do nothing until they say our name. Then show the visions.

Make it seem like voice commands are what makes us actively do shit

>>4928512
>Give him the visions too.
Abridged version. Only things that show the ancient world, nothing that could even vaguely hint at our true nature

>>4928592
Oh yes, appending that to my vote

>>4928592
Sounds good to me

>>4928512
>>4928592
>>4928610
Yeah, this combo is good. Voice Activation and only show rudimentary visions, like we're unwilling to show him anything concrete because his connection with us is sketchy at best.

>>4928512

changing my vote here>>4928524 to support these two
>>4928592
>>4928610

>>4928512
>Give him the visions too.

>>4928623
>>4928610
>>4928592
+1

>>4928592
awwwww ye we starting a cult

maybe give maliv some kinda hint such as making our name glow a bit or somethin if they don't get it reasonably soon.

>>4928512
or, alternate idea, we pleasure him too and make them think we've some kind of bizarre ancient elder sex toy.

>>4928882
Let's not... For now, at least.

>>4928882
We're trying to seem valuable to them, and a key to ancient secrets seems more valuable to me than a mind vibrator

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You are placed into Ter’Safil’s hand, and he closes his palm shut. Maliv is eager to get the ball rolling, and wishes for the two of them to retreat someplace private.

“No, not yet, tonight. There is much I still have to arrange and do. Come to my room later.

“I see… Then you will return to me the ring?”

“Actually, I was thinking that I could hold onto it until then”

He tricked her. She doesn't like it, and starts to get angry.

“You deceived me… You had no reason to take the ring if you did not want to use it right away. You told me I could trust you, and you would not take the ring from me. You said you weren't a thief!”

His tone becomes harsh, a far cry from the cowering fool in the tomb. Yet you do not sense trickery, it is your opinion that he is simply a coward at heart who is now in a position of power. Against an enemy he does not fear, his wit is sharp, but give Maliv a sword and his stoicism will collapse..

“I believe the arrangement we made was that anything we found would be split evenly by the company. I have the same right to this ring as you.”

She tries to pull his hand apart and take you back by force, but he is quite agile and breaks out of her hold. Maliv is no longer getting mad, but instead she gets emotional.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Isn't it obvious?”

His sternness melts away.

“I'm worried about you. You are acting strangely, you will not talk to me, you haven't been yourself, and this ring addiction is bizarre.”

“How can I be myself Safil? After all that we had gone through? You said it many times: ‘my heart is human’... I cannot be like you, and overcome events so quickly ”

“That is why you should take a break from holding the ring. Get control of your own senses, I will return it to you tonight I promise.”

“But Safil… I do not trust these people, and the ring keeps us safe. If you are forced to wear it you will end up like Iop! In my hands, it can save us both. Can’t you at least see the wisdom in that? I do not wish to be at the mercy of these… slaves again. I'm not addicted to the ring, I just don’t feel safe without it.”

Ultimately, you guessed Ter’Safil’s nature correctly. In his soul, he is a coward. Once Maliv played that card his defeat was assured. Fearing that Maliv could be right, and that danger could be near, he returns the ring to her.

“Fine, just promise me you will be careful.”

As you return into Maliv’s hands, she is overcome by glee and embraces her companion.

“Thank you Safil, It's an honour to be worthy of your trust.”

You laugh at her naivety, another trait that needs ironing out. She values her companion too much, his fear returned the ring not his trust. So much that needs to be done to fix this woman, its starting to get irritating. Yet you remember that you were not so easy yourself, master was always patient as you grew. He was always so good to you… Until he wasn't

…

That night, Maliv and Ter’Safil’s meet up to test the ring. She warns him that as the visions start the ring will clamp down on his finger and will not wish to be removed. She has brought a knife in case things go awry. She also tries to warn him about… Other sensations, but refuses to be specific. You let yourself be placed onto his hand, and Maliv instructs him to speak the magic words.

“Bazelbop”

She said it once, just once.

He looks at the ring, and repeats the mantra.

“Bazelbop”

Now he said it, only once, but thats twice. They wait, and you wait.

“Is it supposed to take this long?”

Well, you suppose you should do something. You give him the muscle relaxant and soon after even a few select visions. The whole thing lasts about five minutes, as you give him the abridged version of things. You want his experience to be much milder, It is your plan to strengthen Maliv’s beliefs that you are truly meant to be wielded by her and her alone. You consider giving him a little pleasure too, but discard the thought as soon as it enters your brain. You barely know this Elder after all, you are just not the type. When he returns to the world, and takes off the ring, Maliv puts away the knife she had prepared.

“So, did you uh… Feel anything?”

“I feel relaxed, I saw the visions. Yet it was nothing like you described.”

“Thats it? Just the visions then?”

“Yes, I didn't feel any pain.”

“No, I want asking about pain… Aaah forget it.”

In three days time, the two will once again depart for the Tomb of your dear old friend. You start to wonder just how good of an idea it is. What if your old enemy left more than just his corpse and your wonderful self in that tomb? What if he left a warning for someone who finds you? Perhaps now is the time to act. Truth be told, you don’t really want to go back to the place you spent three thousand years anyway.

>What do? You have three days.
- Whisper to the Saladin and visit the dreams of the people bellow. You hope Maliv is mentally ready for whats about to come.
- Send visions to Maliv about where to find one of laso’tep’s hidden labs instead. Although you don't really know what will be found there either.
- Whisper to one of the servants and have them steal you away, make Maliv come searching for you.
- You are overreacting, just sit back and enjoy the show. There is gold in the tomb and with it Maliv will be rich.
- Write in.

>>4929103
>Whisper to the Saladin and visit the dreams of the people bellow. You hope Maliv is mentally ready for whats about to come.

>>4929103
Send Ter'Safil intense dreams of Maliv, make him desire her. She clearly hates unwanted advances. Hopefully, he'll be overcome by the time we get to the tomb and he'll try to have his way with her.

>>4929137
Just as an explanation: the goal here is to break her trust in him and hopefully make her kill him

>>4929103
>You are overreacting, just sit back and enjoy the show. There is gold in the tomb and with it Maliv will be rich.

>>4929103
>- Send visions to Maliv about where to find one of laso’tep’s hidden labs instead. Although you don't really know what will be found there either.
I actually find this to be the most compelling option. It diverts their destination from the most likely location for warnings about us to be...but it will also shed light on some of the mysteries of what our Master got up to after we were sealed but before he died.

>>4929103
>Send visions to Maliv about where to find one of laso’tep’s hidden labs instead. Although you don't really know what will be found there either.

>>4929103
This might be a long shot, but can we use our influence during these three days to agitate the lower classes of the city? Since the consensus was that we'd like to consume all the souls living here to grow stronger, planting seeds of unrest that we can let grow whilst we're away sounds like a good idea.

We don't have to spawn a rebellion right now, but leaving heightened resentment in the worse-off to ferment while we go for a trip to the tomb and back could give us a powderkeg ready to blow on our return.

As for Ter-Safil, we shouldn't invite ourselves into his mind without permission for now. Maliv is already using us as a pillar to support herself, so visiting her shouldn't arouse suspicion. Ter-Safil however is dangerous in the sense that he suspects us to be a cursed ring, and trying to influence him could potentially backfire and have him attempt to get rid of us by force. This can end in two ways:

1: Maliv kills Ter-Safil to keep the ring
2: Ter-Safil convinces Maliv to part with the ring completely

And while Maliv is ultimately starting to rely more on us, I won't put it past her to value her companionship with Ter-Safil as the greater of the two. We can't really aggitate her towards killing him either, that could snap her mind back to what happened at the tomb with her Warrior Companion. It has the potential to break the illusion we've built so far of us being a good little ring that just want to protect and comfort her.

While I agree that we need remove Ter-Safil from the picture, or at least break their shared trust like >>4929147 suggests, having her kill him over us is bound to cause some negative consequences. I'd rather prefer that he die either during the return trip to the Tomb or during the slaughter of Saladi-Autep, it would make it seem more 'organic,' so to speak, and less like it was planned by us. If he dies by a third party we can really sell the "We're the only one you have left"-angle and ensnare Maliv completely to our will.

>>4929103
>- You are overreacting, just sit back and enjoy the show. There is gold in the tomb and with it Maliv will be rich.
But if we CAN stir up general societal unrest as the anon before me suggested, that's cool too.

>>4929272
Sure.
We just want to keep our little elf reliant on us, But lets not rush any harm. Maybe warn her that Ter-safil is a coward, not a trusted friend

But other than that, it's time to start spreading some seeds. Plant them in servants, in the populace and make the sultan desire to start taxing the people more.

>>4929103
- Whisper to the Saladin and visit the dreams of the people bellow. You hope Maliv is mentally ready for whats about to come.

We have an entire city ready for soul eating and turning her into the perfect vessel, why risk danger and time going to these places. Who cares if Safil gets angry, better to just kill him, we've already seen he is only trouble and may be planning to bury the ring once he's in a place of security. Once she has literally no one else to turn to we will be much more secure

>>4929574
>>4929321
I support convincing the Saladin to turn his greed and elitism to proper tyranny.

>>4929137
>>4929260
I do think that Ter'Safil ought to kark it soon, but I don't think turning him into a rapist would be the best way to go about it. Ideally, we would somehow manipulate events such that Ter'Safil betrays Maliv out of fear, showing her exactly what her traveling companion is like.

Maybe we can get the Saladin to give Ter'Safil a choice between selling Maliv as a concubine and getting chopped up by his palace guards. If it's not feasible, we might run into a better opportunity for second-hand betrayal later.

no update today, my eyes are bleeding from playing path of exile all day.

>>4930363
Hey, a new-league lad!

You have a few ideas, so you take some extra time off to ponder them… Yet ultimately, you decide it's best to just let Maliv move along at her own pace. Your ward was willing to channel that void essence in order to attempt executing her rapists, so maybe some time around Laso’tep’s final resting place will nudge her deeper in that direction. She clearly has a deep interest in the ancient sorcerer, it would do you good to nurture that. So instead of getting in her way, you decide to instead focus on other matters while she focuses on hers. The destruction of this city has been on your mind since you arrived, and its time to put things into motion.

Having absorbed a good thirty three fresh man souls, and one prime elder soul, your strength has grown. Your influence can reach further, and you use that to your advantage. As Maliv makes her rounds, and is forced to amuse the Saladin, you take the opportunity to whisper into his mind. Its not the only home invasion you make however, as the minds of his soldiers and advisors are burgled as well. You whisper insecurities into him, and jealousy into his men.

“What had he done to deserve his rulership? Perhaps someone younger and stronger should take his place…”

It is not enough however to simply taint the minds of the palace denizens. Assassination and intrigue are commonplace in such an environment, adding a drop of poison into muddy water can only get you so far. The comparison insults the effectiveness of your lies and weaving, yet it gets the point across all the same. The real instigators must be the people below, the obsessed and hungry must rise up. Yet how do you reach them? As of now, they are beyond the scope of your range. Even if Maliv could be convinced to walk among the streets, it wouldn't be near long enough to get quality work done. No, the only option left is the common people that you can reach; the servants. Many of them come to work in the palace, yet live in the squalor below. They will be your harbingers, you just need to sneak the right message into their minds and they will take it to their comrades in the street…

-

When the day of departure arrives, and you have done all you can to weaken the foundations of the city, you decide to do something for your favourite ring bearer. When she awakens in the morning, she is greeted by three birds of paradise. One blue, another red, and the third green. You searched out their meagre souls and called them here to help Maliv discoverer the subtext.

She takes breakfast with Ter’Safil, an elder you are really starting to become annoyed with. You would have him killed if not for the close connection he shares with your soon to be wife. To dispose of him so freely would surely draw an intelligent girl like Maliv’s suspicions right to you. So you had hatched a small plan, yet you are unsure if you should act on it or not. After all, it could backfire so spectacularly. You have been thinking of invading his dreams, in order to trick him into making a move on Maliv. Even an innocent rejection could cause an awkwardness to build and shatter their relationship, and if he is overzealous the damage could be catastrophic. Yet... What if it works? What if she accepts him? What if their relationship grows stronger? Then you would HAVE to murder him just for the accidental insult he would commit for successfully seducing your property.

>Saw this write in, and it seemed to get some traction so I thought we should vote on it.
.
- Yes, let's try to have Ter’Safil attempt to romance Maliv in an attempt to split them apart.
- No, there are too many unaccounted variables. We will find another way.
-write in

>>4930374
YES! Don't worry, my character will be dead soon and I will return to updating more frequently

>>4931419
>No
There's no reason for us to do this. Ter'Safil's cowardly nature will break their relationship at some point without us even needing to intervene, and when Maliv eventually asks us if we had a hand in whatever goes down being able to answer honestly that we didn't manipulate him whatsoever will be valuable.

>>4931419
>- Yes, let's try to have Ter’Safil attempt to romance Maliv in an attempt to split them apart.

I'm not convinced it will work, but alright. If we were the sort of demon who were very risk-averse in regards to being cucked with our pseudo-wife, we probably wouldn't have sicced a bunch of horny bandits on her earlier. Worst case scenario, we kill Ter'Safil off later, and the loss of a lover pushes Maliv deeper into despair and darkness.

>>4931438
Though alternatively, if someone has a good write-in for a way to drive a wedge between them more immediately, I'll go that route.

>>4931417
Go for
>Maybe we can get the Saladin to give Ter'Safil a choice between selling Maliv as a concubine and getting chopped up by his palace guards
Instead

>>4931419

>>4931475
If we can swing this, I'll change my vote from >>4931438
to >>4931475

Exposes his cowardice, drives a wedge, and doesn't result in our "wife" being sullied further,

>>4931475
I think this could work.

Drive him a desire to possess her, then have the subtle idea to threaten Ter'safil if he objects.

>>4931419
>No, there are too many unaccounted variables. We will find another way.
>>4931475
supporting this if possible

>>4931475
supporting this

>>4931419
>- No, there are too many unaccounted variables. We will find another way.
While there is a good chance she will reject, it may inadvertently make their relationship stronger. Better for him to suffer an accident or a knife in the back from a greedy retainer or paranoid Saladin.

>>4931419
>No, there are too many unaccounted variables. We will find another way.
>Maybe we can get the Saladin to give Ter'Safil a choice between selling Maliv as a concubine and getting chopped up by his palace guards

>>4931419
>No, there are too many unaccounted variables. We will find another way
I'm pretty sure that guy's gay anyways

No, no, no, there are too many variables. As it stands, it's just not a good plan. You have considered “other approaches” to dealing with your current predicament, but simply don’t have the time to execute them. Perhaps when you return to the city at a later date, and things have become more amicable to your position, you can bring in the Saladin to solve your problem. For now, you just let sleeping scorpions lie.

Maliv does not inspect the servants, nor the men that will be accompanying her. She leaves all this in the hands of Ter’Safil. Perhaps because she can’t stand to spend anymore time with the humans, or perhaps she simply doesn't know anything on the matter of troop inspection. Perhaps it’s a little of both. She does however, inspect the captain who commends the men when the two of them are introduced. Prince Adib, third and youngest son of the Saladin will be entrusted with making safe his fathers property and interests on this venture. You didn't know he had a son, much less three. All these humans blend together. Although their features vary greatly, when compared to the androgynous faces of the elder, it is their souls you first look too when trying to distinguish mortals apart. This one is in his twenties. In a land where even the women seem to have beards, Adibs most noticeable feature is his lack of. He is the first human male you have seen in this land to shave properly. Maliv does her best to end the conversation as soon as she is able, but you get the sense that Adib does his best to prolong it.

On the journey, Adib will take great interest in both the elder. He will ask Ter’Safil to talk to him about the distant lands he has visited and the wonders he has witnessed. As for Maliv, he will ask her nothing, because she does all she can to avoid him. In fact, she does her best to dodge all contact with the humans that now swarm around her. Even going so far as to refuse servants. Adib will not take the hint however. On the third day, as the caravan moves through the desert, he will make another attempt at conversation. He rides his camel forward to meet with Maliv’s and intrudes on her solitude. He presents her with a small token, a crystal cluster of gypsum and sand particles. A rock basically, you are surprised to see Maliv take interest in it.

“I found this just yesterday hidden in the sand, it reminded me of you and I thought you should have it. A souvenir of your time in the desert”

“It reminded you of me? What are the qualities that I share with this crystal exactly?”

“Hmmm, much like this desert rose you are beautiful and fragile. Yet you are also cold and jagged. Most importantly, this formation is unique and there are no others like it. Much like yourself. To tell you the truth, I am making this up as I go. I was simply hoping that I could use it to buy a conversation with you.”

After examining it, she takes the token from him and places it in her bag.

“I will give you three minutes, make the best of it.”

Make the best of it he does, the man is capable of extremely efficient conversation and manages to overcome the handicap. Worse yet, you can feel that he is slowly succeeding in scaling the wall Maliv has put around herself. Sooner or later, he will succeed at befriending her, it is inevitable. Maliv has a trusting nature, and it shines through despite everything.

There are so many humans running around that you stopped keeping track of them all. So even you are surprised when you hear Adib inform the two elder that the caravan is being followed by some curious nomads. He doesn't think they will try anything, yet Maliv is not convinced. So he conscripts twenty of the strongest men he can find to serve as additional guards in order to satisfy her concerns.

>what do on the journey
- Spend more time with Maliv in her dreams.
- Try to draw in more Nomads, if they gather in mass things could get interesting.
- Cause Adib nightmares..
- Do nothing, you will wait and see what is found in the tomb and how things play out.
- write in

My path of exile character is dead so the quest should now resume as normal.

I'm catching up.

>>4934791
>Spend more time with Maliv in her dreams

>>4934791
>Spend more time with Maliv in her dreams.

>>4934791
I think we should try to scan Adib for weaknesses before we make any moves on him. Can we probe his soul for vices or moral faults like Tel'Safil's cowardice? We already know that Adib is a bit pushy and can't take a hint.

>>4934791
>Spend time in her dreams
>Scan Adib for faults and weaknesses

Trying to steal MY FRIEND?! His intentions must be black and vile. Less vile than ours, but she is our friend!

>>4934791
>>4934842
I'll support this.

>>4934842
Support

>>4934791
>>4934842
supporting this along with
>- Spend more time with Maliv in her dreams.

>>4934791
>Spend time in her dreams
>Scan Adib for faults and weaknesses

>>4934842
+1

Rolled 9 (1d10)

Instead of focusing on the little people skulking around, you decide to spend your time and energy on your ward. It is imperative that you take the time to probe deeper into her mind, and there is no safer way to do it than by invading her dreams. Maliv still suffers from nightmares nightly, but your interventions have kept her in good mental condition. However, at some point she is going to have to confront these demons herself. Or will she? Isn't it for the best that she remains reliant on you? You feel that maybe you are starting to lose sight of what is important here. If the goal is to escape the ring and feed on soul, how does nurturing this elder to health help you? Why are you finding yourself concerned with the well being of your little ring bearer? Perhaps you have lost some of your sanity in the three hundred years you have squatted in a lonely empty tomb. Is it that she reminds you so much of the master? Or perhaps you are just trying to even things out with your saviour? Perhaps you need to spend some time later reflecting. For the time being however, you are going to do what feels right to you.

As Maliv lays her head down to sleep, you begin preparations for surgery. You have been thinking deeply as of late about her abilities as a commander of the mystic. Truth be told you have actually seen her produce very little magic in your time together. She does not carve runes nor does she read books. You admit that she may not be in the position to practice her craft without a lab, and her time has been preoccupied with surviving and recovering. You would very much like to see her continue more in this direction however, as a bearer that can wield the astral substance you are composed of would be a useful tool indeed. Perhaps an alternative way out of this form can be found? Your former colleague helped you greatly in this matter while he was still alive. So following that thought process, you decide to pry into her past by manipulating her dreams in order to reveal information to you concerning her education. Yet something is off today, Maliv is not as receptive to your probing.

As you lay in the oasis, still using the same strategy of appearing as her mirrored twin, you start to ask her about her magic. She does not seem to want to answer you, and asking about her magic seems to cause a change in her. Once you start trying to brute force the issue, she turns to you and with her big blue eyes asks.

“Is this a dream? Am I dreaming?”

It takes a measure of control to keep her asleep as the foundations of the dream start to unravel.

“Did you bring me here?”

In both the dream world and the waking world she rubs her finger, the same spot that you at times occupy. She is working things out, even while dreaming. Of course, she has had many visits from you since you started entering her dreams and she has had a long time in the waking world to reflect on it. Yet this is still a dream, how lucid she can be strengthens and wanes.


”You brought me here. You brought yourself to save yourself from yourself. You wish to find yourself, so I ask you of yourself. Will you answer the questions?”

DC:8,9,10. Mid success

“Ask what you will”

The walls of the dream stop their quaking. She rests her head on your thighs, and you pull her mind deeper into the dream.

“Why do you practice magic?”

“To be worthy of my ancestors name and house, to return it to glory.”

”How deep is your understanding? How strong is your control?”

“It is weak, but I will learn. Despite everything.”

”What do you know of the void?”

“Its not to be feared, it can be controlled. It was once, and it can be again.”

”Do you worship at the alter of Laso’tep?”

“I do...”

You feel there is more, but you cannot find the right angle of assault. You ask more questions and learn that she was not afforded proper instruction. Soiled blood, not given a Elder name, not given an Elder’s respect. None would take her as an acolyte, and she had not the money for a tutor. Most of her learning is self though. She has the gift, but it is not nurtured.

>what do?
- Maliv is starting to realize how unnatural her dreams are, perhaps its best to stop making direct contact before she guesses at your sentience.
- Instruct Maliv in void magic during her dreams. You know the void in and out, after all it is the substance you are made of.
- Don’t teach her anything yet, stay the course for now and focus on trying to find out what she is hiding.
- Write in

Can we probe his soul for vices or moral faults like Tel'Safil's cowardice?

You saw Tel'Safil's cowardice first hand. You cant "scan" Adib on such a detailed level outright, you need more time and interaction to build a profile. Human souls are dimer then elder souls, and harder to read. But they are at the same time much more susceptible to your machinations.

>>4936064
>spend a few nights hiding your trails. change your appearance, the circumstances, don't ask direct questions

>>4936085
>+1

>>4936071
Supporting this >>4936085
Also the reason I want Maliv around is to be a witness to the carnage, after all what use is destroying a city if there is no one to know we did it

>>4936085
I can support that.
But also
>Offer to teach her in her dreams, in exchange for further trust

>>4936064
Instruct Maliv in void magic during her dreams. You know the void in and out, after all it is the substance you are made of.

>>4936085
>>4936212
>>4936170

To what purpose? If we change our appearance and such immediately after she questions the dreams it just makes it painfully obvious that we were the one doing it, and got nervous.

>Instruct Maliv in void magic during her dreams. You know the void in and out, after all it is the substance you are made of.
However she has to answer our questions for each lesson she receives.

>>4936064

>>4936321
I support this approach.

>- Instruct Maliv in void magic during her dreams. You know the void in and out, after all it is the substance you are made of.
>-Make her pay for the lessons with answered questions

>>4936321
I'll support this approach as well. Making the dreams inconsistent seems like it would be easy to see through as a transparent attempt to hide the fact that we are responsible for her dreams.

>>4936387
>>4936369
>>4936321
>>4936246
>>4936219
>let's teach a person who doesn't trust us and suspects foul play the one thing that can kill us
Great plan

>>4936934
The goddamn ancient supreme sorcerer couldn't fucking kill us, he could stuff us in a ring at best, and you think this pissant half-elf can do anything?

>>4936934
>The inept, untrained, mentally scarred and weak of will woman who will break into a billion pieces as soon as we are not there to hold her together and damn well knows it, as well as fainting with brain damage after casting a spell, is going to kill us somehow. Us, the ancient demon of power.

No way

>>4936937
Couldn't or wouldn't?

>>4936945
Oh, hum, lemme see here now.

>>4921262
>Yet try as he may, the sorcerer supreme could not destroy you. Again and again he would tear you apart, but you had lived since the dawn of existence as nothing, it's a shape that you had mastered. He could not unstain the fabric of the world, what he brought forth will never be gone. So in a last desperate bid he weaved you a new body. With the last of his strength, he twisted and collapsed your mighty undulating mass, until you were in the form of a simple wedding band. However, not even he could fully contain you essence, upon the golden ring a single word appeared:

>>4936948
Yeah, don't forget that the narrator is supposed to be unreliable

>>4937268
That's pretty flimsy man.

>>4937268
We ARE a primordial being and we DO apparently remember multiple attempts to destroy us.

Besides which, making a choice as the character on the basis of things the character clearly does not know or believe is metagaming--ie., if Bazelbop believes he is unkillable even by a great mage because HE'S the unreliable narrator in question, why fear Maliv all of a sudden?

>>4937414
Well it's equally in-character to become paranoid after something like that. Besides, even if she couldn't kill us she could still discard and hide us somewhere. There's plenty of reasons it might happen if we chose to go that route, it's just not a very well supported route to pick.

>>4937428
I want a strong pattner in crime, beholden to us, who can shape us a proper body and remind us of the good old days.

>>4937470
...Well I guess Maliv's the best candidate we've encountered yet for such a goal, even if she's a piss poor candidate for it on an absolute scale and we both know it.

It was a tie, so I picked the option that would move the story along.

You decide to take it on yourself to tutor the young woman yourself. If she is going to be a fitting replacement for your great frienemy, she needs to act the part. Yet what should be done? Teaching is harder to do than you first imagined. Additionally, the creation of the proper tools mortals need to safely harness the astral void are far too complex a process to be done here in the desert. After some thinking, you decide that you will have her build something simple and at the same time useful. A rune totem to harness astral energy, you yourself will be the catalyst. The creation of this structure has triple intent. First, you will test her ability to actually follow your instruction. Second, it will strengthen Maliv’s fondness for you as her desires for magic start to manifest. Third, you will have yourself a structure to draw energy from, this will help you come closer to your goal of escape.

So, while she sleeps, you change the way you have been handling her dreams. Instead of confronting her directly, you overwhelm her mind with visions of the structure you wish her to create. Over and over you bombard her with images from every angle. You know that at her current level, she will understand that the rune is of magical nature. However, she is far too much of a novice to understand what it actually does.

On the first morning that she wakes up from her new dreams, she immediately attempts to draw the structure. It is a distorted and inaccurate recreation. So the next night you send the visions again, and in the morning she again tries to draw what she has seen. This time it's better, much better. Yet you will still need many more nights until she can properly replicate it. In an unforeseen break of established routine, Maliv will confront her companion about her dreams after only the second night. She will not just tell, and show, him about what you have been sending her, but she will discuss with him all the dreams she has been having. At first you start to grow wary, perhaps you are on the cusp of being undone. Yet it soon starts to seem that your previous manipulations are bearing fruit even now.

“Its much like the visions I have seen when I wore the ring and spoke the words. It's very vivid and clear for the first hour, then I lose it. My theory is that the ring has been sending me visions all this time. I was using the ring because it gave me respite from the nightmares I have been having, but now I think perhaps that is an unintended residual effect of the dream visions.”

“For what purpose is the ring doing this?”

“I have a theory for that as well...”

She seems rather happy.

“Laso’tep didn't have any apprentices right? Perhaps this ring was something he left behind, something that could impart his knowledge to the next generation! He died in a very turbulent time, it is quite possible that the rings existence faded with the location of the tomb and that...”

“Maliv you are fantasizing again, next you will tell me you hope this ‘device’ will bring back the mage from the dead so he can personally tutor you.”

Maliv sinks in the face of his disapproval. He continues on

“Look, you don’t know what this thing you are seeing in your visions is. Perhaps he did leave something behind, perhaps he really did have the best intentions. But he lived in a time of high magic, he can’t possibly know how uneducated we would become on such matters. For all you know this thing will explode unless handled correctly. All this could so easily end in a bad way.”

Maliv’s head sinks down until her forehead lays flat on the table. Seeing that he has depressed her, Ter’Safil reaches out to pat her on the head. Yet at the last minute he seems to change his mind and withdraws his hand.

“Look, you still have the ring. You will still have it when this is all over too, whatever it wants you to build isn't going anywhere. With the gold we collect from this tomb, you will have enough money to pay for whatever tutors you desire. Then, when you have the proper knowledge, you can take the next step. Maliv you may not have the lifespan of a pureblood but you will still live for hundreds of years. You will have time for everything under the sun.”

Some hope comes back to her face.

“Thank you Safil, perhaps I am over eager for something good to happen to me.”

Despite his warnings and advice, Maliv will start preparations for building the structure in her visions. You can sense great hesitation in her however.

>what do?
- Intensify your effort to have her build the eldritch battery.
- After she has a perfect idea of what this thing needs to look like, stop visiting her dreams
- Continue the visions, but let her choose what to do.
- write in

>>4937527
>Continue the visions, but let her choose what to do.

>>4937527
>Continue the visions, but leave it to her

If she follows through, then the reward will be many fold. If she doesn't. . well that's jsut disappointing.

>>4937527
>Intensify your effort to have her build the eldritch battery.
Provide clarity, perhaps break it down into smaller easier to digest chunks.

>>4937527
>Continue the visions, but let her choose what to do.

>>4937527
>- After she has a perfect idea of what this thing needs to look like, stop visiting her dreams
If we do this then we will make her think that she must progress to this step in order to receive further instruction. This will make it so that her motivation to complete the task is NOT overeagerness, but rather to discover the secrets of ancient high magic that even the finest tutors gold can buy in this age won't be able to achieve.

>>4937527
>- Continue the visions, but let her choose what to do.

>>4937527
>- After she has a perfect idea of what this thing needs to look like, stop visiting her dreams

>>4937527
> After she has a perfect idea of what this thing needs to look like, stop visiting her dreams

>>4937527
- Intensify your effort to have her build the eldritch battery.

>>4937527
>- After she has a perfect idea of what this thing needs to look like, stop visiting her dreams

>>4937527
> After she has a perfect idea of what this thing needs to look like, stop visiting her dreams

Finally, the caravan reaches its destination. The tomb of Leso’tep lays before you, almost completely buried by the dry sea. It took them longer than expected to return here, you almost thought they wouldn't be able to find it again. Yet it was Ter’Safil and his starcharting that ultimately made it possible for them to come back. At first you were not excited to be making this ‘homecoming’ so soon after you had escaped, but now you think of it as an opportunity. What else did your former master leave with him? Stuffed in a magic box and in the form of a ring you were not really able to see much of the place. Maybe he left you a letter or something to explain his actions...

On the ring bearers end, things have gotten complex for her. When Maliv and Ter’Safil lied to the Saladin in order to secure his support, they had also inadvertently made things difficult for themselves. They must pretend now to have never been here. As such, even though they are aware of the insect creatures they are nesting in the tomb, they are unable to warn the humans. You expected Ter’Safil to explain this to Maliv, but you didn't expect Maliv to agree and allow the humans to be ambushed. One the first night, ten men lost their lives as one of these monsters came right up from the sand. It was a grisly display of carnage, one that you hoped would repeat itself. Unfortunately, Adib decided that they will pack up and make camp about an hour's walk away from the site to avoid another incident. So every morning, the routine is the same. Maliv will wake up, eat breakfast with Ter’Safil, and now also Adib. Then, they will set out to the work site where the humans will toil away at excavating the tomb from the sands. The guards do their job and dispatch any of these creatures that start to tunnel their way back up. Its a slow, dull process. The only one who seem to be enjoying himself is Ter’Safil, who examines every unearthed antiquity with great interest.

So, one may ask themselves, why hasn't Maliv just placed you on her finger and entered the tomb? The answer is simple. As part of your plan to have Maliv build you a personal generator, you have been pretending to lose power. You have been visiting her dreams with a lessening intensity, and with that action her nightmares are returning. She has even gone so far as to wear you at all times around her finger in hopes of increasing her connection. She tests the strength you give her as well, but in accordance with your sleight you have been giving her less and less power too. Now, on these last nights, you will send her new visions. A completed battery, you resting on top regrowing in strength, and placed beneath the stars.

File: E7FdNT6WUAUBdH3.png (867 KB, 2292x699)

867 KB PNG

On the sixth day of the dig, and after two days of heavily reduced sleep, Maliv will build your battery. You are impressed by Maliv’s ingenuity, you had worried that the task was in many ways too complex. Carving a rune out of stone or wood is an art unto itself, and where is she supposed to find the materials exactly? You are in the middle of a desert after all. The small details of things can at times slip your mind when you chase after the bigger picture. Yet she manages it in a way you never expected. Maliv uses the last of her papyrus to build a stack of runes that will, when channelled, rise the eldritch sculpture out of the sands in one complete piece. Earth magic, seen as little more than druid tricks in your time. The caster pulls power from the sleeping giant under his feet, and that power is given freely to any who have the gift. It's easy, it's abundant, and it's safe. You wonder if this spell is of Maliv’s own making, or have wizards simply become more inventive during your absence. Perhaps they have to be, now that the true arcane mage is in many ways lost to them.

On the first two attempts her spell fails, and the statue crumbles back into sand. Yet on the third attempt, and after two revisions, her spell succeeds. She places her stack of papyrus down in front of her and channels the earth into herself then into the paper. Soon the totem rises from the sand beneath the paper as if pulled directly out of her dreams. When it is completely out, the sand starts to harden until it has the same density of the desert rose Adib gifted her. Perhaps that's where she got the idea to use sand. Either way, your girl came through. The only thing now is she has to place you on top of the structure so you can activate it. She eyeballs it in a way that makes you wonder if you're about to lose your apprentice. You hope she isn't dumb enough to free hand try and triggering the thing herself, it is a conduit for void magic after all. She then puts her hand on top of the battery and you have a small panic...

>What do?
- Nothing, you trust she will follow your instructions.
- Whisper to Maliv: have her admit to Ter’Safil that she made the totem. It's the safe way to make her not do something rash.
- Directly contact her and tell her NOT to try it
- Let her explode.
- Write in

>>4940072
>Nothing, you trust she will follow your instructions.

>>4940072
>Write in
>Send her a 'panicked' warning that she shouldn't. It doesn't need to be delivered in words, just a feeble sensation of distress for just a few moments will hopefully get the point across.

The Little Ring doesn't want it's bearer to incinerate herself on things she doesn't fully understand yet, no siree! She's been trying to strengthen her bond with us all these days, so hopefully she'll heed us if we send her a signal. To play the illusion that we're growing weak out even further, after we've sent her the sensation of distress we should lower the power we grant her slightly, but noticably, to hammer home that we're running out of energy. With any luck she'll take the hint then and place us on the Totem.

>>4940072
>- Directly contact her and tell her NOT to try it

>>4940179
That sounds good.

>>4940072
>Nothing, you trust she will follow your instructions.

>>4940179
>+1

>>4940072
>>4940179
Supporting.

>>4940072
>Directly contact her and tell her NOT to try it

>>4940179
Good idea my man. It does tip our sentience though

>>4940441
Maybe this is just me, but I feel we've already made it clear that we have some sort of sentience to us when we decided to give Maliv special treatment over Ter-Safil. Had we been just a normal magic ring we probably wouldn't be so picky with our users and just give everyone who wear us the good stuff.

>>4940474
Well, she DOES have the gift of magic, which he does not.

I ill modify my vote ( >>4940181 ) to >>4940179, though. She's going to learn of our intelligence eventually. Might as well be under circumstances which also imply we care for her.

>>4940179
This sounds like a solid plan, though im not sure how much longer we should keep hidden from Maliv

>>4940814
I think that keeping our actual monstrous/demonic nature hidden should be maintained for quite a while. Keeping our sentience hidden is probably out of the bag already.

Fearing that she may injure herself, you immediately send a warning to her mind as if she was touching fire. Maliv instinctively withdraws her hand, but soon after becomes confused at the occurrence. She attempts to replicate the effect by moving her hand closer to the totem then away, and you modulate the distressed sensation of burning in turn. It doesn't take her long to realize you are the source. She removes you from her hand to test her theory, and when you are no longer able to warn her of impending doom she places her hand firmly on the totem. She has a sharp mind, and has come to realize much of what she cant explain could possibly be accredited to you.

You are happy to find that she doesn't channel the astral plane into it, at least not yet. She does however run her hands all over the structure. Ah, you get it now, she doesn't know how to turn it on. That makes sense, totems cannot activate themselves. You sent her a vision that you should be placed on top, but that doesn't mean she should assume you will activate it on your own. After being unable to decipher the runes, she will make several attempts to put you up and around the totem, sometimes with you on her finger and sometimes with you off in order to test your connectivity. She even places you on top of it, but in full glare of the angry sun god the connection to the astral realm is too weak.

After a good two hours, Maliv is stumped. She sits and jots down the many exterior and interior runes on the totem's body, it seems she is able to understand that the totem draws something in and funnels it back out with more concentrated force but not much else. She understands that you interact with the totem in some way, and that it should happen at night, but she doesn't understand how to activate the totem, what it does, or if she should brute force it. It was an oversight on your part, because she is absolutely right. Without the sorcerer component, the totem is nothing more than a statue. In this case however, you are the sorcerer. You are sure however, that Maliv will eventually follow instruction and place you on the alter under the night sky. What you don’t know however, is if she will attempt activating the totem herself before you get a chance to do your magic. She has played with the void energy before, and got out relatively unscathed, so she may feel confident enough to try it again. Especially since she may be trying to imitate Leso’tep, just without actually knowing or understanding his methods in the slightest.

>Your plan to simply warn her has failed, because the danger to Maliv is still very real. What do?
>What do?
- Nothing, gamble that she will follow your instructions before trying to activate the totem.
- Whisper to Maliv: have her admit to Ter’Safil that she made the totem. It's the safe way to make her not do something rash.
- Directly contact her
- Let her explode.
- Write in

Actually, no write ins. I have fallen behind where I planned this quest to be at by now so we need to hustle a bit.

>>4942063
>Gamble

if she does it anyway, then she frankly deserves to be blown up.

>>4942073
I concur.

>>4942064
So in this instance you should've just interpreted our intent as one of the options you'd anticipated. We only described giving her a sense of distress as she approached the totem, and you handled that aspect really well in your post. You should've taken it a step further and just written it as us doing that and then her going along with whatever her natural proclivities are (until the next major story beat) after she removed us.

>>4942073
agreed, what's the worse that could happen?

>>4942063
>- Nothing, gamble that she will follow your instructions before trying to activate the totem.

>>4942063
I guess I'll go against the grain and vote to tell her what to do directly.

If it is a matter of her being arrogant, then well, you reap what you sow. However if it is a matter of her being ignorant to the dangers and the relative hills and valleys of danger that certain practices of void magic possess, then I'd rather not gamble.

She did well with the creative paper rune stack, I don't want to waste all our time spent and progress made by having her explode.

Plus she already suspects us of talking to her in her dreams and giving her sensations and explicit instructions by now anyways.

>Directly contact her

>>4942063
>Nothing, gamble that she will follow your instructions before trying to activate the totem.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4942520
Welp...GG no re

She's a goner.

>>4942523
If she lives, hopefully she'll learn a valuable lesson about not heeding us.

QM come back

Bump :'(

Alas, forsooth.

A tragic loss. Yet another one bites the dust.

;-; QM you still there

>>4951001
>>4950342
>>4948284
>>4947625
>>4947545
>>4947499
It was a pleasure knowing you guys