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Well she must be working overtime because I just wrote this and feel compelled to write more at some point.

Prologue

“Shit. She’s broken through the inner defenses! Go! Go fucking make yourselves useful and fucking stop her!” Sinthinia ordered to her last remaining elite grunts.

As her remaining lackeys probably went to their deaths, Sinthinia shook her head at the situation and couldn’t believe it had come to this. There was nowhere run either as there was a teleportation dampening field surrounding her palace. Sinthinia began to seriously panic for the first time in a long time.

“This is worse than when I followed that fool Velzix.” She muttered to herself.

“Indeed. I warned you about that too, but as usual, you didn’t listen. You were fortunate that I got you out of there when I did.”

Sinthinia turned around and saw her sometimes “ally” if such a word has meaning in Hell.

Big Red stood before her in the room. Despite his nickname (Which he only goes by now), he wasn’t particularly big. In fact he was very average looking by demonic standards.

However those who knew him knew very well he was far from average.

“Red. How did you get in…nevermind, I know you always got a fucking loophole or escape route.  So what did you want? You come to gloat?” Sinthina remarked.

“Not really my style, I would have thought you would have known that during our time together.” Big Red remarked.

“So what then? You here to help? Good luck, because I don’t think you’re tough enough to beat her in combat and I know that bitch out there isn’t listening to deals.”

“Hm, probably not right now she isn’t. She does seem very determined to kill you. Guessing any deals you might have for her won’t help either.”

“Pfft. I’d have better luck trying to seduce a celestial in the form of a little boy. In fact, I know I’d have better luck since I’ve done that before. This fucking cunt is so inflexible and frigid, she’s probably got frozen spider webs in her crotch.”

“Well can’t be any worse than what you got living down there.”

“Fuck you Red.”

“Now is not the time to be making more enemies.”
“So are you here to help or what? Because if you aren’t, then at least just fucking kill me now to deprive that bitch the pleasure of it.”

“I haven’t decided yet. I’m still a little disappointed by your betrayal. You broke a contract and I can’t just forget that.”
“Have you forgotten who we are? WE’RE FUCKING DEMONS! Betrayal is sort of what we do. And I didn’t break shit, I figured out a loophole and YOU just don’t like it because you consider yourself some sort of expert on such things.”

“Heh, well I suppose from a certain point of view that’s true. Still, as you pointed out, we are demons. Proud beings and all.”

“Oh so your pride is wounded? Fine. Get me out of here and I’ll suck your stubby spiky cock right fucking now, swallow your burning load and let you do whatever the hell you want sexually with me in the foreseeable future. Fuck, I’ll even muster up the enthusiasm to enjoy it.”

Big Red shook his head and chuckled.

“Oh you succubi, no matter how high your position, that’s always what it comes down to with you lot isn’t it? Trust me Sin, you weren’t nearly as good as you think you were in the first place. I dunno, I guess some of it was fun, but I just don’t see a major benefit in it for me to help you though.”

“Wait! Come on! You can’t be okay with all this that’s been going on in Hell lately! I mean this fucking cunt is starting to change things with her actions and more and more seem to be fine with it! I mean what the fuck is going on? I remember a time when anarchy and chaos reigned supreme here!

“While I don’t think it’s quite as bad as you’re saying, she is starting to make an impact in the short amount of time she’s been around. I admit I haven’t kept up on her as I probably should have, but I’ve been dealing more in the mortal realms lately. She’s had an impact on a few of those too though, which is partly why I’m here now I suppose. Her actions have indirectly interrupted a few of my deals I had in the works.”

“So come on and take me with you, I can fill you in on all her strengths and weaknesses.”

“Right, because you’ve obviously got a handle on those seeing as your personal palace is about to be overrun by her legions. Look, I suppose there is a place I could take you to safety, but there’s weird rules there and honestly I got other shit to do, so…”

"Wait, I'll..."

Before Sinthinia could finish her sentence, a crash on her solid brass door was heard.

“I think someone’s knocking Sin, see you around…maybe.” Big Red said with a wave before disappearing.

“RED YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!” Sinthinia shouted as the door continued to be battered. It wouldn’t be long now.

Sinthinia readied herself for the onslaught that was to come. She might have even prayed for divine help if she wasn’t the godless creature that she was.

One last crash and the large brass doors swung open. Sinthinia expected several soldiers to come rushing at her, but it was just a single being.

It was just you, because of course it was.

This is it.

hopeful Catfight?
This is going to be awesome though and hopefully motivates contest entrants to get gud if they want a hope at not being totally overshadowed.

“Cistagonija, I was wondering when you’d finally stop serenading me with the screams of my minions and just enter my bedroom. See? It’s all prepped for us. You were always welcome you know. I like a lady in armor. It’s the right blend of masculine femininity. You’re making me wet just standing there like that.” Sinthinia remarks pointing to her very fancy comfortable looking bed.

Without a word, you raise a hand unleashing a purple beam of magic and disintegrate it.

“I see. Well we could always do it on the floor if you prefer.” Sinthinia remarks hopefully.

“The only thing you’re going to be doing on the floor is dying.” You reply.

“Fine. But know this Cista, you’re on the losing side of this war!”

“Really? Because recent events show otherwise.”

“Hah, short sighted bitch! All of this has only been a minor battle in the larger scope of a war you can’t begin to comprehend! The infernal realm will NEVER submit to your perverted desires of order!”

“Peverted? Amusing words coming from one of the biggest succubus whores known in hell.”

“I am TRUE to my nature. YOU on the other hand are an abomination that should have NEVER been allowed to survive this long! Time to correct that mistake!”

Sinthinia unleashes a spell blast, which your armor easily shrugs off. You don’t even know why she’s bothering. She’s no warrior, she’s a whore and the only things whores are good at are opening their holes.

Time you made more of those in her; you continue to advance with your flaming sword in hand. You’re really going to enjoy widening this infernal harlot’s diseased slit to her equally diseased throat.

You can sense the fear in her. She puts up a pitiful force field that isn’t going to protect her for long. You know she’d beg you to spare her if she thought it would do any good.

Just when you’re about to break the field, a blinding light engulfs the room and a portal appears behind Sinthinia! You took measures to ensure such a thing was impossible so she couldn’t escape, though looking back over at Sinthinia, she looks as confused as you are, though she also looks like she’s experiencing pain from the light emanating from the portal.

The light from the portal is actually causing you a minor bit of pain as well and your eyes are still having a difficult time adjusting to looking at it head on. You’re also feeling a powerful force holding you back.

“Come into the light Sin! Hah, I’ve always wanted to say that.” You hear a voice chuckle from the portal.

“Red? What is this? Argh! I’m fucking burning!” Sinthinia remarks.

“It’s your best chance at a rescue so quit your bitching and take my hand, this holy light won’t bother you for long and it isn’t going to hold back your friend for long either.”

Red or “Big Red” is certainly an infernal you’ve heard tales about, but you’ve never actually had any direct conflict or interaction with him. Looks like that’s about to change if he’s insisting on getting in your way.

You can barely see him within the glow of the light, but he’s completely covered in some sort of white armor and wearing goggles, which presumably is what is protecting him from this obvious holy light.

Sinthinia looks over to you and wastes no time in grabbing Red’s gauntlet. She’d rather burn than face you, though if the roles were reversed, you might pick the same choice.

You push forward with some difficulty and see Sinthinia’s burning ass (literally) run into the portal behind Big Red who is now addressing you.

“Hm you ARE a powerful one. Maybe Sin is right and you are an actual threat to the infernal realm. I’ll definitely have to keep a closer eye on you in the future. However, I’d advise you NOT to follow for even as powerful as you are, I don’t believe you’re prepared. Don’t worry though, I’m sure you’ll get another chance to kill Sin assuming she even survives this trip of course.”

With those last words, Red steps back into the portal, which is now beginning to flicker and the holy light isn’t as powerful anymore.

You could easily run into the portal now, but you have no idea where it is going to take you. The fact that holy light was coming from it doesn’t seem like it’s heading any place you’d enjoy. Not that you ever enjoy anything other than perhaps utterly destroying your enemies which are becoming more and more numerous nowadays.

Of course this also leads to more questions of the situation between Red and Sin since he didn’t exactly imply good things for her either. You suppose it’s possible he’s just robbed you of your kill and her fate is sealed anyway.

While this is going through you head, the portal is beginning to disappear.

Completely abandoning any sort of caution, you run towards the portal, which then disappears.

“Fuck!” you shout and punch a hole in the nearby wall, destroying enough of it to create a new window in Sin’s former palace.

While you're cursing your hesitation, a familiar voice is heard. It’s your chief engineer.

“Um, mistress?” Zeljenir utters.

“WHAT? And I told you not to fucking call me that! Only whores are mistresses! You will address me by my proper military title, do you understand?” you reply.

“Yes general.”

While you know she understands and you can sense the fear, you just don’t feel properly satisfied with this compliance.

You immediately walk over to Zel who just looks on in fear and offers no resistance. You grab her by her neck and slam her against the wall. You look at her with disgust as she continues to display her body like the infernal seductress she really is.

“I don’t think you do. Address me other than general again and I will cast you down from your privileged position to the deepest darkest pit of degenerates in Hell and I guarantee you will NOT enjoy it. Am I making myself clear?” you threaten.

“Yes general. I will obey!” Zel chokes.

Good, that’s the proper amount of respect and fear. You release Zel and ask her why the hell she’s here since it isn’t like her to be anywhere near the frontlines. You certainly don’t keep her around for her fighting abilities. Her mind for engineering is what is important. She’s been very useful in designing siege weapons and such.

“I’m here because you told me to let you know directly if I had any major problems with other members on your staff.” Zel remarks

“You came all the way here now to tell me this?” you say.

“Well I didn’t intend to, but…well during the siege when I was overseeing the juggernauts, Captain Spolnapad and some of his men…”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, I fucking warned him about this and in the middle of the damn battle? No wonder the east side of the wall wasn’t brought down when I predicted it to be! Fucking chaos. So did they get you?”

Zel looks down.

“I didn’t enjoy it I swear.”

Zel looks up at you and feels your judgmental stare to tell the complete truth.

“Well I mean maybe a little at first, then I tried to stop them, but they wouldn’t stop and I barely escaped! I beg forgiveness general.”

You shake your head. You can’t even be too mad at her for this. She’s another succubus and the whore within her is always there, but fortunately you caught her when she was relatively new to the infernal plane and can be molded. She’ll change completely in time. Change is always possible.

But it’s not easy when you’re dealing with rapey lustful demons.

“Fine. I’ll take care of it. But from now on, YOU need to start fucking covering up! You may have the body of a harlot, but you weren’t given this position because of your dick sucking skills. You were given this honor because of your skills as an engineer. I don’t want to see you running around fucking naked. Those days are long over! I will see you in a uniform from now on!”

“We have uniforms?”

“No, it’s a figure of fucking speech. What I’m saying is cover the fuck up. I don’t give a shit what you’re actually wearing as long as you don’t have all your fun bits exposed all over the place!”

“Yes general.”

"Only whores are mistresses!" :O
This chick is so intense about this. XD

Nope, didn't forget about this. I've been still slowly writing it at a fat slug's pace, but I intend on finishing this one at some point.

Hopefully before the end of the year.

Nice. Hadn't heard anything about your WIPs in a bit so I thought work was keeping you too busy. This one is shaping up to be really good.

Which fantasy feature is going up on the chopping block to make room?

This one is going to be a shorter story. That was the original intention so I could finish it within a reasonable amount of time, but of course it's still taking awhile.

I was going to post another excerpt, but I'm trying not to give too much away since it's going to be shorter anyway, though I might find a bit that seems okay to post.

Nope, I haven't forgotten about this. I actually just finished the "best" ending branch of it. I just have to finish up the rest.

The bigger dilemma is to extend this into a larger work. I was thinking of adding two other protagonist stories like I did with Tales. Of course that would take more time. Not sure yet.

I think we'd rather read it sooner rather than later even if it is (for you) a shortish story, but of course, whatever feels like it works. How intertwined are the other protagonists' stories to the events here? Would they work as their own things separate for this? It's not like it'd be the first time you wrote something related to a previous story.

There wouldn't be too much overlap. The main thing is the other two protagonists would also be female and their stories would be taking place in the same world. Though again there wouldn't be much (if any) overlap.

Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it.

Oh I guess I should mention, I finished the succubus story yesterday, but it's a little shorter than I normally write so I'm adding at least one more story, hopefully two and then releasing them under one title.

Looking forward to it :)

1 TR (Time of Reaping)

 

“Mistress, there’s been reports of holes opening up in the skies over Evigrus and ethereal beings pouring out. Reports of the dead rising on a mass scale have also been confirmed.” Pivik remarks.

You smack your young subordinate across the face twice. To his credit he doesn’t flinch, though he’s probably used to it lately.

You kick Pivik in the balls, dropping him to his knees to get some sort of desired pain reaction, after feeling a minor sense of accomplishment, you then turn your attention to the rest of your “closest” lieutenants.

“Why the fuck did you lot let this happen!? Didn’t I tell you he would doom us all with that book?!” you exclaim.

“US?! I suggested a full-scale assault on Evigrus and you dismissed that idea as foolish claiming that stealth would be more effective. We sent tons of assassins and they never even got close to killing him, if they ever reached him at all!” Gikil protests.

“Shit, I even went personally with my best agents and barely made it off Evigrus alive!” Belina adds.

“Yeah! And YOU were the one playing weird games with him over the years rather than just killing him immediately! Several times you HAD the opportunity, but did you take it? No, you were too busy indulging in your disgusting monkey lusting habits.” Drunni says.

It’s been like this more and more lately, your lessers not knowing their place. You haven’t decided if you’re going to kill any of them yet, but you’ll soon know after this meeting.

“Gikil, your invasion plan was idiotic at best and suicidal at worst. Even if we had managed to motivate every svelk for such a cause, we would have been severely out numbered. Belina, you failed because you’re a mediocre assassin. And Drunni, I’m going to just ignore your comment since you haven’t had anything of worth to contribute to the last five meetings we’ve had so I’ll chalk this up to your exercise in being pathetically consistent and predictable.”

Your lieutenants look at each other and scowl a bit but say nothing more.

“You all are correct in holding your tongues because if you hadn’t I’d be holding them right now. Speaking of tongues Pivik, you can put yours to better use. Don’t get up, you’re good right there on your knees.”

Pivik being a little newer to the group isn’t exactly sure what you mean until you stand right in front of him. You then strip off the lower half of your clothing and look down upon him.

“Better give head better than you give news.” You say and push his head into your crotch.

You feel his tongue going to work as you hold his head in place where you want it and continue your meeting.

“Yeah, just like that.”

Gilik doesn’t bat an eye, Belina rolls her eyes, but they’re used to you multitasking like this during meetings. Drunni on the other hand show signs of obvious distaste. He’s never gotten used to it and it makes you smile that you’re able to cause the prudish asshole discomfort with such minimal effort.

“Now that you idiots have allowed the unthinkable happen, we have to act quickly. Gilik since about the only thing you’re mildly good at is direct force and similar matters, I want you to start preparing the defenses of Dokkrus, start burning the dead as soon as someone dies, and obviously keep an eye on any cemeteries. Think you can handle that?” you order.

“Yes Mistress.”

“Good, now Belina I want you to take your best agents and head back to Evigrus…”

“I just told you all my best agents are dead!” Belina interrupts.

“Don’t (Mm, yeah right there) interrupt. In any case, just take your next best ones, I don’t know, whoever is just barely less competent than you. In any case your mission won’t be to assassinate the little emperor anyway. He’s arguably the only thing competent there that will be able to fight off the threat and buy valuable time. You’ll just be giving reports on the continent and what he’s doing. I’m sure you and your lot will be able to handle that.”

“…yes Mistress.” Belina says with resignation.

You turn your attention to Drunni who has been the most insubordinate of the three. He keeps his eyes at your face, though occasionally looks away when he sees you smile while feeling a particularly good lick by Pivik. You give a small chuckle before addressing Drunni.

“Drunni, I trust you still haven’t taken care of our less unified brethren given that I’m still getting reports of skirmishes on the southern side of the continent. I also trust that the main one that’s leading the majority of those short sighted fools is Kessla.”

“It is, and as I’ve already said many times she’s entrenched herself in an underground fortress reinforced with dero rock. Magic won’t work on it.” Drunni answers.

“Yes, I’m aware of that too, hence why I haven’t just teleported in and cut her heart out. (Damn, yeah…don’t stop) So since you’ve been a dismal failure in killing her, maybe you can do a better job of making her see reason during this time of great crisis.”

“And how the hell am I supposed to do that after we’ve been trying to kill her for the past few years?”

“Well weren’t you two fucking before the defense of Mortos five years ago? Try diplomacy. Rekindle old flames, bend her over and give her a good fucking while convincing her that Dokkrus needs to be completely united against this global threat.”

“You’re asking the impossible! The whole failure at Mortos is why she broke away from this alliance in the first place because she blamed you for it.”

“And I can’t help that she has wrong ideas on top of being a stubborn cunt. My point is, if we had the time to fuck about with massacring her following and retaking the southern part of the continent by force, I’d be willing to be patient, but unfortunately we don’t have that luxury. We cut off the head though and the rest will probably fall in line like sheep. So if you can’t convince her to stop her shit, then at least trick her long enough to slit her throat while you’re fucking her from behind. Just get it fucking done… AH FUCK!”

You close your eyes and grab your young assistant’s head as he turns out to be the only one that’s pleasing you at this moment. You actually crumple to your knees forcing him to lay back on the floor while he continues servicing you.

“Out! All of you now!” you command and you hear the sounds of feet running quickly and then the slamming of the door.

Now you’re alone with your thoughts. You’re not here; you’re in a different place. A better place.

“Oh yes, do it. Do Francis. Do it how mommy likes. I know how much you love me…it’s okay I know…I know…”

You feel a great release and then caress Francis’ head; you look down at his face and see such potential. Backing up a bit to give him air, you straddle his chest. You raise his head up with one hand and you bend forward a bit.

“Did I do well Mistress?” he asks.

“Yes, yes you did my beautiful boy and now I’m going to give you something…” You whisper kissing his forehead.

You then pull a dagger from a sheath strapped to your back and thrust it into Francis’ throat. His eyes go from showing utter devotion to shock, but even in death he does not struggle. He accepts his fate as he bleeds out.

“Remember this...” You say standing up with the bloody dagger in your hand.

You blink a few times and look around and then at the floor where Pivik’s body lies.

“Hm, different place...different place...” You say to yourself putting the rest of your clothing back on.

You look at Pivik’s body for a moment and set it on fire just in case.

“Different place. Something to consider if possible.” You say leaving Pivik to burn in the middle of the stone floor.

Years pass…

Ya know, I feel like I'm in the minority here but I guess I'll just come out and say it: I always hated that bitch.

I'm actually kinda pleased we're getting to play her because I imagine now there will be plenty of ways for her to die.

Yes, still working on this, I just tend to work a whole lot slower nowadays.

Anyway, got about 5 more choices to work on for the Semra storyline. It'll probably end up being slightly more, but it's getting there.

That looks promising!

Semra path complete.

Now to work on the Catalina path.

I suppose the story should have a path where I won't just be reading for the gruesome deaths.

Started on "The Dead" path

You glide across the ethereal landscape passing several other spirits as you have countless times before.

You remember when you first arrived here; you would attempt to interact with them. Most of them ignored you, though some of the “younger” ones did, eagerly asking questions and exchanging information. It was fascinating.

Of course as time passed you became much like those “older” spirits. Not wishing to interact with others and just peacefully drift in this place.

Time of course is a funny term to use since you’ve pretty much lost all concept of it. You honestly can’t remember how much time has passed since you first arrived here. Still, it’s the best term to use for the lack of a better one.

You do have memories. They just tend to be a jumbled mix and fleeting. Every once in awhile you get a strong one that brings forth emotions that were once thought long dead as you are. Your memories of your beloved still tend to be the strongest. You did spend most of your life with him after all. You still miss him even in this place.

While some spirits eventually fade away even in this place of “final death”, your tie to him will always keep you waiting until he joins you again. Even if that won’t be for a very long time.

However, it was the first time you managed to piece together your memories that you discovered completely by chance that you could still contact him. It’s no easy task though. Sifting through memories half faded by time is always something that requires focus because you’re essentially reliving those moments all over again as if they were real.

And it isn’t always simple to focus when you’ve got new spirits suddenly asking you silly questions. (Just like you once did)

Whether you’re successful or fail, there’s always a “down” period that you have to wait for before you can try it again. It’s a kind of magic you suppose.  You’re not exactly sure how it works.

What you do know is it’s time to try again.

You find a relatively isolated area away from any other spirits to lessen the chances of being disturbed and begin to focus…

First memories

Okay, now this one I'm excited for. Finally moving on from that silly svelk whore.

Oh, ghost story path! Looking forward to that! Curious to see how these premises play out. Some sentences in here break immersion for me a bit “You honestly...” and “You're not exactly...” sound like you are talking directly to the reader, rather than the character reminiscing.

The whole story is written with that style of dialog, so it fits.

Hmm, just reread the parts posted above, and it didn't notice it there.

Well as usual, this last bit of story is going to be longer than I thought. Currently working through it though. It's always a bit of a pain to sync up existing time lines, but it's important to do these things right.

I always likened writing these sort of grand epics, as putting together a ship in a bottle. Each tiny piece goes in bit-by-bit, which by themselves are practically nothing, but over time, they begin to add up - and in the end, become the whole - and an amazing legacy to their craftsmanship.

Been trying to work on this more frequently lately. Hence why I put the remainder of the Gamebook reviews on hold for awhile. (though I'll get to the rest of those too eventually)

As you’re struggling to stay awake, you hear voice.

“You girl! You look a little young to be at this college. Though you’re certainly at the right spot to learn your craft.”

You turn and see a demon! Or rather what you’ve heard demons look like since you’ve never seen one in person. Though he’s dressed like a regular person, nothing excessively intimidating about him except his inhuman facial appearance.

Still, even you know their reputation and you back away, once again thinking you’ll be relying on your magic. The demon however just shakes his head and and puts his hands up.

“Heh, I wouldn’t bother girl, I don’t mean you any harm and you wouldn’t be any match anyway. I’m just out here doing business, trying to make my way in this world like everyone else. They call me Big Red around here. What’s your name?” The demon says.

“A lot of people claim they don’t mean any harm and they do it anyway.” You answer.

“Well that’s true. I guess you’re a sharp one. Though that still leaves the question of why a young girl such as yourself is wandering the Nuro campus at night. I can sense you have a bit of magic about you, but again you’re a little too young to be a student here.”

“Trying to make my way in the world like everyone else.”

“Ah, okay. Tight lipped too. Well, I suggest that if you’re going to hang out here that you find some place a little more secluded for the night. The best place is probably the old library; it’s to the far east of this area. You can’t miss it; it’s an ugly old crumbling building with a bunch of broken windows surrounded by untended grounds.”

“Sounds much different than the other buildings I’ve seen here.”

“Well, they were supposed to tear it down or repurpose it when the new one got built decades ago, but it’s just been crumbling into decay for many years now. Some say they keep it around for nostalgia purposes, others say it’s cursed so it’s best not to mess with it. Personally I think it was just a case of red tape and laziness.”

“Wait, cursed?”

“Oh yeah. That’s where the Great Lich Lord got his start centuries ago. You’ve never heard this story?”

You shake your head, thinking back to how you ignored most of the tales of the evils of magic from Miss Olga and how that particular story was part of the reason for her views.

“Oh, well it’s a long tale, so I’ll give you the short version. Basically the Great Lich Lord who nearly brought death to the world centuries before you were even born used to work there as a simple librarian. I guess he started looking a little too much at some of the dark magic tomes that happily used to be more accessible and getting ideas in his head. Then one day he just stopped coming into work. He was an isolated man of little importance in the scheme of things so he wasn’t missed and just replaced.”

You listen with great interest as Big Red continues his story.

“Well a few years later EVERYONE soon knew of him, because he’d amassed an army of undead like this world had never seen. Things were so grim for a while that my people were even brought in to help. That went about as well as it always does though. “ Big Red chuckles.

“So…how was he beaten?” you ask.

“Oh it was combination of several things, but I’d say vampires were his main downfall. The alliance he had with them just wasn’t going to last. Sure they might be undead, but those biped leeches need the living in order to survive. Realizing if he won, it would be a bad thing, the bloodsuckers came to their senses and basically assassinated the guy. And like with all things involving necromancy, if you kill the leader, you effectively eliminate the entire problem.”

“Wait. Vampires?”

“Yeah. That’s not one they really tell in most versions of the story mainly because the vamps themselves keep it that way as they continue to hide and play puppet master to human governments. Oh sure there’s stories of so called heroes ultimately bringing him down, but they were vampires and they were saving their own undead asses.”

“Wouldn’t something like that for something so important be more well known?”

“By who girl? All the people that managed to survive the Dead War died long ago of natural causes by now. Even elves as long lived as they are and I doubt if even most of them knew what was really going on. Humans dominate the world with their pitiful life spans and even more pitiful memories of what came before, so with the vampires manipulating shit, the truth is theirs to control. Still, even immortality is no cure for short sightedness.”

Big Red suddenly looks as if he’s not completely focused on the conversation.

“What do you mean?” you ask.

“Nothing. Anyway, just be careful where you step in that library and you should be fine.” Big Red says.

“And you’re claiming this is a good place for me to go to?”

“I didn’t claim it was a good place, I’m saying it’s the best place to go if you don’t want to draw attention.”

“You seem eager for me to go there.”

“Look Catalina, I’m just making a suggestion. The choice is yours if you want to sleep there or not. I mean you could take your chances and just find one of the couches in one of the study areas to crash on, but if you’re found sleeping in a more public area, someone might question it and you don’t want to suddenly find yourself grabbed by Nuro college security while you’re dozing.”

You step back again.

“How did you know my name?” you ask.

“You told me.” He says with complete confidence.

“No I didn’t.”

“Pretty sure you did, but in any case, I need to get back to business, I’m sure some of the usual crowd are going to want their hobgoblin hashish soon and I can’t have a little moppet like you lurking about, so away with you.”

Big Red waves you away as if you’re an annoyance.

Your first encounter with a demon and you can say that while it wasn’t an overly threatening experience, you’re a little unnerved by it a bit. Big Red seemed like he was helping you, but confusing you at the same time. You wonder if all his kind are like that.

And you are most definitely certain that you did not tell him your name. Maybe he can read minds?

In any case, he’s still correct in the choice is ultimately yours if you want to spend the night as the abandoned library or not.

 

Head to the library

Sleep elsewhere

The last time I've read Necromancer was like 3-4 years ago when I was still unregistered, so please excuse me if I'm wrong, but Big Red is talking to THAT Catalina, right? The Necromancer's wife.

Yeah, that's her.

If I recall correctly, Big Red isn't to be trusted haha!

Quite safe and delicious, I assure you.

This is very intriguing. It's almost like a big crossover of sorts. However, then you remember that many of your games share a universe. So it's only the natural order of things, one could say. 

Except for obvious cases like Death Song and Necromancer, usually the references are just references. This feels much more a definite sequel (or fanfic...) than even Rogues was to Innkeeper, given these are known characters with a history.

Yep, still working on it. New goal is to have it finished this year and release it after the Cyberpunk contest.

I am fairly confident about finishing it this year considering I'm half way finished with the last major branch I'm working on. This last one though is taking a bit more time due to having to get certain details just right while still having proper branching.

I can't say I've ever had experience writing fanfic of my own work, but I believe the thing to do these days is to just call it alternate universe fic when you want to mix up details in the time lines.

Slowly getting there. Hoping to have this finally finished and released after the Manifest Destiny contest.

You cautiously approach the entryway and find that they’ve erected a magical barrier. David is still on the floor and Maggie has gone back to attempting to fix one of the portals to escape.

You don’t think you’d get through this barrier before Maggie can fix the portal, but you’ve got an idea.

David’s dead. You can tell his life force has finally let go of his mortal shell. You don’t think Maggie’s even realized it yet since she’s focused on getting the portal working. It doesn’t matter though; it won’t change what you’re going to do.

You focus…

Maggie says something about getting out of Nuro soon.

David’s body sits up.

Maggie turns around briefly and sees David sitting up. She tells him to just rest and to save his strength. She says she’s got everything under control before returning to work on the portal. She doesn’t realize David isn’t even alive anymore.

David stands up and begins to walk towards Maggie. You begin your attempt of bringing down the barrier.

“David, I said save your…David wha…BY THE GODS! NO!” you hear Maggie scream followed by nonsensical groans by David’s corpse.

A physical scuffle ensues. You doubt if David’s corpse is going to kill her, but it’s enough of a distraction to give you time to get the barrier down.

By the time you get back in the room, Maggie has managed to dispatch her husband’s corpse, which is now beheaded. She stands before you with some sort of magic blade in her hand.

“You evil bitch! I’m going to…argh…agh…” Maggie starts to clutch her belly and begins bleeding. Apparently the high stress and physical trauma of this whole situation has finally taken a toll on her condition. Her magic blade disappears, as her concentration is broken.

She falls to the floor in pain and you walk slowly over to her. She somehow manages to cast a few bolts at you, but you easily block them with a magic shield.

“Your baby has joined your husband.” You say.

“Fuck you! Fuck you!” Maggie cries.

“This could have been easier for you all, but don’t worry. You’ll ALL be together soon.”

You focus…

Maggie begins clutching her belly again as the pain becomes unbearable. She screams out as her dead child is dead no longer.

The result is gory and horrific as the undead half formed infant rips its mother’s insides up attempting to get out in a non-traditional way.

Maggie’s screams become dying wails mixed with coughs of blood, she lives long enough to see the baby rip through her stomach. The undead abomination crawls out making unnatural growls.

“Congratulations. It’s a boy.” You say and then walk away having accomplished your task.