The matter with the giant was resolved. Time passed. Danger grew. The final threat appeared...
The Ultimate Showdown...
The ground began to tremble, heave, and shake as the monstrous horde approached. A terrified murmur rippled through the amassed army, but Charles stood tall before them, resplendent in his gleaming armor. "Steady! This is what we have been preparing for. Hold fast and have faith in the New God!" he declared.
Beside him, Tesswyn floated a few inches off of the ground, eyes black, hair waving in an unseen breeze. The daemon known as the Diviner inhabited her body, and her third eye was open wide, seeing all. "He comes," she whispered. "The Destroyer of Worlds."
And indeed, the demon prince came, looking akin to a 30-foot-tall corpulent human of indeterminate gender. A single, baleful eye bulged from the center of its face just above a great, slack maw. As it approached, rivers of excrement fell from its cavernous anus, painting the world black with the remnants of all it had already devoured. A dozen lesser demons capered in its wake, reveling in the devastation it left behind. They shrieked and laughed, stepping through the Void and emerging closer to the army of men as they prepared to attack.
"Now! We fight! For Rul! For humanity! For Astrid!" Charles bellowed, and with a cheer, the army surged across the quaking earth to meet the foe. Immediately, the battle turned into a bloodbath. Blood and body parts flew every which way. Swords were shattered and shields were sundered. Tesswyn floated above it all, shouting out directions and commands, pointing out gaps in the enemy's defenses and telling men just when to dodge to avoid a fatal blow. At least until the next one came.
The troops were being massacred, but they were giving as good as they were getting. One by one, the demons began to falter. Climbing upon mountains of their fallen comrades, Charles's holy knights smote the fiends. But it didn't matter. If they could not banish the Destroyer of Worlds, all would be for naught.
"It's time! Charles, Tess! To us!" Kahtia cried, the beautiful wizard standing beside Drot'ook's hulking form. Both magicians had their books open before them, reciting an incantation, as Mouse stood guard, blasting any demons that got close with bullets and lightning. Charles grabbed Tess by the hand and dragged her along behind him as he stumbled and leaped over rifts opening in the ground to get to their companions. The Destroyer of Worlds turned its baleful eye upon the quintet and let loose a horrifying roar that would have annihilated the resolve of lesser heroes. But with the New God's blessings upon them, they were immune to the fear. Still, the hulking demon prince stomped towards them, effortlessly ripping apart the knights that tried to impede its progress.
The world shuddered and lurched, and suddenly the Destroyer was before them. An inexorable power yanked the heroes off of their feet, sending them hurtling towards the fiend. It gestured, and the flesh began to melt off of Drot's bones, causing the orc to scream in agony. Another gesture, and Kahtia doubled over, vomit and blood pouring from her mouth as she struggled to stand. Mouse unloaded round after round into the demon prince's hulking form, only to be blasted across the plain by telekinetic force, gears spilling out of his metal body. Charles screamed defiance as he brought his blade up into the thing's belly, but it grabbed the paladin and squeezed, bones crunching and metal armor twisting in its grasp. The Destroyer brought Charles' limp form up towards its gaping maw...
Tesswyn saw all of this happening with perfect clarity. This was it. This was what everything had been building up to. All the training, all the pain and heartbreak. This was why the Seer had chosen her. This was her wyrd. She withdrew the final talisman from her pouch, clutching it to her breast. She spoke the words of the invocation. She opened the door and let her in.
Tesswyn ceased floating and dropped lightly to the ground as the transformation took place. Her body began to swell and curve as fat accumulated in her arms, thighs, and hips. Her armor and clothes creaked in protest before falling to the floor, leaving her naked before the world. Her breasts expanded to mammoth proportions, then another pair sprouted beneath them, and another until fully a dozen hung from her heavyset frame. Her dark hair cascaded down to the floor and her eyes blazed green as a wave of healing energy rushed out from her, mending her companions' wounds. The ground calmed around her, grass and flowers sprouting from the quiet earth.
The World Mother had arrived.
The Destroyer of Worlds roared again and continued its assault, but Tesswyn stood her ground, unleashing wave after wave of potent magic. Each time the demon prince scored a telling blow, the daemonhost immediately mended their injuries. When the fiend turned its ire on her, her auspex abilities allowed her to anticipate the attacks and leap out of the way in time, her pendulous frame jiggling as she danced about with all of her usual supernatural grace.
Mouse picked himself up and resumed his barrage of bullets. Drot unleashed the berserker, while Kahtia's shadow minions danced around the Destroyer's head to distract and pester it. With a mighty swing, Charles hacked the demon's hand off, dropping to the ground once more.
"Now is our chance!" Tesswyn declared in a warm, matronly tone. "Join hands together. Combine our magical power. Banish this fiend to the Void!"
The five stood as one, staring defiance up at the towering demon prince. They drew power from each other, from their bonds of love and friendship, and from the very world itself as the deep-set mana of Urth flowed upward into the World Mother's avatar. With a mighty cry, they unleashed that power in a blinding burst of viridian energy! And with that, the Destroyer of Worlds was gone, sent hurtling back into the Void from whence it came.
It was over. They had won...
***
Several Months Later...
The door opened as Charles came back home, carrying a pair of carefully wrapped parcels. Reclining on the couch, Tesswyn put down the talisman of the World Mother she had been idly toying with and smiled at her husband. "What'd you bring me?"
Charles chuckled and kissed Tesswyn as he presented her with the first parcel. "A new book that arrived in Drot's library. I thought it might be to your liking."
Tesswyn unwrapped the book and eyed its embossed cover. "'Tales of the Demon Lord: A Story of Crossings' by T. Bog Hutchinson? Fake name, obviously, but looks interesting. More importantly..." She eyes the second package hungrily, and Charles indulges her by revealing a large plate of sticky buns.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't forget! Fresh from the bakery," he laughed. "Have to satisfy those cravings, don't we?"
"You have no idea," Tesswyn growled. She sat up awkwardly, hands resting on rounded sphere of her belly. "Your baby can't get enough sweets."
"Of course. The baby's the one that can't get enough," Charles said dryly.
Tesswyn ignored the light jibe as she devoured one of the pastries. "Any word from Kahtia or Mouse?"
Charles shook his head. "Nothing yet. But I'm sure they'll be back in time to meet our son." He gently put his hands on Tess's stomach and was rewarded with a small kick.
Tess grew quiet for a few moments, and when she spoke, her voice was heavy with emotion. "Speaking of... I think I've finally settled on a name. Garwin."
Charles gasped, but then nodded solemnly. "It's perfect. I can think of no better way to honor the enormous sacrifice he made for us. For the world."
Tesswyn blinked back a few tears as she placed her hands over Charles's. "Little Garwin. Our son."
***
That night, Tesswyn slept peacefully. For the first time in a long, long time, there were no bad dreams...
Tesswyn listens to the elder's story with a scowl. "Well, I guess we better go pay this Roog a visit. Maybe we can talk--or beat--some sense back into him."
Tesswyn uses her full suite of divinatory abilities to guide her hands as she works the forge. With all of her friends assisting in their own way, the team produces a veritable cornucopia of runic scales!
Tesswyn curses and races ahead of the others, taking stairs by leaps and bounds. She reaches Charles before too much damage has been done. ”No more rushing off half-cocked. We do things together or not at all.”
Tesswyn works hard to help melt and refine the gold into ingots. The good work of putting the unfortunate souls to rest combined with her reconciliation and renewed romance with Charles puts her mind at ease, and at long last the nightmares that have plagued her disappear. She sleeps comfortably at night, snuggled up against the paladin.
The news of Oasis’s continued woes saddens her. It’s probably their fault things have gotten worse.
When the time comes to decide the next steps, Tesswyn feels a strong urge to seek the artifacts reveale by Kahtia’s book. She suggests investigating either the Vault or Rowenrest.
Tesswyn curses loudly and throws herself out of the way as the fiery shade swoops down out of the sky, trailing burning embers in its wake. It is a shred of the dragon's rage made manifest, a spirit of anger seeking vengeance for its death. Already, a handful of villagers lie dead, incinerated before the daemonhost and her friends could arrive on the scene. Now, though, the tables were beginning to turn. Beams of radiant light, electrified bullets, and missiles of force scorch and batter the spirit, and Tess takes careful aim before firing a pair of arrows into the draconic vestige's central mass. At last, the thing evaporates with a final shriek that echoes across the town.
The young woman wipes soot from her face as she glares at the assembled bystanders and the accusing look in their eyes. "Oh, f+&& off! This wasn't my fault this time! Drot's the one that killed the damn dragon!" she shouts before stomping away. "Ungrateful s~%@s. See if I save their miserable lives again..."
***
The familiar dreamscape again. The Dark God Grimnir One-Eye towers over Tesswyn while the rogue spits defiance at him.
"Your abilities continue to improve, Tesswyn. Before, you could only glimpse snatches of possible futures. Now the time has come to fully open your third eye, to grant you sight beyond sight."
"Eat s@#@."
"Always with the colorful language. You must have realized by now that you have no choice in the matter. It is your wyrd. Your fate. Your purpose..."
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before. Just get it over with, a#$#$#$."
Grimnir nods as starlight gleams in his empty eye socket. Moments later, Tess falls to her knees, screaming in pain, as her forehead begins to burn. A flaming hole opens up as a literal third eye forces its way to the surface. The rogue sobs and blinks in horrified confusion as the eye rolls in its socket, her brain struggling to cope with another source of visual information.
When she can finally see again, she notices another figure has appeared beside Grimnir. This one is a striking woman with long red hair, whose nakedness is just barely covered by garlands of flowers. She sashays past the Dark God and kneels to inspect Tesswyn. "This is the one you told me about, Grimmy? She is positively scrumptious. It's been ages since my daemon has had a proper host."
Grimnir chuckles. "The vessel is ready for you. Take your pleasures within her as you see fit, Titania."
The Queen of Summer smiles, eyes smoldering. "Oh, I am going to enjoy this..." She pulls Tesswyn into a passionate kiss, and the rogue begins to choke as the faerie queen shrinks down and forces her way into Tess's mouth and down her throat...
***
Charles awakens that night to see a strange woman across the room, dressed in Tesswyn's night clothes and staring at herself in the mirror. She is possessed of enchanting beauty, with fiery red hair and smoldering eyes. Cherry blossoms swirl and fall around her. The woman looks over her shoulder and gives the paladin a sultry smile. "Charles, darling," she purrs. "How do you like the new look?"
He had put it off for as long as he could. The situation had been suddenly dire, even though they'd suddenly appeared in his life out of thin air, they had already been in a race against time to save peoples lives. He had wanted to talk then but he had steeled himself and pushed the desire aside. Instead he fell back into the dynamic like it had been the previous years before. After the danger had passed and they'd escaped from the cave for the second time over, there was still more to do with organizing the camps and talking to the people they'd rescued, which he'd dived immediately into. But now there was nothing else to do, no task he could throw himself into. It was time to talk to her.
Charles eventually found Tesswyn at the edge of the miner camp. Charles heartbeat was fast and his anxiety had spiked but he had to set it aside once again.
"Tesswyn, I-. I don't know how tomorrow is going to turn out, we've been busy today but there's a lot of things I want to ask you. I need to talk to you."
Tesswyn looks up at Charles. "Okay. Let's talk." She gestures for him to sit beside her.
He took a deep breath and sat beside her. He was silent for a time, opening and closing his mouth for several false starts. After the third time he started in. "Where to begin? You'd think after 6 months I'd have had everything I wanted to say to you planned out." Charles let out a mocking chuckle at his own expense, the move seemed to ready him though and he looked over at her.
"I guess the first thing I have to ask you is... why did you come back? I know you weren't planning to."
"I had a vision. You and Drot were in danger. I came back to help you," Tess says matter-of-factly, though it's clear she is tying to hide some emotion from Charles. "You would have died if we hadn't arrived when we did."
He looked up at the sky. "A Vision huh? I don't know that I follow exactly, Tesswyn. You lied about why you were leaving and about whether you were actually going to come back." He looked back over to her. "You said you needed to clear your head... and left to go run off with Kahtia. Why should you care what happens to me after the fact?"
Tesswyn looks down at the ground and sighs. "Yes, I lied. I was hurt and scared and confused. I didn't know how to handle losing Garwin and seeing what that mask did to you, so I left with Kahtia.
"I thought that... Whatever was developing between us, I thought it might lead to something more. But it didn't. I was hoping for a depth to Kahtia that just doesn't exist. She doesn't care about me the way... The way that you did." She looks back to Charles. "I don't love her. I love you. It was a mistake to leave the way I did, and I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me."
Charles stared at Tesswyn. It hurt, it hurt him to know that he had been left for a potential outcome.
" All my life Tesswyn, I've eventually been abandoned by the people I came to care about for one reason or another. I was beginning to think that Kahtia was a manifestation of this worlds attempt to take away the person I loved. Once I'd realized she'd seduced you the night after we'd escaped from the tomb, I felt like such an idiot for not seeing what I had been looking at that morning you were wearing her dress with my own eyes. Later, I couldn't understand why you left with her of all people to 'clear your head' when she was the most intoxicating woman to be around.
"When I realized she still had the book she had been searching for, the one mentioned in Lemuel's journal, I thought you had been enchanted and taken away for some dark purpose. I spent months looking for you but you had already left West Hold and it seemed impossible to find you with our current means." He paused to take in her appearance more fully.
"Tesswyn, I shouldn't be surprised. Kahtia is a seductress and seems to have a talent for digging her claws into other people's lives. When you both suddenly came back, I thought it was some sort of ironic, twisted joke the world was playing and began to wonder how long it would be before she ensnared Drot'ook."
Tesswyn shakes her head. "She's not all bad. There is potential for her to be a better person. She needs friends to help her realize that potential."
Charles face fell. "What she may or may not need isn't important right now. What happened to you? Where did you go? Does she still have that book?"
"We wandered across the Northern Reach. Caught a ship at Gateway. Ran afoul of pirates, wrecked in a storm, almost drowned. Washed up on an island where Kahtia learned storm magic. Found out the Seer is actually the Dark God Grimnir One-Eye and became a host for daemonic spirits. You know, the usual b$*@$&&~.
"She has the book. I tried to convince her to destroy it but she claims she is going to use it to track down and eliminate other artifacts like it or the mask and scepter. But I'm not so sure those are her true intentions."
Tesswyn's answers gave Charles pause. He nodded as she listed off everything she was saying while he was still sorting out his feelings. He would likely never have found her without extremely powerful divination magic by the time he'd acted. The revelation of the Seer being a Dark God was foreboding, but the fact Tesswyn became a host was even more ominous. Then there was the more immediate matters: Kahtia refusing to give up the book and what Tesswyn suspected, and lastly, Charles sorting out what Tesswyn had just asked of him.
"Gods, Tesswyn, this world is dangerous. I know it's late to say it but I'm so glad you're alive." he said, He was quiet for a time before he spoke again, his face hardening. "I'm still angry at Kahtia, Tesswyn. Maybe you don't see it, or maybe you just don't want to, but Kahtia has either been lying to us or she has already been influenced by the book. Her story kept changing about what she planned or wanted to do with it. It drove several people mad already, hell, the first things she told us about it was that it was a vile, evil thing. Because of that I kept going over everything I knew about her for days and I came to a realization. Kahtia is a very clever and very manipulative person. Even when I caught her in a lie she refused to answer several of my questions one of the last times I spoke with her."
Tesswyn sighs. "I know. Let's focus on our task at hand first. Once we finish with the dragon and whatever the f!+~ else is lurking down there, we can call her on her b+*&~$&! and get to the truth. Together." She tentatively reaches to take Charles's hand.
Seeing Tesswyn still extending her hand to him, Charles did not hesitate any longer in grasping it in his own. As he did he felt a sudden surge of emotion as a part of him he'd thought lost forever was recovered. "Well, it's not like this old man will get too many more chances to have a beautiful women with him, will I?" he spoke with a half smile in a good natured sarcastic tone.
After a few moments a different wave of emotions took Charles, and he squeezed Tesswyn's hand tighter. "I know it's selfish of me to say this, Tesswyn, but I am glad Kahtia didn't turn out to be what you were hoping for in the end. It won't be the same between us, you know? For more than the obvious reasons. But I want you to know that I forgive you."
He embraced her in a hug. "Tesswyn, I still love you. I'm sorry I can't give you all the time I had, but I promise to never abandon you with the time I have left. We'll deal with the dragon in the cave tomorrow and then we'll deal with whatever comes after that."
Tesswyn doesn't say anything. She just pulls Charles into a long, passionate kiss, months worth of emotion pouring out of her.
Tesswyn turns her impassive, one-eyed gaze on Kahtia briefly before returning to the assassin clockwork. The bearded woman's expression is inscrutable.
Tesswyn does as Charles suggests, divesting XIII of his gear and binding him with rope. Once everybody is ready, she winds him back up to prepare to interrogate him.
Tesswyn winces and recoils at the burst of cacophonous noise. The ringing in her ears drowns out all other noise.
"F%~%! More warning next time!" she shouts at Drot, though she can't hear his reply, if any. She moves over to confirm the dragon's death, then regards the immobile form of XIII. "What do we do about him?"
Tesswyn winces in pain, but feels her injuries mending from Charles's injection. She attacks again, but even her insight isn't enough to land a good hit this time.
When Charles casts his spells, Tesswyn invokes the One-Eyed God. Ravens briefly circle her head as her eye fills with stars and her beard spills down to her chest.
When they reach the dragon, she moves into the cave, spreading out away from Charles. She opens her mind's eye to the signs around her and fires an arrow at the dragon!
Tesswyn casts oak skin and drinks another potion of fire resistance when they near the lower caverns. She keeps the talisman of the One-Eyed God in her grasp and nods her readiness.
Tesswyn's rest is plagued with disturbing nightmares. Fire-breathing dragons, murderous clockworks, and one-eyed gods war in her dreamscape, and she awakes looking haggard and shaken.
Before the others are up, she is sitting at the edge of the camp dressed in only a loose shift. She dips a straight-razor in a jar of cream and uses it to shave the fast-growing hair from her arms and legs.
Tesswyn meets Charles gaze, arms crossed over her chest. At length, she rolls her eyes and sighs. "Fine. Let's get some rest, then. Tomorrow we'll come back and try to kill a f!+!ing dragon."
Once the group emerges from the cave, Tesswyn gently places Kahtia on the ground. A few moments later, she doubles over and groans as the bushy beard retracts back into her face and her eye reappears in her empty socket with a wet pop. The rogue takes a few shuddering breaths before straightening up, managing to keep her bile down.
"As well as can be expected after inviting a Dark God to share my body," she mutters. She looks around at the other survivors, far too few for her liking. "We saved all we could. We should leave this place and not come back. Each time we've come here has been a f!*+ing nightmare. Best to just collapse the cave entrance and not look back."
Tesswyn flies over to Charles and slips her arms beneath his shoulders. "Come on, time to go!" She hauls the paladin up and flaps her wings, flying towards the exit!
Move to pick up Charles, then rush back to the stairs.
Tesswyn's eyes widen for a split second, but vanishing in time is not her wyrd. She redoubles her efforts against the clockwork, though they are for naught.
"I shall show you who is defective!" Tesswyn shouts. With a flap of her wings, she dives at the strange clockwork, beard streaming in the wind as she slices with her scimitar.
Unfazed by the dragon's snapping jaws, Tesswyn descends on the nearest guard and dispatches him with a strike of her blade. "It is time to meet your wyrd," Tesswyn intones, leveling her weapon at the dragon.
As the group makes their final preparations, Tesswyn whispers a spell to protect herself with oak skin. She drinks one bright red potion that has an acrid smell, warding herself against fire. She follows it up with a second potion, this one a runny brown that smells musty and tastes worse. The rogue gags a bit as feathery wings sprout from her back. She flaps them experimentally before nodding to indicate her readiness.
***
Now...
Slow
Shield in one hand, Tesswyn grips a talisman of a one-eyed face in the other. "Alright, Grimnir, you bastard. I'm going to let you in."
Once Charles casts his blessing, she leaps off of the stairs, wings flapping and propelling her through the air. She flies towards the lizards guarding the captives, swooping over their heads. The auspex opens herself up to the signs around her as she intones gruff syllables in a strange tongue. Then she screams as one of her eyes turns into a black raven that wriggles out from her face and flies around her head, where it is joined by a flock of screeching ravens! The brids beat, peck, and claw at the lizards as Tesswyn's empty eye socket becomes a black crater filled with starlight, and a long beard tumbles from her chin. "The One-Eyed God hath come!" she exclaims as she stows the talisman and draws her scimitar!
Moving to the spot just northwest of enemy 4, read the signs as a triggered action, cast investiture of the One-Eyed God. Swap talisman for scimitar as two minor activities. Each creature within a 5-yard-radius must make an Agility challenge. They take 8 damage on a failure, or 4 on a success. The ravens then dissipate.
Tesswyn gains darksight from the spell and +2 Defense due to her daemonhost ability. Attacks against her take 2 banes (1 from read the signs, one from the spell). Against injured targets, she makes attack rolls with 2 boons and her weapon attacks deal 1d6 extra damage.
"I doubt it will be willing to talk. Get it somewhere we can surround it. Attack from all angles to keep it off-guard and so it can't breathe fire on everybody at once. Strike hard and fast and take it down as quickly as we can."
Eventually, the fear subsides and Tess realizes whose hand she is holding. She gives Charles an enigmatic look before slowly releasing her grip and turning back to the scene below.
"Not sure what Mouse said, but I'll bet he's thinking the same thing. We take out the dragon, the rest of the lizards will flee or surrender. It's a f$+&ing dumb idea, but also likely the best chance we have of saving the other prisoners."
Crouching down, the rogue rummages through her pack. "I've got a potion that will grant me fire resistance, and another that will allow me to fly. If Kahtia makes me invisible, I can get close to the dragon and launch a surprise attack to get its attention. If we focus all of our might on the thing, we might be able to take it down without anybody dying."
Despite having mentally prepared herself to see something terrible, nothing Tesswyn had imagined compared to the horrible sight of the massive, scarred, runecarved dragon. Eyes wide, she whimpers and involuntarily takes a step back. Her hand reaches out--
C or K?:1d2 ⇒ 1
--and grabs a hold of Charles's. She squeezes it tightly, taking comfort in the familiar warmth of his grasp, as she waits for the fear to subside.
Tesswyn blanches when the boy mentions the word 'dragon.' "Oh, f*$# me," she mutters.
"You're safe now. Stay with these other people and get clear of this area. We're going down there to rescue who we can and--gods help us--fight a bloody dragon, I guess." The rogue rejoins her companions and relays what the boy said. "We shouldn't delay any longer. Let's get this over with."
Tesswyn kneels beside the children, trying to appear friendly. "Micah. I'm Tesswyn. Can you tell us about yourselves? How were you captured? Are there more of your people here?"
After several minutes, Tesswyn emerges from the cave, helping a fatigued miner finish the climb. The rogue's features have returned to normal, the knobby growths that festooned her body vanished.
"The lizards and their prisoners are going all the way down to the lava caves," Tess tells the others. "It'll take an hour or more to get down there. We shouldn't delay too long. There's no telling what else might await us down there."
