Pretender (Worm/Dominions 4)
- Thread starter TotalAbsolutism
- Start date
- Location
- Море песка, солнце огня и множество злых сарацин
I'd actually probably need to re-read it from beginning - I've forgotten the plot entirely.
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
Luckily there's only five chapters, so that's easy enough.
Unless I actively say I've given up on something I generally have the intention to keep updating it but there's often large stretches of time between sudden, serial updates. It bugs me that I work that way but it's been a hard habit to correct. C'est la vie.
Grey Rook
Genuine Nerd
- Location
- The Quantum Foam
Yes, that's what I meant. Being raised in a secular society and then discovering that you're secretly a god must be frightening indeed.
Last edited:
- Location
- Море песка, солнце огня и множество злых сарацин
No problem - a lot of authors work that way. Heck, I would probably work that way if I was a writer.
It's certainly better than Ack's method of 1-2 updates per story per year (unless he wants to write more, in which case it looks like yours).
Grace 2.1
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
Diego Martinez had only ever considered himself a 'Sunday Christian'. Devotion ran in his family but seemed to only stroll in him and when you found yourself living on the streets after medical bills pushed you into destitution it was hard to have much faith in anything. For the most part he kept himself to himself; rummaging through rubbish bins for food and sleeping under the bench in the basketball court.
It was a good spot. He'd found a plastic tarp that he could lay over the top to protect him from rain, and it was mostly out of wind. Nobody tended to use it in the mornings so he didn't have to worry about being disturbed. But then, as he'd been getting ready to settle down for the night after a day of dumpster-diving, they'd found him.
Nowhere in the city was all that 'safe'. There were shelters but they were often full and Diego didn't trust the other occupants that much. Then, no matter whose 'territory' you were in there were risks. This time it was the Empire. He'd knew the routine. As long as he didn't fight back they'd beat him for a bit to prove they were 'hard' enough and then the initiation ritual would be over. But then…
He trembled as he remembered the feeling. It had been terrifying and joyful all at once. But now was not the time to reminisce. No, he had a mission. It had come to him in the night; three weeks after he had seen Her. What he'd been waiting for. It wasn't like words whispered in his ear, no; it was just a firm certainty of what he ought to do.
So he'd spoken to what few friends he had, as much as someone like him could have friends. Then he'd had a word with the local street gangs; mostly Hispanic and few in both numbers and strength. After promising them many things he finally managed to get them to agree to come and scope out what he was telling them. They must have found others because there were now a good few dozen people, thirty or forty in all, waiting for him.
They were a mix. Some old, like him; transients and vagrants. There were the young men and women, fathers and mothers and children. A few folks had brought their families. He'd made powerful promises with very little to go on but when you were desperate and hungry everything sounded good to you.
There were lots of birds around. Not ordinary ones, either. Birds of prey. Diego could see them resting in trees and on top of the building; it had been a community hall, once, before money had dried up and support for the little services that it had provided evaporated.
"Oi, Uncle Diego." The leader of one of the family groups waved him over, frowning. Their relationship wasn't really that familial but he'd been friends with the boy's father, once. "Thought you said there was gonna be food here, ay?" He nodded and shuddered slightly as something passed over him. It was time to go inside.
"Follow me, Alex. You'll see." Although they did follow behind him Diego could sense the nervousness and discomfort from the crowd. They'd all see soon enough. He walked up to the door, pushed it open and went right in.
The interior was strange. It was wide open, with old blankets laid out on the floor all over the place and no other furniture except for a small, rickety, fold-out table that sat beside a sheet-covered object. On the table was an electric lamp that shed light throughout the room and a black plastic bag. Then… Diego froze as he saw Her.
She was different. Dressed in a heavy brown robe that hung loosely on her frame and taller than he remembered. Her face couldn't be seen underneath the hood but he just knew she was looking at him. That really was Her. Alex bumped into him and was about to say something when he caught sight of the figure.
"It's okay. They're the one that saved me, Alejandro. Come in." Diego walked up towards her as the others trailed in nervously and spread out. Although there were many more of them than Her they all seemed to feel ill-at-ease for some reason. Yet Diego was more at peace in that moment than he had been in weeks.
Something came to Diego in that moment. He walked towards Her and then turned around to face the group; kneeling down so She could put one gloved hand on his shoulder. Somehow he'd just known what She wanted of him. As well as what She wanted him to say.
"The Oracle wishes to know if you are hungry. She says she will feed feed you if you will listen to her." There was a quiet titter to the crowd as Diego paused and listened to the unvoiced words that came into his heart. "She will feed you first, and you may leave after if you wish."
The figure turned with perfect grace; rotating on its axis without any sound and grasping the sheet. When She pulled it off a massive iron pot was revealed; it was strangely shaped with bowed sides and a thick rim. Then She held out Her hand over it and steam began to rise from it. The smell of hot food filled the room; stewed vegetables and meat in a thick broth.
Diego stood up and opened the black bag as he felt Her desires fill him again. Inside were dozens of disposable plastic bowls and spoons along with a few metal ladles. The Oracle put Her hand on his shoulder again as he turned to face the group. "She says to eat your fill first."
Then she floated backwards, filling Diego with certainty that she wasn't touching the ground. Everyone seemed tempted but it seemed like nobody wanted to start. So he grabbed a bowl himself, used a ladle to fill it up and then went to sit on one of the blankets. Once he'd had several spoonfuls the others, at last, decided to join in.
Hesitancy gave way to eagerness. They ate and ate and ate; better than most of them had in weeks. All of those gathered here were poor and tired and scared basically every day of their lives. They questioned their good fortune, of course… but they didn't reject it. Not yet.
When everyone was full the pot was almost half-empty. The Oracle floated over and examined it. Then she placed her hand against the side and looked at Diego. He stood up again and presented himself to her; kneeling down so she could put her hand on him again.
"The Oracle wishes to know if anyone wants more food." There was a general murmur of refusal; most had taken at least three bowls worth. Alejandro stood up and crossed his arms, along with some of the other young men. It was time, then.
"A'ight, Diego. Your little pal has fed us an' all, which we 'ppreciate, but we ain't gonna be no Cape's little flunkies." The others murmured assent and Diego frowned; glancing back at the Oracle. She seemed unfazed by their refusal, and he turned to speak again.
"She does not want 'flunkies', Alejandro. And she is not a 'Cape'." That got him a scoff of derision from the ringleader and confusion from most of the others. He shook his head and began to plead with them. "Listen, you must believe me. She is so much more than that. I've seen it, I've felt it. And you can too."
"Look, we ain't so far gone that we gonna sell ourselves, man. If any of us were that desperate we'd have gone t'work for those two video game clowns by now. An' I don't know about you, but I'm real suspicious of charity like this." Diego couldn't help but grimace at the words but, luckily, Oracle still seemed to be totally calm. "Now just tell us what your new best friend wants from us so we can tell her to fuck off, and go home."
Diego was about to say something when a booted foot met the doors outside and they swung wide. Ten heavyset men strolled in; whistling and laughing as their leader followed behind. Shirtless and muscular, long and greasy blonde hair behind a snarling metallic wolf mask. Someone in the crowd swore, someone else was praying and all of them backed away in fear except for Diego and the Oracle.
"Look at that. All this vermin in one place. Marcus, which one was it?" Hookwolf looked back to a trembling young man, barely visible amongst all the roughs and toughs, pointed at Diego. The old man barely recognised him as being one of the ones that had attacked him. "Right. And this must be our new Cape." Diego tensed for a moment before a hand pressed on his shoulder. The Oracle floated forward and stopped some fifteen feet away from the white supremacists.
"Leave." Her voice rippled and crackled with a power that made Diego fall to his knees instinctively. He could see Alejandro tremble and many of the watching people joined the old man in prostration. "These people are protected." Hookwolf just laughed and flexed an arm; silver running down it and forming bladed claws.
"I go where I want, bitch, and no idiot newbie like you can tell me what to do. This is Empire territory, and if you think tha-" There was a sharp crack as Her finger flicked out and a shard of razor-sharp stone came into being at high velocity. It hit the ground in front of Hookwolf and he recoiled from the tiny splinters of concrete that hit him.
"Leave. Or else." A feral grin formed on the man's face as the flesh of his arm began to retract into a bladed, paw-like limb. He stepped forward heavily; curling toe-knives scraping against the hard ground.
"If you're looking for a fight I'll be happy t-" And he was cut off again when the Oracle's finger flicked out and one of his men collapsed suddenly with a cry of agony. He was clutching at his leg and blood was pouring out profusely. Hookwolf looked dumbfounded by this; as if he didn't believe someone would provoke him in this way.
"Leave." She held up her hands and each one formed three marble-sized sparks of flickering light and two stone shards above it. They hovered there; frozen in place like the rest of the Empire goons. "Or else." For a moment it looked like Hookwolf might pounce. Then he looked at the soldier to his left; curled up in a ball of pain and letting out soft whimpers of agony.
"... this isn't over." He made a gesture and one of the others came to the other side of the injured man while Hookwolf took his left. Together they pulled him to his feet and carried him out between them. The Oracle floated there impassively as they left, then returned to her place at Diego's side. Silence filled the room. At that moment the old man saw his chance and took it.
"You see, Alejandro. She doesn't want to use us. She wants to protect us. To feed us, to look after us. And She doesn't need our money, or our bodies, or our services. She doesn't want to push drugs to us, or to sell us on the streets, or work us to the bone long hours with no pay." There was confusion, yes, and fear as well. But interest. Diego stepped forward and capitalised on that; raising his voice.
"She wants your respect, and your praise. Even your worship. But these are immaterial things. Everything else She will provide to us. Right now, food and protection. But soon there will be more. What do you have left to lose?" The young man, who was the de facto voice of the group as a whole, hesitated. It was clear that this person seemed to have no particular need for them.
"Tell us what to do, Diego." A woman stepped forward; holding her young daughter's hand. They looked at the Oracle with awe and fear in equal measure. "Whatever you want us to, we'll do it." The old man smiled and gestured for them to come, then he knelt before the now-silent Oracle with hands clasped tightly together. Nervously, the woman and girl joined him. After a minute of silence Alejandro hesitantly moved over. Others followed.
"As soon as you make a sincere plea in your hearts, you will understand." Diego bowed his head to the Oracle with a smile on his aged face. Perhaps many thought that he was crazy for offering worship to a 'Cape', but he knew they'd come to comprehend what She really was. Maybe some already had. Adversity had a way of inspiring belief.
Hands clasped, Diego began to pray.
In the end she'd caved and, in the privacy of her own room, had carefully sent some emails to her superior. Obviously she could handle it on her own, but then she might end up outing herself if this turned out to be some jack-off with a camera as opposed to a socially-awkward moron who didn't know how to grow a pair and just ask a girl out.
Before long she got a call from Mister 'Team Leader' himself and reluctantly answered him in her usual fashion; by picking up the phone and grunting into it. He didn't say anything about it, as per usual, and just moved into asking stupid questions. Of course she was sure! Sophia had tailed enough lowlifes in her time to recognise the signs. Someone was definitely following her around.
In the end they agreed to her going on a walk through a predetermined path with plainclothes PRT agents littered en-route, along with Gallant doing a subtle flyby at one point to try and see if he could pick up on the person with his emotional sense. He'd commended her for following the protocols in the Wards handbook; which she vaguely recalled she was using as a coaster somewhere. Either way, she hadn't read the damn thing. It was either useless because it didn't tell you what to do, or it told you stupidly obvious shit like this.
When she reminded him of her feelings on that matter Carlos had sighed and hung up. That was at least a little better. Still pretty spineless, but he wasn't all bad. She still didn't much respect his authority, of course, but that was a given.
They put the plan into motion the next evening and it was, as she had kinda expected, a total flop. None of the watching agents had seen anyone following her, nor had the cameras, and Gallant didn't pick up any abnormal emotional reactions when he did his pass. But Sophia was still absolutely confident that someone had to be following her.
It was in the little things. Almost-movement out of the corner of her eyes. A feeling of absence when she turned around and look. The ghost of unusual, quiet sounds at the very edge of her hearing. At one point she would have sworn she saw a faint silhouette but then she blinked and it was gone. But nobody else seemed to believe her. Well screw them. About an hour after she got home she pulled her blinds, slipped into her closet, changed and then phased out through the back wall.
Sophia floated through her house and slipped out; moving low and fast and keeping the building between her and the far side of her room until she had reached safety. Then she circled around; carefully moving through buildings whenever possible to keep herself hidden. At last she had a vantage point she could watch from.
She stared for some time at the streets and buildings that overlooked her room. There had to be something… now she was wishing she had a pair of binoculars or something. But just as she was starting to think that maybe it all really had been in her head she saw it. A passing car had illuminated a side street for an instant and in that instant the black outline of a figured had been shown on the far wall.
Shadow Stalker grinned, and readied her crossbow. Then she moved; flitting around until she was up behind the alleyway. She took a deep, quiet breath before slipping back into her shadow state and moving into the alley. There they were. Huddled in the darkness behind two bins and watching her room. It was hard to make out details in the darkness but she folded back into solidity and pointed her weapon at them anyway.
"Hey, punk! Hands where I can see them!" For a moment it didn't respond. Then it… shifted. A normal person would stand up but this thing seemed to flow upwards; like liquid in the shape of a crouching man being poured into a standing position that was now facing at her rather than away. "Oh fuck."
It was a Cape. It had to be! Changer-Breaker, like her, some sort of… living darkness. Or maybe a Master projection? Fuck. She loosed her bolt without even really thinking about it but the only reaction from the creature was stillness. The shot passed right through it and punched into the trash can behind it.
Before Sophia could do anything, before she could try and change shape or run or even fire her other bow, the creature responded. It dropped downwards and passed into the ground; vanishing through the asphalt. For a moment Shadow Stalker was stunned and then she suddenly dived sideways and fell into her shadow form. Yet the expected attack through the floor didn't come. It was just gone.
She reported everything as soon as she got to her communicator, and her family was immediately relocated by the PRT. They said it was only until they could find out who the Cape she'd encountered was and what they knew. Sophia herself would be staying in one of the dormitories on the Rig until then. She'd be excused from school as well, if she wanted, or else there would be a guard posted near the school to keep a watch for the thing.
In the end she let it all happen. She still went to school the next day but something was very off. There was a disconcerting emptiness that took her a while to pick up on. When she did the feeling she got wasn't relief. As sure as she had been that she was being followed, Sophia was now equally certain that she now wasn't. Which was not comforting at all given what she felt it would mean. After all, the only reason she would stop tracking her prey…
… was if she'd already got what she wanted.
Most of the cost hadn't been in the items themselves, but in the priority ordering fee. The brat had informed her that her manufacturing time was precious and if she wanted her things done sooner rather than later… well, that was the price she'd have to pay. Truth be told Faultline could have waited for the rings, but she didn't want to give away what she was in such a hurry for or else the price may have gone up.
Mind, the amulet had still been twice as expensive as any of the rings but that could be worse. And the demonstration had been… effective. The girl had walked into the meeting place with that strange getup on and had been all friendly smiles and shaking hands; such that they didn't realise she'd grabbed Newter by the hand and shaken his too until after the fact.
It had been an impressive start. Then she'd demonstrated the other item she wanted to sell them by having Spitfire do her thing. The red gem on that little ring had eaten the actual fire, and then the girl had scooped the scalding liquid up in her bare hands like it was nothing.
Immunity to friendly fire from two of their number was an attractive prospect and the girl hadn't been charging that much for it, either. Then she'd shown off her little catalogue and this item had caught her eye. The name hadn't done much for her but the description… the girl had been a little hesitant, actually. Even promised to let them swap it for a different one if it didn't work quite as advertised. Then there was…
"What are your thoughts on this contract, Gregor?" She glanced at the rotund man where he sat pensively on the couch in her room. The others weren't here; Newter was too young and antsy to talk to about these things and Spitfire was looking after… she was busy right now. There was a set of professional-looking papers on her desk. He didn't need to look at them, as he already knew what they said.
"I am unsure. It feels like a trap of some kind but I can not say where or how the problem is." Faultline nodded and then sighed. She knew exactly what he meant. It was the most bizarre deal she'd ever seen. The girl had claimed, more or less, to be able to monitor her crew's condition from afar and inform any of them if something were to happen to the others. There were supposedly some conditions to this; namely they had to agree to it, for one thing.
She'd never heard of a Cape with power variability like that. Usually there was kind of a theme. Alexandrias and Eidolons of the world aside your powers had a basic conceptual connection. But this Cape apparently made maintenance-free Tinkertech with unbelievable effects and also had a high-tier Thinker power to boot.
The girl had said she'd know when they'd agreed. That had felt ominous. Right now, Faultline wasn't sure if she wanted to. These terms were just so weird. In return for providing real-time tactical coordination and health data, the contract stated, her and her crew would agree to work for this 'Pretender' in perpetuity and obey all direct orders without question. That alone would have made her toss the thing in the trash and burn the contents of the bin to boot if it weren't for the exit clause.
For whatever reason the girl had stipulated that they could, upon receiving any order, choose to void the contract immediately at no fault or penalty to them. Which meant that the girl was basically hamstringing herself because if she ever told them to do basically anything at all Faultline could just choose to tell her to fuck off.
She was sure this had to be a trap. And yet… Faultline looked at the amulet again. Then she looked at Gregor. He nodded; understanding what she was thinking. The large man stood and delicately took the item from her. "I will deliver it." She watched him go and then sighed. If it worked as advertised… if something finally helped, at last...
… well, then she supposed that even signing a deal with the devil might not be such a bad thing.
It was a good spot. He'd found a plastic tarp that he could lay over the top to protect him from rain, and it was mostly out of wind. Nobody tended to use it in the mornings so he didn't have to worry about being disturbed. But then, as he'd been getting ready to settle down for the night after a day of dumpster-diving, they'd found him.
Nowhere in the city was all that 'safe'. There were shelters but they were often full and Diego didn't trust the other occupants that much. Then, no matter whose 'territory' you were in there were risks. This time it was the Empire. He'd knew the routine. As long as he didn't fight back they'd beat him for a bit to prove they were 'hard' enough and then the initiation ritual would be over. But then…
He trembled as he remembered the feeling. It had been terrifying and joyful all at once. But now was not the time to reminisce. No, he had a mission. It had come to him in the night; three weeks after he had seen Her. What he'd been waiting for. It wasn't like words whispered in his ear, no; it was just a firm certainty of what he ought to do.
So he'd spoken to what few friends he had, as much as someone like him could have friends. Then he'd had a word with the local street gangs; mostly Hispanic and few in both numbers and strength. After promising them many things he finally managed to get them to agree to come and scope out what he was telling them. They must have found others because there were now a good few dozen people, thirty or forty in all, waiting for him.
They were a mix. Some old, like him; transients and vagrants. There were the young men and women, fathers and mothers and children. A few folks had brought their families. He'd made powerful promises with very little to go on but when you were desperate and hungry everything sounded good to you.
There were lots of birds around. Not ordinary ones, either. Birds of prey. Diego could see them resting in trees and on top of the building; it had been a community hall, once, before money had dried up and support for the little services that it had provided evaporated.
"Oi, Uncle Diego." The leader of one of the family groups waved him over, frowning. Their relationship wasn't really that familial but he'd been friends with the boy's father, once. "Thought you said there was gonna be food here, ay?" He nodded and shuddered slightly as something passed over him. It was time to go inside.
"Follow me, Alex. You'll see." Although they did follow behind him Diego could sense the nervousness and discomfort from the crowd. They'd all see soon enough. He walked up to the door, pushed it open and went right in.
The interior was strange. It was wide open, with old blankets laid out on the floor all over the place and no other furniture except for a small, rickety, fold-out table that sat beside a sheet-covered object. On the table was an electric lamp that shed light throughout the room and a black plastic bag. Then… Diego froze as he saw Her.
She was different. Dressed in a heavy brown robe that hung loosely on her frame and taller than he remembered. Her face couldn't be seen underneath the hood but he just knew she was looking at him. That really was Her. Alex bumped into him and was about to say something when he caught sight of the figure.
"It's okay. They're the one that saved me, Alejandro. Come in." Diego walked up towards her as the others trailed in nervously and spread out. Although there were many more of them than Her they all seemed to feel ill-at-ease for some reason. Yet Diego was more at peace in that moment than he had been in weeks.
Something came to Diego in that moment. He walked towards Her and then turned around to face the group; kneeling down so She could put one gloved hand on his shoulder. Somehow he'd just known what She wanted of him. As well as what She wanted him to say.
"The Oracle wishes to know if you are hungry. She says she will feed feed you if you will listen to her." There was a quiet titter to the crowd as Diego paused and listened to the unvoiced words that came into his heart. "She will feed you first, and you may leave after if you wish."
The figure turned with perfect grace; rotating on its axis without any sound and grasping the sheet. When She pulled it off a massive iron pot was revealed; it was strangely shaped with bowed sides and a thick rim. Then She held out Her hand over it and steam began to rise from it. The smell of hot food filled the room; stewed vegetables and meat in a thick broth.
Diego stood up and opened the black bag as he felt Her desires fill him again. Inside were dozens of disposable plastic bowls and spoons along with a few metal ladles. The Oracle put Her hand on his shoulder again as he turned to face the group. "She says to eat your fill first."
Then she floated backwards, filling Diego with certainty that she wasn't touching the ground. Everyone seemed tempted but it seemed like nobody wanted to start. So he grabbed a bowl himself, used a ladle to fill it up and then went to sit on one of the blankets. Once he'd had several spoonfuls the others, at last, decided to join in.
Hesitancy gave way to eagerness. They ate and ate and ate; better than most of them had in weeks. All of those gathered here were poor and tired and scared basically every day of their lives. They questioned their good fortune, of course… but they didn't reject it. Not yet.
When everyone was full the pot was almost half-empty. The Oracle floated over and examined it. Then she placed her hand against the side and looked at Diego. He stood up again and presented himself to her; kneeling down so she could put her hand on him again.
"The Oracle wishes to know if anyone wants more food." There was a general murmur of refusal; most had taken at least three bowls worth. Alejandro stood up and crossed his arms, along with some of the other young men. It was time, then.
"A'ight, Diego. Your little pal has fed us an' all, which we 'ppreciate, but we ain't gonna be no Cape's little flunkies." The others murmured assent and Diego frowned; glancing back at the Oracle. She seemed unfazed by their refusal, and he turned to speak again.
"She does not want 'flunkies', Alejandro. And she is not a 'Cape'." That got him a scoff of derision from the ringleader and confusion from most of the others. He shook his head and began to plead with them. "Listen, you must believe me. She is so much more than that. I've seen it, I've felt it. And you can too."
"Look, we ain't so far gone that we gonna sell ourselves, man. If any of us were that desperate we'd have gone t'work for those two video game clowns by now. An' I don't know about you, but I'm real suspicious of charity like this." Diego couldn't help but grimace at the words but, luckily, Oracle still seemed to be totally calm. "Now just tell us what your new best friend wants from us so we can tell her to fuck off, and go home."
Diego was about to say something when a booted foot met the doors outside and they swung wide. Ten heavyset men strolled in; whistling and laughing as their leader followed behind. Shirtless and muscular, long and greasy blonde hair behind a snarling metallic wolf mask. Someone in the crowd swore, someone else was praying and all of them backed away in fear except for Diego and the Oracle.
"Look at that. All this vermin in one place. Marcus, which one was it?" Hookwolf looked back to a trembling young man, barely visible amongst all the roughs and toughs, pointed at Diego. The old man barely recognised him as being one of the ones that had attacked him. "Right. And this must be our new Cape." Diego tensed for a moment before a hand pressed on his shoulder. The Oracle floated forward and stopped some fifteen feet away from the white supremacists.
"Leave." Her voice rippled and crackled with a power that made Diego fall to his knees instinctively. He could see Alejandro tremble and many of the watching people joined the old man in prostration. "These people are protected." Hookwolf just laughed and flexed an arm; silver running down it and forming bladed claws.
"I go where I want, bitch, and no idiot newbie like you can tell me what to do. This is Empire territory, and if you think tha-" There was a sharp crack as Her finger flicked out and a shard of razor-sharp stone came into being at high velocity. It hit the ground in front of Hookwolf and he recoiled from the tiny splinters of concrete that hit him.
"Leave. Or else." A feral grin formed on the man's face as the flesh of his arm began to retract into a bladed, paw-like limb. He stepped forward heavily; curling toe-knives scraping against the hard ground.
"If you're looking for a fight I'll be happy t-" And he was cut off again when the Oracle's finger flicked out and one of his men collapsed suddenly with a cry of agony. He was clutching at his leg and blood was pouring out profusely. Hookwolf looked dumbfounded by this; as if he didn't believe someone would provoke him in this way.
"Leave." She held up her hands and each one formed three marble-sized sparks of flickering light and two stone shards above it. They hovered there; frozen in place like the rest of the Empire goons. "Or else." For a moment it looked like Hookwolf might pounce. Then he looked at the soldier to his left; curled up in a ball of pain and letting out soft whimpers of agony.
"... this isn't over." He made a gesture and one of the others came to the other side of the injured man while Hookwolf took his left. Together they pulled him to his feet and carried him out between them. The Oracle floated there impassively as they left, then returned to her place at Diego's side. Silence filled the room. At that moment the old man saw his chance and took it.
"You see, Alejandro. She doesn't want to use us. She wants to protect us. To feed us, to look after us. And She doesn't need our money, or our bodies, or our services. She doesn't want to push drugs to us, or to sell us on the streets, or work us to the bone long hours with no pay." There was confusion, yes, and fear as well. But interest. Diego stepped forward and capitalised on that; raising his voice.
"She wants your respect, and your praise. Even your worship. But these are immaterial things. Everything else She will provide to us. Right now, food and protection. But soon there will be more. What do you have left to lose?" The young man, who was the de facto voice of the group as a whole, hesitated. It was clear that this person seemed to have no particular need for them.
"Tell us what to do, Diego." A woman stepped forward; holding her young daughter's hand. They looked at the Oracle with awe and fear in equal measure. "Whatever you want us to, we'll do it." The old man smiled and gestured for them to come, then he knelt before the now-silent Oracle with hands clasped tightly together. Nervously, the woman and girl joined him. After a minute of silence Alejandro hesitantly moved over. Others followed.
"As soon as you make a sincere plea in your hearts, you will understand." Diego bowed his head to the Oracle with a smile on his aged face. Perhaps many thought that he was crazy for offering worship to a 'Cape', but he knew they'd come to comprehend what She really was. Maybe some already had. Adversity had a way of inspiring belief.
Hands clasped, Diego began to pray.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sophia Hess was fairly sure she was being followed. At first she'd thought she was just being paranoid but as the week had gone on the feeling had gone from mere suspicion to practical certainty. As of yet she hadn't caught sight of her would-be stalker, though, and that bothered her. She hadn't done any Cape stuff in days because of it and that was annoying as fuck.
In the end she'd caved and, in the privacy of her own room, had carefully sent some emails to her superior. Obviously she could handle it on her own, but then she might end up outing herself if this turned out to be some jack-off with a camera as opposed to a socially-awkward moron who didn't know how to grow a pair and just ask a girl out.
Before long she got a call from Mister 'Team Leader' himself and reluctantly answered him in her usual fashion; by picking up the phone and grunting into it. He didn't say anything about it, as per usual, and just moved into asking stupid questions. Of course she was sure! Sophia had tailed enough lowlifes in her time to recognise the signs. Someone was definitely following her around.
In the end they agreed to her going on a walk through a predetermined path with plainclothes PRT agents littered en-route, along with Gallant doing a subtle flyby at one point to try and see if he could pick up on the person with his emotional sense. He'd commended her for following the protocols in the Wards handbook; which she vaguely recalled she was using as a coaster somewhere. Either way, she hadn't read the damn thing. It was either useless because it didn't tell you what to do, or it told you stupidly obvious shit like this.
When she reminded him of her feelings on that matter Carlos had sighed and hung up. That was at least a little better. Still pretty spineless, but he wasn't all bad. She still didn't much respect his authority, of course, but that was a given.
They put the plan into motion the next evening and it was, as she had kinda expected, a total flop. None of the watching agents had seen anyone following her, nor had the cameras, and Gallant didn't pick up any abnormal emotional reactions when he did his pass. But Sophia was still absolutely confident that someone had to be following her.
It was in the little things. Almost-movement out of the corner of her eyes. A feeling of absence when she turned around and look. The ghost of unusual, quiet sounds at the very edge of her hearing. At one point she would have sworn she saw a faint silhouette but then she blinked and it was gone. But nobody else seemed to believe her. Well screw them. About an hour after she got home she pulled her blinds, slipped into her closet, changed and then phased out through the back wall.
Sophia floated through her house and slipped out; moving low and fast and keeping the building between her and the far side of her room until she had reached safety. Then she circled around; carefully moving through buildings whenever possible to keep herself hidden. At last she had a vantage point she could watch from.
She stared for some time at the streets and buildings that overlooked her room. There had to be something… now she was wishing she had a pair of binoculars or something. But just as she was starting to think that maybe it all really had been in her head she saw it. A passing car had illuminated a side street for an instant and in that instant the black outline of a figured had been shown on the far wall.
Shadow Stalker grinned, and readied her crossbow. Then she moved; flitting around until she was up behind the alleyway. She took a deep, quiet breath before slipping back into her shadow state and moving into the alley. There they were. Huddled in the darkness behind two bins and watching her room. It was hard to make out details in the darkness but she folded back into solidity and pointed her weapon at them anyway.
"Hey, punk! Hands where I can see them!" For a moment it didn't respond. Then it… shifted. A normal person would stand up but this thing seemed to flow upwards; like liquid in the shape of a crouching man being poured into a standing position that was now facing at her rather than away. "Oh fuck."
It was a Cape. It had to be! Changer-Breaker, like her, some sort of… living darkness. Or maybe a Master projection? Fuck. She loosed her bolt without even really thinking about it but the only reaction from the creature was stillness. The shot passed right through it and punched into the trash can behind it.
Before Sophia could do anything, before she could try and change shape or run or even fire her other bow, the creature responded. It dropped downwards and passed into the ground; vanishing through the asphalt. For a moment Shadow Stalker was stunned and then she suddenly dived sideways and fell into her shadow form. Yet the expected attack through the floor didn't come. It was just gone.
She reported everything as soon as she got to her communicator, and her family was immediately relocated by the PRT. They said it was only until they could find out who the Cape she'd encountered was and what they knew. Sophia herself would be staying in one of the dormitories on the Rig until then. She'd be excused from school as well, if she wanted, or else there would be a guard posted near the school to keep a watch for the thing.
In the end she let it all happen. She still went to school the next day but something was very off. There was a disconcerting emptiness that took her a while to pick up on. When she did the feeling she got wasn't relief. As sure as she had been that she was being followed, Sophia was now equally certain that she now wasn't. Which was not comforting at all given what she felt it would mean. After all, the only reason she would stop tracking her prey…
… was if she'd already got what she wanted.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Faultline tapped her fingers against the desk in her office and couldn't help but stare at the items sitting on it. Four green rings, like coiled snakes, and three gold ones, with inset red gems. She'd paid a lot of money for these. And for the other item. A golden amulet inset with a blue gem.
Most of the cost hadn't been in the items themselves, but in the priority ordering fee. The brat had informed her that her manufacturing time was precious and if she wanted her things done sooner rather than later… well, that was the price she'd have to pay. Truth be told Faultline could have waited for the rings, but she didn't want to give away what she was in such a hurry for or else the price may have gone up.
Mind, the amulet had still been twice as expensive as any of the rings but that could be worse. And the demonstration had been… effective. The girl had walked into the meeting place with that strange getup on and had been all friendly smiles and shaking hands; such that they didn't realise she'd grabbed Newter by the hand and shaken his too until after the fact.
It had been an impressive start. Then she'd demonstrated the other item she wanted to sell them by having Spitfire do her thing. The red gem on that little ring had eaten the actual fire, and then the girl had scooped the scalding liquid up in her bare hands like it was nothing.
Immunity to friendly fire from two of their number was an attractive prospect and the girl hadn't been charging that much for it, either. Then she'd shown off her little catalogue and this item had caught her eye. The name hadn't done much for her but the description… the girl had been a little hesitant, actually. Even promised to let them swap it for a different one if it didn't work quite as advertised. Then there was…
"What are your thoughts on this contract, Gregor?" She glanced at the rotund man where he sat pensively on the couch in her room. The others weren't here; Newter was too young and antsy to talk to about these things and Spitfire was looking after… she was busy right now. There was a set of professional-looking papers on her desk. He didn't need to look at them, as he already knew what they said.
"I am unsure. It feels like a trap of some kind but I can not say where or how the problem is." Faultline nodded and then sighed. She knew exactly what he meant. It was the most bizarre deal she'd ever seen. The girl had claimed, more or less, to be able to monitor her crew's condition from afar and inform any of them if something were to happen to the others. There were supposedly some conditions to this; namely they had to agree to it, for one thing.
She'd never heard of a Cape with power variability like that. Usually there was kind of a theme. Alexandrias and Eidolons of the world aside your powers had a basic conceptual connection. But this Cape apparently made maintenance-free Tinkertech with unbelievable effects and also had a high-tier Thinker power to boot.
The girl had said she'd know when they'd agreed. That had felt ominous. Right now, Faultline wasn't sure if she wanted to. These terms were just so weird. In return for providing real-time tactical coordination and health data, the contract stated, her and her crew would agree to work for this 'Pretender' in perpetuity and obey all direct orders without question. That alone would have made her toss the thing in the trash and burn the contents of the bin to boot if it weren't for the exit clause.
For whatever reason the girl had stipulated that they could, upon receiving any order, choose to void the contract immediately at no fault or penalty to them. Which meant that the girl was basically hamstringing herself because if she ever told them to do basically anything at all Faultline could just choose to tell her to fuck off.
She was sure this had to be a trap. And yet… Faultline looked at the amulet again. Then she looked at Gregor. He nodded; understanding what she was thinking. The large man stood and delicately took the item from her. "I will deliver it." She watched him go and then sighed. If it worked as advertised… if something finally helped, at last...
… well, then she supposed that even signing a deal with the devil might not be such a bad thing.
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TheDanishLord
Viking Warlord
- Location
- Denmark
Lisa what are you doing
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
Nothing at all. She hasn't even appeared in the story yet.
Ruinous Virtue
Paving the road to hell
- Location
- Blacksburg, VA
...that first segment WAS Taylor, right?
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
... sure.
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
OverReactionGuy
Verified Sanity
Taylor: -trying to be scary to scare them off- WORSHIP ME!
Random Hobo: Okay! I'll even bring friends! -runs off to go do that-
Taylor: Oh god damn it. -stares at the hobo running away- Fuck it, I'll just roll with it.
Basically this happened?
Random Hobo: Okay! I'll even bring friends! -runs off to go do that-
Taylor: Oh god damn it. -stares at the hobo running away- Fuck it, I'll just roll with it.
Basically this happened?
TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
Haha. Not quite. He felt the 'call' several weeks later, so it was a conscious decision. Grace is mostly about people reacting to the crazy shit being pulled by Taylor and her own perspective will come later.
- Location
- Poland
Ah.
The Cauldron of Broth. Classic.
The second was most likely a shade spy.
The amulet? Not a clue. There are a couple, but the most desireable ones would either help Labirynth with her mental condition, or shapeshift a case 53 into a normal person. Care to spoil the name of the amulet?
Nvm. It's an amulet of doppelganger. It makes you look like a normal person.
EDIT2: If it's the doppelganger amulet my eyes will pop out of my sockets. I looked at Dom4 inspector and it's literally one-of-a-kind unique artifact that only a master artificer can make, which would mean Taylor can make artifacts and everyone should start being very, very afraid.
(Though I hope to see the mini-knight Percival in the story at some point)
Though the price in gems is quite steep. Where does Taylor get all this? At this rate she won't need to sacrifice virgins at any altars at all.
The Cauldron of Broth. Classic.
The second was most likely a shade spy.
Nvm. It's an amulet of doppelganger. It makes you look like a normal person.
EDIT2: If it's the doppelganger amulet my eyes will pop out of my sockets. I looked at Dom4 inspector and it's literally one-of-a-kind unique artifact that only a master artificer can make, which would mean Taylor can make artifacts and everyone should start being very, very afraid.
(Though I hope to see the mini-knight Percival in the story at some point)
Though the price in gems is quite steep. Where does Taylor get all this? At this rate she won't need to sacrifice virgins at any altars at all.
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TotalAbsolutism
That One Guy
- Location
- New Zealand
Capable of feeding one hundred soldiers at full march every month, and described as giving 'limitless' food. Presumably it could feed more if you didn't have a limited amount of time to stop and eat as an army.
Conjuration 1: Dark Servant.
Not quite. That item is a red gem set in silver, but this is blue; a Lapis Lazuli, in fact. It's this one. Rather than the pure mechanical effect I'm also basing the function off of the description. The person in Faultline's care doesn't need to look normal, after all.
Currently, Taylor isn't actually finding any magic 'sites'. Her gem income is unstable and highly variable because she has to search constantly for them and they actually only come into being if she's nearby a place that meets the right conditions. As her Dominion spreads then they'll start forming reliably in certain places and she can gather them that way.
Lord_Asmodeus
Here is your magical cryptic riddle-tumour:
- Location
- I AM A TIME MACHINE
I'm sure there's some sort of trick to the "if you want to back out of the deal you can whenever" clause but I'm having a tough time figuring out what it is. The only contracts that come easily to mind in Dominions itself are the kind which come with Blood Magic... which I feel is highly unlikely. I mean where would she even find virgins with magically potent blood?
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Bailey Matutine
(Verified Pooka)
- Location
- Pelican Town
- Pronouns
- They/Them
The trick is that until she yanks too hard on that chain, she counts as having powerful worshippers, which benefits her in several ways even if she never does anything with them.
... 'When you get a service for free you are the product.'
- Location
- Existance
You're reading it wrong. They can't back out other deal whenever they want, they can back out of the deal
Which means Taylor can monitor them and count them as followers for the rest of their lives no matter what, as long as she never gives them an order.
It sounds like she's not getting anything out of it, but that's only from Faultline's point of view because she doesn't know what Taylor knows.
Winged One
Not the Simurgh
- Location
- definitely the ground
- Pronouns
- They/Them/It
It's not so bad being a sheep. You get free haircuts!