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Strange Aeons (blaze gamma X ShadowPlay) [NSFW]

ShadowPlay

ShadowPlay

Star
Joined
Dec 24, 2023
Location
Scandinavia
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Chapter One
Prison of the Mind​

Hearts hammering in their chests and blood surging through their veins was causing their ears to drum in tandem with their footsteps on the cobbled ground. The taste of iron and copper in their mouths and the constant feeling of being too small and insignificant was overwhelming. The fear that Exilis and Tiana felt was almost tangible, a fear deeper than any they had felt before. Flight was the only option in this situation, even if flight seemed futile. Their vision betraying them as they fled through the narrow alleys, and they felt like their bodies wanted to give in and just lay down and die at the hand of their unseen pursuer. Only through sheer force of will did they manage to keep running.

All around was a wall of sickly yellow fog, tumbling through the alley's canyon of crumbling, gray brick walls like some jaundiced flash flood. Ahead, the unfamiliar alley split, curving to the left and right. Behind, from the silent swell of mist, emanated the sound of footsteps - slow, but somehow keeping pace with the careening, hungry wave. What path would they take in this forsaken place?
 
Exilis continued his deep breaths as he ran, grateful at least, for the fact that, as weak as his body appeared to be, he was at least somewhat hardy. He almost certainly wasn't hardy as his new companion, who had woken up in the same unfamiliar place and situation that he had. Another deep breath, as they moved ahead. "Left," the young man exhaled. Though he was a few paces behind the woman, he'd found himself suggesting the path they follow for the time being.

Alongside the confusion and fear, there was frustration. Whatever had put him into this situation, stripped of his memories, had made him angry. His grip on the silver holy symbol in his hand tightened, the edges of the mask shaped token biting into his palm as he did so. From what little he could remember, he knew he had been touched by the divine, offering himself to the service of the god this mask represented, and along with that, he had arcane knowledge and power of his very own; not that that had helped him avoid this situation. In fact, he pondered if it may have led him to this point. Still, he continued to run, though he was starting to wonder if he may have been better off to just turn and fight.
 
As he clutched his holy symbol, Exilis became aware that it was the only object he was carrying, and apart from his pants he didn't even wear clothes.

The two of them turned left in the alley, trying to escape their pursuer. It was as if no matter how fast they ran, the footsteps behind them became closer still.

Tiana held her heavy longsword in one hand as they ran. She, like the man behind her were very sparsely clad. She only wore her underwear and had it not been such a dire situation she would have loved showing off her ass to whoever it was behind her.

The two of them stopped. It was a dead end. This alley ended in a tall wall. The walls all around them were towering over them, like they threatened to fall over.

tatterman.jpg The mist parted, now mere steps behind. A mask of gray rags emerged, strips of something fleshier than fabric worming and constricting across a body that was almost humanlike - but too lean, and far too flexible. Gauzy gray ribbons reached out like tendrils, each grasping for less doubtful flesh to claim.

The creature blocked the only exit from the alley.
 
Exilis mind blanked. Still keeping a vice grip on the holy symbol, he scowled. He didn't know what to do. He had so many ways he wanted to lash out, maybe try and blast whatever this creature in front of him was, maybe to just scream and shout. The one thing he knew he could not do in this situation was cower, but he also knew that sometimes these things just weren't things that people had control over. And he was no more than a man than anyone else, regardless of faith or power. "By Asmodeus, what in the hell do you want from us?" He finally shouted at the creature, not taking the time to ponder why the name Asmodeus would slip from his lips instead of that of the god of magic whose holy symbol he held.
 
Tiana raised her sword at the rag covered creature. She didn't feel brave enough to even speak. The man next to her must have been made of special stuff to do that. Her heart was pounding with the primal fear of the situation. She did the only thing she could do, to attack the creature.

She knew that she was a skilled swordswoman, but the creature that had just emerged from the mist was fast. It deftly moved out of the way of her blow and in a flash of movements the jagged blade that it carried, opened a deep wound in Tiana's stomach. Her surprised eyes had barely seen the creature move. She saw her blood on the nearby wall. It had fallen in a pattern that spelled out the word "me".

Before she could even react, the knife cut her again, and again, and again. The excruciating pain was unbearable. More blood was sprayed on the wall, beginning to form the word."up".

Tiana fell to the ground, as the last spark of life left her mutilated corpse.
 
'Me up...' Exilis mouthed, his feet frozen to the ground. True, he could try and heal the woman, but what good would it do with how easily the thing before them mangled her. He could escape the moment the thing grew near, but what good would it do? Would it be right to just leave this lady in this state? He couldn't have even been sure the curses that escaped his lips could be called language. He looked up, not sure what the point even was. Was it a prayer? Submission? The thoughts racing through his mind refused to coalesce, leaving him only to stare upward. ((Perception 16))
 
The rag covered creature closed in on Exilis. From the mouth of the dead woman behind the creature, words were starting to form. ".... up.... me" As if the dead tried to convey a message to him. She repeated it again and again, but most parts of what she said were mumbled and incomprehensible.

Exilis looked upward. But the sight in that direction was just as bleak as everywhere else. The yellow fog was all around him, also above and as he realized that, the pain of the jagged razor blade burned across his neck.

The blood from the wound splattered on the wall, next to the woman's blood. The word, "save" was forming next to the two other words. From the woman's mouth, some of the mumbled parts could now be heard more clearly. "..... up. Save me!"
 
Exilis struggled to put the energy to blink. He felt as if there was nothing left for him to do but resign himself to the current situation. So he would fall, not even able to remember who he was, nor how he got where he was. He would pass, hating the situation's sheer absurdity.
 
The razor blade came down once again. This time across Exilis' face, adding more blood to the carnage. Three more cuts were bringing excruciating pain to Exilis as the foul creature sliced and diced his body. Even if he had all but given up, it was as if the life wouldn't let go of him and grant him the final rest. Not until he saw the final word that his blood had created on the wall. "Wake".

The whole sentence was clear. "Wake up. Save me!" And as he realized that, darkness overtook him.



The man and the woman both woke from the terrible dream. They lay hobbled together in a small, cramped space. Naked bodies were touching as the both of them wore no clothes. The man's head were on the woman's flat stomach.

"Wake up, dammit!" A voice screamed out in terror.

The couple lay in a small cell. The cell wasn't large enough to stand in and bars separated the cell from a larger room. In that room, on a table was a naked man. He had multiple cuts and bruises on his body and he was tied down quite well, keeping him in place despite his struggles. He was screaming at the two to wake them.

Circling the table with the man was a female figure. She was wearing a long blood smeared, doctors coat. She was studying the man, stopping every so often to scrutinize one of his wounds or to select a different object from a sideboard of shiny blades. The woman was spinning one blade of a broken pair of pruning shears, which glinted in the dull light of the lamp suspended overhead. With careless cruelty, the doctor drew the blade across the bound man's bare thigh, releasing a tortured wail.

Neither Exilis nor Tiana knew the man on the table, nor the woman torturing him. They didn't even know the naked person in the cell with them.
 
Exilis' hand drifted to his forehead. He didn't like any of this, and was all but immediately wondering if this was some dying dream. He couldn't find the stomach for arousal in the current situation, not with all that was happening. He attempted to stand. "I'm... Up..." He spoke through gritted teeth. "What in the hell is going on?" He said, his eyes shifting between the other strangers in the same room. The woman who'd been slashed in his dream, and the two others. Did he know her? Had they met before? He raked his brain, trying to recollect.

If this wasn't a dream, was that foggy nightmare the first time he had seen her? Why would she be in his dreams if that were so? Had they met before? He glared at the woman carrying the blade. He was no fighter, but he might not need to be. "What's going on!?" He repeated, more forcefully than before.
 
Tiana felt the weight of the man lift from her body as he slowly arose. She had little problem with her nakedness, apart from the fact that she missed her armor. But she found little erotic arousal in her current situation.

The screams of the man on the table were masking the noise that the two cellmates started to make. Even Exilis' words were never heard by the doctor.

She realized that their cell was separated from the rest of the room by iron bars. There was a gate in the bars that seemed locked. At least, what looked like a lock were on what looked like the gate.

As the two of them tried to gain their bearings, they realized that there was a smaller table next to the one upon which the torture victim was bound. On that table an array of sharp instruments were on display. None were designed for use on living flesh: a gardening trowel, forks, several long pieces of broken glass or metal, and the other blade of the tormentor's shears. Additionally, two heavily loaded sacks seemed to lie next to the door to the cell.

"What is going on." Tiana echoed, a bit more silent than what the man in the cell had done. She looked at him. It was the same man as in her dream. Had he had the same dream? What did it mean? She tried to no avail to collect her thoughts and memories, but it all seemed to slip like water in a sieve. "Fuck. We need to get out of here." She whispered as she tried to push the door to the cell open. Just as expected, it was locked.

It didn't seem like the doctor was aware of the fact that the couple in the cell had awoken.
 
Exilis closed his eyes for a moment. Nothing was coming to him. Not about the past, not about her. But when he opened his eyes, and looked at her, he made his decision. Good idea or bad idea, for now, he had to trust her. He had no idea why they were in the cell, but the fact that he'd seen her in the dream had to mean something, even if it was that the two may have both been damned. "I've got an idea... I just need you to be ready to grab her." He pointed at the doctor. "Ready?"
 
Tiana nodded slowly at his words. She had no reason to trust the man. But then she had no reason to distrust him either. No matter what happened here, she could hardly be in a worse situation. So in the end she figured that it would be in her own interest to work with him. "You mean through the bars? Grab her. I hope I can get a good grip on her from here. But how will that get us out?" She asked him. It wasn't like she was unwilling to do as he commanded, she was just a little worried about the bars in front of them.

But instead of asking further questions, she rolled her head, to release the tension that had been building from the awkward position she had slept in. She flexed her strong muscles as she moved closer to the barred entrance, giving the man behind her a good view of her almost too perfect backside. "Ready!" She said with a whisper.
 
"I imagine she has a key. Just need to get her attention." With that, he said an incantation, flexing out his hand to cast a spell. from his fingertips, a small beam of cold air burst out, flying at the woman. For a moment, his eyes did waver to the woman's ass, but the time wasn't right, nor was the place. Not by a long shot. First thing's first, they needed to get the hell out of there, then they could hopefully figure out what was going on. ((Ray of Frost, 20 to hit touch, 3 damage))
 
The freezing ray of magic hit the doctor square in the back and she hissed as she turned to the captured couple. "What? I...." Was all she got to say before the man on the table kicked her in the back with his foot that apparently had become untied. The woman flew towards the bars and slammed into them. At the same time she lost the blade that she was holding, leaving it on the floor.

Tiana tried to grapple the doctor, but the awkwardness of the situation and the strange movements of the doctor, made it impossible for her to get a grip of the woman.

The doctor got up and turned to the man that had just kicked her. She was making non-human noises from her throat as she got another kick in the gut from the man, sending her back towards the bars.

This time she was on her feet quickly, but in her haste, she failed to see the key that fell from the pocket of her doctor coat.

[ 1d20+5 = 6 natural one ] Combat maneuver - Grapple
 
Exilis started backing away from the door, speaking another incantation as he did. This time, nothing seemed to happen. No blast of cold air, no light or flash. As he backed away to the wall, the key started floating slightly above the air, drifting to him and then into his waiting hand, which he tightly gripped it in. "What the hell is going on here!?" He shouted at the woman in the coat again. "Why are we in this cell? Why are we naked!?"

[ 1d20+8 = 14 ] Perception
 
The 'doctors' focus was now focussed on the man on the table. She grabbed a fork from the table next to her and screaming she descended on him. First stabbing him in the eye. His guttural screams were so terrifying that they would haunt lesser creatures. But Exilis and Tiana kept their cool.

As the naked man behind her were trying using his magic to get the key, she bend over and tried to reach the blade that had fallen from the doctor's grasp earlier.

Tiana got the improvised knife about the same time as Exilis got the key. The woman with the fork were so intent at stabbing the man on the table that she didn't notice the shenanigans of the captives. She also lost all control with herself as she screamed and stabbed the man in the throat, eye and stomach. Her body seemed to have a hard time keeping its shape as she transformed. Her facial features became smooth and her nose disappeared. Her skin became gray and her limbs long and slender.
 
"What the fuck..." The words slipped from Exilis' lips before he had the time to process the fact he'd spoken. He swallowed dryly, then decided that it was for the best, at this point to just follow the course. "Maybe I'll wait to open it..." He muttered, casting the same spell as before, this time not nearly as accurately, in no small part due to the thrashing that was happening on the other side of the bars.

1d20-3 = 6 ] vs touch Ray of Frost for [ 1d3 = 2 ]
 
The woman - shapechanger - was so intent on stabbing the man on the table that she didn't even realize the spell being cast at her. The frost ray hit the side of the 'operating table', harmlessly disipating. She kept stabbing, while she screamed at the man that had kicked her.

Tiana was just as surprised by the change in the 'doctor' at the table. "Fuck! We need to get out of here." She didn't want to be then next victim of that insane shapechanging monster. She looked at the spellcasting man in the cell with her. "If we can get the door open, I might be lucky to take her out with this one." She showed him the blade she had collected from the floor. The bloody blade looked more scary than deadly. But a good deep thrust might do the job of ending the insane creature that was digging out the eye of her screaming victim.
 
Exilis looked to the other woman in the cell, a grim expression on his face. He had some clear trepidations about the idea of opening the cell with the creature out there. It felt safer to leave the cell door closed, but he decided it was his turn to repay the trust for earlier. He opened his palm to reveal the key to the cell door. "I can't do much to help you once the door is open; at least not at the moment." He told her. "Try not to die. I don't want to try and get out of here on my own. I've got a bad feeling that this is only going to be the start of our troubles." As he spoke, Exilis opened the door for her to act.
 
Tania smiled at the man as he revealed the key. "I fucking won't die." She said confidently. "That bitch on the other hand. I can't make any promises for her." Nobody put her in a cage and lived to tell the tale.

The door opened and the shapechanger seemed too preoccupied with her stabbing and screaming to notice that a naked woman was approaching her back with a blade in hand. She stabbed with all her might and the blade sank deep into the creature's back.

The screaming doppelganger turned surprised, looking at the woman and the open door. "What? You are free?" She cried and then she tried to flee. This left an opening for Tiana to strike once again, stabbing the knife deep into the creature's side, causing it to topple over. With a last whimper, the monster stopped moving as life left it's surprised alien eyes.

Tiana was a little surprised by the effectiveness of her attack. But she didn't mind one bit that the crazy shapechanger was dead.

Everything in the room was silent. The shapechanger was dead and the man on the table was equally so.

[ 1d20+5 = 23 ] Suprise sneak attack [ 1d3+4+1d6 = 9 ] damage piercing
[ 1d20+1 = 4 ] Initiative Tiana
[ 1d20+1 = 7 ] Initiative Doppelganger
[ 1d20+5 = 18 ] Tiana AoO [ 1d3+4 = 6 ] damage piercing
 
Exilis inhaled sharply, then took a slow exhale. He could still feel his heart attempting to leap from his chest, but that did appear to be settling somewhat. Whatever was going on, he'd have some time to think now, hopefully. He started to examine the room for anything of use as he spoke up. "Well... We're out of the frying pan... I'm hoping it's not into the fire," he sighed. "Do you know anything about what's going on? Do you know who I am?" His second question was asked with a tone that was as far from the indignant one that usually paired with that question.

[ 1d20+8 = 11 ] Perception
 
Tiana nodded. "That went even better than we could have hoped for." She looked at the dead doppelganger and then at the room they were in.

It was clear that the room was being used as a torture chamber for the insane doppelganger. Next to the door to their cell were two bags, where the two of them found their equipment. Everything seemed to be accounted for in the bags. There seemed to be two other cells in the room, but both were empty. To the southwest the room expanded into another room and to the east they could see a door.

The woman, clearly happy to not be wading around naked began dressing as she said, "No I don't know you." She paused for a few moments, "As a matter of fact, I don't seem to know or remember much. I had a dream just before I woke up." She looked at him, "And you were in it, and then I was murdered by some rag covered monster." She shuddered, the memory of dying in the dream were just too real. "But I do remember my own name. I'm Tiana." She told him. "And who might you be?" She asked as she drew her sword and gave it a few swings before sheathing it again.
 
Exilis frowned. While he was grateful to have found his equipment, the fact that she didn't know any more about the situation than he did was worrying. He began dressing, himself, the weight of his meager belongings nonetheless feeling heavy on his frame. "I'm Exilis. Loathe as I am to admit it, I'm in the same boat as you. I can remember my name, and that I'm called by the God of Magic, but everything else is a blank." He turned to her. "And I had that same dream... It's more than a little concerning." His hand drifted to his neck where he'd remembered being slashed in the dream, but he quickly lowered it. "At any rate, at least we're clothed, and I've what I need for the full breadth of my abilities as I understand them." He said, reaching into a small pouch on his belt for a scrap of leather. An incantation slipped his lips, arcane runes forming at his fingers, before quickly passing. He returned the leather strip.

"As much as I'd like to find a way out of here, I think it may be prudent to try and find out what's going on." Exilis said as he started walking towards the room to the southeast.

Using an Arcane reservoir point to upcast Mage Armor at CL2. I have 2 level 1 Arcanist slots and 2 Arcane reservoir points remaining.
 
Once she had fully donned her armor, Tiana drew her shield and sword. She had no intention of becoming a prisoner again. She smiled at Exilis, "Well it's good to meet you Exilis. But I hope that next time we wake up naked together it will be under better circumstances." She checked her satchel for her alchemical components, making sure that everything was in the right place. Her eyes went to the dead creature on the floor, "Do you have any idea, what that is?" She asked him.

Tiana followed Exilis toward the southeast room. A cold, iron furnace hunkered in the corner of the basement, its four-foot-square door was gaping half open. Nearby sprawled a heap of gory clothes and other dubiously flammable trash.
 
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