Agents of Chaos

[Belit]

Agents of Chaos

Part one: The Two Sides of Chaos


The dimmed sun light lit the barren lands in front of you and tinted the petrified woods and charred prairies with a sickening yellow. This motley crew you came together as an act of survival in a hostile land. But each of you suspect the other.
Barely a couple nights away you slaughtered a shelter of Humanoids, but no one had the information you are seeking, the one that would endear you to your demon lord and restore communication to the lower planes. You are still cut off of any interdimensional travel and communication. But the petrified woods ahead are supposed to have been the home of the circle of druids that once had the answers. Perhaps under the shades of those dead trees lies the solution to your travails.

*****

The woods are still miles ahead, a spiraling mountain road takes you there traversing a valley that once probably held luxurious vegetation and clear blue streams, now it is cracked and nothing grows but desperation.

[Doxkid]

This has been a very frustrating affair for Barbara. Lack of resources aside, there is no opportunity for growth here anymore; the dried trees and barren landscape are an accurate metaphor for the prospects of Kython kind here on this world. Her descendants are less than what they could be. Her servitors are less than what she knows they could be. She lacks...something.

Any hope that the forest ahead will hold something useful is scarce, but has still ordered three of her Saimyosho Scouts to keep advance to the edge of the tree line ahead of her and the her group; old magic is a tricky thing and it would be quite a bother if her subordinates activate some long-forgotten magic before she has a proper say in the matter.

"Please inform me immediately if either of you suffer an injury. You are currently much more useful alive than as sustenance for my hive."

[Metastachydium]

Walking in a manner as leisurely as it gets not far behind the kython, Kheia merely snorts at Barbara's comment and in mild amusement rather than contempt as well. Alien as her ally might be, she finds the creature positively fascinating: hive builders are a strange sort, of course, but Barbara's instincts are in the right place. To live is to feed and proliferate and persevere. Besides, she is alive and ultimately an insect to boot. Kheia herself owes much to her kind: so much of her current understanding of the things as they were, the things as they are and the things as they are meant to be.

Barbara is more than her own companions, even, for all their devotion. Aghuur was drawn from among the soulless and Shishera gave up on much, so much, for a touch of worthless intellect. She reflexively glances at the crowbar balanced across her raised left forearm with the decaying arm skewered on its end just under the carpals. That's something Shishera, crawling all over the putrid flesh, still very much has, a place on the wheel as it spins, now faster, now slower, the wheel that is to crush under its weight what thought it could stay hidden in that husk of a forest ahead of them. Soon enough, they will draw fresh blood.

[Dusk Raven]

Current stat boosts: STR +4, DEX +2, CON +6, WIS +4
Current Unstable Mutation: Illusion of Normality
Predator Lord Abilities: Speed Package
(See character sheet, other notes for details)

Jezzail was feeling... calm right that minute.

It was a good feeling to have at that moment. There wasn't much to do except continue to walk through the blasted landscape - or talk to her companions some more. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, though.

At the moment, she appeared to be the most mundane of the group, looking like a simple human woman in traveling clothes. But that was due to some of the abyssal magic she was gifted with. At any moment she could drop the illusion and reveal her true self to the world... but not at the moment. It wasn't the right time. It would not be that time for quite a while, at least until they met with the Druids. What would happen then, Jezzail couldn't say. Maybe they'd come to violence, maybe not. The possibilities were all so exciting.

Jezzail grinned, so caught up in her thoughts that she almost forgot that the Kython had spoken. But then, Jezzail snapped back to the present, and answered with, "Not to worry, I can mend any injuries I sustain, given time." Well, not any injury, but the others didn't need to know that.

[Doxkid]

"At worst I can coat you in my healing secretions for some time to accelerate your natural regenerative capability, but sharing some of my own energy is a much more efficient process. Here." Two of Barbara's Saimyosho align themselves with her allowing the Queen to quickly and efficiently grab one of them out of the air. Over the next few seconds she devours her own servant, bite by dainty little bite, until there is nothing left besides a wet stain on her claws from her licking her claws clean of its remains.

Once her meal ends Barbara's entire body glows a deep, rich red for a moment before the color flows inward to her thorax and then from her thorax down to her limbs and then from her limbs to her claws where it finally amasses in a tiny little cherry-colored bead in her grasp. She presents this bead to Jezzail before devouring the second Saimyosho; the process repeats, ending with her presenting a second cherry-colored bead to Kheia. "Each of these can feed a fully grown Slaughterking, detoxify most poisons, restore a small amount of vitality, and re-invigor both mind and body. Both of you have," Barbara's tone shifts slightly, "slightly under developed mandible-equivalents so you may need to bite down harder than you would expect to properly break it down to manageable pieces for consumption. If necessary you could also swallow it whole, just like a potion in a glass vial."

Barbara creates two Vital Berries as Fullround Actions and hands them off the Jezzail and Kheia. Each Vital Berry can be consumed as a Standard Action to restore 3d8 HP, feed a large creature for a day, gain a 'Neutralize Poison' effect, and gain a 'Lesser Restoration' effect. Vital Berries last 13 days before turning to inert dust.

[Metastachydium]

The nymph boldly catches up to Barbara, getting within grabbing distance, albeit intent on grabbing rather than getting grabbed. It's called "teeth", your Majesty. she remarks, deadpan and nonplussed as she reaches for the little trinket, making sure neither her crowbar, nor its smelly burden touches the kython. It's a fascinating thing, really. Could this be life itself, then, in some pure, concentrated form? She slips the thing into the pouch on her belt, letting the charms on her bracelet jingle almost provocatively as she raises her hand back again and shakes it further up along her slender wrist. She is certainly not going to reveal the extent of her self-sufficience, not even as vaguely as Jezzail whom she'd otherwise found so difficult to read thus far, but if the others are keen enough to tell, they are strong enough to know. And she does hope they are quite as strong as as they have shown themselves to be, against lesser foes. They do deserve some teasing. I'm left a-wondering, though. Do you often find yourself chewing on glass?

[Doxkid]

"Oh, glass has many uses dearie. Glass can be crushed into a fine powder, mixed with mucus secretions, and then processed with powerful acids (using the term 'acid' colloquially of course since many such 'acids' are instead extremely alkaline or even a concoction of enzymes and their catalytic agents) to retrieve the Silica, calcium carbonate, and sodium carbonate; besides the common applications, each can be integrated with your exoskeleton or mixed with mucus as a shortcut for creating stable resins."

Barbara's body weeps a sticky gray substance as she explains herself. With but a moment's work she scrapes much of this gray substance away with one limb to produce a large globule of thick, sticky...something that looks like it would be called body-phlegm or flesh-snot. In a moment she quickly molds this globule into an a brick that almost immediately solidifies to permanently hold this form. Her resin-brick it isn't quite as solid or durable as stone, but the difference between the two materials is minimal and she created this in a few seconds and now that you know what to look for it's obvious that this gray substance is being maintained in a thin coat that covers most of her body.

"This type of resin is an exceptional material for building nests because of how well it isolates the nest from hostile environments, and the corrupting energies used to process the composite materials is very good for your health since it leeches trace amounts of magic and raw materials out of its surroundings; you simply need to open a mucus membrane and bring it into contact with the resin to acquire breathable air or absorb raw material for reconstructing your body after you suffer an injury."

[Dusk Raven]

Jezzail raises an eyebrow very slightly as the Kython rambles on. Truth be told, Jezzail was only mostly paying attention, in part due to Barbara using terms Jezzail didn't recognize, but also in part due to her own chaotic nature. Still, she got the gist - the Kython had useful abilities. Meanwhile, Jezzail accepts the small orb and places it in one of her pouches, giving a nod as her only thanks.

Despite her own lack of understanding, she lets Barbara continue on, not interrupting. This was valuable information about one of her allies, after all.

[Metastachydium]

Dearie? Now, that's a new one. Not that Kheia minds much. Yes, Barbara has just eaten two of her little spawns, but treating Kheia herself as a child of sorts should mean the kython's not particularly wary of her just yet. She can live without the mind games. Alas, your Majesty, the nymph quips, a corner of her mouth curling up into a subtle smile as she inspects the brick with undisguised interest. my mucous secretions don't mix quite as well with glass.

[Doxkid]

"Don't worry dear, (https://youtu.be/5lVOzOBcrm0) I'm sure you'll be able to adjust your epithelial tissue to produce more versatile secretions with just a bit more effort. It comes a little later for some and a little earlier for others, but every kython eventually...ah." Barbara has dissected, consumed, and destroyed enough creatures to know the limits of humanoids and based on this knowledge it seems she has unfortunately stumbled into yet another sensitive topic. It's common knowledge that very, very few humanoids ever accomplish much when attempting to control their own secretions (and hardly any manage to change their secretions into something useful), but it must be terribly demeaning for another species to speak of such things.

"At any rate, I've said so much about kython kind; lets hear more about you bipeds! The two of you are so quiet, you'd think I were holding you hostage!"

[Metastachydium]

Hostages? a loud, jingling laughter bursts forth from Kheia. That's a good one, your Majesty. Whoever bothers to take hostages these days? Those too weak to live on are better spent feeding the strong or the earth. Still, I'll have to disappoint. I can't speak for Jezzail here, but my ilk is thoroughly bland, I can assure you. We swim well, we look pretty and that's about the size of it. that's not even a lie. An understatement, sure, but not a lie. We used to enjoy the favour of the All, I think. We still have that, in small ways. translucent, liquid strands begin to slowly swirl around the fingers of her raised, empty hand before they'd dissipate. The rest we have to struggle for like everyone else.

[Doxkid]

"It seems our definitions of 'small' are vastly different, dear; an intuitive control of the forces of this world is quite the advantage, even if the scope of this intuitive power is relatively small compared to what you have achieved now." Barbara goes silent for a moment. "And what about you, dearie? You stated your regenerative abilities were exceptional, but is that part of the raw power your conquered or is that something you've drawn forth from your bloodline? You have the strongest connection to chaos out of all of us, so I would not be especially surprised if you are being directly reconstructed by the raw power you have tapped, but the ability to even survive such power is unusual for most creatures. Kython were bred from Chaos but even my own connection to it is less than yours in scale and scope..."