After the excitement of routing the Hanracki Coven of Diphath-worshipping vampires and ghouls, coming back the Temple of Gorphat was beginning to feel normal for Nicora. Her plush horrib was waiting for her, along with the fetish doll of Councilman Khanti, which was curled up on its side instead of standing where the Yodhgorphat-in-Training had propped it up.
And Nicora reaches over and flicks the fetish doll with her finger. "Serves you right, you know. How much anguish have you given in your lifetime," she remarks a bit dryly. It does give her some pause, though, as she stops to wonder why it was curled up. So, while looking at it, she grabs the plush horrib and hugs it. Why hugging the representation of a creature that used her body is comforting is anyone's guess; but chances are it's just insanity.
The movement is enough to dislodge a few bits of broken wood from the fetish. Since the only wooden part hidden by the doll's position would have been the genitals, it might explain the contortion.
"Oh dear," Nicora comments, setting aside the plush for a moment while she tries to stick the wooden bits back on.
They're quite ruined, looking crushed as if struck with a hammer.
"What exactly happened? That looks ... awful," Nicora has to remark. She also has to wonder just what she did to him, and almost feels guilty.
"Are you troubled?" the voice of Gorphat whispers to Nicora. "Disease which does not strengthen us is against My order, and must be eliminated."
"What did you do to him?" Nicora asks the air as she goes to her makeshift bed and settles down.
"I did nothing to him," the invisible goddess claims, but still sounds pleased. "The Blessing you bear would not have affected a male. It did affect his mistress, however. There was much screaming, and a knife had to be used to free him from the crushing pain. Perhaps he will be the better for it. Eunuchs are known for being wonderful singers and poets, after all."
That, for some reason, causes Nicora to laugh. "Okay, well, in that case I don't feel so bad about it," she admits, "Though I fear I may have asked for too much when I asked you to increase your blessing upon me."
"It makes you strong.. in a very specific and unpleasant way, of course," the deity notes. "You did well against the other diseases that pose as men. Even if you did allow your pet to assist you."
"So, you will leave this blessing upon me?" Nicora asks as she crosses her legs uncomfortably. "And as for the cultists ... they were no longer people. They were just a disease, and one that threatened the city. It was necessary, and since there are no other Sisters to help me, I invited Tulani along."
"She is a useful pet," Gorphat admits. "You've not really experienced the blessing enough yet, I think. Let Khanti's fate be a lesson to you, though: your suffering can harm others, under the proper circumstance. It can be a weapon if you choose to use it as such. Tools make us stronger as well, if we wield them to our advantage."
"I would have asked Hosheb to help me, but you have forbidden him to see me during the Path. Tulani is just as effective, but not as ... handsome," Nicora remarks, looking bemused and petting the horrib plush. "It is strange to me I have become so fond of horribs, but I have." She shrugs slightly, then continues, "What those ... creatures did in their lair was horrific. Mockeries of art made form victims. An altar dedicated to birthing a child just so it can be devoured." She shudders at that last part. "And this is a small coven. There is a larger one somewhere in Bar Abbas territory."
"There is a disease in that place," Gorphat whispers. "One that is.. not of the body, but of the spirit and mind. It is something you are not ready for at present - but when you complete my Path, you will have mastery of something powerful which will let you face this alien presence."
"A Mage has also been helping me strengthen mental defenses," Nicroa admits. An ear flicks, then she asks, "But what will you gift me at the end of the path that will make me strong enough?"
"It will not be a Gift," Gorphat claims. "It is simply something that you will be."
"That strange creature I dreamt of?" Nicora asks and draws her legs up, hugging them. "I'm not sure I'm ready to become that."
"You will be, when the time comes," the goddess promises.
"I'll be ready to be a genderless, almost slimy, thing?" Nicora has to ask nervously.
"You will revel in it," Gorphat whispers. "It will prepare you to become the true Sabaoth."
"I guess I will find out when the time comes," Nicora admits. She eyes her plush again, then asks, "Were many of Your Daughters fond of horribs, or am I .... unique in that?"
"Phlagaea had one as a pet, until it metamorphosed," Gorphat says. "She summoned vermites to feed to the wormling. High Priestess Cesteria found it disturbing."
"It was terrifying having them inside me, and yet it did make me feel very close to you," Nicora admits. "The squirming was a reminder that I am yours and that I would make you proud." She also rubs her neck and adds, "And I hope to send many of the Abbas coven to that fate if it becomes possible. The consumers get consumed; it is an appropriate irony."
"Rephath would approve," Gorphat says. "The Seventh Station is close, mere steps away. Face it when you are rested, for it can be surprisingly trying."
"It is that close? What ... does it test?" Nicora asks as she sits up and sets her plush to the side.
"Your skill and endurance," the fading voice of the goddess claims.
Nicora lies back down and takes the plush. She may want a nap, then, if it is an endurance test. "I will make you proud," she murmurs as her eyes close. And more scarily, she actually wants Gorphat to be proud of her.
It really was 'mere steps away', as Gorphat noted, since the chamber is within the Temple itself. It may be that this is one lesson the Yodh wanted close at hand.
Nicora enters this new chamber with trepidation. Anything that 'tests endurance' from Gorphat can't be pleasant. She circles the statue first, eying it and biting her lip lightly. She then goes to the podium and eyes that boon, then frowns ... having a very bad feeling. But at least she looks the part in here; she has coated her fur with the green sticky goo, and she's covered in bandages; looking very much like one of Gorphat's daughters. Nervously, she opens the book and looks for instructions.
The very first page of the tome depicts the Prayer of Release, which is described as being used to release a blessing (any blessing) of Gorphat from a person, but is only to be used if the pilgrim has shown strength in dealing with the blessing - or else is completely debilitated by it, in which case the Yodhgorphat may choose to brand them in some way for their weakness, or may accept a suitable donation to Gorphat's Temple in appeasement. It is noted that this Prayer is primarily for the release of blessings inflicted by the Yodhgorphat themselves, and is unlikely to work on Divine Gifts or actual physical ailments.
The page shows the supplicant kneeling or prostrate, with the Yodh's hand upon the top of their head (or their foot upon it, as appropriate to the positioning), while reciting the prayer itself: Lady of Affliction who Challenges and Strengthens us against the harshness of the world, Acknowledge the efforts of this worshipper. Reward their Strength, if you deem them worthy. Show your Mercy if you deem them Weak, or if they Pledge to redeem themselves in your Favor by other Means or Gifts.
Nicora reads this again. There is no other Yodh here, and she isn't sure if she is the one touching, or the one kneeling. But, she assumes she is the one removing it, so she steps forward to the strange statue and places her hand upon its forrhead. She takes a deep breath, then recites the prayer, slowly and clearly, in Babelite, to make sure she has memorized it. "Lady of Affliction who Challenges and Strengthens us against the harshness of the world, Acknowledge the efforts of this worshipper. Reward their Strength, if you deem them worthy. Show your Mercy if you deem them Weak, or if they Pledge to redeem themselves in your Favor by other Means or Gifts," she says softly, but firmly.
As with the fireballs, it takes several repetitions before anything happens. In this case, the gem over the statue's heart glows green and there is a sound like wind-chimes. The glow fades after only a few seconds.
Nicora says the prayer again to see if the glow returns. Maybe it is because she has a blessing that it reacts to her at all.
Again, the gem lights up and a chime sounds. A sign of success? Nicora vaguely recalls Phlagaea using something similar on some of the soldiers after the Battle of the Twisted Keep - but then the Yodhgorphat had all sorts of tricks and spells prepared that Alptraum never got to see, as she was working outside the castle while he was facing Dack in the innermost chamber.
"Ah, this must be a testing dummy to show I'm doing it correctly," Nicora concludes. So, she leaves the statue for now and goes back to the book, then turns the page.
Now there is an index of sort, listing the different blessings within the tome:
The Blessing of Vermin
The Blessing of the Clouded Eye
The Blessing of the Burden Transferred
The Blessing of Silence
The Blessing of the Veil
The Blessing of Consumption
The Blessing of Gorphat's Breath
The Blessing of Gorphat's Kiss
The Blessing of Stone
The Blessing of Bone
The Blessing of Expectoration
The Blessing of the River
"Well, the blessings are sure interesting-sounding," Nicora has to admit, amused by the titles. For the moment, she decides to flip to the first one; The Blessing of Vermin. She's curious what that could exactly be.
It doesn't take long for Nicora to realize these are very basic Blessings. Like the 'curses' there must be more advanced techniques available - especially since she's seen Phlagaea use them. The first one does bring to mind the green girl's ability to summon vermites, however. As in the Sixth Station, the instructions show numerous gestures and incantations and the specific order they have to be in. There is no ritual circle this time, however. Mage Cyprian would probably call these simple blessings 'cantrips' in the parlance of the Mages. This first one seems to involve hand gestures that mimic the shapes of vermin: sketchy vermites, flies and beetles.
Amused, and intrigued by this 'spell', Nicora reads over the instructions several times. After shaking her hands out and flexing her fingers, the acolyte begins this simple cantrip. She's slow and careful, reciting the words exactly and shaping her fingers to the pictures. She repeats this, again and again, trying to get it right.
Eventually she is rewarded by a glow from a gem on the head of the statue - and the buzzing of the ever-present carrion flies that infest the Temple. A dozen gather, landing on the statue's face and crawling around it while the gem still glows. There's a chime again.. and then the glow fades, but the flies don't just lose interest: they go straight for Nicora's head!
"Ack!" goes Nicora and she tries to swat the flies away from her head! "What, what?" she complains. "My head isn't that interesting!"
The flies keep at it.. until about a minute has passed, and then they all just fly off as if nothing happened (save for the unlucky few that got swatted).
"Okay, so ... hm. Do I become the target? Flies wouldn't have been horrible. Just ... yucky," Nicora admits. She rubs her forehead, then turns to the next ritual. The Blessing of the Clouded Eye.
This one seems to have a lot of 'evil eye' sort of gestures involved, and chants about dimness and twilight and such.
Nicora has a bad feeling about this one and chews her lip. Still, she flexes her hands, then begins following the instructions; mimicking the hand gestures and reciting the words. Like before, she repeats this, though she's a little nervous this time to hear the chime.
Sure enough, after enough repetitions the left eye gem of the statue lights up, followed by the chime. And when it goes dim.. so does Nicora's left eye. There's no pain, but things just get darker - enough that nightvision would really suffer, but only clarity would diminish in brighter environments. It only seems to last a minute or so, though it might feel longer.
"Yeah, I was afraid of that," Nicora mutters when her eyesight dims. She tries to not panic too much, at least; and kind of wishes she had a mirror, because she suspects her eye looks like an old crone's she was always warned against as a child.
The thought of a mirror brings to mind the symbol on the statue: The Mirror. As much as it is clearly a target for testing the blessings on, it also reflects them back at the caster - so that they know they do what they meant them to, perhaps.
"Good thing these are all simple cantrips. I don't think I would want one of the more powerful ones reflected," Nicora says, and rubs her lower stomach in response. On to the next one, The Blessing of the Burden Transferred. Strange name, that. Transfer of what?
This one is more complicated than the others, and requires that the caster also have a blessing already - just like the simple curse-fetish. The gestures are more generic, but there are points where the caster must touch their own body, or make a symbolic gesture applicable to their own Blessing, in order to temporarily transfer it to the target. These spells almost certainly require a supplicant to stand still and wait.. or else they aren't used in practice and are just the first steps in the real Blessings that seem to strike fear into everyone, including other Yodh.
Nicora goes to the statue, even though she cannot likely practice this cantrip much. Still, since she has a blessing, she does decide to practice the movements and words. When it comes time to touch parts, she touches her vulva, then the same spot on the statue. She repeats this until she's comfortable she understands the movements.
The gem embedded in the statue's groin glows, unfortunately. The chime sounds.. and then Nicora suffers a horrible, clenching cramp of her PC muscle. It isn't hard to imagine what would happen to anything that was inside her when that kicks in. It feels like she could crush a small skull!
"Eeeegh," Nicora whines, teeth clenched as she partially bends over and uses the statue to support herself. "I can't risk making love to anyone," she whimpers, "... except the demons." And that is rarely pleasant to begin with!
After a minute, the muscle relaxes - but it's still sore from the strain.
"Maybe that was the point, Gorphat only wishes me to be Hosheb's lover," Nicora wonders as she relaxes once the serious pain passes. It's a waddle back to the book, then on to the next spell, The Blessing of Silence.
This is clearly meant to affect the vocal chords (a big deal with an Eeee), and the gestures actually include the 'jaw flapping' one used to express that someone is talking too much. Plus, she has to actually bite her own tongue at the end of each iteration.
Nicora arches her brow. "Well, when in the temple..." she says, then begins the cantrip. Words are spoken, faux-jaws are moved, and her tongue is bit repeatedly. Heck, just biting your tongue a lot would make it hard to talk! Still, it can't be worse than when Mordecai studded her tongue.
The Mirror's throat gem glows, the chime sounds.. and Nicora feels her vocal chords 'dry up' as she goes hoarse.
"Well, that's different," Nicora rasps. Then it hits her, right now she sounds like some of the Yodhgorphat. Some of them may had a chronic version of this blessing. So, while she waits it out, she goes to read up on The Blessing of the Veil.
The Blessing of the Veil seems to involve a lot of hand clapping. It otherwise shares a lot in common with the Blessing of the Clouded Eye, but likely affects hearing instead. The more advanced, 'holdable' versions of these would be pretty useful in evading pursuers, really.
"Ah, an ear-muff spell," Nicora says onec she's actually able to talk. This could be very useful to know, she she practices it, and focuses on memorizing the gestures and the words.
The gems in the statue's ears glow, and the chime.. well, it starts, then seems to echo until it's drowned out by a static buzz in Nicora's ears. More than making it difficult to hear, it causes her to feel like she's in a sonar fog, causing a surprising amount of disorientation.
"Wow, this one is annoying," Nicora says as she steadies herself on the podium. This would be an evil cantrip to use on a flying Eeee. Or maybe lapis. Other species it may not bother as much.
Eventually it passes, along with the audio-hallucinatory dizziness.
Once her hearing clears, Nicora moves on. The Blessing of Consumption sounds ominous. It may cause ravenous hunger, or somesuch.
The ominous feeling is enhanced by the ink for this Blessing now being red instead of green. The instructions are much more involved and difficult now, and require the caster to hack up some mucous into their hand just to start with.
"Okay, so this is not what I thought," Nicora admits, frowning. Yet, she begins it anyway, and starts the gestures, incantations, and even coughing up some mucus ... which also requires her to snort to even get some.
It takes much longer to cast - minutes go by before the gems on the statue's chest glow - and they glow red this time. The chime is the same at least, but once it sounds Nicora finds herself on her knees, bent over and stricken with a wracking cough and burning lungs!
For a cantrip, this one is awful! Her eyes are clenched and watering like crazy as she coughs and coughs. Even if it'll only be a short experience; it's too long in her opinion even if it only lasts ten seconds! "They're getting worse," she thinks grimly. She's only halfway done!
It's so hard to catch her breath that her vision even darkens, and there's a real chance she may pass out.. but then her lungs clear. Maybe this wasn't a cantrip, but something closer to a minor spell, since it had a material component.
She stays on her knees for several minutes, recovering. Once Nicora feels strong enough, on to the Blessing of Gorphat's Breath. Her gut makes her think it's just a spell to give someone horrible breath ... which might be quite useful to use ion Tulani whenever she starts feeling like she's the alpha female.
Of course, that's when the Eeee notices the taste of blood at the back of her tongue, and spots a few glistening drops on the floor. The spell caused her to cough up blood!
"Okay, I don't think I'll use that one again. At least not on me," Nicora mutters.
The Blessing of Gorphat's Breath is also done in red ink. There's no phlegm involved this time, but.. a lot of heavy breathing. The gestures look a bit like strangling ones, with lots of clenching of fists.
"Not what I thought, again. Strangling. Suffocating," Nicora says, frowning. They are getting worse! She bites her lip, then begins htis one. Her voice wavers a bit now, knowing this will probably be bad.
When the same gems light up red again, Nicora's fear is realized. Like all flyers, Eeee have impressive lung capacity - and suddenly feeling it halved as the bronchial passages become inflamed is frightening. The pain here is from straining shoulders and wings as those muscles try to take over for the diaphragm in drawing in breath. A flying Eeee would lose all wing-power if stricken like this! But it's still not as bad as the previous one, and clears up without Nicora feeling like she's going to pass out.
But it does have the ever so lovely effect of causing a near panic attack and forcing the Eeee to use the podium again for balance. She takes a several minute break now and just breathes; steadying her nerves. The title of the next one, The Blessing of Gorphat's Kiss, doesn't sound bad, and she kind of likes kissing Gorphat now, but given the recent experiences, she expects it to be bad too. Once she's ready, she goes to read it.
This time the ink is black, and the spell really does involve making kissing motions, blowing kisses and so on. The wording talks of the ecstasy of Gorphat's lips upon one's flesh. It doesn't sound horrible, at least.
"I do think the touch of your lips is a delight, Mother," Nicora says in the chamber. She draws a breath, then begins this ritual as well. One thing she has learned how to do well is kiss and use her lips; so that motion comes easily. The words take more practice, but practice she does.
A gem lights up on the statue's stomach.. and then another on a shoulder followed by one on the leg and several more, some of which could be on the statue's back. They aren't red, or green but a vibrant purple this time. The chime comes, and.. Nicora's skin erupts. In the same places that gems lit up on the statue, the Eeee sprouts painful boils, lesions and on her leg an actual weeping ulcer.
This wasn't what she expected, but then she wasn't sure what it was! "Wait it out and they'll fade," she tries to think to herself, and holds onto the podium again for support. And hopefully ... they won't leave any marks.
The pain passes after a minute, and the woman's skin returns to normal, save for any fluids that had leaked out. Black ink must symbolize Blessings that relate to pain, at the very least.
"Pain, black, blood, red," Nicora decides. And yes, they're getting worse. That was pretty bad. So, with trepidation, it's on to The Blessing of Stone.
This is also in black, but appears to be a 'cantrip' sort again, with minimal gestures. The litany refers a lot to 'waters of life' and boulders, with a river metaphor linking it all together.
Nicora scratches her head. She isn't sure what this one is ... but somehow expects it to be very painful. So, it is with very shaky hands and a wavering voice, she practices this cantrip.
It takes longer, since Nicora is a bit rough at first. Once the wavering is quelled, the Blessing takes effect. Three gems on the statue's lower abdomen light up purple; one in the center, and the other two flanking it with only a few inches separating them. The chime comes, and then the pain. It's unique, like fire and stabbing at once, centered in Nicora's kidneys and bladder.
Nicora crouches down and bends over, whining in a low tone. The position is one well known when she has to relieve herself, and after fumbling; it's what the bat does, right in the chamber. She'll have to clean it up anyway; and the pain is such that her body wants it out. There is no dignity in this; but at least it's just her in the temple to see.
The pain fades, although a dull throb remains in the kidneys. The spell couldn't really create 'stones' after all, only the sensation of them.
And at least she has a bit of time to clean up the mess she made in the process. Undignified, but then little of a Yodhgorphat is. She rubs her forehead, glad to be down to the last few. On to The Blessing of Bone.
This one is still in black, and the chants talk of "Winter's bite" and the cold and damp, while the gestures are made with fingers bent like claws (and toes as well, meaning the caster has to stand on one foot at time to manage it). There's no mention of bone at all though, outside of the name.
"Oh, like how old people complain of aches when the weather changes," Nicora reasons out. It can't be worse than some of the previous, so she is at least a little less nervous to start this one. Even if it means standing on one foot and looking silly.
The gems on the hands and feet of the statue glow purple in time, and with the chime comes the pain, of course. Knuckle joints seem to swell and it feels like bones are grinding together, as Nicora's hands and feet are warped into the painful arthritic claws of a crone.
"Ow, ow, ow," Nicora mutters as she stands on one leg, and leans on the podium, to wait this one out. She at least wasn''t that surprised by it; having seen it a few times growing up; in a non-magical form of course. When she can move again, there is a lot of stretching and flexing of fingers before she turns to the second to the last, The Blessing of Expectoration.
The gestures for this one are unmistakable, as they show sticking a finger into your mouth several times as you chant about things like rotten eggs and boiled eyeballs and pickled cabbage.
At least the ink isn't black anymore. It's brown.
"Flatulence?" Nicora wonders. It doesn't sound that pleasant, regardless. Plus, it just isn't as funny when you're not a guy anymore. Strange, but true. So, with a sigh, she starts this one, and dutifully goes through the gestures and words, dreading the chime to come.
This time the gems are on the throat and stomach. The chime triggers Nicora's gag reflex, and her diaphragm spasms as well. Of course, being a vampire suddenly has an advantage: her stomach is empty! That doesn't stop her body from trying to eject the nonexistent contents of her stomach though.
"Fun, vomiting!" Nicora thinks grimly. It's also a feeling she knows well from youth, from many failed attempts to not be a vampire. There were many days she threw up back then. She's also glad when the sensation passes, because no one likes feeling that way. She also realizes it has uses, though; it could be used to get someone to regurgitate poison, for example. She takes a deep breath, then goes to the last one, The Blessing of the River. "You've almost done it, girl. Last one for the trial," she tells herself.
The Blessing of the River talks about.. a river. And a storm, as depicted with violent hand gestures to represent rain, and even beating wings for wind. The words talk of hillsides being washed away, levees overwhelmed and flooding. It's the most exaggerated and deliberately scary-sounding of all of the Blessings so far, even though it's another 'brown' one.
Nicora scratches her cheek. She deicdes to be better safe than sorry, and removed her bandages; leaving her a naked, green, Eeee with a lot of body jewelry. She takes a breath, then begins the ritual. Gestures are firm and strong, and her voice firm and loud. She gives it the intonation in the way it was written.
It's actually kind of fun to act this one out. Especially if it was at night, over a campfire to a group of children perhaps. This time, Nicora never sees the associated gem light up, but does hear the chime. And once more her liquid diet saves her some of the brunt of the reflected blessing - but empty or not, her bowels convulse and try to evacuate with great force. For someone who ate solid food, this would be explosively nasty.
Oh, she would have had fun with this one back with Hexen, that's for sure! She's also glad she removed her bandages as a precaution. It's not painful, but it certainly feels strange. There's a lot of hopping about and flail-flapping of wings as the cantrip runs its course. Once it passes, she feels a bit tired! "Okay, so at least it didn't end horribly," she has to admit as she collects her bandages. It's then back to the book and a turn of a page to see if there is anything more to complete the ritual.
The final page congratulates the reader on surviving this far, and that the Eighth Station will be the test of Strength of Will. Also, now that it's unbound for the moment, Nicora's tail expresses its displeasure with this particular Station by biting her on the butt.
"Ow, hey," Nicora says as she reaches back and swats her tail. "It could have been a lot worse. What if the book required the initiate to take another blessing in Gorphat's name," she points out. "And what I learned will be useful ... and occasionally fun."
The tail doesn't seem to care about notions of fun, blessings or anything else. Maybe it just doesn't like being tied up in bandages though. It isn't the communicative of appendages..
And to stop the biting, Nicora uses a bandage to tie a bow around it's head! The Eeee then sashays her way back to her room, naked, green, and feeling proud of herself for completing the ritual.
Though the distance from the Seventh Station to her room isn't all that far, Nicora keeps getting a tingle in her neck - a feeling that she's being stalked.
Nicora's head tilts a bit. "Who is there?" the green Eeee asks, "It's bad luck to stalk a Yodhgorphat..." Her fingers also curls into fists as she prepares for what might be a fight.
There's nothing there. At least nothing that she can sense: no heartbeat but her own, no sounds save.. well, actually the insects are quiet too for a change.
Nicora frowns, then shrugs a bit. She turns and continues the hallways back to her room. "Probably lingering effects from the ritual," she mutters.
The feeling comes back, and just before she can step through the doorway into her room, something drips down onto her wings. While 'dripping stuff' is not uncommon in the Temple of Gorphat, there's something more disturbing about the feel of this.
Nicora's ear twitches. She reaches back and feels what just dripped on her wing ... then slowly looks up.
A long strand of saliva hangs from crystalline-toothed jaws above her. The sleek, black chitin carapace of Gronegk's long skull is so shiny that Nicora can see her own reflection in it. The winged grok-oid demon twists its eyeless face to look down at Nicora, and hisses, "Run!"
You know, when something like that looks at you, smiles, and tells you to run, it's probably a very good idea. Her bandages are abandoned right there and the Eeee takes off in a panicked sprint into the temple. She bypasses her room completely and heads into the twisty passages, hoping to lose the creature. "Dagh, what does it want? Why is it here? Rephath is on my side!" she frets as her feet beat the stony floor. She prays she can lose it the catacombs!
At first there's no sign of pursuit, but then a blood-curdling screech-howl echoes through the passages. The monster was just giving Nicora a head start! Still, she manages to reach the catacombs ahead of it: a dark maze of storage rooms, old cells and rotting mounds of stuff.
And Nicora runs around, then through, moldy piles of stuff, scary patches of liquid, and who knows what else in an effort to mask her scent so she can't be tracked! And soon, she even slows down so she can tiptoe and sneak, and not be tracked by sound...
In the soft, moist darkness the same things that help to hide her also make it difficult for Nicora to locate the hunter. She isn't even sure it's in the catacombs at all, until a chitinous stinger caresses her hip from behind. "My senses are honed," the demon hisses. "I follow the thread of Just Vengeance that links you to that depraved old man. An offering to Rephath, was he? Or a call, to me, because you crave my.. attentions?"
Nicora jumps away from the stinger! "He got what he deserved," she says in a squeaky voice. "I wasn't calling to you or Rephath." Since she felt the stinger in this direction, she goes that way!
A mount of garbage falls in front of Nicora, blocking her path. "But you have my attention now!" the demon notes, with a chuckle that is more like a growl than anything else.
Nicora spins around, trying to find the demon. "What do you want?" she asks of it. "I have nothing I can offer."
A chitin-covered talon grabs onto Nicora's shoulder, and she's yanked backwards! She finds herself held against Gronegk now, his chest pressing between her wings as his hands wander and grope at her chest and belly. That long, deadly jaw presses against her cheek, and the demon says, "You have much to offer me. You are a hunter too." A sticky tongue licks at the Eeee's chin, before the demon continues. "What did it feel like, down in their lair? Were they terrified of you? Soiling themselves, begging for mercy.. taking their own lives to avoid your claws?"
Nicora makes a squeak, a rather impressive, terrified squeak. As she's felt, her body goes stiff and her breathing quickens. "It felt good to destroy those monsters," the Eeee says, her voice quick and nervous. "It was necessary." She tries to not think about the now sticky sensation on her cheek.
"And before that, even.. in.. the mountains?" the demon asks. "Bandits, were they? You and the shiny one... they never stood a chance. Doesn't the hunt make you burn?" Nicora can feel her skin start to crawl - and it's not the usual sort. It's a 'shadow' crawliness. She's starting to change already..
"Yes, bit it's not the same. I'm not like you at all," Nicora claims, her voice still squeaking as panic increases as the sensation of the skin crawl grows. "I'm not a demon!"
"But you are a hunter," the demon growls. "You choose your prey. Not for their scent or their meat, no.. for their sins. Just as my Mistress would have me do." Nicora finds herself pushed away and spun around, but when she lands back in the pile of offal behind her the 'juices' released to not dampen her skin. The chitin plates protect her from that, and they're still spreading. Her jaw aches and becomes heavier as her tail and legs lengthen as well.
"No, not now, not now," Nicora pleads with her own body as it shifts around her. Like the others, the changes hurt. She can feel skin split and shell grow. She can feel her jaw throb ... and when she looks at the eyeless head of the demon, more fear takes her; soon she may be blind; and have to focus on other senses alone. "Why?" she garble-growls; but her jaw hurts too much to complete the question.
"Because you love the others, you love us all, and you are all that we have," Gronegk replies, looming over Nicora. As the chitin covers her eyes, the world becomes.. silver. Like how the Wraith 'sees' things. In this ghostlight, the Eeee-Grok hybrid above her is.. beautiful.
And worse, Nicora can feel her mutating body being excited by the creature above her; and the shifting alien body parts do make it very clear what her body is preparing for. She wants to refuse, to say no, but the sounds that escape her monstrous jaws sound more like, well, a disturbing mating cry.
She's lifted up to her feet, held surprisingly gently by the larger monster. "The other Six are half beast or bug, half mindless. Or half weak. Only I am fused from two thinking beings. Groks stand beside Eeee as partners, not livestock. We hunt together, live together, understand one another. We feel, we know loyalty that is given. We know love and kinship. Why should you fear this in me?"
"Because it always hurts," Nicorgrok claims. Her voice is a growl now, and without lips, well ... she cannot help but drool thick amounts of spittle between nasty teeth. And that's about when Nicogrok leans in and licks his chitinous cheek with her own thick tongue. "So, hurt me, lover," she growl-hisses to him.
"As one who knows what that means, I will try not to," Gronegk promises, and lays Nicorgrok down in the surprisingly comfortable mound of garbage. And he is gentle, and takes his time to find what his mate's body finds pleasing.
The next passing of time is an experience of alien proportions. The sensations are not like anything she has quite felt before; and the sounds she makes quickly betray that which this body seems to like. Soon the fear is gone, and the two demons are lost in each other, and discovering what each likes. On her back, front, kneeling, bending, everything is experimented with as the bonding between the demon as his 'lover' is made complete.
So far, the Blessing hasn't interfered (but then, it affects Nicora, and she's not really herself right now). Even after the mating is complete Gronegk stays and 'cuddles'. Usually the demons are reluctant to expend all of their energy by just sticking around.
"At least you didn't break off inside me and vanish," Nicorgrok growls from where this off pile of Eeee and monster cuddle. It also occurs to her Gorphat may not be pleased with this demon entering Her temple, and engaging in physical pleasures. Maybe she'll be lucky, though, and it will be overlooked.
"I will guard you, even if only by proxy," Gronegk pledges. Nicora can feel herself beginning to revert back to fully Eeee (with tail) body, and Gronegk is beginning to look dimmer - but that could also be the transition from grok-vision to normal sight.
Nicora fears the demon going, and changing back. The cramping she has now is extremely unpleasant. Plus, she is laying in garbage. "Thank you for that pledge," Nicora says, "And I hope to be worthy of it."
By the time normal sight and body have completely returned, Nicora is along again. She's also smelly, hungry and can feel the oncoming ache in her loins.
"Ow," Nicora groans as she manages to her feet and wobbles back the way she came. "Please forgive me, Mother. He hunted me," she thinks as she walks. It's time for a bath. A nice bath. Heck, even a slime bath. Anything to get rid of the smell.
Finding a bath in the Temple of Gorphat may be even more challenging than the Path of Affliction. But there's a washbasin in her bedroom with fairly fresh water at least. The discomfort, smell and general sense of misery distract her, so that she doesn't register the stomach-tempting scent of warm, fresh blood until she's through the door of the room. The smell comes from a small, hexapod deer-like creature: a stibbit. Sitting at attention behind it is a grok, which gives a welcoming whine at the sight of Nicora. It has a noticeable 'scar' on one of its front legs.
And at that, Nicra has to smile. Food delivery, and that's something useful. "Thank you," she tells the grok, then approaches the stibbit. She reaches out to pet it lightly, then tells it, "I'm sorry, but I need food, and you will do. It won't hurt much and I promise you will survive it."
The grok licks Nicora with a long blue tongue. While the stunned stibbit might survive the vampire, it probably won't survive the hunter. This grok seems oddly happy too.
Nicora eyes the grok ... but for the moment she does need food, so turns her attention to the stibbit. This is something she's used to from Sylvania, really ... so biting the neck of this deer-like creature comes easily to her; and her saliva will mute any significant pain to the critter.
The stibbit struggles a little, it's spiky hooves coming close to scratching.
And Nicora pets its neck gently while feeding. She's mindful to not eat too much, at least. Just enough to get it to pass away into a 'sleep'. When her jaws release, she tells the grok, "I remember you. And you, me ... even if I do not look the same. It is ... well, company is welcome." She pets this chitinous creature, then lets it have the stibbit; again. Funny how things come full circle, isn't it?