Succubusekai: The Demoness Just Wanted To Stay With Her Friends! [Original-Ish] [Quest]

[X] (Break Ways?) … Go north into the woods. The risks of getting lost are less severe when you can do the Teleport Door Trick.

… Point north, into the deep, dark, possibly perilous woods.

Helen blinks. "... An interesting choice. But fair."

You quickly telepathically remind, "I can get us back to here quickly if we get too lost."

Eira nods in turn, as Eddis blinks, looks north, then shrugs. "... You've earned the chance to adventure, that's for sure. Hope that this gets you someplace."

You nod. "I'm sure we'll meet again. For now…"

You start to practically traipse into the woods, your teammates somewhat cautiously following.

Before long, you've turned a few times, and a meme comes to mind. You pull out your lute, and begin to play…

"I see, treeeees of greeeeeeeeeen… And green trees toooooo. I see the treeeeeeeeees. And they are greeeeeeeeeeen. And I think to myself…"

Helen is staring at you, a bit nonplussed. Eira seems fascinated.

"... I am lost in these woods."

Eira's ears flatten just as Helen breaks out laughing. Seems she caught that reference.

"Seriously, though," you say, even as you keep noodling on the instrument. "We've gone a fair ways in, and so far… Well, less has happened here. Which, um. After several days of chaos. It's a decent change of pace."

Helen sighs. "Except, of course, for the undeniable fact that this doesn't bring us any closer to-"

Eira blinks. "It's brighter just ahead."

You stop playing. "... Clearing. Sometimes that means something interesting." Lute back on your back, you start forward.

… And soon, you're rewarded with…

Helen's eyes narrow. "... Undeath."

Eira nods. "Yeah, I don't need a special sense to feel that something's wrong here. Like. REALLY wrong."

Ash-like ground, bones sticking out everywhere… Big cave entrance to your east. And, north… A pit.

"So," you ask. "The question is, could this place be what we're seeking?"

Helen ponders. "I'm not entirely sure. We haven't seen signs of them working with undead. But the odds it's entirely disconnected are next to nil…

[ ] (Investigate?) Head toward the pit at the north of this clearing.
[ ] (Investigate?) Head toward the cave entrance to the east of this clearing.
[ ] (Investigate?) Mark the location, but head west and stay in the woods.
[ ] (Investigate?) Mark the location, but head east and stay in the woods.
[ ] (Investigate?) Mark the location, but head north and continue on the woods.

---

The meme comes from, as far as I am aware, a Tumblr post, originally by dajo42. FTR I've wanted to make this joke for quite a while. It's an old, old favorite.

Any of these can lead to a reasonable encounter or set of encounters, note!

"NO METAL OBJECTS IN THE BLENDER!!!", you and Helen shout at the same time, making Eira jump and nearly spill the contents of the blender.

"W-wait,why?"

Helen is the first to explain. "The blades at the bottom won't cut the metal, but will launch it hard enough to shatter the glass and possibly send said glass shards everywhere."

"... Oh."

You kinda nod. "Which could mean any exposed food has glass in it, so gotta throw that out. Gotta check the tools for bits of it. And of course, replacing the blender pitcher itself isn't cheap."

"... Huh. Wasn't the miracle of modern building that stuff was cheap?"

"We're talking the equivalent of a gold or two, which need I remind our local thief, is still a lot of money."

"R-right. (Sorry.)"

"Just be careful with that sort of thing."

---

Inspired by the Ctrl+Alt+Carl, above.

(Investigate?) Head toward the pit at the north of this clearing.

… The north end seems like the right place to focus on first. There's a huge pit there, so glancing closer at it might reveal something.

You start to proceed that way, followed by your teammates, until one of Eira's footfalls sinks just an inch deeper into the ground…

And some dead rise. Eight of them, to be exact.

Helen is looking around. "... All basic zombies. But this terrain… Well, if we were trying to reject them through divine magic, it'd be a lot harder."

"A place literally suffused with Negative Energy, then," you say, reminded of tales you've heard before. "... Is it safe for us?"

"It's not going to immediately poison us or anything, no. But sticking around for like days would be bad, and there is the more immediate hazard of-"

The zombies begin to shamble in.

Helen stops in mid-sentence. "They're going to be slow to both move and strike. But there's a lot of them, and they might get back up after a strike that should've taken them out."

You and Eira both nod, drawing your respective weapons. You're the first to move, already being up front - drawing the front three's attacks and nimbly stepping clear. Wait for it…

The remaining five move around to hit you from behind - one rakes across your back (2 damage after resistance) and another hits your head (3 damage after resistance).

"THUNDERCLAP!", you shout - Helen wincing even as the entire group save one is knocked back a bit (6 damage), then shouting, "That could alert more of them!"

You pause, realizing you didn't think of that, even as Helen and Eira step in - Helen strikes one Zombie (11 damage), then Eira goes for a knife to its neck (11 damage after Sneak Attack)... Beheading it. It drops. Her other arm has a dagger, which she swings at another zombie, tagging its arm (6 damage).

… So that's one down. Two go for Eira - Helen raises her shield to cut one's striking path off, and the other misses. A third for Helen, whose sheer luck seems to save her (2 luck points remain) from what could've been a brutal hit. That leaves four going for you - one getting a hit to your side (2 damage after resistance, leaving you at 9).

You wince, but shout "THUNDERCLAP!" again - if there's more in range, they're already warned, better to get this group off you! Though you notice only five of the seven seem affected by this time (And only for 3 damage). Stupid tough zombies -

Helen's swing cuts into another (6 damage), followed by Eira's shortsword (7 damage including sneak attack) knocking it down… And it not getting back up. She darts a bit forward, getting a light (3 damage) hit with her dagger. Helen steps up next to you over one of the fallen Zombies…

Two swing at her, each blocked by her shield. One goes for you - only for Helen's shield to block what otherwise would've been a hit. The last strikes your forearm - but not nearly hard enough to hurt any (natural armor). The last two go for Eira - who cries out as her quick hop back doesn't stop one raking her leg (6 damage).

By any reasonable definition, this is starting to get bad. Helen quickly steps back, freeing you for a third Thunderclap (4 damage) - though their toughness is still protecting them. You need to work on some other spell picks at some point here…

Helen's sword is suddenly glowing, as she decides to make her own shout of "BY SOLARIA!" - slicing into one, holy energy cutting it directly down (15 damage, some of it radiant, means no Undead Fortitude). Eira, however, hits one of the ones on her twice, but to almost no effect (5 damage including Sneak and 5 damage - but the Zombie's fortitude holds, leaving it at 1 HP).

Five remain - one steps away from you to swing at Eira, opening for you to attempt a quick Rapier strike (nat 1)... Almost throwing your sword more than striking. Gah. It and another swing at Eira (neither hits), one at Helen (blocked), and two at you (neither gets close).

"THUNDERCLAP!", you cast yet again - even with only four in range, your hit (4 damage) keeps the pressure on the things - and drops the one Eira had cut into. Helen swigs toward the one by Eira, slicing it down (9 damage, it fails its save)... And Eira, pressing the offensive, jumps around to the weakest-looking of the three. Her shortsword gets stuck in the thing's side ineffectually for a second - but a dagger swing slams into its spine (12 damage), and it drops.

The zombies aren't exactly operating on 'tactics' more complex than 'hit closest thing that isn't moaning'. That now being you - though you manage to deflect one with a quick rapier swing and sidestep the other, before swinging in with your rapier, though the shoulder strike doesn't seem to slow it down much.

Helen swings for one of the two, cutting into it (8 damage), while Eira cuts into the last (2 damage). You've got this, you just need to -

- Why are you on the ground. Why's everything spinning?

(One hit you for 4 damage after resistance, and the second got a Critical Hit for 7 after resistance, dropping you to zero HP. Helen used Healing Word to get you up to 6 HP.)

Helen's hand is against her holy symbol. Eira's cut one down (Shortsword hits for 2, dagger for 7 including Sneak Attack, Undead Fortitude failed).

And then the Zombie's trying to drop on you, to bite at your neck - but you shove its shoulder, knocking it aside, get up, and stab directly through its eye (4 damage). It's still moving - until Helen cuts into its neck (9 damage, Undead Fortitude save succeeded), then Eira stabs it twice more (Shoftsword hits for 5 damage, Undead Fortitude save succeeded, dagger hits for 5 damage including Sneak Attack, Undead Fortitude save failed).

… And then the adrenaline rush drops, and you nearly collapse in pain. Immediately, you summon the door. "Inside, now."

Helen pauses, looking like she wants to help you. "I'll teleport once you're in," you hiss, wincing.

That's enough to get Eira and Helen rushing in. And just in time - because what looks like a damn Ogre, except also undead, is approaching, as you focus…

… And pop back into the woods (44 - similar area, which I'm interpreting as an unexpected spot within the same forest). The door appears next to you at your command - still open, you didn't even have time to close it. That musta looked weird to Helen and Eira… Who now are moving out, weapons still out in case of an unlucky bear or something. You're still half-collapsed onto one knee, and Helen's still looking you over. It's Eira who looks more worried.

"I'm tough," you say. "I can handle… Ow…"

Helen shakes her head. "Can, maybe. Will, no." And she's grabbing you by your dress' back and dragging you through the door, Eira quickly closing the door behind her.

"Night will fall if we have me rest in here," you protest.

"Then we'll use the flashlights and cut at them in the dark," Helen responds - even though Eira looked like she was about to crack the door, before Helen glanced at her and shook her head.

"... M-mind, finding them again might, uh."

"You'll be more focused," Helen observes, "After we've cleaned your wounds and gotten you to take some rest.

"R-right. I can just get myself to the shower and-"

HOW THE HELL DOES EIRA GET NAKED SO FAST?! And then she's pulling you toward the bathroom, leaving Helen looking surprised - but she does think to let you go.

"Shapeshift the clothes off," Eira cues softly, even as she's turned the shower on and is letting it heat up.

You realize that neither of these two is going to let you just tough this out, and you let your outfit 'slip' out of existence… REvealing just how many gouges, gashes, and bruises you actually took.

Eira is at least aware enough of proper first aid to not use soap on the wounds - instead using the shower hose to lightly rinse each off, then - oh no, she's reaching for the hydrogen peroxide, and it's the right choice if you protect Helen will -

You barely avert shouting in pain by gritting your teeth. Infections don't even work like that for you, you remember just a bit too late to stop her from working on the second injury - and the third - and -

Two minutes later, she's pulling you out of the shower, and using a fresh towel to dry you off… But you glance at the hit she took. "You too, Eira."

"I'll be fine," she insists.

"You're the one for whom a wound getting infected is a more serious hazard," you counter, reaching for the bottle. She looks like she's considering running, but relents without even requiring you use your magic.

And then you hear Helen yelp. She must be treating her own wounds. That's enough to get Eira, even ears flat, to accept your treating her own cuts and scrapes properly, before bandaging her up - and putting up with her doing the same to you.

You finally open the door, your shapeshifting having given you some plain underwear to preserve your immodesty. Helen looks at you with a nod. "Not the computer chair," she directs. "I know you don't sleep, but with those injuries, even considering the demon physiology, you should have as little weight on your torso as you can manage. Meaning being in bed."

You… Can't really work up a protest, honestly. She's right, really.

Eira doesn't seem to be protesting the implicit directive for her to do the same - and Helen's notably down to her long underwear as well.

"After a bit of nap, then?", you say.

"Yeah," Helen responds. "We keep running into fights that have a lot going on. And that one…"

… Was even more dangerously close than you planned for. You need to figure something out there, that much is clear. But what… That's the trickier question.

Especially if you want to keep working on those undead to see if this area is in fact connected to the Cult of Chaos. Which you kind of do.

For now, you pull out your phone and tablet, and decide to just… Start scrolling on your bed for now, and consider your next moves…

[ ] (Plan After Rest) Try to teleport back to exactly where you were - good odds you'll be immediately fighting this way.

[ ] (Plan After Rest) Try to teleport to the edge of the Negative Energy-blighted area, so you can try to keep more angles of retreat as you continue toward the pit.

[ ] (Plan After Rest) Try to teleport to the edge of the blighted area, but change targets to the cave.

[ ] (Plan After Rest) Try to teleport to the road and take a different route - you want to be stronger before returning to this, you think.

[ ] (Plan After Rest) Soon after you go back out, you'll spot a trail… Follow that and see where it goes!

[ ] (Plan After Rest) Write-In another destination.

---

133 XP each brings you to 744.

FTR, it was 2d4 zombies, per the chart. So, nasty luck there. A change in tactics will definitely be in the plans next time.

So, here's a secondary vote:

[ ] (Nerdic Inspiration?) Senaz's reading helps her figure something out. She and Helen will each gain one attack cantrip, while Eira will gain a psionic trick for her dagger for ranged strikes.
[ ] (Nerdic Inspiration?) Senaz needs to learn caution with her existing tools. No new gains.

If you vote for Nerdic Inspiration:
[ ] (Senaz's new Cantrip) Write-In One Cantrip of choice.

[ ] (Helen's new Cantrip) Write-In one Cleric cantrip of choice.

Vote extended on this one to allow for longer discussion.