Play Testers Wanted Pt. 12

I awoke with the dawn. Gaia stood transfixed watching the rising sun. I was naked and summoned my armor and gear. My symbiote armor manifested as a pool of shadow on the floor. I stepped into it and it crawled up my body and formed like a second skin.

"Did you miss me?" Traci asked.

"You know I did." I replied as I checked out her modified HUD and built in weapons. "I can see this as an ongoing situation." In response she displayed a bright red pop up. Player characters cannot be vampires and remain PC's. Well that explains everything. It was fun while it lasted. I bid Gaia goodbye and headed for the exit.

"Where are you going?" Gaia asked as the layout changed, and I found myself walking back to her instead of the exit. "I haven't explained your mission."

"Mission goddess?" I replied.

"Let me explain." She replied with a laugh. "Take out the Darksaber." She ordered and I did as she asked. I felt a chill as my fingers wrapped around the weapon. "Tell me what you feel."

"Cold." I replied as I felt its power my former power. I touched the dark stone psychically and swirling at its heart was that vampiric hunger. It was like a caged beast that I knew intimately well. The runes she had placed on the stone and the casing were its prison. It was as much a part of me as my hand or heart. "It's me, the dark side of me that is."

"It is your vampiric nature given a physical shape." She said and then continued. "Your mission is to destroy a key demonic fortress."

"There is more to this." I said and she laughed.

"The demons are followers of Chthon." Gaia explained and let that name sink in. "Yes. The creator of vampire kind, now you see why it was critical to remove it and place it in a functional form."

"When you say destroy the fortress," I said, and her head tilted to the side. "Ah, so leave no stone unturned."

"No stone atop another, if you please." She stated quite seriously.

"As you wish." I replied and the quest activated. Instead of my HUD dropping down a hard-light construct appeared around my left forearm. It listed my active quests and the order of attention. In this case the 'Cult of Chthon' was in the number one position and just below it the 'House of Tohl'.

"Be careful with that," Gaia indicated, and I agreed. I went through the options menu and changed the display language from English to Shiväisith, the tongue of the dark elves. "That isn't what I meant."

"I don't understand." I said and waited for an explanation.

"It is still maturing. When it wakes up, you'll know." Her only reply and my thought was my armor. Angela had described it as immature. I didn't have to fight its influence the way MJ did. Well, not yet anyway, perhaps I'd have to change armors when it happened. "Time to go."

The hard-light device had a built-in compass. I was able to activate it in my field of view. I changed to my eagle shape and took to the air. I felt the chill of the morning breeze across my wings. I had forgotten what if felt like to experience the variety of temperatures. The sun warmed my wings as I aimed south towards the lair of demons loyal to the dark god Chthon. I wonder if the Order had a hand in creating that character. I'd find out eventually. As I flew, I tried to work out a basic attack strategy. I had time to play out quite a few what ifs as the pristine land beneath me changed. The lush valleys, rolling hills, and forests vanished. Now there was dried cracked earth, blasted heath, and a growing nightmarish landscape. The massive fortress appeared on the horizon. It rose nearly quarter a mile high and reminded me of the Barad Dur of Middle Earth sans the Eye of Sauron. I found a spot to land and observe the area around the tower and its base. I was haunted by Gaia's words, 'leave no stone atop another'.

I had a small mountain to dismantle. I could have scouted out the area but if I was spotted, I had an entire tower to contend with. Instead, I summoned a minor earth elemental to spy out the land for me. I told it what to look for and sent it out. I had hours on my hands before it would return. My plan was simple, if no major magic was used to defy the laws of physics, I was going to summon the biggest lava elemental I could under the tower and topple it from below. If there were magical defenses well, I'd attack those anyway I could. Since I was alone, I picked treasures to offer to the elemental as payment for its service.

My scout didn't return until nearly midnight. It popped up in front of me and frowned.

"There are no wards to protect the base master," it said. "About the base, it is weightless."

"How in the hell is that even possible?!" I cursed looking at the immense tower structure.

"It was built from the top down." The elemental explained. "It took time to discover this. I couldn't get too close to it. It is heavily guarded. However, there are six key nodes that maintain the weightless nature of the tower. If you can damage them, you might be able to destroy the tower."

"Might. Well, it is a course of action." I agreed and a soft ding indicated that my quest had changed. "Here, thank you for your diligent service." I said offering a chunk of unprocessed Vorpalite. "Is that acceptable?"

"Oh yes master! Your generosity won't be forgotten." It took the gem and molded back into the ground.

"Well fuck," I cursed looking at the tower. "No easy solution today. Time to fuck some shit up."

I sat cross legged looking at the tower and pondered how to destroy it. I found myself ranting aloud and dismissing one plan after another.

"Lightning storm... no. Earthquake... no. Lava elemental... it might be able to take out the dungeon but would be taken out quickly after that. Nah. I need to take out the damn nodes to collapse the tower that much is clear. Laying siege is foolhardy. Acid rain... hmm... may or may not depending upon any magical defenses. If it fails, they will be on guard and impossible to sneak in after that. Sneaking in is the only way getting shit done. I can use the high explosive grenades and trigger them once they are placed on or near the nodes. That will work, now, what shape do I use to get in. Scary or sexy? If I take on a powerful shape, I'll draw unwanted attention. Sexy might just get me through the front door and then I can vanish and get shit done. Okay... I..."

"Purr."

"Cat?! You scared the shit out of me!" I gasped feeling the Fire Cat rubbing against my leg. "How did you...?" I asked as I checked my HUD. Fire Cat was listed as a companion, not a pet. That was weird. Oh well. "So, you want to help me take out the big nasty tower." The look on the cat's expressive face was one of 'really, you are talking to me like that'. "Let's pick a face."

"Mow?" The Fire Cat meowed as if to say, 'go cute'.

"Hmm I see," I said and summoned a sheet of water and smoothed it until its surface was mirror like. "Okay. Something non-threatening so I can slip in easily." I tried a traditional succubus form. I glanced at the cat and it hissed. "Too sexy... alright... perhaps an imp. They are small and cute-ish." I shifted to a small furry beastie of almost cartoonish design. The cat rolled onto its back and laughed or what I assumed was a laugh. "Small but effective in combat." I began to tweak it. I grew to three feet in height, created armored plates, and needle-sharp spikes in critical locations. "Eh?" The cat purred and I continued with small but spooky alterations. I changed my sclera to black with flickering blue flames in the place of irises. The final touch was wisps of shadowy smoke coming from my joints and gaps in my armor plating.

I dismissed the water and it dropped to the ground and was quickly soaked up by the dry barren soil. Thirsty? I didn't feel like walking the entire way and decided to make an impressive appearance. My only weapon the Svartalfar dagger. If someone scanned me, they'd pick up on its dark aura. Instead of simply teleporting I folded space and stepped into view of the front gate. The cat followed me, and I turned behind me and spoke to a nonexistent master.

"Thank you master," I said for the benefit of my audience.

"Get it done," the dark voice said as I used Kaia-Jutsu and threw my voice and alter it.

"Yes master," I replied, and the portal snapped shut.

I walked up to the gate where two tall battle-hardened demons stood guard. One was roughly humanoid, if barely. It stood twelve feet tall, it had four arms, and its lower torso was serpentine. Its scarred armor hinted at battles survived and hard won. The other was roughly insectoid with multiple spider legs, a bulky central torso, and three slender necks and at the end orb shaped heads with gleaming red multifaceted eyes. The heavy exoskeleton replaced its need for armor.

"What the fuck?!" The insectoid demon laughed.

"I think your girlfriend's abortion just showed up," the armored demon laughed.

"Fuck off shorty or I'll beat your ass and sell you for scraps!" The spider demon snapped.

"Bring it on lard ass," I fired back drawing the dark elf dagger.

"Shit, he's got a damned rune weapon!" The armored demon exclaimed. "I can feel it from here."

"Put that down you little shit or I'll take that away from you and shove it up your..."

He never finished that thought. I hurled the dagger and it struck with the same force as a freight train at full speed. It ripped through his exoskeleton with ease, vaporized internal organs, and killed the demon instantly. It returned to my grip and I looked at the other demonic guard.

"Go in," he said as he gestured, and the gates opened wide for me.

"Thanks." I replied as I strode into the tower. So much for a quiet posture. I focused on my surroundings as I passed under the first portcullis and whoever made this place wanted to impress and intimidate any invaders. The rallying point was also covered on three sides with murder holes from above. A second portcullis was raised allowing me to enter the main chamber on the ground floor. There were guards watching me as I sought out the closest door to the depths of the tower. With a little searching I found the central core of the tower and saw the first of the nodes. I was expecting something small and well protected instead it was a huge shimmering crystal out in the open.

My first thoughts were to find the nodes, wreck them, teleport out, and then kill anything that crept out. It was a good plan until I saw it, the very wizard looking demon walked down the spiral staircase. I melded with the shadows as it passed and called out to the demons carrying the corpse of the spider demon I had slain.

"What happened?" It asked with a noticeably hollow voice. Was it intangible beneath the ornate mask, runic robes, gloves, and what appeared to be dragon hide boots? I want. This guy is so getting backstabbed so I can add his outfit to my stuff.

"A short little fucker wrecked him with a rune dagger!" The serpentine demon explained.

"Rune dagger... hmm... where is this individual now?" The high ranked demon asked. I assumed he was ranked because of how much deference it was getting. "Well?"

"He's in the tower... somewhere." The serpent thing said flinching.

"Somewhere?" The robed demon replied clearly unhappy. He moved so fast I barely tracked him. He latched onto the serpent and a flare of dark magic later an illusion of me was displayed. Did he tap into the other's memory for this? Probably. Time to change. I adopted a succubus form and decided to tromp around weaponless and in scantily clad silk armor. I walked up the spiral steps until I was even with the massive rune stone. It was about the height of a human torso and about as wide. I looked up hoping to see the next five, no such luck, only one more hung in the air about thirty feet up.

"Hmm. Gorgeous." I muttered.

"You are telling me," growled a burly troll-ish brute. "I don't remember seeing you around here."

"The boss brought me in," I lied, and he just shrugged and backed off. I turned back to the hovering stone and pondered where I could attach the high explosive where it wouldn't be seen until it was too late.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A hollow voice asked from behind me.

"Me or it?" I asked in my best sensual voice.

"Yes," the robed demon declared before summoning an impressive rune covered staff slash penis metaphor. Who was this guy?

"My, what a big staff you have," I said as I trapped the top of his staff between thumb and index finger. I made a slow stroking gesture and stared into the eyes of the mask.

"Ha!" He gasped and I flinched when I felt a buildup of power from the staff.

"Fuck!" A panicked voice screamed from above. I looked and saw two injured guys in battered armor and bleeding profusely. "How could you miss?!"

"He dodged at the last second... aw fuck it's the Seneschal!!" The guy in the back howled in dismay. The masked demon hesitated and watched them panic. I hit the pair with a blast of scarlet lightning killing them instantly.

"You dare?!" The seneschal snapped at me furious that I stole his kill.

"You hesitated," I said coolly. "You forfeited your chance to kill them."

"I was savoring their terror. You ruined the moment. You spoiled the kill." He fumed. "But uh..." he stalled as I summoned a wooden bucket filled with water. "MMM?" He gasped as I slowly raised the bucket over my head and smiled as I dumped it over my body. I shivered as the silk clung and turned transparent. "Aw damn... how can I stay angry with you?" He stated as I stuck out my lower lip pouting the best I could manage. "... you were correct. It was a clean kill. I'll let you take the prize, this time."

I stepped off into open space and levitated down to the corpses. They had been thrown off the staircase and fallen to the bottom of the shaft some hundred feet or so. I found the bottom four nodes on my way down. The charred and broken bodies lay in a growing puddle of blood. I searched the corpses and discovered they were in fact PC's. This quest had taken me out of the single player portion of the game and into a multiplayer zone of the Disney storyline. I was unable to remove unique personal items but the pair was well stocked with rare building materials, a minor rune book which had led them to the tower, and a shit ton of silver ammunition for a pair of modified needlers that instead of firing crystal shards at ballistic speeds launched the silver spikes. Clever.

It was time to explore, and since I was in the dungeon, I could work my way up. A new scent caught my attention over the smell of blood. It was sex. I listened and there was a lot of fucking going on. I cloaked my presence and found the demonic breeding pit. It made a party at Studio 54 look pale by comparison. The most disturbing part was the utter lack of human shapes. It was like a furry party on steroids. Well not just fur but scales, wings, horns, pincers, and a whole menagerie of organs and orifices. I won't lie. It was like watching a blend of H.R. Geiger of Alien fame and Clive Barker creator of Hellraiser collaborating. The entire floor was writhing bodies and a host of voices raised in pleasure and pain. Time to go.

I retreated to the steps and each floor was another layer of hell made manifest. I dug into my stash of high explosive grenades I had made for my Katria persona. They could be attached to any surface and remotely detonated. I placed the explosives on the runes as I slowly made my way up the tower. Search parties were still active looking for the imp shape I had taken when I first arrived. The packs of demons ignored me as I climbed the steps to the pinnacle. I could have spent weeks exploring every inch of the place, but I felt a need to complete this before more player characters arrived and spoiled things for me. I placed the last high explosive grenade when I heard the voice from the top of the tower. I recognized the power behind it and stopped in my tracks.

"No fucking way," I cursed softly. The speaker was using Kaia-Jutsu. Had Nightwind taught another player the art? I needed to find out. The nodes were armed and primed for destruction. Security only got more intense as I neared the top of the tower. The guards were easily influenced using the selfsame Kaia-Jutsu to slip past them. I got within one floor of the master of the tower when I encountered the implacable Seneschal again.

"You again. The Master hasn't summoned you." He threatened in his soulless voice.

"Aw, please," I said invoking the compulsion of my voice and hitting a psychic roadblock.

"Interesting," he said as I sensed a return to his rage after my attempt to influence him failed.

"Return below or face my wrath."

I chose conflict. I armed one of the silver needlers for my right hand and Death Kiss in my left. His staff was in his hands and charging. He hissed when I drew the rune sword from its sheath, and she purred. I thumbed the three-shot burst option on the needler and waited for him to initiate his attack. I slipped into defense mode and when the Seneschal leveled his blast at me, I tapped into Kyanna's technique of not just reflecting the energy back but adding to it. It was enough to stagger him and let me close to melee range. Rune blade met rune staff and colossal energies arched from both weapons.

"I hunger!" Death Kiss moaned.

"Feed me," roared the staff known as Soulcrusher.

The duel began in earnest. We both knew what would happen if the other's weapon struck a fatal blow. He was a gifted combatant, but his focus was on the mystic arts while mine was mastering sword craft in nine different schools. I began to wear him down. His defense began to waver and to compensate he teleported away and erected a spherical forcefield. The Seneschal summoned four demonic brutes to aid him as his health regenerated. I thumbed the needler to full auto and began mowing down the newly summoned demons.

"Die motherfuckers!!" I screamed as the slender silver shards sheered muscle, bone, and brain matter. The demons roared in agony as the silver burned them from the inside out. The first wave of demons fell dead to the floor and the Seneschal fired off blasts of raw chaos energy at me through his protective shield. After six blasts he summoned the second batch of demons. This cycle repeated itself as I slowly knocked down his health in a minor boss fight. Then I ran out of ammunition. I took a double handed grip on Death Kiss and began taking out the minor demons that way. I was about to slay the last demon when he summoned the next batch. It only got worse from there. Before I knew it, I was fighting eight demons and he was about to call up the next wave. I stumbled and they pounced. I was knocked down until I was on my hands and knees.

'Duh-duh-duh-Dum! Duh-duh-duh-Dum! Duh-duh-duh-Dum!' My hearts pounded in my chest.

I no longer felt the blows falling upon me. Something inside of me tore. The psychic rip felt like a flood of ice water hitting my guts and then spread to my entire being. The primal scream shook the immediate area and slew the demons and tossed the Seneschal away and smashed him against the far wall.

"We are Ghost Fire!" We screamed as the larval symbiote shed its old form and reached its adult stage and merged with me. A flood of power coursed through us as Death Kiss spun in the air as I reached out and it flew to our hand and we went on the offensive. A corona of near invisible flame surrounded the rune sword as we smashed through his shield in a single strike. He defended with his own rune weapon and the two indestructible objects clashed.

"We have reached an impasse," the Seneschal laughed. "Surrender and I might..."

We roared and sang the seven lethal notes of the Death Song. The Seneschal was at point blank range. To our surprise instead of killing him, since he was a greater demon, his animating life force was sent packing to Hell. We looted his body and we got a better look at the runic robes he was wearing. The robes were crafted of the finest draconic silk. Dragon silk is taken from the beast's wing membranes, muscle sinew, and other tough resilient materials. They are soaked until they break down and then blended, cleaned, purified, and then spun into silk. The material is incredibly strong, light weight, and is perfect for mages or assassins. Perfect for us to use as a disguise. The runes that were stitched into the robes were mainly protective and done with inhuman precision.