7 - Are You A Djinn
HeroCooky
Unverified Monstergirl
[X] You could slaughter them, but perhaps they could help you influence their village in some way? Besides, the woman before you has a questioning mind, does she not?
-[X] "You." Look at the woman as if you were looking at her in the eyes. "You have a questioning mind..."
-[X] Smile in a friendly manner, try to be as non-threatening as possible. "Greetings, I am Apocrypha. What is your name?"
-[X] "You must have many questions but... I can sense that the men who have come with you wish to either kill me or flee." Look up at men and call out to them. "Hello there, men of the desert! I do not wish you cause you any harm, but I will defend myself."
-[X] "If you fear me so terribly, I shall do whatever you ask to the best of my ability, to show that I am not a threat to your lives."
-[X] "Or, if you so desire it, I will answer all the questions you have of me, all I ask in return, is that you guide me to your home. I need a place to stay."
-[X] If they ask what you are exactly, simply tell them that yes, you are a sorceress. You suspect they'll react poorly if they learn you are a Demon Princess.
-[X] "You." Look at the woman as if you were looking at her in the eyes. "You have a questioning mind..."
-[X] Smile in a friendly manner, try to be as non-threatening as possible. "Greetings, I am Apocrypha. What is your name?"
-[X] "You must have many questions but... I can sense that the men who have come with you wish to either kill me or flee." Look up at men and call out to them. "Hello there, men of the desert! I do not wish you cause you any harm, but I will defend myself."
-[X] "If you fear me so terribly, I shall do whatever you ask to the best of my ability, to show that I am not a threat to your lives."
-[X] "Or, if you so desire it, I will answer all the questions you have of me, all I ask in return, is that you guide me to your home. I need a place to stay."
-[X] If they ask what you are exactly, simply tell them that yes, you are a sorceress. You suspect they'll react poorly if they learn you are a Demon Princess.
Within that pause, I considered what to do, now that I was down here, and the challenge and mandate of my father were clear to me. First, I had to prove myself before he would accept me, whether in war, peace, magic, or time alike. Then he would once more allow me to thread on the path towards my inheritance, to earn the moment when he would step down to let me become ascended in my own right. To do so, I would need to have a base of operation, somewhere where I could influence the world and strike down my father's myriad enemies. The small town the would-be-miners had come from could be a good start.
The moment passed, and I looked down, my mind made up about what needed to be done. "You," I spoke, looking down at the woman.
She blinked, screamed, and stabbed me directly into my abdomen before turning around and running out of the crater.
Well, first of all, that was impressive. The crater walls were steep, and I was pretty sure that even I would need to climb them at one point.
Second of all, rude! You can't stab someone you just met into the belly, no matter how much their power overwhelmed you.
I began to walk out of the crater with a sigh, the miners atop having long since panicked after the woman had stabbed me. A full half of the men had run into the desert, while the other half had remembered the women still preparing the camp and meals. After a few steps, I plucked the dagger out of my abdomen, the metal uncomfortably poking my insides. Looking at it, the small weapon was not particularly interesting, save for a single thing that caught my interest; the metal of the blade. Steel, and exceptionally pure steel at that! My choice to speak first instead of killing the humans looked more and more like a good one, as their town needed to have either good trade or experienced smiths to produce such a weapon.
"DID THE BASTARDS JUST LEAVE US!" A shout came from one of the men, ripping me out of my musings as I reached the edge of the crater, now standing perhaps a few steps away from the small gaggle of armed men and scared women.
"Yes," I returned, causing over three dozen heads to snap in my direction, eyeing me warily. "I do believe they ran when she stabbed me," I added, walking closer, loosely holding the dagger as I watched the woman, Kaazima (I got tired of referring her to as 'The Woman'), try to sink back into the crowd, only to be pushed out by some. Her betrayed and shocked look was a bit amusing. However, I wasn't here to kill, but to, eventually, rule these people, so a good
"Are-" a woman spoke up, eyes snapping at her as some tried to get her to shut up, though she was too fixated on me to listen. "Are you a Djinn?"
[ARCHETYPE: INHERITOR - TRIGGERED]
"No," I replied without a fraction of a second passing after her question, lest the image stuck in their minds. I would not be seen as one of these elemental charlatans, tricking people into cruelty and might for their amusement and boredom. "I am not," I continued, gazing over the people here, "a Djinn. I am the Daughter of Necoho."
"Oh," one of the men said, calming down as I said something familiar to his world. Hmm, so a daughter of a powerful sorcerer cast out for a transgression? I could work with that. "Then... Lady Apocrypha," he spoke hesitantly, the group of humans following his lead in seeing me as nobility and one born into power and might. "We humbly ask for your forgiveness; we were unaware that you were a... human," he continued in slight confusion, though a story of how the people in the north were bigger slotting itself into his internal explanation. "It was not our desire to anger you, nor was it our intention of killing an innocent; we thought you a daemon that had fallen from the skies. In the last months, we have received news of daemonic incursions into the world and their supposed vanquishing, so please, excuse any harm Kaazima has done to you. If you wish to seek redress, you may punish her as you see fit," he spoke, Kaazima's head snapping at the man with hurt, disbelief, and slowly building anger in her soul.
Before she could speak, I did in her stead. "There is no need for that. She did not harm me," I said, smiling as the men, and Kaazima, only now noticed that no blood had flown from my wound, or she had done any damage to my body. I was a bit amused at their thoughts, as they believed parts of my body to be clothing. "Though if you wish to provide redress, perhaps you could offer me escort to your home? I have no idea where I am, and I do not seek death by thirst, bandit, or weather."
"Yes! Of course, at once!" Came the cries of several men, desperate to avoid any punishments from me. The women hastily began to dismantle the camp, stashing the food and materials onto the nearby camels.
A few minutes later, half the people who arrived set out back towards their town.
A town I only now noticed to have the cloying smell of rot and decay lingering in both aetheric sight and memory.
The Plague Lord had arrived within their town, and by the currents on the wind, would burst forth shortly before we would arrive, slaughtering dozens and killing hundreds.
I could warn them, urge them to make hast so that I would arrive before the plague took full effect, and banish the daemons and rot.
Or I could gently follow the caravan, assured in the knowledge that there were more than enough defenders to fight this battle themselves, with the added bonus that the elderly and religious leader would die.
Choices, choices...
[] (Write-In) What do you do with the information you hold. And what do you do once within the town after your choice?
