1d100 - 2 - Encounter
1d100 - 99+10=109 - Spell Control for Undead Puppet (Critical Success)
1d100 - 99-15=84 - Spell Control for Healing Spell Creation
1d4 - 1 - Puppet vs. Resurrection
Chapter 1: Your Secret is Revealed
I could feel my own fear balling up inside my stomach. I could hear the pounding of my heart fade into a roar that blocked out all sound. A voice screamed, '
HE KNOWS HE KNOWS HE KNOWS,' in my mind. Worst of all, I could feel a stirring in the energy locked away in the deepest, darkest part of my soul.
However, that fear was on the inside. This was not the first time I had met a Fist of the Duplex, and I knew my life depended on hiding my fear, and more importantly, keeping that energy deep inside where it belonged. On the outside, I let a small smile rest on my face. My posture was loose and relaxed. I closed my hand into a fist and placed it in the center of my chest in the traditional greeting for a Fist.
He stood right in front of me. He was younger than any other Fist I had ever seen. He was likely not much older than me. He was dressed in a dark grey shirt and pants that were loose on him. He had a sun painted on his chest instead of the usual moon, marking him of the Selio order, which explained why he was traveling alone. Most Fist traveled in groups of three.
"May the Gods bless your hunt, Fist Adalgar," I said.
"Thank you, my lady. Actually, I am returning from a hunt. It was indeed blessed. The Witch was swiftly destroyed, and thankfully, no one was harmed in the process," the grey robed Fist responded.
Father dropped his fist from his chest and said, "That's wonderful to hear. Come, join me and my daughter at our fire. It is unwise to walk through the Unbekannt alone, even for a Fist. We have chicken soup and bread. The bread's a little bit tough, but the soup is delicious. It was just prepared by my wonderful cook, Ebbe." He gestured to one of the dozen servants in the campsite. Ebbe was standing by the large campfire and a cauldron full of soup.
"Thank you. I would love to join you. I must admit, I am quite hungry," the Fist replied.
Father pointed to another servant and said, "Boy, fetch the Fist a chair."
The servant quickly walked to one of the wagons. He pulled a rosewood chair and some deep red cushions from the wagon and set them beside Father's identical chair. The servant swayed a bit as he placed the chair. Father frowned at him as he unsteadily backed away. Father sat first, then the Fist, and finally, me.
Ebbe brought a tray with a steaming bowl of soup and large slice of dark bread and placed it on my father's lap, then he did the same for the Fist and myself. Father was about to eat a spoonfull of his soup, the Fist waiting to begin until Father had taken the first bite, as tradition dictated, when I heard shouting coming from behind me. I turned to look, and I saw all the servants gathered in a circle.
The two guards we had brought with us, Gerald and Friedrich, rushed over to the circle to see what had happened. Father, the Fist and I all stood up. I set my tray in my chair and ran over to see what had upset the servants. There was a boy on the ground. He was writhing on the floor, his eyes were pure white and foam was coming out of his mouth.
The Fist was across from me. He knelt by the boy and said, "A demon is attempting to possess him. Pray with me."
Many of the servants knelt with the Fist and began to follow along with him in the Prayer of Protection. Worried for him, I knelt and began to pray with the others.
"Oh merciful Solios, we beg for your protection. We need your warmth. We need your love. Please grant us safety from tragedy. Shelter us from your wife's embrace. We…"
The boy stopped shaking. He lay still. For a moment, I thought our prayer had worked, but then the priest placed two of his fingers to the boy's neck and bowed his head. He began the Prayer of Death.
For a moment, I couldn't comprehend it. I had never seen someone die before. He looked only like he was sleeping. He looked peaceful.
I felt tears begin to fall down my face. He couldn't be dead. I had spoken to him earlier today. He had been so excited about our detour through the forest. He had been so full of joy and energy. I had been annoyed at how rambunctious he could be, but all I wanted now was for him to return to the way he had been.
I wiped my face with my sleeve, and I once I lowered it, I noticed everyone staring at me. At first, I was confused. Why would everyone be looking at me? With horror, I looked down and saw a smoky green line snaking from me to the boy. I felt this thread of power connecting him to me. I felt it enter his lower back and branch off into each of his limbs and his head. I felt it branch again, entering his fingers, toes, eyes and tongue.
Then he stood up. I had him look to the right. I had him wiggle his fingers and toes. I had him open his mouth.
Then the Fist jumped to his feet. "
Witch," he whispered.
Suddenly, I felt the ribbon of power connecting me and the servant snap and the corpse fell to the ground. The servants all backed away, and I stood up. Fear seized ahold of me. I had revealed myself.
The priest spoke louder this time, and he pointed at me. "I sentence to you death, demon." His other hand jerked down to the hilt of his sword.
My father stepped in front of me, in between me and the Fist. Then he spoke. "Hold on a minute. Let's not rush to conclusions. My daughter is very devout. For all we know, this could be some kind of Miracle, a blessing from Solios, from your prayer. She's a good girl. She's not a demon!"
The Fist drew his blade. "That was no miracle. Miracles do not make corpses walk. That was
Necromancy, and the spell clearly originated from her. Step aside, my Lord. I do not wish to harm you."
Father stood there for a moment; his hands were shaking. "Listen. As your Lord, I order you to stand down. We will sort this out, but there is no need for violence."
The Fist responded, "No Lord can order a Witch spared. I understand, my Lord. You thought her your child, but I will only ask once more. Stand aside; you know what must be done."
The Fist stepped closer, and Father pushed me back, his voice filled with desperation, he shouted, "Yes… yes. I know what must be done… Gerald, Friedrich, kill this Fist and I will pay you your weight in silver!"
The Fist stopped for a moment, stunned by my Father, the Lord Daan Interitum of Siad's, heresy. Gerald, however, did not hesitate. He rushed forward and swung his club at the Fist's head, but the priest swiftly stepped out of the way of the blow.
Friedrich, unlike his partner, stood in place, frozen by indecision. "Friedrich, if you let this man kill my daughter I will personally see to making your life a living hell! KILL HIM! NOW!" my father screamed.
I couldn't take it anymore. No one should die because of me, and if my father kept on like this he would be burning beside me. I reached deep inside myself, almost without thinking, and spoke. "
Stop."
Gerald, my Father and Friedrich all froze. The Fist did not. His blade blurred though the air and a moment later Gerald's head flew away and his headless body and toppled to the ground.
"No..." I dropped to my knees. Tears began to well up in my eyes. I looked up at the priest angrily approaching, and I begged, "Kill me if you must, but please don't hurt anyone else."
"I will kill
all who stand against the Gods,
Necromancer." He spat at me and raised his blade.
Then there was a blur of motion behind him and suddenly the Fist was forced to the ground, tackled by my father. My father and the Fist rolled around for a moment until I heard a strange gasp and gurgle. Suddenly, there was a burst of light, a rush of wind and I was pushed against the ground.
A moment later, it was quiet and dark again. I stood up. My father was on the ground, a dozen feet away, breathing I could see, but not moving. The Fist stood where he had been tackled. There was a dagger in his side, blood slowly soaking his gray robes. He stumbled toward me. "Come, demon. Come and this will all be over," he raised his sword with one hand, the other holding his side just above the dagger.
I turned and ran from him. I only made it a few strides before my feet hit something. I fell to the ground, my breath was forced out of me, and I came face to face with Gerald's severed head. I let out a little breathless squeak and crawled backwards.
At the same time, without even thinking, as I took a deep breath, I sent my thread into his corpse. The thread flowed through his whole body splitting at each limb and digit. It moved up through his neck, and the thread slithered across the ground like a snake. It entered the severed head and pulled it back onto his body, while at the same time, he stood.
It all took less than a second, and the Fist was there a moment later. I am ashamed to admit my first thought was to make Gerald kill the Fist. Responding to my desire, Gerald, moving faster than he ever did in life, smacked the Fist across the head with his club.
The Fist fell to the ground. At first, I thought him dead, but I rushed over and saw he was still breathing. His whole right side was soaked in blood, and I knew that if he wasn't dead yet, he would be dead soon.
I knelt over him. It was all wrong. He had murdered Gerald and tried to murder me, but I was sad for him all the same. All life is precious; all life deserves to continue on. That was the teaching of Solios.
I looked down at him. His breathing was ragged. His blood was pooling around him and soaking into my riding pants. I had to help him. This curse I had, this magic, I had to use it for good, before his brothers burned me at the stake. I had to heal him. I couldn't be responsible for another death.
I took a deep breath and focused. I pulled from deep within me, and my magic heeded my call. At first it came out like before, a thread meant to control, but that wasn't what I needed. I stripped away the death and coldness from the thread. I replaced it with warmth and light, pulled from my determination to keep him alive. I looped the thread into a circle.
I opened my eyes and looked down at my hand. A glowing, yellow circle hovered an inch above my palm. I knew it would heal wounds, just the way I knew the thread controlled corpses. I had to pull the knife out, but once I did he would start bleeding even more. I had to be quick.
I grabbed the knife, took another deep breath and pulled it out. In the same motion, I used my other hand to push the circle of light into his wound.
XXX
The next thing I knew, I was lying in the grass, looking up at the sky. I sat up. My body felt sore and my hand... Oh Gods! My hand felt like it was on fire! I held it up and saw my right hand was bright red and covered in blisters.
I focused, stripping the death and cold away from my magic and pushing it into a circle through my non-burnt left hand. It was much harder with the pain distracting me and it took me a few minutes to get it right. I placed the circle on my injured hand and watched the wound decrease in size. The pain slowly faded. After a moment, the glowing circle dissipated. The mass of burnt flesh and blisters now looked more like a sunburn.
I looked around the campsite, and I realized it was day now. Three of the wagons remained and only two of the twelve horses were still here. Besides myself, the campsite was empty except for three people lying on the ground.
No! The Fist! I looked and found him lying in the same spot. I ran over, but it was too late. He wasn't breathing, and his blood had hardened into a brown crust. It was all over. I had forgotten that the Fist were immune to magic. Apparently, that included magic meant to help them.
I backed up, and looked around me. Gerald's headless corpse lay next to the Fist. A dozen feet away, lay my father. "No, no no nonononono… NO!" I yelled as I rushed to his side. My yelling achieved nothing. It was clear; he was dead. His body was off-color and bloated just like the Fist.
I grabbed ahold of his corpse. No. The Fist may be immune to my magic, but Father wasn't. This magic, this curse, it was responsible for my father's death, but I would use it to bring him back. I reached deeper inside my soul than I ever had before.
I wrapped myself in the dark, cold energy that lay in my core. I soaked in it, and felt it spill out of me, crackling with power. I flooded it into my father's corpse. It wasn't a thread; it was tide. The cold smoke rushed into him, and I willed it to bring him back to me.
I felt the magic harden his skin. I felt his flesh freeze, and I felt him begin to float off the ground, but it did not make him breathe, and it did not make him move. It did not bring him back. I pushed more and more of my power into him. I felt him fill with it and overflow, frost spreading across the ground around him, but still he did not stir.
I felt him. I felt him the same way I felt all the other corpses that my thread had entered. He wasn't alive. He was a puppet. I couldn't bring him back. Instead, I had him sit up, and I wrapped his arms around me. I had him hold me like when I was a child. I had him cradle me, and I wept.
It was hours before the spell wore off and his corpse tumbled down to the ground.
XXX
Cast Spells or Pray (Pick Up To Two Options):
[] Cast Undead Puppet
-[] On Gerald.
-[] On the Fist.
-[] On both.
[] Cast Healing Circle on your hand again. It still hurts a little.
[] Attempt to create a new spell.
-[]Write in
[] Pray
-[] Pray to Solios.
-[] Pray to Lellissa.
[] Cast no spells.
[]You kneel to pray, but you are struck by a strange sensation.
Father (Pick One Option):
[] Dig him a grave
-[] With a puppet.
-[] Yourself.
[] Bring him with you. You might not be able to resurrect him right now, but you will find a way.
-[]Have a puppet carry him.
-[]Cast Undead Puppet on Father and have him follow you.
-[]Drag him yourself.
[] Leave it. That's not your father. Your father is gone. That is just a corpse.
Just a puppet.
[]Write In
Run (Pick One Option):
[] Run East, towards the small town of Calder, where the Fist came from. It is close by.
[] Run West, back towards Saldia, the city you came from. It's far and the Fist of Gods have a temple there, but you have to go home.
Even if it's just to die
[] Run into the forest. You've heard tales of the magical beasts that live in it, but you have magic too.
-[] Run North, towards the mountains.
-[] Run South, deeper into the forest.
[] Stay here and
-[] Write in