Fantasy Horrors of the Red Cathexus! (Main Thread!)

[Karcen]

As event's unfolded the darkness moved and shifted, ripples flowed through it as if darkness had been given a fluid form. In the bones the liquid darkness moved from floor to ceiling stretching and seeming almost to explore as countless eyes watched others appear and moved from the red crystal just as they had. The Guenta had a desire to feed, yet few of these other things were made of flesh, instead they were of metals and those of flesh were so very small barely a meal. Then they came, simple and green and small the many tiny creatures thought of what these small creatures were. The swarm knew of men and of elves, of foxes, and wolves, but they did not know these things. The swarm had come from a forest where their kind lived and now they were here in the dark where goblins dwelt. The others would start to attack, no control the goblins as each took up one of the metal objects or was assaulted by the other small things from the red gem. The Guenta should take the goblins, eat them, and take their bones for new forms. The Guenta did not know why they took bones as homes and took the shapes of those they ate, but they did and they did not question it. The goblins would make for poor bones and poor form, but they were without form and without voice, just a seething shadow. The Guenta moved flowing in an instant from their hidden places in the shadow to a goblin, soon becoming a second shadow to the beast as they move din close to strike.

 

[Pat]

Crabfish hurriedly consumes and shapeshifts from his trueform into a convincing imitation of the fat goblin. Though it didn't escape him that this first specimen he now attempted to replicate was a humble beginning, he believed it was by far the most believable of the lot if it was regarded as a bumbling obese outcast as he thought. Others might overlook any oddity as a flaw rather than him breaking character if he auditioned well enough... Peeking inside of the garbage bag, he hides the gold tusk in his palm and moves to rejoin the group, making eye contact with the boss that grabbed one of the sessiles in the water and nodding. By any luck whatever horror he did a favor for would help him infiltrate the group through bullying him mercilessly and others would think any delay was nothing out of the ordinary rather than suspicious. He prepares to stab any goblin that moves towards him to flee from the cistern as he tries his best to recall this goblin's name and it's relationship with the others of it's kind here, keeping his new face masked in the shadows.

 

[Wandering Owl]

The algae wasn't a creature as such, but there was a thrill to consuming life in any form. Amaranth took a second to adjust to its new size, before the hunger overtook it and it turned its attention back towards the figures surrounding it. The goblins quickly caught its attention. Dumb creatures, so easily mastered. With newly-gained energy humming through its leaves, Amaranth brightened its glow, its leaves taking on a golden, almost metallic sheen. It was hard to tell whether they could affect these goblins without being able to sink its tendrils into them, but it tried anyway, willing one to come close enough. Just a little closer...

 

[Pizza Dragon]

"You, fatty! Guard the entrance to the cavern so we're...protected."

The Madman's Wage influences her speech, but little gives away his possession other than a yellowish glint in her already yellow goblinoid eyes. A perfect start. "And you!" She points at the biggest, most healthy looking goblin. "Come here!" She cracks her whip for emphasis.

 

[Pat]

Crabfish snaps to attention at the command, dragging the garbage bag with one hand as he began picking at his nose with the index finger of the other until out of sight. Making a big show out of returning to the tunnel entrance grunting all the while, he resumes waiting in ambush with his gold tusk to stab any scared goblins that attempt to escape from the horrors closing in on them once they see the great danger that they're in.

 

[Beckoncall]

Coin -- looking posessed -orders a taller goblin to approach.
Irenaus -- maintaining the trance
Amon -- grabs a goblin host
The Guenta -- Grabs a goblin
Carbfish -- now fat goblin, searches mind barring escape, checks bag, will stab with tooth.
Amaranth -- attempt to charm

Irenaeus continued his haunting cerenade to charm the goblins, as Amaranth bulked up on algae and created what it saw as a more inviting, pulsing metallic form humming vibrations along it's leaves.

Amaranth's display was horrifying to the confused goblins, and they snapped from the trance of Irenaeus and backing away from their leader, formed a circle with their spears drawn. This was not normal... they knew they were in danger.

In the growing tension the Black shadow of Amon weaved into the center of the circle and posessed one of the goblins, it's simple mind near shattering at the horror that now dwelled inside it. the form stumbled under it's own weight, but the Blasphemer recovered and found it's footing.

The Boss goblin, possessed by the madman's wage ordered the fat goblin to "Guard the exit", it's eyes glinting. The goblins feared her now. They were rapidly coming to the conclusion that -- however confusing the nature -- they had just sprung a trap.

"Aieeeee! Happo! Happo la!" one of the goblins shouted to the rest of the circle as the boss cracked her whip.

Then it happened, the Guenta, rather unartfully, swung it's mass out of the darkness and quickly covered a goblin and the four yet unpossessed began screaming. The Guenta quickly stripped the goblin of flesh and used it's skeleton as a support for it, rising among them as the four remaining prey (in the circle with Amon) turned to face the bubbling, churning barely-goblin shaped mass.

All eyes shifted to the exit.. the calm receipt of orders from the suspicious form of their boss was heeded, barring their escape. They knew they were trapped... they just didn't know how trapped.

The boss goblin's orders were continued to be ignored in the growing horror enveloping the goblins.

Then the coup de grace of chaos descended, Cortova spraying the entire area with webbing, unused to the "controls" of her new giant spider body. the four remaining goblins, Amon, The Guenta, and even the goblin boss (manman's wage) suddenly found themselves pinned to the floor of the wet and slimy cavern as a HUGE blast of webbing came forth and first plastered the circle of goblins then fell in strands all over the cistern. Cortova's spider was wounded in this unnatural display, it's spinnarets prolapsed from the disgorging of all the webbing they held... slowly cortova reeled the spiders insides back into the abdomen, not minding the dripping of green blood that came after.

Cortova had brought an abrupt end to what was about to become a fight for the goblins survival, though she pinned amon, the guenta, and wage against the floor with their quarry.

Slowly the tendrils of amaranth crept closer, almost independently of their master, to the quivering prey. flowers and thorns sprouting forth to push the fiend ever closer to the helpless quarry...

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Irenaeus, amused at the situation, approached the now trapped goblins. Things were chaotic with so many other horrors in the room, but he could salvage the situation for himself. He approached the goblin who shouted earlier to the circle of spears and began to burn the strands of spider webbing that bound it with his own form to release it and just it. Irenaeus spoke to no one in particular "I wonder if it will attempt to flee by itself or if it will attempt to aid its companions. Seeing how simple these lifeforms are, I suspect the later. Though, I always enjoy a nice surprise." as Irenaeus' form flickered towards the north, hinting at the now freed goblin that it should flee that way. There was no "right" answer for the goblin in this case, but which answer it picked was of interest to Irenaeus. Regardless of what answer that it picked, Irenaeus planned to possess it after though not in an invasive way. He would simply whisper into the goblins' mind like a guardian spirit. Irenaeus did not have to force another being to sin... they would do it themselves.

 

[Eliasdagood]

Cortova screeches with pain, but forces herself to climb down to the ground, and get to work freeing the other horrors with her strong front legs and mandibles. She doesn’t have a mouth in this form, but she hopes they recognize her apology.

 

[Pizza Dragon]

"Hssss. This was not called for, arachnid thing. Release us! We need bodies. The Blooming One has yet to be able to move."

Xul'nicaoth assumes full control instead of its preferred backseat piloting.

 

[Pat]

Crabfish watches the pandemonium and drags the garbage bag into the cistern, emptying it in front of everyone to reveal the corpses, watching the dwindling group of uninfluenced goblins for any reaction. Having vocal cords now, he begins speaking to all of his fellow horrors in common. "A priest and his servant, it may be useful to interrogate this lot of what crime the pair had committed in life, and learn what the other trash was." He suggests helpfully, stowing the red silk robes away for later use as he begins collecting the gold and silver teeth of the skulls around the cursed well, checking for glass eyes before discarding the bones. Afterwards he proceeds to gather up any unused spidersilk into bolts, and finally gets to work collecting the glowing mineral of the cursed well to shape into handheld spheres until his new body must rest. As he lounges he then recalls what he saw when he dipped his head below the water. "Earlier I noticed there's a vacuum below the cursed well. If Amaranth can cover me in their tendrils to lower me into there, with everyone else ready to pull me back up, I could witness what is beneath us and return."

 

[Pizza Dragon]

"Agreed, Deep Dweller. Perhaps that plan could extend to releasing us?"

 

[Pat]

Crabfish would've considered leaving Xul'nicaoth there, trapped in Cortova's web, but unfortunately the horror responsible was already seeing to it. Though he wasn't afraid to admit to himself he could've perhaps sold the part of frightened underling as he intended better to the rest of the goblins, the sessile now in control of a body of it's own didn't help with maintaining his cover either. "Patience. I believe she has you covered..." He laughed at the pun, watching the 'spider' climb down.

 

[Kent]

Amon was about to rush off with his new goblin body to escape when he was suddenly splatted to the ground with a horrendous amount of spider web. He sighed and then proceeded to chuckle. "Ah, this is not what I was expecting at all. But this game started really fun." The Blasphemer said in Elder Thing, signifying he was one of them so he won't be mistakenly attacked or devoured. He then stood up after getting freed by Corrina and then he patted the dirt and remains of the web out of himself. "Well then, horrors and terrors. I shall be leaving first to the north...To scout, yes." He then began to run northwards while chuckling.

 

[Pat]

Crabfish checks the priest for any sign of magic it may have known in life, and then consumes the two bodies, adding them to his biomass to grow stronger. Though he highly doubted his increased musculature would do anything but raise further suspicions against him if he continued to pose as a goblin, there were other ways he could deceive them until he found another form.

 

[Beckoncall]

Heyitsjiwon :

Irenaeus gently freed his chosen goblin by burning the webs around his hands and feet. Flickering to the north, the goblin jumped up and seeing the big goblin blocking the way west, ran worriedly towards the north, unarmed, crying and shaking his head. Irenaeus quickly caught up with it in the narrow but widening corridor and burned into it's soul... possessing it. It scanned the knowledge on it's present mind as it's consciousness slid deeper and deeper sublimated to the blue flame that now burned in it's eyes.

There were Gnolls, hobgoblins, and orcs to the north... a great war of tribes apparently. The goblin wondered if he would become a slave if he ran north, but knew he would never make it home alive with the big goblin barring the way... Irenaeus' goblin stopped running, and the flame took full motor control of the goblin. Irenaeus could see some kind of barricade far to the north, manned by slavering gnolls. They shouted at Irenaeus' goblin in undercommon "Approach with gold or arrive with holes!" the gnolls snarled... a toll to enter their territory?

Eliasdagood

In the meantime the bleeding corrina descended in her spider form from the ceiling and freed the other webbed horrors while leaving the three unposessed ones thoroughly and redoubledly ensnared. All horrors were free to act now... corrina's web spinner was injured... they would need some form of healing for it to work again, or at least a long rest...

Pat

Crabfish's imitation of a goblin had his own underwater breathing apertures in the neck and inside the mouth of the mimicry... so it was well suited for water travel... but it was still not strong! It took almost all of it's strength just cutting and wrapping 3 bolts of spider silk and found it's form woefully unable to mine or compress the blue glowing stone into spheres. Gathering teeth however was NOT a challenge for Crabfish... Extracting 7 gold teeth of various size and shape and a further 7 silver teeth the goblin's empty pouch now gangled with spoils. Near the bottom of the well there was a scintillating blue eye in one of the skulls.... a sapphire perhaps? But the pull of the tide near the bottom of the well was too strong, so Crabfish resurfaced perhaps to gain the aid of an associate in furthering such a goal.

Pizza Dragon / Crabfish

As far as the conspiracy of the priest and his servant... The madman's wage and the fat goblin both had knowledge of the conspiracy. This was the body of the "Old" goblin shaman, replaced by betrayal and murder by the chief to place his own goblin mistress in the position of power, despite her being a far poorer priest. Crabfish scanned the dead mind of the shaman and learned some basic rites and rituals of the goblins... but was repulsed by their magic... it stank of deities of this plane... divine magic of entities that must not come to know the nature of the horrors... at least at their current level of strength.

Everyone:

three freewilled goblins that remained webbed squirmed on the ground under corrina's webbing. The Cathexus called hungrily for their souls... and when it did all the horrors felt it's hunger as if it were their own... PAIN... pain and longing. The cathexus needed to feed!


Pat

Crabfish consumed the corpses and grew slightly larger, beefier... but not stronger. these creatures were too stringy and made poor biomass for his forms... his goblin frame bubbled and swole to contain itself. It would need a larger form to contain it's structural integrity, or purge some of the biomass it absorbed.
The madman's wage recalled being paid to secret the bodies of the shaman and her servant to the cursed well with the rest of the particularly foul smelling garbage. The goblins lived in a sewer rather far off to the west, but the sewer was clogged and the sandcreek would no longer bear away their trash on the water... it had to be transported... or at least that is what the chief said of this particular load of offal... as likely a cover for their plot as any real need for sanitation. The other bags floated away reeking of feces and moldering cloth. The wage seeing with it's nightvision small but vicious sharks in to the east downriver from the well attacking any sign of strangeness floating in their waters.

Kent / Irenaeus

Amon, laughing, scurried away to the north and quickly found himself with Irenaeus a good distance from the gnoll barricade. When the second goblin appeared the gnolls knocked their bows and leveled them at Irenaeus and Amon. "The goblins are neutral in the underwar, so they pay toll! Gold or holes! pick now!" Scanning the goblins from their defended position....

 

[Kent]

"Help! News! Danger! Spiders! Many! Beware! Goblins! Fight! Gnoll!! They-" Amon cried out hysterically. His change of actions and expressions are impressive enough that he could land a job in any theater in the surface. Before he finished 'delivering' the news, he 'collapsed' and foam began to form in his mouth. There were signs of spider web on his body and his expression seems to be as real as it can get. He was exuding a tired and scared aura as if he witnessed the most terrible thing in the underworld. Of course, if they want to hear more about it they would have to 'care' for him.

 

[Pat]

Crabfish unhinges his jaw to disgorge the additional goblin biomass, retching into the cursed well. Such a shame it was. He'd need to watch his diet more closely in the future to prevent another mistake like this from happening again. Redirecting his attention to the trio of goblin captives, he prepares to sacrifice them all to the Red Cathexus. Smiling ear to ear, he leaves ample time for the other horrors to interject if they found any sort of fault with his initiative. "Oh Amaranth?" He calls over to the greenery his peer has misappropriated once the grisly ritual is done. "Can you maybe wrap your tendrils around me so I can take a dip in the cistern to retrieve a skull with what looks to be a valuable false eye? Pull me up on my signal, and there's a shard of blue crystal in it for you. Might just be the closest thing to sunlight down here." He offers hopefully. "And if you're strong enough, maybe I'll take a look at what's beneath us too while I'm at it. Bound to be something to discover."

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Irenaeus looked at the dramatic theatrics of Amon with a bemused look and then said out to the gnolls in undercommon "No worry. Cavemother drop on head long ago. He okey soon. We come to work for gnoll. Tribe shaman dead, bad omen. Spider attack, bad omen. Tribe cursed. Safer here, work for gnoll. No goblin chief. Chief cursed. Bad juju." Irenaeus assumed that the gnolls would attempt to take advantage of this situation if they heard that the goblins were weakened suddenly, likely bringing Irenaeus to someone of importance to be questioned for more information. In the worst case scenario, Irenaeus would be brought in and enslaved... or at least his host body would be. However, seeing how craven this creature was... it didn't have the back bone to fight and work for what it desired; in fact, it was barely worth calling it alive as it was always afraid. Irenaeus hoped that it would be more... ambitious and bold. Now, this host was no longer of much interest to him, and didn't really mind if it were enslaved. It didn't seem to have much potential, but he could be wrong.

Speaking internally into the goblin's repressed conciousness, Irenaeus whispered "Do not weep, child. Tears are only for when you have run out of choices and options. You have survived because I have willed it. But, I ask you this... what is life? Is it only to survive? Think upon it, and answer when you have searched deeply within yourself. Until then, I will continue to make sure that you survive."

 

[RedLeftHand36]

Father Six Eyes

Perhaps it was a dream... but all dreams stem from reality, the tangled roots suffocating any hope of discerning the truth. There are six eyes that lurk in the woods; Eyes of a goat. Eyes of a crow. Eyes of a stag. Not all who wander are lost, but here, within this mist covered thicket, only the lost remain. Perhaps it is the nature of the forest, like the web of a spider, to ensnare and tire its victims. And perhaps it is the nature of the forest that was born the beast. Or perhaps it was something else. Births are not typically remembered by those who are the ones then born, and the Good Father was no exception. But oh, how disillusioned was he to remain bound to the forest, to the great Old Tree upon which blind and decaying corvids perched upon to oversee the Great Unknown.

Ah, that's right.

He was free from that dreary existence. At least, in a manner of speaking. The faded memory sparked the fire of life; A woodsman, lost, refining the tar from trees into oil. Oil, used for many thing, including the lantern once wielded by that old woodsman. And now, with the Old Tree cut down, and it's blood made into the immortal flame of the lantern, the Good Father was free, untethered from the Unknown, finally. But he was not limitless. Alas, for he would always be thethered to the undying tree, but now the tree's life inhabited a new vessel, and the Good Father inhabited the ever-burning lantern just as well. Yet, though chained to the lantern, the curious nature of he who takes the lantern for themselves offered something far more interesting: Their bodies unto His will. But oh, how the memories fade to dark after...

...But now, He was awake from the Dream.

A river? A stream... the cold pull of a current, and the weight of the lantern offering varying, almost imperceptiple waves as it bobbed up and down in the water. But the conciousness within stirred, and with it, the light began to glow once more. Occasionally drifting into the shallows, the mud offered small, green tendrils, rising above in praise, though slowly, only to be left small as the lantern drifted by, and then gradually torn apart in their weakness by the current. The strength of the light drifted with its rise and fall in the water, slowly pulsating like a distant star. It spoke without a voice, seemingly, with words that were felt but not heard.

Bear witness, O children mine.
Fear not the dark, and let the feast begin.

 

[Pat]

Out of the corner of his eye Crabfish witnesses a dark lantern wash up on the very edge of the cistern, and wonders to himself how had never seen something so beautiful before now. He picks up the sessile, forcing what appears to be the very most suitable of the three goblin captives left to bear it in this world. He pats the vessel on the shoulder before turning to sacrifice those spared in the service of the Red Cathexus once he sees the newest horror of the underdark assume control of it's body, smiling as he said a simple, "happy birthday."

 

[Beckoncall]

Kent Heyitsjiwon :

The gnolls saw the two goblins, Amon's splayed out and Irenaeus' squeaking explanations.

"Goblins no want to join Gnolls and Hobgoblins in fight with Orcs, but now stringy deserters offer to help us? Only reason Gnolls approach goblins was goblins valuable in numbers. Two goblins worthless!" A brown scarred-up gnoll bellowed, quickly put quiet by a much larger white furred gnoll...

"Goblins not Gnolls, and goblins not Hobs. Maybe goblins can sneak where we are unable to go and help break deadlock. Sneak behind lines. If fail, dead goblins cost nothing. if successful, we rewarded and goblins get little piece for risking skin."

Amon and Irenaus' host bodies were scooped up and thrust into ill-fitting amor of black fur and skins, and each given a shortbow, a torch and flint, and each goblin was given a dull black sphere with a frayed fuse.

"Keep going north through gnoll-fort. Anyone stop you, you say "Moonhide plots" and you left alone. When north of gnoll fort you find no-one's-land... the battlefield where gnolls and orcs die to fight over. Keep going and cross battlefield in secret. Find the orc fortifications, light bomb, run back to me. A hole in defenses will open a chance for new Gnoll and Hob offensive! Prove worth and you get food and safety. Fail or try to run away, you will die."

Amon and Irenaeus were prodded further beyond the barricade and away from the rest of the horrors into a bustling complex of long-ago dwarven origins, now infested with gnolls and other filthy humanoids forging crude weapons, performing grim triage on the wounded, and squatting around campfires and tents being lead by various officers... It was unlikely they could sneak back the way they came unseen by their "patrons"... but they could try to find another way back to the cursed well, find new hosts here, or even go on this veritable suicide mission as they had been ordered...

___________________________

Wandering Owl

Amaranth could no longer beckon the goblins into it's clutches, so it crawled its tendrils into the webbing and seized a goblin for it's own. Crabfish cut amaranth's new posessed form free as it did free another goblin for father six eyes RedLeftHand36 and pressed the lantern into it's hand, the goblin forfeiting it's will to the lamp instantly and completely. Amaranth pulled the bulk of it's tentrils into the gut of it's own goblin, growing like nerves to every corner of the creature and curling up in the wetness of it's intestines.

This left but one free goblin to remain. Pat Crabfish grabbed the mostly webbed and shivering goblin and shoved it headfirst into the water, shaking it until it made contact with the Cathexus. The goblin withered and it's bones turned to dust, it's soul pulled into the darkness between worlds. It was a feeble and small offering, but the cathexus' pulse quickened and flickered with dark light nonetheless, and the horrors, however near or far, felt just that much stronger.

Crabfish dumped the scraps and ashes that remained into the well and waited for Amaranth to respond to his suggestion of fishing for the sapphire eye...

"Happy Birthday" Crabfish said to Father-six-eyes, snapping the horror within the lamp, within it's new host, to attention at the world while still in it's soupy slumber...

 

[Eliasdagood]

Corrina, meanwhile, hides within the spider’s web, waiting for more prey to approach while she rests, as is the nature of these creatures. She likes this body, but she needs time to repair the damage to it.

 

[Pat]

Crabfish approaches Cortova with the three bolts of spidersilk once he determines Amaranth unresponsive to his offer. "Help me with making rope?" He asks her, holding the material out in front of him. "Once we're done we can secure it around me so I can go retrieve something at the very bottom of the cistern, and, if the rope and yourself are strong enough to pull me back up when the job is done, I could also take a good long look at what is below us while I'm down there as well."

 

[Pizza Dragon]

"You will have our...my...aid if you require it. The little creature has fast fingers and can at least bear whatever weight its small frame allows."

The Wage's host moves to assist, nothing better to do at the moment.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

This gnoll camp appeared promising to Irenaeus. Here was an entire civilization, devoting itself to a war with no end in sight, fueled by nothing but wrath, greed, envy, and hints of other sins. It all felt... comforting in a nostalgic way. Yet, there was much to do now. He couldn't stand there idly and just soak in the scenery. He was given a job. One that he could abandon easily, but frankly... it presented a lot of promise and opportunities. He also told the goblin that he would make sure it survived until it finally gave him an answer. Thus, with little better choices to make, Irenaeus resolved himself to begin working on this task. For now, Irenaeus would walk around and explore the gnoll settlement. He had effectively been given a pass to roam freely, but more importantly he wanted to find out more information about the gnolls. If anyone questioned him about being nosy, then he would simply wave it off as trying to learn more about the battlefield and the war so that he could more safely navigate himself to the orc fortifications and accomplish his mission. Thus, Irenaeus set off to explore the gnoll settlement to try and find people and things of note.