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Story/03 - Demense/Black-Demense.txt

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+This gate is a golden ring with a black magic wall, looking like an ever-falling veil of black paint or ink. 
+  
+In the forest:  
+https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y6n-1XQSfE  
+  
+In the clearing:  
+https://youtu.be/7UMNHyM5PgQ?si=2G-DWkBGxEo8FYtC  
+  
+## As you exit the BLACK gate,
+you are met by the nightmarish sight of a half dead forest, the trees all varying forms of grayscale and barren of most leaves. It is nearly silent here, only sparsely occupied by the occasional deep howl in the distance. And there is a blood red full moon overhead, barely lighting up the pitch black sky.
+  
+Welcome to the **Forest** demense! 
+
+Your attention is grabbed by a soft golden glow a few yards from you in all directions, coming from a circular gold wall of energy, definitely magical in nature. It's about 50 feet wide, it is attached to a large rock just behind the gate, and it illuminates the healthy patch of grass beneath your feet. 
+ 
+The ground outside the magic circle is slightly reflective black, resembling ink or wet paint. Some of this ink has stained or splashed on the trees themselves, and those with the largest stains seem to be the most grayed out.
+ 
+*BEHIND* 
+The gate itself is bound to a massive boulder, and around the backside of that gate is an abandoned lumber yard filled with incomplete pallets of different types, shapes, and sizes of wood. It's difficult to see from here, but you see no signs of life. 
+ 
+(NOTICE/INVESTIGATE ROLL) 
+- You spot two sloppy wooden signs on a nearby tree hastily drawn with what looks like black fingerpaint lettering
+- One sign says "ONE WAY TRIP" and has an arrow pointing toward an opening in the trees
+- The other sign says "DONT TOUCH THE INK" and has an arrow pointing at the ground
+  
+*TOUCH THE MAGIC WALL* 
+The wall has a strange amount of give against (what you are touching with it). It almost acts like a magical membrane.
+  
+*PUSH AT IT*
+(What you are touching with it) sinks through with a small amount of give, but when you pull back, it refuses to let go, and the membrane like wall becomes more rigid on every pull attempt.
+
+*PUSH THROUGH IT*
+It feels like you are walking through a wall made of cool wind, but otherwise doesn't appear to do anything more. The air outside is filled with a metallic stench, almost like iron, and every step you take outside of it makes a wet squelching noise as you step into an inch deep pool of pure black that stretches for miles.
+
+*TRY TO GO BACK*
+The magic wall will NOT let you go back in. As the sign indicated, this was indeed a one way trip.
+
+*TOUCH THE INK*
+(CONFIRM THEY "REALLY" WANT TO TOUCH THE INK)
+It feels cool to the touch, and it makes your finger feel surprisingly heavy and dull, like all the energy from that digit is just gone.
+(The player will have a -1 on all combat rolls)
+
+-----
+- LUMBERYARD
+- TREE OPENING
+-----
+ 
+*INTO THE LUMBERYARD* 
+The yard itself is full of incomplete pallets of wood, mostly oak and birch with a couple spruce and mahogany (as the sign racks indicate). Most of the wood looks old, warped, cracked, and unusable.
+
+Inside the building doesn't look much better. The walls are covered with uniforms of varying shapes & sizes. The tables are covered with axes, ropes, chainsaws, solar panels, battery packs, and a couple rings in a black hue, but no people at all. Just more of that black ink all over the floor, and a little smeared on the walls in odd streaking lines, as well as some large claw marks. 
+ 
+*INTO THE FOREST* 
+While the forest is borderline devoid of any signs of life, you spot more wooden signs deeper in with arrows pointing in one direction. Some of these signs also have creepy messages written on them.
+
+- WELCOME TO DAMNATION
+- INK STAINS THE SKIN
+- NEVER TOUCH THE INK
+- THE INK ALWAYS WINS
+  
+(NOTICE ROLL)
+- Despite the lack of life, you DO spot several gorgeous spiderwebs between some of the trees
+- You ALSO realize the webbing is at least an inch thick and stretches across multiple trees
+- You get the distinct feeling you are being watched and followed by something, but you can't quite see what
+
+It takes a few minutes of walking and incessant repetitive squelching noises, but you see the trees begin to open and form a true clearing, and it looks like a long forgotten warzone.
+
+There are craters several feet in width, massive clawmarks & gashes in the ground, and people strewn about in various prone positions, most of them atop rocks or fallen trees.
+ 
+*IF THEY APPROACH* 
+You see they are all pale, groaning, and weak, but definitely alive. Some of them are wearing uniforms matching the layout of the abandoned lumber yard, others are Thunder Force, and a few are wearing prison outfits.
+
+But the terrifying part is, each one is in varying amounts of physical grayscale, and all of them have massive patches of that black ink on their skin and clothing. They also look somewhat emaciated, like they haven't touched food in a month.
+  
+Behind them all is the remains of a wooden cabin, the remains scattered all across the clearing. Each piece is splashed with the same thick black ink in varying amounts, as well as massive claw marks.
+  
+*IF THEY ASK* 
+One person weakly raises an arm, a bald male Boa constrictor wearing Thunder Force garb, and his right arm is coated in the ink. "We're all trapped... the gate won't let us leave..."
+
+*WHAT CAUSED THIS*
+"There's a creature... it's made of the stuff... spreads it everywhere it goes... it keeps us weak... but won't let us die..."
+ 
+*HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN HERE*
+Various people respond in a row:
+- Three weeks
+- At least a month
+- Two months
+- Three months
+- Five months
+- Seven months
+- Nine Months
+- Almost a year
+- A familiar voice says he's been there three days and he ALREADY wants to kill himself, and everyone collectively shouts at him WE KNOW. 
+ 
+(CONTACTS ROLL) You recognize that voice as the Marauder LUCKY. 
+ 
+*ASK ABOUT DM/REGALIA* 
+The one that had been here for almost a year, a sparrow with short brown hair in flannel, starts laughing maniacally. "OH you mean inmate number one?! Cassius has been trapped here longer than anyone else!" He shakily points in the direction of the largest dead tree by the destroyed house.   
+ 
+*IF THEY LOOK* 
+Slumped against the back of the tree, you see a frail looking black fox man with long black hair draping over his body. He is wearing HEAVILY damaged black pants and sloppily wrapped bandages around his eyes, chest, and right shoulder.
+
+His right arm is physically missing, and the bandages around his chest are loose enough to where you can see the gaping six-inch-wide hole leading clear through his body. He is somehow breathing, but otherwise makes no movement. 
+ 
+*IF THEY GET HIS ATTENTION* 
+His head slowly raises a few inches, and his ears flick once. You hear him mutter the words "BEHIND... YOU..." 
+  
+And that is when you hear and feel the breath of a very large creature directly behind you.   
+  
+*TURN AROUND*
+There is a colossal black creature on four legs with a long thick tail, made entirely of ink. You cannot make out a face, but its obvious head splits open in six different directions, peeling back to reveal rows of teeth inside each flap as three tongues flick at you, screeching in three different voices at once. And it lurches forward. 
+ 
+*ATHLETICS ROLL* 
+(Lowest Roll) is suddenly grabbed in its teeth, tossed in the air before they are swallowed whole. And the creature looks at the rest of your group with an identical hunger. 
+ 
+-----
+
+CORRUPTED ABADDON IDOL SUMMON
+(DO NOT TELL THE PLAYERS WHAT IT IS)
+
+15HP | 20 MP | 2 MVMT
++3 ACADEMICS BURGLARY STEALTH
++2 DRIVE MANA
++1 PHYSIQUE WILL
+
+SPELLS:
+LV1 SHADOW STRIKE
+LV2 NIGHT WAVE
+LV3 BLACKOUT
+
+DOES NOT GAIN ANY SKILL-BASED STUNTS
+
+MELEE: CORRUPTED NATURAL WEAPON X2 (DUAL WIELD)
+- DEALS 3DMG+HOLLOW ON HIT
+- DEALS HOLLOW ON MATCH
+
+ANYONE EATEN DEALS DOUBLE DMG TO IT FROM INSIDE 
+
+-----
+  
+AFTER THE FIGHT
+
+The creature screeches at the last attack that struck it, and lunges toward (player) to devour you as well. But it stops inches away, its body suddenly lurching in agony. You watch it flail, jump & belly flop into the ground, and screech one last time before finally collapsing onto the ground.
+ 
+The creature's stomach start to warble and bounce around, before (eaten player's weapon or arm) suddenly pushes through it, the body opening up and revealing an ink-coated (eaten player) standing in the mess. Their clothes are stained black in various spots, and what ISN'T stained is going grayscale very quickly.
+
+(THAT PLAYER IS AT 0HP, AND CANNOT MOVE BEYOND BARE MINIMUM ARM MOVEMENTS AND SPEAKING) 
+ 
+(NOTICE ROLL) You hear a soft groaning from behind you, in the direction of the creature's head.
+
+*IF THEY LOOK*
+The black fox man (Cassius) kneels beside the creature, and if his eyes weren't bandaged, you would assume he was staring at the carcass. He places his one hand on the defeated creature's body, bowing his head a little, almost like he is praying.
+
+The creature's body suddenly pulses and begins to deflate like a balloon, and you see the man's arm pulse visibly as it... drinks the creature, would be the best description.
+
+Its body is completely gone in only a minute, and Cassius shakily stands up, his arm hanging at his side. His body physically pulses hard, like it just experienced a heartbeat going off for the first time. He bellows out in a two-tone voice of agony and uses his one arm to yank off his chest bandages, fully revealing the six inch wide hole in his chest.
+
+The hole is slowly filled with the same inky darkness as the creature he absorbed. Strand by strand slowly oozes down and across from inside his chest, slowly filling the hole, until the chest wound is completely gone.
+
+He takes a deep breath, deep enough to warrant him bending backwards to an uncomfortable degree, and finally exhales after several seconds. He then slowly turns his head toward your group, eyes still bandaged.
+
+"I despise the concept of owing anyone anything, but... you have ended my suffering, much sooner than the eternity I anticipated. As compensation, you have my aid in solving our... shared dilemma."
+
+He holds out his hand, a golden bullet of magical design sizzling against his palm, and he tosses it to your group.
+
+If anyone catches it bare handed, it will sizzle against their skin if it is bare, or will singe their fur or scales.
+  
+*WHAT HAPPENED*  
+He places his hand over his bandaged eyes.
+"A man in black... wearing a motorcycle helmet... appeared in the dead of night, called himself the Crooked King. He challenged me for my Regalia with these... strange golden weapons."
+
+"They ate through my strongest spells, blinded me, injured my form with ease, corrupted my own magic creatures to the extent you witnessed."
+
+"I deemed this mortal too dangerous to take my Regalia, and cast it out. I used the last of my magic to animate a piece of myself, and ordered it to hide it until it could safely be returned."
+
+"When this... MORTAL... realized he would not receive my Regalia regardless of win or loss, he made a mockery of the challenge magic's rules... he pushed me AND my corrupted summon through the walls, and turned it into one way travel... then simply left..."
+ 
+"Once free, the creature ran rampant through the demense, spilling my magical essence as its continued existence demanded it from me. The circle prevented escape, my strength refused to recover, neither my extension nor I had the power to track or fell the creature, and I was alone... for so long..." 
+ 
+"But when THESE mortals entered the demense and touched the ink, they became infected with my immortality, entered a state much like my own. No vitality, unable to leave, unable to die, only able to suffer eternally... until now." 
+ 
+"In defeating the creature, you have returned what is mine, and assured the freedom of everyone here. I only need to reclaim my Regalia to break the seal, and reclaim my essence to sever their connection to my immortality." 
+ 
+(EMPATHY ROLL) Something about what he said is bugging you. If they are all at no vitality, and likely haven't eaten or drank anything for a LONG time, then losing their connection to the immortality would possibly be fatal. 
+ 
+*IF THEY ASK TO CONFIRM* 
+"Once I sever the connection, these mortals will likely have minutes to live. If you care for their well-being, find a solution. And soon." 
+
+*LET THEM DISCUSS THEIR OPTIONS*
+Cassius' ears perk slightly, and he speaks out to seemingly noone. "Approach."
+
+You hear a familiar chittering and see a creature appear from the shadows. Striker snickers as he steps forward, and waltzes over beside Cassius' stumped arm. "Hello friends, did you miss me?"  
+ 
+Cassius' ears flick again. "Oh.. I see now... I have heard your exploits from him for some time." 
+ 
+*IF THEY ASK ABOUT THEIR CONNECTION* 
+"Striker is the piece of myself I animated. He traveled by the Crooked King's shadow and hid my Regalia. Speaking of..."
+
+Striker snickers excitedly and hands a wavy black dagger to Cassius. "As a piece of me, Striker barely qualified AS me, and has used it to further his own ambitions." 
+ 
+Striker turns to Cassius with a devious snicker. "It was all part of my plan. Once I found some capable warriors, I just needed to point them in the right direction as Regalia Hunters! They would eventually find their way to your Demense by process of elimination, discover you, and aid in your recovery on their journey to free the people of Diadem and claim their wish!" 
+ 
+"Is that the rumor being spread now?"
+
+Striker winces with a grumble, while Cassius slips his Regalia behind him out of sight. "I do not care. Your plan succeeded, and I am but a step from being whole again."
+
+Cassius sits back down against the tree, hanging his head quietly. "Striker, you are to aid them in their endeavor."
+
+-----
+ 
+*ONCE A SOLUTION HAS BEEN REACHED* 
+Cassius will stand, using the tree for support, and pull out his Regalia. "The Challenge was corrupted, but the circle was mine. Therefore..."
+
+He extends his arm straight into the air, aiming the blade at the sky, before pointing it in the direction of the gate. "I DECLARE THIS CHALLENGE NULL AND VOID."
+
+In the distance you hear a strange high pitched noise before what sounds like glass shattering, sending out a pulse of energy through the entire forest, causing the ink on the ground to ripple from the force. "You may now leave." 
+ 
+*IF THEY ASK HOW* 
+"A Demense Master with their rightful Regalia in hand may change or cancel any Challenge they are in. It is not a rule we use lightly."
+
+*WHY DID HE NKT DO THAT AGAINST THE CROOKED KING*
+"It would have ended the challenge, but Taking away the prize ended the need for combat."
+ 
+----- 
+ 
+He kneels and places his hand into the ink, wrist deep. The entire body of ink ripples HARD from his wrist outward, pulsing out across the entire body. It takes a minute, but the ink slowly begins to lower in height as he drinks it into his hand, identically to the creature.
+
+You see the ink on the various bodies around you slowly seeps off their skin and into the pool as it spirals into his hand like a drain, including your teammate's stains. The edge of the ink pool finally comes rushing toward his hand, and it disappears with the rest.
+
+You see everyone's bodies immediately begin to recover their colors one after another, and everyone cheers for a moment, before collapsing onto the ground all over again, this time from starvation & dehydration.
+
+Your teammate is also back to their colorful self, but now feel like they haven't eaten in a week.
+(They are down to 1HP instead of 0, because they were only exposed to the ink for a short time)
+
+-----
+WHATEVER THEIR PLAN IS, THEY NEED TO DO IT NOW
+-----
+ 
+Cassius stumbles backward after a moment, his body doing the hard pulse a second time, as his stumped bandaged arm vibrates a bit. The bandages suddenly burst off and out explodes a series of nightmarish black tentacles.
+
+They whip dangerously into the open air for a few moments, before collectively spiraling themselves together into one new limb, slowly morphing into an all new arm.
+
+He tests and flexes the fingers for a moment, before turning to your group and yanking off his bandages with it, revealing his bright yellow slitted orbs of eyes, glowing against his black furred face. He stares at your group for a moment, his eyes narrowing randomly to focus. "Hm... you are not what I expected... but I have faces for the names."
+
+He turns to his destroyed home. "This ends my compensation. The Demense will soon return to its normal state, and I must rebuild my home. I advise you leave." 
+
+He will turn to your group, his yellow fox eyes now blood red, the sclera around them turning black. "For your own sake, take my advice." 
+ 
+(NOTICE ROLL) You feel a sudden shadow cast over your heads in the clear night sky. When you look up to see what is causing it, you see a shadow across the moon, resembling a long slit, and it is aimed at your group.
+
+-----
+
+*ONCE THEY ARE IN FRONT OF THE GATE*
+
+True to Cassius' words, you can already see signs of life returning to the forest. The grasses that were buried under the ink have begun to rise and gain a little green, the trees are slowly returning to their various shades of brown, and you could swear you hear a mosuqito buzz by your ear.
+
+But in the distance, you hear a familiar demonic screech, coming from the clearing you JUST left, and you hear the unmistakable sounds of multiple trees falling.